The Games That Would Benefit Most From A Switch 2 Performance Update

Excitement and concerns stir all around as Nintendo fans prepare themselves for the future of Nintendo’s next hybrid console, the successor to the massively popular Nintendo Switch.

After being confirmed to be backward compatible by Shuntaro Furukawa, we have been speculating what games could potentially get remastered updates. From beloved iconic titles to ones that need the extra juice from new hardware, Nintendo has a huge backlog to work through if they want to enhance their greatest games.

10

The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom

Echoes Of A Stable Frame Rate

Being released seven years after a console’s launch means that your game needs to compromise on graphics and frame rate, or it will just struggle to run well. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, unfortunately, leans towards the latter, being a beautiful game with innovative gameplay but having massive frame drops almost constantly.

Echoes of Wisdom is a phenomenal 2D action game, but the performance issues just leave a bad taste in your mouth. No doubt Nintendo knows this and perhaps even have a patch ready for when the Switch 2 launches. We just want to see the game be more playable.

9

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Remaster The Remake Already Nintendo!

What’s better than the greatest Mario RPG ever getting a full-on remake? Said remake being brought over to a more powerful system that can help it look even better. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was one of the most requested remakes of all time because of its fun turn-based battles and a bucket load of charm.

It is still one of the most enjoyable RPGs out there, and we need it to stick around for another console generation. The updated art style and visuals already look fantastic, but they could be pushed even further with the Switch’s successor to make this remake truly the ultimate version of the beloved title.

8

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

We Didn’t Forget You, Ardanian Soldiers

Launching a game during a brand-new console’s first year comes with some setbacks, as development teams have yet to learn the limitations of the system. The Xenoblade Chronicles series has been releasing amazing JRPGs on the Switch since year one, but the first release with Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had some optimization flaws.

The breathtaking Alrest does not deserve to be running at 30FPS or having an appallingly bad resolution in specific areas. In handheld mode, especially, the graphics become blurry and hard to look at. Xenoblade 2 deserves to reach the same graphical heights as the other three Xenoblade titles, and the makings for that are here already.

7

Splatoon 3

Disconnecting From Peer-To-Peer Matchmaking

Nintendo’s color-filled third-person shooter series is inking into the past in its next entry, but while we wait, it would be great to see Splatoon 3 enhanced to tide us over. We have seen in pre-release footage that the lighting engine and level of detail looked much higher quality than the final game, and this left fans begging for the game to look that good on the next console.

You may be hoping that it could get an update, as it does struggle with slowdown in certain modes. The biggest issue, however, is with its peer-to-peer matchmaking, which needs to be upgraded to dedicated servers. One tiny issue with better performance is that this could lead to an advantage for those on the newer hardware, like we saw with Marvel Rivals.

6

Kirby And The Forgotten Land

Mario Would Be Jealous

Kirby has been a roller coaster of a series throughout the Switch’s life cycle, and while Kirby Star Allies struggles with performance in certain sections, we would much prefer to see Kirby And The Forgotten Land be remastered. Forgotten Land is Kirby’s first proper foray into the third dimension, and it does this with flying colors.

Simple yet refined platforming with pink puffed-up charm is found in every corner of this relaxing adventure. It may already look cute on the Switch with vibrant colors and a solid 30 FPS, but Kirby has been stuck at this frame rate for such a long time now and the few games that do aim for 60 FPS are a blessing.

5

The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

Rest In Hyrule To Our Frame Destroying Zonai Creations

The iconic game TLoZ: Tears of the Kingdom has stunned millions with its expansive, rich, open world that builds and adds to the Hyrule we are all familiar with from Breath of the Wild. The gorgeous world alone makes us really want to be able to explore it on a more powerful system, but it also needs some slight performance upgrades.

Tears of the Kingdom has a pretty visual style that is a treat to look at, making it one of the best looking games on the Switch. Even compared to other consoles, it still holds strong. With very simple tweaks and a higher frame rate, it will go from incredible to a true masterpiece.

4

Bayonetta 3

Fluttering To A New Console For More Witch Time

Bayonetta 3 was developed by Platinum Games, and the series is owned by Sega. However, it was funded and published by Nintendo.

The third entry in the stylish Bayonetta series is a great game that deserves to get more love. The intense, over-the-top action and engaging story really set it apart from other action games. The scope and scale of the Kaju-like fights are a highlight, and we wish more of these action-packed moments of gameplay were able to run smoothly.

If Platinum Games ever releases it on other platforms, they would need to create an updated version of the game. So perhaps the Switch version could receive the same care on the successor console.

3

Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity

A New Age Of The Switch

While many die-hard Zelda fans dislike Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity due to its questionable story choices, it still stands as a great game to play if you like other Zelda titles. Warriors titles involve you fighting giant hordes of enemies in action gameplay. This tanks the frame rate on a little potato of a system like the Switch down to lower than 30 FPS.

An update can’t fix Age of Calamity’s story issues, but it can definitely fix the performance issues. Its two-player mode is nearly unplayable due to how much of a slideshow the game becomes. It really needs to be brought up to speed with better hardware so that more fans can enjoy how much of a great Zelda spin-off it is.

2

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Do We Even Need To Write Anything For This One?

You could have seen this one coming before even knowing this list existed. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are infamously some of the worst-performing games on the Switch that everyone talks about. Constant pop-in, unstable frame rate, and weird rendering issues are abundant. The Paldea region was clearly rushed, but it still deserves a second chance.

The issues cannot all be fixed by better hardware alone; other open-world RPG masterpieces exist and look fine on the Switch. Unless Game Freak has the time to actually fix the many technical issues found in what is otherwise one of the most fun modern Pokemon titles, Scarlet & Violet will just be remembered as the lowest point of the series.

1

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

A Tactical Master Class Brought Down By JPG Fruit Visuals

One of Nintendo’s very best strategy RPGs of all time, Fire Emblem: Three Houses has a cast that has stuck with us to this day. The blend of social elements with tactical gameplay is encased in a deep story. Three Houses just struggle with an art style that gets held back by the limitations of the Nintendo toaster.

The next entry in the series, Fire Emblem: Engage, showed us how gorgeous and well a Fire Emblem game can be done on the Switch alone. With its huge fan base and beloved world, Three Houses should be updated to make it look better and run better.