@Denoloco Don't insult the 360 like that: it had games that used geometry to model the sides of building instead of just flat tiling jpegs! The buildings are basically high resolution N64/PS1 assets.
@martynstuff Nah, I've played SMT V. Waaaay better than Pokemon. Not even close.
SMT = Games designed with artistic integrity Pokemon = Corporate products in a multibillion dollar children's multimedia franchise designed to sell merch
It's like hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby. (Pokemon is the coughing baby.)
@TheExile285 Based on Sega/Atlus's track record, they likely would not give owners of the original an upgrade path. They'd probably sell a totally separate Switch 2 version for $60 on a GKC.
Nope, I haven't bought a main series Pokemon game since Shield and this doesn't look appealing to me in the slightest.
I'm pretty much done with Pokemon now. It's clear quality is not a priority for TPCi and Game Freak.
Probably the only new game that could get me to throw some money at the series again would be a new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I'd trust Spike Chunsoft to do a good job with that.
@Vivianeat Yeah, I suppose if it was their support team, which helped with BotW and TotK, that would be fine. I just wouldn't want the main Tetsuya Takahashi team getting sidetracked with it.
@Member_the_game Hey bud, thanks for the response! I'm glad you appreciated my comment and understood my intentions. When I read the "toxic" part of your original comment, I (incorrectly) assumed you were lumping people like me in with obvious trolls or fanboys of other console who do actually wish to see Switch 2 fail just cause they're loyal to another console manufacturer or whatever. Gave you a <3 as well!
@Vivianeat I'm sure Monolith Soft would do a way better job than Game Freak, but I'd rather let Monolith Soft stick with their own IP and continue making artistic games than waste their time and talent doing cleanup on a corporate product in a children's multimedia franchise.
@Member_the_game On PS5, the discs do still at least contain the actual game most of the time. Though I agree, being forced to install is definitely a downgrade from true plug-and-play traditional physical releases. Still, I think that's a better compromise for cost/read speeds than GKCs. While storage space is still an issue (though less so on PS5 since storage is cheaper than on Switch 2), at least you do still own the games and are not dependent on a server to re-install them to your console in the future.
All that being said, my point is to just counter what you originally said. Nintendo may have given use "exactly what we wanted" in many ways, but there are a lot of catches, like the aforementioned loss of physical media for the majority of 3rd party games.
Another catch I really dislike is the mess of how upgrades are being handled for cross gen games. Many 3rd party games aren't offering upgrade paths and are forcing you to rebuy the game at full price if you want Switch 2 benefits (like Sonic X Shadow Generations or Suikoden I & II). While many new games are giving you an ultimatum between true physical ownership (Switch 1 version) and performance (Switch 2 version), as we see with Raidou, No Sleep for Kaname Date, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D, Octopath Traveler 0, etc... Forcing me to double dip wouldn't be as bad if I could at least get the game complete on cartridge, but the only way I'd get on board with digital in this case is if I can get an extremely cheap (or even better, free) upgrade pack for my Switch 1 physical version.
There's also the technical shortcomings of the console. Like the screen not being able to do "real" HDR, or how the screen has a lower response time than even the Switch 1 screen. Not a good look for what is supposed to be a "premium" console with a premium price point. The battery life is also a noticeable step down from Switch 1. And despite the improved tech specs, we're still seeing lots of 3rd party games with performance issues, even with games that you would think would run at a locked frame rate on the hardware like P3R or Shadow Labyrinth.
The backwards compatibility improving framerate, resolution, and load times in certain games is my favorite feature of the console. But it's very disappointing how many of the games I own have bugs when running on Switch 2's BC, and Nintendo refuses to acknowledge some of the bugs and is not being very communicative about if/when they'll address the issues. It's also disappointing how games with 720p handheld modes on Switch 1 get stretched up to 1080p on the Switch 2's screen. Seems like there should at least be a pixel-perfect option to keep the games at 720p in a smaller portion of the screen. Or, as many other people have requested, the ability to force games to play in docked mode when in Switch 2 handheld mode in order to get higher resolution for games without a patch.
IMO, there's plenty of valid reasons for people to be disappointed with the Switch 2. Not everyone that has a complaint about the Switch 2 is a hater or a troll.
@Zaruboggan Yeah, I agree that the $70 price for digital feels a bit steep. I believe the original Dear Days was actually the first $70 (standard edition) Switch 1 game, beating Tears of the Kingdom to the market by a few months.
But I think the physical version is a steal at $46. I've played for nearly 100 hours so far and I've barely scratched the surface in terms of the card pool. I'm choosing to experience the cards in roughly release order, so I'm currently just focusing on the first 4 packs and trying to build decks for all the Vanguards in those packs. I'm having so much fun just doing free battles and learning the nuance of the combat system and deck building!
@Zaruboggan Hey, I'm the guy who recommended Cardfight Vanguard! If you like the classic Yu-Gi-Oh GBA games and Shadowverse (the Cygames TCG on Switch), I think you'll like Vanguard as well! It's definitely on the budget side though, so unfortunately there's no 3D world to walk around in (like in Shadowverse), it's more like a lot of the old handheld Yu-Gi-Oh games where between fights, you'll see an overhead map of the town, and there will be points of interest that you can select on the map to see a visual novel-style event scene, usually accompanied by a fight. But don't let that deter you, the core TCG gameplay is extremely fun!
For this next bit, I'll also loop in @LEGEND_MARIOID since they also expressed interest in Vanguard. There's actually a free demo for the original Dear Days on the eShop that you can check out to get a taste of the gameplay.
And if you're interested in purchasing Dear Days 2, something to keep in mind is while its $70 USD price tag on the eShop is a bit high, if you're comfortable with importing games, you can get the physical Japanese version (which has English on the cartridge) for only around $46 USD from Video Games Plus!
Finally, I'll link this 10 minute tutorial video that does a good job explaining the basics for how to play the TCG.
Really hope LRG puts this patch on the cartridge for their upcoming physical. Seems plausible since pre-orders went up only a week or two ago, so they likely haven't started putting data on cartridges yet.
