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Differences range from "nonexistent" to "subtle" to "night and day."
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening running on the Switch 2 in docked mode. A free update has made it run smoother, at a higher resolution than on the original Switch. Credit: Andrew Cunningham
The Nintendo Switch 2 is launching with a handful of new games, but for many of the people getting one this week, the main thing to play on it is software made for the original Switch.
We’ve known for months that the Switch 2 would maintain backward compatibility with the vast majority of Switch games, but one major question was whether the Switch 2’s improved hardware would benefit older Switch games in some way. Especially in recent years, first- and third-party Switch games have struggled with the original system’s aging Nvidia chipset, which was already a bit dated when the system came out in 2017.
After a day or so of testing various Switch games on the Switch 2, we can report firsthand that Switch games can look dramatically better on the new system. For games that Nintendo has taken the trouble to update—those with Switch 2 upgrade packs and those with free updates—players can expect higher resolutions, better frame rates, less texture and character pop-in, and smoother animations all around. Even games that haven’t been updated for the Switch 2 can run a bit more consistently on the new systems, though games without Switch 2-specific updates don’t improve as much as games with updates.
What follows is far from a comprehensive list of how every Switch game will perform on the Switch 2. But if you were someone frustrated by the Switch’s performance who hoped a new console could help some of these older games, the news for you is almost universally good.
The types of Switch 2 game updates
Based on what we've played so far, I would separate Nintendo Switch games running on the Switch 2 into four broad categories:
We'll go over the kinds of improvements we noticed one category at a time. Video and most screenshots were captured with an Elgato 4K X USB capture device, though some screenshots were taken directly from the console for handheld mode observations. When docked, screenshots and videos are at 4K for the Switch 2 and 1080p for the Switch, and Switch 1 screenshots have been upscaled to show detail.
Switch 2 Editions
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 1, docked.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 2 Edition, docked. You'll never want to look at the old version again.
These games cost money and explicitly promise to make huge improvements, so it should be no surprise that running the Switch 2 Edition of Tears of the Kingdom feels like running a different game. Resolutions are clearly higher, and frame rates, even in challenging sections of the game like Kakariko Village, are stable and smooth, as our captured videos clearly show.
Highlighted free updates
I spent the most time looking at three different titles Nintendo updated—Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Violet, and Link's Awakening—and what's impressive is that these games also feel kind of like Switch 2 Editions.
Pokémon Violet, Switch 1, docked.
Pokémon Violet, Switch 2, docked.
Pokémon shows the most dramatic improvement, and this free update should probably be considered a Switch 2 Edition upgrade that is being given out for free as an apology for how poorly these games run on the original Switch. Compare our sample footage from the Switch and Switch 2 and you'll immediately notice the difference in frame rate (from sub-30 to a mostly stable 60), resolution, and texture pop-in. Character models in the distance no longer animate at a lower frame rate than those in the foreground. There's still quite a bit of pop-in, and the game's occasionally ugly textures and geometry are still intact, but it's dramatically more pleasant to play than it used to be.
For games that ran mostly fine on the original Switch, the upgrades are more subtle but still impressive. Compare these detailed screenshots from the Switch and Switch 2 running Mario Odyssey.
Here's Mario Odyssey running in docked mode on the Switch, zoomed for detail.
Here it is running on the Switch 2 in docked mode, at a much higher resolution. See the textures on the doodads in the background, on the red pillow, on the floor, and on Mario's clothes.
Here's Mario Odyssey running in docked mode on the Switch, zoomed for detail.
Here it is running on the Switch 2 in docked mode, at a much higher resolution. See the textures on the doodads in the background, on the red pillow, on the floor, and on Mario's clothes.
Mario, docked on the Switch 1 again. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
Mario, docked on the Switch 1 again. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
And for fun, here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 1. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
And for fun, here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 1. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
If the Switch isn't running these games at native 4K, it's definitely rendering them at a higher resolution than the Switch is capable of. New texture details in Mario's clothing and furniture are more clearly visible. There's also a screenshot from the Switch 2 running in handheld mode—it's a little harder to tell because the compression artifacts are worse, but if you zoom in on fine details, you can see that the game looks better in handheld mode on Switch 2 than it looks while it's docked on the Switch 1. And the comparison to the 720p Switch 1 in handheld mode is pretty close to night and day.
