Did I really need a Switch 2?
I already had the original Switch. Not the Switch Pro or any of the other Switchy things, the original. One of the controllers went bad, but I bought a kit and fixed it myself. I was pretty proud of myself after that. I played the heck out of that little box, brought it everywhere.
I played a lot of Pokemon on it. As well as a lot of other games, but Pokemon was its raison d’être for me.
I didn’t buy the Switch Pro, because the original was fine for Pokemon Sword/Shield, Scarlet/Violet, Legends Arceus, Pokemon Snap, Brilliant Diamond, Pokemon Cafe Remix… I like Pokemon, okay?
So when Pokemon Legends: Z-A was announced, I knew I’d be playing it. But I heard that, maybe, it didn’t run as well on my old, trusty, Switch. Now, that might be true, or that might just be a weird PR move by Nintendo to get people to buy the new system when in fact, the game runs fine on the one I already have.
But, I couldn’t really take that chance, could I? And anyway, the new Mario Kart World was like Forza Horizon in portable form but without the cool cars.
I bought the special Pokemon Z-A bundle – the Switch 2 and a download code for the game. This is quite a racket they have going, actually. Instead of producing disks, they just print a box with different art on it and preload the console with a code for the actual game.
Migrating all those years of games to the new system would have been easy – if the Switch-branded micro SD card were compatible with the new Switch 2. It requires a special, faster, ex branded card that I did not have.
No worries. It could do it through Bluetooth, and it only took a few minutes to transfer the saved games, and a few more to download the games for which I had digital licenses. That’s their thing now – digital licenses.
When Mario Kart World shows up – it’s ordered, along with a compatible card – that’s what will be packed in the plastic case; a card containing a digital license, and no game.
Anyway, Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Of course I immediately started playing.
I like how the Legends games, Arceus, this one, change up the battles. Arceus was an open world action RPG; this one is a little more constrained, to a single city, and “wilderness zones” within the city. Like Arceus, though, the Pokemon will happily attack you if your Pokemon can’t hold them back. Battle is all about managing positioning and cooldowns. There’s a lot to keep track of.
I’ve barely begun the game, so more as I get into it more deeply.