The Definitive … Definitive Edition!
The first nine months of the Nintendo Switch 2’s life has been a pretty good one. A steady feeding of great exclusives, Gamecube Virtual Console and retro Pokémon announcements! We have also had a ample releases of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition versions of games. These can range from a bump in frame rate and resolution to full expansions. They also range in both free and paid upgrades. Some upgrades are just small patches on the original Switch titles that give Switch 2 players hidden little treats. Through the welcome albeit messy Switch 2 upgrades one constant voice could be heard. When are we getting Xenoblade upgrades?
Nintendo heard and without fanfare delivered. A rogue Thursday, the 19th of our year 2026 to be precise. A video on Nintendo’s YouTube channel informing us all that Xenoblade X Switch 2 edition was available now. I absolutely love shadow drops like this they create a complete surge of excitement within the gaming sphere. Anyway lets jump in and see what a long awaiting Switch 2 version of Xenoblade looks like.
The original Switch release was reviewed and covered on Game Hype and can be found here. Just to recap though, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a massive RPG produced by Monolith Software that was first introduced on the Wii U. It sees a player created avatar explore a planet known as Mira. Extensive story telling and huge lore dumps are there for those that wish to get immersed. The core gameplay loop plays very much like a single player MMORPG. Building your character and party with both beneficial and red herring skills, equipment, class and many more. Battling with various arts that are on cooldowns to create the most devastating rotations you can muster. An asynchronous online element that see parties working towards common goals so all players can be rewarded. All taking place in a mammoth world that can be later traversed by flying robots called Skells; the cherry on an already brilliant cake.
The Switch 2 Upgrade now, the reason we are all here. A paid upgrade at £4.19 or your regional equivalent. The upgrade promises up to 4K and 60 frames per second, basically what the fans have been asking for. However that is your lot. No expansion or extra features just a paid performance upgrade. Being brutally honest I would have liked just an extra feature or two. As an example, a photo mode would have been appreciated.
The performance as promised is a silky smooth 60 frames per second and I didn’t experience any dips that were noticeable. Exploring Mira this smooth is a total treat. The combat also benefits from this added smoothness. While the combat is heavily reliant on its rotation of skills. Many of which do require positioning for extra effectiveness which is a lot easier with those added frames.
Graphically speaking things aren’t as instantly positive as the frame rate. I think this game has beautiful art direction and always has, even in its inception on the Wii U. In the main review for the Switch release we praised the graphics as being incredibly impressive. With that said I don’t really see too much of a difference in this upgrade. The resolution is clearly increased but I don’t know if it is 4K, other than maybe the user interface. Graphics and textures seem a little sharper in places and a little blurry in others. Draw distance is something that seems almost untouched. In many parts of the world some elements such as cars or robots can suddenly appear mere feet in front of you, while the environment seemingly goes on forever. It is almost like the Switch release with a very slight upscale. Don’t get me wrong the game still looks great but I don’t think its really what we were advertised.
As far as upgrades go, Xenoblade X’s offerings are minimal but very much appreciated. Personally I think the price of admission is worth every penny just for the juicy and stable frame rate increase. Graphically as I stated the game looks great still but what has actually been upgraded is anyones question. Fingers crossed Monolith continue to upgrade the Xenoblade series as this is a welcome first shot. I’d personally love to see 60 frames a second in Xenoblade 3, it would be like Christmas has come early.
Game Code Kindly Provided By Nintendo
