mereel

I ended up pre-ordering an OLED switch after days of waffling back and forth. I think this will potentially be the final incarnation of the original Switch platform.

When Switch 2 comes along, it will likely include backwards compatibility with Switch 1 games. But I’ve learned over the years that playing old games on the new system does not equal a better experience for those old games. Wii discs played on the Wii U for instance, have some weird resolution scaling problem. Likewise, DS games on the 3DS technically work, but are blurry and by no means the premium way to experience them.

So for me, the OLED switch will be my final, premium, original Switch 1 console, which I will keep in my collection forever.

Makes me shake my head reading commenters here and elsewhere decrying the lack of online components.

This is a niche arcade racer, a throwback from a simpler time. Had online been implemented, it would have been actively for probably a week and a half before it was a ghost town. Not worth the effort.

Meanwhile, it has 2 and 4-player split screen, which is a rarity these days and a genuine selling point. I’m really happy the devs on this game put the attention where it really mattered.

@Ryu_Niiyama I got in on that BB deal too. Picking it up in-store tomorrow to ensure I have it day one! Really excited to have this surprise game available on Switch, in physical format no less.

P.S. I watched a GameXplain interview with Cruis’n series creator Eugene Jarvis. He confirmed that development of this Switch version of Cruis’n Blast was only even considered/conceived as a direct result of arcades being closed due to COVID-19. So the team got a Switch development kit and poured themselves into the best Cruis’n Blast experience on Switch they could make. A small COVID silver lining perhaps, but there it is. Go figure.

Oh it’s F2P? Time to remove it from my wishlist. This looks like every other lootbox micro transaction mobile experience I’ve come to despise in modern gaming.

With all the marketing poured into this one, a Metroid game at that, I’m starting to think this must be Nintendo’s big holiday game. Bummer because I was sure we had a new DK game coming in for a stealth drop for Holiday ‘21.

A ‘9’ does seem a bit high compared to review averages. But then again, PJ O’Reilly reviewed this for NintendoLife. I’ve found that he and I have the same tastes in gaming, based on his previous reviews.
So if PJ loved it, then so will I!

Ah. I remember driving to Wal-Mart at midnight to pick one up. There were (maybe) half a dozen others lined up doing the same thing. It wasn’t exactly a must-own item I guess. But I sure loved that Cube.

@somnambulance I’d like that too, but considering the original developer Skip went belly up, and the IP was never a big seller anyway, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Definitely check out the earlier titles if you get a chance. Super fun and weird games. Also #chibirobo4smash

That’s a lot of sales. I’m curious what this means for Eric Barone in terms of actual dollars he’s made from the game when all is said and done. Any guesses?

If the Steam Deck controllers develop any issue — be it drift or whatever else — it’s a total unit repair. With the switch, you simply slot in a new set of joycon.

How many times have you seen a 3DS with a messed up circle pad? This is why you want detachable controllers on a handheld. Modularity FTW.

It’s possible, maybe not likely but possible, that these Switch OLEDs will be plentiful and not genuinely in high demand when they launch.

Might be able to walk into a Best Buy and just buy one at MSRP. I mean it’s not a Switch 2 after all. I would get a chuckle out of the scalper’s dilemma then.

Looks fun. I love Picross and this developer has a great pedigree. But, seriously Jools is never going to finish that Treasurenauts game is he?…

That’s funny. I’m really enjoying my time with the new Mario Golf, by the way haters.

I was so hyped for Other M back in 2010 that I happily pre-ordered it at full price. I actually loved the game, too. But it definitely stung to see Other M, a Nintendo-published first-party release, discounted to $20 within a couple months. I actually found it on clearance about a year post-release for $5 on the shelf at my local retailer. And it wasn’t flying off the shelf at that price either.

So… I love Metroid and want to support this out of the gate, but those Other M early massive discounts were a real gut punch. Once bitten, twice shy. I may give this one a few months to play out.

I got the same questionnaire, but that Wario Ware question asked if I would buy the game for $29.99, to which I laughed out loud because I would pay nearly twice that and be fine with it.

Yeah. I’d hit that.

Whoa that Carve Snowboarding game looks great! If there’s no 1080 Snowboarding in the cards, I’ll take Carve as a suitable substitute.

I play this 2-3 times per week, for about 40 mins each time. You get what you put into it, but I’m always a dripping sweaty mess when finished. Therefore, it works as advertised. I also throw in some push-ups and crunches in between boxing sessions to round it out a bit.

I’d never heard of the word ‘liminal’ before. I love reading these sorts of deep takes on the video games that were so memorable to me. An unusual feature for Nintendo Life. Keep it up!

@KonoRobinMaskDa676 I guess you haven’t played any of these games yet. Your Google-fu is lacking.

Is this entry in the NMH series going to be rated T for teen? I think it might.

Not enough love here for Jon’s video content. NintendoLife has always had the best YouTube channel, but with Jon on board it’s even better. Great site guys.

I’m buying this.
But is it going to drop to $30 within a few months?
Did that happen with the first one on Switch or was that just fire emblem warriors?

Meh. They'll probably release a "Complete Edition" with ALL dlc at some point — physical, for $30. Then I'll wait for THAT version to drop to $20 and finally pick up this game.

That's the game plan these days for third parties. I've been burned by being an early adopter before but won't happen again.

@BrintaPap Same reason Mario, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Smash Bros should remain exclusive. They drive sales, keep Nintendo doing well, ensuring future games and consoles. Not to mention Nintendo funded the original game.

Should have remained a Nintendo exclusive. Way to screw this one up, Big N!

