This review contains spoilers
Pros:
Content Overall – When people say BotW feels like a demo compared to TotK I feel that is a true sentiment. Feels more like a world compared to BotW. While BotW had a couple of cutscenes then it was do whatever you want until the end (with sprinkled story here or there) TotK feels like it has significantly more story which, for me personally, makes it easier to get invested. I also enjoy seeing changes from the first game and how characters have changed over time. I don’t know if the amount of time between BotW and TotK has been mentioned but it’s clearly been years given Purah is not at least an older teen when you see her. It’s nice to see that reflected. The Depths is insanely fun as it is unsettling for the first time and the sky ruins can be fun if somewhat lacking. Given the trailer I expected more to do in the sky but either way love what’s here.
A prime example of TotK being bigger than BotW via content is the Yiga Clan. While in BotW they hardly have a presence and when they do become more narrative relevant it’s over as quick as it began in TotK you really feel like they are a threat despite being side content that’s missbale. They have bases above and below ground and they have a vendetta against Link they are very vocal about. So much so that even a side mission is to lure Link out using his good intentions again him. As the player you see the set up a mile away but it was still entertaining the lengths the Yiga clan will go through to kill Link and succeed in their ultimate goal. It’s also worthwhile to pursue the Yiga clan in the depths for their schematics for more fusion antics.
New Abilities – Love the fuse ability and how crazy people can get with it. There are people still finding out things in BotW and it released back in 2017 so I know we’ll be seeing insane af videos of TotK for years to comes. I didn’t expect Fuse to add so much to the game. I do miss the Sheika Pad abilities (and curious why they did not return) but it doesn’t take away from what’s presented.
No More Unobtainable Missables…I think? – As far as I know there aren’t any in TotT which is excellent imo. I really dislike large open world games that have missable anything given the likelihood that I’m going through the game again slim at best (at least not until much time has passed). BotW had some but glad to see that has been fixed for TotK, at least, as far as I know.
Present Day Sages – This is not executed as well as I’d have liked but I am so glad you can turn them on and off at your leisure. I also like they they did not kill these important characters just to make them sages. It depressed me in past games when being a sage meant being dead quq
I like them all sort of. The guy who says ‘goro’ after almost everything he says is annoying af sometimes lol It sounds very unnatural and forced so I cringe. He’s not a bad character but I hate that for him. Love them all though and Tulin is adorable af. Little feather bean.
More Outfits – I miss some of the ones from the previous game that are missing (coughgerudo outfitcough) but a lot of the new ones are cool looking. Link, the new Barbie lol
THE DESIGNS/New Characters – Everyone is looking really nice in this game. I love the Zonai designs too and Ganondorf’s design and stuff. Picking up where BotW left off with flare. That meme where almost everyone is hot lol
Adding BotW's DLC stuff in TotK's Base Game - You can also use amiibos but I appreciate them adding those once paywalled outfits into TotK's base game. Gotta work for that shit though. Damn coliseum bullshit and whatever lol
Cons:
Narrative Progression from BotW – Is it just me or does a lot of the interactions Link have with characters he’s met and at times helped not even remember him? There’s a handful of characters/NPCs/ect. that Link meets again and was excited to see what they’d say to him after years but sometimes they act like they first met. I assume this is so those who missed BotW can be acquainted and learn as they go but isn’t that what the newly added Character Profiles is for? Maybe add a journal feature as well?
Not all characters Link met in BotW suffer from amnesia, at least, not the ones that matter with story progression. Here’s an example: Robbie from BotW doesn’t remember Link nor his experience with the Sheika slate. In fact, they act like the damn thing didn’t even fucking exist. WHY. Why the hell are characters introducing themselves to Link like this is their first time seeing him?
Or like, the Great Fairies! They love Link in the first game and one in TotK literally says she “recognizes his scent”. So…they don’t remember it from BotW? They speak to him like they never met him. I hate it a lot.
Or even Kilton!...err, Koltin? I get them mixed up lol You literally are the only person willing to hear him geek out over his hyperfixation of monsters and wanting to be one and bring him parts for goods but in TotK he introduces himself to Link like they never met. I also hate that they reintroduce the monster masks like that shit is new. No, it's not. I think it would've been cool if he noticed you lost your masks and maybe even be sad about it (since he loves monsters so much and were handmade) but his brother was like "It's okay, brother (you know, writers love to use titles for sibs like this)! You taught me how to make them and I'll give you (looks to Link) them again...but for a favor. For bubbul gems!" or something. Maybe even a sidequest to find them from Koltin and you see monsters of each mask playing with them or wearing it or something, idk. ANY acknowledgement that anything you did in BotW mattered to these NPCs lol...This shit bothers me.
With so much detail the game has with dialogue based on if a character asks you to do something you may have already done, the weather or obtaining something you already have just assumed it’d seep into Link’s relations from BotW. Maybe side quests aren’t canon idk but it’s not always side quests or side characters…
I also feel this kind of disconnect like they did not want to consider BotW important enough to solidify its canon except when the shit is convenient. There are references to it, sure, but the game tends to lean more into “this is your first experience into this world”. I really wish they did not do that. A few times I was taken out of what was going on because the game wants me to forget I did a thing in BotW.
Also, BotW’s progression is also not mentioned with items you obtained in that game save for the Master Sword because of course. All the outfits you acquired, and the game just acts like you never had them at all. Like the treasure quests and shit. The NPCs I mentioned above are just examples of this amnesia.
I’d have been more impressed if upon Link’s disappearance his was robbed and he had to find all his missing stuff as a side quest and people all over were rushing to find the new master’s thief’s hoard stolen from “ a hero of legend”. Idk, anything better than acting like 70% of those outfits were never found in BotW years ago. And to explain why they aren’t max stars is because they are damaged from the theft but the great fairies can repair it. Would’ve loved when they saw the stat of older outfits they could go “After all the love me and my sisters put into these clothes </3” and they offer to repair and of course new outfits have new animations. Because they reused the same damn animations.
And the Zora armor issue. That really bugs me. Mipha made Link armor because they were clearly close and she loved him romantically. The game never acknowledges this and you're given NEW Zora armor. They never bring up why Link needs it either when he should still have Mipha's. I'm shocked af Sidon especially never says anything since he's the one who tells Link Mipha's feelings when he still has amnesia. This is where all his shit being stolen would help and he'd need new armor. Something to explain why he's back to zero. Then, of course, Sidon can feel sympathy how he lost it and that's how he's granted a new armor piece and the other two parts can be retrieved or just find others. Anything but what they did. I hate this approach of ignoring BotW events, especially since this was not side content but main quest narrative they just disregarded for whatever reason.
*What Ancients? - This coincides with the BotW continuity issue. I get that a good chunk of years passed an everything and in that time the people of Hyrule were working towards rebuilding anew right? So that would entail clean up of the Calamity's damage but...Why tf is every single bit of evidence of the calamity just gone? GONE. I mean like the robots ruins are gone from every fucking corner of the large ass map. They had time to do that but not rebuild Hyrule castle? lol Wtf WHY.
I also find it weird af that the calamity is barely mentioned with exception in a context of Link's win against it. Which I'm not taking my boi Link's cred from him but...that was 100 fucking years of devastation by Calamity Ganon's monster hoards and those ancient machines that almost took Link out. Zelda imprisoned for an ENTIRE century (and before this having literally no childhood due to training and the loss of her mother) and every race losing loved ones and their champions along with their big ass zoids getting taken over reeking havoc and people are in la la land now because it was over. The whiplash dude. It has not been that fucking long ago, 5-7 years tops based on character aging up only a little bit.
Not to be that person, but FFX does this shit better and they get a break from Sin like for like years at a time before it returns but before they can really "recover" it's back again. Even in the sequel people are still recovering from Sin's devastation of the world and they all feel aimless with this newfound freedom from it and it's religion. Why isn't there some leftover affect from the Calamity? People do not even compare the Upheaval to the Calamity worrying that it's back and the Upheaval seems worse.
And tbh I get that no one wants to use that technology that terrorized them for a century, I get that. But why aren't the Sheika still trying to learn everything they can from it to move tech forward. Use it for good to help rebuild Hyrule or some shit. That was their thing in BotW, at least concerning Purah and Robbie. They dedicated their lives to that but now in TotK it's such an afterthought that Robbie's two research facilities are literally abandoned and one is officially Yiga Clan territory. All that research and info in Yiga Clan hands.
