Poll: Are You Bothered By The Frame Rate In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?

The craziest thing is that the game drops you in Castle Town during the intro, and it's the worst area for framerate i've seen in like ten hours of gameplay. Playtesters definitely saw it and it's weird that it wasn't addressed.

That said, 90% of the time i don't mind it, about 50% of the time the framerate is fine.

I stopped playing the Switch version of Links Awakening because of the choppy frame rate. I love the GB and GBC version.
I played the Switch version handheld. The plan was to wait for an update, a Switch Pro or Switch 2. The first two options never came. Here's hoping the Switch 2 is backwards compatible.

Have not noticed anything in Echoes of Wisdom. Am only in the second dungeon, but have explored the world quite a bit.

I play the physical version on a Switch OLED handheld.
Have read it's worst off a memory card, and best off internal memory. I guess a slow card makes it even worse.

I’ve not played the game but I’m bothered by the fact of it. But there are other games too like Darksiders 3 I’m hopeful will be better on the Next Switch.

Haven’t played past the second dungeon yet, and also didn’t play links awakening. However, I definitely notice the drops, but they certainly aren’t enough to ruin the game.

On the other hand, the combat feels like the auto-battle system from Pokemon S/V, just press the echo button and wait for the fight to end. Pretty tame.

Overall, enjoying the game. Not my favorite but I don’t regret picking it up

Yeah, it's rough. But I played 30 hours of Age of Calamity darn it! I can handle it

Absolutely NOT! The game looks amazing to me all the time. I play in handheld-mode. The game does have problems, but the framerate ain't one of them!

Same problem as with Link's Awakening, exactly, only here the world is 8 times bigger lol.

With that said, of course you have to play the game to actually know how this affects the gameplay, not watching it on youtube...

I literally barely notice it. It's only when people point it out that I actually see it. When I'm immersed in the game it's not an issue at all. I was honestly more bothered by it in Link's Awakening because of the screen transitions dropping to 30, though even that didn't really impact my enjoyment of it.

I straight up don't notice it in EoW. I also played A Link's Awakening for the first time recently....and same for that? There is that one swap area by the second dungeon entrance that causes some dips but otherwise, I can't tell most of the time.

That said, hopefully they release a performance patch or something so people can just enjoy the game for it is.

I've definitely been noticing it. I didn't find it too distracting in Link's Awakening, but it's much more noticeable in Echoes of Wisdom. It's not ruining the game, but it's persistent enough that I wish they had just capped the frame rate at 30 instead of having this choppy back-and-forth. I didn't mind the lower frame rate in TTYD at all because at least there it was always consistent.

At the beginning a bit but I got used to it fast
Tbf I have 170h in Pokemon Violet so that shouldn't be surprising

Have noticed it. But don’t really care. The game is still just as awesome.

Maybe they should have added a “performance mode” option that has a locked 30 fps. For the people who are bothered by it.

It's noticeable, and can be annoying sometimes...but it's not that bothersome. Feels like some people are overreacting.

On the 3rd dungeon. When your really into the game you actually don’t notice anything.

It annoyed me quite a bit in Link's Awakening, but didn't notice it too much so far (I'm up to Gerudo), so all good.

I was worried it would be much worse, so maybe all the reviews just lowered my expectations.

At 51 years of age, I’ve been gaming for as long as I can remember. And yet, despite all that experience, I’ve not noticed a single frame drop. I’m not saying frame rate issues aren’t there, I’m just saying my eyes don’t pick them up. And for that, I’m so thankful.

Admittedly I have only completed two dungeons so far, I like to savour new Zelda games and not rush, but honestly, what frame rate issues? Haven’t been hindered in the slightest, and I am quite frankly sick and tired of this most modern of obsessions with frame rates being the be-all-and-end-all. Great game, plays wonderfully.

It's not great!! The absolutely horrible frame rate in the game does take me out of the mood to continue playing quite frequently... but it also doesn't completely ruin the game for me, either.

I would have much preferred if it was capped at 30fps. Hell, I'd be happy with it being capped at 24fps even, as long as it was stable.

@Teksetter - here we go again 🥱

Those who vote "borderline unplayable" really need to get a reality check on what that actually means, imho. Like it's really not THAT bad. It's annoying when you notice it, but the game runs well enough that people tend to make a much bigger deal than it really is.

