
2015 was a funny time for Nintendo, against all the nay-sayers and all the 'Nintendoomers' the company managed to successfully re-evaluate what makes a shooter tick with Splatoon. Now it's at it again with the aptly named Splatoon 2 - sadly not Spla2oon - and we thought we should sit down to ink out the details of the preview event demo.
We've dropped our fair share of hours into the original title in the series (about 400 hours for this scribe at the time of writing) and suffice to say the core of what made that quirky little shooter so superb has been carried over to the Switch's first foray. Various new ideas have been employed to spice things up, but Nintendo hasn't lost sight of what made the original the stand-out title it still is.
Our first time picking up the game was in the Switch's portable mode, meaning the whole system was subjected to the meticulously calculated gesticulating that comes with any experienced motion-control kid and/or squid. Whilst this isn't the ideal way to play, the excellent viewing angle of the console's screen meant that we were never subjected to that unusual discolouration that used to happen on older devices. The sticks being smaller was also a bit of a shock bit it's easy to adapt rather quickly. What took a little longer to get used to was the placement of the right analogue stick, and with jump being remapped to the B Button we were flailing around for a short time.
Thankfully the Pro Controller is also supported and is an absolute dream. Having had a lot more hands-on time with the Switch by the time we got around to using this beast the stick placement was all but a non-issue, and our character was darting around turning squids into fried calamari in moments, as you can see in the video above. It's also worth noting that the ever-so-slightly sluggish motion controls of the Wii U GamePad are a thing of distant memory, as both the Joy Cons and the Pro Controller have vastly snappier movement, thanks no doubt to the more advanced tech inside them.
But let's move on from the hardware and talk about the game itself. A rather unusual move is that all the previous specials such as the Killer Wail (or 'Megaphone Laser' as it's delightfully known in Japan), Kraken and Inkstrike have all been replaced with new attacks. That's not to say there aren't some distinct similarities to these older specials, but totally stripping them out does help to distinguish this as a brand new title rather than a remaster with DLC.

One special we tried was the Inkjet. Far from being an old-fashioned device for printing Word documents this jetpack allows you to soar above the ground and fire a blaster-like weapon at your opponents. This does make you an obvious target, but you can also scale and explore areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as an enemy's spawn which is blocked off by unscalable walls. You won't be able to stay there however, and as soon as your special is over you'll be launched back to where you initiated it, giving you a quick exit from a potentially ugly situation.
Another special we had the joy of using was the Sting Ray, a long-ranged weapon that fires a pinpoint stream of ink for several seconds with limited movement. We weren't able to make much use of this particular weapon, partly because of uncertainty what was going to happen once we clicked that right stick in, but also by choosing hilariously inopportune moments to try it. Practice will make perfect.
The newly revealed Splat Dualies weapon is also something distinctive. It has truly abysmal range, but the ability to quickly roll whilst firing can help get the jump on your opponents and also allow you to dodge out of harm's way. Experienced players will no doubt learn to compensate for this added movement, so any cries of this being overpowered should easily be quelled once people get to grips with things.

The Splat charger has also had a minor buff; now you can hold your weapon's charge as you transform into a squid for a short time, but too long in this form and your charge will run out, so you'll have to be careful how you use it. Considering how Chargers were often considered every-so-slightly overpowered in the Wii U title this seems like an unusual choice to make, but no doubt things will become clearer in the final release.
On a purely shallow note it can't be denied that this sequel totally knocks its predecessor out of the park in terms of visuals. Videos and screenshots online don't even begin to do the game justice, especially considering YouTube's ruthless compression algorithms. Just like the old game colours pop and leap off the screen, but now the detail is so much finer, and more importantly for the hardcore players everything is significantly smoother. We didn't experience a single instance of slowdown during our time playing, although it was in a wired demonstration setting; the final test will come in the retail build on a standard home-based internet connection.
The game still runs in 720p even on the big screen, but we feel this is likely to favour performance over pixel-perfect clarity. It's a shame that we still haven't seen Splatoon in 1080p, but if it means keeping that 60fps solid even on Blackbelly Skatepark then that's just fine, although we don't actually know if it's in this game yet.
All in all Splatoon 2 is shaping up to be a truly excellent and faithful successor to the Wii U classic. We're hoping for a more involving single-player and offline experience than Splatoon offered, but we'll need to wait and see how they shape up. If you enjoyed Splatoon, prepare to ink yourself over Splatoon 2.
Comments 96
I grew bored with Splatoon. It's a good game, don't get me wrong but by the time the final update arrived I was done with it. I think the lack of voicechat and restrictions cooled my interest. Might pick this up eventually if/when I buy the Switch. I echo the hopes that the single player experience is greatly expanded upon.
Yes please, day 1 purchase.
I still feel like splatoon was the shooter made for people that don't like shooters. As a card carrying member in that category, I am very excited for Splatoon 2.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Why are you buying the Switch? Is there anything at all you like about it?
