I have to confess. Barring a quick foray into The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, my Nintendo Switch has been largely ignored for the better part of a year. It's still one of my favorite systems, but now that teams like Asus ROG Ally and PlayStation Portal have taken over my portable gaming, it doesn't see the light of day much. That's why I don't think I'm going to buy a Nintendo Switch 2, at least not on the first day. And yet, I am divided.
I've gotten carried away with the portable gaming euphoria of the last 12 months, and it's come at the expense of several Ninty titles that I still want to enjoy. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is collecting dust on shelves for God's sake, and that's a crime. While my Switch may have been usurped for portable moments, it can still shine on the big screen, and that's why the mClassic scaler could be my alternative to the Nintendo Switch 2.
The dongle connects through the dock's HDMI port and upgrades that 1080p output. GamesRadar+ hardware editor Phil Hayton reports a sharper, cleaner image with less jagged edges in everything from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Available in Amazon for $99.99 / £89.99 (and often on sale for much less), it's considerably cheaper than the rumored $400-$500 cost of a brand new system, and that value compounds if you're also a retro collector.
Should you buy the Marseille mClassic climber?
I'll make it clear from the start: if you want a more substantial performance improvement, you're better off waiting for the full console update. The mClassic works well at smoothing out the edges of scenes that the handheld has trouble with, but it won't improve choppy frame rates or pop-ups. It's a new coat of paint, not a completely new house.
However, if you're like me and don't want to invest in a completely new system in a few months, it might be worth checking out. I want to give my library a boost, return to the world of Ninty, but also invest more time in my old retro PlayStation collection. The mClassic does all that without sacrificing speed or color intensity. Those using the Switch on a particularly large screen will see more benefits, but I'm still hoping for a boost on my 55-inch 4K panel.
No, it won't be the same upgrade as a completely new processor and graphics system, but Nintendo games have never needed the latest and greatest specs to maintain their appeal. These are simple titles that do fantastic things with limited technology and I don't need a new console to play the current slate of releases. Do I still want to give them a fir tree? I'm certainly not saying no.
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