The Nintendo Switch

many things do not add up at video armageddon

the child hunter in that movie is something else

Got stuck pretty early in Link to the Past. I have all the things I need right now, I think, and even came across a conspicuous book in the library, but apparently I have to use my ramming speed power to knock it down? Psh. I never would have tried that. Once I get that book I believe the rest of the game will open up.

i don't know where anything actually is anymore due to watching/playing too many randomizers

― ciderpress, Tuesday, September 24, 2019 5:55 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Same!

I was in GAME yesterday eye-ing up the different Switch bundles. Last time I bought a new machine, it was a SNES in 1995 and I have NO IDEA what I'm doing,but I'd probably get a Zelda bundle because I like JRPGs. That said, I'm worried about buying a Switch and then regreting not having got a PS4 instead. I like the idea that it's portable, but as is sometimes a critique of Nintendo, the games on offer felt a little bit kiddy on the whole, and there seemed to be less choice and range. That said, I'm far from an experienced gamer and I can imagine Zelda alone lasting months for me.

I wouldn't really call Zelda a JRPG (I *love* Zelda and don't much care for JRPGs); it's more of an action-adventure series with some light RPG elements. I can confirm that Breath of the Wild will last you months; I sunk about 250+ hours into it over a span of half a year.

as is sometimes a critique of Nintendo, the games on offer felt a little bit kiddy on the whole, and there seemed to be less choice and range

you're not wrong on both counts exactly, but i guess the counter-arguments are that 1) even if they do tend towards an all-ages aesthetic, nintendo games tend to be exquisitely-designed and are usually very, very good, and 2) while you do have more to choose from on ps4, an awful lot of what you can choose from is shit

xpost I am also not a particularly experienced gamer, but I think I can give you an honest opinion. I own both a Switch and a PS4, and I can say without question that the PS4 is clearly superior. It plays better, it has a better catalog of games, the variety and quality of those games is better, prices on those games are soooooo much better. In fact, the reason I bought my PS4, having never played anything but Nintendo systems in the past (starting with the original), is because I was relatively disappointed with the Switch. Because I'd only ever played Nintendo games (in the post Atari/Colecovision era), everything I see on Playstation just blows my mind, even games that are several years old. However, and this is a big however, while I think the Switch catalog is kind of kid-oriented and pretty thin on essential exclusives, some of those exclusives - MarioKart, Breath of the Wild, a couple of others - are so good and so much fun they just about justify the Switch by themselves. Therefore I can also honestly recommend the Switch as a great *supplement* to the Playstation, a way to play a handful of those must-have exclusives (portably, if you want) and also a great machine for all those indies out there. If Switch were not portable I don't think I would play it as much, but because it is I think I've put more hours into the system than I have into any of the other Nintendo systems I've owned since the original (GameCube and Wii, specifically). So in summary, if you can swing it, get both! If you can only get one but your time is at a premium, consider the Switch. If you can only get one, and you have more time to sit on the couch, PS4.

xpost There is sooooooo much shit on the Switch, too! Check out the eShop lately? Even if you stuck with PS4 exclusives, like Last of Us, God of War, Bloodborne, Uncharted series, Spider-man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and so on, you're good for probably a few years' worth of quality entertainment, at least (at least at my pace, lol). And that's not mentioning all the stuff that's available on all systems *but* the Switch, if they are your thing, from the most recent Resident Evil to Tomb Raiders to Dark Souls, and so on. Almost all available for practically pocket change.

so much stuff that I want to play on Switch and haven't got the time to

Got stuck pretty early in Link to the Past. I have all the things I need right now, I think, and even came across a conspicuous book in the library, but apparently I have to use my ramming speed power to knock it down? Psh. I never would have tried that. Once I get that book I believe the rest of the game will open up.

