MrMeekins
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I've always been a fan of the Ace Attorney games, having played all of them including both Miles Edgeworth Investigations games, but I never really got around to finishing this one.
As a kid, I remember playing through the opening sequence, only to never touch it again.
I have since lost my DS copy of that game, so when they announced they were remastering it for modern consoles, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to revisit this game.
I didn't know anything about it outside of the first chapter so it was still very much so a blind playthrough and for THAT I am thankful because this game put me through a most enjoyable 12 hour ride that singlehandedly got me out of a videogame rut that I have been having for a few weeks now.
Without any spoilers at all, I will say that it is one of most creatively written games I have played, both through the narrative and the gameplay.
The gameplay premise is very simple: Save someone's life by manipulating various objects on the screen in order to alter their fate and it works wonderfully on modern controllers. I used a PS5 dualsense controller on steam, and I didn't once think that the game was not meant outside of DS touchscreen controls.
They were able to perfectly remix the controls such that all the action is on screen, and that it won't be cumbersome to play.
Each 'level' you have to go through is a fun exercise in analytical thinking, as some levels genuinely had me stumped for a while though I must admit some of the puzzle solutions felt a little crazy... but of course, I remembered that this game was directed by Shu Takumi and his masterful writing is littered throughout this game.
The story gives you very little at the beginning, but each chapter feels substantial in that they always reveal a new mystery to you, and sometimes... an answer, but often that answer leads to even more questions that provoke players to really theorize as to the reality of the events as you play on.
It also helps that the characters are very fun and memorable and there isn't a SINGLE THROWAWAY CHARACTER! Every character is somehow integral to the story, and that is the game's main message... in that somehow, everyone's fates are always interconnected, in one way or another.
Every character was made with love and care, from their portraits to their fun animations, they were all a joy to meet and watch from the very beginning to the end.
The music is of course also a highlight with tunes that really set the mood for every occasion and are all memorable. You end up listening to these pieces of music well after finishing the game.
Easily one of Shu Takumi's best works. It's short and sweet, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.
It's only a few hours long, and for all those short hours... you'll never want to leave your seat.
As a kid, I remember playing through the opening sequence, only to never touch it again.
I have since lost my DS copy of that game, so when they announced they were remastering it for modern consoles, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to revisit this game.
I didn't know anything about it outside of the first chapter so it was still very much so a blind playthrough and for THAT I am thankful because this game put me through a most enjoyable 12 hour ride that singlehandedly got me out of a videogame rut that I have been having for a few weeks now.
Without any spoilers at all, I will say that it is one of most creatively written games I have played, both through the narrative and the gameplay.
The gameplay premise is very simple: Save someone's life by manipulating various objects on the screen in order to alter their fate and it works wonderfully on modern controllers. I used a PS5 dualsense controller on steam, and I didn't once think that the game was not meant outside of DS touchscreen controls.
They were able to perfectly remix the controls such that all the action is on screen, and that it won't be cumbersome to play.
Each 'level' you have to go through is a fun exercise in analytical thinking, as some levels genuinely had me stumped for a while though I must admit some of the puzzle solutions felt a little crazy... but of course, I remembered that this game was directed by Shu Takumi and his masterful writing is littered throughout this game.
The story gives you very little at the beginning, but each chapter feels substantial in that they always reveal a new mystery to you, and sometimes... an answer, but often that answer leads to even more questions that provoke players to really theorize as to the reality of the events as you play on.
It also helps that the characters are very fun and memorable and there isn't a SINGLE THROWAWAY CHARACTER! Every character is somehow integral to the story, and that is the game's main message... in that somehow, everyone's fates are always interconnected, in one way or another.
Every character was made with love and care, from their portraits to their fun animations, they were all a joy to meet and watch from the very beginning to the end.
The music is of course also a highlight with tunes that really set the mood for every occasion and are all memorable. You end up listening to these pieces of music well after finishing the game.
Easily one of Shu Takumi's best works. It's short and sweet, and it doesn't overstay its welcome.
It's only a few hours long, and for all those short hours... you'll never want to leave your seat.
This review contains spoilers
Octopath Traveler 2: Rekindling My Love for a Genre
Games can be lost in time - stuck to their stubborn roots, unable to change, and are thus forgotten and neglected by society.
