I had no intention of buying a Switch 2. Not only did it feel overpriced with overpriced games, there were some other things that rubbed me the wrong way as well. But the biggest reason I wasn't going to buy one is that I barely have time to play my OG Switch and Xbox Series S as it is. Why buy something new to give me even more I won't have time for?

But then it came to pass through a series of events that I acquired one anyway...

   
I've been jotting down notes for the past couple weeks as I run across things...

• Availability, like for all new systems, is shit. To Nintendo's credit, they did try to keep the scalping down. The problem is that they did a horrible job of it. IF you had an active Nintendo Online membership for a year or more AND you've had 50 hours of gameplay on that account by April 2nd AND you have data-sharing with Nintendo on... you could register for an invitation to purchase a system. But here's the thing: Nintendo doesn't tell you if you qualify! You could sign up and wait it out, all the while wondering if they think you know you qualify. But the simple fact is that you just don't know. I signed up for an invitation even though I had no intention on buying a unit, I know that I'm qualified, and can see that I made the request, but... nothing. Is that because I overlooked something? Who knows? As of this writing Nintendo still hasn't send me an invitation. Not a big deal, I just thought maybe somebody I knew could use it if they wanted one.
• The unit itself is very, very nice. It's thin. It has a large display. The controllers are magnetic and oh-so-satisfying to attach/detach. The menu system is essentially the same as the previous version... which is to say that it's excellent. If I have a complaint, it's that it's not the most ergonomic thing to hold. Your hands cramp after a bit. But, for the most part? Nice.
• The setup, which seems simple on the surface, was kinda a hassle for me. For reasons unknown, it kept having connection issues. But it locks up rather than allow you to fix your settings or enter new ones, so I had to wait for it to time-out multiple times then fail before I was able to register and transfer stuff from my old Switch. Also? I tried to use my favorite USB-C charger, which works perfectly fine on an OG Switch... but I wasn't allowed to use it during initial setup. I had to use the official charger for some reason. No idea if it's a wattage issue, but it was silly given that my S2 had nearly a full charge. After setup my favorite charger works fine.
• One of the things that made me think the S2 is overpriced is that the screen isn't OLED. What the fuck, Nintendo?!? Also... there's a "screen protector" pre-installed on the display. Except not really. It's actually just a plastic film of some kind on the display to keep a shattered screen from spitting glass everywhere. No, you'll still have to add a screen protector to protect not only the screen, but to also protect the film on the screen. This kinda pisses me off. Why not just have the unit come with a protector already on it? I mean a real one. It would add pennies to the cost. Oh well. Fortunately modern screen protectors are fairly cheap and dead-simple to align and install thanks to most having a placement tray attached. I paid $9 for a two pack of scratch-resistant tempered glass, and it was quick, easy, and looks better than having my S2 go naked.
• That being said, the display is a huge step up from the first generation OG Switch screen. I can actually read the tiny text while playing No Man's Sky now.
• Another thing that made me think the S2 is overpriced is the pathetic amount of storage. You get 256GB. Yes, that's 8× what you got in the OG Switch... but that was eight years ago. Games are so much larger now. Which is to say that you'll likely be having to shell out a chunk of money for a pricey microSD Express card. A "regular" microSD card won't work. To double your storage with an additional 256GB will cost you $60. Whereas if Nintendo would have just shipped with 512GB standard, it would have only added around $10 to the purchase price.
• Nintendo has never shipped state-of-the-art hardware. They usually have mid-to-low range specs and rely on having clever games to compel people to purchase their stuff. This time, however, it feels like they went more high end. The unit feels snappy and modern. Graphics are quite good. Load times are decent. No, it's not going to blow the doors off the competition... but it does feel closer to the other options out there.
• I'm just going to put this out there... not a lot of games out there at launch. Yes, Mario Cart World is a terrific IP launch title (with a few caveats) but there's no Mario or Kirby or other strong Nintendo IP available yet. The next one to come out is Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17th, and it looks great. But come on. The good news is that Nintendo has updated a few OG Switch titles for S2. I got a free update for my copy of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker which updates the visuals, for example. But other updates, like for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are $10 each if you want the updated visuals and such (though I think Nintendo Online subscribers can get it for free?). That's not the same as a new game.
