Modest Tech: The NX Generation (Nintendo Switch)

[dartmonkey]

The yellow looks great! A yellow and green set would look spiffing, but they're pricey and superfluous to my needs. I got a cheapish 8bitdo FC30 Pro the other day so I'll be playing some 3-player MK8D over the summer. It works very nicely and cost about a third of a pro controller. Although that Splatoon version looks sexy.

 

The Tumbleseed post-mortem actually makes me more likely pick up the game at some point.

[YoThatLimp]

2 hours ago, dartmonkey said:

The yellow looks great! A yellow and green set would look spiffing, but they're pricey and superfluous to my needs. I got a cheapish 8bitdo FC30 Pro the other day so I'll be playing some 3-player MK8D over the summer. It works very nicely and cost about a third of a pro controller. Although that Splatoon version looks sexy.

 

The Tumbleseed post-mortem actually makes me more likely pick up the game at some point.

 

I was going to get a second FC30, but man those yellow ones do look very nice....

[Twig]

they are _super_ nice

[Roderick]

Alright, let's talk Arms. Arms is great. But it's also tough. I have a rough time pummeling AI enemies, let alone real people. I feel I've yet to develop an instinctual understanding of the rhythm and systems, so I feel quite powerless. Are there any good ways to learn to play more deliberately? Or maybe some combinations of characters and arms that work well to learn the ropes? (Please don't say I need to start with Spring Man.)

[miffy495]

Is there more to it? I had an ok time in the test punch and came away mildly impressed but feeling like that sample may have been all the Arms I needed...

[Roderick]

It might be! I really don't know yet. I'm have a blast with splitscreen multiplayer though, it's really fun! I feel there's quite a learning curve and the possibility for some deep and intense matches.

[tabacco]

Out of curiosity, why constrain talk about specific games to this megathread? it makes it harder to find.

[Roderick]

Embarrassment to start a new thread when the discussion might only span five to ten posts.

[RubixsQube]

24 minutes ago, Roderick said:

Embarrassment to start a new thread when the discussion might only span five to ten posts.

 

Yeah, and then the thread plummets, and it's even more embarrassing. 

[Twig]

Every time I start a thread it dies before it truly lives. 

[SuperBiasedMan]

The ongoing conversation here means it was a lot easier to exchange a few posts about Tumbleseed, while a Tumbleseed specific thread could easily die without any responses at all. 

[dartmonkey]

My poor, sweet Wonderboy.

 

Arms looks fun but it feels very much like the Wii Punchout to me. Not the game itself, beyond the zany caricatures, but in the sense that while I like it, I just won't play much beyond the first flush. And I got Punchout for a tenner! I'd rather get Splatoon 2 or MK8D or something else.

 

For example: Should I spend 29€ to get a secondhand Ocarina Link amiibo from CEX?

[SuperBiasedMan]

ARMS is a game I would be all in on if I had more money or less options. As it stands, the Switch has too much on offer 

[Roderick]

"The Switch has too much on offer" - alien sounds to the reams of people who cried out there is nothing on the Switch.

 

Anyhoo, Miffy, I have somewhat more of an answer for you now that I've played ARMS some more. Whether it's a good buy is somewhat dependent on two things: do you like [this particular] fighting game, and do you have someone nearby to play with? Most of the playing I've done so far is either singeplayer to learn the ropes and versus mode against my partner. I can see the singleplayer side of that quickly dwindling in appeal, though I've had tons of fun, suprisingly, from the 'arms test' mode. To the people playing: if you haven't tried that out, you should! It's buried at the bottom of the versus mode and it appears a simple training game, but it's really really fun. You get a random selection of arms and a random arena, and you fight one on one in single matches. It's a great way to learn many combinations and since the point of entry if so low, you are inclined to experiment and take a gamble.

 

Having said that, the most fun I've had is against my partner. It's a low-stress thing that's more about fun and friendly ribbing than competition, and a good way to test your tactics. I must say though, the game is getting its hooks into me, and I just wouldn't have ever guessed that when it was announced. The design is so good and some of the characters (Min Min!) are a treasure.

