Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@LtSarge I loved the first Baten Kaitos back on the GameCube and hope it holds up. The battle system uses cards randomly drawn from a deck, so takes a little getting used to. It’s fast paced and quite unique, but also very enjoyable. Everything in battle uses cards, even potions and consumable food, and some cards change over time. Food/drink such as milk can go off: I don’t remember exactly, so may be wrong, but I think it could then be used to poison enemies. The visuals use beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds, which was unusual by then, but meant that more fantastical and detailed themes could be used. I also remember the music being quite nice. Hopefully the backgrounds have been nicely upscaled! One thing I didn’t like was the voice acting, as it sounded like it had been recorded using a phone from 1910 with a thermal sock covering the mouthpiece. In the original it could be turned off completely.

I haven’t played the second one, which is a prequel (although I guess needs to be played second as it will spoil things), but people seemed to like it. Apparently the battle system was simplified a bit.

@Bentleyma Considering how their older games struggled with other publishers, I'm willing to bet they enjoy the security and resources that come with being a first-party Nintendo dev.

Besides, even if it means needing to get a bit more creative with the technology, they're able to stand out on the system relatively easily. XC3 would be a good-looking but not visually remarkable game on Playstation or Xbox. On Switch, though, it really stands out.

btw how're you liking it so far? Seems like you got a fair bit further.

@Ralizah Yeah as it is now it wouldn’t be visually remarkable, but if Nintendo had a more powerful console then it would look a lot better. The reason it looks the way it does is because of the Switch’s specs.

I’m enjoying it a lot. My only complaint so far is lack of proper towns. Every settlement I’ve come across so far is only a camp. I’ve just reached chapter 3, so there could be some decent towns ahead of me for all I know.

@Bentleyma OK, yeah, if that's your main complaint, just keep playing.

I'm actually not in a huge rush for Nintendo to update their specs significantly, since I don't really want developers to chase significantly better graphics for the system. A big reason we're still able to have this consistent pipeline of quality exclusives every year is, IMO, at least partially because of how much more visually simple Switch games are. Sort of like with older consoles, it just takes less time to develop these games.

My hope with the Switch 2 is that exclusives stay largely the same in terms of visual detail, but they hit 60fps consistently and upscaling tech makes them look nice and clean on both the tablet and higher-res TVs. Meanwhile, the beefier tech will make third-party ports of big games easier to handle.

But I don't want a situation where, like, XC4, or whatever they make next, takes significantly longer to develop, leading to fewer games on the system overall.

@mookysam Your description of the series makes me want to play it even more! It sounds like a rather unique JRPG, at least for its time.

Regarding the voice acting, apparently the remasters will only have Japanese VOs. So hopefully that version was better recorded.

@Ralizah I think Nintendo need to improve more than performance and resolution. I think most people will be disappointed if their new console turns out to basically be a Switch Pro. I think we’ll be getting a console with similar specs to a PS4, which I’m ok with. Games like Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted 4 still look amazing if you ask me. I agree that these games will probably take longer to make as a result of the increased fidelity, but I think Nintendo has enough developers under their belt that there will still be a consistent release of Nintendo games.

Out of curiosity, how large is everyone's memory card on Switch? I've been contemplating buying a new one since my 128 GB is not enough anymore. I genuinely thought I wouldn't need more than this, but after five years of having my Switch I absolutely need more. I've been thinking about getting the 512 GB one, but then I saw that there's also a 1 TB card. Question is if I really need 1 TB. I prefer buying most games physically, including ones that take up a lot of space. So I don't think I need 1 TB. I just don't want to have to upgrade again if I run out of space again. The 1 TB one is also €200 and I don't really feel like spending that much money on storage. What do you guys think?

@LtSarge I have a 256 GB card it hasn’t caused me a problem yet. One terabyte seems overkill, unless the switch is your only system.

@LtSarge If you only need a new one now, I wouldn't invest in it too heavily. I think I have a 512GB card, and I don't think I'll ever fill it up. Almost regret having bought it, although not having to worry about memory at all is of course a good luxury to have.

That being said, I just use my Switch for small games and retro games mostly. I maybe buy one or two full price games each year or something? So I can imagine my games take up small amounts of space.

@Ryall @Kidfried I was going for the 512 GB card but when I saw the 1 TB one, I hesitated. I just needed some viewpoints to help push me over the fence, which you guys provided! It does seem like 1 TB is a bit overkill and 500 GB might still seem like a bit too much but at least I won't have to worry about running out of space anytime soon.

Really appreciate your input! After I read your posts, I immediately went to order the 512 GB card, which will hopefully be arriving tomorrow just in time for the weekend.

So it hasn't been the most smooth process to transfer all my games from my previous memory card. Kept running into problems, so I decided to just download all my games again, which took hours but at least it worked. Good thing that save files are stored in the cloud!

After downloading all my games again, I have around 350 GB free storage, which is fantastic! I actually decided to buy some games now that I have more space. Nintendo is hosting a multiplayer sale on the eShop now and I decided to buy Mario Golf: Super Rush as well as Pokkén Tournament DX. Haven't played much of Mario Golf, although I did give Speed Golf a try and it was rather fun. Hopefully I'll be able to play it online with friends. Otherwise I've been playing mostly Pokkén with my friend and it's really fun! I've been wanting to play this game ever since it was announced for the Wii U but I never got around to it. It feels really cool to control the actual Pokémon instead of giving commands like in the main games. Definitely want to play more of this game.

Cool that your BotW horses carry over to TotK (I forgot that I had a horse named "Fake Moos", because it looked like it had more cow like markings, lol).

Also completed the Wind Temple over the weekend. It was fine in and of itself, but I think the highlight was the journey up the sky ruins to get there in the first place (especially the point when you finally ascend into the clear skies above the storm & dive down into the eye where the Temple is).

@RR529 I would agree with that, the first time you realise that if you break the ice, you can spring into the air from the sail trampolines is some peak gaming. I had the biggest grin on my face the whole time. Did you beat the boss using sky dive or with arrows

Oooooo, my Switch TMNT Shredder's Revenge Radical Edition turned up today. Completely forgot I had ordered one. Hahahaha.

Better late than never I suppose.

@R1spam, arrows. I assumed slamming into the ice would incur fall damage (even if you broke through it).

I was wondering what I'd have to do if I ran out, lol.

Stuck on Etrian Odyssey 2’s final boss. I hate multi-stage bosses in RPGs to be honest.

Enjoy my Switch. REALLY looking forward to playing Super Mario RPG remake. I played the original so much on SNES. Surprised I didn't burn a hole into the cart. XD I'm getting Switch Online next month. I didn't this month because I had some other stuff to get. Mainly getting it for the classic releases.

Alright, I'm becoming more interested in Persona 5 Tactica. The gameplay looks great, the multiple difficulty levels is very nice and the fact that there's Persona 5 Royal content in it has made me rather hyped.

I really like the Baton Pass concept in this game, i.e. when a character faints you can just switch in another one. It's always annoying when a unit in an SRPG dies/faints during battle and cannot be replaced immediately afterwards, so I think this is a good idea and it also fits with the Persona 5 mechanics.