Switch Hitter: Is The Nintendo Switch Worth Your Money? | Regal Rundown

Photo credit: Dualshockers

The other day, I was contacted on my Twitter by a homie/supporter and asked a question: is the Nintendo Switch worth their money? It led into a short conversation with me relaying my answer briefly (I stress "briefly", because I'm not one of the folks Twitter decided to give 280-character tweet access to) and having another homie give their outlook, and it made me realize, this platform on The Regal Report is the perfect place to elaborate exactly on why you should get the Nintendo Switch if you're considering it.

From the start of its entry on the market, this console was considered almost-mythical. The moment there was any notion of it being available at any of the stores selling it, whether online or not, it was sold out within the next 5 minutes, if not less. It seemed impossible to get. Even the Switch I currently own, I had to get through unconventional means. A friend of mine happened to be lucky enough to casually walk into Gamestop, completely uninterested in buying a Switch when walking in, looked around at the PS4 games for a little bit, and just happened to ask the person at the counter if they had any in stock before leaving. Sure enough, they did. He bought one, along with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and took it home. In a week or two, he beat Zelda...then decided he didn't really want his Switch anymore. That's just the type of guy he is. Unlike me, he's a very casual gamer. Owns a PS4, mainly plays sports games, gets some new clothes, and works his full-time job. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my opinion. Meanwhile, this article is being typed by a man who also works a full-time job, but owns a NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance SP, PlayStation, Nintendo Gamecube, XBox 360, XBox One S, PS4 Pro, a Republic of Gamers gaming PC laptop, and now, his Nintendo Switch. He offered me his Switch for $200, and who am I to say no to such an amazing deal?

Photo credit: Gamespot

Now, at the time of him selling me the console, I completely understand why that would even be a logical option for him. Again, he's a casual gamer, and there was only one game worth playing for him at that time, being Zelda. He's not the type of gamer that's going to find any fun in a game like 1, 2, Switch or Snipperclips. Honestly, neither would I (sorry, no offense to people that enjoy those types of games, they're just not my type of thing). That being said, I had what he didn't - the vision to understand the bigger picture of the long-term commitment. The Switch had essentially just came out, as this was during the early summer earlier this year, maybe even late spring. My memory fails me on the specifics, but I definitely knew that Zelda was NOT going to be the only game worth having for long...and boy, was I right. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe soon made its way into my game library. Then I started searching the Nintendo eShop and found the glorious library of 3rd-party and indie titles. Thimbleweed Park. Stardew Valley. Shovel Night: Treasure Trove. Sonic Mania. The demo for Octopath Traveler. Splatoon 2. ARMS. NBA 2K18. The seemingly never-ending collection of classic NEO-GEO fighting and shooter titles. Oh, and of course, we can't forget the latest instant-classic (yes, I said it) to come to the Switch: Super Mario Odyssey.

Photo credit: Nintendo/YouTube

That's not even counting upcoming titles like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Fire Emblem Warriors, console ports of DOOM and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and what will likely be my favorite feature: The Nintendo Switch Virtual Console (if you know me, you know how I am about retro games), all coming soon. The biggest thing that sells the Switch for me, though, is simply the portability. Sure, we can get into the detailed specs of how its graphics don't FULLY match the powerhouse capabilities of the PS4 and Xbox One, but I think it's pretty apparent that was never the goal with this console. Look over the past few generations of Nintendo consoles and you'll see that Nintendo hasn't tried to run that race since the Gamecube. That being said, I have yet to play a game on the Switch and say, "this looks bad". It simply doesn't happen. The fact that I can even walk around and play games that look this good on the move tends to blow my mind, more than anything. In comparison, I could play The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D on my friend's Nintendo 3DS, and yes, the game would be beautiful, cleaner by far than the Nintendo 64 originals they were remade from, but you could still see little rough edges and occasional clipping, things of that nature. Nothing major and nothing to complain about, as you would never expect anything that great on a handheld device growing up anyway. Remember the hard-to-see-at--night, green-and-black screens of the original Game Boy? You'd have to be one spoiled somebody to complain about 3DS graphics if you grew up with that. Which is why it's even easier to appreciate the graphical accomplishments of the Nintendo Switch. You simply can't find this experience on any other console that you can actually leave your house with, which leads me back to the original conversation that sparked this here article...

Photo credit: Nintendo

The second homie that mentioned taking interest in the Switch said he wanted to get it because he wanted to get back into casual gaming. To that, i say yes, you can find some titles that are casual one-offs to kill time as you're out handling boring tasks or traveling long distances via car, plane, or train without putting too much investment in the game's story and such. At the same time, make no mistake - the Switch is a true gaming console and you're going to find some serious games that are worth your money and time investment, the same as any game on the PlayStation 4 and XBox One. This isn't a novelty act, and Nintendo is proving that with their releases. Is it a new concept for home consoles, as it can be used as both a home console AND a handheld device? Yes. But the Switch is no simple toy or second-tier game console, and it might be time the gaming community change that mentality when it comes to the latest generation of Nintendo's gaming legacy. Between the sales and gaming library, both released and on the way, the Switch seems to be here to stay and I'd advise you to get on board.

Check out the trailers for some of my favorite Switch games below!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Super Mario Odyssey

Thimbleweed Park

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove

Sonic Mania

Project Octopath Traveler