― Josh in Chicago

That seems like something I got stuck at on my first play through.

it's true that the most realistic murder simulators aren't available on switch, but you can still be satisfied crushing a lynel's head with an monstrous axe in BOTW

[MT. TAMARANCH THEME]

lol I have a tremendous backlog on both systems. But yes, if you want shooting and stuff - or I dunno, want shooting and stuff with no blood, MCU-style - then Switch is for you. Unless you want shooting and blood, in which case there are plenty of Switch options, too.

Thanks JiC. Yes, I'm far from an experienced gamer. I've really loved having a SNES Mini to go back to my youth and replay old games, but I've exhausted it and I want to get into the 21st century. I have a terrible secondhand television with bad sound and a lousy living room that I don't like being in, which is why a portable device is appealing. My favourite games on the SNES are Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Super Metroid, Yoshi's Island, but especially the first two and I like the idea of games that absorb you into a story, a bit like a playable book I guess?

i have played maybe 10 minutes of games on my PS4 since i bought a switch last year, and that was only because the joycon was in for repairs

ive been struggling to finish ps4 games that i enjoy just because i never want to turn it and the tv on when my switch is right there

i'm not really into dark/violent/shooting/fighting games any more. i also don't have the time or energy to deal with huge complex games (though i beat breath of the wild). the switch just fits better with my preferences. though i'll probably get around to red dead redemption 2 someday because i loved the first one.

in other news i got uchikoshi's new game, will report back re: whether it's as good as zero escape

it takes so long to load a ps4 game relative to switch, ugh

I sold octopath traveler for 40 € a couple weeks ago, which is what I'd paid for it originally. so ps4 games are cheap on sale on digital, but counting resale of a switch game, they're just as cheap. if you're miserly about your entertainment €s.

lol load times. Again, these games are all so fast to load, hiccups and all. We're just more impatient.

xxpost I agree with some of that as well. To reiterate, I missed several generations of AAA computer and console games, so everything I see on PS4 leaves me almost in a state of awe, as far as graphics and gameplay goes. But I would definitely play my PS4 more if it were portable, and at the same time would not have beat Breath of the Wild if it were *not* portable. (I should stress that I do not find turning on the tv a terribly onerous ask.) I think if you are not an experienced gamer and have likewise missed a few generations of games (I mean, I had never played any iteration of Doom!), Switch will be plenty impressive. It's just that PS4 is more impressive, and features (imo) more of those playable storybook sort of games. Granted, many of them are bloody and violent, but so are movies, in many of the same ways, and in that sense PS4 games are more like playable movies, even if admittedly sometimes just playable blockbusters.

current gen load times are bad enough that the ps5's big marketing sell point is going to be no load times

Again, it's pretty relative, especially for us who grew up (before the) age of dial-up modems. Like, in my experience, we're still talking seconds not minutes. And Switch certainly has those problems, too. Loading up Doom on Switch takes as long for me as loading up anything on PS4, for example.

Thanks JiC. Yes, I'm far from an experienced gamer. I've really loved having a SNES Mini to go back to my youth and replay old games, but I've exhausted it and I want to get into the 21st century. I have a terrible secondhand television with bad sound and a lousy living room that I don't like being in, which is why a portable device is appealing. My favourite games on the SNES are Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Super Metroid, Yoshi's Island, but especially the first two and I like the idea of games that absorb you into a story, a bit like a playable book I guess?

― frame casual (dog latin), Thursday, September 26, 2019 10:39 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I had my friend help me hack my mini and the thing has so much more life now once I added the essentials it was missing!

games in the age of dialup modems did not have to dial someone up to promise them you weren't a criminal every time you turned them on

console games in the age of cartridges effectively did not have load times

they also all ran at 60fps

tbh even on pc i swear load times used to be better provided you were within system requirements; it's one thing to say well we're very advanced now you know there's quite a lot to load you see, but god knows what you're waiting for in e.g. pillars of eternity. which is on switch by the way! you might enjoy that as a storybook dog latin.

just ordered dq11, I get that it's basic but I'm basic

re load times, my son's been playing terreria ON IPAD for years, but just got it on ps4 also, and the load times on it are silly long, whereas ON IPAD it's instantaneous.

