It feels a little weird that it’s already been a year. I keep thinking that something more should have happened to give this piece more focus. Like there should be one big, massive game to center an anniversary article around while everything else gets glossed over. Instead of bursting onto the scene with a brand new console, it’s more like Nintendo has continued business as usual but with new hardware. Honestly, in [CURRENT YEAR ARGUMENT], I think that’s probably the best way they could have played their hand.
Obviously at launch the focus was all on Mario Kart World. It had been 11 years since the initial release of Mario Kart 8, and while we had essentially gotten a whole new game within Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s DLC, everyone still wanted something fresh. That’s exactly what Mario Kart World offered, shaking up the typical formula of a kart racing game by taking place in one big open world, with every course connected through what Nintendo calls… Connections (no, they are not intermissions, stop calling them that). It sounds super cool on paper, but the game just didn’t really do it for me. Connections all feel pretty samey, and the courses themselves are fairly bland in my opinion. Sure, there’s a lot of cool stuff you can do with the game’s kart parkour system, but I don’t really want to put in all the effort to learn how to do that just to begin to enjoy the game. Instead, the majority of my kart racing fun, outside of local multiplayer with my family, has been with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, which is multiplatform.
That’s been something of a trend with my experience on Switch 2. A GamingTrend, if you will. I’ve been playing a lot of third party titles on the console: Pragmata, Resident Evil Requiem, Cyberpunk 2077, Raidou Remastered, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter (yes I double dipped don’t judge me), Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, the slew of Dragon Quest remakes, Octopath Traveler 0, Blue Prince, Hades II, Bubsy 4D, HITMAN, Silksong, Ys X: Proud Nordics, Yooka-Replaylee, the new Rune Factory, a whole slew of Switch 1 games in boost mode like Moon, I could go on but you get the point. Nintendo’s third party partnerships haven’t been this good since, what, the Super Nintendo? I wasn’t even alive for most of that console’s life. For as long as I can remember, Nintendo consoles have been where you go to play Nintendo games. Sure, I had non-Nintendo titles for my GameCube growing up, but it sure as heck felt like there were way more on the PlayStation 2. At least, I can say that with the perspective of hindsight, because back then I just liked playing games, no matter what they were on or how many frames they had or how big the resolution was.
I was lucky enough to have both Nintendo and PlayStation consoles growing up, and I’m lucky enough to have this job where I can keep that tradition going, because with things the way they are now I’d probably have been priced out of this hobby a while ago. But while I do have a PS5 and a PC with some pretty powerful hardware, I’ve still just wanted to do most of my gaming on my Nintendo Switch 2. It’s just nice to play on. The visuals are usually acceptable enough, if not surprisingly good considering it’s portable, and the system feels good to use. I’ve always been more of a portable person, and unfortunately the Steam Deck hasn’t been able to keep up with current releases.
I think that’s really what’s special about the Switch 2. It’s not where I go to just play Nintendo games. Heck, I’ve actually missed out on a bunch of Nintendo's monthly releases like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book or Pokopia. The Switch 2 is just my main console now, and I think someone who isn’t lucky enough to be able to have multiple consoles plus a PC would be just fine only playing games on a Switch 2. I like playing games on it, and that’s all a console really needs to accomplish. (That and, you know, having games.) Nintendo has released some phenomenal games for their new console, like Donkey Kong Bananza, but until Star Fox comes out later this month and feeds my weird space furry hyperfixation, I’ll probably still mostly be playing third party games. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish Tales of Arise so I can do yet another replay of Cyberpunk 2077.
