Nintendo Switch = NX

[Zaxxon]

GameStop has a bunch of Turquoise Lights in Denver for store pickup.

Thanks. Lites are actually pretty easy to get. The problem is Animal Crossing gets locked to the device and they all want the option to play on the big screen when it is available. Which means they are going to have to wait (likely) months for the systems to be restocked.

Ahh, makes sense. Yeah, I've been considering getting one for my 8.5 y.o., but I'd probably want a 'full' one for her, too.

I also haven't picked up Animal Crossing, as it's never done much for me. Though my only direct experience with it has been the crappy micro-transaction mobile version. Thoughts on whether it's something an 8 year-old would like? She's currently been hooked on Slay the Spire and Heave-Ho, but with the Coronavirus dealie likely to have us stuck at home for at least another full month, I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve.

[wonderpug]

Keep a watch on the big online retailers. Best Buy had them in stock for a few hours Friday morning.

[Skinypupy]

GameStop has a bunch of Turquoise Lights in Denver for store pickup.

Thanks. Lites are actually pretty easy to get. The problem is Animal Crossing gets locked to the device and they all want the option to play on the big screen when it is available. Which means they are going to have to wait (likely) months for the systems to be restocked.

Ahh, makes sense. Yeah, I've been considering getting one for my 8.5 y.o., but I'd probably want a 'full' one for her, too.

I also haven't picked up Animal Crossing, as it's never done much for me. Though my only direct experience with it has been the crappy micro-transaction mobile version. Thoughts on whether it's something an 8 year-old would like? She's currently been hooked on Slay the Spire and Heave-Ho, but with the Coronavirus dealie likely to have us stuck at home for at least another full month, I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve.

All my kids 11 and 6 absolutely LOVE it. To the point where they’ve given up Minecraft entirely just to play AC, something I thought would never happen.

[Zaxxon]

GameStop has a bunch of Turquoise Lights in Denver for store pickup.

Thanks. Lites are actually pretty easy to get. The problem is Animal Crossing gets locked to the device and they all want the option to play on the big screen when it is available. Which means they are going to have to wait (likely) months for the systems to be restocked.

Ahh, makes sense. Yeah, I've been considering getting one for my 8.5 y.o., but I'd probably want a 'full' one for her, too.

I also haven't picked up Animal Crossing, as it's never done much for me. Though my only direct experience with it has been the crappy micro-transaction mobile version. Thoughts on whether it's something an 8 year-old would like? She's currently been hooked on Slay the Spire and Heave-Ho, but with the Coronavirus dealie likely to have us stuck at home for at least another full month, I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve.

All my kids 11 and 6 absolutely LOVE it. To the point where they’ve given up Minecraft entirely just to play AC, something I thought would never happen.

/me slinks away to choose software to archive...

[stessier]

Keep a watch on the big online retailers. Best Buy had them in stock for a few hours Friday morning.

Hmmm, interesting. I'll keep checking then.

[Skinypupy]

GameStop has a bunch of Turquoise Lights in Denver for store pickup.

Thanks. Lites are actually pretty easy to get. The problem is Animal Crossing gets locked to the device and they all want the option to play on the big screen when it is available. Which means they are going to have to wait (likely) months for the systems to be restocked.

Ahh, makes sense. Yeah, I've been considering getting one for my 8.5 y.o., but I'd probably want a 'full' one for her, too.

I also haven't picked up Animal Crossing, as it's never done much for me. Though my only direct experience with it has been the crappy micro-transaction mobile version. Thoughts on whether it's something an 8 year-old would like? She's currently been hooked on Slay the Spire and Heave-Ho, but with the Coronavirus dealie likely to have us stuck at home for at least another full month, I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve.

All my kids 11 and 6 absolutely LOVE it. To the point where they’ve given up Minecraft entirely just to play AC, something I thought would never happen.

/me slinks away to choose software to archive...

I’d also add that while the previous AC games have never done much for me, this version has really clicked. I find myself spending hours picking weeds, catching fish, chopping wood, and talking to other animals on my island. It’s oddly relaxing, very much like a digital zen garden. Ymmv, but I’m finding it wildly addicting and satisfying.

Be warned though, there is only one island per console, and everyone has to share it. You can’t create your own island, then have the kiddo create a separate island on their profile. Everyone shares and works together on the same one. This isn’t the complete dealbreaker I originally thought it might be, but it’s definitely less than optimal. Especially for those of us with kids.

