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StarTopic The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom |ST| Linkin' Parts (Please Tag All Spoilers)

Reader mode
One thing I appreciate about BotW and TotK is the enemy aiming. The enemies aren't perfectly accurate, but they're close enough that you need to be cautious and keep moving if you're not strafing with your shield up, and they can use elemental effects to compensate for their lack of aim. It's a difficult balance to achieve, and it feels believable here.
 
FeiFongWong said:
Question for those who aren't in the pink glasses 10/10 gang:

Is it worth playing the story until the end? I remember Gene in the "punching up" nintendo podcast saying that the ending is amazing. Im not really compelled to finish the game after 3rd temple and I dont know if its worth investing more time or just sell the game.
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As someone who wasn't in love with the game all throughout and prefers the relative simplicity of BotW, I'd say either take your time sporadically chipping away at the main quest at your own whim. But I don't see what's left of the story (or really any of the story) as any reason to continue playing, but I don't play Zelda for the story either.

I hated the building reliance in this game as I never found the final resulting contraptions as very fun to use in the end.

I have started replaying the game again only this time no fast-traveling, no skyview tower map unlocks, no using of the map (except in the depths because fuuuuck that), no using the ubiquitously useful hoverbike at all, and no taking/boarding horse unless it is with me. I'm enjoying the game a bit more so far I think but still early on.
 
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FeiFongWong said:
Question for those who aren't in the pink glasses 10/10 gang:

Is it worth playing the story until the end? I remember Gene in the "punching up" nintendo podcast saying that the ending is amazing. Im not really compelled to finish the game after 3rd temple and I dont know if its worth investing more time or just sell the game.
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Thinking the game is a 10/10 doesn't equate to having rose-tinted glasses, if that's what you're saying. Is it possible to have rose-tinted glasses for a game that is less than 3 months old? Lol
 
This is a strange game. In almost every respect it was better than Breath of the Wild for me…other than it’s lasting impression. I kind of think that, as clever as the design was in reusing the world, it ended up hurting the overall impact, because I don’t think even for a second that the new Zelda formula is tired yet.

I think if the game had either 1. taken place in a new Hyrule, or 2. undergone a substantial visual overhaul, basically reworked for new hardware, I’d have come away feeling differently. Given that both of the above are basically guaranteed for the next title, I’m super optimistic.
 
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karmitt said:
This is a strange game. In almost every respect it was better than Breath of the Wild for me…other than it’s lasting impression. I kind of think that, as clever as the design was in reusing the world, it ended up hurting the overall impact, because I don’t think even for a second that the new Zelda formula is tired yet.

I think if game had either 1. taken place in a new Hyrule, or 2. undergone a substantial visual overhaul, basically reworked for new hardware, I’d have come away feeling differently. Given that both of the above are basically guaranteed for the next title, I’m super optimistic.
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I think I agree. This is probably the greatest game ever made IMO but my memories blend together a tad with BotW - not content wise so much as art style. The next game, with new art style and better tech with these world class devs, will blow the roof off in ways we can't even begin to speculate about right now.
 
After 165 hours, I finally decided to finish the main story a couple days ago. Back in BotW, I did every shrine and sidequest before I went to fight Ganon, but I think the burnout got to me this time.

The final boss and finale are easily 100x better than BotW's were. Very much enjoyed the Ganondorf duel - mechanically, at least, it's probably the best one in the series. Loved the "oh shit" moments of Ganondorf dodging you and "permanently" stealing your hearts. I probably could've made him a complete joke had I fused something to the MS or worn attack up armor or something, though. The dragon sequence afterwards, while basically a pure spectacle moment, was very well done. And the music - god, I need an official OST release so badly.

I think I still need time to gather my thoughts on the game as a whole, but I think right now I have to echo what @karmitt posted - it's a better game than BotW in just about every aspect, but it didn't quite capture the same feelings that BotW gave me when I first played it. Maybe in the future I'll boot the game back up and finish the remaining shrines and sidequests, but for now I'm content. Definitely in day 1 for any DLC, though.
 
I think I came away from Tears way more wowed and content than I was BotW, so interesting to read others feeling differently. But I’ll provide my point of view.

BotW was just a rollercoaster for me all around. Experiencing it and getting used to it ditching so many series staples (the dungeon design and lack of theming and unique bosses, etc.) had me feeling such a mix of emotions in the immediate wake of its release. The core gameplay loop was so sublime and there were so many great moments that I was extremely positive in most aspects and probably still considered it the best of the series, but I was definitely lamenting quite a few things that made it hard to come away fully wowed. My opinion of BotW is something that grew more and more over time as I grew to appreciate the game for what it was. And also, being the hopeful person I am, I didn’t really view those things as a negative - moreso a reason to get excited for the future of the series. If they had this amazing formula that I already love despite a lot of things I wanted missing, how amazing will it be when they fix those?

