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

[Serif]

I would also put a heavy bet on the blue Sheikah energy having been purified malice redirected from Ganondorf's corpse - some sort of deal between Sheikah and Zonai? Or were they enemies?

I think so too. From Master Works:

The source of power for these relics is what came to be known now as “ancient energy”. This ancient energy is a high-viscosity fluid, existing plentifully beneath Hyrule Castle.

Interesting that it specifically calls ancient energy a 'fluid'. But it makes sense, the runes and maps were distributed through tear drops downloaded onto the Slate.

So the green magic, blue energy, and red Malice (i.e. courage, wisdom, and power... juice) are all counterparts.

The green energy is also a fluid, and a representation of / represented by tears. The vessel Link has is decorated with an eye symbol, 'crying' the ancient magic.

Is there also a bit of time of day difference here? Hard to compare given how the mountains on the right are lit up in one and not the other.

In Zeltik's analysis he discusses the possibility of a seasonal change between BotW and TotK due to the change in shadow direction and the disappeared snow from the Great Plateau.

 

[maidhhc]

Btw, I believe that those scenes with the blood moon in the latest trailer are from the new blood moon cutscene for this game, and not related to the Ganondorf’s awakening cutscene.

I think some of them - like the bit with the pre-degradation Great Plateau - might be from someone telling the story of Ganondorf's original assault against Hyrule pre-imprisonment

 

[Kevin]

The power of the 4 MB N64 expansion pak

I might get shit for this but the visuals look almost exactly the same to me. Some obvious minor differences throughout but nothing screaming a significant engine revamp.

 

[karmitt]

I might get shit for this but the visuals look almost exactly the same to me. Some obvious minor differences throughout but nothing screaming a significant engine revamp.

You’re not wrong. At best I’d be expecting performance optimizations.

 

[Kevin]

You’re not wrong. At best I’d be expecting performance optimizations.

Yeah I think the big changes will be hopefully better framerate, longer draw distance, seemless transition from sky to ground, ground to sky, maybe a few graphical improvements. Hoping a native 1080p image.

 

[Serif]

Might consider modding BotW just to play with this outfit rn

 

[karmitt]

Yeah I think the big changes will be hopefully better framerate, longer draw distance, seemless transition from sky to ground, ground to sky, maybe a few graphical improvements. Hoping a native 1080p image.

I’ve mentioned it in here before, but that clip that Digital Foundry called out as looking better than anything on Switch before it is what I think they’ll be targeting. I never believed it was them sneaking a clip out from better hardware.

Seems Monolithsoft used a decent upscaling solution for a much improved image on XC3, and no doubt they’d seek to apply it here.

 

[Jencks]

I might get shit for this but the visuals look almost exactly the same to me. Some obvious minor differences throughout but nothing screaming a significant engine revamp.

Draw distance is slightly improved but that's basically it

 

[NabiscoFelt]

So the green magic, blue energy, and red Malice (i.e. courage, wisdom, and power... juice) are all counterparts.

The essential ingredients for a Triforce smoothie

 

[brainchild]

If the footage is to be taken at face value, then yes, Tears of the Kingdom has higher quality LODs across the board, whether one thinks that makes the game look significantly better or not. Texture filtering and resolution have also been improved.

 

[chocolate_supra]

So the green magic, blue energy, and red Malice (i.e. courage, wisdom, and power... juice) are all counterparts.

Would personally love some courage juice and wisdom juice irl actually

 

[Awesomegames23]

Would personally love some courage juice and wisdom juice irl actually

"You know POWERADE! Now you can try WISDOMADE and COURAGEADE!"

 

[Serif]

Would personally love some courage juice and wisdom juice irl actually

 

[chocolate_supra]

"You know POWERADE! Now you can try WISDOMADE and COURAGEADE!"

Try POWERTHIRST! Energy drinks for people who need GRATUITOUS AMOUNTS OF ENERGY!

 

[manfromthedam]

If the footage is to be taken at face value, then yes, Tears of the Kingdom has higher quality LODs across the board, whether one thinks that makes the game look significantly better or not. Texture filtering and resolution have also been improved.

Texture resolution and draw distance were definitely the two main points of improvement from BotW in my view, so I'm very glad those are improved (although there's still some noticeable pop-in in the recent trailer, and a few soupy ground textures can still be spotted).

