Witcher 3, all the Xenoblade games, Persona 5 and SMT5 the critics go: "It's amazing what can be done with the Switch hardware, bla bla bla!" SMT5 gets a remake and the critics go: "The best part of this remake is that we no longer have to play it on the Switch!"
I'm looking forward to playing SMT5V, but unfortunately it doesn't look like in going to get to it any time soon. But yeah, agreed, weird how critics are so quick to dismiss the switch now, games can still look great on it!
I miss when handheld versions of games sometimes did their own thing completely. Uncharted and AC on the vita for example, were games i really enjoyed as a port/handheld experiences that wasnt or didnt need to be the full verion, but at the same time added to the full game's lore/world.
It is okay for people to have preferences. While the Switch delivers passable graphics as a portable, some people prefer seeing their games look nice on a big screen...! It's not hypocritical to have this preference while also acknowledging how cool it can be to see the Switch pushed to its limits. Though if you prefer, I personally would be happy to just mock the system all the time ✨️
This video is the exact reason why I bought a switch lite in 2024, the kinds of games that can run on that small device despite it’s shortcomings is a testament to the term “gameplay not graphics” and even so the aesthetic that switch ports have is one of my favorites, I play mainly racing games on the switch which is very unconventional but I love it
I completely agree! Which racing games are you playing? Mario Kart 8 is in my top 5 games of all time, although I'm not sure if that's the type of racing game you're talking about. I've had a blast with V-Rally 4, even though the reviews for it said it was pretty bad, I've really enjoyed it.
@@GameDreamery I usually play sim oriented games like Grid Autosport, WRC Generations, or Ala Mobile GP, but there’s also a new racing sim called HotLap racing releasing soon which I definitely suggest checking out, I’m sure you’ll find my comments over there geeking about it too
One thing that does irks me is how Dragon Quest XI S handled their downgrade. They downgraded the game for Switch, of course, but that downgrade also carried over every single Port of Elusive Age, meaning that the vanilla game actually looks better than it’s enhanced version.
Finally someone who gets it. It's easy to make games on an powerful machine but it takes real talent to work with limitations! I always will love Switch ports, as I have loved GBA, DS and Wii ports in the past (and still do). Thank you for the positivity. As a Nintendo fan on the cruel and mean Internet, I needed that.
Amen! Thanks for your comment! I did not expect to find so many so many people who agreed with me, I assumed most people would think I'm nuts and this video might kill my credibility haha.
@@GameDreamery Most people enjoy portable systems, more people than home consoles. The haters online are what they are, haters online I guess. That fat WoW player from South Park comes to mind lol
@@OliGaming-d1u haha I love that episode. But yeah, after having kids, I'd never be able to play as much as I do without portables. I'll grab 15 min here and there when I can, and that's really the only way I ever finish games.
I was just about to mention RE2 for n64, considering they were able to compress a 2 disc game to roughly 60+ishMB AND keep the two playable characters, plus zapping system plus cut scenes and voice acting, all while adding console exclusives...nothing short of game programming witchcraft 😂
@@GameDreameryI have to put this out there then. The ds will blow your mind then. Such incredible racing games on there. The 3d graphics were really something to behold back then. The psp is literally the grand master of ambitious ports. Star wars unleashed is best on psp, Tony hawk's underground 2 remix. Graphics don't make a game, content and quality do.
@@ronnope3988 I'm working on a video about ambitious games on the GBA at the moment, but I plan on eventually doing one for DS and PSP in the future too! I think DS has my favorite 3D aesthetic of any portable system.
It really made sense to me when you compared these games that barely run to low budget or old movies. There's a certain charm in knowing what you're seeing and how they did it
I have a Switch V2 where I have been playing DOOM 2016 & DOOM: Eternal regularly. And it never ceases to amaze me how well these "impossible ports" can run on 2015 hardware. It all comes down to the porting developers to optimize the game for the target hardware. In the case of DOOM 2016 & DOOM Eternal, the wizards at Panic Button have done an amazing job with the Switch port. Despite the cuts made in visual fidelity ( when compared to the XBOX and PS5 versions ), what was always consistent is the rock solid 30FPS. Given the gameplay loop of both games are fast & frenetic, I experienced very minimal slowdowns when playing the Doom series on my Switch, Jon Linneman from Digital Foundry said this well, "Even with the reduction in visual quality, the game should maintain its visual identity, while offering performance characteristics that avoid spoiling the fun..." I guess that is the allure which appeals to me; experiencing these 'impossible ports" on less powerful hardware while being able to take the game on the go.
I love this ports, but maybe not for the same reasons that you like them. I just love he concept of having this big game on handheld, I think because, we always had portable consoles, but it feels portable was never taken seriously, they always had a specific less cool version of the game, but now, with the switch, now they made so "real games" are present in the portable, there is something so magical about seeing these big games on portable, and when you see the limitations that the game have, it feels like you understand what the developers had to do to make run, like you are part of the development, I don't know if I could explain exactly how I feel, but yeah, I love seeing these impossible ports for the switch.
I agree completely. I feel like seeing the "flaws" make me connect with the developer so much more. I love watching comparison videos and seeing where the cuts where made to cram huge games down onto Switch.
I wouldn’t even say no man’s sky is a downgrade I was shocked how good it played when I first went into it, the fact you can fly to the multiple different planets in real time is incredible for a handheld console
Honestly, the novelty of those impossible Switch ports has worn off with time. Sure, it's still interesting to see what the developers are willing to sacrifice in order to make their cutting edge games run on software that is not much more powerful that PS3/X360, but that's about it. That said, I'll never forget the sheer amazement I felt holding this little console in my hands and booting up Doom 2016 for the first time - it was simply magical. Before Switch I had PSP and PS Vita, and they both had their share of impressive ports, but they never seemed impossible. Playing big modern AAA games on your way to work/school was a dream of mine for the longest time, which was made possible by Nintendo and ridiculously skilled developers - and for that, I am forever grateful.
I'll be real, I am someone who enjoys realistic looking games, and since purchasing a deck my switch has only gathered dust, BUT "I like how weird AAA switch ports look" is actually an interesting take, you voiced this well. Cool idea for a video essay, tbh!!
@@NutrigrainHulk thanks so much! I'm playing a ton of stuff on Steam Deck too. I hope to do some Steam Deck videos down the line too. I appreciate your comment!
I agree the Deck has basically replaced the Switch for me since it feels like the no compromises version of the Switch. But I'll never forget my first time loading up DOOM or Skyrim on my Switch and just being absolutely mind blown that such a tiny handheld device was even able to run those games.
@@madnessarcade7447 got it at launch so I’ve had it forever, used to play it a ton but now I basically have it for the occasional first party game like Zelda or Mario or when friends want to play Smash or Mario Kart, just doesn’t come up that often.
I've had a similar feeling to this. Running PC games on a system that's lower than the lowest specs it recommends. Trying to squeeze out EVERY last bit of performance, while sacrificing visuals was always such a fun thing to do to me. Sadly, i've been on a gaming PC for the last 4 years that is able to run anything on high graphics or ultra. Takes my fun out of it.
@@zerozeroone4424 as a kid I had a frustrating blast trying to get my terrible PC to run the origin Far Cry. I finally got it working with mods, but it looked like pants. It ran Tresspasser well though haha. Steam Deck has that same tinkering fun aspect to it now though!
Hi, I just found your channel from the first round of 3D GBA game reviews you just did and I'm happy to see that you kind of explored the idea for that series here; I think it's funny cause I do have a penchant for these kind of downgrades, games that don't look the best but that I appreciate that they were even attempted on this hardware. I think growing up and not having money for the absolute latest and greatest kind of primed me to have that appreciation and that taste for these aesthetics. lot of the games look rough but I never played games cause of how they looked, I played them because they were fun and enriching
@@AnthonyCapps hey, I'm glad you found the channel! I've always loved that look, and it kinda bums me out that it might be disappearing. The Switch has some awesome "demake" ports, and I'm glad some indie devs are embracing that look, but they're much less common than in the GBA/DS era. If this series does well enough, I might make a DS series too, there are a ton of awesome looking "remake" games on there too. Thanks again for commenting, and glad you found us!
When you said "i feel the tactility about seeing a games flaws" that really resonated with me on a surprisingly deep level lol. Thats definitely a part of how i feep about life in general
I'm happy to know that I'm not the only weirdo who digs these types of ports. I grew up with a GBA and a PSP, and I also had a Vita. Lots of impressive ports there. I even consider some of them superior to their console/PC counterparts. I own a Switch Lite now. It's amazing how I'm able to take the experiences of big AAA titles on the go.
@@GameDreamery I'd love to see a video about the PSP and Vita. Some of my favorites include: - Mortal Kombat Unchained (Basically MK Deception with more content) - Tekken 6 (Graphically impressive) - Star Wars Battlefront 2 (Fun to play with friends) - Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition - The Warriors - Def Jam Fight for NY - Gun Showdown (Basically Gun but with more missions and stuff) I have other favorites, but they're pretty much different games compared to their console counterparts (ex. NFS Carbon Own The City, Midnight Club LA Remix) perhaps you can do a video on 'demakes' like these, too. What I listed are just the ones I can remember that are straight up ports. The ones that come with extra content are pretty much what I'd consider 'ultimate editions' of the games.
@@TheBagManGamer that's awesome, and helpful! I'll definitely check those out. The only ones I've played are The Warriors and Gun. I couldn't believe how good The Warriors looked when I picked it up, absolutely unreal for a PSP. And I loved Gun! I never beat it in PSP, but I played it twice on 360. Now that I can emulate PSP on my phone, I've always wanted to go back and play Gun, but use an android controller and map the aim buttons to the second joystick. I'll definitely make a video about PSP and Vita eventually, that'll be fun. Thanks for the recommendations.
6:25 This is my exact mentality right here! I hate that video games are starting to look more and more realistic! I much prefer the stylized artwork In what others would consider cartoonish games.
The feeling you had with Ecks vs Sever was the same feeling I had with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on DS. It was literally the same experience as the Wii, PS3, and 360 version, just on the go. It was amazing to 8 year old me.
@@vegetafan9922 I'll have to check that out! I had no idea it was the same game, I always assumed it was like the other portable Lego games, smaller but similar. Thanks for the recommendation.
I love everything you shared in this video. One reason why I love the PS3/360 generation so much is because of how timeless, classic and raw the games' aesthetics were with its visuals and sound design. It'd be interesting to see early 2000's aesthetics make a return with a modern take, like a 2D/3D 2.5D hybrid styled game.
@@omelfilip thanks so much! I'd love to see that too. I think we're largely in a PS1/N64 resergence now, but I imaging that will move onto Ps3 and 360 soon enough!
Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one who love "demakes" and low graphics games. I never get the appeal of high end ultra realistic games and even when my PC is capable of running games at highest settings, I always turn it down to the lowest with only anti aliasing enabled unless it becomes unplayable. Sometimes high fidelity and high framerate graphics feels too much for me and I cap it down to not let me get too spoiled with high end hardware and then not being able to enjoy ambitious ports and games on low end devices again.
My problem with Switch ports is that PS3 era games were often stylized to creatively circumvent hardware limitations, looking more unique in the process (Dishonored, Deus Ex: HR, and even The Last of Us to a certain extent), while Switch ports are just PC builds on the ultra low setting, visually.
