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It's hard to believe, yet we're approaching the new Switch 2 console's six-month milestone. By the time the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 releases on Dec. 4, we'll be able to give the device a fairly thorough assessment thanks to its solid selection of exclusive initial releases. Blockbuster games like Donkey Kong Bananza will lead that review, but it's the company's latest releases, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and recently Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have allowed the Switch 2 overcome a critical examination in its first six months: the performance test.

Confronting Hardware Concerns

Before Nintendo formally revealed the successor system, the primary worry from players around the then-theoretical console was concerning hardware. Regarding components, Nintendo trailed PlayStation and Xbox in recent cycles. That reality began to show in the end of the Switch era. The hope was that a Switch 2 would introduce consistent frame rates, improved visuals, and modern capabilities like 4K resolution. That's exactly what we got when the device was released in June. At least that's what its specs indicated, at least. To truly know if the upgraded system is an improvement, we'd need to see some key games operating on the system. That has now happened during the past fortnight, and the outlook is positive.

Legends: Z-A as an Early Challenge

The system's initial big challenge came with the October release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Pokémon games had some infamous tech struggles on the initial console, with games like the Scarlet and Violet games launching in highly problematic conditions. The console itself wasn't solely responsible for that; the game engine driving the Pokémon titles was old and getting stretched beyond its capabilities in the series' gradual open-world pivot. Legends: Z-A would be a bigger examination for its creator than anything else, but there remained much we'd be able to glean from the visual presentation and its operation on the upgraded hardware.

Despite the release's limited detail has sparked discussions about the developer's skills, it's clear that the latest installment is far from the performance mess of its predecessor, the previous Legends game. It operates at a smooth 60 frames on the new console, but the original console maxes out at 30 frames per second. Pop-in is still present, and you may notice various fuzzy textures if you look closely, but you won't encounter anything resembling the situation in Arceus where you begin airborne travel and observe the whole terrain beneath transform into a jagged, polygonal surface. That qualifies to grant the new console some passing marks, though with reservations given that the developer has its own problems that amplify restricted capabilities.

The New Zelda Game as the More Challenging Tech Test

There is now a more compelling tech test, though, because of the new Hyrule Warriors, launched earlier this month. The latest Musou title challenges the upgraded system due to its action-oriented style, which has players facing off against a literal army of monsters at all times. The series' previous game, Age of Calamity, had issues on the initial console as the console couldn't keep up with its fast-paced action and density of things happening. It often fell below the desired frame rate and created the sensation that you were pushing too hard when going too hard in battle.

Fortunately is that it also passes the performance examination. After playing the title extensively over the last few weeks, experiencing every level it has to offer. During that period, the results show that it's been able to deliver a more stable framerate compared to its earlier title, actually hitting its 60 frames target with more consistency. Performance can dip in the most intense combat, but I haven't experienced any situation where the game turns into a choppy presentation as the frame rate suffers. Part of that may result from the fact that its compact stages are designed to avoid excessive numbers of foes on the battlefield concurrently.

Significant Trade-offs and Overall Assessment

Remaining are foreseeable trade-offs. Most notably, cooperative multiplayer sees performance taking a noticeable decrease near thirty frames. Additionally the first Switch 2 first-party game where it's apparent a major difference between older OLED technology and the updated LCD screen, with notably in story sequences having a washed out quality.

But for the most part, the new game is a dramatic improvement over its previous installment, like Z-A is to the earlier Pokémon title. Should you require any sign that the Switch 2 is meeting its performance claims, even with some caveats remaining, both games demonstrate effectively of how Nintendo's latest is markedly enhancing titles that performed poorly on previous systems.