Nintendo Switch

[Brend]

I know I'm probably late to this news but is it true that the online service will only be $20 USD are year and won't be implemented until 2018?

One of the reasons why I avoided getting myself Xbox Live was the outrageous price, if the Switch is around half that (I know Xbox Live has more features but I mainly just want to play games online), I'm willing to fork over that much for it when it comes to it.

Yep, that's the price Nintendo last quoted. If they stick to it, fair play to them. Although, they really need to work on their infrastructure as it stands, it's a bit worse than Wii U.

 

[Com Fox]

Yep, that's the price Nintendo last quoted. If they stick to it, fair play to them. Although, they really need to work on their infrastructure as it stands, it's a bit worse than Wii U.

Yeah, I heard. No Web Browser stinks for me as well especially since how I much I use Wii Us web browser (I'm on it right now )

Still, good for Nintendo for not charging their consumers to play online until they get their act together and make a good online experience.

 

[Brend]

Yeah, I heard. No Web Browser stinks for me as well especially since how I much I use Wii Us web browser (I'm on it right now )

Still, good for Nintendo for not charging their consumers to play online until they get their act together and make a good online experience.

A Switch web browser would be phenomenal. Here's hoping.

 

[Wolfe]

I have a Switch.

The console itself is about what I expected. The OS is slicker, everything seems sturdy enough, but the Joy-Cons are small! Even with the Joy-Con Grip it's somewhat cramped for my hands, like a Nintendo DS with grips. Usable, but not ideal. Unlike the Wii U, a Pro Controller will be a must. The new touchscreen is also a bit of a downgrade from the Wii U, and these new analog sticks feel strange, though I notice its a cup-on-ball type of design I haven't seen before.

Splatoon 2 seems to be an all-around improvement and might actually be balanced enough to hold my interest this time. There's still poor team balancing and lag kills (though less noticable), but the weapons, stages, and abilities have had an impressive overhaul for balance. If PvP doesn't work out, there's always usually Salmon Run, which is great and not as time-limited as the internet led me to believe. It needs more stages and stage rotation, though. No comment yet on Octo Valley, because I'm only two levels in.

Sonic Mania is amazing. It's Sonic the Hedgehog 4 if there wasn't already a game by that title, and there's so much to explore and discover for replay value, like S3&K. It tops Freedom Planet with ease, and it feels even more legitimate than Another Metroid 2 Remake. I'm up to Press Garden Act 2 so far, at which point the game crashed from a collapsing pile of ice blocks. Oops. I know they're already working on an bug-fixing update. Glitches only make for a more authentic Sega-style experience anyway.

The next game to get will be FAST RMX, and Super Mario Odyssey is two months away! All great games, but frankly, more than anything else it's a relief to be prepared for Xenoblade 2 and not have to worry about holiday stock shortages.

 

[Com Fox]

An untimely event of my bank account getting scammed has put my Switch buying on hold until another month until I get it all sorted .

At least I'll get it eventually and won't miss out on the later October games like Odyssey .

 

[Wolfe]

I saw @Doodle's status update about getting Spla2oon, so I went to send him a friend request...and couldn't, of course, because we're back to friend codes again? Really Nintendo?

Last night I got into Ranked Battles, which turned out pretty well with even more success than Turf Wars. I don't know if it's just early in the game's lifecycle before the more dedicated players dominate, but it felt like I was kicking ass, yet most matches ended with all eight players getting around the same number of splats. I could feel like I did my best, win or lose, unlike the first game's constant lag deaths and having the odds stacked against you if you didn't have certain gear abilities. And the lag deaths. Did I mention the lag deaths?

Roller is doubly my thing now; the new vertical swing is a brilliant simple solution to balance the more powerful rollers while making it quicker to cover distance or climb walls. 👍

 

[Brend]

I saw @Doodle's status update about getting Spla2oon, so I went to send him a friend request...and couldn't, of course, because we're back to friend codes again? Really Nintendo?

Last night I got into Ranked Battles, which turned out pretty well with even more success than Turf Wars. I don't know if it's just early in the game's lifecycle before the more dedicated players dominate, but it felt like I was kicking ass, yet most matches ended with all eight players getting around the same number of splats. I could feel like I did my best, win or lose, unlike the first game's constant lag deaths and having the odds stacked against you if you didn't have certain gear abilities. And the lag deaths. Did I mention the lag deaths?

