Nintendo Switch Thread

[SuperMatt18]

Most Pokemon games are kind of easy. Honestly that's probably why it sells 16M.

People like Pokemon because it's like an entry level RPG with cute characters & usually an engaging enough world.

It's not about in-depth battle mechanics, part of the success is the ease of access for young gamers and casual gamers.

[Hemi-Cuda]

I never got into Pokemon at all when I was a kid, so in the last year I went through the entire series from Fire Red to Ultra Moon via emulation. Fire Red was good, Emerald was better, and then Platinum and Heart Gold was where the series peaked IMO. I got halfway into Black when I got burned out on the formula, and how braindead easy it was. Took many months for me to work up the interest for X and Ultra Moon. Zero interest in Sword/Shield after seeing that it's even more dumbed down now

[photon]

I dunno I really enjoyed Sword, in fact it's the first game I completed the pokedex in. I think the final fights are actually a little interesting, I felt like I had to plan a little bit. But it's been a long time since playing the old ones for me.

Unless you outlevel the end game, which to be fair is super easy to do.

I really hate grind so I guess I was really happy with the changes that reduced that. Pokejobs to level up pokemon I liked.

I also liked the wild area, I mean you walk in the first time and there's an Onix wandering around right there in the overworld! That was pretty cool. It's the first time I've owned a Gengar, I never had anyone to trade with and now I was wandering around and bam, a Gengar was just there to catch! Going back to see what pokemon are around at different times or weather was fun.

I enjoyed the whole Pokemon is a sport taken to the next level, with battles on an actual pitch with the crowd chanting and uniforms and stuff.

I'm pretty sure I'll buy the DLC.

[Anduril]

Animal Crossing Switch announced and went on preorder yesterday.
Animal Crossing fans are not to be underestimated in their devotion of the game but this is probably the best looking special edition Switch they've made. Preorders were gone almost immediately at Ebgames online/instore and online at Bestbuy.

https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/01/30/n...rizons-switch/

[gallione11]

So... Breath of The Wild. Got it with my new Switch for Christmas after hearing how good it was. I'm past the first area, but still waiting for it to grab me in. It feels like Witcher or Skyrim where you have a giant, gorgeous open world... that feels 90% empty. I spent a couple hours fully exploring the first area and didn't feel like it was worth the time.

Does the gameplay get better or is this what it's like for the rest of the game? I like the shrines, since that's more Zelda like, but they're like 5 minutes with maybe 1 or 2 puzzles and you're done.

Side note, weapons breaking every three-five enemies is a very irritating mechanic.

[Wormius]

There are lots of weapons though to be found in the world. I really enjoyed it though and felt it got more enjoyable as you were less restricted in your ability to travel around and explore.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by gallione11

So... Breath of The Wild. Got it with my new Switch for Christmas after hearing how good it was. I'm past the first area, but still waiting for it to grab me in. It feels like Witcher or Skyrim where you have a giant, gorgeous open world... that feels 90% empty. I spent a couple hours fully exploring the first area and didn't feel like it was worth the time.

Does the gameplay get better or is this what it's like for the rest of the game? I like the shrines, since that's more Zelda like, but they're like 5 minutes with maybe 1 or 2 puzzles and you're done.

Side note, weapons breaking every three-five enemies is a very irritating mechanic.

I think you can choose not to explore and limit the games to shrines and the main plot and it’s a very enjoyable game. I would say Yes it is like Skyrim in terms of content in the world. I didn’t think Skyrim felt empty though.

I would give it until you are 1/4 done the main plot to decide if you want to keep playing. I would say game play is similar from that point onward.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by gallione11

So... Breath of The Wild. Got it with my new Switch for Christmas after hearing how good it was. I'm past the first area, but still waiting for it to grab me in. It feels like Witcher or Skyrim where you have a giant, gorgeous open world... that feels 90% empty. I spent a couple hours fully exploring the first area and didn't feel like it was worth the time.