It’s so nice to know im not the only one who loves picking up good ports on switch, I love my switch, despite having add practically every single console in existence, something about the aesthetic of the switch, is fantastic. Having a steam deck oled, it’s incredible no doubt but then there are always those games where you run into comparability issues, my biggest fear grind is when the game doesn’t fill the entire screen and has black bars, sure the OLED screen hides it with the dark blacks in a dark room, but man I find it so agitating just knowing it’s there. Games like L.A Noire do this, or even games like enter the gungeon, where the pixels get stretched to fill the screen. I like knowing my games are specifically optimized for the switch, and it also has the good old classic game feel when an incredible port is being discussed. The good ports take me back to the days of Xbox 360 and what not, where games were for the most part made with passion and not just thrown out because they wanna make a good few bucks. Good on us pal, glad to know there’s others like me out there.
@@pochi1491 totally agree! Those black bars annoyed me so badly on Elden Ring, but I found a good patch that fixes it and makes it full screen on the Steam Deck! I'm glad to have found other people who agree too. I really thought I'd lose all credibility on TH-cam for this one!
Thanks for articulating what's so fascinating about these 'lesser' ports. I played Outer Worlds on Switch exactly for this reason: the washed out graphics and muddy textures give the game an almost 1950s B-movie look, which for me only added to the experience. Both Kingdom Come and The Witcher III look incredible on Switch considering the limitations.
Nice video btw! I watched it to the very end. Imo, i don't really see this videogame ports topic in my feed. It's really interesting to see this kinds of vids! You are underrated man! I thought i was watching from a big channel, your editing is top tier great! I hope more people see this vid! Cheers! 🎉 :D
Wow!!! Thanks so much! This is my favorite vid I've made so far, it was a lot of fun. I'm mostly working on Reviews now, but I'd love to be able to do more of these Video Essay type videos too, they just take a lot more time. I'm having a blast making them, and it's been wild seeing how much positive feedback I've been getting. Thanks so much for your message, that made my day!
Its weird to say my stance when most of my friend group are PC gamers or PS5 gamers in that sense, so they are all about graphics, 120 FPS, HDR, etc. But this video honestly made me feel not alone in my stance and it’s nice to know others agree. The switch actually got me to try out a couple of AAA games like The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Hogwarts Legacy, and Alien Isolation (which btw looks better on Switch than the PS4 version!). I own a PC and PS5, but I always find myself going to my switch, and i do think it comes from the charm of seeing the compromises of these certain games made to fit the limited hardware for the sake of portability. The switch successor will definitely be a day 1 pick up for me
@@kyongu375 I'm so glad! I assumed people would think I was insane, but I've been really surprised by how many people agree with me, it's been really validating!
I have a similar stance, and my taste in video games seems to wildly differ from that of my contemporaries, so I always find myself feeling alone in my love for certain franchises or styles of video games, simply because of my sword of choice
It's funny how people complain about the Switch not getting the big AAA 3rd party titles and when it does get a few they move the goal post to "well it's the wurst version so ha ha!"
I had only a game boy, then GBA growing up. Those 3D games were so amazing for someone who couldn’t get a more high end game console. Maybe that’s also why I love the switch so much. Finally able to buy what I want and the switch has such a variety of old and new that I just love it. Plus with a 1 TB memory card I have a massive portable game library I can take anywhere.
Gotta say, for a 500 sub channel, the video was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Keep it up bro, and btw I have 100+ hours of Witcher 3 on switch, when I literally have it on my PC
Kingdom Come: Deliverance on the Switch was an amazing experience for me. I don't think I missed much with better graphics, even if sometimes I wanted the game to perform better. I think most of it comes to optimization and the kind of software/hardware wizardry that is hard to find in modern systems. What I love the most is seeing devs expertly taking advantage of all of a system's capabilities. Arguably, this still hasn't happened for the PS5 or the Xbox Series, but it already happened multiple times on the Switch.
All the points you made in this video are also why I like the Switch so much! I have so much more interest in playing games made for stronger consoles on the Switch, for example Nier: Automata as it still shocks me that game runs and plays so well on the Switch.
Honestly, I felt the same way when Luigi’s Mansion was ported to 3DS. It gave me the same feeling as when Conker’s Bad Fur Day was remade on the Xbox. Basically just “neither of these games are in HD, but it was remade on a non-HD console, and it still looks better. These people at Grezzo/Rare are Wizards.” That feeling.
Switch is amazing, I travel a lot, so the possibility of playing The Witcher 3, Xenoblade 3, No man's Sky, Xcom 2, Metro Last Light or Zelda TOTK in any place is like a dream come true. It's so cool
DUDE i’ve had this exact same feeling since the PSP days, i will always prefer portable versions of games. Even if they have to cut some corners, they have a certain charm to them
@@zerock96 same! I want to do a PSP video soon too. I'm working on a GBA one at the moment, but eventually I'll dive into the ambitious games on PSP too.
@@GameDreameryyeah there are some great games on psp I particularly was impressed with daxter it has 3d platforming, mini games, haven city you could explore on your own hover scooter. Going from the jak games on ps2 you would think the psp game would be lacking features but it’s really good - also have always been amazed by test drive unlimited: at least 100 different vehicles to rent or own, multiple houses to purchase and a huge open world set in Oahu Hawaii to explore
I feel that. I've always been fascinated of seeing the hardware limits tested. Nintendo DS era was wild playing games like Brothers in Arms, CoD World at War or ModernWarfare 3 and even going back to DukeNukem on GBA. Skyrim (among others) on the Switch gave me back that feeling of being unrestricted of my gaming PC place.
@@FalkFlak I think I'm going to do a DS video at some point too, maybe one about FPS games specifically. There are so many crazy ambitious games on Ds.
3:43 just a correction, breath of the wild was built with the limitations of the Wii U in mind. BOTW released on the Wii U as well, it wasn’t a switch exclusive
I'm so glad you made this video, because I totally agree!! I really love the compact, squished-down versions of big games. I play Witcher 3 on Switch, Doom Eternal, Dragon Quest XI... and it's been a bit hard to articulate why, other than taste, preference, "I like it." And maybe that's enough, but I love what you said "I like when video games look like video games." It's hard to make someone understand, if they regard graphics & framerate above all. But popularity of demakes, and purposefully-retro style fan art for games makes me believe that people *do* get it. Realism isn't the pinnacle of gaming. There is a lot of coziness to have a huge game in your handheld.
@@Tribdinosaur this made my day! I honestly wasn't sure if anyone would agree with me or not, and everyone in my world is on the "best graphics possible" train, so it's been really nice finding other people who like the same look I do. I felt like most critics are also always so down on Switch graphics, which was one of the reasons I decided to start this channel, I care so much more able to feel of a game over it's frame rate, resolution or fidelity. I love the new demake-PS1 trend happening right now, so I definitely think indie developers are in alignment with us. I really just hope Nintendo keeps the "gameplay over graphics" mindset as we move into the next generation, since their release schedule has been pretty amazing and it allows for them to take more risks... But if not, at least we have the AA and indie scene! Thanks for commenting!
One thing to keep in mind about more powerful hardware is that it can allow for lazier programming. It can let coders get away with being less efficient. This isn't too bad if its just here and there in a few spots. But if the games code is filled with lazy programming it can really suck.
1:47 Not to be pendantic or anything, but there are various examples of ambitious ports for many of those systems. Doom for the SNES; Resident Evil 2 for the N64; Half-Life 2 for the PS2; Morrowind for the Xbox; to name a few.
@@RohanSlazar good call! A lot of people have been pointing out RE2 on N64, and Morrowind on Xbox. I completely forgot about those! Morrowind blew my mind back in the day.
This was a great video. I’ve played the Witcher 3, Doom 2016, Wolfenstein Youngblood and many others on the switch more than any other console. Im always wowed by how much wizardry the devs had to pull to get these games to run on switch. I’m a gameplay and performance over graphics guy so the downgrade has never bothered me.
I was always an avid supporter of ambitious and well made third-party ports on the Nintendo Switch, I'm so glad that other people also appreciate this underrated artistry
Great video, the ports to less powerful consoles really don't get the appreciation they deserve. From a technical perspective though, I really don't think we can compare the ambitious ports of the GBA generation to what we're seeing now with the Switch. On the GBA you were taking modern polygonal 3D games from more powerful consoles with GPUs, and completely rebuilding them from scratch for the GBA. This meant a lot of deep knowledge of the hardware, an understanding of ARM assembly and the most efficient way to use the instruction set, to be able to build a 3D engine. The 3D engines are essentially running in bitmap mode, the basic PPU had none of the modern GPU features that you need for 3D geometry. Compare this to Hogwarts Legacy, a game built in Unreal Engine 4. Seeing this running on the Switch is impressive, but the impressive part here is almost entirely the work of the Unreal team, that engine can scale to such a wide degree that it can span generations. For the teams porting, the majority of the work is in tweaking the engine settings and rendering lower quality textures. I guess this is the same as buying a modern game on PC and then playing it on the lowest possible settings. It is impressive just how much modern game engines can scale. But I really don't get impressed by this in the same way those ambitious GBA ports could push their limited hardware.
@@interferingpuritan great point! I'm actually working on a video about impressive GBA games right now. I don't quite know all of the technical workings of the systems, so it's been really helpful with comments like yours to start tk understand the archetecture of each system. Thabks!
Yeah when I first heard that hogwarts legacy was coming to the switch i thought they had either made a mistake or it would be a totally different game lacking features, sure the graphics are worse and there are more areas where loading is required but somehow it is the same massive world to explore which is incredible the devs managed to pull that off really - but to me the best way to play it portably is by playing it on one of the handheld pcs it looks and plays great on my aya Neo 2021
11:40 art styles almost never go extinct because whenever a specific style isn't "normal" anymore it gains a special type of appeal that future artists will continue to use because it's now accepted as a style rather than the norm evidence: pixel art, VHS filter, N64/PS1 graphics, DS graphics, monochrome film, etc...
I'm with you on the ambitious ports. Cool to see you included the vanishing of ethan carter in the end there. Switch has many ports of walking sims, many of them run and look great. But Ethan Carter is a cut above and it's a good game too.
Thanks, I'm glad someone agrees. Most people I talk to about it think I'm nuts. Ethan Carter might just be the best looking game on Switch! I've been meaning to play through it again too.
I will say, the wii and wii u had some pretty ambitious downgrade ports too. They weren't handheld but they were weaker that the rest of the generations. For example, i played darksiders 2 on wii u. It even had touchscreen and gyro aim added in!
I also played most of the Witcher 3 on switch, out of necessity, being able to transfer my save later on to steam allowed me to finish it and I'd never go back... you freak! However, i really enjoyed your take on the subject, you bring some very valid points. Always refreshing to see original takes on certain subjects keep it up❤ I wish de-makes developed a consistent look, or technique and that can only happen if there's the demand for it!
