Leehzart
This is not a review of the full game, I just want to talk about the DLC. Thanks to the work of Eiowlta, DarTisD, Sayucchi, Polyglot Sammy, Gabriulio and Apollo, the DLC content for Innocent Sin is finally available in English.
This DLC consists of small stories or "movies" that you can play at the Climax Theater. There are 9 in total, but the most important ones, at least for me, are the ones called Dark Shadow 1, 2 and 3. These were written by Tadashi Satomi, the original writer for Persona 1 and the Persona 2 duology. These stories were meant to connect the events of Persona 1 with Persona 2, and setting a little bit of lore for the Tatsuya scenario in the psp version of Eternal Punishment.
We get to see how the events of Persona 1 affected the lives of the main characters in that game, and how both routes, the SEBEC one and the Snow Queen, actually happen at the same time, which I think is pretty cool. I'm a little sad that Mark and Yuka did not appeared, but at least they were mentioned.
Another interesting bit is that the main characters of Persona 1, still know how to unlock the power of Persona in other people, which is a nice call back. Finally we learn that Philemon has the power to send people back in time.
That's about it, very short but with a lot of cool details. I'm so glad that we are finally able to play this. The translations community is awesome.
This DLC consists of small stories or "movies" that you can play at the Climax Theater. There are 9 in total, but the most important ones, at least for me, are the ones called Dark Shadow 1, 2 and 3. These were written by Tadashi Satomi, the original writer for Persona 1 and the Persona 2 duology. These stories were meant to connect the events of Persona 1 with Persona 2, and setting a little bit of lore for the Tatsuya scenario in the psp version of Eternal Punishment.
We get to see how the events of Persona 1 affected the lives of the main characters in that game, and how both routes, the SEBEC one and the Snow Queen, actually happen at the same time, which I think is pretty cool. I'm a little sad that Mark and Yuka did not appeared, but at least they were mentioned.
Another interesting bit is that the main characters of Persona 1, still know how to unlock the power of Persona in other people, which is a nice call back. Finally we learn that Philemon has the power to send people back in time.
That's about it, very short but with a lot of cool details. I'm so glad that we are finally able to play this. The translations community is awesome.
So this review will only be about the Snow Queen route. I played the SEBEC route years ago, so it's not that fresh in my memory, however I can confidently say that if you plan on playing this game at least once, go for the SEBEC route.
So yeah, I love Persona 1. I'm the Persona 1 strongest soldier, I will do the 10 hours grind for the max ambrosia run no problems. But I cannot recommend this route to other people, because I know everyone will hate it.
Still I will try to tell you about the good things. The Snow Queen route has an interesting plot, some may say it's even better than the SEBEC one, and you get to play as Yukino or Yuki, which is not possible in the other route. And since Yukino is an important part of the Persona 2 duology, it's nice to see her younger years play out.
Another great thing about this route is the how to unlock it. You have to learn these rumors around the school about a play with cursed mask. You need to run around, collecting information and talking to the right people in the right order to trigger the event to start the route. These type of things are awesome and I'm sad that thanks to the internet we don't get to have moments like this anymore. Imagine being a kid in high school in 1996 that just finished Persona, and suddenly you heard a rumor about a another huge campaign hidden in the game, and this rumor is about an in game rumor, I would have rushed home so quickly and would have play non stop all over the weekend just to see if it was real, man so cool...
Anyway, back on topic. Once you start the route you get to choose which of the three dungeons do first, and the order will affect your playthrough a lot. Also inside these dungeons you will find options that can affect the ending. So in theory, all of these paths will offer a lot of replay value, sadly here's when the game stops being fun...
About the negative things... I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, the gameplay will drive you crazy. I don't have an issue with the random encounter, which is one of the things that people complain the most, I think it's okay. The real issue the length of the battles.
In this game, your party has 5 members, which already makes the battles really long, and on top of that some battles have 6 enemies. So imagine 11 turns for just one round, it is pretty exhausting. And it is not well balanced either, because sometimes those 6 enemies will spam insta-kill skills, or at the beginning of the battle they will use 6 powerful area magic before you can even act once. So prepare to lose randomly at times.
Another stressful thing about this route is that the dungeons have a time limit, and once you enter one you cannot get out. So if enter one and you start to get a hard time in the upper floors, there's nothing much you can do. All those levels that you gained will go away if you lose, meaning that you cannot grind inside dungeons. "Luckily" there is an extra dungeon where you can grind, but it is not open until you beat the first dungeon, so if you want to beat the hardest dungeon first you will have to grind at the very beginning of the game. That's right, you have to fight over and over and over again against the low level enemies of the hospital.
And you may ask, then why would I want to beat the hardest dungeon first? Well that's because this game is a little evil and that's the only way to unlock the ultimate persona of all your party members. (If you do the dungeons from the easiest to the hardest you at least will get the ultimate persona for two party members, and you get to decide which.)
Finally you need to be around the level 60 to beat the final boss, getting there without grinding is impossible. You will get there around level 35 to 40. It is possible to beat the final boss at level 40, it did it, but the fight will take an hour, because, you guess it, the final boss will heal itself, a lot. So be ready.
So yeah, that's the Snow Queen route for you. I hope you have a blast if you decide to do it. I sure did, there's this weird feeling of achievement after beating something like this, yeah anyone can beat a hard game, but a tedious one, that's the real challenge.
So yeah, I love Persona 1. I'm the Persona 1 strongest soldier, I will do the 10 hours grind for the max ambrosia run no problems. But I cannot recommend this route to other people, because I know everyone will hate it.
Still I will try to tell you about the good things. The Snow Queen route has an interesting plot, some may say it's even better than the SEBEC one, and you get to play as Yukino or Yuki, which is not possible in the other route. And since Yukino is an important part of the Persona 2 duology, it's nice to see her younger years play out.
Another great thing about this route is the how to unlock it. You have to learn these rumors around the school about a play with cursed mask. You need to run around, collecting information and talking to the right people in the right order to trigger the event to start the route. These type of things are awesome and I'm sad that thanks to the internet we don't get to have moments like this anymore. Imagine being a kid in high school in 1996 that just finished Persona, and suddenly you heard a rumor about a another huge campaign hidden in the game, and this rumor is about an in game rumor, I would have rushed home so quickly and would have play non stop all over the weekend just to see if it was real, man so cool...
