Summary
Digital Foundry describesThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s performance as worse than theLink’s Awakeningremake. Taking on the development of aZeldatitle has become a routine experience for studio Grezzo, which was first involved in the series forOcarina of Time 3D.The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis a large step up, technically speaking, with the developer’s ambition and allowed scope from Nintendo growing after each release.
Gamers have been excited to get their hands onThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, not only because it’s a new entry in the acclaimed series, but because this title is a step in a new direction for the franchise.Echoes of Wisdomis the firstZeldagame to truly star Zeldaas its main playable character, which is a request fans have made for about as long as the series has been around. It doesn’t come without some issues, though.
System performance inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis reportedly worse than in theLink’s Awakeningremake,according to Digital Foundry. John Linneman points out that these issues have only gotten worse becausethe world inEchoes of Wisdomis not only biggerbut “more complex.” Linneman attributes these struggles to potential CPU or memory bandwidth issues. He exemplifies this by highlighting the game’s 30 FPS rate while Zelda is moving in the overworld compared to its return to 60 FPS when she is in place and the player just moves the camera.
Echoes of Wisdom’s Performance Is Worse Than In Link’s Awakening
Linneman says these issues are caused by in-game movement, which leads him to conclude that the game is loading its level data while the player moves. This is a feat that may be easier for a newersystem like the Switch successor, which is rumored to have upgraded processing power and specs comparable to the Xbox Series S. For the current Switch, which is a console in its eighth year, it’s reasonable to see it struggle to keep up.
John Linneman’s analysis ofEchoes of Wisdomcontinues, with him stating confusion at the lack of an option to cap the frame rate at 30 FPS for stability. This option may have brought this game closer to current-gen titles using quality or performance modes. He cites the boss battles as a point of frustration since he enjoyed the way the game forced him to experiment with his play style, but considered the experience marred by consistent dips in quality. Although theoverall experience ofEchoes of Wisdomwas described as a positive one, there is a stated hope that stronger hardware can enhance it.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
WHERE TO PLAY
Save Hyrule—this time with the wisdom of Princess Zelda!The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts—and with a certain swordsman among the missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom in the latest adventure in The Legend of Zelda™ series!Team up with the ethereal creature Tri and use the Tri Rod to create “echoes,” which are imitations of things you find in the environment—then recreate those echoes whenever you like to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Use echoes like water blocks to reach new heights, make bridges out of old beds, throw rocks at foes, or find your own combination of echoes to do things your way. You can even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
