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Pre-Release The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Pre-Release Discussion Thread

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Heron said:
If a significant part of the trailer takes place in recognizable or barely changed parts of BotW's Hyrule I am going to have a total meltdown. Just warning you.

50% or more of this game can't take place in the same play space as the first one. In a game where exploration and the thrill of the new is 90% of the pleasure, it just... it just can't. "Oh, this building is now destroyed, and that shrine is now gone etc etc" does NOT scratch that itch.

Gotta keep the faith. Most of this game will take place in the sky, or elsewhere. I remember doubting there would be towns in BotW, not making that same mistake again with the map here. It WILL be mostly new. It's been 6 years. It has to be.

Just getting nervous with a week to go until we probably find out...
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I totally get this and I'll also be fairly disappointed if the game is mostly just the same locations with modifications like dungeons and such

But I'm leaning towards being optimistic. I think the new areas of the game will at least equal BoTW's and, honestly, I'm just really curious to see what the Zelda team has done with nearly 5 years of development while reusing the same "base" map. Like, in the best case scenario, it seems really freeing to have a solid base already made, so you can focus on going wild with everything else knowing that base is there to fall back on. And it's a pretty unique premise for an open world to have (expanding veritcally on an existing horizontal map)

Who knows, maybe I'm just giving them too much benefit of the doubt and the game will be mostly just old areas with new story/dungeons/abilities, and the sky zones are just a minor part of the game hosting dungeons or challenges. But I'm really hoping that's not the case
 
Zelda team are obsessives. They spent so much time tuning the original BotW overworld, from their development slides (source, cool blog post here):

zelda_botw3b2.jpg
zelda_botw4.jpg

zelda_botw3f.jpg
zelda_botw2a.jpg
zelda_botw2c.jpg


Incorporating the previous game's overworld could be a hard sell, but I give them the benefit of the doubt. It's not blind optimism. They've gone in detail about their crafting of this world and the constant internal feedback and playtesting, down to generating heatmaps and using the Hero's Path tool. And since then, they've collected at least 5-6 years of feedback, from both players and internal dev teams.

I think that if they are actively choosing to reuse this world from the very beginning, they have sufficient reason and a specific plan. We've already discussed in this thread how the 'Nazca Lines' murals recontextualize the world as something meant to be seen from above. What other ways are they playing with viewpoints? To what extent will stone gliding serve as a method of traversal? And what about those cave entrances?

There's a subset of people that will be disappointed with the very premise of this game revisiting this Hyrule, and that's fair. 'Exploring new places' is a big appeal, and even if the original Hyrule is 1/3 of the game, that's still a familiar bit of land. But I am so, so curious to see how they are reframing it and what the actual core gameplay loop is.
 
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TheMoon said:
this one I don't get though. how can you not count the date trailer which literally revealed a brand new aspect of gameplay (traveling on broken off pieces from the islands) and showed a bunch of new things that sent people spiraling with speculation (the vials, the mural, the skybird/markings)
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I don't count it because half of the trailer was nothing but teasing, and the other half showed like 5 plans at the best and it was so quick that for me it is still teasing, just like when Link went through the ceiling at the end of the E3 2021, you can see it, that's cool, but we still no nothing about the feature. People focused a lot on this little things because we've gotten 15 seconds of gameplay every 1,5 year but hen we will see the first trailer, we will realize that we knew literally nothing about it and that there is still a lot of major things to discover.
 
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Jbone916 said:
If Link really does end up receiving an entirely new arsenal of gameplay-altering abilities, wouldnโ€™t you agree that there is some merit in revisiting old areas but being able to view and interact with them in entirely new ways, maybe under completely different story/mission contexts? After all, this is pretty much how Metroidvanias work.
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This is more or less what I'm holding onto. Going back to old, updated areas with new secrets and new ways to interact with the world has me excited. If it was only this I'd be worried. But I have a good idea that the sky and potential system of caves will be plenty expansive.

The idea that I could go back to that icy Leviathan's cave and unearth some secret passage to something new and exciting is fun to me. Reminds me of Banjo Tooie and exploring Spiral Mountain again, getting up to the top of that cave way up somewhere. I don't remember if it led to anything but I remember loving the idea that I could traverse that old area and get into that cave that was totally unaccessible in Kazooie.

