u/Asad_Farooqui

I’m getting smoked out here. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I got a lot of the basics down, I just need some help with more advanced techniques. What movement tricks or button combos should I do? How do I angle my shots to be sharper?

I play Paratroopa Shova racket and I’m not getting the results I hope for. I tried switching out multiple times to different characters and rackets but nothing seems to be working for me. I also just learned about the ZL + Topspin/Slice trick and have been working that into my repertoire.

Two things spurred this question for me: 1) The announcement of a brand new Nintendo exclusive horror game from the Silent Hill 2 remake developers, which is played entirely in handheld mode, and 2) me purchasing WarioWare Move It over the weekend and playing through all their single player content.

WarioWare was a game that was played exclusively with Joy Cons, since it takes full advantage of their capabilities including the IR camera. I can think of only a small handful of games that actually do this, most of them unsurprisingly being first party. After some quick research, those games ended up being:

1-2-Switch

Everybody 1-2-Switch

Super Mario Party 2018

WarioWare Move It

Vitamin Connection (from WayForward)

Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee

Ring Fit Adventure

Nintendo Switch Sports (and presumably the upcoming Resort)

Nintendo Labo

Worth reminding everyone that there are plenty of Switch games out there that support both the Joy Cons and the pro controller, like ARMS, Mario Party Jamboree, and Skyward Sword HD.

Broadly speaking, there are three main approaches to how publishers offer their Switch 2 games that are also offered on Switch 1. And here are all three of them now:

1. Completely Separate SKUs. Probably the most annoying one in my opinion. The Switch 2 version may either be released at the same time or way later than the Switch 1 version. If we’re lucky, the publisher might even allow us to transfer save data between versions. Most Sega and Square Enix games are likely to follow this release method, and any Switch 2 physicals are 99% going to be GKCs.

2. Nintendo Switch 2 Editions. This is the big thing Nintendo’s been advertising. Simply put, you can upgrade your existing Switch 1 copy directly to the Switch 2 Edition either for free or for some price ranging from $1 to $20. You’ll usually see this with indie titles, mainly since it’s a lot less work on their part and publishers will eat the cartridge costs, with maybe the occasional third party jumping in like Final Fantasy Tactics or Sonic Racing CrossWorlds.

3. Discounts. And then there’s the weird cases where publishers offer a discount for existing Switch 1 owners. Indie games like Deltarune and Balatro offer the Switch 2 version as a completely free download for owners of the Switch 1 version. The Kingdom Hearts 1-3 Collection is cheaper to buy on the Switch 2 eShop if you already own the cloud versions. And then there’s games like Hogwarts Legacy and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity, which offer cheap discounts even if you own a physical copy since the activation takes place from within the software itself.

Over the past year and a half, Square Enix has announced that two of their now defunct mobile games were getting full fledged premium adaptations for consoles and PC. Those being Octopath Traveler 0 from Champions of the Continent, and Final Fantasy Resonance from Brave Exvius. I and many others assume Nier Reincarnation or something from Kingdom Hearts would naturally be next on the docket. The big question now though is, would yall play it?

With Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave right around the corner, I wanna reflect on how Nintendo’s output has been throughout the course of the year. So far we got:

Brand new first party releases:

Mario Tennis Fever*
Pokemon Pokopia
Pokemon Champions
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
Star Fox 2026*
Rhythm Heaven Groove*
Splatoon Raiders*

Brand new Switch 2 Editions:

Animal Crossing New Horizons
Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition
Super Mario Bros. Wonder*
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
Fitness Boxing 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Still upcoming:

Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave*
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Switch 2 Edition
Ocarina of Time Remake*

* = Already own or plan to get if still upcoming

The only other things of note are those Hello Mario and Hello Yoshi apps, the Virtual Boy NSO app, and the re-releases of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen. I don’t count Orbitals or The Duskbloods since they’re not first party.

The last time we got a new entry was the acclaimed Wii reboot back in 2009. But ever since then, the Punch Out series has mainly been relegated to Smash Bros, WarioWare, and re-releases on Virtual Console, the NES and SNES minis, Arcade Archives, and the Nintendo Classics service on Switch and Switch 2.

I’m asking this now because Nintendo is more than willing to revisit dormant gameplay-focused arcadey franchises like Star Fox and Rhythm Heaven. And when I first saw the new challenge mode in Star Fox 2026, I immediately thought of the challenge missions in Punch Out Wii.

So again I ask: If this series were to get another game, how would you want it to happen? Who would you want to make it, and should the core arcade gameplay be changed?

The 3DS got off to a rocky start back in 2011, with a $250 USD price tag and a questionable gimmick with its stereoscopic 3D effect. It wouldn’t be until early 2012 where the system finally started picking up steam, with the release of a certain game starring a flightless angel.

But I’m talking about the games that came before that. From March to December 2011, here are all the first party Nintendo games that came out for the 3DS during that time:

Pilotwings Resort
Nintendogs + Cats
Steel Diver
Star Fox 64 3D
Ocarina of Time 3D
Pokemon Rumble Blast
Tetris Axis
Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7

There was also the 3DS Ambassador Program which gave you 20 free NES and GBA games if you bought the system before its first major price cut. And there were a fair number of third party offerings released that year like Super Street Fighter 4, Ghost Recon Shadow Wars, Sonic Generations, and Tales of the Abyss. But I’m mainly sticking to the first party Nintendo games made from the ground up for the 3DS that were listed above.

As for me, the ones I’ve managed to play in my lifetime are Star Fox, Ocarina of Time, Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7.

The time gap between 3D’s release and now is officially longer than it was between the original N64 version and 3D. I am absolutely positive there’s an entire generation of kids growing up today who played this version and hold it fondly in their hearts. And while I would absolutely qualify as one of those kids, being a preteen when Ocarina 3D was coming out, I actually didn’t get into Zelda until well into high school. But personally speaking, I find it tough to go back to the N64 version when I still have access to the 3DS version to this very day. Majora is a different story, but that’s for another time.