The 15 Nintendo Switch games that should get a Switch 2 upgrade

Many games run better on Switch 2 than on the original Nintendo Switch, so why haven’t games including Astral Chain and Luigi’s Mansion 3 had the same treatment?

While the Nintendo Switch 2 currently only has a few exclusives to call its own, it has become the new best place for experiencing Switch 1 games.

Aside from the new (paid-for) upgrades for the likes of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, a range of free updates mean other games, including Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, run much better than they did on the original Switch. Some even have boosted frame rates, just through backwards compatibility and without any need for an update, paid or otherwise.

However, not every game benefits from running on the newer hardware, as we discovered when testing a handful of them. There’s no obvious pattern as to what games run better or not, so here’s a here’s a list of the Switch 1 games that would benefit the most from a free upgrade.

Astral Chain

When it comes to PlatinumGames’ gameography, it feels like Astral Chain often gets overlooked, which is a crying shame as it’s a fantastic action game that revels in its absurd futuristic cop aesthetic.

While we’re always happy to revisit it, we’re still disappointed that, unlike Bayonetta 3, its choppy frame rate doesn’t automatically bump up to 60 frames per second when running on Switch 2.

If the rumoured Astral Chain 2 is never going to arrive, the least Nintendo could do is imbue the original game with some new life.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses & Fire Emblem Engage

As the best-selling entry in Nintendo’s medieval tactical role-playing series, we’re a little surprised Fire Emblem: Three Houses hasn’t even seen a simple update that touches up its visuals on the Switch 2.

There is a notable improvement to the overall performance, but it’s still locked to 30fps and while a smoother frame rate isn’t entirely necessary for a game with turn-based combat, it could stand to offset Three Houses’ low-tech graphics.

The same thing goes for Fire Emblem Engage, which we actually preferred to Three Houses but which only gets faster loading times as a result of being played on the Switch 2. Weirdly, it’s the Three Hopes Musou spin-off that benefits the most on Switch 2 with a vastly superior frame rate.

Luigi’s Mansion 3

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is probably the best-looking game on the original Switch, so much so that it doesn’t really need a Switch 2 update. And yet we can’t help but want it to look and run even better.

While the graphics certainly don’t need touching up, we wouldn’t say no to seeing the visuals optimised for the Switch 2’s new display, as well as support for HDR and 60fps.

If not, then Nintendo better at least let Next Level Games make a Luigi’s Mansion 4 for the new console, which, to be fair, is probably exactly what they are doing, as the developer has not been heard from for a while now.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

You may not remember this, but back in 2023, long before the Switch 2 even had an official name, Ubisoft expressed regret about not waiting till Nintendo’s next console to launch strategy game sequel Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. It even indicated it wanted to update the game once the Switch 2 was out.

Whether it meant with a full re-release or a single upgrade, Ubisoft seems to have either forgotten or abandoned those plans, because the strategy sequel runs no better on Switch 2 than it did on Switch 1 – and yet weirdly the first Mario + Rabbids game does, boasting a new frame rate of 60fps.

We certainly hope Ubisoft revisits the idea because Sparks Of Hope is genuinely one of the best strategy games out there and its excellent graphics would benefit from an improved frame rate.

Monster Hunter Rise

Monster Hunter Wilds is the current hotness, but as it’s only available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, Nintendo Switch owners have to make do with the previous entry, Monster Hunter Rise.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing since Monster Hunter Rise is still an excellent game on Switch, but it remains locked to 30fps whereas other versions can reach upwards of 120fps.

On Switch 2, the frame rate is certainly more stable and load times are faster, but a dedicated patch to boost the frame rate wouldn’t go a miss, until Capcom releases a new Monster Hunter for the console.

NieR:Automata

Thanks to the 2022 Switch port of NieR:Automata, Nintendo fans finally got to experience not only one of PlatinumGames’ best action games, but one of the best modern action role-players.

Unfortunately, it came with an obvious caveat: a frame rate of 30fps. It was probably unavoidable, just to get the game running on Nintendo’s hardware, but we had hoped this would be addressed when playing the game on Switch 2, since the low frame rate doesn’t do its fast-paced combat justice.

Even if it never gets a 60fps upgrade though, NieR:Automata is one of several games that suffers from progress-blocking issues and crashes when running on Switch 2. At the time of writing, Square Enix is still looking into it, so hopefully those problems are addressed with a patch.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

It’s still baffling that Nintendo stopped post-launch support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons so quickly, despite it being a prime candidate for the fabled ‘forever’ game many other companies continue to chase.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not seen any real updates to coincide with the Switch 2, although load times are faster. It admittedly doesn’t need a smoother frame rate given its status as a slower-paced life simulator, but some enhancements to its graphics and resolution would be appreciated.

Even so, we doubt this is a priority within Nintendo, as it’s far more likely to be planning a brand new Animal Crossing tailor-made for Switch 2.

Persona 5 Royal

The Switch version of Persona 5 Royal is a perfectly viable way of experiencing one of the best Japanese role-players ever made, but like other ports it came with some graphical compromises.

Aside from being locked to 30fps, some pre-rendered backgrounds and textures are notably of low quality, and the resolution is capped to just over 720p when docked, dropping further in handheld mode and making the whole game look unpleasently blurry.

It’s a real shame since Persona 5 Royal is famous for its striking visuals and art style. With the Switch 2 capable of supporting 1080p resolutions and frame rates of 60fps, it’s even more of a shame that Persona 5 Royal looks and runs no different on the new console.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have benefitted tremendously from running on the Switch 2, thanks to the improved performance, earning it a deserved revaluation for the whole game. If only the same could be said for Pokémon Legends: Arceus…

Unfortunately, there’s no patch for Arceus, so it runs almost no differently on Switch 2 – with the exception of faster load times.

Admittedly, bumping its frame rate to 60fps wouldn’t fix its low-tech graphics, but it would help bring it in line with the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which looks to have a much smoother performance on Switch 2, based on early teaser footage.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

It’s a genuine miracle that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt runs as well as it does on Switch, even in handheld mode. But it did come at the cost of a graphical downgrade as well as a capped frame rate of 30fps.

On Switch 2, the game loads faster and even looks a little better, but any Witcher fans who only have access to Nintendo hardware would no doubt appreciate a dedicated upgrade for the newer console.

Honestly, a Switch 2 port of The Witcher 3 would make sense considering the game is a top seller for CD Projekt, at over 50 million sales, saw updated re-releases for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S just a few years ago, and the upcoming The Witcher 4 will likely skip Switch 2 (although you probably would’ve said that about The Witcher 3 for the Switch 1).

The Xenoblade Chronicles series

Although Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was amongst those Switch 1 games that received a free Switch 2 patch, it doesn’t address the performance issues in the game, with the patch notes only alluding to vague adjustments made to ‘improve gameplay on Nintendo Switch 2.’

As Nintendo’s premiere Japanese role-playing series, it’s surprising that none of the four Xenoblade Chronicles games have received any proper upgrades on Switch 2, only enjoying slightly shorter load times when running on the console.

It could be argued that they don’t need any enhancements, since all of the games are already impressive technical achievements, but considering fans found evidence of an optional but inaccessible 60fps mode for Xenoblade Chronicles X, we can’t help but wish seeing it was activated across the whole series, along with improved resolutions.

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