Does the gameplay get better or is this what it's like for the rest of the game? I like the shrines, since that's more Zelda like, but they're like 5 minutes with maybe 1 or 2 puzzles and you're done.

Side note, weapons breaking every three-five enemies is a very irritating mechanic.

Unfortunately, that's how the game is. I am probably in the minority but I found it a huge step down from Skyward Sword, which I found to be a near-perfect take on the Zelda formula.

I guess they no longer want to follow the formula that made the games fun in the first place.

That said, BotW still has its moments, particularily some of the shrines and hunt quests.

[OutOfTheCube]

Skyward Sword is easily the worst 3D Zelda and only succeeded in proving how tired and boring that formula was becoming. The series hallways desperate for a shake-up and they knocked it out of the park with BOTW.

Like, this guy is barely past the tutorial area. Yes, there is lots and lots and LOTS more to it than they showed you there.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Skyward Sword is easily the worst 3D Zelda

Subjective. It's fine if you feel that way but I feel Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess were by far the worst. Skyward Sword had flaws - the main one being that you couldn't shove a sock in Fi's mouth and the other one being that the hub area was unexciting, but it was a well crafted masterpiece in my eyes that really understood what it meant to be a Zelda game. Great dungeons, great boss fights, exciting pre dungeon areas, and while no one plays Zelda for the plot, it was right there with Wind Waker with a fine progression.

and only succeeded in proving how tired and boring that formula was becoming.

I feel like you're describing Twilight Princess, not Skyward Sword. Skyward Sword succeeded in proving that the formula still worked with strong execution. SS wasn't flawless but it was proof that imagination and polish were what TP was missing. And I don't really think BotW was more imaginative than SS. It was more open world and had a great physics engine, but I don't confuse that with the fantastical sense of adventure that the series has always been about. Zelda should never be compared to Skyrim or the like.

The series hallways desperate for a shake-up and they knocked it out of the park with BOTW.

BotW wasn't a shakeup though. It was a denial of all the elements that made the series great in its prime. It was a love song to every other open world game out there. Open world's been a thing since 2003, it's not as if BotW innovated anything that Grand Theft Auto 3 and Assassin's Creed didn't already introduce. It just overemphasized its expansive overworld and underemphasized every other aspect of adventure that "Zelda" encompasses.

Climbing was a fun mechanic and botw even managed to quite literally piss on that with its rain mechanic and the grindiness of building stamina. More importantly, the entire game became about climbing to the highest point and then dropping down to where (or what horse) you needed to go. If anything this made exploration feel tedious outside of the Zora's River area (the lone area where it actually felt like an adventure).

Combat wasn't anything special in BotW and its weapon break system never got funner as the game went along. By the end of it I was hoarding Ancient Weapons and Lynel weapons and using whatever crap was lying around to beat most enemies because I didn't want to have to fight a miniboss just to get my good weapons back. Even the friggin Master Sword had a break mechanic that served no purpose other than to frustrate.

By removing the classic item system there was no longer a reason to go to any dungeon, or even any overworld puzzles to solve. Even Majora's Mask had a more engaging (if small) overworld to explore because at least you needed certain skills to go to new areas a la metroidvania or, well, Zelda. In BotW the only reason you can't go somewhere is because you don't have stamina.

Like, this guy is barely past the tutorial area. Yes, there is lots and lots and LOTS more to it than they showed you there.

Such as...? Fetch quests and hunt quests? More climbing? Easy and forgettable boss fights? No background music?

The tutorial area is a fantastic sample of the rest of the game. If you love the tutorial area you will love... more of that.

If anything, at least the shrines in the tutorial area unlocked new skills to encourage exploration. After you leave the great plateau you're basically relying on those same four skills for the rest of the game.

I get that a lot of people find open world games appealing. I used to too... in 2005. But at some point I realized that making a world bigger and freer doesn't make it more interesting. Wind Waker was a good example of that because even though it was an amazing game, the Great Sea was by far its weakest point - and WW isn't even an open world game like what' s become popular these days.