@shoeses I'd imagine people that enjoy monster collecting RPGs and have access to other platforms are busy playing Digimon Story: Time Stranger. It looks far superior to Z-A.
I already imported the Asian physical several years ago. Not only do they have English on the cartridge, but the box art is also in English! In a way, the box art is even better cause it's completely free of a rating logo!
Only thing that would tempt me to get these again, would be if they put the most recent patch on the cartridge. If not, I'm perfectly happy with my Asian versions.
Still, appreciate Square Enix making the physical version available for a wider audience. Will be a sad day when Switch 1 finally dies and 3rd party physical releases like this become a thing of the past on Nintendo platforms.
@Edd-O Same, I had pretty much given up hope that they'd do one this year after they missed the usual June timing. Feels a bit weird now since they directly reference E3 with the name, but the show's at the end of October this year!
Ah, I see you're unable to dispute anything I said.
"While I bet if this was only a 60 gb game, they still would have used a keycard"
Probably, because, like I said before, GKCs are way cheaper than cartridges and they wanna make the most money possible. My point is that it is, in fact, technically possible to get this on a cartridge, SE just chose not to.
"I'm glad they didn't crunch it down. The loss of 40ish gb probably would have had a huge negative consequence."
Not really, I was totally content playing FFXII on the Switch after they shaved off 68% of the bloat from the PS4 version. No single game is worth nearly 100 GB, IMO.
If you care so much about getting the best technical experience, just get the PC version, then you won't have to deal with the Switch 2's crappy 30 FPS limit! With the advent of handheld PCs, you can even play it portable with the PC version. And when newer handheld PCs come out, you can use the built-in graphics settings to crank up the graphics. If you're gonna get it digitally anyways, just get it in the best digital ecosystem.
One of the unique selling points of Switch compared to handheld PCs was physical games, but Nintendo & 3rd parties are doing everything in their power to kill physical games on Switch 2.
@the_beaver I have not. It was just a general comment about the state of Switch/Switch 2.
In the last year or two of the Switch, it feels like almost every 3rd party port (and even some 1st party games) had performance issues. People kept saying, "man, we really need the Switch 2 ASAP so we stop having performance issues." But now that it's arrived while it did fix a lot of performance issues with Switch 1 games via BC, when it comes to new games, developers are chasing even higher visual fidelity targets, so it's a bit of a wash and we're once again seeing performance issues in almost every 3rd party port.
@Dang_69 They could have reduced the file size but chose not to because with a GKC, there is no incentive to reduce file size since they are just pushing the storage cost onto the consumer.
Square Enix reduced FFXII from 40 GB on PS4 to 13 GB on Switch 1, a roughly 68% reduction in file size. FFVII Remake Intergrade on PS5 is 90 GB, they'd only need to reduce that by 29% (less than half of the % reduction made to FFXII) to get it on a 64 GB cartridge. But they didn't even try and the Switch 2 version is basically the exact same size as the PS5 version.
They were planning to use a GKC from the start because of the cost of a Switch 2 cartridge, but personally, I would find a $50-$60 true physical release vastly more appealing than a $40 GKC.
And if they did that, they could still offer a $40 digital version for price-sensitive consumers. This is what Spike Chunsoft did for No Sleep for Kaname Date: both the physical Switch 1 version and the Switch 2 GKC (lol) cost $10 more than their digital counterparts.
I'm definitely a "hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive player" as I greatly exceed 12+ game purchases per year.
Though once Switch 1 is phased out, I imagine I'll drop down to the 4-5 purchases per year bucket since real physical options on Switch 2 are so limited thanks to GKCs.
@Edd-O Yes, SDOJ is my current most-wanted physical release from LRG! Since they did physical releases for all of Live Wire's previous shmup ports, it seems like they'll surely do it eventually... Maybe we'll see an announcement at their upcoming LRG3 event on Oct. 29?
I'm pretty content with my Japanese physical copies of DOJ and Esp Ra.De., but I would double dip if LRG does a physical release and they actually take the time to translate the text into English.
Glad this a getting a physical release! Yet another physical shmup for the collection!
Worth noting, to anyone interested in picking this up from LRG, this specific release is not open pre-order. There is a finite amount (yes, even for the standard edition) and they will be available on first-come, first served basis.
So if you're like me and like to wait as long as possible before putting in your LRG orders to bundle as many things together as possible to minimize shipping costs, might not be wise to wait long for this specific release.
@Hisui25002 I'm sorry, but if they can reduce the file size by 68% for FFXII, they can reduce the file size for FFVIIR by 34%.
The average gamer would be hard-pressed to notice the difference in quality going from DXT1 (4 bpp) to ASTC8x8 (2 bpp). The main people who would notice would be Digital Foundry when they zoom way in and compare still frames. I'd probably use higher quality compression for normal maps, though. But you can get away with crazy compression on albedo textures and even packed maps with PBR properties.
Also compression isn't the only trick they can employ. Simply cutting texture resolution in half would offer massive savings. Since cutting in half on each axis results in only 25% of the original area, the texture would only use 25% of the original memory.
Due to mip maps, you'd only be able to see the removal of the highest res texture in the mip chain if you park your camera right next to an object, which isn't terribly common in a 3rd person game.
Furthermore, the Switch 2 version is targeting lower internal rendering resolution anyways and uses DLSS to upscale, so reducing texture size would be barely noticeable in normal gameplay.
"Not to mention, the game has higher assets than XII"
That's exactly why there's more potential for savings. A 4094 texture at 4 bpp with mip maps is about 10.67 MB. Going down to 2048 is 2.67 MB. And going down to 1024 is 0.67 MB. Going from 4096 down to 2048 saves 8 MB, while going from 2048 down to 1024 saves 2 MB, yet both operations reduce the texel density compared to the original by the same factor.
"multiple voice lines uncompressed in different languages"
Audio compression says "hello!" Also, just put English on the cart for the US version and make the other languages available via a free download. That's what they did for the Star Ocean 2 remake.
"detailed particle shaders"
Particle shaders do not generally use much memory. The real memory hogs for shaders are for PBR surfaces with all the variants. But again, if the developer is competent, the memory footprint is still usually much lower than that for textures, audio, and pre-rendered video.