Man I also love the aesthetic of downgraded games. I’m just glad the switch successor is gonna hopefully load into games faster. I wait forever for some of these games to load lol
Resident Evil 2 on n64 very much falls into this category. They crammed a 2 disc ps2 game with lots of fmvs (nearly 700mb per cd) onto s 64mb n64 cart (largest n64 had and only other game to ever use that size was Conkeys bad Fur day) with all its content and fmvs useing some extremely clever coding and bonus content too.
@@ashkandaqlavi that's King's Bounty 2! It's kind of like the old Heros of Might and Magic games. It mixes third person exploration with strategy style combat. It got middling reviews when it came out, but I loved it! It's one of my most played games on Switch.
One thing that I always feel conflicted about is Fortnite I used to think it was a terrible port but it was my only way of playing it since my laptop couldn't run the game at all. Then other times I realised that the port is impressive since it looks closer to the console versions than the mobile versions in terms of visual fidelity. Same thing with framerate, sometimes I'm disappointed by how low it can drop, other times I'm impressed with how smooth it can look at a stable 30. I feel completely torn lol
@@kylespevak6781 this speaks volumes on how little you know. do not project your terrible takes and blindness as a fact. say that to any rhythm gamer and they'll projectile vomit on the spot
Just for reference: SNES had 3mhz 16bit CPU, GBA had a 16mhz 32bit cpu without fpu or 3D chip (so developers had to use software rendering) ps1 had 34mhz 32bit cpu with a 3D accelerator. About FSR: some newer switch game also using it for upscale not for frame generation. For the GBA: check out open lara, a full featured tomb raider 1 port. That is what i call impossible port.
@@とふこ thanks for the context! I'm actually making another gba video now, but it's going to take me a bit longer to finish, and it's going to focus on ambitious games, including Project Lara!
To answer the end question regarding the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet question: I personally believe the game was developed with the Switch Pro in mind as that DID exist and would have released if it wasn't for COVID.
@@GameDreameryno idea how they were able to put that game on switch I mean there are areas where there at least a hundred zombies on screen I didn’t think the switch would be able to render all of it
10:22 Pokémon team wasn’t experienced enough with switch hardware when they first started development for the game and they are a smaller team then most also the game was made during Covid so it had a decent amount of obstacles and it couldn’t be delayed because they have to abide by the merch and the anime and the tcg They have to be symbiotic with themselves When people criticize them these are things no one considers They have since likely gotten better they always learn as they go Also their budgets are always small
I've always loved these "impossible ports" since Doom on the SNES and Street Fighter Alpha on the Game Boy Color or heck, even Duke Nukem 3D on the Sega Genesis, there's something magical about seeing games running on hardware well below what they were designed to run, and is so interesting to see and think about the techniques that the developers had to make this possible. The Switch still makes this possible (and I imagine the Switch 2 does too) but it's kind of sad that this is becoming increasingly rare and even on the Switch some companies resort to the easier way out of cloud streaming games that it don't even playable here in Brazil.
@@MoonSarito thanks for your comment! I totally agree. It's such a shame companies try to get around it by using cloud streaming, that tech is just not goo enough yet and may never be!
Glad I’m not the only one who gets excited when crazy AAA game gets ported to the switch. Even with owning a steam deck, I still pick up my switch for lot of titles I’ve bought on there that can easily be played on better hardware. I’d go to say if I only had to pick one console to keep out of the 3, it probably would be my switch because of the portable nature of it. Steam Deck would be the other device.
I love this video because it talks about something I can SO RELATE TO and I never thought others would feel like that as well so I am super grateful for knowing that I am not alone. I think it started with my love for the original Game Boy where we got NES ports on the tiny screen. I was not allowed to own a console because it would block up the TV so later I had a PSP and BOY how I loved it- it got so many ports of CURRENT GEN (at the time) games and I never saw anything super ugly about it where I was like "eeewwww no way" it did feel like a portable PS2 to me. I still feel PSP to this very day and just the other day I started Tomb Raider Anniversary on my PC and I was like "why don't I try to install a PSP emulator and run the PSP version on my switch?" aaaaaaaaaanyway I have a powerful PC yet I prefer my Switch ports. It just feels special. What is funny is that people will always give me shit for that like I am currently playing Skyrim and people are like WHAT THAT RUNS ON THE SWITCH? Where I am like: WTF Skyrim came out 11.11.2011 so yes an Xbox 360 game runs on the Switch...those people are wondering about Skyrim and forget THE WHITCHER or KINGDOM COME or how great DOOM and even DOOM Eternal run on the Switch? Anyway I gotta admit for the PSP I never noticed anything graphical that did disturb me. Everything looked fine, just not that high res but I feel like with the Switch generation there was some leap where you can tell such a graphical difference like back in the day all the lighting was backed into the textures and the textures were flat but looked NICE, now (it seems like it) the textures only get nice if they apply 9000 filters and effects to them which the switch can not handle and thus we get super ugly and weird textures which really would not have to be the case but I guess this is how Unreal rolls now. Yet I will always play the Switch version if avaible and people think that I am weird for this.
I'm the type of guy who grew up with a horrible pc and outdated consoles, but even then, i like pretty graphics and would even sacrifice framerate if i think the downgrade is too big. With that in mind, the switch shouldn't be a console for me, but i still want one just for the exclusives, because even though i could play them of my pc through emulation, it just doesn't feel right or good.
@@yerald_a King's Bounty 2. I adored this game, even though it got pretty negative reviews. I loved it, and it's often on sale for super cheap on Switch. It doesn't look great, but it's a ton of fun.
That KCD port looks very nice! I mean I myself played with little too high settings on my pc in 2018 so the texture rendering was quite bad and it was not an optimal experience but still, anyways I decided to grab Subnautica on the Switch and the draw distance and lagspikes in some of the things you can build is little bit annoying for me.
There are many third party games I preferred play on Switch, because the portability felt too good with many of them. And most of them look decent and are completely playable. Yes, Lego Star Wars looks fantastic on PS5, but on Switch it felt like back when I was a kid playing the first Lego SW on GBA. I ended up buying both versions 😅
I totally get that. I ended up buying both versions of Sonic Frontiers too. But, I ended up playing it way more on Switch, even though the PS5 version plays much, much smoother.
I've sunken hundreds of hours into Dragon Quest XI S and Persona 5 Royal DQXI is on a bit of a gray area, since it was made for the switch from the ground up but it's still a compromised version of the original, but truly the 3DS version fits the bill even more but is essentially a different game with the same story and similar mechanics I loved play these games on a consistent 30fps with pop in and muddy textures they feel so good to play on switch, even if I can say the animations do look smoother on other consoles it kinda breaks away from what felt to me like the actual look and feel of JRPGs
@@ValenteXD DQXI is one of my holy grail games, it's so insane they made a unique version just for 3DS. I hope that some day there's an English patch for it. I've played a bit of the Japanese version emulated, but I'd love to have the whole thing in English.
glad to see Tony Hawk 1+2 included in there. I was thinkin' that game, Nier automata, and Alien Isolation. Yes that was a late cross gen ps3/360 game, but the switch version is comparable to the ps4/xbone version. Digital foundry did a vid on it
I’m in the same boat as you rocking the Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck combo. Best configuration in my opinion to play all games on all Platforms, enjoyed the video and agree playing. Playing DOOM 2016 on the tiny Switch after playing on the Xbox One felt like a miracle.
I love this video. Also, to put some constructive criticism in, the way you mix and refine your mic audio can be cleaned up a bit more. I’m sure this channel is going to get big soon, glad to be here relatively early.
@@sockthief9138 hey, thank so much! You're totally right, my audio leveling skills need work. I've been using Premiere Beta and letting it's AI Loudness feature do the leveling for me, but now that I have more thank like 15 subs, I'm going to do some research and get this dialed in. I appreciate the input! I've got one more video finished and scheduled, but after that I hope to have the audio sounding more refined. And thanks so much for describing.
Dope video dude. I find the downscaled games to be fascinating tbh. and people keep forgetting the Switch is a handheld. It should be expected for newer games.
I don’t understand why everyone says Half-life ps2 is an impressive port, there are tons of ps2 games that look way better than half-life on the pc did. An actual impressive port is half-life 2 on the original Xbox
@Paccyd33 Half Life 2 on Xbox is definitely more impressive but I think it's more the fact that Half Life 1 on PS2 managed to keep the entire experience and it was seamless which was impressive for the hardware.
This is the reason why I don't mind some games being graphically downgraded on Switch. Don't get me wrong, I don't won't the graphics being downgraded to atrocious levels like Mortal Kombat 1 was on Switch (which has received updates to look better since then). There's always been an allure to me playing games on the small Switch system that was originally made for much beefier system specs. It's the reason why despite owning The Witcher 3 on PS4, I still often play the Switch version of Witcher 3.
@@times7171 Hey! Thanks so much! I had a lot of fun making this one. Hope you enjoy the rest of my videos too. I have another bigger one similar to this coming in about 2 weeks too!
Great video ❤❤❤ small correction the Steam Deck uses the inferior FSR AI upscaler instead of DLSS since the Deck doesn't feature an NVIDIA but an AMD GPU
@@kylespevak6781 haha I forgot all about those! That was a wild era. Someone else mentioned that Far Cry was on Wii too. I'll have to relook at the Wii ports.
Resident Evil 2 for N64 was my first "ambitious port" game, I always remember being slightly awed that the game's cartridge was slightly heavier than all the others in my collection. I do enjoy the novelty of developers who can make the game work on seemingly impossible limitations. I think MK1 could qualify for the ambitious ports list by the end of its life time, the developers have been good at ironing out the bugs and performance and I'm quite satisfied for what it is.
@@simontchang totally! RE2 on N64 was wild back in the day. That game is huge! Also, I'll have to check out MK1 again. I have up on it after a few hours, hoping for a patch, and forgot to check back in on it.
CTRNF on Switch is a little rough around the edges but i still love it. It's just nice to have this big beefy kart racer on the go. And i find it even more fun than Mario Kart. (And thankfully cheaper)
Yeah the difference in graphics from the ps1 originals to the switch remaster is just astonishing, I still enjoy playing that game it has a great variety of tracks, characters to unlock and weapons
As someone with a Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck....I wonder how best to balance these platforms. Some games will look better on the PS5, but if I could, I'd prefer to play it handheld on the Steam Deck. Other games will look beautiful on the Steam Deck, but will run just fine on the smaller Switch system I feel comfortable taking outside of the home. I don't expect this to get any clearer when the Switch 2 is released :/ At this moment, Dragon Quest 3 on Switch, Visions of Mana on Steam Deck, and Metaphor on PS5.....maybe.
The Switch definitely has some ambitious ports. I became aware of these sorts of ports with the PSP. Manhunt 2, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Dante's Inferno, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the various Star Wars Battlefronts, the Grand Theft Autos (are they ports? they're basically the same cities, but with a different story). This continued (though, with less success) onto the Playstation Vita, with X-Com: Enemy Unknown Plus, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2, Borderlands 2, Resident Evil Revelations 2, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Odin Sphere and more. It's funny, however, because at the time of the PSP and Vita's existence, these ambitious ports (despite how good they were or weren't) were always ridiculed for their shortcomings. Now, on the Switch, they're priased for running, warts and all. Oh well. Personally, I will endure many alterations and excisions to content, graphics, and presentation as long as it is portable. To this day, the Vita versions of X-com, Resident Evil Rev 2, and Borderlands 2 are the versions I've played the most. All because of portability.