Anyway, back on topic. Once you start the route you get to choose which of the three dungeons do first, and the order will affect your playthrough a lot. Also inside these dungeons you will find options that can affect the ending. So in theory, all of these paths will offer a lot of replay value, sadly here's when the game stops being fun...
About the negative things... I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, the gameplay will drive you crazy. I don't have an issue with the random encounter, which is one of the things that people complain the most, I think it's okay. The real issue the length of the battles.
In this game, your party has 5 members, which already makes the battles really long, and on top of that some battles have 6 enemies. So imagine 11 turns for just one round, it is pretty exhausting. And it is not well balanced either, because sometimes those 6 enemies will spam insta-kill skills, or at the beginning of the battle they will use 6 powerful area magic before you can even act once. So prepare to lose randomly at times.
Another stressful thing about this route is that the dungeons have a time limit, and once you enter one you cannot get out. So if enter one and you start to get a hard time in the upper floors, there's nothing much you can do. All those levels that you gained will go away if you lose, meaning that you cannot grind inside dungeons. "Luckily" there is an extra dungeon where you can grind, but it is not open until you beat the first dungeon, so if you want to beat the hardest dungeon first you will have to grind at the very beginning of the game. That's right, you have to fight over and over and over again against the low level enemies of the hospital.
And you may ask, then why would I want to beat the hardest dungeon first? Well that's because this game is a little evil and that's the only way to unlock the ultimate persona of all your party members. (If you do the dungeons from the easiest to the hardest you at least will get the ultimate persona for two party members, and you get to decide which.)
Finally you need to be around the level 60 to beat the final boss, getting there without grinding is impossible. You will get there around level 35 to 40. It is possible to beat the final boss at level 40, it did it, but the fight will take an hour, because, you guess it, the final boss will heal itself, a lot. So be ready.
So yeah, that's the Snow Queen route for you. I hope you have a blast if you decide to do it. I sure did, there's this weird feeling of achievement after beating something like this, yeah anyone can beat a hard game, but a tedious one, that's the real challenge.
So yeah, it is short, but I still love it. I was impress by how much they managed to change the gameplay from the base game. I mean is not a huge change but they didn't have to, they could just reuse the same mechanics, so huge props for doing that.
The only small complain that I have is that the final act lacks some punch, some emotion, there is however a really cool scene after credits.
There's not much to say, if you like tactical rpgs, you are a persona fan, and you liked the base game, I think you will enjoy this.
The only small complain that I have is that the final act lacks some punch, some emotion, there is however a really cool scene after credits.
There's not much to say, if you like tactical rpgs, you are a persona fan, and you liked the base game, I think you will enjoy this.
I'm a little disappointed to be honest, but also I had a lot of fun, so that's why I'm giving it 4 stars.
For a DLC I think you will find a lot of value here. The Splatoon gameplay is already really good, so adding modifiers and variations to it makes a really entertained experience. Every run will play differently from the last one. However I wish there was more variation in bosses, enemies and level designs.
I like to think this was an experiment to see how a roguelike splatoon would play, and it was successful, so I really hope they double down on it and make full game someday.
I also want to mentioned that one of my favorite aspects of Splatoon is the lore and the story, and with how good Octo Expansion was I had really high expectations for this DLC. Sadly this was the weakest part. It feels like they sacrifice a lot of the story to make the roguelike parts works. Maybe it was for the best, but I'm still really sad about it. Oh well, hopefully this is not the end for the Splatoon 3 content.
BTW happy Nintendo Switch anniversary!
For a DLC I think you will find a lot of value here. The Splatoon gameplay is already really good, so adding modifiers and variations to it makes a really entertained experience. Every run will play differently from the last one. However I wish there was more variation in bosses, enemies and level designs.
I like to think this was an experiment to see how a roguelike splatoon would play, and it was successful, so I really hope they double down on it and make full game someday.
I also want to mentioned that one of my favorite aspects of Splatoon is the lore and the story, and with how good Octo Expansion was I had really high expectations for this DLC. Sadly this was the weakest part. It feels like they sacrifice a lot of the story to make the roguelike parts works. Maybe it was for the best, but I'm still really sad about it. Oh well, hopefully this is not the end for the Splatoon 3 content.
BTW happy Nintendo Switch anniversary!
This is a must play right after you finish the main story. A lot of things that were missing in the remake from the original game are here. And they were changed just right to fit in Ada's side of the story.
There's also a lot of new stuff to keep you engaged and surprised along the way. And the games expects you to already know how to play because the difficulty is way higher than Leon's campaign right of the bat.
There's also new moves, new weapons, new enemies, new areas and even new music. This DLC feels a like a whole game so it's for sure worth it. Go for it!
There's also a lot of new stuff to keep you engaged and surprised along the way. And the games expects you to already know how to play because the difficulty is way higher than Leon's campaign right of the bat.
There's also new moves, new weapons, new enemies, new areas and even new music. This DLC feels a like a whole game so it's for sure worth it. Go for it!
2023
This game is similar to the Persona Q games in terms of writing, length and pacing. You will expirience a very wholesome story. But in terms of gameplay, it is very different to everything else in the whole Persona franchise.
The tactic gameplay, it's simple but efective. However it will start slowly and it will take some time to develop, but once you get the hang of it, you are in for great amount of strategies that can even get you to win battles in 1 turn.
Sadly, the traditional fusion mechanics is one of the weakest of the whole megami franchise. You can only select one skill to pass in every fusion, which limited a lot the combat options. But it evens out with all the option every character has, still it could have been a lot better, at least for the people who likes to break games with insane strategies.
The levels are actually more fun than they look like, you can see them as puzzles that are solved by bringing the right characters with the right skills at the right positions, so when you get the perfect combination it will feel very gratifying.
The art style, altough not for everyone, is not as simple it looks. For example, the character portraits have a lot of variations, and whats even more impresive, they are not the same whenever a character is looking left or right. It has a lot of charm, and Im sure you will love it eventually.
The music might be the weakest point but it still rocks, maybe it's not as good as the main games and not even close the Persona Q soundtracks, but still very enjoyable.
