Danial Norjidi
Nintendo recently revealed the top 30 best-selling Switch games on the Japanese eShop for 2021, with titles from a wide variety of genres making the list.
Emerging as the top best-selling game from the eShop for Japan was Monster Hunter Rise, the most recent entry in Capcom’s critically acclaimed action role-playing game series.
First released on March 26 last year, Monster Hunter Rise is set in the ninja-inspired land of Kamura Village and sees players “explore lush ecosystems and battle fearsome monsters to become the ultimate hunter”. The game allows players to hunt solo or with friends to earn rewards that they can use to craft a wide variety of weapons and armour.
Taking the second spot on the list was online multiplayer social deduction game, Among Us.
Developed by Innersloth, the highly popular Among Us sees four to 15 players join together as they attempt to prepare their spaceship for departure. However, one or more random players among the crew are impostors aiming to eliminate everyone else.
Meanwhile, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl placed third and fifth on the list. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes from 2021 that provide a re-imagining of the adventure first embarked upon in the original Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl released 15 years prior.
As the protagonist, the player adventures across the Sinnoh region, catching wild Pokémon and making new friends as they strive to complete their Pokedex, an electronic device that catalogues and provides information on the various species of Pokémon.
Fourth spot went to Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!, the latest entry in a long-running series of board-game style video games. The game from Konami sees players become the president of a railroad company and acquire properties across Japan with the goal of having the highest total assets in the country.
Human Fall Flat was the sixth game on the list. Developed by No Brakes Games, Human Fall Flat is described as “a hilarious, light-hearted physics platformer set in a world of floating dreamscapes. Each dream level provides a new environment to navigate, from mansions, castles and Aztec adventures to snowy mountains, eerie nightscapes and industrial locations”.
The seventh game on the list was Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, an enhanced port of the title that originally released on the Wii U in 2013, which also brings with it additional content. As described by Nintendo, “In Super Mario 3D World, choose from Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad and set off to save the Sprixie Kingdom.” Meanwhile, Bowser’s Fury is a new adventure in which Mario arrives on Lake Lapcat to find that Bowser has become gargantuan, has lost all control and is on a rampage.
Nintendo’s mascot also appears in the eighth game on the list, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the 2017 enhanced Switch version of Mario Kart 8, which initially launched on the Wii U in 2014.
Featuring all previously released downloadable and additional content, the game sees players engage in kart racing, controlling various characters from Nintendo franchises and making use of an array of items they can collect and use to gain an advantage against opponents.
Minecraft took the ninth spot on the best-sellers list. In the ever popular Minecraft, players “explore randomly generated worlds and build amazing things from the simplest of homes to the grandest of castles”. They have the option of playing in creative mode with unlimited resources or delving into survival mode, where they have to mine and gather resources as well as craft weapons and armour to survive and fend off dangerous mobs.
Rounding up the top 10 was fighting game Super Smash Bros Ultimate. This fifth instalment of the Super Smash Bros series sees players do battle by taking control one of a multitude of characters from a roster ranging from Nintendo mascots to characters from third-party franchises.
The next 10 titles on the list are: Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics, a collection of board games, card games and sports games in 11th place; Mario Party Superstars, featuring a collection of classic Mario Party gameboards and minigames in 12th; life simulation game Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 13th; open world adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 14th; cooperative cooking simulation title Overcooked! 2 in 15th; photography game New Pokemon Snap in 16th; mutiplayer action shooter Splatoon 2 in 17th; role-playing game Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin in 18th; Together! Nyanko Great War in 19th; and Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise in 20th.
The final 10 titles listed in the top 30 are: farming and life simulation game Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town in 21st place; action adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD in 22nd; role-playing games Dragon Quest X1 S: Echoes of An Elusive Age and Dragon Quest III in 23rd and 24th; Pokémon Sword in 25th; game creation title Game Builder Garage in 26th; Super Mario Party in 27th; side-scrolling action-adventure game Metroid Dread in 28th; indie role-playing game Undertale in 29th; and role-playing game Miitopia in 30th.
