Comments 533

Re: Talking Point: Our 2026 Nintendo And Switch 2 Predictions

Hwatt

2026?

For third party, I am hopeful we’ll get that Viewtiful Joe announcement. A 1 and 2 remaster would be a nice treat too! I foresee Baldur’s Gate III happening and some other interesting ports, like Doom The Dark Ages.

On a more pessimistic side, I think The Duskbloods will get delayed to 2027.

First party, we won’t get a 3D Mario. Their commitment to Super Mario Wonder’s expansion around the movie release makes me believe it’s off the books. I think a new Paper Mario is more likely, but if I am looking for a new first party, I am hoping for a new F-Zero. It’s time, Nintendo!

I also think now that Sakurai is back, there was probably some weird deal that he could make Kirby Air Riders if he’s on board for the next smash. I think a Smash tease is possible.

Re: Feature: Farewell, Nintendo Switch - It's Finally Time To Bid Our Old Friend 'Adieu'

Hwatt

I know this is a republished article but oddly enough, I’ve been using both in tandem. To my surprise.

I originally listed my Switch OLED for sale but I haven’t really been convinced I need to commit and get rid of it. The main reason? A lot of Switch games don’t look that nice on Switch 2, especially in handheld mode. Sure, Switch 2 has more horsepower to help smooth out games when they’re struggling to meet 30, 60fps etc. However, since Switch games are targeting 720p in handheld mode, when you run them on Switch 2 and they don’t have a patch or upgrade, they look worse. Due to uninformed scaling. Image gets blurry and it just doesn’t feel fun to play.

What has happened is that I typically keep the Switch 2 docked or I play it handheld only for Switch 2 / upgraded games. Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World, Cyberpunk, or games like TotK (SW2), great! All fun in handheld mode on Switch 2.

Other titles like Metroid Dread, Hades (1), Into the Breach, all feel better on original Switch. Battery is better (even when comparing same games), OLED screen is responsive and provides a beautiful viewing experience.

Until all my favourite games get upgrades to run on Switch 2, I’ve decided I won’t sell my Switch OLED.

The list of my physical Switch games includes: Metroid Dread, TMNT Shredders Revenge, both Mario & Rabbid Games, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Smash Ultimate, Zelda Skyward Sword, BotW, and TotK, Super Mario Wonder, Paper Mario TTYD, Streets of Rage 4, Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4, Links Awakening, PoP The Lost Crown, Immortals Phoenix Rising, Super Mario Odyssey, and probably a few more I am forgetting. Mixed with all my digital copies, far too many just don’t play all too well on Switch 2.

If majority of games get patches and we get a Switch 2 OLED, then I could see myself parting away my Switch OLED, but it seems unlikely at this point.

Re: Cyberpunk 2077's Massive Switch 2 eShop Discount Was An "Error"

Hwatt

@Moistnado

Very true about the discounts! I’d just add that really popular games will not hit those discounts that quickly, let alone on Nintendo’s eshop. For instance, I wouldn’t expect Baldur’s Gate III in a couple years time to be 75% off.

On that note, I wish you happy holidays and many good deals

Re: Cyberpunk 2077's Massive Switch 2 eShop Discount Was An "Error"

Hwatt

Got my copy / In before the lock chooms 😂

For some context, I had been refreshing the eshop every day from the Nintendo app for the past week or so, waiting for Hollow Knight and Silksong to drop in price. This was following an article here on Nintendolife, mentioning Hollow Knight 1 will get a Switch 2 upgrade, and both games should be on sale soon.

After securing my copies of Hollow Knight and Silksong (yay!) I noticed CP2077 was charting 1st, above Hades 2. I saw the price and was shocked.

I quickly discovered on Reddit what happened and didn’t hesitate, bought it, and then immediately went to check out DFs video performance review on Youtube to see if it was a good call.

There I noticed a bunch of other people commenting they did the same thing. I started commenting online, encouraging others to join in. At 12:01 AM EDT, Dec 23, the sale was gone for both CP2077 and Witcher 3, fulfilling the prophecy that this was indeed, too good to be true.

This purchase felt like when Steam first had their big holiday sales in the early 2010’s. Fantastic deal and no I don’t feel guilty.

