Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@JaxonH

EDF 2 released in Japan a couple weeks ago, no English support unfortunately. Hopefully it'll get a Southeast Asian release with English support down the road as World Brothers did. And on a side note, I grabbed a copy of THPS 1+2 as you recommended.

@Magician
What do you think? Have you played it yet? Not sure if you played the originals back in the day, but these remakes are exactly how my mind's eye remembers them. Just... don't look at the original footage. It'll destroy that illusion real quick.

It's a perfect handheld game. The timed runs mean you can hop in, do a run or two, try to get S-K-A-T-E or the hidden tape, hit the score thresholds, whatever, and hop right back out without having to worry about where you left off or what you were doing.

@JaxonH I'm surprised how many retailers are selling huge, full-priced Switch games at $50 around launch in the US now. I wonder if this is because of Wal-Mart's pricing shenanigans?

@Ralizah
Could be.

After GCU expired, I have to assume Amazon became the default retailer for most gamers. And when you cancel an order they ask you why. If enough ppl cancel and put, "found a cheaper price elsewhere" as the reasoning, it could cause them to be more aggressive.

I like it though. $50 for a new game feels a heck of a lot more reasonable than the new $70.

@Wavey84
Switch game prices have been perfectly reasonable. Canadian currency is worth far less than USD. $80-90 is the norm in Canada. All games cost that much.

A game’s value isn’t based on its resolution or Framerate. Just ask $70 games like Returnal that still render at 1080p despite being on a PS5. If you want to pay for specs then don’t buy a hybrid handheld system. Games’ value also isn’t based on its graphical prowess, either (although it is one of many factors that can contribute to overall entertainment). It’s based on the quality and overall entertainment value placed on it by consumers, all factors considered.

Which is why it doesn’t really matter if Skyward Sword was a Wii game. If you want to play it on Wii then go play that version. Many have that option, and yet, most are still choosing the Switch version instead. The Switch release is a very high-quality remaster that does pretty much everything that possibly could be done to bring it into the modern era, and frankly, is so incredibly good it has brought me more entertainment than most other “new games” with “4k and AAA budget”, which at the end of the day, is what determines its real worth.

And for the record, the joycon work better than the Wiimote for gesture recognition. You might have to recalibrate more often, but thankfully it’s a simple button press rather than putting your entire controller on a level floor for 5 seconds. Having a right analog also makes a world of difference (and that’s making no mention of the 10 hours of fat trimmed out and streamlined, which was enough to keep me from ever getting past the tutorial area on Wii). 1080p 60fps with redone textures doesn’t sell the game- but it is a nice bonus for a remastered game that sells itself. Optional button controls and the first ever handheld version is also a huge plus. As for the sensor bar, it wouldn’t work because there’s nowhere to put an IR sensor on a joycon without your fingers blocking it. But again, there’s really no issue because you can just press a button. Which, when you’re playing video games, all you’re doing is pressing buttons anyways.

I will gladly pay $50 for high-quality games like that, and it seems I’m not the only one judging by the fact it’s still the number one selling game on Amazon.

I would also add, that aside from when joycon malfunction (which does happen too frequently), joycon are very good controllers. I’ve got no complaints. They’re comfy, lightweight, versatile, and have excellent rumble. I do hope they add a magnometer next gen to perfect gyro (that’s what’s needed, not a sensor bar), but 99% of games that use gyro wouldn’t benefit anyways because it’s only used to fine tune aim, rather than imitate pointer controls as the primary aiming function. But for that 1%, it would be a nice feature to reduce calibrations. And the pro controller is great too btw. I agree the rumble isn’t as good but… it hardly matters. I play Switch Lite without rumble at all. So having functional rumble on a controller is plenty good enough. Sure, I wish it was a little better (Dualsense being a good example) but it’s not something I’m going to get my knickers in a twist over. Its vastly superior ergonomics far outweighs its less impressive rumble.

@Wavey84
It’s not every 3-5 seconds though. I’m already to the third and final area unlocked in Skyward Sword. I’ve put enough time in to know firsthand exactly how often you need to re-calibrate, and it’s nowhere anywhere near that. I press whenever I switch from running around to going into combat. That’s all it takes. Or before you send out the robot bug, press Y before ZR. It’s so inconsequential it’s hardly even worth discussing. But hey, if pressing a button slightly less often is worth so much you’d rather play in 480p 30fps with low res assets, constant reminders every time an item is collected, 10 hours of bloat added back into the game, no 5.1 surround, no handheld, no button controls, etc… more power to you. You do you.

