Switch 2, One Year Later: A ReCollection
So here we are. June 5th, 2026. Exactly one year ago from today, the Switch 1 powered up with a Super Mushroom. Becoming bigger, far more powerful (Like, immensely so, more than anyone could have predicted) and gaining mouse support! It didn't gain any comfortable ergonomics in the process, but that's what accessories are for.
Going from Switch 1 to Switch 2 was the most comfortable generational leap I've experienced since the DS to 3DS (and maybe GameCube to Wii, to a lesser extent). Everything is as it was on the previous console, just bigger, better.
Switch 1 games look and play better than ever, and the Switch 2 itself is capable of playing PS5/SX games with ease, making it perfectly viable for years to come, unlike the Switch 1 that, while capable of some impressive feats considering the age of the hardware at release, couldn't cut it in the long run.
On to my launch day haul. I had the foresight this time to purchase some screen protectors and a dockable grip (which I put on wrong the very first time) beforehand, just to be ready for everything. I cannot stand the idea of having anything with a touch screen not having some form of protection over it.
And there it is! The launch day haul that began my two-week vacation from my mentally and crippling job (of which I would find out later the store manager was positively livid for the reasons I took such a vacation for).
The Mamba brand grip and case were nice, but I craved the Satisfye product that was in the pipeline, but wouldn't be arriving until August at the earliest. Really appreciated the Mamba grip having its grips on hinges that allowed for easy JoyCon2 removal.
The Switch 2 console itself. More concentrated power than the Steam Deck, in a slimmer, more stylish (and uncomfortable to hold) package. I mean, it's just the Switch 1 design with less color and one additional button. Not really something to write home about, but it didn't need to be.
There was always whining about how out there Nintendo was with every new console and iteration, so them playing it as safe as possible this time while ramping up the console's overall capabilities was an astounding move.
I do wish the UI had some more features and flair, but I don't game exclusively on the Switch 2 to browse an eShop full of ads or for multimedia capabilities, so it being what it is perfectly fine by me.
The big launch day game. Nintendo's first next generation evergreen title. The big, open world Mario Kart World was finally here, picking up the reigns left by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's mind-boggling explosion of popularity on the Switch.
It launched in a pretty bare-bones state, most specifically where the open world portion was confirmed. No sort of tracking of missions or collectables or anything like that. Music was often times difficult to hear over the roar of the very lively in game environmental sounds. These issues would be fixed later down the line with patches, showing Nintendo is always listening (whether they act on what they hear is another story...)
But what was probably the biggest (and still is) gripe the internet crowd had/has with the game is the straightaways between courses that players have to drive on between matches. I personally don't get the gripes as I love the sense of freedom these in-between tracks give me, thanks in part to the bigger world that surrounds each and every main course in the game.
Finally, I wanna gush about the music real quick as it was easily the biggest surprise of the whole game for me. I didn't read previews, so I had no idea what the music was going to be like, nor the sheer amount of tracks we'd be hearing in the game.
World's Rainbow Road felt like a celebration, particularly the third part. Not just of the Mario Kart franchise itself, but the launch of the Switch 2 and World as a whole. The swelling of the melody as you hit that final lap, greeted by the "hype train" as it moves around the track, adding the bigger characters seen around tracks throughout the game's Grand Prix as passengers, cheering you on and fueling you with a mysterious, hype-filled wonder of what Nintendo could possibly have in store for the Switch 2's life.
It brings a little swelling of emotion every time I listen to the BGM or race the track myself.
*sigh* Now if only Nintendo could get cracking on that DLC already.
Hoo boy! I consider myself a 8bitdo fanboy due to the company's controllers build quality mirroring first party stuff and their absolutely immaculate D-pad builds. No joke, if 8Bitdo could get a controller in the same vein as their Pro line with NFC and Chat button functionality out the door, I'd immediately sell off Nintendo's Pro Controller 2 in a heartbeat in order to pay for it.
I seldom play in docked mode. Especially where life-sim games are in question, I like to have a movie or something on Youtube playing on my television screen during the grind. That said, I regretted having sold off my original Switch 1 Pro Controller, even if I had overall better feeling controllers on hand, it didn't feel right not having a Nintendo controller at the ready, so I made sure to get the Pro 2 when the opportunity presented itself.
It's a step up from their first Pro C. The buttons are nice and big, the controller frame feels great in-hand, and those analog sticks! I have never used a controller with such buttery smooth control sticks quite like this.
That covers the launch day stuff worth talking about. I would talk about Sonic Generations X Shadow, but outside the Shadow portion, the game isn't worth talking about, so I'm going to call this entry here and get to work on the third and final part of this trilogy, going over all the highlights of the Switch 2's first year through my eyes.
