Will Nintendo's Holiday Showcase Sell Me on a Switch 2?
by Reuben Baron,
This is the third year in a row I've been invited to Nintendo's Holiday Showcase event for Anime News Network — but my first year where the games on display are for the Nintendo Switch 2. I have yet to upgrade to Nintendo's latest console, and with the majority of games showcased here also coming out for the original Switch, shoppers who can't afford to get a new system yet will still have a lot to enjoy this fall.
My first demo of the day was for the big new Switch 2 exclusive coming this holiday season: the surprise sequel to the 2003 GameCube cult fave Kirby Air Ride. I played through tutorials for the controls and then two rounds of the City Trial mode against three other local players and 12 NPCs. With power-ups galore, the ability to steal vehicles from other players, and a variety of different environments and challenges on the isle of Skylah, the gameplay resembles the gleeful chaos of an items-on round of Super Smash Bros. While I wouldn't buy a new console just for this game, it's something Switch 2 owners will enjoy.
The demo for the first proper new Metroid Prime game in 18 years (we don't count Federation Force) covers the opening 15 minutes of the game. Sadly, this meant I did not get to try out Samus' recently announced motorcycle, Vi-0-La. The good news is the first-person gameplay feels as natural and exciting as it did back in the GameCube and Wii days, and the graphics look better than ever before (played in the Switch 2's 120fps 1080p mode; the Switch 2 edition also has a 60fps 4K mode). I briefly tested the mouse controls but ultimately preferred the regular Joy-Con layout.
Z-A returns to the Kalos region from Pokémon X and Y, but instead of turn-based battles, Pokémon take part in real-time combat. Having not played the previous Pokémon Legends title, Arceus, this was different from what I'm used to in Pokémon games, but I liked it. I played two short segments of the game: one introduction to trainer battles, and one boss battle introducing Mega Evolution features. The story's big mystery is how wild Pokémon are becoming able to Mega-Evolve. I played the Switch 2 edition, which is said to have better graphics than the Switch version.
This game has been in Early Access on Steam for a while, but I've been holding off for the full game's release before playing. This demo got me 2.5 runs through the roguelike, and it's a welcome return to one of my favorite games of recent years. The gameplay, the artwork, the characters, the mythological references — everything here is awesome. Not much more to say about it so far, except that I'm hyped to spend hours upon hours on this next week.
Playing one of the early Yoshi levels from the enhanced port of Galaxy 2, I encountered a challenge — the motion controls were all in the right Joy-Con, and I'm left-handed. The people helping at the event weren't sure if there was a way to switch the controls for different dominant hands (still awaiting an answer on this question), so I finished the level using the Pro controller. This was awkward for motion controls in its own way, but I got the hang of it (I was apparently only the second player today to beat one of the bosses). These games are classics for a reason, but this might not be the best way to play them.
I finished off my time at the Nintendo Holiday Showcase trying out the Switch 2's current big killer app, Donkey Kong Bananza, and from the 10 minutes I had with it… Yes, this is just as fun as I heard it was. If I were going to buy a Switch 2 for any game out now, it would be for this one… though I'm still more likely to wait for a friend to buy one and hope to enjoy the multiplayer mode.
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