I didn't expect this RPG to be the best Switch 2 upgrade I've played yet

Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 has been out for well over six months, I'm settling in for what's likely to be at least half a decade with the hybrid console, and that means my impression of its versatility is still getting fixed. In particular, while the Switch 2 does have a bunch of impressive exclusives already, I'm always interested when it gets a new port.

The first-generation Switch is my pick for the best console of all time, in terms of flexibility and depth of library, but there's no doubt that in its final few years, it started to look long in the tooth. A whole heap of games arrived on the Switch that didn't manage a stable 30fps framerate, or had blurry visuals to enable one, and they never felt amazing to play.

A great case in point was apparently Ys X: Nordics, the latest in the really long-running Ys series of JRPGs, which was pretty grainy and unstable on the Switch, but still well-received. Now, it's back as Ys X: Proud Nordics, on Switch 2 with regrettably no upgrade path to be had, and it's a totally different kettle of fish.

There are some new additions, but this is largely the same game, just with a massive visual upgrade that takes it from a grainy 30fps struggle to a pin-sharp 60fps or even 120fps dream, in a Switch 2 upgrade that is quite literally all upsides. I'm about five hours into the game and having a whale of a time.

Ys X: Proud Nordics - Announcement Trailer (Nintendo Switch 2 and PC) - YouTube

Watch On

This is a pretty pure and simple action RPG, one that revolves around a combat system that lets you swap freely between its two main characters – and use them together to dodge and block your way through combat while pinging out skills and attacks in safe windows.

It tells an early episode from the life of series protagonist Adol, he of the red hair, and from what I've seen so far it's decently inventive in how it does so. It's all about pirates and seafaring this time, and has some nice mystery elements that I'm still largely in the dark about.

Really, though, I've spent most of the week I've been playing the game feeling like it's the sort of port that exemplifies what the Switch 2 might turn into over the next couple of years – a powerhouse for genre games. I've played plenty of terrific titles on the Switch that would be transformatively more fun on the beefed-up hardware, and Ys X is just the latest example.

From Nier: Automata to Xenoblade Chronicles X, there are a whole heap of titles out there that I'd love to dip back into if they can offer a buttery smooth 60fps instead of an unreliable near-30fps – and the fact that Ys X takes advantage of the new display and power to give a 120fps performance mode is even more eye-catching.

Sure, it's hardly the most staggeringly high-fidelity game, making that performance more understandable, but I'm one of many gamers who'd rather play a massively smooth game with great gameplay than a ludicrously photorealistic one that feels miserable in my hands.

The game's left me feeling really excited once again about some of the titles I might have missed in recent years that could get new leases on life thanks to this beefier little console.