Released over 8 years ago in March of 2017, the Nintendo Switch was the console/handheld hybrid that let players take their games wherever they wanted and finally delivered on the promise made by the Sega Nomad in the 90s. The Wii U, Nintendo’s last home console before the Switch, was a precursor to this concept in a way with its tablet controller that allowed off-screen play, but the caveat was that you had to be close to the box itself for it to work. With sales of over 150 million units, the success of the Nintendo Switch not only helped turn the companies fortunes around after Nintendo 3DS had to do the heavy lifting for sluggish Wii U sales, it has now effectively started an arms race of similar devices like Valve’s Steam Deck and the ROG Ally from ASUS.

First unveiled publicly back in January, the Switch’s successor, aptly titled the Nintendo Switch 2, will get a showcase in a little over a week where we’ll more than likely learn about its price point, software line-up and capabilities. Like Sony’s PlayStation 4, Nintendo more than likely won’t cut off support overnight for the Switch, but there’s an expectation that Nintendo and their development partners will want to move onto the next big thing.

via Nintendo of America YouTube

The Switch’s success was not only due to its unique form factor, but also its library of games. From first-party hits made by Nintendo, third-party ports that have no business running on it as well as they do and indie darlings, the Switch more than likely has the largest number of games on a Nintendo produced device since, well, ever. On the Electric Playground YouTube channel, Victor Lucas has been producing excellent features counting down his personal lists of the best game on the machine. Inspired by his work, here’s the Top 10 comic book games to have graced the system.

via Electric Playground Network – EPN YouTube

It should be noted that this is a personal best list and not meant as a definitive ranking. Feel free to agree or disagree with my choices and reasoning.

10) DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: TEEN POWER

The first of just 2 exclusives, DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power was frankly a bit of a shock when it was announced during a Nintendo Direct. Based on the animated property and published by Nintendo themselves, Teen Power is a terrific social simulator/action game for its intended target audience starring the likes of Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Harley Quinn. Older players with an open mind might even get some enjoyment out of it too with its high level of customization and unlockable outfits.

9) SHADOW MAN REMASTERED

The Nintendo 64 didn’t have a Metroid title, but it did get the Acclaim Studios Teeside developed Shadow Man. Based on the Valiant Comic property, Shadow Man features a sprawling map that opens up as you gather collectibles that unlock gates along with tools and weapons that allow you to dive deeper into the morbid afterlife known as Deadside. Nightdive Studios wonderfully remastered Shadow Man, not only touching up the visuals on the approaching 3 decade old game but its controls too. On top of that, previously cut areas were added back in for those longtime lovers of the cult favorite who know it back to front. If you want to experience the equivalent of the theatrical version, Shadow Man is playable on the Mature channel of the Nintendo Switch Online Plus Expansion Pack subscription service.

8) TUROK

Before GoldenEye 007, Acclaim’s Turok: Dinosaur Hunter showed the world that first-person shooters could be enjoyed on something other than the PC in 1997. With expansive, polygonal maps, lush jungles, an arsenal to match certain countries and plenty of dinosaurs to hunt, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was among the first third-party hits on the Nintendo 64. Limited by the technology of its time, Nightdive Studios rebuilt Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the modern age and crafted a remaster that brings to life your memories of the original without any of the friction. The distance fog is cleared up, the controls feel like every shooter on the market today and showing Nightdive’s commitment to Turok, updates were added to it as recently as this year. Like Shadow Man, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is playable on the Nintendo Switch Online service, but it should be skipped over for this incredible upgrade.

7) LEGO DC SUPER-VILLAINS

By 2018, developer TT Games had built a lot of LEGO outings for WB Games. While always enjoyable, the formulaic design and the sheer volume of offerings had started to wear thin so the excitement that once surrounded their releases started to die down somewhat. LEGO DC Super-Villains was one of the last traditional LEGO game in a sense after TT went back to the drawing board for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, but it showed that there was still some gas left in the tank for the long running series. The best new feature was the ability to create your own character, dubbed the Rookie, who could interact with the likes of Joker, Lex Luthor and Harley Quinn. The acting and writing are among the best in the long-running LEGO franchise, and with a cast that includes the late Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, Clancy Brown returning as Lex Luthor plus other DC Animated Universe alum like Susan Eisenberg and Michael Rosenbaum, this is the closest we’ve ever come to a 3-D DCAU video game.

6) BATMAN: ARKHAM TRILOGY

The novelty of playing Rocksteady Studios’ Arkham trilogy on the go – no justice for Batman: Arkham Origins – was lessened by the time Batman: Arkham Trilogy arrived on the Nintendo Switch in late 2023. Long before the end of that year, the trio of Batman: Arkham Asylum, City and Knight could be enjoyed on things like the above mentioned Steam Deck. Still, the reason why many still gravitate towards consoles is due to their inherent simplicity. There’s no tinkering to be done, you just pop in the cart or download a game from the eShop and you’re off to the races. This package would rank higher if the third game in the collection, Batman: Arkham Knight, didn’t still struggle to run even after numerous patches. However, when the rest of the package are 2 of the best comic book games ever produced, this is still worth adding to your collection.

5) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER’S REVENGE

Since the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, there have been a flood of copycats trying to match its tremendous success. What most have realized though is that even with a license, popular or not, it’s not as easy as it looks. What makes Shredder’s Revenge so magical is that its developer, Tribute Games, studied why Konami’s TMNT games are so treasured and then added modern flourishes like a rudimentary leveling system, stage specific challenges, new but still simple to learn moves plus a kickass soundtrack to make the one of, if not the, best TMNT game ever made. Shredder’s Revenge can be enjoyed with up to 6 friends, and even when you go at it alone, it’s still a great time. With over 10 playable characters, each with their own moves and playstyle, plus the Dimension Shellshock add-on, Shredder’s Revenge is the perfect example of a pick-up and play game that you can lose hours in even though it has a somewhat brief runtime.

4) MARVEL VS. CAPCOM FIGHTING COLLECTION: ARCADE CLASSICS

In the mid-to-late 90s, the comic book collecting bubble had burst and Marvel found themselves in a dire financial state. This stood in stark contrast to Japanese video game giant Capcom who were pumping out some of the best Marvel games ever that started with a beat ’em up based on The Punisher and a one-on-one fighter with X-Men: Children of the Atom. This partnership culminated with Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes in 2000 that’s beloved by both the fighting game community and casual players alike due to its chaotic, 3v3 tag-team action. Due to complicated licensing rights, no one ever thought these arcade games would ever get rereleased until the planets aligned to give us the Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics compilation in 2024. Even on the Nintendo Switch, these classics run like a dream, plus it brings home a perfect conversion of The Punisher for the first time with extras like design documents, art and a music player for each game. When the worst thing that can be said about this is that it doesn’t include 2 Capcom developed Marvel games for the SNES, there’s no reason not to have this installed on your console. Besides, who knows when one day it might disappear as quickly as it arrived.

3) MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: THE BLACK ORDER

One of the biggest surprises in the early years of the Nintendo Switch was the return of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series. Started under publisher Activision and developer Raven Software, it had been dormant for nearly a decade before the 2019 release of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Developed by Team Ninja and the first exclusive comic book game for the Switch published by Nintendo, The Black Order brings back the dungeon crawling action from the Activision days and mixes it with a vibrant, cel-shaded look that makes it feel more like a comic book than many titles today that strive for realism. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 also marked the return of the X-Men to console games after their absence was greatly felt in bigger titles like Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 stumbles slightly in that its convoluted upgrades aren’t as user friendly as its predecessors and its character exchanges aren’t as well thought out as before, but it’s still a worthy successor to a franchise many thought would never come back, as a Nintendo exclusive or otherwise

2) TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE COWABUNGA COLLECTION

In terms of licensed games, the Nintendo Switch era is full of pipe dreams made real. This list has already seen some like the last 2 entries that were just mentioned. Counted among them can be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection which is simply put one of the best compilations ever made. Gathering ever single Konami made TMNT game from the late 80s/early 90s, The Cowabunga Collection spans arcade brawlers, side-scrolling action games, a fighter and even a Metroid style Game Boy game that many perhaps didn’t even know existed. On top of that, players can choose to switch between the Japanese and North American versions of each game and this offers more than mere language changes. Developer Digital Eclipse worked closely with Konami and were granted access to a treasure trove of never before seen behind-the-scenes material which is the cherry on top of a dessert that followed one of the best meals you’ve ever eaten. Like Marvel vs. Capcom, get this before it’s gone.

1)DC’S JUSTICE LEAGUE: COSMIC CHAOS

The mere existence of DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos should be a wake up call to the entire video game industry. It’s proof that you can buy on any device today that you don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars nor photo realistic visuals to make something special. Developed by PHL Collective, Cosmic Chaos follows in the footsteps of titles like Marvel Ultimate Alliance albeit by only offering three unique playable characters: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Even with this limitations, it manages to out MUA Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 by simply being a fun, easy to pick up dungeon crawling adventure that wears its love for DC Comics brightly on its sleeve. Bound to go down as a lost cult favorite if it’s not already, Cosmic Chaos is the DC game that we’ve been asking for whether you realized it or not. If you can get past the polarizing art style, what you’ll find is a game you can lose hours to merely exploring for new unlockables or Easter Eggs while barely advancing the plot. 2 years past its release, it’s difficult to judge the success of DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos, but it would be a shame if the team behind it weren’t given an opportunity to product a sequel.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Admittedly, this was one of the harder Top 10 lists to produce. These are some that could’ve easily made the cut if the article was written on another day.

BATTLE CHASTERS: NIGHTWAR – Take a North American comic book and insert it into a Japanese style turn-based RPG. This formula is one that should be emulated more often to be honest.

BATMAN: THE TELLTALE SERIES/THE ENEMY WITHIN – 2 titles that make up one saga, these adventure games shake up the established Batman lore in an interesting way and are great either for at home or a long trip.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SPLINTERED FATE – There’s no shortage of TMNT games on the Nintendo Switch, and this is of the best of them. A roguelike that can be enjoyed either on your own or with friends, it goes to show how versatile the TMNT license truly is in the interactive space.

LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES – This game has graced just about everything, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best digital Marvel adventures of all time. Whether your first go around is on the Nintendo Switch or you’re picking it up just to replay it again, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is a gem.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: THE GAME – COMPLETE EDITION – Before there was Shredder’s Revenge, there was the game based on the graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley that blended arcade brawling with lite RPG mechanics. Even if you’ve never read the books, watched the film or Netflix series, the action and music will entice non-fans who are looking for that old school fix.