3 old game franchises we hope come back with the Nintendo Switch 2

Honestly, when you consider how many game series Nintendo has seemingly abandoned over the past several decades, it’s easy to have some favorites that you cross your fingers to every single time there’s a Nintendo Direct. However, with the Nintendo Switch 2, we may see a lot more than we ever expected.

Nintendo dropped news about upcoming releases of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Rhythm Heaven Groove, neither of which has had an iteration in at least 10 years, since the Nintendo 3DS. This gives us hope that we may see some returning game franchises on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Here are three (hopefully not) abandoned Nintendo game series that we would love to see on Nintendo’s Switch successor.

Animal Crossing

Let’s get our cozy fixation out of the way. Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out in 2020 (Five years ago now), during the height of quarantine, and it holds a special place in my heart. With so much Animal Crossing content and so many references in recent memory, it’d be a crime not to have a new Animal Crossing game on the Nintendo Switch 2.

In late 2024, Nintendo finally pulled the plug on the long-running Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, pronouncing it dead after 7 years of constant content. At the same time, they said it wouldn’t stay dead, as they immediately announced Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, which allowed you to transfer everything you’ve done in the old live service game into a more stand-alone version that is self-contained. I reviewed it earlier this year, and it’s great!

On top of that, Nintendo has been clearly keeping Animal Crossing on their minds with different apps as well, such as the new Direct news app, Nintendo Today. You can put an AC skin on the app and widget, for instance.

I’m unsure what I’d want out of a new Animal Crossing, as New Horizons had so much content and gave me literally 1000 hours of gameplay on its own. However, they’d have to go bigger with something on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Star Fox

I’m an old Star Fox fan. I grew up playing Star Fox 64 more than a lot of the Nintendo 64 games that I had as a kid. But, while Star Fox Adventures on the GameCube was just alright, nothing beats the classic Star Fox gameplay.

Call me crazy, but the game Starlink: Battle for Atlas for the Nintendo Switch made a great blueprint for what Star Fox should be, considering you could use Fox’s Arwing in the game. Give us some of the linear shooter action, but maybe also give us some open-world gameplay.

I’m not saying that we need a No Man’s Sky-style Star Fox game, but I wouldn’t say no to that either. I just hope that Nintendo gives us anything but another Star Fox Guard.

F-Zero

F-Zero is one of those game series that confuses fans on why Nintendo has long-since abandoned the franchise. It’s a fast-paced, high-adrenaline sci-fi racing game. It feels like a slam dunk. But, Nintendo hasn’t released a proper F-Zero title (aside from F-Zero 99) since 2004. That’s 21 years; the hiatus is old enough to drink.

I grew up playing the original Super Nintendo game and loved F-Zero GX on the Gamecube. But, for some reason, Nintendo opted to tease us with F-Zero 99 on the Nintendo Switch, an online multiplayer, chaotic version of the classic SNES game.

Could this mean we’ll see F-Zero in the near future? Or will it just go the way of Super Mario 35? I’m still salty about them pulling the plug on that one as well.

We don’t need to wait long to either have our wishes come true or have all of our hopes dashed by Nintendo. You can check out the Nintendo Direct dedicated to the Nintendo Switch 2 on April 2nd at 9 AM Eastern Time.

What old franchises do you want to see on the Nintendo Switch 2? Comment down below and commiserate with us if we were right or not after the Nintendo Direct! While you wait for April 2nd’s announcements, check out the new cozy games announced in the Nintendo Direct that came out last week on March, 27th!