Final Fantasy 7 Remake Nintendo Switch 2 preview – this is no Elden Ring

GameCentral goes hands-on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Nintendo Switch 2, which may be an even better port than Cyberpunk 2077.

Despite the Final Fantasy series initially being exclusive to Nintendo hardware, 1997’s Final Fantasy 7 jumped ship to the PlayStation 1 and (barring PC and mobile ports) remained a PlayStation-only game all the way up until 2019.

Now, history is repeating itself with the 2020 remake, which initially launched as a PlayStation 4 exclusive (and later PlayStation 5 and PC); even if the wait for it to come to other consoles hasn’t been anywhere near as long, with Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S ports set to arrive before the end of this year.

These versions will be based on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade (aka the one with the Yuffie DLC) and while there’s been concern about the quality of some third party games on Switch 2, this seems to be at least as good as Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition.

You’ve likely already heard the horror stories of Elden Ring’s Switch 2 port running badly in handheld mode, but having played a good chunk of Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s opening chapter (right up to the scorpion robot boss fight) in handheld mode, I can confirm it ran perfectly well the whole time.

The port doesn’t come close to hitting the same silky smooth frame rate as the PlayStation 5 version, but it was consistent even during combat and felt no different to the original PlayStation 4 version, which targeted 30 frames per second.

It may even be slightly better but that could be confirmation bias at play, since a Digital Foundry comparison based on footage shared by Nintendo a few months ago suggests the Switch 2 port is also targeting 30fps – albeit with Intergrade’s improved lighting and higher resolution.

It’s also possible the Switch 2 could struggle with some of the game’s busier boss fights, but that never happened with anything I saw.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a great looking game on the PlayStation 4, so it’s impressive seeing it run as well as it does on Switch 2, considering Nintendo hardware has typically always been weaker than its contemporaries. And given the lack of effort that can go into some ports.

Combined with the aforementioned Cyberpunk 2077, the Switch 2 sets a much higher bar for future ports of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games, now that we know any compromises that need to be made are minimal at best – which makes examples like Elden Ring all the more head tilting.

I wasn’t able to confirm if the Switch 2 port will feature a performance boost option, where you can bump the frame rate up at the cost of some graphical quality. But this wasn’t a deal breaker for the PlayStation 4 version and if you’ve only skipped Final Fantasy 7 Remake this long because you’ve exclusively stuck with Nintendo hardware, you’re probably the kind of player who isn’t that bothered by lower frame rates.

Performance and visuals will likely be the big talking points surrounding the Switch 2 port, once it launches, since the combat gameplay itself is exactly the same and just as good as it was in 2020.

Despite becoming acclimatised to the more refined combat seen in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, muscle memory kicked in as soon as I started and it thankfully doesn’t feel like a horrid step down from its sequel.

Seeing Nintendo button prompts in place of PlayStation ones wasn’t as disorienting as I feared it’d be either. Not that that would be an issue if this is your first experience with the game.

What’s going to be really interesting though, is how Rebirth will run on Switch 2. Square Enix hasn’t explicitly confirmed a Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth port, but during the Switch 2 showcase in April, director Naoki Hamaguchi did promise ‘more updates on the Final Fantasy 7 remake project for Switch 2.’

Since Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was developed exclusively for the PlayStation 5, and is so large that physical copies come on two discs, I imagine porting that to Switch 2 will be a far more challenging undertaking.

It’ll certainly have to be a significant downgrade (so no 60fps option), but if Square Enix manages to make a good job of it, it could be a very good sign for future PlayStation 5 ports.

There’s also the question of whether the final entry in the remake trilogy will see a multiplatform launch and arrive on Switch 2 (and Xbox) the same day as the PlayStation 5.

Square Enix is much keener to embrace multiplatform launches after its deals with Sony didn’t yield high sales, but it’s still early to think about that, considering the third game isn’t expected until 2028 at the earliest.

Then again, there is fan speculation of an update on part three being just round the corner, to coincide with the second anniversary of mobile game Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis on September 5. But we’ll have to wait and see on that.

Formats: Nintendo Switch 2 (previewed), Xbox Series X/S
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Square Enix
Release Date: 2025

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: Best of Gamescom 2025 trailers – Resident Evil Requiem to Lego Batman

MORE: Domino’s pizza joins fans demanding Final Fantasy 9 anniversary remake

MORE: Halo and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth coming to Switch 2 claims insider