Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@RR529 Same, and have just pulled the Gravity Suit also... really enjoying the game in general though.

I couldn't agree more regarding your EMMI comments. I think the principle/concept of what the devs were looking to implement is sound, but the execution is very lacking... my heart sinks every time I enter the EMMI 'zones'!

What are your biggest pros/cons for the game? For me, I am genuinely surprised/impressed by the difficulty curve - particularly some of the boss fights. The twin robots were probably the closest I've ever come to rage quitting a Switch game... but in a good way!

@CJD87, by the "twin robots" are you referring to the Chozo warriors who attack you shortly after you obtain the Storm Missiles?

I beat them on my first try, but it was close (I had less than 10 Energy left, lol). I've actually really enjoyed the bosses so far. Some of them seem so impenetrable that first try, but I don't think I've had any take me more than 3 tries to best so far.

Apparently the N64 games aren’t arriving until about 3AM here. I hate that worldwide releases just mean we get screwed over continually.

Expansion Pass is £21.03 for me. Not bad in the slightest.

Alright, this upscaling job on the N64 games is glorious. Genuinely, I wanna know what they’ve used because it’s very very impressive. Super Mario 64 looks as good as the 3D All Stars version. There’s no way Ocarina of Time looked that clean last time I played it.

@nessisonett I was roughly the same price-wise, approx ~£20 due to renewal timings etc... Which title are you most looking forward to playing?

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I had no qualms in paying this for the titles on offer. With no means to emulate, or a viable historic console, the Switch is the only medium I have available to play these games. (However, I can appreciate that for those with the means to emulate and/or those who already own hard copy games then this is a less-than-desirable offer. Although surely the convenience factor counts for something)

Coupled with the fact that I've not played OoT or M64 since release (I was maybe 11yrs at the time!) means that the experiences will be pretty fresh for me on all.

The promise of Banjo and Majora is also a big sell for me. Mario Kart 64 is a scream also, although this version will never beat the chaos of being huddled around one of your mate's tiny televisions with the screen split into 4 x teeny boxes ha!

@CJD87 I think I’m looking forward to Ocarina of Time using the N64 controller that’s arriving today. I’ve played that game many times, on GameCube, 3DS and randomised runs but I’ve never played the original version with an N64 controller. Mario Kart 64 is also a lot more fun than I thought it would be and Mario Tennis is actually not far off the newer games at all.

@nessisonett I'd be curious to hear how you find Super Mario 64 with the N64 controller. My biggest complaint with the 3D All Stars version was how the controls weren't properly tuned to the Switch controller, which made it very imprecise. I never had a problem playing Ocarina of Time with the GameCube, but it'd be nice to play it while holding that monstrous piece of N64 plastic again. Great to hear that the upscaling is so good. Ocarina of Time is still amazing, and I think that for all the benefits of the 3DS remake, I still prefer the aesthetic of the original.

@LtSarge I'm finding the E.M.M.I increasingly tricky haha. Last night I beat Kraid, and loved his reappearance. It wasn't a surprise, unfortunately, because Nintendo spoiled so much with the trailers.

Have you had a chance to play more Metroid Prime 2? The slower pace and focus on exploration is lovely, although the combat rather sucks. And yeah, the music is wonderful. 😀 A section in the second main area of the game has a very nice remix of a Super Metroid tune!

@mookysam Super Mario 64 feels a lot better actually. The games feel like they were properly designed for that stick. I haven’t tried it with the All-Stars version though so I’m not sure if it maps the correct controls or not. I actually really like the controller, the layout makes sense to me after all these years of being told it was a terrible controller: The middle prong feels like a Wii Nunchuck. Also, that Winback game is seriously good fun. Me and my brother were laughing our heads off playing it against each other.

Mario's movement in SM64 is intimately tied to slight tilts in the N64's stick, which is different than ones you'll find on modern controllers. It's stiff, long, and feels quite a bit different than anything I've used on subsequent systems.

@Ralizah Marvelous innuendo aside, I really do love that controller. Perhaps the new wireless one feels better than the original one but it controls great and me and my younger brother were fighting over who got to use it over the Switch Pro controller playing Mario Kart.