So long as we have new tools and means to get around and do fun things is all that matters. Weapons breaking was always fine for me, if there is a way to rebuild something you liked or strengthen something I'm all for. Most importantly for my tastes though is the environmental tools that can be added to the weapons arsenal for support. Hook shots, bombs, beetles, whips, etc. The hook shot isn't used to kill most enemies but it's fun using in battles for support. Stunning enemies or zipping across the battle field quickly are its primary uses in bigger fights. I love that.

The "Reverse Tear Drip" and "Movement Reversal" abilities look like great starts to traversing an old and new world with a bit of battle application for one of them.

I can already imagine cool scenarios combining environmental movement reversal, gliding, hook shoting, grapple hook swinging, shield surfing and mounted flight. Each ability necessary in certain circumstances and just making getting around certain obstacles super enjoyable.
 
Heron said:
No, that's almost a perfect description of what I don't want, lol.

The number 1 priority is exploring new locations. If the game doesn't deliver that, it will be a massive disappointment.

I'm one of those people who thinks the appeal of Link Between Worlds (which played fabulously) was ruined by taking place in a modified LttP map. I'm also the guy who disliked LttP in the first place because I found exploring the Dark World boring as it wasn't different enough. And speaking of Metroidvanias, same with Metroid Prime 2. In fact, I hate "dark worlds" in pretty much all games. The fun in Metroidvanias is that you go back to an old location knowing you're about to access a new one with your new tool - not the backtracking itself.

So nah, just not on board with that.
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Okay that's pretty clear then that you'll unquestionably end up really disappointed by TotK no matter how it shakes out. Just please do me this one favor and don't become the salty hater fan that will later run around calling this overrated or something. I'm not preemptively calling you out, I'm just trying to raise a flag so the problem doesn't even arise lol. I've seen too many burned and salty nintendo fans who wanted a game to be one thing and it was another to just not mention this now^^
 
It'd be weird for so much of it to take place up there. That would leave the Hyrule below as some.. vestigial thing with no purpose. I don't like that idea.
 
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Serif said:
Zelda team are obsessives. They spent so much time tuning the original BotW overworld, from their development slides (source, cool blog post here):

zelda_botw3b2.jpg
zelda_botw4.jpg

zelda_botw3f.jpg
zelda_botw2a.jpg
zelda_botw2c.jpg


Iious to see how they are reframing it and what the actual core gameplay loop is.
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where are these images from? :)
 
maidhhc said:
where are these images from? :)
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They're from Nintendo's talk at CEDEC '17 reported here, they requested some of the slide images to be removed but the blog I linked to in my post has preserved a few of them.
 
Serif said:
Zelda team are obsessives. They spent so much time tuning the original BotW overworld, from their development slides (source, cool blog post here):

zelda_botw3b2.jpg
zelda_botw4.jpg

zelda_botw3f.jpg
zelda_botw2a.jpg
zelda_botw2c.jpg


Incorporating the previous game's overworld could be a hard sell, but I give them the benefit of the doubt. It's not blind optimism. They've gone in detail about their crafting of this world and the constant internal feedback and playtesting, down to generating heatmaps and using the Hero's Path tool. And since then, they've collected at least 5-6 years of feedback, from both players and internal dev teams.

I think that if they are actively choosing to reuse this world from the very beginning, they have sufficient reason and a specific plan. We've already discussed in this thread how the 'Nazca Lines' murals recontextualize the world as something meant to be seen from above. What other ways are they playing with viewpoints? To what extent will stone gliding serve as a method of traversal? And what about those cave entrances?

There's a subset of people that will be disappointed with the very premise of this game revisiting this Hyrule, and that's fair. 'Exploring new places' is a big appeal, and even if the original Hyrule is 1/3 of the game, that's still a familiar bit of land. But I am so, so curious to see how they are reframing it and what the actual core gameplay loop is.
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Yeah, it's stuff like this that makes me not at all concerned about them incorporating the overworld from Breath of the Wild. That world was meticulously designed around things like the towers, the placement of shrines, areas designed for specific quests, the Divine Beasts which are visible from across the map, etc. There's no chance that after all that careful design, the Zelda team simply decides to take all that stuff out and leave a big, empty, pointless map in its place. With all that considered, I fully expect there to be major changes to the landscape in TotK.
 
TheMoon said:
Okay that's pretty clear then that you'll unquestionably end up really disappointed by TotK no matter how it shakes out. Just please do me this one favor and don't become the salty hater fan that will later run around calling this overrated or something. I'm not preemptively calling you out, I'm just trying to raise a flag so the problem doesn't even arise lol. I've seen too many burned and salty nintendo fans who wanted a game to be one thing and it was another to just not mention this now^^
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There's no way of saying I'll unquestionably end up disappointed. I thought the trailers for BotW looked absolutely dreadful and it became maybe my favourite game ever. We haven't seen enough to know how much of the game will be new, while the Zelda team almost always deliver. And you absolutely are pre-emptively calling me out, lol.

