Aw, shit. I bought a Nintendo Switch. Dammit.
For the first year of its life, I held some amount of malice towards this console-handheld hybrid. It may sound stupid (and it is), but on some level I felt betrayed. For its whole life cycle, I defended the Wii U and its great games while the rest of the gaming community turned up its nose. Once those games came out on Switch, everyone changed their tune instantly. Oh, now you like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze? Where were you back in 2014, poser? Was it not Funkyenough for you?!
To launch with Breath of the Wild, Nintendo delayed it for a third or fourth time, a full three years after its original date. Not to mention the waking nightmare of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, reminding us that God has truly abandoned our kind.
Plus, Nintendo's business practices really began to tire me out. For instance, they're charging a full $60 for the aforementioned Tropical Freeze, despite it first launching at $50 and eventually going even lower. They still like to pump out 30 amiibo for each new game and lock content that, years ago, would be included for free. They overcharge for vital peripherals and DLC. They still won't release Mother 3 in the west.
I saw the Switch as an overpriced port machine that got titles I played on Wii U years ago and downgraded versions of games I played on PS4 months ago. I was annoyed that these turncoat bitches are suddenly hailing the grand return of Nintendo's greatness, despite playing the exact same games made when they were "dying." I was fed up with Nintendo and wanted nothing with their new console.
With that in mind, I kind of hate how much I like the Switch now. I felt like it really clicked when I was playing Mario on the tv and then took out the system for handheld mode. That simple action made a year of Nintendo's rooftop party commercials and friends gushing about playing "on the go" make sense. For people who travel a lot, it's a huge selling point. Plus, it's still crazy to think that little tablet has the guts to run Wolfenstein II.
There are already some great games on the platform even ignoring the swamp of ports. Once Nintendo runs out of Wii U games and commits to killing the 3DS, surely they will focus on adding even more. With their console and handheld slate coming to one platform, one would hope that the seasonal dry spells are behind us.
I bought my Switch because of my love for Super Smash Bros. Nintendo spending so much of E3 on that one game is crazy and kind of ominous, but damn if it didn't get me hyped. The image of pulling out my console and smashing with friends is very appealing. And come on, they're making a Bayonetta 3.
As excited as I am, Nintendo still has a ways to go before they've fully won me back. We still need a new Animal Crossing, after all, not to mention Pikmin and a *good* Star Fox. That online subscription still needs to justify itself. Those questionable business decisions still apply. But they've done a lot to change my tune from where it was just months ago.
So, I'm a new resident of Switch City. I'm going to write some blog posts as I play games on the platform, big and small, and we'll see if this system truly deserves its good reputation.
#1: Picross S
My first Picross game was Picross 3D Round 2 on 3DS, which is an absolute delight. It's fun, challenging, and rewarding, just like any good puzzle game should be. It contains a massive number of puzzles. Like the hydra, it seemed like solving one puzzle would spawn two more in its place. I sunk so many hours into getting all the shiny rainbow medals and enjoyed every minute.
To scratch my picross itch I've tried some mobile games, but they don't really have the feedback I would like. Picross S for Switch avoids that problem. It's about as good as you could hope from 2D picross at a low, low price.
The idea of picross is to correctly fill in the squares according to the numbers on the rows and columns. You start with a blank slate and little direction, but you eventually work through the puzzle and make a little picture by the end of it. I'm underselling it, but this series can be very rewarding once you get to more difficult puzzles. This game in particular led to some great domino effect moments. Hitting one load-bearing square set off a satisfying chain reaction that enabled the puzzle to be solved.
This particular version of picross has some added features to help less adept puzzle-solvers, but thankfully they're all optional. At the start of most puzzles the game will ask you if you want to use hint roulette. This randomly fills in one row and one column before you even begin the puzzle. I wouldn't recommend using it, but it might act as a good starting point for unsure players. One feature I really like is the blue highlights seen in the image above. When the numbers are highlighted in blue, it means you can make progress in that section. It could be filling the whole thing in or placing one X. Often playing picross I don't even know where to look, so the highlight feature is a good nudge in the right direction. Of course, you can turn it off with a simple button press. I recommend having it off until you get stuck, then popping it for just a quick second.
Completing a puzzle without these features will label them with a "no assist" on the menu. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to do anything as far as I can tell. The last puzzle of each page will take away the assist features regardless, which is a nice reality check for little cheaters. There are no puzzles to unlock, so you can jump to the hardest ones whenever you want. On some level that's nice, but I miss the thrill of unlocking a bottomless sea of puzzles in the 3D version.
Only half of the game's 300 puzzles are normal picross, though. The other half consists of a new mode called Mega Picross. To be honest, I don't fully understand how I'm supposed to attack these ones. Those black boxes mean that a connected shape of that many squares is somewhere in those two rows. The game itself admits that it's confusing, but also that "we know you'll love it!" It doesn't seem bad, but I'd rather stick with regular picross.
Even sticking to half of the puzzles, Picross S is a great value. It has less content than 3D, but at only $7.99 I think it's a steal. It's great for doing one puzzle in a spot of down time or while multitasking. I fully recommend this game for puzzle enthusiasts and laymen alike. But please Nintendo, make a 3D Picross Round 3. The world needs this gift.
Wowza, what a spicy blog post! I'd say our first stop in Switch City was a success. Thanks for checking it out and stay tuned for future updates if you're so inclined.
Next time, I can't wait to kill a cyclops, sleep with nymphs, and cry about how the gods hate us! That's right, it's Nintendo's adaptation of Homer's Odyssey! I know people have been excited for this one since the Gamecube days, so it's going to be-
Huh? I don't remember this part of the book...
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