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It's astonishing, but we're nearly at the new Switch 2 console's six-month milestone. When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases on the fourth of December, we can provide the system a fairly thorough evaluation based on its strong lineup of first-party early titles. Heavy hitters like Donkey Kong Bananza will lead that analysis, but it's two newest Nintendo titles, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and currently Age of Imprisonment, that have enabled the Switch 2 pass a crucial test in its opening six months: the performance test.

Addressing Hardware Issues

Before Nintendo officially announced the successor system, the primary worry from players around the hypothetical device was regarding performance. Regarding hardware, Nintendo has lagged behind PlayStation and Xbox for several generations. This situation was evident in the Switch's final years. The hope was that a successor would deliver smoother performance, better graphics, and modern capabilities like 4K. That's exactly what we got when the console was released in June. Or that's what its specs indicated, for the most part. To accurately assess if the upgraded system is an upgrade, we'd need to see major titles performing on the hardware. We now have that evidence over the last two weeks, and the assessment is favorable.

The Pokémon Title serving as Initial Challenge

The system's initial big challenge came with last month's the new Pokémon game. The franchise had well-known technical problems on the first Switch, with games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet releasing in downright disastrous states. The console itself didn't bear all the responsibility for that; the actual engine running the Pokémon titles was old and being pushed much further than it could go in the franchise's move to open-world. This installment would be a bigger examination for its developer than any other factor, but there remained much we'd be able to glean from the title's graphics and its operation on the upgraded hardware.

While the game's basic graphics has sparked discussions about the developer's skills, it's undeniable that this Pokémon game is nowhere near the tech disaster of its preceding game, Arceus. It operates at a smooth 60 frames on the new console, whereas the original console maxes out at 30 fps. Objects still appear suddenly, and you'll find various fuzzy textures if you zoom in, but you won't experience anything similar to the situation in Arceus where you first take to the skies and observe the entire ground below become a jagged, polygonal surface. That qualifies to give the system some passing marks, but with caveats since Game Freak has independent issues that exacerbate restricted capabilities.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment serving as a More Challenging Hardware Challenge

We now have a more demanding performance examination, yet, because of the new Hyrule Warriors, launched earlier this month. This Zelda derivative challenges the upgraded system due to its action-oriented style, which has gamers battling a literal army of monsters continuously. The series' previous game, the previous Hyrule Warriors, had issues on the initial console as the hardware struggled with its quick combat and density of things happening. It often fell below its target 30fps and gave the impression that you were pushing too hard when being too aggressive.

Thankfully is that it too succeeds the tech test. After playing the title extensively during the past month, experiencing every level available. Throughout this testing, the results show that it achieves a more stable framerate versus its previous game, reaching its 60 frames target with better regularity. It can still slip up in the fiercest fights, but I've yet to hit any time when I'm suddenly watching a stuttering mess as the framerate chugs. Some of this could be because of the situation where its short levels are structured to prevent excessive numbers of foes on the battlefield concurrently.

Significant Compromises and General Evaluation

Present are expected limitations. Most notably, shared-screen play experiences a noticeable decrease near thirty frames. It's also the initial Nintendo-developed title where it's apparent a significant contrast between my old OLED display and the updated LCD screen, with notably in story sequences appearing less vibrant.

However generally, Age of Imprisonment is a dramatic improvement over its predecessor, just as Z-A is to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Should you require any sign that the new console is fulfilling its hardware potential, despite some limitations still in tow, the two releases demonstrate effectively of how the Switch 2 is significantly improving titles that performed poorly on old hardware.