Note that while features are a part of it, this also means library as well as hardware.

Including library then it's obviously the Wii U to Switch. Nintendo had to support both Wii U and 3DS compare to the sole focus for the Switch. Wii U lacked support all around not just 3rd party games

N64 to Gamecube. I cannot emphasize enough what a relief it was to go from blurry unstable sub-30 fps and a controller that I didn’t care much for, to a solid 30/60 fps with (comparatively) razor sharp visuals. I know you said to ignore hardware power but I consider these things to be integral to the experience.

GB to GBA. There were a few cool games on the original GB, but GBA has such a greater library. GB Color was nice, but it never really had time to get going.

WiiU to Switch sounds about right

Nah, it lost the ability to play on TV with the handheld as secondary screen / controller. WiiU to Switch felt like a step back for me. I wish Nintendo had treated the WiiU version of BotW like Lego city undercover with a fully interactive map on the gamepad.

Originally it was going to display the map. There was a gameplay demo showing this off. You could even tap the map to drop a pin live, like without going to the map screen.

This feature was dropped when they decided to port the game to the Switch though. If they'd kept it, then the Wii U version would have bee the better version (since the game runs similarly on both consoles this being the one difference and a positive for Wii U), and they couldn't have that. So they nerfed it to keep parity between the two versions.

Step backwards... (More likely the game needed all the cpu cycles the WiiU had, nothing left to render a secondary screen)


But 3DS to Switch is a big improvement.

My first thought was SNes over Nes.

Obvious answer is Wii U to switch

For me, it's WiiU -> Switch.

I have a soft spot for the WiiU, but let's face it: it was a disappointment. It allowed for some very cool asynchronous gameplay and hosted 6 or 7 of the best games of all time, but it was slow and clunky, it wasn't properly supported by third-party publishers (AAA or otherwise) or by Nintendo, and its signature controller, the GamePad, quickly became an albatross.

The Switch, meanwhile, is arguably the best video game system ever made. Incredibly versatile and accessible hardware, extraordinary support from Nintendo (that has lasted 9+ years), and plenty of brilliant "AA" and "A" games.

Some other contenders: NES -> SNES, SMS -> Genesis, GBC -> GBA

Master System to Genesis. Amazing game support for Genesis. Sega CD was a great add-on. Mascot went from a Monkeyboy to Sonic.

Probably 3DS to Switch. Nintendo used slight-of-hand in convincing us that the Switch was a continuation of their dedicated home console business when in fact, it represented the discontinuation of it, and the beginning of their high-end handheld division and the consolidation of their software departments, which ushered in the perfect storm.