• That being said... some 3rd party publishers are offering upgrades to their games for S2. The one that got me most excited was Hello Games' No Man's Sky. They were already pushing the OG Switch to its limits to give a darn good version of the game... but the FREE update for S2 is next level. The game is gorgeous. And it's on parity with other platforms in a way that the OG Switch was never going to be. I could write an entire post about how much I love this game... and how much more I love it now... but suffice to say if you haven't played it, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.
• My favorite video game ever since it was released is Minecraft Dungeons. There's been no upgrade made available for S2, but it's a much better experience because load times are better. Alas, the game is locked to the OG Switch's 30fps, so without an update we're not going to see 60fps. That's a darn shame, because I would love to see that on a handheld.
• I got the bundle which came with a digital copy of Mario Cart World. I don't know that I'd say the game is perfect, but it is fun to play and there's so many little brilliant details to be had. I have spent hours just driving around everywhere and seeing stuff in the "world." I haven't even done many races yet, and I still like it. I just wish the races I had played would let you run a classic three-lap race around the track you choose like all the other Mario Cart games, but that's not yet allowed for some inexplicable reason. There's a bunch of other bizarre choices made as well... mostly having to do with the fact that there's no "unreal environment" options to be had. So ultimately I just don't know if it's going to have the replay value of, say, Mario Cart 8. Hopefully Nintendo will have some DLC to shore up the game to make it truly great.
• Nintendo stirred up a lot of controversy with their "Game-Key Cards." These are cartridges which don't actually include any game data... just a license to download the game. Nintendo claims this is a way to sell games on cartridges that are too big for cartridges. Meaning you have to fill up your precious storage space even though you bought a cartridge. But why can't they put at least some of the data on the cartridge so downloads are smaller? I think this is fucking bullshit. I prefer to buy cartridges because I don't have to worry about games I buy disappearing online... don't have to fill up all my storage space... and can play immediately instead of having to wait for a download. The only time I buy games online is when they are on sale for a very good price. Ultimately I see no purpose to Game-Key Cards when you can just buy it online.
• I bought no less than three console grips for my OG Switch. But once I found the Skull & Co. GripCase, I never looked back. It made the console so much more comfortable to play un-docked. Unfortunately, they didn't make that for the Switch 2, so I had to look elsewhere. I was going to go with the Dbrand KillSwitch 2, but it's not a single piece. It's got separate covers for the Joy-Con controllers, which I never want to take off. I always play with them attached and want a grip that keeps everything together. So I ordered a Satisfye ZenGrip 2, which is on back-order until August. I really, really hope I love it as much as the GripCase, because S2 (like the OG Switch) is hand-cramping to play without a grip.
• Battery life feels like a step down from OG Switch, but is probably on-par with other handheld consoles of this class. This wasn't surprising. What is surprising is how fast the battery drains when S2 is not being used. Fully charged on a Monday... fully depleted when I returned from vacation on Saturday and wanted to play.
• The included charger is... okay?... and it does improve on the old version because the cable can be separated from the power brick. I hate it when a cable gets damaged but there's nothing you can do except replace the entire thing instead of replacing just the cable. I haven't timed anything but it seems as though charging on the dock is faster than plugging directly into the S2.
• HDR displayed on the console is darn nice. But trying to get a good HDR image on my television is a complete mess. Probably because my TV doesn't have HGiG support? Adjusting the image with the configuration setup tool results in an image that does not look good. Everything is washed out and ugly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but that's on Nintendo... not on me, because I'm merely following their on-screen instructions. I swear that television manufacturers are intentionally screwing up HDR implementation, because I have yet to find a television that does it perfectly out of the gate. And Nintendo isn't doing anything to help out.
• S2 accessories are ridiculously expensive... and just got a price bump thanks to new tariffs. The Pro Controller, which I would like to have because it has programmable buttons under the ZL and ZR triggers, jumped from $80 to $85. Insanity. This is a $50 accessory, maximum. Good thing the OG Switch Pro Controller I already own can be used. Even though it doesn't have the programmable buttons and better sticks/buttons.
• I'm going to wrap things up by talking about the thing that bothers me the absolute most about the S2... it's that the Welcome Tour app costs $10. Yep, the "game" that tells you all about the $450 or $499 console you just bought costs an additional $10. Which is really shitty when you consider that the Nintendo Wii came bundled with Wii Sports, containing actual games, at no cost. This is a shit-bag, greedy, money-grab that is absolutely asinine. And the more I think about it the madder I get, so I guess I'm done now.

And there you have it. No idea how much longer I'll hold onto the thing, but I suppose that I'll buy a few overpriced next-gen games just to see what it's like.

Since the unit is here already.

Today was not a great day.