With the recent footage I'm not sure if rendering resolution has increased compared to BotW, but they seem to have improved edge treatment? Some of the promo shots look super clean which implies near-native resolution, but those don't mesh with how the game presents in the latest trailer - even in relatively still shots. The footage looks like resolution is lower compared to BotW, with increased usage of depth of field in the distance to hide pixel crawl.

Curious what more knowledgable people think!

 

[Awesomegames23]

No clue if this is legit, but this site is saying Nintendo is re-releasing ALL Zelda amiibo for Australia and New Zealand for a May 12th release: https://www.vooks.net/nintendo-just-restocked-all-the-older-the-legend-of-zelda-kirby-amiibo/

If true, hopefully for everyone else soon.

Edit: Seems legit, the sites are saying May 12th release for every link (I get it) I click

 

[brainchild]

Texture resolution and draw distance were definitely the two main points of improvement from BotW in my view, so I'm very glad those are improved (although there's still some noticeable pop-in in the recent trailer, and a few soupy ground textures can still be spotted).

With the recent footage I'm not sure if rendering resolution has increased compared to BotW, but they seem to have improved edge treatment? Some of the promo shots look super clean which implies near-native resolution, but those don't mesh with how the game presents in the latest trailer - even in relatively still shots. The footage looks like resolution is lower compared to BotW, with increased usage of depth of field in the distance to hide pixel crawl.

Curious what more knowledgable people think!

To be clear, I was referring to the texture resolution when I said the resolution improved. Rendering resolution will likely be dynamic like Breath of the Wild.

DOF effects were variable in BOTW, so it's hard to say definitively what has changed with that without testing.

Generally speaking, I don't like doing technical analyses of compressed footage as the artifacts can really get in the way.

 

[Jahranimo]

No clue if this is legit, but this site is saying Nintendo is re-releasing ALL Zelda amiibo for Australia and New Zealand for a May 12th release: https://www.vooks.net/nintendo-just-restocked-all-the-older-the-legend-of-zelda-kirby-amiibo/

If true, hopefully for everyone else soon.

Edit: Seems legit, the sites saying May 12th release for every link (I get it) I click

That's great to hear, at least from your side of the world.

They've been slowly doing so with some recent releases. Some of those paraglider cloths do look nice...

 

[Awesomegames23]

That's great to hear, at least from your side of the world.

They've been slowly doing so with some recent releases. Some of those paraglider cloths do look nice...

I’m Canadian there mate.

 

[Heron]

The power of the 4 MB N64 expansion pak

I was staring hard at these pictures until I finally decided that I actually think BotW looks a tiny bit better.

Then I realized that for some reason TotK is the left image. So it's that one I prefer.

But my overall takeaway is that it's incredible that after 6 years I could be staring at the images and mistake one for the other, or be otherwise unable to tell them apart.

 

[Jahranimo]

I’m Canadian there mate.

Still your "side" of the world...wide web

 

[Sawneeks]

The power of the 4 MB N64 expansion pak

Given that it looks like verticality will be important in TotK I'm still kinda impressed by the minor improvements? I'd like to imagine there's a lot more on the overworld now vs Botw

 

[Serif]

With the recent footage I'm not sure if rendering resolution has increased compared to BotW, but they seem to have improved edge treatment? Some of the promo shots look super clean which implies near-native resolution, but those don't mesh with how the game presents in the latest trailer - even in relatively still shots. The footage looks like resolution is lower compared to BotW, with increased usage of depth of field in the distance to hide pixel crawl.

I tried to see if I could compare directly with BotW press kit screenshots but the compression made it difficult, I couldn't immediately tell how much better the edges were. When Link is close to the camera, it looks the same for both TotK and BotW. When Link is further away, TotK appears to look better. LoD and texture detail were the bigger standouts.

So I wanted to see if I could do a comparison myself but Switch screenshot compression and resolution means it's unfair for BotW. So take this for all it's worth, I'm posting it anyway cause I didn't my effort of switching Wi-Fi networks to pull a screenshot off my Switch to go to waste Also there's no more lava in TotK's Death Mountain so it made finding the exact positioning difficult and the haze will affect the near detail (just in case anyone tells me this comparison isn't the best - trust me ik)

But even when seeing it on my television screen, TotK appears to have better detail in the far distance. And not just in this area.

 

[Mango]

^i really like how ToTK did away with the weird haze/fog of BOTW.

