Jeff's Gaming Blog

Nintendo Switch finally has an entry in the Wii Sports series, and these are my impressions after about five hours with the game so far. There are six playable sports, all using motion controls: Volleyball, badminton, bowling, soccer, chambara (swordfighting), and tennis.

When you first start up, you can customize your appearance: skin color, hair color, eye color, hairstyle, and so on. Unfortunately, there are only six hairstyles to choose from at the start. You also have the option of using a Mii instead of the customizable characters.

One curious aspect of this game is that your ranking/progress are based only on online matches. Older Wii Sports games had you battling CPU-controlled opponents that gradually increased in difficulty as your skill rating grew. Here, offline matches don’t count for anything. I’m not a fan of this change. The many unlockable custom options for your character also require online play. So if you don’t have a Nintendo Switch Online account, don’t expect much out of the one-player modes.

Bowling

Bowling was the first game I tried out. One change that’s immediately noticeable is that you no longer release the back button (ZR in this case, B on Wii) as you release the bowling ball. I’m not sure why they changed this mechanic, but I got used to the new controls quickly.

The online setup is a bit curious, to say the least. The game gathers a whopping 16 players before you can begin. And then, after every three frames, a large portion of the bowlers are eliminated. Half of the players are eliminated after three frames, and only three out of the 16 players gets to play the full game!

Once you get to the “pro league,” most players are pretty good. So even a tiny mistake can mean your game ends after just three frames. I really hate this setup; I don’t understand why all 16 players can’t bowl the complete game. And in the pro league, regular lanes are sometimes replaced with annoying obstacles. As much as I enjoy bowling, it could have been so much better.

On the bright side, I do like the way you can see how the other bowlers are doing in other lanes as you play. And if you finish before the others, the game may focus on someone to show you what they’re doing. It’s a nice touch.

• Have I made Pro League yet? Yes.

Tennis

Tennis plays very much like the Wii Sports versions. It’s a 2-on-2 game, but you control both players (unless you’re teaming up with a friend). But I’ve noticed that players seem to have a superhero-like ability to dive for unrealistically long distances. They almost seem to be flying at times.

Tennis is a lot of fun, just as it was in Wii Sports. It’s my favorite of the six mini-games to this point (and that’s unlikely to change later on).

Have I made Pro League yet? Yes.

Volleyball

Volleyball is new to the series, and it has controls for serving, bumping, setting, spiking, and blocking. Online matches are played with four players, two on each team. Teamwork is required; if your teammate isn’t competent, you don’t have a chance.

The gameplay is a bit…formulaic? It follows a repeatable pattern: Bump, set, spike, bump, set, spike…and timing plays a key role. But that’s not a bad thing, because volleyball is surprisingly enjoyable.

Have I made Pro League yet? Yes, right before finishing this blog entry.

Badminton

Badminton may resemble tennis at first, but it is quite a different sport. The game is played in one-on-one matches (instead of 2-on-2), and on a much smaller court. With less ground to cover, each point can drag on for a while with long volleys.

I’m not as good at this as I am at tennis, and I’m not even sure why. I feel like there’s something I’m missing. Well, I certainly need more practice.

• Have I made Pro League yet? No.

Soccer

Soccer is probably the oddest sport included in Nintendo Switch Sports. It’s a bit weird to play a game normally played with your feet by swinging your arm/wrist. (Yes, there is a shootout mode that you can play with your leg, but that’s not the main attraction.)

The game is played by eight players (4-on-4), and the ball is huge. Larger than the characters! And unlike most sports in this compilation, you can actually move your character around with the control stick on the left Joy-Con.

Most of your time is spent just moving around with the left stick, and constantly adjusting the awful camera with the right stick. The motion controls are basically only needed when you’re right at the ball, which isn’t very often. There have been matches that I’ve barely touched the ball at all. I’m really not a fan of soccer so far.

• Have I made Pro League yet? Not even close.

Chambara

This is basically swordfighting, like the swordplay duels in Wii Sports Resort. This is, by far, the sport I’ve played the least…due to my lack of interest. You try to hit your opponent to push them back, eventually knocking them off a tower and into a pool. You can block attacks with the guard button (ZR) if your sword is perpendicular to your opponent’s as he/she strikes.

• Have I made Pro League yet? Heck no.

