This one is quite disappointing to me. I was very excited going into this game, I even wrote a whole article discussing why Nintendo should make more games like Nintendo World Championships. Sadly, this game has fallen under the same curse as many other titles on the Nintendo Switch.
This game has a lot to unpack, but I would like to start with what I liked about Nintendo World Championships.
What I Liked
For starters, I really like the variety of challenges in the different games. From grabbing a mushroom to popping a balloon to pulling up a turnip, each game has a nice variety of challenges. I do wish there were a few more games so that there could be an even greater variety of challenges.
There are also quite a few collectibles in the game. You have to unlock each challenge using the in-game coins, which some might find tedious, but I don’t mind considering how many coins you earn just from playing. It gives the player a goal. You can also use those coins to unlock icons on your profile, giving the player more reasons to collect coins and continue playing the game. Players can also collect badges by completing challenges with a specific rank or winning several times in one of the Survival Mode cups. This is another excellent way the game incentivizes players to improve and collect every badge.
One small thing that I enjoyed was the favorite games feature. When you start the game, you set up your in-game profile. While doing this, the game asks you for your favorite NES or Famicom game. The list is comprehensive, and I’m happy they included so many titles. It’s a small thing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
I also immensely enjoyed the Deluxe Edition. In my opinion, the items included are incredibly cool. The art cards are neat; the pin set includes several badges that can be found in the game itself. The replica NES cartridge is also very cool and an excellent display piece. The Japanese version of the Deluxe Edition also includes the Famicom controllers for Nintendo Switch, something I would’ve liked to see with the global editions.
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What I Didn’t Like
Now I’ll discuss what I didn’t like about the game. First of all, There isn’t enough content in this game. All there is to do is the Speedrun Mode, the World Championship Mode, the Survival Mode, and the local Party Mode. Besides all the collectibles, that’s all there is to this game. The Survival Mode is repetitive, as with the Speedrun Mode, and the World Championship Mode is very underwhelming. The games aren’t played consecutively, like with the original Nintendo World Championships, but instead are played individually without any point modifiers. It’s all about the time, and without any leaderboards, the mode is pretty pointless.
The gameplay grows old very quickly. After you’ve played a challenge several times, there isn’t a reason to play it anymore. The game becomes quite repetitive once you run out of challenges to complete. So, while there is a decent variety of challenges, there are not enough challenges to keep the gameplay fresh.
My biggest problem with the game is the lack of a proper online multiplayer mode. Party Mode is only available with local play, a missed opportunity. As I said, the World Championship Mode lacks a leaderboard, but there isn’t a single leaderboard in any other modes. This was such a simple thing to add, especially for the Speedrun Mode, yet it’s completely missing, which defeats much of this game’s purpose. Survival Mode, however, is the mode that irritates me. You don’t even get to play against real people. Instead, you play against other players’ ghost data, which is inexcusable. It makes it so easy to win in this mode without even really trying, and with how repetitive the mode is, There isn’t much reason to play more than a couple of times a week.
Final Thoughts on Nintendo World Championships
While I enjoyed my time with Nintendo World Championships, there are quite a few issues that I cannot ignore. The lack of content and the repetitiveness of the game are significant problems, and the absence of online leaderboards and true online multiplayer make it hard for me to come back to this game. I hoped this game would harken back to the NES Remix games on 3DS and finally bring back that creativity I’ve been missing from the 3DS and Wii U era. Unfortunately, this game has fallen into the same trap that many other Switch games fall into: it was released with too little content. So, while the challenges feel similar to NES Remix, it lacks all the charm and content of those games.
Overall, this game is fine. You’ll probably have a good time playing it, especially with friends, and you’ll get to hone your speedrunning skills. If the game interests you, maybe pick it up and give it a shot. If this game doesn’t pique your interest, it’s a solid pass. What you see is what you get, nothing more.
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