The only issues I have with totk in order of how much they bug me. 1. Way too many collectables and too many needed to upgrade all the armor. 2. Pretty much all the weapons are shit. 3. Main quest line is a broken record. They constantly summarize to you what you did like you weren't there. 4. Zelda stole my house.
Loved the game. I really did, it was one of very few games i wanted to explore rather than beating it over the weekend. That said, i myself would have loved more sky island chains similar to the build up to the wind temple, and a lot more sky islands that match the size of the great sky island. I would have enjoyed classic items. in a way, i think this game was good, and im excited for the next game. One that does have more classic elements but also furthering the gameplay we got in botw and totk.
I think a lot of the "hype" has died down because we don't have anything to speculate about the future. BotW had months of time for us to theorize about what the DLCs would include, and then after that we got confirmation of BotW2 and that became a huge signpost for theorizing. TotK has no DLC and no announced sequel, so we don't have things in the future pushing us to theorize about what things in the game will lead to
Agree. DLC may be a cash grab, but it does draw out hype and our ability to talk about a game. Nintendo shutting that possibility down so early kinda squashed desire to keep thinking about TotK. People are focused now more on what new system Nintendo will release soon.
I think while a part of this is true, people theorized and talked about the game outside of New content. Botw had so much interesting lore and mysteries, so many little details that people kept discovering even up to the release of totk. Totk's copy and pasting and inconsistencies doesn't help capture that intricate world building botw had going for it along with botws excellent environment storytelling. Even then, people still talk about older Zelda games in such high regard as well and still make video essays and theories for them. I think the new content helped botw but at the same time it was still able to stand on it's own for that longevity.
My problem with TotK’s story is that it was basically told in the same way as BotW. The story is still “in the past”. It’s exactly the same as the memories. The main story largely feels untouchable as everything technically happened. You aren’t actually doing *anything* with the main story. But that’s the same thing that happened in BotW. So why did they tell the story with the same format? No idea!! I just feel like, if nothing else, that copy and paste feel is the biggest reason why people lost interest. Because what you’re doing, especially because it’s the same villain, feels pointless. There’s no reason to do anything except to defeat Ganondorf. And again, we already did that. So what’s the difference at its very core? Sadly, nothing. The best parts of TotK in my opinion are the direct story sections relating to the different dungeons. The dungeons were better but not spectacular but the story leading up to it was the most engaging. The story was different and there’s consequences to actions and you get to see a visual difference in the area after you’re done. You can actually make a difference. But again, imo, what’s the freaking point if these actually don’t matter to the main storyline??? And then the depths were the biggest waste of potential. It was cool at first, but then you realize just how empty and lifeless the place is. After hours of gameplay, it isn’t fun to explore anymore. On a side tangent, I feel like the nuance behind the actions of people has completely gone out of the window. There haven’t been any companions so we can’t develop a character as layered as Midna, there haven’t been any political tactics by Ganon or Ganondorf and the goal in BotW/TotK is to….what? Destroy Hyrule? If you destroy a place, what’s the point in ruling it? Yeah I get that the motive is power. But there are SO MANY WAYS to explore the concept of power and how to show it and they’ve barely even touched that. And then, they give us a building mechanic and we can’t even build houses for people. We can’t rebuild Hyrule, we can’t be a part of the main story, we can’t help anyone of value move forward with a significant side plot, we can’t go into the past, we can’t even see Ganondorf properly threaten anyone (in the present) except Link!!! So WHATS THE POINT?!?!?! Sorry… I guess this was a rant I didn’t know I needed to have.
All of the above should be re-visted in a ToTK DLC. I was expecting to have more Ganondorf cutscenes and gameplay with the Past & present characters interacting all within the present day timeline. Instead we just got some evil cloud portal with Dead Ganons portrait on it. There was no real interaction in that 1 scene.
That really isn't a bad thing though. Which is fine really. No it doesn't feel untouchable as not everything has already happened. No that isn't exactly what happened in BotW either. They told it like that because they wanted to create another interesting story in that format. Except there is no copy and paste feel. No it doesn't feel pointless at all. No there is reasons to do other stuff and explore the whole world and the depths and the sky islands. What's the difference is what Ganondorf actually does with his plan and stuff. So no there are differences. The point is they do matter to the main storyline and help out. The depths really weren't the biggest waste of potential. It isn't really empty...and it feeling lifeless makes sense really. Nah it still is fun to explore tbh. That nuance really isn't gone at all as even without companions there is still developed characters. There have been some political tactics and his goal is to take over Hyrule as his kingdom for good. How have they barely touched on it? They've shown it pretty clear with Ganondorf. You fuse some stuff...but making houses is something else completely. You can be a part of the main story as you try to stop Ganondorf and and save others and the Kingdom, yes you can...that's what happens with the stuff leading up to the dungeons, actually you can see that and you do especially with the monster attacks on towns and stuff. So yeah the point is to stop Ganondorf from doing what he does and you see all that too.
I was disappointed with the building mechanic, since you’re limited to building weapons or vehicles for traversal. I feel no reason to get creative coz we already have weapons, horses, a paraglider, and the wings.
I feel like the biggest problem is that Totk didn’t establish it’s own identity. It’s so similar to Botw that I’m sure like 15/20 yrs from now, people are gonna forget about it and keep mixing it up with Botw. In contrast, let’s look at Oot and MM. Both games use most of the same assets and ideas but MM introduced so many new things for itself, along with the different game world that it’s impossible to think of them as the same. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks played very similarly to each other but they had completely different stories, maps, dungeons, and feel to them. A lot of people consider TP and OoT to be very similar too, but TP still carved out it’s own space with it’s deep lore and unique areas and locations. What did Totk do differently from Botw? Not enough. The story is told in 90% similar fashion, even utilizing the memory system again which this story wasn’t suited for like Botw’s was. The world was the same, and Totk didn’t add enough to the Depths and Sky to feel like it was a worthy world expansion the way that the promotional material made it seem like it was going to be. The dungeons formula feel copy paste from Botw and we all know how awful that is. The combat used very similar enemies and a similar durability system. Add to that the same locations and npcs, and it just feels like Botw 2.0. I used to vehemently disagreed with the people who called Totk a Botw dlc, but I can understand where they’re coming from now, which is a massive problem. They need to give the next game it’s own identity and not piggyback off of Botw’s main gameplay features. Keep the open world, but make it feel different. Different combat, dungeon, and story style would accomplish this.
I really hope we get a fresh new combat system next game. I think Tears is cool with all the choices, but I’ve learned less is more. And they better make the next game feel totally new. I’m sure it will. They will have hopefully much better hardware to work with next time.
While I like TOTK, I played through it quickly … and found myself missing BOTW. It’s the emptiness for me. I understood it in BOTW and was hoping TOTK would use previously underutilized areas or make some other changes. The sky and depths aren’t really alluring to keep going back to. For some reason I don’t mind just traveling BOTW, but get annoyed with it in TOTK. I’m also turned off by the lack of societal rebuild in TOTK and the erasure of the guardians. There could have been lore built in on this. I don’t know how to explain it, BOTW just holds a piece of my heart in the way TOTK doesn’t.
They shouldn't have gone with heightened technology again. The zonai should've been shaman warriors who relied on Spirit magic and could shapeshift. Rauru shouldn't have been the first king but rather the last surviving shaman of a fallen empire who made a deal with Hyryle for his service. The arm Link got should've been more creepy and mystical in its power rather than basically being a sheikah artifact
That would’ve taken the Zelda team too much effort. They knew they were gonna get money off of name alone, so they kicked their feet up and put out a product they knew was lackluster
hard agree. I think TOTK is only considered a good game because so much of it is functionally the same as BOTW. It completely fails as a sequel tho bc they're uninterested in doing anything to set the two games apart in a meaningful way. Even stuff as basic as the general theme (like the technology) are all recycled with a different color theme. Its just lazy imo
It isn't really just heightened technology though. A bit part of the game's story involves the magic powers people possess, and things like the Shrines and Lightroots run on light magic. As for the lore, Nintendo just needs to make up their damn mind. I'm cool with them taking a more game to game format with the stories, but if they do that and still keep hinting at an overarching timeline connecting all the games, it'll just put people in an abusive relationship with the lore where they constantly expect the most out of the games' continuity only to be inevitably disappointed.
Been playing the Zelda series since 1986. As much as I love BotW and TotK, I'm extremely nostalgic for the linear Zelda games. If TP and WW were to come to the Switch, I'd be even than happier for with TotK.
Same, I might actually get the skyward sword remaster, instead of getting ToTK. I tried ToTk at a friend's house and whilst it is fun, it just doesn't feel like Zelda to me you know?
I hated the mediocre treasure in non boss areas. Like getting to a chest in a ruins, to find just another resource item to stick to your weapon etc. They needed a loot table system.
@@Jack-dr5qhThe zonaite rocks are an incentive to explore the depths. Just as the sundelions are an incentive to explore the skies. Crystallized charges can also be dropped from enemies in combat. I think the system was done well to encourage exploring all 3 maps. As for OP's mention of a loot table, yes that would be nice as would a counter of bosses and other enemies defeated. I was sure that would be included in this game, but we can't have everything... Yet. I also would have liked another item sink. I had thought of a Zonai device that turns things into zonaite. Let's say you have two Shields and three swords that you can't pick up after combat. This is Zonai device would turn each of those items into one to two pieces of zonaite, and after a few times the device would disappear. And this could also work with other items too. Zonaite has already been shown to be able to recreate virtually anything, so to me, it stands to reason that also the reverse should be true.
Ill never forget the day Totk realeased. I thought that I would have school on that day, but it was cancelled last minute for parent teacher conferences. I got to enjoy the game too the fullest, will never forget
TOTK was the game I wanted and I'm very satisfied of what we got. Knowing that it was going to reuse the format from the previous game allowed me to play the game very differently, and I had a fantastic time (no map, no warps, no hints). I don't think I could have necessarily done such a thing in a different Zelda game. But now, I've had my fill of the current iteration of Zelda and I'm really looking forward to the next one.
Reusing the map gave them the chance to evolve it in a way that wouldn't have been possible before. They were able to completely change the atmosphere of the villages for the Regional Phenomena, then give you a sense of comforting familiarity when you restored them. I also loved how where in Breath of the Wild you were fighting to free the people of Hyrule from the hardship of the Calamity, in Tears of the Kingdom it truly feels like you're fighting alongside Hyrule like it never has before, with everyone doing their part in the effort to stop Ganondorf.
See... This is what I like about your channel. You can be critical about a game without completely trashing on it. I always look forward to the next one.
I don't get why people take violent criticism about a game so seriously? I watch rants about the games I like and I don't feel bad about people "trashing" games that I like. It's their opinion. I didnt make the game. Lol I don't think you should take criticisms so seriously, especially when it's about fiction.
@@avaliausd. It's fine if they have a different opinion on the game, but a lot of what I see is open negativity on it for very miniscule reasons that shouldn't really detract from an overall enjoyment of the experience. There are some valid complaints, such as the copy and pasted sky islands and depths locations. However, there are simple answers to complaints such as why certain people don't remember Link that make sense when you look a little deeper past a surface level glance. It's not a perfect game. It has room for improvement, but I feel that people aren't giving the game its due for taking steps in the right direction.
@@avaliausd. I myself find criticisms healthy for a game eapecially for a big title like Zelda BotW and TotK.. Sadly there's also alot of bad takes and even ill-intended criticism just to gain some few clicks because posting "Hot Takes" nowadays can net you more attention.