No Help

The game sometimes gives you tips for a game after you play it, instead of before (or during). And these “tips” are sometimes just basic controls that should be spelled out in an accessible manual somewhere…but aren’t. There are some playable tutorials, but only for three of the sports. Why not a summary of the moves for each sport? 🤔

Nice Touches

Just like in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can give yourself a title that is viewable by other players. New title words can be unlocked as you play online matches.

And even though I started out by giving the new characters a try, I’ve lately gone back to using Miis. It can really make you stand out during online matches. If you’d like to see some of my Miis, check here. Unfortunately, you can’t scan those QR codes with a Switch, but you can on 3DS and I think there’s complicated process to transfer them over, but I don’t remember the details. 😂

Ranking the Sports

Since this is just my impressions and not a final review, this list is subject to change. But after 5+ hours with the game, here is a list of my favorites from best to worst:

1. Tennis
2. Bowling
3. Volleyball
4. Badminton
5. Soccer
6. Chambara

Perhaps the most likely to switch places may be volleyball and badminton. I’ve kinda gone back and forth between which I like more, so they’re pretty close in my opinion. Are you all enjoying the game? Have any tips you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!

Want to buy Nintendo Switch Sports at Amazon?

I’ve been a big fan of the Animal Crossing series for many years. Each of the main five games in the series has something to offer, but each one also has ways it could be improved. So I’m going to discuss a few of them, and then select one feature I’d add to each game if I could.

Animal Crossing (GameCube)

This is one of the easiest decisions on this list: The GameCube game desperately needs more storage! Unlike later games, GameCube doesn’t provide a central storage unit. You can use as many dressers as you can fit in your house, but each one only holds three items (and you can’t put furniture inside them).

There are some other options for storage, but they are either very limited (storing four items in your outdoor gyroid) or very inconvenient (island bungalow or attaching them to letters at the post office). So more storage is the clear choice for this game.

Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS)

This is the toughest decision for me. Wild World has the smallest, simplest town layouts, the fewest villagers, the lowest-resolution graphics, worst frame rate…and it’s the only game in the series lacking analog controls.

But after some thought, my choice would be to add more holidays and events. This is the only Animal Crossing game without events for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve. While it does have some other events, most of them are very simple and not all that fun.

Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)

If I answered this question years ago, I would probably choose to fix the deteriorating grass that can leave your town looking like a desert. That’s clearly one of the biggest flaws with the game, and it’s a huge annoyance.

But now, I think there’s something else that could add more long-term value to the game. It’s something that most of the other games already have: villager photos. Obtaining a photo for each villager would regularly give you new goals to work towards, even after you’ve completed the big goals like paying off your house, filling up the museum, and collecting all golden tools.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)

I always wished you could enact more than one town ordinance at a time. I mostly play at night, so I really need the night owl ordinance so that the stores would be open when I play. But having to water flowers became such a big chore that I ultimately had no choice but to switch ordinances…and often miss out on shopping opportunities.

But there are other things that may be more important. During online play, it’s a huge pain trying to communicate with the other players. With no USB keyboard or voice chat options, the touch-screen keyboard is the only option. And that’s not the worst part: Chat bubbles only stay on-screen for five seconds, which isn’t even long enough to go through a doorway. New Leaf desperately needs a chat log, or at least longer-lasting speech bubbles.

Still, that’s not my final choice either. Instead, I went with a feature from New Horizons that would be so helpful: outdoor furniture. It would be a decorator’s dream, adding a huge way to customize our town the way we want. It can also be a convenience, allowing you to quickly look at an item a villager gives you. So you can decide whether or not to keep it without making an extra trip home.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

There are lots of special characters and features from previous games that are absent in New Horizons…including series staples like gyroids and “The Roost” cafe. But in my mind, nothing is as glaring as the absence of multiplayer mini-games, like Tortimer Island in New Leaf.

New Horizons allows eight players to play at once, which is twice as many as in any previous game. And yet, there’s less for those players to actually do. Sure, we can make our own games, races, and obstacle courses. And I do. But the lack of organized, built-in mini-games really holds back the fun factor of online play.

There is a glimmer of hope, though: New Horizons is the only game on this list still receiving updates. So it’s at least possible this could be added in the future. In the meantime, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

What Do You Think?

Well, that’s my list of features I’d add to each game. Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your list in the comments!