Final Fantasy is a brilliant example of a series that has been able to reinvent themselves and continue to create wonderful experiences for the modern audience, while Pokemon is an example of the opposite.
Classic JRPGs, while standard at the time, have become nothing but outdated, making them difficult games to play for newcomers.
It has been a challenge to bring such a genre to the modern era, while still maintaining the feel of playing those games back in the SNES. So, when I found that Octopath Traveler 2 was was attempting to do just that, I was more than curious to see if can in fact, bring such an experience to modern standards and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.
I still remember launching the game for the first time after a lengthy review session. It was 10 PM, and I thought why not I check out the game now, and I was BLASTED by the sweeping orchestra that played during a most promising and exciting opening title screen, prompting me to continue my journey.
Right off the gate, I was able to see the scope of the game as it asked me to choose between 8 starting characters. As one might be able to infer from the title of the game, Octopath Traveler consists of 8 different short stories that span across the vast world of Solistia.
After selecting your starting story, you're free to explore the world however you wish. You can continue to pursue the next chapters of the story you started with all on his lonesome, or you can visit the various cities and towns to recruit the other protagonists into your party and listen to there stories if you wish. This system allows you to build whatever party makeup you want at the beginning of the game, and experience whatever stories peak your interest whenever you want and it's very refreshing.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety these stories offered, how dark some of them got, and how different they were from how I expected them to be.
I started with Osvald the scholar, and my initial expectation was that it would be a story about finding some power magic spell or maybe studying the forbidden scrolls. Instead, his story is one about revenge, as his colleague had stolen his research into the one true magic before burning his family alive and framing him for it. He is sent to Frigit isle, a prison far off from land where the harsh winters and guards take the lives of those who are imprisoned. He plans his escape, and find the person who wronged him and take his life.
Another story is of a thief name Throne: One who was considered to be the best among a group of assassins called the Blacksnakes. In truth however, the assassins there were slaves, controlled by two figures known as Mother and Father. After being forced to kill her colleagues in order to determine who would succeed Father as the leader of the blacksnakes, Throne decided that she wanted no more of this. She sets out on a journey to kill Mother and Father, who hold the two keys to the collar that shackled her.
Castti is an Apothecary who has been saved by a ship bound for the town of Canalbrine, after seeing her floating alone on a skiff in the ocean. They later found that she had lost all her memories, but her clothes identified her as a member of "Eir's Apothecaries". As she landed on Canalbrine, she was met with disgust and hatred, as the townsfolk spoke of Eir's Apothecaries as a group of murderers who have ravaged an entire village.
On her person was a travel log that had several key locations that she visited in the past, and so she wishes to revisit these cities in hopes of finding more about who she is, and why is it she was hated.
Temenos the cleric is perhaps my favorite character in the game as he feels the most relatable out of all of the protagonists, as the inquisitor of the Flamechurch who holds doubts towards the teachings of the church and does not believe all that they have to say. His dynamic with his partner Crick, who is a member of the Sacred Guard and a blind follower, he promotes thought provoking questions against the gods and how much you should trust them. I also found it interesting that he was a detective who loved to solve murders, which was not at all what I expected from the story of a Cleric.
All 8 stories were interesting and fun to experience, and while some were definitely better than others, they were all still a joy to play through. A major complaint about the first game was that the 8 stories didn't really intersect much, but this game improves on that through travel banter and "crossed paths" side quests which can only be unlocked if you have the appropriate characters in your party. This makes it feel more as if the characters know each other and have been journeying together which is a very welcome addition.
However, stories are only but a small part of the JRPG experience. The larger part consists of grinding, boss battles, dungeon crawling, finding all sorts of secrets, buying new weapons and armor, visiting new towns, and Octopath has all of that presented to you through a most beautiful HD-2D art style that they have polished to a sheen. 2018's Octopath Traveler wowed the world when it pioneered the style, and Octopath 2 improved that even further. Every animation, every town I visited, every spell I casted and every boss I battled was a thing of beauty that I couldn't help but take my time and glue my eyes to the screen because it would be a disservice not to appreciate every moving part that I could see.
The combat is also fun and engaging thanks to fun skills and classes, and the break boost system. Every enemy has a weakpoint that you can exploit, to try and reduce the number of shield points that they have. If you manage to reduce that to 0, then the enemy enters a BREAK state which nullifies their turn, gives you a FULL turn to yourself and reduces their defences allowing you to take your time to heal, set-up, or deal crazy damage which is complemented by the boost system.