[Zaxxon]

I heard that but the implications are a little lost on me since I've never really played the series. I'm guessing we'll be ok.

[Skinypupy]

I heard that but the implications are a little lost on me since I've never really played the series. I'm guessing we'll be ok.

Think of it like Sim City (which I assume you’ve played a version of at some point). Instead of each person in your house having their own city to build, create, and develop as they would like, the only way to play is to share a single city with everyone. So if the kids want to let Godzilla loose to trample the power plant or dig a giant river right through the middle of your well-planned town, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.

Supposedly, it was designed that way to help players learn to work together. In reality, it’s already led to at least two screaming matches in my house when one Wonder Twin takes a resource the other one wants.

[Zaxxon]

Well, should be interesting, at least.

[Zaxxon]

Update: everyone's addicted. Fine with the island sharing, but wish I had known that only the first person to have played the game gets to advance the development of the island.

Whoops.

[Skinypupy]

After reading this article, I caved and picked up the Xenoblade Chronicles Remaster on Switch. Sounds like they fixed the most glaring issue I had with the game, figuring how to complete all the overly vague sidequests.

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition doesn’t fix the game’s side quest problem, but it does make them easier to get done. Improved maps and markers show players exactly where they need to go to check off their adventuring shopping list. Setting a quest to active displays a marker on the mini-map, leading directly to the objective. It’s great for those of us who feel compelled to check on every exclamation-pointed quest giver before moving on to the next plot point.

This will now be a triple dip for me. I bought a Wii system specifically for this game, same with a New 3DS. While there were tons of things I liked about it, I only got about halfway through on Wii (mainly due to the questing issues) and barely touched the 3DS version (because it looked and controlled like garbage). I'm really liking what I'm seeing for Switch though, and it looks like most of the problems that drove me off previously have been addressed.

I just wish they would find a way to port over the Xenosaga trilogy. Those were some of my favorites on PS2. KOS MOS is one of my favorite JRPG characters ever.

[AWS260]

A couple of our joycons were experiencing serious drift, to the point of being unusable, so I took the plunge and ordered a third-party joycon repair kit (this one).

Performing surgery on a joycon is pretty interesting. It's clear that these things weren't meant to be serviced, given how hard they are to dissect. Lots of delicate ribbon cables flopping around. Essentially, you have to pull the entire controller apart, remove the stick unit, and replace it with a new one.

Results were mixed. The left joycon is a complete success: the new stick is dead-center and rock-solid. The right joycon ought to work, since the new stick isn't shaky or drifting, but the Switch thinks that its neutral position is pretty far off-center. The built-in calibration app ought to fix this, but doesn't have any effect.

Since these were our "extra" joycons, I'm just going to chalk this up as a semi-successful weekend project and not worry about it.

[Zaxxon]

Nintendo's Summer Game Sale is on right now, and it's a doozy.

Some highlights for me:

Several 1st-party games 30% off--Mario Tennis Aces, Fire Emblem, Captain Toad, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Mario Party, Mario Bros U Deluxe

Older games with big discounts:
Slay the Spire
Talos Principle
Diablo III
Torchlight II
Dead Cells
Gris

Marios & Rabbids at 75% off
Lego games at a huge discount
Resident Evil games half off or better
Wolfenstein, Dark Souls, and Skyrim all halfish off.

[naednek]

So Ethan has been saving up for a switch with help from mom and dad, and grandparents. He's been doing chores, washing cars and raising money in hopes to get it by Christmas.

I found a barely used switch that comes with an Amazon Basic Switch case, Mario Kart Deluxe, Pro controller for $350. I got them down to $325. I feel like that's a great deal, considering if everything was brand new it would be $460 before taxes.

[Zaxxon]

Not bad, no. Especially given the fact that you really can't get all that stuff new very easily right now.

[stessier]

My kids got Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for their birthdays this summer and they were enjoying it. This past long weekend, I tried it for the first time and it's great!!! This is likely old news to...well, everyone. Anywho, what genre would this be considered? What else can I get that plays similarly? I have 4 weeks of vacation to burn before 12/31 and need something to become addicted to.

[coopasonic]

My kids got Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for their birthdays this summer and they were enjoying it. This past long weekend, I tried it for the first time and it's great!!! This is likely old news to...well, everyone. Anywho, what genre would this be considered? What else can I get that plays similarly? I have 4 weeks of vacation to burn before 12/31 and need something to become addicted to.