 

[SuperBiasedMan]

I don't think you were questioning my point, but to be clear I do mean "too much to offer me."

 

Also apparently Snake Pass is 10 percent off right now, I might drop money on that to add to my clunkily hard Switch indie collection. 

[Twig]

The Switch has a lot of games to anyone who isn't looking for ports of the biggest AAA games. They may not all be games I'm interested in, but there are plenty enough that I don't have time to play all the ones I'd like.

[miffy495]

Snake Pass is good and worth your time and money.

[dartmonkey]

Hmm, Switch has just enough to be getting by with, but the shop shelves still look per-etty barren. A typical example near me:

 

 

Top shelf = Carry cases - Screen protectors - Tempered glass screen protector - Little rubber nubs for your analogue sticks - Carekit bullshit

 

Middle shelf = Breath of the Wild - 1-2-Switch - *empty with Lego City price tag* - Just Dance - Mario Kart 8 - Street Fighter 2 - Arms

 

Bottom shelf = 74€ Pro controllers - Assorted joycon sets - joycon clip thingys - Silicone joycon sheaths - Game card carry cases

 

 

It doesn't give a great impression. The eshop is getting better: Snake Pass is a fine game; I loved Wonder Boy; Minecraft is big I suppose. There are a couple of games that I might pick up in a sale (Tumbleseed, for example.) However, the NEO GEO games have really been propping up that store. It's fine, but they need some heavy-hitting indies, pronto. I am gagging for the BotW DLC!

 

In chumpnews, I bought that Ocarina amiibo. And it's beautiful! A bit weird that you get a shower of raw meat when you use it. I now have five Link amiibos, and I'm satiated. That is, until they release a Zelda II or Link Between Worlds one, or a Link's Awakening one with a Chain Chomp.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I mean, your mistake there is going to a physical shop. Embrace the digital age.

[eRonin]

Yeah I've been all-digital so far on my Switch; Nintendo makes that tiny 32GB storage space hurt less by making their games smaller on average than other companies, and I probably won't need to get an expansion of any kind until next year. I assume Mario Odyssey will be about 8-10GB, going off their other games (Zelda was about 12GB). It does look a bit concerning when I walk into a game store and the Switch games take up a single shelf whereas the other platforms have entire walls dedicated to them though.

[Roderick]

Yes, the Switch is virtually all virtual. It has almost no physical presence in stores, which isn't helped by hardware shortages. I frequently mused in the months after its release that if a non-gaming person would walk into a store to purchase the latest Nintendo for their kids, they'd wind up with a Wii U, which had 500% more presence than the odd barren shelf dedicated to the switch and its three available games.

[YoThatLimp]

I bought a 200 gb SD card, I'm all in on Digital. 

[Laco]

Same here. I haven't bought a new physical game in at least 5 years despite the generally higher cost of digital games on consoles, especially Nintendo. I definitely understand people's desire to avoid having their game collection tied to an ephemeral service, but for me convenience wins. That 200GB card only set me back a little more than a full-price Switch game. It certainly adds up, but it should last at least a few years.

[eRonin]

My bank has a 10% cashback deal right now on gaming purchases, including steam, origin, battlenet, and recently included the nintendo eshop, so that's making my decision to go digital easier

[dartmonkey]

1 hour ago, Laco said:

Same here. I haven't bought a new physical game in at least 5 years despite the generally higher cost of digital games on consoles, especially Nintendo. I definitely understand people's desire to avoid having their game collection tied to an ephemeral service, but for me convenience wins. That 200GB card only set me back a little more than a full-price Switch game. It certainly adds up, but it should last at least a few years.

I'm all about going digital, depending on the price difference. A 20€ premium for MK8D digital isn't worth it. I've been looking for cheap micro SDs but I can't find a 128gb for less than 50€. 200gb!?! Where did you get that?