We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. The Nintendo Switch is undoubtedly a less powerful games machine than the PS5, Xbox Series S/X, or a top-of-the-line gaming PC. But for Nintendo, power has never really been the point. Games developed for the Switch series never lacked for visual innovation or the artistic flourishes necessary to create inarguably beautiful worlds whose visuals fully justify playing on a really large TV. From 2.5D to watercolors, living animation to sci-fi universes, the Nintendo Switch can easily be a feast for the eyes. Almost three years ago, the Nintendo Switch OLED upped the aesthetics ante for handheld gaming. Now, with the Nintendo Switch 2 (and its backward compatibility) officially confirmed for a 2025 release, you're revisiting the age-old question: What are the best Nintendo Switch games that justify playing on your big screen? Well, we've collected the best games to buy now right here. Nintendo's first-party games are legendary for their quality and often take advantage of their respective consoles better than most third-party titles. The Switch has no shortage of games designed by Nintendo, and most rank amongst the best this system offers.

Uematsu has always been passionate about performing the music he's written for video games onstage. While video game concerts have been taking place in Japan since 1987, when Koichi Sugiyama filled the Suntory Hall in Tokyo with his music from Dragon Quest on the NES, it wasn't until 2003 that Uematsu's music was performed onstage in the West. The success of Thomas Böcker's Symphonic Games Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany, spawned a symphony concert series that awakened Uematsu to the global popularity of Final Fantasy music concerts.

The impact of Japanese RPGs on pop and gaming culture cannot be overstated. From Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star to Chrono Trigger, NieR, and Fire Emblem -- JRPGs have spanned console generations, bridged the Japanese and North American markets, spawned entire universes of IP and delivered critical commercial hits for nearly four decades. Modern gaming simply wouldn't exist as it does today if not for the influence of JRPGs. In his newest book, Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs, Aidan Moher takes a wondrous in-depth look at the history of Japanese role playing games, their initial rise in the East, the long road to acceptance in the West and ultimate cultural impact the world over. In the excerpt below, Moher explores how Pokemon grew from Gameboy screens to become a multi-billion dollar entertainment juggernaut.

When "FFXIV" initially released in 2010, it was heavily criticized for its lack of content, numerous bugs and server failures. Yoshida, an avid MMORPG fan himself, was brought on to lead a team that would essentially rebuild the game entirely. The result was "FFXIV: A Realm Reborn" in 2013, a much more streamlined experience that fixed bugs and provided rich content that not only spoke to newcomers but longtime fans desperately seeking signs of the franchise they once knew.

The game's classes, named after the Final Fantasy "jobs" system, keep things engaging as different weapons yield different moves, much like in the Nioh series. It's worth stressing and warning Final Fantasy series veterans once again: This is barely a Final Fantasy game at all. In all but name, this is a more online cooperative sequel to the Nioh series instead. And online with friends or random players the game becomes a wildly entertaining Diablo-esque loot chase -- while it lasts. The endgame seems lacking; The only thing to chase are harder battles and more powerful gear.

Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a game about a band of heroes seeking out magical crystals in order to save the world.

The diorama backdrop paired with 3-D models is not directly tied to'Final Fantasy V' or '[Final Fantasy] VI', but the puppet show element -- there's a strong connection you can draw there,

The Tokyo Olympics opening kicked off early this morning, and the parade of nations, where athletes walk through Japan's Olympic stadium, had a Japanese twist. A medley of videogame music, orchestrated, formed the soundtrack for the parade. It all kicked off with the main theme from Dragon Quest -- which sounds pretty Olympian outright -- followed by hits from Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, Nier, Sonic, Chrono Trigger and, er, eFootball. There are some notable omissions -- no Nintendo songs (Pokemon? Zelda?) being the biggest one -- but some Street Fighter II songs might have fitted well into the competitive theme.

A rare, sealed copy of Nintendo's original The Legend of Zelda sold at auction for $870,000 on Friday, setting a record for the most expensive video game. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions auctioned off the unopened game, which was hovering at around $115,000 on Thursday. It's one of many sought-after vintage console games in Heritage's first video-game auction, which ends July 10. The copy of Zelda, housed inside a plastic case, has a grade of 9.0 from Wata Games, a game grading company. It's a No Rev-A Round SOQ model, which was produced in late 1987, before being replaced by the Rev-A variant in 1988.

There is an extraordinary and telling moment in Raven Leilani's acclaimed novel Luster, about a young black woman who has an affair with a middle-aged white man and ends up living with his family. The woman, Edie, is heading back to her lover's house with his adopted black daughter, Akila, when the pair are stopped and questioned by two police officers. Although Edie is compliant, Akila – younger and much less worldly – challenges the cops and gets thrust to the ground and restrained. The confrontation is rife with fear and tension, and when it's over (diffused when Akila's white mother intervenes), the first thing Edie and Akila do is go inside, sit down and play a video game. Much of the fervid discussion around Luster has focused on Leilani's astute and witty analysis of sexual politics and racial power structures in the 21st-century US.