The brain rewiring I've had to learn in order to deal with my dyslexia falls apart when I'm tired or stressed or upset, and today I was all three. This makes reading a challenge... but also creeps into my ability to speak properly when things get really bad. Today I had multiple times where I couldn't find my words, something that hasn't happened in years. It's frustrating. It's embarrassing. It's just plain tough to deal with.

It's the pandemic. It's the easily debunked conspiracy theories. It's the politics. It's the uncertainty. It's the inhumanity. It's the lack of empathy and kindness.

It's a woman in Central Park weaponizing her white tears in a staged 9-1-1 call in an attempt to "kill via police" a Black man who had the audacity to ask her to obey the law and please leash her dog.

It's all of it. It's everything.

The world we have right now is not conducive to my living in it, and I honestly don't know what I can do about it. Probably nothing.

But I gave it a try when I bought Minecraft Dungeons from the Nintendo Switch eShop.

After all things LEGO, my favorite genre of video game is dungeon crawlers. I love the exploring and discovery and secrets and, of course, battling monsters for loot. The Diablo trilogy... the Baldur's Gate games... even the cutesy RPG crawlers like Fire Emblem, Trials of Mana, and (of course) the myriad of Final Fantasy games... I enjoy them all (and it's thanks to the first one I played, Dungeon Master on my Atari ST computer).

And while I don't play Minecraft, I was intrigued when I found out we were getting Minecraft Dungeons because I could use a fun dungeon crawler right about now.

The game starts out pretty simplistic. Exploration is curbed as you learn to fight enemies and follow the linear path laid out before you. At the mid-point of the game, things become more challenging and, if I'm being honest, a lot more fun. There's more to see, explore, and do, and the enemies no longer roll over and die at the sight of you. I've likely got another hour or two of gameplay left, but right now I'm digging it because I'm having to put a little more thought into how I'm approaching a level. Would have been nice if they started here, but it's all good.

I'm not anticipating things getting absurdly difficult, but I'm guessing the end won't be a cake-walk either. Apparently once you beat the game you can replay it at a higher difficulty, so that might be fun. And since the maps are (reportedly) procedurally-generated, it might be a slightly different experience, which is nice.

If you've played Diablo, you've pretty much played Minecraft Dungeons. The similarities are striking, even if the visuals are radically different. Mojang Studios used the same 8-bit blocky graphics they used for the original Minecraft, but they're really pretty and polished in this game. Sure, sometimes it can be annoying because it can be tough to get a bead on things quickly, but overall I really enjoy the aesthetic they dreamed up (and would probably appreciate it even more if I was more familiar with Minecraft).

Another departure from this Diablo clone is the class and weapon enhancement system. As in, there isn't classes and weapon enhancements can be recovered and redistributed as you upgrade your weapons. Being able to define and change your play style by not having to commit to a character class is simplistic and unrealistic (in context) but I rather like it. And you're not going to hear me complain about being able to transfer enhancements (or "enchantments" as they call them) to new weapons I like.

Right now I'm playing solo, but Minecraft Dungeons allows for 4-player co-op, which is something I'd really like to try. It seems like the entertainment value from multi-player would probably allow me to more easily gloss over the shortcomings of a simplistic game like this. The problem is that I can't cross-play with my friends who are playing on a platform other than another Nintendo Switch. This blows and, when I searched for it on the internet, I found that Mojang Studios is planning on providing a free update that will allow it. Since the only other people I know playing this are not doing so on a Switch, I guess I just have to be patient and hope that they aren't bored with the game by the time cross-play is released.

Ultimately I like this game. It feels like it's going to be a bit short and lacking the complexity I usually enjoy in a dungeon crawler, but it's also just $19 so at least it's priced accordingly. The fact that it's essentially a LEGO video game with different visuals is the real draw for me, however. In a time when the Real World seems like a void of despair from which I can never escape... being able to escape into Minecraft Dungeons is a welcome distraction.

I've played all of the Animal Crossing games in the main series... どうぶつの森 (Animal Forest) on the GameCube, Wild World on the Nintendo DS, City Folk on the Wii, New Leaf on the Nintendo DS, Pocket Camp on the iPhone, and now New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch. For anybody not familiar with the series, it's essential a "life simulation" game where you live amongst animals and pass your time with activities like catching bugs and fish, digging up fossils, expanding and improving your house, and collecting clothing and furnishings to build a custom lifestyle. It's a relaxing way to spend time and forget about the world, and since the game progresses in real time, you're compelled to check in from time to time to see what's new.

The latest effort, New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch adds some important new ideas... while hampered by some really poor game-mechanics which have plagued the game since the beginning (with one notable exception, which I'll get to below). If I were rating it, I guess it would be four stars, maybe? I mean, I do enjoy it very much, but there are times it frustrates me so badly that I want to never play it again.

