FAST RMX gets big visual boost on Switch compared to original Wii U version
FAST RMX isn’t a completely new game. It’s based on FAST Racing Neo for Wii U, but has a number of additions and improvements. Among these is a boost to the visuals. Once again, Digital Foundry is here for an analysis.
First, whereas FAST Racing Neo had a temporal upscaling to modify a 640×720 image into a 1280×720 one, this has been removed entirely on Switch. The game jumps between 900p and 1080p while docked (and sometimes a bit lower than that) “while portable mode drops the resolution ceiling to 720p where minor drops in pixel-count can also occur, mostly in pre-race fly-bys.” Switch apparently has a small issue with its firmware resulting in a drain on GPU resources, but when it’s fixed, FAST RMX will run at 1080p when docked. Also, thanks to the higher resolution and removal of flickering artefacts, the Switch game is clearer.
FAST RMX makes use of dynamic headlamps, which just wasn’t possible on Wii U. Improvements were made to lighting, weather effects, and the main menu.
In terms of frame rate, FAST RMX runs at an almost constant smooth 60 frames per second while docked or in portable mode. That’s in contrast to Wii U which sometimes lowered into the 50s. FAST RMX even maintains its performance when playing with up to four players aside from a few momentary drops. On Wii U, having three or four players resulted in 30 frames per second.
Here’s the full analysis from Digital Foundry:
