Bold: So Splatoon is not relevant?

Metroid Dread as I have been anticipating this game since I (once) had youtube videos discussing theories I had based on the Prime 3 screenshots, but I hope the best is yet to come. I want Metroid Prime 4 to do what BoTW did for Zelda and hoping the redevelopment the game is going under will really advance the franchise further than ever before. Depending on how good it is Pokemon Legends: Arceus could also take that spot as well.

I'd add that many of these games are simply more playable on the Switch than they were on Wii U because of the portability factor. And that goes beyond just Wii U ports.

Mario Kart 8: Deluxe is a great example, thanks to portable local multiplayer the game became a major office lunch hour hit. Instead of 4 player split screen locked to your living room, you can have 12 players and everyone has their own screen. Not only that, but if you have less than 12 local players, you can fill up the slots with online players. It's one of the primary drivers for the Switch, with people either picking it up partially or completely because they can play Mario Kart 8 with co-workers during lunch break. For me, it was like an entirely new game because of that alone, and one that saw dozens of times more playtime.

For games like Mario Kart, the added portability was as important (if not more so) than the adding of IR aiming to Resident Evil 4 on Wii.

You are still mistaken. It's not remade in the style of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Torna. It is the original Xenoblade Chronicles remastered with a new expansion (Future Connected) included.

I'm unsure if you have never played the Xenoblade Chronicles games before, or if you just have some misconceptions.

Porting to an updated/different engine doesn't make a game a remake.
Not all remasters are "1080@60fps" - that's just optimal for HD TV displays.
Xenoblade Chronicles DE isn't 360p at 20 FPS. It's 720p at 30FPS.
Adding an epilogue isn't remaking a game, it's expanding a game.

I'll try to explain.

Short version: Remasters are essentially brand-new good drafts made for newer generational standards.

Less short version: remasters go beyond improved frame rates, resolutions and rescaled assets or anything else commonly seen in ports from weaker to stronger hardware. Remastering involves starting with an old game, then touching up or replacing old textures, models, UI, and audio to better match the standards and capabilities of newer generations of hardware. Often features are updated or added for QoL/streamlining purposes. Some other examples of remasters on the Switch include Final Fantasy 7-12 - these games also feature porting to new engines, replaced character models, and texture touch ups.

While you might say "Are they not remaking elements of the game?" Yes, you can say that. But that's not accurate or useful when talking in the context of video games. The industry and market already understand "Remakes" to be completely new games (not edits) based on an older existing game; distinguished from ports, enhanced ports, and remasters. An analogy of this would be calling Super Mario Bros a roleplaying game because you play the role of Mario - misleading because we already have a genre called roleplaying games. An example of a remake is Final Fantasy 7 Remake. And the term descends from the film industry - an example would be Brian De Palma's 1983 remake of the 1932 film, Scarface.

You can read about the remastering process and results of Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition in this Digital Foundry article and interview with game creator, Tetsuya Takahashi below:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-tech-analysis
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/9/21284381/xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-nintendo-switch-interview-tetsuya-takahashi

No need. I am very well aware of the differences, and it's ok to be wrong.

I suppose you're one of the ones considering Crash trilogy, Tony Hawk 1+2 or Spyro trilogy as remaster as well while FF7 remake is "a remake since it's in the title".

Heck, I even saw people calling Super Mario All Stars and Demon's Souls PS5 a remaster

This for me too. When it was first rumored/leaked I thought for sure it was either a fake leak, a typo that meant to say Witcher 2, or a cloud game.

Seeing a such massive, demanding open world PS4/Xbox One game running on the Switch was just mind blowing at the time.

First let me congratulate the OP: Great, great topic for a thread. It was quite nice going through the comments.

Octopath Traveler is my pick. I bought this game at launch on a whim and I did not touch it for years. Then out of nowhere I decided to give it a go. Oh boy was I pleasantly surprised. Great game! Great battle system, charismatic characters, beautiful score, etc.. It does get a little repetitive at some point, but I came out of it wanting more of this kind of game. A Final Fantasy game in the same style would be a dream.

Thank you. :) I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's responses too.

I think the thing I like most about the Switch era compared to the preceding Wii U gen is how much more positivity there is now, not just because it's doing better in sales, but because its generally doing a better job of satisfying its players.

In 2015 I nearly quit VGChartz because the discourse surrounding Nintendo was just so overwhelmingly negative that it just wasn't fun anymore. Now, things are so much more upbeat and exciting.

Hm? Honestly, I haven't had a "oh wow" or "holy shit thats happening" moment since the insane reveal of Bayonetta 2 on Wii U. I guess Metroid Prime 4 was crazy, but I've already stopped caring about MP4 now, Switch is too weak at this point for MP4.

2015 and 2016 were probably the darkest days of Nintendo as a video game company. Yes, there were some titles to play on Wii U and 3DS those years. But not enough, and a lot of disappointments. 

I've had my issues with the Switch, but I still enjoy tons of its software. It tentatively is in my top 3-4 platforms of all-time, and we'll see where it ranks once its successor is out. 

I'll add crossplay in as another pleasant surprise I didn't mention before. Who would've thought that Sony would be more against it than Nintendo?