Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I'm from Europe so I didn't watch Game Awards live but I watched the new trailers earlier today.

I'm really excited for Bravely Default II, especially now that Revo is back on board. Absolutely loved the first one even though I still haven't technically gotten the true ending. Took me quite a while to even bother getting the bad ending. The stuff at the end is pretty tiresome but the game was so good otherwise that I don't even care that much.

I bought Bravely Second limited edition back when it came out so I could get the art book but I only dabbled in the game itself. I have the art book and soundtrack for Bravely Default as well. I've been thinking of buying the live concert DVD even though it's on YouTube. I'd guess the new game comes out at the end of the year so I'll try to fit Second in the first half.

Can't say much about No More Heroes since they haven't shown gameplay yet but the trailer was fun. Took me the first half of the trailer to remember we'd already seen that weird alien guy in concept art form back in June.

Ya, after sleeping on it and letting it sink in, I’m really excited for Bravely Default II now as well.

I think the overall disappointment with the show kind of affected my feelings in the moment, but also just having time to reflect on how much better that screenshot looks the more I see it, appreciating how they kept the charming chibi-style while also trimming down on the extent of it (seems a lot less chibi-fied and actually looks great), and also reflecting on how good Bravely Default was. And the soundtrack will be done by the guy who did the original game, and that soundtrack was on point.

So ya, I’m feeling the excitement now... big time. The nostalgia of waiting for the original game to release back when I was brand new to JRPGs is hitting hard. This is a game a lot of people have been wanting ever since Switch released, myself included.

Bravely Default OST
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3W32h-3EHCg

@JaxonH I'm just glad Revo is back. The original BD has an amazing OST.

Also, new characters and world.

I do think Octopath being a thing probably satiated the hunger for a new Bravely title somewhat, though. And the original was mainly anticipated due to the lack of a traditional FF-esque JRPG on 3DS at the time, which is not at all a problem for Switch owners (if anything, I'm finding the JRPG saturation to be a bit much; after DQXI and FF7R, I'll likely give the genre a break for a while).

@Ralizah
Octopath may have served that purpose to an extent, but I also think it was unique enough and different enough that people will still be thirsty for Bravely Default II. It’s true Switch has a killer FF spread the 3DS never had. But it’s also true that Bravely Default scratches the itch in a way only the classic retro FF games can, but in a modern 3D world with more modern graphics and QoL features. Which makes it much more appealing to play than a SNES or PSone FF (at least to me). It retains the old school FF charm without all the trappings of actually being retro.

I want Switch to be the ultimate RPG powerhouse, ten times more than 3DS ever was. But I never feel like a break is needed because it’s not the only genre I play (play basically everything, like right now it’s Assassin’s Creed Rebel Collection, an open world stealth pirate naval combat game, and before that Alien Isolation, a horror game, and before that Pokémon, a collect-em-all RPG, The Witcher 3, a Western RPG, Luigi’s Mansion, puzzle adventure, Dragon Quest XIS and Ni No Kuni, JRPGs, etc). And that rotational balance means never really feeling burned out or needing a break.

2020 is gonna be a monster year for Switch RPGs though. Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Trials of Mana, Xenoblade HD, Bravely Default II and Trails of Cold Steel III are all incredibly exciting. Buckle up. I love nothing more than a handheld with a good RPG and instant sleep mode. And my goodness, the quality of RPGs playable on Switch Lite is such a step up from New 3DS.

I think that's my concern in 2020(for me). If you're not a big rpg fan, im worried it might be a light year. Im slowly getting into the genre. Enjoying Pokemon sword, and surpringsly, I'm absolutely loving the way South park stick of truth plays. It's not just turn based, pick an action and watch cut scene, but your reflexes are put to the test as you get more powerful strikes for striking at the right moment( stop me if you've already played this game 😂).

