I am a big fan of Nintendo handhelds. Personally, I find that portable gaming is a very fun way to spend your free time, with the ability to play your games anywhere, at any time being the main appeal. From my old Game n’ Watch and later moving up to the Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, 3DS and 2DS, the Switch has become one of my most favourite handhelds. It symbolized a big step in Nintendo’s portable gaming technology, and how far it was willing to go to bring some new concepts to the table.
With the possibility of the Nintendo Switch Pro being released soon, let’s take a moment to look at Nintendo’s rather unique handheld, four years into its life cycle.
Design and Features
When Nintendo first showed us those teaser videos featuring the Switch, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the design — gone was the folding template that we’ve gotten used to with the Gameboy Advance SP and DS systems. In its place was hardware that shared more design traits in line with systems like the Wii U and Sony’s PS Vita, especially with the addition of dual analog sticks and a single touch screen. Of course, the design changes don’t stop there — the Switch featured two detachable controllers and the ability to conveniently slide into a dock which turned your handheld into a console when connected to your TV.
On one hand, this design meant that you could no longer protect the display by folding your system — on the other hand, there was no more flimsy hinge to deal with. Personally, I do prefer this design approach that Nintendo has taken. Although, I would’ve greatly preferred if Nintendo redesigned the Joycons to prevent drifting, as it’s really been a big problem for a lot of Switch owners out there.
Of course, as with any Nintendo handheld, we would soon get a redesign in the form of the Switch Lite — gone were the dock functionality and the swappable Joycons, with the redesign turning the Switch into a more “traditional” handheld. While ideal for people who didn’t play that much on a TV, I still chose to stick with my original Switch as I do enjoy the ability to play games on my TV.
Specs and Power
A lot of discussions on the Switch revolve around its speed and power. Released in a time when consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One showed off hard-hitting performance, the Switch kept to its own, running on Nvidia’s Tegra X1 SoC, 4GB of RAM, and a rather small 32GB of internal storage. You got around 3–4 hours of battery life in handheld mode, and a bit more if you have the Switch Version 2 or Switch Lite. For some people, these specs were more akin to what you’d find on a smartphone as opposed to a full-fledged games console, leading many to think that it wouldn’t be able to handle graphics-intensive games.
Four years later though, and we’ve gotten games like Skyrim, DOOM, The Witcher, XCOM 2, Bioshock, and all these third-party console ports which do show that the Switch has what it takes to run your typical console game. Truth be told however, you lose out on things like 4K resolution, and some graphical elements in certain games had to be toned down when porting them over to Nintendo’s system.
Games
Speaking of games, I personally think that the Switch shines the most in this department. The system has a ton of great first-party titles like Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Sword and Shield, and more, which continue Nintendo’s tradition of producing great first-party games for its systems. Of course as I mentioned earlier, ports of multi-platform games have also made their way to the Switch, adding more value to the system if you are a Switch owner or are planning to get one.
Perhaps one thing I’d like to see is more system-exclusive games which aren’t just remakes or ports of older games. For example — I am excited to play the upcoming Skyward Sword port and the Diamond and Pearl Remakes when they launch this year — but at the same time, It would have been great to see newer games take center stage in Nintendo’s upcoming library, much like what we saw with Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Whatever the case though, I’m still glad that we have all these great games on the system for us to enjoy.
Four Years Later
Fast-forward to today, and the Switch continues to be a considerable force in gaming, having sold more than 80 million units since it was first launched. It continues to show Nintendo’s dedication to providing fun and memorable gaming experiences, and I for one am glad that I have one here with me. It might not be a console for everyone, but for us who’ve come to love it, it’s certainly proven to be a great gaming system.
