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 2022:
M64 Retrospective | Our 3 Best Nintendo Games of 2022:
Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: As much of a Pokémon fanboy that I am, there haven’t been many Pokémon games that when they were first announced, my response was “NEED IT!” New Pokémon Snap was one title that was able to get such a response out of me and yet, while Scarlet and Violet could sway me, I was hooked on Pokémon Legends: Arceus from the moment I saw it.
At last, here was a new main series game that wished to change what it means to be a main series Pokémon game. Instead of taking us to a new region, it took us back in time, to a time when Sinnoh was still known as Hisui and Hisuian regional varients still existed, before being wiped out. Furthermore, Game Freak decided we didn’t need two versions as this one game would allow players to catch every single Pokémon that was supported in game. For the first time in a long time, like in the original days of Pokémon Yellow, we could finally catch ’em all.
As much as I can’t wait to see where the upcoming Gen 9 DLC takes us, followed by the eventual Gen 10 games, I would be lying if I didn’t say I hope to see another Legends game sometime in the furture.
Mike: Pokémon Legends: Arceus was the refreshing take I needed for a Pokémon Game. I played Red and Blue back in the day but I couldn’t really get back into the series. I even tried with Sword and Shield for a while and even though I have put in the hours in that game, I still couldn’t say it was the best Pokémon experience I have had. Then came Pokémon Legend: Arceus.
It may have been a spin-off but Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a literal game changer for me. Weakening Pokémon in battles was no longer mandatory and you could simply sneak up on them and whack them with a Pokéball.
The research challenges were actually quite fun and the whole experience just felt refreshing. The icing on the cake was being able to spot shinies in the wild relatively easily as you would get a sparkling effect and sound cues whenever you were in the presence of one. It made shiny hunting that much easier and being able to capture every single Pokémon in game was just that much better.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: Much like how Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a big step-up for the Pokémon series of games, Kirby and the Forgotten Land did the same for the Kirby series. By no means was it the first Kirby game we got on the Nintendo Switch as that honour belongs to Kirby Star Allies, but Forgotten Land is the game many had hoped Star Allies would be and I’m glad that wish came to fruition.
It might not have been the most dangerous of all of Kirby’s adventures, but it was certainly one of the most engaging and best-looking, especially now that Kirby got to embark on his very own 3D adventure, a privilege that had been denied to the lovable pink ball for far too long.
Mike: Kirby and the Forgotten Land was one of the best 3D platformers I have played in a long time and rightly so as it also went on to win awards for best family game for several award ceremonies. Kirby had already had a number of outings on Nintendo Switch already but this was the first time he had a fully-fledged 3D outing and it just worked so well.
I loved all the new abilities and the Mouthful Mode that allows Kirby to partially swallow large objects and take their form of a traffic cone, vending machine or a car and use their abilities or functions temporarily until they outlive their use. The main game was maybe designed for more casual players in mind but the challenges outside of the main stages are where the real difficulty can be found. It took me a good number of tries with some of them but they were still enjoyable without being too frustrating.
Splatoon 3 (Nintendo Switch)
Jack: As much as I enjoyed Splatoon 2 and the many hours that I spent with it playing the new modes and absolutely loving the Octo Expansion DLC, in a lot of ways, Splatoon 2 felt very rushed to me. The original game was only released in May 2015, with free content support ending in 2016, and yet, here was a new instalment. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and Switch deserved its own Splatoon games, but it was no Splatoon 3.
For me, Splatoon 3 is the true sequel experience I was waiting for. Nintendo said they wouldn’t go the “Call of Duty” route and release a new game every year or two, and yet they did with Splatoon 2. However, with Splatoon 3, a drastic overhaul was made, the ideas and single-player mode got a lot crazier and an absolute banger was created.
Mike: Splatoon 3 was a game that I was not expecting to come so soon. I thought that Splatoon 2 could have gone on for a fair bit longer but I supposed after Nintendo released the Octo Expansion DLC and having plenty more ideas for more content, it made more sense to release a brand-new game rather than just more DLC.
To give credit to Splatoon 3, it came at about the right time for me as I had recently picked up a Nintendo Switch OLED and had lost all my precious save data for Splatoon 2 during the transfer. This includes all the solo campaign save data and beating the Octo Expansion. The thought of having to go through all that again was harrowing in itself but with Splatoon 3, it would have been a relatively new experience with different stages to work my way through so it was easier for me to just move on than to try and do it all again.
The idea of the Tri Color turf wars in Splatfests in Splatoon 3 was an amusing concept and while the game mode itself is actually quite fun, the way it is organized is very one sided. After the half-time announcement, the current team in pole position is then designated as defenders in the tri color turf wars. This means that the other teams have an advantage to wail on the leaders during these special turf wars and tip the scales exponentially. This is great if your team was floundering before half-time but not so much if you were riding the waves of victory.
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.
