Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@FishyS
I mean, I'm playing it on the OLED so I'm not really doing a side by side comparison with how it looks on the non-OLED screen. But It's a game where you frequently have large parts of the screen that's just dead black. And not in a "look at this one cool level" kind of way, just generally it's a part of the aesthetic. Also it's a game where your character is relatively small on the screen so the slightly larger screen certainly can't hurt either

But yeah, pretty good game to show off the screen

@JaxonH @Ralizah Yeah 2024 is looking like a good time to work on the backlog. So far the only must-purchases for me are TTYD and the Apollo Justice Trilogy, though Another Code and Prince of Persia intrigue me.

Really enjoyed the Prince of Persia demo, but probably going on my wishlist until a sale. The one thing I didn't like as much in the demo was the parry mechanic and the demo never has a boss so you don't really get a feel of how essential parry is to the game or even really how it gets used in practice; a bit of a miss in the demo.

Started Dragon Quest Origins on Steamdeck OLED and made THE best controller config via Steam Input. Since the game only has KB/M controls I made a config where right analog moves camera (set touching right analog to = right mouse click and moving it = mouse, so using it now moves the camera) and left analog is set to moving character, clicking L3 toggles run. Left TouchPad touching brings up on screen virtual menu for numbers 1-9 for conversation responses and hotbar selection for spells and items, while holding R5 rear grip mode shifts it to a different on screen virtual menu with quick save, load, map, inventory, etc. L/B are mouse scroll to zoom in and out, and so much more. It legit feels not only playable like a console game but better than I could have dreamed.

Hope they bring Dragon Age Trilogy to Switch 2, and Mass Effect Trilogy. But at least Deck has them for now.

And with Emudeck installing Emulation Station, I got Dolphin installed and set up separate from Primehack, was playing Sin & Punishment 2 with gyro and it works insanely well.

Old GC and Wii Nintendo games are great on Deck. The retro on Switch are best but since it lacks GC/Wii, this is a great alternative. Couldn't get Metroid Other M working good though. On desktop I can but on Deck, can't map it right to toggle from sideways Wiimote to pointing for missiles and straight up to reload.

Hope Switch 2 has GC and Wii added to NSO+. Gonna have to. Nobody will pay $50/yr if they're not adding systems.

My MigSwitch mod chip apparently doesn't include dumper for physical games. It'll be sold separately and isn't releasing day one. They offered me 40% Off when it does release or 40% Off a hardmod for OLED. At $180 discounted to $132, I'm probably gonna do that for my spare Zelda OLED.

Then I can dump all my games including digital, and physical games with updates and DLC. The dumper tool would have only been for physical, and no idea how updates, DLC and digital would be backed up.

@FishyS
I think parry is similar to Dread, except less beneficial as Dread used it in a way that it did massive damage and replenished items. You can also dodge so I think it's more just a tool in your belt- use whichever suits your playstyle. Dodge or parry or a mix of both.

@IceClimbers
Give the demos a try. Another Code was better than I thought. Wasn't initially gonna buy it but now I am.

Price of Persia is a day one for sure. Probably a GotY contender even, despite only being 2 weeks into January.

@FishyS
The demo feels great. They nailed the feel of the Prince games, in my opinion, and I've played them all. I'm stoked for next week!

I did consider waiting, though... only because Ubisoft has a tendency to discount pretty quickly. I don't know, I'm torn.

I felt like the timing of parry is extremely natural in Dread and not so much in Prince of Persia. There is some similar discussion online so it's not 100% just me. There was also some suggestion that parry might be required for bosses but the demo didn't have a boss. Parry does do big damage btw — some of the time?? And it does have a replenishing effect if you have the right amulet or whatever. The dodge feels wonderful and doesn't have any timing weirdness.