You are right about the price, though. Since they are only charging $40 for the game, a $16 cartridge would be a substantial cut into their profit margins. Still, I would find a $50 - $60 true physical version on a cartridge a much more appealing value proposition. If I wanted a digital version, I'd just get it on PC.
And there's no reason that they couldn't charge $40 for digital and $50-$60 for physical. That's exactly what Spike Chunsoft did for their recent release, No Sleep for Kaname Date. (Yep, even the GKC Switch 2 version costs $10 more than the digital version lol.)
@Hisui25002 I mean, according to the devs, read speeds were the main reason for using GKCs for the Switch 2 port.
But yes, now that I've demonstrated that the read speeds would have been sufficient, lets talk about file size.
You do realize that in the Switch era, devs would significantly optimize file size when porting to Switch, right?
For example, FFXII was about 40 GB on PS4, but only around 13 GB on Switch (a 68% reduction!). Like they did with FFXII, Square Enix could have easily optimized FFVII to get the game from 90 GB down to around 63 GB. They'd only need to reduce the file size by 30%, which is less drastic than what they did for FFXII.
The biggest files in games are usually textures, audio, and pre-rendered video. Fortunately, these are all trivial to reduce, either by compression or lowering resolution.
Switch and Switch 2 also support ASTC texture compression, which allows for pretty granular control over memory footprint vs. quality. With ASTC, you can go between 0.89 to 8 bits per pixel (bpp), whereas with DirectX, your options are much more limited as you basically just have DXT1 (4 bpp) for RGB and BC7 (8 bpp) for RGBA.
Square Enix just didn't bother to optimize file size this time cause they were already committed to using GKCs from the get go. With a GKC, there is no incentive to optimize file size, since you are just putting the storage cost on the consumer.
The real reason Square Enix decided to go with GKC is money.
@Hisui25002 In this comparison video it looks totally fine in motion on the HDD. Biggest difference is the initial load time is much slower (~44 seconds vs. ~8 seconds).
In that video, the HDD has a read speed of around 100 MB/s, while the SSD has a read speed of about 550 MB/s. For the record, Switch 2 cartridges are supposed to have read speeds of about 400 MB/s, which is much closer to the speed of the SSD in the video than the HDD.
Also keep in mind that the Switch 2 version is only targeting 30 FPS, so there's a lot more time for streaming to finish compared to if it was running at 60 FPS.
It would have worked fine on a Switch 2 cartridge.
@Hisui25002 That absolutely does not apply to P3R. That would only potentially be a deal-breaker for massive open world games.
For the case of FFVII Remake where the devs claim that that's an issue, it's obviously BS since that game runs totally fine on PS4 (which has a hard drive that is slower than a Switch 2 cartridge) and on PCs using old-school hard drives.
@Mythra To be fair, when people refer to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as a "Mario Kart killer," they're not referring to sales. They're just saying that they think the game is more fun to play.
(For the record, I think I'll end up preferring Mario Kart World, though I need to actually play more of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds before I form a full opinion, but I'm waiting for the Switch 2 physical version.)
@Wood_Stick "you don’t have more rights than I do. Do you?"
I didn't say I have more rights than you. Not sure where you're getting that from.
My point is, if the main issue you are complaining about is people complaining about GKCs, you can solve that for yourself by clicking the ignore button on people that frequently complain about GKCs. Then you will no longer see people complaining about GKCs! That solves your problem!
Of course, you are free to keep trying to convince me not to complain about GKCs, but you will never be successful. 😊
"And no it was not about gkc you turned it into that."
Allow me to explain in greater detail how this article relates to GKCs. The article mentions how P3R was under consideration for a Switch 1 release. Separately, as we all know, fake physical releases are way more common on Switch 2 than Switch 1. Therefore, by logical deduction, I concluded that if they would have followed through with a Switch 1 release, it likely would have gotten a real physical release, which I find more appealing than the Switch 2 version they are offering on a GKC.
Do you think people shouldn't be allowed to make logical deductions based on information presented in articles?
Yes, I will only consider buying this if: *It costs at least $90 *It releases on a GKC *The GKC gives you access to a cloud version *The game requires you to log in with a Konami account *There are microtransactions
As a responsible consumer, I want to do my part to ensure that the game industry thrives and that the employees of the billion dollar corporations are able to feed their families. I want as little ownership over the products they sell as possible, that way when the services are shut down, I can continue supporting the corporations in the future when they eventually re-release these games through a new service.
@TKundNobody Actually, speaking of MVG, you remember how a bunch of LRG's Carbon Engine titles had bugs on Switch 2? MVG is the guy who wrote the Carbon Engine. You can read LRG's statement on X about how they confirmed that the issue with their Carbon Engine titles was due to a bug in Nintendo's translation layer:
"We are aware that a handful of Carbon Engine Switch games currently have issues with the Switch 2's backwards compatibility. Thankfully, in the two weeks we have had development hardware for the Switch 2, we successfully located the culprit in code and have reported our findings to Nintendo.
We are hopeful that this will be addressed in a future backwards compatibility update, as we believe what we discovered may also be impacting games from other publishers.
In the meantime, we are preparing patches for a few titles that will roll out in the coming weeks"
Essentially, they found the issue and reported it to Nintendo, but since they weren't sure how quickly Nintendo would be able to fix the issue, they started working on a patch to work around the bug with Nintendo's translation layer.
However, as you can see from this more recent X post, LRG confirmed that Nintendo ultimately fixed the biggest issue with the translation layer affecting Carbon Engine titles in a system update.
@TKundNobody "there are some videos out there explaining why some games don't work. The biggest culprit is a bad programming. if it were programmed correct without any tricks, it would work like all of the other games."
You are right that some Switch 1 games might be relying on "undefined behavior," as we say in the business, but I doubt that's the reason for all of the issues.
"if the translation layer would be faulty, a lot more games would not work. and that is not the case."
But there are a lot of games with issues on Switch 2, including many that Nintendo doesn't officially acknowledge on their website. Heck, I've also noticed many small graphical issues in various games (ex: upside down textures, which is a classic problem you see with with engines having to handle different graphics APIs: some assume the origin is in the top left, while others assume it is in the bottom left).
