Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

Bought a Switch OLED yesterday from Amazon and got it delivered today. While I didn't play anything on it as I'm going mostly all digital with this, but I found the setup to me pretty easy for the most part since it shows how to do it all on screen. I had to look up how to install the microSD card, but otherwise it was easy.

I bought both Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I will download them overnight and will likely start with the former tomorrow. Really excited.

@KilloWertz The SWOLED is a great shout.

This generation, I think the combination of a Switch alongside either PS/XB allows you access to pretty much the best that gaming can offer. I travel for work, and my Switch is pretty much an essential accompaniment to any trip!

I had an original, and then upgraded to the OLED version late last year (mainly because of battery-life issues). Before I sold my original Switch, I did a side-by-side comparison - and you can genuinely see the improvements that the OLED screen brings to the table.

It is incredibly user-friendly as well, and such a wealth of AAA exclusive titles await you!

I played XB1 on Switch, and hear amazing reviews from XB3. What else is on your wish list? Zelda BOTW and Metroid Prime really show off what the OLED screen can do. I think Monster Hunter Rise is also a good demonstration of the console's capabilities, and very fun in multiplayer.

Add me mate if you want - my online code is SW-6657-2171-6029

Enjoy it though, you wont regret it!

@CJD87 Thanks. I plan on mostly playing it in docked mode, so technically I could have went with the original, but I might as well have gotten the OLED for only $50. The extra memory alone will be helpful along with the 512 GB microSD card I got for $60 since I will be mostly all digital.

Yeah, it is pretty easy to use so far. I haven't looked into the online code stuff yet, so I will add you tomorrow when I'm on there to play Xenoblade Chronicles for the first time. Maybe they could do without asking you to enter your password every time you load the Store, as the only real point of having requiring the password turned on is to prevent people from using your account to buy things, not to browse the Store. Otherwise I've been pleased with it so far without playing any games on it.

I will play both Metroid Dread and Breath of the Wild at some point. I'm less enthused about both than I should be because after watching gameplay of both on YouTube, it seems like both could really frustrate me. Between climbing potentially being a pain in the butt in Zelda and the EMMI portions of the game in Metroid, I'm a bit afraid I will get so frustrated with them I might want to drop them both. I will still give them both a try eventually though.

Others that come to mind are Bayonetta 1 & 2, Astral Chain, Severed Steel, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, all 5 Shantae games, Bravely Default 2, and Triangle Strategy.

@KilloWertz IMO it absolutely makes sense to get the OLED over the original, assuming that the surplus cost isn't too much of an issue. Even if you only occasionally play handheld, the visual difference is justified.... not to mention of course the extra memory/storage in the OLED (vs 'normal' Switch).

Of the games you listed - my brother is currently playing Triangle Strategy and is raving about it. He also really enjoyed Fire Emblem, so perhaps you would like TS as well. Enjoy Xenoblade, probably one of the best JRPG stories of all time...!

@KilloWertz I'm pretty sure you can turn that off regarding the password. I only have to enter it when I purchase something from the store. Unless there has been a recent update as I've not used my Switch for months, I imagine there is an option in the settings somewhere you can filter.

@CJD87 Not that I have Nintendo Online, not yet at least, but I just added you.

Yeah, I have little doubt I'll like Triangle Strategy. I remember seeing somebody rave about it from here too. I think it was @Ralizah. I was a big fan of Valkyria Chronicles on the PS3, so Triangle Strategy and obviously Fire Emblem: Three Houses are no brainers. Might as well add Valkyria Chronicles 4 to my list then since I stupidly never played it on PS4. It's all just a matter of when since I'd rather not play too many similar games back to back.

Thanks. If I don't enjoy Xenoblade Chronicles, I need to just stop gaming.

@JohnnyShoulder Since I'm a new user, I'm not certain, but I would imagine there has been an update since you last used it. There usually is with these systems nowadays unless Nintendo is different in that way.

I'll look into it later when I'm ready to start playing Xenoblade Chronicles, but thanks for the tip.

@KilloWertz for what it’s worth I don’t like XBC1 at all really, tried to play it a few times and find it really boring. I really liked 2 and the jury is out on 3. So if you’re one of the rare breed who don’t like the first one, don’t give up on the series entirely!

I really hope I'm not another @kyleforrester87 though. I definitely wouldn't want that.

Well, actually I'm just hoping that I end up loving Xenoblade Chronicles as expected. I have pretty high expectations for it, obviously since it's a big reason why I bought the Switch. Still, thanks for the encouragement to stick with the series if not, even if I'd be really shocked if I didn't enjoy it.

My only issue of trying another game in a series if I didn't like one of them would be the fact that games are expensive on the Switch even if they are old. I'd probably still make an exception here, but in the end it is what it is and I don't want to beat a dead horse about game prices on the Switch store.