Early reports of it had me worried but it hasn't really bothered me that much at all. It feels better than Link's Awakening to me for some reason too which also wasn't as terrible as people make it out to be.

Barely even noticeable. I’m having too much fun with the game to care.

For me, it’s far from an issue. I noticed it early on, but have nearly completed the game and it’s certainly never hindered any element of gameplay, and I think I stopped thinking about it since the very beginning.

I still play a lot of older games with poor frame rates and grew up used to them, so think it’s something I rarely think about much, especially if gameplay is unaffected by it.

Though, it’s not just about my experience, so I understand why others would be bothered by inconsistency. I’d love to see a patch implemented to iron it out.

It hasn't affected gameplay yet, so not really, but that doesn't mean it isn't an issue for other people. I also need to say that I'm not sure whyyyyyyy the game is framey. I like the look better in this one than LA remake, but it's not exactly melting the faces of Digital Foundry.

I mean, it's noticable but it's not awful or unplayable. Inputs were still pretty responsive.

However, this and a couple of other games show that Nintendo needs to push a little more in terms of technical fidelity for their next system. Not to PS5 levels but enough so that they don't feel the need to compromise performance for the sake of the visuals.

I had not finished Link's awakening because of the framerate. Or so I thought. I finished Echoes. The framerate drop is noticeable, especially outside, especially f you horse ride. But since we spend lots of time in caves and dungeons, it was acceptable. Then, out of curiosity, I retried Awakening 5y later and I wonder why I got pissed by framerate at the time. Maybe it's because I was in love with Breath of the Wild perfection.

Haha it actually baffles me that people complain so much - not just about this game, but modern gaming in general. People WILL find the smallest thing to complain about and then act it's the end of the world. It's quite pathetic really.

Sometimes, like with Scarlet and Violet's framerate issues, these complaints have merit.. but most of the time they do not.

I don't think I've ever been bothered enough by framerate in a videogame to write a whole article about it in my entire life. Yeah in Mega man 3 it was kinda annoying during bosses but in Gradius 3 it actually helped.

Other than that no game in my 40+ years of gaming made me say oh God it's unplayable and then proceed to throw my controller across the room in a fit of unbridled rage.
Maybe it's just my age. I started on Atari 2600 after all. We were used to it.

Definitely noticed. I do feel it is worse than Link's Awakening. I was kind of hoping this game would be better optimised, but thankfully not bad enough for me to not want to play.

I do miss the smoothness of A Link Between Worlds.

nah! So far, havent encountered anything crazy unplayable

It's noticeable but doesn't harm the experience, same with the Link's Awakening remake.

I've barely noticed it in Echoes, and when it has it only seems to occur in the open world so not really an issue. Link Awakening was slightly worse, but again still perfectly playable. People stating 'I won't play it coz of the frame rate' are missing out on a great game. I could list many many games of the past that received 9 or 10 out of 10 scores that have much worse issue than this.

I bet Links awakening on Gameboy had framerate stutters too but i don't recall anyone on the playgrounds at school going, oh that gameboy game is unplayable!

I guess old farts like me don't see games the way the younger generations do. I was just amazed i was playing a videogame in the first place. It was magical when it barely began. Now it's all about the framerate and terraflops. Whatever those are. 😕

I'd rather they set the frame rate at 60fps (or 30fps, I suppose) and then tailored the graphical detail to that. If it can't run at the "set" frame rate, then it's too complicated. Developers used to want their games to look good in magazines, which is understandable, so prioritised graphical detail. However, it's very easy nowadays to see what the game actually looks like whilst running before you buy it. I appreciate what they're trying to do with these 2.5D Zeldas, but I don't think they're quite as good as the old 2D ones.

I'm not going to tell anyone that they shouldn't be bothered by whatever bothers them, but this is perhaps the fourth game in a year for which I'd hear complaints about the low frame rate at "only" 30 FPS, none of which I've had any issue with while playing. It could just be because I'm a barbarian who was born in the age of the NES. This is the first such game where I've noticed anything at all, but I wouldn't have attributed it to lower frame rate if it wasn't being talked about: when I ride a horse at full gallop, it doesn't seem slower, but it's just a little off.

