Tips for a New Switch Owner

OneBadMutha

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2013
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Today I completed the trifecta of consoles by getting a Switch. This will be my first time playing a Nintendo console since the Game Cube. I’ll be starting with Zelda and Mario. Also decided to add Pro Controller. Probably only going to dock to play with the kids.

  1. Which 3rd party games make the best transition undocked?
  2. What accessories should I consider if I’m playing undocked most the time?
 
Today I completed the trifecta of consoles by getting a Switch. This will be my first time playing a Nintendo console since the Game Cube. I’ll be starting with Zelda and Mario. Also decided to add Pro Controller. Probably only going to dock to play with the kids.

  1. Which 3rd party games make the best transition undocked?
  2. What accessories should I consider if I’m playing undocked most the time?


1. None to my knowledge. They all so far noticably lose resolution and/or frame rate when switching from docked to undocked mode.
2. I would buy a portable power bank. The Switch eats through its internal battery like its nothing.
 
1. None to my knowledge. They all so far noticably lose resolution and/or frame rate when switching from docked to undocked mode.
2. I would buy a portable power bank. The Switch eats through its internal battery like its nothing.

I’m not worried about resolution due to screen size. I’d say 720P should be fine. What about AI, animations, physics, features etc? Are the base games there in most cases?
 
If you are going to play Mario Kart I'd suggest picking up the racing wheels for your joycons.

Also just fyi a few games actually run better in handheld mode due to the decrease in GPU strain. Breath of the Wild is one of them. Digital Foundry did a video on it some time ago.

Lastly I'd also suggest picking up a glass screen protector for your Switch as even sliding it into the dock can scratch your screen.
 
If you are going to play Mario Kart I'd suggest picking up the racing wheels for your joycons.

Also just fyi a few games actually run better in handheld mode due to the decrease in GPU strain. Breath of the Wild is one of them. Digital Foundry did a video on it some time ago.

Lastly I'd also suggest picking up a glass screen protector for your Switch as even sliding it into the dock can scratch your screen.

When my 12 year old girl found out I bought a Switch, she asked if I had Mario Kart. Looks like that’ll be something I need to pick up. Can you play with just the wheel or do you need the wheel plus more controllers?
 
When my 12 year old girl found out I bought a Switch, she asked if I had Mario Kart. Looks like that’ll be something I need to pick up. Can you play with just the wheel or do you need the wheel plus more controllers?

You just need the joycons that came with the system. When you buy the racing wheel kit it comes with 2 small wheels. Just put your joycons in them and you are good to go. If you want to play with 4 people you are going to need to invest in more joycons and wheels.

Another suggestion is that you pick up an SD card. The Switch has anemic storage out of the box so installing games will quickly become a problem. I would say just take care of the system because we still don't have the option to transfer save files. If your Switch breaks or is lost there is no way to recover your save data.
Hopefully the online component that is launching September will finally fix this issue.
 
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One thing I want to suggest is that you get a high capacity/high speed MicroSD card.
 
You should get a screen protector. Tempered glass on Amazon. So easy to install. Peace of mind. I also got my Switch a couple days before you and that's the first thing i did.

Would also suggest the Pro controller. Probably my favorite controller ever already. I'm not even going to try to play with the joy con controller unless i'm portable obviously.