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kevboard · 2026-03-17T01:29:56+0000

FINALLY! I have been saying this is a must literally since the Switch 2 was announced!

you can now make Switch 1 games think they are in Docked mode, even when playing handheld.

so now, if a game is 1080p docked, it will be 1080p in handheld mode! instead of looking like a low resolution mess!

this is huge news for the Xenoblade games especially!
Xenoblade 2 looked like an absolute shitshow in handheld mode before.

Germuso · 2026-03-17T01:33:04+0000

And they tried to charge a patch for xenoblade, lets see how looks now.

VGA-Games · 2026-03-17T01:33:57+0000

Awesome

Alexios · 2026-03-17T01:35:42+0000

Damn, I got excited cos I always wondered since Switch, as docks don't add any hardware or anything, why they don't just allow this universally and it's up to the user if they wanna destroy their battery life or not (or play plugged in etc.), but it's just for Switch games played on 2, not for everything.

bender · 2026-03-17T01:37:53+0000

Switch 2 is a handheld beast.

Fermbiz · 2026-03-17T01:41:44+0000

Thats quite the update.

nial · 2026-03-17T01:48:33+0000

I remember thinking this was going to be a thing day one.

BlackTron · 2026-03-17T01:50:37+0000

A lot of Switch 1 games looked worse blown up on that bigger screen than they did on 1, this was really badly needed.

linko9 · 2026-03-17T01:52:11+0000

Amazing, never thought they would do this. Great news!

kevboard · 2026-03-17T01:54:09+0000

Just threw in Xenoblade 2... and man, it really is so much better!

like, even docked mode never looked amazing or anything, BUT docked mode on a handheld screen, actually looks fine!

took 2 quick snaps to show how bad handheld mode looked in this game:

Docked Mode:

Handheld Mode;

Alexios · 2026-03-17T01:57:34+0000

kevboard said:
Just threw in Xenoblade 2... and man, it really is so much better!

like, even docked mode never looked amazing or anything, BUT docked mode on a handheld screen, actually looks fine!

took 2 quick snaps to show how bad handheld mode looked in this game:

Docked Mode:

Handheld Mode;

Haha, handheld mode makes it look like some baten kaitos screen or something like it's 90s-00s grainy prerendered environment stuff. I'm sure it's horribad in motion though. But lovely art.

Harkonnen · 2026-03-17T02:02:08+0000

kevboard said:
Just threw in Xenoblade 2... and man, it really is so much better!

like, even docked mode never looked amazing or anything, BUT docked mode on a handheld screen, actually looks fine!

took 2 quick snaps to show how bad handheld mode looked in this game:

Docked Mode:

Handheld Mode;

Impressive ! I'll try it to see it in motion tomorrow.

ADiTAR · 2026-03-17T02:03:02+0000

Switch 2 is a beast.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T02:03:36+0000

Alexios said:
Haha, handheld mode makes it look like some baten kaitos screen or something like it's 90s-00s grainy prerendered environment stuff. I'm sure it's horribad in motion though. But lovely art.

it looks awful in motion, because it also uses TAA, so everything is smearing.

sadly you can only take 720p screenshots it seems, so the difference is not as apparent

oh, you can swap between Docked and Handheld mode btw without closing the game which is cool. so just going into the system settings and changing the setting will swap the game in and out of docked mode.

and you can see the game swap modes in real time because the controller confirm window will come up before it actually swaps

rodrigolfp · 2026-03-17T02:06:16+0000

Finally Sonic Racing Crossroads doesn't look like shit.

Spukc · 2026-03-17T02:09:58+0000

kevboard said:
Just threw in Xenoblade 2... and man, it really is so much better!

like, even docked mode never looked amazing or anything, BUT docked mode on a handheld screen, actually looks fine!

took 2 quick snaps to show how bad handheld mode looked in this game:

Docked Mode:

Handheld Mode;

That game looks like fucking dogshit no matter what

Magic Carpet · 2026-03-17T02:11:04+0000

Does this oatmeal dome work for nintendo or something?

danklord · 2026-03-17T02:12:22+0000

Astral Chain... now playable for the first time!

consoul · 2026-03-17T02:16:40+0000

YES. They fucking did it.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T02:18:59+0000

Spukc said:
That game looks like fucking dogshit no matter what

it's actually decent IMO in handheld mode now.

the issue with docked mode before was that it was blown up to a big 4k screen, but playing it on a small handheld screen is actually decent!