Look, to give an example: I loved Skyward Sword from the moment I picked it up. I accepted it for what it was - a more gameplay-focused Zelda rather than an exploration focused Zelda. I beat it, then went online to talk about it, and I was really surprised when so many people hated it. But you know what? I enjoyed listening to their takes anyway. I didn't need to hear from those who loved it - since I loved it, I already understood that point of view. But getting to grips with why other people bounced off it? Much more interesting.

So if I don't like TotK (and like I said, for now I'm still keeping the faith) you can be sure I'll be letting people know. Just like I've cheerleaded for BotW for the past 6 years. That's how this all works.
 
Heron said:
There's no way of saying I'll unquestionably end up disappointed. I thought the trailers for BotW looked absolutely dreadful and it became maybe my favourite game ever. We haven't seen enough to know how much of the game will be new, while the Zelda team almost always deliver. And you absolutely are pre-emptively calling me out, lol.

Look, to give an example: I loved Skyward Sword from the moment I picked it up. I accepted it for what it was - a more gameplay-focused Zelda rather than an exploration focused Zelda. I beat it, then went online to talk about it, and I was really surprised when so many people hated it. But you know what? I enjoyed listening to their takes anyway. I didn't need to hear from those who loved it - since I loved it, I already understood that point of view. But getting to grips with why other people bounced off it? Much more interesting.

So if I don't like TotK (and like I said, for now I'm still keeping the faith) you can be sure I'll be letting people know. Just like I've cheerleaded for BotW for the past 6 years. That's how this all works.
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That's not what I was talking about. Salty and voicing your criticisms are two vastly different things. I thought I outlined that part clearly there when I said I had seen too many people go down that route over the years lol. I didn't say you shouldn't say anything if you don't like it^^.
 
In few days we are also getting first estimate on file size via eShop. Any guesses? It will for sure be over 16GB so it will be first Nintendo developed title to use 32 GB game cards.
 
LukasManak22 said:
In few days we are also getting first estimate on file size via eShop. Any guesses? It will for sure be over 16GB so it will be first Nintendo developed title to use 32 GB game cards.
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Not so sure honestly. If they managed a whole gen on 16gb, then why start now? Being T he greedy bastards they are.
 
LukasManak22 said:
I mean they had no problem paying 32GB cards for 3rd party games that they were publishing. If Zelda goes above 16GB Nintendo will be fine with it.
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There the alternative was to not get the game at all. And none of those would sell anywhere near what Zelda would.

Is there any recent data on what the actual price difference is nowadays?
 
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I'm currently doing a Pantsless Run in BotW - no armour and no hearts upgrades! Besides being continually amazed at how fantastic the game systems align
boars getting damage from wooden spikes, Octorocks hitting each other with their stones at the right angles, Lizalfos electrocuting each other by accident by shooting an electric arrow in an adjacent pool of water, lighting a distant cooking pot through the rain by using a lighted arrow
I'm also coming around to the idea of "complete and utter freedom" being the alpha and omega for TotK.

Total freedom was the main draw of BotW for me at the time because I was so tired of games stringing me around. Replaying Zora's Domain however, that segment seems to restrict the freedom as a way to let the dynamic gameplay systems shine. Even though I find the constant interruptions and overly long sappy dialogue of that section one of the game's low points, the "wide linear" design of the climb to Zora's Domain is fantastic. great place to farm arrows and hearty radishes too which comes in handy in a pantsless run xD

TotK has this "wide linear" idea baked into it's premise with the sky islands, and I hope they find a way to integrate that with the narrative and decision making agency the player had in BotW.

Finally, seeing how many (not all!) parts of the world are crazy inspiring from a level design standpoint, and how they succeeded in catching the imagination, they'll do something great with ye olde Hyrule - no doubt. Having more interesting destinations would already go a long way!
 
U
manfromthedam said:
I'm currently doing a Pantsless Run in BotW - no armour and no hearts upgrades! Besides being continually amazed at how fantastic the game systems align
boars getting damage from wooden spikes, Octorocks hitting each other with their stones at the right angles, Lizalfos electrocuting each other by accident by shooting an electric arrow in an adjacent pool of water, lighting a distant cooking pot through the rain by using a lighted arrow
I'm also coming around to the idea of "complete and utter freedom" being the alpha and omega for TotK.

