topsekret

I'm feeling around a 5/10. Maybe 6/10 if I'm being generous.

Pros:
*Backwards compatibility improves performance for most Switch 1 games that had issues.
*OS is noticeably faster.
*The finish on the console & accessories feels nice.
*120 Hz support.
*Pro Controller 2 analog stick feels really smooth.
*Nice to finally have built-in voice chat.
*The few free enhancement patches for Switch 1 games are nice.
*The kickstand and ethernet are nice (though the OLED already had these improvements).

Cons
*Almost all 3rd party games are on GKCs. (And Nintendo may be heading in this direction, as demonstrated by Pokopia.)
*Several games I own have BC issues. And Nintendo seems to be breaking new games almost as fast as they are fixing others with updates.
*Nintendo forces you to pay $10 to $20 to get performance upgrades for key software titles by including them as part of a DLC bundle. Performance upgrades should be free. Let the DLC stand on its own.
*Proper performance patches are arriving at a much slower rate than I expected.
*Many 3rd party games don't have upgrade paths at all for their Switch 1 games, forcing you to re-buy the entire game on Switch 2, despite offering free upgrade paths for those same games in Sony's ecosystem.
*1st party lineup feels a bit underwhelming. A lot of the heavy hitters have some noticeable flaws:
*MKW: Boring intermission tracks you are forced to play online
*DKB: Dig and sonar trivializes much of the level design
*MP4: Filler open world bike sections
*PLZA: Absolute dumpster fire
*I don't feel like Age of Imprisonment or Air Riders have any major flaws, but they also don't really feel like system sellers to justify why you would drop $450 on a new console.
*Console feels really bulky and un-ergonomic in handheld mode. It feels like a 3rd party grip is practically required now.
*Battery life is very poor, even when playing Switch 1 games.
*Nintendo did not address the hardware-level input lag issue. Switch games still generally have about 1 more frame of input lag compared to Playstation.
*VRR is extremely underutilized, probably because the hardware doesn't support it when docked.
*Screen has subpar HDR and lower response time than even the Switch 1 screen.
*3rd party ports still seem to struggle, even games like P3R that seem like they should be flawless on Switch 2.

I don't necessarily regret my purchase--having a "Switch Pro" is kinda cool. But it definitely feels like a disappointment. Even after getting the Switch 2, I've been spending more time playing Switch 1 games, so I probably could have waited, but I let myself get swept up in the hype. I'm sure eventually there will be more must-have 1st party games, but the only games I'm really looking forward to at the moment are Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.

@Anti-Matter Three-legged Sonic isn't real, it can't hurt you.

Three-legged Sonic:

From the moment those desert bike sections were revealed, I had a sinking feeling that they were going to detract from the game.

Nice, looks like Spike Chunsoft may have learned that people don't like GKCs after No Sleep for Kaname Date bombed on Switch 2.

Though I'm not sure if I really wanna get this game. I'm kinda on the fence about it and the Metacritic 69 isn't doing much to really push me over the edge.

Still, the fact that it's on a real cartridge means I'll consider it. If it were a GKC it would be a super easy pass.

Please Nintendo, fix Raiden III & IV next!

But what about Doomguy's bff, Isabelle from Animal Crossing? Did he bring her with him?

@Froid12 Does that impact the RPG gameplay in any way? Like you can't get certain items or characters? If it's purely cosmetic, like decorating an Animal Crossing island, then I don't really care.

Also would still be nice to confirm the Switch 1 version resolution and frame rate when running on Switch 2. I'd assume FPS will hit 30, but some games have BC issues that make them struggle when they shouldn't.

Any word on how the Switch 1 version runs when played on Switch 2 for those of us who prefer real physical games over GKCs?

Really annoying that we can't have hard mode unlocked from the start. Why do I have to waste my time with normal mode?

@DashKappei Oh damn, thanks for the heads up on Astebreed. Yet another example of why Nintendo needs to let the community report BC issues cause their QA isn't very thorough.

@whitespy12 Ugh, that sucks that they broke RE4. Hope they fix it.

I'm also still waiting on them to fix Raiden III & IV.

Man, all these issues really don't instill confidence to continue investing in Nintendo's ecosystem. At least on PC when the big companies screw up, you can usually rely on modders to fix things.

Not interested in any GKCs even at these lower prices.