So let's discuss that, shall we?

This time, instead of moving into a forest (or city), you are dropped on a deserted island with the games business moguls... Tom Nook and his twin (sons? nephews?) employees Timmy and Tommy. The three of them are responsible for building and upgrading your home, selling you stuff, and pretty much run everything. All you have when you start is a tent, a simple bed, and a lantern... along with the clothes on your back. Fairly quickly Tom Nook will inform you that you no longer get the tools you need to survive... instead you have to collect tree branches and stones to craft your own. Like the bug net I made here...

In short order you are informed that the "deserted island" will be getting two new inhabitants. For me this is a pink deer named "Fuchsia" and a body-building-obsessed ape named "Louie." Befriending them gets you advice and occasional gifts, which are much needed when you start the game.

One of the cool new features for New Horizons is the addition of the "Nook Phone." The phone has all kinds of nifty features. Like an app to catalogue all the fish and bugs you catch, your crafting recipes, and even a camera... which has surprising depth of field plus filter features for altering your images. It's a cooler way than a screen snapshot to record events on the island. Compare this image taken with the camera app compared to the screen-cap above...

Your early days will be spent collecting bugs, fish, seashells, weeds, flowers, and the like so you can sell them to Timmy and Tommy for "bells" which is the in-game currency. You need bells to pay off your loan for the tent so you can take out a new loan for a house. You also need them to buy stuff you might need for your home. You also need to collect branches, wood, rocks, weeds, and such for crafting tools, furniture, and accessories. Here you can see me sneaking up on a snail that crawled out when it started raining...

New to this game is the idea of "Nook Miles" which are earned for completing certain tasks... catching this many bugs... talking to this many neighbors... selling stuff for this many bells... that kind of thing. Nook Miles can be exchanged for upgrades, specialty items, and (most importantly) a ticket for a plane ride to neighboring islands where you can plunder its resources and raze its vegetation for fun and profit...

The ecological message here is really scary, albeit historically accurate. You essentially rip everything of value from the island until you are standing in a destroyed wasteland where once a beautiful island stood, all so you can improve your island...

Plunder and raze efficiently enough, and soon you have the funds to upgrade from a tent to a house...

Adding more rooms to your house only takes money. Ever-increasing amounts of money. But, since you can decorate your rooms however you want, that's where the fun is...

You can add progressively more rooms to your house, with each expansion costing more and more bells to procure. Most people turn the first expansion into a bedroom. I turned mine into a big bathroom/laundry room...

Yes, you can absolutely sit on the toilet and take a dump. It even flushes automatically when you get up! Many items have features like this. The washing machine will start up if you close the lid. The little Nintendo Switch will turn on. That kind of thing.

My bathroom is serious business. I couldn't find a bathtub, so I used an oar-fish pool. The Nintendo Switch is handy so I can play games while taking a dump. The katana swords are there to defend myself if somebody intrudes while I'm taking a dump. Don't mind the fish in the corner, I ran out of storage in my attic.

As time goes on, you'll be able to get even more buildings added to your thriving island community. Like a Resident Services Building...

Every time a new structure is built in town, there's a celebration. But there are other seasonal celebrations to be had... including your birthday...

As time goes on, you'll be able to get even more buildings added to your thriving island community. Like a Resident Services Building...

The villagers in my hood are a strange lot. The ape is obsessed with working out and injects it into every conversation you have. He can mostly be found wandering around the island with his ass hanging out...

The airport also allows players to fly to their friends' islands over the internet, or have them fly to you...

At the airport they also have a stationary rack where you can write letters to everybody that they will then deliver for you by the next day. I like dashing out notes to them because they will think you like them and give you stuff. Doesn't seem to matter what you write, they still love getting your letters. As an added bonus, I usually attach a gift of something I have left over...

After you get rich enough and have the materials to craft enough, other animals will move to your island. I always welcome them with a warm letter greeting then do a follow-up in-person visit. Here's my letter to Sherb, who looks like he's a goat...

After a while, a stoner dog named Harvey will show up and invite you to the photo studio on his private island. And, yes... it's as creepy as it sounds. If you have Animal Crossing Amiibo statues, you can transfer them to the game and have them pose for photos with you. My Amiibo for KK Slider the musician, Timmy and Tommy the entrepreneurs, and Mabel the clothing magnate worked just fine. For whatever reason my Amiibo for Cyrus and Reese (the alpaca husband-and-wife duo who make furniture) wouldn't work. My guess is that they will eventually be added to New Horizons in the future, and will likely work when they arrive. The photo studio itself is filled with various rooms, props, and wardrobe so you can pose and create various scenarios for your pictures. I don't have that kind of time to waste, so I just photographed us in front of a brick wall...

