I want to get the new nintendo 2DS XL coming out on July 28 to play retro games like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, and Super Metroid, but I'm unsure if I will have access to those virtual console games right away. Does anyone know if the current new 3ds virtual console games will be available to play on the new 2ds?

All of the virtual console library will be the same across the 3DS family. You will have them all out of the gate. The 2DS has been out for a long time. The "new" 2DS shouldn't be any different regarding the VC.

None of the VC titles will utilize the "new" upgraded processor. Only a handful retail releases do/will (same list as new 3DS).

The only exception I can think of would be the Sega 3D classics on VC which obviously would only work on the 3D versions of the platform.

Only the SNES VC titles utilize the "new" 3DS/2DS processor. The original 3DS and 2DS can't play SNES titles.

You can play everything on the "new" 2DS XL coming out.

Nice. Pre-ordering now.

How well are SNES games emulated on the 3ds? I heard some reports that some games got their colors darkened and do not look as good.

Wow... didn't know that. My Android phone from ages ago & 17 year old oXbox (@ only 733 Mhz) both run SNES just fine. The oXbox can upscale it to 1080i. Surprised to see that "new" processor is needed for SNES emu.

Yea, I think you can play SNES on older 3DS models if you Home Brew, but Nintendo is cracking down hard on Home Brew. The SNES VC titles say only on "new" Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS is 2011 tech, and Nintendo is known to not be aggressive in hardware.

Are newer games going to be incompatible with the older 2ds/3ds XL models? With the newer models having the c-stick and extra trigger buttons I'm assuming I wouldn't be able to play the upcoming Metroid. Also, are all games available online or do some require you to buy a cartridge?

Most games are compatible with the old models. Only a few games, like Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, were locked to the "new" 3ds/2ds models. Metroid is compatible with all 3ds/2ds systems.

Most of the games coming out right now are available digitally. There are very few games that are physical only (most came out early in the lifecycle and Kingdom Hearts because of some licensing issue). A few indie games are digital only.