Yeah, the party timing feels a bit off, I was rarely landing it. I'm sure I'd get used to it but I certainly wasn't hitting it through the demo. Maybe I'm used to the timing for some other game (Dread maybe?) and need to re-learn. Not sure. But it didn't feel great

Movement in general though is pretty fantastic. Kinda like some combination of Rayman Legends, Metroid Dread and Ori. That alone had me considering picking it up. It's also pretty good looking and runs pretty damn well. I think I saw the framerate dip once in the demo but it was only for a couple of seconds and it wasn't particularly bad. Switch is definitely the place to get it

..... only thing that gives me some pause is, as @rallydefault said, Ubisoft is going to discount this thing to oblivion. But also, Swtich 2 is a factor. Will buying it now carry to Switch 2? Will it be ported to Swith 2? Will it run better on Switch 2? I mean who knows, maybe if I wait until the end of this year I can get it for 60% off and get a portable version that runs at 1080p/90fps with VRR. Less of a factor here, the game is basically flawless on Switch and additional hardware isn't going to improve it much. But certainly a non-zero factor. The discount thing though.....

Yea, it'll probably be down to $30 by the end of February. But the way I see it, who knows what Feb, march, and April bring. Right now, January is kind of slow, so I'd rather play the game now while there's time than try and cram it in a month or two down the road. We still haven't had a 2024 direct that could set up the next 4 months for us all the way up until summer. They really did a great job based on all the reviews, so that's good enough for me to buy on day 1. No real patches needed from what I'm seeing. As bad as it sounds, I like to reward quality launches with day 1 buys.

EDIT
I started Dragon AGE Origins on Deck, not Dragon Quest lol. Wth do I always write Dragon Quest when talking about Dragon Age.

No doubt it'll be discounted soon as Ubisoft is known for this.

But I don't care. Absolutely stellar gems like this from Ubisoft that come to Switch day and date without severe compromise are rare, and I want my money to be a vote for "more of this, please". If I don't support devs when they make Switch games this good, then when exactly should I support them? Irrespective of whether or not it gets discounted, the game is worth every penny right now.

Now. With games not coming to Switch, those I can wait on. Though I'll still likely buy some of them sooner for Steamdeck OLED. I remember not long ago when all these games were trapped on Playstation. I look at Persona 3 Reload, Granblue Fantasy, Dragon's Dogma 2, even Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as that will be on Steam in a couple months... and I feel SOOOO GREATFUL that's not the case anymore.

Atlus can continue to skip Switch with half their releases, despite the Persona 5 Royal port smoking all other re-released versions, despite Persona 5 Tactics on Switch leading the pack, despite other Atlus games such as Unicorn Overlord clearly outperforming on Switch... as expected

We know P3 Remake could run on Switch just like Persona 5 Royal. I suspect it wasn't an issue of not running, but rather, why bother with the hassle when the successor is coming later this year? Then again, Switch 2 could release and Atlus just forgets all about the game. That would certainly be in character for them.

But come what may, I'm still not gonna buy a single game on PS/Xbox. It's either Switch or Steamdeck, and if they continue to ignore Switch, I'll continue contributing to the piracy platform they hate so much. Ohhhh yes. Mods, cracks, uploading cutscene videos... all that good stuff they like to rant about.

Truthfully I know I won't even play it, as I still haven't finished P4G or P5R. But it's the principle of the matter, Smokey. That and it's nice having in the library for when the day comes you do want to play.

We'll see how much changes when Switch 2 releases. We'll see how many games from this year's release schedule were being worked on behind the scenes for Switch 2. I'd like to see Dragon's Dogma 2 as a launch title and I'd like to see Monster Hunter Wilds announced day and date for Switch.

On the one hand, I hear Capcom say, "We'll share more details this summer" and I think hmmm, perhaps after Switch 2 is revealed so they can talk about all platforms? With Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak, a game designed ground up for Switch, getting ported to other platforms after the fact, I can't help but wonder if it's because they made the decision to, from now on, release both lines of games on all platforms. So Rise + Sunbreak gets ported, Wilds gets announced for Switch 2, and the next "handheld" game is designed for all platforms day 1, though I imagine it'll still have that portable design philosophy

On the other hand... maybe they're like nope, we'll continue separating releases. Which would kinda suck tbh. Technology will have advanced far enough there's no longer a need for bespoke handheld versions. With Switch there was, but Switch 2 will be the first time since GameCube they can pretty much develop multiplat across the board.

@FishyS
You can change the parry window in settings btw

Hm... I don't think my play activity is updating. I think it's because I'm using my Nintendo account on my Switch OLED without doing a system transfer, but I couldn't do it because I don't have a microSD card yet. I might get one for my birthday. Should I just do a system transfer when I get a microSD card to rectify that issue?

