Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@rallydefault
The extra USB-C port at the top does make it a lot more convenient to charge while playing. And I too play handheld at home a lot and can charge easily. But I just like not having cords attached if possible. The Satisfye NSW1 case is actually amazing for NSW2 with Jsaux joycon grips attached, and has a little cubby beneath where the system lies thats the perfect size for storing the Genki magnetic battery, an official charger and USB-C cable and a joycon mouse rail (with wrist strap cut off, of course- that strap is annoying).

@JaxonH, those Pokémon pictures look awesome. And I say that as someone who also looks the current Pokémon art style, lol 🤣. Also like that Nemona is there in that first picture, she's one of my favorite newer Pokémon characters.

@JaxonH
Ah, I'm pretty much a dock charger exclusively. I've only ever plugged in my Lite.

@rallydefault
I'm actually mostly a dock charger myself. But sometimes I do toss the battery on. It's easy to just dock when battery is low though and keep going. One of the benefits of being hybrid.

I just received a cradle charger for one Pro Controller and two Joycon 2. Which is perfect for me since I never bought a 2nd Pro Controller like I did for Switch, and never got a 3rd pair of Joycon like I did for Switch. Just two pairs is plenty. One stays connected to the NSW2 with Jsaux grips, the other is used for split joycon play when docked. And I do have a charge grip in case I ever need a 2nd "Pro Controller". It has the rear GL/GR buttons like the Pro Controller and is actually rather comfortable. Much better value buying the charge grip to use with the extra joycon as opposed to buying a 2nd Pro Controller, imo.

I did take the stock Joycon Grip that doesnt charge or have GL/GR, and I disassembled it by taking the wings off of it so it's just a slab. That fits into my case, and if I play tabletop I can take the Jsaux grip joycon and slap them into the sides of the grip for a makeshift Pro Controller on the go. It's not as nice as the full charge grip but the full grip can't also fit into the case, so it's a good solution I think.

I love little macgyver solutions for Switch 2. Be it the magnetic ring and battery, the 3D printed microSD holder I adhered to the back of NSW2, the disassembled Joycon grip to allow the Jsaux grip Joycon to fit into the sides, the 3D printed mouse accessory (recently got a 3rd party one that's almost identical to my 3D printed one but has a raised tab for the thumb to grip if lifting the mouse off the surface, and has 4 square lights for P1-P4 that illuminates from the Joycon which is a nice touch), the 8"x10" firm mousepad, even the stock Joycon 2 mouse rails with the strap cut off.

It's crazy how much you can improve your experience with relatively cheap fixes and creative solutions. It's actually kind of fun coming up with all these little add-ons and accessories to enhance the experience.

This is unrelated but, I'm really impressed with the built in 3D audio on the NSW2. I was playing Mario Kart World the other day and heard the audio panning around me in handheld mode and was like woah, that sounds impressive! It's nice we can plug in headphones/earbuds to both the system and the pro controller (wish the charge grip also had an audio jack, that's my only issue with it). Crazy the Switch 1 Pro Controller didn't include one.

PSA
Hogwarts Legacy (NSW1) is on sale for $11.99. You can then upgrade to the NSW2 version for $10

This means you can buy the NSW2 version for $21.99. And it's a terrific port. Includes gyro aiming, mouse aiming, and you can seamlessly swap back and forth between mouse and gyro like in Metroid Prime 4.

@ShieldHero
Definitely.

There's no guarantee the next Pokemon will look that good, but given the fact it'll be running on a brand new engine, finally abandoning that crusty old 3DS era engine, and the fact it'll be developed for a system that's a generational leap beyond NSW1, it's gotta at least be a notable improvement from Legends Z-A.

I doubt it will be that good and it's more likely that this is their... Like concept kind of thing? Overall they do slowly improves but they are doing it slowly haha. Especially since ZA ran smooth in switch 1

@JaxonH I've had a few folks suggest taht one to me, maybe I'll spring for it finally!
Looks In Wallet
...I take that back.

@darkfenrir
There was a concept shot but the underwater is actually in-engine, so that gives us a good idea of what to actually expect.

Their small improvements, imo, boil down to being restricted by their dusty old 3DS engine they somehow jerry rigged to run open world HD games. The fact Gen 10 will finally be using a brand new, modern engine designed for open worlds and HD visuals and modern development techniques, combined with the fact it's being developed ground up for Switch 2 instead of Switch 1, a full generational leap in power, means even if it doesn't quite live up to the in-engine demo, it'll still be leaps and bounds beyond what we've seen up through Legends Z-A.