And yes, IR pointer is superior to gyro for being used as a pointer. Nobody disputes that. Thankfully most games, well over 99% of them, don’t use it that way so it’s really not an issue. Metroid Prime Trilogy on Wii was an absolutely dreadful experience by comparison to modern uses of gyro today on Switch. Lack of 2nd analog and relying on pointer controls to turn the camera feels… well, no other word comes to mind except archaic. Any MPT on Switch would obviously use dual analog so that gyro isn’t the primary aiming function. And when used as an auxiliary aiming function to fine tune aim, drifting is not an issue in any capacity. There’s maybe half a dozen games on Switch that use it as primary function, and no, it’s not as good. But who cares? It makes Wii games playable on a hybrid handheld system, which millions of people clearly love and want. It’s a small compromise to obtain these games on a hybrid handheld. So you have to press Y once in a while… hardly a game breaking compromise. But if that’s too much for you you can just not play those games.

You can cherry pick comments of just about any opinion in the world. Doesn’t make it a valid argument. Right off the bat, from what you posted, I read someone claiming they have to recalibrate on Switch “every 2 seconds” yet could play Zelda for 2 hours without calibration? Hogwash. Absolute nonsense. That opinion is worthless untruth (and the fact anyone would fall for such blatant falsehood is clear evidence of why ppl should play games for themselves before criticizing their mechanics, as opposed to adopting viewpoints based on random YT comments). Not only do you not need to spam Y every 2 seconds (maybe once every couple minutes at most?) that game was plagued by complaints of constantly needing to be recalibrated also, even despite the pointer. And I know from first-hand experience because I played it on Wii myself. Maybe it was every 10 minutes instead of every 5 on Switch. Or every 5 minutes instead of every 2 minutes on Switch. But it was hardly a big difference.

As for joycon, my thumb never brushes against the analog. It’s set low enough your thumb goes over it, even for me with relatively small hands (except maybe for someone who’s like 10 years old, maybe then). So it’s smart design. Obviously you’re not going to get a sprawling luxurious experience with them because that’s not what they’re designed to be- they are designed to be versatile and that’s going to involve compromises, and if you don’t like that then just use a different controller, or buy Binboks- joycon designed to forfeit certain benefits in the interest of ergonomics and luxury. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of options out there. So they made the right compromises.

Not only are Gyro controls not “busted” (pressing Y to re-center every once in a while does not make something busted, it makes it slightly less convenient, that’s all), but for 99% of games they’re superior. Because for 99% of games you’re using it as an auxiliary aiming function that only fine-tunes which means you’re never using it long enough for it to drift, because you’re actually using the right analog for wide turns and general aiming. Gyro is only inferior to IR when used as primary aiming, which is the case for less than 1% of games, and even then it’s only marginally worse by requiring more frequent presses of a particular button.

I mean, thank God for Gyro aiming on switch and steam- I cannot play games using inferior control schemes anymore on Xbox and PlayStation. Talk about controls that are broken- try aiming with just an analog stick, with accuracy so poor the game literally has to cheat on your behalf just to make it viable. The current analog/gyro combo is the perfect control scheme. And even for the very few, specific games from the Wii that use it in a different manner, even if it isn’t as good, it’s good enough to still be playable. More frequently pressing a single button once in a while is very small price to pay for a game to make the jump to HD hybrid handheld. If you disagree, just play something else then. Why waste your breath and everyone else’s time… unless… you’re just looking for things to complain about that can bait someone into an argument. Which wouldn’t be out of the question judging by the pattern of your posts in here, which seem to consistently level several critical statements all bundled together as if looking to increase your odds of provoking some kind of response.

My experience with Skyward Sword on Wii was similar to the infamous Miyamoto E3 demonstration. Tried it once around the time it came out and only got to the first dungeon, tried it again in the Wii U era also starting from the beginning and only got to the second dungeon. I really doubt the Switch version controls are worse.

Haven't started the Switch version as I was more excited by MH Stories 2 and with a New Pokemon Snap update coming in a few days I intend to start Skyward Sword HD after I've finished both MH Stories 2 and the new New Pokemon Snap update content.

Never understood the love for pointer controls. I think they're probably the biggest reason I never persisted with the Metroid Prime Trilogy, and they made the aiming in RE4 feel slow and unresponsive to me. Aiming with sticks and supplementing with small movements is so much better than waving a remote around in the air.

And even in games like Super Mario Galaxy where the original Wii pointer controls were better, the Switch gyro emulation of those was still at least 90% as the original controls.

When it comes to quickly re-syncing the controller, hitting a button to have the cursor pop back into the middle of the screen is infinitely faster than physically moving my arm around trying to get the remote to entire the narrow range of vision of the sensor.

@Ralizah
Remember how Bandai Namco was all, "we don't know how well it would sell" every time the .hack//G.U. director would ask them to port it to Switch?

Seems they've finally caved in

@JaxonH

Nice find, Jax.

As for Bamco's hesitancy? Eh, better late than never I always say.

I just hope Switch ports for Code Vein and Scarlet Nexus are under consideration as well.

@JaxonH lol, I even ended up caving and buying it on PC.