I seem to have inked my unmentionables
My primary reason to purchase the Switch...later this spring. How can I possibly say no to "Splatoon 2", even if it is not "Spla2oon"?
@Ryu_Niiyama Not so sure about that. I play shooters all the time, so does most of my friends, even the tactical ones like rainbow six siege and we loved splatoon. It just felt great to play and it did things differently.
It was easy to pick up and play but for better players, it had a lot behind it to keep people invested and to have fun for a long time. needless to say, I can't wait for splatoon 2.
Definite day one for me.I was watching some videos of it yesterday and even through Youtube I could notice a real improvement in the graphics.That inkjet is a game changer.Got a feeling it will arrive end of May,the same time the original landed.
Um.... I have watched the video presentation, but the Red Splat when you got damage was really disturbing me. It was looks like Blood. I hate to see "Blood" pattern , the main reason why I hate shooting games by generally . It just looks so evil when I saw "Blood" on the screen. I don't mind at all if Paint splats as long not Red splat. It just reminds me for disgusting adult fps games, drive me angry and raise my hatred. I'm so sorry with my confessions.
@Sinton It's not much of a step up from the Wii U. I have no interest in using it as a portable. Zelda and Mario look fantastic, especially Zelda. And Xenoblade 2 will be great too. I'm buying Zelda on Wii U and the other 2 games are some way off.
One of the three Switch titles already preordered!
It'll be fishy, but I'm floundering over weather oar knot Splatoon will have Octolings as playable characters. That's the reel question. If they don't, that's fine. Still, this game's a hook line and sinker for me. A reel catch, if I say so myself.
Well i already preordered the game but i hope we get a date soon so i can mark it in my calendar.
I am 90% on board with this game. I loved Splatoon but it was a bit short on single player modes. I loved the campaign to death, it was extremely well done, and had it been more robust, or just longer, I'd love the game even more. Really the only thing I can ask for is more single player stuff.
This, ARMS, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade 2, Skyrim, Bomberman R, and Breath of The Wild are the ones that im most excited about for Switch.
The reason I will buy a Switch is for this game alone. Splatoon was my absolute favorite game on the Wii U, and I don't even like shooters.
@Sinton He likes to complain? (jokes)
In all honesty if I had to guess, @SLIGEACH_FIRE probably has a set of interests that the Wii U did not scratch and currently the Switch has not either.
It could be certain games, certain hardware features or probably the way Nintendo handled it.
Can I ask @SLIGEACH_FIRE? What would honestly make you buy a Switch day one?
Even though i didn't exactly get into splatoon im happy Nintendo is keeping it going for all the fans. Hopefully it's successful and helps drive sales.
I got the first Splatoon on a whim thought I probably wouldn't like it and was I sooooo wrong loved it , this is a definite preordered day one purchase.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE There is a comparison video of BOTW Wii U/Switch side by side and the difference is really noticeable.The Wii U version looks soft and blurry in comparison and clearly doesn't run as smooth.
@OorWullie I know that video but that's an old build of the Wii U version. And Aonuma says they're identical. So I hope it's just a bump in resolution and faster loading times that the Switch version has.
I'm happy this wound up being a true sequel, but what we've seen so far looks unbelievably similar to the first game. I'm getting it regardless, especially since the online community on Wii U is going to die out rather quickly, but here's hoping the sequel's single player campaign is more compelling and they've got some more tricks up their sleeve to help the series (ahem) stay fresh.
@Darkwario1 Never stop.
I'm not surprised that this game looks sharper & runs smoother than the original, it would be madness otherwise considering Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is meant to be running native 1080p 60fps... as busy as this game is, at 720p it should be silky smooth.
Not played this game on the Wii U (due to a lack of Wii U) but the online play looks great. Considering most of my friends are online these days (I'm talking real people, I love you NL commenters, but you're acquaintances at best. ), this could be the game for me.
As a Luna hopper, I am quite nervous about the change in stick placement and jump being remapped to the 'b' button. I know I will adapt, but I've really grown to love the current setup that's become second nature.
The change in specials could be a godsend too, as I've always had a problem with two specials acting as an effective "nope" button, it's poor form. Also bomb rush is superfluous with the way it contributes to major frame drops with several going off (splat zones is occasionally unplayable due to this).
Finally, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't mind them removing damage up entirely. It's become far too prolific and largely, largely as a way to compensate for a lack of aim or to buff burst-canceling to the point of absurdity. As a blaster user I can how helpful it can be, but it feels unfair and I would rather boost my movement speed anyway.
Anyway, I will take whatever they give me as long as they don't mess with my dear Luna Blaster.
I bought Splatoon mostly because I wanted to support the new IP and because my son really wanted it... I really did not think it was for me, but we absolutely love it, it's so so good.
I do hope this has a bigger single campaign than the original. That may cause me to pick it up, hearing that the original's single player mode was short was a bummer.
@Ryu_Niiyama I love shooters, but Splatoon just happens to be one of the best I've played.
