Fast Fusion on Switch 2 Review — Shin’en Delivers Pure Speed, Not Depth

Fast Fusion on Switch 2: My Hands-On With Shin’en’s Blazing New Anti-Gravity Racer

I’ll admit it: I’ve been chasing that F-Zero high for years. Every single Nintendo console generation, I’m furiously scrolling the eShop, squinting at trailers, and wondering which sci-fi racer will finally give me the buzz of blasting through Mute City. When Shin’en unveiled Fast Fusion as a Switch 2 launch title, hot on the exhaust trails of Fast RMX, I was all-in. Fifteen bucks? Day one purchase – I don’t even blink at the price of a bad ramen in my hometown for this kind of speed fix.

Key Takeaways: If You Want the TL;DR Up Top

• Screaming-fast, beautifully smooth racing in docked mode
• Switch color on the fly (blue/orange) to hit turbo strips – instantly nails that muscle-memory thrill
• Manual boost and jump add frantic layers in every race
• Fusion system lets you combine ships… but don’t expect deep customization
• Only 12 tracks at launch, so you’ll see everything fast
• Multiplayer is local-only (no robust matchmaking or persistent rewards… yet)
• Electro-rock soundtrack totally slaps on headphones
• $15 price is the real “easy mode” unlock

The First Lap-That Instant Hit of Speed

Booting up Fast Fusion, the first thing that whacked me was pure velocity. After bouncing through so many retro-futuristic racers with sometimes-iffy frame rates on previous Nintendo handhelds (and let’s be honest, even Mario Kart’s 60fps can feel sedate after you’ve gotten a taste for anti-grav), having a game open at a rock-solid 60fps in 4K on the Switch 2 docked made me feel like I was finally plugging my veins into a neon power line. The colors pop, the tracks twist, and something in my brain just clicks — this is exactly why I keep coming back to this genre.

But this isn’t just “pretty graphics, old game.” The second you hit the first orange-blue turbo section and have to swap polarity in real time, I got instant flashbacks to the best moments of Ikaruga (yes, the iconic shmup). Except here, you’re doing it at breakneck speed, fighting for position, and your reflexes are your only real shield.

Crunchy Details — How the Racing Actually Feels

Let’s get straight to it: Fast Fusion builds on the foundation of Fast RMX, but the quality-of-life tweaks and new mechanics make a bigger difference than I expected. Instead of passive turbos you just pray to hit, you’re frantically switching colors (mapped to a single button), managing a rechargeable manual boost (fuelled by grabbing those scattered energy orbs), and — new for Fusion — now plotting out near-instant jumps. The jump feels tiny at first, almost negligible, but my third session in I realized how many bonus pickups and sneaky shortcuts it suddenly opens up. On lap two of the “Havok Spire Circuit,” I finally nailed a jump through a side window to snag both an orb and a coin. My little brother starting yelling I had “cheated” — that’s the metric for good shortcut design, right?

The collision system deserves a mention: bash into another racer while turboing and you’ll snag extra coins and knock them off their game. This is arcade-style aggression at its best, and it made me revisit the old Wipeout muscle memory — where a little bump could make or break a lap.

But here’s the big twist: gone are most of the instant-death, rage-inducing traps. I remember losing my mind in the old Fast Racing Neo after a single pixel-miss sent me back to the last checkpoint, hair on end, rage ready. In Fast Fusion, that kind of frustration is tuned way down. Hazards can still take you out if you zone out, but with the addition of the jump, fair warning, and more readable level design, every wipeout felt 100% my fault instead of a random punishment.

Ship Fusion Gimmick: Clever in Theory, Flat in Practice

Okay, so here’s where I got both excited and, after a few hours, just a little underwhelmed. Fast Fusion lets you “fuse” any two ships you’ve bought, creating up to 210 combinations (on paper) that blend stats. On my first pass, I was cheesing through menus dreaming up wild hybrid beasts — a bulk tanker crossed with a speed demon? Turns out, you really just need two or three solid combos to crush most events. The rest are for min-maxers or completionists. There’s no paint/livery editor, no aesthetic tweaks, just a stat blend and… okay, it’s technically neat, but let’s be honest, most folks will find one favorite and stick to it. Coming off years of wanting more vehicle custom options (shout-out to classic Ridge Racer’s decals or even Mario Kart’s mix-and-match karts), this feels like a half-step, not the full leap I wanted.

If you like experimenting, you can always revert the fuse (mercifully), but I hit my ceiling for ship variety before my enthusiasm ran dry for racing itself. That tells the story, I guess.

