The gaming tech focused team at Digital Foundry have been examining Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and come away relatively impressed by what they have played compared to the game played on the original Nintendo Switch system. In their closing statement Digital Foundry says that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 offers “a polished, high-quality experience that fixes almost all the original’s technical gripes.” So that’s reason enough to invest in the upgrade. Here’s a few choice cuts from Digital Foundry:
“The bulk of the visual improvements here seem to come from temporal upscaling – which is obvious from the Switch 2 Edition’s 720p internal resolution and jittery behaviour on camera cuts. But edges have a subtle sharpness – and in-surface details a certain subtle softness – that makes me wonder if a smart spatial upscaler is being used, as was apparent in the Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch 2 Edition. These two techniques would work in concert then to address the game’s 4K output – though Xenoblade Chronicles 2 still doesn’t deliver true 4K clarity.”
“Performance marks another massive upgrade over the original release. Where the Switch 1 version often struggled to maintain 30fps – frequently dipping into the 20s during traversal or cutscenes – the Switch 2 Edition targets 60fps. While not perfect, with minor frame drops occurring during alpha-heavy cutscene moments or traversal, the overall experience is much smoother, creating a more responsive and enjoyable gameplay loop. The game seems to use double buffer v-sync, causing frame-rates to dive to 30fps if a succession of frames go over budget.”
“Handheld performance is also pretty good, hitting 60fps with some dips here and there. It’s perceptually a bit smoother than the docked experience, which could speak to VRR use.”
Nintendo, get panic button to do these ports. It’s really annoying to see such nice upgrades get ruined by that soft upscaler. At least it’s not as bad as the X switch 2 edition.
I miss Panic Button 😪.
It would be nice if Panic Button help Nintendo out with this port development to smooth the graphics and animations to fixed the problem.
Panic Button is known more for their ports to weaker platforms (Wolfenstein, Doom, etc. on Switch). I don’t think we’ve seen them enhancing a game, so idk if they are the best choice for this.
They actually worked on the switch 2 update for super mario odyssey.
Oh. Fair enough.
So, in other words, this doe snot do much at all for the 10 dollar price. I invested in the X and Chronicles 1 upgrades to Switch 2 and thought both were pretty substandard. Adding modes and other items would increase the reason to buy these and they seem to not even do that well enough. Saw the same exact thing with the PS5 after I bought it. All these upgrades to the PS5 version and performance and it was all a scam to make more money for little effort into a product. Done with investing in these upgrades with no return on investment. Same goes for these DLC packs to be let down in the end by the content.
Umm, no it’s still rather substantial. Xenoblade 2 looks like ass on a Switch 2 with very low resolution and fidelity. The Switch 2 edition at the very least makes ups the resolution and framerate to a more modern look. It’s still not the absolute best, sure, but it’s without a doubt an improvement over the base game. Whether or not you find it worth $10 charge I won’t argue because that’s totally subjective and your own call. For me it’s absolutely worth it.
Seriously though, you should take a look at actual video comparisons rather than just read about the changes in text. The difference is light and day.
I have a comparison video here in case that guy reads your comment.
Well, when will people understand that video games are not products?
So I’ve been wanting to get into Fire Emblem for a while. I’ve never actually even played a strategy game like this before, unless you count Pikmin …