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The story
A thread on 5ch’s hardware/industry (Geha) board describes a poster who has repeated the same pattern four times: buying a game on Switch 1 or Switch 2, getting bothered by visible jagged edges and blur, and then buying the Steam version instead. Titles mentioned include Tokyo Xanadu, Kyoto Xanadu, Trails of Cold Steel I, and the Romancing SaGa 2 remake, with the poster bouncing between the Switch and Steam versions — unable to carry over save progress — and regretting it each time. The thread split between those arguing that if you own a PC you should just buy on Steam from the start, and those who valued the Switch’s portability and quick sleep-mode convenience, sparking a debate over whether graphics or portability should take priority.
What people said
Specifically: Tokyo Xanadu, Kyoto Xanadu, Trails of Cold Steel I, and the Romancing SaGa 2 remake.
And honestly, until I'm past the early game I keep switching back and forth between the Switch (2) version and the Steam version depending on my mood or situation, even though the save data doesn't sync between them — then I regret it, thinking 'I should've just kept playing the other version during this time.'
If you can't play it on the train, it's a non-starter.
Being chained to a monitor to grind levels? Who has that kind of free time.
Yeah, it's tough deciding whether it's worth being chained to a monitor anyway.
I've talked myself into buying the Switch version with that kind of reasoning before, and regretted it too.
Eventually I realized that when the train's crowded, you can't really play anyway.
It's a TitanArmy P275MV MAX that can switch between 4K and FHD.
Wasn't cheap either.
By 'Capcom game' you mean something like Pragmata?
For stuff like that I don't even hesitate — it's Steam only, no question, there's no way I'd touch the Switch 2 version. It's the anime-style graphics titles that actually make me agonize.
If you failed once, you should just buy on Steam for the rest of your life.
Exactly this.
If you already know better, just buy on Steam, and use a Steam Deck for your portable needs.
I think that every single time I regret it, but about once every six months I waver and think 'well, maybe this one's fine…'
For the titles I listed I ended up buying both versions, but there are plenty of other titles I agonized over too — the Atelier series, for one.
Honestly, for anything where graphics aren't the priority, I just get the Switch 2 version across the board.
Lately the only thing I've bought on PC is Onimusha.
At this rate I'll probably agonize over the next Zelda, skip it, and end up letting even the next Pokémon game (written in the original post as "風波/Fūha" — exact title unclear) gather dust too.
Who cares, honestly — as long as it's fulfilling its one big job of playing exclusive titles.
Is the Deck really that good-looking, though? Can it satisfy someone used to a 5070 Ti?
Or I guess it's fine if it's just for grinding levels?
Of course it's not that good-looking.
But that's true of the Switch 2 too, so just split usage: Deck when you need portability, PC as your default — that's exactly what cloud saves are for.
This isn't what the Geha board is for.
Get lost.
Isn't that just because you have nothing to compare it to?
Personally, if there were no other option to begin with, I wouldn't sit there thinking 'it'd be better on another system' either.
Right, exactly.
That's the normal take.
It's this place that's weird for dogpiling anyone who says Nintendo hardware should be treated as a Nintendo-exclusives-only machine.
A UMPC is a separate purchase, so that's beside the point.
UMPCs are ridiculously expensive, and don't they take up a lot of space?
I bought a ROG Ally a while back and it just didn't really work for me.
The antennae were already fully out from the start — the way this poster operates and what they're even trying to achieve makes no sense.
That's just because you go out of your way to barge into places where people are enjoying themselves and make a loud scene — of course people think 'what's with this guy.'
Got it, I'll be careful.
Background and points of debate
The Switch 2 works as both a home console and a handheld and has improved performance, but there are still cases where its graphics fall short compared to PC or Steam versions. In recent years, more third-party titles — like Tokyo/Kyoto Xanadu, the Trails series, and the Romancing SaGa 2 remake — have launched simultaneously on both Switch and Steam, creating a structural dilemma for buyers between prioritizing ‘portability and the convenience of sleep mode’ versus ‘better graphics and faster loading.’ The thread split between those who argued that if you own a PC you should go Steam-only from the start, and those who valued the Switch’s portability for commuting and outings — the latter position also tying into the view that ‘the Switch should be used strictly as a machine for Nintendo’s own titles.’ One point not addressed in the original post: very few titles allow save data to be shared between the Switch and Steam versions, which is the underlying reason the poster keeps ending up buying both versions without being able to carry progress over.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “I keep buying the Switch 1 or 2 version, regretting it, and rebuying on Steam.”
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