It's extremely common for software to have bugs that aren't ever encountered by many users cause they only manifest with a specific combination of conditions that not all users will rely on.
"if Nintendo tries to "fix" the translation layer for those few games the risk to cause problems for other games is there."
But that's exactly what Nintendo just did for the games listed in this article! They fixed issues in the translation layer that were affecting these 5 games and now their issues are (supposedly) fixed! Nintendo has been releasing fixes for Switch 2 BC in each system update ever since the Switch launched!
"and btw. the translation layer is only the half truth of how the backwards compatibility works here. I would suggest to watch the video of MVG how it really works. Was a very interesting video."
@Zeebor15 Yep, NISA has a disproportionally high amount fans that are physical collectors. And they really cultivated this audience by including all the extra goodies in even their normal retail physical releases while offering fancy special editions through their online store.
@Solid_Python The problem is on Switch 1 fake physical releases were the exception, not the rule. So we'd complain about those individual releases, and then move on.
On Switch 2, fake physical releases are the standard. It's an epidemic. That's why the backlash is much stronger.
Also, your FFX/X-2 example isn't great, cause all the hardcore physical fans know you can import that from SE Asia to get a complete physical version. 😉
Also, some of those collections you listed had at least some of the games complete on the cartridge (for example, the Mega Man Legacy Collection, which is part 1 on the cartridge and part 2 as a download code). So for me, releases like that were worth picking up at half price (Put 1/2 of the games on the cartridge? Then I'll only pay 1/2 of the price at max.) Whereas with GKCs on Switch 2, you literally get nothing on the cartridge.
@CaptainCluck I don't even think that many people here genuinely love GKCs. It's just there's a lot of Nintendo fanboys who will bend over backwards to defend Nintendo no matter what.
@TKundNobody "there is only a low percentage of third part games that don’t run properly."
There is a fairly large number of relevant games that have issues on Switch 2. Talking about percentages is misleading cause it's being bloated by all the eShop shovelware. And the games with issues are under-reported, as you can see in this very thread people are pointing out issues in games that Nintendo does not officially acknowledge on their website. Heck, probably a lot of the eShop shovelware has issues too, but we'll probably never know cause no one cares about games like "Hentai Party: Cyber Girls" or "Bodycam Shooter 2025" (just 2 random shovelware games that came out last week).
"Nintendo can’t fix their party games. They don’t have the code. And would be too big task with over 10.000 games.
If you had informed yourself you would have known how the backward compatibility works and why some games have issues."
I think you need to be informed about how backwards compatibility works. The games have bugs when played on Switch 2 due to bugs in Nintendo's Switch 1 to Switch 2 translation layer, not the games' code. These bugs are Nintendo's fault. That's why Nintendo is able to fix these bugs when they release fixes to the translation layer in these system updates. They don't need the source of the 3rd party games to fix the issues. Sure, 3rd party devs could try to work around the bugs in Nintendo's translation layer, but they shouldn't have to.
Oh nice, Ultra Age has a fix. My brother was trying to play that and it was consistently crashing after playing for around 10 minutes on Switch 2. Hopefully that's what this fix is for.
Though unfortunately, still a pretty small list of fixes considering how many game out there still have issues on Switch 2. Hopefully Nintendo continues to chip away at the issues till everything is fixed...
Comments 511
Re: Video: Check Out Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Switch 2 Evolution In This Side-By-Side Comparison
@Denoloco Don't insult the 360 like that: it had games that used geometry to model the sides of building instead of just flat tiling jpegs! The buildings are basically high resolution N64/PS1 assets.
Re: The Next Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial Is A Modern RPG Classic
@martynstuff Nah, I've played SMT V. Waaaay better than Pokemon. Not even close.
SMT = Games designed with artistic integrity
Pokemon = Corporate products in a multibillion dollar children's multimedia franchise designed to sell merch
It's like hydrogen bomb vs. coughing baby. (Pokemon is the coughing baby.)
Re: The Next Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial Is A Modern RPG Classic
@TheExile285 Based on Sega/Atlus's track record, they likely would not give owners of the original an upgrade path. They'd probably sell a totally separate Switch 2 version for $60 on a GKC.
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
Nope, I haven't bought a main series Pokemon game since Shield and this doesn't look appealing to me in the slightest.
I'm pretty much done with Pokemon now. It's clear quality is not a priority for TPCi and Game Freak.
Probably the only new game that could get me to throw some money at the series again would be a new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. I'd trust Spike Chunsoft to do a good job with that.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Pokémon Legends: Z-A
@Vivianeat Yeah, I suppose if it was their support team, which helped with BotW and TotK, that would be fine. I just wouldn't want the main Tetsuya Takahashi team getting sidetracked with it.
Re: Switch 2 Named One Of The Best 'Entertainment & Gaming' Inventions Of 2025
@Member_the_game Hey bud, thanks for the response! I'm glad you appreciated my comment and understood my intentions. When I read the "toxic" part of your original comment, I (incorrectly) assumed you were lumping people like me in with obvious trolls or fanboys of other console who do actually wish to see Switch 2 fail just cause they're loyal to another console manufacturer or whatever. Gave you a <3 as well!
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Pokémon Legends: Z-A
@Vivianeat I'm sure Monolith Soft would do a way better job than Game Freak, but I'd rather let Monolith Soft stick with their own IP and continue making artistic games than waste their time and talent doing cleanup on a corporate product in a children's multimedia franchise.
Re: Rumour: Assassin's Creed Shadows On Switch 2 May Clash With Metroid Prime 4
Hmm... real physical Metroid Prime game vs. fake physical AssCreed game... Such a tough choice... /s
Re: Switch 2 Named One Of The Best 'Entertainment & Gaming' Inventions Of 2025
@Member_the_game On PS5, the discs do still at least contain the actual game most of the time. Though I agree, being forced to install is definitely a downgrade from true plug-and-play traditional physical releases. Still, I think that's a better compromise for cost/read speeds than GKCs. While storage space is still an issue (though less so on PS5 since storage is cheaper than on Switch 2), at least you do still own the games and are not dependent on a server to re-install them to your console in the future.
