Topic: Nintendo Switch Sports

Played some bowling and tennis with my brother today. He came over and we did some Splatoon 2, Switch Sports and Zombie Army 4.

He loved the Tennis so much. Idk why but that was his favorite sport. After a few matches I started to like it a lot more than I initially did. Tennis really is quite good.

@Silly_G
I've read that if you play a sport without NSO, it will start you in a "trial mode" with easy bots, and yes you still unlock customization options with it.

@Kermit1
It's very good. I have had some issues putting right spin on the bowling ball being right handed (your hand can't twist as much to the right) but I'm sure with some practice I'll get it.

Nintendo life review said Switch sports unlockable customizations can only be earned by playing online matches. Below is a quote from the review.

You can customise your avatar with a handful of different hairstyles, clothing colours and… well if you're playing locally that's about it. You see, the lion's share of customisation items and equipment are exclusively unlocked in the online mode through a rotating series of collections, meaning anyone who doesn't have an internet connection or just wants to play with their friends or family locally is stuck with the fairly meagre default lineup. If you happen to unlock all the available items from each collection at one time, you'll also be prevented from unlocking anything new until the next collection drops seven days after the most recent. Miis have been sidelined we’re sure in part to allow more customisation (although you can still play as your Mii if you wish), but when that customisation is so artificially restricted we can’t help but have a bit of a sour taste left in our mouths.

Oh, Nintendo's delving into that side. The video review showcases it clearer but the customization situation is pretty much Nintendo's take on battle passes.

@WoomyNNYes @Silly_G
And they're right, but what NintendoLife failed to mention is that if you join an online mode without NSO it pairs you with bots, and progress counts toward unlockables.

https://www.polygon.com/23049199/nintendo-switch-sports-award...

So, are Switch Sports online bowling games always ten frames? In real life bowling and in video games, ten frames always seems to drag on for me.

@JaxonH Oh, really? That's better than excluding people without NSO. Thanks for clarifying.

@WoomyNNYes
Sure thing.

Yes, bowling is always 10 frames. But you bowl concurrently now, instead of consecutively, so the 10 frames literally takes 5 minutes, if that.

@JaxonH Ahhhh! I'm glad I asked, then. Thanks

Having a blast with this so far. Always loved the bowling but I'm happy Badminton and Volleyball turned out great and I'm surprised how much I've enjoyed Soccer. One thing I didn't expect to like at all was online play but I've been addicted. Even won in Pro League Bowling, E rank but still I usually get smoked in FPS, fighting games, racers, etc so this was a nice change. All those years playing Bowling on the original Wii paid off.

I'm enjoying the game, but do think it needs more than additional sports to be really great. Hopefully Nintendo details their plans for Nintendo Switch Sports beyond Golf in the next general Direct, and that'll determine where I stand on the game in relation to the other entries. It has the potential to be better than Wii Sports Resort with the right updates, even with less activities.

What I would like to see added in a future update is individual progression stats that can be earned both offline and online. In the previous entries of the Sports series, that was done with the Pro level chart. Pro League in this game isn't the same and is community dependent. The other update I want to see is more potential to earn points from all sports besides Bowling. The least involved sport shouldn't have the highest participation points, and I've reached the point a few times where I gave up on playing the other sports because the point distribution is unbalanced. There needs to be a more even spread of incentives. 6 Gutter Balls in Bowling earns you more points than a victory in Chambara. That's wrong.

The game is a very strong 7 for me at the moment as a few tweaks here and there can bring it to a 9. That's what is frustrating to me about this release. It's so close to being really great.

If you're looking to really sink your teeth in and play this game a ton, that seems fair.

If you're like me and just want it to bust out every now and then for some bowling, golf or tennis, it's perfect as is. I don't even care about the customization options tbh. I haven't played online yet. I just like hopping in and bowling for a bit. Played against my mom earlier and she actually beat me, despite not holding a joycon in her life 😀 I always try to be too fancy putting spin on the ball. But, it's more fun that way.

Really enjoying it so far. All the games play well and are fun. This game clearly won't be for everyone, but for people that want a simple but fun sports game, it is exactly that. It is why I am a bit annoyed at the reviews for it. Many reviews keep seeing the simplicity as a bad thing, but it is meant to be simple. It's like reviewing Breath of the Wild and thinking it relies too much on fighting enemies. A Zelda game is meant to be about fighting enemies. Nintendo Switch Sports is meant to be a simple sports came, which it evidently is.

I had an idea. What if there was an update so that you could freely roam Spocco Square? Kinda like the plane flyby on Wii Sports Resort.

Realistically it won’t happen but the thought of it is really appealing. All the areas are so well designed that I couldn’t help it.

Random question, does Switch Sports utilize the Game Invites feature from the Switch main menu? I've kinda been keeping track of which games do and do not use it.

Played some bowling online.

Loved how fast frames went. My one complaint is the random rewards on leveling up. I got a pink bow for the hair, a pink unicorn sword, and a pair of glasses (I'm a guy with 20/15 vision, mind you). That's going to make it a drag trying to customize. Which is why I'm pretty much content just using the default characters for quick matches every now and then. I'd love to customize but, at the rate it's going it'll be 2023 before I actually get anything cool worth wearing.

@ChameleonBros
Not sure- that's a good question. I played randoms tonight, but if someone fires up the friend mode, they should be able to see if you can send an invite. I'll check tomorrow if nothing else.

I don't know about free roam, but I could definitely imagine running courses within Spocco Square. Every physical copy came with a leg strap I'm pretty sure, so I would hope there's more to that implementation than just soccer/football. Ring Fit Adventure already proved plenty can be done.

Me, my aunt and grandma tried some bowling this weekend, but it wouldn't let us throw it 50 % of the time? It just said "do this and that", even thought the ball got thrown, but it would reset the throw.

@TommyTendo did that for us a couple times too. Even when we did hold ZR

@NintendoByNature @TommyTendo
I don't have that issue, but my mom and coworker did when first trying it.

I think it has to do with the orientation of the joycon when you start holding ZR (should be facing upwards, pointed at the sky), and your motion has to be fast enough that you roll before the final step forward on screen.

With practice, everyone who played with me got it down perfectly after adjusting their form

@JaxonH yea you're probably right. It's seemed fine as of recently though.

Also they should add training mode game like the first one