Nintendo Switch 2’s launch titles are awesome, but this one free update means more to me than any new Mario Kart game

I’m so hyped for the Nintendo Switch 2. Like, ridiculously hyped for Nintendo’s next console. In fact, I’m so excited for the successor to the Nintendo Switch to launch that I pre-ordered three units: One for myself, one for my fiancée, and one for a friend so we can play Mario Kart World together.

With only a couple more days to go until the Switch 2 release, I’ve been gearing up for the new hardware launch by consuming every little tidbit of content about the new console possible.

From Mario Kart World to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Breath of the Wild, the hype train has well and truly left the station. Like a kid at Christmas, I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I can’t wait to get fully engrossed by Nintendo’s world built for 2025.

While I’m incredibly excited for Mario Kart World and experiencing Link’s open world adventure in 60fps, there’s one game that I’m most excited about, and I never would’ve thought that would be the case.

(Image credit: Nintendo / The Pokémon Company / GAME FREAK)

You see, I’m a massive Pokémon fan. To put it into context, I’ve got a Pikachu tattoo on my arm, a Lego Pikachu built out of over 5000 yellow bricks, Pokémon cards everywhere, and physical versions of most of the last 29 years of the franchise.

I’ve grown up with Pokémon, whether that was Pokémon Yellow, my first ever video game, to experiencing the joy of exploring Kanto after defeating the Johto Elite Four in Pokémon Gold.

I’ve played every Pokémon game and experienced every Pokémon region. From Kanto to Kalos, Johto to Unova, I’ve been there, and Pokémon has been with me through many different points of my life.

Every game that is, apart from one. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

It’s all about to change…

(Image credit: Game Freak)

When Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched in 2022, my love for Pokémon was at its peak. I was collecting cards almost weekly, was covering Pokémon TCG content for an old website I used to write for, and was playing all my favorite classic games on my Analogue Pocket (a modern-day Game Boy with hardware emulation).

Based on that setting, you’d think I’d have run to the store and bought Pokémon Scarlet and Violet at launch. Instead, the game looked terrible, ran terribly, and just made me crave the classics instead of playing a muddy-looking open-world Pokémon game with a new generation that I wasn’t interested in.

Over time, as Scarlet & Violet has made its way into the Pokémon TCG, I’ve fallen in love with new creatures like Tandemaus and Maushold, as well as new takes on classics like Raging Bolt, Great Tusk, and Iron Thorns.

As I’ve grown more fond of the new generation 9 Pokémon, I’ve wanted to play the latest games. Unfortunately, for me, there’s no way I can handle low framerates without getting motion sickness, and I don’t want to play an ugly-looking open-world that feels empty to explore.

Yesterday, Nintendo showcased a new gameplay trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Switch 2 through its Nintendo Today app, and as soon as I saw it, I purchased a copy of Pokémon Violet.

You see, the game now runs at higher resolution, and at what appears to be a locked 60fps, with perfectly smooth gameplay that I’ve been dreaming of. Best of all, the update is completely free, rather than an extra fee like some other improved versions of original Switch games.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Switch 2 is the epitome of what makes the new console a must-buy, giving you access to some of the best games of the last decade, but playable with 2025 standards.

Breath of the Wild is one of my favorite video games of all time, yet its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, barely got any playtime in my household. Why? Because when you’re playing AAA games on the PS5 Pro and then turning on a choppy mess that just feels awful to play, you quickly stop being able to cope with the difference.

I get motion sick very easily when gaming, and that was the crux of the Nintendo Switch for me, especially in demanding games like Tears of the Kingdom, or badly optimized ones like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware and backwards compatibility, I’m going to get to experience so many new games over the coming weeks. These original Switch games will feel brand-new, creating one of, if not the best, launch lineups we’ve ever seen.

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