I'm not sure how else Amiibo will figure into the game, but I hope it nets me some cool stuff.

And speaking of cool stuff, eventually Blathers the owl will come to the island to collect and catalog the wildlife and any fossils that are found. Like in the other Animal Crossing games, Blathers will build a full-on museum after you donate enough specimens and artifacts...

Don't be fooled by the building. It may be rather small on the outside, but it is absolutely massively huge on the inside... housing an entire wing for bugs, another wing for fish, and a basement full of fossil displays. It's spectacular. If the museum existed in real life, I would absolutely visit it. All the environments are great, and the way that the fossil exhibit tries to follow evolutionary patterns is cute...

My real goal... more than anything else... is to complete the museum collection. I've never done it on any other Animal Crossing game, but maybe this time? How awesome would that be?

So... pretty cool game, right?

Not completely, no. Let's get to the bad stuff here...

REPETITION. The first couple times your character catches a bug or walks into the museum, the conversation bubbles that show up are cute... charming even. But after a couple days you want to put your fist through the television screen every time. You can speed up some conversations with the B-button. You can speed up the crafting session with rapid A-button presses. But you can't eliminate them entirely and it's such a stupid, boring waste of time. For heaven's sake... LET US SKIP THIS IDIOCY.

TOOL ACCURACY. I have no clue why Nintendo doesn't fix the most horrifically frustrating part of the game... the total lack of accuracy in using tools. Whether it's fishing or digging or catching bugs, it's a crapshoot to determine where your tool is going to land. People keep telling me "You'll get used to it!" But in all these many years of Animal Crossing games, I NEVER have. I face to where I want my tool to hit... and inevitably end up going somewhere else half the time. You can literally see it in these screen captures. You face in one direction, your tool hits in another... and don't think you can compensate because your character will shift in random ways...

How hard would it be to have a cursor show you where your tool is going to land as an option?

I may have hated the way that the iPhone version... Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp... added pay-for-play to the game, but at least you could tap the screen to specify where your tool will hit and save a lot of frustration.

CRAFTING. Crafting is new to the console version of the game. I like it. A lot. You collect rocks, sticks, wood, and minerals and get to make new stuff. It adds new depth and gives you something more to do. But, in addition to having to suffer through the crafting animation every damn time, there's no way to craft multiples of an item. Have seven clams and want to craft seven sacks of fish bait? You have to click through the menus and go through that stupid animation SEVEN TIMES. Good Lord. Nobody wants this. Give us the opportunity to specify multiple crafted items at the same time.

CRITTERPEDIA. The Critterpedia, which keeps track of all the bugs and fish you manage to capture is a fun tool to look at...

But incomplete and hardly efficient. First of all, no listing for the fossils you've collected. Second of all, you can't tell at a glance which items you've donated to the museum. You have to click through on every individual critter to find out...

Add a fossil checklist. Add icons to each of the caught critters showing if they're in the museum. Make it ACTUALLY USEFUL AS A TOOL instead of a novelty.

SAVE ME. Saves are automatic. But I'm not sure if they are saved online... even if you have a Switch Online account? And you can't transfer your save data to another Switch, making it impossible to have a home unit and a travel handheld unit both be used for the same game. I am assuming that this has something to do with people not wanting to have multiple saves of the same game, but that's absurd. Surely they can make it be a check-in, check-out situation for people who need it.

ONLINE? It's great that you can travel to the islands of your friends and invite them to your island... but why is it so hard to communicate otherwise? In order to send a gift or a message, your friend has to be online at the time? Why? What if your friend lives across the world 12 times zones away? This is phenomenally idiotic. The Switch is online all the time. How hard could it be to allow messages and gifts and such to be sent whenever and retrieved whenever?

SWITCH TOUCH. The biggest problem I've saved for last... the touch-screen when your Switch is in handheld IS NOT USED! I think you can type out letters on the keyboard that appears when you compose a letter. AND THAT'S IT! Shocking. And stupid. You can't tap to do anything. Even stuff it would be perfectly appropriate for. I have no idea... none why this is the case. Every model of the Switch has a touch-screen, and to intentionally ignore it is criminal.

And that's about it.

It will be interesting to see if this iteration of the game will capture my attention longer than the previous games. I always start obsessed with collecting everything only to get bored and frustrated as time goes by.