Note: while I was writing this post, my drawing hand was out of action, so I asked my friend, Kyra Fuller, to be guest artist for this post. She's a really talented artist, and I hope you enjoy!
Hey guys.
So for the past few months I've been obsessing over the flyest gaming company's awesome upcoming console: the Nintendo Switch.
So for the past few months I've been obsessing over the flyest gaming company's awesome upcoming console: the Nintendo Switch.
I fell in love with it as soon as I saw the First Look announcement video in October. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to go see it IMMEDIATELY.
And last week, I got the chance of a lifetime. Since I'm a member of Nintendo's membership program, I was invited to an exclusive preview event for their new console. The next day, it was open to the general public, but that day they let people in in small groups-- only a couple hundred at a time.
I went with my friend Kyra, as we're both really into video games. We got to the event early, and there was already a large crowd outside. When they opened the doors, I could barely contain my excitement! Inside, we lined up in an anteroom, with a red wall separating us from the event. I could hear some music playing from the room.
I walked through the doorway into the room, and I was blown away. It was a truly majestic sight to behold. Video game demo setups in every corner, video game artwork adorning the walls, A big stage at the front with a big screen playing Switch commercials... and right before the stage, at the end of a red path through the center of the room, on a pedestal on display in a glass case, the Nintendo Switch console in all its glory.
I walked through the doorway into the room, and I was blown away. It was a truly majestic sight to behold. Video game demo setups in every corner, video game artwork adorning the walls, A big stage at the front with a big screen playing Switch commercials... and right before the stage, at the end of a red path through the center of the room, on a pedestal on display in a glass case, the Nintendo Switch console in all its glory.
The first game we played was the new Mario Kart game. It was tons of fun to play using the tablet, and it was clear that this is a whole new way to enjoy playing Mario Kart.
All of the Nintendo representatives there were wearing cool Nintendo Switch shirts, and I asked one guy where I could get one. He said they weren't giving them out, but that they were giving out hats, so if they asked for volunteers I should go up there.
All of the Nintendo representatives there were wearing cool Nintendo Switch shirts, and I asked one guy where I could get one. He said they weren't giving them out, but that they were giving out hats, so if they asked for volunteers I should go up there.
Next, we went to play Nintendo's totally new game, ARMS. It's a fighting game where you use the controllers-- the Joy-Cons-- with motion controls, to throw punches. Here's the twist, though-- all of the characters have extendable arms! So it combines traditional combat with projectile gameplay, and it's really fun! You might think that it would be difficult to control, but the gameplay was really dynamic, intuitive, and exciting. I played against Kyra, and we had lots of fun.
Next we lined up for another game. While we were in line, though, they started asking for volunteers up on the stage, so I ran up to volunteer.
I participated in the onstage demonstration of one of the minigames in 1-2-Switch. 1-2-Switch is basically a fun 2-player game that utilizes the unique Joy-Cons.
The Joy-Cons are Nintendo's cool controllers for the Switch. They can be used together as a single controller for some of the more intense games, or they can be split into two separate controllers, so that two can enjoy the fun.
1-2-Switch is a game that really makes good use of the Joy-Cons, with its motion controls, rumble, and traditional controller elements. The interesting thing about the minigames in 1-2-Switch is that as you interact with the game using the Joy-Cons, you don't look at the screen-- you look at the opponent.
I played the Quick Draw minigame, in which I held my Joy-Con at my side, until the announcer called "FIRE!" and I tried to point my Joy-Con at my opponent and press the button before the other player did on his controller. Alas, I wasn't fast enough, and I lost, but I still got a hat! I was really excited about my hat.
I participated in the onstage demonstration of one of the minigames in 1-2-Switch. 1-2-Switch is basically a fun 2-player game that utilizes the unique Joy-Cons.
The Joy-Cons are Nintendo's cool controllers for the Switch. They can be used together as a single controller for some of the more intense games, or they can be split into two separate controllers, so that two can enjoy the fun.
1-2-Switch is a game that really makes good use of the Joy-Cons, with its motion controls, rumble, and traditional controller elements. The interesting thing about the minigames in 1-2-Switch is that as you interact with the game using the Joy-Cons, you don't look at the screen-- you look at the opponent.
I played the Quick Draw minigame, in which I held my Joy-Con at my side, until the announcer called "FIRE!" and I tried to point my Joy-Con at my opponent and press the button before the other player did on his controller. Alas, I wasn't fast enough, and I lost, but I still got a hat! I was really excited about my hat.
I returned to the line where Kyra was waiting, and together we played a fun puzzle game called Snipperclips. In Snipperclips, two people play as shapes, and each shape can overlap into the other, and cut out that bit from the other shape to solve puzzles using unique shapes. Though difficult to describe, it's quite fun!
After finishing with Snipperclips, we went to play Splatoon 2, the sequel to the very successful Splatoon. In Splatoon, you are equipped with an ink blaster that you have to use to cover as much of the ground with your team's color ink as possible. It's tons of fun!
Splatoon 2 wasn't that different; all of the basics of Splatoon still applied. But it was still very fresh.
When they called us up, we were very excited. Kyra and I play Splatoon together a lot, and we're a really dynamic team.
