i had the Switch 2 since launch day, got it alongside a physical copy of Mario Kart World, and that’s it because i’m not made of money.
Yes, there was that Welcome Tour game meant to show the console features, but since it’s paid stuff it can go get stuffed, you bundle that shit in for free, like for Wii Sports.
That said, it may sound silly and obvious to say, but the good thing about the Switch 2 is Nintendo NOT reinventing the wheel but actually providing a follow up to the Switch, similar but improved in hardware capability, with a bigger screen, and even a nearly identical interface (the eShop seems to be running better too).
No gimmick that is shoehorned into maybe some launch titles and some exclusives and then gets forgotten or is more a hindrance than a feature.
And pretty much complete backward compatibility with Switch games, some having improved Switch 2 version you can upgrade to for 10 bucks, which is actually a fair price and in stark contrast with the only exclusive launch title, Mario Kart World, costing 90 bucks physical, 80 digital, but that is still a lot.
Yes, MK World is pretty damn good, not gonna lie, it is, i have some qualms but i will tackle them when i do a full review in September, i’m gonna take my time for that one, and still, 80 bucks it’s a lot, i feel i gotta keep pointing it out, because it is for a lot of people, me included.
You can guess how happy i am in how pretty much 90 % of third party games being not so much ports (that was the case for the Switch as well, for other reasons often), but the compromise of the “Game Key Card”, as in an empty cartridge that’s basically a physical license to download the game. If i understood it right.
Even less when NISA is pulling shit like finally localizing the Complete Edition of Disgaea 7… as a Switch 2 console exclusive. A “Game Key Card” physical release. Still full price.
This after they literally withheld some features that were simply added via patch in the Japanese console releases, and the new stuff added for the Complete version made available also as DLC for the base version.
They usually wait a year and more before bringing over the Complete Edition, so they really could have announced it for all platforms and then add a Switch 2 version later… but they did this on purpose.
Look, i love Disgaea, i did this dance last generation for Disgaea 6…. i’ll most likely wait a year to actually have the Complete Edition of D7 on PS4, they said “no plans or intentions for other platforms” but then they launched Disgaea 6 Complete on PS4 and PS5 1 year after the base game was launched as a Switch exclusive for the West.
I’m tired, NISA. Just fuckin tired of this bullshit.
I do like the new magnetized joycons, they snap in a satisfying manner, less the “virtual cartridges” system Nintendo launched on Switch in preparation for the Switch 2 launch, as it’s just Nintendo adding a new stupid step to redownloading the stuff you already purchased or downloaded on Switch (more if you have to retrieve save files for games like Pokemon that usually don’t allow cloud saves, implying you do pay for the online service) , enticing people to migrate from the old Switch.
the old apps for the catalogues of SNES, GB, N64 and NES are already there working as they did on switch, with the Gamecube catalogue tied to having the extra tier of the subscription… which i already did, and thankfully you can actually plug a real GC controller via the Wii U to Gamecube adapter they made for Smash Bros back then.
Bit absurd they launched the Gamecube app with just 3 games, but the Pokemon GC games (especially XD Gale Of Darkness) are coming soon, and you do get Wind Waker, F Zero GX and Soul Calibur 2, so not the worst launch line up for this kind of app.
Also, since i heard of some Switch first party titles getting some boosts or updates when played on a Switch 2, i figured i’d see this “improved performance” for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet… and boy, after dozens upon dozens of hours having played that on the now “old” Switch, it’s jarring seeing the game run at a proper framerate and look less like a PS3 game released 2 generations late.
This is how the game should have run in the first place, it doesn’t fix it looking embarassing in terms of texture quality (give Game Freak an actual budget, will you?) or the other many issues it had, but it’s nice. And free.
As technically are the Nintendo Switch 2 Version upgrades for Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, as in, IF you also pay for the Expansion Pak package, so guess they did understand that keep including expansions or DLC or paid upgrades (the last batch of DLC tracks for MK8 Deluxe and the AC New Horizons expansion were also included in the subscription plan, if you remember).
So far i’m satisfied but not really wowed, not that i would have recommended the console 100 % if Mario Kart World was perfect, it depends, if you’re a Nintendo nut or whatever yeah, i’d say, but jesus, these fuckin prices. I’d recommend just wait and see what actual Switch 2 exclusives emerge over the winter, Splatoon Raiders is my jam but again, depends.
Wise Cafe (International) 