We all saw the trailer for the Switch before its release day. The fact that it was easy to travel with as presented in the trailer made it a huge upgrade from any of Nintendo’s previous systems. Like I predicted in a much earlier article, the Switch indeed has replaced the 3DS for the most part. People I have spoken with haven’t touched their 3DS in weeks. This article however is not about what it has replaced this article is about how well does the Switch actually travel.
For the most part the Switch actually travels relatively well. But depending on how you travel the style of the system will be different. Example, I have only tested the built in stand once since I have received my Switch and I’m not a huge fan of it. True, I only tried it on the airplane during the flight and that probably is not enough to get a full synopsis of the stand. For the most part if you are traveling with the switch the Joy Cons will be connected to the tablet and you most likely won’t switch them out.
The Switch is absolutely grand when it comes to traveling when the Joy Cons are connected to the system. You don’t have to worry about losing pieces since they are already connected to the system and the charging port is in the perfect location to where it doesn’t get uncomfortable when playing, but just make sure you are close enough to an outlet to get comfortable, otherwise I recommend you charge the system when you’re sleeping and not play it while it charges.
I didn’t like using the stand on the plane like the commercial portrayed. Firstly the tray table is so flimsy that through years of wear and tear the table is not perfectly flat so if you place the Switch facing directly at you the system will only slide down the tray towards your lap. I adjusted the system more times on the tray table than I did playing for ten minutes. The only way I got the system to stay on the tray table was when I placed the system at a 45 degree angle, making me sit in the corner of my seat, I don’t think my neighbor liked me for that ten minutes.
After a little bit of unexpected rough air, I was afraid my system was going to fall off the tray and break, so I decided to connect the Joy Cons and play normally, which had been the smartest move because the turbulence only got worse. After my flight ended and I reached my hotel I played for a good hour or two and then went to bed. The fact that I had my Switch with me during my holiday meant that every night I could return to my hotel and play for a few hours of Breath of the Wild in. It was groundbreaking I now had a system that could come with me and not worry about losing progress because of a weeklong or more wait.
So, if you are a frequent flyer or traveler and a gamer, this system is grand. You will be able to get work done in both real life and in your virtual world. No more waiting to return home to play a few hours forget what you were playing and then leave the next day for another week. Nintendo truly made the perfect system for traveling gamers.