Overall I had a pleasant surprise with this game, I wasn't expecting much, but it was for sure one of the best games of 2023. However, it's tricky to recommend this game, you need to be a tactics fan or a huge persona fan to really enjoy it, luckily I am both, so win win!
The tactic gameplay, it's simple but efective. However it will start slowly and it will take some time to develop, but once you get the hang of it, you are in for great amount of strategies that can even get you to win battles in 1 turn.
Sadly, the traditional fusion mechanics is one of the weakest of the whole megami franchise. You can only select one skill to pass in every fusion, which limited a lot the combat options. But it evens out with all the option every character has, still it could have been a lot better, at least for the people who likes to break games with insane strategies.
The levels are actually more fun than they look like, you can see them as puzzles that are solved by bringing the right characters with the right skills at the right positions, so when you get the perfect combination it will feel very gratifying.
The art style, altough not for everyone, is not as simple it looks. For example, the character portraits have a lot of variations, and whats even more impresive, they are not the same whenever a character is looking left or right. It has a lot of charm, and Im sure you will love it eventually.
The music might be the weakest point but it still rocks, maybe it's not as good as the main games and not even close the Persona Q soundtracks, but still very enjoyable.
Overall I had a pleasant surprise with this game, I wasn't expecting much, but it was for sure one of the best games of 2023. However, it's tricky to recommend this game, you need to be a tactics fan or a huge persona fan to really enjoy it, luckily I am both, so win win!
The lore for Pokémon Scarlet was already amazing, and this DLC expanded it even further, so much that I now think this may be my favorite Pokémon story.
Both new maps were fun to explore, and there were some good fights. The music, as always, was great. The new characters are amazing design and personality wise. And there were way more new Pokémon than I was expected for just a DLC.
Regarding the length, you can finish the story rather quickly, but if you try to complete everything it will give you hours and hours of content.
Overall, it was a great experience, and I can't wait to play the epilogue.
Both new maps were fun to explore, and there were some good fights. The music, as always, was great. The new characters are amazing design and personality wise. And there were way more new Pokémon than I was expected for just a DLC.
Regarding the length, you can finish the story rather quickly, but if you try to complete everything it will give you hours and hours of content.
Overall, it was a great experience, and I can't wait to play the epilogue.
2023
I'm so happy that we are still getting games like these, focused on visuals and music, and just being a fun and creative experience.
This game was the breath of fresh air that we needed. Now days we are filled with hyper realistic boring looking games with the same mechanics, or gigantic empty worlds with repetitive quests, so seeing something like this really stand out to me.
I mean games are supposed to be an escape from reality, not just a copy of it or a movie. I wish more companies follow this artistic view.
So if you wanna have a nice time, play this game!
This game was the breath of fresh air that we needed. Now days we are filled with hyper realistic boring looking games with the same mechanics, or gigantic empty worlds with repetitive quests, so seeing something like this really stand out to me.
I mean games are supposed to be an escape from reality, not just a copy of it or a movie. I wish more companies follow this artistic view.
So if you wanna have a nice time, play this game!
2023
After Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 4 is my most replayed game. I played it for the first time on release date on the Gamecube and since then I have played almost every port. I played it so much that I can just play the whole thing in my mind. Maybe it's just bias because it's one of my favorite games, but I think it has aged very well, so I wasn't that sold on the idea of a remake. However Capcom has been on streak of great games recently and Resident Evil 7 and 8 were amazing so I had faith.
Now after finally playing I can say Capcom delivered. Yet another amazing game. My god, it was way better than I expected.
It took me a while to get used to the new realistic controls. Leon feels so heavy to move and the aiming is way harder than the original. But after you get into it, fighting enemies feels amazing. With the new parry mechanic the combat flows so much better, and there's some great qol like guns shortcuts that let's you play without interruptions.
The visual and the soundtracks also played a huge part, specially the soundtrack, there's a lot of new tracks that enhance the exploration and the combat a lot, and there's also arrangements of old tracks that hits you just right.
I love how they take into consideration people who already played the original into the new level design. They change some of the little moments so they can still surprise us, like putting an enemy where Luis was supposed to be and things like that. And the way they merge some of the areas so that everything feels new and old at the same time was a nice touch. They even fixed some parts of the original that were too easy, like the Salazar fight. The new fight is actually one of the best one of the game. And the over all feel of the game is a lot scarier.
Now the question is, do I think this game is better that the original? Well I'd say you absolutely have to play both. I don't think any of these games replace the other. I think they both complete each other. The first one has more fun and silly stuff like the fire breathing dragon statues in the lava room, and the remake has better character interaction and a deeper view of the lore. However that doesn't mean the original didn't have serious moments or that the new one doesn't have fun stuff, Leon still has cheesy lines.
And speaking of content that is not in the remake, there's some but it's not a big deal. The only one that I really miss was the fight with U3, but I heard it's on the Ada DLC, so I'll look forward to that. And the game has a lot, and I mean a lot of new content, and it doesn't feel out of place which is great.
The only thing that I didn't like that much was Krauser. His new design and the fights with him were a little underwhelming. They gave him more backstory which I think was good and really needed but everything else was a bit off. Still that is my only complain and it was not enough to affect my score for this game. So yeah, Resident Evil 4 is still good!
As a side note, people were mad that this game was nominated for game of the year when it was just a remake, but I have to say this: I'm sorry, this remake has more new content than Tears of the Kingdom has over Breath of the Wild... yeah I know, again I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to point that out.
Now after finally playing I can say Capcom delivered. Yet another amazing game. My god, it was way better than I expected.
It took me a while to get used to the new realistic controls. Leon feels so heavy to move and the aiming is way harder than the original. But after you get into it, fighting enemies feels amazing. With the new parry mechanic the combat flows so much better, and there's some great qol like guns shortcuts that let's you play without interruptions.
The visual and the soundtracks also played a huge part, specially the soundtrack, there's a lot of new tracks that enhance the exploration and the combat a lot, and there's also arrangements of old tracks that hits you just right.
I love how they take into consideration people who already played the original into the new level design. They change some of the little moments so they can still surprise us, like putting an enemy where Luis was supposed to be and things like that. And the way they merge some of the areas so that everything feels new and old at the same time was a nice touch. They even fixed some parts of the original that were too easy, like the Salazar fight. The new fight is actually one of the best one of the game. And the over all feel of the game is a lot scarier.