But in all seriousness, I'm getting doom eternal, the witcher 3 is going to drag over to 2020 for me, maybe devil may cry 3 ( not a big release but it's peaked my interest), trials of mana and hoping for bayo3, botw2, and any rumored metroid game to come in 2020.

Are there any other bigger releases, non rpg that are currently slated for 2020? I cant recall any and that's my concern. Not trying to sound doom and gloom, we still have an early year direct, and e3 for more to be announced, but I'm concerned it might be another 2018 for me.

Thing is....i felt this way at this time last year and boy was i wrong, Nintendo brought it 2019 and didn't let up. So there's always that possibility.

Side note: trials of mana is a day 1 for me, but that's about it for any rpgs in 2020.

Eh. It has a lot more variety in its RPG library, but not nearly as many exclusive ones. It's mainly a device to play home console games portably.

AS AN RPG PLAYER, the Switch is a "nice to have, but not essential" system, sort of like the Vita. 3DS still remains a must.

@NintendoByNature There's a few. Animal Crossing of course (Sim), as you mentioned Doom Eternal (Shooter), Gods & Monsters (Adventure), No More Heroes III (Action-Adventure), Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Action-Adventure), One Piece Pirate Warrior 4 (Musou), Empire of Sin(Strategy), Minecraft Dungeons(Adventure), Little Nightmares 2(Horror?), Deadly Premonition 2(Horror), Samurai Shodown(Fighting), Persona 5 Scramble (Musou), Fairy Tail (Action-Adventure), Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate (Musou), Spongebob: Battle For Bikini Bottom (Platformer),

For sorta not RPGs you have Rune Factory 5, Outer Worlds and Digimon Survive.

Among major indies I know Axiom Verge 2 (Metroidvania), Sports Story (Sports / RPG), Shantae (Platformer) and Silksong (Metroidvania).

EDIT: Oh, and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training (Puzzle) I forgot as well... probably some others out there too.

Do note though that for some reason Brain Training doesn't have a US release yet. Japan's getting it December 27th 2019 and Europe's getting it January 3rd 2020.

@link3710 yea good call..definitely eyeing God's and monsters, axiom v2, silksong (possibly, as I have a love/hate for hollow knight), and sports story. There were a couple from the indie world show that I liked too, but I was mainly talking about bigger releases from Nintendo. But still good titles coming nonetheless. Shoot forgot about mega man zero collection( is that the right title?)

Almost wonder what's next on the resident evil front for switch. Seeing re2 get alot of recognition and re3 being announced, I'm left a little salty and hungry for more re.

@Ralizah
May not have as many exclusives but the quality is so much better- the games are full console quality RPGs on an HD handheld that also functions as a console with immediate transition between them...

And that’s awesome to the point I don’t even want to touch the 3DS when I could play Switch instead, which means it doesn’t feel like 3DS is essential anymore, even if it still has tons of exclusives, and Switch feels like the most essential system there ever was, even if many of its games can be played on other systems. And that’s as a result of everything combined- the much, much higher quality handheld games (and more of them) on a much, much higher resolution and larger screen on a system that also plays on the TV and has a full button set.

It’s still starting to amass a fair number of exclusives though (which we have to keep in mind that the system hasn’t even hit the midpoint in its lifespan yet). From Xenoblade HD and Xenoblade 2, to Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default 2, to Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Dragon Quest XI S, Shin Megami Tensei V and Yokai Watch 4 (ya they released on PS4 in Japan but it didn’t even chart in top 30, almost guaranteed not to come west), Snack World and Rune Factory 4/5, Pokémon Sword/Shield and Fire Emblem Three Houses...

Truthfully though, the biggest appeal is all the 3rd party ports of console JRPGs. Stuff like Ni No Kuni, Tales of Vesperia, Trials of Cold Steel 3, YS VIII, Trials of Mana, Persona 5 Scramble, Final Fantasy X/X-2 and XII... games I could only dream of playing on a handheld in the 3DS era.

