Following Nintendo’s announcement that PlatinumGames’ cult-favourite action-RPG Nier: Automata is coming to the Switch later this year, some gamers are demanding that Square Enix make native ports for the Kingdom Hearts games as well.
During yesterday’s Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, Square Enix announced that Nier: Automata The End of YoRHa Edition is coming to the Switch on October 6. The Switch port includes previously released add-ons like the ”3C3C1D119440927” DLC as well as new costumes.
In a follow-up blog post, the official Japanese Nier Twitter account confirmed the Switch port will run at 30 frames per second with a 1920×1080 resolution when docked and a 1280×720 resolution in handheld mode. While Nier: Automata fans shared memes in response to how poorly The End of YoRHa Edition might run on Nintendo’s modest hardware, Kingdom Hearts fans demanded that Square Enix give Kingdom Hearts the same treatment with the release of a native port on the Switch.
Read More: Kingdom Hearts Fans Say The Switch Cloud Ports Suck
The KH3 Nintendo Switch Cloud Ver. Experience pic.twitter.com/8sZFiIxA2Q
— HMK (@HMKilla) January 19, 2022
“How tf could Square get Nier to run at 1080p at 30fps but couldn’t bother to make a native port of Kingdom Hearts LMFAO,” one Twitter user wrote.
“You cannot tell me a Kingdom Hearts native port isn’t possible when looking at how NieR will run 1080p on dock for the Switch,” another replied.
How it feels to be a Kingdom Hearts fan watching Nier Automata get a proper Switch port pic.twitter.com/C9S7DAV6j8
— Curtis Todd (Commissions Open) (@JudeKnight14) June 28, 2022
Of course, the Kingdom Hearts games are already available on the Switch, via streaming cloud technology meant to serve as a workaround to run games that are too demanding for the handheld console’s hardware. Though the prospect of having Sora and crew on the go was a dream come true for fans, those cloud-streaming Switch ports turned out to be a nightmare.
Since the launch of the Switch cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts in February, players have reported serious latency issues and start-up crashes. The cloud ports played so terribly for some die-hard Kingdom Hearts fans that they straight-up advised other players not to buy the games on the Switch.
It’s hard to blame Kingdom Hearts fans for getting upset that Square Enix gave a predominantly PlayStation 2-era game the lacklustre cloud port treatment while Nier: Automata, a full-on PlayStation 4 title, is getting a native Switch port.
“I gotta’ imagine this is because [Tetsuya] Nomura has always had the KH team handle the ports directly and they’re busier now whereas PlatinumGames has the bandwidth,” YouTuber Liam Allen-Miller tweeted. “But yeah not a great look, especially for the PS2 titles.”
Kotaku reached out to Square Enix and Nintendo for comment.
Time will tell whether Platinum Games’ award-winning action-RPG will suffer the same fate as Kingdom Hearts when it comes to its Switch performance. If it does, I’m sure some players will make a meta real-world gameplay challenge out of it, kinda like they already do in the existing versions by sabotaging their HUDs. Maybe this is the dawn of the crappy framerate challenge.
Nier: Automata The End of YoRHa Edition launches on Nintendo Switch on October 6 for $US40 ($56), and is already up for preorder on the eShop.
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