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It's astonishing, but we're approaching the Nintendo Switch 2's half-year mark. When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts on December 4, we can provide the console a detailed evaluation due to its strong lineup of first-party initial releases. Heavy hitters like Donkey Kong Bananza will headline that analysis, but it's the company's latest releases, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and now Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have helped the Switch 2 conquer a key challenge in its first six months: the performance test.

Confronting Power Worries

Prior to Nintendo publicly unveiled the successor system, the primary worry from gamers around the then-theoretical console was regarding performance. When it comes to components, Nintendo has lagged behind Sony and Microsoft over the last few console generations. That fact began to show in the Switch's final years. The expectation was that a new model would bring smoother performance, better graphics, and standard options like 4K. That's precisely what arrived when the system was released in June. Or that's what its hardware specifications promised, anyway. To accurately assess if the Switch 2 is an enhancement, we required examples of important releases performing on the hardware. We've finally gotten that in recent days, and the prognosis remains healthy.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A as the Initial Examination

The console's first major test came with the October release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Pokémon games had notable performance issues on the initial console, with games like Scarlet and Violet launching in downright disastrous states. Nintendo's hardware wasn't solely responsible for those issues; the underlying technology powering the Pokémon titles was outdated and getting stretched beyond its capabilities in the series' gradual open-world pivot. Legends: Z-A would be more challenging for its creator than any other factor, but there remained much to analyze from the title's graphics and performance on Switch 2.

Despite the release's restricted visual fidelity has initiated conversations about the studio's prowess, it's clear that the latest installment is far from the performance mess of its preceding game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It operates at a consistent 60 fps on the new console, whereas the older hardware maxes out at 30 frames per second. Pop-in is still present, and you'll find various fuzzy textures if you examine carefully, but you won't hit anything like the moment in Arceus where you initially fly and see the entire ground below transform into a jagged, polygonal surface. That qualifies to give the system a decent grade, but with caveats given that the studio has its own problems that exacerbate basic technology.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as the Tougher Tech Test

There is now a tougher hardware challenge, yet, due to Age of Imprisonment, released November 6. The new Zelda spin-off pushes the Switch 2 thanks to its hack-and-slash gameplay, which has gamers battling a literal army of monsters constantly. The series' previous game, the previous Hyrule Warriors, had issues on the first Switch as the console couldn't keep up with its fast-paced action and sheer amount of activity. It frequently dropped under the intended 30 frames and produced the feeling that you were breaking the game when going too hard in battle.

The good news is that it too succeeds the performance examination. After playing the game through its paces over the last few weeks, playing every single mission included. During that period, the results show that it's been able to deliver a more stable framerate compared to its earlier title, maintaining its 60 frames target with greater stability. Performance can dip in the most intense combat, but I've yet to hit any situation where I'm suddenly watching a slideshow as the framerate chugs. A portion of this may result from the fact that its compact stages are structured to prevent overwhelming hordes on the battlefield concurrently.

Important Trade-offs and Final Verdict

There are still foreseeable trade-offs. Most notably, splitscreen co-op experiences a substantial reduction around 30 frames. It's also the first Switch 2 first-party game where there's a clear a noticeable variation between older OLED technology and the new LCD display, with notably in story sequences having a washed out quality.

Overall though, Age of Imprisonment is a dramatic improvement versus its earlier title, like the Pokémon game is to the earlier Pokémon title. If you need confirmation that the Switch 2 is meeting its tech promises, even with some caveats remaining, the two releases demonstrate effectively of how Nintendo's latest is substantially boosting franchises that had issues on previous systems.