@@kakarikokage2514without negativity. Standards drop. Its this “negativity” that ensures future releases are good. I am on the side of not understanding why your feelings get so hurt when someone doesnt like the video game you like. 1. Its a video game not your life 2. Like you said not every video game is perfect. 3. I am not nor is anyone for that matter obligated to be “positive” about a product. Especially a product that costs money. 4. It is a nintendo product. Not your grandma. So once again, why is it necessary for everyone to be “positive” about it. Especially when they may have differing opinions on it. Just logically does not make sense. Ive seen so many fans like this that just attack people like me for being “negative”. But the way I see it, this attitude is a form of toxic positivity. Its actually more toxic and “negative” than just me sharing why I didnt like the video game. Its a video game dude…. A video game…
My biggest problem is I ruined it for myself, over 4 years, thousands upon thousands of different ideas every month, and to only have the game explore 1/10 of those ideas, really made me lose interest because I promised myself that at least half of those ideas would be realized
That’s why speculation can be man’s worst enemy. It’s like being little and thinking “oh my mom’s gonna get me all this great stuff for my birthday.” When I’m reality you don’t get quite as much as you wanted. Sometimes you might, but nobody’s ever right all the time.
@@Xenado22to be honest, I wasn’t disappointed at all when I played. And I’m positive the reason for that is because while I of course had ideas of what could be in the game, I mostly just discarded them. Instead, I just thought about what they had already show us. See I’m a very creative person, I’m always like coming up with stories about random stuff and I also constantly narrate parts of my day in my head. However, I never let myself go to far when I consider things I don’t have all the facts to. Basically, I’m creative and logical at the same time. That way I was thinking about stuff I’d like to have in the game, but never really putting much certainty into my idea actually being a reality. Some of my ideas did become a reality though. Most notably the sages. I wanted l Link to team up with Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba more than anything. Of course I wasn’t expecting Teba to be replaced by Tulin, but I’m actually pretty happy that Teba was replaced by his son. It just goes to show you though that you really can’t predict what gets put into a game. You can think about it all you want, but you can’t let yourself really believe that those ideas will come true. Like when you promised yourself that half your ideas where gonna happen. Cause that’s just a ticket to dissatisfaction.
@@Ppilldd im almost the exact same as you, the only difference being i lack the creative side so i was thinking completely logical. The benefit to that though was that I was completely blown away when i actually got to play the game because i didn't over think anything.
It’s not your fault. You’d expect after 6 years they’d do a lot to change up the game and really deliver on the sky content given they heavily marketed that. But instead they spent most of their time crafting barren and pointless worlds above and below the surface, and physics for the Zonai devices which are extremely situational.
Another thing is the music. In most Zelda games, the player is almost constantly surrounded by triumphant overworld music or swelling emotional pieces. BOTW and TOTK's music is mostly ambient background piano tracks. With a few exeptions (like the Stone Talus theme or Colgera), these tracks don't really stick with you after you're done playing. Even the returning songs like Zora's Domain are a more subdued version of the original. In TOTK, when you unite the band together to play for the Great Fairies, I thought "This is it. This particular moment feels like classic Zelda."
I think one key issue is fans obviously putting more thought and interest into the lore than Nintendo themselves have. Nintendo does not care about Zelda lore much and it's fairly obvious. I'm not even saying this is a big deal and some grievance I have, but they think about game play first and the story is just some decoration surrounding the game play. While I'd still rate Tears of the Kingdom between 9.5 and 10 anyways myself, I do think there is some legitimacy to saying the story is more bare-bones than a lot of fans would like to see.
But the gameplay doesn't fare much better. Sure the new abilities are great and give us tons of new options and yet you still very quickly end up doing the same things for 100 hours or so. The gameplay loop is short and repeats for too long. I think the game is just too big.
I think, in Totk's case specifically, it used so much of Botw but denied us a lot of the good stuff of Botw. Yes, the lore and story sucks and makes zero sense, but even from a gameplay perspective its kinda trash. Not many people use the Zonai tech practically, for either travel or battle. I couldnt make crap for the life of me that worked properly until i watched guides of how to build even simple effective battle builds. And the hoverbikes are the only good and efficient and effective means of travel regarding Zonai tech. And the reason I say so much about the Zonai tech is because a huge amount of this game centers around it! Its not practical for a casual player, similarly to redstone in minecraft. And there was no need to get rid of the Sheikah Slate abilities. Nor the Champion's abilities. Not for what we got in their place. The new sage abilities are just wannabe Champion abilities, with the only viable one being Tulin's to some degree. The hand abilities are just kinda crap, with the only good one being Fuse (and maybe Ascend), and Ultrahand being a modified Magnesis. Rewind is hardly used outside of shrines, and Autobuild is just a weird version of Ultrahand for saving your versions of stuff from Ultrahand, which couldve just been an option for Ultrahand instead of a different ability entirely (similar to Bomb+ and Stasis+). The combat is pretty much the only thing that got slightly better, outside of having trash weapons that are fused with other random garbage to make something that lasts more than a stick. Including the Master Sword, which feels even weaker for some reason (and that includes the glitch with the Master Sword fusions that Nintendo refuses to patch, but heavens no that the other glitches for duplication and movement exist). Not to mention the lack of any presence in the game, whether it be Ganon or Zelda. Theres no real threat. The only one that has some threat is the Ritos, similar to the Zoras in Botw. The others just kinda exist, with no impact on the world at all. And omfg with lightning queen only being able to strike lightning if you waste an arrow. Heaven forbid that you slash your sword or just choose an area to strike it down from. No. Only arrows from your already used bow that has about 100 better uses with Fuse. Gameplay wise, Totk just sucks, outside of the combat which is still meh at best. Its basically the same as Botw, but with the option to make weird arrow combinations and effects and the option to make less effective murder machines that you had better watch TH-cam to make or else youre f'd.
This is a big reason why I would love to see more "fan fiction" type content from Zeldatubers or just sharing ideas from the community, conceptualizing what a future Zelda game *could* be in an in depth way.
I feel like once we move on to an entirely new version of Hyrule with a new Link and Zelda, the hype will last longer because we will be experiencing something so brand new and fresh.
Even still, I don’t think I’ll ever get invested in any new Zelda lore ever again. It’s clear enough to me now that the developers only really care about the lore as much as it can service the gameplay. Continuity between games has never been a priority for Nintendo, they kinda just do what they want and let the internet theorists pick up the slack, but no more I say. ToTK deflated my theory bubble to the point where I just can’t be bothered anymore, the hype will never be the same again.
@@see.eye.2361it will be when they kick out the old money hungry developers. When Zelda goes back to its roots, which is innovating upon every installment, which they couldn’t be bothered to do for the first time ever with Tears of the Kingdom, they’ll get limelight again. Tears of the Kingdom was a disgrace on the Zelda name, seriously. People can cope all they want, it was by far the worst 3d Zelda we’ve ever gotten.
@@see.eye.2361 Not even Pikmin lore is safe. Pikmin 1, 2, and 3 were all consistent. Pikmin 4 threw it all out. Now the difference is, I don't know anyone who actually cares about Pikmin lore. But it is further evidence that Nintendo doesn't give a smidge of care to their lore.
I think Tears of the Kingdom is dying mainly because the game is quite similar to Breath of the Wild, and everyone has already done everything, while because BotW was the first of its kind, it took YEARS for the magic to wear off. While DLC anticipation wasn’t the only thing keeping the game alive, it certainly caused a psychological effect where everyone kind of resigned the game and new stuff was coming out, therefore the hype completely stopped as it had been months, and now it’s just us dedicated Zelda fans left.
I'm hoping Nintendo had been seeing all of our amazing ideas posted in all corners of the deep web and I hope they listen to us and put those ideas into beta testing and see how a fans idea can give the whole team some perspective and ideas that no other Nintendo Employee would probably never think of. They had already done something like that in the form of the Fusing mechanic and Acsend, that came from US, the loyal fans that help build ToTK for what it is today. I have high expectaions for the next mainline Zelda game.
That’s a good point. The confirmation that there is no intention of DLC for this kinda made a number of us fans throw our hands up and want to just wait for the next game so we can get more lore because what’s been done is deeply unsatisfying.
Exactly right. BotW was revolutionary, while TotK is iterative. As amazing of a game as it is, it's just not going to feel the same. TotK evolved this formula in amazing ways, but it didn't reinvent the series like BotW did. Being set in the same Hyrule also means that all the Easter eggs have already been found for the most part. TL:DR It's not as exciting because it's not as new.
I feel like the story just didn’t grab me. BoTW had a good story- just it all happened before the gameplay. I think it would have felt a lot more compelling if we got to interact with the characters and play some before you end up in the resurrection tank. As far as ToTK goes, it sort of suffers the same problem. I liked Zelda’s arc in general, but the story didn’t really revolve around Link at all past him losing his arm. Everything happened and you’re just reacting to it, and getting stronger so you can fight Ganon, all at your own leisure. And maybe it’s an unpopular opinion, but I just didn’t like the way the Zonai were shoehorned into it. It forced this weird frustrating curiosity as to whether this is a loop, a retcon, reimagining, or whatever. I agree there are continuity issues that sort of ruin my personal enjoyment of the story.
When game devs openly point out how they don't care about the story of their franchises, people get understandably mad/disappointed. On top of them barely listening to fan feedback, what do you expect? Great job with your content BTW
I think another aspect with the hype dying away very quickly is that seems to be the current norm when it comes to fandoms lately. Many things are super popular but they die out very quickly, movies, TV, and video games are all falling prey to that. When Encanto came out, people were obsessed but then felt like the hype was over after a few months. I saw someone on TikTok comment on how they wanted to do a cosplay 5 months after it came out, but asked if it would still get views or not since the "hype was gone." People don't hold onto fandom content as long as they used to and I think we need to bring it back!!
I don’t think they’re losing their charm, necessarily, more that Breath of the Wild created the open world craze we have in the current gaming market, and people are getting really tired of it.
I feel like Skyrim and Minecraft as well as botw peeked an interest in open world and sandbox environments. The freedom of player expression is the appeal, but all of those games also lack proper immersion, each one holds a key part of the formula that I think we crave. Skyrim gave brilliant context to its story, introducing people to the gods and politics of the place through use of unreliable narrators to keep people questioning contradictions without the overwhelming sense of plot holes in the story telling. Minecraft brought attention to the genuine curiosity of how a world similar yet different to our own brings all its own set of questions that inspire scientific hypothesis and testing without any guidance whatsoever. Botw showed us how beautiful a space can be crafted and how subtle suggestions and queries can be far more compelling to investigate than objective markers and plot points. Soon I hope a perfect blend will come about.
Not really on topic but I had a theory that randomly popped into my head, head me out, what if Gorons turn into rocks when they die? We know that Bludo in BOTW and TOTK has back pain right? What if that’s him dying and turning into a boulder? Maybe the painkillers are slowing down the process? Idk it was just a random thought please don’t come for me 😭 Amazing video btw ✨ :)
I believe they are to an extent. To me, I think the games have TOO much freedom if that makes sense? Linearity I've come to learn after going through BOTW/TOTK is that they can't focus down, and build the world more intimately for the active story line. The same goes for the arsenal of neat items you'd get as well. (Though this is easily subjective.) The story felt like it has less room to breathe in the exchange of letting the world be more explored to this scale. I think it could do well letting some of that old focus/linearity return and finding ways to safely expand in that value.
I agree. I like the open world, but things that should have been linear weren't and that kinda ruins it for me. There are parts that are best experienced like an attraction.
Agreed. I definitely prefer linear games over open world games for the most part for a variety of reasons. Linear games imo tend to have more density, substance and depth when it comes to gameplay, characters, story, combat and progression whereas many (not all) open world games tend to compensate for all of that with purely freedom. Linearity gives an actual sense of buildup and progress in both the gameplay and story and thus makes the game feel much more climactic once the ending is reached. Of course preference is subjective but I just want to explain why I prefer one style over the other.
Agreed! In a more linear game, as your progress you become more and more in tune with the story and the stakes. Also, the things you find in loot boxes matter, in older LoZ, every now and then you open a chest, that gives you a new item that changes how you play, that allow you to beat new monsters, that overall make you more baddass, there is none of that in botw and totk. In these games anything you loot doesn't matter, it might give you an advantage for a brief time, or a cosmetic improvement, but the gameplay is unchaged, it is the same boring game loop, over and over again, in a gigantic setting.