I’ll meet y’all in the middle and say yes, there are moments of slowdown, where I’ll define slowdown as the framerate lowered for about 2-3 seconds. Did it ruin my game at all? Not in the slightest. It’s not like the music skipped and the screen glitched and the game crashed. It’s totally tolerable.
Do I wish it wasn’t there? Sure… but it in no way affects my enjoyment. If the game was touting realistic graphics and true-to-life environments etc, maybe it would have more of an impact. I let it fly

The one area that made me very concerned was the castle town intro segment... After that, the game has run pretty smoothly (I'm more than halfway through the game I think) and even returning to the castle town has not been a problem, it seems to only be that one segment.

It's not enough to keep me from playing the game, but it is absolutely terrible. When I heard that this is the first Zelda game without Miyamoto in the credits, it honestly made sense after seeing how the game's performance is all over the place. Feels like something that he would have forced them to polish up more before shipping the game.

Genuinely no. Im enjoying it too much.

This is preemptive as I pick up the game tomorrow but, I probably won’t notice. I think there was some slowdown (and I am not sure or if I am remembering folks complaining and it’s turning into a Mandela Effect) in LANS but I am not impacted by framerate as much as some folks are.

I’ll report back later lol.

Only framerate obsessives care about any of this, most simply buy a game, play it and enjoy, oblivious to any framerate issues, or that they are being discussed on nich gaming forums, by core hobby gamers.

@NinChocolate Darksiders 3 got a 4/10 review iirc from NL because it has serious framerate issues halfway through (and it does).

I don't know what this game scored (or how serious the framerate issues are), but it is kind of "thought provoking" if this game scored highly and Darksiders 3 didn't, both having the same issues.

I guess the reason why I haven't noticed anything is that I don't play games on PC or PS5, and I am not used to games running in 60 fps all the time.

Yes considering TOTK exists. Being a very important franchise for Nintendo I would expect better. But anyways it's not too bad or game breaking.

@BenAV This! The blur at the edges of the screen bothers me more than the framerate. And Link’s Awakening had the blur too.

@TheExile285 Same here. I took turns playing with my relative for a bit. I mentioned how people complained about the frame rate, and neither of us noticed a thing at all. Maybe swimming ONCE? But we honestly don’t see a thing wrong with it.

I haven't played it yet, but I do not understand the "30 FPS=bad" equation. I think 30 PFS looks fine, and same with 1080p if I am being honest. I have only ever had a Wii and a 2DS before I upgraded to the Switch, so that might affect my thinking, but still...

I understand that people arnt bothered by it. But it's not a reason to release sub-par fullprice game... people should vote "Borderline unplayable" to send a message.

The only message this poll is sending, Is that Nintendo can keep releasing crappy optimized game and get away with it.

I'm not a framerate hog i.e. i dont need 60 to enjoy games, im on the other spectrum where i prefer a stable framerate instead so I'd welcome a locked 30 here

I prefer a steady 30fps at all times over the constant switching between 30fps and 60fps. It's actually the switching that irritates me, not the framerate itself.

Literally don't notice which is weird because I definitely noticed in the Link's Awakening port, though I was not particularly bothered.

Didn't vote in the second pool because it wasn't an option to say that I noticed but didn't care.

@CaleBoi25 I agree. I’m no FPS or graphics snob. As long as something is fun to play, I’m all for it. Not everything needs to be some fast moving high res extravaganza.

If there are framerate drops, I don't notice them. I do notice the fuzziness around the perimeter of the screen. Of course, they did that with LA and I didn't care for it in that game, either.

It goes on the list as a Switch 2 only game for me.

I always prefer rubbish games with perfect frame rates.

@NinChocolate
Current games will not automatically run better on the next Switch. They will have to be patched. I think Nintendo will do that for some their games, but I'm not sure that most other devs and publishers will.

I love how we have the control equivalent “runs fine for me” crowd on PC who will go as far as deny seeing unavoidable things like shader compilation stutter. The stutter and the varying lengths of it is unavoidable with this game but might be hidden if your TV has poor pixel responses or a motion mode is on which introduces significant amounts of input lag.

@CaleBoi25
30 fps isn't bad in my opinion but when the fps is unstable (from 60 fps suddenly goes down to 30 fps inconsistently) it looks really bad for me.
And it shown the current Switch hardware is already looked outdated to maintain fps stability even from high budget 1st party Nintendo games.
It needs at least PS4 or PS4 Pro power to get better performance.
I have experienced with bad fps stability from older gen games such as from PS2, Wii, PS3, etc and I understand with their limited hardware power, but when I look at Switch hardware with equally PS3 power and cannot maintain fps stability for cartoonish games like that, it looked unacceptable.
Hopefully Nintendo can address that fps issue with Switch 2 hardware power.