Now the question is, do I think this game is better that the original? Well I'd say you absolutely have to play both. I don't think any of these games replace the other. I think they both complete each other. The first one has more fun and silly stuff like the fire breathing dragon statues in the lava room, and the remake has better character interaction and a deeper view of the lore. However that doesn't mean the original didn't have serious moments or that the new one doesn't have fun stuff, Leon still has cheesy lines.
And speaking of content that is not in the remake, there's some but it's not a big deal. The only one that I really miss was the fight with U3, but I heard it's on the Ada DLC, so I'll look forward to that. And the game has a lot, and I mean a lot of new content, and it doesn't feel out of place which is great.
The only thing that I didn't like that much was Krauser. His new design and the fights with him were a little underwhelming. They gave him more backstory which I think was good and really needed but everything else was a bit off. Still that is my only complain and it was not enough to affect my score for this game. So yeah, Resident Evil 4 is still good!
As a side note, people were mad that this game was nominated for game of the year when it was just a remake, but I have to say this: I'm sorry, this remake has more new content than Tears of the Kingdom has over Breath of the Wild... yeah I know, again I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted to point that out.
2023
Nope.
This was such a strange game. It has great ideas that expand the Pikmin series in a lot of cool ways. Like 3 new type of pikmins, the ability to control two groups of pikmin at the same time, enhancements and skills for your captains, battle items. This was the perfect recipe to make an amazing sequel but then the game never uses any of these.
Instead, it reuses a lot of the maps from the first game, put little new content on them and then force you to play in caves for the rest of the game. And these caves are a huge problem. First of all, they are random generated so there's no level design at all, you can just find a cave that insta-kills all of your pikmin the moment you enter or you can find one with all the treasures and the exit right there next to you without the necessity to fight enemies.
The only good thing about the caves is that some of them have unique boss fights at the end, but by the time you reach them you are already exhausted or bored by the monotonous look of every floor, resetting a bunch of times because some unfair thing killed all your pikmin or the fact that there's nothing fun to do in there.
In the first game, every level was a big puzzle, and exploring the world while solving it was the appeal. Taking decision and managing your time and resources was engaging and immersive. Now these caves have non of that, there's nothing to explore and no decisions to make, you just have to go from point A to point B while avoiding danger.
The whole game feels like a chore, like the homework you gotta do before playing games. I'm glad that it's over, and so glad that there's no caves in Pikmin 3, can't wait to play it!
This was such a strange game. It has great ideas that expand the Pikmin series in a lot of cool ways. Like 3 new type of pikmins, the ability to control two groups of pikmin at the same time, enhancements and skills for your captains, battle items. This was the perfect recipe to make an amazing sequel but then the game never uses any of these.
Instead, it reuses a lot of the maps from the first game, put little new content on them and then force you to play in caves for the rest of the game. And these caves are a huge problem. First of all, they are random generated so there's no level design at all, you can just find a cave that insta-kills all of your pikmin the moment you enter or you can find one with all the treasures and the exit right there next to you without the necessity to fight enemies.
The only good thing about the caves is that some of them have unique boss fights at the end, but by the time you reach them you are already exhausted or bored by the monotonous look of every floor, resetting a bunch of times because some unfair thing killed all your pikmin or the fact that there's nothing fun to do in there.
In the first game, every level was a big puzzle, and exploring the world while solving it was the appeal. Taking decision and managing your time and resources was engaging and immersive. Now these caves have non of that, there's nothing to explore and no decisions to make, you just have to go from point A to point B while avoiding danger.
The whole game feels like a chore, like the homework you gotta do before playing games. I'm glad that it's over, and so glad that there's no caves in Pikmin 3, can't wait to play it!
Never expected for Mario Kart 8 to make such a comeback, but I'm grateful for it. This booster course pass is like a new mario kart game added to the main game. And the new characters and balance patches make everything feel new. A little sad that there were no new vehicles, but still a pretty fun and great experience!
2013
I played this game when it came out on the Wii on 2009. Back then, when I finished I thought that was my favorite game of all time, but I never played it again since then.
So I finally took the chance to play it again but this time on this new version for the Vita, and I was curious (and worried) to find out if I will like it as much as I did before.
Turns out it is still peak!!! What a game, I just finished and I could played all over again. 14 years later and I still think this is my favorite game, I even think it is better than before, most likely because I can appreciate it better now that I'm older and have a little more experience with games.
But the question is, why do I like it so much?
Well for starter, the art style is beyond amazing. Every character, every enemy, every background, every sprite, every frame is a literal piece of art. I get happy just looking at the it.
The combat is very addictive once you get the hang of it, and the boss battles are the highlight of the game.
The story has that Vanillaware charm, with lovable characters and heartfelt moments, while using the Japanese folklore and mythology.
And the music just sealed the deal. The seamless transitions between area songs and battle songs makes traversing the world an incredible experience.
I know that this game is not for everyone, and I understand the complains that a lot of people have. But for me, this game checks all my boxes, and I have a weak spot for the Edo period as well. So yeah, best game!
I can't wait to start with the DLC. Hopefully one day we will see this game in glorious 4K!
So I finally took the chance to play it again but this time on this new version for the Vita, and I was curious (and worried) to find out if I will like it as much as I did before.
Turns out it is still peak!!! What a game, I just finished and I could played all over again. 14 years later and I still think this is my favorite game, I even think it is better than before, most likely because I can appreciate it better now that I'm older and have a little more experience with games.
But the question is, why do I like it so much?
Well for starter, the art style is beyond amazing. Every character, every enemy, every background, every sprite, every frame is a literal piece of art. I get happy just looking at the it.
The combat is very addictive once you get the hang of it, and the boss battles are the highlight of the game.
The story has that Vanillaware charm, with lovable characters and heartfelt moments, while using the Japanese folklore and mythology.
And the music just sealed the deal. The seamless transitions between area songs and battle songs makes traversing the world an incredible experience.
I know that this game is not for everyone, and I understand the complains that a lot of people have. But for me, this game checks all my boxes, and I have a weak spot for the Edo period as well. So yeah, best game!
I can't wait to start with the DLC. Hopefully one day we will see this game in glorious 4K!
