2017 will be going down as another footnote in Nintendo history, this being the year that Nintendo introduce their “Switch” console to the world.
Once upon a time it went by the codename “NX” which some speculate that to of actually meant “Nintendo Cross”, which in turn was to be a nod to the fact that the core idea for this system is that it is BOTH a home games console, crossed with an ambitious portable system.
After Nintendo gave us our first look last October, followed by a surprise showing on Jimmy Fallon in December. We’ve been left eyebrows raised and ready to know more. Whilst in the meantime a consistent internet rumour mill has been causing us plenty of highs and lows, whys?! and woahs!.
…’til Friday the 13th came along that is (late Thurs 12th in the US).
Last week the world got brought up to speed on how the ball is going to start rolling with Switch.
Aside from important details like the release date and the price. We learned some new things about how we’ll actually be playing on the system, and what Nintendo had up their sleeves this time to maintain a trend of having something unique to set them apart from it’s contemporaries. Naturally some games were shown too, and with those were a few nice surprises the general gaming world had no knowledge of.
I eagerly watched the entire event LIVE at 4am in the morning (ahead of work that day) and definitely came away from it very curious and eager for more.
Well as it turned out, holding out for more happened to be a short wait. Many a thanks and gratitude go to having been invited to come down to the event and experience the UK Switch Premiere in London.
I hadn’t been to the Hammersmith Apollo in London since I saw J-Pop group “Perfume” a few years back. Seemed odd seeing the place without seats or a stage and shape shifted into a mini convention type hall, but you didn’t come to this article to read that now did you…
The atmosphere inside was great though. The Nintendo promo team working the event gave me the same vibes you’d expect from the “cast members” at a Disney Park. Very friendly and inviting, and before we were able to get our hands on the system practically the entire team were dancing which definitely added to the party morale.
Once all was good to go and Nintendo let us down to the show floor, a short British stampede took place for the stairs (picture “Black Friday” footage, except nothing more than a brisk walk and everyone being careful to not accidentally make physical content with anyone as we all crammed into a smaller space).
My first goal was to get on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Having not been to any conventions that this game has been at so far, this was to be my first time playing, it was the game on the show floor with the most dedicated Switch consoles set up for, and I’d heard it was best to play it sooner in the day rather than later as it was the game that would require the longest queue for. Thankfully I got there early and didn’t have too long of a wait, although given the weight of the game and it was the game I ultimately played for the longest that day, I’ll cover Zelda separately in a shorter follow up article later this week. Rest assured, it’s all positives.
Sonic Mania was actually my 2nd (a ridiculously close 2nd actually) most anticipated game I wanted to get my hands on so that was next. Simply because I hold the 2D Sonic games dear to my heart and this finally looked to be the game that ticked all the right boxes and captured that gameplay that has never quite felt right in all the attempts that came after Sonic & Knuckles.
Thankfully the dream for a great new 2D Sonic game seems to have come true. Christian Whiteheads team for Sega have nailed the gameplay from what I felt. Sonics movement and momentum felt perfect. I’ve had the Megadrive (Genesis) Sonic games physics engines ingrained into my gaming muscle memory and I honestly couldn’t flaw the game for that. To ensure the queue didn’t pick up too much, we were all only playing a single Act of a desired Zone. I choose the new Studiopolis Zone (the sleek design and the fact it’s loaded with Sega Easter Eggs was just appealing to pass up).
I thoroughly enjoyed my brief encounter with the game and have no reservations now regarding my pre-order for the limited edition set [Amazon UK / Amazon US]. Worth noting the Switch version is being ported over to the system through Tantalus Games (whom is a name I’ve always remembered being the guys who did South Park Rally, although to my surprise they handled Twilight Princess HD for WiiU). Sonic Mania is expected to come out sometime in March, although I’d expect it to be a few weeks after launch of Switch at the least.
I played this game in Tabletop mode. Using only a Joycon (L) as my controller. I’m not sure I ever saw this running on a TV during the day and didn’t actually think to ask if TV was an option, was everyone to awkwardly British with this too? I know Nintendo wanted to emphasise the different ways the console could be played so it might just be that. Worst case scenario is that given the late announcement that Sonic Mania was even actually coming to Switch (and furthermore that it is being ported as opposed to being designed with it mind) it might be that some bug fixes have come up in the TV play or something? I don’t this is something to worry about though, give it it’s time to hatch.
Next up I played some Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition. I believe this was the 2nd biggest serving after Zelda in regards to show floor coverage. You could play the game in Tabletop mode (2 player splitscreen) using a Joycon each. You could play it on the TV using the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller’s, or you could use the Switch in handheld mode. As I was queuing with my 2 friends I went to the event with we opted for the 8 player circle and used handheld mode.
I didn’t get around to going back to play the new “battle mode” they’ve added to the game, but the game looked and played as great as I’d of expected. I fell truly madly deeply for Mario Kart 8 (and it’s DLC) on WiiU and thankfully have several local friends that I could get competitive with to get some fantastic mileage out of the game.
(Nice to see Arino-San in the Mario Kart video, love him being close with Nintendo in recent years).
I was at first a little disheartened to learn it’ll cost full price again, and not actually include any new cups to race on. Then I picture the scenario of being able to play this against friends when I take my system with me (or vice versa here) as well as when I’m traveling on trains, planes, or at hotels. I find it too delicious to say no to that sweet sweet offering. It’ll be something fresh to rebuild upon my defensive and offensive play in the game again knowing we can now hold 2 items in the game as opposed to the WiiU version, and the inclusion of “Boo” will keep anyone holding onto a “Super Horn” item a reason to worry too.
It was when I sat down to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that I truly got to be impressed by the Switch’s screen. The image quality, the vibrancy of the colours, the size. I couldn’t fault it. After picking my character (I went with Pink Villager) I turned left and right to both my friends whilst holding the screen up and doing some almost Mr. Bean-like facial emotions of joy to signal that this technology is so cool and our lives of local multiplayer gaming looks to be getting a full shot of adrenaline once we’ve all got our own.
Disclosure: I got similar non-vocal/ facial expressions back.
Following on from Mario Kart 8 came my next big “I LOVE SWITCH” moment. Something that in fact is potentially a secret star feature of the console that has to be experienced in person.
More on that in the next article (Wed 18th Evening)