Switch 2 SNES games just got a graphics filter that upgrades the entire experience

Ah, the days of CRT displays. It was the era where the average TV could adequately render the way pixel art games were meant to be played. With newer tech, the graphics on retro games get upscaled, which often ends up ruining what games look like. But thanks to a new update to the Nintendo’s Classics app, you can now play Super NES games with an improved CRT filter on Nintendo Switch 2. It’s transformative.

With the filter, you regain the characteristics that made graphics on the SNES so memorable to begin with: scanlines, interlacing, finer details. Paradoxically, by trying to improve the visuals, newer displays end up highlighting all the wrong aspects of the pixel art, which were designed with the limitations of CRTs in mind. This means that games of the SNES era end up with harsher lines and a more washed-out feel than they were meant to.

Normally, you’d have to do the legwork of sourcing a CRT, buying it, and lugging it back to get the right experience — inconveniences that make it obvious why the tech was largely phased out. As collectors seek these out, good CRTs have become pricier and harder to find as well.

Granted, some fans rely on other means to ensure that their favorite games render as intended, but for those of you with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, you’ve got a new option. Simply load up the SNES Classics app, head to settings, and select “CRT filter.” There’s an example of how this setting changes things in the top image, but here are a couple of comparison shots for your pleasure.

The differences are subtle, and some of you may even prefer what these games look like without the filter. But it never hurts to have options. Now you can play SNES games the way developers intended. Why not turn it on when you’re checking out the newly-released Mario Paint while you’re at it?

The Switch 2’s new CRT filter for Super NES games is also available for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube classics offered through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. There’s also an updated SNES CRT filter for the original Switch, but things definitely look better on Nintendo’s new console.