Thanks for this video. It was surfaced to me the day after I picked up 'Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown' on Switch. Now THERE'S an ambitious port. Ive played it on PS4 and PS5 and it has no right to look or feel as good as it does on the Switch.
@@derekjenkins6614 omg, I'm playing Ace Combat 7 now and it's absolutely insane how good it looks. I can't believe they got the clouds to work like they did, it's so impressive. The last Ace Combat game I played was the 3DS one, and I'm having a blast with it!
I concur with you on this. I have a Switch Lite and I just get a different type of feeling playing a PS4/XB1 port on it. I have mainly used my Lite to play 3rd party games as the Nintendo library doesn’t interest me too much. I’ve completed games like TW3, >Observer_, DooM, OverWatch, Hellblade, Wolfenstein: TNC, Divinity OS2, Alien Isolation, Disco Elysium, etc… and it feels magical. I am currently playing through Hogwarts Legacy and Kingdom Come Deliverance will likely be my next game. I’ll miss this the Switch generation too once it’s all over.
@@Bendaak thanks for commenting! I really gotta check out Observer, I've heard it's really good. Disco Elysium is so good on Switch, it feels like curling up with a book on the Lite. I also play a ton of Visual Novels on Switch, and it feels perfect for them too.
Making Downgrade ports has some charm as there are graphical differences between consoles that people can easily notice. And it also shows how much effort developers can optimize to get games run on weaker hardware.
@@dayanvaldes1349 haha thanks so much, I appreciate that! I'm glad you approve! It was really fun making this video. I'm mostly doing reviews for now, but I really want to make more of these video essay style ones soon!
@@bottledducky9610 the first one is Kings Bounty 2, a really fun mix of third person rpg and strategy combat, and the second is Journey to the Savage Planet, a first person Metroidvania-esk that's also really fun!
I vastly prefer playing JRPGs and platformers on Switch even when there are "superior" versions elsewhere. Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, Tales, the Mana series, Ys, and so on fit the console like a glove.
I totally agree! There's something about having huge worlds and long stories that just fit the handheld form. Just started playing Ys X and I'm loving it.
FNAF Security Breach (SB) is an example of a Switch port that achieves the impossible. So when SB originally launched, it was horribly optimized, even with higher end hardware. Years later, in an Indie Direct, there it was, Security Breach on Switch. When I got my hands on it, I was really surprised by how well it ran for the hardware (30 mostly stable frames and actually looked quite decent, but obviously notably worse). I beat the game all the way through and had almost no issues (apart from a soft lock but a simple reload of the save fixed it) and had a good time with it. With the most recent update however, it made the game completely unplayable for me because when I loaded in, the frame rate was notably worse and was dizzying to look at. My save was in one of the biggest locations in the game, but in previous updates, it ran decently. Hopefully they fix this, I know they can because they magically made this performance inducing game playable on this silly console
I've actually never played a FNAF games! I saw some footage for Security Breach and it looked really cool. Despite the downgrade, is that a good play to start, or should I play the original ones first? The originally didn't really look like my jam, but I'm into the look of SB and I'd like to know more about the lore. I heard the movie is decent too, especially if you're versed in the games.
@@GameDreamery Hmm, well, tbh, I play more for the gameplay than the lore (although, I do know a fair bit but not enough to be like “Oh I know that” at every potential object lol) but I think this is a decent introduction into the franchise, if you wanted, you could just watch some videos summarizing what’s happened on the games and maybe a few timeline vids to sorta catch you up to speed and then jump into SB. It might be fine cuz SB has its own isolated lore which is slightly connected to the previous games. But please take whatever I say with a grain of salt because I suck with FNAF advice and where to start lol. Regarding the originals, you can get practically “all” of the FNAF games on switch, FNAF 1-6, Security Breach, and Help Wanted (a VR game that has been ported) with very little draw backs (well I don’t know about help wanted tho, I don’t have it) regarding the quality of the ports. I recommend you try them out, FNAF 4 is probably (and most likely objectively) the scariest one out of all of them as it forces you to turn your volume up to hear sound cues which makes the jump scares so heart wrenchingly startling lol, I only made to night 6 before I decided “nope I’m done, I don’t want to get a heart attack” lol
@@spicymustard4904 That's helpful for sure! It's a series that has been on my radar for a long time, but I just haven't ever dived in. I appreciate your post! Maybe I'll do a video on them someday.
Defending ambitious ports will become harder to defend. The gaming landscape is changing, we now have full blown *Handheld gaming PCs* that become increasingly powerful every year - No ports or port begging required. They just straight up play PC and emulation.
Im so happy I found you because I relate to every single word you’re saying. During the Steam Summer Sale, I purchased Hogwarts Legacy to play and enjoy on my gaming PC so I could crank up the graphics. However, I ended up refunding it not long after and just fired it up on my Switch instead. I relate so hard with what you are saying about the downgrades making it more enjoyable which is THE WEIRDEST THING TO SAY and if I share that to my friends, they will look at me crazy!
I'm so glad you're here! I did the exact same thing with Sonic Frontiers. I bought it on PS5 and Switch, and even though the PS5 one looks and runs so much better, I still played the whole game on Switch! When I first put out this video I assumed that everyone would think I was nuts, but it's been so awesome finding people who share this crazy opinion/preference!
Pokémon is always meant to be an entry level jrpg maybe the people trying to hate on pokemon maybe they just aren’t into jrpgs or at least the type they try to be If The lore was good The writing was good The music was good The vibes were good The messages were good The character designs were good That’s all you really need The series knows what it is and its niche(by niche I mean space) and what it wants to be and there’s nothing wrong with that and it doesn’t have to be anything else The mainstream audience doesn’t care about graphics or bugs or anything they just like to vibe People are just trying to make it something that is isn’t And something that doesn’t fit its style Maybe u don’t like Pokemon just aren’t into entry jRPGs and that’s fine
Only time I’ve bought one of these was when I was going on holiday and needed a fallout like game to play so I copped the outer worlds. The graphics weren’t terrible, like they certainly didn’t look good but it didn’t detract from the experience. What did was the horrible load times
@@SociallyCorrupt it's on sale all the time, so wait for it to hit a sale and it's normally really cheap! Haha I just checked and the ultimate edition is on sale for 6.99 right now. www.dekudeals.com/items/ultimate-edition2
y'know, that's *precisely* that "ambitious handheld" feel from the gba days that makes me like the switch ; because it *is* a handheld, really, it's an nvidia shield with a coat of paint. and it's not a critic, right, it's *the truth* - again, that's precisely what makes it appealing in my eyes, nintendo trully made that "next-gen gaming tablet" they had half-promised with the wii u. i've been fascinated by these kind of ports since ye olde game gear and monochrome game boy days, and thinking that we have 2024 games on what is technically a 2013 mobile chipset blows my handheld-obsessed mind. i'm weirdly excited to see what kind of compilation videos about strange ports and broken yet endearing switch games we'll see in ten or twenty years, like we do now for the gba or ds.
Great video, I love stuff like this, and I completely agree about the appeal of bigger games on Switch. Don’t suppose you could give me a list of the games you used in this video? I didn’t recognise all of them.
@@stevenwebb1271 The FPS? That's Wolfenstein: Youngblood. The game before that is Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I wasn't sure which you were referring to. Hellblade is excellent, but Wolfenstein:Youngblood kinda sucks. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is also on Switch, and it's SOOO much better. Hope that helps!
Witcher 3, all the Xenoblade games, Persona 5 and SMT5 the critics go: "It's amazing what can be done with the Switch hardware, bla bla bla!"
SMT5 gets a remake and the critics go: "The best part of this remake is that we no longer have to play it on the Switch!"
I'm looking forward to playing SMT5V, but unfortunately it doesn't look like in going to get to it any time soon. But yeah, agreed, weird how critics are so quick to dismiss the switch now, games can still look great on it!
I hate people disregarding the Switch like that, but oh well
@ShaneDehPainShan3th3painWe still do, even more so. It's just not on the switch and especially not in AAA
I miss when handheld versions of games sometimes did their own thing completely.
Uncharted and AC on the vita for example, were games i really enjoyed as a port/handheld experiences that wasnt or didnt need to be the full verion, but at the same time added to the full game's lore/world.
It is okay for people to have preferences. While the Switch delivers passable graphics as a portable, some people prefer seeing their games look nice on a big screen...! It's not hypocritical to have this preference while also acknowledging how cool it can be to see the Switch pushed to its limits. Though if you prefer, I personally would be happy to just mock the system all the time ✨️
This video is the exact reason why I bought a switch lite in 2024, the kinds of games that can run on that small device despite it’s shortcomings is a testament to the term “gameplay not graphics” and even so the aesthetic that switch ports have is one of my favorites, I play mainly racing games on the switch which is very unconventional but I love it
I completely agree! Which racing games are you playing? Mario Kart 8 is in my top 5 games of all time, although I'm not sure if that's the type of racing game you're talking about. I've had a blast with V-Rally 4, even though the reviews for it said it was pretty bad, I've really enjoyed it.
@@GameDreamery I usually play sim oriented games like Grid Autosport, WRC Generations, or Ala Mobile GP, but there’s also a new racing sim called HotLap racing releasing soon which I definitely suggest checking out, I’m sure you’ll find my comments over there geeking about it too
The same reason why I'll buy a steam deck this or next year, play switch games.
me too. It's weird to play Sim Games like WRC or Rush Rally on the Switch but I wouldn't play them on PC anyway.
One thing that does irks me is how Dragon Quest XI S handled their downgrade. They downgraded the game for Switch, of course, but that downgrade also carried over every single Port of Elusive Age, meaning that the vanilla game actually looks better than it’s enhanced version.
Finally someone who gets it. It's easy to make games on an powerful machine but it takes real talent to work with limitations! I always will love Switch ports, as I have loved GBA, DS and Wii ports in the past (and still do). Thank you for the positivity. As a Nintendo fan on the cruel and mean Internet, I needed that.
Amen! Thanks for your comment! I did not expect to find so many so many people who agreed with me, I assumed most people would think I'm nuts and this video might kill my credibility haha.
@@GameDreamery Most people enjoy portable systems, more people than home consoles. The haters online are what they are, haters online I guess. That fat WoW player from South Park comes to mind lol
@@OliGaming-d1u haha I love that episode. But yeah, after having kids, I'd never be able to play as much as I do without portables. I'll grab 15 min here and there when I can, and that's really the only way I ever finish games.
I'm sure someone has said this, but the Nintendo 64 definitely had ambitious ports. Resident Evil 2 comes to mind.
That's true. I forgot about RE2 for N46.
I was just about to mention RE2 for n64, considering they were able to compress a 2 disc game to roughly 60+ishMB AND keep the two playable characters, plus zapping system plus cut scenes and voice acting, all while adding console exclusives...nothing short of game programming witchcraft 😂
@@GameDreameryI have to put this out there then. The ds will blow your mind then. Such incredible racing games on there. The 3d graphics were really something to behold back then. The psp is literally the grand master of ambitious ports. Star wars unleashed is best on psp, Tony hawk's underground 2 remix. Graphics don't make a game, content and quality do.