Roller is doubly my thing now; the new vertical swing is a brilliant simple solution to balance the more powerful rollers while making it quicker to cover distance or climb walls. 👍

The 'Bell Curve' of ranked is now easier to move up on, so you'll be able to play pretty well right up until about B- which seems to be where players end up a bit more mixed. A total change from the first game where it was near impossible to go up to 'A' unless you were really good. 👍

 

[Wolfe]

The 'Bell Curve' of ranked is now easier to move up on, so you'll be able to play pretty well right up until about B- which seems to be where players end up a bit more mixed. A total change from the first game where it was near impossible to go up to 'A' unless you were really good. 👍

Yeah, the new system is better since you get a reprieve for bad luck with a poor team or whatever. Splat Zones has been a slow climb, but in Rainmaker I jumped to B real quick. Tower Control didn't come up yet, maybe tonight.

Again, it's still early, but the gameplay experience just seems more fair overall. I'm impressed by how they applied lessons learned from the first game. I'm no multiplayer shooter guy, but the first game hooked me on the concept and this game might hook me on its execution.

 

[Doodle]

I saw @Doodle's status update about getting Spla2oon, so I went to send him a friend request...and couldn't, of course, because we're back to friend codes again? Really Nintendo?

Yeah I know, I hate it as well. My friend code is 5001-7352-8348 if you or anyone else would like to add me

 

[Com Fox]

Curious to anyone whose played it. How's FAST RMX? Is it any harder than Neo?

Been playing FAST Racing Neo for a bit and have already beat the main mode and even getting top 100s in the Hypersonic cups and HERO mode with most of them only taken 3 triesm now not saying the game is easy (I think a lot of people would find it brutal) but the game felt easy once you were comfortable with the speed and everything feels slow.

Also is their any new content? I heard a lot of stuff from Neo was reused.

 

[Wolfe]

@RESHIRAM -- I haven't scooped up FAST RMX quite yet, but I do know that it's a port with extras like MK8DX rather than a sequel, so there's some new crafts and tracks but it's not supposed to be all-new and going through the singleplayer modes is probably a similar experience.

 

[Brend]

There's quite a lot of new content and an update this month will add even more new free stuff.

 

[Wolfe]

Awesome, great timing for me. 👍

 

[C_Raccoon23]

I'm definitely going to try to get my hands on one of these.

 

[Brend]

That is nice!

Packed end of year for me in terms of retail releases on Switch:

Mario Odessey
Sonic Forces
LA Noire
Doom
Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Not bad! Will also look to pick up Stardew Valley, Golf Story and Gear.Club Unlimited in amongst that.

 

[Silver Arrows]

I mean, Bethesda's support of the Switch is still all fine and dandy, but specifically, I'm wondering how iD manages to run Doom on a much less powerful system then even an Xbox One and PS4, and still keep the rock solid 60 FPS and buttery smooth graphics. More generally, I'm wondering if this is the same sort of thing we saw with Ubisoft in regards to the Wii U, where it was basically launch era friendliness that soon deteriorates back to the mean that we know of: Nintendo being way too picky with what third parties do, and third parties not bothering.

 

[Brend]

I mean, Bethesda's support of the Switch is still all fine and dandy, but specifically, I'm wondering how iD manages to run Doom on a much less powerful system then even an Xbox One and PS4, and still keep the rock solid 60 FPS and buttery smooth graphics. More generally, I'm wondering if this is the same sort of thing we saw with Ubisoft in regards to the Wii U, where it was basically launch era friendliness that soon deteriorates back to the mean that we know of: Nintendo being way too picky with what third parties do, and third parties not bothering.

Don't jump to conclusions, iD hasn't claimed either of those assumptions yet. Unrealistic to expect 60fps since most PS4 titles can't even manage it. If it runs well enough, it's good enough given the benefit of having a portable version of Doom.

No point in stringing it up against the PS4 and XBO when you point out the difference in power. 30fps locked would be fine with me. Just have to wait and see what the approach will be.

 

[Silver Arrows]

I'm just going off what I played on PS4, and what the capabilities of ID Tech 6 are going to translate to on the Switch, which should be interesting nonetheless.

 

[Wolfe]

Glad to have confirmation that Xenoblade 2 is right on schedule (XCX was December 4)! I already have the Special Edition pre-ordered, and since I haven't gotten a Pro Controller yet I may as well get the themed controller.

The combat looks like it marries the strategy and teamwork of XC1 with the breadth and choice of XCX, which is very promising. It was easy to spot that a portion of the bestiary is directly inherited from XC1, which reinforces the similarity to Final Fantasy as a franchise, but the new story details have me intrigued by the similarities to Soma Bringer, a little-known DS action RPG from Monolith Soft that preceded XC1. Hmm...

