The 6 best Nintendo Switch apps

There's no doubt that the Nintendo Switch has been a huge success since its release in 2017. With its amazing game library and unique modular design, the console has proven to be a hit with gamers. . While you can spend hours exploring Hyrule in Breath of the Wild or racing for first place in Mario Kart, the Switch is also home to a number of apps that expand the console's capabilities beyond gaming. Today's article will introduce the best Nintendo Switch apps (not games) for your reference!

1. Nintendo Switch Online

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While you might not think of a Nintendo Switch Online membership as an app, it includes a ton of benefits, arguably the most important of which is an emulator for classic games. Get access to a growing collection of NES, SNES and Game Boy games

Nintendo offers both individual and family plans (up to 8 people per account). There's a 7-day free trial before officially committing to a subscription.

2. Pokémon TV

Pokémon TV is a treasure trove of Pokémon-related content – ​​from episodes of classic TV shows (revisiting the really old stuff), to special events and unique content, like exclusive videos permissions that you can only find on the app.

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There's a whole section of the app specifically for kids, where you can brainwash yourself with catchy Pokémon-themed songs, and even digital Pokémon game cards.

3. Game Builder Garage

Nintendo Labo hasn't exactly worked out for Nintendo, but now the great publisher is focusing its efforts on taking the best parts – game building – and expanding it into a mainstream game creation tool. The formula is called Game Builder Garage.

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This app keeps things pretty simple, walks you through the basics of game creation, and lets you see how it works. Game Builder Garage isn't as robust as Super Mario Maker, and while you can share your creations with specific players, there's still no hub where you can browse other people's creations.

4. Coloring Book

A good 'artistic' Nintendo Switch app is Coloring Book. The app offers lots of drawings to color, including scenes like dinosaurs, space, and construction sites.

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You can do 12 drawings for free (further drawings can be purchased as DLC), so there's a lot you can do without having to pay to see if you or your kids like it.

If you don't want to be bound by existing drawings, get creative on a whiteboard, a blank canvas to draw whatever you like.

5. RPG Maker MV

Many great games have come out of the accessible RPG game development tool, RPG Maker MV, such as Skyborn, Omori and the cult horror film Corpse Party, to name a few. It's simple to understand that porting RPG Maker MV to Nintendo Switch will soon spark your creativity.

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The MV version of RPG Maker is packed with great features, including a much-improved map editor with great layering capabilities, an in-depth event system to stir up drama in your game, and a range of built-in resources (as well as the option to add your own graphics, music and effects).

If you want to see what others have created and shared, download RPG Maker MV Player for free. You get even more amazing and inspiring games.

6. Colors Live

The Nintendo Switch doesn't have many options when it comes to drawing applications of medium complexity, which seems a bit lacking given the console's excellent touchscreen capabilities and sizable handheld screen. Enter Colors Live, an app that you need to purchase from the developer's own website.

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The application would be more complete with a precise pressure-sensitive pen with customizable functions, like stroke and thickness. Colors Live is very much a freehand painting app, but to spice things up, it gamifies your creative journey with a mode that challenges you to draw a little every day using its own progression system .

Both digital and physical versions are available. The developer also offers replacement nibs, more pens, and other accessories for purchase.

Samuel Daniel

Update 06 December 2023