The comprehensive list of Flip Grip-friendly vertical games for Switch

We're turning the world sideways! [Updated Feb. 15, 2019]

Jeremy Parish February 14, 2019 6:30 PM Read + Mission control for ; former EIC of http://1UP.com and http://USgamer.net ; taking dapper (and frogs) back from the Nazis.

The Flip Grip accessory—conceived here, designed by Mike Choi, and midwifed by Fangamer—succeeded on Kickstarter far beyond anyone's expectations. Now that it's safely in just about everyone's hands (sorry about international shipping speeds, folks), the world can at last play classic arcade games, and other games, that were designed for vertical screens the way they were intended: On the go, with minimal fuss. The good news is that the flow of games that will take advantage of Flip Grip (or vice versa) hasn't slowed one bit since we Kickstarter the Flip Grip, and I have a feeling we'll continue seeing Flip Grip-friendly games throughout Switch's lifetime.

And that, friends, is why this list exists.

We'll be tracking all known Switch games that work with Flip Grip here. That includes available games and upcoming releases alike. Most of these are vintage arcade creations, but there are a few modern titles on here as well. (Lots of pinball, for example.) As new games arrive or are announced, they'll be added to this list.

We'll also make note of games that seem like they should work with Flip Grip but don't. Feel free to reach out to their publishers to ask, "What's up with that?"

If you missed out on the Flip Grip Kickstarter, don't worry: You can still order one via Fangamer!

Arcade Archives

All Arcade Archives games are weekly standalone releases that support screen rotation. The following selections from this series originally appeared on vertical monitors and take advantage of Flip Grip's design.

Alpha Mission

Argus

Bomb Jack

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong Jr.

Front Line

Heroic Episode

Moon Cresta

Omega Fighter

Punch-Out!!

Route-16

Star Force

Terra Cresta

Atari Flashback Collection

AtGames's Atari Flashback Collection for Switch is kind of a mess, but it does work with Flip Grip... albeit not elegantly. The game has a habit of setting the controller orientation to separate/horizontal if you return to the main menu while the Joy Cons are detached from the system. Also, only eight games out of 150 are Flip Grippable—not great, but still better than nothing. On the plus side, those eight vertical arcade titles can be set to automatically rotate to vertical mode, so you don't have to tweak them manually one by one. It's not a perfect setup, but it could be worse.

So which classic Atari arcade games are flip-friendly? Well, that's:

Centipede

Fire Truck

Maze Invaders

Millipede

Monte Carlo

Super Breakout

Super Bug

Soccer

Namco Museum for Switch

All games in Namco Museum for Switch (a single anthology release) support vertical orientation. These are the only ones you'd really want to use it with, though.

Dig Dug

Galaga

Galaga ’88

Pac-Man

Tower of Druaga

Sega Ages

Sega Ages will cover a gamut of source platforms via standalone releases. As new releases are announced (more than 15 games are known to be in the works), we'll add any vertical arcade titles to this list.

Gain Ground*

SNK 40th Anniversary

SNK 40th Anniversary is a single release that contains games from multiple platforms, but a disproportionately large number of them originated on vertical arcade cabinets.

Alpha Mission

Chopper I (post-launch DLC)

Fantasy (post-launch DLC)

Guerilla War

Ikari Warriors

Munch Mobile (post-launch DLC)

Search and Rescue

Sasuke vs Commander (post-launch DLC)

Time Soldiers (post-launch DLC)

TNK III

Vanguard

Victory Road

Standalone releases

A Normal Lost Phone

Another Lost Phone

Danmaku Unlimited 3

Downwell

Dragon Blaze

Gunbarich

Gunbird

Gunbird 2

Ikaruga

Lost Phone Stories

Pinball FX3

Psyvariar Delta*

Samurai Aces

Strikers 1945 II

Zaccaria Pinball

*Denotes a game that has been announced but not yet released.

Support pledged

These games are not compatible with Flip Grip yet, but will be following future content patches.

Nothing currently known

Vertical Mode NOT supported

These games seem like they should work with Flip Grip... but they don't. Look before you leap!

Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Heavy Barrel

Only supports vertical play in the opposite direction. No indication of update plans.

Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Nitro Ball

Only supports vertical play in the opposite direction. No indication of update plans.

Mutant Mudds (Mudd Block mode) Only supports vertical play in the opposite direction.

Shikhondo

Oddly, this newly developed vertical shooter from South Korea doesn't have support for vertical orientation of any kind.

Stern Pinball Arcade Only supports vertical play in the opposite direction.

Stray Cat Doors Only supports vertical play in the opposite direction.



Hey, where are they?

The following publishers have a wealth of great vertical arcade classics in their archives. Feel perfectly free to reach out to them to politely request they get with the program...

Atari

Capcom

Konami

Taito

Tecmo

Image source: VG Museum

Update: Sept. 14, 2018: Devolver Digital has confirmed Downwell will support the correct vertical orientation for use with Flip Grip.

Update: Nov. 19, 2018: Made minor edits and updated SNK 40th Anniversary Collection info.

Update: Nov. 30, 2018: Route-16 added. Also, Flip Grips are shipping!

Update: Dec. 3, 2018: Stern Pinball Arcade and Mutant Mudds were listed as compatible in error; they do not support the correct orientation to work with Flip Grip.

Update: Dec. 12, 2018: Atari Flashback Collection selections confirmed as compatible and added to the list.

Update: Dec. 23, 2018: Arcade Archives: Donkey Kong Jr. added.

Update: Feb. 2, 2019: Arcade Archives: Bomb Jack, Arcade Archives: Moon Cresta, and Downwell added.

Update: Feb. 15, 2019: Arcade Archives: Front Line added.

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