Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@NeonPizza
House of the Dead 1 and 2 went from an aggravating exercise in frustration to an A+ experience on Switch 2. I wasn't giving the Switch 2 9-axis gyro enough credit. It's literally a game changer in the truest sense of the word.

Until Mobapad can include 9-axis with HD Rumble 2, I'm gonna hold off I think. Besides, my D-pad modded official Joycon with Jsaux Grips are essentially perfect already.

Check out some more Switch 1 games in handheld, btw...

Xenoblade Chronicles

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Immortals Fenyx Rising

Nier Automata

Sniper Elite 4

Neo The World Ends With You,

@FishyS Xenoblade 2 is running away with the poll, but I'd think that that's more of a reflection of the Switch 1 handheld performance being particularly poor. The docked version is a lot better, but still sub-native on the Switch 2's screen and a performance patch wouldn't go amiss.

Xenoblade 3 is the one that I'd say gets the most benefit out of this, as a lot of work went into making it look good on a docked Switch 1, and you can now reap the full benefit of that on a Switch 2 in handheld mode.

Xenoblade X is an interesting one, as you can now play the game at 1080p handheld, which is effectively the quality option that many (myself included) thought missing in the game's Switch 2 Edition, where you've only got 60fps with noticeably poorer image quality. If only they could add a switch inside the game where you can flick between the two, rather than having to muck about with virtual game cards or blacklisting updates

Based on a VERY brief look, Fire Emblem: Three Hopes also benefits quite a bit from this.

So, with several games, if you switch in and out of boost mode, it'll go back and forth between detecting your joycons as a Pro Controller or as Joycons, but that's not true of every game. Astral Chain doesn't do that, for example. Is it only for games with touchscreen compatibility or something?

@JaxonH The Neo: TWEWY one confuses me. Looks like it either gained or lost some poorly implemented anti-aliasing lol

@Matt_Barber Xenoblade 2 100% gets the most benefit out of this, because it went from nigh-unplayable levels of blur to looking quite fetching, even if it's not hitting 1080p. Xenoblade 3 looks better, but it already looked really good on the Switch tablet undocked, so while it may be the most impressive overall, it definitely doesn't benefit as much from this.

The main thing this does is encourage me to pick up a MicroSD Express card and retire my Switch OLED. Because to this point my solution to sub-optimal scaling of already well performing S1 games was to just play them on the OLED

Also it puts me at ease knowing that Rhythm Heaven will still look good even if it's not patched for S2

@UpsideDownRowlet so gamechat actually seems quite usable now! unfortunately, i have my doubts it'll make many more people use it.. but i'm at least inclined to try it at some point.

@Ralizah That's the point I was trying to make. It's not that Xenoblade 2 looks particularly good on the Switch 2 with handheld boost, it was just really bad on an undocked Switch 1.

Xenoblade 3, on the other hand, could pass for a Switch 2 game now that it doesn't have to live with the inexact upscaling.

@Ralizah
It's zoomed WAY in.

When looking at it normally, it looks 🔥 and let's not forget, at 60 fps too.

Oh, and look at Bayonetta 3 handheld (again, also at 60 frames).

Should've posted this here, thought I did but I guess it was some other random thread.

I need help for adding notes to all my friends so I remember who's who.

I have some labeled I already knew but most that aren't obvious I've forgotten again, no matter how many times people remind me. So adding user names as a note will let me permanently remember.

If you see your Switch username on my list, please let me know so I can add your NintendoLife username in a note and keep tabs on who everyone is.

@JaxonH

Switch username: Ralizah
NL username: Ralizah

There you go ❤️

Bayonetta 3 does look pretty good. Good to know re: Neo. I own it on Switch, so I'll definitely be getting to it on my Switch 2 someday!

Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair also got a nice little image quality boost. Comparing the two modes, it feels like I'm putting on glasses when I activate boost mode.

@JaxonH That reminds me, is it all right if I add you? My Switch username is exactly the same as my Nintendo Life one. I like playing Mario Kart World online on occasion, too.

My Switch username is similar to my screen name here but so many people use wildly different user names that I have no clue who most of my friend list is 😅

@JaxonH, this just reminds me that I've been meaning to send you a friend request for a while, so I will do that now. In case you don't look at my forum signature, my Switch username is Blanc.

You can always decline though, if you find my ranting about genuine Japanese media annoying 😉.

@JaxonH I’m MarkEmark , toy link profile pic, 3 rows down, 2nd to last

@D-Star92
Go for it. Fair warning, I don't play online much unless a new Monster Hunter or Splatoon releases (though I'm usually down for the occasional hunt or Salmon Run, which btw, I want to play MH Rise with some people using GameChat now that we have the ability to chat).

Speaking of GameChat, the framerate of screen share has doubled. Before it stuttered at around 10 fps. Now it's more like 20 fps. Still not perfectly smooth, but way more fluid than it was previously. You can actually follow what's going on now without it being a choppy mess.

@Nep-Nep-Freak
Go for it.

@Ralizah
Ya I didn't even need to add a note for you lol

@NintendoByNature
Adding note now, thanks!

Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes looks incredible now on Switch 2 and runs at 60 frames! It's like a brand new game!

Forget Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity. It's not even half the game this is. I've ALWAYS maintained FE Warriors Three Hopes is the best Warriors game ever made, it just looked like crap and ran ljke crap too. But now? It's perfection! And feels more like Fire Emblem than a Warriors game anyways. It really does feel like Fire Emblem Three Houses, but with different combat (and actual strategy sending units to various parts of the map unlike HW where you're a one man army).

HANDHELD SCREENSHOTS

@JaxonH Honestly, I feel like Three Hopes never looked or ran like crap. It's always been pretty solid, especially compared to the rougher-around-the-edges AoC. But yeah, it's particularly good undocked on Switch 2.

I'd probably do a joint Three Houses + Three Hopes run if the new one wasn't so close. Might do that in the future, though.

Age of Calamity and Three Hopes not only benefit from crisper graphics- these also get a boost in enemy density/draw distance.

Like seriously, a specific mission that requires you to beat 1000 enemies as Zelda in Age of Calamity was difficult enough normally, but in handheld it was nearly impossible to beat.

@Ralizah
In handheld it looked rough. Docked was ok. The framerate never dipped below 30, but it fluctuated all over the place. And I can do unlocked framerates (MH Stories 3 for example, but it doesn't have drastic fluctuations- it hovers just above 30 with only small, gradual changes and then runs 60 in battles and cutscenes), but FEW: TH would jump from 40 to 60 to 35 to 55 very suddenly.

In any case, it runs 60 on NS2 and I think it looks fantastic in handheld mode. Forgot the story. I have 3 save files, one for each house, saved on Ch 4 in bottom save slots but my current run is with Blue Lions on Ch 6. Just killed Dorothea. It said maybe talking to her could save lives so I'm guessing she was recruitable somehow? I'm not looking to recruit outside my house though. I want to experience each character within the context of their own house branching storyline. Besides it just overwhelms you with too many characters to choose from.

@Eel
That's something I didn't think about. Definitely seemed to have a lot of enemies when I was playing just now. I'd forgotten how un-Warriors Three Hopes actually feels. Probably why it's my favorite one. It's a true Fire Emblem game just with Warriors combat. But I love the strategy sending individual units all over the map since you never know where a new enemy will appear.

Game is straight 🔥