@KilloWertz I had a quick look on my Switch after I updated it, and I can access the store and view games without the need to enter a password. I couldn't find any settings pertaining to this either. I can only assume it is a weird regional thing. 🤷‍♂️

@HallowMoonshadow Well, that depends. The Playstation-era games weren't released in Europe, but the original Xenoblade Chronicles actually released in the UK before the United States. This fact, which led to it being dubbed by Nintendo's European division, has led to a tradition of all the games' english dubs primarily featuring UK voice actors. A few are even fairly well-known, like Jenna Coleman, who voiced a major character in the first Xenoblade.

The Playstation-era Xeno games were generally overambitious, narrative-heavy JRPG epics that delved into heavy psychological, existentialist, and religious (primarily inspired by Christian Gnosticism) themes. What would become Xenogears was actually originally pitched as a potential script for Final Fantasy VII (the people heading Monolith Soft eventually broke away from Squaresoft to form their own development studio), but was rejected for being too dark and complicated for what the series was going for.

The Xenoblade games aren't really connected to previous Xeno games, although certain games take heavier inspiration from their early work, and there are a lot of references and thematic similarities to previous Xeno games in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (a couple of major characters from the Xenosaga trilogy actually appear in XC2 as unlockable party members). While there are some slight plot connections between the three mainline Xenoblade games, they're generally independent experiences connected by similar themes, character types, fictional species, gameplay elements, and so on.

@KilloWertz Yes, Triangle Strategy has probably become my all-time favorite tactical RPG. It's brilliant, and feels like a lost classic from PS1-era Squaresoft.

@JohnnyShoulder I did manage to find a setting to turn it off so I don't have to enter the password every time I open the eShop. Not that it really matters at this point I guess, but I figured I'd update anyways.

@Ralizah Yippee, I was right. lol

I'll definitely play Triangle Strategy at some point. I'm playing Xenoblade Chronicles now, and I plan on playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses after that (maybe the original Bayonetta in between so I'm not playing back to back long games). Probably something else after that to break up the genres, so probably sometime next year for Triangle Strategy.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your Friend Code? Just looking to add some people I "know" so my friends list isn't so almost empty even though I doubt I'll do much online gaming on the Switch.

@KilloWertz Ah cool, good to know you solved it. That would do my head in too.

@KilloWertz SW-2726-5961-1794

Used to have it in my sig. Not sure why I would have taken it out.

Xenoblade Chronicles, and then Three Houses. Well, that's the rest of your year accounted for. How are you getting on with Xenoblade, btw?

@HallowMoonshadow Yeah. I could never really invest too much in the original game, but XC2 really appealed to me, despite its flaws (it's heavily disliked by the series' online fanbase, but it's also the only entry to date that has surpassed 2+ million units sold with one version, and that's despite never getting steep price cuts like the original game frequently does, so I refuse to think of myself as being in the minority on this!) Torna: The Golden Country, an expansion/prequel to XC2, is, pound-for-pound, the best game in the series, IMO. It's only 30 - 40 hours in length, but it makes very wise and efficient use of that time.

I'm actually enjoying XC3 a lot so far. The setting has a very cool dark sci-fi tone to it and, as such, sells me more easily on its mature tone than the original did. The combat strikes a balance between the tedious simplicity of the original and the overwhelming complexity of XC2. The game has also addressed most of the issues plaguing this series: side-quests are more meaningful, QoL improvements have made exploration a lot less aggravating, character animations and lip syncing are both fantastic, and the game goes out of its way to help players understand its suite of mechanics and customization options.

The way this game handles the mechanic of protagonists switching between stronger and weaker forms in battle really highlights, for me, the flaws of DDS' approach. There's essentially no point to playing as a human in DDS, and being able to 'de-transform' in battle only serves as an occasional nuisance when you're jumped by enemies. XC3, on the other hand, makes both forms useful in battle. The Ouroboros forms your characters adopt are obviously more powerful, but only last for a small period of time before your character will need to de-transform for a period of time. There's a risk/reward element to it as well, as the longer you're in that form, the more damage you're doing, but if you stay transformed for too long, the game will punish you by not allowing you to re-transform for the rest of the battle.

The music is also pretty good, even if it's not my favorite OST in the series:

@Ralizah Thanks. I'll add you once I get on in a little while to play more Xenoblade Chronicles.

I only plan on playing one house in Three Houses initially. Then I may go back to it at some point and play the others, but I should be able to fit in another game or two because of that. Like I said, probably something like Bayonetta 1 that's shorter and completely different.

Things are going pretty good so far. I probably put too high expectations on the game beforehand, having it be the main reason I wanted a Switch and then in return making it something that would be mind blowing. I think that will wear off in time though as I'm only 6 or 7 hours into the game so far. Other then what I already mentioned about side quests, the only other thing I can think of is combat is fairly repetitive so far, especially if you choose to fight the random things around the world to help boost my stats. I know there's more depth to the combat, especially once I get more party members, and I am already digging the story. Fiora dying so early was a bummer. Like I said, I still expect to highly enjoy it in the end.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, it was good to get it figured out regardless of how important it is. The only other annoying thing really is that a message pops up every time you turn on the Switch if you remapped the controller buttons. I know there's no way to change that as I looked it up, so I'll just have to live with it as I'm too used to having the buttons the other way around from playing on Xbox before.