And well… Tears was exactly that lol. Quite literally all of my biggest complaints. Atmospheric and unique dungeons, exciting boss fights that weren’t all similar designs, themed mini-dungeons with the caves,
more permanent rewards (never had a problem with the weapon system but still wanted more permanent rewards in addition to it), better ending. And then on top of that, I think the breadth of its mechanics wowed me even more than BotW’s. Verticality as well.

My two biggest “disappointments” with tears (too much reused music, and lack of new towns) are also things that I quickly accepted way more than I did with BotW’s issues. I think they’re so specific to this game being a direct sequel set in the same world that I don’t even need to be hopeful they’ll be fixed for the next one - I can just assume they will be the second a new setting for the next game is confirmed. That, and the existing towns and music themselves are already great and so are tears’ additions to them, just wished there were more.

Really both wowed me for different reasons. BotW for just introducing the new style, systems and gameplay loop itself. Tears for delivering on fixing my biggest gripes with BotW and going above and beyond with its new mechanics that make BotW’s feel like child’s play.

But when taking out the “re-use of content as a flaw” viewpoint (which is surprisingly easy for me to do, and in many ways it felt like returning to home), I find Tears the most well rounded and full, definitive experience. Everything it keeps from BotW is amazing so the reuse doesn’t bother me, and it improves on everything else.

Hell, even considering that, my worry about BotW becoming completely obsolete didn’t even come true. It gets to keep the divine beast and Sheikah aesthetic (both of which I adore) to itself, which will always make it stand on its own somewhat to me.

Well it’s 3 AM and I’m rambling and barely coherent, but just feeling as great about the future of the series as I did after BotW’s release. The two games come together to form a fantastic duology in a beautiful and brilliant Hyrule that will go down as legendary in gaming history, the ultimate depiction of gaming’s most iconic kingdom. Now take us to exciting new lands next Nintendo!
 
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I'm a simple person- I see and hear Tarrey Town, I smile. :LOL:

Finally
building my dream home
75 hours in and it feels like creativity, secrets, and quests can be found at every turn, it's incredible. The NPCs are so damn endearing- their charm, stories, and personalities are undeniable. Maybe I'm biased coming from the high of Links Awakening remake into this, but the village people (lol) take these games to another level.
 
Phendrift said:
I think I came away from Tears way more wowed and content than I was BotW, so interesting to read others feeling differently. But I’ll provide my point of view.

BotW was just a rollercoaster for me all around. Experiencing it and getting used to it ditching so many series staples (the dungeon design and lack of theming and unique bosses, etc.) had me feeling such a mix of emotions in the immediate wake of its release. The core gameplay loop was so sublime and there were so many great moments that I was extremely positive in most aspects and probably still considered it the best of the series, but I was definitely lamenting quite a few things that made it hard to come away fully wowed. My opinion of BotW is something that grew more and more over time as I grew to appreciate the game for what it was. And also, being the hopeful person I am, I didn’t really view those things as a negative - moreso a reason to get excited for the future of the series. If they had this amazing formula that I already love despite a lot of things I wanted missing, how amazing will it be when they fix those?

And well… Tears was exactly that lol. Quite literally all of my biggest complaints. Atmospheric and unique dungeons, exciting boss fights that weren’t all similar designs, themed mini-dungeons with the caves,
more permanent rewards (never had a problem with the weapon system but still wanted more permanent rewards in addition to it), better ending. And then on top of that, I think the breadth of its mechanics wowed me even more than BotW’s. Verticality as well.

My two biggest “disappointments” with tears (too much reused music, and lack of new towns) are also things that I quickly accepted way more than I did with BotW’s issues. I think they’re so specific to this game being a direct sequel set in the same world that I don’t even need to be hopeful they’ll be fixed for the next one - I can just assume they will be the second a new setting for the next game is confirmed. That, and the existing towns and music themselves are already great and so are tears’ additions to them, just wished there were more.

Really both wowed me for different reasons. BotW for just introducing the new style, systems and gameplay loop itself. Tears for delivering on fixing my biggest gripes with BotW and going above and beyond with its new mechanics that make BotW’s feel like child’s play.

