It was inevitable, I suppose. While I’ve never counted myself as a member of the hardcore Nintendo fandom, the fact is that I practically grew up with Nintendo. My first encounter with video games came with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. My childhood dentist had an NES in his waiting room, and my orthodontist had a dozen GameBoys in his lobby. I took a GameBoy wherever I went, marveled at the N64’s 3D majesty, was there with Luigi’s Mansion on day 1 for the GameCube, and even did my best to give the Wii and Wii U the best chance I possibly could. I’ve always been a sucker for Nintendo, and despite my reservations I guess I always knew it was only going to be a matter of time until I jumped on the Switch train too. The thing is, I’m really glad I did.
I was certain that the Switch wasn’t going to be for me. Nothing about it sounded particularly exciting. Why would anyone want an under-powered hybrid console when they could have something to rival the Xbox One or PS4? Why would anyone want another mobile Nintendo device when they already had a darn good one in the form of the 3DS? These are the questions that kept me from feeling any sort of real enthusiasm for Nintendo’s latest console…that is until I went to PAX West earlier this year.
One of my friends bought the Switch on day one. They’d shown me the device before so I’d already seen several of its more unique features before going to PAX. It just never registered with my just how useful and convenient those features were until I saw people starting pick-up Mario Kart 8 races in the various lines at the show. One minute there just a bunch of people standing line, and the next minute several them had taken seats and were having a grand ‘ol time at the races, Switches out and Joy-Con in hand. Now that made an impression. “Okay, I guess I should try it for myself,” It thought. Time and money prevented me from jumping onboard right when I returned from the trip, but the time finally came last weekend, and I went for it.
I still didn’t think I’d get all that much use out of it as a handheld device, but it turns out that being able to just pick it up out of its dock and keep playing encourages all kinds of things one wouldn’t consider otherwise. I’ve really been enjoying the ability to play Super Mario Odyssey while having movies on in the background, or finding something cool in the game and being able to just pick the console up and bring it into the next room to show my roommate. It’s wonderfully convenient and I’m already looking forward to flexing its local multiplayer muscles! (that’s right, LOCAL multiplayer!) Oh and regarding Super Mario Odyssey, the game really is just as excellent as everyone is saying it is! Turning into various objects and enemies has real and fun purpose. The worlds are colorful and filled with fun challenges to find an conquer. Mario controls so well that it becomes second nature almost immediately! The levels reward outside the box thinking and platforming rather than work to undermine it! It’s just…sublime. Add a solid library of smaller and independent games and you’ve got yourself a gaming device that’s absolutely worth having (quick shout-out for Knight Terrors, the most entertaining “endless gauntlet” game I’ve ever played)!
I didn’t think I’d like it. I didn’t want to like it (for some reason), but now I love it! Nintendo’s hit it out of the park this time and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone still sitting on the fence. I’d say wait for Metroid Prime 4 since we all know they’re going to do a totally sweet version of the Switch for it…but we’re probably not going to see that game until 2020 at the earliest. If you can’t wait that long, then I say go for it!
Any other Switch owners out there? What do you think of it? For those on the fence, what’s keeping you perched up there?
Lede image is official promo art
VIRTUAL BASTION 
I love my Switch, but I wouldn’t recommend people rush out and buy one yet. There’s still not enough there in my opinion. Breath of The Wild is shared with the Wii U and that leaves Mario Odyssey. I love the new Mario game, but I don’t think it’s a masterpiece.When Pokemon, Metroid, Monster Hunter, Fire Emblem, and all the other awesome 3DS games move over to the Switch I’ll no problem recommending it.
I’m glad you love your Switch :).
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I still haven’t bought the Switch myself. Odyssey looks fun and everything, but I don’t want to buy a console for one game. I’m sure I’ll get the Switch once Metroid 4 is released, though. Even though that won’t be for a long time….
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When Pokemon, Metroid, Super Smash, and all the other well known Nintendo IPs and 3DS games start popping up on the console it’ll be a must buy imo. I never buy a console for 1 game.
I hope Nintendo knocks it out the park with Metroid 4 :).
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They’ll probably have a cool special edition for it. So waiting isn’t a bad idea.
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The Switch is great! Glad to see you are enjoying it too, especially now it has a good 5 or 6 titles worth playing on it now
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Welcome to the club! =)
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welcome! I’m loving my Switch. Depending on the person, i can’t say whether or not it’s a must buy at this point. But it’s close to being an easy recommendation with it’s huge line up at this point.
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What’s your favorite game so far?
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Tough to say, every game gives me something different. Between Breath of the Wild, Stardew Valley and Splatoon 2
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I’m liking the Switch so far. The new Mario didn’t leave a good first impression on me, but I’ll give it another shot soon 🙂
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What did you find problematic about it? (genuinely curious)
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I found it kind of boring, honestly. It’s more of a me issue I think. I was coming off of some pretty deep games: Dragon Age Origins, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Hellblade. The cheerful Mario game with yet another damsel in distress story just fell flat for me on launch day.
I’m liking Odyssey a lot more now though. I was probably just in a bad mood, haha.
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It’s definitely the same ol’ Mario in terms of the plot (if you can call it a plot). It did take about an hour to really get going, so I can see why you might have found it boring at first.
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This was an awesome read! The Switch has been doing really well for its first year and hopefully that success can translate into the following years. Being able to play games like Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2 portably is so convienient and appealing. It might not be the most powerful system, but it’s a ton of fun and a great addition to Nintendo’s handheld and console divisions. Now we must look towards 2018 and beyond – Pokemon, Metroid Prime 4, Fire Emblem, Kirby, Yoshi, Bayonetta 1, 2 and 3, Wolfenstein 2 and many, many more. It’s a great time to be a gamer!
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I really want to buy one but it hasn’t officially launched here in India, so all the games are even more expensive here. That’s the only thing keeping me from buying it. Glad you bought it though!
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Wow. They’re really dragging their feet in getting it to you guys. I wonder what the hold-up is.
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