Your characters start with one Boost point every battle, and can earn more whenever you don't use a boost point in a turn. Using boost points, up to a maximum of 3 at a time, allows you to augment your skills and attacks to deal more damage, give more turns to your buffs, heal more, etc.
This system is FUN to play around with, as it makes each encounter feel more strategic and methodical. What is the best way to approach a combat scenario to break all the enemies fast and deal as much damage? It makes it so that you have to really think about each battle, whether it's a normal random encounter or a boss battle, however the game also gives you the tools to deal great damage to make grinding more accessible once you are of appropriate level.
That said, the early encounters can be quite punishing when you start off without a full party of 4. Higher level areas seem impossible to go to as if you aren't of the appropriate level in an area, the random encouters there will put you in your place. It makes the opening hours feel slow as you struggle to grind and get to an appropriate level. However, by around the mid-point once you have a full party and get more skills, things start to pick up and become much faster.
In fact, after finishing my first story, which was Throne's, I found that I blazed through the rest of the content since levels don't scale.
Meaning, Chapter 1 stories always require you to be at level 1, Chapter 2 at around 18, Chapter 3 at around the 20s - 30s, and Chapter 4 or 5 in some cases at around 45. This makes it so that after my first and 2nd story, I was fighting level at most, "level 45" bosses with a full level 50+ party. However even with that level advantage, I found that the final bosses of each story still proved to be difficult thanks to interesting gimmicks and concepts that limit your capability to just one shot them.
Each of the 8 protagonists are based off the 8 gods of Solistia": Osvald the Scholar, Castti the Apothecary, Throne the Thief, Ochette the Hunter, Partitio the Merchant, Agnea the Dancer, Temenos the Cleric and Hikari the Warrior - Which serve as the 8 Main classes in the game. It's possible to find guilds related to these classes to give you "licenses", allowing you to use any of the 8 classes as sub classes for other characters. There are also secret job classes that you can find which are very fun to use. By leveling up and learning more skills either in your primary or secondary class, you can learn support skills that you can carry over regardless of the classes you have equipped which allows you to make some really powerful builds.
In addition to your character skills, secondary class skills, melee attacks, and items, you also have access to Latent powers which are unique to each character.
After filling up a gauge, you can activate that character's latent power which adds another dimension to combat. Osvald's spells are usually multi-target, however his latent power allows him to focus his magic onto one enemy only, allowing him to deal more damage to single targets.
Throne's latent power allows her to get 2 actions in one turn, Agnea allows her next buff to affect all party members instead of just one, and so on. All of these together makes long fights against bosses rewarding and satisfying to beat.
Outside of combat, every character has 2 "path actions" that they can use - One during the day, and one during the night.
These usually involve being able to get information from NPCs, get items from NPCs, neutralize NPCs, or recruit NPCs. Some path actions also have a percentage chance of them failing, wherein if they do, you will lose reputation. I do think that the reputation system isn't really well implemented, as it feels very tacked on. If you lose all of your reputation, then you will be unable to use your path actions in that area of the game, and you would have to visit the local tavern and pay them to restore your reputation. So really, all it amounts to is if you fail enough times, you'd have to pay. That's it. Nothing really interesting happens, like NPCs changing the way they interact with you, new sidequests opening up, etc.
Path actions are also funnily enforced onto the players during certain parts of the story, which could have been simply a cutscene.
For example, in Castti's story, she has to heal one of the NPCs so the game breaks away from the cutscene, and asks you to walk up to the NPC, press the path action button and then it moves back to the cutscene which makes me beg the question..... why?
Path actions involving finding information about NPCs was the most fun to use though, as it gave more character to the world.
The others though, I wish were implemented a little better. This extends to some other parts of the game, that while they don't necessarily diminish the experience, I found them puzzling like how the level up jingle plays over the victory fanfare which results in a clash of music that is a little too painful for me to listen to.
But these issues are nothing compared to how much I enjoyed the game. It single handedly reminded me of how fun classic JRPGs can be, and there is no better time than to play it than now with Sea of Stars also on the horizon. It is a love letter to the old times and it shows just how much care was put into making this game from the music, the visuals, the writing... EVERYTHING about this game has so much character and personality that it's hard to put down. If you love JRPGs, then skipping this one is a huge mistake. Play it, and you will see why so many people love this series.
