As of right now, there aren’t that many 3DS ports on the Nintendo Switch. A few games like Miitopia and Monster Hunter Generations have been successfully brought over to Nintendo’s current platform, so it’s certainly strange that there aren’t more on the horizon.
The 3DS hasn’t received a new game in a couple of years, and the ability to access its fantastic library is waning significantly as its digital store slowly fades away, and physical copies become harder and more expensive to own. Plenty of games could easily be ported or even remade for the Nintendo Switch that would continue to grow and strengthen their legacies while also allowing new audiences to have an easier way of playing them.
Updated May 29, 2022, by Kyle Chamaillard. The list has been updated to include a few more 3DS games that could be fantastic additions to the Switch’s library as either ports or remakes - with the eShop being shut down, some of these games are being made unavailable for purchase legally, and it would be a true shame to lose them forever.
13 Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Fans of the Ace Attorney series should have nothing to object to when it comes to its representation on the Switch. From the Ace Attorney Trilogy to The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, five amazing games from the series are currently available to play and test your abilities as a rookie lawyer.
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is one of the boldest entries in the series and is the only game to feature a crossover with another franchise. Combining the puzzles from the Layton series with Ace Attorney’s courtroom turnabouts works well together to tell an interesting and often surprising story. A port to the Switch would allow audiences to experience one of Phoenix Wright’s most surreal adventures and bump up Professor Layton’s presence on the console.
12 Rhythm Heaven Megamix
There have been more recent Rhythm Heaven games than other Nintendo properties like F-Zero or Earthbound, but the series slowly feels like it’s becoming another forgotten franchise. Many remember Rhythm Heaven for its catchy beats, hilarious scenarios, and fascinating range of characters who use music to help them farm beets, interview wrestlers, and so much more.
A new entry would be amazing, but what makes Rhythm Heaven Megamix special is that it’s a solid collection of the best mini-games from previous titles while also introducing even more foot-tapping action. Many of the games required you to tap the 3DS screen and use touch controls, but they could be modified to work with the Joy-Cons motion controls, similar to the Wii version of Rhythm Heaven.
11 Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus: Uprising was a long time in the making. There were 21 years between Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters for the Game Boy in 1991 before Uprising was released in 2012. The wait was well worth it because it’s a great example of how to reboot a series for a new generation. For the first time, Pit would be able to explore massive 3D worlds instead of continuing his legacy as a 2D platformer.
Uprising was acclaimed for its gameplay and witty dialogue but was slightly held back by its controls. The game required you to hold the 3DS in a way that often led to hand cramps and made it nearly impossible to play the game for long sessions. A remake for Switch could finally fix this issue and bring the popular characters from Super Smash Bros. to a home console for the first time since the NES.
10 Nintendogs + Cats
Nintendogs is yet another one of Nintendo’s most popular and successful franchises that seem to have disappeared alongside the company’s focus on pure handheld gaming. The last entry was released in 2011, and though the formula had become a bit stale, it still offered fun gameplay and adorable companions to raise.
It’s a bit surprising that Nintendo has never tried to bring the series to the big screen over the years. Instead of using the touchscreen to interact with your pet, you could use the gyro controls in a Joy-Con to throw a ball for fetch or use the HD rumble to figure out where your dog buried your favorite pair of shoes. There are plenty of games that offer similar experiences, but if Nintendo used their magic on a new Nintendogs + Cats, it could revitalize the series’ popularity.
9 Bravely Default And Bravely Second: End Layer
Bravely Default hit at the right time in 2014. By that point, the Final Fantasy brand was at a low point, and many of Square Enix’s other RPGs were also missing the mark. Bravely Default helped rebuild the publisher’s reputation and acted as a spiritual reboot of Final Fantasy. There are crystals involved, a great job system, epic turn-based battles, and more. It also featured several improvements to the genre, like being able to speed up fights and change the random encounter rate. It was an instant classic.
Its sequel, Bravely Second: End Layer, retained and improved on nearly every element of the first game. If both games were bundled together and ported to Switch, it could allow the developers to modernize the visuals and let you play every amazing entry in this series in one place.
8 Tomodachi Life
Mii’s have been an integral part of Nintendo’s hardware since the Wii was launched in 2006. For the first time, you were able to create an avatar that you could use during games like Wii Sports or Mario Kart Wii. Mii’s were always fascinating, but they didn’t reach their full potential until Tomodachi Life for the 3DS was released.
The Mii’s you made always felt bland compared to other playable characters like Luigi or Rosalina. Tomodachi Life is the game that finally gave them a voice and personality while also encouraging you to create as many Mii’s as you could think of. They all live in a town together, and it’s up to you to ensure their happiness by giving them gifts, clothes, food, and more. As time goes on they will develop friendships, and rivalries, and will even get married and have babies. It’s nice that Miitopia is on Switch, but Tomodachi Life has so much more entertainment to offer.
7 Metroid: Samus Returns
It’s been a long time, but it finally feels like Metroid is back. The franchise has often had large gaps between releases, but between Samus Returns and Metroid Dread it seems like Nintendo is interested in exploring Samus’ story and that hopefully means even more space adventures are on the horizon. The recent spike in popularity may not exist if MercurySteam had not nailed the formula on their 3DS remake of the Game Boy classic.