My biggest hope right now is that Nintendo uses the revenue from online subscription fees to maintain dedicated servers for this and other games.
@Megas that's what I was thinking too. Usually the ABXY buttons are offset on dual Analog controllers.
This game more than everything else combined mages me loath that online play is now a subscription service. Splatoon is the only game we've played more than about 10 hours with of online and it's hard to think we won't but and play the heck out of Splatoon 2, but once they start charging to play online I'll be tempted to sell Splatoon 2 and go back to the original. I've never played a game that I had to pay a subscription for and I don't plan to start now
We've missed the Splatfests . . . looking forward to their return. I will get a Switch for this game.
It seems so far all info on this has nothing to offer in terms of a new single player campaign. I know it was highly overshadowed in the first game as well, but I guess I'm in the minority in that I enjoyed that just as much as the battles.
It would be ideal if they took the time to cook up an expanded single player portion, but my fear is they'll do just the opposite and marginalize it in favor of the online and local wireless multiplayer. I know that's the main attraction with Splatoon by far, but I enjoyed the varied enemy types and forward progression in the single player as well. Still hoping we eventually hear a little about it being in there.
@Dr_Corndog @Varelius Guys, my comment didn't mean that if you liked shooters that you won't like splatoon. Merely that it draws in folks like myself that might not be fond of the genre.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Hence my question. You don't like the console, and the only games you like are released in 8-10 months. I'm sorry, but instead of talking about how you have it in pre-order "for now", why don't you put your money where your mouth is, and cancel your pre-order? I'd never buy a console I don't like or don't want.
Please. Dear god. Make the campaign mode two-player accessible. Heck, add a "waves of enemies/survival" mode for a team of two, three or four people and THAT would be something fun to tackle with friends that doesn't need to be timed or have you dealing with frustrating losses all the time. Make. This. happen!
@Sinton I probably will cancel my pre order.
Woot woot!
Splatoon 2... Nintendo done up and done it now!
I'll see you guys on the squid turf (probably getting my butt handed to me by all you unnaturally talented toon splatters)
To clarify my earlier disdain for damage up, I want to point out it's an issue with consistency. Bomb blast radius, charger charge-time, blaster range, burst bomb damage, etc... These are all affected by damage up with a negative effect on competitive balance because you can't rely on the consistency of the game design when damage up is abused.
Same with Quick Respawn. The respawn loop is key to the competive balance of Splatoon, but quick respawn needlessly slants this loop when there are other options (quick super jump, comeback, movement buffs, etc.) that achieve similar results without breaking the loop.
In the end these are far and away the two most common perks in high level Splatoon play and the resulting lack of variety and creativity in loadouts is disappointing particularly at the cost of consistent game balance.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Yeah, probably.
@Darkwario1: You sir, deserve the internet for a day, for being clever.
@Anti-Matter: No worries, there are plenty of people who do not like blood, gore, &/or violence(realistic, or otherwise).
@Everyone_Else: I played the at-home demo on WU. I was always kinda interested in this, & I just might ask for it next Christmas. I can't be too concerned/bothered over in-game buffs, & de-buffs, as I never played more, than the demo; so I have nothing to compare changes to. Edit: On a related note, in my opinion the NS isn't looking bad, aside from price. Some things could be better, but not everything needs fixing.
New Mario Odyssey footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih323XXu_3w
@datamonkey lol. Great footage.
@AlexOlney *salutes with honor * aye aye cap'n
I'm most interested in what new stages are available. If there's only a few brand new stages available on Splatoon 2, then I doubt I'll pick this up, especially with the paid online.
Again, like other information and games for the Switch, Nintendo has decided to barely change anything or not show enough to get people that are not "major Nintendo fans" interested. I have the game on my Wii U so what is there new that makes me think this game will improve that much? New weapons and stages? No, but that really isn't enough. Plus having to pay for online is just making this game pointless to get on the Switch.
I still play Splatoon everyday!!! Can't wait to make the jump to Splatoon 2!!
@Anti-Matter That isn't even close to what blood looks like. Bright red is usually used for comical blood splatters anyway
@Darkwario1 Your puns need to walk the plank(ton)
My bet is in terms of local modes there will be Multi system multiplayer and the Splitscreen from the Wii u (each with a half joy con)
However it would be very cool if you could play 2v2 via two switches/ 4v4 via 4 switches
Tell ya what would be cool, allowing WU Splatoon owners to play matches from their copy of the game, with NS Splatoon 2 owners. The owners of the original would need a patch to modify their version's online system, maybe even from top-down. & for fairness, also pay for online Splatoon, but not for any other online, since WU's online was free. This same concept goes for Mario Kart 8/Dx. That would be something, if Nintendo did that.
@Rhydas
Totally agree. I would have loved to play splitscreen (splatscreen) with my bro like we do in Uncharted 3. Switch is more powerful and does not require the second screen.
