Recently, TV Asashi in Japan polled 50,000 gamers to figure out the country's top 100 favorite video games of all time and rank them in order. TV Asashi shared the results in a special three hour program, shining a spotlight on Japan's gaming tastes. One of the more interesting revelations from the poll, though, was just how much the Nintendo Switch has been dominating in the country since its launch.
The Nintendo Switch is a powerhouse in Japan, with many of the best selling games in Japan being Switch titles. If anyone needed more evidence of how popular the Nintendo Switch is in Japan, they just need to look at Japan's 10 favorite video games according to the TV Asashi poll. Despite the Nintendo Switch only being about four years old at this point, multiple Switch games appear in Japan's top 10 favorite games of all time.
Here are the top 10 video games of all time according to Japan.
Top 10 Video Games in Japan
10. Super Mario Bros. 3
9. Final Fantasy 10
8. Chrono Trigger
7. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
6. Dragon Quest 3
5. Splatoon 2
4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
3. Final Fantasy 7
2. Dragon Quest 5
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
Before diving into the Switch games that hit the top 10, it's worth pointing out that many games in the full top 100 list are playable on the Switch. The Nintendo Switch gives players access to NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and other legacy games through its Nintendo Switch Online service, so there's plenty for owners of Nintendo's home console/handheld hybrid to check out. For example, the game in the number 10 position on this list of Japan's favorite games is Super Mario Bros. 3, one of the most highly-rated platformers of all time and a game that is readily playable on the Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
The first new Nintendo Switch game in the list is the seventh entry, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A Nintendo Switch exclusive game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the latest installment in Nintendo's ambitious crossover fighting game series. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is lives up to its namesake as the "ultimate" Super Smash Bros. game, featuring virtually every fighter from past entries while also introducing plenty of new fighters to the mix as well.
The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC fighters helped branch the series out like never before, even adding Xbox-owned characters to the roster like Banjo-Kazooie and Steve from Minecraft. It's hard to see how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate could possibly be topped, but it will definitely be interesting to see if Nintendo ever makes an attempt. With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate being named one of Japan's favorite games, it has certainly set the bar high.
The next Nintendo Switch game that made the top 10 is another exclusive to the platform. Splatoon 2 is the sequel to the Wii U multiplayer game Splatoon that features similar gameplay but with more modes and features. Fans already know that a Splatoon 3 game is in development for the Switch, but it remains to be seen if it will be quite as popular as Splatoon 2 has proven to be.
Right after Splatoon 2 is none other than Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which shouldn't come as a big surprise. Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been a massive success for Nintendo, smashing some software sales records and helping drive Switch console sales at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nintendo helped keep fans interested in Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the long haul by regularly releasing content updates for the game that added new features and NPCs, and it just recently released the acclaimed Happy Home Paradise paid DLC for it as well.
And finally, the game that Japan picked as the best video game ever made is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is available for both the Wii U as well as the Nintendo Switch. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most critically-acclaimed video games made to date, and is generally considered a massive step forward for the Zelda franchise. Breath of the Wild being such a high quality game is why hype is so high for the sequel, though Nintendo has still kept it mostly underwraps for now.
There is nope that the Breath of the Wild sequel release date will be sometime in 2022, but Nintendo has not made any official announcement just yet. And while it's hard to say if Breath of the Wild 2 news will come anytime soon, there will definitely be Nintendo Switch game news in the month ahead, and it's possible some of those upcoming games could crack the top 10 in a similar poll one day.
