Forget rebirth, the game I really want to see on the Switch 2 is Final Fantasy 15

While it currently lacks worthwhile first-party exclusives, it's hard to fault the Switch 2 for banger ports of existing blockbusters that look great and perform well, even if they deal with significant hardware limitations. Nintendo's original hybrid console gained an infamous reputation for blurry ports, which many saw as the worst ways to play some incredible games – although it was impressive to get them to run on such an undersized console. But if you only had a Switch, at least the option was there.

The Switch 2 subverted that reputation, and I consider its versions of Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, Dynasty Warriors Origins, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Street Fighter 6 to be a solid means of experiencing excellent games. Yes, there are some significant visual and performance downgrades if you're coming from PS5 or PC, but otherwise there's not much to complain about.

If I experienced Night City for the first time on Switch 2, chances are I'll walk away happy. But have these ports become the new standard, or is the console still capable of impressing us?

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is another winner on Switch 2

Before I start discussing the title of this article you clicked on, I would first like to give some praise to the upcoming version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for Nintendo Switch 2. I was already impressed with how well it handled the first entry in this remake trilogy, offering great visuals and performance that rivaled the PS4 Pro version of the game, but many expected the console to have a much harder time with its open-world successor.

You can download the playable demo of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for Switch 2 and Xbox right now. It contains the first two chapters and also transfers your progress.

Not only did it start life as a PS5 exclusive, it also ditched Midgar's linear design for vast open-world zones and a combat system with far more elaborate attacks that fill the screen with elaborate graphical effects. It was difficult at times even for Sony's console, often subject to notable stuttering or stuttering issues thanks to Unreal Engine 5. Porting this to the Switch 2 couldn't have been an easy task, let alone making it look and perform decently.

The texture quality is significantly reduced and the character models aren't as detailed, and if you stop and stare at most environments you'll find them muddy compared to something like the PS5 Pro. But then again, if you're enjoying Rebirth on Switch 2 for the first time, there's nothing to complain about.

You'll have a comparable experience, not to mention that it comes with a number of gameplay features that weren't in the original. With the hybrid console already handling modern blockbusters like this, I doubt anything will break until the next generation of PlayStation and Xbox finally arrives.

With the Switch 2 handling modern releases with relative grace, part of me wants to see developers and publishers go back to their libraries and bring a selection of hits to the platform. And while we're in the JRPG mood, why not make Final Fantasy 15 one of them?

It's time to remaster Final Fantasy 15 for Switch 2

The main cast of Final Fantasy 15 goes on an adventure and poses in front of their Regalia car.

First released in November 2016, a few months before the Switch, Final Fantasy 15 is a bit of a flawed masterpiece. It started life as a completely different game and spent an inordinate number of years stuck in developer hell, re-emerging as a numbered title at E3 2013 and ultimately receiving a mixed reception. People loved its cast of cute boys bonding over a fantastic road trip, but were ultimately let down by a story that seemed unfinished and a combat system that basically boiled down to holding down the attack key for dozens of hours.

Major updates, countless expansions, and eventual re-releases would greatly improve the game, but that initial buzz never went away, and the story never fully closed. I still have mixed feelings about Final Fantasy 15, but one thing I will never take away from it is how beautiful it looks. I loved how it presented us with a huge open world that we could explore on foot, by car or even in the air.

One of my fondest gaming memories remains spending hours simply cruising down the highways to my favorite tracks and letting the litany of charming conversations between Noctis and friends unfold. It's just a shame it was held back by the lackluster story and bland quest design.

But whenever people bring up Final Fantasy 15, they rarely talk about those flaws, and that's because the things they got right, they really got right. Almost a decade later, it still looks great thanks to a custom Luminous Engine that allowed for detailed character models and a realistic lighting model that I still don't think the series has matched. I have no idea if this game engine would play well with the Switch 2, but I sure want to see it.

Maybe it's time for Final Fantasy 15 to release a modern port with a few more bells and whistles on current consoles to show new fans what they missed a decade ago. I'm also not afraid to admit that I'd love to do my own critical review, and it's a perfect fit for a platform like the Switch 2 – we know it'll handle older titles like this and even introduce them to a whole new audience.