goldenpp72
Member
It has been nearly 6 months since the Switch arrived in stores, and I would say I have gotten a good bit of mileage out of it. The ability to use it anywhere has been utilized quite often by myself, making it a system I primarily prefer to use 'just in case'. With that said, I was interested in making a topic to see what other people are feeling about the lineup, and perhaps hopefully be exposed to some other games I may not have bothered with yet. I'll start with my own summary of thoughts and hope others may throw in some opinions. All of the screenshots are posted from my own games through twitter so please mind some of the IQ. I am posting this a week in advance of the 6 month mark, and will include Rabbids impressions later as it releases in the time frame. Please note i'm not attempting to force any particular format or requirements here, so feel free to post however you like.
Splatoon 2: Grade A
A somewhat conflicting game, as someone who put a good bit of time into the original it definitely shows a lot of the same stitching, most notably in the campaign which was a disappointment in just how similar it felt. With that said the updated graphics, improvements to the ranked modes, rebalanced weapons and powers, and the amazing new Salmon Run mode still make it a definitive experience that I have put many dozens of hours into. It will definitely be my game to go back to inbetween other releases for a long time.
Snake Pass: Grade B-
Very interesting game conceptually but it has a lot of pacing issues. Back when I played it I also experienced a lot of freezing issues which resulted in total loss of all progress in a single level. Having a game where the entire obstacle were the controls was fun especially when I got proficient with them, and the later levels are far more my groove since the challenge is more so in navigating the levels, rather than searching for hours for some annoyingly hidden collectable. The graphics are nice but the resolution is extremely poor in portable mode. Again this was all back at launch, so if any of this was patched then adjust accordingly.
NEOGEO: Grade B+ (Nam 1975, Shock troopers, Alpha Mission II, Metal Slug 1 and 3, Blazing Star)
Since I don't want to rundown these individually, i'll just gloss over the technical stuff as I consider them all comparable game wise. There were definitely some mild sound issues along with graphics issues on some, but post patch they improved the situation pretty well. I'd not exactly consider them perfect emulation but they are still pretty solid and play well with the systems 2 player philosophy.
Graceful Explosion Machine: Grade A-
Despite the ugly graphics and minimal soundtrack, this is one of the better games i've ever played on a digital service. Extremely addictive and well designed action shooting gameplay, not really for casual players but if you're into action titles and shooters, it feels a lot like them combined. I'd almost call it a marriage of Bayonetta and Geometry Wars in many ways.
Wonder Boy Dragon's Trap: Grade B-
Having not grown up with these games, I found that the actual gameplay felt extremely basic and just outright primative. It's still a pretty fun romp and the graphics/music are excellent, just prepare for a fairly old feeling game with a nice new coat of paint. If you're a prior fan of the series though I can't imagine going wrong with it.
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove: Grade: A
This probably goes without saying by now, but Shovel Knight is basically the gold standard of retro throwback style indie games, feeling like a proper "AAA" game as if it was designed back in the early 90s, but with some modern sensibilities gracefully added throughout. If you haven't played it by now it's a must if you enjoy that era of gaming.
Super Bomberman R: Grade C-
The campaign is just not fun at all, the story is cringeworthy and the difficulty is all over the place, it just felt like a slog the entire time. The multiplayer is pretty fun but the online is horrible, and I don't know many people who want to do 4-8 player local battles, so for me, it was kind of a bust. The brief times I did play it local it was a good time, so I give it some credit for that.
Thumper: Grade A
I consider this one of the definitive digital games out there despite the low amount of awareness it seems to garner from others. It's an extremely challenging game that requires you to invest all your senses to really master, and in turn becomes very immersive and intense to a point of becoming emotionally exhausting at times. I'd say my only real criticism with the game is that the theme/tone of it is fairly samey throughout, and lasting something like 5-10 hours for most people, can drag on a bit in turn. Still an excellent game if you enjoy this sort of genre.
Kamiko: Grade B
Surprisingly fun game though it's very short lasting under an hour, it's a very strong hour and has 3 different characters to play as. Considering it has speed run modes and design it was odd to see how lacking it was in ways to record and show off your runs, but for 5 dollars it's a very nice game that is lean in content.
Snipper Clips: Grade B
Extremely endeering co-op title with the only real issue being the lack of content. It's one of the best games you can play with less experienced people as well. Disregarding skill though, anyone will clear the game in a brief amount of time, making it feel more like a really great concept rather than a full game. Still if you want to get your gaming or non gaming friends involved, it's a safe bet as long as they are secure with themselves.