Breath of the Wild is definitely a modern sandbox game. But sandbox is a genre, not an innovation. I want an adventure game when I buy Zelda and I didn't feel like I was on an adventure for much of BotW. Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Oracle of Ages & Seasons, Minish Cap, Wind Waker, Skyward Sword... to me these games are what Zelda is about. The excitement of being able to finally travel to a new area because my character has grown in a tangible way whether that's a hookshot or a new transformation mask. The excitement of raiding a new dungeon, complete with a map and a plethora of puzzles.

I didn't hate Breath of the Wild. It had its moments and if you don't compare it to Zelda games it's a big fun romp with some nice Zelda easter eggs. But it's a sandbox game, not a Zelda game. I'd sooner recommend Okami or Darksiders or God of War 2 to someone who wants a Zelda game. And yes, the first Zelda was a sandbox game.... and it wasn't really that fun for me either.

BotW was based on the premise that linearity = bad and non linearity = fun. Skyward Sword was based on the premise that fun = fun.

Your mileage may vary - and that's fine.

[Fuzz]

I'll say that I had a lot more fun playing Twilight Princess and BoTW than I did Skyward Sword.

[OutOfTheCube]

I couldn't see how any one could dislike Twilight Princess and like Skyward Sword. They're basically the same game, but the latter forced ticky tacky motion controls, a terrible overworld, and pointless padding in to the equation. Twilight Princess isn't a perfect game either but I feel it's flaws are more forgivable due to a more interesting plot and better dungeons. And didn't force motion controls.

Skyward Sword was based on the premise that fun = fun.

No... Skyward Sword was based on the premise that motion controls = fun, which everyone was thoroughly over with by 2011.

[GranteedEV]

I do not feel Twilight Princess had a better plot and it also had worse dungeons. SS arguably had the best dungeons in the series (though I still give the edge there to Majora's Mask). TP did have some fun dungeons - City in the Sky, Temple of Time, Snowpeak Ruins but on a whole just felt like a whole lot of going through the motions. Every dungeon in SS was amazing - with the only thing holding them back was when Fi would be "helpful" with a puzzle.

As for your other criticisms:

The motion controls were gimmicky. Wasn't the big deal it was blown up to be. And it resulted in some fun boss fights. If we're talking about gimmicks, then I felt BotW's climbing/(rain) gimmick and weapon break gimmick were both far more tedious. It's not as if motion controls hindered gameplay... they were just different.

The overworld was only terrible if you think of the sky as the overworld. It used a hub system, sort of like Majora's Mask and Super Mario Galaxy did, but once you went down to the main areas on the surface - the volcano, the woods, the lake, the desert, they were fun to explore. Not "explore" in the BotW sense of needing to examine every boring nook and cranny, but fun in terms of being exciting places to traverse. I actually thought these surface areas were the best pre dungeon exploration since the Oracles games back in 2001. All Twilight Princess had was a really big field and more dull environments, most of which felt all too familiar to anyone who played OoT.

And I never felt SS was padded. I wasn't crazy about the silent realm parts but I felt it was the perfect length for what it set out to accomplish. TP on the other hand felt like it dragged, and BotW realllly drags if you're remotely a completionist.

[Resolute 14]

One of Nintendo's greatest failures in the DS/Wii era was forcing motion and touch controls as the only option. I was not able to get into Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks or Phantom Hourglass at all because I was forced into motion controls or stylus use - though in the latter, Nintendo was at least smart enough to understand that left handed people exist.

I'd say BOTW is a massively superior game to all of those. But, it very deliberately detached itself from traditional Zelda games. That, obviously, means it won't appeal to all fans. The sales figures argue strongly that BOTW has appealed to far more new fans than it lost. That said, hopefully after BOTW2 comes out, they work on a classic style Zelda as well. There's definitely still a market for those games.