@@ronnope3988 I'm working on a video about ambitious games on the GBA at the moment, but I plan on eventually doing one for DS and PSP in the future too! I think DS has my favorite 3D aesthetic of any portable system.
@@GameDreamery Mario Kart DS still looks so good!! Playing that on my 2DS to this day
It really made sense to me when you compared these games that barely run to low budget or old movies. There's a certain charm in knowing what you're seeing and how they did it
@@bananaboy482 thanks! That's a huge component of it for me, getting to see the people behind the art. Like seeing brushstrokes on a painting.
I can't believe your brother would get tired of the "portable" gimmick, it's not a gimmick
It's just the natural evolution of a handheld
@@jesusramirezromo2037 agreed! He thinks I'm nuts, I think he's nuts, it's a whole thing.
It is when it's a home console first. It just putting a limitation on games for no reason
@@michaelmayers3622 it's not a home console tho
@@michaelmayers3622Everyone uses it differently lol
@@michaelmayers3622 Things get murky when you realize that Switch Lite exists.
I have a Switch V2 where I have been playing DOOM 2016 & DOOM: Eternal regularly.
And it never ceases to amaze me how well these "impossible ports" can run on 2015 hardware. It all comes down to the porting developers to optimize the game for the target hardware.
In the case of DOOM 2016 & DOOM Eternal, the wizards at Panic Button have done an amazing job with the Switch port. Despite the cuts made in visual fidelity ( when compared to the XBOX and PS5 versions ), what was always consistent is the rock solid 30FPS. Given the gameplay loop of both games are fast & frenetic, I experienced very minimal slowdowns when playing the Doom series on my Switch,
Jon Linneman from Digital Foundry said this well, "Even with the reduction in visual quality, the game should maintain its visual identity, while offering performance characteristics that avoid spoiling the fun..."
I guess that is the allure which appeals to me; experiencing these 'impossible ports" on less powerful hardware while being able to take the game on the go.
in fact, it's weaker than 2015 hardware, because the PS4 is 2013 and it's 2x stronger.
Apparently Panic Button even worked on Warframe's Switch Port, which is a solid port considering it still looks decent on Switch Hardware
I love this ports, but maybe not for the same reasons that you like them.
I just love he concept of having this big game on handheld, I think because, we always had portable consoles, but it feels portable was never taken seriously, they always had a specific less cool version of the game, but now, with the switch, now they made so "real games" are present in the portable, there is something so magical about seeing these big games on portable, and when you see the limitations that the game have, it feels like you understand what the developers had to do to make run, like you are part of the development, I don't know if I could explain exactly how I feel, but yeah, I love seeing these impossible ports for the switch.
I agree completely. I feel like seeing the "flaws" make me connect with the developer so much more. I love watching comparison videos and seeing where the cuts where made to cram huge games down onto Switch.
I wouldn’t even say no man’s sky is a downgrade I was shocked how good it played when I first went into it, the fact you can fly to the multiple different planets in real time is incredible for a handheld console
Honestly, the novelty of those impossible Switch ports has worn off with time. Sure, it's still interesting to see what the developers are willing to sacrifice in order to make their cutting edge games run on software that is not much more powerful that PS3/X360, but that's about it.
That said, I'll never forget the sheer amazement I felt holding this little console in my hands and booting up Doom 2016 for the first time - it was simply magical. Before Switch I had PSP and PS Vita, and they both had their share of impressive ports, but they never seemed impossible.
Playing big modern AAA games on your way to work/school was a dream of mine for the longest time, which was made possible by Nintendo and ridiculously skilled developers - and for that, I am forever grateful.
I'll be real, I am someone who enjoys realistic looking games, and since purchasing a deck my switch has only gathered dust, BUT "I like how weird AAA switch ports look" is actually an interesting take, you voiced this well. Cool idea for a video essay, tbh!!
@@NutrigrainHulk thanks so much! I'm playing a ton of stuff on Steam Deck too. I hope to do some Steam Deck videos down the line too. I appreciate your comment!
I agree the Deck has basically replaced the Switch for me since it feels like the no compromises version of the Switch.
But I'll never forget my first time loading up DOOM or Skyrim on my Switch and just being absolutely mind blown that such a tiny handheld device was even able to run those games.
Why do you even have a switch then tho? Do u not buy Nintendo games
@@MAXHALO369 Why do you even have a switch then tho? Do u not buy Nintendo games
@@madnessarcade7447 got it at launch so I’ve had it forever, used to play it a ton but now I basically have it for the occasional first party game like Zelda or Mario or when friends want to play Smash or Mario Kart, just doesn’t come up that often.
Reminds me why i think doom 2016 on switch is cool despite its flaws
I've had a similar feeling to this. Running PC games on a system that's lower than the lowest specs it recommends. Trying to squeeze out EVERY last bit of performance, while sacrificing visuals was always such a fun thing to do to me. Sadly, i've been on a gaming PC for the last 4 years that is able to run anything on high graphics or ultra. Takes my fun out of it.
@@zerozeroone4424 as a kid I had a frustrating blast trying to get my terrible PC to run the origin Far Cry. I finally got it working with mods, but it looked like pants. It ran Tresspasser well though haha. Steam Deck has that same tinkering fun aspect to it now though!
DJ Khaled suffering from success meme
still doing this, and when I thought it would be over it turns out i still gotta tweak everything on the steam deck lol
Hi, I just found your channel from the first round of 3D GBA game reviews you just did and I'm happy to see that you kind of explored the idea for that series here; I think it's funny cause I do have a penchant for these kind of downgrades, games that don't look the best but that I appreciate that they were even attempted on this hardware. I think growing up and not having money for the absolute latest and greatest kind of primed me to have that appreciation and that taste for these aesthetics. lot of the games look rough but I never played games cause of how they looked, I played them because they were fun and enriching
@@AnthonyCapps hey, I'm glad you found the channel! I've always loved that look, and it kinda bums me out that it might be disappearing. The Switch has some awesome "demake" ports, and I'm glad some indie devs are embracing that look, but they're much less common than in the GBA/DS era. If this series does well enough, I might make a DS series too, there are a ton of awesome looking "remake" games on there too. Thanks again for commenting, and glad you found us!
When you said "i feel the tactility about seeing a games flaws" that really resonated with me on a surprisingly deep level lol. Thats definitely a part of how i feep about life in general
I'm happy to know that I'm not the only weirdo who digs these types of ports. I grew up with a GBA and a PSP, and I also had a Vita. Lots of impressive ports there. I even consider some of them superior to their console/PC counterparts.
I own a Switch Lite now. It's amazing how I'm able to take the experiences of big AAA titles on the go.
Agreed! There are some awesome PSP and Vita ports. I thought about making a whole video about them. Do you have any favorites?
@@GameDreamery I'd love to see a video about the PSP and Vita. Some of my favorites include:
- Mortal Kombat Unchained (Basically MK Deception with more content)
- Tekken 6 (Graphically impressive)
- Star Wars Battlefront 2 (Fun to play with friends)
- Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition
- The Warriors
- Def Jam Fight for NY
- Gun Showdown (Basically Gun but with more missions and stuff)
I have other favorites, but they're pretty much different games compared to their console counterparts (ex. NFS Carbon Own The City, Midnight Club LA Remix) perhaps you can do a video on 'demakes' like these, too.
What I listed are just the ones I can remember that are straight up ports. The ones that come with extra content are pretty much what I'd consider 'ultimate editions' of the games.
@@TheBagManGamer that's awesome, and helpful! I'll definitely check those out. The only ones I've played are The Warriors and Gun. I couldn't believe how good The Warriors looked when I picked it up, absolutely unreal for a PSP. And I loved Gun! I never beat it in PSP, but I played it twice on 360. Now that I can emulate PSP on my phone, I've always wanted to go back and play Gun, but use an android controller and map the aim buttons to the second joystick. I'll definitely make a video about PSP and Vita eventually, that'll be fun. Thanks for the recommendations.
Talking about the psp reminded me of the Midnight Club 3 port, i played it a lot on the ps2 but the psp port is by far my favorite
@@Idfkwhyy I'll check that one out!
6:25 This is my exact mentality right here! I hate that video games are starting to look more and more realistic! I much prefer the stylized artwork In what others would consider cartoonish games.
Same! I totally agree.
The feeling you had with Ecks vs Sever was the same feeling I had with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on DS. It was literally the same experience as the Wii, PS3, and 360 version, just on the go. It was amazing to 8 year old me.
@@vegetafan9922 I'll have to check that out! I had no idea it was the same game, I always assumed it was like the other portable Lego games, smaller but similar. Thanks for the recommendation.
I love everything you shared in this video. One reason why I love the PS3/360 generation so much is because of how timeless, classic and raw the games' aesthetics were with its visuals and sound design. It'd be interesting to see early 2000's aesthetics make a return with a modern take, like a 2D/3D 2.5D hybrid styled game.
@@omelfilip thanks so much! I'd love to see that too. I think we're largely in a PS1/N64 resergence now, but I imaging that will move onto Ps3 and 360 soon enough!
Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one who love "demakes" and low graphics games. I never get the appeal of high end ultra realistic games and even when my PC is capable of running games at highest settings, I always turn it down to the lowest with only anti aliasing enabled unless it becomes unplayable. Sometimes high fidelity and high framerate graphics feels too much for me and I cap it down to not let me get too spoiled with high end hardware and then not being able to enjoy ambitious ports and games on low end devices again.
My problem with Switch ports is that PS3 era games were often stylized to creatively circumvent hardware limitations, looking more unique in the process (Dishonored, Deus Ex: HR, and even The Last of Us to a certain extent), while Switch ports are just PC builds on the ultra low setting, visually.
It’s so nice to know im not the only one who loves picking up good ports on switch, I love my switch, despite having add practically every single console in existence, something about the aesthetic of the switch, is fantastic.
Having a steam deck oled, it’s incredible no doubt but then there are always those games where you run into comparability issues, my biggest fear grind is when the game doesn’t fill the entire screen and has black bars, sure the OLED screen hides it with the dark blacks in a dark room, but man I find it so agitating just knowing it’s there. Games like L.A Noire do this, or even games like enter the gungeon, where the pixels get stretched to fill the screen. I like knowing my games are specifically optimized for the switch, and it also has the good old classic game feel when an incredible port is being discussed.
The good ports take me back to the days of Xbox 360 and what not, where games were for the most part made with passion and not just thrown out because they wanna make a good few bucks.
Good on us pal, glad to know there’s others like me out there.
@@pochi1491 totally agree! Those black bars annoyed me so badly on Elden Ring, but I found a good patch that fixes it and makes it full screen on the Steam Deck! I'm glad to have found other people who agree too. I really thought I'd lose all credibility on TH-cam for this one!
Keep em coming so I can pirate this shit in my phone's emulator
I doubt you can play switch games on your phone
@therunawaykid6523 search up sudachi and eggns. You can play 90% of switch games on both android and ios
Thanks for articulating what's so fascinating about these 'lesser' ports. I played Outer Worlds on Switch exactly for this reason: the washed out graphics and muddy textures give the game an almost 1950s B-movie look, which for me only added to the experience. Both Kingdom Come and The Witcher III look incredible on Switch considering the limitations.