Since Sheika people were sitting around not going into the Ring Ruins because of what fake Zelda said they could've been doing something about this stuff. Still researching it and in the confusion of the Upheaval interrupted it. Anything other than "tee hee peace has been great guys, the Calamity feels so far away". It can feel that way after years of peace but uhhh it wasn't. The elder Zora literally hated Link for 100 years because Mipha was killed fighting during the Calamity, do not tell me they would forget the Calamity in a couple of years. DO NOT.
I hate how this game handles BotW's story elements. Like they never existed. And I get why they removes the shrines but they also never explain why they fucked off either. Or they did in BotW and I'm a dumbass and forgot. IDK.
The Calamity feels so non-consequential in TotK. Thanks, I hate it. Also, given Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf both exist in this LoZ universe is...(in past Zelda games, to my knowledge, they either get Ganon or Ganondorf)..there a connection between the two? Like, this is never bought up. They both used the Bloodstained Moon and controlled the monsters...Is Calamity Ganon a remnant of Ganondorf since that botch was so strong he could've even be killed? Or it was explained and I forgot. The lore/timeline usually treats Ganon and Ganondorf like different beings in other games but this game never brings this up.
Also, why are the Zoids from the first game gone. No explanation for this either, they just fucked off. They weren't even in the way for the new stuff on the map. This is the shit I'm talking about. The Zora literally built this beautiful monument to Mipha on the mountain where that Lynel that terrorized them with lightning arrows used to be in her honor so...what, people couldn't make monuments from those zoids? Use them for defenses against the monsters plaguing the land. SOMETHING. Also, I know they aren't literally zoids but forgot the names. The Champions' souls were literally linked to these things too, did they move on when Calamity Ganon was gone? If not, did they take the zoids and go somewhere else? I need answers!
No Interface Upgrades – Why the hell didn’t they update this system to make it easier to upgrade/level up multiple outfits. Or choose to upgrade an entire outfit at once if you have the materials. It’s tedious af. They sort of improves how recipes are handled but not by much. Would’ve preferred a cookbook to list them or something along with how they added the recipes list to materials when holding them.
Also, enough of the secret world exp bullshit. Give visual indicators so I'm not blind-sighted by silver and white monsters kicking my ass. A white goblin bitch took me out in one fucking hit during my playthrough because I killed a blue-maned lynel...ONCE.
Insane Difficulty Spikes - Speaking of, why tf are the monsters such heavy hitters this time around. They take out like 7-10 hearts with a single hit sometimes. If I did not have hearty radishes I'd have been fucked. Don';'t bother investing in hearts first, stamina first since it matters more anyway save for that one time the story says fuck you and locks progression behind how many hearts you have (you need 11 to open that fucking door btw I had to go to the evil status and swap stamina for the hearts).
This is not exclusive to world exp, the beginning of the game is ruthless. You step your tiny Link feet on Hyrule for the first time in the game and the red goblins can take you out in one hit for no fucking reason. I was so annoyed by this. I guess they wanted Link to be significantly weaker due to his gloom infection or whatever but it sucks and never goes away.
Narrative Repetition – I wish depending on progression you slowly learned more about the imprisoning war with unique perspectives/voices from the sages. It was lame af to hear the same story told the same way four times. Nothing new or even unique from each sage or how their own faults/strengths/weaknesses factor into the fight. We never even SEE this grand battle, they just stand there then they are weak and then it fades.
All 4 sages from the main story missions speak in the same stoic/dead tone and say damn near identical information. While the new sages are hearing this story for the first time Link has to hear the same stuff three more times. The script for these parts feels unnatural as well but that is a personal opinion. I hated this. The game has an issue with repetitively giving the same information.
The Overall Story – Okay, hear me out. While I actually enjoyed this story a lot and this story is significantly more engaging and better than BotW’s story I still feel…cheated? When the dust settles (I binged the memories I missed after beating the game) there’s something strange about this story.
Ganondorf is so woefully underdeveloped that it fucking hurts my soul. He’s such a huge part of what happens in this game and he’s just evil because he’s Ganondorf. I thought past memories would give insight as to why he attacked Hyrule besides the one-dimensional reason but nah. I assume it has a lot to do with Hyrule literally colonizing everywhere but what do I know lol
The Zonia are fascinating but we don’t learn enough about them imo or why they felt the need to descend onto the world to rule it. They are treated like gods and have this insane power because of the secret stones but…why?
And I really like Rauru and Sonia, I do, but there’s this strange feeling of imperialism concerning the ancient past. Which is why I think Ganondorf initially attacks Hyrule but I don’t actually know because the game does not give a shit about Ganondorf beyond being hot evil. Zonai come out of the blue and take over and honestly I can see why some people wouldn’t like that. Minding your fucking business then these demigods just descend and tell you what to do with no explanation other than "because I'm more powerful".
Rauru repeated invites Ganondorf to surrender “peacefully” until he obliges for his own plans. This is not "innocent nation" shit going on but the game never acknowledges this and I find that weird. And why is it only Rauru and his sister are left on Hyrule, what. I might have missed important info because the game literally skips main quest stuff if you’re ahead but it’s strange.
I wanted to learn more about the ancient people too. I also do not like how lifeless the other sages are. They act like thoughtless puppets which also makes me suspicious of Zonai in general. Did they used to be individuals until they swore to serve? Did they swear to serve because the Zonai did something to make them puppets? We don’t see them have personalities, desires, faults, nothing for themselves or their people. They don’t even have names and are essentially faceless. That is literally how unimportant they are to the story, the Zonai and the conflict. Like damn.
Also, the ‘mystery’ with Zelda was very predictable. I knew that ghost Zelda wasn’t her the entire time. Why no one else didn't after she did heinous shit is insane to me. When she fell and disappeared, I know she was either somewhere else or Ganondorf was using her body as a vessel or whatever. I’m annoyed af that none of the characters that see “Zelda” doing out of characters things and didn’t say shit about it (except Sonia who STILL WAS MURDERED despite seeing past the fake).
I think the only thing that took me for a loop was Zelda being that dragon which I questioned why the other dragons from BotW had names but the new dragon didn’t. Just “Light Dragon”. I was suspicious but it never kept my attention for long. I questioned it and wondered where it came from but never did I think it was Zelda lol They pulled a GoWR where the thing is there because the past or something. I know it’s a trope but GoWR is my most recent experience with it besides here.
Link’s Lack of Expression in Cutscenes – I get he’s supposed to probably be like a self-insert sort of like most silent protags (the concept artist for the BotW/TotK Link said in an interview that Link is more feminine to be easier for any type of player to relate to him) but his lack of reaction sometimes is so off putting to me lol There’s only a handful of times I genuinely feel like he’s mentally there for the story. When he meets Ganondorf’s husk is the best example of him being a character. He is genuinely afraid, and it’s seen through his eyes and stuff but in a lot of cutscenes that’s absent much like BotW. I was so hyped from that cutscene thinking they were going to really show Link express himself but they did not….His model is capable of the facial expressions, which they did more with it.
When Zelda smiles at him and he has this default bitch face I feel like “damn, they couldn’t even soften his eyes/expression a little for that interaction huh”. I have a hard time shipping them because I never see him outwardly expression anything to her. He risks his life for her and reaches for her twice (and those scenes are good af) but is it affection or his devotion as a knight. I got for the latter because he never gives her anything else.
Same with other characters. When characters, who clearly love him and interact with him, he never shows any kind of warmth to them with expressions/body language. Let Link love these characters in any other way than stoicism please. I wanted to see him pet tulin's head when he so enthusiastically comes towards him or smile at Sidon when he greets him with so much jubilation. Maybe fist bump Yunobu (finally remembered his name lol) and smirk/bow/something respectful towards Riju since she too is considered royalty among the Gerudo.
