Enhanced Performance: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch 2

I remember when I first slapped my greasy paws on the Nintendo Switch. It felt like holding the future, even if the load times were kinda like watching paint dry. Fast forward a few years, and bam! Here’s the Switch 2. It’s supposed to be all that and a bag of chips. Is it? Maybe. Anyway, there’s a lot to talk about. Should I start with Breath of the Wild? Nah, I’ll get to that.

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom—these games were like warm hugs in 2017 and 2023, respectively. No joke. Suddenly, I’m climbing cliffs instead of social ladders. Sorry, I get side-tracked a lot. So, this new Switch 2, right? It’s like putting glasses on and realizing trees have leaves. The games feel… sharper? Maybe that’s the word. Loading times aren’t waltzing through molasses anymore—more like zoom! And yes, I counted—loading from the home screen, snapping between save files, you name it. I’m talking, shave off seconds, maybe minutes. Or was it hours? No, exaggeration, but you get me.

We played these on a Switch OLED and a Switch 2, cutting no corners. Or maybe a few, but who’s counting? It was a load time smorgasbord. Five times we did it— boot, save, warp like ghosts across maps—just to see what stuck. Repeating stuff ’cause in gaming, it happens. Saves, travels, shrines, you know? Pretty much essential, if you care about your time.

Switch 2 smashes the old Switch—not literally, don’t smash it. Load times though? Sliced in half, maybe more. Could give you whiplash. Tears of the Kingdom especially, like it was born ready for this upgrade. Breath of the Wild? It’s there too, just a little slower on the uptake.

If you’d ask me, this whole Switch 2 thing sparkles the Zelda magic brighter. But oh, you wanna save some pennies? Try the old versions on Switch 2—haven’t done it myself, but hey, could be interesting. Or… not? Who can say?

Everything feels smoother now. It’s like butter on a hot pan, if that makes sense (does it?). But hold your mushrooms, it’s $10 more, for each game, or if you’re in the Nintendo Online Expansion club. Still pondering if it’s worth the plunge? I can’t call it for you. Just sharing a sliver of chaos from the Switch saga.