This is my Nintendo Switch:

No, it’s not the Switch 2; it’s not the Switch OLED; it’s not the Lite; heck, it’s not even the updated Switch 1 that has better battery life. No, friends, this is the original, the true OG Switch that released in the spring of 2017. A console that I have a ton of fond memories with, but one that has been collecting dust in my junk drawer for the past couple of years. 

That is, until a couple of weeks ago, when I went digging for a USB-C charger in said junk drawer and came upon those bright blue-and-red Joy-Cons. Picking up the handheld for the first time in years, I was instantly hit with the thing that Nintendo has been profiting off of for 40 years: Nostalgia. First of all, how the heck can I be nostalgic for a console that came out in 2017? 2017 was like, three years ago, no? Time is a weird thing, man.

Existential crisis aside, it was hard to wipe the smile off my face while holding this “relic” from 2017. And so, I decided I was going to use that USB-C charger I was looking for, not to charge one of my many other (more modern) handhelds, but instead to boot up my OG Nintendo Switch. Seriously, now I know why that other half of me keeps yelling at me to stop going back to playing old consoles when I have half a dozen newer ones, each with backlogs higher than my subscriber count. On that note, please subscribe!

The Outside  

Almost a decade later, the OG Switch still feels great in the hands. It’s light, coming in at about 297 grams—which is almost half the weight of the Switch 2—and incredibly sleek in its form-factor. This sleekness, however, does come at the cost of good ergonomics. I struggled to use the device in handheld mode for more than half an hour before my hands started cramping. I remember this being an issue even back in the day, which is why I bought this third-party grip online, greatly improving ergonomics without adding too much weight. It reduces portability, but interestingly enough, the added bulk makes it just the right size for the case I use for my MSI Claw 8, so it actually works out for me. 

When it comes to the buttons and joysticks, things are…meh. The face and directional buttons are tiny with fairly short travel; they’re clicky and rigid without much wobble, which is nice, but hardly what I’d call satisfying to press. I also wish the D-Pad were more traditional in its design, though I get it because they need to act as face buttons if you were to hand the Joy-Con to a second player. The shoulder buttons are laughably thin, but are surprisingly usable given their tactile feel. The triggers are also pretty mediocre; small with no travel, given that they are digital instead of analog, but again, serviceable and get the job done. 

Handhelds have come a long way in terms of buttons and sticks. Almost every PC gaming handheld nowadays features Hall-Effect sticks and triggers, console-quality face buttons and D-Pads, and a bunch of other features. But Nintendo, as always, aren’t like most console manufacturers. The OG Switch doesn’t have any of those features. Heck, the Switch 2 doesn’t even have Hall-Effect anything. As such, durability, performance, and comfort are always in question with all of Nintendo’s Switch line of systems as it pertains to their Joy-Cons. Durability, especially, has been a concern for the Switch, as many gamers have faced nagging Joy-Con-related issues over the years, particularly stick drift. I, myself, have an annoying issue where my left Joy-Con doesn’t properly connect to the rails of the sliding mechanism, causing frequent disconnects even though it’s supposedly connected. Here’s hoping the magnetized system in the Switch 2 holds up better.

Now, let’s get to my biggest issue with the OG Switch: The Screen. This is a 6.2-inch LCD with a 720p resolution. The resolution isn’t too much of an issue, honestly. At this screen size, games still look decent at 720p, especially Nintendo’s first-party titles. The size, however, is the issue. Given that the Switch 1 is nearly 10 inches wide (with Joy-Cons attached), a 6.2-inch screen looks relatively tiny, and is definitely an issue when playing bigger, triple-A titles like Breath of the Wild that have a lot going on on-screen. The Switch OLED has nearly the same dimensions as the OG, but Nintendo utilized the real estate of that console far better, giving it a nice, 7-inch screen—something they should have done from the get-go, even if it were just an LCD instead of an OLED.      

Lastly, the little kickstand at the back might as well not exist, considering how flimsy it is. 

The Inside

When it comes to power, we all know that the original Switch isn’t the most capable of devices. Still, the custom Tegra X1 SoC was a bit of a marvel back in the day, and developers like Panic Button were able to do some impressive ports like Doom (2016). And, of course, Nintendo’s first-party outings like Super Mario Odyssey and Metroid Prime Remastered are treats to look at and run very well. The excitement of playing my OG Switch again led me to purchase Kirby and the Forgotten Land, a game I had wanted to play for a while but never got around to and ended up forgetting because I thought I’d moved on from the handheld. Very happy that I didn’t, because Forgotten Land is a gorgeous title that looks and plays wonderfully.

Not to mention, the Switch is an indie gamer’s dream. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of genuinely great indie titles that are simply perfect for the Switch’s form-factor—even more so than bulky handheld PCs, including the Steam Deck. Playing these types of games also gives you some decent battery life, especially if you have the revised version of the Switch 1. Then, there are countless ports of sixth and seventh-generation titles like Okami and Dark Souls. I’ve been playing the latter and, though I’ve heard of some performance issues, haven’t had any myself and have been having a blast. A masochistic blast, but hey, we don’t kink shame in this household.   

The Nintendo Magic

Nintendo makes some very questionable product decisions. They often make anti-consumer business decisions. And they often move to the beat of their own drum to an annoying extent. Yet there’s no denying that their consoles, and especially the games they make for them, are unlike anything else. I was going through a bit of a gaming slump right before stumbling upon my Switch. A slump I was familiar with, as it was this feeling where nothing I was playing was bringing me any joy or sense of wonder. The gaming Gods clearly saw this slump and led me to find my Switch. The moment I booted up the console and started messing around in one of my old saves of Tears of the Kingdom, I was filled with feelings I hadn’t had in quite some time—joy, wonder, curiosity. There’s just something about Nintendo and the way they make games. Their visual aesthetic, their mechanics, and their approach to building each aspect of their worlds—it’s special and, frankly, a little magical.

Now, does that mean you should go out and grab an OG Switch? Absolutely not. If you can’t afford the Switch 2, the OLED Switch is the better console in every way. If that’s still out of your budget, then honestly, I’d say the Switch Lite, which can often be found second-hand for under $150, is more worth it. It’s far more compact and portable, you don’t have to worry about Joy-Con connection issues, and even though you lose out on being able to dock it, if you’re anything like me and play the Switch primarily in handheld mode, that’s not going to be an issue.

If, however, you have an OG Switch collecting dust somewhere and have a backlog you still haven’t gotten through, I think this handheld still has some life in it and is worth picking up again in 2026.