{"id":22437,"date":"2025-12-23T17:07:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T09:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=22437"},"modified":"2025-12-23T17:07:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T09:07:59","slug":"10-nintendo-switch-games-limited-by-the-hardware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=22437","title":{"rendered":"10 Nintendo Switch Games Limited by the Hardware"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Switch launched on March 3, 2017, and alongside it was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild<\/em>. That may be the best launch game of all time, or at least it is for a Nintendo console. The combo was enough to send everyone into a frenzy to get the console, leading to its success.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t10 Underrated Nintendo Switch JRPGs Deserving A Huge Comeback In 2025<\/p>\n<\/h5>\n

These underrated Japanese role-playing games deserve a comeback on Nintendo Switch in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Because it was so convenient to play games on the go or at home without worrying about syncing up save data to a cloud, the console\u2019s fans quickly started to chant the motto, \u201cPut it on Switch.\u201d The Switch was great for a time, but not every game worked impressively well on the console. Some games were definitely held back by the waning hardware. They weren\u2019t necessarily bad games, but they were rough in some places.<\/p>\n

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\n Animal Crossing: New Horizons
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\n Complicated Multiplayer
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Animal Crossing: New Horizons<\/em> came out at the right time on Switch to help players cope with being stuck inside during the pandemic. Players could explore their island, cut down trees, plant crops, and decorate their home to their heart\u2019s content, and it was all a smooth operation. The one thing that wasn\u2019t smooth was the multiplayer, which could have been hindered by the Switch\u2019s internal chips. Going between islands was a long wait and more complicated than it needed to be, which could be fixed with the upcoming Switch 2 version.<\/p>\n

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\n Bayonetta 3
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\n An Action Dip
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Bayonetta<\/em> originated as a multiplatform game on the PS3 and Xbox 360 before Nintendo acquired it as an exclusive series during the Wii U era. Bayonetta 2<\/em> and the original game, which was ported, ran incredibly well on the Wii U, and it looked good too, as all action games should. Bayonetta 3 <\/em>took a dip in quality, which is funny considering it was on a successor console to the Wii U. The graphics weren\u2019t as impressive as they could look a bit blurry at times, and while the action was still fun and intense, it wasn\u2019t as buttery smooth compared to other high-profile titles from PlatinumGames.<\/p>\n

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\n Mortal Kombat 1
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\n Becoming A Meme
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Mortal Kombat 1<\/em> quickly became a meme when it was released simultaneously on the Switch alongside other consoles. The characters lacked detail and appeared smooth and sometimes goofy-looking, especially when it came to their teeth. There were patches that fixed the visuals a bit, but they weren\u2019t enough to make it look comparable to the PS5 version, for example. Beyond graphics, players had to wait through load times, and the quality of the fighting was way below average, making this version a mystery as to whether anyone at NetherRealm Studios actually played the game before release.<\/p>\n

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\n Hogwarts Legacy
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\n Not Very Magical
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Hogwarts Legacy<\/em> had similar problems to Mortal Kombat 1<\/em>, except it didn\u2019t reach meme status quite as fast. It was the equivalent of getting a PS2 version of a game during the PS3 era, meaning that players should have known what they were getting into.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tNintendo Switch 2 Still Doesn\u2019t Have These Iconic Games (And It Hurts)<\/p>\n<\/h5>\n

As 2026 looms ever closer, fans are already itching to get new Switch 2 games, even if some of them are older.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The load times were long, the characters and the environments lacked detail, and it just didn\u2019t feel like a big open-world adventure next to the other versions. Thankfully, the Switch 2 version is more comparable to consoles like the PS5 now, and Harry Potter<\/em> fans can finally enjoy the game on a Nintendo console without feeling like they are missing out.<\/p>\n

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\n Super Mario Maker 2
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\n Not As Versatile As The Wii U
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Super Mario Maker 2<\/em> was everything fans could have wanted in a sequel to the original Wii U game. There were more options to share levels online, it was quick and easy to make and test levels in handheld mode, and there were more options overall in what players could do mechanically, but there were also some things that the game regressed on. For example, it did not support Amiibo costumes, meaning players could not play as Link from the Zelda<\/em> series or Marth from Fire Emblem<\/em>. Also, in docked mode, players couldn\u2019t use the touch controls on the Switch, so making levels became harder. The Wii U simply had a better design with the GamePad, making construction just a bit easier.<\/p>\n

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\n Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX
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\n Cloud-Based Gaming
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Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX<\/em> is the example chosen to highlight the problem with the cloud version of games released on the Switch. Instead of natively porting games to the Switch in lower quality, some companies decided to host their games in the cloud to presumably boost performance. Every game in the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX<\/em> ran okay, but because the internet connection wasn\u2019t the smoothest internally on the Switch, it wasn\u2019t as good as playing natively on a console. It\u2019s a bit odd that Square Enix went this route since these Kingdom Hearts<\/em> games were mostly from the PS2 era and should have thus run fine on the Switch.<\/p>\n

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\n Miitopia
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\n Passing On SpotPass
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Miitopia<\/em> was a 3DS game originally that was an auto-playing turn-based RPG. The gimmick involved the game using Miis players who came across using SpotPass and StreetPass functionality. By 2017, when the game launched in North America, most 3DS users probably had a wide array of friends they could import into the game. It was never the system\u2019s best RPG, but the friend gimmick made it fun to go through. While it was a good idea to make a Switch version so that new players could discover it, the new version lacked the SpotPass magic of the original, thus making the Switch port inferior.<\/p>\n

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\n Pokemon Scarlet\/Violet
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\n It\u2019s Not Super Effective
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It\u2019s understandable when third parties launch poor quality versions of their games on inferior consoles, like Mortal Kombat 1 <\/em>and Hogwarts Legacy<\/em>. It\u2019s less understandable when a big Nintendo partner like Game Freak launches games like Pokemon Scarlet <\/em>and Pokemon Violet<\/em>, which looked like beta versions.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t6 Best Games You Can ONLY Play On Nintendo Switch 2<\/p>\n<\/h5>\n

So far, these Switch 2 games are entirely exclusive to the platform that even Switch fans can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Everything felt off about the games, which was sad because these were the pillars of the next big Pokemon<\/em> generation. The games ran poorly with low frame rates, and the characters, Pokemon, and the world lacked detail. It now runs smoother on the Switch 2, but there\u2019s no forgetting how these games looked initially for diehard Pokemon<\/em> fans.<\/p>\n

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