Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch 1 & 2 Graphical Comparison
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition saw a surprise drop last week, much to the delight of fans of the series. Just two days later, social media was flooded with rumours, talk of AI upscaling, and even claims of a visual downgrade on Switch 2. That left me wondering: what is actually going on here? While working through my updated Switch 2 review, I decided the best approach was to step back from the noise and capture my own footage. So let’s take a look directly at some side-by-side comparisons to see how it all comes together across TV and handheld modes. Let’s dive right in.
First, this is a paid upgrade path. It costs $8 AUD, and the additions are straightforward: 4K output in TV mode and support for 60 frames per second. On paper, that makes this a fairly minimal upgrade. That said, the presentation does impress at first glance. The jump to 60 fps is immediately noticeable, and the smoother motion gives exploration and combat a cleaner, more responsive feel. So let’s start there.
Looking at this side-by-side footage, there do not appear to be any major changes to draw distance or level-of-detail pop-in. Environmental assets load in at roughly the same points as before. Textures appear to be upscaled rather than fully reworked, potentially using some form of AI-assisted upscaling. In docked mode, this generally looks fine thanks to the 4K output, but in handheld the effect can be more noticeable, which we will dive into shortly.
On the original Switch version, we would occasionally see minor performance dips, typically dropping two to three frames below target. Those dips were noticeable, particularly during busier combat encounters. Interestingly, similar hiccups can still occur on Switch 2. In some scenes, the frame rate briefly drops from 60 to around 57 frames per second. These moments are short and not nearly as disruptive as the original version’s dips, but they are present. My assumption is that this may be related to background loading or engine-level behaviour rather than raw hardware limitation, though that has not been officially confirmed.
Up close, the world of Mira in Xenoblade Chronicles X looks noticeably sharper. Characters, Fauna, and finer details like hair and clothing are clearer thanks to the resolution upscaling, and combined with the 60 frames per second boost, movement and combat feel smoother and more responsive. Looking back, the game already looked impressive on Wii U, and the Switch 1 version brought it almost to perfection, despite occasional pop-in and minor stutters. This added clarity in docked mode makes the world of Mira feel truly immersive, and I found myself getting lost in the game all over again. That said, docked mode is not without its flaws. Ground clutter, particularly grass, can blend together more than before, giving certain areas a slightly less defined appearance.
Handheld mode is where most of the controversy comes in, and it has been fairly divisive.
Because of the way the upscaling works, which appears to be machine-assisted rather than native higher-resolution assets, it can struggle with fine detail at a distance. The algorithm seems unsure what to smooth and what to preserve. The result on Switch 2 in handheld mode is that some objects and textures can take on an almost oil painting-like appearance. Ground textures, rocks, and mist can look muddled, and even shadow detail is reduced, blending further into that “brushstroke” effect. In this example, zoomed in, the rock surfaces lose definition, and parts of the tree start to blur into the oil painting-style texture.
By comparison, in the original Switch footage, the tree remains structurally straight and defined. It is clearly a lower-poly asset due to the level of detail render distance, but the edges look more consistent and less processed. Even so, up close, handheld visuals for characters and nearby objects remain sharper than on the original Switch, and combined with the 60 fps boost, gameplay still feels smooth and responsive.
There we have it, a short and sweet graphics comparison, because really, there are only a handful of changes. I do, however, want to weigh in with my two cents on this one…
I’m of two minds here. On one hand, a lot of the discourse has been fuelled by the internet outrage machine. On the other hand, consumers deserve better. This is a very minimal upgrade for a paid $8 AUD update. It could easily have been a simple free patch, like what we saw with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There are no new features or improvements to draw distance or level-of-detail pop-in, which could have made the upgrade feel more substantial. The handheld distance rendering is not a dealbreaker for me personally, but as paying customers, it probably shouldn’t have been an issue either. I have no doubt it may be patched in the future, but until then, Xenoblade fans are left with making the hard decision of choosing between performance at the cost of perfection.
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