Happy that Splatoon 2 is coming, but I would honestly much prefer if they had targeted a summer 2018 release and worked on a more traditional Nintendo franchise for this coming summer. Like Animal Crossing (!!) or Metroid. It's a bit early for a sequel methinks, plus it would give them time get all the post-release content in for launch.
@Darkwario1 With puns like that I was tempted to hit the report button but your comedy keeps the net afloat. I've been trawling through these comments and your jokes are terrible but also a ray of sunshine. You must be a laugh at your plaice! I'm running out of lines now.
@Capt_N
That would be cool, but aside from managing the network difference, and of course losing a reason to sell WiiU owners a Switch, I suspect level designs will be more complicated in Splatoon 2, and WiiU might struggle with some larger level geometries. It struggled enough with Skatepark and any time someone would spam a stupid bomb rush. A more complex level design with everyone all in one place might overwhelm WiiU. Due to the ink coverage, while textures need not be 1:1 identical, geometries certainly would. They'd have to refrain from pushing Switch's hardware with the game to accommodate WiiU. If they fix the horrendous netcode and remove the predictive AI that uses MK style rubber-banding for player prediction that lead to all the odd glitching and teleportation, that alone is worth the price of a Switch!
@Ryu_Niiyama You're not the first to describe it as "the shooter for people who don't like shooters", it's quite true. I'm in between, I played the original Quake on PC, I wouldn't say truly competitively (this was before true competitive games were a thing), but seriously enough to do the whole clan thing (which is where clans even started.) Did that through Q2, played some Unreal Tournament, got bored of shooters by Q3, and never really looked back again, particularly online multiplayer shooters (story driven is a different thing.) I picked up Splatoon not caring for online multiplayer anything but it was too darn fun looking not to at least play the single player even though I heard it was only 8 hours. I tried multiplayer and 8 months later I'd accrued a massive back catalogue of other games that I hadn't opened and intended to have already played, and had 2 characters up to S rank and one broken gamepad (worn down right stick) (and people say Switch controllers are expensive!). I promised myself I'd back away from Splatoon after that, I behaved myself....and then Splatoon 2 got announced. Preordered last Friday, of course....
This is only a purchase if the voice chat app. Is compatible
@Zapazoid It's not really too early for a sequel, and in the Splatoon community it's been pretty well assumed that "NX" would get a Splatoon game, at least a port, shortly after launch. The thing is in Japan Splatoon is pretty big and is as major a system seller as a new mario game. Keep in mind Metroid generally doesn't sell very well overall. It sells modestly ok in the West and it sells fairly dismally in Japan (the core market) so Metroid is a nice "also" game, rather than a console seller. It's only a console seller in the eyes of a fairly vocal minority of hardcore fans on the internet. Given Reggie's dodgy answer I suspect a Metroid is coming, but not at launch. I actually suspect a Metroid was supposed to happen on WiiU along side FF, but then got scrapped when they decided to abandon WiiU for Switch. Animal Crossing would sell pretty well. But I suspect Splatoon is a bigger seller in Japan now, and they want to grow it in the west with the younger audience (AC is a better zen game for adults, in actuality!) Plus, 1-year life cycles is kind of a standard for multiplayer shooters. The crowd builds a meta from day 1, the community grows as the meta evolves, and then thins out as the game plays out and new games arrive, and the meta stagnates. Splatoon 1 given the WiiU install base, the normal cycle, the Japan heavy player base, and the subsequent abandonment of WiiU by Nintendo has made the player base really tailspin fast so that for the most part ONLY high level players remain. It needs fresh blood badly. Launch window is a good move not just for Switch but for the Splatoon franchise to cement itself under better conditions than under a fading console.
@NEStalgia Very well reasoned response, particularly about the stagnating player base. I guess you want to keep the momentum for it going, being a new hit franchise and all. And I agree more or less about Metroid, however I think that the general feeling about the Switch's launch lineup would be drastically different with Metroid in there instead. That would mean they have the new Zelda, a new Mario, definitive Mario Kart, and a brand new Metroid all in launch year (and probably Pokemon and Smash to be announced later). I think that sends a much stronger message than Splatoon 2, which is generally more of the same with some minor changes and improvements.
Splatoon is pretty much a day one purchase for me if it has a decent single-player campaign like the first game. Of course, it's the multiplayer that will keep me coming back to it, but I make a point of only buying games that allow me to play offline as well.
"Thankfully the Pro Controller is also supported and is an absolute dream."
I expect to see this line in a number of Switch reviews down the road. JoyCons, with their smaller analog sticks and overall different feel than a traditional controller will wear thin its novelty with folks that just want to plop down on the couch and game it up for an hour or two.
Also, a big LOL to the fact that even Switch cannot run a game as closed in and small in size as Splatoon in 1080p.
Looks like it's Zelda day one on Wii U for me then back to my Xbox 1 for the rest of 2017. Just re-upped my Gold subscription for the year too so I'm good on paid online services for now.