But when taking out the “re-use of content as a flaw” viewpoint (which is surprisingly easy for me to do, and in many ways it felt like returning to home), I find Tears the most well rounded and full, definitive experience. Everything it keeps from BotW is amazing so the reuse doesn’t bother me, and it improves on everything else.

Hell, even considering that, my worry about BotW becoming completely obsolete didn’t even come true. It gets to keep the divine beast and Sheikah aesthetic (both of which I adore) to itself, which will always make it stand on its own somewhat to me.

Well it’s 3 AM and I’m rambling and barely coherent, but just feeling as great about the future of the series as I did after BotW’s release. The two games come together to form a fantastic duology in a beautiful and brilliant Hyrule that will go down as legendary in gaming history, the ultimate depiction of gaming’s most iconic kingdom. Now take us to exciting new lands next Nintendo!
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Well if that's barely coherent, I guess I am too, because your thoughts on the two games mirror my own almost exactly. Except for me the reuse of towns wasn't a problem at all, and instead I felt a similar way about the enemies(in the sense that they're really good and I like the new ones but I still would've liked to see even more new stuff.)
 
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Irene said:
Height limit reached!

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My question is, if you're going to jump from the hightest possible height in Tears of the Kingdom, why in the world would you decide to just fall feet first with the camera pointing at the horizon instead of skydiving with the camera pointing towards the ground.
 
FeiFongWong said:
Question for those who aren't in the pink glasses 10/10 gang:

Is it worth playing the story until the end? I remember Gene in the "punching up" nintendo podcast saying that the ending is amazing. Im not really compelled to finish the game after 3rd temple and I dont know if its worth investing more time or just sell the game.
Click to expand...

Just sell the game dawg. If you're not having fun three temples in then cut your losses.
 
bellydrum said:
My question is, if you're going to jump from the hightest possible height in Tears of the Kingdom, why in the world would you decide to just fall feet first with the camera pointing at the horizon instead of skydiving with the camera pointing towards the ground.
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Oh, it wasn't intended. Just sort of tripped.

I have jumped from that height a few times, and you're in the air for so long that you can reach the central hyrule chasm, and go to the depths. An absolute rush.
 
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Got up to the floating Hyrule Castle through the least creative means possible: launching from the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower, then gliding forward with occasional wind gusts from Tulin. Found a fair few shields and bows that were better than what I had, which was nice.
 
Apopheniac said:
Got up to the floating Hyrule Castle through the least creative means possible: launching from the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower, then gliding forward with occasional wind gusts from Tulin. Found a fair few shields and bows that were better than what I had, which was nice.
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That's how I did it
 
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bellydrum said:
Sucks you wasted your time tho! Wish you liked the game
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I did like it in the beginning, especially during wind temple and the road to it. Then everything went downhill for me. Open world and "minecraft" killed the interest for me. Well, not every game is for everyone.
 
Started playing this again after a break. Three dungeons down, currently at 70 hours.

Overall, I have to say I 100% like this game more than BOTW. The familiarity is certainly there, but TOTK is more refined, streamlined in some ways, which really elevates the experience.

I did all the shrines in BOTW and after like 80 or so it felt like a real grind. I'm at 108 TOTK shrines right now and I'm still feeling it. The puzzles in this game are way better with the building, and the Brightroot locations from the depths serving to help you locate shrines and vice-versa is a fantastic mechanic. Doing content helps you to locate more content, it's a great gameplay loop.

I just built an attack roomba and used it to take out Gloom Hands with ease. God, this game kicks ass.
 
WestEgg said:
Figured we should share this here too, but the next episode of the Famiboards Discussion Club is out, with @Irene, @bellydrum, and myself discussing Tears of the Kingdom:

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Now, this is some great timing. Just yesterday, I finished the last temple, found the last geoglyph and did most of the remaining quests. Only 3 shrines left, with 2 of them somewhere in the sky for me to find. Then, it's time to kick Ganondorf's ass and wrap this up!
 
As life kept me busy I did not have much time for videogames the last couple of months, so the free time I had was for Tears of the Kingdom.

Today, after about 65-ish hours I completed the storyline.

Thoughts:

In many aspects the game is better than Breath of the Wild.

The most easy to spot difference being content. My god, I think if I want to play more I can easily play for another 200 hours and I would still find stuff to do. But, at the risk of getting burned out and playing the game for almost three months I just decided to do something else. It is just amazing though how much Nintendo crammed into this game. From wells, caves, shrines, encountes and other secrets... and then there is the depths and even the sky. Absolute masterclass.