"Fixed an issue where sometimes, after waking up the system from Sleep Mode or turning off Airplane Mode, wireless controllers or Bluetooth audio devices were unable to connect."

Oh nice, I've actually encountered this issue before.

No fancy covers are gonna sway me to buy this GKC. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

Physical version's gonna save me a lot of space. Nice!

@Chimichanga Yep, that's another good example of the same phenomenon.

Shame about the delay, but more time for me to enjoy Potemkin before the nerfs.

I'm just happy we're getting it before Christmas. Will be fun to try out the new characters over the holidays. I'm curious how they'll price them on Switch...

Will any actual Mario Kart streamers be involved? Like Shortcat or TWD98?

@ShadLink Sales =/= quality

Pokemon sells because of marketing and nostalgia. It's literally the definition of "too big to fail."

Square Enix didn't even bother trying to optimize the file size. It's the exact same on Switch 2 as PC and PS4. If they made the foreign language packs optional downloads, reduced texture resolution, and increased compression on textures, audio, and pre-rendered video, they could have got it to 64 GB.

In the Switch era, Square Enix knew how to optimize. FFXII was 40 GB on PS4, but they reduced it to 12.7 GB on Switch.

They just chose not to because they were planning to put the game on a GKC from day 1 (like they have for all their other games).

@HalfAWorldAway If I were sponsoring a review, I'd pay for more than a 6 lol

I think a lot of people here are interested in classic games, so I don't think this getting a mini review is really out of the ordinary. I feel like this recent batch of Arcade Archives is noteworthy since after all these years, Hamster has finally started doing 3D arcade games, so I'm sure people are interested in seeing how they hold up.

But I agree that they are over priced.

@calbeau News flash: they aren't.

@calbeau You're defending Nintendo banning all these games and claiming that anyone against it is not a "decent person," so yes, I'll challenge you on that.

The problem with "saving the children," is you can brand anything in the name of that to claim moral high ground to ban whatever you want, even if it has nothing to do with saving any actual children.

I gave you a very short video of an entire game that Nintendo banned in the name of "saving the children." So I ask you yet again, can you kindly point me to the specific content in that game that is so morally reprehensible, more so than full frontal nudity in Cyberpunk, that it is worthy of being banned from sale in the US?

Has it ever occurred to you that such broad policies can result in games being incorrectly banned?

I think as long as a game gets rated by the ESRB (and doesn't get an AO rating), it should have no problem releasing on consoles. We don't need an extra layer of Karens at NoA to police the games we play.

Still waiting for them to fix Raiden III & IV. One of the selling points of the Switch versions of those games is all the extra BGM remixes they added, but on Switch 2, the BGM randomly cuts out for entire levels.

@calbeau I was really looking forward to a bullet hell shmup called Redneg Allstars that got banned due to Nintendo's stupid new policy.

Here's a 1cc of Redneg Allstars (in case you're unfamiliar with shmup terminology, a 1cc is a complete play through of the game with no continues). The run is only 28 minutes. Since you're so pro-censorship in the name of "saving the children," can you please point me to the ban-worthy content?

The most "questionable" thing I could find is one of the bosses has absurdly large boobs and shows some cleavage. Though she definitely looks like a woman over the age of 18. Sure, you could say her design looks kinda dumb with the proportions being that outta whack, but is that really ban-worthy? Is this really more offensive than genital customization in Cyberpunk? Personally, I find the latter significantly more offensive.

@Kawaiipikachu Mugen Souls was released in April 2023. The first occurrence of Nintendo banning a game due to their new content guidelines that I'm aware of is Redneg Allstars, which came to light in December 2024 (Nintendo Life article). What this means is Nintendo changed their content guidelines sometime between 2023 and 2024. Fortunately, it appears that older games are grandfathered in, so Nintendo isn't removing games that previously passed certification under the old rules.

And check this out, someone on X posted a screenshot from a Discord conversation with an EastAsiaSoft employee flat-out confirming that Nintendo's content guidelines changed and their old releases like Mugen Souls would almost certainly not be approved if they were released today.

NoA has been invaded by activist Karens within the last year that feel compelled to police what games we're allowed to play. Just let the damn ratings boards do their jobs!

