It was in The Orkney News that I wrote a review of The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. That was my entry into the Nintendo Switch. It’s a sign of how long I’ve been doing this, how long the Orkney News has been going that now I sit here writing about my first impressions of the Switch’s Successor, the Switch 2.

The moment this console was announced I was essentially in line to get it. I have unwelcome memories of how long I had to wait to get a Nintendo Wii, months waiting to play a game I got for Christmas. So when there’s a console by Nintendo I want, I make sure to get ready to get it as soon as possible. Plus for the sake of you readers I do need to have one to write about it.

Thanks to the well appreciated work of a family member who house sat for me while I was at work I was able to get my Switch 2 the day it came out. I had been lucky in that Nintendo had sent out a lottery for being able to pre-order it on their website. I did get suspicious and paranoid that it was some kind of con to steal my personal details, but the more I looked into it the more it was confirmed legit. Anyway, I got my copy on Thursday.

So what is the switch 2 like in comparison to the Switch?

First up this is more an improved more powerful Switch than Nintendo’s usual affair of it being a drastically different console from the last. Think the DS going into the 3DS or for you non Nintendo games a PS5 from a PS4. But what is different from the original Switch? On the surface it’s notably larger. This means you get a larger screen in handheld mode. When you turn it on you will see a far more vibrant, detailed screen, one I made sure to get a screen protector for as soon as possible, as well as a carrying case since it’s larger than the old one so my old carrying case would be too small.

Another new change and one the advertisements for its games show right away, is how the joy cons connect now. While before, with the first Switch, they slotted in from the sides. Now they clip in thanks to magnets, with a rather aesthetically pleasing sound. The table top mode is also sturdier now. This meant I could set it up on the kitchen table at a friend’s house and let them play it, of which they would later describe having to pry themselves off as they were enjoying Mario Kart too much.

A welcome feature was much like when I upgraded my 3DS to its upgraded 3DS XL, the console let me transfer my data from my original Switch to the Switch 2. All my files, my downloaded games, their saved data, all that was applied to my Switch 2. But with that came a downside. My Switch was using a micro SD card, but not the kind that is accepted by the Switch 2. So that was a fair bit of memory space taken up by my old content. Fortunately I am someone who prefers physical media so I still had the majority of free space left. But it’s something I may need to look into in the future.

Now I’ll be leaving my review of Mario Kart World to next week, giving me plenty of time to get a full grip of it (spoiler, it’s good) But I also took time to see how the free upgrades on some other games were. While I had not experienced any of the bugs people were posting in their play throughs of Pokémon Violet, I had noticed a framerate drop when going on water, and in the large lake area the game really got quite bad for it… and I’m not someone that notices or really cares about FPS most of the time, but it was that bad I couldn’t help but see it. On the weekend, I took out Violet, put it in, save data had moved over to the Switch 2 thanks to that transfer I mentioned and… WOW the difference was immense.

I think it’s safe to say, I’m very happy with the Switch 2. I’m happy my original Switch lasted its whole lifecycle without any major problems… outside of the joycon drift. I have some good games on the horizon for it, a decent few are ones that were also on the original Switch but you can tell these are going to perform much better on 2 if Pokémon Violet is to be taken as an example. I’m not too happy though about the increase in prices for the games however, sadly that’s not something exclusive to Nintendo as all the companies are raising their prices.

Would I say you should buy this? Well it is the fastest selling Nintendo console ever, even beating out its predecessor, a console Sony had to keep finding ways to increase the sales figures of something many people bought to be used as a DVD player just to say the Switch didn’t beat it. But right now the only exclusive game for it is Mario Kart World… which given 8 deluxe was one of the best selling games on the Switch, is a good game to release at the start. BUT if Mario Kart isn’t your thing, you probably should wait a month or two as the library builds. We’re getting a new Donkey Kong game next month after all, and a new Kirby Air Ride and a Splatoon spin off are coming soon. Maybe wait for those if you’re on the fence.

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