Capcom let the world know that Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 were getting native versions on the Nintendo Switch 2 at the September 2026 Nintendo Direct. As another surprise for fans in Japan, the company brought the games to Tokyo Game Show 2026. Are these something that should be on your radar? Well, I got to try out Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition in handheld mode at the show this year, so let’s talk about it.
Note
Capcom brought all three of the upcoming Resident Evil titles to the show, however they did not let you freely choose between them. Basically, the demos for each of the titles puts you into the beginning of the games and you can then play freely up to where the demo would cut you off. Since this area was tucked away at the back of their booth (to make room for huge areas for Monster Hunter Wilds), space was limited. There were only three demo units available. Players were given a 20 minute time limit with the game(s), and the staff would switch games for you if you asked. I’m going to forgo talking about the gameplay since I think many of you know what to expect there, so let’s jump right into how the Resident Evil 4 ran on the Switch 2 in handheld mode.
Visuals & Performance
Given what Capcom has been able to do on the Switch 2 up to this point with both Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata, I had high hopes for RE4 on the system and even given my limited time with this demo, I walked away impressed. First and foremost, the game ran at a pretty consistent frame rate for the majority of the demo, seemingly around 60 fps or so with minimal dips. Character models looked pretty sharp and contained plenty of detail. In the cutscenes, closeups of Leon and his hair (and his awesome jacket) were great. Since I was watching all of the cutscenes and taking in the environment, I got to the village right at the end of the demo, so I can’t quite comment on things there, but everything else up to that point was pretty awesome. Lighting in the hunter’s house was dark and foreboding with nice effects coming from the flashlight and other light sources. Once outside and into the forest, you can see the sunlight popping in from beyond the tree branches quite clearly, making for a quite a nice looking scene. Even with that said, you will notice some odd looking shadows on Leon’s face from time to time, but I’m just getting a bit nitpicky at this point. Sure, it’s a downgrade from more powerful hardware, but it still looks great.
When comparing this to RE Requiem on the system from earlier this year, performance is pretty much in line with what Capcom has brought to the Switch 2. When comparing it something like the native iOS version of the game that came out in late 2023, the Switch 2 definitely looks better. The models in the iPhone version looked fine for the most part, but the issues with the hair and lighting are a lot more noticeable in that version. It’s pretty clear to me that visually speaking, things look quite a bit better on Switch 2 when compared to the mobile port.
Shooting Range & Swag
Unrelated to the games, per se, but Capcom had a shooting range for fans to try out some of the Resident Evil air soft guns that are currently for sale. If you tried out the demo beforehand, you would even get a ticket for an extra “clip” to use. I’m not quite sure which model gun they let me try out, but they give players two clips to shoot at a target of the singing zombie woman from RE Requiem. You start out with semi-automatic shooting and then the staff will switch it up so you can blast the bejeezus out of the target with automatic blasts. Again, this isn’t related to the game so much, but if you ever make it out to Tokyo Game Show, Capcom puts these kind of things on from time to time and it’s worth a shot (pun intended).
For playing the demo and going to the shooting range, Capcom was also giving away some merch. For playing the game, you get a set of three stickers and a special micro fiber towel featuring key art from the three games. For the shooting range, you get a special calendar fearing air soft guns from maker Tokyo Marui as part a collaboration with the Biohazard/Resident Evil series. They also give you the target paper that you shot at for a nice keepsake.
Conclusion
Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition is shaping up to be a pretty competent port when it comes to playing the game in handheld mode. There are some slight issues with hair, but still ran pretty smoothly and the character models and lighting were great. From talking to other friends that tried out the game in docked mode at the show, things run pretty well there, too, however there are some occasional dips when there are a number of enemies on the screen. I can’t comment directly on the other two titles, but given the track record of Capcom on the Switch 2 so far, I think the Resident Evil games are in good hands for these ports.
But, let’s turn things over to you guys. Are you thinking about picking up any of these RE titles on the Switch 2? Did you pick up Requiem on the platform? Sound off with any and all comments down below. We’d love to hear from you.
by Danny Bivens
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