NintendoWife

It's good, but not amazing if you're coming from a modern-day iPhone. Luckily I'll hardly play handheld anyway, which is why I didn't bother buying a Switch OLED either.

They are definitely trying to steal some of the Switch 2 thunder, at least that's why they were unveiled at the exact same time.

The game: Fantastic, one of the best.

But some thoughts on the Switch 2 release:

• input latency seems bad, I noticed right in the file selection screen. It takes like 1/3 of a second before the cursor follows your input :/
• anybody else notice glitches? In the opening scene two seagulls are supposed to land on the patio next to your little sister Aryll. Here they dropped to the grass once they reached the patio. I checked with videos, GC wasn’t like that.
• is it true that you cannot switch off those grey dotted borders in Nintendo’s emulators?

Maybe he hates it! Or he tried to sabotage the game and now they hate him!

Or he just had no hand in it.

My early verdict (after maybe 5 hours?) -

It is a great Mario Kart game no question. If you’re still enjoying Mario Kart 8 you’ll love this one too.

The issue is that it really feels very similar to MK8. I don’t think Nintendo factored in that many many people inevitably grew tired of MK8, because you can only enjoy so much of the same gameplay. And MKW I hate to say is not too different from another round of DLC.

What should they have done differently? Well imo the “character” of a MK game lies in its feel. It was a mistake having this one control that similarly. And it seems their main goal was “24 drivers”, I wonder if anybody else had that on their wish list.

Positives:

• there are great courses, not all of them are as wide as a football field
• the sense of elevation and scope works great sometimes
• knockout Tour is an exciting format
• water is so much more fun than in MK8. I hated the floaty underwater driving, the Wave Race style is way cooler. Oh and good riddance antigrav btw.
• generally a great polished Mario Kart

Negatives:

• you could often mistake it for MK8
• open world is completely forgettable
• little nitpick: why can’t you see stats on the character screen, only after you’ve advanced to the vehicles?
• the music: Someone criticized it for being jazzy again, I’d argue that they lean even further to the tasteless side of Fusion. So much wailing guitar. I adore over the top electronic fusion stuff, but those trade fair guitar sounds have always been a bit yuck.
• oh and regarding the visuals: I think it does show that this was once a Switch 1 project. The floor is still completely flat for example.

Ok in itself that seems pointless, but I really appreciate to what degree they kept things compatible to Switch 1. Not having to buy multiple new controllers for the occasional multiplayer MKW is just great.

Yeah it would have been a step up from “code in a box”, but primarily turns out to be step down from “physical release”.

No doubt incentivized / promoted by Nintendo only offering the largest cartridges to third parties. Seems to be by design.

It's funny how with all these controllers (starting from the Wii Classic Controller) people discuss them as if they were somehow the same as the primary controllers, only better.

They are completely different! The fundamental question is: Do you wanna go back to the traditional position of holding one controller between your aligned arms? Or do you enjoy the freedom of holding separate halves for both your arms in whatever position you like?

Me I've never looked back. It's so much more ergonomic to not hold your arms in a fixed position.

I'm buying it It's not expensive and probably worth its asking price.

Does anybody have a really good guide about migrating from Switch 1 to Switch 2? I've read a few and I think I got the basics. But a few questions remain:

• I suppose your savegames and all will be copied, not moved, so you could still play your physical games on the S1?
• But what about digital games: Will they be removed from the S1? Or will they be present on both consoles, but you can only play one system at a time?
• If you choose to store savegames in the cloud: Will they remain synced between systems? Or do you get two savegame branches from the moment you migrate?

@romanista On a modded Wii? Wasn't aware of that

Yeah I was very interested in all of these (save for Famicom Rally which I've never heard of, and which doesn't look like R.C. Pro Am at all, I'd argue - different perspective).

Had high hopes they'd eventually port the arcade ones to home console, but in the end they probably don't feel like Mario Kart anyway.