@nessisonett 😂 Yeah, I noticed I accidentally lewded the N64 control stick.

Sorry not sorry.

People I've talked to have said it feels similar to the original. Hopefully, given the hefty price of it, there are less reports of the thing snapping off like there were with the original.

I'm still not a fan of it overall and think it looks like it was designed to be used by a three-handed alien, but certain N64 games unquestionably control better with it, and my opinion has softened enough over time that I'm almost tempted to order one.

@ me if you find it works well in games outside of the N64 app, if you don't mind. That would make me considerably more likely to grab this.

@nessisonett Ah cheers, that's good to hear. I don't think it's a terrible controller. Quirky maybe? It was outclassed by the Dual Analogue and what came after, but that to me says it was just a product of its time. I wonder what the reasoning behind the three-prong design was.

@Ralizah Well that made me spit out my tea. 😂 My original stick never snapped off (okay, I'm finding it tricky to type this now, damn your innuendo), but it did get extremely loose and wobbly to the point where I needed a new one. Later revisions seemed to strengthen the stick, and it didn't happen again.

Aside from the loose stick, I never had a particular issue with the controller, and at the time felt it was comfortable. Aside from the tiny analogue stick, the biggest problem is that games couldn't utilise the d-pad or L button while the middle prong was held. The Z-trigger felt like a great innovation, and was perfectly placed for Mario's ground pounds and Link's targeting in Ocarina. But then the c-buttons make so sense to me whatsoever, especially compared to the simple utility of a right analogue stick. Going back to it after years of using better controllers is a little strange, and highlights its shortcomings. Nowadays I think the main draw of the N64 controller is simply that it's what N64 games were specifically designed around, and of course nostalgia.

@mookysam tbh everything about the N64 controller was a great innovation. Although Sony happened upon the right idea when it bolted two analog sticks to the bottom of its original Playstation controller.

With that said, going back to a lot of those old games on PS1, most of them didn't do much with that second stick at all. Actually, in some respects, the c-buttons felt more natural for their intended purposes. Too many PS1 games don't feel like they use the entire controller, which is awkward when you primarily or only play using a dualshock.

Although, obviously, the dualshock design itself aged incredibly well.

Please tell me we are, indeed, still talking about an analog stick!

@Ralizah @mookysam The 3D All-Stars version of Super Mario 64 doesn’t work with this N64 controller. Since Nintendo mapped both A and B to jump in their infinite wisdom, you can’t punch or dive at all. So you couldn’t kill Bowser. Hopefully they patch it since they did with the Cube controller for Sunshine. So yeah, considering the N64 controller lacks X and Y, there’ll be a few games that just don’t work.

That being said, the stick really does work marvellously with that game. Mario’s annoying turning circle is mapped 100% to the stick’s movement so feels really natural.

@nessisonett Can you remap the buttons on the N64 controller through the system itself like you can with most other controllers?

@Ralizah I didn’t check actually. I’ve never even attempted to remap controls but I’ll check tomorrow.

@nessisonett @Ralizah
Yes guys I actually did this yesterday under the Switch 'System Settings' - - -> 'Controllers and Sensors' - - -> 'Change Button Mapping'

You can then save a button profile for future use, eg "N64 Profile", so you can flick back & forth between default and your new setup.

It's probably my only complaint regarding this update... feels horrendous playing Mario 64 and using 'A' to jump!

@mookysam Not yet, I've been mostly playing Final Fantasy 7 the past few days but I've been wanting to get back into Metroid Prime 2.

I agree that the overall atmosphere and exploration aspects are great, but the combat feels rather underwhelming compared to say Metroid Dread. There's just not much versatility, you just lock on to a target and shoot. But I guess that's why they call these games "first-person adventure" and not "first-person shooter".

@CJD87 @Ralizah I tried with the N64 controller and got ‘Button mapping cannot be changed for this controller’. Brilliant.

I got to Raven Beak last night, and routinely got my butt kicked.

To be fair, by about the 3rd time I could clear the first phase with (near) full health, but he always seems to get me during the second phase, even only through war of attrition (I got good at dodging most of his attacks, but he always nickel & dimes me with that rapid fire attack & eventually wears me down before I can complete the phase).