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It's surprising, but we're approaching the Nintendo Switch 2's half-year mark. By the time Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts on the fourth of December, it will be possible to deliver the console a detailed progress report thanks to its impressive roster of exclusive early titles. Heavy hitters like Donkey Kong Bananza will lead that review, yet it's two newest Nintendo titles, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and recently Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have enabled the successor pass a critical examination in its opening six months: the hardware evaluation.

Addressing Performance Concerns

Before Nintendo publicly unveiled the Switch 2, the biggest concern from players regarding the hypothetical device was about power. In terms of components, the company fell behind competing consoles in recent cycles. That fact was evident in the end of the Switch era. The expectation was that a successor would introduce more stable framerates, smoother textures, and standard options like ultra-high definition. Those are the features included when the console was released in June. At least that's what its hardware specifications promised, for the most part. To truly know if the upgraded system is an improvement, we required examples of important releases operating on the system. We now have that evidence during the past fortnight, and the assessment is favorable.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A as the Early Test

The system's initial big challenge arrived with the October release of the new Pokémon game. The franchise had notable performance issues on the original Switch, with releases including Scarlet and Violet debuting in highly problematic conditions. Nintendo's hardware wasn't solely responsible for that; the game engine running the developer's games was old and being pushed much further than it could go in the series' gradual open-world pivot. Legends: Z-A would be a bigger examination for its developer than any other factor, but we could still learn to analyze from the game's visual clarity and its operation on the upgraded hardware.

While the game's basic graphics has initiated conversations about the developer's skills, there's no denying that the latest installment is far from the technical failure of its preceding game, Arceus. It performs at a smooth 60 frames on the upgraded system, but the older hardware tops out at 30 fps. Pop-in is still present, and you may notice plenty of blurry assets if you look closely, but you won't hit anything similar to the moment in Arceus where you begin airborne travel and watch the complete landscape turn into a uneven, basic graphics. It's enough to give the system a satisfactory rating, though with reservations given that Game Freak has independent issues that exacerbate basic technology.

Age of Imprisonment serving as a More Challenging Hardware Challenge

We now have a more demanding performance examination, yet, because of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, released November 6. The latest Musou title pushes the Switch 2 because of its hack-and-slash gameplay, which has gamers battling a massive horde of creatures constantly. The series' previous game, Age of Calamity, had issues on the original Switch as the hardware struggled with its fast-paced action and sheer amount of activity. It frequently dropped below the desired frame rate and created the sensation that you were breaking the game when going too hard in battle.

The good news is that it too succeeds the tech test. I've been putting the title extensively over the last few weeks, experiencing every level available. During that period, I've found that it achieves a smoother performance relative to its predecessor, maintaining its 60 frames target with better regularity. It sometimes drops in the most intense combat, but I haven't experienced any moment where it becomes a slideshow as the performance struggles. Some of this might be due to the fact that its short levels are structured to prevent excessive numbers of foes on the display simultaneously.

Important Trade-offs and Overall Evaluation

Remaining are foreseeable trade-offs. Primarily, shared-screen play sees performance taking a significant drop closer to the 30 fps range. It's also the first Switch 2 first-party game where it's apparent a major difference between older OLED technology and the new LCD display, with notably in story sequences looking faded.

Overall though, the new game is a night and day difference compared to its previous installment, like Pokémon Legends: Z-A is to Arceus. If you need any sign that the upgraded system is meeting its performance claims, despite some limitations still in tow, both games show clearly of the way the new console is significantly improving franchises that had issues on older technology.