Handheld

Docked

these screenshots don't do it full justice either, as it only takes 720p screenshots sadly (since it's a Switch 1 game)

all the exteme sharpening artifacts are gone, the TAA doesn't look too smeary anymore, and the target resolution is ok enough on a small screen to not be bothersome anymore imo.

justiceiro · 2026-03-17T02:19:44+0000

Man, it's not a lot, but for monster hunter rise is making all the difference in the world. Finally!

LavitzSlambert · 2026-03-17T02:22:53+0000

Handheld

Docked

ShakenG · 2026-03-17T02:24:33+0000

Great update.

analog_future · 2026-03-17T02:25:29+0000

Whoa, that's huge!

JORMBO · 2026-03-17T02:27:47+0000

Xenoblade 2 actually looks decent now!

FoxMcChief · 2026-03-17T02:28:42+0000

This is fucking awesome!!!!

kevboard · 2026-03-17T02:40:50+0000

Just tested Mario Kart 8, and it's like getting a free Switch 2 patch, since it's matching the screen resolution now, just like all those actual Switch 2 updates did.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T02:45:39+0000

danklord said:
Astral Chain... now playable for the first time!

still hoping for a 60fps patch tho...

it's nice that it is high res in handheld mode now, but that 30fps is still a bummer

Wilhelm_85 · 2026-03-17T02:46:33+0000

This is genuinely awesome. Surprised to see Nintendo actually put out something like this.

I've only tried Trials of Mana and Monster Hunter Rise so far, but they both look a ton better on the Switch 2 screen now.

nikos · 2026-03-17T02:47:09+0000

This update is breathing new life into games. Some I've never been able to play at their native resolution because I had a 4K TV for the Switch's entire lifecycle and they either didn't run at native in handheld or I only played them docked.

I'm currently booting up a ton of games just to see how they look. First one was Absolum and it looked crispy.

Now if only they'd uncap frames, even as an experimental feature.

FoxMcChief · 2026-03-17T02:55:15+0000

I see a clear difference with REmake as well. Resolution is crisper, no doubt.

Handheld mode just got a penis enlargement.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T02:56:39+0000

nikos said:
This update is breathing new life into games. Some I've never been able to play at their native resolution because I had a 4K TV for the Switch's entire lifecycle and they either didn't run at native in handheld or I only played them docked.

I'm currently booting up a ton of games just to see how they look. First one was Absolum and it looked crispy.

Now if only they'd uncap frames, even as an experimental feature.

uncapping framerates would probably go too far, developers would probably not greenlight that.

they would need to give massive warnings in big red text every time you launch a game, that say something like "YOU ARE USING UNLOCKED FPS MODE!!! ANY ISSUES YOU SEE WHILE PLAYING MIGHT BE CAUSED BY THIS SETTING! TURN IT OFF IF YOU ARE SEEING ISSUES!!!" in order to make sure publishers/developers don't get bug reports or bad PR due to issues this could bring.

nikos · 2026-03-17T03:03:12+0000

kevboard said:
uncapping framerates would probably go too far, developers would probably not greenlight that.

they would need to give massive warnings in big red text every time you launch a game, that say something like "YOU ARE USING UNLOCKED FPS MODE!!! ANY ISSUES YOU SEE WHILE PLAYING MIGHT BE CAUSED BY THIS SETTING! TURN IT OFF IF YOU ARE SEEING ISSUES!!!" in order to make sure publishers/developers don't get bug reports or bad PR due to issues this could bring.

Yeah, it would have to come with a ton of warnings. I'm OK with all of that but I understand why they don't do it.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T03:05:32+0000

nikos said:
Yeah, it would have to come with a ton of warnings. I'm OK with all of that but I understand why they don't do it.

I am actually kinda shocked they gave us this boost mode.

while I was hoping for it to be a thing ever since the system was even leaked, I still always thought it will be unlikely, and very unlike Nintendo to offer such a mode...

so this is a very pleasant surprise

nikos · 2026-03-17T03:08:17+0000

kevboard said:
I am actually kinda shocked they gave us this boost mode.

while I was hoping for it to be a thing ever since the system was even leaked, I still always thought it will be unlikely, and bery unlikely Nintendo to offer such a mode...

so this is a very pleasant surprise

Same here. This is the way it should be, but the way it should be often isn't the case with Nintendo lol. Really glad we got this.

