Switching it Up!

Right! So for Xmas, and for the first time in my 32-year-old life I actually got a video game console as a gift (to be fair, the chores I did to save money for the SNES and N64 were rather generously rewarded.) I now own a Nintendo Switch.

So far I have two games for it - Smash Bros. Ultimate (obviously) which I downloaded because A: I didn't want to try to find an open store on Christmas and B: I figure that's the game I'm going to go back to the most.

The other, which I got a week or so later, is Super Mario Odyssey.

I think I'll do separate posts for them, but both have been great.

The console itself is a really clever system. Until I got back to LA I was using it basically as a mobile device, unlocking Smash Bros. 70-some-odd fighters at an embarassingly fast rate.

Sitting in its dock, the Switch simply becomes a standard console to hook up to a TV. I got a second controller for Smash Bros. purposes, this one a wired one that is almost identical to the Gamecube controller. As such, by leaving the Switch's Joy-Cons attached, it allows me to take the Switch out very easily and use it in its mobile function.

It feels a little funny that we've circled back around to cartridges, but the funniest part is that Switch cartridges are basically just SD cards - they're tiny, so I'd still recommend you keep the game cases to store them. Of course, with one downloaded title and one cartridge, I simply leave Mario Odyssey in there at all times.

My one complaint so far is that the power cord is rather short, which is tough given that we have a rather tall TV console and the only reasonable place for the Switch is on top (in front of the Wii U gamepad.)

The Joy-Cons can be configured in a number of ways - when taking the console with you, they can simple stick to the sides. Alternatively, you get a little more ergonomic grip that will hold them in more of a standard controller configuration. You can also just hold them separately, and there are sliders to put on their flat edges that include wrist straps and sort of "button extenders" to allow you to hit the buttons on the inside of those edges.

The main purpose of those buttons is to serve as shoulder buttons if you wish to use each Joy-Con as its own SNES-style controller. You can thus play multiplayer games like Smash Bros. even if you don't have any extra controllers, though the ergonomics of this configuration leave something to be desired.

Obviously any console lives on its library. So far I think one of the Switch's strengths is its ability to give existing games mobile flexibility, but I don't feel the need to buy Dark Souls again or Skyrim a third time (a couple years ago the "deluxe edition" was cheaper than buying the DLC separately.)

Given that I also got Breath of the Wild for the Wii U, I am unlikely to get one of the Switch's flagship titles (I hope no one throws rocks at me for this, but to be totally honest I wasn't crazy about BotW - I like a little more structure and also would have liked more enemy and environmental variety.

Anyway: the Switch is clearly doing many of the things they wanted for the Wii U. I hope we see some really classic games come out for it. I'll have to talk about the ones I have just after this post.