You’ve probably had a great time if you were one of the many Nintendo players who played The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom this week. You no doubt enjoyed returning to Hyrule and exploring Sky Islands. However, you may notice that the frame rate drops more frequently than in its predecessor. The game is still playable, but you can avoid them if you’re not willing to get your hands dirty.

Let me start by saying that it’s a wonder that a game such as Tears of the Kingdom exists on the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch is a six-year old console that powers a massive, sandbox physics adventure. You can build anything you want with little to no glitches or bugs. It’s now a standard in the industry to expect big games to have a few funny or frustrating bugs, but Zelda is a different story.

The game does have some quirks. The frame rate is erratic, and it’s not just because the game runs at a low-resolution for a AAA 2023 title. It’s most noticeable during intense gameplay, when running through densely populated villages or using scanning devices like Ultrahand. The frame rate of the game will slow down during these times before returning to normal. The frame rate is not slow enough to affect the overall gaming experience, but it is noticeable to anyone who has been used to smooth, buttery games.

We all assume that this is the case and we should be grateful for a game running this smoothly on current hardware. This is a huge achievement, especially when you consider the massive scope of the Zelda team’s work. You can, however, improve the performance if you wish. You can improve the performance of the game with a bit of tweaking, some time and a willingness not to follow Nintendo’s instructions.

Overclocking your Switch is possible

Overclocking your Nintendo Switch is possible. This will allow you to go beyond the limits set by Nintendo. Overclocking, for the uninitiated is the process of running components such as the CPU or GPU faster that the manufacturer has set. Overclocking is common on PCs because you can get more power from your computer, and increase its performance.

Nintendo is right to limit the clock speeds of its Switch hardware. The Switch is designed to be used both as a handheld console and in a docked mode. It would not do portable users any good if games took full advantage of hardware, but The Switch is still able to handle the load, and this helps games like Tears of the Kingdom play just more smoothly.

Modern Vintage Gamer put his modded Switch through its paces, increasing the clock speeds from 1862 MHz for the Memory to 1683 MHz for the CPU This combination worked well: he could play Ultrahand at Kakariko Village and it would stay at a steady 30 frames per second.

Overclocking might be able to increase the frame rate to 60. Switch60 FPS Handheld uploaded a video that shows the intro running at 60 fps. They appear to have their Switch connected to power, which is logical. I don’t have any idea how long a Switch would last if it was overclocked.

Installing custom firmware is the first step to hacking your Switch. Switches purchased before 2018 are the easiest ones to hack because of a bug Nintendo cannot fix. Hacking newer Switches is possible, but there may be some problems. Only try it to find out.

Hacking a Switch will nullify the warranty. It’s best not to hack your Switch if it is brand new. While the overclocking process is safe, it’s possible that data or hardware can be damaged. Nintendo does not want you to do this. It is the hacking community that makes it possible. Hacking and overclocking is at your own risk.

This guide will walk you through the basics of turning your Switch to a homebrew device, including installing Atmosphere Firmware as part of your overclock You’ll need either a PC or an Android device, or a jailbroken iPhone to continue. This guide will give you instructions on how to install overclocking software if you are successful in hacking your Switch.