Also the Gerudo desert looks weird in that ToTK shot. Like I think it's just the angle but it looks like theres a large island in the ToTK shot, but I think it's just the fact that more of the map is being loaded.

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

 

[brainchild]

^i really like how ToTK did away with the weird haze/fog of BOTW.

The mie scattering and atmospheric effects are completely dynamic (and we can already see they're still in Tears of the Kingdom when we look at distant sky islands). They may have tweaked the parameters a bit and put a limit to how how much visibility would be affected by it near the surface, but it's still there. When you're able to play the game you'll be able to see how it cycles through the varying phenomena from day to day, like BOTW.

 

[Serif]

You can see how the transition from sky kingdom to Hyrule tints the atmosphere.

This gorgeous blue haze adds a lot to shots like these. You can compare with videos of people making flying machines and going up high.

 

[brainchild]

You can see how the transition from sky kingdom to Hyrule tints the atmosphere.

This gorgeous blue haze adds a lot to shots like these. You can compare with videos of people making flying machines and going up high.

I agree. It's gorgeous!

 

[Amadeus]

the difference is insane here

 

[hk-rara]

Okay, so I was rewatching the trailer for like the 1000000th time, but what if Zelda is playable, but in the spirit realm? I am thinking about that scene of the zelda looking figure that is glowing in the trailer and link is reaching out to her. The background in that shot is grey as if time is in suspension, perhaps a time when the two realms can connect after a big boss battle. I guess I am drawing inspiration by both SS and what the developers mentioned they wish they could do with that game. The credit scenes in SS show Zelda's side of the story since the developers didn't have time to implement the player being able to actually play Zelda's part. Maybe both Zelda and Link go on their adventures and can converse between each other (the golden light in the delay video for general interactions and specific interactions when dungeons have been beat) and then in some sections, Zelda's actions affect the real world. Now as for Zelda's playable time, I think it would be hard to switch at any time since it is (or at least is extremely plausible) not a linear game. However, I can see specific areas (such as dungeons or perhaps parts of the sky islands) when you need to switch between the worlds and make changes.

Granted, I had a diff theory of how Zelda is involved in the game a number of pages back lol so even I can't seem to stick to one theory lol but wanted to share my various thoughts while we wait until we can finally just play the game lolol

 

[Serif]

Nintendo specifically mentions Tears of the Kingdom supports 5.1ch surround sound.

The 5.1 surround in the Japanese trailer sounds damn good

Also really makes the underground / cave areas sound distinct

 

[Rareware]

Ohhhhh here we go. Put those theory hats on and get your Hylian language translations ready. What in the world is going on with the imagery on that wooden plaque???

 

[Mango]

What if we get access to certain parts of the underground because the Malice is literally eating through the ground? It would explain what those big pools of Malice are.

The mie scattering and atmospheric effects are completely dynamic (and we can already see they're still in Tears of the Kingdom when we look at distant sky islands). They may have tweaked the parameters a bit and put a limit to how how much visibility would be affected by it near the surface, but it's still there. When you're able to play the game you'll be able to see how it cycles through the varying phenomena from day to day, like BOTW.

Whether it was changed or removed, I'm not sure I'm just glad it looks less hazy, and I love the blue tint and the random puffy clouds.

 

[Mr_No_U]

Gamestop exclusive wood

 

[Layalseif]

My OLED just arrived. My body is ready!

Thinking about buying Skyward Sword and new Pokemon besides Totk. Though not sure if I can finish a certain game before Totk as my gaming time is too restricted nowadays.

My only fear right now is Nintendo shadow dropping an upgraded hardware....XD
That would be the worst timeline for me.

Play Skyward Sword before Tears of the Kingdom or you'll be Zelda out.

 

[brainchild]

Whether it was changed or removed, I'm not sure I'm just glad it looks less hazy, and I love the blue tint and the random puffy clouds.

I just wanted to let you know so that you're not disappointed when you play the game and get a day where it's really hazy, because that's a very likely possibility. If it's like BOTW, there are no fixed haze settings, it's random, to a degree.

 

[reconceptualize]

Ohhhhh here we go. Put those theory hats on and get your Hylian language translations ready. What in the world is going on with the imagery on that wooden plaque???

Tried my hand at this translation - it's not perfect, but this is hard work.

Spoiler

 

[Layalseif]

I bought an OLED this week too hopefully can resell if they drop something

Will you still buy the Tears of the Kingdom limited edition OLED when it comes out?

