I’d Rather Wait to Play Nintendo’s New RPG Remake On Switch 2

It’s a weird time for Nintendo to release a remastered version of a classic game, but it’s happened for the second time this year. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition takes a celebrated Wii U game and brings it over to the Switch, at long last. Nintendo also did this with Donkey Kong Country Returns (a Wii game, originally). But with Xenoblade Chronicles X — a game I never really dug into before because I was sort of intimidated — as good as it seems to be so far, after a few hours playing it on a Switch OLED, I’d much rather be playing this on the Switch 2 likely coming out in just a few months.

I know that not everyone will buy a Switch 2, and it’s great to see Nintendo still support the 8-year-old Switch with quality games. But it’s clear that, behind the scenes, Nintendo is likely gearing up with new games for the Switch 2. It’s probably no accident that Nintendo’s recent releases have been ports of existing games rather than new ones. The new stuff feels like it’s being saved.

Playing the first few hours of this game, I felt the Switch’s age more than ever. Xenoblade Chronicles X is an epic sci-fi RPG about refugees from Earth on an alien planet, full of sprawling vistas that feel like Nintendo’s version of Avatar. On a big-screen TV, or even on the Switch itself, the graphics hold up reasonably well but show limits in detail and frame rate. It’s far better than the previous version, but I wonder how something like the Switch 2, which will undoubtedly have better graphics, could handle it. 

I also had a hard time reading the game’s extensive submenus, which are full of text that was too small for my eyes. The Switch OLED has a 7-inch 720p display, but the Switch 2’s screen is clearly larger and could also be higher-resolution. I’ve played detailed RPGs on the 8-inch, 1080p PlayStation Portal handheld, and it’s an appreciable difference for games like this.

Can we pause on this game for now?

The Definitive Edition features new story content, so it makes sense that fans of the game might be thrilled to jump aboard this game right now (it will also be playable on the Switch 2 in the future). But with unknown possibilities of how it could perform better, I want to wait it out. Just a few months, or until Nintendo’s April 2 video presentation on the Switch 2. Games that push the graphics envelope, like this one, are the ones I’d like to see transformed further.

I wouldn’t feel this way about Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which already performs perfectly for the existing Switch hardware. Or even Super Smash Bros, the Mario Party games, Metroid Dread or Animal Crossing. But Xenoblade Chronicles X steps up to a scale that feels familiar on Xbox and PlayStation games or PC games. It’s translated over to work shockingly well on some pretty old Switch hardware, and if you’re a big JRPG fan or have been playing the Xenoblade Chronicles series previously — the other three games in the series are already on the Switch — then hop aboard. For anyone else, wait to see what Nintendo has in store very soon and then decide.

Let’s return to this discussion after the Switch 2 and its games are fully revealed, which is likely in just a few weeks on April 2. For now, let’s just nod our heads at what is probably Nintendo’s last big pre-Switch 2 game and appreciate the amazing run this handheld has already had.