Your Nintendo digest for the week ending September 19.

Switching to wireless.

Switch Weekly

Issue 249 — September 19, 2021

Splatoon 2 AirPods

Hey, Chris here with issue #249 of Switch Weekly. Hope you've had a good week.

I cannot believe Nintendo sometimes. Earlier this week a system update came out, bringing with it support for Bluetooth headphones — meaning I can finally use my AirPods Pro with my Switch (yay!). Now, yes the Switch has always had bluetooth capabilities - chiefly for the controllers, so the absense of support for wireless audio has always seemed a touch odd, and also kind of a missed opportunity in terms of getting another bullet point down on the feature list. Either way, I'm thrilled that the feature is now here, but adding such a thing over four years into a product life cycle is kinda wild to me. I'd love to know the story behind this — I'm sure in reality its some mundane tale of optimisation, but I wanna know why now all the same. *plugs in headphones*

Beyond headphone bombshells, I wrapped up playing WarioWare this week, and although I had a blast with it, it's one of those things I can't really see myself going back to much. The new character switching mechanic does mix things up, but loses something along the way, as the microgames themselves somewhat take a back seat to the juggling of each in-game personality. Good, not great.

Arcade racer Cruis'n Blast arrived on Switch last week, and I loved it. I've linked my review in the issue below, but figured I would highlight it here too. Oh, I'm also trying out SkateBIRD at the moment — but my thoughts on that one aren't quite so glowing sadly. I'll have more to share on that one soon. 

Anyway, next week we've got around 30 games coming to the Switch, so yet another busy one. Full list is below.

Before I go — quick favour to ask: I'm currently on the hunt for some Nintendo YouTubers that may have flown under my radar. So if you have any faves who aren't hugely obvious (no need to tell me about Arlo, Scott the Woz, etc) I'd love to hear about them. You can either hit reply to this email, or reply to my tweet. Thanks in advance. 🙂

Finally, I tip my hat to Stephen Radford (of the excellent Nintendo Noise podcast) for sharing his Splatoon screenshot above.

Huge thanks for reading, have a great week, and I'll catch you next time.

Cheers, 
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing — WarioWare: Get It Together, Cruis'n Blast, SkateBird, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, The Flame in the Flood

REVIEW Eastward – A wonderfully weird world that I just can’t escape — This one has reviewed very well. "a beautiful love letter to old school RPGs and arcade games, bursting with unique characters, amazing attention to detail, stunning retro-pixel artwork, and a moving story that is bound to stay with you". Here's another take from Alex Orona at Nintendo World Report. Nicole Carpenter at Polygon said the world on offer here is "continually worth exploring".

Tilly Lawton // Pocket Tactics

REVIEW Cruis'n Blast — I had a lot of fun with this wacky arcade racer: "It knows exactly what it wants to be, leans into it, and ultimately makes it work". I did a video version of this if you would prefer (likes appreciated), and here's another glowing review from Chris Scullion. Honestly, if a slice of daft arcade fun sounds good to you right now, this is well worth taking a look at.

Chris Brandrick // Switch Weekly

REVIEW Sonic Colors: Ultimate — "this remaster simply does not feel like an upgrade"

Matthew Zawodniak // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom — "an excellent action-RPG that's arrived on Switch in a fantastic, feature-packed port".

PJ O'Reilly // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Toem is another charming Switch photography game — "an utterly delightful Switch photography game that is filled with personality and doesn’t wear out its welcome"Nathan Ellingsworth at Pocket Tactics was also a fan calling it a "a short, densely packers, and extremely satisfying little adventure".

Jenni Lada // Siliconera

REVIEW DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power

Luke Hemming // Cubed3

REVIEW Cosmic Express

Leigh Wynne // Switchaboo

INTERVIEW  SUDA51 on No More Heroes and the future of Travis Touchdown

Zion Grassl & Gavin Lane // Nintendo Life

 

🎮 Upcoming Releases


All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated. 
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.
⭐️ = Ones to Watch | 📦 = Physical release | 🎮 = Demo available

Monday, September 20

Tuesday, September 21

Wednesday, September 22

  • Chef's Tail — You play as a cat in this spooky/cute 3D adventure. (Sep 23 in U.S.)
  • Crisis Wing — Arcade vertical shoot'em up.
  • Grisaia Phantom Trigger 06 — M for Mature visual novel.
  • 🎮 Hampuzz — Hamster match 3 puzzler with a platforming/action element. (Sep 23 in U.S.)

Thursday, September 23

Friday, September 24

Saturday, September 25

  • In My Shadow — Puzzle platformer with a "heart-warming story into the mind of a young woman looking for answers to questions in her past".
 

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