Amazing game! Probably on the best first party games in recent years. The movement feels so good, it's like a modern take on classic Mario games, definitely different from the New Super Mario Bros movement.
The levels are short, but way way different between each other, almost every stage has a new enemy and a new feature. The badge system and the two type of characters (the Mario-likes and the Yoshi-likes) can make the levels feel different in a second playthrough, so it has a lot of replay value.
A lot of people has mentioned that the boss fights are bad, however I didn't mind it that much, because all the castle stages are super fun, fast paced and sometimes even challenging, so I see the levels as the main attraction and the boss fight just as a little extra at the end. That being said, I think the final boss is one of the best fights in all mainline Mario games.
10/10 wonderful experience.
The levels are short, but way way different between each other, almost every stage has a new enemy and a new feature. The badge system and the two type of characters (the Mario-likes and the Yoshi-likes) can make the levels feel different in a second playthrough, so it has a lot of replay value.
A lot of people has mentioned that the boss fights are bad, however I didn't mind it that much, because all the castle stages are super fun, fast paced and sometimes even challenging, so I see the levels as the main attraction and the boss fight just as a little extra at the end. That being said, I think the final boss is one of the best fights in all mainline Mario games.
10/10 wonderful experience.
2023
What a great game, way harder than it looks though, but I say this as good thing. The game is not afraid to punish you for even the simple mistakes, but when you finally solve a puzzle it feels really rewarding.
This review contains spoilers
This review is not for everybody (Zelda 1 reference)
If you like Breath of the Wild, you will like Tears of the Kingdom. If your favorite game is BotW then do yourself a favor and do not read this or any other review and do not watch any videos about it. Go completely blind and you will have a great time!
However,
If you did not like BotW then this is the review for you. I'm gonna compare both games and list the most common issues people have with the first one to see if Nintendo fixed or improved in those areas. Finally, you can find all the spoilers at the end. Let's get started.
-Combat
BotW: too simple for a huge game, you get all the combat options from the beginning and you don’t get to learn any skills along the way, which makes the combat loop feel stale and repetitive in the long run. Also, there’s no real reason to fight enemies because the rewards are not worth the resources you will spend thanks to the break mechanic.
TotK: the combat remains almost the same, no new weapon styles. However, thanks to the fuse ability, fighting enemies is actually worth it, because you will get materials that will make your weapons stronger, so the bigger the enemy, the bigger the reward. Also there is a Spoiler#1 that can change the combat a little bit.
-World and Exploration
BotW: the map is so big that it feels empty in some areas, and there’s no motivation to explore it after a while because you will only find shrines or koroks.
TotK: The map no longer feels empty, there’s always something to do in most areas, and this time there’s more collectables and things to find. See list in Spoiler#2
-Enemies
BotW: only has 12 different enemies which is too low for a map that large. Just as a small comparison, the original Zelda for NES had 26 different enemies not counting bosses.
TotK: there’s 9 new enemies and 11 returning enemies for a total of 20 enemies, the one missing are the guardians. For a full list check Spoiler #3
-Dungeons
BotW: all 4 Divine Beast were too short, too easy and all of them look the same; a letdown for a franchise that is known for its great dungeon designs.
TotK: the dungeons are way better than the Divine Beasts but not as good as the traditional dungeons. They look different from each other, have different themes and mechanics. However, they are still too short,there are no maps, compass or small or big keys, no classic items inside, no minibosses, and they all follow the same structure: hit 4 or 5 switches to open the boss room. For more info check Spoiler#4
-Bosses
BotW: all the main bosses look so similar that it feels that you are fighting the same thing 4 times. Even the final boss has this same look and feel.
TotK: actually one of the highlights of the game so I don’t want to say too much. If you want to see the names check Spoiler#5
-Music
BotW: the music of this game is subtle and minimalistic, it’s not bad but it’s not as memorable as the music in past entries.
TotK: it reuses a lot of tracks from the previous game but it has a lot of new music as well. The music from the dungeons and the Depths is good, there’s great new arrangements of past locations from BotW like Hyrule Castle, and the shrines have a new song that is better for puzzle solving. Finally, the new combat music is amazing. Overall the music is more noticeable this time around.
-Story
BotW: one of the weakest points of the game. The player's actions do not affect the main quest in a meaningful way because all the important bits are memories of things that have already happened. All the player can do is beat the bad guy and rescue the princess. All the important characters are already gone so you can’t interact with them. Also, the characters in the present do not add anything to the story.
TotK: the story is a little better but it’s not great. There is a lot of wasted potential and a lot of unanswered questions about the lore and the connection with the previous game. Also, for those internet theorists: no. There is no mention of Skyward Sword events, no mention of the Twili, no mentions of Hylia or the Triforce, no timelines merge. It's all self-contained. For more, check Spoiler#7
Finally some FAQs and comments
Is it really just the same map from Breath of the Wild?
No, the game has three maps: the sky, the surface, and the depths. The Sky is very small, there’s not much to do and the isles look very similar to each other. The Surface, even if it uses the same map as BotW, has a lot of new things to do and new places to explore like caves. Finally the Depths is a huge underworld map that is in complete darkness and it’s difficult to traverse. Definitely one of the best parts of the game, so I don’t know why they never mentioned it in any trailer. This alone would have made a lot of indecisive people preorder the game.
How long is the main quest?
It is very long, longer than the previous game. You have multiple main quests and also something new called side adventures, which are bigger than sidequests and help the world-building a lot. Took me 36 hours to finish the game and I still have a lot of side adventures to do.
Is there any content in BotW that is no longer in TotK?
All of the Sheikah tech is gone, but everything is pretty much replaced by Zonai tech.
The bomb runes are gone, but the game has bomb flowers which you can attach to your shield for bomb jumping, or simply throw them to open paths in caves. The stasis and cryonis runes are also gone, and there's no real replacement for those. However, the new tools give you way more options to tackle puzzles, so you won’t be missing them too much.
There is one armor set that was cut and that is the Gerudo Outfit, so you can no longer dress as a girl.
Any new issues?
Yes, the game has so many options that sometimes it is hard to navigate through so many menus. While using a bow, you have the choice to fuse your arrows with materials. However, to do so you will have to go to a menu with more than 100 materials if you are already very deep into the game, so selecting the one you need is a chore. This disrupts the flow of some battles so much that you might prefer to just not use it at all, which shows a big design flaw.
