In 2006, Nintendo revolutionized the gaming industry ( once more) with the release of the Wii with a flagship launch game: Wii Sports. The bet ? Make the whole world play, player or not, young and old. The concept is very simple: thanks to its motion detection, the Wii allowed anyone to play bowling, tennis or golf simply by reproducing the gestures of real life.
A real social phenomenon. Wii Sports alone has contributed to the incredible success of the console, with more than 82 million copies sold in 2020, becoming the fourth best-selling title in video game history behind Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V and Tetris.
In 2022, 16 years following the success of Wii Sports, we will finally be able to redo evenings with family and friends to keep in shape! Discover now our first opinion while waiting for our final verdict at the end of the month.
preorder nintendo switch sports
Recovery time
Last week, we were invited by Nintendo France to an event to preview the new Nintendo Switch Sports for an hour. On the program, we were able to do a quick game on all six sports offered in this long-awaited sequel.
Three disciplines already present in Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort return with bowling, tennis and chambara. Three new events arrive for the first time in the series with volleyball, badminton and football. You can choose the sport you want to practice directly in Spocco Square, a sort of mini-city in which several stadiums and fields are scattered to be able to put your skills to the test.
The volleyball
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The first sport we were able to test was volleyball. This is a single joy-con game mode. As with Wii Sports in 2006, the magic happens right away. The title is instinctive and even without the little tutorial in the introduction we start to have fun and enjoy ourselves.
Simply wave your arm up, then down to serve. To make a headline, we just have to put our hands together and do the gesture once more. The same goes for making a pass. We reproduce the movements, it works well and we quickly get caught up in the game.
If you are playing as a team, Player 1 and Player 2 alternate between the front and back of the court. Whoever is in front of the net can counter a ball by raising the bottom to make their character jump. To spike, we have to raise our arm to prepare the shot and allow our player to jump. Once in the air, just lower your arm with a firm gesture to perform a smash. Pay attention to accuracy, if you swing your arm too far to the right or left, the shot may go out of bounds.
Badminton
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The second sport we tested is badminton. Just perform the same manipulation as in volleyball to serve, then you will have several possibilities by making bell shots thanks to an upward movement of the arm. You can also make more aggressive shots at the limit of the smash with a gesture that this time goes from top to bottom.
Here once more, it’s intuitive and even rather physical since we will most of the time make “smash” type gestures to put pressure on the opponent. Here, it will be a question of timing to be sure not to put your character in difficulty and take over your competitor.
Le chambara
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Already available in Wii Sports Resort in 2009, the chambara returns in this new edition on Switch. It is possible to play with a single joy-con by taking a saber (simple, or loaded). You can also bring your two controllers to manipulate two sabers.
For this first approach, we tried the one-handed loaded sword. Again, there is not much to do. You simply have to press the ZL or ZR key (the big trigger) to protect yourself and counter the opponents’ blows. If you want to attack, you must gesture forward to slash.
The particularity of charged sabers is that they gain energy as you manage to counter your opponent’s blows. Once the energy is charged, all you have to do is press L or R (the small trigger) to make a powerful blow and destabilize your opponent.
And bowling
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We were able to test another discipline that was already available in Wii Sports in 2006: bowling. It was one of the favorite sports, it had to come back in 2022 in Switch Sports. Overall, the way of playing is exactly the same. Just press the ZL or ZR key and make the gesture to throw the ball.
You can move your character left and right with the joystick. You can also tilt to the right or left to aim your shot. When throwing, if you give a good flick of the wrist, you will put spin in your ball which can be very effective.
Small novelty compared to Wii Sports, it is possible to play several and at the same time in split screen so as not to break the rhythm of the game to pass the controller following each shot. There is also a game mode allowing you to complete challenges with holes on the track, obstacles to avoid, etc. Unfortunately, we were unable to test this game mode and we will therefore have to wait for our final opinion to have a return on this point.
Football
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One of the great expectations of this Switch Sports is the arrival of football. Again, there are several game modes with the match in 1vs1 or 4vs4 and penalty shootouts. So you’re going to have to play football… With your hands! With the left hand, you move on the ground thanks to the joystick. If you press ZL you can sprint. With the right hand, you manage passes and shots. If you shake both joy-cons at the same time, you can achieve a head dive.
Football is the only sport that is a little delicate and the least precise. It’s hard to tell the difference between a shot and a pass. To aim: it’s quite catastrophic. It’s still fun, but it feels more like Rocket League than real football.
In May, a first free update will allow you to play football with your feet thanks to the pad that will be provided in the Nintendo Switch Sports pack.
At the moment, the only game mode that is available to play normally is Penalty Shootout. It is actually a corner session where you have to receive the ball with a nice volley. Here, the most important thing is the timing to trigger your strike at the right time. Again, it’s quite difficult to make placed shots. The precision isn’t very good.
Tennis
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Finally, the last discipline that we were able to do was duo tennis. On this part, it also remains very close to Wii Sports. To serve, you must make a movement by throwing your arm from the bottom up, then, once the ball is in the air, the reverse movement. You can return the ball with spin, bell, forehand or through a good backhand.
Be careful, because here once more, precision will be important and if you make too big movements, the ball will go out of the field. Duet matches require good coordination in order to know which player is in charge of receiving and returning the ball. This promises very intense games!
Our first Nintendo Switch Sports review
16 years following the release of Wii Sports, Nintendo has not lost its effectiveness. From the first minutes on this Switch Sports, the fun is felt. We take pleasure, it’s instinctive, it’s simple, it’s accessible to all and it’s funny especially to several people. Most sports are lively and provide good sensations. The big gap compared to the Wii version concerns the graphics.
The game offers more elaborate environments and characters to immerse us in a warmer atmosphere. For the moment, only football is a little laborious, we will wait impatiently for the May update to test the matches with our feet!
See you in a few days to be able to discover our final opinion on this Nintendo Switch Sports and with several hours on the clock to find out if this positive feeling is still present following a few hours. Whether alone or with others!
preorder nintendo switch sports
