We got to try Nintendo's forthcoming console, the Nintendo Switch, today—playing seven different games, holding the new Joy-Con controllers in roughly five different ways.
Our first real experience with the Switch and its new Joy-Con controllers might as well start with the goofy-looking fighting game Nintendo unveiled during their presentation out of Tokyo last night, called Arms.
SEE ALSO:Everything we now know about the Nintendo SwitchThe Nintendo staffer manning one of the Armsbooths let us play around with the Switch first. Sliding the Switch into and out of its dock immediately transfers gameplay between the TV screen and the Switch's 6.2-inch screen, which displays at a 1280x720 resolution.
Hitting a release button on the Joy-Con controllers—each labeled with a "plus" or "minus" sign to indicate the face-button-adorned controller, or the d-pad one, respectively—lets you slide the Joy-Cons into either the Switch itself, the Grip controller where the two are joined into one form, or into their individual straps.
Releasing the Joy-Con from a strapCredit: MashableArmsis played holding two Joy-Con controllers, one for each hand, with the face of the controllers in your palms and your thumbs on the ZL and ZR triggers. I flung my arms outward and at curves to throw springy arms at Mashable's Adam Rosenberg, playing against me. Throwing both arms out at once grabbed him, while moving my hands in front of me in a semi-triangle shape shielded me from his attacks. The L button dashed away from him, while the R button made my character jump into the air. It was a simple motion-controlled boxing game that had me giggling by the end of it.
Credit: nintendoThe game and the concept of strapping myself into a controller felt very reminiscent of the Wii remote from Nintendo's two preceding consoles. Were it not for their small size and soft touch (compared to the Wii remotes' harder plastic), I wouldn't have noticed a tangible difference in how the controllers fundamentally played in this specific game.
That said, as I initially fumbled to release the Joy-Cons from their straps, I hit all sorts of buttons in the process. It's hard to figure out a way to hold these things that don't involve accidentally hitting something that's in the way.
The front, side and even back of the controllers have multiple opportunities for finger-to-button collision, especially when holding the controller in the particular way that's necessary to play Arms.
Next up—continuing in the theme of games that call back to the Wii's Wii Sportspackage available at that console's launch, we hit up another new title—1-2 Switch.
1-2 Switch is a collection of mini-games—party games, really—that show off the Joy-Con's capabilities. Holding a single Joy-Con in one hand as if it were a pistol handle, facing my opponent holding the other Joy-Con of the set in his, we attempted to quick-draw the controllers at one another. We both hit one button to shoot as quickly as we could, but it mostly came down to timing and listening for audio cues to know when to draw.
Other things I held the Joy-Con like: A paddle handle, for ping-pong, and the utters of a cow (really). Lastly, to test the haptic feedback feature in a marble-guessing game, I put the Joy-Con flat in my palm without the straps (for extra sensation) and tilted my hand side to side to measure the number of bounces I felt.
Though I did feel each buzz, I couldn't quite distinguish one from another enough. I was off by one marble.
The game that allowed me to be the most versatile with the Joy-Con controller was Mario Kart 8. Releasing as a Deluxeedition for the Switch, the game lets you play with the Joy-Cons in four different ways. For single-player play I tried...
Two Joy-Cons attached to a Grip
Credit: mashableTwo Joy-Cons attached to the Switch itself
Credit: MashableTwo Joy-Cons held separately in either hand
Credit: MASHABLEOne Joy-Con controller held horizontally, attached to a strap that extends the SL and SR buttons
The last style is meant mostly for multiplayer play, so each player can have a Joy-Con to themselves, with all the normal button-capabilities needed of a Mario Kart game. You can play the game this way for couch play, with the Switch docked and displaying on a TV, or with the Switch propped up on its kickstand if you're out in the wild and fiending for some multiplayer Mario Kart. I suspect most multiplayer games will have similar controller options, as all the standard buttons are covered in either controller modes.
Using one Joy-Con controller horizontally like this felt very tiny and compact, kind of like the classic NES controllers but with less room to breathe between your hands. The Joy-Con Grip configuration, though more like a modern controller, also definitely brings your hands closer together than they would be on, say, an Xbox One or Playstation 4 controller. I didn't find that any controller mode necessarily impeded by Mario Kartskills.
That said, my favorite of all the handling options was the Grip configuration for comfort, while holding two separated Joy-Cons felt fairly useless.
SEE ALSO:'Snipperclips' is low-key and one of the most exciting Switch gamesOther games we played today: Splatoon 2, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Super Bomberman Rand a gem, Snipperclips. Keep your eyes on Mashable for more, as we unpack our first look at the Switch.
Featured Video For You
This personal holographic-like display makes video games way more immersive
TopicsGamingNintendoNintendo Switch
李贤
冼锋
栗锦