@@MrFernandobg Eh...they do matter, especially in TOTK with how weapon fusion works, they impact and effect combat and different armor sets can affect climbing too. They still allow you to beat new monsters and make you feel more badass, like really all of that is in BOTW and TOTK.
@@MrFernandobg Eh...they do matter, especially in TOTK with how weapon fusion works, they impact and effect combat and different armor sets can affect climbing too. They still allow you to beat new monsters and make you feel more badass, like really all of that is in BOTW and TOTK.
I agree with you, there isn't a right or wrong way regarding how a person feels about the game. It's really hard to judge games overall because honestly, many views are quite subjective. Including myself, I wish there was more to the Sky Islands-such as in size and the way they look. I do wish you could find more items that are cool. However, on the islands, there is still a lot there, such as finding the "Sage's will" and even armor. The way you have to do puzzles as well isn't the same way you would do them on the surface-which makes it intriguing. Finding the Koroks as well for some can be interesting because you are looking for them in a new location-which is the sky. Because the Depths still have items to find and materials to help you on your adventure-to me, makes it fun to explore. I personally do not agree with the depths being empty. By the depths having the same style, it can look samey, however, the way it's designed made it interesting. I like how when you light everything, it is a lot more fun to explore. I am personally happy with the size of BOTW/TOTK. I know some feel because it's big that is when things get repetitive. However, to add another perspective, though things can get repetitive because of the fact you have to explore many different areas, I think that's why the size is fine. Though some want less content, I think for others because the game is enjoyable, it is something that keeps them wanting to play, so as time goes on, you can go back to it. I don't believe BOTW/TOTK are games made to finish ASAP. You are supposed to take your time with them. With the rewards, which is something else some have an issue with because you get something for your time and effort, it was worth it. I feel many of the rewards were like a trophy for your accomplishments. (Tbh, I don't think the Zelda series gave what you would call the most perfect rewards), but then again, what makes a reward worth it can be subjective as well. By the world changing I didn't mind exploring the surface again. Originally before the game came out, I was super disappointed. However, as time went on, and seeing how even other game series would use their world again, I didn't mind anymore. Of course, do I believe TOTK to be perfect? No, but there isn't any game that won't have flaws. However, what those flaws are will be different from person to person. I feel with TOTK and BOTW many are trying to be too objective in critiquing the game. There isn't enough balance in their views. I do wish to see more talk about what TOTK did right because there is a reason why many still love the game. I wish to talk more to others about why the game is good. Though there are a lot out there who will talk about how it's good, it's sort of hard to find. However, I do believe this is just another Zelda cycle. I personally remember the views about why BOTW wasn't a good game that happened a lot sooner. To me, it was around 3-5 months like TOTK. However, after TOTK, you see people praising the game again. Even many talk about how BOTW's story is good now- whereas before it was "terrible." Another big game this happened with was Skyward Sword. From my understanding, it started out with massive praise, but later many fans and others shared the view that it wasn't that good. But when BOTW came out many loved it again-and because of this, asking for it on the Switch, it's how it's on the system. More than likely, when the new Zelda comes out, TOTK will be held as one of the best games ever again. However, as of now, it can be a bit disappointing and indeed gloomy to see some talk regarding TOTK. Hopefully, as time goes on, the talk regarding the game will get better!
Something kind of related to your points and what I think is also a main reason why ToTK has lost its charm: Nintendo has done this before and in a much better way. After OoT (Ocarina of Time) came out, Nintendo used the same game engine and assets to create MM (Majora's Mask). Despite MM being significantly shorter and recycling almost everything from OoT, it felt fresh because of how creative the developers went with it. New game mechanics (mask transformations, 3 day cycle), vastly different story (darker, more mature), changed settings (Gorons in the snow, Gerudo and Zora in the ocean), characters with the same faces but different personalities (Kotake & Koume) and so on. It felt like a completely different game but still Zelda at its core. You could tell that the developers went crazy with their creativity and poured it all on MM. Apart from the game mechanics, most changes were minor but placed in the right positions in the right amount to make it feel different. That's not what happened with ToTK. Sure, it has several new mechanics but they don't feel that different from the ones on BoTW. Nor are they creative enough. They simply feel like ways to make the game easier (don't have to climb as much, magnesis works on everything). The fundamental gameplay did not change much. MM's mechanics did. You have to play differently as a Goron than as a Zora or Link. And it didn't make the game easier. It either expanded access (can swim underwater or fly to certain places) or made it harder (time limit on the dungeons) neither of which ToTK does. ToTK just enlarged the map for the former and did the opposite for the latter. That lack of different game mechanics along with the copy & paste you mentioned makes ToTK seem like an added skin to BoTW (or DLC). I remember a lot of the hype for ToTK was about pulling off something like MM with an open world setting. It came up in a lot of forums, articles, and videos. But clearly ToTK is not as creative as MM. Nintendo took a gamble with MM and it paid off. With ToTK they played it safe. Because of this, much of the hype died down. At least that's my opinion.
And that's sad. When did MM come out? 1998-99? So this game that came out 23-24 years ago was more creative and has more lore to go off of than Totk. Not to mention the Zelda devs had only one year to make it! Totk took six. It's sad because the blueprints were there to make something special and they just... didn't care, or it seems like they don't
There's still plenty of charm, just no longer in the main story. A lot of the side quests-the Yiga clan, the Hateno Village mayoral election, Tarrey Town, etc.-these have memorable characters with silly premises that nevertheless carry their heart on their sleeve like we're used to with this series. But the main plot just... Well, first of all I think the whole concept of mainly telling it through flashbacks is wrongheaded from the outset. I think it's by far better for this series if the story happens with and to Link-to _you_ -rather than have it simply happen and then you find out about it later. I think it's a mistake to make all the interesting stuff occur in the backstory and then have the actual story that you actively take part in be relatively boring. In TOTK you can see this in how Link and Ganondorf, the protagonist and antagonist, have practically zero character dynamics with each other. Despite you knowing Ganondorf's entire backstory as a villain, there's no real emotional connection to him or sense for how he works against you. Look at Ocarina, that memorable moment when Ganondorf chases Zelda out of Castle Town and then defeats Young Link so quickly; this makes it so you as the player remember that for when you have your final confrontation and get to face him on more equal terms. Majora's Mask and Wind Waker do literally the same thing. Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, whose final antagonists come relatively out of nowhere, still have you as the protagonist connect and clash consistently against _other_ big antagonists to compensate in Zant and Ghirahim. You as Link are always making the plot happen in these games, always an active player in its major events. In BOTW and TOTK, not so much, so to me it feels a lot less personal and kinda weightless. There's also frankly a lack of follow through with a lot of the ideas these newer games present. Just look at the dungeons: in previous games, these dungeons were mysterious locations which always carried a strong sense of place. Lost mines, abandoned sand ships, holy temples. Sometimes there was a vague backstory, but even though you never knew exactly why these places had been built or what had happened in them you always got the impression that they were real, that there had been a purpose to them once before you wound up exploring their now abandoned corridors. In BOTW, "dungeons" are these extremely impersonal robot animals, a cool idea on paper but they're all so incredibly samey, and despite them being giant machines it's impossible to see how they could really operate. Like, did they have crews who worked their mechanisms? No, it was just each champion I guess doing it by magic. TOTK tried to do better-certain temples had actual backstories-but even then the game failed to make them feel _real._ The Wind Temple is a huge example of this failure: during the portion of the story where you're climbing up to it, the Rito characters tell you about the legend of their lost flying ship, hype up this location so that when you actually find it you feel impressed by all the leadup. But when you actually do find the ship, despite its impressive appearance on the surface it immediately becomes apparent that this is not a real ship. There's no helm, no captains quarters, no storage hull or cabin where crew might have slept. It's impossible to see it as a real place, and rather, it looks like what it actually is: a virtual space made by game designers through the use of generic assets. This same lack of follow through is I think visible in other areas of the games as well; good ideas abound, but often it feels like the promise made on paper winds up being shallow in reality. But there's another problem with how these games treat their story which is much harder to explain because it's a bit ephemeral. Let me use an example to explain it, because it's kind of hard do so otherwise. During one of the TOTK flashbacks, I believe it's Rauru who tells Zelda something like "With your time and spirit powers, we can do so and so." He says it like these are distinct categories of magic, like Zelda runs on a hard system. In previous games, this same line of dialogue would've been said as "You have the power of the goddess," or "The goddess' spirit flows through you" or some similar more vague explanation. TOTK in particular is absolutely _riddled_ with dialogue like this, just very frank sort of fantasybabble about spirit stones and time powers and zonai tech. What I'm trying to say is, I think the main story in BOTW and TOTK takes itself too seriously. This isn't to say that they get too emotional or dark or any of those things-previous games did that too, constantly changed the tone between light and dark, much to their benefit. What I mean when I say these games' main plots take themselves too seriously is that they try too hard to pretend like this is a world of systems with actual politics, logic, hard supernatural explanations. They turn Zelda into a more by the numbers fantasy world, when previous Zelda games weren't fantasy stories but _fairy tales._ They carried weight because their plots were timeless and even mythic, not because those plots fit into standard fantasy conventions. You couldn't exactly explain why things happened the way they did or how things worked, but there was always the sense that you didn't need to. You could just _feel_ the world and the characters, understand the emotions rather than the logic, and this vague worldbuilding made it so the story activated your imagination more than your reason. By comparison these newer Zelda games treat themselves more like contemporary fantasy novels, and while that's not necessarily a problem I just don't think it fits the series' character and it takes out a lot of the charm imo.
I wish to share my thoughts. Gameplay wise the hype was rocky. The hype started strong but the September trailer actually started a long period of negativity that didn't end until the final trailer turned most people back around. There has always been this off feeling a lot of people had with the game, but longterm I don't think that the story was what nailed the coffin. The theorizing community was going insane the moment the game leaked. There are some details which make it less bad than it seemed but it was too little too late, by the time the game launched the theorizing community was radicalized against the game. Nintendo tried too hard to force the game to be mysterious, and that left people not being invested at all. People complained about Breaths story sure, but it and its characters were loved. The champions were well beloved characters and stuck in the minds of players. Tears is one of the best games I have ever played, but with a story that disappointed many and left them uninterested really means that a lot of people were left uninterested. A dlc would have been the perfect opportunity to clear things up and leave tears and the breath era as a whole on a better note storywise. Sadly, that is out of the picture now, and a full new breath era game would only cause even more backlash at this point.
I feel like BOTW and TOTK were games that Nintendo focused more on experimentation with gameplay rather than story. And I completely understand that making a game is HARD, let alone adding a complex story to one that is open world. I'm hoping that after this, they go back to focusing on story. Imagine a big game like TOTK with a story like Twilight Princess? I'd go absolutely crazy. Edit: Just finished the whole video. Glad I'm not the only one hoping they'll go back to story and lore after BOTW/TOTK and see those two as gameplay experimentation.
Overall I love Totk, but like many said, it feels like they pulled back a lot about Lore. The mechanics the game itself is amazing, but the lore is so shallow and when they revealed no DLC I was like "What do you mean there's nothing more to do here?" They also under performed Ganondorf and the sense of urgency didn't increase in the game, which it would have been awesome for villages to be constantly attacked the closer you were to the Castle or something like that. I really enjoyed the concept of Lurelin where you had to rescue it from the Pirates and rebuild it. It would have been nice if they made you build up defenses in order to protect it from future invasions and do this to several areas around Hyrule. Unfortunately they didn't push this as much. Also reaching Ganon should have been made very difficult and to fight very hard mobs but also they didn't do that. This game had so much potential. I mean don't get me wrong, overall its amazingly fun and I hope they can make something better beyond this.
I was too a bit disappointed that there were no any other besieged city than Gerudo Town. It would have been great to protect villages and outpost, even more to the main outpost where soldiers come from liberated regions. It would have been epic, but eh...
Zelda 1 gave us a map that we wanted to explore but which did not easily give up its secrets, and hard guantlets to gate our progression. The go anywhere, do anything design philosophy removes any delayed gratification changing the genre from adventure to sandbox.
