How do you like Switch´s first 2 years compared to the first 2 years of every other Nintendo system you owned?

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Switch is top tier.  Most consoles (Nintendo, Sony, Sega or whatever) I don't even both getting until they've been on the market a few years, including handhelds.  The only consoles I got within the first two years were the NES, SNES, Wii U and Switch.  Here's my run down of those.

Wii U - I got this a year after launch because my daughter gave me big, sad, puppy dog eyes.  It doesn't compare to the other 3 consoles though.  The other 3 consoles were exceptionally good, while disappointment is actually one of the Wii U's main features.

SNES - I got this at launch, but then it was stolen from me a year or so later.  That part was upsetting.  The games though, the SNES had some great games that first year: Super Mario World, Link to the Past, Actraiser, Super Castlevania 4, Final Fantasy 2(4) all come to mind off the top of my head.  That is a tough line up to beat.  That first year or so was magic.  I still think BotW is better than any one of those games, but when you put them all together that is the dream team of launch years.

NES - I got the NES in 1987 which is the first year it was available in my city.  NES had a limited release in both 1985 and 1986 and went nationwide in 1987.  If I go two years forward from that, then I played a ton of great games: The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Gyromite (don't judge me brah), Excite Bike, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Mega Man, Mike Tyson's Punch Out, and probably a few others I'm forgetting.  I got to witness the birth of many great gaming franchises while they were brand new!  Really this should take top place, but I feel like I am cheating a bit, because the NES actually released in 1985.  Because of this Nintendo actually had a couple of years to build up a very good library.  It's just that the games were new to me.  If I judge it by my own personal experience, this is the real #1.  Actually, I'm just going to limit the list to NES games released in 1985-1987, and based on this, yeah NES is #1.

Switch - Breath of the Wild is the most solid launch game ever.  I'd put it ahead of any Super Mario game that was available at launch.  It's better than Wii Sports or Tetris.  For that first month or so, Switch was definitely in first place.  There were some other good games I liked in 2017.  Puyo Puyo Tetris was fantastic and so was Mario + Rabbids, and Arms was decent.  Mario Kart I already played because it was on the Wii U.  Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2 and Xenoblade don't particularly appeal to me.  So I enjoyed the Switch in 2017, but it had dry spells too.  In 2018, the Switch was extremely solid, mostly because of third party games: Dragon Quest Builders, Axiom Verge (didn't try it til 2018), Octopath Traveler, Super Mario Party, Valkyria Chronicles 4, and a very strong finish from Super Smash Bros.  Several of those games have a lot of content too. 

So overall, I'd have to rank my 3 favorite consoles (so far) as
1. NES
2. SNES
3. Switch

Switch scores lots of points with Breath of the Wild, and it has had plenty of other enjoyable games, but I had a few dry spells in 2017.  Overal, I see it pretty close to the SNES though.  Also, I feel the SNES was not nearly as strong after it's first year, while the Switch still has several games that I have yet to play.  So, taking all of that into account, I see Switch as competitive with my favorite console of all time: the NES. 

I haven't been this excited about a console in almost 30 years!  I can't wait to see what other games come to the Switch.

Last edited by The_Liquid_Laser - on 18 February 2019