Fun fact: These controllers cannot be charged by the Switch Lite, nor do they have an alternate method of charging. They require a Nintendo Switch console to charge.

It’s neat that they can connect to the side of the Switch for convenient charging, but considering that limitation, Nintendo probably should have had they be standalone controllers with their own USB-C charging port like the SNES variant. Oh well.

@ctrain It’s quite alright. Let me help you understand. If the Switch Lite was a runaway success despite no detachable controllers, Nintendo might be incentivized to consider dropping that feature altogether on the next mainline Switch. It’s a simple economics decision for them.

The impending joystick failures and a wave of angry customers will help Nintendo realize that modular controllers on their handhelds is worth doing.I don’t want a future Switch (or any Nintendo handheld console) without removable controllers. This was a major step forward which doesn’t need to be reversed, even though it’s less expensive for Nintendo to manufacture.

Modular controllers on Nintendo handhelds is a good thing for all of us. Hopefully joystick problems will help the Switch Lite to be a market failure, prompting Nintendo to stick with the detachable joycons. HTH.

If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that hopefully the general public will also realize the benefit of being able to quickly remove and replace your controllers from the handheld unit, thereby causing Switch Lite to flop.

Removable controllers on a handheld was a game changer for the longevity of Nintendo’s portable consoles. Any move away from this innovation is a bad idea. Modular components for the win.

@BlueBlur101 12 hour loading screens come on man.

"Times Change. DOOM is Eternal." What an awesome tagline for this collection.

Awesome. Runbow was great. This looks even better!

If a cheaper Switch is released w/o removable joycons as some have speculated, what will we do when the sticks start to drift? P.S. if this hasn’t yet happened to your joycons, just wait. It will.

Thanks for the honest review, but why even give it a 4? The review makes this sound more like a 2.

If you have a house full of kids like I do, where everyone has a switch, you definitely want physical cartridges so everyone can enjoy the game. Digital is tied to one person's account, which is not ideal for sharing scenarios.

I’m with Alex on this one. We shouldn’t need to wait for a patch, a patch… to get the confirm and cancel button arrangement straight on the Nintendo console. Since at least the Super Nintendo age, in the world of Nintendo the A button means advance forward or confirm while the B button means cancel or back. To get that wrong in 2018 is a mark of incompetence. Know your audience, devs!

This is acceptable. DOOM 2016 was great on Switch. Bring it on.

@Dualmask Funny, everything you just said was RIGHT!

@stuie1234
Yeah this was me too. I can appreciate that the game is good, but I was just cannon fodder online. Not sure why I’m so bad at this game...

Wasn’t this game is supposed to receive a huge graphical upgrade, like a year ago? Whatever happened to that?

I thought the music in this game was a huge success. Definitely met the goal of Kirkhope + Nintendo + Ubisoft. While I was getting through the game after purchase, I often caught myself humming one of these overworld themes later in the day.

I agree with the sentiments in this article precisely. When YI released oh so many years ago, I was a teenager and was able to recognize just how tight the platforming mechanics were, how creative the game scenario was, and how expressive the FX chip could be in scaling and rotating sprites. It was an instant classic for me and subsequent attempt to release ‘Yoshi’ platformers were absolute duds compared to the greatness of Yoshi’s Island.

Even though I purchased an played the other Yoshi games, I was mostly disappointed with all of them. Wooly World changed all that. Finally we had the Yoshi platformer we deserved, with compelling and tight gameplay, co-op that worked, and a beautiful art design to boot.

Psyched for the next one. Yoshi is back!

I knew I would buy it Day One because, well it’s a new IP from Nintendo itself (Mario Kart team). But my initial impressions were similar to Wii Sports Resort, fun for a party game, probably won’t touch it otherwise.

My young kids could beat my by flailing. Then after a few hours I decided to try the Pro Controller and button controls. Oh boy, that’s when the attack triangle clicked for me. I was determined to learn the game properly.

Now I’d say it’s one of my most-beloved fighting games. It has so many nuances that are not apparent in the first few hours of play. It is a game that ‘clicks’ after some time with it, as others have mentioned.

Hmm. I question your Nintendo ‘street cred’ after reading this introduction. Are you really one of us?

I bought this only a few weeks ago on sale. Quite liked it, until I realized that there are no bots, and that if you want to play through the game as it was meant to be played, you needed multiple 3DS and multiple copies of the game. Either that, or head online, which is sadly pretty barren at this point.

None of us would even buy this game. Let’s move along.

Day one purchase. I too have been patiently waiting for this game. Loved the demo on Wii U ages ago. Glad to hear of the co-op mode as it will definitely see use in my household. Besides that, these guys need to reconsider their lives and instead continue developing Switch games.

Now that's a true labor of love right there.

I need my VC and fast. Themes would be nice. I would definitely pay money for them. The eShop is currently so bare and disorderly. It's terrible. And I would be satisfied if I never watched a streaming video service on my Switch till the end of its life. About time we had a game console focused on games. I can watch Netflix on 15 other devices in my home.

We're loving Switch in our household for all the reasons in the article. At this point, I'd be satisfied if it never contains a Netflix or Hulu player. It's much more appealing to me as a dedicated gaming device
However, the barebones approach to the eShop UI is a dramatic step backwards from the Wii U. Sure it's snappy (sort of), but it completely lacks any charm or personality, not to mention it will soon be a scattered mess of nondescript tiles if Nintendo doesn't have plans to put some structure around it. Honestly, compare eShops side by side to see how bad it is on Switch. Here's hoping a major redesign is in the cards.