The Nintendo Switch

[azrael]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

...The reviews are (subjectively) wrong.  For one, I didn't appreciate how bad the bezels are on the Switch until I got a Steam Deck.  The Switch OLED has a slightly larger screen than the original Switch, but the console itself is the same size simply because Nintendo shrunk the bezels.  But the difference in the quality of the screens in absurd.  If you think of the OLED as if you're looking at colorful flowers in bright sunlight, the original Switch is like looking at those same flowers at night with fingerprint-covered glasses.

I think the number of years you've had the 2019 revision have probably made up in ROI to invest in the OLED revision. 😁 For me, mine has lived mostly in the dock so I haven't felt the need to get the OLED.

[sh9000]

 

[Old_Nash_II]

Invasion on Federation planet!

[Raikkonen]

Been playing the Demo. Loving it.

 

[Old_Nash_II]

 

For a moment, I believed in a FF-6 sequence

(Airship, face with scar, white hair and a Setzer cloth style XD)

[mikeszekely]

Ok, I mean, I'm totally in for Metroid, Marvel Vs. Capcon, Fantasian, and Metal Slug.  But you guys missed some bangers.

 

 

 

[Mommar]

5 hours ago, Old_Nash_II said:

Invasion on Federation planet!

I'm hoping 2025 means it's a stealth Switch 2 bridge game.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, Mommar said:

I'm hoping 2025 means it's a stealth Switch 2 bridge game.

I'm just hoping the Switch 2 is backwards compatible.

[azrael]

Having a backwards compatible Switch 2 would probably make me get it sooner rather than later.

[Scyla]

I‘m excited for Metroid Prime, the Brothership and Zelda game.

I‘m a bit worried about the gimmicky nature of the Zelda game which already greatly disliked in TotK. I just want Zelda with the Master Sword hitting enemies but I guess that is what the ALttP Randomizer is for.

No Silk Song though? Buuuh!

Dragon Quest Remake might be a buy as well but I have no time to play it. 

[davidwhangchoi]

i'm getting ace attorney investigations physical copy.

[hutch]

Wow.  I haven’t wished I still owned a Switch in a long time, but this is definitely making me wish I did!

[mikeszekely]

To be fair, a lot of these games are multiplatform. I'm going to get Dragon Quest, Fantasian, Marvel vs Capcom, and Ace Attorney on PC.

[Mommar]

I am getting more and more stoked for Marvel Vs. Capcom.  They've even added options like Magneto and Juggernaut are now playable in COTA.

[Seto Kaiba]

I've got a good feeling about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.  It looks like it's built on the same engine that was used for the remake of Link's Awakening.  IMO, that did an excellent job of recreating the feel of classic Zelda from the 16-bit era in a modern context.

I'd figured it wouldn't be long before we saw a Legend of Zelda game where you play as Princess Zelda, given the recent success of Princess Peach's first solo outing in Princess Peach: Showtime!.

[mikeszekely]

15 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

I'd figured it wouldn't be long before we saw a Legend of Zelda game where you play as Princess Zelda, given the recent success of Princess Peach's first solo outing in Princess Peach: Showtime!.

Second.

And, frankly, the first time was better (if a tad sexist).

[Seto Kaiba]

2 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Second.

Duly noted, thanks for the information. 😀

 

2 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

And, frankly, the first time was better (if a tad sexist).

Hrm... I thought Princess Peach: Showtime! was a pretty solid title for what it was.  Enough so that I was kind of surprised by how short it ended up being.

If the previous one was better, I might have to look that one up.

[mikeszekely]

5 minutes ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Hrm... I thought Princess Peach: Showtime! was a pretty solid title for what it was.  Enough so that I was kind of surprised by how short it ended up being.

If the previous one was better, I might have to look that one up.

I thought it was a bit gimmicky, especially the patisserie stuff, with overly simplistic level design.  Oh, and I loathed the controls.  It's been awhile since I played Super Princess Peach, but I remember it giving me almost Yoshi's Island vibes.  It's a lot more like what you'd expect from a 16-bit era Nintendo platformer.

[Seto Kaiba]

47 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I thought it was a bit gimmicky, especially the patisserie stuff, with overly simplistic level design.  Oh, and I loathed the controls.  It's been awhile since I played Super Princess Peach, but I remember it giving me almost Yoshi's Island vibes.  It's a lot more like what you'd expect from a 16-bit era Nintendo platformer.

Gimmicky was expected, IMO... the whole premise borders on minigame collection territory.  I think they struck a pretty good balance between the mechanics of the different plays and delivered a pretty polished experience.  It's more of a casual game for sure, but the presentation is great and it has a certain charm to it.  It's why I wish it was longer.  With just three levels for each of Peach's different transformations and five boss fights, what they had was presented extremely well but there definitely could've been quite a bit more.  The only time I ever really felt annoyed with the controls was that I was never quite sure if it wanted me to match the on-screen prompts for button-mashing sequences or just go ham on that button... and there didn't really seem to be a difference.

