Nintendo Switch

Well I can’t say there isn’t a clear consensus at least. OK, I guess I’ll just eat the hundred bucks and get a plain old Switch.

Since the latest rumor is that the rumored Switch Pro will cost $400, if that’s the case, I’ll probably end up getting the regular Switch as well. I’ve basically just been waiting on Switch Pro news at this point. I really want to get my hands on a Switch finally so that I can actually play the Mario games that I’ve bought over the last few months. (3D All Stars and Odyssey). I guess if the Switch Pro ends up being $350 or something, then I won’t know what to do.

LOL, I have finally made it to the 1%!

(PS, the first/primary purchase should be a Switch and the Switch Lite as an additional system for a younger child)

Another reason to skip the Lite (at least for a first system): Ring Fit Adventure. I can’t imagine how you’d play it in handheld mode (if that’s even supported) and you need to detach joycons and wear one on your thigh and put one in the RingCon. Don’t think that works with a Lite!

Seeing as 99% of my Switch time these days is getting my exercise in with Ring Fit…

My son watched reviews comparing the two. So youtube has told him that the switch is better then the light. Then he had gotten games like cuphead and mugman where he wants to play with this sister. You cant do that with a single switch light. Although, you can purchase wireless joycons, and purchase a charging dock for them and connect them wirelessly. Which I believe would allow a second player, but have not tested or confirmed that is true. We did get a wireless pro controller, that connects fine, but does not allow a second player. But, for the price, of a pair of joy cons, and a charger for them you may as well of bought a regular switch. And if they kids really managed to get that to work on that tiny screen…maby it would be ok in some situations, but mostly would suck.

Also non of the wired accessory s are compatable with the light. I found myself telling my sons ‘no that wont work’ a lot. I think an older child that decides on a lite to get a couple extra games, fully understanding the limitations of the lite, might be better. But even then they are going to be looking at that big screen in the living room, wondering how great that game would look on the big screen.

For an extra $100 all of that goes away.

That was sort of my approach - I got the Switch Lite as a follow-up to the 3DS. The Gamecube was the last Nintendo home console I got, after that I was more a fan of their hand held systems. I usually stick to one console per generation and it’s been the 360 to Xbox One to Xbox One X and eventually I will get the current Xbox.

I will add that I have been considering getting a regular Switch now, but probably only just to play a few multi-player games with my daughter. She’s not a big gamer, but I can occasionally get her to play a few co-op games with me on the Xbox One, and the Nintendo multi-player games look like a blast.

That aside, I love the Switch Lite. It’s a great portable and I’m glad it’s getting a lot of JRPGs which was mostly all I used the 3DS for in addition to the occasional Zelda), though being able to play Diablo 3, Skyrim, Torchlight 2, and Dragon’s Dogma portably has been a ton of fun.

I finally had my left joy-con start drifting after over 4 years a few weeks ago. I was really impressed with Nintendo’s joy-con support. I entered my serial number on their site, printed a UPS label, and they had it back to me at no charge within a week of dropping it off at the nearest UPS store.

So I lucked into a GameStop deal to cash in my old unused Xbone, so I picked up a Switch, non-Lite as you all suggested. So - next question. My son really only wanted a this so he could play Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I’m thinking there are probably quite a few games out there he would appreciate. Given that he’s nine years old, what would you recommend? I’m thinking Mario Odyssey, maybe a Mario Kart game assuming there is one for the Switch, and maybe that Pokemon Snap game? But I haven’t really kept up with Switch developments at all, so if there’s another game that you think would work, or that your kids maybe love, I’d be curious to hear about them.

Yes, Mario Kart 8 is very good.

Splatoon 2 has been the biggest hit for my kids (11 and 6)

Everyone is ga-ga for Breath of the Wild, which kinda Ubisofts the Zelda formula. Odyssey and Mario Kart are also perennial best-sellers and awesome.

Smash Brothers is exactly as ridiculous and over-the-top as before. Like @Thraeg said, the Splatoons are a big hit with everyone who touches 'em, though I’ve never played.

Animal Crossing is the best game ever, but maybe not up everyone’s alley. It’s very chill and slow-paced, but very charming for a certain kinda person (me).

Most of the various Mario options are great. Luigi’s Mansion 3, that recent 3D World remaster, etc. A LOT of Qt3’ers dig Mario vs. Rabbids Kingdom Battle for some kid-friendly XCOM-esque action.

My own wishlist for Switch:

Already bought

Mario Odyssey
Mario 3D All-Stars

Wish List

Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Maybe:

Mario Kart Live Home Circuit
Mario Tennis Aces
Mario Golf: Super Rush
Luigi Mansion 3
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Splatoon 2
Animal Crossing

My perspective on what appeals to nine-year olds is limited, but if there’s even a remote possibility that more than one person will play your Switch, Mario Kart is essential.

