Large, complex games usually benefit from a generous display, particularly strategy RPGs, 4X games and massively multiplayer online titles. That makes Final Fantasy XIV on the compact Switch 2 seem improbable, yet the result is unexpectedly capable.
The technical performance is strong. The installation requires approximately 120GB of storage, which meant deleting several other games to make room. After downloading, logging in and playing were trouble-free. Water, fire, cloth movement and spell particles all look as expected, without obvious graphical compromises during normal play.
The character tested was on Gilgamesh, within the Aether data centre. Gilgamesh is not Aether’s most congested world, but the data centre’s worlds are generally understood to be busy. Across several login attempts, queues stayed in the single digits or low double digits, with entry taking only a few minutes at most.
Limsa Lominsa was a useful test because the hub city is famous for being crowded and for stressing hardware. Teleporting there was smooth, and travelling to Ul’dah was equally uneventful. The connection also remained stable in handheld mode on a home Wi-Fi network that has caused trouble in the past.
Other players have encountered a more serious problem: the display can fade to black and fail to return. Square Enix identifies this as a known Switch 2 issue affecting several situations:
- The screen may stay black during a battle-phase transition or while teleporting to another map in an instanced duty.
- The fault can appear when reviving after being knocked out in an instanced duty.
- Using Return or a shortcut in an instanced duty can also trigger the fade-to-black problem.
An update is being prepared to fix the glitch. There is another practical inconvenience to remember: putting the Switch 2 to sleep signs the player out of Final Fantasy XIV, so another login is required when returning. Briefly opening the Home screen is different, as the game remains connected.
Handheld mode has two clear drawbacks
Extended handheld sessions are less comfortable for two straightforward reasons:
- The battery can drop from fully charged to low-battery warnings within a couple of hours.
- The smaller display makes the busy interface feel cluttered.
Interface settings can reduce the amount of information on screen, but players who prefer to keep every MMO detail visible may still find handheld mode cramped. The game’s dense layout is easier to manage on a larger display, much like choosing an arcade machine with a roomier screen for games that demand visual clarity.
That limitation aside, it is impressive to see a resource-intensive MMO work this well on Switch 2. Portable gaming has supported demanding software for years, including through cloud streaming, but running a visually rich version of Final Fantasy XIV directly on this console feels unusually ambitious.
Players considering a more spacious home gaming setup can explore RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide, compare compact bartop arcades, or browse the latest updates in the RETROCADE Arcade Blog.
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