Tears of the Kingdom could be argued to be the best game in the entirety of the franchise. While initially slow to start, with it taking roughly 3 or 4 hours before I felt the loosely structured tutorial had ended, that time pales in comparison to the 55 it took me to properly finish the game, and however many more I will sink into further exploration into this masterpiece. This game had a lot of concerns leading up to it's launch, with the degree of reused assets leaving players weary of it just being "$70 DLC". I assure you, it was not.
The gameplay is nearly limitless, with the "Ultrahand" and "Fuse" abilities reshaping the way the game is played. Gone are the days of scavenging for specific elemental arrows, simply fuse a elemental fruit onto your arrow. Also introduced in this game is the ability to throw materials, making exploration of the Depths a much easier task. Speaking of the depths, the world is now nearly 3 times the size it was in Breath of the Wild, with exploration of the sky and underground adding a great deal of entertainment to be had. The depths also contains amiibo costumes from BOTW, now available for all. The game allows for the construction of the player's very own house, and lets them make their own weapons. The classic dungeons are back, the story is incredible, it's just so close to perfection.
5/5 Stars
Just let me have Stasis back and I will never complain about this game again.

Skyward Sword is one of the most "okay" games in the Zelda series. As the first chronological entry in the series, it has much to solidify it's presence in the franchise. Much of this game's high points are narrative: the rediscovery of Hyrule, the creation of the Master Sword, and the origin of Gannondorf. That being said, while the narrative is an interesting entry in the series, the overall pacing is extraordinarily linear, and the gameplay leaves much to be desired. The combat is awkward, relying on precise motion controls that were still in their infancy. Some of these were welcome changes; the subtle immersion of Link's sword swinging in the same direction as your Wii remote felt just a little bit better than Twilight Princess's basic shake detection, and as someone who struggled to properly aim at the sensor bar as a child, I respect the inclusion of WiiMotion Plus cursor navigation. Unfortunately, the mechanics of WiiMotion Plus feel overused and overemphasized, resulting in a game that feels less like an epic immersive adventure, and more like a tech demo. While there are some fights which make wonderful use of the hardware, the way the rest of the enemies hold their weapons and conduct themselves feels unimmersive, detracting from the feel of the game.
3.5/5
The bamboo minigame was cool.