Literally haven't noticed it aside from very very slight skips in the first town before the castle. Haven't seen it since, and yes I'm loading data from the SD card, on 7 year old OG Switch where the battery is so knackered it switches off after an hour of play without warning. Really don't know what all the fuss is about.

I played through Deadly Premonition 2, I think I've just adjusted to different frame rates to the point I don't really notice. Both Zelda's have their dips but it never bothered me much.

It gives a feeling of "cheapness" to me moreso than affecting gameplay. And by principle it's a shame since this is a premiere Nintendo franchise and they passed it off to a dev team that can't optimize a top-down, fixed camera game. It's really not much to ask for.

But at least it's not a remake of a 60fps GameCube game that runs worse than its inspiration.

It’s mildly and I mean very mildly annoying. No game breaker. I often remind myself that I used to love Stunt Race FX (Pal) and that was 12.5FPS so we’ve got it so so so so good these days.

@LavenderShroud it's not about "fast moving" or "high res." It's about smoothness and lag.

Not even slightly. If I'm having fun, I couldn't care less how little or lot of jank there is in a game. And I'm having a blast with the game. Also I love the tilt shift just like I did with Link's Awakening. The dreamy blur with the toybox aesthetic and chamber soundtrack is a nice match. I'm sure it was done for performance assists but it's like the fog in Silent Hill incidentally enhancing the atmosphere.

Short answer: NO

Long answer: might I remind you that Ocarina and Majora ran at 20fps.

@CaleBoi25 The problem isn't 30 fps. It's the constant jumping between 30 and 60 that creates a lag. In Link's Awakening it felt like you were fine and then you were moving through molasses. It was that constant cycling between "normal" and "molasses" that felt uncomfortable to play.

"The frame rate is all over the place"

Wtf?? Are we playing the same game?? People are really overreacting here.
I mean, yes, I'd rather have the fps capped at 30 (and that's something we should tell Nintendo to do), but the way the game is now is not that terrible, in fact it's FAR from it. Perfectly playable game, and totally worth playing.

It's a little bit distracting, but not enough to quit playing. As others have said, it's not that the framerate drops low, it's that it's inconsistent. I mean 60 is a nice luxury, but a stable 30 would be fine too, most of us having grown up on N64.

But I've been playing Luigi's Mansion 2 (on the 3DS) lately, so I'm kind of used to framerate drops right now.

@abbyhitter they don’t run 60 FPS all the time on other systems either (PC maybe if framerate is unlocked and you have a gaming grade PC). It’s not the disparity that some spin it to be. All platforms need better optimization.

It's noticeable to me, but not to a point where it inhibits my playing the game.

I played Link's Awakening and couldn't get used to the inconsistency. I am fine with 60fps or 30fps. Some standard frame drops or frame pacing in games bother me less. A game with vsync enabled which halves the frame rate to 30fps and then jumps back up 60fps does become distracting for me to play, as I can not adjust to one or the other.

I mentioned in a previous comment, but SEGA Rally 2 on Dreamcast was one of the first games I played that did this, and I noticed it immediately. Saturn SEGA Rally was a mostly consistent 30fps and I much preferred how that game played.

@Lofoten For me, moving the data from SD to internal memory did seem to reduce the FPS drops slightly. Either that or I'm enjoying myself too much to notice them anymore.

I never noticed it in the slightest.

Then again, i still regularly play Ocarina of Time on the Gamecube.

I still have Link's Awakening and Echoes in my backlog, but in a sense, I'm so looking forward to playing a 2D Zelda again, together with slowdown / frame rate issues because I grew up in the 70s and 80s, where this type of thing was the norm and it just felt part of the game. It will not break the game for me, it'll just be a part of the charm.

It is time for new hardware. The last console generation has been too long.

No. It's fine. I'm more interested in the sense of adventure I'm getting

I heard its supposed to be bad, but I haven't noticed anything....

Having not played the game or seen any real footage of it yet: it wouldn't bother me on principle, but considering how close we are to the Switch 2, the possibility that it will improve the performance of current games, and the fact I still have a backlog to go through, I'm fine with waiting a bit more so I can get the best experience possible.

