This should have been a slam dunk. Nintendo and Monolith did a great job porting Xenoblade Chronicles X to the Nintendo Switch in 2025, making numerous improvements and additions in the process. With that said, there was certainly room for further technical improvements with the extra hardware muscle that the Nintendo Switch 2 has to offer. It seemed as though we would see that potential realized with the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, but what we’ve ended up with here is far from ideal.
If you’re new to the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, I’ll direct you to our full review of the original Nintendo Switch release. The short version is that this is an incredible RPG with a distinctive personality, set in a massive, amazingly well-realized world that keeps on giving back the more you put into it. It’s a great game, and if this Nintendo Switch 2 version is your only way of means of playing it, then so be it. Just about everything that makes the game excellent is still here, after all. Realistically, though, Nintendo Switch 2 owners have a choice. You could instead buy and play the Nintendo Switch version on your Switch 2, enjoying a generally fine experience with the usual light improvements the new console offers. Let’s look at the pluses and minuses of the two possible options.
First up, there’s the matter of price. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game is slightly more expensive than the original version, with a modestly-priced upgrade pack available to those who already own that Switch release. Unlike some other paid Switch 2 Edition upgrades, this one offers nothing beyond technical improvements. The pitch here promises a smoother framerate “up to” 60 frames per second and 4K resolution in TV mode, among other unspecified visual improvements. Whether that’s worth the small outlay of one’s local currency or not when many other similarly performance-focused Switch 2 Edition upgrades are free was already the subject of immediate debate, but it gets worse.
There are some definite benefits to this Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The framerate is indeed significantly improved, though it still has some dips in extremely busy moments. It’s a lot smoother at all times than previous versions of the game, unquestionably. This not only makes the game more visually pleasing but also improves the response time of the gameplay. The resolution is indeed also improved, though there is a cost here. It’s extremely apparent in handheld mode, but it also affects the game in TV mode. Some kind of upscaling filter has been applied to the game, and it’s either not working properly or is just terrible on its face. I’m not in a position to guess which of the two things is happening.
What happens is that visual elements flicker and flash as the filter changes its mind about how it wants to upscale on the fly, which can be very distracting. Even when it’s not rapidly alternating how it chooses to display things, it makes an absolute hash of some textures and details that looked fine before. It is almost impossible to miss when playing on the Switch 2’s built-in display, but it’s also noticeable when playing on a TV. There is no option to turn this filter off at the time of this writing, either. It’s a real bummer. With any luck, Nintendo will update the game and make this review largely redundant. For now, you have to choose between that highly welcome boost to the framerate and responsiveness or having textures that don’t look weird and mushy.
If you’re the sort of player who exclusively uses their Nintendo Switch 2 in docked mode, that trade-off is probably worth it. Whatever is going on with that filter is less pronounced in docked mode, making it easier to look past in order to get that lovely framerate upgrade. It’s a harder decision for those who frequently play in handheld mode, however. I’m not someone prone to noticing visual imperfections, and the weird textures jumped out right away, even to me. Paying for the privilege of this hotchpotch of benefits and drawbacks is not a great feeling. It might be best to wait and see if any fixes arrive for this before jumping in.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition isn’t just a handful of a title, it’s also a handful of an “upgrade”. With clear benefits in some aspects and obvious drawbacks in others, especially for handheld players, this version of the game makes for an awkward debut for the RPG franchise in native Switch 2 form. Playing on a TV, this is on the whole an improvement over the original Switch version running on Switch 2. The trade-offs aren’t big ones. It’s a shame this came at the cost of severely mucking up the textures in handheld mode, and I sincerely hope that Nintendo and Monolith don’t simply leave it in this form. This game deserves a better fate than that.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Nintendo
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