The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a monumental success for a series that was already a titan of the industry. By some miracle, Nintendo EPD3 managed to release a near-perfect sequel to what was already one of the best games ever made. TotK took a game that was defined by its player freedom, and completely annihilated any remaining limitations. To make an ice block in BotW, the player needed to use an ability. In TotK, they can just throw an icy object on water. In BotW, the player had to use an ability to fly up. In TotK, they can just burn a pinecone. In BotW, players would keep their best weapons sheathed so they didn’t break. In TotK, they can just make another equally strong weapon with Fuse.

The god-awful story (its dialogue mainly) is the only mark on this otherwise spotless title. Replacing the champions with new, nameless (even faceless) characters was strange, and Mineru’s mere inclusion is a disappointment (6th Sage should’ve been Paya or Kass, wherever he even is).

This game does not deserve a review that ends on a negative note, so I will reiterate that this is absolutely one of the best games ever made, and an extremely rare example of a title that had sky-high expectations and exceeded them by leaps and bounds. Never forget when twitter called this "$70 DLC" and advocated for piracy LOL.