For what it's worth, I had fun with it. and the only thing that dragged me away from it was the release of the Paper Mario: the Thousand Year Door remake.  I had a lot of fun with that one... it was nice to see they added some quality-of-life improvements and additional refinements without messing with the game's formula.  (I kind of expected they'd remove the more game-breaking exploits like the "Danger Mario" build out of the game or at least nerf them heavily... but no, they left it as-is and even left is so that if you reduce Mario's max health to 5 he doesn't do his low health animation if his health is full.)  The two new post-endgame bosses were a nice touch too...

Spoiler

Having a Whacka take over as the last boss of the Pit of 100 Trials after you defeat Bonetail was a nice touch, and genuinely a bit scary.  That thing hits harder than the Shadow Queen.

Getting to fight Prince Mush, the first Glitz Pit champion, was a nice touch too.  He has his own original gimmicks, with a stance-based combat system.  It's a bit BS that he has a stance that makes him invincible to everything except Superguards... but oh well.

 

The remake of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon is coming out in a few days too, IINM.  Kinda wish they'd remake the original or at least release an emulated version in the N64.

[jenius]

I assumed Echoes of Wisdom would be from the studio that did Link's Awakening but apparently it'sjust done in the same art style... I think my daughter is going to love making me play it. 

[Jeff J]

2 hours ago, Mommar said:

I am getting more and more stoked for Marvel Vs. Capcom.  They've even added options like Magneto and Juggernaut are now playable in COTA.

I swear that was a feature in one of the versions of the game. Was it the Saturn version?

[Mommar]

59 minutes ago, Jeff J said:

I swear that was a feature in one of the versions of the game. Was it the Saturn version?

The DOS version had both playable.  The Japanese version left in an error that let Juggernaut be playable in 2-player with a code but it was deemed an accident and removed from US/EU versions.  Either way the other releases were all flawed and they're using modified Arcade ROMS here.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I've been waiting for something like the Marvel vs. Capcom package for a long time.  I suspect this guy will be left out though:

[Seto Kaiba]

It looks like Nintendo added another Nintendo Switch Online virtual console to the Expansion Pack today.

It's a second Nintendo 64 virtual console app specifically for M-rated games.  Right now, it has only two games: Perfect Dark and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.

[mikeszekely]

Tons of stuff leaking about the Switch 2, which is apparently the actual name.  Nintendo's official announcement is supposed to be by March 31st, but some are speculating that it could be announced this month (I've heard once leaker claiming as soon as today, but we'll see), with an April release date.

I'm guessing I'm in, especially if it's backwards compatible as most leaks claim.  I don't play with my Switch OLED super often anymore, as I'm largely a PC gamer an my ROG Ally X handles most of my portable needs, but Nintendo still has the best first party games.

[davidwhangchoi]

the hype is building...

Nintendo just announce it already

[kajnrig]

Micro SD Express?

[mikeszekely]

5 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Micro SD Express?

It's a newer Micro SD standard. Basically means faster read/write.

[azrael]

Yes, it’s from the Nintendo YT account. Nope, it’s not a fan render. 

[mikeszekely]

I mean, Nintendo still makes some of the best games, so I figure I'm in. I just wish they'd launch with OLED.

[davidwhangchoi]

April 2nd here we go!!!

 

31 minutes ago, azrael said:

Yes, it’s from the Nintendo YT account. Nope, it’s not a fan render. 

i love 2018 tech! (but i heard it uses the Hall Effect analogue sticks to resolve joy con drift.)  

[davidwhangchoi]

double post:

hopefully solves the scalper problems the PS5 had.

[jenius]

I'm shocked they didn't go with the name "Super Switch" like the ol' Super Nintendo. I ridiculed the idea of the Switch when it was first announced and ultimately it was the only system I bought of the generation and I loved it. I'll let the dust settle and probably grab one as a gift for the next holiday season. 

[kajnrig]

I'm weirdly not excited about this. I think the bevy of PC handhelds has taken away some of the novelty, Switch 2 seems like a follower in more ways than one.

I'm sure the games will make it interesting once those are announced. Heck, even just a look at Switch 1 games running better on Switch 2 might do it for me.

[azrael]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I mean, Nintendo still makes some of the best games, so I figure I'm in. I just wish they'd launch with OLED.

I'm probably game as well. But I'll wait closer to end of year so bugs can be worked out. I'm going to assume economy of scale and supply chain is the reason the initial model will not be OLED and that a OLED version will eventually make it's way down the road (mid-cycle upgrade).

3 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

love 2018 tech! (but i heard it uses the Hall Effect analogue sticks to resolve joy con drift.)  

Again, scale and supply chain. If this maintains a $400-$500 price point, older, proven components that can be sourced cheaply are better than newer, more expensive components. Word is they've been demo-ing the device for the past couple of years behind closed doors at conventions. They've likely been building reliable supply chains to keep up with possible demand.

2 hours ago, kajnrig said:

I'm weirdly not excited about this. I think the bevy of PC handhelds has taken away some of the novelty, Switch 2 seems like a follower in more ways than one.

Enough time has passed that the handheld market is now flooded. The original Switch was a leader in this before all the others came out of the woodwork. Judging by the leaked specs, I suspect ray-tracing, DLSS frame gen & super resolution will likely be required on games moving forward.