A year ago, the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite stole my heart with its fun colors, compact design, and affordable price. I liked it so much that I even wrote an anime column about why the Switch Lite was the console I'd been waiting for.

But that was only a few weeks after I carried Nintendo's handheld gaming console on my daily commute. Now that I've been working from home for a few months, my relationship with this lovely yellow device appears to have changed a bit. My once on-the-go lifestyle is mostly gone, and I find myself sitting in front of the TV with my family more often than I would have expected.

So there are times when I wish I had a regular Nintendo Switch (finding one in the spring was near impossible), and there are reasons why the Switch Lite is not the perfect gadget I once thought it was. But it remains an excellent entry-level gaming device and should not be neglected in conversations comparing gaming consoles as we have seen recently.

After a year of using the Nintendo Switch Lite, here are some of the things I like and dislike about it.

Some hardcore gamers may consider the Switch a novelty item or a device for kids. However, it has a purpose, and that is precisely the purpose for which Nintendo has positioned it. It is an accessible gaming console made for a mildly mobile audience.

I'm not so mobile anymore, but I still appreciate Nintendo's system and the fact that I can get a functional gaming console for only $199. The Switch Lite hasn't turned me into a full-fledged gamer, but it has served me well enough that the Xbox Series X and PS5 are completely off my radar. A next-gen console would be a great holiday gift for many, but I'll take a Nintendo eShop gift card instead. It's less of a burden on my family that way.

As much as I love nostalgia, playing modern versions of Pokemon or Super Mario Bros. is enough to make me feel like a kid again. I've found that some of the best games on the Nintendo DS rival the DS games I loved when I was younger; with the Switch Lite, I can disappear into the world of 2005 for a few hours at a time.

Sometimes, I can even warp back further into my childhood. Right now I'm playing the "Crash Bandicoot N. Thane" trilogy, recreating the games I used to play on my father's PS2 before I tragically destroyed it. I think I was better at destroying boxes when I was 5 years old than I am now (I literally destroyed that boxy PlayStation).

In the immortal words of rapper JaRule, I felt hustled, scammed, cheated, deceived, and led astray when I learned that not every game I wanted to play would be available for the Nintendo Switch. Again, I am a novice gamer. There are enough titles out there to satisfy me, but when it comes to new releases like Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, for example, I am limited.

I can see the compatibility benefits of owning multiple consoles, but as I explained, that's not an option for me, so I'll leave it at that. Besides, I have a habit of leaving games unfinished, so I shouldn't complain about wanting more games when I haven't completed the ones I already have.

My biggest complaint about the Switch Lite is the poor battery life. I am spoiled by my Bluetooth earbuds, e-reader, and iPhone, and I can last at least a day's worth of activity before the battery runs out. The Switch Lite, on the other hand, has less than 4 hours of game time. If you had a particularly slow commute to work one morning, you would find the Switch Lite dying before you got home at night. As a mobile device, it should have more stamina.

But again, I am no longer a mobile device. I play Switch Lite almost exclusively in bed, and the charger is never farther than arm's reach (or hanging off the side of the bed). In that sense, the pandemic was the best thing that could have happened to Switch Lite.

Miss the long commute? Not really. But I do miss pulling out my Switch Lite on the train and disappearing to Koholint Island for a few hours. Fortunately, this year continues to provide an excuse to escape reality.