All that being said, my point is to just counter what you originally said. Nintendo may have given use "exactly what we wanted" in many ways, but there are a lot of catches, like the aforementioned loss of physical media for the majority of 3rd party games.
Another catch I really dislike is the mess of how upgrades are being handled for cross gen games. Many 3rd party games aren't offering upgrade paths and are forcing you to rebuy the game at full price if you want Switch 2 benefits (like Sonic X Shadow Generations or Suikoden I & II). While many new games are giving you an ultimatum between true physical ownership (Switch 1 version) and performance (Switch 2 version), as we see with Raidou, No Sleep for Kaname Date, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D, Octopath Traveler 0, etc... Forcing me to double dip wouldn't be as bad if I could at least get the game complete on cartridge, but the only way I'd get on board with digital in this case is if I can get an extremely cheap (or even better, free) upgrade pack for my Switch 1 physical version.
There's also the technical shortcomings of the console. Like the screen not being able to do "real" HDR, or how the screen has a lower response time than even the Switch 1 screen. Not a good look for what is supposed to be a "premium" console with a premium price point. The battery life is also a noticeable step down from Switch 1. And despite the improved tech specs, we're still seeing lots of 3rd party games with performance issues, even with games that you would think would run at a locked frame rate on the hardware like P3R or Shadow Labyrinth.
The backwards compatibility improving framerate, resolution, and load times in certain games is my favorite feature of the console. But it's very disappointing how many of the games I own have bugs when running on Switch 2's BC, and Nintendo refuses to acknowledge some of the bugs and is not being very communicative about if/when they'll address the issues. It's also disappointing how games with 720p handheld modes on Switch 1 get stretched up to 1080p on the Switch 2's screen. Seems like there should at least be a pixel-perfect option to keep the games at 720p in a smaller portion of the screen. Or, as many other people have requested, the ability to force games to play in docked mode when in Switch 2 handheld mode in order to get higher resolution for games without a patch.
IMO, there's plenty of valid reasons for people to be disappointed with the Switch 2. Not everyone that has a complaint about the Switch 2 is a hater or a troll.
Re: Community: 32 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
@Zaruboggan Yeah, I agree that the $70 price for digital feels a bit steep. I believe the original Dear Days was actually the first $70 (standard edition) Switch 1 game, beating Tears of the Kingdom to the market by a few months.
But I think the physical version is a steal at $46. I've played for nearly 100 hours so far and I've barely scratched the surface in terms of the card pool. I'm choosing to experience the cards in roughly release order, so I'm currently just focusing on the first 4 packs and trying to build decks for all the Vanguards in those packs. I'm having so much fun just doing free battles and learning the nuance of the combat system and deck building!
Re: Switch 2 Named One Of The Best 'Entertainment & Gaming' Inventions Of 2025
@Member_the_game 99% of 3rd party games getting fake physical GKC/code-in-box releases is not what I was asking for.
Re: Switch 2 Named One Of The Best 'Entertainment & Gaming' Inventions Of 2025
"the on-device 7.9-inch HDR display runs handheld titles at 1080p and 120Hz"
In theory. In practice, I think the only games that can hit those numbers are 2D indie games.
Re: Takashi Iizuka Explains Why Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Was Delayed On Switch 2
Please be 60 FPS, please be 60 FPS, please be 60 FPS...
Re: Community: 32 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
@Zaruboggan Hey, I'm the guy who recommended Cardfight Vanguard! If you like the classic Yu-Gi-Oh GBA games and Shadowverse (the Cygames TCG on Switch), I think you'll like Vanguard as well! It's definitely on the budget side though, so unfortunately there's no 3D world to walk around in (like in Shadowverse), it's more like a lot of the old handheld Yu-Gi-Oh games where between fights, you'll see an overhead map of the town, and there will be points of interest that you can select on the map to see a visual novel-style event scene, usually accompanied by a fight. But don't let that deter you, the core TCG gameplay is extremely fun!
For this next bit, I'll also loop in @LEGEND_MARIOID since they also expressed interest in Vanguard. There's actually a free demo for the original Dear Days on the eShop that you can check out to get a taste of the gameplay.
And if you're interested in purchasing Dear Days 2, something to keep in mind is while its $70 USD price tag on the eShop is a bit high, if you're comfortable with importing games, you can get the physical Japanese version (which has English on the cartridge) for only around $46 USD from Video Games Plus!
Finally, I'll link this 10 minute tutorial video that does a good job explaining the basics for how to play the TCG.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Re: Hand-Drawn Platformer 'Ruffy And The Riverside' Gets 60fps Update On Switch 2
Really hope LRG puts this patch on the cartridge for their upcoming physical. Seems plausible since pre-orders went up only a week or two ago, so they likely haven't started putting data on cartridges yet.
Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Switch 2 And Switch Pre-Order Bonuses Revealed (US)
@shoeses I'd imagine people that enjoy monster collecting RPGs and have access to other platforms are busy playing Digimon Story: Time Stranger. It looks far superior to Z-A.
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Switch 2 Trailer Introduces Shinra, The Turks & Avalanche
@Dang_69 Thanks
Re: Final Fantasy VII / VIII Remastered Twin Pack And IX Switch Physical Releases Confirmed For North America
I already imported the Asian physical several years ago. Not only do they have English on the cartridge, but the box art is also in English! In a way, the box art is even better cause it's completely free of a rating logo!
Only thing that would tempt me to get these again, would be if they put the most recent patch on the cartridge. If not, I'm perfectly happy with my Asian versions.
Still, appreciate Square Enix making the physical version available for a wider audience. Will be a sad day when Switch 1 finally dies and 3rd party physical releases like this become a thing of the past on Nintendo platforms.
Re: Switch 2 Launch Title Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster Updated (Version 1.0.2), Here Are The Patch Notes
Question
Have you tried out this game on the Switch 2 yet?
Answer
No, since it is on a GKC, I will not purchase the Switch 2 version. I'll stick with the original on my 3DS machine.
Re: R-Type Delta: HD Boosted Is Getting A Sweet Physical Edition For Switch
@Edd-O Same, I had pretty much given up hope that they'd do one this year after they missed the usual June timing. Feels a bit weird now since they directly reference E3 with the name, but the show's at the end of October this year!
