The Media Man Reviews: Nintendo Switch 2

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gamers of all ages. It's time for something brand new here on themediamanblog! For the first time ever, I'm going to review...a video-games console!

Before you ask, yes, that still counts as reviewing media. Games consoles allow you to play video-games, which are a form of media, thus games consoles count as a means of consuming media, thus it counts as media. Besides, I never said I wouldn't review games consoles anyway. It's just that we got a brand new one this year and it seemed appropriate to cover it, especially as I've recently gotten my hands on one. That console...is the Nintendo Switch 2.

The long-awaited sequel to Nintendo's extremely successful Nintendo Switch console, the Switch 2 was released earlier this year, and is already a massive success. Not only is it pretty much THE number one new gadget that everybody has to have for 2025, but it's the fastest selling Nintendo console to date, having sold 3.5 million copies in FOUR DAYS! That's insane! And when you consider the ridiculously high price the console sells for, that's really impressive!

While I'm not exactly a hardcore gamer, I knew I had to get the Nintendo Switch 2 for myself as my old Switch is showing signs of wear and also I want to keep up-to-date with any and all new Pokémon releases since they'll eventually stop making them for the Switch. So as you can see, I got my own copy, and quite quickly too for I ordered mine off of the Smyths Toys website and it came the next day. Talk about fast and efficient delivery!

So how does the Nintendo Switch 2 fare up? Is it a great new console that you absolutely must have? Is it a worthy sequel to the original Switch? Let's "switch" on this console and find out...

Appearance

Appearance wise, the Nintendo Switch 2 pretty much looks like what you'd expect it to look like: the original Switch but a little bigger than before. It's a wide, flat rectangular console with a pair of attachable Joy-Cons on either side and unlike the original Switch, it's completely black in colour save for the coloured rings around the joysticks as you see here. I still love the look of this console though. It looks super sleek and modern, as you'd expect, and the console is very comfortable hold too. It's got smooth edges everywhere and the controls are in just the right place so as not to cause any discomfort to your hands as you hold the console and play it.

As the picture shows, you have all your classic Switch controls still accounted for with arrow keys. joysticks where one moves your character and one moves the camera, the X, Y, B and A buttons, the home button, the little square button that lets you take photos and 30-second videos, the plus and minus buttons and even the L and R triggers around the back. However, you may have noticed there's a new button that the original console didn't have: that little "C" button below the home button. That's for the console's new GameChat feature, but I don't do the online stuff, so I won't have any need for it. For those that do, pressing that button lets you chat with Nintendo Switch 2 friends and the console itself has a built-in microphone that can pick up your voice, even from far away. That's pretty nifty if you ask me, but again it's not something a solitary gamer like me will ever use. Still, it's great the console has a feature like that for more sociable gamers. After all, modern consoles like this tend to prioritize online connectivity amongst other things as a means to keep gamers all over the world connected and playing together.

I overall have no complaints with how the console looks. I especially think making the Joy-Cons the same colour as the console itself gives it a better look than the original Switch as now they blend in better and don't stick out so much. While it may look near identical to its predecessor, I can assure you it is a little larger and, as expected from a sequel console, much more powerful...

Features

The Switch 2 has the features that made the original Switch such a unique console and a runaway success. The console features two detachable Joy-Cons like the ones you see here, and they're colour-coded for your convenience. Blue is right-handed and orange is left-handed. I absolutely love how securely the Joy-Cons fit into this console. For the original, they would more or less just slide into slots on the side of the console, which was fine enough but never felt the most secure to me. These controllers feel way more secure by comparison. They don't just slot into the side of the console, they're also magnetized and once they attach into the console, they cannot be removed unless you press a button on the back that releases them. In handheld mode the console feels very secure and solid thanks to how well the controllers attach and fit into the sides.

You can play the console the same way that the old one was meant to be played. You can play it handheld with the Joy-Cons attached, handheld with the controllers detached and handheld with the controllers attached to this control piece that allows you to more or less play the Switch 2 with a more traditional video-game controller. I honestly think it's pretty cool using it this way and it's especially fun using it this way when I play it on my TV. Just like with the console, the Joy-controllers fit securely into the accessory and can't be detached unless you press the release buttons around the back. The Joy-Cons need recharging after a while. Mine lasted about two days before they began to get low on power. Recharging's very simple thankfully as you just need to clip them into the sides of the switch while in console or docked mode and they charge up again very quickly.

