TheNintendo Switchhas a number of phenomenal landmark franchises, from sprawling JRPGs likeXenoblade ChroniclesandFire Emblemto iconic mascot experiences likeSuper Mario WonderandBreath of the Wild. Each of these cemented the Switch as being a worthwhile console and most were why I picked one up in the first place. Back in 2017, it felt like a need to playBreath of the Wild, a requirement as a JRPG fan to have experiencedXenoblade Chronicles 2at least once, and, eventually, a must to play the epic school-sim SRPG,Fire Emblem Three Houses.
I loved all of these games, which is why, back in 2021, maybe 2022, I was actually excited for a Switch 2. However,as more time passed, and as my Nintendo Switch quickly began to collect dust, my desire for a Switch 2 dwindled significantly. It has gotten to the point where I’m not sure if I even want one, and yet, there is onefirst-party Nintendo gamethat would get me to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 in a heartbeat so long as it launched alongside it.
I Don’t Really Care About Switch 2
Having A ROG Ally Has Ruined Handheld Gaming For Me
I wish I cared more about the Nintendo Switch 2 than I do, but I really don’t. The muted announcement trailer did little to raise my spirits, and having long since put down my Switch - it rests rather neatly yet hauntingly silently on a shelf in my house - I don’t have much affinity for anything coming out for the platform. The Switch 2 is also not inherently exciting. It more or less looks the same, albeit a bit more black and bigger, and we’ve not seen any gameplay of upcoming games save thatfive-secondMario Kart 9clip.
Considering the Nintendo Switch 2 is outdated the second it comes out, thus likely barely able to play newer titles likeMonster Hunter Wilds, I’m more likely to invest in a newer handheld PC than the Nintendo Switch 2.
It also doesn’t help that I own a ROG Ally. For years, I suffered through badly optimized ports of games on the Switch simply because I prefer to play handheld, but the ROG Ally doesn’t really have that problem. It runs games far better than the original Switch could ever hope to, and considering theNintendo Switch 2 is outdatedthe second it comes out, thus likely barely able to play newer titles likeMonster Hunter Wilds,I’m more likely to invest in a newer handheld PC than the Nintendo Switch 2. There’s really nothing here worth getting excited about.
Only Xenoblade Chronicles 4 Could Make Me Buy The Switch 2
Or Whatever Monolith Soft’s Next Game Is
That’s not to say that I think people who are excited are wrong in feeling that way. I can understand the buzz behind the Nintendo Switch 2, especially as it has been such a long time in the making. However,I can’t see anything that could convince me to buy one on launch day. Well, that is save for one game:Xenoblade Chronicles 4. If Monolith Soft announces its next game during theNintendo Switch 2 April Directand reveals it is releasing as a launch title, I wouldn’t hesitate to pre-order a Switch 2.
I am a hugeXenoblade Chroniclesfan, so much so that I’d be willing to fork over potentially$400 for the Switch 2just to play the next entry. Of course, I’m well aware that Monolith Soft is pretty much done with theXenoblade Chroniclesfranchise, so there’s little chance of me getting another numbered entry. However,I’d pick up a Switch 2 for whatever game it has been developing over the past few years, so long as it isn’t some bizarre dating sim or looks blatantly terrible. Fortunately, I doubt either of those would happen.
Monolith Soft’s Next Game Will Be Groundbreaking
They Make The Most Of Nintendo’s Hardware
There’s more to my desire for a Switch 2 Monolith Soft launch title beyond loving the developer and everything it creates. Historically, Monolith has pushed Nintendo’s hardware to its absolute limit, and its games served as a showcase for what each console is capable of.EachXenobladegame was the pinnacle of what its Nintendo console could offer, withXenoblade Chronicles Xalmost being too big to fit onto a Wii U disc. If Monolith Soft has a game releasing for the Nintendo Switch 2 on day one, we can be sure it’ll push the console to its absolute limits.
This Rumored Switch 2 Game Has Me More Excited Than Any Other Potential Launch Title
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is rumored to release on Nintendo Switch 2, and I couldn’t think of a more ideal launch title for the new console
That’s an exciting prospect and also a helpful way of gauging just what we can expect from the Nintendo Switch 2 going forward in terms of performance, graphical fidelity, and level of ambition for its biggest projects. Of course, not every Nintendo game needs to be a sprawling JRPG, but there’s nothing like a massive 100+ narrative-drive, cutscene-heavy, open-world JRPG to showcase just how powerful your hardware is. Hopefully, theNintendo Switch 2has a Monolith Soft game lined up at launch, otherwise, I can’t imagine I’ll be picking one up any time soon.