Total freedom was the main draw of BotW for me at the time because I was so tired of games stringing me around. Replaying Zora's Domain however, that segment seems to restrict the freedom as a way to let the dynamic gameplay systems shine. Even though I find the constant interruptions and overly long sappy dialogue of that section one of the game's low points, the "wide linear" design of the climb to Zora's Domain is fantastic. great place to farm arrows and hearty radishes too which comes in handy in a pantsless run xD

TotK has this "wide linear" idea baked into it's premise with the sky islands, and I hope they find a way to integrate that with the narrative and decision making agency the player had in BotW.

Finally, seeing how many (not all!) parts of the world are crazy inspiring from a level design standpoint, and how they succeeded in catching the imagination, they'll do something great with ye olde Hyrule - no doubt. Having more interesting destinations would already go a long way!
Click to expand...
While I think that Elden Ring has the same repetitions problems than BOTW I think it nailed the mix between open and linear areas. BOTW had some linear area opportunities that were cheesed by the climb + glide ability.
 
Have there been any more hints or discussion at potential RDR2 mechanic influences for TotK? I vaguely remember reading years ago that the devs had been heavily playing and inspired by Skyrim during BotW development, and that theyโ€™d been loving playing RDR2 during this current dev cycle. Would love to see something like traveling resources incorporated similar to a gang camp, that grows and offers you more support the more you invest in it etc! And could give places like stable locations or Linkโ€™s house more ongoing gameplay use.
 
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Who was it that talked about a super duper expanded Terry Town Quest for Tears? I already know that stasis like rewind ability won't be used for this but what if along the way we can use it to restore ruins found throughout old Hyrule? Build towns, houses and cities back up with locals returning from far off lands. Hylian's, Deku's and even Bulbasaur Kiwi's(Kikwis?) could come back. Though they didn't live in many brick and mortar buildings if at all.
 
manfromthedam said:
I'm currently doing a Pantsless Run in BotW - no armour and no hearts upgrades! Besides being continually amazed at how fantastic the game systems align
boars getting damage from wooden spikes, Octorocks hitting each other with their stones at the right angles, Lizalfos electrocuting each other by accident by shooting an electric arrow in an adjacent pool of water, lighting a distant cooking pot through the rain by using a lighted arrow
I'm also coming around to the idea of "complete and utter freedom" being the alpha and omega for TotK.

Total freedom was the main draw of BotW for me at the time because I was so tired of games stringing me around. Replaying Zora's Domain however, that segment seems to restrict the freedom as a way to let the dynamic gameplay systems shine. Even though I find the constant interruptions and overly long sappy dialogue of that section one of the game's low points, the "wide linear" design of the climb to Zora's Domain is fantastic. great place to farm arrows and hearty radishes too which comes in handy in a pantsless run xD

TotK has this "wide linear" idea baked into it's premise with the sky islands, and I hope they find a way to integrate that with the narrative and decision making agency the player had in BotW.

Finally, seeing how many (not all!) parts of the world are crazy inspiring from a level design standpoint, and how they succeeded in catching the imagination, they'll do something great with ye olde Hyrule - no doubt. Having more interesting destinations would already go a long way!
Click to expand...
I did a pantless + master mode two years ago - prepare yourself, Master Trials are gonna be WILD. I also fought Ganon + blights before everything. Really hard, specially Thunderblight, but amazingly rewarding. If you reaaaally want to deep dive, going for a 100% completion w/o guides (but with Korok Mask) is an incredibly beautiful experience.
 
In a week we could conceivably be sitting on a juicy TotK trailer.
balgajo said:
U

While I think that Elden Ring has the same repetitions problems than BOTW I think it nailed the mix between open and linear areas. BOTW had some linear area opportunities that were cheesed by the climb + glide ability.
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Yeah, sticking to the ground more makes BotW a more interesting experience generally. Plenty of cool level designs that you can just entirely bypass =P .

Should try Elden Ring... It's the only BotW-inspired game so far that seems to have genuinely learned lessons from it outside of "lol glider", but grimdark boss fight extravaganza is the opposite of my usual taste =P .

Subrosian Link said:
I did a pantless + master mode two years ago - prepare yourself, Master Trials are gonna be WILD. I also fought Ganon + blights before everything. Really hard, specially Thunderblight, but amazingly rewarding. If you reaaaally want to deep dive, going for a 100% completion w/o guides (but with Korok Mask) is an incredibly beautiful experience.
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I love that "pantsless" is apparently a thing others have also dreamed up xD . Master Mode is a step too far for my skill level I'm afraid - with only three hearts I die a lot already, so I'm in awe of your perseverance.

