Nintendo Switch 2 is a mere six weeks away. While I’m excited for the new experiences that await in the near future like Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, I have been eager to return to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is the perfect excuse to do so now.
While I will forever remember The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for its impact, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to elevate its sandbox experience to even greater heights through letting us explore the sky, surface and depths.
It was a technical marvel for Nintendo Switch, but Link’s newfound abilities stretched the aged hardware to creaking point in places. To see those issues alleviated in the build shown at the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience: London event was incredible. With Nintendo delivering “smoother framerates, faster load times, and enhanced resolution and textures,” Hyrule has never looked better than this.
The faster load times in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition welcomingly quicken your exploration, too. Hyrule is an expansive location, and fast travelling is a necessity to discover the secrets hidden in its every nook and cranny. Even though the launch Nintendo Switch 2 model reverts back to an LCD screen, support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) still helps to make the game’s colour palette shine when playing in Handheld Mode. It didn’t feel like as much of a downgrade as I had feared.
I think that my brain has subconsciously made me hold out for the portable home console’s successor to return to Hyrule and continue my adventure. I checked, and I had a 46.99% completion rate for my original playthrough, which is far lower than how I’d usually like to exhaust a game’s content. Not that I ever got around to hunting down every Korok Seed to be rewarded Hestu’s Gift in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild…
With two save files in the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, like I’m sure many will be, I’m torn between starting a new adventure from scratch or simply searching for each Korok Seed or secret cave and overcoming the challenges of every Shrine of Light. Zelda Notes certainly sounds like it could make that far less painstaking, offering Google Maps-like voice navigation to such locations and, most interesting to me at least, new voice memories from characters like Princess Zelda for you to unlock. This will be available through the official Nintendo Switch app, which the Nintendo Switch Online app will be renamed to in late May.
The good news is that those who already own The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch can choose to purchase the game’s Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack (£7.99). Or, if you are a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscriber like me, the Upgrade Pack is included as part of your membership.
It could be some time until we see the next mainline The Legend of Zelda game, and so I am grateful that Nintendo has chosen to revisit and spruce up what have already become revered classics. I’m determined to achieve a 100% completion rate, because Hyrule deserves no less from its legendary hero.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be released at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide on 5 June 2025.
