Nintendo’s Free Updates for Key Switch 2 Titles are Remasters in Name Only

When Nintendo unveiled the Switch 2, they also shared news about “Switch 2 Editions” – upgraded versions of pre-existing games tailored to work on the fresh hardware. Some folks found it contentious that these updates came at a cost, but here’s the deal: aside from paid updates, Nintendo rolled out a batch of free enhancements tweaking the gameplay. We’ve chatted about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, yet this is just the start of the tale. Important games like Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World, and Bowser’s Fury, along with Splatoon 3, received significant makeovers. If you feel like you skipped these games, didn’t finish them, or simply yearn to revisit them, we strongly suggest giving them another go on Nintendo’s new consoles. Now, let’s dive into a group of titles where updates might as well be called revolutionary. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom are cleverly designed games, but they often struggle with performance issues, dipping between 30fps and 60fps due to that classic “double buffer v-sync” quirk. To be honest, Link’s Awakening isn’t much fun because of this, but Echoes of Wisdom is even more challenging, as the unstable performance can be a bit off-putting.

Cross our fingers that Switch 2 tackles frame rate problems, and it’s fantastic news that both Zelda titles now run steadily at 60 frames per second all through the game. In docked mode, resolution jumps from around 720p in outdoor areas to about 1620p, delivering a major resolution boost. This enhancement applies to handheld mode as well, where internal resolutions of roughly 570p to 600p are now native 1080p. Overall, this is one of the most striking enhancements when moving from Switch 1 to Switch 2, keeping art at a much higher resolution. It’s like getting a free remaster, but keep in mind that the characteristic depth-of-field effect is significantly deeper on the new consoles, probably because it wasn’t tweaked for higher resolutions.

Give Super Mario Odyssey another look, or grab it for the first time if you haven’t already! This gem was one of the early releases for the Switch, boasting some neat tech features as the developers aimed for a smooth Super Mario gameplay at 60fps. The upgrades on Switch 2 start with a nice resolution bump, around four times as much, taking dynamic 900p in docked mode to dynamic 1800p, making it a great fit for a native 4K screen. Some HUD elements are now high-res, while others stay at their original 1080p. The game looks sharp and impressive on modern screens, with no more frame drops, especially in New Donk City. Those choppy object updates in New Donk City, slowing based on distance from the player, have been fixed too: everything runs now at a steady 60fps as intended. The portable side is impressive as well. To hit 60fps on the original Switch, Nintendo used a peculiar horizontal interlacing, blending two 640×720 images. This looked fine at rest but was problematic in motion. On the Switch 2, the game runs natively with a 1080p output, no tricks needed. The artistic design matches the resolution increase smoothly in both handheld and docked modes, while the timeless fun makes this game as worth buying today as it was when it first came out. (Note: This translation is based on the provided Portuguese text and does not incorporate additional context or information.)

In the same way, Nintendo’s updates for Super Mario 3D World and Bowser’s Fury have some noteworthy changes too. For starters, in docked mode, Super Mario 3D World goes from a dynamic 1080p to what seems like a dynamic 1800p without affecting performance (still at 60fps). But when you play it handheld, the native 720p jumps to smooth 1080p. As for Bowser’s Fury, things get interesting – in docked mode on the original Switch, it was capped at 30fps, but now it offers a buttery-smooth 60fps experience along with a resolution bump from 720p to 1080p. We also observed load times reducing by up to 50% in this game! Now, remember that Nintendo’s free updates for important titles like The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Odyssey, and Splatoon have made a huge difference on the new consoles. For instance, Link’s Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom run at a consistent 60fps and have resolution boosts in docked mode with native 1080p handheld play. And Super Mario Odyssey has seen a fourfold resolution increase, better frame rates, and no more frame drops on the Switch 2!

Splatoon 3’s reveal as a free update for the Switch 2 was unexpected, especially since it wasn’t even hinted at during the initial round of updates. It dropped along with the release of Splatoon Raiders the next day. This upgrade offers a massive resolution jump from 1080p to 4K for new Nintendo console owners – a big deal! City center sections in the game now run at 60fps, upgraded from the original Switch’s 30fps. The improvement isn’t as profound in handheld mode, but it doesn’t have to be: we’re looking at a jump from 720p60 to 1080p60 now, matching the panel resolution increase. Other Nintendo games like Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and various classics saw significant improvements on the Switch 2 too. For example, dock mode for Captain Toad boosted its resolution from 1080p to 1440p with a slightly smoother look due to post-processing anti-aliasing. Handheld mode saw an anticipated jump from 720p to 1080p in both modes, locked at 60fps. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Echoes of Wisdom now run fully locked at 60fps, while Super Mario Odyssey received a fourfold increase in resolution, reaching up to 1800p dynamic in docked mode. In both games, the internal resolution increased to native 1080p in handheld mode. Super Mario 3D World and Bowser’s Fury also received improvements with better frame rates and higher resolutions in both game modes.

The least exciting upgrade has to be New Super Mario Bros U. On the surface, moving from native 1080p to 4K at 60 frames per second sounds fantastic… except that the plain, generic background art doesn’t gain much from a fourfold increase in pixel count. It’s debatable whether games already running smoothly at 60 fps on the original Switch should have had optional 120 fps support. Even if the experiences couldn’t be locked to 120 fps, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) could have been used with the integrated screen. Frankly, we weren’t impressed with the “HDR updates,” which seem like SDR content inside an HDR wrapper with brightness adjustments. If you’re leveraging high dynamic range, why bother? Nonetheless, the overall experience is positive, as the significantly improved CPU and GPU performance on Switch 2 has been used effectively, resolving issues and delivering stunning visual upgrades. In handheld mode, all updates optimize the 1080p resolution of the screen, while the brute-force approach to increasing resolution (no DLSS here!) allows these games to perform well on a 4K display. We’d love more updates, especially for games like Xenoblade Chronicles, Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood, and Kirby Star Allies. For now, it’s worth replaying the tested games or even buying them again as if they were new.