Sheika on Hold/Removed History – Maybe they will get back to them with DLC or something but they feel sorely underused in this game. A lot of their influence and lore is just fucking missing in TotK. It’s a shame too because they are fascinating in BotW and there's something strange with it just missing/gone based on how Hyrule treated them in the past. A lot to uncover with them imo I’m also kind of miffed that Purah made herself a damn kid to continue to research and….fucking no one is talking about that or utilizing it to help preserve by keeping old folks alive. I forgot how she did it in BotW but the fact that no one talks about this shit or how that can be used to preserve history is fucking insane. Use that shit.
They want to use Sheikah characters to push TotK narrative but not actually tell their story. It's bullshit imo Relative to the ancient tech missing in the game.
Gerudo – I really don’t like how man obsessed they have made the Gerudo in this universe. I feel like they are disrespected and even more so in TotK. They don’t need fucking voe to fulfill their damn lives. There’s a reason they only bore one dude a century for fuck sakes. I’d be less bitchy about this is they wanted to say something about the way Geurdo are in this game’s universe. Like, say, colonialism and how it affects a culture through generations since they seem to be “tamed” to Hyrulian standards….and maybe see them build back into the way they were in previous titles.
The Gerudo were no bullshit in other LoZ games, no clue why they broke them down here and not say something about it narratively. Maybe Ganondorf becomes twisted, seeing his people torn down from their culture and ways for the takeover of Hyrule. Listen, that shit is there even if the game fails to acknowledge it. I get one-dimensional villains are a thing but it does not fit here in BotW/TotK’s story. Ganondorf became twisted and dark af and I want to know WHY. It definitely would have something to do with Hyrule since he hates it but I digress.
Speaking of, curious as to why they didn’t bore a new male in BotW? If it’s every century and BotW takes place 100 years after they lost to Calamity Ganon…then why haven’t we’ve seen a new Gerudo male born? Am I…missing something here? Would've been a far more interesting focus than them trying to appease Hylian voes. Wtf were they thinking with that lol
Poorly Aged Implications - This is an issue the series of LoZ as a whole which it always had but the racist implications of the basis of the franchise never boded well with me (I don't think it was intentional/malicious btw). You know, the franchises' main evil born from the darkest/brown skin race of the franchise while the good guys are always white, blue eyes and blond in most versions. Except in fucking Wind Waker where Terra was brown skinned as a pirate but knowing she's princess fucking Zelda turned her fair skinned (the lore whitewashed her and I'll never forget or forgive lmao).
Oh, and making Ganondorf green (and anyone evil from Gerudo like the two old ladies from OoT) does not make it less racist lol Also, giving Ganon the pig forms (I don't know if they are the same but they share names and themes).
And Hyrule always being peak modern society in LoZ universes while other races less so center its existence as the core of said universe. And the enemies that are usually red/black skinned with tribal motifs. This is an issue in Asian RPGs in general but it's in BotW/TotK hard. Yes, these enemies turn white when leveled up but that in itself is a poor implication. Black/red skinned are the weakest forms but being white/silver they are the strongest but I digress.
Anyway, I mention this because it has a lot to do with the tone of TotK. The Gerudo are seen attacking Hyrule and we learn Rauru has tried to make them submit countless times. Colonialism is hardcore here but making Ganondorf evil for evil's sake is a disservice to what is implied in the past. If anything it feels like the Gerudo are defending themselves from being another race under the heel of Hyrule. Not giving Ganondorf screen time outside of being the evil force is a waste. Not getting to see what kind of king he was or the relation with his people or what life was like outside of Hyrule's leash. But they can't show any of that because it adds layers to the story the game clearly did not want to tell. This is a very black and white story but how they decided to tell it it shouldn't have been.
To add, making Sonia brown skinned and Rauru an anthro does not detract from Hyrule's overall image of fair skinned through this game's universe or the franchise in general. Present day Zelda is fair skinned. Remember, Wind Waker had to literally whitewash Zelda when she found out she was Hyrule royalty lol This is how ingrained being pale skinned is for Hyrule royalty. Fuck man, it's wild.
Hyrule and its hierarchy has always been presented as fair skinned (unless they are already dead ergo Zelda's father in a couple of games I know of and Sonia murdered on screen) and the Gerudo dark skinned. So to see the past like this in TotK adds a new layer of Gerudo attacking Hyrule. I wish we got this telling and not the fairtale-like one where there is only good and evil and Hyrule is always right. Given who Zelda is in BotW this would've been an insane story of her learning about the past and her liniege and how it's more complex than "Hyrule good, antagonistic force (Gerudos/Ganondorf) bad".
Zelda's father tried but failed her, (well, at least in BotW, in TotK they act like this shit never happened) so making her trip to the past complex would've really added a lot to her character. And her having to understand the mistake of early Hyrule and understand there shouldn't be one person of one nation taking over all but every nation of people having their own say. Not this bullshit "we live to serve Zelda" bullshit. It's kind of disgusting. The ending is a huge disservice and feels like history repeating itself. They have secret stones, they an be allied with Hyrule but devote themselves to their people first like they should unlike the sages of the past. And the sages of the past speaking for their future people to devote themselves to Zelda....why though. Would've been better if Zelda learned Hyrule is not an answer and one size fits all and when they devote themselves to her she shakes her head and says something like "No, we're in this together. We can do this together, not just for me but for everyone". Zelda is so selfless too, she imprisoned herself for 100 years in BotW and lived an eternity and lost herself for her present time's future....she'd seriously see the wrong in her being one over all. Come on, the pieces are there.
Mineru is also wasted potential and could've had more to do if Rauru was actually not seen as 'all good' too. Rauru is the ends to a means kind of destruction, "evil pathed with good intentions" kind of ruler based on the implications. He comes off as a tyrant getting everyone else to swear allegiance to him. And they do with the fucking sages with no personality or life or goals/wants/needs or anything aside from selling out their people to serve Rauru. I'm sure he also appointed said sages too probably for that reason. And why he waited until the world went to shit to offer them secret stones show how much control he actually had over them and other races. Even how his love story is told about him and Sonia feels like she was an offering and not natural love. That's the impression I got anyway. Yes, they show they love each other but because we don't get info about them outside of the already established relationship they have meeting Zelda we'll never know how they met. How the hell did they meet.
If Hyrule's lineage was not always seen as ultimate good then this could've been an amazing story. A lot of wasted potential.
Inventory – Not being able to register outfits when the gameplay relies heavily on changing between them was a huge misstep and a shame, they did not change that from BotW. Not being able to have control of your inventory is also a huge loss gameplay wise. There are so many outfit pieces and items it seems silly not to give the player an option of manual sorting.
Button mapping – I really dislike that there was zero control to remap buttons. The default mapping has often had me press the wrong buttons because how it’s set up feels less natural. Personal grip.
Map on Wheel – The map option on the wheel is so useless it’s obvious it was just filler to make a full wheel…since you can press the (–) button to get to the map which is honestly more convenient. They could’ve used it for anything more useful like registered outfits, hotbar for Sage abilities or anything.
Slipping – Still an issue from BotW and thought they try to rectify it with new items to craft recipes of slip resistance it’s still a pain. Rain is not used an obstacle as much like it was in BotW for the Zora domain so not sure why they did not make it an ability opposed to using food/an outfit. And because sorting is a pain in the ass and outfits are equally a pain to switch between (more so since there are way more to find) it makes slipping an issue still.
It’s a pain at worst and inconvenient at best. A solution could’ve been making it a power upgrade given to Link by Robbie. Maybe he sees your new hand, fascinated with it as it’s not like anything he’s seen before. He scans your hand and then makes a glove for Link’s other hand, and it too can have power-ups to switch between. One being to not slip while raining. Would solve slipping in general and less a pain to cook (gather materials for recipes) or constantly swapping between outfit pieces.
Storage/Custom Home – Sad to see storage still has not been totally considered in TotK since weapons are still breakable. You can store up to nine of each type of weapon once unlocking your custom home from a sidequest but this does not solve the issue overall. It also is not an all to answer for storage since custom homes can only have 15 rooms at a time and taking up nine of those would leave the player with only six other rooms…I hope this can be fixed in future content.
Speaking of the custom home feature, it’s a very flawed system overall. The rules of how rooms connect and work once out of building mode are not clear. Also, Terry Town NPC is in the way so much I want to kill him lol If items can go through him it wouldn’t be so bad or he just stand outside the building range while you build. I also think 15 rooms is too low considering how many you can buy and it limits players a lot. It’s a very frustrating new feature. The custom home feature was a good idea in the right direction but handled poorly.