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Switch 2 Trailer Introduces Shinra, The Turks & Avalanche
@Dang_69 "You're overreating."
Ah, I see you're unable to dispute anything I said.
"While I bet if this was only a 60 gb game, they still would have used a keycard"
Probably, because, like I said before, GKCs are way cheaper than cartridges and they wanna make the most money possible. My point is that it is, in fact, technically possible to get this on a cartridge, SE just chose not to.
"I'm glad they didn't crunch it down. The loss of 40ish gb probably would have had a huge negative consequence."
Not really, I was totally content playing FFXII on the Switch after they shaved off 68% of the bloat from the PS4 version. No single game is worth nearly 100 GB, IMO.
If you care so much about getting the best technical experience, just get the PC version, then you won't have to deal with the Switch 2's crappy 30 FPS limit! With the advent of handheld PCs, you can even play it portable with the PC version. And when newer handheld PCs come out, you can use the built-in graphics settings to crank up the graphics. If you're gonna get it digitally anyways, just get it in the best digital ecosystem.
One of the unique selling points of Switch compared to handheld PCs was physical games, but Nintendo & 3rd parties are doing everything in their power to kill physical games on Switch 2.
Re: Review: Little Nightmares III (Switch 2) - A Missed Opportunity For Couch Co-op That Plays It A Little Too Safe
@the_beaver I have not. It was just a general comment about the state of Switch/Switch 2.
In the last year or two of the Switch, it feels like almost every 3rd party port (and even some 1st party games) had performance issues. People kept saying, "man, we really need the Switch 2 ASAP so we stop having performance issues." But now that it's arrived while it did fix a lot of performance issues with Switch 1 games via BC, when it comes to new games, developers are chasing even higher visual fidelity targets, so it's a bit of a wash and we're once again seeing performance issues in almost every 3rd party port.
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Switch 2 Trailer Introduces Shinra, The Turks & Avalanche
@Dang_69 They could have reduced the file size but chose not to because with a GKC, there is no incentive to reduce file size since they are just pushing the storage cost onto the consumer.
Square Enix reduced FFXII from 40 GB on PS4 to 13 GB on Switch 1, a roughly 68% reduction in file size. FFVII Remake Intergrade on PS5 is 90 GB, they'd only need to reduce that by 29% (less than half of the % reduction made to FFXII) to get it on a 64 GB cartridge. But they didn't even try and the Switch 2 version is basically the exact same size as the PS5 version.
They were planning to use a GKC from the start because of the cost of a Switch 2 cartridge, but personally, I would find a $50-$60 true physical release vastly more appealing than a $40 GKC.
And if they did that, they could still offer a $40 digital version for price-sensitive consumers. This is what Spike Chunsoft did for No Sleep for Kaname Date: both the physical Switch 1 version and the Switch 2 GKC (lol) cost $10 more than their digital counterparts.
Re: Poll: How Many New Games Do You Buy In A Year?
I'm definitely a "hyper enthusiast, price-insensitive player" as I greatly exceed 12+ game purchases per year.
Though once Switch 1 is phased out, I imagine I'll drop down to the 4-5 purchases per year bucket since real physical options on Switch 2 are so limited thanks to GKCs.
Re: R-Type Delta: HD Boosted Is Getting A Sweet Physical Edition For Switch
@Edd-O Yes, SDOJ is my current most-wanted physical release from LRG! Since they did physical releases for all of Live Wire's previous shmup ports, it seems like they'll surely do it eventually... Maybe we'll see an announcement at their upcoming LRG3 event on Oct. 29?
I'm pretty content with my Japanese physical copies of DOJ and Esp Ra.De., but I would double dip if LRG does a physical release and they actually take the time to translate the text into English.
Re: R-Type Delta: HD Boosted Is Getting A Sweet Physical Edition For Switch
Glad this a getting a physical release! Yet another physical shmup for the collection!
Worth noting, to anyone interested in picking this up from LRG, this specific release is not open pre-order. There is a finite amount (yes, even for the standard edition) and they will be available on first-come, first served basis.
So if you're like me and like to wait as long as possible before putting in your LRG orders to bundle as many things together as possible to minimize shipping costs, might not be wise to wait long for this specific release.
Re: Review: Little Nightmares III (Switch 2) - A Missed Opportunity For Couch Co-op That Plays It A Little Too Safe
"Performance on Switch 2 features frame drops and grainy visuals"
Oh boy, it's gonna be a long generation.
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Hisui25002 I'm sorry, but if they can reduce the file size by 68% for FFXII, they can reduce the file size for FFVIIR by 34%.
The average gamer would be hard-pressed to notice the difference in quality going from DXT1 (4 bpp) to ASTC8x8 (2 bpp). The main people who would notice would be Digital Foundry when they zoom way in and compare still frames. I'd probably use higher quality compression for normal maps, though. But you can get away with crazy compression on albedo textures and even packed maps with PBR properties.
Also compression isn't the only trick they can employ. Simply cutting texture resolution in half would offer massive savings. Since cutting in half on each axis results in only 25% of the original area, the texture would only use 25% of the original memory.
Due to mip maps, you'd only be able to see the removal of the highest res texture in the mip chain if you park your camera right next to an object, which isn't terribly common in a 3rd person game.
Furthermore, the Switch 2 version is targeting lower internal rendering resolution anyways and uses DLSS to upscale, so reducing texture size would be barely noticeable in normal gameplay.
"Not to mention, the game has higher assets than XII"
That's exactly why there's more potential for savings. A 4094 texture at 4 bpp with mip maps is about 10.67 MB. Going down to 2048 is 2.67 MB. And going down to 1024 is 0.67 MB. Going from 4096 down to 2048 saves 8 MB, while going from 2048 down to 1024 saves 2 MB, yet both operations reduce the texel density compared to the original by the same factor.
"multiple voice lines uncompressed in different languages"
Audio compression says "hello!" Also, just put English on the cart for the US version and make the other languages available via a free download. That's what they did for the Star Ocean 2 remake.