My nephews (9 & 6) got into Mario Kart and Smash Bros, but the big thing there is that there are two of them plus me, so it was mainly for the couch multiplayer which is awesome in both those games (of course they both have single player as well). Switch has two player support out of the box so you should consider playing with him!

I also introduced them to Streets of Rogue, and they really loved playing that together and trying out the new characters as they unlocked them, even though they were initially disdainful of the graphics… Some wonderful chaos.

But yeah the main single player draw was Pokemon Sword & Shield. They also liked Animal Crossing, and were quite keen on Luigi’s Mansion and Link’s Awakening. But I think the older one would always rather be playing Roblox on the iPad… ;)

Not totally clear how mulitplayer works out of the box with the Switch, but my 6-year-old daughter might also be interested in playing some of these games too, so yeah more than one person may be playing. I don’t think either of them have really played a racing game before but Mario Kart seems like a decent way to dip their toes in.

So - I’ve got Pokemon Shield (my son wanted this over Sword, he has his reasons and no I haven’t asked), Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons as possible games for him/both of them assuming he will share. I don’t know how they’d feel about Smash Bros or Zelda - these would be new experiences for them. My daughter is mainly a Minecraft player and my son mainly plays Roblox. They’ve played Mario Party and Mario Sports on the Wii and liked them but that’s about it.

Are there demos for any of these games? I feel like we could get a good feel for how they’d be received if they were able to try them out. Anyway, appreciate all the suggestions, I’ll give this more thought over the weekend.

OK so yes there are demos, just not for the games I’m interested in. Oh well.

The two JoyCon controllers on either side of the Switch are detatchable; each one can function as a simple controller for most games on the system. So, for multiplayer, each player can take one and go nuts with it. They both have decent motion controls, one has an IR scanner, good vibration, little speakers, etc. – basically a hyper-miniaturized Wiimote with worse motion-accuracy.

The individual main-line Pokemons are usually split into 2 or 3 versions with a handful of unique Pokemon, gym leader bosses, and quests for each variant; you need to connect with pals via local or internet multiplayer to get the stuff not in your game. But your kid made the right call; the unique stuff in Shield is cooler :)

Simple, but cute multiplayer; the second player control the little hat companion that can collect coins and bop enemies, IIRC. Sorta like the MP in Galaxy, if you played that.

Excellent local or online multiplayer, absurd amounts of content for the price (it’s basically an upgraded version of the Wii-U version + all of its DLC).

Awesome, charming, relaxing, very sweet and silly building-and-friendship game. The multiplayer has a couple of weird quirks. First and foremost, whoever makes the first Villager character for the game on a given console is the “Island Representative,” who controls the progression of some of the game content, so if they make a character and abandon the game, Player 2 is stuck with basic tools and housing forever. Once you make it past the couple-few weeks of starter “quests” on the island, everything is more or less unlocked for everyone.

Mario Party for Switch only has a few boards, but they’re all good, and the minigames are great. Only allows Joycons for play – no Pro Controllers here, folks! But they have lots of fun and funky motion oriented games and stuff that uses the microphones, IIRC, so if they dug the Wii version, they’ll probably like this, too.


A word on online MP: You do need to buy annual access to Nintendo Online. It’s very cheap compared to XBox Live and whatever Playstation has, and comes with while-subscribed access to big libraries of emulated SNES and NES games. Also supports online backups of most game saves and a few other neat features.

By default, the MP is tied to one system profile (Switch supports multiple user profiles, so multiple people can maintain saves/characters in the same games on the same system – see above for the Animal Crossing stuff on that). If you only run one main account, you’re good. Otherwise, spring for the Family Plan, which is honestly just a few bucks more. If online MP isn’t a big deal, this is totally skippable, though.

Wow, I have so many questions after looking at that page. Like “what the heck is Yoshi’s Crafted World” and “What the heck is Miitopia”. It’s nice that there are demos I guess. Once I get a Switch, I can find out for myself.

Edit: Also, it makes me irrationally mad that Arms is still $60. I mean, you’d think at least the non-Mario, non-Zelda, non-Animal Crossing, non-Pokemon stuff by Nintendo would at least get a reasonable discount after a while.

My son started playing Mario Kart at three years old, and that was before Mario Kart 8 which has optional auto-steering and auto-acceleration. Mario Kart 8 is as close to a sure bet you can get on the system.

According to Dekudeals it’s $55 at Amazon and Target right now, and has reached nearly $40 this year.

PSA: if you have a Switch and wishlist, then you should definitely bookmark Dekudeals. Or make an account in order to get an email when the price is right.