The Nintendo Switch puts countless games at your disposal, but the device is capable of a lot more than just gaming. It isn't all about trading turnips and saving princesses from spiny turtles, you know.
If you're now wondering what else your Switch is capable of, read on to learn about the best Nintendo Switch apps we think everyone should install.
1. FUZE4 Nintendo Switch
If you've ever been playing a Switch title and thought to yourself, "I'd love to make my own Switch game," now you can. You just need to grab a copy of Fuze4 Nintendo Switch from the eShop.
So, what is FUZE4 Nintendo Switch? It's essentially a coding environment that allows you to create original games for the popular console, which uses its own programming language.
This makes it fantastic for myriad reasons. First, it converts the Switch into a powerful STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) tool, allowing you to code anything your heart desires, really.
Second, it makes the Switch an educational device and a gaming device, especially with home schooling very much on the current agenda.
Perhaps incorporating Switch game coding into the home curriculum is a way to keep children engaged with learning, in a way that interests them. Simple coding apps like FUZE4 are a great way for kids to learn to program.
The creators of FUZE4 pride themselves on an app that makes coding accessible. So, if you'd like to learn the ropes in a user-friendly environment, with tutorials to guide you, then FUZE4 could be the app you need.
Download: FUZE4 Nintendo Switch ($19.99)
2. KORG Gadget
If you want to try your hand at producing some music, you can turn your Switch into a portable studio with KORG Gadget. KORG Gadget is a DAW (digital audio workstation), working much like any similar music production packages on Windows or Mac. This is just via your console instead.
This is a really neat (albeit fairly expensive) app that gives you access to a wide variety of instruments, known as soft synths. These are software versions of synthesizer hardware that you might find in a modern music store.
The software works well with the Switch Lite, but the standard Switch is a better option for the KORG Gadget app. There are several reasons for this.
First, you can display the app on a larger screen, making it easier to see what you are doing and to manipulate small control knobs, for example.
Second, you can use the Switch's Joy-Cons to manipulate the sounds you have made, simply by using arm gestures. Which is great fun if you team up with seven others (you can have up to eight users in a "band") for a remote jam night.
For extra game-nerd brownie points, there is a synth gadget available called the NAMCO CUSTOM30, which you can use to take your Switch to chiptune heaven.
Download: KORG Gadget ($48)
3. Colors Live (With SonarPen)
Colors Live is a fairly unique art app on the Switch scene. The app is available via the Colors Live Store. Purchasing a bundle from the store will net you access to the app, plus a cool gadget to help you draw on your Switch (more on that below).
The app is where your creations come to life as actual works of digital art. You use your Switch screen as you would a graphics tablet, the touch screen acting as a surface to draw on and display your work.
The app also gamifies art. So, for example, it might challenge you to create a realistic drawing of a wild animal in a jungle, but only using base tools and colors. This is a great way to learn how to use the app and improve your digital art skills at the same time.
Again, because of the size of the touchscreen and the ability to use a larger display, the standard Switch is the obvious choice to use with Colors Live.
However, it is how you draw that is the real magic in this scenario. The app works with a device called the SonarPen. This plugs into the headphone jack on your Switch and, by some form of modern technical sorcery, you can then use the SonarPen to draw on your Switch touchscreen.
Not only that, but the SonarPen is also pressure sensitive, so it can translate your on-screen gestures into paintbrush strokes of varied opacity, or give a charcoal brush a more authentic look.
Buy: Colors Live with SonarPen (prices vary)
4. RPG Maker MV
Next, we return to video game creation with RPG Maker MV.
RPG Maker MV is the Switch port of the PC version of the software. As you have probably guessed by the name, you use it to make RPGs. So, you are in charge of the game world, its characters, any monsters or enemies, and the storyline.
There is a limitation in the Switch version when compared to the PC variation. The Switch port doesn't allow users to import their own characters into the game. The PC version allows you to design and use your own character sprites, while the Switch version doesn't.
However, there is still a lot of fun to have in making your own RPGs. This would be perfect for anyone who loves games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, or (of course) The Legend of Zelda.
Again, there are several educational implications here. First, it teaches level design, allowing users to choose from thousands of assets to design and build their pixelated paradise.
Second, you have the story-writing aspect of designing a game, plus any dialog you need to bring the characters to life. These are all skills that have real-world implications and which could provide a fun and unique solution for home teaching.
You can also play the games once you have made them, using the RPG Maker MV Player. This provides a great way to test your games as you develop them.
Buy: RPG Maker MV ($49.99)
5. InkyPen
Do you like comic books? Carrying an enormous pile of the things is hardly the most convenient way to enjoy the artform on the go. What you need is a comic book reader.
InkyPen brings comic books from a wide range of publishers to the Nintendo Switch. Some comic books are available for free, so it is a great way to try the service and see if it suits you. If you like it, you'll need to subscribe, and that will set you back $7.99/month. Which isn't bad even if you read just 10 comics per month.
However, don't shrug off the free range of comic books. While you may not get the latest Spider-Man story arc, or be able to catch up with the caped crusader, there are some fantastic free titles, including IDW Publishing's Locke and Key, which later became a Netflix series of the same name.
Download: InkyPen (Free, $7.99/month subscription)
Use Your Switch for More Than Just Gaming
While you're likely to use your Switch for gaming most of the time, these apps offer an outlet for you to pursue other hobbies.
If you've always talked about creating your own game or trying your hand at producing music, the Switch is as good a tool as any to give you a taste of these new pursuits.