Games can be lost in time - stuck to their stubborn roots, unable to change, and are thus forgotten and neglected by society.
Final Fantasy is a brilliant example of a series that has been able to reinvent themselves and continue to create wonderful experiences for the modern audience, while Pokemon is an example of the opposite.
Classic JRPGs, while standard at the time, have become nothing but outdated, making them difficult games to play for newcomers.
It has been a challenge to bring such a genre to the modern era, while still maintaining the feel of playing those games back in the SNES. So, when I found that Octopath Traveler 2 was was attempting to do just that, I was more than curious to see if can in fact, bring such an experience to modern standards and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.
I still remember launching the game for the first time after a lengthy review session. It was 10 PM, and I thought why not I check out the game now, and I was BLASTED by the sweeping orchestra that played during a most promising and exciting opening title screen, prompting me to continue my journey.
Right off the gate, I was able to see the scope of the game as it asked me to choose between 8 starting characters. As one might be able to infer from the title of the game, Octopath Traveler consists of 8 different short stories that span across the vast world of Solistia.
After selecting your starting story, you're free to explore the world however you wish. You can continue to pursue the next chapters of the story you started with all on his lonesome, or you can visit the various cities and towns to recruit the other protagonists into your party and listen to there stories if you wish. This system allows you to build whatever party makeup you want at the beginning of the game, and experience whatever stories peak your interest whenever you want and it's very refreshing.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety these stories offered, how dark some of them got, and how different they were from how I expected them to be.
I started with Osvald the scholar, and my initial expectation was that it would be a story about finding some power magic spell or maybe studying the forbidden scrolls. Instead, his story is one about revenge, as his colleague had stolen his research into the one true magic before burning his family alive and framing him for it. He is sent to Frigit isle, a prison far off from land where the harsh winters and guards take the lives of those who are imprisoned. He plans his escape, and find the person who wronged him and take his life.
Another story is of a thief name Throne: One who was considered to be the best among a group of assassins called the Blacksnakes. In truth however, the assassins there were slaves, controlled by two figures known as Mother and Father. After being forced to kill her colleagues in order to determine who would succeed Father as the leader of the blacksnakes, Throne decided that she wanted no more of this. She sets out on a journey to kill Mother and Father, who hold the two keys to the collar that shackled her.
Castti is an Apothecary who has been saved by a ship bound for the town of Canalbrine, after seeing her floating alone on a skiff in the ocean. They later found that she had lost all her memories, but her clothes identified her as a member of "Eir's Apothecaries". As she landed on Canalbrine, she was met with disgust and hatred, as the townsfolk spoke of Eir's Apothecaries as a group of murderers who have ravaged an entire village.
On her person was a travel log that had several key locations that she visited in the past, and so she wishes to revisit these cities in hopes of finding more about who she is, and why is it she was hated.
Temenos the cleric is perhaps my favorite character in the game as he feels the most relatable out of all of the protagonists, as the inquisitor of the Flamechurch who holds doubts towards the teachings of the church and does not believe all that they have to say. His dynamic with his partner Crick, who is a member of the Sacred Guard and a blind follower, he promotes thought provoking questions against the gods and how much you should trust them. I also found it interesting that he was a detective who loved to solve murders, which was not at all what I expected from the story of a Cleric.
All 8 stories were interesting and fun to experience, and while some were definitely better than others, they were all still a joy to play through. A major complaint about the first game was that the 8 stories didn't really intersect much, but this game improves on that through travel banter and "crossed paths" side quests which can only be unlocked if you have the appropriate characters in your party. This makes it feel more as if the characters know each other and have been journeying together which is a very welcome addition.
However, stories are only but a small part of the JRPG experience. The larger part consists of grinding, boss battles, dungeon crawling, finding all sorts of secrets, buying new weapons and armor, visiting new towns, and Octopath has all of that presented to you through a most beautiful HD-2D art style that they have polished to a sheen. 2018's Octopath Traveler wowed the world when it pioneered the style, and Octopath 2 improved that even further. Every animation, every town I visited, every spell I casted and every boss I battled was a thing of beauty that I couldn't help but take my time and glue my eyes to the screen because it would be a disservice not to appreciate every moving part that I could see.
