‘Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ will get better audio on Switch, same frame rate

By Gabe Gurwin January 18, 2017

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer

Though it will also be available on the Wii U, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks like it will be best played on the Nintendo Switch, not just because of the console’s control options, but also its increased horsepower and higher-resolution output. Speaking to IGN, Nintendo has outlined all the improvements and differences you can expect to see on the upgraded version of the game, including improved audio.

The Wii U version of Breath of the Wild will be at 720p resolution, while the Nintendo Switch version will be rendered at 900p. Both consoles are technically capable of running games at 1080p resolution.

Both versions of the game will also run at 30 frames per second, and producer Eiji Aonuma was adamant that the Switch would not see an advantage in this department — though loading times on the Switch would be reduced due to its cartridge-based games.

The claimed parity in frame rate could be a point of contention, as pre-release videos of the Wii U version appeared to show some slowdown and other hiccups not seen in any Switch demonstrations.

One curious difference between the two versions of the game is sound quality. The Nintendo Switch has “higher-quality environmental sounds” that give a more realistic feel to the water, grass, and other surfaces that Link will come across.

Regardless of which version you decide to pick up, you’re going to want to make sure there is some spare storage space on your system. The physical Wii U version will still require about 3GB of free space, while the digital version is 13GB. On Switch, the digital version will take up 13.4GB, but it doesn’t appear that any extra data will have to be stored on the system’s flash memory.

Both versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will release on March 3. A special edition and “Master Edition” for the Switch will also be available, but the Wii U will only receive the standard edition.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

The best weapons in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Link holding the master sword in the clouds.

Prior to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Link's arsenal of weapons was usually limited to a couple of options. You could count on having a sword, a ranged weapon like a bow, and a handful of other weapons. But since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues with the weapon durability system from that game, Link will be swapping out weapons far more frequently.

Since just about anything can be used as a weapon, even a stick, the power difference between the worst and best weapons is massive. Just as massive, however, is the size of Hyrule this time around. That can make the best, more unique weapons far more difficult to get your hands on. If you're trying to gear up before taking the fight to Ganon, here are the best weapons and where to find them in Tears of the Kingdom.
Best weapons and where to find them

Gaming

Zeldas: Tears of the Kingdom players are creating an industrial revolution

Link with a created mining rig in Tears of the Kingdom.

I expected a lot of cool contraptions to be built when Nintendo revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was going to have a full crafting system. What I didn't expect, though, was that fans would bring a full-on industrial revolution to Hyrule using Ultrahand.

In this new open-world Zelda title, players are given the ability to put together doohickeys of all shapes and sizes. Whether you're making a caveman-style hammer by attaching a simple rock to a stick or a flying boat with a turbo-fan engine to take flight, there seems to be something for every class of player to mold from their imagination. But some players are going even further, creating machinery that calls back to history's own evolution.

Gaming

Where to get Hylian rice in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Link looking shocked holding rice.

While technically an action-adventure game, you could easily call The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom a collectathon game as well. You will be scooping up hundreds of items, from ingredients and ores to weapons and monster parts. These are all useful for at least one thing, if not many, and the more difficult they are to find, the more useful they tend to be. Hylian rice may not sound all that valuable or rare, but it has already stumped many players looking for it, especially when trying to complete the "Gourmets Gone Missing" side quest. If you need this versatile cooking ingredient, here's where you can find it in Tears of the Kingdom.
Where to get Hylian rice

Buying Hylian rice is by far the easiest and most reliable way to get this cooking ingredient. It's also cheap, so you won't have to farm a ton of Rupees to afford it. There are five places where you can pick some up, and they all sell it for the same price of just 12 Rupees.