[stone hands]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I do not feel Twilight Princess had a better plot and it also had worse dungeons. SS arguably had the best dungeons in the series (though I still give the edge there to Majora's Mask). TP did have some fun dungeons - City in the Sky, Temple of Time, Snowpeak Ruins but on a whole just felt like a whole lot of going through the motions. Every dungeon in SS was amazing - with the only thing holding them back was when Fi would be "helpful" with a puzzle.

As for your other criticisms:

The motion controls were gimmicky. Wasn't the big deal it was blown up to be. And it resulted in some fun boss fights. If we're talking about gimmicks, then I felt BotW's climbing/(rain) gimmick and weapon break gimmick were both far more tedious. It's not as if motion controls hindered gameplay... they were just different.

The overworld was only terrible if you think of the sky as the overworld. It used a hub system, sort of like Majora's Mask and Super Mario Galaxy did, but once you went down to the main areas on the surface - the volcano, the woods, the lake, the desert, they were fun to explore. Not "explore" in the BotW sense of needing to examine every boring nook and cranny, but fun in terms of being exciting places to traverse. I actually thought these surface areas were the best pre dungeon exploration since the Oracles games back in 2001. All Twilight Princess had was a really big field and more dull environments, most of which felt all too familiar to anyone who played OoT.

And I never felt SS was padded. I wasn't crazy about the silent realm parts but I felt it was the perfect length for what it set out to accomplish. TP on the other hand felt like it dragged, and BotW realllly drags if you're remotely a completionist.

the rain was annoying but it really wasnt that annoying, you can always make a fire and rest and it will be gone if it bothers you that much. the weapon breaking is basically a mechanic that forces you to use every weapon in the game until you get enough weapon slots that you can pick and choose which ones you want to keep. once you get the master sword your weapon usage will drop drastically as it keeps recharging. the dlc also makes the master sword amazingly powerful and durable to the point where you will just accumulate high damage weapons and never get the opportunity to use them

as far as it dragging if you're a completionist...i think your mileage might vary. i have every single shrine, every peice of armor is upgraded to at least level 3, i completed all of the DLCs and i still find excuses like wanting to upgrade armors even more just to play the game some more. the only thing i havent done is the korok seeds, because honestly who cares

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Anduril

Animal Crossing Switch announced and went on preorder yesterday.
Animal Crossing fans are not to be underestimated in their devotion of the game but this is probably the best looking special edition Switch they've made. Preorders were gone almost immediately at Ebgames online/instore and online at Bestbuy.

https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/01/30/n...rizons-switch/

These are back up at Best Buy

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

These are back up at Best Buy

They've been going back on and off since the page went up. Thought I was being all nifty getting a web watcher to catch when I could sneak one again but since my order almost 30mins ago, it's still in stock.

[Rhettzky]

Skyward sword is probably my least favorite zelda game due to the huge flying area, motion controls, odd characters, and boring story. I really enjoyed Twilight Princess and really hope we get an switch version soon.

As for BOTW, it was an amazing game that I still play, even after finishing it twice, just to complete it. My only complaint is the lack of dungeons as the divine beasts were really great and their levels were interesting, but in BOTW2 I really hope we get more dungeon boss battles and puzzles.

[Resolute 14]

I actually loved the shrines in BOTW. Little, bite sized puzzles in place of hour-long dungeons was a good change to me.

[OutOfTheCube]

The thing I loved most about BOTW is that I don't think I ever played a game that respected the player, and their choices and freedom, more. Like in any of the shrines -- sure there's a way they're designed to be solved, but if you can think of a different solution with your tools and abilities, it will work. Same with traversing the world and interacting with it -- generally if you can think of something you want to try, it'll work.

I love how right after the tutorial you get your first mission... "Defeat Ganon" -- and it just leaves it up to you from there. Brilliant design. So many open world games are just masked linear games with tons of filler packed in (think Assassin's Creed recent releases), but BOTW makes the open world integral to everything.