Pokémon's Switch 2 upgrade is a massive evolution
When Nintendo revealed that select Switch games would be getting improved Switch 2 Editions, I couldn't help but notice one glaring omission: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Of all the major Nintendo franchises released on the Switch, that was the one I was begging to see get a massive performance boost on the Switch 2. None of the Pokémon games on Switch ran fantastically, but the ninth generation was seriously hindered by technical woes. I wanted to love the game, but an abysmal framerate, bland textures, and even crashes were enough to push me away from the game until it was in a more complete state.
We never got a comprehensive Switch patch, and instead of a full Switch 2 Edition, Nintendo only promised Scarlet and Violet would receive 'enhanced visuals and smoother gameplay.' Needless to say, my hopes weren't exactly high before trying it out for myself. After starting a new adventure on the Switch 2, it feels like Pokémon has finally reached its true potential and has reinvigorated my waning excitement for Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
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The experience it was always meant to be
I could always see a great Pokémon game fighting to shine through under the technical mess. Even I, someone who isn't overly sensitive to frame rates or able to count pixels at a glance, wasn't able to look past all the issues plaguing that game. It wasn't just that the frame rate was bad, but also inconsistent. This frequently caused me to feel almost queasy playing — an experience I never get outside of some VR games. That, combined with the flat textures and extreme pop-in, resulted in a game I simply couldn't enjoy, no matter how much I wanted to. And I did want to. I could see the joy and whimsy of this world and the academic setting, but the technical issues just prevented me from reaching it.
On the Switch 2, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's core design is finally able to shine.
Why Nintendo was so vague about just how substantial the improvements would be is beyond me. That 'smoother gameplay' claim made me hesitate to even hope for a locked 30 FPS, yet here we are enjoying a buttery smooth 60 FPS experience. I'm relying on those with a more keen eye and the ability to measure frame rates to confirm that number, but it more than feels like 60 to me. Even in areas where the frame rate was notoriously poor, I felt little more than a minor hitch in the experience. That's a far cry from the base experience where I would be subjected to a slideshow.
Visuals are another area I was pleasantly surprised by, though not to as big a degree. There's no getting around some of the textures here are still quite basic, but at least now I don't have to see the foliage spring into existence as I cross the map. Beyond the draw distance, the game can also populate the world with more Pokémon that I can spot from a greater distance away. Besides removing that eerie emptiness I sometimes felt wandering around, this also makes hunting Pokémon a much more engaging task. When taken as a whole, the world of Pokémon finally feels alive.
There are several other small improvements worth mentioning, like reduced loading times and more responsive menus, but the frame rate, visuals, and general stability afforded by the Switch 2 feel like the way Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was envisioned to be played. If you had to put your Pokémon journey on hold due to the performance issues like I did, or even held off completely based on others' experience, this free Switch 2 update finally shows off the diamond hidden in the rough. If nothing else, it goes a long way towards calming my hesitation about Pokémon Legends: Z-A coming later this year — at least the Switch 2 version, anyway.
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