The Wii U was the ultimate Zelda console. Thanks chiefly to the eShop/Virtual Console, it could play an enormous library of Zelda games. It also had HD remasters of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess and the spinoff Hyrule Warriors. And whilst Breath of the Wild is a Switch game (the launch title, no less), it was released simultaneously on (and was originally made for) the Wii U. Also, Nintendo Land had a really fun multiplayer Zelda minigame. But for all that, the Switch has now soundly taken the Wii U’s crown as the ultimate Zelda machine. It’s also a more successful console generally (alas, poor Wii U, I liked it).

I can’t imagine I’m the first to say that the Switch has usurped the Wii U’s title as the ultimate Zelda console (a quick Google search reveals that I’m not). Through Nintendo Switch Online (NSO), the Switch can boast a vast library of classic Zelda games. And since NSO is still being updated (at a painfully slow rate), its classic Zelda library will continue to grow (and hopefully add Four Swords Adventures, which has never had a rerelease or port). An expanded Zelda selection is guaranteed if the NSO library remains intact on Switch 2, instead of Nintendo starting from scratch as they used to with Virtual Console. Although that might bring another shift of the ultimate Zelda crown (and we’re just talking Switch 1 here).

Still, I’m not calling the Switch the ultimate Zelda console because it has a lot of old titles, but because of how many new titles it has. The Switch has more new Zelda games than any other Nintendo console. Some may dispute this, but Tears of the Kingdom and the upcoming Echoes of Wisdom are indisputably new Switch games. It also has Breath of the Wild, which, though simultaneously released on the Wii U, is chiefly a Switch game. Finally, there’s Link’s Awakening, which is technically a remake rather than a new title, but since it was built anew from the ground up (with new assets and art direction), it ought to be included. That’s four new Zelda games (sort of)! Most consoles get two at most, which demonstrates the wisdom of consolidating the handheld and home consoles – it’s doubled their output.

On top of that, the Switch also has the HD remaster of Skyward Sword, which is by far the best and least annoying version of the game (I don’t mean to hate but everyone knows the Wii version was irritating). It is baffling that Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD were never ported from the Wii U (the way nearly every other Wii U game was). But who knows why NintenDoes what NintenDo (I’m not sorry). Switch also has a lot of Zelda spinoffs, including the original Hyrule Warriors, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, and the rhythm-based dungeon crawler Cadence of Hyrule.

In short, the Switch has a lot of Zelda-related stuff (in case I hadn’t made that point clear). It also has the most new Zelda stuff (especially if you include spinoffs). It’s easily deserving of the cumbersome “Ultimate Zelda Console” title.

-Dexter