That being said, yesterday I beat the Lynel at Ploymus Rock and only died once! It's super satisfying to have to master parry & dodge, and preparing helpful potions (damage & defence up mainly). Also scouring Hearty Truffles/Radishes/Fish/etc. is so much fun when you actually depend on them.

Will definitely be tackling Thunderblight last, he always trips me up.
 
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While it will be good to finally see the game and what is it about the E3 2021: "Here is the last thing we have to show you, this is the sequel to BOTW. Two years have passed since we first announced this game..." that was truly the moment.
 
Romancedawn said:
Who was it that talked about a super duper expanded Terry Town Quest for Tears? I already know that stasis like rewind ability won't be used for this but what if along the way we can use it to restore ruins found throughout old Hyrule? Build towns, houses and cities back up with locals returning from far off lands. Hylian's, Deku's and even Bulbasaur Kiwi's(Kikwis?) could come back. Though they didn't live in many brick and mortar buildings if at all.
Click to expand...

That was me I reckon. I know I brought it up waaaay earlier in this thread and itโ€™s basically my dream scenario for this game. Just a way to actually restore Hyrule along the way (or more likely during post-game) in the same manner as how Terry Town was built in BotW. I get goosebumps just thinking about Hyrule being reconstructed to its former glory and it was we, the players, that had a hand in its actual construction.
 
LukasManak22 said:
Dragon Quest Heroes I & II (though that's Japan only) and am probably forgetting some.
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I don't think you're forgetting anything.
DQ Heroes I&II was not published by Nintendo. Nintendo only publishes this sort of third party game in the West anyway, almost(?) never in Japan (unless it's a Western publisher like Ubisoft for whom they're publishing in another region). Nintendo hasn't published anything on 32GB cards themselves. The list of games that use them is so small to begin with.

Jahranimo said:
I might be wrong, but the Witcher 3?
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we were talking about NINTENDO PUBLISHED games.
 
Hype is intensifying rapidly now, holy smokes. Iโ€™m entering this state again where I just canโ€™t stop thinking about how awesome it feels to be in double digits away from release, and how a new trailer might be imminent.

This game will bend realities.
 
So Iโ€™m starting to get the most recent TotK teaser as a YouTube ad several times each day since the last week. It feels so weird being in the middle of the gameโ€™s marketing campaign without knowing anything about the game. Also someone on FB posted a photo of physical promotion in some unknown store (cardboard boxes with the official Artwork).

The final unveiling must be really around the corner.

manfromthedam said:
Should try Elden Ring... It's the only BotW-inspired game so far that seems to have genuinely learned lessons from it outside of "lol glider", but grimdark boss fight extravaganza is the opposite of my usual taste =P .
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Elden Ring is a game I want to play but Iโ€™m sooooo bad at those kind of games (Iโ€™m having trouble with the Second Sister fight on Jedi Fallen Order on Normal difficulty so go figure lol), than Iโ€™m not sure it would be a sensible purchase lol.
 
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Irene said:
Hype is intensifying rapidly now, holy smokes. Iโ€™m entering this state again where I just canโ€™t stop thinking about how awesome it feels to be in double digits away from release, and how a new trailer might be imminent.

This game will bend realities.
Click to expand...
This thread will explode in a week or so, pretty sure itโ€™s going to need its own dedicated server to handle all the traffic.:) The anticipation is definitely starting to feel like pre BotW\ switch launch finally.
 
Definitely excited to see what TotK will really be like. I am 99.9% certain I will play it on release pretty much no matter what, but I have wondered about the map. I feel confident that however the old/new ratio shakes out on the map, it will be something that has been considered by Nintendo and not some sort of corner cutting measure. It'll be interesting to see it laid out, that's for sure!

Now I'm having my monthly inner monologue of if I should replay BotW for the first time since launch, or just wait for TotK
 
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Cerlinho said:
We're almost there!Can't believe this game was announced, like, more than 3 years ago (and we still know so little)!
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I at times get nostalgic and remember my days on Zelda forums when the E3 2019 trailer dropped and we all went out of our freaking minds to just scream at ceilings.

Now, in 2023, we get to scream at ceilings again. And it's gonna be great :')
 
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Please note that this thread is completely spoiler-free, and that includes tagged spoilers. If you want to discuss spoilers, we refer to the spoiler thread.
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