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Short review on Nintendo Switch (with new zelda)

Blogs > ETisME
Post a Reply
ETisME
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
12476 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-03-10 15:28:11
March 06 2017 14:33 GMT
#1
With all the hype surrounding it, I couldn't stop myself grabbing one and impulse buy it at 500USD.

WARNING - A LOT OF NEGATIVITY!
Some photo and comparison here:
+ Show Spoiler +
[image loading][image loading][image loading][image loading][image loading][image loading]

System is clean, fast and the UI is simple.
Setup was fast and simple.

The good:
-Battery life is decent enough, I only get to play it around 2 hours outdoor max and it still has around 65% with full brightness and wifi off.
-Monitor quality is decent. Good viewing angle and saturation. Brightness can be better but pretty solid (day light at noon in shades is still playable-ish)
-Only gets slightly warm
-Dock mode transition is extremely smooth.
-Speaker is OK good.
-The weight is good enough for long session.

And below is all the negativity:

Incomplete:
The estore is not opened yet in Hong Kong.
There is no video/music playback capability.
No alarm no nothing. (not tested photo viewing yet)

Other than gaming, there is literally nothing else you can do with it at the moment.

Awkwardness:
-The touch screen works perfectly. But games are not designed to in-cooperate with touch screen, because there is a dock mode and your TV is not touch based.
-The stand mode sounds perfect in paper, but the stand at the back is extremely weak, it is actually a very thin plastic and not to mention it is only on one side.
It cannot even stand well on the soft cloth I used in the photo.
Also the monitor will be extremely low, you have to have a table with good height to use this stand mode.
-it is WIDE, way too big to hold in one hand. It is however perfect for stand mode.
-the dock is cheap plastic and has a big gap, meaning you can scratch that monitor very easily. Grab a good screen protector
-At the moment, it appears there is no way to turn on the switch in dock mode with the joycon stick.
-No way to charge the joycon without the dedicated port unless you put into the switch. The joycon dock is merely a plastic dock that holds them together and shows battery with no ability to charge.
-I am happy they have the 2 side buttons but it is very difficult to use them.

The bad BAD:
Zelda lags. and it lags frequently. And it lags in particular in dock mode. (but handheld also has some lag, but not nearly as frequent)

There is 100% guarantee lag in two of three below scenarios:
1. Grassy
2. Monster (1 will introduce lag)
3. Use arrow or go into weapon selection or going into or out from menu

I am beginning to think this is CPU related rather than GPU but I cannot confirm.

The biggest problem is that it does not only occur in boss battle (which has more shiny particles or physics), it happens in random encounter as well.
Sometimes the lag can last around 5 seconds in one random encounter, and can dip down to low 20s FPS.
Boss battle can be quite laggy as well, so far I have fought Steppe Talus, and most of the fight was in mid 20s and drop to low 20s when using arrow.

It also occurs sometimes just passing by some locations with some grass like the forest. Try blowing up trees in those area and FPS can drop to mid 20s.

There is also a weird control scheme.
To move, you use the left stick as expected. To change the ability or weapon quickly, you have to use the buttons below the left stick.
And the buttons are quite far down due to joycon design, it is quite a finger twister to use.
(but hey, monster hunter on PSP was pretty damn difficult and we got over it)

Verdict:
I highly recommend everyone to hold off their purchase and wait a little longer.
The whole concept is awesome and I can see the charm but there is a high possibility that you will be getting a good *portable* gaming device that has lower performance on the TV.
I suspect Nintendo will eventually add a mode that let you choose the output resolution for dock mode for better frame rate.

****
其疾如风,其徐如林,侵掠如火,不动如山,难知如阴,动如雷震。
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44584 Posts
March 07 2017 05:01 GMT
#2
Interesting write-up! I haven't had a chance to pick one up yet, but I'll definitely buy one (possibly this summer).

The only thing I'm concerned about, based on your feedback, is the lagginess. I hope that'll change soon.

Other than gaming, there is literally nothing else you can do with it at the moment.


Call me old fashioned, but that's all I care about in a game console
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
ETisME
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
12476 Posts
March 07 2017 09:56 GMT
#3
On March 07 2017 14:01 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
Interesting write-up! I haven't had a chance to pick one up yet, but I'll definitely buy one (possibly this summer).

The only thing I'm concerned about, based on your feedback, is the lagginess. I hope that'll change soon.