Off the top of my head, this new policy from Nintendo has resulted in the following games being banned in the US:

*Redneg Allstars
*Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, 2, and 3
*Death end re:Quest: Code Z
*Tokyo Clanpool
*Maiden Cops
*Brave x Junction

Several of these games are already available on PlayStation and rated T for Teen! Yet the morons at NoA think these games are too "problematic" for their audience! And at the same time, they turn a blind eye to all the AI "hentai" garbage polluting the eShop.

I pray for layoffs at NoA. The current leadership needs to be purged.

Surely they wouldn't delay it just for the "physical" release to end up being a GKC lol

Yet another GKC to skip.

I figured it was gonna be a GKC. So this will be an easy pass.

@Pillowpants LMAO, that's the 2nd time I've been accused of having a connection to Anti-Matter. 1st accusation was that I was his alt, but I like your theory better. 🤣

Ngl, I totally copied the Q&A format from him. Mostly because people would get on my case for being off-topic, so the Q&A format makes it abundantly clear that I'm, in fact, on-topic. Honestly, it's a really clever trick that I have to give him full credit for.

Unfortunately, I don't like Bluey enough to be Anti-Matter's little brother. And I also play some M-rated games. But I'm glad you got the little reference to his posting style!

@Bats1234 Two points:

1. Silksong was a $20 game. Pokopia is a $70 game. A $20 digital-only game is a much easier pill to swallow than a $70 digital-only game. If you're gonna charge AAA prices, then you damn well better make sure the data is on the physical cartridge.

2. The physical fans know that Silksong will eventually get a physical release, just like the original Hollow Knight. In fact, the hardcore collectors are happy that the physical release is later, that way you guys can beta test the game for us, and then we'll have a more polished version of the game preserved in physical form.

Question
Will you be getting this game when it launches for Switch 2?

Answer
No, since it is on a Game-Key Card I will not purchase this video game on the Nintendo Switch 2 system.

@Anti-Matter I agree with you. Both the PS5 and Switch 1 versions are better since they are getting real physical releases.

I have absolutely no interest in the garbage that is modern Pokemon. And this boring "cozy" game isn't gonna change my mind.

But even if I don't care about this specific game, I don't like the precedent this sets. Since it's Pokemon, it's guaranteed to sell no matter what. Then Nintendo will see that and think, "huh, we were able to sell a GKC for $70 and we made so much more money, let's keep pushing the boundaries to see what we can get away with."

It's a classic case of slowly increasing the temperature of the water to boil a frog alive. We're going to see more GKCs going forward, not less. If they put the new Fire Emblem on a GKC, I'm officially done with Nintendo.

@Dr_Lugae For sure. I respect the hustle. No company milks its fans quite like The Pokemon Company!

As always, the most exciting thing for me will be any backwards compatibility fixes, but we'll probably have to wait a couple days for people to identify them.

Looks like this system update fixed the issue with Tokyo Xanadu as it is now listed as having consistent behavior on Switch 2 as of 11/11/2025. Interestingly, this is one of the games that many people online insist did not actually have any issues, but nonetheless, I'm thankful that Nintendo did fix whatever issue they discovered.

Xenoblade X is also now listed as fully supported as of 11/11/2025. I think that one had issues with voices getting out of sync?

I'm happy that a lot of games run better on Switch 2 than Switch 1.

But I'm disappointed with the games that have bugs unique to Switch 2 and with how Nintendo is handling that.

1. Nintendo does not publicly acknowledge games that are known to have issues on Switch 2. For example, several members on this site have documented how prerendered videos in the Crossbell duology (Trails series) don't play.

I've also personally noticed some minor graphical issues in a handful of games. For example, upside down textures on certain elements in Guilty Gear Strive and Enter the Gungeon. Or graphical artifacts when using the CRT filter in Super Hydorah. And this is in just the handful of Switch 1 games I've played on Switch 2 since launch. I'm sure there's more if you look for them. Which leads me to...

2. There's no official way for players to report bugs. Obviously it's gonna be difficult for Nintendo's QA to find all the issues with so many games to test. So why not rely on the passionate community to help you identity issues?

3. When they do acknowledge an issue, most of the time, the description on their site is incredibly vague, like just "progression issue," sometimes causing people to even question if there's an issue at all just cause they haven't personally encountered it.

