Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@JaxonH hey did you have to download that 'special' nintendo format program they recommend or did you just copy without it

@AndyD
No formatting. Just unwrap the new SD, dont do anything to it, just put it in the computer and copy the contents of the old micro SD onto it. Take it out, put it in Switch, done.

Formatting tools are really only needed for used SD that aren't the right format or aren't properly recognized by Switch. As long as you didnt buy some off-brand card that won't be a problem

@JaxonH thanks! I got the Samsung 512. So far transferring is going well

@JaxonH worked perfect! All transferred and 350 GB of space left for more downloads now.

@JaxonH worked perfect! All transferred and 350 GB of space left for more downloads now.

@JaxonH @AndyD I'm so used to seeing people post because they have a problem with their account or micro sd transfering. So, it's funny for me to see a quick, successful post

@WoomyNNYes
Well, it took me a few tries to figure out the simplest approach is best with transferring microSD contents on Switch. The first time I tried it I took the brand new card and formatted it in the Switch first, thinking that was what you were supposed to do. But after copying hundreds of GB of games, they were never recognized as being on the card. Turns out you’re just supposed to copy the data before you ever put it in your switch... works like a charm every time.

@AndyD
Nicely done. Feels good to have a little bit of free space so you don’t have to worry about downloads. Let everyone else fuss while you’re playing the big games without any hindrances.

I have to wisely manage my space, as my 1TB microSD has been full for some time now. I had to archive enough to free up about 100GB for Friday when the 2k games drop digitally. Will be installing all except the first Borderlands. Pretty soon I’ll be buying another 1TB micro SD to stuff in the Nyko kickstand and keep the extra 1TB worth of games I can’t fit on my main card. Was holding out hoping for a larger size card to release but, it’s looking like that’s not going to happen for some time.

@WoomyNNYes yeah it took maybe an hour

Azure Lane Crosswave... that's that anime game that released in Japan same week as Astral Chain, right?

That's coming to Switch. Higher age rating means, presumably, uncensored.

Buncha new listings for Switch games on retailer sites too. E3 might be MIA but it's still announcement season. Excited to see the next wave of games that break free of their chains.

@JaxonH yeah looks like a lot of upcoming good games.

@JaxonH

lol The Steam reviews for this game were telling.

Some "positive" reviews:

"the first thing i did was click on the anime girls ♥♥♥♥♥♥s when i launched the game"

"This game is decent. It kind of reminds me of a N64/PS1 game. Only play this if you are an ardent fan of Azur lane."

"I guess it's okay, just make sure you really like azur lane first before you lose your allowance."

Seems to be a spinoff of a mobile game or something.

So, who's waiting for Blair Switch .... ? 25th June!

@BruceCM - I've got my eye on the (currently exclusive) Japanese physical release for Blair Witch. The game has reviewed well on other platforms, praised for its atmosphere, with so-so gameplay. Slightly better than Bloober Team's previous horror game, Layers of Fear.

Eh... too demonic/evil for me. I never saw the movies either. Definitely not Jax's flavor.

Heck, even Fatal Frame was a bit much for me. Even RE7 (though it may not have impacted me as much had I not had the brilliant idea to play in VR... dear God... I swore I'd never touch that game again).

I played it on GamePass for XBox myself, @Magician .... It was certainly atmospheric & I tend to agree about the gameplay, while it's just not my kind of game but I thought there might be some wanting it on Switch

So, I cleared the new Shantae's first chapter, and wanted to talk about it.

First: this game is BEAUTIFUL. I wasn't necessarily happy when I saw that the developers would be continuing with the engine used in Half-Genie Hero, but backgrounds look cleaner and more two-dimensional, and the character portraits are dramatically improved from that game. Character models themselves are detailed and highly animated, and seem like a step up from that previous game.

One thing I'm really digging so far are the frequent animated cutscenes that play. Now, these are almost all extremely short: anywhere from a couple of seconds to near half a minute. But they add a lot of flavor to the game, and help to establish drama during big setpieces and plot events.

It's not fully voiced, but I'm also noticing a bit more voice acting than there was in the last game.

The big change I want to talk about relates to transformations. Now, in previous games, Shantae's transformation dances, while iconic, tended to be a bit clunky and slowed down the gameplay quite a bit. One of the things people really liked about Shantae and the Pirate's Curse was how the game ditched transformations (for plot reasons) in favor of specialized equipment like in other Metroidvanian-style games. It worked really well, but it also felt like it clashed a bit with the pre-established identity of the series.

It seems like WayForward really took notice of feedback from fans, though, because Seven Sirens seems to integrate the best of both approaches. Shantae uses "fusion coins" to transform in this game. I don't know how the other transformations will be integrated into the gameplay, but the fusion coin allows Shantae to use transformations like she would pirate equipment. I won't spoil what the first transformation is, but all she has to do is dash mid-air to trigger the transformation, and it holds until she lands on her feet again. It's not an approach I would have thought of, but it seems like it works really well so far.

So far, this game almost seems perfect: beautiful presentation, puzzles, dungeons, non-linear exploration, backtracking, etc. Alas, no game is ever fully ideal, and the new composer's music so far is just... OK. It's not bad by any means, but some of the series' identity is nestled in its recognizable style, and especially in certain tunes that reappear from game to game, and those aren't showing up here.

Otherwise, I also think the game is perhaps too generous with handing out healing items. I already have a lot of health restoration items in my inventory and haven'r spent any money yet! Hopefully the game has a hard mode or something that limits this sort of thing.

In general, though, I'm super happy with the game so far. It's such a return to form after the mediocre Half-Genie Hero.

I just fired up Shantae on Switch myself. I'm at work but used hotspot to unlock my preload. Still looking for the 5 half genie heroes though. Like I said, I just fired it up.

But it looks great, and I like how snappy everything feels.

I hope the 2K collections are midnight releases, those downloads are going to be ridiculously long so I hope to be able to download XCOM 2 while playing Xenoblade.

@JaxonH The framerate is flawless so far. It's so important, IMO, for 2D games to feel tight and satisfying.

Geez, so, these next few weeks, I'm going to be immersed in:

• Shantae and the Seven Sirens
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

This is probably the most satisfied I've been since 2017. And I still have stuff like Baldo, Catherine, Paper Mario, The Outer Worlds, and (hopefully) World of Horror to dig into later in the year. Maybe even a 3D Mario Collection.

I'm really enjoying my Switch this year.

Hear hear.

At worst, we can just play Xenoblade for the 24 hrs after launch. So Friday = Xenoblade. Should be able to have all the 2k games downloaded by the end of the day, so Saturday = 2k binge

@Ralizah
I feel like I'm enjoying my Switch a lot this year too. The first few months were slow but man, it's just back to back to back with the classics now.

Wonderful 101, a very beloved game of mine, finished just in time for Xenoblade, 3 Bioshock games, 3 Borderlands games and XCOM 2, Shantae and Bug Fables, and soon we'll have Club House and Outer Worlds, Trails of Cold Steel 3, Paper Mario, Burnout Paradise, Bravely Default 2, still have DOOM Eternal and Pillars of Eternity 2, we have Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, even plan to branch out with Catherine and give that another shot...

And I spent a ridiculous amount of time in Witcher 3 as well. And I liked Saints Row 4. Spent a good deal of time in Assassins Creed Rebel Collection too during Jan-Feb months.

Honestly, every year has been a great year for me with Switch. Sometime it feels like there's a spell with nothing releasing or being announced that interests me, but overall, not a year has gone by where I didnt have a blast and bulk up on backlog.