You know what I appreciate the most? That even though they really cranked up the posibillities, there are so many ways towards your destination. Sure it is fun to build stupid shit, but in the end climbing and flying still gets you where you need to go.

I need to think more, but man its a good game. A really good game.

End game spoiler

That Ganondorf battle is glorious. His design is pure fire, but the battle itself was chef's kiss. The way towards the battle as well. Highlight for the series.
 
So are we getting DLC?

If so, when do people think it will be announced and then released?

I thought maybe it might release alongside new hardware but doesn't seem like that's coming particularly soon
 
maidhhc said:
So are we getting DLC?

If so, when do people think it will be announced and then released?

I thought maybe it might release alongside new hardware but doesn't seem like that's coming particularly soon
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I think it will be announced at the next Direct tbh.
 
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200h later, I'm finally wrapping up the game and preparing to finish it. Got all shrines, lightroots, sage's will, and filled up the compendium (with a little help from Robbie, which made me feel dumb when I realized lots of the missing pictures were from things I had in my inventory). I'm still missing like 35 Bubbulfrogs, some pieces of armor and like 700 koroks or so, but I'm feeling good about what I achieved and am ready to move on. I wish I got all the Bubbul gems cause I really wanted to see the end to Koltin's storyline, but it's just too much work and I want to play other games at this point.

This was by far my longest single playthrough ever, what a monumental game. It was a goddamn long journey, but I'm finally on my way to kick Ganondorf's ass.
 
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Came here to write my final thoughts, only to see that @Leo and @Sadist already did that for the most part lol. 235 hours in 3 months. For me, too, it's the single player game with the highest hour count, overtaking BotW, and all entries from Xenoblade, Trails and Persona.

All shrines, lightroots, main quests, side adventures and armor sets. Found 388 Korok seeds. 50 bubbul gems, 22 pictures and 12 side quests missing, and have no idea where to look for these quests.

I can't really add any more to what has been said many times: What a gem of a game. So many fun and creative ideas, be it the shrines, crafting lots of cool vehicles and weapons, using elemental effects, traversal through the underground and the sky.
The few times the game got a bit too repetitive, I discovered something new or progressed with the main quest and got hooked again. And what a great last fight and ending that was.
 
Finally beat this game. What a ride:

Thoughts:

Liked:
  • Abilities were much better in this game I thought. Way more possibilities. Fuse really opened things up more than I thought it would. That and ultra hand replaced the previous games abilities and then added on so much more.
  • Shrine variety was way better. Glad to not have a ton of solo battles in most of the shrines. There also wasn’t any terrible motion control puzzles like the first game.
  • Sky area was great and felt it had a good mix of standard traversal and needing to make vehicles to get to places.
  • Story was much better this time especially with it being upfront. Still didn’t like that a bunch was found out of order with the tear memory quests. I had found one of the final memories first that basically ruined all the rest.
  • Music was much more well used. Not sure it was better per se mainly because I can’t remember it all from BOTW, but felt it had a better mix of ambient sounds and actual music this time.
  • Boss battles were great all the way around. Much better than variations on phantom ganon.
  • Final challenge was great. Just enough of a challenge to be good but not too hard. Final boss sequence was well done, especially the progression (though felt ganon was easier than the Lynel…)
Disliked:
  • Temples. I don’t think they were really much more than glorified fetch quests and the way you can traverse with full stamina had me breaking the sequence I feel. In the fire temple, I literally just climbed and glided everywhere to unlock the gates instead of using carts. All of them felt a little too similar after the first one. But the settings were cool. Felt the divine beasts were better and also played into the story/progression more.
  • Lack of guardians in the land. I know there were more boss type characters throughout, but felt like I actually had no reason to challenge them or didn’t even really come across them. The guardians seemed to be much more present and a bigger menace.
  • The depths. Just didn’t like it at all. The item mechanics and controls in the game were not intuitive/good and it was a chore to have to throw seeds nonstop. Also felt that it just wasn’t fun to traverse through. I didn’t do much of the yuga side quests though, which might make it more entertaining. Just was too tedious and monotonous.
  • Too much stuff. There were just way too many things to collect and get the upgrade paths were even more ridiculous than the first game for armor. Wish there was an index in game. But I suppose some might see this as a benefit.
  • Your spirit companions would routinely get in the way if you had more than one activated and wanted to use their abilities. I eventually just had to toggle them off because it would mess up simple things like item collection.

All in all, I think it’s better than BOTW but I might have liked the first one more since it was such a new experience and more focused. Don’t really have plans to replay either one though for years since there is too much to play so will likely never know.
 
