Card games have been around since 1000 A.D. and most likely were invented by the Chinese. Thanks to humanity’s past, I get to enjoy Cribbage. Over time, we have seen all types of card-like games, both in physical and virtual form. Even Nintendo started out as a card company, producing Hanafuda cards in 1889. With my love for cards, I procured a list of card-based games that I would love to see as ports, remakes, or as an entirely new entry to the series on the Nintendo Switch. Let’s go double or nothing on the following series!   

The Ten:

Lucadian Chronicles – (Wii U, 2015) My short time as a writer for Nintendo Enthusiast began with my first game review of Lucadian Chronicles by Dark Roast Entertainment. Although I had no idea what this game was about, I soon found myself putting plenty of time into this card-collecting indie title. With a relaxing soundtrack, interesting game mechanics, and a decent storyline, Lucadian Chronicles, in my opinion, deserves a port or a sequel. One interesting mechanic is its card colors aspect, represented by having either a single or dual, which you must strategically place and total up to five on the field. The card next to it must have that color, and stringing them together creates unique combat scenarios. All battles are automatically fought, which at first is strange, but I ended up enjoying this a lot. Even bringing the base game over with DLC to the Switch would be a great way to create hype for a sequel.  I have included my original review from 2014 if you are interested in a more in-depth review.

The Jack:

Magi Nation – (Game Boy Color, 2001) Developed by Interactive Imagination, this title came out during the Pokémon craze. You follow the main character, Tony, who encounters wild and unusual dream creatures that you tame and control with a ring forged from a stone called animate. It has some comical humor among its traditional linear role-playing story, which breaks up the taming and grinding of leveling up your creatures. Though within the game itself there are no card mechanics present, the game was originally based off a card game called Magi-Nation Duel. Even if the company decided to release something that was just the original card game itself, I would be ecstatic to try it out.

The Queen:

Lost Kingdoms – (GameCube, 2002) This unique role-playing title by From Software was an unusual and fun adventure. You play as Princess Katia who must take back the kingdoms of Argwyll from, you guessed it, a menacing evil force. You must travel to the many various locations on the map and engage in battle with the enemies you come across. To achieve victory, you toss out cards that summon entities that fight for you. You mustn’t run out of cards as you strategically battle through the level, and upon victory, you shall be rewarded with new summon cards. Pick three face down cards from a total of six, and with some luck, you may pick up a rare one. Also, there is a sequel, appropriately named, Lost Kingdoms II. A Switch remake of these two games, alongside a future release of a third one, would be a simple way to stack the deck, so to speak. Let’s make it a full house From Software!   

The King:

Pokémon Trading Card Game – (Game Boy Color, 2000) If you have played Pokémon before you know the struggle of “Gotta Catch’em All,” and this game by Hudson Soft is no different. Instead of physical Pokémon of course, you are looking to collect all the cards and make exquisite, powerful decks. It featured the first three sets from the physical Pokémon Trading Card lineup. Just like in traditional Pokémon games, you pick from three starter decks and will battle eight club masters to gain the right to take on the four grand masters. I know, it’s a very original storyline, but I have to say it works well. My favorite part was getting to name my decks after assembling the sixty-card powerhouse. My go-to cards seemed to be normal or colorless types, and I loved to mix in various, low cost, colored cards such a psychic or water. The other Pokémon Trading Card Game came out for the Apple iPad in 2014 and is just the card game, while the story and role-play aspect of the original is absent. Most of you will agree that the Nintendo Switch would be the ideal place for such a game. Give us a new story with as many cards as possible or at least just the base game that we could play online with our Switch counterparts.

The Ace:

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean – (GameCube, 2004) This last title I will talk about, which was developed by the Xenoblade creators at Monolith Soft, is in my top five games of all time. I speak highly of this game because it is one of those perfect storm games, where the story is engaging, the art style is beautiful, the music puts you in a trance, and the most important thing is the fun and innovative game play. You play as Kalas, a one-winged, selfish protagonist, who befriends others to take on the evil that plagues this world. You journey to five different floating continents that long ago were part of the ocean below. The gameplay for this role-playing adventure involves infusing what’s called Magna Essence of real-world items using what is called magnus. The battle system is quite amazing–you use card essences that are numbered, and you string them together. The higher you can string these card essences, the more devastating to your enemies’ hit point meters. Two years later in 2006, Monolith Soft released Baten Kaitos Origins, a prequel, where you play as Sagi. The gameplay is a bit different, but overall, it’s another great story in this universe. I would love to play these again in a collection on Switch, which had been rumored in the past. Also, since Monolith Soft and Bandai Namco both have stakes in this series, it would be great to see a new game from one or both teams. Until they could go all-in, I will continue to listen to its awesome soundtrack to pass the time.

Have any of you played the games I have discussed above? Did any interest you? With so many great games already on Nintendo Switch, what other card-based games would you like to see splash the pot? Let us know in the Boss Rush Discord channel.

If you want to take a gamble and feel the odds are in your favor, please follow me on Twitter @stillsaneshane.

Thank you all for shuffling your schedule to be here. Have a wonderful day. 

Sources: 90s Nostalgia, BRomeroC, Nintendo Enthusiast, Lucadian Chronicles, The Playing Card Factory, Yhe_WyvernTrue PlayWorksTv, Vysethedetermined2

Featured Image: Vectorstock