"detailed particle shaders"
Particle shaders do not generally use much memory. The real memory hogs for shaders are for PBR surfaces with all the variants. But again, if the developer is competent, the memory footprint is still usually much lower than that for textures, audio, and pre-rendered video.
You are right about the price, though. Since they are only charging $40 for the game, a $16 cartridge would be a substantial cut into their profit margins. Still, I would find a $50 - $60 true physical version on a cartridge a much more appealing value proposition. If I wanted a digital version, I'd just get it on PC.
And there's no reason that they couldn't charge $40 for digital and $50-$60 for physical. That's exactly what Spike Chunsoft did for their recent release, No Sleep for Kaname Date. (Yep, even the GKC Switch 2 version costs $10 more than the digital version lol.)
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Hisui25002 I mean, according to the devs, read speeds were the main reason for using GKCs for the Switch 2 port.
But yes, now that I've demonstrated that the read speeds would have been sufficient, lets talk about file size.
You do realize that in the Switch era, devs would significantly optimize file size when porting to Switch, right?
For example, FFXII was about 40 GB on PS4, but only around 13 GB on Switch (a 68% reduction!). Like they did with FFXII, Square Enix could have easily optimized FFVII to get the game from 90 GB down to around 63 GB. They'd only need to reduce the file size by 30%, which is less drastic than what they did for FFXII.
The biggest files in games are usually textures, audio, and pre-rendered video. Fortunately, these are all trivial to reduce, either by compression or lowering resolution.
Switch and Switch 2 also support ASTC texture compression, which allows for pretty granular control over memory footprint vs. quality. With ASTC, you can go between 0.89 to 8 bits per pixel (bpp), whereas with DirectX, your options are much more limited as you basically just have DXT1 (4 bpp) for RGB and BC7 (8 bpp) for RGBA.
Square Enix just didn't bother to optimize file size this time cause they were already committed to using GKCs from the get go. With a GKC, there is no incentive to optimize file size, since you are just putting the storage cost on the consumer.
The real reason Square Enix decided to go with GKC is money.
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Hisui25002 In this comparison video it looks totally fine in motion on the HDD. Biggest difference is the initial load time is much slower (~44 seconds vs. ~8 seconds).
In that video, the HDD has a read speed of around 100 MB/s, while the SSD has a read speed of about 550 MB/s. For the record, Switch 2 cartridges are supposed to have read speeds of about 400 MB/s, which is much closer to the speed of the SSD in the video than the HDD.
Also keep in mind that the Switch 2 version is only targeting 30 FPS, so there's a lot more time for streaming to finish compared to if it was running at 60 FPS.
It would have worked fine on a Switch 2 cartridge.
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Hisui25002 But you can still play Intergrade on a PC with a hard drive...
Re: Rumour: Red Dead Redemption 2 Port For Switch 2 Really Does "Exist", It's Claimed
Great news for fans of Game-Key Cards!
Re: Nintendo Goes Full Pixar In Strange New Animated Short Film, 'Close To You'
Fans: Nintendo isn't for babies!
Nintendo: (this video)
Re: Final Fantasy VII Remake Switch 2 Trailer Introduces Shinra, The Turks & Avalanche
Command
Let us know if you'll be picking up Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Switch 2 in the comments.
Response
I will not be picking up this game for my Switch 2 machine since it's on a Game-Key Card.
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Hisui25002 That absolutely does not apply to P3R. That would only potentially be a deal-breaker for massive open world games.
For the case of FFVII Remake where the devs claim that that's an issue, it's obviously BS since that game runs totally fine on PS4 (which has a hard drive that is slower than a Switch 2 cartridge) and on PCs using old-school hard drives.
Re: UK Charts: Mario Galaxy Starts Strong, But It Can't Topple Sony's Latest
@Mythra To be fair, when people refer to Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds as a "Mario Kart killer," they're not referring to sales. They're just saying that they think the game is more fun to play.
(For the record, I think I'll end up preferring Mario Kart World, though I need to actually play more of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds before I form a full opinion, but I'm waiting for the Switch 2 physical version.)
Re: Atlus Rules Out Persona 3 Reload Switch Port
@Wood_Stick "you don’t have more rights than I do. Do you?"
I didn't say I have more rights than you. Not sure where you're getting that from.
My point is, if the main issue you are complaining about is people complaining about GKCs, you can solve that for yourself by clicking the ignore button on people that frequently complain about GKCs. Then you will no longer see people complaining about GKCs! That solves your problem!
Of course, you are free to keep trying to convince me not to complain about GKCs, but you will never be successful. 😊
"And no it was not about gkc you turned it into that."
Allow me to explain in greater detail how this article relates to GKCs. The article mentions how P3R was under consideration for a Switch 1 release. Separately, as we all know, fake physical releases are way more common on Switch 2 than Switch 1. Therefore, by logical deduction, I concluded that if they would have followed through with a Switch 1 release, it likely would have gotten a real physical release, which I find more appealing than the Switch 2 version they are offering on a GKC.
Do you think people shouldn't be allowed to make logical deductions based on information presented in articles?
Re: Rumour: Silent Hill 2 May Be Coming To Switch 2 As Its Exclusivity Window Ends
@Blast16 🤣
Yes, I will only consider buying this if:
*It costs at least $90
*It releases on a GKC
*The GKC gives you access to a cloud version
*The game requires you to log in with a Konami account
*There are microtransactions
As a responsible consumer, I want to do my part to ensure that the game industry thrives and that the employees of the billion dollar corporations are able to feed their families. I want as little ownership over the products they sell as possible, that way when the services are shut down, I can continue supporting the corporations in the future when they eventually re-release these games through a new service.
Re: Hori's New Switch 2 Pad Lets You Lock The Home And Capture Buttons
I'm just waiting for Hori to make a left Joycon with a D-Pad. And hopefully this time it supports wireless, HD rumble, and gyro.
Re: SEGA Announces New Olympic Merch Collab, Reigniting Hopes Of A Mario & Sonic Comeback
@Megas75 Should have been Jet the Hawk!