Then there's Super Mario Odyssey...man, talk about pulling out all the stops! It looks like Nintendo really outdid themselves. I wonder how large each kingdom really is, if each one has so many moons and there are more we haven't seen. I also expect Kirby Star Allies to have some very devious secrets with all those copy ability possibilities. Seriously, what a far cry from the conservative efforts on Wii U, as much as I appreciated the Wii U's library.

I was flatly uninterested but nevertheless quite surprised to see Doom. Like you, @Silver Arrows, I'm not sure if this is just a repeat of the Wii U's early months, but the Switch has real momentum and undeniably has a much better library in the same timeframe. I'm biased for Nintendo but the Wii U was so starved for software that I actually could not have cared less about the console for most of its first year. Though the PS4 and XBone weren't any better IMHO.

 

[Com Fox]

Not a fan of download bundles, so I'm probably going to pass on waiting for the bundle.

 

[Brend]

I really thought Platinum would have had some form of announcement but I guess they're making us wait.

@Wolfe - XC2 is looking very good but the character designs are a bit...out there. Pyra needs some clothes!

 

[Darla Starch]

@Wolfe Pyra needs some clothes!

Not according to most JRPG cliches. In that scenario, she's reasonably armored.

 

[Epic B]

I mean, Bethesda's support of the Switch is still all fine and dandy, but specifically, I'm wondering how iD manages to run Doom on a much less powerful system then even an Xbox One and PS4, and still keep the rock solid 60 FPS and buttery smooth graphics. More generally, I'm wondering if this is the same sort of thing we saw with Ubisoft in regards to the Wii U, where it was basically launch era friendliness that soon deteriorates back to the mean that we know of: Nintendo being way too picky with what third parties do, and third parties not bothering.

I imagine the Switch port of Doom will run at 30 fps and have a slight graphical downgrade. Sonic Forces is going to be the same deal.

That is nice!

Packed end of year for me in terms of retail releases on Switch:

Mario Odessey
Sonic Forces
LA Noire
Doom
Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Not bad! Will also look to pick up Stardew Valley, Golf Story and Gear.Club Unlimited in amongst that.

Those are all on my radar except for Xenoblade.

I picked up my Switch on Sunday. Loving it so far and it's great to see the support its already getting from third parties. I've been playing a lot of Puyo Puyo Tetris and Mario Kart on mine. I also have Sonic Mania and Zelda though I haven't played them as much

Also, that Mario Odyssey bundle looks great. I will no doubt pick up the game.

 

[GTV0819]

Is there any new Pokemon game that might come out for the Switch? Something that is very similar to the 3DS version. Would love to see that for the Switch.

 

[Com Fox]

Is there any new Pokemon game that might come out for the Switch? Something that is very similar to the 3DS version. Would love to see that for the Switch.

There is supposed plans for Pokemon to move on to the Switch next year after Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

 

[Brend]

Is there any new Pokemon game that might come out for the Switch? Something that is very similar to the 3DS version. Would love to see that for the Switch.

Like @RESHIRAM5 said, Nintendo has confirmed a mainline title is in the works.

 

[GTV0819]

There is supposed plans for Pokemon to move on to the Switch next year after Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Ok thanks for the reply. That's good to know.

What about a new Saints Row game for the Switch? That would be awesome too.

 

[Epic B]

Anyone else have Puyo Puyo Tetris on the Switch? That game is fun if you like puzzle games.

 

[Brend]

Anyone else have Puyo Puyo Tetris on the Switch? That game is fun if you like puzzle games.

I have the game but can't stand the characters and art design. The puzzle gameplay is great though.

 

[Wolfe]

Anyone else try the demo for Project Octopath Traveller?

I'm not completely sure what to think, the storytelling is clumsy for Primrose and serviceable but unremarkable for Olberic, and the visual style is so unnecessarily muddy and over-processed, but the combat is promising (even though you can steamroll everything in the demo if you grasp the mechanics) and I'm definitely curious how the Path Actions will play out in more of the quests.

@Wolfe - XC2 is looking very good but the character designs are a bit...out there. Pyra needs some clothes!

It remains to be seen whether this game will continue offering a diversity of armor for characters. It occurred to me that there seem to only be three playable characters as far as Drivers go -- Rex, Tora, and Nia -- which is small by JRPG standards, but their story-relevant Blades make for a total of six, only one fewer than XC1. So assuming we can change outfits for Drivers (which is likely, official videos for XC1 and XCX never showed characters in anything but their original outfits), will there be armor for the primary Blades? And what about the other unique Blades? Tetsuya Takahashi said in an interview that there are many more of those beyond the bird-like character we saw in the Direct.

I sure wouldn't mind giving Rex an outfit that is a little less belts-and-zippers.