Link's Awakening, Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, handheld. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, handheld. Andrew Cunningham
It's pretty much the same story for Link's Awakening. Fine detail is much more visible, and the 3D is less aliased-looking because the Switch 2 is running the game at a higher resolution. Even the fairly aggressive background blur the game uses looks toned down on the Switch 2.
Link's Awakening on the Switch 1, docked.
Link's Awakening on the Switch 2, docked.
The videos of these games aren't quite as obviously impressive as the Pokémon ones, but they give you a sense of the higher resolution on the Switch 2 and the way that the Switch's small endemic frame rate hiccups are no longer a problem.
Quiet updates
For the last two categories of games, we won't be waxing as poetic about the graphical improvements because there aren't many. In fact, some of these games we played looked ever-so-subtly worse on the Switch 2 in handheld mode, likely a side effect of a 720p handheld-mode image being upscaled to the Switch 2's 1080p native resolution.
Kirby Star Allies doesn't get a big upgrade. Here it is on the Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Switch 2, docked. The 3D looks basically the same, but note that the 2D labels here are much sharper. Andrew Cunningham
Kirby Star Allies doesn't get a big upgrade. Here it is on the Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Switch 2, docked. The 3D looks basically the same, but note that the 2D labels here are much sharper. Andrew Cunningham
That said, we still noticed minor graphical improvements. In Kirby Star Allies, for example, the 3D elements in the picture looked mostly the same, with roughly the same resolution, same textures, and similar overall frame rates. But 2D elements of the UI did still seem to be aware that the console is outputting a 4K image and are visibly sharper as a result.
Games without updates
If you were hoping that all games would get some kind of "free" resolution or frame rate boost from the Switch 2, that mostly doesn't happen. Games like Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe and Pokémon Legends Arceus, neither of which got any kind of Switch 2-specific update, look mostly identical on both consoles. If you get right up close and do some pixel peeping, you can occasionally see places where outputting a 4K image instead of a 1080p image will look better on a 4K TV, but it's nothing like what we saw in the other games we tested.
Pokémon Legends Arceus, Switch 1, docked.
Pokémon Legends Arceus, Switch 2, docked.
However, it does seem that the Switch 2 may help out somewhat in terms of performance consistency. Observe the footage of a character running around town in Pokémon Legends—the resolution, draw distance, and overall frame rate all look pretty much the same. But the minor frame rate dips and hitches you see on the Switch 1 seem to have been at least partially addressed on the Switch 2. Your mileage will vary, of course. But you may encounter cases where a game targeting a stable 30 fps on the Switch 1 will hit that 30 fps with a bit more consistency on the Switch 2.
Not all Switch games are handling the transition smoothly; some games will need updates before they run at all, to say nothing of visual or functional enhancements. Nintendo has completed basic compatibility testing for the Switch 2 and has posted the results here; most games should run fine, but the company has listed those that need fixes.
Regardless, it's clear that game developers that put in the work can significantly improve their Switch releases on the Switch 2 without breaking compatibility with the original console. It's unclear how much work it is for a given developer to make these changes, but hopefully, we'll see more third-party releases get updates that take advantage of the new console, since any game made for the original Switch can still net developers a sale if someone buys it for the Switch 2.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening running on the Switch 2 in docked mode. A free update has made it run smoother, at a higher resolution than on the original Switch. Credit: Andrew Cunningham
The Nintendo Switch 2 is launching with a handful of new games, but for many of the people getting one this week, the main thing to play on it is software made for the original Switch.
We’ve known for months that the Switch 2 would maintain backward compatibility with the vast majority of Switch games, but one major question was whether the Switch 2’s improved hardware would benefit older Switch games in some way. Especially in recent years, first- and third-party Switch games have struggled with the original system’s aging Nvidia chipset, which was already a bit dated when the system came out in 2017.