Voez: Grade B
Pretty fun rhythm game but the music selection is pretty hit or miss to me, and the actual gameplay while engrossing at times is fairly simple. Worth a shot if you're a fan of this style of game and music though and seems to be getting free content updates.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Grade A
Having not put much time into the original U title, I put in my full effort on this one and find the entire package quite good. Staggering amount of tracks, beautiful visuals, great music, large roster and a very well done battle mode make it one of the most rounded titles for the system and likely the best in the series. Obviously if you beat the U game to death, there isn't much new to be found here.
Blaster Master Zero: Grade B
As someone who enjoyed the original NES game, I find this a really interesting take on the formula and definitely one of the best of the series. With that said the game design feels a bit unbalanced on normal mode, allowing you to power up so ridiculously that you break the game and make it a cakewalk. They have since added new modes and characters, but this is my grade of my initial run and I don't intend to return anytime soon. Very fun if you like retro style games.
Puyo Puyo Tetris: Grade A
I wanted this game the moment it was announced years ago. As someone who enjoys both games included in the package I felt it would be a sure hit, and not only did it make good on its promise in the title, it also managed to exceed realistic expectations. Including normal Tetris, Puyo and a new mode called Fusion along with a lot of variety of modes and game styles. It includes solid online and offline play options, a surprisingly funny and fully voice acted single player that takes multiple hours to finish, and is just one of the best rounded puzzle games ever made. Very good visual design and a fun OST as well, a definitive experience for the genre. The only downside I can think of is how badly I get destroyed online.
Ultra Street Fighter II: Grade C
It's Street Fighter II but tweaked and altered. I didn't put a lot of time into this one as it seemed to boil down to a bunch of Violent Ken and Evil Ryu fights online, if you love SFII you'll likely keep loving it here, but nothing stands out too much about it aside its high price.
Arms: Grade B
It seems like a strong party game to inject when other games grow long in the tooth, I personally haven't invested a ton of time into it but didn't find it compelling enough to try to master just yet. I do intend to return to it more so, it just feels lacking in content. If you want a game to play with friends or online with fairly easy to understand mechanics, it's worth a look. Great presentation design as expected by Nintendo.
Overcooked: Grade A-
Quite a mixed bag, but in ways I can mostly overlook. In terms of presentation it's just horrible. It really evokes a lot of the early era XBLA style games you would have seen back in 2006 visually, very ghetto presentation with semi long load times and fairly basic music. On top of that the Switch version suffers from some framerate issues, though only really bothersome to me on the final level. This also includes 2 DLC expansions making it a fairly meaty experience. What makes it special despite all its flaws is just how great of a game it is to play. It's basically a game you have to play with others to enjoy, but in doing so you'll be granted with a game where communication, planning,coordination and twitch skill will get through one of the most enjoyable co-op titles out there. I played through all the campaign and 2 DLC expansions in 2 player and 3 starred it all taking something like a dozen hours I think. If you can ignore the presentation and technical shortcomings and have one or more people to play with, i'd highly recommend it.
Sonic Mania: Grade A
A Genesis style Sonic game that feels like it has decades of hindsight to rely on. The improvements in the level design and pacing are excellent with no single zone standing out as outright bad which is rare for a Sonic title. Great OST and graphics, with the only real sin being the reuse of level themes in over half the game. Still the immense craft put into the game deserves recognition, likely being the single best 2d Sonic game ever made only coming maybe a close second to Sonic 3 & Knuckles locked on, it also has the best special stages in the series. I should note that a variety of bugs seem to exist in the game, however I only ran into a couple minor ones in my time through it, 4 runs to be exact.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst: Grade B
Similar to Blaster Master but perhaps better balanced in the difficulty while also being a bit less fun. It basically plays like a Mega Man game but with the ability to upgrade stats and powers a ton, but without the unique weapons bosses would yield. The focus of killing enemies up close is not something I personally got a grip on, but I managed to beat it while finding the majority of powerups. It's certainly not masterfully crafted or ingenious in design, but it's a fun game that marries looting systems with old Mega Man style gameplay mostly successfully.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Grade S+
Typically i'd only grade up to an A scale, but BOTW personally exceeds traditional game parameters and stands above them all, making its way to my personal favorite game of all time next to titles like Ninja Gaiden Black or various other Zelda titles, etc. If one doesn't own a Switch or a Wii U, it's worth owning one just for it in my mind. There isn't really much a need to talk about this one though, it's likely still the primary killer app for the system.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Grade A-
Sort of an uncertain title for me from the start. I've never played a Rabbid title and am not typically interested in the SRPG genre, which made this a pretty unique experience for me. With that said it's a very well designed game with an extremely well done difficulty curve and options for experienced and novice players, tons of extra content, a large main campaign, amazing graphics and beautiful music. Some of the most epic battles in the Mario series take place in this game and it's very much worth a try for anyone curious, even if you don't do the genre often. It's not a perfect game, it starts a bit slow, the world traversal while welcome is a bit basic at times, the inability to have a map or tracker in the worlds to find collectibles is a flaw in design, and there are other little nitpicks to find. It also has some glitches here and there for some people, though i'd still consider it fairly polished, just not quite to the Nintendo standard. I also enjoyed how unique the theme design was and the blending of the Rabbid and Mario designs into one package, really a must have for the system and easily within the top releases of the year.