@gatorboi352
I imagine it can run it but would have frame drops when all 8 players are in the screen and someone drops a double bomb rush (there's a lot of particle effects.) If you ask in the Splatoon community we'd ALL rather have lower res and zero frame drops ever. It's an extremely competitive community. Perfection is needed.
@Zapazoid Given Reggie's answer of "ask me next year and we'll see what's happened" [sic] there's a fair enough chance of a Metroid reveal at E3 that would set that launch image mood in time for the peak console season of Nov/Dec. The average consumer doesn't even know much about this thing yet. By the time they really hear much about Switch and google it they're going to see all this and feel they're late to the party. They surely don't want a repeat of 2015 E3 where there were no new reveals because everything had already been announced in Directs in the 4 months prior. They need to keep a major surprise in reserve. Maybe it's that. In terms of overall sales though, Splatoon is "fresh" (pun intended) while Metroid is fairly stale. FF and Other M is all the last decade of gamers know of Metroid. It's not a strong brand to draw a crowd, it appeals more to the core customers that have been around for a while....and they know we'll buy it whenever they release it.
@NEStalgia I mean that's fine, and I'm all for 60fps over resolution too but.... damn how underpowered is Switch?! Zelda is 900p! A game that was artistically designed to not be so technically taxing on the Wii U hardware!
Given Switch's hardware shortcomings and lack of 3rd party support, I cannot see its shelf life meeting Wii U's 4 year shelf life.
@gatorboi352 Splatoon running at 720p only means they are currently optimizing the game for the lowest denominator (portable mode). Whether or not docked mode supports a higher resolution at launch is up in the air. There is little doubt they can do it, it's just a matter of maintain a standard of the best possible framerate across both modes. If one mode provides a choppier performance, even slightly, it puts a damper on the competitive play across modes.
@gatorboi352 You start to look silly fixating on resolution with no other considerations. Having not played BotW in either portable or docked mode or on Wii U it makes any sort of comparison pointless. According to impressions (keep in mind we've only seen Treehouse play the newest, most optimized version... Most are playing the e3 build) the Switch version has better draw distance and lighting along with more foliage. That taxes the hardware as well.
The fact that the Switch is a handheld will generally prevent it from brute-forcing its way to top performance even running Wii U games due to major difference in architecture and form. There are things like memory bandwidth (likely a major factor for BotW as Wii U has an expensive RAM setup to minimize bandwidth issues) and thermal constraints that need to be considered, even in docked mode.
Anyway, the thought of playing BotW on a handheld is more alluring than anything I've played on my launch Xbone. Many of the games I own run at 900p anyway and as far as I can tell none as as interactive as BotW, so...
@gatorboi352
3rd party games are not just Western games as you think usually. There are some Japanese 3rd party games announced for Switch this year. Since Switch is Region Free, you can add Japanese games as your choices, so no more complaining about lack of 3rd party games.
Splatoon was just perfect IMHO so great to hear they're not dropped the ball on the sequel.
The Wii U version of Zelda is most likely the better one, just like GC Zelda (TP) was superior to its Wii counterpart.
Splatoon coming back is great, and even though this may not be a total true sequel, I loved it on Wii U and hope the new one is great
I probably look forward to this game more than any other one. Now if a Monster Hunter game was announced that would be a different story, but this sucker is up there.
I need a good offline mode, and local multiplayer then it's all good for me lol
@Ryu_Niiyama well you also gotta look at it from the other side of the coin most people that play shooters thought that splatoon was too easy, wasn't for them, or was out of touch with what a "shooter" is. Even my cousin was pretty standfast against it and i argued with him about that for hours on end till one day i brought it over and made him play it.
He wouldn't stop playing it to the point i had to make him stop so i could leave lol. He admitted immediately how wrong he was afterwards.
my point is, while you say it tries to draw people who don't likie shooters in - the other side of the coin is its actively pushing away people who do play them a lot because it doesn't really explain just all thats going on making them think its barebones or too easy which is far from the truth.
@NintyNate i was watching the first impressions of the switch from easy allies. i may have misheard it but he was giving the impression that you could go offline multiplayer with multiple switches. no split screen tho'.
This is my favorite game on the Wii U. I bought it thinking I would just like it, but wow did this impress me! I have now put 475 hours into the game and I can say I enjoyed every hour. Can't wait for this sequel, even if they are just playing it safe. This franchise doesn't need a huge shakeup just yet.
We can use the old pro controller for the wii u right? Because getting a new one is expensive and I like where both analog sticks are at the top.
@Varelius Shrugs. There are plenty of standard shooters. This is one game that happened to make shooters more appealing to a non shooter. What is your point exactly?
Am I supposed to be upset if a standard fps fan didn't like splatoon? Why? I don't get upset when someone doesn't like the same fighting games I do nor do I expect the game franchise to change to cater to me. I just play something I do like instead.
Day one purchase and LET ME AT THE RANKED BATTLES!! Such pain and despair mixed with sheer ecstasy and emboldenment as you seesaw your way up the ranks! Splatoon is the game that pulled me back into FPS (played Quake and UT back in the day), but only Splatoon.
