A weekly status update from everyone’s favourite caffeinated weirdo.

Welcome back to Whatcha Up To! Coffee here, and it’s an extra edition this week! Yes, I had to get this out pronto, given that the Nintendo Switch 2 direct premiered this past Wednesday. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled posts two weeks from now.

Switch 2 comes out this June 5, 2025. Retail price: $629.99 for the base version and $699.99 for the Mario Kart World bundle. Yes, that’s in CAD and yes, that is STEEP. I mainly blame tariffs for this, but I suppose other factors play into its price tag. It’s kind of not fair how we Canadians get shafted on pricing for things, but it is what it is, I suppose. I’m still getting the system from day one as I want to pass down my old Switch to the kids. And with the new functions available, gaming in the Coffee Family will never be the same.

On the subject of functions, there’s a lot of good, some interesting and quite a bit of bad and/or worrying points about the new system. I’ll break it down like I do with my Backlog Busting posts, starting with:

The Good!

Bigger screen, better specs and can play 1080p and 120fps on handheld mode
Audio/Visual improvements, including 3D Audio and HDR support
Supports Ray Tracing (cuz apparently that’s still a thing)
Better (hopefully) Joy-Cons with mouse-like functions (Wonder how that’ll look like in Splatoon?)
Controllers also securely snap onto the console via powerful magnets
Two USB-C ports, with a port on top for USB charging in tabletop mode
New and improved dock with 4k 60fps capabilities
Lots of third party game support (Including Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy VII Remake! WHAT?!)
BRAND NEW MARIO KART!!!
BRAND NEW DONKEY KONG akin to Super Mario Odyssey and Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Enhanced versions of Nintendo Switch games (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, woo!)
Certain Switch games aside from enhanced versions will have improved performance
Game sharing between Switch and Switch 2 games, providing options to play one game on two systems. Very useful for games like Super Mario Odyssey
GAMECUBE ONLINE! (There goes the price of my near-mint copy of Path of Radiance, haha)

The Bad…

The price of the system (Especially in Canada, good freakin’ LORD!)
The price of the games (~$115 CAD a pop for physical copies of first party games?! In this economy?! You gotta be out of your goddamn mind!)
Some Nintendo Switch 2 carts aren’t really physical carts (They’re called Key Cards, which allow you to download the game to the system… but it’s not physically on the cart. Weird). Thankfully, it isn’t applicable for all Switch 2 games, but it is still a worrying trend for those who want physical media
Compatibility issues. There’s not a full list of what games are and are not compatible, which may be worrying to some folks who have extensive Switch libraries

The Interesting?

GameChat, activated with the C-Button on the new Joy-Cons, allows players to voice chat and share gameplay with other friends. It has plenty of potential, especially during game nights and tournaments. For anything else beyond those use cases, I’m not sold on it
There’s a camera for GameChat. Because if anyone can succeed where Sony and Microsoft failed in terms of peripherals, it’s Nintendo. Slight sarcasm there, folks
The Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership perks extend to the Switch 2 expansions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, so that’s nice

All in all, I found a few good reasons why this is a day-one purchase for me, despite the cons. We’re getting new titles in Donkey Kong, Metroid and Mario Kart, enhanced versions of awesome games like Breath of the Wild and big third party titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake (with Rebirth hopefully in the future).

The price for new games is going to be a big factor for me, but I feel like I can weather the FOMO until the big sales show up. I mean, I still haven’t played Rebirth yet, despite it being out for almost a full year now, so clearly I can handle a few months or even a year’s wait for new games. I’m pretty stoked about the third party support the system has so far. I never would have imagined I would see games like Elden Ring or Cyberpunk 2077 be playable on a Nintendo console. I can’t wait to see what else will come to the system, given that my current Switch is used almost daily. I suspect the Switch 2 will match that usage when I get my mitts on it.

Anyway, with all that said, here’s what’s been happening this past week:

Whatcha Playin’, Coffee?

Still playing Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy, specifically Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice. The previous title, Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies, has become my favourite of the series thus far. I’ve only gotten a little bit into SoJ, but so far it’s been pretty fun. Everybody in Khura’in has a freakin’ pun for their name and I CANNOT with this, haha. The Insights mechanic is a bit confusing though – I’m not sure if I like its inclusion. I don’t see the value in it, to be honest.

I also started Alundra again after finishing with Landstalker. I may adore this game, but I’ve started to notice that the writing is a touch cringey. But just a touch, though. I think it’s due to all of the writing training I’ve done between the last time I played this back in 2022 and now. The 90s were an odd time to live in, with translations and localizations trending towards being edgy rather than accurate. Alundra is still an awesome game to play, regardless of script choices.

With all of the new Nintendo news coming out, I’ve had a hankering to hit pause on my current backlog quest and replay some more classic games – namely Metroid. I might start with the original and then just go up chronologically until Metroid Prime 4 comes out. The only one I haven’t played is Metroid Prime 3 though… Hmm… How do I solve that particular issue?

(Psst, Hey, Nintendo? Release remastered versions of Prime 2 and 3! C’mon!)

Whatcha Writin’, Coffee?

Progress! Chapter 30 is done and we’re off to the Desert Prison arc! I haven’t started it yet as I’m revising my story notes based on the changes I’ve made over the first two-thirds of the story. I should get started on that one soon.

I’m currently plodding away at my Backlog Busting posts, with Final Fantasy XVI’s entry almost finished. Next up is a look at Final Fantasy Tactics.

Whatcha Readin’, Coffee?

I listened to the audiobook version of Tea You At The Altar, the third of the Tomes & Tea series. Goddamnit, I love this series! I love the characters, I love the banter between them and I love the overall wholesomeness of the story. And it’s got a happy ending to boot!

Next on my list is a toss-up between Vaseem Khan’s City of Destruction, Mai Corland’s Five Broken Blades and Brandon Sanderson’s The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England. I’m leaning towards some Sanderson, honestly, but it might just come down to asking my good ol’ Magic Item Block.

Damnit, now I really need to come up with an idea of a wholesome and cozy fantasy of my own! I may have a few ideas, but nothing concrete yet. At least I have a setting in my fictional city of Vrandaska.

Speaking of which, in other book-related things, I got The Major Arcana – the book that features my first published short story set in said fictional city – accepted into my town library’s Local Authors Showcase! I’ll share more details in the coming weeks. But heck yeah, this is exciting!

How’s Trainin’, Coffee?

We’re officially changing things up on the training regiment. I’ll be focusing on improving my stability and mobility instead of outright building muscles for the next few months. It’s like I have to deconstruct my body again to build myself back up. I did this same exercise last year to improve my pushup and squat forms, but now I have to do the same with my shoulders, core and hip areas. It’s a pain, but it’s what I gotta do to get stronger.

The kettlebell will, once again, be instrumental in improving my form. I just have to check my ego out of the door when it comes to how heavy I lift. Which reminds me – it’s always, always, always a good idea to go back to the basics every now and then, both in fitness and life in general. This is based on a concept called Interleaving, where you go back and review previous concepts in the context of what you’re currently learning right now. In this case, it’s me checking my form and reviewing proper technique of basic movements, like squats and pushups, all while implementing the next stages of my regiment.

That’s it for what’s been happening recently. Anything new on your end? Let me know below, or on Bluesky.

~Coffee