It's basically XCOM-lite. Squad level turn based tactical combat. There isn't isn't much like it. Most other games like it add a strategic layer that would likely suck the fun out of it for the kids. I guess the Fire Emblem games are comparable, if significantly more difficult.

[Zaxxon]

No, it's not BotW2, but I'll take it:

[stessier]

My kids got Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle for their birthdays this summer and they were enjoying it. This past long weekend, I tried it for the first time and it's great!!! This is likely old news to...well, everyone. Anywho, what genre would this be considered? What else can I get that plays similarly? I have 4 weeks of vacation to burn before 12/31 and need something to become addicted to.

It's basically XCOM-lite. Squad level turn based tactical combat. There isn't isn't much like it. Most other games like it add a strategic layer that would likely suck the fun out of it for the kids. I guess the Fire Emblem games are comparable, if significantly more difficult.

I agree that a strategic layer would suck a bunch of the fun out of it. Mario is just nice set pieces to see how well one can do. I'm going to have to look Fire Emblem more.

[Octavious]

I just started playing BOTW over the weekend after deflecting off it many times. This time it clicked and I can't stop playing. I just wasn't understanding all the mechanics which was making it super frustrating.

I now have 3 of the 4 beasts down and only the first one took multiple tries. The water one pissed me off to no end.

I'm actually floored at how much fun the game is. I spent an hour climbing a gigantic mountain for no reason. I ended up finding a lot of cool random things and when I got to the other side I found the last tower I needed to activate. It was so organic and fun. Something you generally don't see. It's usually go to this exact spot and do exactly this.

[Zaxxon]

I just started playing BOTW over the weekend after deflecting off it many times. This time it clicked and I can't stop playing. I just wasn't understanding all the mechanics which was making it super frustrating.

I now have 3 of the 4 beasts down and only the first one took multiple tries. The water one pissed me off to no end.

I'm actually floored at how much fun the game is. I spent an hour climbing a gigantic mountain for no reason. I ended up finding a lot of cool random things and when I got to the other side I found the last tower I needed to activate. It was so organic and fun. Something you generally don't see. It's usually go to this exact spot and do exactly this.

Yeah, once BotW clicks, it really clicks. And I agree that it's an amazing experience to just do... whatever you want at any time.

[Skinypupy]

I just started playing BOTW over the weekend after deflecting off it many times. This time it clicked and I can't stop playing. I just wasn't understanding all the mechanics which was making it super frustrating.

I now have 3 of the 4 beasts down and only the first one took multiple tries. The water one pissed me off to no end.

I'm actually floored at how much fun the game is. I spent an hour climbing a gigantic mountain for no reason. I ended up finding a lot of cool random things and when I got to the other side I found the last tower I needed to activate. It was so organic and fun. Something you generally don't see. It's usually go to this exact spot and do exactly this.

Yeah, once BotW clicks, it really clicks. And I agree that it's an amazing experience to just do... whatever you want at any time.

I'm jealous. I've tried BotW three times now (including spending about 4 hours with it last week), and it just doesn't click with me at all. It feels like something I should really like, but I usually just find myself annoyed with everything. The disposable weapons, the puzzles, the general controls...everything feels overly frustrating to me.

It's a game I really want to like, but just can't wrap my head around it for some reason.

[Zaxxon]

It's a game I really want to like, but just can't wrap my head around it for some reason.

I feel for you.

I'm jealous. I've tried BotW three times now (including spending about 4 hours with it last week), and it just doesn't click with me at all. It feels like something I should really like, but I usually just find myself annoyed with everything. The disposable weapons, the puzzles, the general controls...everything feels overly frustrating to me.

I think we've had this discussion before, so this probably won't help, but for me:

-Disposable weapons stopped being something that bothered me after I realized that no weapon is very important. Sure, some are better than others, but Diablo this is not. You are going to mostly have crap for weapons all the time, and you might save the odd ancient weapon for use when needed. But overall, just don't worry about it. It did initially bother me, but it was an issue with my mindset, not the game.

-The puzzles--can't help you here. I had a few that were tedious, but overall I loved them.

-Controls--took a bit for me to get used to, but I figured this was just my PC bias. Eventually I got used to them.

[stessier]

-Disposable weapons stopped being something that bothered me after I realized that no weapon is very important. Sure, some are better than others, but Diablo this is not. You are going to mostly have crap for weapons all the time, and you might save the odd ancient weapon for use when needed. But overall, just don't worry about it. It did initially bother me, but it was an issue with my mindset, not the game.

-The puzzles--can't help you here. I had a few that were tedious, but overall I loved them.