@@paulpiusink6917I'm glad it resonated with you! And I totally agree, that's a great way to describe the look of Outer Worlds.
Nice video btw! I watched it to the very end. Imo, i don't really see this videogame ports topic in my feed. It's really interesting to see this kinds of vids! You are underrated man! I thought i was watching from a big channel, your editing is top tier great! I hope more people see this vid! Cheers! 🎉 :D
Wow!!! Thanks so much! This is my favorite vid I've made so far, it was a lot of fun. I'm mostly working on Reviews now, but I'd love to be able to do more of these Video Essay type videos too, they just take a lot more time. I'm having a blast making them, and it's been wild seeing how much positive feedback I've been getting. Thanks so much for your message, that made my day!
Its weird to say my stance when most of my friend group are PC gamers or PS5 gamers in that sense, so they are all about graphics, 120 FPS, HDR, etc. But this video honestly made me feel not alone in my stance and it’s nice to know others agree. The switch actually got me to try out a couple of AAA games like The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Hogwarts Legacy, and Alien Isolation (which btw looks better on Switch than the PS4 version!). I own a PC and PS5, but I always find myself going to my switch, and i do think it comes from the charm of seeing the compromises of these certain games made to fit the limited hardware for the sake of portability. The switch successor will definitely be a day 1 pick up for me
@@kyongu375 I'm so glad! I assumed people would think I was insane, but I've been really surprised by how many people agree with me, it's been really validating!
I have a similar stance, and my taste in video games seems to wildly differ from that of my contemporaries, so I always find myself feeling alone in my love for certain franchises or styles of video games, simply because of my sword of choice
It's funny how people complain about the Switch not getting the big AAA 3rd party titles and when it does get a few they move the goal post to "well it's the wurst version so ha ha!"
@@ironinquisitor3656 I know! Wtf haha.
Hypocrisy always bugged me
I had only a game boy, then GBA growing up. Those 3D games were so amazing for someone who couldn’t get a more high end game console. Maybe that’s also why I love the switch so much. Finally able to buy what I want and the switch has such a variety of old and new that I just love it. Plus with a 1 TB memory card I have a massive portable game library I can take anywhere.
10:26 which game is this, please ?
That's Gungrave G.O.R.E. It's pretty fun!
Gotta say, for a 500 sub channel, the video was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Keep it up bro, and btw I have 100+ hours of Witcher 3 on switch, when I literally have it on my PC
@@shadowlink3504 this made my day! Thanks so much!
Kingdom Come: Deliverance on the Switch was an amazing experience for me. I don't think I missed much with better graphics, even if sometimes I wanted the game to perform better. I think most of it comes to optimization and the kind of software/hardware wizardry that is hard to find in modern systems. What I love the most is seeing devs expertly taking advantage of all of a system's capabilities. Arguably, this still hasn't happened for the PS5 or the Xbox Series, but it already happened multiple times on the Switch.
@@4Clubs I totally agree, I loved Deliverance on Switch. It really blew my mind. It's one of the most impressive ports I've seen.
This is why it’s hilarious when you see developers blame the Series S for their shitty games when other devs have been pulling off magic since GBA…
All the points you made in this video are also why I like the Switch so much! I have so much more interest in playing games made for stronger consoles on the Switch, for example Nier: Automata as it still shocks me that game runs and plays so well on the Switch.
Honestly, I felt the same way when Luigi’s Mansion was ported to 3DS. It gave me the same feeling as when Conker’s Bad Fur Day was remade on the Xbox.
Basically just “neither of these games are in HD, but it was remade on a non-HD console, and it still looks better. These people at Grezzo/Rare are Wizards.” That feeling.
Luigis Mansion on 3DS is also cool because they got to finally implement the technology they tried to use with the original.
Switch is amazing, I travel a lot, so the possibility of playing The Witcher 3, Xenoblade 3, No man's Sky, Xcom 2, Metro Last Light or Zelda TOTK in any place is like a dream come true. It's so cool
I still can't believe that Xenoblade 1 is playable on a new 3DS.
DUDE i’ve had this exact same feeling since the PSP days, i will always prefer portable versions of games. Even if they have to cut some corners, they have a certain charm to them
@@zerock96 same! I want to do a PSP video soon too. I'm working on a GBA one at the moment, but eventually I'll dive into the ambitious games on PSP too.
@@GameDreameryyeah there are some great games on psp I particularly was impressed with daxter it has 3d platforming, mini games, haven city you could explore on your own hover scooter. Going from the jak games on ps2 you would think the psp game would be lacking features but it’s really good - also have always been amazed by test drive unlimited: at least 100 different vehicles to rent or own, multiple houses to purchase and a huge open world set in Oahu Hawaii to explore
I feel that.
I've always been fascinated of seeing the hardware limits tested. Nintendo DS era was wild playing games like Brothers in Arms, CoD World at War or ModernWarfare 3 and even going back to DukeNukem on GBA.
Skyrim (among others) on the Switch gave me back that feeling of being unrestricted of my gaming PC place.
@@FalkFlak I think I'm going to do a DS video at some point too, maybe one about FPS games specifically. There are so many crazy ambitious games on Ds.
awesome idea, that's generally a niche not covered well. Many good games disregarded just because of their graphics.
3:43 just a correction, breath of the wild was built with the limitations of the Wii U in mind. BOTW released on the Wii U as well, it wasn’t a switch exclusive
@@PokeTube good call!!
I'm so glad you made this video, because I totally agree!! I really love the compact, squished-down versions of big games. I play Witcher 3 on Switch, Doom Eternal, Dragon Quest XI... and it's been a bit hard to articulate why, other than taste, preference, "I like it."
And maybe that's enough, but I love what you said "I like when video games look like video games."
It's hard to make someone understand, if they regard graphics & framerate above all. But popularity of demakes, and purposefully-retro style fan art for games makes me believe that people *do* get it. Realism isn't the pinnacle of gaming. There is a lot of coziness to have a huge game in your handheld.
@@Tribdinosaur this made my day! I honestly wasn't sure if anyone would agree with me or not, and everyone in my world is on the "best graphics possible" train, so it's been really nice finding other people who like the same look I do. I felt like most critics are also always so down on Switch graphics, which was one of the reasons I decided to start this channel, I care so much more able to feel of a game over it's frame rate, resolution or fidelity. I love the new demake-PS1 trend happening right now, so I definitely think indie developers are in alignment with us. I really just hope Nintendo keeps the "gameplay over graphics" mindset as we move into the next generation, since their release schedule has been pretty amazing and it allows for them to take more risks... But if not, at least we have the AA and indie scene! Thanks for commenting!
I am currently playing No Mans Sky on the switch and I'm having a blast, the fact this runs and looks as good as it does on the switch is truly magic
@@RedDed228 it's one of the most impressive ports! Such a cool experience playing it on a handheld!
One thing to keep in mind about more powerful hardware is that it can allow for lazier programming. It can let coders get away with being less efficient. This isn't too bad if its just here and there in a few spots. But if the games code is filled with lazy programming it can really suck.
@@JozevG good point!
1:47 Not to be pendantic or anything, but there are various examples of ambitious ports for many of those systems. Doom for the SNES; Resident Evil 2 for the N64; Half-Life 2 for the PS2; Morrowind for the Xbox; to name a few.
@@RohanSlazar good call! A lot of people have been pointing out RE2 on N64, and Morrowind on Xbox. I completely forgot about those! Morrowind blew my mind back in the day.
This was a great video. I’ve played the Witcher 3, Doom 2016, Wolfenstein Youngblood and many others on the switch more than any other console. Im always wowed by how much wizardry the devs had to pull to get these games to run on switch. I’m a gameplay and performance over graphics guy so the downgrade has never bothered me.
@@steveng010 thanks so much! I appreciate it!
I was always an avid supporter of ambitious and well made third-party ports on the Nintendo Switch, I'm so glad that other people also appreciate this underrated artistry
Great video, the ports to less powerful consoles really don't get the appreciation they deserve. From a technical perspective though, I really don't think we can compare the ambitious ports of the GBA generation to what we're seeing now with the Switch.
On the GBA you were taking modern polygonal 3D games from more powerful consoles with GPUs, and completely rebuilding them from scratch for the GBA. This meant a lot of deep knowledge of the hardware, an understanding of ARM assembly and the most efficient way to use the instruction set, to be able to build a 3D engine. The 3D engines are essentially running in bitmap mode, the basic PPU had none of the modern GPU features that you need for 3D geometry.
Compare this to Hogwarts Legacy, a game built in Unreal Engine 4. Seeing this running on the Switch is impressive, but the impressive part here is almost entirely the work of the Unreal team, that engine can scale to such a wide degree that it can span generations. For the teams porting, the majority of the work is in tweaking the engine settings and rendering lower quality textures.
I guess this is the same as buying a modern game on PC and then playing it on the lowest possible settings. It is impressive just how much modern game engines can scale. But I really don't get impressed by this in the same way those ambitious GBA ports could push their limited hardware.
@@interferingpuritan great point! I'm actually working on a video about impressive GBA games right now. I don't quite know all of the technical workings of the systems, so it's been really helpful with comments like yours to start tk understand the archetecture of each system. Thabks!
Yeah when I first heard that hogwarts legacy was coming to the switch i thought they had either made a mistake or it would be a totally different game lacking features, sure the graphics are worse and there are more areas where loading is required but somehow it is the same massive world to explore which is incredible the devs managed to pull that off really - but to me the best way to play it portably is by playing it on one of the handheld pcs it looks and plays great on my aya Neo 2021
11:40
art styles almost never go extinct because whenever a specific style isn't "normal" anymore it gains a special type of appeal that future artists will continue to use because it's now accepted as a style rather than the norm
evidence: pixel art, VHS filter, N64/PS1 graphics, DS graphics, monochrome film, etc...
@@Doktario_Mystario great point! I love how there's now a bunch of devs making PS1 and N64 looking games!
I'm with you on the ambitious ports. Cool to see you included the vanishing of ethan carter in the end there. Switch has many ports of walking sims, many of them run and look great. But Ethan Carter is a cut above and it's a good game too.
Thanks, I'm glad someone agrees. Most people I talk to about it think I'm nuts. Ethan Carter might just be the best looking game on Switch! I've been meaning to play through it again too.
@@GameDreamery Agreed. Stray just got announced at the direct. Hope it's a solid port.
@@deku812 I'm definitely picking that one up. I'll probably do a review too, I haven't played it anywhere else yet.
I will say, the wii and wii u had some pretty ambitious downgrade ports too. They weren't handheld but they were weaker that the rest of the generations.
For example, i played darksiders 2 on wii u. It even had touchscreen and gyro aim added in!
@@dominicjannazo7144 good point! They had some interesting and strange ports too, like Far Cry for Wii.
Those games look awesome in Switch Lite 5.5" screen
I also played most of the Witcher 3 on switch, out of necessity, being able to transfer my save later on to steam allowed me to finish it and I'd never go back... you freak!
However, i really enjoyed your take on the subject, you bring some very valid points.
Always refreshing to see original takes on certain subjects keep it up❤
I wish de-makes developed a consistent look, or technique and that can only happen if there's the demand for it!