What's your Friend Code, btw?

@KilloWertz It is SW-4531-9111-8827.

Even though I rarely use it these days, I'll make am exception in this case to accept your request.

@KilloWertz lol One playthrough (Golden Deer) took me over 80 hours, so it's still a significant time commitment.

Three Houses is worth playing multiple times, but it's definitely not one you'd want to run multiple times in a row, if only because the early game portions between each house are so similar. Especially if you played like I did and poach all of your favorite students from the other houses early in the game.

Yeah, Xenoblade Chronicles is weirdly beloved by a certain subset of the JRPG community, who talk it up as one of the greatest games ever made. Part of that, I think, is that the game released during the seventh gen when home console JRPGs had all but died on the vine. It was also one of the few worthwhile JRPGs on the Nintendo Wii.

Also probably helps that the series' availability worldwide and growth as a brand was an almost totally grassroots effort. Its release in the U.S. only even happened because of a massive fan campaign, which also saw the release of a few other Japanese RPGs on the Wii. Now this modern, JRPG-friendly version of Nintendo is totally committed to the series.

Of course, you're thankfully playing the best version of the game that ships with a buttload of QoL improvements and a graphical revamp that makes it look... not amazing, but not actively horrendous. The Wii original could have been mistaken for a PS2 game if it didn't have those gigantic environments.

Shocking plot twists and dramatic deaths are a common feature in these games, so enjoy!

@JohnnyShoulder Alrighty. I just sent it.

@Ralizah Not surprising that Three Houses is also really long. I'm ok with that as I fully expect to love it. The length of both that and Xenoblade Chronicles is why I will probably play something else in between.

I doubt I ever knew that about the history of Xenoblade Chronicles. Not surprising since it was originally from an era where western releases of some JRPGs were inconsistent at best.

I can stomach some some repetitive gameplay and such in a JRPG if the characters and the story are great. It seems like this will deliver on those fronts based on what you said and obviously it's critic and gamer acclaim.

I'm glad I ended up with this version of the game. I had no intention of ever getting a Wii, so the only temptation to play the game came after the Switch came out. Still, while I would have still liked it back then as a lot of the time you like a game if you play it when it came out because that is how games played at that time. Now we are used to certain differences from the original to this version, but after reading what the QoL features are, I'm not sure I would have liked the original that well if it was released today in it's original form. A horrible map/waypoint system would have done me in, as The Witcher 2 had a dreadful map and I gave up on it because of that when I tried it a few years ago.

@KilloWertz I have to really enjoy a long game to not take a break in the middle of it. As much as I hate to admit it, it says something that I didn't stop playing Elden Ring at all until I hit the credits. Ditto with other 70 - 100 hour favorites like Horizon Zero Dawn, Breath of the Wild, Etrian Odyssey IV, and a few Shin Megami Tensei games (IV, IV: Apocalypse , and V, to be exact).

Nintendo of America was AWFUL about not localizing smaller games during the Wii era. It's why, for example, the Wii remaster of Fatal Frame 2 never came to the States.

The company seems so different now, insofar as they actively seem to celebrate smaller and more explicitly Japanese releases. Much to the annoyance of the weirdly insular core Nintendo crowd that only wants to play cartoony first-party properties.

Thankfully, niche stuff has been selling very well on the platform.

XC1, XCX, and XC2 (all the pre-XCDE ones) have garbage maps/quest tracking features, honestly. Monolith has taken great strides with recent releases. XC3 is the most convenient entry in the series in that regard, as they've gone to great pains to eliminate annoyances that plagued the series previously.

Weirdly, XC2's Torna side-game is also extremely user friendly, unlike the main game it was an expansion for.

@Ralizah I usually am able to finish long games like those without a break, although sometimes I am somewhat burnt out on the game by the end that I don't want to go back to it to clean up anything I've missed for a while. The only one I played out of that group was Horizon Zero Dawn of course As much as I loved Forbidden West, I couldn't help but be slightly burnt out on it by the end just because of the length.

That is a big reason why I never had a Nintendo system since the NES. Obviously the SNES was great, but I was Sega guy then. Their own properties that show up every console generation are great, but it was the lack of variety that killed it for me.

That's unfortunate to hear about 2, but I suppose I still should be ok with that one since I'll already be locked in to the series after 1. It's weird that they took that long to figure that stuff out given how good they obviously were at characters and story, but at least they did at some point I guess.

Yeah, that is a bit weird. Maybe they got a lot of feedback from 2 and decided to try things out in the DLC. I don't know, but it's good that they were able to finally bring that all up to the level of the rest of the parts of their games and I'm still looking forward to playing the rest of the series after 1.