Re: More Switch Games Get Switch 2 Compatibility Fixes
@TKundNobody Actually, speaking of MVG, you remember how a bunch of LRG's Carbon Engine titles had bugs on Switch 2? MVG is the guy who wrote the Carbon Engine. You can read LRG's statement on X about how they confirmed that the issue with their Carbon Engine titles was due to a bug in Nintendo's translation layer:
"We are aware that a handful of Carbon Engine Switch games currently have issues with the Switch 2's backwards compatibility. Thankfully, in the two weeks we have had development hardware for the Switch 2, we successfully located the culprit in code and have reported our findings to Nintendo.
We are hopeful that this will be addressed in a future backwards compatibility update, as we believe what we discovered may also be impacting games from other publishers.
In the meantime, we are preparing patches for a few titles that will roll out in the coming weeks"
Essentially, they found the issue and reported it to Nintendo, but since they weren't sure how quickly Nintendo would be able to fix the issue, they started working on a patch to work around the bug with Nintendo's translation layer.
However, as you can see from this more recent X post, LRG confirmed that Nintendo ultimately fixed the biggest issue with the translation layer affecting Carbon Engine titles in a system update.
Re: More Switch Games Get Switch 2 Compatibility Fixes
@TKundNobody "there are some videos out there explaining why some games don't work. The biggest culprit is a bad programming. if it were programmed correct without any tricks, it would work like all of the other games."
You are right that some Switch 1 games might be relying on "undefined behavior," as we say in the business, but I doubt that's the reason for all of the issues.
"if the translation layer would be faulty, a lot more games would not work. and that is not the case."
But there are a lot of games with issues on Switch 2, including many that Nintendo doesn't officially acknowledge on their website. Heck, I've also noticed many small graphical issues in various games (ex: upside down textures, which is a classic problem you see with with engines having to handle different graphics APIs: some assume the origin is in the top left, while others assume it is in the bottom left).
It's extremely common for software to have bugs that aren't ever encountered by many users cause they only manifest with a specific combination of conditions that not all users will rely on.
"if Nintendo tries to "fix" the translation layer for those few games the risk to cause problems for other games is there."
But that's exactly what Nintendo just did for the games listed in this article! They fixed issues in the translation layer that were affecting these 5 games and now their issues are (supposedly) fixed! Nintendo has been releasing fixes for Switch 2 BC in each system update ever since the Switch launched!
"and btw. the translation layer is only the half truth of how the backwards compatibility works here. I would suggest to watch the video of MVG how it really works. Was a very interesting video."
I've seen his video.
Re: Review: Disgaea 7 Complete (Switch 2) - A Definitive Return For This Tactical RPG Giant
@Zeebor15 He's a massive NIS fan? Really?
Re: Yooka-Replaylee Physical Confirmed For December, Includes Extra Goodies
Will pick this up as one of the few real physical Switch 2 games.
Re: Review: Disgaea 7 Complete (Switch 2) - A Definitive Return For This Tactical RPG Giant
@Zeebor15 Yep, NISA has a disproportionally high amount fans that are physical collectors. And they really cultivated this audience by including all the extra goodies in even their normal retail physical releases while offering fancy special editions through their online store.
But they've really shot themselves in the foot by embracing GKCs. And now their fans are rejecting them. This game comes out 5 days, but NISA is still sitting on 100% of the stock for their special edition.
Re: Video: SEGA Shares "First Look" At Yakuza Kiwami 3's Combat Gameplay
@Solid_Python The problem is on Switch 1 fake physical releases were the exception, not the rule. So we'd complain about those individual releases, and then move on.
On Switch 2, fake physical releases are the standard. It's an epidemic. That's why the backlash is much stronger.
Also, your FFX/X-2 example isn't great, cause all the hardcore physical fans know you can import that from SE Asia to get a complete physical version. 😉
Also, some of those collections you listed had at least some of the games complete on the cartridge (for example, the Mega Man Legacy Collection, which is part 1 on the cartridge and part 2 as a download code). So for me, releases like that were worth picking up at half price (Put 1/2 of the games on the cartridge? Then I'll only pay 1/2 of the price at max.) Whereas with GKCs on Switch 2, you literally get nothing on the cartridge.
Re: Video: SEGA Shares "First Look" At Yakuza Kiwami 3's Combat Gameplay
@CaptainCluck I don't even think that many people here genuinely love GKCs. It's just there's a lot of Nintendo fanboys who will bend over backwards to defend Nintendo no matter what.
Re: More Switch Games Get Switch 2 Compatibility Fixes
@TKundNobody "there is only a low percentage of third part games that don’t run properly."
There is a fairly large number of relevant games that have issues on Switch 2. Talking about percentages is misleading cause it's being bloated by all the eShop shovelware. And the games with issues are under-reported, as you can see in this very thread people are pointing out issues in games that Nintendo does not officially acknowledge on their website. Heck, probably a lot of the eShop shovelware has issues too, but we'll probably never know cause no one cares about games like "Hentai Party: Cyber Girls" or "Bodycam Shooter 2025" (just 2 random shovelware games that came out last week).
"Nintendo can’t fix their party games. They don’t have the code. And would be too big task with over 10.000 games.
If you had informed yourself you would have known how the backward compatibility works and why some games have issues."
I think you need to be informed about how backwards compatibility works. The games have bugs when played on Switch 2 due to bugs in Nintendo's Switch 1 to Switch 2 translation layer, not the games' code. These bugs are Nintendo's fault. That's why Nintendo is able to fix these bugs when they release fixes to the translation layer in these system updates. They don't need the source of the 3rd party games to fix the issues. Sure, 3rd party devs could try to work around the bugs in Nintendo's translation layer, but they shouldn't have to.
Re: More Switch Games Get Switch 2 Compatibility Fixes
Oh nice, Ultra Age has a fix. My brother was trying to play that and it was consistently crashing after playing for around 10 minutes on Switch 2. Hopefully that's what this fix is for.
Though unfortunately, still a pretty small list of fixes considering how many game out there still have issues on Switch 2. Hopefully Nintendo continues to chip away at the issues till everything is fixed...
Re: Poll: So, Did You Get Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 For Switch?
Gonna wait for a sale on the physical. $70 is a bit pricey for such basic ports.