That doesnt mean every single nitpick or issue fans have will be addressed in the next game, but I do think it'll represent the biggest leap forward we've seen yet. And will finally present us with a competent game with regard to visual fidelity. It likely wont be the best looking game on NSW2, but if it even reaches Xenoblade X or Monster Hunter Rise levels of visuals I'll be happy.

I'm all digital with x3 1TB micro SD express cards, one of which is full of NSW1 games and the other two are for NSW2 games. Currently I only need one of them but once it fills up I'll split between exclusives and multiplats.

In order to save space, I was considering archiving Cyberpunk 2077 and opening my physical version (I still double dip with physical if and only if the game is on cart, which makes it fairly cheap and simple to collect games on NSW2), then popping in the cartridge and permanently leaving it inserted to save 60+ GB.

But before doing so I investigated load time differences. For Mario Kart, it seems internal storage is 15 seconds, microSD express is 16 seconds, while cartridge is 24 seconds. That's for the initial load. In game, internal storage is 7 seconds, microSD express is 8 seconds, and cartridge is 12 seconds. So it seems, at least for Mario Kart World, using a cartridge is 50% slower.

For Cyberpunk, however, the initial load was 23 seconds for both internal storage and microSD express, and 29 seconds for cartridge. Which is only 25% slower... half the percentage of loading time added in Mario Kart on cartridge.

I think I can deal with 6 extra seconds in exchange for 60 extra gigabytes. It's like making a swap and getting 10GB additional storage for every 1 second of load time added. My concern is, do textures and assets load in faster on internal storage to the extent that pop-in becomes more noticeable running from a cartridge? That's a test I haven't seen anyone do yet.

I wish one of these analysts or Youtubers would compare games running on internal storage or microSD express to running on cartridge, and check both load time deltas, framerates, and texture/asset pop-in. After all, there's not that many on-cart games to check. Mainly Cyberpunk, Daemon X Machina and Fantasy Life i would need to be tested, followed by Yooka-Replaylee and Sonic Racing Crossworlds. I dont think 1st party really needs the test.

Pokemon Legends Z-A

Never been a Pokemon fan. Tried every game since X/Y and never stuck with any of them. Arceus came close but the low res and framerate eventually turned me off.

Legends Z-A... this game has its hooks in me. The battle system is like Xenoblade 3, in a way. You can crouch, run and dodge roll which helps catching and battling Pokemon feel a lot more engaging. And the mission structure suits it well. Clear cut objectives as well as bonus rewards for completing certain goals, like catch 5 Pokemon, catch 10 Pokemon, catch 5 Normal Types, etc. You'll get a new TM or something each time.

They also have a lot of secrets and exploration. Sections blocked off by rocks, so once you get the move to smash rocks you can break through, then you may be blocked off by a pond, but find a ladder up to a roof, and make your way across the roof ledge and drop down on the other side. Stuff like that. It makes the city feel like a huge maze of secrets. And theres Pokeballs and sparkling items on the ground everywhere.

Idk how Pokemon fans will receive it, but as a lukewarm casual fan I have to say... I'm loving it so far.

@JaxonH
Good to hear. I'm pretty much a "lukewarm casual fan" too lol

@rallydefault
There's obvious shortcomings, which if you weren't aware of you certainly will be when social media is done with you lol. The visuals arent the best and theres no voice acting. But honestly... I think the game looks decent. The fact it's a nice and crisp resolution (4k docked, 1080p handheld) and a smooth 60fps helps immensely. It's kind of wild playing a new Pokemon that's not dropping resolution to 540p and stuttering at 15fps. So even if the visuals are that of a AA game, just being sharp and running smoothly makes a huge difference in the experience.

And it does feel a bit more "modern" in how the player controls than past games. Less rigid, I would say. The sprinting, dodge rolling and crouching animations all seem better than in the past (I think you could do all that in Arceus... maybe not, I can't remember). Theyre making marginal improvements every time, and after playing a bit of Scarlet recently on NSW2 (where it actually looks sharp and runs at 60), this game is noticeably more modern in feel.

I do think it'll be the next Pokemon that really takes us to where we want the series to be (although I suspect they'll still omit voice acting). But this is a fun game. Ive seen some purists dunking on it because of the battle system- ppl who want traditional turn based. But I think this is way more engaging.

The Legends games are definitely the direction I want to see the series go.

@Hapless, the new Digimon game does look intriguing. I would like a Switch 2 release of that one as well, I'd probably try it out eventually.

Ive heard the Digimon game is decent- not great but decent, but hyped up by the anti-Pokemon crowd.

There are some things I really like about Digimon but I just can't stand the monster designs. Super buff masculine monsters exuding some weird vibes lol. But if you're into it dont let me rain on your parade. Enjoy it.