Metroid: Samus Returns contains the series classic gameplay and atmosphere while also reinventing and iterating on previous concepts. Skills like the melee attack and aiming freely in any direction allow Samus to feel more human than ever before. There might be another major gap before the next entry in the Metroid series, so polishing up Samus Returns with better visuals and tighter controls and bringing it to the Switch could keep fans satisfied until the next chapter.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
There is a lot of debate around which Legend of Zelda game is the best in the franchise. Is it Ocarina of Time, or maybe Breath of the Wild? Those are both good choices, but another game should be in consideration: A Link Between Worlds. While the game itself acts as a spiritual sequel to A Link To The Past, it has enough unique elements that allow it to stand apart from the SNES classic.
One of the distinguishing features in A Link Between Worlds is how it changes up the use of infamous items like the boomerang and hookshot. Previous games typically hide these tools in dungeons, but Link needs to rent them from a shopkeeper named Ravio which is a fun twist on the famous formula. The game is excellent on the 3DS and relies on its unique features for its gameplay, so it would be ideal to see Grezzo, the developers behind recent Zelda remakes, try and adapt the game for the big screen.
5 Fire Emblem Fates Trilogy
It’s easy to overlook the Fire Emblem Fates trilogy on the 3DS. Fire Emblem: Awakening set an incredibly high bar for the series after its release in 2013 and fans expected another masterpiece with its follow-up. It was a bit confusing when Intelligent Systems announced that the next game would be split up into multiple versions, each one revealing a different perspective of its ambitious story.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses would eventually perfect this formula by essentially combining three storylines into a singular game. Needing to purchase three separate games to understand the full story of Fates never felt right, especially because only two are available physically while the third, Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation, is digital-only and will be very hard to play in the future. A collection of all three games on one cartridge would allow you to experience Corrin’s entire journey and witness the epic battle between the Kingdoms of Hoshido and Nohr.
4 Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga And Bowser’s Inside Story Remakes
The Mario RPG series has a long history that began on the SNES and eventually led to multiple spin-offs and amazing adventures. Intelligent Systems has continued to make Paper Mario games over the years, but it’s been far too long since Mario & Luigi’s last quest together. We might not see one anytime soon as AlphaDream, the developers of the series since 2003, filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
As Nintendo and their main studios shifted their focus onto the Switch, AlphaDream was left developing remakes of their older games for the 3DS which was slowly exiting the zeitgeist. Both the Mario & Luigi remakes are great, containing the original games and new adventures like Bowser’s Minions and Bowser Jr.’s Journey. It always felt like the Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story remakes should have originally been on the Switch, and releasing both as a combo could help spark public interest for a new entry for the series.
3 Person Q And Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
After Joker was announced as the first DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, speculation began that the Persona series could start appearing on Nintendo’s hardware. While Switch owners currently have access to the fighting game Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and the Musou-inspired Persona 5 Strikers, there are still a ton of games from the franchise that could be brought over.
It’s easy to forget that Nintendo actually hosts two Persona games exclusively developed for the 3DS. Persona Q follows the cast from both Persona 3 and 4 as they meet in an alternate dimension and work together to escape. Persona Q2 stars the Persona 5 cast after they get sucked into a movie and travel through a series of films to escape. These first-person dungeon crawlers tell great stories with familiar characters, and it would be great if more people could have the opportunity to spend another 60 to 90 hours with them.
2 Detective Pikachu
The Detective Pikachu game for the 3DS was a very bold new adventure in the world of Pokemon. Instead of traveling from town to town trying to catch ’em all and collecting gym badges, you get the chance to live in harmony with the creatures in Ryme City. Oh, and there’s also a coffee-obsessed Pikachu with a deep voice who wants to help you find your missing father.
After the game was adapted into a successful film starring Ryan Reynolds in 2019, it felt like Nintendo missed a great marketing opportunity by not simultaneously re-releasing the game on the Switch. It’s much shorter and easier than other Pokemon games and would have been perfect for younger fans who fell in love with the character. The game ended with a massive cliffhanger that is still unresolved, so maybe the game will be released on the Switch before its sequel arrives.
1 Fire Emblem: Awakening
Besides the Ocarina of Time remake, Fire Emblem: Awakening is the best-reviewed game on the 3DS according to Metacritic. It’s easy to see why, as this is the game that helped popularize the series in the West and gave Nintendo the confidence to continue releasing excellent successors like Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The Fire Emblem series wouldn’t be what it is today without Awakening, and it continues to be regarded as the best game in the long-running series.
Intelligent Systems knew they needed to create something special in their last-ditch effort for Fire Emblem to continue its legacy. Awakening contains a compelling narrative, interesting and well-written characters, and the ability to disable permadeath, which allowed it to break into the mainstream and become one of 3DS’ most important titles. A port would be great, but a game like Fire Emblem: Awakening deserves the full remake treatment, improving its visuals while offering the amazing experience that popularized it over a decade ago.