@gatorboi352 Zelda's not a good measure of the consoles performance as it's a port of a game built initially for a different architecture. That said, I think looking at it as "underpowered" is a little sideways. Underpowered compared to what? WiiU? No, it's more powerful. 3DS? Much more powerful. PS4, XBone, slightly less power. Phones and tablets (which are the closest thing in form factor?) Much more powerful in terms of graphics compared to units that retail anywhere close to the price point (and with far better input schemes.)
Everyone has this impulse to compare it to "the most powerful gaming systems", but it's not marketing itself on its power (not that it's power is much to sneer at, and not that diminishing returns aren't becoming apparent in the rendering power arms race.) There's already two nearly identical consoles on the market. Making a third product in the graphics arms race would sink like Link in iron boots. This is about its unique feature-set. Namely its portability (and it's Nintendo games of course.) For people that don't intend to play it portable, then, yeah, it's features lack a certain appeal compared to other gaming devices like PS4/XB1. But for those that do intend to play it portable, and there's a lot of 3DS owners, Vita owners, and people who don't currently game but would if they could take it with them (and a niche PC gamers that I think might like a portable "real" gaming system) the Switch has a certain appeal PSXBox lacks. For you, comparing it to PSXBox, no, it's not as impressive a home console (though it's not far off), but you can take this with you, and those you can't. I'd give up 1080p down to 900p to run the thing on a battery and take it with me. That's a feature set I've long long waited for someone, anyone to make. I didn't care if it was Nintendo, Sony (I tried, Vita, it's not me, it's you), or nVidia (I really wanted to love the Shield...ironic the Shield became the new Nintendo...) but its ideal that it was Nintendo that did it since they tend to have my favorite games in terms of both first and third party. Not all, (I'm an Asassin's Creed, Deus Ex, Mass Effect, Uncharted, among others, fan as well. I still have my Horizon: Zero Dawn preorder on. Though it says a lot about my tastes when most of my favorite series are the ones those publishers chose to test on the Nintendo fan base. and Yoshida compared Horizon to Breath of the Wild...
Point being, the Switch is far and away the single most powerful portable system ever built (I don't count Alienware laptops that really don't run on a battery in any useful way) It's a portable system so powerful it's more powerful than Nintendo's prior console and not much less power than Sony and MS's current base console. That's an impressive machine. "Underpowered" compared to other non-portable consoles that suck down AC power, but it has "the highest quality pixels anyone has seen" on a portable unit bar none
Splatoon on the go. In summer I tend to be more out and about. Being portable will literally be the difference between me being there with the folks I've played Splatoon 1 with regularly on day one vs. not with a Summer release. For me, it would be the first choice platform, for any game, regardless of if it's a little prettier on PS4. If I wasn't using it's portability, it would possibly be a secondary console. Nintendo's banking on the fact that more of it's target audience wants to play in a mobile way, not hurt by the fact that most of it's target audience is in Japan. Looking at 3DS vs WiiU sales, that seems like a solid decision.
They really should make sure that it runs 1080p when docked, at least 900p. No first party games should feature as many jagged edges as the Wii U did. The lack of anti-aliasing seriously turned me off some games.
@Anti-Matter that's just a ridiculous claim. No region lock = no 3rd party issue? Nonsense. Yeah let's play DQ in Japanese.
Capcom brings Street Fighter but can't bring Resident Evil? Square brings Octowhatever but can't bring FF15? Thought that one was a done deal?
@TheLZdragon @Monkeyofthefunk Thank you both (and the rest of the NintendoLife community) for putting up with my puns
@gatorboi352
There will be a lot of 3rd party games either Japanese or Western and either AAA or non AAA. Some of non AAA games still worthed to play. That's really helpful to maximize your games library. I have plenty of NDS games and my NDS games are mixture of USA region and Japan region. Without Japan region, my NDS games collection probably just half from my whole NDS games collection.
Oh, I ONLY play Kiddie games for NDS from Everyone until Everyone+10 (CERO A in Japan), no TEEN NDS games so far (CERO B in Japan). No adult games are allowed on my system so don't expect me I have interest with games that you have mentioned before.
@Jimsbo "It seems so far all info on this has nothing to offer in terms of a new single player campaign."
There's a single player campaign, or it would appear so. At 1:28 of the intro video you can see a bunch of Octarians. And I really doubt that the multiplayer would have them in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN4w5D2tzME
Will they have offline multi-player if you happen to have eight switches together? Or 4 for two on two, that'd be cool.
@Darkwario1 Keep them coming.
This game is very important. It'll be both a system seller and an online service seller. I think an argument could be made that this game is more important to the Switch's first year then Zelda. (I'm not saying one is better then the other) Mario might be the only game in the first half of the Switch's year one that might be more important, but Splatoon will sell both systems and the new "pay" online service.
@King_Johobo I would like this too, but I highly doubt it will make it into the game.
