In the wake of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's launch on the Switch family of consoles, fans and critics alike learned something at the same time: what the Retro Studios shooter looked and played like on OG Switch 1 hardware. Nintendo didn't provide Switch 1 gameplay access during the review period, so we wondered whether this was withheld because of glaring issues.

Whatever Nintendo's reasons, we can confirm just about the best of news for older hardware owners. Our resolution and frame-rate analysis tools tell a positive story for one of Switch 1's prettiest games yet.

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Metroid Prime 4 on both Switch 1 and Switch 2.

When playing in docked mode, MP4 renders its gameplay at 720p resolution, while the "visor" view that series hero Samus Aran peers through in first-person perspective renders at 900p. This is similar to the game's "4K" mode on Switch 2, which renders geometry at 1440p resolution and the visor's details at 2160p.

This differs from initial real-time gameplay trailers, which suggested a 900p resolution for docked Switch 1 play - and in the course of the game's development, a drop in resolution may have been required for the sake of sustained 60fps performance. Whatever the reason, final retail performance checks out. Just like MP4's 4K mode on Switch 2, the game's sole preset on Switch 1 runs at an almost entirely steady 60fps.

Both consoles exhibit nigh-imperceptible dips beneath the 60fps line when Samus drives a motorcycle through the open Sol Valley region. We note this only to document an outlier. Otherwise, we classify this as a "locked 60fps" game on all Switch consoles.

The visual gulf between Switch 1 and Switch 2 is equal parts perceptible and understandable. Fidelity takes a further hit on Switch 1 thanks to its lack of anti-aliasing, resulting in far more "jaggies" and stair-step lines beyond just the difference in pixel counts. Texture quality is reduced, so close-up textures appear muddier. And texture filtering is consequently impacted by this texture quality drop, as well, leading to "mushy" textures in places on Switch 1.

But other important visual features are like-for-like on both systems. Geometry and foliage presentation, level-of-detail (LOD) sliders, shadow resolution and particle effects present seemingly identically, which means the game's core visual character - an ambitious, sweeping world that builds upon Metroid Prime Remastered's gorgeous 60fps gameplay - presents well on older hardware. Meanwhile, Switch 2 owners unlock tasteful step-ups via boosted pixel counts, sharper textures, handsome HDR compatibility and an optional 120Hz mode.

In portable mode, meanwhile, Switch 1 further drops in pixel counts - 504p for geometry, 576p for Samus' visor - while otherwise apparently locking to a firm 60fps. Switch 1 OLED owners may very well take the trade-off of reduced pixel counts and texture resolution in favour of its far superior built-in screen, which offers a much higher contrast ratio and superior pixel persistence.

Both docked and portable play on Switch 1 run at lower pixel counts than 2023's Metroid Prime Remastered, which turns in 900p and 576p resolutions, respectively. We imagine Retro Studios ultimately compromised on lower pixel counts for MP4 to increase visual complexity throughout its striking, diverse series of biomes. On the flip side, we'd love to see what's essentially a quadrupling of pixels in MP4 find its way to a Switch 2-specific patch for Metroid Prime Remastered at some point.