This console does have a feature that the original Switch didn't have though. What do I mean? As you can see in this photo, the Switch 2 can actually stand up and be used like a desktop computer. How is this possible?

That's how. The console includes a fold-out stand at the back, so you can stand it up like so if you prefer to play your Switch without holding it in your hands. Unlike the previous Switch where you have to buy a stand for it, the Switch 2 has its own here, which is a huge benefit for it means less money to spend. And considering this damn thing costs about £395 already, avoiding having to spend even more money on it is kind of a big deal! The one down side is that, on my copy at least, the stand feels a bit stiff to move. I don't know if that's with all consoles or just mine, but it does mean I have to be careful with it so I don't risk snapping it. At the same time, it doesn't feel like it'll snap easily, the stand does feel like it's made of pretty strong plastic. Not that it matters since I won't be using the stand much anyway. I'll mostly be playing my Switch 2 in docked mode. Speaking of...

This of course is the big feature: the fact the Switch 2 can be played either in handheld form or on your TV like a traditional games console. This was what made its predecessor such a runaway success and what made the Switch the most unique gaming experience ever invented. No other console can do this. In docked form, the Switch 2 can plug into your TV via a HDMI cable and it comes with its own AC adapter that has to be plugged in in order for you to use the Switch 2 in this way, as well as to keep it charged. I still think it's so damn cool that there's a console you can do this with. Like with the Switch, the picture is beautifully clear when the Switch 2 is played on your TV, truly making it look as if you're playing your Switch games but on a bigger screen.

In terms of other features, I already mentioned the new C button and what that does. But what I didn't mention is that the Joy-Cons can be used as a computer mouse with compatible games. You may need to look up which games let you use them this way. Also, the Switch 2 has a camera accessory (that you need to buy separately) so that when you go in GameChat mode, you can let people see as well as hear you. It also works with compatible USB-C cameras too. Also like the original Nintendo Switch, you can fit micro-SD cards inside the console, but there's a catch: it's ONLY compatible with micro-SD express cards. It won't work with any other micro-SD cards, so if you want to be able to save your pictures and video-clips on them and upload them anywhere else, you're out of luck. It doesn't help they're pricey as well, so that's more money you'll have to spend unnecessarily. I won't bother with this myself.

For those who may want to know, another feature of the Switch 2 that's an upgrade from its predecessor is the amount of storage space. The previous Switch could hold about 32-64 gigabytes. The Switch 2 includes 256 gigabytes of internal storage. So yeah, I don't think you need to worry about storage space with this thing. XD Oh and big shocker, the Switch 2 still includes online connectivity and allows you to use Nintendo Switch Online services. Not that I'll need them as again, I'm a solitary gamer, but it's a big deal to those who are more sociable so it's only fair I bring it up here.

Overall, the Nintendo Switch 2 has all the features of the old console, plus some new ones to justify its existence and the price to pay for it. What more would you expect from the Switch's sequel console?

Set-Up

The Nintendo Switch 2 is easy to set-up. Surprisingly, it was able to turn on immediately after I got it out of the box. So what, do the suppliers charge the thing up before they sell it or something?

Anyhow, the Switch 2 is easy to set-up, mainly because it saves you some of the hassle of setting up that you went through on the original Switch. The reason why is because the Switch 2 allows you to actually transfer all your save data from your old Switch to this one. That's right, ALL OF IT. It's an easy process too. You just set up both consoles and choose the System Transfer feature.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The consoles need to be close to each other for the transfer to work, so remember that.

Also, you'll need to plug the AC adapter into the consoles in order for them to carry it out, so don't forget to do that either.

Unfortunately, there has been at least one report of an unfortunate user losing his save data from Pokémon Scarlet when he did the system transfer, thus there's the risk that it might not transfer all your save data over and you risk potentially losing some of it. Luckily, I didn't lose anything when I did the transfer, and there haven't been widespread reports of such a thing happening, so it's NOT a universal problem thankfully. Still, it is something to take caution with whenever you get yours.

