Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch 2 Edition Impressions – A Worthwhile Upgrade

I read a bit about the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch 2 upgrade before purchasing it, and reviews are mixed. Still, there were enough positives that I decided to take the plunge.

Boy am I glad I did. To my eyes, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 looks so much better, both docked and handheld, that it almost feels like a full-blown remaster, even with a few nitpicks along the way. The other additions beyond the visuals make this a must-buy for anyone who plans to give this game a whirl, either for the first time or, like me, once again.

I’ll admit I’m a bit of a framerate snob, and I almost always pick performance mode over quality mode. That colors my opinion here. Frankly, the difference between 30 fps and 60 fps is dramatic. Especially in a game where there is a ton happening on screen, it matters that frames move smoothly and quickly, and with the Switch 2 Edition, things mostly do. Sure, there are some framerate drops in battle, and in a few more intensive environments like Mor Ardain, but they’re minor. Probably the place the framerate drops are most notable is in cutscenes where things seem to move between 30 fps and 60 fps. I’ll admit it’s a bit strange, but, again, the upgrade is undoubtedly worth it to see my characters move smoothly through the beauty of Uraya.

Uraya, and all the other Titans of Alrest, look much better because of the upped resolution, too. In docked mode, resolution is now at 4K, and in handheld mode it sits at a full 1080p. This difference is almost as stark as the framerate. Sure, there are some smudgy backgrounds, but the rest of it is worth it. I compared the Switch 1 and 2 versions of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 side by side, and now when playing in handheld mode, every environment doesn’t feel like you’re walking through sand. The soft character models are now razor sharp, too. The fact that environments load twice as fast and the cumbersome menus are zippier is just a nice cherry on top of a much better presentation.

It’s also worth noting that Xenoblade Chronicles 2‘s DLC expansion, Torna: The Golden Country, has all these same visual upgrades. So, ultimately, yes, there are some issues with the visuals in the Switch 2 upgrade, but I can’t imagine going back after spending a few hours with it.

That’s not all that’s new with the upgrade, either. You also get to participate in Merc Assault. Essentially, instead of sending your blades out on Merc Missions in the base Xenoblade Chronicles 2, you get to play as them in action-oriented battles. Instead of picking abilities on cooldown after your Driver autoattacks, you attack the enemy directly, you can block enemy attacks, and you can build up to specials where you add orbs just like in normal combat. You get to employ six Blades at a time, and you can freely switch between them and use specials. There are some other mechanics at play like linking Blades and spawning upgrades during battles, but those are the basics.

Honestly, I think this mode is a blast, and a nice change of pace from the normal gameplay. At high levels, some of the battles are genuinely challenging and fun to figure out. The fact that using specials in this mode helps to fill in the affinity chart rather quickly is a nice bonus. If you don’t vibe with this new mode you absolutely don’t need to play it, either.

The other big addition to Xenoblade Chronicles 2‘s Switch 2 Edition is MOMO, yet another Blade pulled from the Xenosaga series. I have friends who are so excited by this addition that they actually went out and bought a Switch 2 to use her in a new playthrough. Even though she actually has a pretty moving Blade quest, I wouldn’t go that far, but she’s a nice addition.

She’s a Healer Blade, and it seems like you can get her relatively early, around Chapter 3. She can switch between Light and Dark elements with little variation in moves between the two, but it’s nice to have the ability to plug her into the element that your team might need.

Excuse me while I get into the meta for a moment, but honestly, her kit is a little weird, with added critical bonuses while also having an extremely low crit rate, the ability to get past guards when her weapon type doesn’t really need that, and some other oddities. But in the early game I imagine she will be quite useful even if she gets outclassed later, and she’s just a fun addition anyway, so who cares about me getting too far into the weeds (unless you really want to, in which case I’d recommend you check out this video from Enel).

Maybe my favorite addition to Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (that I’ll admit is a bit maddening as it’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition) regards field abilities. Those who played on Switch 1 remember the controversial system where, to unlock certain travel points, chests, and other things on the world map, you’d need the appropriate Blade with the requisite abilities. This was annoying enough to some, but you’d also need to equip those Blades to get through it, which just added busy work to an already systems-heavy game.

On Switch 2, assuming you have the Blade at all, you can automatically hit the Field Skill check without equipping the Blades. This might seem like a small thing, but even in my limited testing between the two versions, it was really nice not to have to jump into the menu to adjust things yet again and should make things smoother, especially in a first playthrough.

It’s also important to note that the Switch 2 upgrade introduced some new bugs, like eliminating pouches if you’ve used amiibos in New Game+, silencing the battle music, and some other problems. I imagine these will be smoothed out soon, but they’re worth noting.

Sure, the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch 2 Edition isn’t perfect. It has some visual issues here and there, and the new bugs are annoying. But what it does bring, with its dramatically improved fps and much sharper image, along with a fun new mode, Blade addition, and even some new costumes for Pyra and Mythra, more than make it worth the price of entry — $9.99 USD (eShop link) — for those on the fence.

Editor’s Note: Shortly before we published this piece, we learned (thanks, Nintendo Life!) that Nintendo has already confirmed they are working on fixes for several issues Zach mentions. Their full statement (translated from the original X post) details it:

We have received multiple inquiries regarding the reduction of accessory equipment slots from 3 to 2 in Xenoblade 2 (Nintendo Switch 2 Edition). Our investigation has confirmed that this issue occurs under the following conditions:

• The Accessory Expansion Kit, obtainable from the Battle Bard who appears in the field after Advanced New Game, is used to increase the equipment slots to 3.
• The amiibo is scanned via the “System” -> “amiibo” menu to obtain “Bonus WP.”
• This issue does not occur if anything other than “Bonus WP” is obtained.
• Accessories equipped in the missing slots are not lost.

We have also confirmed a bug where the battle BGM volume is lower.

We are currently preparing an update to fix these bugs. We will inform you again once the release date is decided.

We apologize for any inconvenience and trouble this may cause.