The BotW map has aged well and will likely continue to do so. The physics sandbox will probably age about as well as the Zelda 1 combat: good for its time but not a reason to replay it.
My problem with TotK was that I really wanted to know what happened to the kingdom since the events of BotW but 1. Not much of the towns changed and no new settlements sprouted up besides lookout landing and 2. Almost NONE of the people in the towns had any recollection of the events of BotW or of Link. Honestly a lot of my favorite parts of Tears of the kingdom were the very small details, like there were a couple conversations with NPC's that you could only achieve through talking to other NPC's and they werent actual quests, it was just neat things they let you do without any purpose, which I honestly enjoyed a lot
Funny enough, TOTK and BOTW are my first real exposure to LoZ games and now I'm hooked! I've never had a chance to play all the older games and they were not as mainstream when I was growing up.
@@Goosewitdajuice317 not that I really care. It's like saying you're not a true FF player if you haven't even played I-VI. I can revisit the old games any time if I want to as well. I've seen the convoluted timeline.
I was disappointed in the game the story wasn't there the game still felt empty to me I wish Zelda and link went on quests together and voice acting throughout the whole game it would have been nice I would like to see sequel doing this I would even be happy with the same world with new buildings
Honestly, I think they need to leave this Hyrule behind as Nintendo doesn't seem to know how to properly use the setting and would more then likely just copy the same plot for a third time. Giving them a fresh start with a new world might be able to help with this
I'm still dreaming of the game where one player can play alongside zelda, in the sense she's a companion with well designed gameplay where she can help you and have her own attacks. And/or there is mutliplayer and a 2nd player can control her. It would be really comfy / feel good to have Link and Zelda working alongside each other a lot throughout the game and story. A totally fresh thing for a Zelda game to do. I don't mean something as simple as how the Sage companions worked obviously.
The sub par voice acting and the lack of an entirely voiced game is just lazy from Nintendo as it's open world peers tend to all be fully voice acted with high quality acting. BotW and TotK are triple AAA titles with massive budgets so it's hard to overlook.
Nintendo have been rehashing the Link, Zelda and Ganon story since the very beginning. The story is the weakest part of any Zelda game I can recall playing but they're about gameplay rather than a story experience.
it seems like a lot of people are just shitting on it just for the sake of shitting on it, because it’s become the popular thing to do, it’s the negative videos that get the most views. i’m not saying they’re wrong for criticizing but sometimes it feels as if it’s disingenuous, idk maybe it’s just me
As much as I enjoyed the game and the new lore and theories generated by it I will admit that I am disappointed that story and character interaction did not carry over between games. This hit even harder since Hidemaro Fujibayashi was the director and had already done so when directing the Oracle games. It was a nice surprise to see my horses from BotW, but that only shows that TotK was built with the capability to search for existing BotW data which it does nothing else with. I understand having a base dialog option for new players who did not play the previous game, but it would have been nice to see altered dialog showing that Link has lived in the world, with these people for the past seven years.
I too used to live Zelda, but I've been feeling disenfranchised from it since Twilight Princess honestly. A friend told me that I'm "chasing the dragon" that Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask showed me. I thought maybe I was just growing out of the series but I don't think that's the issue.
Man... I'm in the same boat. And it's frustrating because I still see so much potential with Zelda. I think the old formula still had a lot to offer that was never fully realized
I actually feel like Tears of the Kimgfom feels like a middle step in a trilogy. I remember someone saying there was a theory that breath of the wild and tears were going to be part of a three game theory based on colors and the triforce. Having one blue, one green, and then a third one being red, for the colors of courage, wisdom and power. I personally really love the way they transitioned the world of tears, giving it a great, but not perfect feel of a world moving forward from disaster, spreading and growing. But while I don't think there will be a third game, this video did make me think it would actually kind of fit well as a middle step to a really grand third step that had some really large trilogy worthy story bits
It's a simple answer. It's because it's just another open world fantasy game that still foregoes many of the core elements that made a charming Zelda game...charming. It's a survival adventure game that barely pushes the limits as to what can be done in a Zelda game and gives you little incentive other than piecemeal collectables and a middling story to continue on. You feel like you're on an adventure without purpose. That's what it's missing.
When I first picked up the Master sword in TOTK I immediately assumed that my task was going to be going around Hyrule and finding pieces of the sword to fuse them back together into a strong powerful sword again. Then that obviously didn't happen, but Im still stuck on the idea. I think it would have been fun if each dungeun boss dropped a piece of sword that could be premenately fused to the master sword (in whatever order of course) maybe we could have found a piece from a quest or something as well. Then when its all complete it still lacks the power to repell evil, and after meeting with Mineru or someting we send it back in time to Zelda. I guess maybe what I wanted was the abilities to be more tied to the progression and story of the game. I still had a great time playing the game tho.
I think it’s because we were theorising on Tears of the Kingdom for like 4 years personally, the hype for BOTW had a BIG boom with BOTW2’s reveal, it got people into the series, so the majority of the hype for TotK was just before the game rather than after… that and the lore :))
I’m not sure, but honestly I kind of get this question. Tears was a really good game and continuation from Breath of the Wild. But at the same time…I just feel a bit empty. The loss of elements from previous games is a factor. The open world style with all the crazy ways you can use Links’s powers made for a fun playthrough. But the story still isn’t as good as previous main series games. There’s a charm to the more focused and linear games that can’t be there with the strengths of the open world style. And with the creators openly stating that they intend to keep leaning into that open world style, maybe there’s just a loss of excitement for some people. It’s weird to say for sure since I did enjoy playing Tears of the Kingdom. But like Breath of the Wild I’m not sure I’ll actually go back to it.
No dlc killed the momentum. The charm is still there but our expectations for zelda lore continuation via dlc was set too high i guess. Now we have to wait for the next zelda game to drum up possible lore hype again
Oh crap, that's the first I am hearing of it because I don't pay attention to Nintendo announcements. Very disappointing and silly business decision. I'm guessing it's because they want the Zelda team to be focusing on a new game for a new console. I'd pay 20 bucks just for Master Mode honestly with no extra content besides that.
If they had pulled a Majora's Mask and did a good sequel in like a year or two, it would have been fine. The biggest problem was just the longest wait for the most direct sequel in Zelda history that ended up with more hype than any game could actually live up to.
I think TOTK is in a weird spot for a few reasons. It is a direct sequel, which we almost never get. It’s a mainstream game, which no pre-BOTW game truly was. And it has no DLC, which is something we aren’t used to anymore. It does not give anything close to the story ANY group wanted, and lore things people thought would be important a year ago just weren’t even mentioned. I think a lot of things outside the game contribute to this, even if the story and lore are missing some things. There’s not been a Zelda quite like this one. That being said, I don’t think they’ve lost their charm, but I think the charm isn’t found in places we’re used to in Zelda games
I think it's because they've really exhausted all the ideas they had for these two games. Not having a completely new map with completely new characters for TOTK definitely made exploring a lot less interesting. While the ultra hand is a really cool ability, it really just feels like a Sheika slate+, not exactly reinventing the wheel the same way BOTW did. I feel like the reason a game like Majora's Mask worked so well as a sequel to Ocarina of Time was because it had an entirely new map with entirely new characters. The story was a lot different too, and especially tonely, the game was a lot different than Ocarina of Time. The developers said that they have no intentions of making DLC for TOTK because they've already exhausted all the ideas they had for this world between the two games, which I think says quite a lot. They've got to start over on an entirely new map at this point. That's one of those things that keeps Zelda games feeling fresh. Gameplay-wise they obviously need to evolve the next game beyond what BOTW and TOTK did. I'm sure they'll nail it, now that they have a working formula, and I'm sure they'll be able to achieve far more on the next console.
I think the issue is that TOTK is very paint by numbers, it's BOTW again but without the new sense of exploration. The storyline is broken up again, its four temples again, champion abilities again, the novelty of climbing everything has been replaced by ultrahand. with so much the same theres no a lot to talk about really. and the new elements just dont cut it, the depths are empty, the sky is empty, the story is bare bones and the development cycle has been looong. there should be more and cuz there isn't, the discussion has fizzled out very quickly. The franchise isn't losing it's charm, when the next game is another unique take on hyrule etc the hype will come back. but TOTK should definitely be a case study on how to not do a direct sequel unless your metric is just sales.
I don't know how many times have I said this but here I go again. All Zelda games are open world games (including SS). Most of them are linear...but still open. And so is Metroid, and basically every Metroidvania out there. If by the end of the game you are able to re-explore the areas you have visited before then the world is open. I just don't understand why everyone keeps confusing this.
Honestly, even while playing it, I was really disappointed in Ganondorf as a villain, I kept hoping they’d dive into his motivations of why he wants to destroy hyrule, but no nothing he’s just evil for the sake of it and the only time we see him actively do anything was the past and the final bossfight, I was also hoping we’d dive more into the history of the Zonai, what happened to them, why’d they come down from the heavens, what did their civilisation actually look like, but also no for all of those, so as someone who primarily plays games for their stories, I was just really disappointed with that aspect, especially since it’s basically just a reskin of botw‘s story
Honestly, I can understand where you're coming from by explaining these things because I, personally, never saw issues because I like messing around in the world of BotW/TotK and just do little "What if..." scenarios in my head here and there with all of the gear sets. I just enjoy relaxing in the world, despite being what was mentioned here, and that, agreed, shouldn't be a bad thing. I haven't lost the hype myself because I tend to run into little nods of past games via exploration, but I'll admit that it could've been more. You gave valid points, and it's one of the many reasons I enjoy your videos a lot. Keep being awesome, HG.
The problem is that you're comparing it to the game that changed everything in Zelda, unless we did some form of research on the hype following games like WW, TP or SS we can't really know if this is just totk or something normal.
I was wishing that the idea of ridding the curse and freeing Ganondorf from the curse, things going full circle, going back to locations from previous games like skyloft would happen, sadly no but maybe someday
I remember people talking about how the Great Sky Island looked like Skyloft after the 2021 trailer, but I'm not sure if that's actually the case. Although it isn't Demise's curse, you do kinda break a curse in this game by killing the man responsible for the Calamities, which is more or less the same idea.
I'm still playing and loving it since release day, though I do have a considerable game queue with Christmas looming... 😅 I won't 100% it, but I have a couple of monster medals and am currently touring the depths for more, though as has been mentioned, it's all very samey, so I kinda expect to fail. I would like to find the last few Bubbulfrogs and bits of clothing, buuuut I might not do all the upgrading. On the note of the depths being very samey, I think it's kinda funny that people complained of BotW's dungeons being so similar to each other so they fixed that in TotK, but then the sky and depths they added fall into the same trap! But that said, I love that they expanded the map upwards and downwards.
I played through once and loved the game. Haven't had much urge to play it since though. Even though im missing about half the shrines and barely touched the skde quests. The story was extremely moving, the new crafting system was quirky and fun, but otherwise it was a continuation of BotW.
I noticed that a lot of Zelda fans, myself included, have this weird thing going on where there is a much grander focus on the negatives instead of the stuff they would normally praise under any other circumstances. We aren't talking about how the includion of an area entirely dedicated to the challenge of traversal and survival itself. We're talking about the lack of visual variaty of that area. We aren't talking about the absolutely marvellous final boss (and bosses in general), both aesthetically and gameplay wise. We're talking about the missed potential in enemy variaty overall. We aren't talking about the gorgeous main questlines, which feel grandiose and adventurous even for Zelda standards. We're talking about how the dungeons that follow didn't meet the expectations we had. We aren't talking about the feelings this world provides us with, like the calming peacefulness of the sky, the sense of adventure of exploring caves, or the unique feeling of escaping the depths on the back of a dragon. We're talking about the lack of exploration compared to BotW. And I could go on and on. But the point is, all of those positives are things we'd see the game as, but we don't. And I think it's mainly because of the 6 year lead up to the game, as well as how easy it is to compare it to it's predecessor. And, while unfortunate, it's understandable in my opinion. I like to think that by the time the next Zelda comes out, most fans would have reflected on TotK, and would've learned to appreciate the experience this game offered us, without it being bound by comparisons with the game that came before.
