It felt weird coming back to Tears of the Kingdom, one of my favourite gaming experiences evz, so soon after I had wrapped it up for the first time. Time has sped by unfathomably quickly, and I wasn’t sure whether a performance boost and an additional mobile app would be enough to let the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition get its hooks in me to quite the same extent as its predecessor did back in 2023.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t call myself a true Zelda fan if I didn’t at least have a gander at this new package. I started a new save file (because that’s an option now), blinked, and suddenly realised that five hours had passed.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition might be one of the harder titles to get your tongue around, but falling back into this sublime sequel was as easy as pie. Those diving into the adventure for the first time can rest easy knowing that they’re getting the game in its mightiest form; those who have already poured hundreds of hours into Link’s latest can feel safe in the knowledge that a performance boost and mobile extras are well worth making the return journey, even if a little of the magic is lost along the way.
I’m sure that you already have a decent grasp of TOTK’s story and features, so I won’t waste any time on a recap here (and I recommend reading our Switch 1 review first if you’ve never played the game). Rest assured, the performance boost hasn’t taken anything away from the game’s scope. This Hyrule is still massive and full to the brim with quest-giving NPCs, attention-snatching points of interest, and, yes, ya-haha-ing Koroks.
The difference is that all of this feels a little more manageable now. I’ll get to the game’s stunning facelift in just a moment, but I’d like to briefly highlight Zelda Notes first.
This optional mobile add-on has levelled its fair share of criticism (even we Nintendo Life writers are split on it). The audio guidance voice is painfully grating and as repetitive as they come — on that we can all agree — while the very principle of an external guide dictating your every move isn’t great for the immersion levels. For Breath of the Wild and its tighter world, I, too, would be more hesitant about the Zelda Notes inclusion. But returning to my old save file on TOTK, and the *checks notes* 66% of the game I still hadn’t completed after wrapping up the story, it felt like a welcome bonus.
One of TOTK’s greatest strengths is its near-endless sense of wonder — you’ll never spend too much time on one objective before being distracted by 12 others — but, particularly in the late game, it can start to feel like a little too much. I, for example, adore the Addison side quests, where you have to assist a nervous little Hylian on his sign-balancing missions. I’d like to complete more of them, and the Zelda Notes addition can help me to do that.
In recent days, I’ve hopped on for a few minutes to tick off a couple of Koroks, beat a Shrine, or listen to the new fully-voiced Voice Memories from Zelda, Rauru, and Master Kohga — inessential bits of ‘lore’ but perfectly harmless. You can still play without the app, and let TOTK throw every distraction it can muster your way (and you totally should), but taken as an extra that will be used predominantly by people who have already seen the adventure to the end, its inclusion makes Hyrule that bit less intimidating.
But let’s not get bogged down in bonuses. TOTK – NS2 Ed.’s greatest strength is still the base game, and good heavens, is that game an utter joy to play with this boosted performance.
On Switch 1, this was a marvel. This is a game where you can combine any two objects to create something new, swim through mountains to quickly reach higher ground, and approach combat encounters in any way imaginable — mechs, meat shields, you name it. The Switch could do all of this without instantly bursting into flames (like I say, a marvel!), but it wasn’t without its technical hiccups. Taking a stroll through the Korok Forest would still tank the frame rate, things would get crunchy when trying to manoeuvre a large build, etc.
Expectedly, all of this is a thing of the past this time around. From my experience, the game runs at a buttery smooth 60fps all the time. And I mean all the time. I’ve sprinted through the Korok Forest without so much as a stutter, dived from Sky Island to depths with no slowdown, and fast-travelled with the most minimal of load screens. No matter what I threw at it, the Switch 2 kept things steady.
And I cannot emphasise enough just how pretty everything looks when running without restraint. Be it in the wind flowing through Link’s hair or the glowing energy of a cowering Zonai construct, playing with such buttery smoothness means you will not want to go back to the original in a hurry. Believe me, I tried.
The resolution boost has worked wonders for the world, too. Textures are much more defined, even from afar, and the improved draw distance makes it easier than ever to scout out a ground-level locale from a faraway Sky Island.
It’s true that the 4K goodness (in docked mode) highlights a handful of visual blemishes that I don’t remember catching my eye in the original — have those mountains always looked so… grainy? — but without a complete overhaul of the art, this was bound to happen. And let’s be clear, I’m nitpicking small blemishes here. It looks stunning overall.
If there is one thing to keep in mind before diving back into Tears, it’s that your playthrough is unlikely to be quite as magical as it was the first time around. The game is still packed with beauty but, outside of Zelda Notes, there’s nothing new here. Kirby and the Forgotten Land will pack in bonus challenges on Switch 2, Mario Party Jamboree is getting new rulesets, but TOTK has been left as it is.
Sure, £7.99 / $10.99 is a small price to pay to see the visual and performance upgrade in action (even smaller to those with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, who get it for ‘free’), but don’t expect to come back and feel the magic in quite the same way as you might with an additional Master Mode or Side Quest.
Conclusion
When all’s said and done, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a fantastic revamp of perhaps Nintendo’s most sublime sequel. What was once a technical marvel on aged hardware now has a chance to truly shine, with visual and performance boosts undoubtedly making it the definitive way to play.
Nothing will ever match the feeling of playing it for the first time, of course, and some bonus content would have been welcome, but armed with Zelda Notes and the promise of buttery smooth upgrades, I’d challenge anyone to dip back in without losing hours to its unrivalled wonder.