@NintendoByNature
Trials of Mana looks excellent, though I would also recommend Xenoblade Chronicles HD when it releases. And maybe grab Final Fantasy X/X-2, Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest XI S if you can. Those games are perfect to get someone into the genre. Some of the best there is. And Fire Emblem Three Houses. It’s not strictly JRPG but, it’s a game that will open all kinds of doors. Bravely Default II could also be a good one to experience a more classic style with a modern approach.

Here’s the lineup of what we know so far.

January
Atelier Ayesha DX (1/14)
Atelier Escha & Logy DX (1/14)
Atelier Shallie DX (1/14)
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (1/17)
February
Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate (2/14)
Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl- Gold (2/14)
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] (2/20)
Devil May Cry 3 (2/20)
Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection (2/22)
March
Langrisser Collection (3/10)
Fairy Tale (3/19)
Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III (3/19)
Animal Crossing New Horizons (3/20)
DOOM 64 (3/20)
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (3/27)
April
Trials of Mana (4/24)
2020 - TBA
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4- Road To Boruto
Bravely Default II
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
Gods and Monsters
Darksiders Genesis
Panzer Dragoon Remake
DOOM Eternal
Star Wars: Skywalker Saga
Pillars of Eternity 2
Minecraft Dungeons
No More Heroes 3
Empire of Sin
Shantae And The Seven Sirens
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega39’s
Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town
Rune Factory 5
Hollow Knight Silksong
Of Rice And Ruin
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Hyper Sports R
Streets of Rage 4
Inazuma Eleven
Yokai Watch 4
Bayonetta 3
Shin Megami Tensei V
Persona 5 Scramble
Metroid Prime 4 Trilogy
Zelda Breath of the Wild 2
Digimon Survive
The Outer Worlds
Detective Pikachu
XIII
Rock of Ages III
Little Nightmares II
Port Royale 4
Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
Rogue Company
Deadly Premonition 2
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Brigandine
Katanakami
My Hero: One’s Justice 2
void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium
Two-Point Hospital
Overwatch 2
Samurai Showdown
Samurai Showdown Collection
Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics
Rune Factory 4
The Elder Scrolls: Blades
Super Robot Wars X
Axiom Verge 2
Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training

@JaxonH DOOM 64 is March 20th (same day as the other platforms) only DOOM Eternal of those 2 games was delayed further than the other platforms.

@Grumblevolcano
I remember that now. Thanks. Some of these dates might be wrong so if anyone notices anything that’s off just let me know and I’ll update it.

@JaxonH yea for sure. For the jrpgs, or even rpgs in general, I like to start on smaller scale, easy to grasp games. First ever rpg that I finished was undertale. Had a good time with it, and it was nice it was a shorter outing. Playing thru Pokemon is fun but Im doing it in very small doses. The only one that's grabbed a hold of me has been SP:Stick of truth and it's probably because of its twist on typical "combat" which is why i liked undertale. Not to mention, the crude and silly humor for South park.

I typically look at howlongtobeat.com to see what an avg play through looks like of any game im eying. Most games need to be around 20 hours give or take for me to jump in, anything more, starts losing my attention(rpg aside).

But with all the rpgs to choose from this upcoming year, I might give one a try if it's the right fit. I love the look of octopath traveler, but I hear its quite a time sink. Bravely default 2 looked good, but I probabaly need to see and hear more about it.

Out of the list you posted, there's still quite a few I'm looking at that I forgot, so Maybe 2020 will shape up to be a good one for me. Really looking forward to more info on bayo3 botw2 and metroid news.

@JaxonH Xenoblade DE as an exclusive is debatable, but I'll give it to you, since it's seeing a massive visual overhaul, at the very least. Octopath, TMS, DQXI, and RF4 aren't exclusives, though. YW4 may or may not be exclusive in the West (we'll see).

