Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@Rudy_Manchego About what I'd expect. I'll pick it up once it's sub $10. It's a little frustrating seeing this meme game outsell everything else on the eshop.

OK here is what you all were waiting for my unbiased opinion on the Switch Lite

Seriously the device is very good and I most certainly do not regret getting it even if it costs 240 Euros and not 200 as it should. My OG model breaking for good was a factor in favour of getting one though.

I played Link's Awakening, YS 8 and Chasm. The screen is very good but I don't have the OG model to make a comparison so I will post one if my OG model is repaired. The device is very comfortable in my relative big hands and being less heavy helps in longer play sessions. The battery has slighty better life. The device is still prone to heating like the OG model but the whole unit feels steadier but it still feels like holding cheap plastic. The feel of the buttons is way better than the OG model. To be honest I wish the Lite was an option from the beggening. I like it better and sort of regret getting the OG model. If you mostly play portably I recommend it. The only game I played docked was Xenoblade 2 and I played it docked only because performance in portable mode was a joke. In EU inflated prices it is still 100 euros cheaper the the dock model.

If you want something more about the Lite fire away. It certainly feels like the Vita successor I wanted for a while now.

Oh my god though do not buy the Switch version of YS 8 if you have the Vita one, it only playes slightly better. Is is me or this game has way many sexist and fart jokes that I don't like?

@Ralizah Yeah it is possibly a little overpriced as is - a sub £10 purchase would be a recommendation. Less to do with length but I found it a little repetetive.

@belmont I... don't remember sexist jokes in Ys VIII. Sahad might have made a few baudy jokes about flatulence (he's that kind of earthy character), but I don't recall it happening to the point where it felt gratuitous.

Yeah, I finished Ys VIII on Switch, but I wouldn't recommend this port to people. Mostly because the added areas from the PS4 version later in the game run like absolute crap framerate-wise. NIS did a terrible job of optimizing this for the system, so I ended up selling my copy, despite really loving the game overall.

I've not gotten my Lite yet, but I've tried out a family member's. It's just flat out more comfortable as a handheld console thanks to the grippy matte finish and somewhat smaller size (I actually have a couple of grips for the OG Switch that make it quite comfortable to hold, but I hate having to take them off whenever I want to dock the system, and it's still too big for my liking). Games that run at the native resolution look especially crispy on the smaller screen, and sub-native games look slightly less blurry.

My one big complaint is that the D-Pad, while an improvement on the separate buttons, makes diagonals hard to pull off, so it's still not ideal for fighting games or games that involve a lot of diagonal aiming.

@Ralizah i'm not getting a Lite because the controler is using the same parts as the standard JoyCon and people are already complaining about the drift and unlike the standard Switch where if need be you can use a pro controller or replace the joycon on the Lite they are built in so if the controller breaks then your buggered

@FullbringIchigo Well, there's at least one design difference between the normal joycons and what we have in the Lite internally (the big debate is whether it'll actually work to hold off mass drifting issues from happening), and some drifting issues always happen with every controller - people are only hypersensitive about it here because of the publicity the joycon drift issue is getting more broadly. As of yet, there's no evidence that any significant number of Lites will experience major drifting issues.

With that said, I do think your concern is a valid one, so holding off makes perfect sense.

@Ralizah yeah i'm gonna give it a while then get one as a second console, should make playing co-op games with the family easier

@Knuckles-Fajita That's a shame. It would suggest Nintendo hadn't asked them to make a new Mario and Luigi for the Switch. The series is really enjoyable.

@mookysam Apparently the incredibly low sales of their last 3DS remake led Nintendo to can plans for a subsequent 3DS project.

I think a new M + L game would sell admirably on the Switch. The problem is that AlphaDream was stuck in the 3DS ghetto as a B-tier developer after the Switch took the majority of core Nintendo fans with it.

@Ralizah that's such a shame i loved those games

@Ralizah There's definitely an audience for M&L games and Mario RPGs generally. Properly marketed on the Switch I've no doubt a new entry would sell well. Real shame that the developer (and no doubt the series) suffered for the absolutely baffling decision to double down on 3DS development.

Are the new M+L games any good?
I have one on GBA and my God it is one of the worst games I played in the system with super slow battles, very bad writing and bad repetitive "humour".

@Ralizah In YS VIII I just entered a cave area and the framerate is very bad. The d-pad in the Lite worked well in some 2D indies I tried like Chasm. I have Street Fighter 2 TFC I may check the performance there.

Is there an online community in Switch figthing games though? I sometimes can't find players in PS4 games...

@mookysam I feel like the reason they remade Superstar Saga was an obvious one, but it was also cheaper to make, using an existing engine. Then they tried again as they began bleeding money but we're unwilling to move over to more expensive HD development. As such, they didn't get much income in the end, but it was too costly to do anything else.

And it was obvious Nintendo had a plan to support 3DS with remakes for a while, one every few months, just to keep some cash coming.

At the same time, AlphaDream had advertised for HD developers for Switch and PS4, but they may have been too late trying to move over.

All of Nintendo's other partners had HD experience on Wii U or other platforms. Alpha Dream didn't.

@belmont I didn't have any real issues with the framerate before late-game. It hangs around 30fps, for the most part. When you get to Dana's optional dungeons, though, one of them in particular turns the game into a slideshow. It's unfortunate, as I found the port very playable otherwise.

I tend to be one of those people who only notices a game's framerate when it gets REALLY low, though, or very unstable.

Ok so I tried the new analogue d-pad of Lite in Street Fighter 2 and it seems only slighty better than the OG one. Seems like it is the same buttons as the OG model with some + shape plastic slaped on top that gives the "illusion" of a proper d-pad. This is way lazy!

@KratosMD I'm having a good time with it too. But the game is reminding me again why I feel the silent protagonist is an outdated concept in gaming. The hero just feels like a weapon that everyone else just points at the next bad guy or monster.

@belmont Teardowns show it isn't. It's actually a normal D-Pad, but the contacts are placed somewhat far apart to prevent mispresses like the reported and oft moaned about Pro Controller.

You've got your + and 4 contact points. No buttons.

But if you want to get technical a D-Pad in the technical sense is just literally 4 buttons with a plastic + over them...

Silent protagonists > Protagonists that talk continuously, imo.

In a few weeks, The Witcher 3 is going to be fully playable on a dedicated handheld!

I don't think I can resist any longer.

@Ralizah Technically you could've played it on a handheld PC when it came out