Another issue might be the complexity of the Ultrahand skill. It gives the player total freedom and creativity, but setting all the pieces in the right spot and the right angle is very time consuming. It drags the answers to some puzzles more than you want to. That's why the game has another skill called Autobuild, that lets you save your build for future use so you don't have to go through all that again. However Autobuild is not available in shrines.
Finally there’s one more issue but it is related to a new ability so check Spoiler#6 for that.
SPOILERS
Spoiler#1
After beating a dungeon, you will get a companion that will fight alongside you and you can have multiple companions at the same time. Which makes fighting easier because they will get the enemies’ attention, can take hits from you, and attack. Also, the final companion is a mecha that you can ride and has its own combat mechanics. However, it’s kinda sluggish and it uses energy cells to move. Finally, you can learn a new combat skill with the Yiga Clan.
Spoiler#2
New things to collect:
Sage’s Will: makes your companions stronger
Poes: trade them for items
Bubbul Gems: trade them for items
Crystallized Charge: to make more Energy Cells
Schema Stone: blueprints for the ultrahand builds
Paraglider Fabrics
Old Maps
12 new Armor sets and 5 new armor pieces
Spoiler#3
New enemies:
Like Like (doesn’t move or eat your shield, but they drop chests when defeated,) Evermean (trees that attack, don’t have an original design, it just a regular tree that moves,) Aerocuda (new flying creature,) Gibdo (looks like ReDeads, there’s a variant with wings,) Boss Bokoblin (just a big bokoblin,) Horriblin (found in caves, they can climb walls and ceilings,) Construct, Little Frox (small creatures of the Depths,) Gloom Hands (looks like a Floormaster from Wind Waker, but doesn’t take you to other places, just attacks)
Spoiler#4
List of Dungeons
Wind Temple, Fire Temple, Water Temple and Lighting Temple.
Hyrule Castle is also a dungeon but it’s smaller than the one from BotW.
There’s also a Spirit Temple in the Depths but it doesn’t have its own map.
Spoiler#5
New bosses:
-Dungeon bosses: Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo, Phantom Ganon and Seized Construct.
-Mini bosses: Gleeok, Frox, Moragia, Flux Construct.
Spoiler#6
The companions that you get after beating a dungeon are a big help, and everyone has a special skill that lets you do different things. However, in order to use this skill you have to be by the companion’s side and then press the A button. The issue with this is that your companions move on their own and sometimes when you need them and they are very far away, so you have to go and get them. And when you have multiple companions at once sometimes it’s very difficult to interact with the one you want because everyone is moving, especially in battles. Overall, it is a great idea in theory but with a very chaotic execution. It would have been way better to have another menu that will use the selected skill no matter the position of the companion. But then again, another menu on top of the other tons of menus.
Spoiler#7
The game story goes like this:
Link and Zelda find Ganondorf sealed below the castle, the seal is broken and Ganondorf awakens and destroys the Master Sword, the floor crumbles and Zelda transport herself to the past by accident to avoid death and Link is saved by the Spirit of Rauru, the first King of Hyrule and the one that sealed Ganondorf. It seems a lot of time has passed between this incident and the moment Link wakes up in the sky but it’s never mentioned how much. When Link returns to the surface he discovers that Hyrule has a lot of problems in each region, and that those troubles started with Zelda. Later, Link finds out that Zelda was actually Phantom Ganon. So when Link saves a region by clearing a dungeon, the characters that help him will awaken as a sage and they will see a memory of the real Zelda in the past telling the sage of that time to help Link fight Ganondorf in the future. So the more sages you awaken the easier the fight with Ganondorf will be. There are 5 sages in total. And this is one of the main quests.
The second main quest is to find all of Zelda’s memories. When Zelda transports herself to the past, she reaches the time when Hyrule was created and she meets Rauru and Sonia, the first King and Queen of Hyrule. She also meets Ganondorf, when he swears loyalty to the King, but later he disguises himself as Zelda to kill Sonia and to steal her Secret Stone. With this stone, Ganondorf turns himself into the Demon King. Rauru gives all the sages a Sacred Stone to fight Ganondorf but he is too strong, so Rauru sacrifices his own life to seal him. Zelda tries to find a way to defeat Ganondorf knowing that the seal with break in the future, so she uses her time travel powers to bring the remains of the Master Sword to the past and performs a forbidden ritual to turn herself into a dragon to gain immortality so that she can be with the Master Sword for thousands of years repairing its powers. After this you see all that by gathering all the memories you can get about Zelda’s dragon form and get the Master Sword.
With that done, all that is left is to find Ganondorf’s location, which you can get by exploring the Depths and fighting against Master Koga and the Yiga Clan. You will learn that Ganondorf is still in the same place he was at the beginning of the game: below Hyrule’s Castle. You go there, you beat Ganondorf, he gets mad and he performs the same forbidden ritual as Zelda to turn himself into a dragon taking Link with him into the sky. Dragon Zelda joins the fight and they defeat Ganondorf. The spirit of Rauru and Sonia appear and they turn Zelda back into human form and the game ends.
So, same thing with the previous game, Zelda is not an active character, all the things she can do are already done so it doesn’t have real weight and we just get to see flashbacks of it. At the beginning of the game we can see how Zelda interacts with Link and it is honestly one of the best parts so it’s a shame that there isn’t more of it in the game. Also, turning Zelda back to her human form just for the sake of a happy ending makes her sacrifice meaningless, losing all the emotional setup of that scene.
Link is also just there. He was asleep while the world was changing at the beginning of the game, so he didn’t get to be part of that, he doesn’t interact with important characters like Sonia (not even once.) And he beats Ganondorf fairly easily with no real build up or emotional tension, there's no mention of the Master Sword being better this time because of Zelda’s sacrifice, it's just a very flat moment.