Honestly, it's a trend that always happens, not just for Zelda. It usually goes like this "This is the best game ever!" "Good god, this game sucks!" "You know, this game is really underrated." After expectations cooled down and people are able to reflect more objectively, without their disappointments about not used ideas clouding their judgment, TotK will be fondly remembered. It might not be a game for everyone but it's still a great game. Just look at Wind Waker. It had a very bad reception as well but is now a fan favorite.
Think it’s the opposite, longer the game is out the less people will like it. Game just really isn’t that good IMO. Hurts to say as a die hard Zelda fan but honestly how I feel
I feel like several people are judging the game based on standards it was never gonna feasably meet, such as the inclusion of classic dungeons that were designed for a different kind of game than this, and recaptuing the same sense of discovery as Breath of the Wild with the same world. I also don't understand why people are only now complaining about the lore when one of the most popular games in the series and the literal most critically acclaimed game of all time essentially pulled an Age of Calamity and lead to the birth of the infamous downfall timeline.
I personally look forward to the next mainline Zelda game. I do hope they'll do something new rather than rehashing what already worked in the past. One thing I think could be pretty cool would be to have a Castle Town that's a proper, fully explorable urban environment akin to Balduq in Ys IX or the setting of any of the big Assassin's Creed games. They could do a lot with that, and still have a large map with different biomes, dungeons and content for us to explore outside of that, and it would actually make Hyrule Castle Town feel like the big city it was always implied to be in past games but never felt like.
These modern open world games are becoming exhausting, mainly because of there being nothing interesting in them and because they're being put in franchises that they don't fit in and are only being implemented because of modern trends. Sandboxes like Destroy All Humans, The Incredible Hulk: UD and Banjo-Kazooie on the other hand, while providing enough freedom for exploration, kept the areas small enough to have loads of fun collectibles and secrets to discover without the areas becoming tedious to traverse and, in some cases, gave you upgrades to traverse those areas much faster. My point is that we need less empty open-world and more content filled, sandboxes to explore.
It doesn't lose it's charm nor the magic isn't wearing off. It's about Nintendo's general attitude towards game design (gameplay first and story maybe second, if at all) and particularly in ToTK case- how they didn't understand exctly why BoTW worked with storytelling devices they chose and why it wouldn't work with ToTK. 1) Nintendo is infamous for not caring about stories. On one side it's good, because their games are evergreens and everybody can play them- in my household we all play Mario games - from my 4 y.o niece to my 80 y.o. grandpa. Games are not localised to my native language, but it doesn't matter, they are easy and fun to get into and story is irrelevant, so nobody loses anything. But on the other hand, they are missing out with games that would be elevated with the story, exactly like Zelda. The gameplay is there, the lore for the gameplay is easy enough to construct, but why they ignore the story and handwaive everything? 2) They promised direct sequel to BoTW and ignore everything BoTW. Or almost everything. They are very inconsistent and if you played BoTW not long ago it is really annoying. In the end they created a game that feels like parallel world remix of BoTW gameplay, not really a sequel. I guess it's mostly due to them wanting to make a game that is extremely visually different from BoTW (only new tech) and extremely easy to access for new players who didn't play BoTW. SO the easiest choice was to get rid of BoTW. But they did it inconsistently, soit's annoying. 3) They directly copied the structure of BoTW, but made it worse. Wake up Link, do 4 shrines, get a paraglider. In BoTW it's very succint, very freedom oriented and is short. In ToTK you suffer through 7 minutes opening, Raru send you on a goose chase going back and forth, and then you have to spend another hour on getting paraglider by doing even more quests. 25 minutes of normal play compared to easily 1:30hrs to actually play the game. It doesn't help that tutorial area is pretty much 1:1 comparable. Secluded area, 4 shrines, Temple of time. 4) They directly took the shrines and made them worse. Yeah, some puzzles are better, but TBH with 30 more shrines they are boring after some time and so.many.blessings. So many. The appearance of the different shrines also doesn't make that much sense. it's just a mess. They should have made different mechanic allthogether. 5) They copied memories system from BoTW. In BoTW they worked, because BoTW is a third act to the story that started 100 years ago. BoTW is not a story, it's conclusin to it. Hero got defeated in 2nd act and now he's regrouping after his Darkest Day. We already know the story and conclusion so far, we just don't know the details of and don't know what path the hero will take to take on the Baddie. Memory system here works, because the memories don't tell the story itself, only character moments and add some details. We can watch them in any way and we don't get spoiled what happend, just we get an explanation how it happened. It works so well, because Link doesn't rememeber and he rediscovers himself. In ToKT they took linear story that should be watched in order, jumbled it, dropped it in random places on the map and gave the player freedom to roam around. Second tear I discovered was the last one, because I absolutely ignored Impa telling me to go to the temple. As I was allowed to do by devs. I can't tell you how pissed I was, when I got the Master Sword just after that early in the game and literally missed half of the playthrough with Deku Tree, majority of the story and so on. It felt so bad. And I was doing exactly waht devs wanted me to do - roam the map however the eff I wanted to. Not to mention that memories tell external story, these are not Link memories, but pieces of the "legend of Zelda" and they explain what happeneed, they aren't really random character moments. And so in the end storytelling in ToTK is basically incompatible with open world idea. You can't place linear story telling over open world without at least placing some checkmarks that flags event, like the most simple that next tear doesn't appear until you've seen the previous one. They wouldn't have to create very weird Impa/Temple quest and just let the player find the inside of the Temple of their own. 6) The lack of consequences of Link actions on the story and world. There are none. He tells nobody it's a fake Zelda, he tells nobody Zelda is a dragon, he just bumbles around and doesn't open the mouth. They had 6 years to write and record two sets of dialogue for major characters depending on if he found Zelda or not. They had a year of just playtesting and they didn't figure it out it is annoying. I really think they were so concentraded on magic glue working, that they couldn't see tree form forrest. 7) Sky island and the deptht outside of singular instances are just boring. The islands were ovehyped and the depts have little to do in them unless you're big on ultrahand. If you don't build a lot and don't need zonaite or you're not 100% the game, there's nothing to do once you're maxed the battery and lit all roots. They clearly put a lot of work into that, but so much map makes the game more tedious than ever. I'm at same hours with BoTW and ToTK and I feel like I did so much more in BoTW in the same time and got so much more worth of fun for the money, because BoTW never felt tedious (minus Koroks). Iplayed BoTW few times now and I have no plans to restart ToTK ever, becuase just thinking what I would have to do to get to the same point I'm at now... NO. And the pacing of the tutorial doesn't help. 8) Ganon just is. He's chilling under the castel in his crib, doesn't even cause some minor earth tremor, doesn't scare children at night. You can play whole game just ignoring him, rush through the underground and deal with him with bone weapons. You don't even need Master Sword for that. Again storytelling and open world not gelling at all. He's not a constant threat. Once you deal with the temples, the only clue he exists at all are tendrills from under the castle. 9) They should have sent Link to the past, with or without Zelda. That would solve all the inconsitencies. New map. No Sheikah, no memory system, new shrines however they want them, lived in depth with much more thing to do. That would make it for so much more coherent game, with final act being Link getting back to the future and deaing with Ganon. Or something else. I don't know, but it would make so much more sense with what they wanted to do- they'd get a remix of BoTW with accessibility to all new players and totally new dressing without shitting on BoTW lore. They could've even used "Link forgot" excuse again and let Link figure out why he has new arm and is in weird place. 10) Nintendo openly shitting on their own lore is face slap to the fans. I mean it's one thing about them not caring about Zelda timeline - TBH barely anyone cares outside of YT channels. But saying it out loud is the easiest way to make people to disengage. BoTW held so strong, because it was magical and the worldbulding sucked in people who never cared about Zelda. Made them fans who cared at least about BoTW. And then the creators say it's wrong to care. You have to accept that your questions don't matter, and the only acceptable answer is "wizard did it". And it sucks. So in conclusion, IMO, if ToTK existed without BoTW, it would have the similar wow factor and lore longevity. But it's a sequel and it was hyped at first, because it look like new beter BoTW. And first time playing first 20-30 horus it feels liek that. It's just after that people realise that this game doesn't care about what made them reach for it in the frst place (BoTW) and that new gimmicks are aftr a time are just awkward (building vehicles >>) and too complicated. And on top of that the tediousness of a map and quests, and worldbuilding... In the end it's amazingly coded game that totally forgot about storytelling aspect. And storytelling is the thing that is needed for the lore theorists, fans that take the game to the cult status. I won't e surprised if it wind GOTY, but I don't think it will be deserved.
There was too much fan speculation on what the game "would be". Zelda would be playable, return of traditional items, Ganondorf will end up teaming up with Link and Zelda to break Demise's curse, etc I hope the same disappointment won't happen with the Switch 2 when some of the "leaks" turn out to be fake.
speaking for myself and what i experienced, i had to play through totk much faster than botw because of people on the internet who just can't seem to keep their mouths shut. i didn't want it spoiled. i still put in about the same number of hours as botw, but i was playing hours every day because i didn't want it spoiled by the internet. playing through botw, i could take my time and slowly burn through it. i couldn't do that with totk. but i still LOVE zelda! no charm lost at all!
After twilight princess every game following didn’t feel like a Zelda game to me. It was new, cool, and different, but not classic Zelda. Maybe that’s because I’ve grown up and was a child back then.
I was very happy to hear you also didn’t feel like totk is dlc because it is really not. The shrines are better, there is more, there’s is more of everything in general. Regardless I’d say botw was a world you were placed in to explore but there were boundaries in how you explored. Totk says screw those boundaries and literally just gives you an open air sandbox to experiment for 100s of hours in. It’s truly wonderful, not to mention the music even down to the subtle different piano keys while exploring are different. There’s tons of small things that are there that a lot of fans probably haven’t even noticed that I really think made the game feel fresh and exciting, hell they even recorded new sounds for footsteps
I’ve been a Zelda fan since the original game, and even though I played and enjoyed BoTW, I’ve been saying in comments sections for years now that the lack of the classic Dungeon/Item/Dungeon metroidvania progression-formula and the fact that ToTK is basically a 2nd BoTW has never sat well with me. I hate the shrines, hate the lack of original unique bosses in BoTW, and especially the crazy disposable weapons, stamina, (also in SS) and lack of getting new items that unlock new areas the way the old games did. I dont hate the game, but it doesn’t feel the same as classic Zelda
The devoloping culture of being a real zelda fan by only liking the old games is the reason for this debate. All zelda games are awesome, some are just better then others and Totk if in the top of that
I think the main problem is that, at least for me, they have disrespected Zelda timelines and the new story lore. I expected that after totk I would be able to look backwards to btw and realise they had left hints related to the new story one could spot. Now I think that the Zonai lore has been wasted and that btw's story is not necessary to play totk. The staff has focused on giving more freedom and playability to the player with new mechanics and also a vast content to explore. However I feel like thay have provided a big DLC, part of this, mostly repetitive to btw. Also, lots of content feel hollow and unsignificant and are not worth the effort to obtain. The major part of the rewards are custom sets that already includes btw or common items (arrows, brightseeds, etc).
I think another clue to analyse the difference between the games would be the context in which those two games were released. BOTW came out in 2017, the hype was huge around it, for the reasons mentionned in the video, but what helped maintain that hype was certainly the pandemic : lots of people quarantined at home, going further into the game to escape more and more. This gave us plenty of time to get to know every square inch of the overworld, every little lore secret, thanks to you, Zelda youtubers! And of course, six years later, when TOTK came out, first of all we already knew pretty much everything, and it came out in a society full of action and consumption : after all these years we litterally devoured this game in a single bite, like when we're so hungry that we eat our meal very fast and don't take the time to enjoy it.
Thinking to the future, I wonder if they could explore the timeline unification thing with some sort of parallel worlds event, where there are three Links from the three main branches and then something something Ganon? Or something.