I still haven't finished the game (around 180 hours) and I'm still having a ton of fun playing it (every play session has so many "just one more shrine/cave/quest" moments) but I can't shake a weird feeling that I don't really "love" the game. It's hard to explain...
 
Barely Able said:
Finally beat this game. What a ride:

Thoughts:

Liked:
  • Abilities were much better in this game I thought. Way more possibilities. Fuse really opened things up more than I thought it would. That and ultra hand replaced the previous games abilities and then added on so much more.
  • Shrine variety was way better. Glad to not have a ton of solo battles in most of the shrines. There also wasn’t any terrible motion control puzzles like the first game.
  • Sky area was great and felt it had a good mix of standard traversal and needing to make vehicles to get to places.
  • Story was much better this time especially with it being upfront. Still didn’t like that a bunch was found out of order with the tear memory quests. I had found one of the final memories first that basically ruined all the rest.
  • Music was much more well used. Not sure it was better per se mainly because I can’t remember it all from BOTW, but felt it had a better mix of ambient sounds and actual music this time.
  • Boss battles were great all the way around. Much better than variations on phantom ganon.
  • Final challenge was great. Just enough of a challenge to be good but not too hard. Final boss sequence was well done, especially the progression (though felt ganon was easier than the Lynel…)
Disliked:
  • Temples. I don’t think they were really much more than glorified fetch quests and the way you can traverse with full stamina had me breaking the sequence I feel. In the fire temple, I literally just climbed and glided everywhere to unlock the gates instead of using carts. All of them felt a little too similar after the first one. But the settings were cool. Felt the divine beasts were better and also played into the story/progression more.
  • Lack of guardians in the land. I know there were more boss type characters throughout, but felt like I actually had no reason to challenge them or didn’t even really come across them. The guardians seemed to be much more present and a bigger menace.
  • The depths. Just didn’t like it at all. The item mechanics and controls in the game were not intuitive/good and it was a chore to have to throw seeds nonstop. Also felt that it just wasn’t fun to traverse through. I didn’t do much of the yuga side quests though, which might make it more entertaining. Just was too tedious and monotonous.
  • Too much stuff. There were just way too many things to collect and get the upgrade paths were even more ridiculous than the first game for armor. Wish there was an index in game. But I suppose some might see this as a benefit.
  • Your spirit companions would routinely get in the way if you had more than one activated and wanted to use their abilities. I eventually just had to toggle them off because it would mess up simple things like item collection.

All in all, I think it’s better than BOTW but I might have liked the first one more since it was such a new experience and more focused. Don’t really have plans to replay either one though for years since there is too much to play so will likely never know.
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Huh, I'm surprised you thought the temples were too similar but then go on to say you like the divine beasts more. The only temple that was a full miss for me here was the Water Temple, but I only liked Vah Rudania in BOTW. The architecture, theming, score, and rotating mechanic in the Divine Beasts made them blend together much more for me.

What did you think of the Thunderhead Isles/Construct Factory/Spirit Temple section?
 
Dragoncaine said:
Huh, I'm surprised you thought the temples were too similar but then go on to say you like the divine beasts more. The only temple that was a full miss for me here was the Water Temple, but I only liked Vah Rudania in BOTW. The architecture, theming, score, and rotating mechanic in the Divine Beasts made them blend together much more for me.

What did you think of the Thunderhead Isles/Construct Factory/Spirit Temple section?
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I probably have lack of recollection from 6 years ago, lol. I just thought the divine beasts were more focused and liked how they fit into the story more I guess. I probably should have expounded more. I did like the theming of each temple. My favorite was probably the ship in the sky. I agree the water one was the weakest. Just seemed like the structures were all the same with just “find 4 or 5 switches” and you could basically use stamina to cheese your way through them.
 
Barely Able said:
I probably have lack of recollection from 6 years ago, lol. I just thought the divine beasts were more focused and liked how they fit into the story more I guess. I probably should have expounded more. I did like the theming of each temple. My favorite was probably the ship in the sky. I agree the water one was the weakest. Just seemed like the structures were all the same with just “find 4 or 5 switches” and you could basically use stamina to cheese your way through them.
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I thought the ability to cheese the Fire Temple tarnished some of it, but I really enjoyed it by playing it the intended way. I thought the Lightning Temple was the best with all those mirror puzzles. Aesthetically, the Wind Temple was incredible. It was a tad too simple to me though. Overall, glad you really enjoyed the game!
 
