Before I get to my opinions of the Switch or its lineup of games, I just want to express how grateful I am that those horrible rumors of a Mario RPG/Rabbids crossover turned out to be false. The idea of Super Mario RPG FINALLY getting a sequel, only to have it defecated upon by the presence of the Rabbids (the most insufferable gaming mascots of all time) was just too much to bear. But it was all nothing but lies and deceit. This is cause for celebration.
Anyway, the Switch looks pretty incredible. I like the different play styles (console, handheld, and tabletop), and the controllers look quite nice. The “differing battery life” seemed like a vague answer to one of everyone’s biggest concerns, but I guess I can worry about that another time. The good definitely outweighed the bad with Nintendo’s presentation (though what, must I ask, was up with the translator? Can someone please buy that man a personality?).
But I’m here to focus on the games, and wow, Nintendo really delivered. It turns out that Splatoon isn’t a port, but a full-on sequel, Splatoon 2! We also saw another new Nintendo IP called ARMS, a 3D fighting game in which the characters all have extendable robot arms (oh, Nintendo).
Then we have Xenoblade 2, a new Shin Megami Tensei, and a new Square-Enix RPG with 16-bit sprite characters in 3D environments tentatively called “Project Octopath Traveller” (who comes up with these names for Square?). Also, Skyrim will finally be making its way to a Nintendo console. So the Switch is certainly showing some strong RPG support.
We also got confirmation that Sonic Mania will be heading to the Switch, and Mario Kart 8 will be revamped as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and will feature a host of new characters, items and tracks. Most importantly, it will bring back a better more traditional Battle Mode. So it could end up being the perfect Mario Kart.
Of course, Nintendo made a big deal about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, while conveniently ignoring that it’s still going to be on Wii U as well (I’ll always love you, Wii U). The big news regarding Zelda, however, is that it will indeed hit the Switch at launch.
Surprisingly soon, the Nintendo Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will launch on March 3rd. And for a reasonable price at $300 (I don’t remember the price in other regions, and they don’t concern me. I’m a selfish bastard sometimes).
Aside from Zelda, the biggest game featured was Super Mario Odyssey. The brand new 3D Mario title will return to the free-roaming style of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine, and will see Mario traveling to different worlds via some kind of spaceship.
By different worlds, I don’t mean planetoids like in the Galaxy games, but it seems more like different dimensions. One of which is a realistic-looking city with unfortunately realistic-looking people called “New Donk City” (this is bound to be a meme) which features various Donkey Kong references. Another world is some kind of psychedelic food-themed world. Also, Mario’s hat has googly eyes, and he can throw it like Oddjob from Goldfinger and use it as a platform. Also Mario rides a Sphinx.
Yeah, this could be the weirdest Mario game ever. And it looks amazing. Super Mario Odyssey is planned for a release in 2017’s holiday season.
Sheesh, if Nintendo can stick to these release dates, the Switch could be a contender for having the best first year in console history. And combined with all the great games coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC this year, 2017 could be the best year gaming has seen since the unprecedented streak that was 1995-1998.
I am very happy.
Wizard Dojo 
Reblogged this on Miketendo64! The News, Reviews & Personal Views Website On All Things Nintendo and commented:
TheManCalledScott’s quick, early thoughts on the Nintendo Switch’s lineup.
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Good round up of information.
The Switch looks great and I’m really happy with the lineup they’ve prepared. And man, that Zelda trailer…
Loving ARMS. Looks super weird. I hope it does really well!
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I’m so excited! I’m so glad the Switch is getting some RPGs, since that’s my favorite genre and all. The new Mario game looks awesome, definitely getting that when it comes out.
Breath of the Wild took my BREATH away again. Enough said.
Arms looks like an interesting Fighting game. I like its very over-the-top style.
Project Octopath Traveller looks interesting. I’ll look into it when it gets more information. I love the 16-bit style, as someone who loves the good ‘ol classic JRPGs.
Splatoon 2 is looking very fresh! I can’t wait to try out the new weapons (the dual splat-pistols in particular)!
Also, Xenoblade Chronicles FREAKING 2! YES! YES!
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I think there’s a lot to be excited about for the Nintendo Switch but also plenty to worry about. The hardware itself seems like a well-realized idea for now. I’m slightly skeptical about its durability, battery life, cost of accessories, the quality of the handheld device, and use of the JoyCon controllers separately. But I’m mostly worried about its third party publishing support. I understand that Nintendo has been independent from Microsoft and Sony in regards to the console generation and in no way was I expecting the Switch to see versions of Red Dead Redemption 2, Mass Effect Andromeda, The Witcher 3, etc. But the third party presence (or lack thereof) at their conference wasn’t very assuring. You expect Square Enix and Atlas of course but it didn’t seem like Nintendo went out of their way to strike up interesting relationships. The game of wait-and-see between third party support and sales didn’t go over well last time.
But mostly, I am still really excited about what Nintendo has in store. I think the price point is attractive enough without selling itself short and, again, the hardware looks neat in theory. Super Mario Odyssey was a pleasant surprise for me. It looks we’re finally getting a proper follow-up to Super Mario Galaxy 2 which is so exciting. I’m glad they didn’t just call it Super Mario Switch and have generic Mario levels a la Super Mario 3D World. Nintendo is taking risks with Mario again! Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 are fun additions, I’ve never been a mech fan, but Xenoblade Chronicles 2 looks cool, and I was absolutely floored by that Zelda trailer. It looks the Zelda I’ve been waiting a decade for. It reminds me of Ocarina meets Wind Waker meets Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy meets Skyrim, and those are some of my favorite games.