 

[Awesomegames23]

Gamestop exclusive wood

I'm in Canada, so it doesn't look like I'll be able to get this wood

 

[Jahranimo]

Ohhhhh here we go. Put those theory hats on and get your Hylian language translations ready. What in the world is going on with the imagery on that wooden plaque???

I've got it all figured out.

Spoiler

 

[Awesomegames23]

There's a catch with this wood.



It's made from the Deku Tree.

 

[Okayge]

The Great Deku Tree dies, an underground entrance is revealed. Link and Zelda go exploring. Link and Zelda see hieroglyphs of evil man waging war against people. Link and Zelda see evil man. Evil man senses Link and Zelda. Evil man attacks. Zelda watches and falls down. Link makes oopsie. Hand goes bye bye, but second hand replaces first hand. Link becomes Lonk from 10,000 years ago.

The Legend of Link: Tears of the Lonkdom

 

[maidhhc]

Will you still buy the Tears of the Kingdom limited edition OLED when it comes out?

No, I'm not one for merch and I prefer the plain standard design

 

[Awesomegames23]

For the record, Gamestop is the last place I'd expect to receive wood.



I'll stop.

 

[Serif]

r/totklang absolutely eating up all these new runes

Yeah this one looks more clearly like "wind" 風.

We examined the history of 'time' and 'see' kanji in this thread before. The history of 'wind' doesn't really give us any new insight ...

... cause it just looks like the original symbols attempted to draw a bird or dragon and changed a lot.

So the powers we know for sure are:

• telekinesis (possibly only for Zonai objects, or maybe for any object in a certain radius)
• momentum reversal a.k.a. rewind - and we think this is what the time kanji is representing
• surface phasing

Unconfirmed and guessing based on runes are:

• "light" or "vision" - maybe a lens of truth, but I believe Zelda's shiekah slate will gain that ability now, so I'm guessing Link's arm could be used to 'light' i.e. illuminate objects in dark areas, idk
• wind - perhaps a permanent korok leaf / gust bellows attached to Link's arm, or maybe a permanent Revali's gale for updrafts, or both depending on upgrade status

 

[Magic-Man]

r/totklang absolutely eating up all these new runes

Yeah this one looks more clearly like "wind" 風.

We examined the history of 'time' and 'see' kanji in this thread before. The history of 'wind' doesn't really give us any new insight ...

... cause it just looks like the original symbols attempted to draw a bird or dragon and changed a lot.

So the powers we know for sure are:

• telekinesis (possibly only for Zonai objects, but also possibly for any object in a certain radius)
• momentum reversal a.k.a. rewind - and we think this is what the time kanji is representing
• surface phasing

Unconfirmed and guessing based on runes are:

• "light" or "vision" - maybe a lens of truth, but I believe Zelda's shiekah slate will gain that ability now, so I'm guessing Link's arm could be used to 'light' i.e. illuminate objects in dark areas, idk
• wind - perhaps a permanent korok leaf / gust bellows attached to Link's arm, or maybe a permanent Revali's gale for updrafts, or both depending on upgrade status

Light might just be a permanent torch. Having to set items on fire in BOTW got pretty annoying. Maybe you can create your own fire?

 

[maidhhc]

Would love if they just blatantly ripped off the double portal gun from Portal for an ability

 

[TheCongressman]

Light might just be a permanent torch. Having to set items on fire in BOTW got pretty annoying. Maybe you can create your own fire?

I imagine having fire as a basic ability would negate a lot of mechanics like flint and torches, and make puzzles that require burning way too easy.

 

[Awesomegames23]

I can't believe Link's arm mechanics were inspired by Mr. Gadget smh Nintendo.

 

[Serif]

"Light" could be decoupled from "heat/flame" so the mechanics of fire retain their utility (i.e. burning environment / enemies, creating updrafts), while being able to illuminate objects or paths in the darkness can be separate. Luminous stones feature prominently in the footage of this game so there could be puzzles or features tied to 'light' and maybe specifically the Zonai green / spirit light.

Of course this is taking the "light" symbol literally. After all we think the "time" kanji is related to the rewind / momentum reversal, and the kanji isn't saying "time reversal". Could be to "shine light on the truth" (like a lens of truth) or "bring light to something" (like a Dominion Rod).

Ultimately I don't know Japanese so I'm not aware if that kanji has other, metaphorical implications.