Ganondorf is such a wasted potential. His design and voice acting make him a very intimidating character. However, he does nothing, he’s just waiting below the castle for Link to arrive, and there’s no explanation why. Is he wounded? Is he resting to regain his power? Is he able to transform back and forth into the Demon King? Can he go to the surface? The game never answers this. Also, his motivation is really weak, he is just bad and wants to rule the world just because. There is also the big question, is he related to Calamity Ganon? Is malice the same thing as gloom? Why does no one mention any of this? And speaking of Breath of the Wild, where are all the Sheikah Towers or the Sheikah technology? Where are the Divine beasts? Why is a game that was called “The Sequel to Breath of the Wild” for so many years not actually a sequel?
So yeah, the narrative of this game is the point that bothers me the most. I was actually having a good time with the game but after watching the ending I can’t help but to feel disappointment, so it’s kinda difficult for me to keep playing and going for a 100%.
How can they put so much work into the gameplay and the world and so little into the story?
So this was my review. I hope I helped you make a decision about whether or not you should spend $70 on this game.
If you like Breath of the Wild, you will like Tears of the Kingdom. If your favorite game is BotW then do yourself a favor and do not read this or any other review and do not watch any videos about it. Go completely blind and you will have a great time!
However,
If you did not like BotW then this is the review for you. I'm gonna compare both games and list the most common issues people have with the first one to see if Nintendo fixed or improved in those areas. Finally, you can find all the spoilers at the end. Let's get started.
-Combat
BotW: too simple for a huge game, you get all the combat options from the beginning and you don’t get to learn any skills along the way, which makes the combat loop feel stale and repetitive in the long run. Also, there’s no real reason to fight enemies because the rewards are not worth the resources you will spend thanks to the break mechanic.
TotK: the combat remains almost the same, no new weapon styles. However, thanks to the fuse ability, fighting enemies is actually worth it, because you will get materials that will make your weapons stronger, so the bigger the enemy, the bigger the reward. Also there is a Spoiler#1 that can change the combat a little bit.
-World and Exploration
BotW: the map is so big that it feels empty in some areas, and there’s no motivation to explore it after a while because you will only find shrines or koroks.
TotK: The map no longer feels empty, there’s always something to do in most areas, and this time there’s more collectables and things to find. See list in Spoiler#2
-Enemies
BotW: only has 12 different enemies which is too low for a map that large. Just as a small comparison, the original Zelda for NES had 26 different enemies not counting bosses.
TotK: there’s 9 new enemies and 11 returning enemies for a total of 20 enemies, the one missing are the guardians. For a full list check Spoiler #3
-Dungeons
BotW: all 4 Divine Beast were too short, too easy and all of them look the same; a letdown for a franchise that is known for its great dungeon designs.
TotK: the dungeons are way better than the Divine Beasts but not as good as the traditional dungeons. They look different from each other, have different themes and mechanics. However, they are still too short,there are no maps, compass or small or big keys, no classic items inside, no minibosses, and they all follow the same structure: hit 4 or 5 switches to open the boss room. For more info check Spoiler#4
-Bosses
BotW: all the main bosses look so similar that it feels that you are fighting the same thing 4 times. Even the final boss has this same look and feel.
TotK: actually one of the highlights of the game so I don’t want to say too much. If you want to see the names check Spoiler#5
-Music
BotW: the music of this game is subtle and minimalistic, it’s not bad but it’s not as memorable as the music in past entries.
TotK: it reuses a lot of tracks from the previous game but it has a lot of new music as well. The music from the dungeons and the Depths is good, there’s great new arrangements of past locations from BotW like Hyrule Castle, and the shrines have a new song that is better for puzzle solving. Finally, the new combat music is amazing. Overall the music is more noticeable this time around.
-Story
BotW: one of the weakest points of the game. The player's actions do not affect the main quest in a meaningful way because all the important bits are memories of things that have already happened. All the player can do is beat the bad guy and rescue the princess. All the important characters are already gone so you can’t interact with them. Also, the characters in the present do not add anything to the story.
TotK: the story is a little better but it’s not great. There is a lot of wasted potential and a lot of unanswered questions about the lore and the connection with the previous game. Also, for those internet theorists: no. There is no mention of Skyward Sword events, no mention of the Twili, no mentions of Hylia or the Triforce, no timelines merge. It's all self-contained. For more, check Spoiler#7
Finally some FAQs and comments
Is it really just the same map from Breath of the Wild?
No, the game has three maps: the sky, the surface, and the depths. The Sky is very small, there’s not much to do and the isles look very similar to each other. The Surface, even if it uses the same map as BotW, has a lot of new things to do and new places to explore like caves. Finally the Depths is a huge underworld map that is in complete darkness and it’s difficult to traverse. Definitely one of the best parts of the game, so I don’t know why they never mentioned it in any trailer. This alone would have made a lot of indecisive people preorder the game.
How long is the main quest?
It is very long, longer than the previous game. You have multiple main quests and also something new called side adventures, which are bigger than sidequests and help the world-building a lot. Took me 36 hours to finish the game and I still have a lot of side adventures to do.
Is there any content in BotW that is no longer in TotK?
All of the Sheikah tech is gone, but everything is pretty much replaced by Zonai tech.
The bomb runes are gone, but the game has bomb flowers which you can attach to your shield for bomb jumping, or simply throw them to open paths in caves. The stasis and cryonis runes are also gone, and there's no real replacement for those. However, the new tools give you way more options to tackle puzzles, so you won’t be missing them too much.
There is one armor set that was cut and that is the Gerudo Outfit, so you can no longer dress as a girl.
Any new issues?
Yes, the game has so many options that sometimes it is hard to navigate through so many menus. While using a bow, you have the choice to fuse your arrows with materials. However, to do so you will have to go to a menu with more than 100 materials if you are already very deep into the game, so selecting the one you need is a chore. This disrupts the flow of some battles so much that you might prefer to just not use it at all, which shows a big design flaw.
Another issue might be the complexity of the Ultrahand skill. It gives the player total freedom and creativity, but setting all the pieces in the right spot and the right angle is very time consuming. It drags the answers to some puzzles more than you want to. That's why the game has another skill called Autobuild, that lets you save your build for future use so you don't have to go through all that again. However Autobuild is not available in shrines.
Finally there’s one more issue but it is related to a new ability so check Spoiler#6 for that.
SPOILERS
Spoiler#1
After beating a dungeon, you will get a companion that will fight alongside you and you can have multiple companions at the same time. Which makes fighting easier because they will get the enemies’ attention, can take hits from you, and attack. Also, the final companion is a mecha that you can ride and has its own combat mechanics. However, it’s kinda sluggish and it uses energy cells to move. Finally, you can learn a new combat skill with the Yiga Clan.