I mean... It makes sense. Breath of the Wild was INSANE, something never done before. But Tears of the Kingdom (with as many differences it has) is _still_ the same world. Its a lot less mind-blowing when the map is almost exactly the same, with the new parts of the map (i.e. the sky islands and the depths) having basically nothing of real interest. Even rewards are repeat armor sets from the previous game, so it makes it a lot less interesting. It makes Totk feel like a reimagined fan mod. Even the story is just the same beats as Botw. Still split up as memories/tears, still going to each region to do a divine-beast-style dungeon for a neat gimmick ability, then you go fight ganon.
Honestly, things started going downhill because they got rid of the ocarina and all the abilities that came with the songs Link could play. Let's not forget about the fairies that no longer exist hanging out with Link. No Navi. No Tatl. Oh yeah and now Link can fly upwards and swim through concrete all of a sudden. It looks so futuristic. There are way too many reasons as to why things are going down hill. These new Zelda games don't even feel like Zelda titles anymore. If you're gonna throw away Links ocarina and not even give him his traditional outfit anymore, you might as well remove Marios red hat and grow out his hair so he can have locks for the next Super Mario title. Marios voice: "Wagwaan Star ⭐"
I still feel resentful being referred to as a "Zelda Boomer." I do and always will have a deep love for the original Zelda games. But ever since Botw came out, I've become a minority in my own community. This might sound harsh, but every time I someone tells me they're a huge zelda fan, and I ask which games they've played, and they say they've only played Botw/Totk, its always difficult for me to say that they've really played a zelda game. because these new games are such a far cry from the franchise's former self, that it's almost a completely different game at this point. but if I say that, then I'll be crucified by the new majority of the community. So when everyone was hyped for the new game, it was hard for me to be excited. because to me, totk was just the final nail in the coffin for the zelda that I loved. but I can't say that, because as the minority, that would be sacrilegious.
How old are you? I'm 40 and have played most of the mainline titles over the years. While I am nostalgic for what came before, I do realize that there will be hurdles on the way to what comes after. I have now spent close to 2000 hours altogether in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom combined. If nothing else, the new games definitely capture our attention more than the old ones did. The old games will always be with us, but you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. When I'm 90, I want the full holographic Zelda experience. And if not that, then something very similar to what is shown in the Black Mirror episode "USS Callister"... Where you can just plug yourself in and forget about the world for as long as you want.
What's odd is that my experience feels like the opposite as a big fan of the Wild games. Engaging with the community feels like I'm in the minority of people who like them while everyone else just thinks the old games are better, even though I understand that the internet doesn't reflect the majority of players (maybe it's the human element of focusing more on the negative than the positive). Either way your view is completely valid, and calling you a Zelda Boomer for it is just loser behavior.
The cataklysm should have changed More the map, no Story in the deeps, missing Unnique Mini Bosses and enemies Like just one new Enemytype in the deeps are Not enough in this big big world
Great video. To me I was completely addicted for like two months and then I haven't really played much Tears of the Kingdom at all after that. I do think it's a great game and when I do play I love exploring, but that part was also the main thing I loved about both Botw and TotK, exploring, finding secrets and now it already feels like it's not that much left to explore and the things I need to do to progress the story like beating the last dungeon boss or beating the evil hands of Doom in Korok Forest or beating Ganon just doesn't appeal to me at all at the moment. So the game feels like it's in this limbo where I've already explored so much of the world that it feels like I have to do progress-oriented stuff that I don't feel like doing in a world where I can just play other games instead. Also a change between Botw and TotK is that in Botw there were parts of the story that I found so much fun that I wanted to do them again (like Eventide or the opening hours as a great example), so I've started new files twice and with TotK for some reason there's a lack of things I want to do again, at least at the moment. It's still a great game and I'm interested to see where Zelda games go next.
I think it has more to do with the games being released around it. 2017's release lineup just doesn't compare to 2023's. This year has had numerous incredible games, many of which are favored by the same people who play Zelda.
I played tp before I got totk and it just really feels like they're more focused on world over story I just don't feel particularly attached outside of characters personalities Idk the story just doesn't seem as serious/dire as like the earlier 3d era games But the world for these last 2 have been fantastical
I think a lot of the charm was lost reusing the same storytelling style as BotW where the entire plot happens in the past. BotW could get away with it, with Link dying and losing his memories. Getting them out of order wasn't horrible because we already knew the gist of what happened. It also worked in BotW because the Calamity was a mindless beast made of hatred, it didn't need a lot of screentime to be a menacing final boss or villain because of what it was. Ganondorf can't really get away with sitting underground all game doing nothing, on top of having bad writing to begin with in the past cutscenes. So yes I do think TotK lost a lot of charm the series had. Also P.S. while we're on the topic of losing charm I always have to mention how much i hate Link being right handed and I hope they make him a lefty again in future games. Ik its nitpicky but it was an iconic part of his character and he was the one big name rep leftys had. Without him there really isnt anyone else and I miss running around as my left-handed hero 😞
The problem is that Nintendo has no interest in building or learning, TotK is proof of that. You can talk all you want about how much potential Nintendo has to build on BotW's formula, but the thing is _that's what TotK was supposed to do._ But instead they just made BotW x Garry's Mod. Barely any of BotW's fundamental shortcomings were addressed, and the ones that were, were addressed in the most half-assed and patronizing way possible. If a combined _TWELVE YEARS_ isn't enough time for the team to "figure out" open-world Zelda, then they simply aren't going to, period.
So I think really the challenge with totk was expectations. BOTW we had almost no idea what to expect and it was so different and ground breaking. I think a lot of people expected totk to go a different direction. I think a lot of people wanted Link and Zelda to build more of a relationship in game and maybe even have a playable Zelda. Both Games we spent 100% without Zelda at all. Something I thought that they could have done that would have been cool is make the tears like portals and when we go back we play as Zelda and affect different things in the past. They would already have the blue prints for it
I personally was also hoping for more of a restoration. In previous games once you defeated Gannon a lot or all of his evil was undone. Hyrule was almost always restored. In botw we defeated him but the damage was too great. Everyone was dead, everything was a ruin. It would have been cool in totk if they made rebuilding or restoring part of the game. Using links ultra hand. Then if they had made Zelda a playable character she could master her time power and reverse time on the ruins and maybe even at the end use it to bring back some of the dead or something.
it's just been long enough that most of the discussion has been had by now, and everyone knows there won't be much more to speculate on for at least 5 years, at least for a new mainline HUGE title. there's nothing not charming about botw or totk, it's just over and done with now. there can only be added more to the world by the addition of new lore which won't happen until the next games come out. i think this era of hyrule and definitely been fully plumbed for all it's worth, so people are itching for a nice fresh experience for the next games and have had plenty of time to play these games to death for hundreds and hundreds of hours. it's easier to start deeply analyzing the flaws when there's nothing else to sate one's hunger for zelda games.
Well, keep in mind that the internet is not real life. I’m sure there’s a vast majority more of people who still love totk than there are people that don’t.
I like to think of it in this way: Breath of the Wild showed off that Zelda can be open world. Tears of the Kingdom expanded the mechanics soooo much. The next game will expand more; maybe lore. I just got to the part of the video where you talk about this so uhhh yeah I agree that the franchise is finding out how to evolve right now!
The longer think about and I read/watch about this game, the more it feels like they had a new mechanics demo (links hand powers) that needed a platform, and that became TotK. The many constant small and big ways I come up with on my own about how the game could have been different and better really take away from the re-playability. Most of the time it feels like they HAD to get a game out cause they said they would, but it got too late, so they slapped some new powers on Link and then just sort of phoned in the rest of Hyrule. TotK as it was delivered, felt like Zelda went back and affected only a few things that didn't really change Hyrule at all as it was recovering post Second Calamity (or did it? They don't mention BotW events at all, only the first and ancient Calamity) It's as if we as the player is the only person who remembers Link saving Hyrule, Zelda being stuck fighting Calamity Ganon for 100 years, and why there are SO MANY ruins all over. I mean, it wasn't the Upheaval that crushed Hyrule Field into rubble. To make it a truly impressive reuse of the map, they should have made new and or bigger villages. They really missed an opportunity with the Time Travel aspect. Zelda going back in time had the potential for MAJOR down stream effects for the present TotK map, that went almost totally unrealized. Her knowledge given to the Sages to be used going forward could have dramatically changed what happened in the first Calamity, possibly even prevented the Second Calamity (events of BotW - and the even 100 years prior). As a result, TotK Hyrule could have had WAY more people and villages - even a fully intact Castle Town and Hyrule field. THAT would have been mind blowing for everyone. Hyrule as it was before BotW because Zelda time traveled and set events in motion to stop it. I don't know about most people, but if they were going to nearly scrub BotW events from the sequel at least they could have made that make sense. The very random carry-overs are almost worse.
They did not add enough for a 70 dollar game in a world people have explored already, monsters people have already faught, essentially the same weapons, the amazing ideas of fuze and making items got limited. You hit the nail on the head with the sky and the depths get boring. The new armor is ok but could have been more flushed out, no new combat techniques I could bitch all day. The game is great but not in the long term which is important since people have been fighting the same monsters and doing the same kind of crap for years. Also they consistency with the story and legends is very important, they basically did what GoT did.
I feel like totk would be a amazing sequel if it was released 2 or 3 years later. But the fact that we had to wait almost 7 years for a minimal amount of updates and almost to no story is dissapointing
The real reason it's not talked about as much as BOTW is because this is possibly the best year of all time for games and we're all busy talking about the newest thing rather than a game that came out (only) months ago.
I want the next Zelda game artstyle to look like the Zelda Wii-U tech demo. The one that looked like twilight princess but more colorful. And Link sees the Giant spider in a dungeon. It looks so pretty.
I love wind waker and cel shading. But I think after BoTW and ToTk cartooniness, Nintendo should go back to the realistic colors and textures of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. Because it fits the forest nature vibe well. Not because i particularly want realism, I love fantasy. An example is Shadow of the colossus, its a beautiful landscape that has realistic look but still captures a magical feeling
My biggest issue was that I wasn't even remotely compelled to explore the sky islands or the depths. The depths in particular was just INCREDIBLY annoying to me...and bland
I used to be a huge Zelda fan. Favorite series of all time but I am now absolutely out on these games. Whenever the next one comes out unless it’s a return for form, I’m just not interested. That kills me but these games are simply not for me and many other OG Zelda fans. The charm is completely gone.
*Edit: I should watch first before commenting, we are on exactly the same page, haha. I'll link this directly to my own experience so it is personal, but I think the 'charm' wears off sooner because even though they've added SO much, it's still a world we explored before. A large part of BotW's charm was the exploration and getting to know the world/land itself. Even doing nothing (skipping battle, Koroks, NPCs) it felt great to just wonder, explore and discover. TotK added the depths and sky, but let's be honest, they are kind of empty and have quite a few returning challenges and settings. They've altered the mainland, but it's still the same world, meaning (as a returning player) you've already seen and experienced a large chunk of the game, meaning it misses some of the charm. Add some of the weird continuation problems into this mix and this starts feeling a bit 'off', compared to BotW. Other direct sequels didn't actually happen in the same world/land of their predecessor did, so those sequels had free rein in creating a new world, like Majora's Mask did. Also, people overhype themselves too much these days, making them easy to disappoint.