I bought a new Switch Lite to commute with, and this is the only game I’ve played on it so far. Not sure if it’s because it’s new hardware, but honestly, barely noticed a thing.

Not tried it on my OG Switch in docked mode yet though.

Perhaps it's because I'm playing in handheld always (on my subway commutes) but it's been barely noticeable and certainly hasn't affected gameplay in the least.

I love John and I love his appearances on podcasts like Retronauts and his insight into game history and design.

All that aside, I think that Digital Foundry has trained everyone to nitpick frame rate to a point of genuine absurdity.

Half of people didn’t notice the frame rate in awaking? Lmao. Also if you have to make an entire post asking if the technical issues make a game unplayable it prob isn’t 9 quality

Immediately knocks the game down a couple points. An 8 or 9 is now a 6 or 7. Why not put max effort into the first top down Zelda in a decade? The first original side scrolling Zelda on a Nintendo since Links Awakening? A landmark title is now a bumpy road. Nintendo does astonishingly stupid things.

The inconsistent framerates were pretty jarring initially in both games, but I got accustomed to it.

I mean, I've put hundreds of hours into Pokémon Violet, if that tells you anything.

My TV fixes the stutter.

@Ganon821 a game is not it's frame rate. It's sad that people think this way.

Really not noticed at all in either game. Could not care less.

I have it physically and there are no frame rate issues?! I don’t get what are people complaining about LOL?!!!!

It hasn’t bothered my son, 13, in the slightest, and I have to say watching him play the game, I have found it to be hardly noticeable in all honesty. I do remember Link’s Awakening, which I have digitally on my own Switch, being very irritating, but I still played and enjoyed the game. Still amazed they never made any effort to improve it.

I'm not super far in but the only thing I noticed was that Castle Town was a bit choppy, it's been fine otherwise and even that wasn't bad enough for me to really care.

@MiltonHolmes this reminds me of the Scott Steiner math promo…

The performance is shameful. I hope Nintendo hires some of the hackers they've been going after lately, these people know how to analyze and optimize for a given hardware and all its iterations. It's unbelievable that a Japanese company has so little sense of pride and honor. Every game Nintendo release for their own hardware should highlight the capabilities of the hardware and absolutely outshine any third party title!

I mean I grew up in the frame drops. The early days of gaming. Sure, the are some and I just faced another major boss. During that boss it dropped considerably...I'm not saying its right to accept it. I mean there is a reason why it's called "Nintendo Polish" for a reason. The whole industry went to hell when Game Engine Technology went to a two-horse race. Props to Capcom and some others for using their own inhouse ones. I feel like the more Nintendo uses UE they will continue to be hurt because their hardware can't keep up with the tools offered. Those tools are for high end PCs...Consoles starting to see the effect as well. Overall, I will continue to play the game and beat it. I will boot it up again if Switch 2 is backwards compatible just to see how it holds up and to see if it drops frames.

If you're bothered by frame rate issues with this game or any other Nintendo game, you're playing on the wrong hardware. I enjoy Nintendo games and consider any technical issues as part of the package, considering Nintendo's long-standing trend of having consoles with the best game feel and less than spectacular stats.

the frame rate issues are unnoticeable on the Switch Lite IMO

A game's framerate has to be especially bad for me to care. I've played games with far worse performance and still had a great time.

@Reptilio I never once noticed in Link's Awakening and I haven't yet in EoW. Maybe it's a difference between docked vs handheld as I use a Switch Lite

The instability is pretty dumb regardless of what the overall framerate is, but I'd much rather vote on how awful and intense the blur and bloom effects are. The blur especially doesn't feel like it adds anything but minor headaches.

It’s all over the place, yes. I would appreciate a 30fps cap as an option.

Is it unplayable? Not at all. It would have to dip much lower than it does for it to really affect my enjoyment of it.

Personally I have no problems with it so far, it felt a lot worse on LA (and I know it’s worse in EOW). But as LA is such a compact game experience I think that felt more unacceptable to me than what’s on offer here.

In any case, I have more of an issue with the performance of Paper Mario TTYD than Echoes, and that game actually HAD a stable 30fps in comparison to this games fluctuations.

So anything I say on this matter barely qualifies for an proper opinion, I’m just weird 🤣

@Vriess if it functions how PS5/Xbox currently do it then the more powerful console will push the current games with unlocked frame rates to the maximum. So for a game like this it should push it to lock at 60fps.

