The Atlus RPG Persona 3 Reload arrived on Switch 2 in October, nearly two years after its PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S iterations, with a modest visual makeup that we had hoped would clear the Switch 2's technical limitations. But it launched in a rough state, with frame-pacing issues, excessive input lag, image quality issues, and no high frame-rate mode option.

However, there is some good news: patch 1.03 fixes the game's 30fps output with an even 33.3ms update - ironing out the 16ms and 50ms spikes and delivering a consistent, properly frame-paced output. Ths issue impacted both docked and handheld modes and it's good to see that both are now fully fixed.

We also were frustrated by the launch version's lack of a 60fps "performance" mode, which meant it fell short of the steady 60fps frame-rate delivered by the other versions - even Xbox Series S. We wondered whether the game's 19-year-old PS2 core meant it had headroom to reach 60fps on Switch 2, or whether its next-gen coat of paint was too heavy for the Tegra T239 processor.

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Frame-pacing in Persona 3 Reload's default 30fps mode is much improved thanks to patch 1.03.

Atlus has resolved this complaint with a new, optional 60fps toggle, though unfortunately, it's only available in docked mode. In our limited testing, the mode sometimes dips into the upper 50fps range, but otherwise, it's indeed locking to a 60fps frame-rate. This comes at some fidelity costs, however. Lower resolution shadow maps are arguably not very bothersome in standard play, but this mode's apparent culling of ambient occlusion is more dramatic.

Interestingly, the game's resolution remains fixed at 1080p even in performance mode, which makes us wonder whether shadow and AO settings could have been set higher in exchange for a lower base resolution, perhaps paired with DLSS image reconstruction, which we've seen work nicely in a number of Switch 2 ports this year.

In fact, across the board, whether in portable or docked mode, and whether running at 30fps or 60fps, P3R on Switch 2 still renders at 1080p resolution. Earlier this year, Atlus developers suggested that they wanted the game to run identically no matter how Switch 2 owners played the game, and this philosophy remains intact, both in terms of base resolution and visual settings. The launch build's relatively ineffective TAA treatment remains in play, as there is still clear aliasing in moving images - perhaps caused by errant post-processing passes or other unknown reasons.

We remain confused by the amount of power left on the table when Switch 2 is docked, in terms of 50 percent higher memory clocks and doubled GPU core clocks. Driving the docked version to a resolution as modest as 1440p, especially in its 30fps mode, seems like it would be achievable. We also wonder whether legacy code or other issues got in the way of Atlus enabling DLSS, which is the anti-aliasing and upscaling choice on Switch 2 - and would likely have turned in a clearer image than the imperfect TAA seen in both P3R's launch and patched versions.

Our last complaint about P3R on Switch 2 is input lag, which is only marginally improved in the game's latest patch. We know that last year's PS4 port suffered from comparable input lag, measured at roughly 160-190ms in its default 30fps mode, and the patched Switch 2 version still suffers from roughly 180ms of input lag in its own 30fps mode, whether docked or undocked. This is tested on a display with 12ms of input lag and using a wireless Pro controller.

The only relief in the patched version comes from reduced input lag in its new 60fps performance mode, which drops down to roughly 120-140ms in the same testing environment - but that comes at the cost of noticeable image degradation and is only available in docked mode. It should be noted that 60fps games typically operate at between 50-66ms of input lag (83ms at a push!), so this is still astonishingly high.

If you're the kind of Persona series fan who held out on the early-2024 launch of P3R until it got a decent Switch 2 port, its 1.03 patch has brought the game up to a "good enough" state to recommend, especially for a PS2-era RPG that remains a genre-defining experience. However, compared to its utter polish on platforms like PS5 and Xbox Series X, P3R's launch on Switch 2 sadly feels under-resourced - and it pales compared to Switch 2 ports with more bespoke effort from their developers.