Nintendo enables faster load times on Switch, Zelda and Mario immediately impacted

Patch is live now

“Secret patch notes” are becoming a widespread phenomenon, and a recent update for the Nintendo Switch just leapt to the head of the pack.

Included in the 8.0.0 update, according to several modding communities, is the ability to allow “boost mode” for specific Switch games. Think of all those “Slim” models of previous generation hardware that allow for faster load times: it’s kind of like that on Switch. It overclocks the CPU in situations where it’s properly tested (read: right now just for first-party games) and decreases load times, in some cases, by a whole 10 seconds. There is further evidence that this overclocking method could be used for visual boosts but more testing is needed.

Right now the only games that support it are Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey, but this opens the flood gates for the future, especially if the rumored “Switch Pro” (which will not be at E3, at the very least) ends up being real. In the short term, Zelda is exactly the kind of game that could benefit from faster load times: it’s the perfect opportunity for another playthrough on top of the VR update for overlooking vistas.

Boost Mode [GBA Temp]