@dkxcalibur ". It'll be both a system seller and an online service seller."
I disagree. The first Splatoon didn't do anything for Wii U sales.
I believe it didn't help with Wii U sales because it came near the end of the Wii U. I think most gamers knew the system was doomed and didn't want to take a chance on an unknown game. Now, gamers are aware of Splatoon and it's coming in year one for the Switch. Maybe I'm wrong but for me personally, it's the first game scheduled for release on the Switch that I need a Switch to play. Mario Kart 8 was my favorite game on the Wii U but I don't think I want the deluxe version enough to spend the money on a new system. The same is true about Zelda. Sure it'll be better on the Switch, but I can still buy it for the Wii U.
@gatorboi352 I think you're underestimating the Switch's biggest feature....mobility. This separates the Switch from the PS4 & Xbone. I think it's very obvious that Nintendo is not intending to compete directly with those two systems in raw power.
There's something about the fact that I could bring my Switch to work and play over my lunch, or take it to any room in my house...but when I'm less busy and I'm at home, I can still fire it up on my TV. My 3DS is still the system I play the most because it's convenient. For some gamers dedicating time to sit in front of a TV to play a game for 2 hours might not be an issue, but for me it is.
As someone who doesn't like shooters, I didn't get Splatoon on day one and didn't plan to get it ever. But people were praising it so much, and it looked fun/cute, so I gave it a try. Best decision ever! Can't wait for Splatoon 2.
@Darkwario1 Your puns are fishy. Your puns are bait. Your puns are not whale done. Your puns suck out my morayle.
@NEStalgia: "A more complex level design with everyone all in one place might overwhelm WiiU. " - Yeah, that's why I said (Nintendo would) possibly have to have the online re-tooled from the top-down. Nintendo could probably, in all likelihood, do it. The thing is, I don't think they ever would do it, as it would be too much work, just to allow original Splatoon owners the opportunity to multiplayer online w/ Splatoon 2 owners. It also would give WU owners one less reason to buy an NS. This reminds me of how Nintendo actually once did this, however: the Mario Bros. arcade game, available in all 4 Super Mario Advance titles(GameBoy Advance)(also available in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga), were able to do this, presumably b/c aside from slight music alterations, the code probably was the same.
"it's a port of a game built initially for a different architecture" - Nintendo wants to be careful with this one. The gamers that might put a console's visual prowess as the measuring stick of said console, & also might be knowledgeable techies, those people might judge the NS on TLoZ:BoTW. It's a far fetched assumption on my own part, but it could happen. It does raise a question though, as to whether, or not Nintendo will properly re-optimize the game, for the (art)style they want the title to have, on the NS. As you probably know, Nintendo likes stylized art, which doesn't always require pushing hardware to its limits.
I'm definitely looking forward to the game.
@Capt_N If they don't completely re-tool the online in Splatoon 2 no matter what, I'll be throwing an $80 pair of Joycon at the wall! The netcode was just plain BAD in Splatoon 1. No excuse, but hey, it was free.
I don't think they'd do it though. Cannibalizing Switch's appeal of Splatoon 2 by making the rapidly dwindling player base of Splatoon more viable won't help anyone and would probably create problems and messes for the game overall. It would be a lovely "thanks for being a rube and buying a WiiU, here's your thank you patch", but from a business perspective there's zero benefit and ton's of problems in doing it beyond customer loyalty (to the already loyal customer base.) Interesting about Mario on Advance though! No online infrastructure to worry about though.
Yeah, Zelda, if it were not Zelda, would have been ripped to shreds with it's graphics differences. There's no way that game, stuck in development heck for years, is very well optimized. 900p, docked, at 30fps, with a watercolor art style? That's Bethesda levels of optimization there. It's a WiiU game in development since WiiU launched (or before) ported to an all new console. And neither console runs it at top performance? I do believe it's the Xenoblade X engine they ended up using. It definitely doesn't seem optimized well, and I HOPE (in vein as techies tend to be dismissive of Nintendo at the start) that nobody seriously evaluates Switch hardware based on a late port from a PowerPC machine. I think the stylized art is often cover for the limited hardware of their machines, and in turn they (until now) have designed machines to have limited hardware in part to push dev teams to be creative with art. At least on Switch the limitations are required by form factor and are even less limited than WiiU.
I do find it interesting that Splatoon 2 runs 720p docked @ 60fps, while Zelda runs 720p HANDHELD 30fps. That probably gives us a little clue as to the optimization of each. Though I also suspect Splatoon2 is leaving a lot of headroom in performance MOST of the time, so that the framerate doesn't drop during those critical moments like skatepark and multi-bomb rushes. It's probably not a good measuring stick either.
@NEStalgia: "Though I also suspect Splatoon2 is leaving a lot of headroom in performance" - Yeah, it probably is for performance. Hopefully now w/ payed online, Nintendo will provide online that has more currently realistic connection speeds/drops/re-connects/etc. Troubles(Connection issues) will always be there, but I'd settle for enjoyably decent, &/or better speeds, w/ fewer dropoffs, for a reasonably fair price. But, I'm also aware connection quality is also tied to individual isp speeds. So, mileage may vary.