Spoiler#2
New things to collect:
Sage’s Will: makes your companions stronger
Poes: trade them for items
Bubbul Gems: trade them for items
Crystallized Charge: to make more Energy Cells
Schema Stone: blueprints for the ultrahand builds
Paraglider Fabrics
Old Maps
12 new Armor sets and 5 new armor pieces
Spoiler#3
New enemies:
Like Like (doesn’t move or eat your shield, but they drop chests when defeated,) Evermean (trees that attack, don’t have an original design, it just a regular tree that moves,) Aerocuda (new flying creature,) Gibdo (looks like ReDeads, there’s a variant with wings,) Boss Bokoblin (just a big bokoblin,) Horriblin (found in caves, they can climb walls and ceilings,) Construct, Little Frox (small creatures of the Depths,) Gloom Hands (looks like a Floormaster from Wind Waker, but doesn’t take you to other places, just attacks)
Spoiler#4
List of Dungeons
Wind Temple, Fire Temple, Water Temple and Lighting Temple.
Hyrule Castle is also a dungeon but it’s smaller than the one from BotW.
There’s also a Spirit Temple in the Depths but it doesn’t have its own map.
Spoiler#5
New bosses:
-Dungeon bosses: Colgera, Marbled Gohma, Mucktorok, Queen Gibdo, Phantom Ganon and Seized Construct.
-Mini bosses: Gleeok, Frox, Moragia, Flux Construct.
Spoiler#6
The companions that you get after beating a dungeon are a big help, and everyone has a special skill that lets you do different things. However, in order to use this skill you have to be by the companion’s side and then press the A button. The issue with this is that your companions move on their own and sometimes when you need them and they are very far away, so you have to go and get them. And when you have multiple companions at once sometimes it’s very difficult to interact with the one you want because everyone is moving, especially in battles. Overall, it is a great idea in theory but with a very chaotic execution. It would have been way better to have another menu that will use the selected skill no matter the position of the companion. But then again, another menu on top of the other tons of menus.
Spoiler#7
The game story goes like this:
Link and Zelda find Ganondorf sealed below the castle, the seal is broken and Ganondorf awakens and destroys the Master Sword, the floor crumbles and Zelda transport herself to the past by accident to avoid death and Link is saved by the Spirit of Rauru, the first King of Hyrule and the one that sealed Ganondorf. It seems a lot of time has passed between this incident and the moment Link wakes up in the sky but it’s never mentioned how much. When Link returns to the surface he discovers that Hyrule has a lot of problems in each region, and that those troubles started with Zelda. Later, Link finds out that Zelda was actually Phantom Ganon. So when Link saves a region by clearing a dungeon, the characters that help him will awaken as a sage and they will see a memory of the real Zelda in the past telling the sage of that time to help Link fight Ganondorf in the future. So the more sages you awaken the easier the fight with Ganondorf will be. There are 5 sages in total. And this is one of the main quests.
The second main quest is to find all of Zelda’s memories. When Zelda transports herself to the past, she reaches the time when Hyrule was created and she meets Rauru and Sonia, the first King and Queen of Hyrule. She also meets Ganondorf, when he swears loyalty to the King, but later he disguises himself as Zelda to kill Sonia and to steal her Secret Stone. With this stone, Ganondorf turns himself into the Demon King. Rauru gives all the sages a Sacred Stone to fight Ganondorf but he is too strong, so Rauru sacrifices his own life to seal him. Zelda tries to find a way to defeat Ganondorf knowing that the seal with break in the future, so she uses her time travel powers to bring the remains of the Master Sword to the past and performs a forbidden ritual to turn herself into a dragon to gain immortality so that she can be with the Master Sword for thousands of years repairing its powers. After this you see all that by gathering all the memories you can get about Zelda’s dragon form and get the Master Sword.
With that done, all that is left is to find Ganondorf’s location, which you can get by exploring the Depths and fighting against Master Koga and the Yiga Clan. You will learn that Ganondorf is still in the same place he was at the beginning of the game: below Hyrule’s Castle. You go there, you beat Ganondorf, he gets mad and he performs the same forbidden ritual as Zelda to turn himself into a dragon taking Link with him into the sky. Dragon Zelda joins the fight and they defeat Ganondorf. The spirit of Rauru and Sonia appear and they turn Zelda back into human form and the game ends.
So, same thing with the previous game, Zelda is not an active character, all the things she can do are already done so it doesn’t have real weight and we just get to see flashbacks of it. At the beginning of the game we can see how Zelda interacts with Link and it is honestly one of the best parts so it’s a shame that there isn’t more of it in the game. Also, turning Zelda back to her human form just for the sake of a happy ending makes her sacrifice meaningless, losing all the emotional setup of that scene.
Link is also just there. He was asleep while the world was changing at the beginning of the game, so he didn’t get to be part of that, he doesn’t interact with important characters like Sonia (not even once.) And he beats Ganondorf fairly easily with no real build up or emotional tension, there's no mention of the Master Sword being better this time because of Zelda’s sacrifice, it's just a very flat moment.
Ganondorf is such a wasted potential. His design and voice acting make him a very intimidating character. However, he does nothing, he’s just waiting below the castle for Link to arrive, and there’s no explanation why. Is he wounded? Is he resting to regain his power? Is he able to transform back and forth into the Demon King? Can he go to the surface? The game never answers this. Also, his motivation is really weak, he is just bad and wants to rule the world just because. There is also the big question, is he related to Calamity Ganon? Is malice the same thing as gloom? Why does no one mention any of this? And speaking of Breath of the Wild, where are all the Sheikah Towers or the Sheikah technology? Where are the Divine beasts? Why is a game that was called “The Sequel to Breath of the Wild” for so many years not actually a sequel?
So yeah, the narrative of this game is the point that bothers me the most. I was actually having a good time with the game but after watching the ending I can’t help but to feel disappointment, so it’s kinda difficult for me to keep playing and going for a 100%.
How can they put so much work into the gameplay and the world and so little into the story?
So this was my review. I hope I helped you make a decision about whether or not you should spend $70 on this game.