After a day or so of testing various Switch games on the Switch 2, we can report firsthand that Switch games can look dramatically better on the new system. For games that Nintendo has taken the trouble to update—those with Switch 2 upgrade packs and those with free updates—players can expect higher resolutions, better frame rates, less texture and character pop-in, and smoother animations all around. Even games that haven’t been updated for the Switch 2 can run a bit more consistently on the new systems, though games without Switch 2-specific updates don’t improve as much as games with updates.
What follows is far from a comprehensive list of how every Switch game will perform on the Switch 2. But if you were someone frustrated by the Switch’s performance who hoped a new console could help some of these older games, the news for you is almost universally good.
The types of Switch 2 game updates
Based on what we've played so far, I would separate Nintendo Switch games running on the Switch 2 into four broad categories:
- Games with paid updates, aka "Switch 2 Editions." The most obvious kind of game update, these $10 or $20 packs explicitly promise to improve resolutions and frame rates of old Switch 1 games running on the Switch 2, and occasionally add other DLC-style content besides. This list includes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and a few others. Once the update has been applied, the system sees these as full-fledged Switch 2 games.
- Games with free updates that Nintendo has highlighted. Nintendo has published a page of around a dozen specific, named Switch titles that have already gotten free updates to improve their compatibility with the Switch 2 in some way. The size of the changes varies a lot from game to game, and the console still lists them as original Switch games. But the games run significantly differently on the Switch 2. This list includes Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and a few others.
- Games with quiet updates. On June 3, Nintendo released a slew of updates to a few first-party games that all list "adjustments... made to improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2." Occasionally, as with Pikmin 3 Deluxe, these updates fix a specific compatibility problem. But they're mostly pretty vague, and they don't make the same performance promises as the games Nintendo highlighted. Games include Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Kirby Star Allies, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and others.
- Games with zero updates. These games have no awareness that they're running on the Switch 2 and have received no specific update mentioning the Switch 2.
We'll go over the kinds of improvements we noticed one category at a time. Video and most screenshots were captured with an Elgato 4K X USB capture device, though some screenshots were taken directly from the console for handheld mode observations. When docked, screenshots and videos are at 4K for the Switch 2 and 1080p for the Switch, and Switch 1 screenshots have been upscaled to show detail.
Switch 2 Editions
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 1, docked.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 2 Edition, docked. You'll never want to look at the old version again.
These games cost money and explicitly promise to make huge improvements, so it should be no surprise that running the Switch 2 Edition of Tears of the Kingdom feels like running a different game. Resolutions are clearly higher, and frame rates, even in challenging sections of the game like Kakariko Village, are stable and smooth, as our captured videos clearly show.
Highlighted free updates
I spent the most time looking at three different titles Nintendo updated—Super Mario Odyssey, Pokémon Violet, and Link's Awakening—and what's impressive is that these games also feel kind of like Switch 2 Editions.
Pokémon Violet, Switch 1, docked.
Pokémon Violet, Switch 2, docked.
Pokémon shows the most dramatic improvement, and this free update should probably be considered a Switch 2 Edition upgrade that is being given out for free as an apology for how poorly these games run on the original Switch. Compare our sample footage from the Switch and Switch 2 and you'll immediately notice the difference in frame rate (from sub-30 to a mostly stable 60), resolution, and texture pop-in. Character models in the distance no longer animate at a lower frame rate than those in the foreground. There's still quite a bit of pop-in, and the game's occasionally ugly textures and geometry are still intact, but it's dramatically more pleasant to play than it used to be.
For games that ran mostly fine on the original Switch, the upgrades are more subtle but still impressive. Compare these detailed screenshots from the Switch and Switch 2 running Mario Odyssey.
Here's Mario Odyssey running in docked mode on the Switch, zoomed for detail.
Here it is running on the Switch 2 in docked mode, at a much higher resolution. See the textures on the doodads in the background, on the red pillow, on the floor, and on Mario's clothes.
Here's Mario Odyssey running in docked mode on the Switch, zoomed for detail.
Here it is running on the Switch 2 in docked mode, at a much higher resolution. See the textures on the doodads in the background, on the red pillow, on the floor, and on Mario's clothes.