I think it comes down to 3 main things, and one bonus thing. 1) no one knows where TOTK is going in terms of new content. we know there's no DLC, but might there be a warriors game? we just don't know, and we don't know enough to even guess. the way no DLC was announced it almost feels like nintendo themselves dropped it and have no interest in keeping it going, which kills much of our hype with it. 2) fans are struggling to make content. theories, mostly. the new lore is so messy and confusing that none of us really feel like we can get a solid foothold, making theorizing and discussion tricky and even overwhelming (especially for newer players who joined at BOTW and didn't have the same knowledge as the rest of us). 3 entire maps is awesome, but if we can't really figure out how to talk about them, then there's not really a lot to be done with them. especially when one of them is already mostly known to us, and another is very disappointingly empty (and especially when that one was the source of much of the original hype). as well, with most characters around the map, even those who SHOULD know Link, suddenly didn't recognize him, making him seem disconnected from the world he lives in and like all our work, time, and effort in BOTW (for those of us who played) meant nothing. 3) BOTW was in a way, too big to fail, and the hype for TOTK was likely too big to live up to. BOTW was SO different and SO new it didn't entirely matter if it was even good or not, it was such a breath (ha) of fresh air that where it stumbled was easily overlooked by many. it also didn't really contradict the past in a way that was confusing, only making us want to know/discover more. and many of us loved it so much, that TOTK was assumed to be surely The Best Ever, except you can't please everyone. it didn't stumble any more than BOTW did, but it was so big that those tiny stumbles were far more noticeable, and damaging. and bonus 4) nintendo kept constantly crippling TOTK at the knee with every new update that felt like they were just pure spite. they only fixed fun glitches, and have STILL yet to patch anything that actually functions incorrectly and MATTERS, like the master sword's damage. once you fuse something onto it and it breaks and the sword goes on cool down, it doesn't matter what you attach to it, it can NEVER be as good as it was the first time. it is STILL to this day right now unfixed. they only made sure to patch things out that players enjoyed and made the game even more fun. and when it feels like the developers are out to spite your joy, even if you personally aren't using any glitches, meanwhile they aren't fixing things they need to be fixing, it can really kill your hype, making the death of TOTK's run all but inevitable. I don't think it's any less charming than past games, it just got crippled in a way BOTW never did.
Whadja think?
The game needs dlc, to help keep the game interesting.
I think that totk should be in the past, where Zelda is.... so we could have the "same map" but with enough difference to make it newer.
The only issues I have with totk in order of how much they bug me.
1. Way too many collectables and too many needed to upgrade all the armor.
2. Pretty much all the weapons are shit.
3. Main quest line is a broken record. They constantly summarize to you what you did like you weren't there.
4. Zelda stole my house.
Loved the game. I really did, it was one of very few games i wanted to explore rather than beating it over the weekend. That said, i myself would have loved more sky island chains similar to the build up to the wind temple, and a lot more sky islands that match the size of the great sky island. I would have enjoyed classic items. in a way, i think this game was good, and im excited for the next game. One that does have more classic elements but also furthering the gameplay we got in botw and totk.
Maybe if they make an expansion like cyberpunk it would fix the problem
I think a lot of the "hype" has died down because we don't have anything to speculate about the future. BotW had months of time for us to theorize about what the DLCs would include, and then after that we got confirmation of BotW2 and that became a huge signpost for theorizing. TotK has no DLC and no announced sequel, so we don't have things in the future pushing us to theorize about what things in the game will lead to
Agree. DLC may be a cash grab, but it does draw out hype and our ability to talk about a game. Nintendo shutting that possibility down so early kinda squashed desire to keep thinking about TotK. People are focused now more on what new system Nintendo will release soon.
I think while a part of this is true, people theorized and talked about the game outside of New content. Botw had so much interesting lore and mysteries, so many little details that people kept discovering even up to the release of totk. Totk's copy and pasting and inconsistencies doesn't help capture that intricate world building botw had going for it along with botws excellent environment storytelling. Even then, people still talk about older Zelda games in such high regard as well and still make video essays and theories for them. I think the new content helped botw but at the same time it was still able to stand on it's own for that longevity.
I never considered this- good one
I think the Ancient Hero’s Aspect may be a hint
Also we can expect the next game to have no continuity
My problem with TotK’s story is that it was basically told in the same way as BotW. The story is still “in the past”. It’s exactly the same as the memories. The main story largely feels untouchable as everything technically happened. You aren’t actually doing *anything* with the main story. But that’s the same thing that happened in BotW. So why did they tell the story with the same format? No idea!! I just feel like, if nothing else, that copy and paste feel is the biggest reason why people lost interest. Because what you’re doing, especially because it’s the same villain, feels pointless. There’s no reason to do anything except to defeat Ganondorf. And again, we already did that. So what’s the difference at its very core? Sadly, nothing. The best parts of TotK in my opinion are the direct story sections relating to the different dungeons. The dungeons were better but not spectacular but the story leading up to it was the most engaging. The story was different and there’s consequences to actions and you get to see a visual difference in the area after you’re done. You can actually make a difference. But again, imo, what’s the freaking point if these actually don’t matter to the main storyline??? And then the depths were the biggest waste of potential. It was cool at first, but then you realize just how empty and lifeless the place is. After hours of gameplay, it isn’t fun to explore anymore.
On a side tangent, I feel like the nuance behind the actions of people has completely gone out of the window. There haven’t been any companions so we can’t develop a character as layered as Midna, there haven’t been any political tactics by Ganon or Ganondorf and the goal in BotW/TotK is to….what? Destroy Hyrule? If you destroy a place, what’s the point in ruling it? Yeah I get that the motive is power. But there are SO MANY WAYS to explore the concept of power and how to show it and they’ve barely even touched that. And then, they give us a building mechanic and we can’t even build houses for people. We can’t rebuild Hyrule, we can’t be a part of the main story, we can’t help anyone of value move forward with a significant side plot, we can’t go into the past, we can’t even see Ganondorf properly threaten anyone (in the present) except Link!!! So WHATS THE POINT?!?!?!
Sorry… I guess this was a rant I didn’t know I needed to have.
All of the above should be re-visted in a ToTK DLC. I was expecting to have more Ganondorf cutscenes and gameplay with the Past & present characters interacting all within the present day timeline. Instead we just got some evil cloud portal with Dead Ganons portrait on it. There was no real interaction in that 1 scene.
That really isn't a bad thing though. Which is fine really. No it doesn't feel untouchable as not everything has already happened. No that isn't exactly what happened in BotW either. They told it like that because they wanted to create another interesting story in that format. Except there is no copy and paste feel. No it doesn't feel pointless at all. No there is reasons to do other stuff and explore the whole world and the depths and the sky islands. What's the difference is what Ganondorf actually does with his plan and stuff. So no there are differences. The point is they do matter to the main storyline and help out.
The depths really weren't the biggest waste of potential. It isn't really empty...and it feeling lifeless makes sense really. Nah it still is fun to explore tbh.
That nuance really isn't gone at all as even without companions there is still developed characters. There have been some political tactics and his goal is to take over Hyrule as his kingdom for good. How have they barely touched on it? They've shown it pretty clear with Ganondorf. You fuse some stuff...but making houses is something else completely. You can be a part of the main story as you try to stop Ganondorf and and save others and the Kingdom, yes you can...that's what happens with the stuff leading up to the dungeons, actually you can see that and you do especially with the monster attacks on towns and stuff. So yeah the point is to stop Ganondorf from doing what he does and you see all that too.
I see that you really liked the game
I was disappointed with the building mechanic, since you’re limited to building weapons or vehicles for traversal. I feel no reason to get creative coz we already have weapons, horses, a paraglider, and the wings.
@@Jdudec367 Ganondorfs motivations to rule Hyrule in TotK are literally "just because". There is no nuance its just bad and uninteresting writing.
I feel like the biggest problem is that Totk didn’t establish it’s own identity. It’s so similar to Botw that I’m sure like 15/20 yrs from now, people are gonna forget about it and keep mixing it up with Botw. In contrast, let’s look at Oot and MM. Both games use most of the same assets and ideas but MM introduced so many new things for itself, along with the different game world that it’s impossible to think of them as the same. Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks played very similarly to each other but they had completely different stories, maps, dungeons, and feel to them. A lot of people consider TP and OoT to be very similar too, but TP still carved out it’s own space with it’s deep lore and unique areas and locations.
What did Totk do differently from Botw? Not enough. The story is told in 90% similar fashion, even utilizing the memory system again which this story wasn’t suited for like Botw’s was. The world was the same, and Totk didn’t add enough to the Depths and Sky to feel like it was a worthy world expansion the way that the promotional material made it seem like it was going to be. The dungeons formula feel copy paste from Botw and we all know how awful that is. The combat used very similar enemies and a similar durability system. Add to that the same locations and npcs, and it just feels like Botw 2.0. I used to vehemently disagreed with the people who called Totk a Botw dlc, but I can understand where they’re coming from now, which is a massive problem.
They need to give the next game it’s own identity and not piggyback off of Botw’s main gameplay features. Keep the open world, but make it feel different. Different combat, dungeon, and story style would accomplish this.
It reminds me of Mario Galaxy and Mario Galaxy 2 situation
@@just_some_greek_dude Mario Galaxy 2 is a retelling of the story for Galaxy 1 but, totk is a direct sequel to botw so no its not the same.
I really hope we get a fresh new combat system next game. I think Tears is cool with all the choices, but I’ve learned less is more. And they better make the next game feel totally new. I’m sure it will. They will have hopefully much better hardware to work with next time.
While I like TOTK, I played through it quickly … and found myself missing BOTW. It’s the emptiness for me. I understood it in BOTW and was hoping TOTK would use previously underutilized areas or make some other changes. The sky and depths aren’t really alluring to keep going back to. For some reason I don’t mind just traveling BOTW, but get annoyed with it in TOTK.
I’m also turned off by the lack of societal rebuild in TOTK and the erasure of the guardians. There could have been lore built in on this. I don’t know how to explain it, BOTW just holds a piece of my heart in the way TOTK doesn’t.
They shouldn't have gone with heightened technology again. The zonai should've been shaman warriors who relied on Spirit magic and could shapeshift. Rauru shouldn't have been the first king but rather the last surviving shaman of a fallen empire who made a deal with Hyryle for his service. The arm Link got should've been more creepy and mystical in its power rather than basically being a sheikah artifact
That would’ve taken the Zelda team too much effort. They knew they were gonna get money off of name alone, so they kicked their feet up and put out a product they knew was lackluster
hard agree. I think TOTK is only considered a good game because so much of it is functionally the same as BOTW. It completely fails as a sequel tho bc they're uninterested in doing anything to set the two games apart in a meaningful way. Even stuff as basic as the general theme (like the technology) are all recycled with a different color theme. Its just lazy imo
It isn't really just heightened technology though. A bit part of the game's story involves the magic powers people possess, and things like the Shrines and Lightroots run on light magic. As for the lore, Nintendo just needs to make up their damn mind. I'm cool with them taking a more game to game format with the stories, but if they do that and still keep hinting at an overarching timeline connecting all the games, it'll just put people in an abusive relationship with the lore where they constantly expect the most out of the games' continuity only to be inevitably disappointed.
If I never play another game that features an extinct precursor civilization with both crumbling ruins AND advanced tech, it'll be too soon.
Been playing the Zelda series since 1986. As much as I love BotW and TotK, I'm extremely nostalgic for the linear Zelda games. If TP and WW were to come to the Switch, I'd be even than happier for with TotK.
Same, I might actually get the skyward sword remaster, instead of getting ToTK. I tried ToTk at a friend's house and whilst it is fun, it just doesn't feel like Zelda to me you know?
I hated the mediocre treasure in non boss areas. Like getting to a chest in a ruins, to find just another resource item to stick to your weapon etc. They needed a loot table system.
It was so annoying finding zonai mines or hard to reach sky islands just to get 20 zonai charges
@@Jack-dr5qh Exactly.
Or an opal
@@Jack-dr5qhThe zonaite rocks are an incentive to explore the depths. Just as the sundelions are an incentive to explore the skies. Crystallized charges can also be dropped from enemies in combat. I think the system was done well to encourage exploring all 3 maps.
As for OP's mention of a loot table, yes that would be nice as would a counter of bosses and other enemies defeated. I was sure that would be included in this game, but we can't have everything... Yet.
I also would have liked another item sink. I had thought of a Zonai device that turns things into zonaite. Let's say you have two Shields and three swords that you can't pick up after combat. This is Zonai device would turn each of those items into one to two pieces of zonaite, and after a few times the device would disappear. And this could also work with other items too. Zonaite has already been shown to be able to recreate virtually anything, so to me, it stands to reason that also the reverse should be true.