Weird. I guess everything feels long compared to instant right?

I mean, yeah. As a programmer this is a big deal, anything other than "instant" in many tools is agonizing.

I hear about 150GB AAA games and I'm like "I don't need the games to look that fancy or have all this non-union voiceacting!"

idk the PS4 and XBox One are generic objects you can play video games on, the Switch is a delightful platform that makes me happy and excited to touch and play games on, whether on TV or handheld. My TV takes longer to start up than the Switch does.

Again, just from personal experience, as someone who has never had a high-end system, I have had more complaints, loading or otherwise, with my Switch than I have with the PS4. And Switch problems sometimes take a long time to resolve with patches. For example, Bloodstained was a mess on the Switch, but apparently plays well on all other platforms. They had years to develop it, it's been weeks since it's been released, and it hasn't been fixed yet. But Control on the PS4, in less time it's already been released and apparently fixed.

xpost lol my TV takes about as long as my PS4 to start up. I do like the Switch interface and system a lot, I'm just very aware of it limitations.

yeah I mean that's a developer being unable to commit resources to platform-specific optimization; that the Switch is less-powerful doesn't make it bad.

Also it's much smaller than the PS4 and Xbox

And no doubt Switch, like Nintendo itself, is steeped in personality, for better or for worse.

the Switch Lite is like. My favorite game boy since the launch GBA.

same, though the vita gets an honorable mention for being roughly the same thing

Lot's of great stuff on the PS4 and Xbox One, but the popular AAA games have all more or less fallen into the same formula as any cable action/marvel soap opera featuring relatable attractive squinting models reading dramatic lines at each other... love interests, a character dies, struggling with tortured past, blockbuster action beats, etc etc. Nintendo doesn't rely on that type of game. If it's on Switch at all it's very likely a port.

otm

and if they're on switch, the performance isn't going to be as good as ps4. i pretty much only use my ps4 to play the kinds of AAA games where they're designing the Game of the Year edition before they even release it. i spend most of my time these days playing games like (just to name what i'm playing now) untitled goose game, puzzle quest, blasphemous, etc - games that don't aim to create cutting edge graphics and framerates and play just as well on switch. and switch is definitely the preferable platform for those kinds of games imo, for the portability factor alone

My partner and her sister are gonna get a PS4 to play Death Stranding and I’m excited for that, and once we have it I may try out, like, Yakuza and Hitman.

If I get Hitman/2 I will never use a gun, is my plan.

nice sale in EU today, picked up Gorogoa and FFIX
haven't played FFIX since it originally came out so v curious abou how it compares to my memories of it

Just to stress, if you're not a longtime gamer, if you've never played any of these AAA games, then their cliches and formulas are a little less apparent. IMO. I mean, Nintendo literally releases iterations of the same games again and again ... and that's why people buy Nintendo systems! I'm playing Link to the Past for the first time, and it's making me appreciate all the stuff that showed up later in Breath of the Wild.

the nintendo franchises are the same but they work pretty hard to add new themes or gameplay innovations to each release.

And I find the AAA formulas to be such hollywood cliches that they just really bore me!

in general, AAA games are designed to be played by people after they come home from the marvel universe movies

(i'm just being unnecessarily cruel and critical of AAA games, many of which i still play, btw)

Like, them being Hollywood cliches means you don't have to be a longtime gamer to have been overexposed to them. Which is the point, because they're designed to appeal to the same general audiences and demographics as a summer action blockbuster.

exactly KM

Nothing wrong with enjoying them. I'm just very much on board with the Nintendo mission statement of delivering new inventive gameplay innovations rather than constantly churning out interactive blockbusters.

oh man cook serve delicious 2 came out on switch (and is on sale right now), that's an instabuy