Re: PSA: Skyrim's 'Anniversary Edition' Bundle Is Currently 60% Off, Includes Free Switch 2 Upgrade (Europe)

Hwatt

@MarzoriuM

Don’t feel too bad. It happens to all of us. Nintendo sales aren’t as frequent compared to other platforms but they usually have a cadence. Deku Deals is a good platform to see the history but I suggest to try avoid any game purchases after Black Friday and before boxing day unless there is a Holiday Sale.

On another note, since so many indie games are cross platform with Steam, it’s good to check Steam’s sale schedule in advance. They publish it for the entire year now. You can likely expect a Nintendo eshop sale when Steam has their Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter sales

Re: Video: Digital Foundry Reviews Skyrim On Switch 2, And Yeah, It's Bad

Hwatt

Switch 2 can handle 60fps. It has more than enough horsepower. CPU, GPU performance. Memory. It’s all there.

This is up to Bethesda to sort out. They rushed another port before holidays and I’m glad this is being exposed by DF. This should be a free upgrade, but considering you have to pay for the anniversary edition, they were clearly trying to get consumers to upgrade for the “free” patch.

If they get 60fps and input lag to match, I may consider the upgrade. Until then, please sort it out!

Re: Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Announced, But Will It Skip Switch 2?

Hwatt

@Misima Yes, my comments were based on AAA standard practices. I also suspect they've shifted to prototype stage (early pre-production). It's possible my message wasn't clear but this is what I was trying to indicate. Game got some sponsorship after concept development, now they can hire more people, insert CG trailer to build hype and get attention.

Re: Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Announced, But Will It Skip Switch 2?

Hwatt

@jfp

It's more of an industry thing. If you see cinematics only for an announcement of an unreleased game, the project is likely shifting from "concept" to "pre-production". Pre-production is them building the prototypes. A cinematic trailer is a good way to indicate the game has been initiated, has some budget, and they're likely seeking intermediate / senior staff before production ramps up. Don't expect a release within less than 5 years.

Release dates and gameplay is typically shown when a game hits Alpha, which means the game (build) is substantially feature complete but will have lots of bugs and issues, and won't have the final pass of VFX, assets, textures etc.

My thoughts: If you see gameplay or a trailer that mentions pre-production or pre-alpha, don't expect that game for at least 2 years.

Re: Nintendo Expands Switch 2 GameCube Library With Wario's 3D Outing

Hwatt

Wait, there was a 3D Wario game on Gamecube?

Gamecube was my primary console during the PS2/XB/GC gen and if it wasn’t for a Nintendo Power magazine, I wouldn’t even believe this game existed!

I never knew anyone who owned nor have I seen video of gameplay until today… Very nice to see it show up and give players a chance to try it out. I am intrigued

Re: Opinion: Resident Evil Requiem Needs To Solve The Series' Villain Problem

Hwatt

I like the article and the lengths went into the details, but I don’t agree.

I like how Umbrella and the Spencer mansion is a consistent thread between all of these stand alone stories. I would not have gone back to RE in recent years if I had to catch up on a larger, more complex thread with one main antagonist. I don’t need a specific antagonist, I just need Umbrella to present and Im good.

RE7 / RE8 work so well because of how isolated, contained they are. Those constraints help focus the story telling within one game, in my opinion.

My only pain point is how the winters story ends in RE8. I do wish Rose would continue in RE9 but I am certainly open to this plot line with the Ashcrofts. I hope to be surprised with Rose showing up in a role more than a cameo, but my expectations are kept in check.

Re: Surprise! 'Skyrim Anniversary Edition' Lands On Switch 2 Today

Hwatt

@Chimichanga

I don’t believe Switch 2’s CPU will be able to handle the game well. I could be terribly wrong but considering the game is quite demanding, essentially UE5 rendering on top of the original gamebryo engine, I would be extremely skeptical of its playability on Switch 2.

Re: Surprise! 'Skyrim Anniversary Edition' Lands On Switch 2 Today

Hwatt

I loaded up my base version of Skyrim on Switch 2 to see if the upgrade is truly Anniversary only, as I received an update today.

Not only is the update limited to the anniversary edition, as mentioned in the press material, requiring a $20!!! purchase to receive the upgrade… but my base game crashed within one minute after loading the save.

The save was a 1hr playtime file, with my character at lvl 1 in Whiterun for context…

Re: Talking Point: Six Months Since Launch, How Would You Rate Switch 2?