@JaxonH Maybe this year, maybe next year but I think it's a safe guess that Switch 2 will get its "Switch 2018" moment at some point. I bring up 2018 because that was the year when PS exclusive Crash and Final Fantasy were announced for Switch so at that point the floodgates were opened in terms of potential 3rd party releases.

@Grumblevolcano
Ya. With Switch there was also a delay due to lack of confidence from Wii U. That first year involved a lot of sitting back and watching, with a, "Let's wait and see" approach.

Switch 2 will have the benefit of developer confidence out the gate.

Just look at the excellent development work going into Switch as it is, and this version is outselling all others on retailers like Amazon.

It's not hard to imagine how good Switch 2 games will look and run. After all the effort needed to optimize on Switch, developing for Switch 2 should be easy breezy

And a side effect of Switch 2 will be better Steamdeck ports. I know that sounds a little counterintuitive but let me explain.

As it stands, Steamdeck only has some 3 million players, so optimizing for the system doesn't really pay. Some devs might cobble together low settings and slap a "Steamdeck settings" label on it but no real work is going into optimizing for the system right now. It's just benefitting from the scalability of PC.

With Switch 2 expected to be around the same power level, a lot of ports are going to be optimized specifically for Switch 2, and that optimization can transfer to PC settings for Steamdeck. Likewise, PC settings for Steamdeck are incentivized by the fact they can be largely transferred over to Switch 2. It'll be a mutually beneficial relationship.

So as games get bigger and more difficult to scale down to Steamdeck out of the box, Switch 2 will help ensure there's always a demand for scalability down to 8th gen power level, which can help ensure games continue to get settings appropriate for running on the Deck. Whereas without Switch 2, they may very well leave it in the dust, requiring a Deck 2 release to keep up. But with 100 million+ Switch 2 expected over the coming years, abandoning that power profile might prove unwise.

Why didn't they release F-ZERO AX, It is 20 years old, so I'm sure it would work on switch, it has characters and courses not in F-ZERO GX, I think !

@Ninfan That's not exactly true, the only thing AX has that GX doesn't is the arcade style gameplay where you have a timer counting down and completing a lap increases the timer. All the AX characters, courses and vehicle parts are unlockable in GX though it is extremely difficult to unlock them all given requirements like winning GPs in Master difficulty and completing Story Mode on Very Hard.

what if Switch sucessor UI is similar of this concept

@Giancarlothomaz Besides the virtual console and web browser which definitely won't happen on Switch 2, what was the point of that seperate app area? They seemed to all fit in the lower bar without expanding it. The buttons they have at the bottom of Switch now seem fine and there is room for a few more if needed.

Last played and play time would certainly be nice.

If instead of 'popular with friends' you could put your own folders or favorites in the second row that might be useful. Although just one row you could customize/sort in more ways would be equally good.

@Giancarlothomaz
A good UI reduces the number of steps required for an action while simultaneously minimising the number of things a single item does. I feel like that design is a step backwards on both counts. As @FishyS said, no idea why there's a need for an app drawer there and the popular with friends bit just gets in the way I feel

I think the Switch's OS design more generally is fine but with probably two significant weaknesses. And not the ones people usually complain about. I think some common destinations should load instantly as alternative tabs in the main UI. The eShop should be something you can just navigate to and through as easily as you browse your main games. We've come a long way since the Wii but loading the eShop still has a barrier and also using the eShop is a bit of a chore. Potentially you could also throw demos under this tab

I also feel like all of the NSO games should be given a similar treatment as a stand-alone tab. I think they also need to have the OS check your subscription when you go online and then also periodically a reasonable period before an expiry. By the time I'm loading the app that's too late, the console should already know. Also if all the NSO games are bundled together in their own tab it would make it easier to add stuff like Wii/GC games

I think those are my main wishes

I think the Switch UI is already pretty amazing, but the NSO app is slow. Just speed that puppy up, allow for 3DS-style customizations, keep it snappy and simple and focused on the games, and there ya go.

I was on the fence about Unicorn Overlord such that I'd want to check out a demo before purchase but the state of physical recently is pushing me more towards day 1 purchase. If I buy, I want the physical version but if I don't get it soon after launch at latest there may not even be a physical version anymore.