@@matteria3239 haha thanks a lot! I assumed I'd get skewered for this opinion, but I've been so surprised by how many people agree to some degree.
Man I also love the aesthetic of downgraded games. I’m just glad the switch successor is gonna hopefully load into games faster. I wait forever for some of these games to load lol
@@adam711s totally! The load times bother me so much more than the graphical downgrades.
Resident Evil 2 on n64 very much falls into this category. They crammed a 2 disc ps2 game with lots of fmvs (nearly 700mb per cd) onto s 64mb n64 cart (largest n64 had and only other game to ever use that size was Conkeys bad Fur day) with all its content and fmvs useing some extremely clever coding and bonus content too.
@@Demokirby totally! That's a good one. I forgot about RE2!
5:50 whats that game?
@@ashkandaqlavi that's King's Bounty 2! It's kind of like the old Heros of Might and Magic games. It mixes third person exploration with strategy style combat. It got middling reviews when it came out, but I loved it! It's one of my most played games on Switch.
One thing that I always feel conflicted about is Fortnite
I used to think it was a terrible port but it was my only way of playing it since my laptop couldn't run the game at all. Then other times I realised that the port is impressive since it looks closer to the console versions than the mobile versions in terms of visual fidelity.
Same thing with framerate, sometimes I'm disappointed by how low it can drop, other times I'm impressed with how smooth it can look at a stable 30.
I feel completely torn lol
Haha I get that! Switch is the only place I play Fortnight, and it's equal parts impressive and frustrating!
30fps is smooth and stable. Every show and movie are 24fps
@@kylespevak6781 this speaks volumes on how little you know. do not project your terrible takes and blindness as a fact. say that to any rhythm gamer and they'll projectile vomit on the spot
Just for reference: SNES had 3mhz 16bit CPU, GBA had a 16mhz 32bit cpu without fpu or 3D chip (so developers had to use software rendering) ps1 had 34mhz 32bit cpu with a 3D accelerator. About FSR: some newer switch game also using it for upscale not for frame generation.
For the GBA: check out open lara, a full featured tomb raider 1 port. That is what i call impossible port.
@@とふこ thanks for the context! I'm actually making another gba video now, but it's going to take me a bit longer to finish, and it's going to focus on ambitious games, including Project Lara!
To answer the end question regarding the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet question: I personally believe the game was developed with the Switch Pro in mind as that DID exist and would have released if it wasn't for COVID.
@@lucariotrainer16 that makes a lot of sense. I wish we had gotten a Switch Pro.
What game is at 6:56?
@@WreggGallace that's World War Z! I love that game, it's a great time solo and even better coop.
@@GameDreameryno idea how they were able to put that game on switch I mean there are areas where there at least a hundred zombies on screen I didn’t think the switch would be able to render all of it
10:22 Pokémon team wasn’t experienced enough with switch hardware when they first started development for the game and they are a smaller team then most also the game was made during Covid so it had a decent amount of obstacles and it couldn’t be delayed because they have to abide by the merch and the anime and the tcg
They have to be symbiotic with themselves
When people criticize them these are things no one considers
They have since likely gotten better they always learn as they go
Also their budgets are always small
I've always loved these "impossible ports" since Doom on the SNES and Street Fighter Alpha on the Game Boy Color or heck, even Duke Nukem 3D on the Sega Genesis, there's something magical about seeing games running on hardware well below what they were designed to run, and is so interesting to see and think about the techniques that the developers had to make this possible.
The Switch still makes this possible (and I imagine the Switch 2 does too) but it's kind of sad that this is becoming increasingly rare and even on the Switch some companies resort to the easier way out of cloud streaming games that it don't even playable here in Brazil.
@@MoonSarito thanks for your comment! I totally agree. It's such a shame companies try to get around it by using cloud streaming, that tech is just not goo enough yet and may never be!
Glad I’m not the only one who gets excited when crazy AAA game gets ported to the switch. Even with owning a steam deck, I still pick up my switch for lot of titles I’ve bought on there that can easily be played on better hardware.
I’d go to say if I only had to pick one console to keep out of the 3, it probably would be my switch because of the portable nature of it.
Steam Deck would be the other device.
@@Doublepulse same! I love my Steam Deck, but if I'm trapped on a desert island, it's the switch for me!
What's the last game that's shown on this video?
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter! It's one of the prettiest games on Switch
I love this video because it talks about something I can SO RELATE TO and I never thought others would feel like that as well so I am super grateful for knowing that I am not alone. I think it started with my love for the original Game Boy where we got NES ports on the tiny screen. I was not allowed to own a console because it would block up the TV so later I had a PSP and BOY how I loved it- it got so many ports of CURRENT GEN (at the time) games and I never saw anything super ugly about it where I was like "eeewwww no way" it did feel like a portable PS2 to me. I still feel PSP to this very day and just the other day I started Tomb Raider Anniversary on my PC and I was like "why don't I try to install a PSP emulator and run the PSP version on my switch?" aaaaaaaaaanyway I have a powerful PC yet I prefer my Switch ports. It just feels special. What is funny is that people will always give me shit for that like I am currently playing Skyrim and people are like WHAT THAT RUNS ON THE SWITCH? Where I am like: WTF Skyrim came out 11.11.2011 so yes an Xbox 360 game runs on the Switch...those people are wondering about Skyrim and forget THE WHITCHER or KINGDOM COME or how great DOOM and even DOOM Eternal run on the Switch? Anyway I gotta admit for the PSP I never noticed anything graphical that did disturb me. Everything looked fine, just not that high res but I feel like with the Switch generation there was some leap where you can tell such a graphical difference like back in the day all the lighting was backed into the textures and the textures were flat but looked NICE, now (it seems like it) the textures only get nice if they apply 9000 filters and effects to them which the switch can not handle and thus we get super ugly and weird textures which really would not have to be the case but I guess this is how Unreal rolls now. Yet I will always play the Switch version if avaible and people think that I am weird for this.
I'm the type of guy who grew up with a horrible pc and outdated consoles, but even then, i like pretty graphics and would even sacrifice framerate if i think the downgrade is too big. With that in mind, the switch shouldn't be a console for me, but i still want one just for the exclusives, because even though i could play them of my pc through emulation, it just doesn't feel right or good.
What’s the game at 9:39?
@@yerald_a King's Bounty 2. I adored this game, even though it got pretty negative reviews. I loved it, and it's often on sale for super cheap on Switch. It doesn't look great, but it's a ton of fun.
Games always were made with realism in mind. Hardware just wasn’t capable 20 years ago
That KCD port looks very nice! I mean I myself played with little too high settings on my pc in 2018 so the texture rendering was quite bad and it was not an optimal experience but still, anyways I decided to grab Subnautica on the Switch and the draw distance and lagspikes in some of the things you can build is little bit annoying for me.
There are many third party games I preferred play on Switch, because the portability felt too good with many of them. And most of them look decent and are completely playable.
Yes, Lego Star Wars looks fantastic on PS5, but on Switch it felt like back when I was a kid playing the first Lego SW on GBA. I ended up buying both versions 😅
I totally get that. I ended up buying both versions of Sonic Frontiers too. But, I ended up playing it way more on Switch, even though the PS5 version plays much, much smoother.
The Dying Light switch port is pretty charming ngl
Agreed! I couldn't believe Dying Light made it to Switch. I was really hoping we would get Dead Island 1 + Riptide too, but oh well.
I've sunken hundreds of hours into Dragon Quest XI S and Persona 5 Royal
DQXI is on a bit of a gray area, since it was made for the switch from the ground up but it's still a compromised version of the original, but truly the 3DS version fits the bill even more but is essentially a different game with the same story and similar mechanics
I loved play these games on a consistent 30fps with pop in and muddy textures they feel so good to play on switch, even if I can say the animations do look smoother on other consoles it kinda breaks away from what felt to me like the actual look and feel of JRPGs
@@ValenteXD DQXI is one of my holy grail games, it's so insane they made a unique version just for 3DS. I hope that some day there's an English patch for it. I've played a bit of the Japanese version emulated, but I'd love to have the whole thing in English.
glad to see Tony Hawk 1+2 included in there. I was thinkin' that game, Nier automata, and Alien Isolation. Yes that was a late cross gen ps3/360 game, but the switch version is comparable to the ps4/xbone version. Digital foundry did a vid on it
@@WusijiDoctor agreed! Those are all excellent! I couldn't believe Isolation looked as good as it does.
What game is 2:37 ?
@@heyhey067 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, it's very good
I’m in the same boat as you rocking the Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck combo. Best configuration in my opinion to play all games on all Platforms, enjoyed the video and agree playing. Playing DOOM 2016 on the tiny Switch after playing on the Xbox One felt like a miracle.
I love this video. Also, to put some constructive criticism in, the way you mix and refine your mic audio can be cleaned up a bit more. I’m sure this channel is going to get big soon, glad to be here relatively early.
@@sockthief9138 hey, thank so much! You're totally right, my audio leveling skills need work. I've been using Premiere Beta and letting it's AI Loudness feature do the leveling for me, but now that I have more thank like 15 subs, I'm going to do some research and get this dialed in. I appreciate the input! I've got one more video finished and scheduled, but after that I hope to have the audio sounding more refined. And thanks so much for describing.
Nier Automata is another one that comes to mind. It's crazy that game runs on the Switch.
@@FRANKIEonWCin240p totally! I forgot about Nier. Woops.
Dope video dude. I find the downscaled games to be fascinating tbh.
and people keep forgetting the Switch is a handheld. It should be expected for newer games.
I'd actually say Half Life on PS2 and Doom 3 on Xbox are two examples of games that were ambitious ports.
Good call! Yeah, those are great examples!
I don’t understand why everyone says Half-life ps2 is an impressive port, there are tons of ps2 games that look way better than half-life on the pc did. An actual impressive port is half-life 2 on the original Xbox
@Paccyd33 Half Life 2 on Xbox is definitely more impressive but I think it's more the fact that Half Life 1 on PS2 managed to keep the entire experience and it was seamless which was impressive for the hardware.
@@MAXHALO369 yeah I suppose so, also impressive they added an entire multiplayer campaign to it too
This is the reason why I don't mind some games being graphically downgraded on Switch. Don't get me wrong, I don't won't the graphics being downgraded to atrocious levels like Mortal Kombat 1 was on Switch (which has received updates to look better since then).
There's always been an allure to me playing games on the small Switch system that was originally made for much beefier system specs. It's the reason why despite owning The Witcher 3 on PS4, I still often play the Switch version of Witcher 3.
I love that the switch is capable of running not just watered down ports but full console games
What a fantastic video, cannot wait to watch more of your content. Instant sub.
@@times7171 Hey! Thanks so much! I had a lot of fun making this one. Hope you enjoy the rest of my videos too. I have another bigger one similar to this coming in about 2 weeks too!
Great video ❤❤❤ small correction the Steam Deck uses the inferior FSR AI upscaler instead of DLSS since the Deck doesn't feature an NVIDIA but an AMD GPU
@@DerComedyDad thanks so much! I appreciate the correction! My technical knowledge is a B- haha.
1:51 The Wii? Bro, every Call of Duty
@@kylespevak6781 haha I forgot all about those! That was a wild era. Someone else mentioned that Far Cry was on Wii too. I'll have to relook at the Wii ports.