Hwatt

I'd give it a solid 8/10. It has all the performance and features I wanted from a Switch Pr... I mean Switch 2. My only issue, because I am predominately a handheld player, is the screen. Poor HDR and motion blur really don't help.

I don't love the battery life, even on low end games, it's worse than original Switch. I also don't like that it comes with only 256GB of internal storage and doesn't support old SD cards, even if slower.

I could forgive all of that if the screen was better, but it's mid at best.

I know that's mainly the negatives, but everything else it does... flawlessly. It's a great form factor, its light, it plays well. There are great first and third party games. Backwards compatibility is there too. It just needs some small tweaks.

I really believe the follow up, Switch 2 OLED, Switch 2i, Switch 2 Pro etc. will likely solve all these issues, but at what cost?

Re: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Has Been Updated To Ver. 1.1.0, Here Are The Full Patch Notes

Hwatt

@Jeronan The Switch 2 version includes a code to upgrade the game. This is no different than Nintendo charging for upgrades like Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild. That's why it's 10$ more.

I personally prefer to have a version I can pop into my Switch 1 or Switch 2. I also believe it will help with resale (there are a lot of Switch 1 owners still out there) if you're not happy with the game. It also helps purchasers who are buying this game as a gift. As either the Switch 1 box or Switch 2 box will work with either system.

We can wait for MP4 Switch 1 technical reviews but I don't believe this game needs the speed of a Switch 2 cart. I have a strong feeling the game is extremely well optimized and the difference between loading from a SW1 cart / SW2 cart / internal storage will be minimal on a Switch 2 system*

Re: Opinion: 20 Years Later, Need For Speed: Most Wanted Is Still The Series' Best Outing

Hwatt

I started with NFS 2 on PC. I got hooked with NFS 3: Hot Pursuit on PS1. NFS: MW was one of the first games I bought for Xbox 360 back when it launched because… the GOAT made me hyped for it.

That is… NFS: U2. The world… the customization. The controls. It was unmatched. Now, I love the campaign of MW more than U2, but the overall package of U2 was sublime. Riders on the storm > Blackbetty. ECU tuning > No ECU tuning. Underground street vibes > rural and day time city vibes.

I know it’s all subjective but U2 was a cultural moment that defined the series.

Re: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Demo Now Available At Switch 2 Kiosks (US)

Hwatt

That’s pretty cool. Hopefully it appeals to some new players.

I think Nintendo knows that Metroid is pretty niche when compared to their other franchises. All the Nintendo nerds like myself will jump in early. If a demo dropped today on the eshop. I’d avoid it. Just to avoid spoiling that first playthrough / first boot

Re: Poll: Have You Had Issues With The Ethernet Port On Switch 2's Dock?

Hwatt

I haven’t used it.

I’m a PC / Nintendo gamer and the vast majority of games I play on Switch / Switch 2 don’t have online multiplayer. So I never felt the need for low latency network on the system. From the casual online games I would play, like Smash Ultimate or Mario Kart, wi-fi has been fine.

Re: Nintendo Is "Acting To Protect The Industry" With Switch 2 Game Key Cards, Says Ex-Capcom Composer

Hwatt

Nintendo isn’t leading here. I feel they’re just catching up. PC games years ago featured Steam Codes in boxes. If something happened to your account, you still have they key in the box and customer support will generally help you out.

Xbox and Playstation games typically don’t have the full game available and they’re merely a DRM check for the user to download, install the game.

I don’t mind these options but they all still rely on the game being able to be downloaded from a server. Options are good and I don’t believe exclusively physical or digital libraries are the way to go.

It only stings more with Nintendo because they’ve always have been more traditional and offer physical versions of nearly all their games. It’s the one console where I want to have physical copies since they tend to hold their value and it’s a better UX in my opinion. Plug n’ play, just get into the fun.

Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 For Switch?

Hwatt

I need more convincing. I pre-ordered 3D All-Stars for Switch and regretted it once I understood the games were emulated.

Luckily the game was easily to sell and I got all my money back, but I won’t make the same mistake again.

I would like to know if the games run natively on the hardware and play without issues. I have Galaxy 1 on Wii but I’ve never played 2. I’d likely just go for the digital version of 2 in the future IF it plays well on both Switch 1 & 2.