The Tracks — More Twists, But Still Too Familiar

Here’s my biggest letdown — and the part that’ll decide whether you’ll still be playing a month in: It’s 2024 and Fast Fusion launches with just 12 tracks. Not 30, not even 15. At first, I figured, “Maybe they’re meaty.” And, to be fair, the tracks are longer and far more enjoyable to race on “repeat” than Fast RMX’s launch slate, but after five hours, I’d seen just about everything the game has to offer in terms of locales and wild track designs. Gone are the crazy looping cylinder tracks (which I actually miss — I love losing my orientation in a sci-fi racer); in their place are better signposting, more playable layouts, and some multi-path moments, but even with my friends hotseating and local multiplayer, repetition set in. It’s a shame, because what is here is pure rush, just not enough of it. Here’s hoping Shin’en isn’t blowing smoke about that “free content coming soon” promise.

Modes, Challenges, and “Super Héro” Tension

Fast Fusion makes you unlock pretty much everything with in-game coins: new ships, music for the (barebones) jukebox, even new championships. At first I grumbled; after 10 hours I was hooked on the carrot-stick of new unlocks every night. When my progress stalled, trying Super Héro mode genuinely cranked up the tension. It’s old-school arcade hard — finish first, balance boost health, mess up once and you’re done. It’s the only mode that had me near sweating. I’ll admit, sometimes that tension tips over into frustration, but compared to the sleepwalk-easy campaigns in most modern racers, I’ll take a little pain for actual adrenaline.

Multiplayer — Not Quite the Couch Party You Hoped For

Alright, I’ll say it: as the resident “bring a crew” player in my group, I was bummed by Fast Fusion’s multiplayer. Up to four-player local split feels more “tech demo” than true party — the drop in graphical fidelity is obvious, and while it’s still playable (barely), you lose the sense of speed that makes solo mode so electric. There’s GameShare online and locally, but no ranking, no persistent XP, and — biggest sin — no matchmaking. I can boot up Fast RMX and be racing a stranger in 15 seconds. Here, unless you organize a group chat and gather friends, it’s barren. For a racer released alongside a new Nintendo system, I expected more.

Graphics and Performance — Almost Flawless, But Portable Falls Short

Let me throw some technical shade here: docked mode is glorious, but undocked (“Performance” mode) looks soft, sliding down to a mushy 1080p with plenty of shimmering. “Quality” will net you sharper 4K, but the trade-off is a sluggish 30fps — not worth the loss of speed in a game all about velocity. There are lots of toggles (Balanced, Pure mode in a patch, etc.), but if you’re mostly handheld? Prepare to dial down expectations. I spent most of my review time docked, with a 4K screen, and that’s how I plan to keep playing.

The Soundtrack — Absolute Banger Territory

If there’s one place Fast Fusion absolutely eats the competition, it’s the soundtrack. I’m talking non-stop high-BPM electro/rock tracks that channel pure, frantic “90s arcade in a box” energy. I’ve got a soft spot for soundtracks you can actually feel in your chest — and here, cranking it up in the options menu makes every race better. Just wish the audio mix gave a bit more punch by default… playing on headphones is definitely the way to go.

Who’s Going to Love (or Bounce Off) Fast Fusion?

If you’re an arcade racing head — raised on F-Zero, Wipeout, or Shin’en’s own Fast Neo/RMX lineage — you’re going to adore the speed, the sweaty-palmed reflexes, and those “just one more run” circuits. If you want deep customization, a meaty single-player campaign, or bulletproof online, you’ll be left wanting. It’s for the pure, the faithful, the people who find Zen in shaving half a second off their personal best and don’t mind a bit of repetition.

Dam’s Bottom Line: Did It Scratch My F-Zero Itch?

So after 20 hours, am I still hungry for more? Hell yes — but mostly for new tracks, more unlockables, and actual multiplayer legs. As a pure arcade fix, Fast Fusion is the best non-F-Zero, non-Wipeout console racer I’ve touched since the heyday of the genre. The core gameplay loop puts a grin on my face nearly every race — until I run headlong into its track limit and slim feature set. At fifteen bucks, who am I kidding? It’s a steal. It’s easily worth the download if you have the itch and want to see what Switch 2 can do out of the gates. Just know that what’s there now is “great demo” for the genre, but with room (and promises) to grow. Here’s hoping Shin’en drops a bunch of extra circuits soon, or this could become yet another cult favorite gathering digital dust.

TL;DR

8/10. Fast Fusion is pure, no-nonsense anti-grav racing bliss and the best sub-$20 sci-fi racer on a Nintendo console in years. Buy it if you crave speed and skill-based competition — skip it if you want variety, online tournaments, or tricked-out user customization. It’s a turbocharged dream for arcade fans, a bit lacking for the binge crowd.