Grind – I don’t know about anyone else but this game feels grindier. Like, stuff is just more of a task to obtain in general. If I didn’t come out of BotW right before TotK’s release I’d have thought I imagined it. Some people swear this game is not a grind but it definitely is, to a point where it’s faulty. It feels grindier to draw gameplay out more artificially, because like BotW, while it has more story it’s still not enough imo. Not for what they were trying to do.
Breakable Weapons Still - I didn't think this was going to go away for TotK tbh but I hate that it's still a thing. It honestly makes more sense for TotK lore wise since weapons decayed and lost most of their power from BotW. It makes more sense but because it was in BotW where it didn't and it's annoying af it was still against the game rather than for it. I appreciate being able to purchase legendary weapons again or obtain them again by some arbitrary means but why not have a separate page for legendary weapons and they can;t break at all but recharge like the Master Sword? Or just not fucking break because of the legendary status but because of that they can;t be fused with other weapons? Anything but what it is. Pain in the ass.
Inventory....Again: For all the weapons and shit you can find in the game it's a damn shame how limited Link's stashes for them are. And it takes like 450 korok seeds or something in that range to unlock all available upgrades too. Even then, it's still not enough. Why is it done like this. You need space all the time and there's no fucking reliable storage. It's like when looter shooters brag about all the loot you'll find but only offer a handful of places to store it that gets full quick. For the love of fuck stop doing this.
Gameplay Secrets Untold - I HATE how this game never divulges critical info gameplay wise. Like, to unlock pristine weapons in the depths you have to break the decayed version first. Would've been nice to know that. Or adding a golden apple, dragon part (exception to spikes), and chikapee nut to recipes makes the duration of effect 30 minutes. Stuff like that.
Youtubers and dataminers are the only way you're gonna learn this shit because the game has no interest to tell you. I didn;t even consider dragon parts food so why tf would I add them to meals. If you mix food with monster parts you get dubious food meals. See why it's important they let people know that? Or at least categorize the parts better (you can sort by type but dragon parts are near monster parts) or have somewhere what something is. then it'd be easier to figure this shit out by accident at least.
Main Quest Mission Progression – I appreciate the dev team wanting players to play how they want and do what they want. I really do. But for TotK it works less than it did for BotW. There’s a clear chronological order for shit to happen and if you break that order you miss stuff. REALLY important, narrative stuff that cannot be experienced once it's skipped by any means except memories or something maybe. I don't know, I didn't bother to go back for it. Thank you Youtubers who uploaded up all of Zelda’s memories because the game literally said fuck you to anyone who had the master sword early on their first playthrough. Just wanted a weapon that didn't fucking break lol
I obtained the Master Sword before finishing the phenomenon quest and after getting the fifth sage the game is just like “oh, you have the sword already. Cool.” And skips a series of missions that explains stuff that happened with Zelda in the past and how she became the light dragon. If I had known stuff would skip over like that I would have just waited since the Master Sword doesn’t offer much anyway. Unbreakable, sure, but then you have to wait 10 real time minutes to use it again. Whatever, anyway, they should’ve not leaned into that “do what you want in whatever order you want” gameplay this time since there is more story and you apparently can miss a chunk of it if you do.
This adds nothing to the gameplay doing it like this. Just make the story linear, does not take away from exploring the world...lock off shit meant for main quest progression if it means missing it. Duh.
Horses – Now they are even more useless with zonia devices but they try to make them relevant by adding pulling and making it a requirement for some side content. Also, can power them up with the horse god in the game now if you food him which is cool but feels unnecessary. Imo, horses have also been more of a pain in the ass than a utility. They can die and can't be summoned from long distances and cut off completely if on another part of the map.
BotW added a way to summon your horse from anywhere or something but it's not in TotK. At least, I've never seen it. I never use horses due to the inconvience. I like that if you have a BotW save your old horses transfer but I don't need them and what's worse special horses never get a pull stat and you can't customize them much and in some cases at all.
I had Epona from BotW. Epona cannot pull and you cannot customize her. She is just there because she is this series chocobo/animal mascot or whatever. Idk, I still prefer if they just gave Link Epona like past games and that was it. Or the cool DLC motorcycle I never used because by the time you fucking get it BotW the game is over so it's useless. Tangent but yeah, horses are still not necessary. Just a pain tbh but they are cute and can be fed so there's that.
Neutral:
Gardening – It’s an okay feature. It helps with farming recipe materials, but it seems like the developers didn’t want to give players too much power concerning the only thing you’d need the garden for: hearty radishes and truffles. The limitation of two ingame days to reap without use of fires/inns isn’t a bad way to limit breaking the game but to wait that amount of time for only two radishes makes it not worth it.
It’s good for the small stuff that can be grown though. It’s a decent addition but very bare bones. You can't add mulch, plant food or anything to help increase the amount grown. You can;t find "tips" to expand the NPC's knowledge to take care of the garden better for more produce/improve stuff she doesn't know about. Nothing like that.
Not expecting farm simulator levels of complexity but would’ve been nice to have some control to make the garden worthwhile. Better yet give the player control with a garden plot near their custom home.
Voice Acting – I played the game in English only so going by that experience. It’s okay in English. I think characters like Mineru, Rauru, Sonia, maybe a few others sound good. Then everyone else sounds off af. Especially the ancient sages, that are almost robotic and non-thinking in their delivery. Intentional? Doubt it since the game does not want to talk about the thoughtless puppet sages but whatever. Overall serviceable VAing but could’ve been better in a few places.
Nit-picky:
Customization – I wish there was a way to keep customized look with different powerups. Is stupid since it defeats the purpose of obtaining outfits but some outfits, I like more than others but want Link to look different from said powerup outfit as I play. Would be nice if they delved deeper into customization. Like once you max outfits means swapping looks or something idk
Removed Content – I don’t know why tf they removed durians from the game. Or have some stupid limitations like 21 items on the ground at a time. I guess the fun glitches from BotW was still on their minds despite trying to convince the players it doesn’t exist narratively so to be sure people didn’t do fun glitches they just removed stuff. Which did not stop the insane glitches from the base game which I'm not even made at because said glitches reduced the grind the game tries to convince you is not there.
NPC Noises – Sometimes, I wish you can just turn them off. There's this chick at one of the stables who keep fucking yelling at you and she's annoying when doing stuff there. Like, okay I heard you. I'll make myself at home just pleas shut up lol Then there's some NPCs to buy stuff from like the beetle guy who makes too much noise but I need stuff he sells. It's annoying to hear some of these characters make all that noise lol I know, Zelda games are known for this but it's 2023, if Animal Crossing lets you turn off the animal noises LoZ can.
Details I Just Like:
-Link being a little guy. I like that for him. Size difference with most characters is insane. He's even shorter than Zelda lol
-Tiny bits of humor in areas like outfit upgrading, customizing with dyes, etc. I like it and like the idea Link isn't a stoic, unfeeling hero.
-Just Link in general. I like this version of Link, just let him express himself in cutscenes for fuck sakes.
Conclusion: Overall, TotK is leagues more fulfilling than BotW narrative progression wise but like it it has so many shortcomings from it too. Maybe more so since at least BotW had coherence and a solid foundation and was okay with Hyrule not being perfect while TotK just ignores it all to start new. Even Zelda, who was a fire cracker in BotW is somehow...subdued and just loved by all and unchallenged. Not one person has something even neutral to say about Zelda and that's weird to me when I remember BotW Zelda.
Gameplay wise the devs put a bandaid on some of those problems (or outright removed them) instead of actually fixing them. It still suffers from lack of story too, enough to engage but not enough to tell a coherent narrative due to the open world "do what you want/freedom" gameplay and the dumbass retcons everywhere.
It does it a disservice narrative wise but fun af to play. I still really like TotK and still recommend it to any who liked BotW but don't care about the story because those issues do still bug me. Especially the lack of continuity from BotW. No clue why they wrote some things like they did.
Having more time to stew on it I will say TotK does disrespect BotW's lore hardcore though. It's insane how much they fumbled. I will say the gameplay is good but the story not so much. I hate unnecessary retcons.
Hmm...Probably missed stuff to talk about but those are some main points.