Tour: Utterly disappointing, gameplay is no fun and its influence/legacy in terms of course design is a downgrade.

Live: I love the concept, but A) I had trouble keeping a connection even over a few meters and B) after 3 minutes I got nauseous :/

I’ll have to work late, but I’m hoping to unpack and try Mario Kart before midnight!

Cool. Was there any mention of improved performance on Switch 2? F-Zero X stutters on Switch 1.

@Michael0916 Yeah I know, all good. I could do without Pro Controller and grip, would already result in a box 2/3 of the size.

That’s a chunky box for a portable console. You could hide a GameCube in there.

@Anti-Matter Fair enough if you’re invested in both systems. But most people on here are probably playing Nintendo systems exclusively.

"We don't know about you, but with the Switch 2 right around the corner, a new Nintendo Direct is honestly the last thing on our minds right now."

Is it? I'd love it! The "holiday game / general outlook" question is very much on my mind.

"Ah yes, seven entries in and we finally arrive at the first numbered game in the series (pipe down, MK64)."

Oh man, one day there will actually be a 64th entry in the series. How are they going to call it?!? In the year (calculates) 2245?

I wonder if they're still going to re-release that one. At first it seemed weird that they left it out of the 3D All Stars collection, but they likely came to the conclusion that it's not worth it, or rather: not necessary. They knew they were going to hit their sales target anyway, Galaxy 2 would have made no difference. But cost money.

The problem for us is: It never felt like they were saving SMG2 for later. It was a hit back then, yes, but less so than the first. And once you've released "The Bruce Willis anniversary collection", how do you re-release "Die Hard 2" standalone later on?

@beartown In what respect? I quite like what I've heard so far!
The music: seems to follow closely what they did in 8, meaning: Real recordings of over-the-top fusion arrangements with horns, strings + the odd exotic instrument. Augmented with a lot of synth action as usual, but the little jingles seem a bit more retro and "chunky". Like a NES and SNES aesthetic.
Sound effects: to the point and punchy.

In the end it’s their privilege to change up their designs. They’re the artists.

He doesn't seem to be a great diplomat.

Yeah it's not so much a money issue with these, but keeping all that stuff set up.. plus infrared bar and controllers and chargers.

@SirLink Yeah there's no chance they'll ever bring up Other M again. It was soo detested when it came out, and sales weren't great either. One of the great surprises in video game history.

It's too bad - from what I gathered the criticism centered on the characterization of Samus. What Nintendo / Team Ninja tried (and achieved in my opinion) on the gameplay side got completely buried in the process.

You can easily find used copies (but you have to set up a Wii or Wii U of course).

@SirLink I wish it would be for me, bought the MP remaster but 15 mins in I gave up, I just don't enjoy FPS games :/ But I absolutely wish them a lot of success, you can see the amount of care and detail that went into the games.

Dread on the other hand was amazing (way better than I thought a non-Japanese developed Nintendo game could be), and unpopular opinion: I liked Other M 😶🤷‍♂️.

It does make a lot of sense. Next my biggest question is “will they unveil something more for the holidays”. Because after MKW there’s nothing I really have my eyes on. Bananza looks like 7/10 game somehow. Is MP4 going to be that ‘next big first party game’?

No that makes sense, how are you going to immerse yourself without a game-key card?

I just want a successor for ARMS by the name of ASMR. A boxing game but with subtle rustling sounds annoyingly close to your ears.

On the one hand it seems unlikely, because Nintendo's system is not at the forefront of technology. So any upcoming game that's pushing the boundaries cannot possibly target Switch 2 first.

In the bigger picture though - everywhere you read that the current model of high end videogame development is no longer sustainable. Development has become so expensive that they'd have to sell at a price customers aren't willing to pay. Nintendo's hybrid way kinda circumvents the problem, by reducing the technical complexity. No wonder Microsoft and Sony are looking into handhelds..

