These are the Switch 2 games I'm playing on day one

The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally arrived, and after the first day with mine, I'm quite happy with the new console. Not only does much of the hardware feel upgraded, the Joy-Cons are better, the Switch is a bit bigger, and the Pro Controller has a great new feel to it. All of that is great, but what I care most about are the games. Mario Kart World was an obvious first pick to boot up, since it came packed in with my console, but on top of that I checked out a few other games. None of those other games are new, technically, but the Switch 2 enhancements have made some games feel new.

5 Mario Kart World

It's been a long time since we got a new Mario Kart

Mario Kart World is the launch game for the Nintendo Switch, coming in the more expensive bundle version of the console. It's also Nintendo's first $80 game, and while I'm not yet ready to say if it's worth the price, it is quite good so far. I've played a handful of regular cups, some on 50CC, since I will need to if I want three-star gold on all the cups, and one a 150CC, just to see how it feels at top speed. While the openness of some tracks is throwing me off, and I'm not sure how I feel about the large number of point-to-point races. That said, the racing feels great, and if you are worried it feels too much like Mario Kart 8, there are tons of small gameplay additions, like rail grinding, wall driving, and charged jumps, that make it feel quite different once you understand it. The character roster is nuts too, although I do think the novelty of having that many characters will wear off eventually.

4 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Buttery smooth

While I want to check out both Zelda upgrades at some point, I figured I should pick just one for launch day. I went with Tears of the Kingdom, where I booted up my old save from my second playthrough, which I left off in the Fire Temple. While I don't necessarily feel like I could notice a huge boost in resolution and visual quality, although being in the underground lava area probably impacted that, the improved technical aspects were obvious right away. Not only does it run at 60 FPS, it does so consistently. I don't remember which areas of Tears of the Kingdom ran poorly before to really put it to the test, but playing through part of the dungeon I never experienced any dropped frames or choppiness. Breath of the Wild will likely feel like a bigger upgrade when the time comes, since I haven't played that game in several years, but I was immediately impress with how Tears of the Kingdom runs. While I might not do another complete playthrough, I will spend more time with it in the future.

3 Pokémon Scarlet

Both a drastic and disappointing upgrade

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet did not receive paid upgrades like the Zelda games did, but they did receive free updates to boost performance. The performance has been boosted, but it's also exposed some of the game's shortcomings in really obvious ways. Having beaten the game and the DLCs previously, I wiped my save and started fresh. Pokémon Scarlet runs at a stable 60 FPS, which is jarring to look at considering how poorly the games ran on the original Switch. It does run at a higher resolution, but this improved performance has made some of the bad textures and lackluster art-style look even worse now. It's a bit of a bummer, because Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are some of the best designed games in the series in terms of how the game flows, but it really could have used some extra work. That said, being able to play it at 60 FPS is tempting me to play it again, just so I can see the game it was meant to be.

2 Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

I had to know

While most people will likely dodge Nintendo's $10 Switch 2 tutorial, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, I found it too intriguing to leave it alone. While I only scratched the surface of it, I liked what I played enough to come back and see it through, although I will give a warning. There are minigames here that require additional accessories, specifically a Pro Controller 2 and a USB Camera. While you can use any camera that is USB-C, the Pro Controller costs nearly $100. You also technically need a 4K display, although that's far more common than the extra accessories. There are very few minigames that require these, but I think people should know that. All of that said, the minigames are fun and feel like WarioWare in some ways. It's better than I expected, even if I'm still not sure people should have to pay for it.

1 SoulCaliber II - GameCube NSO

The emulation seems solid

Lastly, I booted up SoulCalibur II on the GameCube Nintendo Switch Online, which also launched with The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and F-Zero GX. While I am more interested in playing the other two games, I had a limited amount of time and the fighting game seemed like the quickest thing to jump into. I haven't played this one before, but I have played a decent amount of SoulCalibur VI, although I'm not great at fighting games. I played a few rounds here and the game feels great to play, the latency is extremely low, and it looks pretty good. I played a few rounds using the NSO GameCube controller which Nintendo sells on its website. This wireless controller works for other Switch 2 games, but it feels perfect for these GameCube games. The shoulder buttons feel great on the new controller, and I had fun messing around in SoulCalibur II.

A buffet of new and improved experiences

While most of my attention will move to Mario Kart World for the next couple of weeks, I'm excited about my Nintendo Switch 2. While others might not find joy in old games running better, I do, and seeing Tears of the Kingdom and Pokémon Scarlet running so much better on this console has me excited for new games. The last year or so, my Switch has gone untouched, since Nintendo has had fewer releases and third-party games just ran too poorly on it, but now I feel like I can pick up any new game on the Switch 2 and have a great time.