I don't disagree that, at this point in its lifecycle, the Switch is doing far better with its JRPG library than either PS4 or 3DS were. I also don't disagree that there's a definite appeal to playing home console games on a portable system (it's why I bought the Switch in the first place, tbqh). And I do think that, by the end of its lifecycle, it will have outclassed the 3DS in every single way (except for Atlus support, but... whatever).

But, currently, it's not an essential RPG machine for me. I do expect that to change over time, with big exclusives like Bravely 2, SMT V, whatever else Monolith releases, etc. It's definitely my PREFERRED platform, because portability is extremely important to me.

Oh, and, looking at your list of upcoming games, I'm starting to wonder if I'll even bother with a PS5 or PC upgrade next gen. If Nintendo keeps going like this, they're getting most of the games I want to play.

@NintendoByNature Oh yeah, I didn't include that cause it's technically a bunch of ROMs (one I'm super excited for but), but Megaman Z/ZX Legacy collection is coming too, with a good chance of another legacy collection coming before year's end. As for Nintendo's releases, we don't have a clue (I keep forgetting No More Heroes III isn't first party published), but given development times BotW2 and Bayonetta 3 are both likely to land this year as well. The main difference from past years is we don't have delays like Yoshi or Fire Emblem to give us a better view of the schedule. Since only AC was delayed, they get to keep basically their whole hand hidden until they're ready.

Since I was curious now that the exclusive library was brought up, I tried to count how many the Switch has. The answer is: A lot. A ton of these are import only too. It's already well above the Wii U's final count, though it hasn't come close to touching the 3DS (nor will it likely, since titles for it are much more easily multiplat)

@Ralizah

Right now what I'm waiting to see whether the system gets more new action oriented JRPGs. Right now there's Xenoblade 2, the Secret and Trials of Mana remakes, and Oninaki. I'm really hoping they can bring KH3 over, or maybe a sequel to TWEWY, that would be great.

Turn based systems really don't do much for me, so as neat at DQXI, Octopath, and Bravely Default II look, I'm not really to interested in them as a JRPG fan.

If this list is supposed to cover all highlights of 2020 then it's missing RPG Maker MV and La-Mulana 1 & 2 (and probably some more).

@Ralizah
I see them as exclusives. For the same reason I see Persona 5 as PS4 exclusive despite being on PS3, or how Final Fantasy X was previously PS4 exclusive despite being on Vita, PS2 and PS3. It’s still a PS console, and it’s legacy. If a game isn’t available on competitor platforms and can only be played on Nintendo, or on Sony, or whatever, that’s exclusive to me. And that might be a looser definition where it’s more platform manufacturer exclusive, but I’m a pragmatist so, there you have it. DQXIS is more borderline, but it’s such a different experience with the added content, and it’s not available anywhere else, so while DQXI may not be, DQXIS is.

I think what gives Switch a pass on the multiplatform thing, is the fact most of those games are exclusively handheld on Switch and all of them exclusively hybrid. So even when a game is available on another console, it’s not like Xbox and PS where ya, you can totally get the same experience elsewhere. You can’t get that handheld hybrid experience elsewhere for many of the games.

Not that I need to tell you that. You get it. We all get it. It’s why so many of us love the system so much.

I figure it’s good to keep one power system around just in case. But I also think many games will eventually land on a hybrid. If not Switch, then it’s successor. If Switch can run all the PS3/360 library, then it’s successor should be able to scoop all the PS4/X1 library. And that’s yet another reason why I am not quick to jump on games on other systems. Just as I am glad I skipped so many 7th gen titles and am now getting to experience them as brand new games on a hybrid system, I would much rather experience the bulk of 8th gen titles that don’t come to Switch on its successor, rather than play them now strapped to the tv.

This of course hinges on Nintendo sticking with the concept, but I think they will. They’ve finally found a sustainable model to take them into the mobile era, that’s also not threatened by the competition.

@iKhan Be sure to play Ys VIII if you haven't. It's an amazing action-RPG.

Not quite as amazing, but Shining Resonance Refrain is also fun enough. Far better than Oninaki, anyway.