Earlier today, a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth demo was released on Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S, allowing users to try out the first two chapters and carry over progress to the full game when it launches on June 3. Early footage of the Switch 2 port looked promising, but a more in-depth look reveals that the game's ambition may be, at times, too much for the system, as it struggles to maintain a steady 30 FPS framerate in certain scenarios despite visual cutbacks.
A new comparison video shared on YouTube by GVG puts footage from the PlayStation 5 version in Performance Mode side by side with footage from the Switch 2 demo. While the port is generally fine considering the system's specs, a deeper look reveals the compromises Square Enix had to make to target 30 FPS, including removed assets and aggressive pop-in in several instances.
However, it's the framerate that will most impact the experience, and the demo isn't painting a flawless picture. While the Nintendo Switch 2 does stick to its 30 FPS target for the most part, there are instances while exploring Kalm with many NPCs on screen where performance takes a hit, dipping as low as 19 FPS. While this was expected given the system's CPU limitations, it is still disappointing to see, though the final version could theoretically cut NPC density further to stabilize performance.
Thankfully, these drops do not seem to be happening in combat. In footage of the battle against the Materia Guardian, the framerate often dips below 30 FPS, but never so low as to significantly impact gameplay. Hopefully, this stability remains consistent throughout the remainder of the game, which features spectacular, particle-heavy battles that will surely be very taxing for the Switch 2 hardware.
While comparing the Switch 2 version with the PlayStation 5 was always going to favor Sony's hardware, it will be very interesting to see how the portable version stacks up against the Steam Deck, which runs Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in a playable state, but with a lot of compromises, and if dedicated optimization and NVIDIA DLSS will be enough to make it the definitive portable version of the game.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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