Resident Evil 2 for N64 was my first "ambitious port" game, I always remember being slightly awed that the game's cartridge was slightly heavier than all the others in my collection. I do enjoy the novelty of developers who can make the game work on seemingly impossible limitations. I think MK1 could qualify for the ambitious ports list by the end of its life time, the developers have been good at ironing out the bugs and performance and I'm quite satisfied for what it is.
@@simontchang totally! RE2 on N64 was wild back in the day. That game is huge! Also, I'll have to check out MK1 again. I have up on it after a few hours, hoping for a patch, and forgot to check back in on it.
CTRNF on Switch is a little rough around the edges but i still love it. It's just nice to have this big beefy kart racer on the go. And i find it even more fun than Mario Kart. (And thankfully cheaper)
yoo that was actually the first game I got for the Switch, and yea, the loading times are a bit slow, but the game itself runs surprisingly well
Yeah the difference in graphics from the ps1 originals to the switch remaster is just astonishing, I still enjoy playing that game it has a great variety of tracks, characters to unlock and weapons
As someone with a Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck....I wonder how best to balance these platforms.
Some games will look better on the PS5, but if I could, I'd prefer to play it handheld on the Steam Deck.
Other games will look beautiful on the Steam Deck, but will run just fine on the smaller Switch system I feel comfortable taking outside of the home.
I don't expect this to get any clearer when the Switch 2 is released :/
At this moment, Dragon Quest 3 on Switch, Visions of Mana on Steam Deck, and Metaphor on PS5.....maybe.
The Switch definitely has some ambitious ports. I became aware of these sorts of ports with the PSP. Manhunt 2, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Dante's Inferno, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the various Star Wars Battlefronts, the Grand Theft Autos (are they ports? they're basically the same cities, but with a different story). This continued (though, with less success) onto the Playstation Vita, with X-Com: Enemy Unknown Plus, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2, Borderlands 2, Resident Evil Revelations 2, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Odin Sphere and more.
It's funny, however, because at the time of the PSP and Vita's existence, these ambitious ports (despite how good they were or weren't) were always ridiculed for their shortcomings. Now, on the Switch, they're priased for running, warts and all.
Oh well.
Personally, I will endure many alterations and excisions to content, graphics, and presentation as long as it is portable. To this day, the Vita versions of X-com, Resident Evil Rev 2, and Borderlands 2 are the versions I've played the most. All because of portability.
Do you have a list of the best ambitious games? I would love to know after watching this video
@@nikolavonfulton5195 I don't, but I can make one! I'll try to add a list to the description of the video in the next few days!
@@GameDreamery that would be awesome thank you
would anybody be so kind and tell me what the game is called at 9:40 ?
That's Tormented Souls! It's great!
@@GameDreamery thank you
Thanks for this video. It was surfaced to me the day after I picked up 'Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown' on Switch. Now THERE'S an ambitious port. Ive played it on PS4 and PS5 and it has no right to look or feel as good as it does on the Switch.
@@derekjenkins6614 omg, I'm playing Ace Combat 7 now and it's absolutely insane how good it looks. I can't believe they got the clouds to work like they did, it's so impressive. The last Ace Combat game I played was the 3DS one, and I'm having a blast with it!
I concur with you on this. I have a Switch Lite and I just get a different type of feeling playing a PS4/XB1 port on it. I have mainly used my Lite to play 3rd party games as the Nintendo library doesn’t interest me too much. I’ve completed games like TW3, >Observer_, DooM, OverWatch, Hellblade, Wolfenstein: TNC, Divinity OS2, Alien Isolation, Disco Elysium, etc… and it feels magical. I am currently playing through Hogwarts Legacy and Kingdom Come Deliverance will likely be my next game. I’ll miss this the Switch generation too once it’s all over.
@@Bendaak thanks for commenting! I really gotta check out Observer, I've heard it's really good. Disco Elysium is so good on Switch, it feels like curling up with a book on the Lite. I also play a ton of Visual Novels on Switch, and it feels perfect for them too.
Making Downgrade ports has some charm as there are graphical differences between consoles that people can easily notice. And it also shows how much effort developers can optimize to get games run on weaker hardware.
Agreed!
Bro i identify a lot with your words❤ i thought it was just the portability for me but you just articulate everything that wasn't able to
@@dayanvaldes1349 haha thanks so much, I appreciate that! I'm glad you approve! It was really fun making this video. I'm mostly doing reviews for now, but I really want to make more of these video essay style ones soon!
@@GameDreamery it was an awesome video I saved the biomutant and Xuan yuan for later 🙏🏾
5:43 7:51 what games are these?
@@bottledducky9610 the first one is Kings Bounty 2, a really fun mix of third person rpg and strategy combat, and the second is Journey to the Savage Planet, a first person Metroidvania-esk that's also really fun!
I vastly prefer playing JRPGs and platformers on Switch even when there are "superior" versions elsewhere. Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, Tales, the Mana series, Ys, and so on fit the console like a glove.
I totally agree! There's something about having huge worlds and long stories that just fit the handheld form. Just started playing Ys X and I'm loving it.
I have a switch lite. I don’t get much use out of it but I do use it a lot in specific circumstances like long plane flights or road trips
FNAF Security Breach (SB) is an example of a Switch port that achieves the impossible. So when SB originally launched, it was horribly optimized, even with higher end hardware. Years later, in an Indie Direct, there it was, Security Breach on Switch. When I got my hands on it, I was really surprised by how well it ran for the hardware (30 mostly stable frames and actually looked quite decent, but obviously notably worse). I beat the game all the way through and had almost no issues (apart from a soft lock but a simple reload of the save fixed it) and had a good time with it. With the most recent update however, it made the game completely unplayable for me because when I loaded in, the frame rate was notably worse and was dizzying to look at. My save was in one of the biggest locations in the game, but in previous updates, it ran decently. Hopefully they fix this, I know they can because they magically made this performance inducing game playable on this silly console
I've actually never played a FNAF games! I saw some footage for Security Breach and it looked really cool. Despite the downgrade, is that a good play to start, or should I play the original ones first? The originally didn't really look like my jam, but I'm into the look of SB and I'd like to know more about the lore. I heard the movie is decent too, especially if you're versed in the games.
@@GameDreamery Hmm, well, tbh, I play more for the gameplay than the lore (although, I do know a fair bit but not enough to be like “Oh I know that” at every potential object lol) but I think this is a decent introduction into the franchise, if you wanted, you could just watch some videos summarizing what’s happened on the games and maybe a few timeline vids to sorta catch you up to speed and then jump into SB. It might be fine cuz SB has its own isolated lore which is slightly connected to the previous games. But please take whatever I say with a grain of salt because I suck with FNAF advice and where to start lol. Regarding the originals, you can get practically “all” of the FNAF games on switch, FNAF 1-6, Security Breach, and Help Wanted (a VR game that has been ported) with very little draw backs (well I don’t know about help wanted tho, I don’t have it) regarding the quality of the ports. I recommend you try them out, FNAF 4 is probably (and most likely objectively) the scariest one out of all of them as it forces you to turn your volume up to hear sound cues which makes the jump scares so heart wrenchingly startling lol, I only made to night 6 before I decided “nope I’m done, I don’t want to get a heart attack” lol
@@spicymustard4904 That's helpful for sure! It's a series that has been on my radar for a long time, but I just haven't ever dived in. I appreciate your post! Maybe I'll do a video on them someday.
Defending ambitious ports will become harder to defend.
The gaming landscape is changing, we now have full blown *Handheld gaming PCs* that become increasingly powerful every year - No ports or port begging required. They just straight up play PC and emulation.
Im so happy I found you because I relate to every single word you’re saying. During the Steam Summer Sale, I purchased Hogwarts Legacy to play and enjoy on my gaming PC so I could crank up the graphics. However, I ended up refunding it not long after and just fired it up on my Switch instead. I relate so hard with what you are saying about the downgrades making it more enjoyable which is THE WEIRDEST THING TO SAY and if I share that to my friends, they will look at me crazy!
I'm so glad you're here! I did the exact same thing with Sonic Frontiers. I bought it on PS5 and Switch, and even though the PS5 one looks and runs so much better, I still played the whole game on Switch! When I first put out this video I assumed that everyone would think I was nuts, but it's been so awesome finding people who share this crazy opinion/preference!
Pokémon is always meant to be an entry level jrpg maybe the people trying to hate on pokemon maybe they just aren’t into jrpgs or at least the type they try to be
If
The lore was good
The writing was good
The music was good
The vibes were good
The messages were good
The character designs were good
That’s all you really need
The series knows what it is and its niche(by niche I mean space) and what it wants to be and there’s nothing wrong with that and it doesn’t have to be anything else
The mainstream audience doesn’t care about graphics or bugs or anything they just like to vibe
People are just trying to make it something that is isn’t
And something that doesn’t fit its style
Maybe u don’t like Pokemon just aren’t into entry jRPGs and that’s fine
Only time I’ve bought one of these was when I was going on holiday and needed a fallout like game to play so I copped the outer worlds. The graphics weren’t terrible, like they certainly didn’t look good but it didn’t detract from the experience. What did was the horrible load times
2:47 what game is this?
@@SociallyCorrupt that's V-Rally 4. It didn't get great reviews, but I loved it. I thought it was much better than the URC games.
@@GameDreamery oooooh ok thanks I might look into it I love playing racing games on my switch like need for speed hot pursuit and burnout paradise
@@SociallyCorrupt it's on sale all the time, so wait for it to hit a sale and it's normally really cheap! Haha I just checked and the ultimate edition is on sale for 6.99 right now.
www.dekudeals.com/items/ultimate-edition2
@@GameDreamerypretty impressive scale there I have always loved Forrest areas to drive in
y'know, that's *precisely* that "ambitious handheld" feel from the gba days that makes me like the switch ; because it *is* a handheld, really, it's an nvidia shield with a coat of paint. and it's not a critic, right, it's *the truth* - again, that's precisely what makes it appealing in my eyes, nintendo trully made that "next-gen gaming tablet" they had half-promised with the wii u. i've been fascinated by these kind of ports since ye olde game gear and monochrome game boy days, and thinking that we have 2024 games on what is technically a 2013 mobile chipset blows my handheld-obsessed mind. i'm weirdly excited to see what kind of compilation videos about strange ports and broken yet endearing switch games we'll see in ten or twenty years, like we do now for the gba or ds.
@@yanholliday8876 amen!
Great video, I love stuff like this, and I completely agree about the appeal of bigger games on Switch. Don’t suppose you could give me a list of the games you used in this video? I didn’t recognise all of them.
Thanks so much! I don't have a complete list, but if there's any you want me to point out, comment the time codes and I'm happy to give you the names!
@@GameDreameryWhat is the game that shows up for the first time at 2.38?
@@stevenwebb1271 The FPS? That's Wolfenstein: Youngblood. The game before that is Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I wasn't sure which you were referring to. Hellblade is excellent, but Wolfenstein:Youngblood kinda sucks. Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is also on Switch, and it's SOOO much better. Hope that helps!
@@GameDreamery Yeah I thought it might have been Hellblade, shame neither of those games got a physical release on Switch though.