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I'm kinda curious what kind of shrine people here liked the most, and I'm considering making a poll about it. I find the Proving Grounds to be truly awesome, and they kinda reminded me of Breath of the Wild's Eventide Island (by losing gear).

My least-favorite were the (IMO useless) Combat Training ones.
 
meatbag said:
As awesome as the Proving Grounds are, I think the new abilities elevated my enjoyment of the puzzle shrines. Ultrahands lets you do some real kooky stuff.
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They're really, really fun to do. The freedom you have to solve a lot of 'em is very liberating!

You also don't hear people being disappointed by the new shrines, as opposed to the first game. I think they hit the nail on the head.
 
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Rhythm Shift said:
I'm kinda curious what kind of shrine people here liked the most, and I'm considering making a poll about it. I find the Proving Grounds to be truly awesome, and they kinda reminded me of Breath of the Wild's Eventide Island (by losing gear).

My least-favorite were the (IMO useless) Combat Training ones.
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My absolute favorite shrine was, probably not coincidentally, the one that gave me a lot of trouble early on: Built for Rails. I don't think I've ever felt smarter in a video game setting than when I solved that one. I also enjoyed the Proving Grounds, but the puzzle shrines were exactly my jam this time around.
 
soundchaser said:
My absolute favorite shrine was, probably not coincidentally, the one that gave me a lot of trouble early on: Built for Rails. I don't think I've ever felt smarter in a video game setting than when I solved that one. I also enjoyed the Proving Grounds, but the puzzle shrines were exactly my jam this time around.
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That's indeed a very fun one! Especially overcoming the last segment is great. :)
 
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I can echo what a lot of others here have said, about feeling that they could love the game, but can't quite get to loving it fully.

Tears of the Kingdom is such a strange experience to me. Even now I can't really pinpoint my feelings on it. I guess the most accurate description I've come up with so far is that BotW was like a raging fire in the beginning (🔥 meaning fun) that burned out quickly after that and was never as strong, whereas TotK was a more even-tempered flame throughout my entire experience, and even burned very bright at some incredible moments.

Overall though, the first third of my playtime with BotW (50hr-ish) was so incredibly magical and unlike anything I've ever played. I really liked what came after, but I can look back and see that I probably played through everything else, even some of the more tedious parts, because I had already fallen in love with that first impression the game gave me.

Getting into TotK, that intro where you venture below Hyrule Castle with Zelda was incredible. One of the best intros for a video game ever I think. However, once you actually get into the flow of things gameplay wise (for me it was shortly after landing on the Great Sky Island), it just hits you how similar it all feels. Like, you have a fundamental understanding of how the game works if you've ever played BotW, and I don't think I was expecting to feel that at the time.

I guess at the end of the day I will probably always prefer that more immediate magic upon starting up a game, because that's also the time where things are the most new and exciting. I can forgive any shortcomings of a game after that because I value that I was able to feel that kind of magic at all.

The best thing I can say about TotK though, is that the best moments come when, unlike in BotW, the game let's you go down a rabbit hole of content that can feel never ending. Whether it be stumbling upon a cave that feels so much larger or more interesting that anticipated, exploring a mysterious portion of the Depths, or finding that a town has a new and exciting overarching quest.

Either way, I can't really be too disappointed. Maybe if it was the last Zelda game ever made then yeah 😅 but they're gonna make more of these things and it's gonna be a whole new world next time. I think it's cool that with TotK they decided to stick with this Hyrule and got so much leverage out of it.
 
NewPueblo said:
I guess at the end of the day I will probably always prefer that more immediate magic upon starting up a game, because that's also the time where things are the most new and exciting. I can forgive any shortcomings of a game after that because I value that I was able to feel that kind of magic at all.
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Also also feel like this. Usually start is really exciting but when the gameplay novelties fade out and overworld patterns start to kick in I start to get bored and my enjoyment curve really decreases. In my case it's not a Zelda only problem as Elden Ring and RDR2 made me also feel like this. At least Botw/Totk were able to keep me entertained until the end of the game(while I lost interest on Totk in around 100 hours I played BOTW for 500+).

It's no coincidence that some of my favorite games have this progression loop where from time to time it feeds the player with new gameplay possibilties to explore. Games like previous zeldas, Iga castlevanias, megaman x, dishonored, hollow knight, skyrim.....

It's also no coincidence that one of my favorite Totk moments was when you get that power related to Iga.

If a game like Hollow Knight were designed around the player having all abilities since start I think it wouldn't have the same impact on me.
 
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