4. There isn't a master list of every game with issues. For people with large collections, this would be easier to check than to type in each game one at a time. It also makes it difficult to know the full scope of games with issues. For example, someone mentioned in the comments on this article that Tales of Symphonia has issues. Looks like that was discovered on Nov. 4, but you'd never know to just randomly check an individual game's eShop page to see if there's been a new issue discovered. It would be easier if we could just get a list of games with issues and sort by date discovered.

Though to handle this last point, I'm working on my own app to scrub this info from Nintendo's website and display it in a table.

As for specific games, beyond the ones I mentioned earlier, I'm also still waiting for fixes for:
*Strania
*Raiden III
*Raiden IV
*Nier
*Chrono Cross

I'm sure there's more, but I'll get back with you after I've finish my app.

Dang, is the game really that hard? Maybe I should play this sooner rather than later. Too many easy games nowadays designed to just be passively consumed like movies.

@shoeses Could also just be a bid to entice more people to subscribe to NSO for an online-centric game. Assuming Splatoon Raiders launches in 2026, I think that would preclude a Splatoon 4 from happening till 2027 at the earliest. If Splatoon 4 releases in 2027, that would make the wait between 3 and 4 about the same as the wait between Splatoon 2 and 3 (5 years).

The Pokemon Company should get an award for how much money they're able to make off such low budget games. Truly a feat of business!

Wonder if it'll be usable now? I tried plugging headphones into the Pro Controller once at launch and the audio latency was absolutely horrible unless the controller was physically connected to the console via USB.

@TerribleTerabytes Yeah man, Arlong Park is soooo good! It's the arc that really sold me on the show.

I had a buddy that had been trying to convince me to watch One Piece, but the length deterred me from giving it a chance. About 2 years later, my brother started watching it, but he watches a lot of stuff off and on so it didn't really register. Then one day I overhead while he was watching the Baratie arc, and it sounded interesting (I think it was the episode with Gin and the poisonous gas), so I figured I'd sit in and watch for a bit since my buddy recommended it. Even without all the proper context, it managed to hook me just on the tail end of that arc. But then that cliffhanger with Nami really intrigued us, and we ended up binge watching the entire Arlong Park arc that weekend. After experiencing all the twists and emotions in that arc, that's when I knew I was in it for the long haul, so I went back and watched the beginning. Since then, I've been watching it regularly with my brother.

We even managed to get our sister and mom to watch One Piece as well! It a wonderful story that I think can resonate with a lot of people. Due to rewatches with family members, I've now seen most of the show 3 times lol. But even rewatches are fun cause there's a lot of subtle detail and foreshadowing that you don't really pick up on your first watch.

But you got the right mindset: it's the journey that matters, not the destination. Just savor your time with the world and its characters!

Tested the website a bit. It's a little bit faster than searching the store pages on Nintendo.com.

But what I really want is just central, dynamic list of each game with issues.

Since Nintendo's not doing this, I decided to make an app to scrub their website and get this info myself. I haven't had much time to work on it, but I got the basic functionality working: I can pass in a URL for a game, and the app will download the webpage and parse the HTML & JSON to extract the backwards compatibility info for the given game. Now I just gotta do it in bulk. I'll probably start with just the list of games in my collection (from Deku Deals, which can export as a CSV or JSON).

@NicolausCamp I'm really surprised they didn't prioritize fixing Strania considering how new it is (released last January). I'm hoping that gets fixed soon along with Raiden III & IV.

I'd also say I hope they fix the issues causing pre-rendered videos to not play in the Crossbell duology (Trails series), but I doubt that'll ever happen since Nintendo is unaware of the issue.

@Max_the_German Ah, I see. Sorry I misinterpreted your post!

@Max_the_German You're arguing with the wrong guy. I was saying it makes sense that it targets 30 FPS for 3/4 player splitscreen.

For me, it's like a dream that quickly turns into a nightmare once you realize that 90% of them are GKCs.

@the_beaver @electrolite77 I agree that 60fps for 3-4 player splitscreen would be nice, but it's not really surprising that this game is only targeting 30 FPS in those cases cause that's how all the Mario Kart games work as well.

Awesome! I was worried they might try to foolishly target 4K instead of 60 FPS. Sega is doing everything right with this port, so I'll be sure to pick it up once the physical drops!

I gave away my copy of Overcooked 2 when I got All You Can Eat. Really scummy that they're no longer supporting the so-called "definitive" edition.