Mario, docked on the Switch 1 again. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
Mario, docked on the Switch 1 again. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
And for fun, here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 1. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
And for fun, here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 1. Andrew Cunningham
Here it is in handheld mode on the Switch 2. Andrew Cunningham
If the Switch isn't running these games at native 4K, it's definitely rendering them at a higher resolution than the Switch is capable of. New texture details in Mario's clothing and furniture are more clearly visible. There's also a screenshot from the Switch 2 running in handheld mode—it's a little harder to tell because the compression artifacts are worse, but if you zoom in on fine details, you can see that the game looks better in handheld mode on Switch 2 than it looks while it's docked on the Switch 1. And the comparison to the 720p Switch 1 in handheld mode is pretty close to night and day.
Link's Awakening, Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, handheld. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts. Andrew Cunningham
Link's Awakening, Switch 2, handheld. Andrew Cunningham
It's pretty much the same story for Link's Awakening. Fine detail is much more visible, and the 3D is less aliased-looking because the Switch 2 is running the game at a higher resolution. Even the fairly aggressive background blur the game uses looks toned down on the Switch 2.
Link's Awakening on the Switch 1, docked.
Link's Awakening on the Switch 2, docked.
The videos of these games aren't quite as obviously impressive as the Pokémon ones, but they give you a sense of the higher resolution on the Switch 2 and the way that the Switch's small endemic frame rate hiccups are no longer a problem.
Quiet updates
For the last two categories of games, we won't be waxing as poetic about the graphical improvements because there aren't many. In fact, some of these games we played looked ever-so-subtly worse on the Switch 2 in handheld mode, likely a side effect of a 720p handheld-mode image being upscaled to the Switch 2's 1080p native resolution.
Kirby Star Allies doesn't get a big upgrade. Here it is on the Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Switch 2, docked. The 3D looks basically the same, but note that the 2D labels here are much sharper. Andrew Cunningham
Kirby Star Allies doesn't get a big upgrade. Here it is on the Switch 1, docked. Andrew Cunningham
Switch 2, docked. The 3D looks basically the same, but note that the 2D labels here are much sharper. Andrew Cunningham
That said, we still noticed minor graphical improvements. In Kirby Star Allies, for example, the 3D elements in the picture looked mostly the same, with roughly the same resolution, same textures, and similar overall frame rates. But 2D elements of the UI did still seem to be aware that the console is outputting a 4K image and are visibly sharper as a result.
Games without updates
If you were hoping that all games would get some kind of "free" resolution or frame rate boost from the Switch 2, that mostly doesn't happen. Games like Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe and Pokémon Legends Arceus, neither of which got any kind of Switch 2-specific update, look mostly identical on both consoles. If you get right up close and do some pixel peeping, you can occasionally see places where outputting a 4K image instead of a 1080p image will look better on a 4K TV, but it's nothing like what we saw in the other games we tested.
Pokémon Legends Arceus, Switch 1, docked.
Pokémon Legends Arceus, Switch 2, docked.
However, it does seem that the Switch 2 may help out somewhat in terms of performance consistency. Observe the footage of a character running around town in Pokémon Legends—the resolution, draw distance, and overall frame rate all look pretty much the same. But the minor frame rate dips and hitches you see on the Switch 1 seem to have been at least partially addressed on the Switch 2. Your mileage will vary, of course. But you may encounter cases where a game targeting a stable 30 fps on the Switch 1 will hit that 30 fps with a bit more consistency on the Switch 2.
Not all Switch games are handling the transition smoothly; some games will need updates before they run at all, to say nothing of visual or functional enhancements. Nintendo has completed basic compatibility testing for the Switch 2 and has posted the results here; most games should run fine, but the company has listed those that need fixes.
Regardless, it's clear that game developers that put in the work can significantly improve their Switch releases on the Switch 2 without breaking compatibility with the original console. It's unclear how much work it is for a given developer to make these changes, but hopefully, we'll see more third-party releases get updates that take advantage of the new console, since any game made for the original Switch can still net developers a sale if someone buys it for the Switch 2.
