Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is great on PS5, but what about Switch 2?

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian launches this week for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). Ahead of our full review, I have a feature covering the PS5 and Nintendo Switch versions of Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian based on the opening hours. I also retested this with the day one patch installed to make sure these impressions reflect the launch day experience for players. In addition to testing the Switch version on Switch OLED, I also tested Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian's Switch port on Nintendo Switch 2 via backward compatibility to see if any of the potential issues would be resolved on the more powerful system. If you're curious about the PC port and how it scales on handhelds, read my dedicated Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian PC feature here.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian Switch and Switch 2 impressions

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is a Nintendo Switch 1 game that is playable on Switch 2 via backward compatibility. The game's major issue right now across all systems is that it has a lot of loading screens. While these aren't really annoying on PS5, PC, and Switch 2 (backward compatibility) thanks to faster storage, they make the Switch 1 experience a lot worse. You will notice this right from the beginning with 3-6 seconds to load the next room or cut-scenes sometimes. 

Visually, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian scales down quite well and still retains its aesthetic when played docked, but the resolution and lack of good anti-aliasing are very noticeable when playing on a higher-resolution display docked. Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian should've had a native Nintendo Switch 2 version or an upgrade with 60fps support because it look great on Switch or Switch 2 right now. The latter definitely makes for a more stable experience with faster loading, but it is a huge step down in visuals and performance compared to the PS5 version. As for the handheld experience on Switch 1, this isn't bad compared to prior Atelier releases, but the load times and multiple loading screens across the board make for a worse experience in general on Switch 1 compared to other systems you can play it on right now.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian docked on Switch and Switch 2 gameplay

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian PS5 impressions

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian on PS5 is a much smoother experience with its massive resolution boost over the Switch version, double the frame rate target, and faster loading across the board. In fact, the PS5 version could've just eliminated some of the shorter load screens because they usually end up being a fade in and out rather than actual loading. As for performance, the 60fps target isn't perfect with minor drops early on when you move the camera quickly while running. This feels like the camera trying to reset more than performance issues, but it is noticeable. Some cut-scenes on PS5 also have performance issues like the Switch version, but it happens less often on Sony's console. Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian on PS5 has support for Activity Cards and DualSense haptics as well.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian PS5 gameplay

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian load times across PS5, Switch 2, Switch, and PC

For testing the load times, I had Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian installed on the internal storage on PS5, the Switch version on the Switch OLED SD card, the Switch version on the internal storage on Switch 2, and the Steam version on the internal storage on both Steam Deck and ROG Ally. The load times below are measured in seconds. I tested loading from the dashboard to the title screen, loading an early save into a dungeon, and going back from the dungeon to town.

As you can see, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian is fastest on ROG Ally or PC with the Switch 2 version delivering a big improvement over the Switch version even in backward compatibility. The PS5 version may not seen as much faster than Switch 2, but every small load in between rooms and during the prologue is a lot faster on PS5 and PC compared to Switch 2. The Switch 1 version on Switch 1 is the slowest across the board and I hope Koei Tecmo can improve the load times there with patches.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian visual differences across PS5, Switch, and PC

The biggest differences between the PS5 and Switch version are resolution, load times, draw distance, and performance. The draw distance on PS5 is shorter than I expected, but it is still a big step up over the Switch version. In fact, even the PC version's draw distance on the default preset is less than I expected. The PC version can scale beyond the others with its wealth of graphics options. For the comparison image below, I've used my capture device for the docked image on Nintendo Switch (and 2) and PS5. For the Steam Deck, PC and ROG Ally, I used Steam's own screenshot functionality. 

Which is the best portable version Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian?

If you're curious about the best portable version of Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian, it is the ROG Ally in 25W mode followed by the Steam Deck OLED. The Switch version isn't great right now, but you can address some of the performance issues by playing on Switch 2 via backward compatibility. The visuals are the same on Switch 2 unfortunately. I hope Koei Tecmo can release a Nintendo Switch 2 patch for Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian in the future.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian will release on September 26 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam). The PlayStation 4 version will not be released outside Japan.