Leading up to the Switch 2’s release, I was a little underwhelmed. The same can’t be said about my father, though, who drove out to target really early on the day of the release to buy one. As baffled by my dad’s excitement as I was, he was in the good company of over 3.5 million fans who bought their Switch 2 in the first four days. Switch 2’s are still sold out everywhere, but since my dad is subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online, a couple weeks ago we were alerted that there was one available to get. I was originally planning on waiting for a special edition Switch 2 (whenever they decide to release one), but with this offer I caved and used some of my savings to buy my own Switch 2. I’ve had my new Switch for about a week now, and I am surprised to say I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would.

The Switch 2 is undeniably nicer than the original Switch. I’m not one to care all that much about graphics and framerates. Nevertheless, I’ve been playing the Link’s Awakening remake, and I was impressed by how smoothly it runs on the Switch 2 compared to the original system. Nintendo’s Switch 2, though, doesn’t just have internal upgrades. One of the biggest complaints about the original Switch’s design was the size. I honestly didn’t see that as that big of a deal because my hands are on the smaller side, but when I first picked up my Switch 2, I was pleasantly surprised by how much better it felt in my hands. It still isn’t perfect, as the controllers are still too thin, and with the larger size it’s harder to take with you on the go. Although it has its drawbacks, the taller controllers allow for a beautiful handheld display. Another change is that the controllers click on to the screen magnetically instead of sliding from the top, which so far seems sturdier, but only time will tell. The kickstand is also much improved from the original Switch, and though I haven’t had many opportunities to use it, the new joy-con mouse feature is cool.

Nintendo is taking themselves a little too seriously with the grey color scheme, but I haven’t given up hope that they’ll come out with more colorful options eventually. I will say that I was very excited when I realized my old Switch joy-cons and pro controllers still work with the Switch 2, as I’ve spent too much money collecting cute looking ones to never use them again. I am still waiting on them adding more background themes instead of just “basic white” and “basic black” (I’ve always been confused by Nintendo using the word “basic” when there are only those two themes), but maybe that is just wishful thinking. I feel bad judging the system too harshly for silly things like aesthetics, but previous Nintendo consoles like the 3DS had different cool looking special editions and had various interesting background options, so it’s not completely unrealistic.

Though I think it should have been called the Super Nintendo Switch (or maybe the Switch Advance), I’m happy with my Switch 2. I’ll admit, the system is just an enhanced version of the Switch, so if you already have a Switch 1 and you’re not dying to play Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bananza, the upgrade isn’t truly necessary… but boy is it nice. While I definitely have my reservations about the price, in the end I’m glad I got my own Switch 2. However, if my sticks start drifting, my opinion may not remain so positive.