The Nintendo eShop has more than 60% off its biggest games including Mario and Legend of Zelda titles

Some of our favourites titles feature on the extensive list

Thursday 28 April 2022 09:41 EDT

Odyssey and Skyward Sword are seeing a big discount (iStock/The Independent)

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The Nintendo eShop is a great place to secure deals on new Nintendo Switch titles as well as some old gems that may have passed you by when they first came out.

Now a new “spring into action” sale is here and there are over 1,000 games on offer. We’ve already spotted some excellent deals on our favourite games – including popular titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

It’s quite rare to find a discounted first-party game from Nintendo at retail and big franchises such as Super Mario and Legend of Zelda very rarely receive the discount treatment, so this is an excellent chance to try out some of the company’s biggest games.

The sale will be running from 28 April through to 8 May 2022, and whether you’re looking for an action-adventure, RPG or even a turn-based strategy game, there’s something here for everyone.

The full list is available to browse on Nintendo’s website, but to save you scrolling, we’ve rounded up our favourite deals below.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD’: Was £49.99, now £33.29, Nintendo.co.uk

Play as Link in this adventure (Nintendo)

Originally released on the Wii back in November 2011, Skyward Sword saw a big change to the Legend of Zelda formula. In fact, it would go on to influence one of the best Nintendo Switch games ever made with Breath of the Wild, introducing a stamina bar and new items.

If you missed it the first time around, the HD remaster has updated the control scheme as well as other quality of life measures, making it an essential experience if you are a longtime fan of the series.

Buy now

‘Mario Odyssey’: Was £49.99, now £33.29, Nintendo.co.uk

Travel around the planet with Cappy (Nintendo)

Where would Nintendo be without its famous Italian plumber? Selling over 750 million titles across different genres, Super Mario is one of the most recognisable fictional characters around the world. With Odyssey, Mario returns to the 3D platformer genre in this globe-trotting adventure with a new sidekick “Cappy”.

It blends the classic action and mobility of previous Mario titles, such as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, with a unique twist that allows Mario to take control of new abilities to explore many of Odyssey’s different worlds such as New Donk City. It just narrowly missed out on the top spot for best Nintendo Switch game, but only marginally. This really is one of the best Mario games out there.

Buy now

‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’: Was £49.99, now £24.99, Nintendo.co.uk

Explore the frosty wilderness (Bethesda)

It’s become a running joke that Skyrim, Bethesda’s monumental role-playing game, has been ported to everything and the Nintendo Switch version of the game was no exception to that. Managing to condence the entirety of the game, including its expansions, onto a handheld is an impressive achievement and loses none of its original charm in the process. At half price, it’s well worth venturing into the frosty expanse to battle dragons, giants and mudcrabs.

Buy now

‘Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle’: Was £29.99, now £11.09, Nintendo.co.uk

Take cover in this tactical game (Ubisoft)

What if Mario had a gun? No, seriously. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a turn-based strategy game that combines the worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom with Ubisoft’s Rabbids. It’s an unexpected crossover, sure, but fans of games like XCOM will see the appeal of moving Mario and his friends through grid-based arenas in a tactical fashion to outflank opponents.

Buy now

‘Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age’: Was £49.99, now £24.99, Nintendo.co.uk

Experience one of Japan’s biggest RPGs (Square Enix)

One of the most popular gaming series in Japan, Dragon Quest’s 11th installment is one of its grandest yet. Players take control of the voiceless hero as the kingdom of Dundrasil is invaded and destroyed by an army of monsters. Along the way, players will forge a team of unlikely allies as they explore a vast continent across land, sea and sky. With artwork from Akira Toriyama, most famous for creating the Dragon Ball series, its one of the most mechanically simple but best looking JRPGs out there.

Buy now

‘Fire Emblem: Three Houses’: Was £49.99, now £33.29, Nintendo.co.uk

Lead your students into battle (Nintendo)

The Fire Emblem series has always been popular in its native Japan with a number of its hallmarks; turn-based combat, large tactical maps as well as being one of the first series to introduce “permadeath” to its characters. If they died, they were gone for good.

Three Houses is the latest instalment in this series. You play as Byleth, a mysterious mercenary-turned-professor of Garreg Mach Monastery who must choose one of three houses to lead into battle.

It balances equal parts strategic combat and social interaction with a wide cast of characters all with different traits and personalities. A single campaign can take up to 80 hours if you want to explore every detail of Garreg Mach. And as there are four possible endings to choose from, there is a tremendous amount of replay value.

Buy now