" It's probably not a good measuring stick either" - I'm not sure, but if dev(development) time for Super Mario Odyssey, started only once/after Nintendo's internals(internal teams) finally knew for a fact, what the NS's final specs were, & they had the finalized devkits, then SMO might be the game that the NS can be bench-marked on, to a certain degree(artsyle maybe not a part of the performance weigh-in). Otherwise, people will have to wait maybe a year, for a game that will have truly been made from the ground-up, w/ full knowledge, & accessibility(the devkits) to the NS's final specs in mind.
@Capt_N
Not having dedicated servers in Splatoon was a big problem but honestly it's just the netcode itself. It's buggy as all getout and not efficient. But worse is to make the game look and feel smooth at all times it uses a predictive AI, like in racers, to guess where a player was probably going to go rather than the game just stalling and freezing when there's a drop, or freezing a character in place. It makes the game FEEL and LOOK fluid, but in reality it has you shooting at phantoms and being shot from thin air. That technique is used in racing games because fluidity matters most, and in reality you're never racing against other players, you're racing against a clock. Squids teleport often due to this design, and at the high levels of play that that game invites it's terrible. I think when they designed it they imagined Turf War as the core game and never imagined just how competitive ranked would get. I'm a little nervous to see if they fix this critical flaw (making the game look choppier by being more accurate.) They also need to fix the highly broken ranked scoring system. If they accomplish both those things, and fix the netcode it would be the most amazing shooter of all time.
Mario games have been the tech demo for most Nintendo platforms going back to the SNES. It's a fair bet that Odyssey will really show it off. It helps that Koizumi is the lead for both Odyssey and Switch hardware itself, so few people other than Takeda know more about what the hardware can do than he.
@NEStalgia: Splatoon 2 is one of the launch games I'm interested in, since I never owned the original. That wouldn't be good, if all Nintendo did was a few small tweaks to superficial things. We do know, however, that Nintendo has slightly altered some gameplay by buffs/de-buffs. Hopefully then, they've also spent some time in the garage, & put a new multiplayer gamecode engine in this vehicle, at least enough of a difference to make it better, than the original. Come to think of it, they also have reason to. That will be to convince players to plop cash down, when the online becomes a paid service this Fall.
@Capt_N You're in for a treat getting into it for the first time. I envy you! One thing about Splatoon is it's not even remotely the way you picture a Nintendo game going. It's serious honest to goodness hardcore gaming land over in Splatoon. Turf War can be a nice laid back friendly game, at least around launch, but as time goes on, even Turf War became brutal in 1 as it basically became practice mode for ranked, and ranked is intense. You'll learn reflexes you never knew you had! You will get callouses. You will wear out $80 sticks
To that end, it's definitely more than small tweaks with the weapon chances, specials changes etc. It's a serious enough game that the discussion within the community turns to how seriously the metagame is affected by even a slight rebalance or intruduction of a new weapon. With so many new weapons, replacement of specials, that alone isn't superficial, but I definitely would like to see some overhaul to the scoring systems (beyond fixing the actual network problems). Matchmaking was...well...ther'es been many many pages of discussion as to trying to determine what Splatoon 1 did for matchmaking. It seemed like it was an intelligent system that had gaps that would basically "overestimate" some players abilities based on certain play styles or habits, and treat them as weighted importance on the team (meaning that "great" player + 3 mediocre players = 4 good players.) But for the players that always seemed to be overestimated it lead to some very frustrating patterns. Fixing ranked scoring is really a must...and I hope they listened to some of our very VERY in dept discussions on that if Nintendo reads forums the way Reggie says they do!
So they've got "all new game meta" covered. The necode and scoring/matchmaking remain the parts I fear. Those are under the hood aspects that don't help sell the game. But Splatoon attracts a serious enough crowd that it becomes a serious point of contention for players. Does Nintendo go for only what's most profitable in selling units, or do they go for making the best game they can? With modern Nintendo it's a coin toss at times.
The saving grace is the Japan market is the biggest market for this game (for Splatoon 1, that was another problem. In high ranks good luck finding another player in your lobby who's name is readable. Playing with the Japanese is fun. Brutal, but fun. Playing with the intercontinental lag of P2P connections with them is not ) And from what I heard they weren't so fond of our laggy tentacles dragging them down either! I'm as nervous as I am excited for 2!
Edit: Don't let those issues put you off from buying. Definitely buy it. Being affected by those problems is evidence that you're well past the point of destructive addiction and are now playing at a high enough level to notice In the beginning it's just a fun stroll. Then you try ranked and think it's fun. Then you start climbing up and before you know it you're noticing exactly where squids were and should have been and that they teleported and reconstructing the game mechanics in your mind like looking at the Matrix and seeing what's really in it!
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