I was expecting the worst, it was nowhere near as bad as some were making it out to be. Definitely not as bad as LA

I’ll say this, I rarely notice this stuff even when it’s mentioned in a review. this is the first game I’ve played where I’ve definitely noticed the issue, but honestly it doesn’t bother me.

The most frenetic gameplay tends to be in the dungeons and those have performed fine compared to the overworld

Docked mode is where it's bad. If you only played handheld you haven't experienced the actual issue and cannot really comment on it.

I've noticed it, but it's not that bad at all.

Docked mode is pretty bad for this one. Definitely notice it more there. Handheld though I don't mind it as much for some reason. I really don't like the odd blur effect that happens to any environment below where Zelda is. I'm not sure what they were going for with that.

I'm really liking the game overall though. It's nice to have actual dungeons back finally.

The frame rate problems bothered me at first, but it got notably better when I transferred the data from my SD card to the system memory.

So apparently there might be differences between not only handheld mode vs docked, but also physical vs internal storage vs memory card? Should NintendoLife investigate these comparisons further? Or is this just a reblogger website.

I honestly haven't experienced any at all in my 10+ hours so far!

Hopefully it doesn't hinder my experience too much when/if I do experience it!

@Picola-Wicola @Truegamer79
Yes here we are again, poking the bear. 😅
I’ve played EoW an hour or so, but haven’t been bothered in the least
I’m the wrong person to ask though - generally, unless a game keeps crashing or lags/stutters so bad it disrupts my inputs, I’ll play it and not really care.

well if you are a exclusive switch player the framerate issues you are use to or would not really notice a difference ...

@abbyhitter bingo...

Frame rate is garbage. Quite a shame. Otherwise a good game.

@The_Pixel_King Same, 38 years for me but whenever I see anyone talking about framerates they might as well be speaking Martian. I don't see what they're talking about. My eyes don't pick it up at all.

@abbyhitter as somebody that plays PS5 and Switch, I can’t tell a frames issue at all and there’s absolutely nothing game breaking with how it plays. Probably my favorite Zelda since the original Wind Waker

Too much is made of frame rates. I'd be willing to bet you could coax a new gen gamer out of buying a classic game just by telling them the frame rate was 59fps instead of 60fps, or vice versa.

To me the biggest annoyance with the game is the lack of a hint system. In BOTW and TOTK you're given the toolkit at the start. With this game, it's progressive. But it's too easy to miss an echo or brute force an unintended solution (and miss the significance).

Then you encounter a puzzle that you can't solve. You don't know if it's because you're missing an echo, on the wrong side of the room, or just haven't worked it out yet.

I really like this game. But it is probably the less intuitive game in the series. I find it hard to imagine how somebody can play this start to end spoiler free.

I haven't played Echoes yet but I do remember Link's Awakening having quite a few frame drops back when I played it.

Kinda surprised they didn't iron out the frame drops in Echoes since it's essentially the same engine.

It's so stupid because for me the framedrop it's only noticeable at the start of the game in hyrule castle, the rest of the game no problem at all. What do you mean that the presentation card of the game, the first moments had this problem but the rest don´t?

I normally don't notice frame rate drops but yeah I noticed in this one. But the fun in the game makes it bearable when it happens. Doesn't always happen.

@Truegamer79 You should really try Batman Arkham Knight on Switch. There's a first time for everything 😉

I am more worried about the quest markers and permanent minimap...

I sincerely haven't noticed a thing. I guess I don't pay close enough attention 🤷‍♂️

I don't mind it too much,
but every time you experience these problems with a game, it just screams:
"We should have brought out Switch 2 a couple of years ago."

@Yalloo
I have and yes I'll admit it does noticeably slow down a bit while driving around in the batmobile. It's a small miracle that it runs on switch at all. Good thing i have the PS4 version anyway. 😝

If I was bothered by frame rates I wouldn't be playing on Switch

Outside of our bubble, I guarantee the majority of the owners of this game couldn’t care any less. They wake up their Switch from sleep, then play the game.

For me, it’s a non-issue since it isn’t killing the game. I’ve played games where I’ve had to wait for patches, Cyberpunk 2077 comes to mind on my Xbox (yes, even on my Series X).

@Deviant-Dork So.....the way the game plays is not part of the game....Got it!