Show nested quote +
Other than gaming, there is literally nothing else you can do with it at the moment.


Call me old fashioned, but that's all I care about in a game console

I was hoping to plug into a portable projector and it will be my bedroom setup for videos and music and gaming.

Currently it doesn't support Bluetooth feedback neither which is troublesome (apparently you need some accessories to make it work)

Anyway I highly suggest to wait until the dock mode proves to be good. Otherwise you are stuck with an oversized portable machine and a dock mode that works with some games only!
其疾如风,其徐如林,侵掠如火,不动如山,难知如阴,动如雷震。
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44584 Posts
March 07 2017 11:10 GMT
#4
On March 07 2017 18:56 ETisME wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 07 2017 14:01 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
Interesting write-up! I haven't had a chance to pick one up yet, but I'll definitely buy one (possibly this summer).

The only thing I'm concerned about, based on your feedback, is the lagginess. I hope that'll change soon.

Other than gaming, there is literally nothing else you can do with it at the moment.


Call me old fashioned, but that's all I care about in a game console

I was hoping to plug into a portable projector and it will be my bedroom setup for videos and music and gaming.

Currently it doesn't support Bluetooth feedback neither which is troublesome (apparently you need some accessories to make it work)

Anyway I highly suggest to wait until the dock mode proves to be good. Otherwise you are stuck with an oversized portable machine and a dock mode that works with some games only!


Makes sense, thanks! And thanks for taking the time to write an analysis!
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
Poly_Optimize
Profile Joined March 2016
Canada156 Posts
March 08 2017 15:58 GMT
#5
Thank you for the review! It is quite expensive for a console that has only 2 games
Laurens
Profile Joined September 2010
Belgium4546 Posts
March 09 2017 08:52 GMT
#6
On March 09 2017 00:58 Poly_Optimize wrote:
Thank you for the review! It is quite expensive for a console that has only 2 games


There's more than 2
I know there's at least 1-2 Switch, Bomberman and Zelda, since those are the games I've seen my colleague play.

Personally I will certainly buy the switch because I want to play the new Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and eventually Pokemon. But I hope they release a newer version of the Switch by the time those games come out, with less issues than the current one. Until then I'll play Zelda on Wii U.
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44584 Posts
March 09 2017 15:21 GMT
#7
On March 09 2017 17:52 Laurens wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 09 2017 00:58 Poly_Optimize wrote:
Thank you for the review! It is quite expensive for a console that has only 2 games


There's more than 2
I know there's at least 1-2 Switch, Bomberman and Zelda, since those are the games I've seen my colleague play.

Personally I will certainly buy the switch because I want to play the new Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and eventually Pokemon. But I hope they release a newer version of the Switch by the time those games come out, with less issues than the current one. Until then I'll play Zelda on Wii U.


Yeah, there are a lot of upcoming games that look promising!

Here's a list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_Switch_games
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
BigFan
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
TLADT24920 Posts
March 10 2017 00:17 GMT
#8
Thanks for the review. Didn't even realize this console was released until it was released lol. Some of those cons sound pretty bad, probably best to wait until newer iterations to solve some of those issues.
Former BW EiC"Watch Bakemonogatari or I will kill you." -Toad, April 18th, 2017
ETisME
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
12476 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-03-10 15:34:59
March 10 2017 15:32 GMT
#9
On March 10 2017 09:17 BigFan wrote:
Thanks for the review. Didn't even realize this console was released until it was released lol. Some of those cons sound pretty bad, probably best to wait until newer iterations to solve some of those issues.

Hey BigFan, good to see you around on TL. and looks like you got a little bird next to your name now

Honestly the biggest con is that it's filled with uncertainty.
I bought the PS vita early as well and didn't really play it all that often, but I knew it would be useful for watching videos or a music player next to my bed at least.
And I don't have to worry about the performance because games are well optimised.

But the switch I may have to wait until reviews to check if handheld mode works well and if the dock mode works well for every single game other than light weight 2D games.
It's wonderful when it works but definitly hold on the purchase for now.

*also damn paid online service I can't believe nintendo went for this route as well. Splatoon 2, mario kart will be both pretty useless without it
其疾如风,其徐如林,侵掠如火,不动如山,难知如阴,动如雷震。
Azu97
Profile Joined December 2024
4 Posts
December 17 2024 23:56 GMT
#10
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