Content Overall – When people say BotW feels like a demo compared to TotK I feel that is a true sentiment. Feels more like a world compared to BotW. While BotW had a couple of cutscenes then it was do whatever you want until the end (with sprinkled story here or there) TotK feels like it has significantly more story which, for me personally, makes it easier to get invested. I also enjoy seeing changes from the first game and how characters have changed over time. I don’t know if the amount of time between BotW and TotK has been mentioned but it’s clearly been years given Purah is not at least an older teen when you see her. It’s nice to see that reflected. The Depths is insanely fun as it is unsettling for the first time and the sky ruins can be fun if somewhat lacking. Given the trailer I expected more to do in the sky but either way love what’s here.
A prime example of TotK being bigger than BotW via content is the Yiga Clan. While in BotW they hardly have a presence and when they do become more narrative relevant it’s over as quick as it began in TotK you really feel like they are a threat despite being side content that’s missbale. They have bases above and below ground and they have a vendetta against Link they are very vocal about. So much so that even a side mission is to lure Link out using his good intentions again him. As the player you see the set up a mile away but it was still entertaining the lengths the Yiga clan will go through to kill Link and succeed in their ultimate goal. It’s also worthwhile to pursue the Yiga clan in the depths for their schematics for more fusion antics.
New Abilities – Love the fuse ability and how crazy people can get with it. There are people still finding out things in BotW and it released back in 2017 so I know we’ll be seeing insane af videos of TotK for years to comes. I didn’t expect Fuse to add so much to the game. I do miss the Sheika Pad abilities (and curious why they did not return) but it doesn’t take away from what’s presented.
No More Unobtainable Missables…I think? – As far as I know there aren’t any in TotT which is excellent imo. I really dislike large open world games that have missable anything given the likelihood that I’m going through the game again slim at best (at least not until much time has passed). BotW had some but glad to see that has been fixed for TotK, at least, as far as I know.
Present Day Sages – This is not executed as well as I’d have liked but I am so glad you can turn them on and off at your leisure. I also like they they did not kill these important characters just to make them sages. It depressed me in past games when being a sage meant being dead quq
I like them all sort of. The guy who says ‘goro’ after almost everything he says is annoying af sometimes lol It sounds very unnatural and forced so I cringe. He’s not a bad character but I hate that for him. Love them all though and Tulin is adorable af. Little feather bean.
More Outfits – I miss some of the ones from the previous game that are missing (coughgerudo outfitcough) but a lot of the new ones are cool looking. Link, the new Barbie lol
THE DESIGNS/New Characters – Everyone is looking really nice in this game. I love the Zonai designs too and Ganondorf’s design and stuff. Picking up where BotW left off with flare. That meme where almost everyone is hot lol
Adding BotW's DLC stuff in TotK's Base Game - You can also use amiibos but I appreciate them adding those once paywalled outfits into TotK's base game. Gotta work for that shit though. Damn coliseum bullshit and whatever lol
Cons:
Narrative Progression from BotW – Is it just me or does a lot of the interactions Link have with characters he’s met and at times helped not even remember him? There’s a handful of characters/NPCs/ect. that Link meets again and was excited to see what they’d say to him after years but sometimes they act like they first met. I assume this is so those who missed BotW can be acquainted and learn as they go but isn’t that what the newly added Character Profiles is for? Maybe add a journal feature as well?
Not all characters Link met in BotW suffer from amnesia, at least, not the ones that matter with story progression. Here’s an example: Robbie from BotW doesn’t remember Link nor his experience with the Sheika slate. In fact, they act like the damn thing didn’t even fucking exist. WHY. Why the hell are characters introducing themselves to Link like this is their first time seeing him?
Or like, the Great Fairies! They love Link in the first game and one in TotK literally says she “recognizes his scent”. So…they don’t remember it from BotW? They speak to him like they never met him. I hate it a lot.
Or even Kilton!...err, Koltin? I get them mixed up lol You literally are the only person willing to hear him geek out over his hyperfixation of monsters and wanting to be one and bring him parts for goods but in TotK he introduces himself to Link like they never met. I also hate that they reintroduce the monster masks like that shit is new. No, it's not. I think it would've been cool if he noticed you lost your masks and maybe even be sad about it (since he loves monsters so much and were handmade) but his brother was like "It's okay, brother (you know, writers love to use titles for sibs like this)! You taught me how to make them and I'll give you (looks to Link) them again...but for a favor. For bubbul gems!" or something. Maybe even a sidequest to find them from Koltin and you see monsters of each mask playing with them or wearing it or something, idk. ANY acknowledgement that anything you did in BotW mattered to these NPCs lol...This shit bothers me.
With so much detail the game has with dialogue based on if a character asks you to do something you may have already done, the weather or obtaining something you already have just assumed it’d seep into Link’s relations from BotW. Maybe side quests aren’t canon idk but it’s not always side quests or side characters…
I also feel this kind of disconnect like they did not want to consider BotW important enough to solidify its canon except when the shit is convenient. There are references to it, sure, but the game tends to lean more into “this is your first experience into this world”. I really wish they did not do that. A few times I was taken out of what was going on because the game wants me to forget I did a thing in BotW.
Also, BotW’s progression is also not mentioned with items you obtained in that game save for the Master Sword because of course. All the outfits you acquired, and the game just acts like you never had them at all. Like the treasure quests and shit. The NPCs I mentioned above are just examples of this amnesia.
I’d have been more impressed if upon Link’s disappearance his was robbed and he had to find all his missing stuff as a side quest and people all over were rushing to find the new master’s thief’s hoard stolen from “ a hero of legend”. Idk, anything better than acting like 70% of those outfits were never found in BotW years ago. And to explain why they aren’t max stars is because they are damaged from the theft but the great fairies can repair it. Would’ve loved when they saw the stat of older outfits they could go “After all the love me and my sisters put into these clothes </3” and they offer to repair and of course new outfits have new animations. Because they reused the same damn animations.
And the Zora armor issue. That really bugs me. Mipha made Link armor because they were clearly close and she loved him romantically. The game never acknowledges this and you're given NEW Zora armor. They never bring up why Link needs it either when he should still have Mipha's. I'm shocked af Sidon especially never says anything since he's the one who tells Link Mipha's feelings when he still has amnesia. This is where all his shit being stolen would help and he'd need new armor. Something to explain why he's back to zero. Then, of course, Sidon can feel sympathy how he lost it and that's how he's granted a new armor piece and the other two parts can be retrieved or just find others. Anything but what they did. I hate this approach of ignoring BotW events, especially since this was not side content but main quest narrative they just disregarded for whatever reason.
*What Ancients? - This coincides with the BotW continuity issue. I get that a good chunk of years passed an everything and in that time the people of Hyrule were working towards rebuilding anew right? So that would entail clean up of the Calamity's damage but...Why tf is every single bit of evidence of the calamity just gone? GONE. I mean like the robots ruins are gone from every fucking corner of the large ass map. They had time to do that but not rebuild Hyrule castle? lol Wtf WHY.
I also find it weird af that the calamity is barely mentioned with exception in a context of Link's win against it. Which I'm not taking my boi Link's cred from him but...that was 100 fucking years of devastation by Calamity Ganon's monster hoards and those ancient machines that almost took Link out. Zelda imprisoned for an ENTIRE century (and before this having literally no childhood due to training and the loss of her mother) and every race losing loved ones and their champions along with their big ass zoids getting taken over reeking havoc and people are in la la land now because it was over. The whiplash dude. It has not been that fucking long ago, 5-7 years tops based on character aging up only a little bit.
Not to be that person, but FFX does this shit better and they get a break from Sin like for like years at a time before it returns but before they can really "recover" it's back again. Even in the sequel people are still recovering from Sin's devastation of the world and they all feel aimless with this newfound freedom from it and it's religion. Why isn't there some leftover affect from the Calamity? People do not even compare the Upheaval to the Calamity worrying that it's back and the Upheaval seems worse.
And tbh I get that no one wants to use that technology that terrorized them for a century, I get that. But why aren't the Sheika still trying to learn everything they can from it to move tech forward. Use it for good to help rebuild Hyrule or some shit. That was their thing in BotW, at least concerning Purah and Robbie. They dedicated their lives to that but now in TotK it's such an afterthought that Robbie's two research facilities are literally abandoned and one is officially Yiga Clan territory. All that research and info in Yiga Clan hands.
