It’s that magical time of year again. May 2023 has come round rather fast and while we eagerly await the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, May is special to us for another reason as well. Having founded Miketendo64 in May 2015, this year marks our humble little site’s eighth anniversary and as you might expect, we’re feeling rather nostalgic.
So nostalgic, in fact, that the original Miketendo64 bros. and founders of our outlet, have reflected on their three most favourite Nintendo published games of each year the site has been running. So, strap yourselves in for here are our three best Nintendo games of 2019:
M64 Retrospective | Our 3 Best Nintendo Games of 2019:
ASTRAL CHAIN (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: When ASTRAL CHAIN was first announced during a Nintendo Direct in early 2019, the opening scene immediately had me picturing a new Xenoblade game. The art styles were similar and the type of gameplay shown looked like something you would expect from a Xenoblade game. Instead, it wasn’t Xenoblade whatsoever and Monolith Soft weren’t even the developer.
As it turned out, whilst Platinum Games were hard at work developing Bayonetta 3 for the Nintendo Switch, they were working on a second game for Nintendo and ASTRAL CHAIN turned out to be a game of mesmerizing beauty and gameplay that even now, I can’t help but wonder how and why we haven’t got another game yet.
Mike: I got to see a special demonstration of this game at a Nintendo press event held during Gamepolis 2019. The trailers shown during the lead up to the game’s release did not do it justice as the game looked and felt so much better seeing it perform in person.
When the game released on August 30th, I picked up a copy of the game as soon as I could. While Nintendo did send us a code of the game to review, I just had to pick it up physically as well. The combat mechanics took a little while getting used to but once it clicked with me, I was having an absolute blast. I even enjoyed the investigation sections of the game where you had to search for clues and piece together the events that occurred and where the perpetrators may have gone to next.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: Time and time again it has been said that Luigi’s Mansion 3 is one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch in terms of its graphical beauty and it’s true. You need only to play for five minutes or less and its artistic designs will have you hooked, but couple that with the fact this is the latest instalment in a formidable series and a long-awaited sequel, of course this game was going to be a hit.
The creation of Gooigi is questionable, but Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an impeccable game of great taste and gaming delight and, should we all get lucky again, I can’t wait to see what a potential fourth instalment could have to offer.
Mike: Luigi’s Mansion 3 was the first instalment in the series for me as I never played the other two entries in the series (never had the consoles to play them on). This game was something else. I loved every moment of it. The exploration, the story, the themed floors, the ghostbusting combat, and most of all, Luigi as a main protagonist for a change!
The multiplayer modes were also a lot of fun too. Up to 8 players can play together in the mini games with up to two teams of four (Team Luigi vs. Team Gooigi). The Online Scarescraper was also a lot of fun and a great challenge for anyone who wishes to play it solo. The 20-Floor Scarescraper really puts your skills to the test. So much so, that after having beaten it myself, I created a Hall of Fame page on our website so that others who have beaten it as well could share their achievements with us and the rest of the world.
I do have one small gripe with this game though. I wished that they would make the local multiplayer minigames available to play online. It can be difficult to get eight friends together and make them sit in front of a single screen but I’m sure that it would be far more manageable to get the same eight players together for an online session or two, especially if they all live in different parts of the world and getting together in a single place can prove somewhat difficult.
Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: Nintendo has always been a company not afraid to take risks. Sometimes it pays off for them and other times, it doesn’t. Take a look at the Wii U’s commercial lack of success for example, or Nintendo LABO. Still, not only was 2019 the year we first learned a sequel to Breath of the Wild was in development, but it was also the year that gave us Ring Fit Adventure.
Not only was it a brand-new RPG from Nintendo, but a fitness-based RPG where the more you put into it, the more you got out of the game and progressed. What’s more, Ring Fit Adventure was built using the engine for Breath of the Wild. Of course, Ring Fit Adventure is special to me for other reasons as it was one of the last games I would play with a friend of mine.
Mike: Ring Fit Adventure was one of those games that may have come out just at the right time. Finding time to exercise can be exhausting in itself but when you want to spend what little time you have gaming, what is the solution? Why Ring Fit Adventure of course! An RPG that introduces exercise techniques into its core gameplay mechanic was a stroke of genius to the point where it was extremely difficult to purchase one for a time.
When the Pandemic hit, we were all confined to our homes so that medical services could try and get on top of the outbreak that was collapsing hospitals all over the world. Being confined and not being able to leave the house save for purchasing essentials left a lot of us thinking what can we do to keep healthy and exercise, if we weren’t even allowed to go outside for a stroll? Ring Fit Adventure saw another influx in sales because it gave players the means to be able to exercise at home. While I may have fallen off the Ring Fit Adventure wagon these days, there are still people that use it daily and even I, would use it rigorously during lockdown. For these reasons alone, Ring Fit Adventure is one of our favourite games of 2019.
We would like to take this moment to thank all of you who have shared in our journey for the last eight years. It’s been a hell of a ride and if you’d like to know what other games made our best of list, we hope you’ll check out our other instalments of this mini-series.
Until next time, keep on gaming.