The combat is also fun and engaging thanks to fun skills and classes, and the break boost system. Every enemy has a weakpoint that you can exploit, to try and reduce the number of shield points that they have. If you manage to reduce that to 0, then the enemy enters a BREAK state which nullifies their turn, gives you a FULL turn to yourself and reduces their defences allowing you to take your time to heal, set-up, or deal crazy damage which is complemented by the boost system.
Your characters start with one Boost point every battle, and can earn more whenever you don't use a boost point in a turn. Using boost points, up to a maximum of 3 at a time, allows you to augment your skills and attacks to deal more damage, give more turns to your buffs, heal more, etc.
This system is FUN to play around with, as it makes each encounter feel more strategic and methodical. What is the best way to approach a combat scenario to break all the enemies fast and deal as much damage? It makes it so that you have to really think about each battle, whether it's a normal random encounter or a boss battle, however the game also gives you the tools to deal great damage to make grinding more accessible once you are of appropriate level.
That said, the early encounters can be quite punishing when you start off without a full party of 4. Higher level areas seem impossible to go to as if you aren't of the appropriate level in an area, the random encouters there will put you in your place. It makes the opening hours feel slow as you struggle to grind and get to an appropriate level. However, by around the mid-point once you have a full party and get more skills, things start to pick up and become much faster.
In fact, after finishing my first story, which was Throne's, I found that I blazed through the rest of the content since levels don't scale.
Meaning, Chapter 1 stories always require you to be at level 1, Chapter 2 at around 18, Chapter 3 at around the 20s - 30s, and Chapter 4 or 5 in some cases at around 45. This makes it so that after my first and 2nd story, I was fighting level at most, "level 45" bosses with a full level 50+ party. However even with that level advantage, I found that the final bosses of each story still proved to be difficult thanks to interesting gimmicks and concepts that limit your capability to just one shot them.
Each of the 8 protagonists are based off the 8 gods of Solistia": Osvald the Scholar, Castti the Apothecary, Throne the Thief, Ochette the Hunter, Partitio the Merchant, Agnea the Dancer, Temenos the Cleric and Hikari the Warrior - Which serve as the 8 Main classes in the game. It's possible to find guilds related to these classes to give you "licenses", allowing you to use any of the 8 classes as sub classes for other characters. There are also secret job classes that you can find which are very fun to use. By leveling up and learning more skills either in your primary or secondary class, you can learn support skills that you can carry over regardless of the classes you have equipped which allows you to make some really powerful builds.
In addition to your character skills, secondary class skills, melee attacks, and items, you also have access to Latent powers which are unique to each character.
After filling up a gauge, you can activate that character's latent power which adds another dimension to combat. Osvald's spells are usually multi-target, however his latent power allows him to focus his magic onto one enemy only, allowing him to deal more damage to single targets.
Throne's latent power allows her to get 2 actions in one turn, Agnea allows her next buff to affect all party members instead of just one, and so on. All of these together makes long fights against bosses rewarding and satisfying to beat.
Outside of combat, every character has 2 "path actions" that they can use - One during the day, and one during the night.
These usually involve being able to get information from NPCs, get items from NPCs, neutralize NPCs, or recruit NPCs. Some path actions also have a percentage chance of them failing, wherein if they do, you will lose reputation. I do think that the reputation system isn't really well implemented, as it feels very tacked on. If you lose all of your reputation, then you will be unable to use your path actions in that area of the game, and you would have to visit the local tavern and pay them to restore your reputation. So really, all it amounts to is if you fail enough times, you'd have to pay. That's it. Nothing really interesting happens, like NPCs changing the way they interact with you, new sidequests opening up, etc.
Path actions are also funnily enforced onto the players during certain parts of the story, which could have been simply a cutscene.
For example, in Castti's story, she has to heal one of the NPCs so the game breaks away from the cutscene, and asks you to walk up to the NPC, press the path action button and then it moves back to the cutscene which makes me beg the question..... why?
Path actions involving finding information about NPCs was the most fun to use though, as it gave more character to the world.
The others though, I wish were implemented a little better. This extends to some other parts of the game, that while they don't necessarily diminish the experience, I found them puzzling like how the level up jingle plays over the victory fanfare which results in a clash of music that is a little too painful for me to listen to.
