I didn't want to buy this game.
After I had finished Breath of the Wild, obtaining all 120 shrines and doing about 95% of the side quests, I told myself that it was a wonderful experience that I didn't need a second time. You could imagine I wasn't super excited when Tears of the Kingdom was announced. I love The Legend of Zelda series, but BOTW was something I felt I didn't need more of. I was perfectly fine with Nintendo moving on to whatever the next series entry would bring. I have to admit I also got pretty annoyed with all the praise it received, not that it didn't deserved it, but many people started acting like no other open world games existed before it. And with the developers saying they were reusing the map and most of the early gameplay shown looking very similar, I truly told myself I wouldn't buy this game... Then a friend purchased it for me.
I picked up my controller, grumbling to myself "Let's get this over with." And to my own surprise (and no one else's), I f***ing love this game.
They truly did make a game that is superior in almost every way to the last. It doesn't need to be stated that the amount of freedom of creativity this game affords you is mind-blowing. Exploration is still extremely rewarding like it was in the first while offering many new ways to do so as well. Combat is still pretty much the same except for the fact that Link's new powers, as well as all the new items, allow you to mix things up. It is truly brain over brawn in every situation, as your power in combat is truly only limited by your own creativity. And it absolutely cannot be overstated that the physics in this game are in another realm, hell another multiverse in terms of sheer game development accomplishments.
I've never found Zelda stories too engaging. They're usually all similar to the point where you don't need to focus too much. I've also never cared much for the lore like the people who try to dig deep and connect all the games, I usually take each story in on its own unless it's a direct sequel like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass. More emphasis is usually on the characters. Not only was I locked in for this story, but I feel like it might just be the best in my eyes. There was one specific moment where I can confidently say, though it is a moment that has been done in many Zelda games, it was done by far the best in this story. It truly was a moment that earned all the emotional build-up and payoff it delivered. Many of the story moments came full circle in a deeply satisfying way.
The only minor gripes I can say I have are that the menu could've used some better item management with the sheer number of items you need to go through for both combat and cooking. The Sage system is cool, but the way it's implemented makes it an absolute pain to make use of in combat. Plus, the map icon on the ability wheel definitely could've been switched with something more useful. Other than that, it's hard to hate on much else. It's honestly a miracle this game not only runs as well as it does, but on the Switch no less.
All that said, even if I have problems with Breath of the Wild, I'd have to be an absolute fool to think this game is any less than one of the best games ever made. I'll be wrong any day if it means I can play a game like this.
Peak fiction, fulfilled my hero fantasy. Well done, Nintendo
After I had finished Breath of the Wild, obtaining all 120 shrines and doing about 95% of the side quests, I told myself that it was a wonderful experience that I didn't need a second time. You could imagine I wasn't super excited when Tears of the Kingdom was announced. I love The Legend of Zelda series, but BOTW was something I felt I didn't need more of. I was perfectly fine with Nintendo moving on to whatever the next series entry would bring. I have to admit I also got pretty annoyed with all the praise it received, not that it didn't deserved it, but many people started acting like no other open world games existed before it. And with the developers saying they were reusing the map and most of the early gameplay shown looking very similar, I truly told myself I wouldn't buy this game... Then a friend purchased it for me.
I picked up my controller, grumbling to myself "Let's get this over with." And to my own surprise (and no one else's), I f***ing love this game.
They truly did make a game that is superior in almost every way to the last. It doesn't need to be stated that the amount of freedom of creativity this game affords you is mind-blowing. Exploration is still extremely rewarding like it was in the first while offering many new ways to do so as well. Combat is still pretty much the same except for the fact that Link's new powers, as well as all the new items, allow you to mix things up. It is truly brain over brawn in every situation, as your power in combat is truly only limited by your own creativity. And it absolutely cannot be overstated that the physics in this game are in another realm, hell another multiverse in terms of sheer game development accomplishments.
I've never found Zelda stories too engaging. They're usually all similar to the point where you don't need to focus too much. I've also never cared much for the lore like the people who try to dig deep and connect all the games, I usually take each story in on its own unless it's a direct sequel like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass. More emphasis is usually on the characters. Not only was I locked in for this story, but I feel like it might just be the best in my eyes. There was one specific moment where I can confidently say, though it is a moment that has been done in many Zelda games, it was done by far the best in this story. It truly was a moment that earned all the emotional build-up and payoff it delivered. Many of the story moments came full circle in a deeply satisfying way.
The only minor gripes I can say I have are that the menu could've used some better item management with the sheer number of items you need to go through for both combat and cooking. The Sage system is cool, but the way it's implemented makes it an absolute pain to make use of in combat. Plus, the map icon on the ability wheel definitely could've been switched with something more useful. Other than that, it's hard to hate on much else. It's honestly a miracle this game not only runs as well as it does, but on the Switch no less.
All that said, even if I have problems with Breath of the Wild, I'd have to be an absolute fool to think this game is any less than one of the best games ever made. I'll be wrong any day if it means I can play a game like this.
Peak fiction, fulfilled my hero fantasy. Well done, Nintendo