Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

Well, it is reality TV season in the Manchego household as my wife and kids watch the BBC Strictly Come Dancing about competition. For me, this means I am going to use this time to FINALLY try and get through Skyrim on Switch. I had about 10 hours in but got lost in what I was doing and didn't really like it. So I have started another save and I am going to do my darndest to get through a Bethesda open world game.

@KratosMD That's a pretty reductive view of 2D fighters to be honest. While Smash is a little 'light' mechanically in comparison to something like Street Fighter - where you'll find very different mechanics across the main numbered entries and incredibly deep systems.

It's a bit fanboyish to then go on and describe the most iterative of current fighting games as particularly ambitious.

@KratosMD
They aren't always ridiculous statements. Some games are iterative mechanically, Injustice and Injustice 2 for example are incredibly iterative - though it is a relatively recent system. Tekken has always been very iterative too, with presentation and technical prowess usually being the defining leap from one entry to another (barring TTT).

SFIV is as close to playing SFIII as it is V. The systems in place are radically different.

For a long time, Smash has just been... Smash. It's had a lot in common with Tekken in that regard actually; new console, new version of Smash - not much different.

Ultimate looks to be the most interesting by far though. It'll be interesting to see how the community takes to what will be a more taxing tactical experience.

@Kidfried It translates pretty well to be honest - in terms of performance, seems slightly better than the 360/PS3 gen. I find these games are pretty good for handheld play as they are so large. At least that is what I told myself when I bought it six months ago and never got anywhere with it!

Shame I have to wait so long for my copy of Megaman 11, since everyone says its really good.

Finished up the Rimuldar arc in Dragon Quest Builders, so I guess I'm about halfway through?

Great game so far. I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it since I've never played any kind of builder before, but it adds a unique twist to the standard RPG gameplay, that makes it stand out in comparison to the other JRPGs on the system. It's optimized fantastically too (In portable mode it runs at native res at all times, and the only time I may have noticed a tiny dip in framerate is one time when multiple, I think it was 4, Evil Idols were going off at the same time as I ran in between them).

@KratosMD Localisation issues are mostly resolved. The game is fun, fluid and I did write a full review basically kissing it's ass, as barring remakes, it's my favourite game this year.

As for the seller thing, places here in the UK didnt stock the Switch version at launch so...good luck. Great game.

@KratosMD Switch version has minor performance issues (in handheld mode, the resolution gets a bit jittery at times, and when things get really hairy the framerate can take a dip, but neither of these issues negatively affected the majority of my experience with the game), but everything localization-wise should be resolved. I played for 65 hours and didn't encounter more than a handful of typos.

It's an absolutely fantastic ARPG. Definitely go for it.

Yeah, YS VIII was fantastic. Portably, it drops below native res in a few areas (I think they're all later game areas, all on the second half of the island), and there's an optional dungeon that has some resolution and framerate dips (I think it was added in the PS4 version, and wasn't part of the original Vita release, which could be why Switch has some issues with it), but that's about it.

I think I may like it more than Xenoblade Chronicles 2, at least in terms of gameplay (it's much more intuitive to pick up and play after putting it down for awhile).

@KratosMD I had fewer issues with it docked, actually. The resolution seems to hold up better on the TV, imo. Framerate issues are identical in both modes.

If you're cool with 30fps, it mostly holds up throughout the game, only dipping in a couple of areas.

@KratosMD It's actually a port of the PS4 version, which is why it was my go-to version of the game. All the content of the home console version, but with portability. It still looks and performs better than the Vita version.

There are definitely some issues, as I said, but nothing that ruined the experience, or even significantly marred it. The biggest sacrifice is the 60fps, but it was originally designed to run at 30fps on the Vita (which it was first released on in Japan), anyway, so it's not like the game is performing in a way it was inherently not meant to perform. The hit was worth it for me being able to play it away from the TV, and I'm not missing out on a bunch of content like if I'd opted for the Vita release.

You also get some exclusive costumes on Switch. I really liked the pirate gear, personally.

Just ordered a new TV for my room. It's only 720p (which means in terms of Switch gaming I won't be able to play games in 1080p when playing docked, however I will be able to enjoy docked mode more often than I do now with the Switch on the living room TV). Also, it's a smart TV which should be nice with Netflix & YouTube absent from the Switch itself.

It runs pretty much the same everywhere with the exception of a couple of problem areas late in the game (that aren't a huge part of the game, either). If you're happy with it as it is now, it should be satisfactory over the course of the game.

That's about how I felt. 60fps would obviously have been better, but I'll take it for full portability.

@KratosMD, incidentally, back in July a storm knocked out our power while I was playing YS VIII (on TV). I was distraught until I saw a sliver of light at the top of the dock, and soon realized that the system just switched to portable mode and I picked up right where I left off.

@KratosMD What’s worse than the whole issue with what normal means, is the inability to switch difficulty without starting a new game.

@KratosMD Let me know what you think of the difficulty settings in Ys VIII. I found that hard mode was just right for me.

@KratosMD So why not grind then? Wouldn't it be faster than doing the first 5 hours again with no Xp?

@KratosMD I misspoke, and sorry to potentially beat a dead horse, but wouldn’t switching it to easy and then grinding a little, but less than 5 hours be easier? Then you wouldn’t have to grind again, but also not restart the whole game.

Yeah, I liked Shining Resonance Refrain, but it definitely was a grind fest on Normal (I think the entire purpose of the Grimoires was just a way to make grinding sessions more interesting, since they figured you'd have to do it so often, lol).

The most annoying part came in the late game (enemies were level 60-70), and I was forced into a battle where I just happened to be stuck with just the two characters I never use (one level 34 & the other 15, because unused characters don't gain any exp, unlike most other modern JRPGs).

@KratosMD Valkyria Chronicles is a fantastic tactical JRPG set in a fantasy WW2-esque setting. You command an increasingly large squad of mostly civilian recruits as you fight back against a militaristic empire that is attempting to invade your country. The units you command all have identities and personalities, and their character traits will actually come into play in battles, because they impact how the unit behaves in various situations (a unit who is afraid of men, for example, might suffer accuracy drops when she's around male units; on the other hand, if she's, say, a bit foolhardy and hot-blooded, she might gain additional anti-infantry strength when rushing a nest of enemy units; there are many dozens of personality traits that affect how units behave in the field). The gameplay is a fusion of real-time and turn-based elements: you can move your unit around freely (well, until your stamina depletes), even giving yourself an advantage by aiming intelligently and/or flanking the opponent but, when you stop to actually fight, time freezes and math takes over. It's a smart combat system that rewards both player skill and smart character builds.

The games are also filled with fun character banter and unlockable optional missions that flesh out side characters.

So far, I'd say VC4 is probably the best game in the series, but the original is also an absolute classic and an utter steal at its current price on the Switch eshop.