Since Sheika people were sitting around not going into the Ring Ruins because of what fake Zelda said they could've been doing something about this stuff. Still researching it and in the confusion of the Upheaval interrupted it. Anything other than "tee hee peace has been great guys, the Calamity feels so far away". It can feel that way after years of peace but uhhh it wasn't. The elder Zora literally hated Link for 100 years because Mipha was killed fighting during the Calamity, do not tell me they would forget the Calamity in a couple of years. DO NOT.
I hate how this game handles BotW's story elements. Like they never existed. And I get why they removes the shrines but they also never explain why they fucked off either. Or they did in BotW and I'm a dumbass and forgot. IDK.
The Calamity feels so non-consequential in TotK. Thanks, I hate it. Also, given Calamity Ganon and Ganondorf both exist in this LoZ universe is...(in past Zelda games, to my knowledge, they either get Ganon or Ganondorf)..there a connection between the two? Like, this is never bought up. They both used the Bloodstained Moon and controlled the monsters...Is Calamity Ganon a remnant of Ganondorf since that botch was so strong he could've even be killed? Or it was explained and I forgot. The lore/timeline usually treats Ganon and Ganondorf like different beings in other games but this game never brings this up.
Also, why are the Zoids from the first game gone. No explanation for this either, they just fucked off. They weren't even in the way for the new stuff on the map. This is the shit I'm talking about. The Zora literally built this beautiful monument to Mipha on the mountain where that Lynel that terrorized them with lightning arrows used to be in her honor so...what, people couldn't make monuments from those zoids? Use them for defenses against the monsters plaguing the land. SOMETHING. Also, I know they aren't literally zoids but forgot the names. The Champions' souls were literally linked to these things too, did they move on when Calamity Ganon was gone? If not, did they take the zoids and go somewhere else? I need answers!
No Interface Upgrades – Why the hell didn’t they update this system to make it easier to upgrade/level up multiple outfits. Or choose to upgrade an entire outfit at once if you have the materials. It’s tedious af. They sort of improves how recipes are handled but not by much. Would’ve preferred a cookbook to list them or something along with how they added the recipes list to materials when holding them.
Also, enough of the secret world exp bullshit. Give visual indicators so I'm not blind-sighted by silver and white monsters kicking my ass. A white goblin bitch took me out in one fucking hit during my playthrough because I killed a blue-maned lynel...ONCE.
Insane Difficulty Spikes - Speaking of, why tf are the monsters such heavy hitters this time around. They take out like 7-10 hearts with a single hit sometimes. If I did not have hearty radishes I'd have been fucked. Don';'t bother investing in hearts first, stamina first since it matters more anyway save for that one time the story says fuck you and locks progression behind how many hearts you have (you need 11 to open that fucking door btw I had to go to the evil status and swap stamina for the hearts).
This is not exclusive to world exp, the beginning of the game is ruthless. You step your tiny Link feet on Hyrule for the first time in the game and the red goblins can take you out in one hit for no fucking reason. I was so annoyed by this. I guess they wanted Link to be significantly weaker due to his gloom infection or whatever but it sucks and never goes away.
Narrative Repetition – I wish depending on progression you slowly learned more about the imprisoning war with unique perspectives/voices from the sages. It was lame af to hear the same story told the same way four times. Nothing new or even unique from each sage or how their own faults/strengths/weaknesses factor into the fight. We never even SEE this grand battle, they just stand there then they are weak and then it fades.
All 4 sages from the main story missions speak in the same stoic/dead tone and say damn near identical information. While the new sages are hearing this story for the first time Link has to hear the same stuff three more times. The script for these parts feels unnatural as well but that is a personal opinion. I hated this. The game has an issue with repetitively giving the same information.
The Overall Story – Okay, hear me out. While I actually enjoyed this story a lot and this story is significantly more engaging and better than BotW’s story I still feel…cheated? When the dust settles (I binged the memories I missed after beating the game) there’s something strange about this story.
Ganondorf is so woefully underdeveloped that it fucking hurts my soul. He’s such a huge part of what happens in this game and he’s just evil because he’s Ganondorf. I thought past memories would give insight as to why he attacked Hyrule besides the one-dimensional reason but nah. I assume it has a lot to do with Hyrule literally colonizing everywhere but what do I know lol
The Zonia are fascinating but we don’t learn enough about them imo or why they felt the need to descend onto the world to rule it. They are treated like gods and have this insane power because of the secret stones but…why?
And I really like Rauru and Sonia, I do, but there’s this strange feeling of imperialism concerning the ancient past. Which is why I think Ganondorf initially attacks Hyrule but I don’t actually know because the game does not give a shit about Ganondorf beyond being hot evil. Zonai come out of the blue and take over and honestly I can see why some people wouldn’t like that. Minding your fucking business then these demigods just descend and tell you what to do with no explanation other than "because I'm more powerful".
Rauru repeated invites Ganondorf to surrender “peacefully” until he obliges for his own plans. This is not "innocent nation" shit going on but the game never acknowledges this and I find that weird. And why is it only Rauru and his sister are left on Hyrule, what. I might have missed important info because the game literally skips main quest stuff if you’re ahead but it’s strange.
I wanted to learn more about the ancient people too. I also do not like how lifeless the other sages are. They act like thoughtless puppets which also makes me suspicious of Zonai in general. Did they used to be individuals until they swore to serve? Did they swear to serve because the Zonai did something to make them puppets? We don’t see them have personalities, desires, faults, nothing for themselves or their people. They don’t even have names and are essentially faceless. That is literally how unimportant they are to the story, the Zonai and the conflict. Like damn.
Also, the ‘mystery’ with Zelda was very predictable. I knew that ghost Zelda wasn’t her the entire time. Why no one else didn't after she did heinous shit is insane to me. When she fell and disappeared, I know she was either somewhere else or Ganondorf was using her body as a vessel or whatever. I’m annoyed af that none of the characters that see “Zelda” doing out of characters things and didn’t say shit about it (except Sonia who STILL WAS MURDERED despite seeing past the fake).
I think the only thing that took me for a loop was Zelda being that dragon which I questioned why the other dragons from BotW had names but the new dragon didn’t. Just “Light Dragon”. I was suspicious but it never kept my attention for long. I questioned it and wondered where it came from but never did I think it was Zelda lol They pulled a GoWR where the thing is there because the past or something. I know it’s a trope but GoWR is my most recent experience with it besides here.
Link’s Lack of Expression in Cutscenes – I get he’s supposed to probably be like a self-insert sort of like most silent protags (the concept artist for the BotW/TotK Link said in an interview that Link is more feminine to be easier for any type of player to relate to him) but his lack of reaction sometimes is so off putting to me lol There’s only a handful of times I genuinely feel like he’s mentally there for the story. When he meets Ganondorf’s husk is the best example of him being a character. He is genuinely afraid, and it’s seen through his eyes and stuff but in a lot of cutscenes that’s absent much like BotW. I was so hyped from that cutscene thinking they were going to really show Link express himself but they did not….His model is capable of the facial expressions, which they did more with it.
When Zelda smiles at him and he has this default bitch face I feel like “damn, they couldn’t even soften his eyes/expression a little for that interaction huh”. I have a hard time shipping them because I never see him outwardly expression anything to her. He risks his life for her and reaches for her twice (and those scenes are good af) but is it affection or his devotion as a knight. I got for the latter because he never gives her anything else.
Same with other characters. When characters, who clearly love him and interact with him, he never shows any kind of warmth to them with expressions/body language. Let Link love these characters in any other way than stoicism please. I wanted to see him pet tulin's head when he so enthusiastically comes towards him or smile at Sidon when he greets him with so much jubilation. Maybe fist bump Yunobu (finally remembered his name lol) and smirk/bow/something respectful towards Riju since she too is considered royalty among the Gerudo.