It’s easy to sit back say that another surprise game announcement like Metroid, DKC, or Pokemon would have put its library over the top, but I think Nintendo has enough games coming this year to be excited about while keeping many cards up their sleeve to talk about when they are ready. The last thing we need is another concept demo to keep people waiting for 5 years like LoZ did.
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All great points. There are still some deserved concerns over the hardware, but I think the software lineup is looking great so far. I do wish we had heard about what From Software and a few other third-parties were up to. But as you said, this was just an initial showing.
If Nintendo can keep to these release dates with Zelda in March, Splatoon and Mario Kart soon after, and then Mario Odyssey as the big holiday seller, they’ll have one Hell of a year on their hands. Though, as you said, I am keeping my fingers crossed for Pokemon, Metroid and DKC (especially DKC!) at some point. Honestly, I’d even be happy if they just gave DK the treatment they’re giving Mario Kart 8, and released an enhanced port of Tropical Freeze with extra worlds and stages or something. I love that game!
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I’m glad you’re super excited about it! The presentation definitely appealed to Japanese fans, and people like us who devour those RPGs! I squealed with excitement for each JRPG they announced, and they were all in a row too, haha. And Splatoon 2! They love Splatoon too! I’m very excited about Super Mario Odyssey too and am glad we avoided other possible rumored fates. Here’s to the Switch launch!
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I feel that as the hours went by after the event, more problems and worries started to arise for me. Paid online isn’t that big of a surprise, but so far the benefits seem really bad compared to what PS+ and Xbox Live offer, 3rd party support doesn’t really seem too different from how the WiiU started (lots of ports from older games and no word on future multiplatform games asides from Sonic), the memory of the system is pitiful (32 gb is really awful considering how much games and patches can weight nowadays), the pro controller is awfully expensive (which really means the system goes well over the reasonable 300 price tag that was initially suggested), and, while the release year library doesn’t look bad, the launch games for the system seem pretty bare outside of Zelda, but that’s honestly a problem every console seems to have ever since the 360 launched. Still, at the very least I can say I left more hopeful than with the WiiU. At the very least I knew from the get go it was a new console and not some weird add-on looking thing, and the games Nintendo announced so far seem to have a hell of a lot more effort put into than almost everything they released on the WiiU (Mario is finally getting me interested again since Galaxy 2!). That asides, considering they’ll likely focus development of their games into this system alone, there shouldn’t be droughts anywhere near as frequently as with the WiiU from their own end, and some of the 3rd party announcements like a new SMT and Square releasing a new RPG for the system makes me hopeful it’ll definitely have a much bigger niche too (even though I haven’t heard if these are exclusives or not).
I’m not entirely bought, but with the PS4 still not really doing it for me, it’s the console with the most likely chance to get me, especially if they make a proper Fire Emblem and Kirby and then port the 2 games I cared for in the WiiU, Bayonetta 2 and Smash Bros (which are both likely a matter of time until they are announced).
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All valid points. I guess I’m just a bit simple when it comes to these things, and just liked all the games that were shown.
The battery life and GBs are definitely causes for concern, though the paid online features really aren’t a surprise. I’ll just have to sacrifice one of my existing online services for it.
I’m still more optimistic for the third-party support, at least when compared to the Wii U, but I do wish more was shown (or at least talked about) in that regard. More specifically, I want to know what From Software is making on Switch (even if it is a compilation release of the Dark Souls trilogy. That’s a compilation that would be worth it, especially since it’d be the first time any of those games would be on a Nintendo console).
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I actually thought about what fromsoft could be doing, maybe they’ll release a potential complete edition of DS3 to switch alongside the other consoles, or a maybe a double pack with the 2nd and 3rd game in a few years (not entirely sure on the first game as that hasn’t been ported yet, but it’s very much possible).
I agree the third party looked better than on WiiU, but with the announcements they made, it makes me a bit afraid whether the Switch can handle stuff like, say, the upcoming Mass Effect, which I’m sure is much more demanding than the yearly sports games EA mentioned.
Don’t get me wrong though, I think the system does have potential to come out well, probably not on the same levels of success than the PS4 and Xbone currently have, but with a far more stable position in the market than the WiiU.
I forgot that NMH3 was announced, while Suda hasn’t been releasing the best games lately (can’t really say anything good about Lollipop Chainsaw or Killer is dead), returning to what’s probably his best known games is nice to know, and at the very least SEGA tries to keep a good relationship with Nintendo with what they have shown coming to the system.
Not a fan of what we saw of other japanese developers like Capcom and Namco though, only showing Ultra Street Fighter 2 really means nothing (I know it’s beloved and all, but at least USF4 would have been something more current and alive, and I heard horrible rumors of that having a price of 40$, which is completely nuts if true considering how cheap SF2HD was on previous gen), and saying “a Tales game is coming” is awfully vague too. Is it the last game released (Berseria)? A port of a game like Abyss 3D? An entirely new one? It’s like sometimes the devs themselves want their games to fail to have the excuse to not work with Nintendo anymore.
A thing that does make me a bit hopeful is that maybe the Switch will be home of the more mid-tier budget games I usually enjoy like what we saw on 3DS, as I doubt they’ll raise the budget to bring them to other consoles. That’d definitely buy me as I’m usually not one for the AAA monsters the industry is fairly obsessed with nowadays (with obvious exceptions here and there, but you get the point) and indie stuff alone usually doesn’t cut it either (where quality is all over the place anyways).
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