But these issues are nothing compared to how much I enjoyed the game. It single handedly reminded me of how fun classic JRPGs can be, and there is no better time than to play it than now with Sea of Stars also on the horizon. It is a love letter to the old times and it shows just how much care was put into making this game from the music, the visuals, the writing... EVERYTHING about this game has so much character and personality that it's hard to put down. If you love JRPGs, then skipping this one is a huge mistake. Play it, and you will see why so many people love this series.
This review contains spoilers
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is, for better or worse, more Breath of the Wild. As someone who fell in love with the original Hyrule in 2017, I was thrilled to return to this familiar world. However, while the sequel has its enjoyable moments, it falls short of reaching its full potential. Many of the issues present in the first game are still here, leaving me shaking my fist at Nintendo, wondering why certain aspects weren't improved upon.
The story takes place a few years after the events of the first game, where Ganondorf, previously sealed beneath Hyrule Castle, is stirring once more. Link and Zelda are separated again, with the castle being lifted into the air and Zelda transported back in time to the beginning of Hyrule. Much like the first game, the bulk of TOTK's story is told through memories that you have to find in the overworld. As a result, I often times felt disconnected with the story, as I was once again experiencing a "retelling" of events that have already happened, rather than seeing them unfold before my very eyes. I also experienced the story in the wrong order, which led to some awkward situations. Despite this, I do think that the story is a step up from Breath of the Wild, and while it is no Red Dead Redemption 2 or even God of War, there are some nice moments sprinkled throughout though nothing that really impacted me very much outside of the ending.
Where this game shines for me though, is in how the land of Hyrule has evolved over the years. Although it uses the same map as the previous game, the changes in the landscape provide a sense of discovery and curiosity as you revisit old towns and locales. Climbing tall towers and filling my map with pins was a joy once again, as there was always something fascinating waiting for me to explore whether it was one of the many new caves, a poneglyph somewhere off in the distance, or a giant hole that leads deep underground. Some of my fondest moments playing this game, were rediscovering the towns and seeing how they have developed since the events of Breath of the Wild. There are lots of new NPCs which add to world as they all have something to say, whether it be a side-quest, a joke, or some insight into another NPC, I always found myself talking to them because they're fun to talk to!
"Tears of the Kingdom" also introduces new abilities for Link, such as Recall, Ultrahand, Autobuild, Fuse, and Ascend, each adding unique gameplay mechanics. None of the abilities felt wasted, and I always found myself using them in creative ways, whether it be for a puzzle or for my own curiosities. Perhaps the only somewhat disappointing ability here would be fuse, as you could only fuse one material onto one weapon which was a little more limited than I thought it would be.
With the introduction of the Fuse mechanic, every material you find in the world gains new purpose, adding depth to combat encounters. I found myself enjoying the creative ways I could utilize these abilities in puzzles and combat scenarios. The variety of options made encounters engaging, though I did find the overall difficulty lacking, especially in boss fights. During the first few hours of the game, I found myself dying quite often and having a hard time solving some of the shrine puzzles. However, as I began to understand how my new abilities worked and learned how to use my fuse materials in a more efficient manner, I found myself rarely running into any difficulty. Even the mighty Gleeoks which I have avoided when I first started playing, became easy prey that I could take on with ease. That isn't to say they aren't fun to fight however, but I never really did feel satisfied taking one out outside of my first time.
Another improvement over Breath of the Wild, would be the four main story dungeons that are related to each of the four main towns in Hyrule: Zora's Domain, Rito Village, Gerudo Town, and Goron City. They each have more thematic designs and interesting ways in which you have to enter them, unlike the guardians which were too drab and similar to each other. One dungeon has you jumping across mini ships before you fall into the eye of the storm where a large nordic ship resides for example, which happens to have one of my favorite boss fights in all of Zelda. However, I would say that the puzzles in these dungeons are hit or miss, as some are so bafflingly easy that you're left wondering if it was even a puzzle or not.
Clearing these dungeons provides you with a phantom which acts as both an AI companion and a means for you to access a "sage ability" which is this game's version of the Champion abilities from Breath of the Wild. These phantoms would fight alongside you, mimicing the battle styles of the 4 sages that you would encounter: Tulin, Riju, Sidon, and Yunobo. Unforunately, they're rather underwhelming and I never really felt as if I needed to have them by my side outside of using their abilities. I would have preferred to have the sages themselves as companions, where perhaps, you could increase your bond with them as you travel, unlocking new types of unique gear or even cutscenes.