Sheika on Hold/Removed History – Maybe they will get back to them with DLC or something but they feel sorely underused in this game. A lot of their influence and lore is just fucking missing in TotK. It’s a shame too because they are fascinating in BotW and there's something strange with it just missing/gone based on how Hyrule treated them in the past. A lot to uncover with them imo I’m also kind of miffed that Purah made herself a damn kid to continue to research and….fucking no one is talking about that or utilizing it to help preserve by keeping old folks alive. I forgot how she did it in BotW but the fact that no one talks about this shit or how that can be used to preserve history is fucking insane. Use that shit.
They want to use Sheikah characters to push TotK narrative but not actually tell their story. It's bullshit imo Relative to the ancient tech missing in the game.
Gerudo – I really don’t like how man obsessed they have made the Gerudo in this universe. I feel like they are disrespected and even more so in TotK. They don’t need fucking voe to fulfill their damn lives. There’s a reason they only bore one dude a century for fuck sakes. I’d be less bitchy about this is they wanted to say something about the way Geurdo are in this game’s universe. Like, say, colonialism and how it affects a culture through generations since they seem to be “tamed” to Hyrulian standards….and maybe see them build back into the way they were in previous titles.
The Gerudo were no bullshit in other LoZ games, no clue why they broke them down here and not say something about it narratively. Maybe Ganondorf becomes twisted, seeing his people torn down from their culture and ways for the takeover of Hyrule. Listen, that shit is there even if the game fails to acknowledge it. I get one-dimensional villains are a thing but it does not fit here in BotW/TotK’s story. Ganondorf became twisted and dark af and I want to know WHY. It definitely would have something to do with Hyrule since he hates it but I digress.
Speaking of, curious as to why they didn’t bore a new male in BotW? If it’s every century and BotW takes place 100 years after they lost to Calamity Ganon…then why haven’t we’ve seen a new Gerudo male born? Am I…missing something here? Would've been a far more interesting focus than them trying to appease Hylian voes. Wtf were they thinking with that lol
Poorly Aged Implications - This is an issue the series of LoZ as a whole which it always had but the racist implications of the basis of the franchise never boded well with me (I don't think it was intentional/malicious btw). You know, the franchises' main evil born from the darkest/brown skin race of the franchise while the good guys are always white, blue eyes and blond in most versions. Except in fucking Wind Waker where Terra was brown skinned as a pirate but knowing she's princess fucking Zelda turned her fair skinned (the lore whitewashed her and I'll never forget or forgive lmao).
Oh, and making Ganondorf green (and anyone evil from Gerudo like the two old ladies from OoT) does not make it less racist lol Also, giving Ganon the pig forms (I don't know if they are the same but they share names and themes).
And Hyrule always being peak modern society in LoZ universes while other races less so center its existence as the core of said universe. And the enemies that are usually red/black skinned with tribal motifs. This is an issue in Asian RPGs in general but it's in BotW/TotK hard. Yes, these enemies turn white when leveled up but that in itself is a poor implication. Black/red skinned are the weakest forms but being white/silver they are the strongest but I digress.
Anyway, I mention this because it has a lot to do with the tone of TotK. The Gerudo are seen attacking Hyrule and we learn Rauru has tried to make them submit countless times. Colonialism is hardcore here but making Ganondorf evil for evil's sake is a disservice to what is implied in the past. If anything it feels like the Gerudo are defending themselves from being another race under the heel of Hyrule. Not giving Ganondorf screen time outside of being the evil force is a waste. Not getting to see what kind of king he was or the relation with his people or what life was like outside of Hyrule's leash. But they can't show any of that because it adds layers to the story the game clearly did not want to tell. This is a very black and white story but how they decided to tell it it shouldn't have been.
To add, making Sonia brown skinned and Rauru an anthro does not detract from Hyrule's overall image of fair skinned through this game's universe or the franchise in general. Present day Zelda is fair skinned. Remember, Wind Waker had to literally whitewash Zelda when she found out she was Hyrule royalty lol This is how ingrained being pale skinned is for Hyrule royalty. Fuck man, it's wild.
Hyrule and its hierarchy has always been presented as fair skinned (unless they are already dead ergo Zelda's father in a couple of games I know of and Sonia murdered on screen) and the Gerudo dark skinned. So to see the past like this in TotK adds a new layer of Gerudo attacking Hyrule. I wish we got this telling and not the fairtale-like one where there is only good and evil and Hyrule is always right. Given who Zelda is in BotW this would've been an insane story of her learning about the past and her liniege and how it's more complex than "Hyrule good, antagonistic force (Gerudos/Ganondorf) bad".
Zelda's father tried but failed her, (well, at least in BotW, in TotK they act like this shit never happened) so making her trip to the past complex would've really added a lot to her character. And her having to understand the mistake of early Hyrule and understand there shouldn't be one person of one nation taking over all but every nation of people having their own say. Not this bullshit "we live to serve Zelda" bullshit. It's kind of disgusting. The ending is a huge disservice and feels like history repeating itself. They have secret stones, they an be allied with Hyrule but devote themselves to their people first like they should unlike the sages of the past. And the sages of the past speaking for their future people to devote themselves to Zelda....why though. Would've been better if Zelda learned Hyrule is not an answer and one size fits all and when they devote themselves to her she shakes her head and says something like "No, we're in this together. We can do this together, not just for me but for everyone". Zelda is so selfless too, she imprisoned herself for 100 years in BotW and lived an eternity and lost herself for her present time's future....she'd seriously see the wrong in her being one over all. Come on, the pieces are there.
Mineru is also wasted potential and could've had more to do if Rauru was actually not seen as 'all good' too. Rauru is the ends to a means kind of destruction, "evil pathed with good intentions" kind of ruler based on the implications. He comes off as a tyrant getting everyone else to swear allegiance to him. And they do with the fucking sages with no personality or life or goals/wants/needs or anything aside from selling out their people to serve Rauru. I'm sure he also appointed said sages too probably for that reason. And why he waited until the world went to shit to offer them secret stones show how much control he actually had over them and other races. Even how his love story is told about him and Sonia feels like she was an offering and not natural love. That's the impression I got anyway. Yes, they show they love each other but because we don't get info about them outside of the already established relationship they have meeting Zelda we'll never know how they met. How the hell did they meet.
If Hyrule's lineage was not always seen as ultimate good then this could've been an amazing story. A lot of wasted potential.
Inventory – Not being able to register outfits when the gameplay relies heavily on changing between them was a huge misstep and a shame, they did not change that from BotW. Not being able to have control of your inventory is also a huge loss gameplay wise. There are so many outfit pieces and items it seems silly not to give the player an option of manual sorting.
Button mapping – I really dislike that there was zero control to remap buttons. The default mapping has often had me press the wrong buttons because how it’s set up feels less natural. Personal grip.
Map on Wheel – The map option on the wheel is so useless it’s obvious it was just filler to make a full wheel…since you can press the (–) button to get to the map which is honestly more convenient. They could’ve used it for anything more useful like registered outfits, hotbar for Sage abilities or anything.
Slipping – Still an issue from BotW and thought they try to rectify it with new items to craft recipes of slip resistance it’s still a pain. Rain is not used an obstacle as much like it was in BotW for the Zora domain so not sure why they did not make it an ability opposed to using food/an outfit. And because sorting is a pain in the ass and outfits are equally a pain to switch between (more so since there are way more to find) it makes slipping an issue still.
It’s a pain at worst and inconvenient at best. A solution could’ve been making it a power upgrade given to Link by Robbie. Maybe he sees your new hand, fascinated with it as it’s not like anything he’s seen before. He scans your hand and then makes a glove for Link’s other hand, and it too can have power-ups to switch between. One being to not slip while raining. Would solve slipping in general and less a pain to cook (gather materials for recipes) or constantly swapping between outfit pieces.
Storage/Custom Home – Sad to see storage still has not been totally considered in TotK since weapons are still breakable. You can store up to nine of each type of weapon once unlocking your custom home from a sidequest but this does not solve the issue overall. It also is not an all to answer for storage since custom homes can only have 15 rooms at a time and taking up nine of those would leave the player with only six other rooms…I hope this can be fixed in future content.
Speaking of the custom home feature, it’s a very flawed system overall. The rules of how rooms connect and work once out of building mode are not clear. Also, Terry Town NPC is in the way so much I want to kill him lol If items can go through him it wouldn’t be so bad or he just stand outside the building range while you build. I also think 15 rooms is too low considering how many you can buy and it limits players a lot. It’s a very frustrating new feature. The custom home feature was a good idea in the right direction but handled poorly.