Interesting, so among enthusiasts it's very unpopular. Maybe more of a mainstream audience feature?

Yeah I don't think that's going to be a weakness. There's other risky points about it.

Almost all the numbers below the top 10 are wildly outdated. Like, 3 years old, completely useless.

Is there no journalist in the industry who’s able to reach out to Nintendo and officially ask for updated numbers? I think that’s a point worth noting when we decry the closure of so many websites… most of them don’t do the hard work anymore.

Ok if we’re in the contemplation phase I guess I’ll forget about it for now. And the next 3-4 years.

I have to say the replies on the topic of a Chrono Trigger remake always rub me the wrong way. “Uh I guess it would be ok”, “Honestly the OG was perfect”, “Ugh they better don’t do x or y” - quite spoiled and entitled.

We get it, you’re purists and true retro gamers™️, but let others have their fun, your SNES cartridge (or rather Rom) isn’t going anywhere.

I'm probably alone in this, but I kinda understand. Everybody wondered how on earth Nintendo was planning to keep their new video chat feature safe for children - well, this might work.

If you see gamechat as a specialized video chat service, not an all-purpose one, it's not that bad, is it? I mean, you wouldn't suddenly have all your private calls and conversations via Nintendo gamechat. You have other services for that. This one you turn on for a match of Mario Kart, you laugh and exchange some blue shell related expletives, then you log off again.

@Jester676
https://store.nintendo.de/de/mario-kart-world-70010000096802

Mario Kart World isn’t 80€ MSRP in Europe, it is 90€

To be honest, I’m on the brink of cancelling my bundle preorder… beyond MKW there’s not much I’m interested in, in particular Bananza I’m quite lukewarm about. And across the board prices are such a turnoff. For Switch 1 I bought quite some games (even some that I was just somewhat interested in), can’t see me doing that at a much higher price point.

Only reason I haven’t cancelled yet is that, weirdly, this might be the lowest price Switch 2 is ever gonna get.

Well they are a tiny indie company with limited funds, let’s not be mean.

How many Star Wars games exist for Switch you say? 😦

In itself the Japanese one is weird, because of all the white space. But I can imagine it stands out amidst other boxes.

@danzoEX At least not getting the Original Nintendo Seal of Quality, that’s for sure

Asking for trouble, if someone ever was

@sixrings I was specifically referring to this article, their speculations and high hopes for free upgrades of older titles.

@Serpenterror Well S-E always find a way to sour any deal, but I would still argue that the very existence of a Chrono Trigger remake would outweigh their choice of distribution format

I'm 5 minutes into your video - I think you're in for a massive disappointment across the board. 120 Hz, higher resolution, mouse controls, new content?
The fact that Nintendo kept this so low key means there's going to be barely anything. "(...) may improve performance or add support for features such as GameShare" is what they promise, and that's going to be it. I'll be pleasantly surprised if the 2D Zelda games get the stuttering removed.

Duh-duh. Who saw that coming.

I too don’t think it’s coming to Switch 2. S2 is supposedly quite a bit weaker that the lowest platform they target (Series S)… don’t think they’d demake it until it barely runs. Factor in politics and the old understanding that these games wouldn’t sell on a Nintendo system..

Ugh not great. To be fair, it’s (to my knowledge) the first time their updates don’t go smoothly, Nintendo has had a great track record.

Not surprising it happens with this one, it’s the big update preparing for the S2 transfers and all. When it came out I thought to myself “good idea to release it a few weeks in advance, so it’s rock solid by launch day”.

I probably won’t have to, for a while, because my libraries are always veeery heavy on first party games, and it looks like those will be actual cartridges for now.

But I’ll be honest, it feels like the war can’t be won anymore. I didn’t expect Nintendo to make this move, but here we are. Same for the pricing: I had this idea that Nintendo would try to keep the barrier low, but again, here we are. I’m still processing this, it does change my image of the company.