As is, the set-up is very straight-forward and it doesn't take you long to get playing once it's done, which a good console should do.

Performance

Now for the most important part...the performance. How does the Nintendo Switch 2 perform? Excellently, that's how!

The Switch 2 boasts clear quality and smooth framerates during gameplay, and they truly deliver in that regard. My TV is a HD TV and the Switch 2 when in docked mode looks fantastic on my TV. Everything is beautifully crystal clear and truly pops on the screen, whether it's on my TV or on the Switch itself and the console can deliver this kind of quality on 4K screens as well, thus meaning you can play games with the highest quality of visuals imaginable. As for the framerate, the best example I can give of that is Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. The two games were given a free update in where they fixed the graphics and improved the framerate. The difference is as clear as night and day for playing Scarlet and Violet on the Switch 2 feels like playing a completely different game. The framerate is so smooth that it's almost uncanny, the colours look much more crisp and colourful there's no rough edges around the graphics or ugly white dots that you sometimes get and the whole thing overall feels like a complete visual upgrade. All this shows how all those games needed was just a console with more power behind it to bring it to life. Sadly, some of the older Switch games like Pokémon Sword & Shield and Legends: Arceus don't get any real upgrades like Scarlet and Violet did. Granted, older Switch games work just fine on the Switch 2, it's just if you want the game's best performance, you're better off playing actual Switch 2 games or Switch games that gave a free Switch 2 upgrade.

Speaking of, here's a list of games available for the Switch 2 as I'm writing this post: List of Nintendo Switch 2 games - Wikipedia

Going back to framerates for a second, for some weird reason it doesn't stay as smooth when you use the camera button to take 30 second clips of your game. I really don't get that. Shouldn't the camera button take the clips exactly as they play? It's so weird how the framerate drops when you watch those 30 second clips you've taken, but it's fine when you're playing or taking the clips. It certainly doesn't do that whenever gamers or YouTubers who make gaming videos film the game in its entirety as they play, so what's that all about?

Anyhow, back to performance. The Switch 2 is backwards compatible with most (but not all) Switch games, so you'll be able to play a good number of Switch games on this console too. You may have to look up which games aren't compatible with the Switch 2 as I don't have a list of them myself. Also, the console's battery life is estimated to be about 2 - 6.5 hours depending on the specific software being used, which may not seem that much but it ultimately doesn't matter if you do what I do and play the console with the charger plugged in. You need to do that if you're playing it in docked mode on your TV anyway. The console is also said to recharge in about three hours when in sleep mode. I can't confirm if that's the case or not, but I imagine it likely is and that a console like this wouldn't take that long to charge.

I have noticed that when playing in console mode, the Switch 2's internal fan is a little loud. That could be distracting for some players I imagine and I'm not sure if it's meant to be loud or not. I mostly play using it in docked mode so I can play on my TV, so I don't hear the fan anyway.

As is, I can't comment too much further on the performance as I haven't played many games on it yet (I did only just get this thing after all), but I have a feeling no matter what games I play on the Switch 2 going forwards, they'll look great and flow greatly as I play them. I can't wait to see how Pokémon: Legends Z-A will play when the game releases in October...

Conclusion

While it's early days, my first impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2 are very good. The console is a neat upgrade from last time, it keeps all the great stuff from the original console while improving on other things, it looks very sleek and feels comfortable to hold in your hands, it has greatly enhanced visual quality and performance that makes your gaming experience all the better and it's easy to set-up too. I really have little complaints about this system, it's such a great console.

If you're a hardcore gamer, then no duh I'd recommend this to you. If you're a casual gamer, I'd still recommend it. Just try not to worry about the price too much. The Nintendo Switch 2 proved that in the Switch's case, it can make lightning strike twice...

And that's it for this review. I hope you enjoyed seeing me review a games console for the first time ever and I'd be interested if you want me to do more of these. Would you like me to review another games console in the future? Do tell me.

Come back tomorrow for my next post where I analyse shot-by-shot the scene where Death is introduced. See you then media fans!