Not a lot of the abilities felt game-changing either, with Tulin's being the only one I really use regularly which is a shame considering I had a lot of fun using the champion abilities in the previous game, not to mention they were easier to access.
Here, you would have to approach a phantom and interact with them to use their ability which is unneccessarily a hassle.
While the overworld has been a joy to explore, I can't say much the same for the two new maps added to the game: The sky islands and the Depths.
The sky islands are a collection of islands that float high above in the sky, and can be accessed mainly by recalling chunks of land and then riding them, while the depths is an entire underground map the size of Hyrule that you can access by jumping through large holes called chasms.
You can freely go through the three maps without loading screens, which is both fun and impressive to say the least.
However, I felt rather disappointed exploring these maps as they had very little going on for them.
The sky islands have virtually nothing for you to find, outside of small enemy encounters, some puzzles, and chests. The chasm is a large expanse filled with mostly combat encounters, loot in the form of armor pieces that used to be DLC in Breath of the Wild, as well as an optional story quest.
Outside of that however, there was nothing much interesting in their respective environments to make going through them as fun as exploring the overworld, even for the first time.
Similarly, I found that a lot of things about the game left me feeling the same way, such as the caves which are mostly repetitive mini-dungeons that offer very little outside of maybe a chest, some combat encounters, and a collectible related to a quest.
While I was excited at the beginning about the increased enemy variety, there were too little added to make it feel like a substantial improvement and many of them are easily dealt with.
Korok seeds are back, and there are now over a thousand of them for you to get, and yet the reward you get is the exact same as you did in Breath of the Wild.
Perhaps my biggest disappointment, is how upon beating the game, you are once again booted back to before you take on the final boss, thus removing any sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in clearing the story. There is no post-game either, outside of clearing the rest of the quests and seeing what else you haven't yet which is disappointing in this day and age.
This is hard for me to say as someone who was very much looking forward to this game for a very long time. While I enjoyed a lot of the time I spent playing this game, meeting its new wacky NPCs and taking on fun and even memorable quests, it is brought down by my disappointment thinking it could have been much better, especially when I compare it to Elden Ring which largely rewarded the player for exploring by having far more interesting secret locations, encounters, and battles.
Zelda's strengths have always been in its great dungeon designs and fun items. Breath of the Wild excelled in its exploration and freedom but lacked in what made Zelda great, and so a marriage of the two would have been phenomenal. However, I instead got more of what I liked in breath of the wild, and none of the real improvements I was hoping for.
The story takes place a few years after the events of the first game, where Ganondorf, previously sealed beneath Hyrule Castle, is stirring once more. Link and Zelda are separated again, with the castle being lifted into the air and Zelda transported back in time to the beginning of Hyrule. Much like the first game, the bulk of TOTK's story is told through memories that you have to find in the overworld. As a result, I often times felt disconnected with the story, as I was once again experiencing a "retelling" of events that have already happened, rather than seeing them unfold before my very eyes. I also experienced the story in the wrong order, which led to some awkward situations. Despite this, I do think that the story is a step up from Breath of the Wild, and while it is no Red Dead Redemption 2 or even God of War, there are some nice moments sprinkled throughout though nothing that really impacted me very much outside of the ending.
Where this game shines for me though, is in how the land of Hyrule has evolved over the years. Although it uses the same map as the previous game, the changes in the landscape provide a sense of discovery and curiosity as you revisit old towns and locales. Climbing tall towers and filling my map with pins was a joy once again, as there was always something fascinating waiting for me to explore whether it was one of the many new caves, a poneglyph somewhere off in the distance, or a giant hole that leads deep underground. Some of my fondest moments playing this game, were rediscovering the towns and seeing how they have developed since the events of Breath of the Wild. There are lots of new NPCs which add to world as they all have something to say, whether it be a side-quest, a joke, or some insight into another NPC, I always found myself talking to them because they're fun to talk to!
"Tears of the Kingdom" also introduces new abilities for Link, such as Recall, Ultrahand, Autobuild, Fuse, and Ascend, each adding unique gameplay mechanics. None of the abilities felt wasted, and I always found myself using them in creative ways, whether it be for a puzzle or for my own curiosities. Perhaps the only somewhat disappointing ability here would be fuse, as you could only fuse one material onto one weapon which was a little more limited than I thought it would be.