Splatoon 2: Grade A
A somewhat conflicting game, as someone who put a good bit of time into the original it definitely shows a lot of the same stitching, most notably in the campaign which was a disappointment in just how similar it felt. With that said the updated graphics, improvements to the ranked modes, rebalanced weapons and powers, and the amazing new Salmon Run mode still make it a definitive experience that I have put many dozens of hours into. It will definitely be my game to go back to inbetween other releases for a long time.
Snake Pass: Grade B-
Very interesting game conceptually but it has a lot of pacing issues. Back when I played it I also experienced a lot of freezing issues which resulted in total loss of all progress in a single level. Having a game where the entire obstacle were the controls was fun especially when I got proficient with them, and the later levels are far more my groove since the challenge is more so in navigating the levels, rather than searching for hours for some annoyingly hidden collectable. The graphics are nice but the resolution is extremely poor in portable mode. Again this was all back at launch, so if any of this was patched then adjust accordingly.
NEOGEO: Grade B+ (Nam 1975, Shock troopers, Alpha Mission II, Metal Slug 1 and 3, Blazing Star)
Since I don't want to rundown these individually, i'll just gloss over the technical stuff as I consider them all comparable game wise. There were definitely some mild sound issues along with graphics issues on some, but post patch they improved the situation pretty well. I'd not exactly consider them perfect emulation but they are still pretty solid and play well with the systems 2 player philosophy.
Graceful Explosion Machine: Grade A-
Despite the ugly graphics and minimal soundtrack, this is one of the better games i've ever played on a digital service. Extremely addictive and well designed action shooting gameplay, not really for casual players but if you're into action titles and shooters, it feels a lot like them combined. I'd almost call it a marriage of Bayonetta and Geometry Wars in many ways.
Wonder Boy Dragon's Trap: Grade B-
Having not grown up with these games, I found that the actual gameplay felt extremely basic and just outright primative. It's still a pretty fun romp and the graphics/music are excellent, just prepare for a fairly old feeling game with a nice new coat of paint. If you're a prior fan of the series though I can't imagine going wrong with it.
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove: Grade: A
This probably goes without saying by now, but Shovel Knight is basically the gold standard of retro throwback style indie games, feeling like a proper "AAA" game as if it was designed back in the early 90s, but with some modern sensibilities gracefully added throughout. If you haven't played it by now it's a must if you enjoy that era of gaming.
Super Bomberman R: Grade C-
The campaign is just not fun at all, the story is cringeworthy and the difficulty is all over the place, it just felt like a slog the entire time. The multiplayer is pretty fun but the online is horrible, and I don't know many people who want to do 4-8 player local battles, so for me, it was kind of a bust. The brief times I did play it local it was a good time, so I give it some credit for that.
Thumper: Grade A
I consider this one of the definitive digital games out there despite the low amount of awareness it seems to garner from others. It's an extremely challenging game that requires you to invest all your senses to really master, and in turn becomes very immersive and intense to a point of becoming emotionally exhausting at times. I'd say my only real criticism with the game is that the theme/tone of it is fairly samey throughout, and lasting something like 5-10 hours for most people, can drag on a bit in turn. Still an excellent game if you enjoy this sort of genre.
Kamiko: Grade B
Surprisingly fun game though it's very short lasting under an hour, it's a very strong hour and has 3 different characters to play as. Considering it has speed run modes and design it was odd to see how lacking it was in ways to record and show off your runs, but for 5 dollars it's a very nice game that is lean in content.
Snipper Clips: Grade B
Extremely endeering co-op title with the only real issue being the lack of content. It's one of the best games you can play with less experienced people as well. Disregarding skill though, anyone will clear the game in a brief amount of time, making it feel more like a really great concept rather than a full game. Still if you want to get your gaming or non gaming friends involved, it's a safe bet as long as they are secure with themselves.
Voez: Grade B
Pretty fun rhythm game but the music selection is pretty hit or miss to me, and the actual gameplay while engrossing at times is fairly simple. Worth a shot if you're a fan of this style of game and music though and seems to be getting free content updates.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Grade A
Having not put much time into the original U title, I put in my full effort on this one and find the entire package quite good. Staggering amount of tracks, beautiful visuals, great music, large roster and a very well done battle mode make it one of the most rounded titles for the system and likely the best in the series. Obviously if you beat the U game to death, there isn't much new to be found here.