Grind – I don’t know about anyone else but this game feels grindier. Like, stuff is just more of a task to obtain in general. If I didn’t come out of BotW right before TotK’s release I’d have thought I imagined it. Some people swear this game is not a grind but it definitely is, to a point where it’s faulty. It feels grindier to draw gameplay out more artificially, because like BotW, while it has more story it’s still not enough imo. Not for what they were trying to do.
Breakable Weapons Still - I didn't think this was going to go away for TotK tbh but I hate that it's still a thing. It honestly makes more sense for TotK lore wise since weapons decayed and lost most of their power from BotW. It makes more sense but because it was in BotW where it didn't and it's annoying af it was still against the game rather than for it. I appreciate being able to purchase legendary weapons again or obtain them again by some arbitrary means but why not have a separate page for legendary weapons and they can;t break at all but recharge like the Master Sword? Or just not fucking break because of the legendary status but because of that they can;t be fused with other weapons? Anything but what it is. Pain in the ass.
Inventory....Again: For all the weapons and shit you can find in the game it's a damn shame how limited Link's stashes for them are. And it takes like 450 korok seeds or something in that range to unlock all available upgrades too. Even then, it's still not enough. Why is it done like this. You need space all the time and there's no fucking reliable storage. It's like when looter shooters brag about all the loot you'll find but only offer a handful of places to store it that gets full quick. For the love of fuck stop doing this.
Gameplay Secrets Untold - I HATE how this game never divulges critical info gameplay wise. Like, to unlock pristine weapons in the depths you have to break the decayed version first. Would've been nice to know that. Or adding a golden apple, dragon part (exception to spikes), and chikapee nut to recipes makes the duration of effect 30 minutes. Stuff like that.
Youtubers and dataminers are the only way you're gonna learn this shit because the game has no interest to tell you. I didn;t even consider dragon parts food so why tf would I add them to meals. If you mix food with monster parts you get dubious food meals. See why it's important they let people know that? Or at least categorize the parts better (you can sort by type but dragon parts are near monster parts) or have somewhere what something is. then it'd be easier to figure this shit out by accident at least.
Main Quest Mission Progression – I appreciate the dev team wanting players to play how they want and do what they want. I really do. But for TotK it works less than it did for BotW. There’s a clear chronological order for shit to happen and if you break that order you miss stuff. REALLY important, narrative stuff that cannot be experienced once it's skipped by any means except memories or something maybe. I don't know, I didn't bother to go back for it. Thank you Youtubers who uploaded up all of Zelda’s memories because the game literally said fuck you to anyone who had the master sword early on their first playthrough. Just wanted a weapon that didn't fucking break lol
I obtained the Master Sword before finishing the phenomenon quest and after getting the fifth sage the game is just like “oh, you have the sword already. Cool.” And skips a series of missions that explains stuff that happened with Zelda in the past and how she became the light dragon. If I had known stuff would skip over like that I would have just waited since the Master Sword doesn’t offer much anyway. Unbreakable, sure, but then you have to wait 10 real time minutes to use it again. Whatever, anyway, they should’ve not leaned into that “do what you want in whatever order you want” gameplay this time since there is more story and you apparently can miss a chunk of it if you do.
This adds nothing to the gameplay doing it like this. Just make the story linear, does not take away from exploring the world...lock off shit meant for main quest progression if it means missing it. Duh.
Horses – Now they are even more useless with zonia devices but they try to make them relevant by adding pulling and making it a requirement for some side content. Also, can power them up with the horse god in the game now if you food him which is cool but feels unnecessary. Imo, horses have also been more of a pain in the ass than a utility. They can die and can't be summoned from long distances and cut off completely if on another part of the map.
BotW added a way to summon your horse from anywhere or something but it's not in TotK. At least, I've never seen it. I never use horses due to the inconvience. I like that if you have a BotW save your old horses transfer but I don't need them and what's worse special horses never get a pull stat and you can't customize them much and in some cases at all.
I had Epona from BotW. Epona cannot pull and you cannot customize her. She is just there because she is this series chocobo/animal mascot or whatever. Idk, I still prefer if they just gave Link Epona like past games and that was it. Or the cool DLC motorcycle I never used because by the time you fucking get it BotW the game is over so it's useless. Tangent but yeah, horses are still not necessary. Just a pain tbh but they are cute and can be fed so there's that.
Neutral:
Gardening – It’s an okay feature. It helps with farming recipe materials, but it seems like the developers didn’t want to give players too much power concerning the only thing you’d need the garden for: hearty radishes and truffles. The limitation of two ingame days to reap without use of fires/inns isn’t a bad way to limit breaking the game but to wait that amount of time for only two radishes makes it not worth it.
It’s good for the small stuff that can be grown though. It’s a decent addition but very bare bones. You can't add mulch, plant food or anything to help increase the amount grown. You can;t find "tips" to expand the NPC's knowledge to take care of the garden better for more produce/improve stuff she doesn't know about. Nothing like that.
Not expecting farm simulator levels of complexity but would’ve been nice to have some control to make the garden worthwhile. Better yet give the player control with a garden plot near their custom home.
Voice Acting – I played the game in English only so going by that experience. It’s okay in English. I think characters like Mineru, Rauru, Sonia, maybe a few others sound good. Then everyone else sounds off af. Especially the ancient sages, that are almost robotic and non-thinking in their delivery. Intentional? Doubt it since the game does not want to talk about the thoughtless puppet sages but whatever. Overall serviceable VAing but could’ve been better in a few places.
Nit-picky:
Customization – I wish there was a way to keep customized look with different powerups. Is stupid since it defeats the purpose of obtaining outfits but some outfits, I like more than others but want Link to look different from said powerup outfit as I play. Would be nice if they delved deeper into customization. Like once you max outfits means swapping looks or something idk
Removed Content – I don’t know why tf they removed durians from the game. Or have some stupid limitations like 21 items on the ground at a time. I guess the fun glitches from BotW was still on their minds despite trying to convince the players it doesn’t exist narratively so to be sure people didn’t do fun glitches they just removed stuff. Which did not stop the insane glitches from the base game which I'm not even made at because said glitches reduced the grind the game tries to convince you is not there.
NPC Noises – Sometimes, I wish you can just turn them off. There's this chick at one of the stables who keep fucking yelling at you and she's annoying when doing stuff there. Like, okay I heard you. I'll make myself at home just pleas shut up lol Then there's some NPCs to buy stuff from like the beetle guy who makes too much noise but I need stuff he sells. It's annoying to hear some of these characters make all that noise lol I know, Zelda games are known for this but it's 2023, if Animal Crossing lets you turn off the animal noises LoZ can.
Details I Just Like:
-Link being a little guy. I like that for him. Size difference with most characters is insane. He's even shorter than Zelda lol
-Tiny bits of humor in areas like outfit upgrading, customizing with dyes, etc. I like it and like the idea Link isn't a stoic, unfeeling hero.
-Just Link in general. I like this version of Link, just let him express himself in cutscenes for fuck sakes.
Conclusion: Overall, TotK is leagues more fulfilling than BotW narrative progression wise but like it it has so many shortcomings from it too. Maybe more so since at least BotW had coherence and a solid foundation and was okay with Hyrule not being perfect while TotK just ignores it all to start new. Even Zelda, who was a fire cracker in BotW is somehow...subdued and just loved by all and unchallenged. Not one person has something even neutral to say about Zelda and that's weird to me when I remember BotW Zelda.
Gameplay wise the devs put a bandaid on some of those problems (or outright removed them) instead of actually fixing them. It still suffers from lack of story too, enough to engage but not enough to tell a coherent narrative due to the open world "do what you want/freedom" gameplay and the dumbass retcons everywhere.
It does it a disservice narrative wise but fun af to play. I still really like TotK and still recommend it to any who liked BotW but don't care about the story because those issues do still bug me. Especially the lack of continuity from BotW. No clue why they wrote some things like they did.
Having more time to stew on it I will say TotK does disrespect BotW's lore hardcore though. It's insane how much they fumbled. I will say the gameplay is good but the story not so much. I hate unnecessary retcons.
Hmm...Probably missed stuff to talk about but those are some main points.