No matter. I'll get it physically on Switch, too. That's where I actually want to play it.

@Ralizah
So did I 🤔 But hey, it never hurts having a spare on Steam for posterity's sake.

@Magician
Indeed. Better late than never. As for Code Vein, there were rumors a Switch port was under development but nothing has come of it yet. Scarlet Nexus seems too demanding. Bandai Namco isn't very good at scaling their games down. Even Jump Force was running at pretty low, blurry res and that was just a fighting game. I don't think Scarlet Nexus is in the cards, unfortunately.

But, that's where the Steam Deck will shine. Specifically for games like Scarlet Nexus which don't make the jump to Switch. It won't be pocketable or nearly as lightweight, but it's still handheld and will look nice and run well. Just a shame it's gonna take so long to get it in hand. I reserved within 2.5 hrs of going live and my order is scheduled to arrive in Q2 2022. Anyone interested should put that $5 down now just to get their place in line. Can always opt to not purchase when the invitation email to order finally comes around.

So apparently the .hack games are actually coming to a Nintendo system finally based on a recent ESRB rating for a port of the PS4/PC collection of the 3 newer games + the 4th one they added for that collection

More people need to play this series.

The G.U. games are fun. I waited years for a Switch port before relenting and buying them on sale on Humble Bundle.

I'd much rather hit the Y button to recalibrate the motion controls and continue playing than for the entire game to stop so you can set the remote down for the Motion Plus to recalibrate

Eh, just more excuses. We all learn to put up with stuff when it comes from an entity we like. It's just part of being human.

Pointer controls were consistently the best and most natural part of Wii's motion controls, across the board, so I do feel confident in saying that its not the games that were the problem.

I’m sure there’s a Nintendo Wii thread for anyone who wishes to discuss the merits of that system at length.

Suffice it to say, yes, IR pointing was great, but it was also incredibly flawed, requiring a sensor bar nobody wanted to use, a sensor on controllers there’s not room for, and at least on Wii, the lack of 2nd analog for camera control far outweighed the benefits of tracked aiming. The best games were ones that didn’t require camera, such as on-rails shooters like Sin & Punishment 2. The aiming in RE4 was great when it worked imo (except for when your cursor went off screen which caused all kinds of problems losing its reference, problems gyro doesn’t have) but the lack of analog for camera control was a severe detriment. Just like MPT, just like every other game which required camera movement. Play Resident Evil 5 on Switch with gyro and see the difference.

That said, the world has moved on. Gyro has made IR basically irrelevant nowadays. Ppl are now outperforming mouse and keyboard with it.

And I strongly recommend watching this video to truly understand the merits of the gyro-analog hybrid control scheme and why, all factors considered, it is the future of gaming. With the recent integration of the magnetometer seen in the DualSense, the final hurdle has been overcome in surpassing IR’s last remaining advantage- the reference alignment. By using a combination of gravity (accelerometer) and earth’s magnetic field like a compass (magnetometer), there is no longer any need for an external reference point of origin. So the problem has already been solved; gyro has now surpassed IR, offering all the same benefits without any of the drawbacks. Not that most games even had a problem to solve, as the vast majority use it in tandem with the right analog, not as a replacement, which this video also explains…

@Wavey84
I feel like there’s so many options for controllers that if you don’t like the ergonomics of a particular controller, all you need to do is use a Pro Controller or buy Binboks. Not everyone likes the ergonomics of every controller. Best thing to do is buy one that you do like and get on with your gaming. No reason to be complaining about a controller 5 years into a system’s lifespan. Just use something else you do like and be done with it.

I played Pikmin 3 start to finish on Wii U, and start to finish on Switch. Had a much better time on Switch. That dude in the video has connectivity issues which is clearly evident. They need to position their switch in direct line of sight with their controller. It’s just what it is. I can share many videos of Pikmin 3 working flawlessly on Switch, as I document all my playthroughs with pics and vids. Not only does the pointer imitation work fantastic (with some occasional recentering, no biggie, that’s the brilliance of simply pressing down with your thumb whenever you need), there’s also gyro-analog hybrid control scheme where you still aim with the stick for wide movements and fine tune with gyro, which means you never have to re-center because the stick does it for you every time you move it, and on top of that there’s lock on, and on top of that there’s stick only controls which, with the lock on, feel as good as ever. It’s such a great experience on Switch.

Captain Toad was also much better on Switch. You barely even need the pointer in that game. On the rare chance you need to use once in a blue moon, it it’s incredibly easy to press a button to center first.

Of the 4,000-5,000 games on Switch, I think only 6 imitate pointer controls of the Wiimote. And the two games just mentioned work fantastic and, dare I say, even better on Switch.

@Wavey84 It was only a thing in games that required the Wii Motion Plus accessory. Wii Sports Resort and Skyward Sword both had that problem, especially the latter.