I'm now on mission 5 or 6 in Pokemon Legends Z-A and the game keeps getting better and better. But I did take a break and play some Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter now that it got performance mode patched in. It holds a stable 60 frames and feels wonderful on NSW2 now.

Also started playing more Mario Kart World. Barely played it for the first 4 months after launch but have been doing several Grand Prix cups in handheld mode lately, and I'm blown away with how fun this game is. It's absolutely fantastic! I was having a field day with picture mode on the final track I got 1st place in, barely winning me the Gold Cup

Just watched this Switch 2/ Ally X comparison video, and to my eyes, games look better on Switch 2. The Ally X can do higher framerates but the image quality on demanding games like Cyberpunk, Outlaws, Hogwarts... looks nicer on Switch 2. Cyberpunk especially. Perhaps he's intentionally not using optimal settings with the Ally X, to make the Switch 2 look better in comparison, I don't know. Considering the price difference between the 2, the Switch 2 comes out of this comparison video as the overall winner, battery life and ergonomics aside.

@OorWullie Probably default settings. Cyberpunk was optimized for Switch 2 but presumably not for ROG. Having to mess tons with settings is both a huge disadvantage and arguably also an advantage of the more PC-like devices.

@OorWullie
Thing is, these PC handhelds only achieve high end performance by pulling 35W and then on top of that activating "Turbo Mode", which isnt a viable method of playing games unless you don't mind staying plugged into an outlet. For ROG Ally X specifically, the 17W mode is the one that's truly viable imo, with solid battery life and still runs games well enough. Anything that requires more watts than that isnt worth playing imo.

And ya, when you compare to Switch 2, by and large that $1000 system is going to outclass it. But it wont be a night and day difference. At most you'll squeeze 60fps on some games that run 30fps on NSW2, which dont get me wrong- that's great, but at least personally, the heavy weight of the system, the headache of dealing with Windows, and not just Windows but Windows on a small screen using touch and buttons and on-screen keyboards to navigate, isn't worth it imo. Maybe it is to others, and if so, enjoy. If you have the money and dont mind swinging $1000 on it and have the patience to deal with the tinkering and constant updates, have fun.

I dont think its a bad system. In fact I really like it, for a Windows PC handheld. I'm just over my PC handheld phase. Certainly over my Windows PC handheld phase, anyways. But in the end, if you have a NSW2 that's super fast and responsive and easy to navigate, I dont see much value in dropping $1000 to get 60fps on a few multiplats. But maybe youre a diehard 60fps purist- in that case it might be worth it, ya know? That's definitely not me though.

All that and I haven't said what I originally meant to say- law of diminishing returns works against systems like that. You pay exponentially more money for exponentially less perceived visual quality. The only real gain is getting 60fps for some games, but even then, if you wanna play modern AAA games you best be ok with 30fps unless you plan to run 35W with Turbo Mode all the time and don't value battery life.

Which, if I had one, I'd run every game at 30fps locked just like I do on Steamdeck. Doesn't bother me. But, I can already do that on NSW2 (the library of 3rd party will fill out over the generation). And theres no need to worry about whether there's gyro aiming on NSW2. On PC its always a gamble whether mouse maps to gyro properly.

Yeah, the XBox Ally X is what you get when you try to make a handheld with all the bleeding edge tech that you can get your hands on. Still, even at that price, it's not capable of running most modern games at 60fps and a good chunk of the extra performance is getting eaten up by the inefficiencies of running software that's not fully optimized for it. Even with the huge library of Windows games that I've got, I'm not in the least bit tempted by it. Maybe if Microsoft hadn't just completely gutted Game Pass, it'd be a better proposition, but that ship has sailed now.

The Switch 2, in contrast, is designed to a price. It might be a somewhat higher price than some of us would like, but they've struck a balance with features and performance and it'll probably manage about as well so long as you're getting games that have been thoroughly optimized for what it has to offer.

Its crazy how a few months ago the narrative was that $450 was way too expensive. Now we have $600-800 consoles with $600-1,000 handhelds, and suddenly the $450 hybrid that offers both console and handheld functionality seems like a bargain by comparison. I had a feeling that was going to happen though.

It's wild that both Xbox and PS have consoles that cost $800+ ($830 for PS5 Pro accounting for the disc drive, unless you want digital only for $750), and it's become normalized to the point we dont really think much of it anymore. I remember when $500 was the absolute max a console would cost. Which, theres still the Series S and base PS5 digital as options, but those are less powerful, digital only options I suspect most wont opt for, in the same way most opted for the $350 Switch OLED rather than the $200 Lite or $300 model.

@JaxonH it's wild how quickly "value" perception can change. I felt the price was fair from day 1, but now it really feels like a good deal. I'm more surprised how these aging consoles have increased their price so much, especially XBOX falling so far behind.