DarkShadowXI · 2026-03-17T03:22:07+0000

Unexpected and well welcomed!

FoxMcChief · 2026-03-17T03:22:22+0000

Anyone boot up Metroid Dread?

kevboard · 2026-03-17T03:28:09+0000

FoxMcChief said:
Anyone boot up Metroid Dread?

yup, looks great.

not 1080p, but close enough (900p). and way cleaner than handheld mode.

handheld mode of Switch 1 games has the additional issue on Switch 2 that they scale unevenly, and low resolution + uneven scaling is a really bad combo for image clarity.

the higher the resolution the less obvious the uneven scaling is.

DarkShadowXI · 2026-03-17T03:38:18+0000

kevboard said:
handheld mode of Switch 1 games has the additional issue on Switch 2 that they scale unevenly, and low resolution + uneven scaling is a really bad combo for image clarity.

the higher the resolution the less obvious the uneven scaling is.

Cool, now I'll notice something I never would've noticed on my own. Great. lol

Kuranghi · 2026-03-17T03:41:22+0000

With this I wonder what the chances of a general boost mode in TV mode for S1 titles is, I really wanna play Luigis Mansion 3 with pristine IQ or 60fps.

The patches are great for the most part but for some reason LM3 didnt get one.

mrpants · 2026-03-17T03:49:12+0000

Finally now to revisit some good old switch games

kevboard · 2026-03-17T04:11:32+0000

Kuranghi said:
With this I wonder what the chances of a general boost mode in TV mode for S1 titles is, I really wanna play Luigis Mansion 3 with pristine IQ or 60fps.

The patches are great for the most part but for some reason LM3 didnt get one.

the issue with docked mode improvements through a system setting is that it would be untested.

docked mode is a tested setting of the game, so offering it while playing on the handheld isn't risking any real technical issues.

and I kinda doubt Nintendo is gonna do something like Microsoft and offer resolution or fps boosts without patches, because they not only would need to test each game they boost, but also need a way to inject the change like Microsoft does... and not sure they can do that as easily as Microsoft can.

Tajaz2426 · 2026-03-17T04:14:46+0000

Damn, now I'm walking over to the desk to check for the update at midnight. Gotta be up in a couple hours damn it.

Oh well, guess I'll catch this update and the Pro one and give my wife the finger in a couple hours when she awakens and starts talking to me.

Good start to a day, I say.

Magic Carpet · 2026-03-17T04:14:53+0000

Where is the setting? Do you press + in menu on each game? Or is it a system wide setting? I don't know if any of my games will boost

Edit-never mind I found it in setup system settings.

nikos · 2026-03-17T04:16:53+0000

Magic Carpet said:
Where is the setting? Do you press + in menu on each game? Or is it a system wide setting? I don't know if any of my games will boost

It's a global setting.

Settings -> System - Nintendo Switch Software Handling

touchfuzzy · 2026-03-17T04:22:52+0000

I just bought a Switch 1 game today for the first time since Switch 2 came out, so, you're welcome everyone.

kevboard · 2026-03-17T04:24:45+0000

Magic Carpet said:
Where is the setting? Do you press + in menu on each game? Or is it a system wide setting? I don't know if any of my games will boost

Edit-never mind I found it in setup system settings.

you can flip back and forth without closing the game btw. (it's just annoying going through the whole menu again lol)

linko9 · 2026-03-17T04:33:58+0000

Just played some Dark Souls, looks great. 30 fps, but great image quality. The Switch version is the only one you can currently buy that keeps the original graphics, not remastered.

Magic Carpet · 2026-03-17T04:34:03+0000

kevboard said:
you can flip back and forth without closing the game btw. (it's just annoying going through the whole menu again lol)

I tried it on Diablo 3 and it makes a big difference in that game. Most of the Nintendo games seem to play the same.

FoxMcChief · 2026-03-17T04:55:58+0000

I just booted up Metroid Prime Remastered. Looks clean as hell on the Switch 2 screen.

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