After Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed Reaches the Top, Who Is Working Behind the Scenes on Switch 2

When the lights go out and the room falls silent, what really sends a chill down your spine is often not a monster lunging at your face, but that creeping sense of pressure closing in step by step. Looking at this latest Switch 2 exclusive ranking, I got a bit of that feeling too. On the surface, it’s just another media ranking. But once you really think about it, it feels more like a flashlight, clearly illuminating the core lineup Nintendo most wants players to see next.

Recently, IGN Nintendo expert Logan Plant put together a first-party Switch 2 game ranking, fully sorting 14 first-party exclusive Switch 2 titles published by Nintendo. At the very top was Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed; in second place was Mario Kart World. Third through fifth went to Pokémon Pokopia, Kirby: Sky Riders, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Switch 2 Edition, respectively. The order itself is interesting, like a half-open door: you can still see Nintendo’s familiar silhouette, but you can also catch a hint of a new platform testing the market.

What’s even more unsettling is that this ranking did not include the NS2 versions of The Legend of Zelda series. The reason is straightforward: it only counts brand-new content, not enhanced ports of older titles. That filtering standard is crucial, because it essentially puts “the truly new things this platform can offer” directly on display. Viewed calmly, this isn’t a contest of nostalgic back-catalog stockpiles, but a competition to see which games can serve as the first wave of Switch 2’s flagship representatives.

I’m not surprised that Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed climbed to No. 1. Its rise to the top, to some extent, shows that players’ trust in Nintendo’s classic IP is still there—and still very solid. In the early stage of a platform, what people fear most is often not the lack of games, but the lack of a title that instantly looks “worth buying the console for.” Putting Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed in this spot sends a very direct signal: Nintendo is still relying on its veteran characters for its core firepower, and for now, that strategy is still working.

But what really catches my attention is not just who took first place, but the composition of the top five. Mario Kart World covers the broadest mainstream audience; Pokémon Pokopia and Kirby: Sky Riders continue to hold steady with all-ages players; and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Switch 2 Edition is like that cold light at the end of a dark hallway, reminding you that Nintendo hasn’t let go of hardcore players either. In other words, this ranking already spells out Switch 2’s exclusive strategy quite clearly: new entries in classic IP remain the core driving force behind the console’s appeal.

If you’re currently on the fence about Switch 2, this ranking can serve as a simple but effective reference. If you prefer lighthearted family-friendly fun and want to jump in with the launch hype, keep a close eye on Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed and Mario Kart World; if you care more about franchise pull and the depth of the lineup to come, then you should also watch how Pokémon Pokopia, Kirby: Sky Riders, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Switch 2 Edition perform. After all, the mood of a console’s first year is most at risk of becoming like a cheap jump scare—loud for a second, then gone. Nintendo right now, by contrast, feels more like a slow-burn buildup, gradual but constantly applying pressure.

At the end of the day, this ranking is not an official conclusion, but it feels very much like an early rehearsal of where public opinion is headed. What it tells us is not just why Donkey Kong: Banana Power Unleashed ranks first, but also serves as a reminder to everyone: in the Switch 2 generation, what Nintendo remains most confident in is still those classic characters you think you already know, but that always manage to pull you back in through some new approach. As for whether this lineup can ultimately lock players fully into the Switch 2 ecosystem, that will depend on whether the titles that follow can turn this chill in the air into real staying power.