-Controls--took a bit for me to get used to, but I figured this was just my PC bias. Eventually I got used to them.

Agree with all of these. Don't worry about weapons - you can win with anything (in most battles - and the ones you can't, you'll have what you need when you need it).

And Octavious - you took down three beasts the weekend you started playing??? How is this even possible? That's hours and hours and hours of content to get through. I stopped playing at Christmas (other things took my attention) and am on the fourth beast. It's really a fun ride.

[Zaxxon]

And Octavious - you took down three beasts the weekend you started playing??? How is this even possible? That's hours and hours and hours of content to get through. I stopped playing at Christmas (other things took my attention) and am on the fourth beast. It's really a fun ride.

I can see it being possible (after all, people can speed-run the game in ridiculous times). I think if you play like I did, running around doing whatever looks interesting rather than sticking to the core storyline, it'd take forever. But it's doable.

Stop and look at the scenery, Octavious.

[Octavious]

LOL by starting playing I meant I picked up my old save where I stopped at the first boss. I had already played many many hours before that. Turns out that was the only boss that even took more than one try. I've now beaten all 4 and I'm at the castle. I plan on finishing it now and then playing through super duper slow on Master Mode.

[Octavious]

And beaten. Holy crap I love this game. Started up immediately again in master mode. I will take my super sweet time this time around but I think I did a good majority of it.

[Zaxxon]

Awesome.

[Octavious]

Aside from making some of the monsters a higher level and some new balloon rafts there isn't much different in master mode. You just have to be a bit more careful with the combat. As I didn't come close to 100% in the game the first run that's not a big deal. I've run into multiple places where I either haven't been in a long time or never visited. There's a bunch of things they could have done better with the game, but all the good things vastly overshadow the bad things. I beat a game once every 5 years so the fact that I'm going through it again says a lot about it.

I think after this I'll tackle Dark Souls 3. It's the only DS that I didn't finish. As with every game in the series I take long breaks as I feel I need to be in a super specific mood to play it.

[stessier]

I started playing Luigi's Mansion 3 on the Switch this weekend - it is fun! I had played 2 on the DS and maybe it was the smaller form factor, but I find 3 to be much less punishing than 2.

[pr0ner]

I'm a bit LTTP, but I got a Switch for Christmas! Any game recommendations? I'm currently planning to get Mario Kart 8, Hades, Bayonetta 2, and some kind of Mario game to start. Not 100% sold on getting BotW yet, either, just as an FYI.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, don't let any kids play it or you'll never see it again.

[pr0ner]

Yeah, don't let any kids play it or you'll never see it again.

Single and no kids, so that's not a problem!

[Zaxxon]

Some of my top Switch games by hours played (in no particular order):

Hades
Streets of Rage 4
MK 8
Tetris 99 (Comes with Switch Online membership)
Slay the Spire
Super Mario Party (I have kids)
Bastion (super cheap and I missed it originally. Got it after loving Hades and seeing it on sale for like $2)
Breath of the Wild (which is a masterpiece. Only question is whether it's something up your alley)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Shorter games I would recommend not missing:
The Last Campfire
Celeste
Gris
Link's Awakening
Talos Principle
Torchlight 2
Smash Bros
Into the Breach
Dead Cells
Diablo 3

Some of those you've probably hit on other platforms, but they're all well done on Switch.

[pr0ner]

Hades definitely gets rave comments from several people I know. I think the only question will be if I focus on that or Bayonetta 2 first.

[Zaxxon]

I think I'm over 150 hours on Hades now. Bayonetta didn't grab me, but I'm the outlier there.

[Octavious]

Xenoblades Definitive Edition is amazeballs if you like jrpgs. A lot of people like it better than the second one. I haven't played the second yet to compare.

[Zaxxon]

Xenoblades Definitive Edition is amazeballs if you like jrpgs. A lot of people like it better than the second one. I haven't played the second yet to compare.

I keep saying I'll get this when it goes on sale, but haven't caught it on sale yet. I liked 2, but didn't finish as the menu system eventually got too cumbersome for me.

[Zaxxon]

Pacman 99 is pretty fun. I don't think it fits the 99-player royale format as well as Tetris, but it's entertaining me thus far.

[stessier]

Anyone have any recommendations for a micro SD card for the Switch? Will any card (and size) work? Can you swap between cards? We've had them for over a year and only just now hit a point where this is even a concern because the kids want Fortnite. I'm thinking a 256 GB card might be the best bang for the buck at $35.