I didn't realize either game had framerate problems. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@Bigmanfan Age of Calamity was definitely struggling. It never froze or crashed on me though, to it's credit.

Unless it's an FPS

I'm very slightly annoyed that it doesn't have the pristine polish of something developed in house by Nintendo but, it's a great game and after the first few minutes in the open world I adjusted to it and it's not such a twitchy game that it really affects anything. So no, I'm more or less unbothered.

There's a difference between "noticing" and "being bothered by" which I don't think this poll captures.

Do I notice the frame dips? Absolutely,

Am I bothered by them? Eh, not really. It does strike me as a surprising lack of polish in a 1st party Nintendo game. But honestly, in a top-down / 2D-style game it doesn't affect my enjoyment in the slightest.

I only notice the frame rate occasionally, but I just don't understand why it's like this. It's a 2D overhead game, it doesn't seem like it would tax the Switch hardware. Although to be fair, I'm a dunce about technology. I also don't understand why they just didn't make it a stable 30 fps instead of jumping back and forth between 30 and 60.

To be honest I haven't noticed it at all with Echoes of Wisdom and I'm nearly at the end of the game. I have noticed it in Link's Awakening but only in the village area. But hey, we're talking Switch hardware here, it's a wonder we're still talking about frame rates eight years into it's life cycle.

@Ganon821 not what I said. I don't know how you would take it that way.

@Vriess in the case of D3, i fully expect Nordic to sell a better version of it on the next switch.

It's there just like in the Link's Awakening remake, but also as with that game, it's doesn't bother me to the point I'd stop playing. Hopefully Switch 2 will fix the problem because this is definitely a game I see myself revisiting after I complete it the first time. Might as well take advantage of the new hardware that probably isn't far off.

I noticed it within 10 minutes of playing, and it's real bad in Castle Town. However I quickly got over it as the game itself is fantastic.

I haven't played EoW yet, but LA didn't lag at all for me, so hopefully it's the same for EoW.

If anyone is having issues, move the game data from the SD card to the internal memory.

Even if you have a physical copy, there will be some data on the SD card.

Aaagh, all that talk about FPS, all real gamers want, is just to have fun with the game.

Didn't really notice it in either game. But then I had to play on emulator with blur removing mods because the blur causes eye strain to the point of migraines and Nintendo hasn't bothered to see fit to enable simple accessibility settings. Both games run fantastic on a 5600X and a 3060 installed on a gen4 ssd.

Until you play Breath of the Wild on the Wii U. I ain't wanna hear no complaints about frame rate.

I only play docked. I haven't noticed any frame rate issues!

Finally played it the other day, only noticed it being an issue in a few situations, most of the time there didn't seem to be any real frame rate issue.

I'd say yes, but the effect wasn't as pronounced on me since it was on the same developer, same engine, and same aesthetic as Link's Awakening (Switch). I had a good idea of what I was in for and adjusted my expectations accordingly.

The trick for nintendo, is just set the bar low, and it doesn't matter

I pretty much plan for their games to run at 20fps average and if it's higher, happily surprised

I just wish they'd just add a 30 fps cap. I can deal with 30 fps or 60, but the constant back and forth was noticeable in link's awakening to me.

Yes, we need stable 60 fps and 1080p or 2K for this game, we need switch 2 soon 😃

Smooth and higher frame rates are always preferred, but the drops here and there aren’t an issue.

I haven't played the game. Hopefully I will have time on Sunday to play it.

As stupid as it sounds, I'm a little scared to play it. TotK was so unenjoyable, and I'm seeing many of my same problems in EoW. Hopefully, it's better, but I'm going in with low expectations.

With overclocking you can basically almost lock to 60fps these games. I can't imagine playing on stock values.

@Henmii I totally agree I don’t see it

Echoes of Wisdom runs pretty well in my opinion, but the frame rate does bother me. I've read about a patch that helps, but haven't tried it yet. Would be awesome if I could get it locked at 240fps though.

I agree with people asking for a 30fps cap option. I would quadruple that with lossless scaling and play it at my eponymous rate : )
(For the sake of all gamers I hope lossless scaling comes to all consoles pronto!)

Echoes runs poorly on my OG switch and in docked mode in the overworld on a horse is janky and dizzying.

I wonder if this was supposed to be a Switch 2 launch window title.

It's a very very mild annoyance for me at best. Hardly bothers me. Love the game.

