with access to so many of the old NES/SNES games in their store, just with the online account, I couldn't pass it up.
You only have access to NES games so far. There was some datamining done that indicates we could see SNES in the future, but not right now. If you want to play SNES though the SNES Classic is excellent for $80. It's the only emulation I have ever found that felt right when playing Super Mario World (I basically held the run button the entire game when I played it on SNES).
I haven't really cared about handheld games since the very first Gameboy, and I'm not sure how interested I will be here, but I imagine that it could come in handy if I get into some grindy crap to go along with my plane and train trips.
I bought the Switch assuming I'd only use it docked but I do pull it out of the dock and play handheld about 40% of the time too. I don't like it as a portable because it's big yet kind of thin and fragile feeling (pretty much the opposite of that big fat OG Game Boy). But for playing lazing on the couch or sitting in bed it's great. Beautiful screen too. I think it was
@purbeast0 who warned me that I'd probably end up loving it as a handheld when I was here talking about using it only as a regular console, and he was absolutely right despite my protests.
It should be arriving tomorrow and I have Breath of the Wild and Octopath Traveler arriving the next day. I think I will download Dead Cells first off, because I've been wanting that on Steam, but I'd rather play that on a system like this, for some reason.
I haven't played much Octopath (an hour or so of the demo maybe) but enjoyed my time with it. BOTW doesn't really need much said for it. It's the reason most people bought a Switch. Dead Cells in handheld more is crack. It's hyped to hell but it lives up to it.
I think I read that the Metroid game was canceled/restarted or something? I was thinking of picking up Mario...Odyssey? Is that the primary "real" Mario game? It looks too much like Mario 64, though, and pretty much the same type of game as Breath of the Wild, so I don't see any reason to bother with it. Is there a legit platforming classic Mario game, or just go with what they have on the online streaming library?
The old school style Mario on the system is New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. I don't think it's worth it at $60. Maybe at $30 but it's the worst 2D Mario I have played unless you count the original Mario Bros arcade game from the early to mid 1980s. I really liked it at first but got bored halfway into world 2. Maybe I'll give it another chance later on.
Now Super Mario Odyssey is absolute cannot miss. It is so creative and every level is highly worth exploring. Super Mario Odyssey is one of two games that convinced me to buy a Switch, and it was absolutely worth it. I actually wasn't much of a fan of Super Mario 64 but now 3D Mario is amazing with twin stick controls. Plus it has some 2D sections too. I remember seeing a review on IGN or Gamespot where the reviewer said he got up and clapped as the credits rolled when he finished the game, and I gotta say that was my reaction too. Super Mario Odyssey is one of the freshest games I have ever played from the possession mechanic to jumping in pipes and the game going 2D to the colorful worlds to the epic soundtrack. It's hands down the best Nintendo game I have played since Zelda A Link to the Past back in 1992, and Nintendo has done a boatload of great games since. BOTW is more like exploring a huge world while SM Odyssey is more a bunch of small but dense levels you can explore.
If you really want a great oldschool style 2D game get Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. That game is so much more beautiful and so much more fun to play than New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe.
As for Metroid, it sounds like Nintendo wasn't happy with what Koei Tecmo was producing, so they started the project over with Retro Studios.
Any other games I need to seriously consider? I've been way out of console gaming, especially the stuff that you expect with Nintendo in many years (I was very close to picking up PS4 many months ago for GoW and some other stuff--but I want to wait for the next gen for better hardware and, I assume, UHD support?). I might be keen on some JRPGs (which I had blown off for many years now, but am now liking some of them again), but so many of the long-running series now, I am just unfamiliar with (outside of FF, DragonQuest, Y's, ...sorta XenoGears, though I thoroughly hated the first one on PS1 and swore it off). Though these Xenogears look pretty good, and the various other series whose names don't mean anything to me and I have no idea how to classify them...like Disgaea and Niko Non Kuni Taco time Nako? or whatever those are...
There is a Xenoblade game on Switch which looks great, though I haven't played it. And then Dragon Quest XI is coming out this year, but you can play that on PC. The World Ends With You might be a JRPG worth checking out, though I have heard it absolutely must be played in handheld mode with the touch screen. The other game I bought my Switch for is the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei V. SMT and Persona is my absolute two favorite series in gaming, with SMT being hardcore dungeon crawlers and Persona being a spinoff of SMT with a easier but still interesting dungeon crawling as well as more story and lots of life sim stuff. Who knows when SMT V is coming out though? Especially in the west. I'm hoping we get Persona 5 on Switch since the main character (Joker) has been announced as part of a DLC on Switch. And every mainline Persona game except for 5 has gotten a portable system port since handhelds are such a huge deal in Japan. With Vita dead that would leave Switch as the only alternative. Though if you really like JRPG then Persona 5 alone justifies buying a PS4 or PS3 IMO. The new God of War and Bloodborne would clinch the deal for PS4.
If you like the old school God of War games with all their fast button mashing combat then you might like the two Bayonetta games. The cutscenes are super cringe worthy but the action is A+ stuff.
I recommended Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze above, but another great 2D game is Monster Boy. It's a continuation of an old series from the Sega Master System, but I can't remember the name (Adventure Boy maybe?). It's really colorful graphically and has great control.