Blaster Master Zero: Grade B
As someone who enjoyed the original NES game, I find this a really interesting take on the formula and definitely one of the best of the series. With that said the game design feels a bit unbalanced on normal mode, allowing you to power up so ridiculously that you break the game and make it a cakewalk. They have since added new modes and characters, but this is my grade of my initial run and I don't intend to return anytime soon. Very fun if you like retro style games.
Puyo Puyo Tetris: Grade A
I wanted this game the moment it was announced years ago. As someone who enjoys both games included in the package I felt it would be a sure hit, and not only did it make good on its promise in the title, it also managed to exceed realistic expectations. Including normal Tetris, Puyo and a new mode called Fusion along with a lot of variety of modes and game styles. It includes solid online and offline play options, a surprisingly funny and fully voice acted single player that takes multiple hours to finish, and is just one of the best rounded puzzle games ever made. Very good visual design and a fun OST as well, a definitive experience for the genre. The only downside I can think of is how badly I get destroyed online.
Ultra Street Fighter II: Grade C
It's Street Fighter II but tweaked and altered. I didn't put a lot of time into this one as it seemed to boil down to a bunch of Violent Ken and Evil Ryu fights online, if you love SFII you'll likely keep loving it here, but nothing stands out too much about it aside its high price.
Arms: Grade B
It seems like a strong party game to inject when other games grow long in the tooth, I personally haven't invested a ton of time into it but didn't find it compelling enough to try to master just yet. I do intend to return to it more so, it just feels lacking in content. If you want a game to play with friends or online with fairly easy to understand mechanics, it's worth a look. Great presentation design as expected by Nintendo.
Overcooked: Grade A-
Quite a mixed bag, but in ways I can mostly overlook. In terms of presentation it's just horrible. It really evokes a lot of the early era XBLA style games you would have seen back in 2006 visually, very ghetto presentation with semi long load times and fairly basic music. On top of that the Switch version suffers from some framerate issues, though only really bothersome to me on the final level. This also includes 2 DLC expansions making it a fairly meaty experience. What makes it special despite all its flaws is just how great of a game it is to play. It's basically a game you have to play with others to enjoy, but in doing so you'll be granted with a game where communication, planning,coordination and twitch skill will get through one of the most enjoyable co-op titles out there. I played through all the campaign and 2 DLC expansions in 2 player and 3 starred it all taking something like a dozen hours I think. If you can ignore the presentation and technical shortcomings and have one or more people to play with, i'd highly recommend it.
Sonic Mania: Grade A
A Genesis style Sonic game that feels like it has decades of hindsight to rely on. The improvements in the level design and pacing are excellent with no single zone standing out as outright bad which is rare for a Sonic title. Great OST and graphics, with the only real sin being the reuse of level themes in over half the game. Still the immense craft put into the game deserves recognition, likely being the single best 2d Sonic game ever made only coming maybe a close second to Sonic 3 & Knuckles locked on, it also has the best special stages in the series. I should note that a variety of bugs seem to exist in the game, however I only ran into a couple minor ones in my time through it, 4 runs to be exact.
Mighty Gunvolt Burst: Grade B
Similar to Blaster Master but perhaps better balanced in the difficulty while also being a bit less fun. It basically plays like a Mega Man game but with the ability to upgrade stats and powers a ton, but without the unique weapons bosses would yield. The focus of killing enemies up close is not something I personally got a grip on, but I managed to beat it while finding the majority of powerups. It's certainly not masterfully crafted or ingenious in design, but it's a fun game that marries looting systems with old Mega Man style gameplay mostly successfully.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Grade S+
Typically i'd only grade up to an A scale, but BOTW personally exceeds traditional game parameters and stands above them all, making its way to my personal favorite game of all time next to titles like Ninja Gaiden Black or various other Zelda titles, etc. If one doesn't own a Switch or a Wii U, it's worth owning one just for it in my mind. There isn't really much a need to talk about this one though, it's likely still the primary killer app for the system.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle: Grade A-
Sort of an uncertain title for me from the start. I've never played a Rabbid title and am not typically interested in the SRPG genre, which made this a pretty unique experience for me. With that said it's a very well designed game with an extremely well done difficulty curve and options for experienced and novice players, tons of extra content, a large main campaign, amazing graphics and beautiful music. Some of the most epic battles in the Mario series take place in this game and it's very much worth a try for anyone curious, even if you don't do the genre often. It's not a perfect game, it starts a bit slow, the world traversal while welcome is a bit basic at times, the inability to have a map or tracker in the worlds to find collectibles is a flaw in design, and there are other little nitpicks to find. It also has some glitches here and there for some people, though i'd still consider it fairly polished, just not quite to the Nintendo standard. I also enjoyed how unique the theme design was and the blending of the Rabbid and Mario designs into one package, really a must have for the system and easily within the top releases of the year.
