Well, I can’t state definitively whether or not Pokémon Winds and Waves, the very first Switch 2 exclusive Pokémon game, will break this cycle. However, I can say rather gleefully that it at least looks great. The trailer blew me away, and I genuinely, and a little shamefully, fist-pumped the air at one point like I was in the final shot of a well-beloved teen flick from the 80s. Yet, above all else, the excitement of Pokémon Winds and Waves’ more assured and detailed art style actually got me thinking about another Nintendo series. I figure that if the Nintendo Switch 2 can do wonders for Pokémon, then surely it will make Xenoblade Chronicles one of the best-looking series of all time.
The Switch 2 Is Finally Showing Its Worth
Image Courtesy of The Pokémon Company
I’ll be the first to admit that, not that long ago, I felt it was looking bleak for the Nintendo Switch 2. The console simply hadn’t proven its worth, even long after launch, not merely with existing titles, but with reveals of upcoming ones. It’s hard to buy into a completely new console when you know so little about what it is truly capable of. Sure, we saw Cyberpunk 2077 running on it, and that’s impressive to a degree, but PC handhelds have been doing that for years. What the Switch 2 needed was to showcase how its newfound power could benefit Nintendo games and elevate them visually into at least one generation behind everyone else.
Fortunately, Pokémon Winds and Waves showcased exactly that. It doesn’t look the greatest, all things considered, andPokémon Winds and Waves is making mistakes with its world that I’m not wholly convinced will work, but it would be foolish to say that it isn’t several generations ahead of what Scarlet and Violet offered on the original Switch. Frankly, if Nintendo were to use any game to illustrate the Switch 2’s capabilities, Pokémon is the perfect choice. It isn’t because it’ll look the best, but rather the opposite. Pokémon has always looked far worse than Nintendo’s other first-party titles, so it is a good metric from which to base what Zelda and Xenoblade will look like. If Pokémon looks halfway decent on the Switch 2, then we can rest assured the other aforementioned games will look stunning.
Which is why I got excited when the Pokémon Winds and Waves trailer dropped. As previously stated, I love Pokémon, warts and all, so it was nice to see that Game Freak’s budget had been increased ever so slightly. I want Pokémon to look great, and it feels like we’re finally being delivered that. However, Pokémon’s enhanced visual fidelity on Switch 2 gave me hope that Xenoblade Chronicles, or whatever title Monolith Soft aims to deliver on the new handheld, will look truly stunning. After all, if there is any studio that can push Nintendo’s console to the absolute limit and deliver an experience of a far higher calibre than anything else on offer, it is Monolith Soft.
The Next Xenoblade Will Look Amazing
Image Courtesy of Monolith Soft
Monolith Soft is the only studio truly capable of delivering Nintendo’s next masterpiece. I don’t say that merely because I am a huge fan of its games, but because its technical wizardry has always empowered it to deliver experiences far beyond what anyone else is producing for Nintendo consoles. Xenoblade Chronicles was a huge RPG for the Wii and easily one of the best-looking games on the platform. XBCX was so huge it almost didn’t fit on a Wii U disc, and yet, even when condensed, it still managed to be not just a big open world game for the platform, but one of the biggest open world games ever made.
Similarly, despite its resolution problems that desperately need to be fixed with a dedicated Switch 2 edition, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a stunning game on the Nintendo Switch and easily the most visually complex title on the platform. Its sequel, XBC3, offers unparalleled landscapes, and while certainly smaller than BOTW or TOTK, its environments are significantly more detailed and alive. I have always wondered what Monolith Soft would be capable of were it unleashed onto PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, or even PC. Much like how Game Freak surprised us all with Beast of Reincarnation, I would hazard a guess that Monolith Soft would be creating games with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth levels of visual mastery.
Of course, it isn’t all about visuals. The Switch 2’s improved specs allow for more densely detailed environments and better world simulation, all of which would greatly benefit a new Monolith Soft game. I’m honestly just excited thinking about it, as, for the first time, it feels like the possibilities are endless. The Xenoblade Chronicles series always felt held back not by gameplay design or poor direction, but by technical limitations. It was clear, especially with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, that Monolith Softs’ ambitions were far greater than what the Switch catered for. However, now that we’ve seen the bare minimum the Switch 2 is capable of with Pokémon Winds and Waves, I have a lot of hope that those restrictions won’t be an issue for Monolith Soft anymore, and we’ll finally get to see its unbridled creativity delivered with the visual fidelity and complexity it has always deserved.
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