Nintendo Switch, nice bait.

So the new Nintendo Switch looks like a really nice slab of consumer electronics. But as usual i am very cautious about what it actually can deliver, you see i get annoyed at the battery life of my iPhone and i feel that the weight of my old iPad was a bit to high to casually lug around. The Switch looks like it could clock in at the same, if not more. And while i would enjoy being able to play more substantial games, as opposed to most mobile games... bless their souls. I am still not sure the ups outweighs the downs.

Among the rumors we have a 3 hour mobile battery life, that is a problem, but even 5 or even 6 hours would be on the short side. I have also seen a few people complaining about the lackluster backwards compatibility. This does not bother me because my last Nintendo console was a Super Nintendo. But i can see how some people would find it irritating. Also i look forward to the wear and tear of the docking station and the unavoidable day when your Switch switches to carry along only due to a dead base station. I also predict a lot of glitchy controllers and shit simply dying.

Now i also hope that nintendo have a stronger lineup of games than the WiiU... I am seriously down for a new Mario Kart (and the new Zelda game looks really cool) but that has never and will never be enough to sell me a new console.

All in all time will tell and i will remain cautiously optimistic at this point, it looks fun and whimsical... And that is all yuo can hope for with Nintendo these days.

Can a green pixie outrun a portly plumber?

So I read on Kotaku today (they in turn was quoting a Tweet) about a planned Link character as a DLC character for the new Mario Kart 8.  Now my very first reaction was to gently apply the palm of my hand to my face with a reassuring slapping sound... But as I get back in to alignment with the world and put aside any remaining nerd rage that smash bros and Hyrule Warriors had not burnt away already I realized that this is actually a kind of cool idea. Now my Link I got to know was not exactly known to ride much of anything but I have gathered that it is sort of a thing these days. I also really like to have as many drivers as I can in my Mario Kart games… So why not go the Smash Bros way of things and just jam every last one they can in there. I personally really would like to see a bunch of Mega Man themed drivers… with Rush driving a MegaMan kart as the nr 1. Just to shake thing up.

One day rush... One day.

There is after all nothing really making the Zelda games any more sacred than anything else Nintendo have produced over the years and just because I fell in love with “a Link to the past” does not in any way give me the right to dictate how the Zelda franchise should be used. In fact I think that games like Smash bros and Mario Kart are perfect venues to play with the different properties that Nintendo owns or have access to. After all there is a certain charm to games like Marvel vs Capcom and the Kingdom Heart series. Do I stand to lose anything by this cross-over? Not really, and while it could be argued that it will cheapen the brand I am firmly in the camp that thinks of Hyrule Warriors does that way more effective than this. After all this is an entirely different genre and it was not that very serious to begin with. 

And there is no denying that the concept is pretty kickass, helping me to grow a liking for this DLC. It does also help that I am an old Mario Kart fan, from the old SNES game all the way up to the Gamecube one. Have yet to play the Wii games but the series have been solid and I really enjoy the crazy and simple but yet engaging driving that keep sucking me back in. Another part of this DLC is a “kart” inspired by F-Zero, another really fun SNES racer that sort of lived through the years and the racing style in the new Mario Kart games is sort of reminiscent of how F-Zero played. To have the Blue Falcon in my garage for this game would be a nice thrill. Now it does not hurt either that they are priced very fairly at a mere 8$ a pop or 12 for a bundle with both upcoming DLC´s.

I really hope this will be a trend going forward with the Mario Kart series. Heck I would not be all against them making a deal with SEGA to finally settle that old grudge of who is the fastest and strongest in a real sport… Fantasy go-kart.