Yeah I get a bit annoyed by the frame rate drops at times. but at least it's smooth in the dungeons for the most part.

The frame rate issues are mainly on the overworld where it a slideshow as soon as you are moving around.
Is the Switch 2 is backwards compatible then I sure hope that these issues will just automatically go away with the more powerful hardware.

A Link between worlds on 3DS ran better and doesn't look that much worse in terms of graphics. but yeah it's not fully open world I suppose.

I dunno I haven’t really been bothered by it, to tell you the truth my old eyes haven’t really noticed it. I remember in links awakening the swamp area had some slowdown but it wasn’t jarring. Overall I’ve enjoyed it but links awakening I had more fun with. This one the combat just isn’t as fun and cycling thru all the little monsties is a bit cumbersome. I love the art style tho and setting.

Its pretty unplayable as it is now, will ask for a refund, heck, im even planning on suing Nintendo!! (ends sarcasm)

It bothers me because it takes you out of the game as it did with TOTK. Nintendo doesn’t need to be the most powerful but it needs to be able to seamlessly execute the amazing worlds they create. Pop up was bad in KOTK and it pulled you out of the world.

Noticed yes, bothered no

@poudigne
People shouldn't vote 'borderline unplayable' if it isn't for them. That's disingenuous.

I'm playing digital on a docked Switch. Honestly, it's been fine.

I haven't played it myself, but it sounds like putting a cap at 30 would have been the way to go.

Nintendo really didn't need to milk the Switch 1 this long. It's fine if you don't want to win the performance race, but you still need to be in it. When their own games have issues running that's a problem, especially given the asking price.

Some said it unplayable? Lol people are out of their minds!

Nintendo games used to have a seal of approval but lately they have become half assed and I for one are getting sick of their shoddy releases. Maybe they should have a single ass cheek on their games to reflect their half assedness

@TheExile285 I beat both games back to back 100%, and I noticed maybe one frame drop in Link's Awakening, in the color dungeon, and not a single one in Echoes of Wisdom... if anything I had more frame drops in BOTW and TOTK... but then again, those are open world games, so it didn't bother me too much

@k8sMum And for that, we'll continue to get sub-par full-price game from a multi-billion dollars company

thumbs up

@poudigne
So those of us who don't have a problem should lie about it.

Brilliant idea. Top notch.

If Grezzo locked the framerate to 30 it would be fine. But as it is the framerate is borderline offensive, it's all over the place and it's very obvious due to the constant stuttering and screen judder - it's like a PowerPoint slideshow at times.

Only the obsessed XXX Nintendo hardcore, who are obsessed with getting a whiff of Miyamotos used underwear will PRETEND they don't notice it.

@NintendoWife ah that makes sense. I played LA the first time on handheld must be bc I didn’t notice it at all. Then I replayed it recently but on docked and it got to the point where I just moved on

@k8sMum … did you even play docked? It’s a ‚docked‘ problem.

@poudigne
Untwist your knickers. I've probably been gaming longer than you've been alive. And I don't play Pokemon.

You want everyone to join your crusade, even those of us who don't have the problem. It doesn't work like that. When I have a problem, I address it. If I don't, then why should I lie for the likes of you?

@NintendoWife
As I've mentioned in other threads, I only play docked. So it's obviously not a 'docked' problem for me.

@poudigne
Old enough to not have to rely on insults with a stranger when I don't agree with them.

Didn't notice any issues on the Deck if there were any.

Only recent game I've noticed pretty rough framerates with are Black Myth and Dragon's Dogshit.

I will be buying BAKERU at some point on pc. That demo on Switch had the worst fps. I am one who is susceptible to terrible fps.

This latest zelda game being top down, the movement of the game would not cause me motion sickness. However a game with a fast moving camera or characters will.

@Synthatron_Prime
Current games do NOT automatically run better on newer hardware. If they do, then they've been patched. And there is abundant evidence for that. Same will be so for the next Switch.

@Vriess do you own either PS5 or XSX? I own both and this is not true. While there are games that receive dedicated patches to enhance them some older backwards compatible games with already unlocked framerates and dynamic resolution will be pushed to those maximums by the stronger hardware. Just like a PC game.

What evidence is it that you're talking about that said each game needs a specific patch?

Now that I have gotten into the open world of the game. It runs really bad. My eyes are bleeding. I hope all my games port to switch two. Because I don't know If I can keep playing this at 20fps.