Splatoon 2 wasn't that different; all of the basics of Splatoon still applied. But it was still very fresh.
When they called us up, we were very excited. Kyra and I play Splatoon together a lot, and we're a really dynamic team.
We and the other two gamers on our team totally crushed our opponents! High-fives were exchanged.
After our rousing victory in Splatoon 2, we went over to try a game that I was really excited about-- Sonic Mania! This is SEGA's newest installment in the Sonic franchise. As you guys might know, I'm a pretty big fan of the Sonic games, despite some... changes in recent years, none of which are present in this game. Sonic Mania is a homage to the classic 2D Sonic games, back in the nineties with hits like Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Conveniently enough, this is one of the games that can be played with a single Joy-Con. I played as Sonic, and Kyra joined me as Tails. We only got to play one stage, but it was a whole lot of fun. I could tell, this is going to be a great game.
To be honest, though, I'm even more excited for Project Sonic 2017, a more modern Sonic game coming out for the Switch around the holidays. It looks like it's going to imbue the same cinematic spirit as Sonic Unleashed did.
Conveniently enough, this is one of the games that can be played with a single Joy-Con. I played as Sonic, and Kyra joined me as Tails. We only got to play one stage, but it was a whole lot of fun. I could tell, this is going to be a great game.
To be honest, though, I'm even more excited for Project Sonic 2017, a more modern Sonic game coming out for the Switch around the holidays. It looks like it's going to imbue the same cinematic spirit as Sonic Unleashed did.
After we finished rolling around at the speed of sound with Sonic, we went to a small display at the side, where a rep showed us how the Switch can "switch" between all the different modes, and we got the satisfaction of confirming that the Joy-Cons do indeed make the click sound when put into the Joy-Con Grip.
After we were done there, we went to play a high-speed, high-octane, futuristic racing game called Fast RMX. We played for a couple minutes until they called for people to try The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Breath of the Wild (or BotW for short) is the newest game in the Legend of Zelda series. It's the biggest, most anticipated game coming out for the system. Zelda fans and newcomers to the series alike are really excited about it. And rightly so--this game has been under development for a long time, due to the developers' dedication to putting as much in it as possible. It's got a map several times larger than any game world before it-- 136 square miles!--and all sorts of wonders of gameplay.
I'm psyched for it, in fact it's the game I'm getting with the system. But I didn't play it at the event. I'm really looking forward to exploring everything this game has to offer, and I want every inch of it to be new when I do. I'm going as far as to avoid most news about the game.
However, Kyra did play the game, and she really enjoyed it. She said it was incredible! She didn't do any of the story stuff, though-- she just rode around battling monsters.
I'm psyched for it, in fact it's the game I'm getting with the system. But I didn't play it at the event. I'm really looking forward to exploring everything this game has to offer, and I want every inch of it to be new when I do. I'm going as far as to avoid most news about the game.
However, Kyra did play the game, and she really enjoyed it. She said it was incredible! She didn't do any of the story stuff, though-- she just rode around battling monsters.
While Kyra was playing BotW, I played some Super Bomberman R. I'm not really familiar with the Bomberman series, and some of the nuances of the game were lost on me, but I had a fair amount of fun playing it.
I also took some cool pictures with the Master Sword.
I also took some cool pictures with the Master Sword.
When Kyra got back from playing BotW, we went to play Ultra Street Fighter II. The Street Fighter series is a quite well-established fighting game series, and Street Fighter II is the most well-known and celebrated of them all. And Capcom, the developers of the series, are always updating Street Fighter II for new systems. Ultra Street Fighter II offers the same great gameplay as the original, in both the classic arcade pixel display and visually stunning HD graphics.
Neither I nor Kyra had ever played Street Fighter before, but we had a tiny amount of experience when its flagship character, Ryu, appeared in Super Smash Bros.
I picked the dependable Ryu for battle, and Kyra chose M.Bison. Thanks to Ryu being in Smash Bros., I figured out Ryu's special move, the Hadouken, pretty easily. The Hadouken is a projectile attack, in which Ryu throws a fireball from his hands at the opponent. I was able to use this to keep Kyra at bay, although she still beat me most of the times. The game was a lot of fun!
Neither I nor Kyra had ever played Street Fighter before, but we had a tiny amount of experience when its flagship character, Ryu, appeared in Super Smash Bros.
I picked the dependable Ryu for battle, and Kyra chose M.Bison. Thanks to Ryu being in Smash Bros., I figured out Ryu's special move, the Hadouken, pretty easily. The Hadouken is a projectile attack, in which Ryu throws a fireball from his hands at the opponent. I was able to use this to keep Kyra at bay, although she still beat me most of the times. The game was a lot of fun!
After we were finished battling, we had just enough time to play another game of Mario Kart. This time, we used individual Joy-Cons. The Joy-Cons may look like they're too small to use easily, but in reality they're really comfortable and easy to use. I'll say it again; this is really going to be a whole new way to play Mario Kart.
Eventually, our session ended, and we had to go. I didn't leave empty-handed, though; I had a cool new hat to show for it. If there is one thing I can say about the whole experience, it's this:
The Nintendo Switch is awesome.
The Nintendo Switch is awesome.
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