With the introduction of the Fuse mechanic, every material you find in the world gains new purpose, adding depth to combat encounters. I found myself enjoying the creative ways I could utilize these abilities in puzzles and combat scenarios. The variety of options made encounters engaging, though I did find the overall difficulty lacking, especially in boss fights. During the first few hours of the game, I found myself dying quite often and having a hard time solving some of the shrine puzzles. However, as I began to understand how my new abilities worked and learned how to use my fuse materials in a more efficient manner, I found myself rarely running into any difficulty. Even the mighty Gleeoks which I have avoided when I first started playing, became easy prey that I could take on with ease. That isn't to say they aren't fun to fight however, but I never really did feel satisfied taking one out outside of my first time.
Another improvement over Breath of the Wild, would be the four main story dungeons that are related to each of the four main towns in Hyrule: Zora's Domain, Rito Village, Gerudo Town, and Goron City. They each have more thematic designs and interesting ways in which you have to enter them, unlike the guardians which were too drab and similar to each other. One dungeon has you jumping across mini ships before you fall into the eye of the storm where a large nordic ship resides for example, which happens to have one of my favorite boss fights in all of Zelda. However, I would say that the puzzles in these dungeons are hit or miss, as some are so bafflingly easy that you're left wondering if it was even a puzzle or not.
Clearing these dungeons provides you with a phantom which acts as both an AI companion and a means for you to access a "sage ability" which is this game's version of the Champion abilities from Breath of the Wild. These phantoms would fight alongside you, mimicing the battle styles of the 4 sages that you would encounter: Tulin, Riju, Sidon, and Yunobo. Unforunately, they're rather underwhelming and I never really felt as if I needed to have them by my side outside of using their abilities. I would have preferred to have the sages themselves as companions, where perhaps, you could increase your bond with them as you travel, unlocking new types of unique gear or even cutscenes.
Not a lot of the abilities felt game-changing either, with Tulin's being the only one I really use regularly which is a shame considering I had a lot of fun using the champion abilities in the previous game, not to mention they were easier to access.
Here, you would have to approach a phantom and interact with them to use their ability which is unneccessarily a hassle.
While the overworld has been a joy to explore, I can't say much the same for the two new maps added to the game: The sky islands and the Depths.
The sky islands are a collection of islands that float high above in the sky, and can be accessed mainly by recalling chunks of land and then riding them, while the depths is an entire underground map the size of Hyrule that you can access by jumping through large holes called chasms.
You can freely go through the three maps without loading screens, which is both fun and impressive to say the least.
However, I felt rather disappointed exploring these maps as they had very little going on for them.
The sky islands have virtually nothing for you to find, outside of small enemy encounters, some puzzles, and chests. The chasm is a large expanse filled with mostly combat encounters, loot in the form of armor pieces that used to be DLC in Breath of the Wild, as well as an optional story quest.
Outside of that however, there was nothing much interesting in their respective environments to make going through them as fun as exploring the overworld, even for the first time.
Similarly, I found that a lot of things about the game left me feeling the same way, such as the caves which are mostly repetitive mini-dungeons that offer very little outside of maybe a chest, some combat encounters, and a collectible related to a quest.
While I was excited at the beginning about the increased enemy variety, there were too little added to make it feel like a substantial improvement and many of them are easily dealt with.
Korok seeds are back, and there are now over a thousand of them for you to get, and yet the reward you get is the exact same as you did in Breath of the Wild.
Perhaps my biggest disappointment, is how upon beating the game, you are once again booted back to before you take on the final boss, thus removing any sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in clearing the story. There is no post-game either, outside of clearing the rest of the quests and seeing what else you haven't yet which is disappointing in this day and age.
This is hard for me to say as someone who was very much looking forward to this game for a very long time. While I enjoyed a lot of the time I spent playing this game, meeting its new wacky NPCs and taking on fun and even memorable quests, it is brought down by my disappointment thinking it could have been much better, especially when I compare it to Elden Ring which largely rewarded the player for exploring by having far more interesting secret locations, encounters, and battles.
Zelda's strengths have always been in its great dungeon designs and fun items. Breath of the Wild excelled in its exploration and freedom but lacked in what made Zelda great, and so a marriage of the two would have been phenomenal. However, I instead got more of what I liked in breath of the wild, and none of the real improvements I was hoping for.