The Kingdom Hearts collection of the three mainline games are coming to Nintendo‘s cloud streaming service, but a report suggests that there are issues with input lag, frame rate and graphics.
According to a report by Eurogamer, the Kingdom Hearts games available on Nintendo Switch via its cloud streaming service may not be worth the $90 (£67) Square Enix is asking. Two reporters tested out numerous demos on the service which allows you to play each game for 15 minutes and recorded their findings.
Using 65Mbps and 100Mbps fibre connections they experience issues with the graphics, frame rate and with input lag despite high internet speeds. Games were also tested in docked mode which has higher performance results. Games on the service were downgraded and compressed to 720p from the original 1080p before they were streamed to the console. This may or may not be an issue for players depending on how particular they are about graphics.
The latest release Kingdom Hearts III will play at 60fps giving minimal frame rate issues. However, the first two games in the series, which were originally released on PlayStation 2, run at 60fps on console and 120fps on PC but appear to be capped at 30fps on the streaming service.
The biggest issue appears to be with input lag. Cloud streaming services are known to lag as there are several barriers between player inputs and the game. When wired into the internet via Ethernet cable there was around a 1.5 second delay between input and response. This is not unplayable, but could be an issue for high performance players. However, due to the poor hardware of the Switch’s WiFi receiver, when playing this way the delay could be up to 2 seconds, some of the worst seen in gaming.
Whether these reported performance issues influence the decision to purchase the Kingdom Hearts games obviously remains personal choice. Those concerned can always try the 15 minute demo before buying.
In other news, a leaked image from Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, hints that a completely new title from a major Nintendo IP will be announced next month (February) though no further details are given.