Ill never forget the day Totk realeased. I thought that I would have school on that day, but it was cancelled last minute for parent teacher conferences. I got to enjoy the game too the fullest, will never forget
TOTK was the game I wanted and I'm very satisfied of what we got. Knowing that it was going to reuse the format from the previous game allowed me to play the game very differently, and I had a fantastic time (no map, no warps, no hints). I don't think I could have necessarily done such a thing in a different Zelda game.
But now, I've had my fill of the current iteration of Zelda and I'm really looking forward to the next one.
Same! I love the game as is.
Reusing the map gave them the chance to evolve it in a way that wouldn't have been possible before. They were able to completely change the atmosphere of the villages for the Regional Phenomena, then give you a sense of comforting familiarity when you restored them. I also loved how where in Breath of the Wild you were fighting to free the people of Hyrule from the hardship of the Calamity, in Tears of the Kingdom it truly feels like you're fighting alongside Hyrule like it never has before, with everyone doing their part in the effort to stop Ganondorf.
See... This is what I like about your channel. You can be critical about a game without completely trashing on it. I always look forward to the next one.
I got you 44 your welcome I’m trying to keep it that way
I don't get why people take violent criticism about a game so seriously? I watch rants about the games I like and I don't feel bad about people "trashing" games that I like. It's their opinion. I didnt make the game. Lol I don't think you should take criticisms so seriously, especially when it's about fiction.
@@avaliausd. It's fine if they have a different opinion on the game, but a lot of what I see is open negativity on it for very miniscule reasons that shouldn't really detract from an overall enjoyment of the experience. There are some valid complaints, such as the copy and pasted sky islands and depths locations. However, there are simple answers to complaints such as why certain people don't remember Link that make sense when you look a little deeper past a surface level glance. It's not a perfect game. It has room for improvement, but I feel that people aren't giving the game its due for taking steps in the right direction.
@@avaliausd. I myself find criticisms healthy for a game eapecially for a big title like Zelda BotW and TotK.. Sadly there's also alot of bad takes and even ill-intended criticism just to gain some few clicks because posting "Hot Takes" nowadays can net you more attention.
@@kakarikokage2514without negativity. Standards drop. Its this “negativity” that ensures future releases are good. I am on the side of not understanding why your feelings get so hurt when someone doesnt like the video game you like.
1. Its a video game not your life
2. Like you said not every video game is perfect.
3. I am not nor is anyone for that matter obligated to be “positive” about a product. Especially a product that costs money.
4. It is a nintendo product. Not your grandma. So once again, why is it necessary for everyone to be “positive” about it. Especially when they may have differing opinions on it.
Just logically does not make sense. Ive seen so many fans like this that just attack people like me for being “negative”. But the way I see it, this attitude is a form of toxic positivity. Its actually more toxic and “negative” than just me sharing why I didnt like the video game. Its a video game dude…. A video game…
My biggest problem is I ruined it for myself, over 4 years, thousands upon thousands of different ideas every month, and to only have the game explore 1/10 of those ideas, really made me lose interest because I promised myself that at least half of those ideas would be realized
That’s why speculation can be man’s worst enemy. It’s like being little and thinking “oh my mom’s gonna get me all this great stuff for my birthday.” When I’m reality you don’t get quite as much as you wanted. Sometimes you might, but nobody’s ever right all the time.
@@Ppilldd agreed
@@Xenado22to be honest, I wasn’t disappointed at all when I played. And I’m positive the reason for that is because while I of course had ideas of what could be in the game, I mostly just discarded them. Instead, I just thought about what they had already show us. See I’m a very creative person, I’m always like coming up with stories about random stuff and I also constantly narrate parts of my day in my head. However, I never let myself go to far when I consider things I don’t have all the facts to. Basically, I’m creative and logical at the same time. That way I was thinking about stuff I’d like to have in the game, but never really putting much certainty into my idea actually being a reality. Some of my ideas did become a reality though. Most notably the sages. I wanted l Link to team up with Sidon, Yunobo, Riju, and Teba more than anything. Of course I wasn’t expecting Teba to be replaced by Tulin, but I’m actually pretty happy that Teba was replaced by his son. It just goes to show you though that you really can’t predict what gets put into a game. You can think about it all you want, but you can’t let yourself really believe that those ideas will come true. Like when you promised yourself that half your ideas where gonna happen. Cause that’s just a ticket to dissatisfaction.
@@Ppilldd im almost the exact same as you, the only difference being i lack the creative side so i was thinking completely logical. The benefit to that though was that I was completely blown away when i actually got to play the game because i didn't over think anything.
It’s not your fault. You’d expect after 6 years they’d do a lot to change up the game and really deliver on the sky content given they heavily marketed that. But instead they spent most of their time crafting barren and pointless worlds above and below the surface, and physics for the Zonai devices which are extremely situational.
Another thing is the music. In most Zelda games, the player is almost constantly surrounded by triumphant overworld music or swelling emotional pieces. BOTW and TOTK's music is mostly ambient background piano tracks. With a few exeptions (like the Stone Talus theme or Colgera), these tracks don't really stick with you after you're done playing. Even the returning songs like Zora's Domain are a more subdued version of the original. In TOTK, when you unite the band together to play for the Great Fairies, I thought "This is it. This particular moment feels like classic Zelda."
I think one key issue is fans obviously putting more thought and interest into the lore than Nintendo themselves have. Nintendo does not care about Zelda lore much and it's fairly obvious. I'm not even saying this is a big deal and some grievance I have, but they think about game play first and the story is just some decoration surrounding the game play. While I'd still rate Tears of the Kingdom between 9.5 and 10 anyways myself, I do think there is some legitimacy to saying the story is more bare-bones than a lot of fans would like to see.
But the gameplay doesn't fare much better. Sure the new abilities are great and give us tons of new options and yet you still very quickly end up doing the same things for 100 hours or so. The gameplay loop is short and repeats for too long. I think the game is just too big.
I think, in Totk's case specifically, it used so much of Botw but denied us a lot of the good stuff of Botw. Yes, the lore and story sucks and makes zero sense, but even from a gameplay perspective its kinda trash. Not many people use the Zonai tech practically, for either travel or battle. I couldnt make crap for the life of me that worked properly until i watched guides of how to build even simple effective battle builds. And the hoverbikes are the only good and efficient and effective means of travel regarding Zonai tech.
And the reason I say so much about the Zonai tech is because a huge amount of this game centers around it! Its not practical for a casual player, similarly to redstone in minecraft.
And there was no need to get rid of the Sheikah Slate abilities. Nor the Champion's abilities. Not for what we got in their place. The new sage abilities are just wannabe Champion abilities, with the only viable one being Tulin's to some degree. The hand abilities are just kinda crap, with the only good one being Fuse (and maybe Ascend), and Ultrahand being a modified Magnesis. Rewind is hardly used outside of shrines, and Autobuild is just a weird version of Ultrahand for saving your versions of stuff from Ultrahand, which couldve just been an option for Ultrahand instead of a different ability entirely (similar to Bomb+ and Stasis+).
The combat is pretty much the only thing that got slightly better, outside of having trash weapons that are fused with other random garbage to make something that lasts more than a stick. Including the Master Sword, which feels even weaker for some reason (and that includes the glitch with the Master Sword fusions that Nintendo refuses to patch, but heavens no that the other glitches for duplication and movement exist).
Not to mention the lack of any presence in the game, whether it be Ganon or Zelda. Theres no real threat. The only one that has some threat is the Ritos, similar to the Zoras in Botw. The others just kinda exist, with no impact on the world at all. And omfg with lightning queen only being able to strike lightning if you waste an arrow. Heaven forbid that you slash your sword or just choose an area to strike it down from. No. Only arrows from your already used bow that has about 100 better uses with Fuse.
Gameplay wise, Totk just sucks, outside of the combat which is still meh at best. Its basically the same as Botw, but with the option to make weird arrow combinations and effects and the option to make less effective murder machines that you had better watch TH-cam to make or else youre f'd.
@@RiskyStratsTruth
This is a big reason why I would love to see more "fan fiction" type content from Zeldatubers or just sharing ideas from the community, conceptualizing what a future Zelda game *could* be in an in depth way.
@@galaxsija4591 I would totally love that
I feel like once we move on to an entirely new version of Hyrule with a new Link and Zelda, the hype will last longer because we will be experiencing something so brand new and fresh.
Even still, I don’t think I’ll ever get invested in any new Zelda lore ever again. It’s clear enough to me now that the developers only really care about the lore as much as it can service the gameplay. Continuity between games has never been a priority for Nintendo, they kinda just do what they want and let the internet theorists pick up the slack, but no more I say. ToTK deflated my theory bubble to the point where I just can’t be bothered anymore, the hype will never be the same again.
@@see.eye.2361it will be when they kick out the old money hungry developers. When Zelda goes back to its roots, which is innovating upon every installment, which they couldn’t be bothered to do for the first time ever with Tears of the Kingdom, they’ll get limelight again.
Tears of the Kingdom was a disgrace on the Zelda name, seriously. People can cope all they want, it was by far the worst 3d Zelda we’ve ever gotten.
@@see.eye.2361 Not even Pikmin lore is safe. Pikmin 1, 2, and 3 were all consistent. Pikmin 4 threw it all out. Now the difference is, I don't know anyone who actually cares about Pikmin lore. But it is further evidence that Nintendo doesn't give a smidge of care to their lore.
@@APsGTG They're not money hungry but just stubborn japanese men. If they were money hungry, they would have made dlc.
I think Tears of the Kingdom is dying mainly because the game is quite similar to Breath of the Wild, and everyone has already done everything, while because BotW was the first of its kind, it took YEARS for the magic to wear off. While DLC anticipation wasn’t the only thing keeping the game alive, it certainly caused a psychological effect where everyone kind of resigned the game and new stuff was coming out, therefore the hype completely stopped as it had been months, and now it’s just us dedicated Zelda fans left.
YO EA
I'm hoping Nintendo had been seeing all of our amazing ideas posted in all corners of the deep web and I hope they listen to us and put those ideas into beta testing and see how a fans idea can give the whole team some perspective and ideas that no other Nintendo Employee would probably never think of. They had already done something like that in the form of the Fusing mechanic and Acsend, that came from US, the loyal fans that help build ToTK for what it is today. I have high expectaions for the next mainline Zelda game.
That’s a good point. The confirmation that there is no intention of DLC for this kinda made a number of us fans throw our hands up and want to just wait for the next game so we can get more lore because what’s been done is deeply unsatisfying.
Dying? It isn’t dying at all.
Exactly right. BotW was revolutionary, while TotK is iterative. As amazing of a game as it is, it's just not going to feel the same. TotK evolved this formula in amazing ways, but it didn't reinvent the series like BotW did. Being set in the same Hyrule also means that all the Easter eggs have already been found for the most part. TL:DR It's not as exciting because it's not as new.
I feel like the story just didn’t grab me. BoTW had a good story- just it all happened before the gameplay. I think it would have felt a lot more compelling if we got to interact with the characters and play some before you end up in the resurrection tank.
As far as ToTK goes, it sort of suffers the same problem. I liked Zelda’s arc in general, but the story didn’t really revolve around Link at all past him losing his arm. Everything happened and you’re just reacting to it, and getting stronger so you can fight Ganon, all at your own leisure.
And maybe it’s an unpopular opinion, but I just didn’t like the way the Zonai were shoehorned into it. It forced this weird frustrating curiosity as to whether this is a loop, a retcon, reimagining, or whatever. I agree there are continuity issues that sort of ruin my personal enjoyment of the story.
The memories should've been linear gameplay segments set in a part of the past world. Imagine exploring an intact Hyrule Castle and Town.
When game devs openly point out how they don't care about the story of their franchises, people get understandably mad/disappointed. On top of them barely listening to fan feedback, what do you expect?
Great job with your content BTW
Yeah these recent interviews with the guys in charge are really annoying. Just giant middle fingers for being invested in their past work.
I think another aspect with the hype dying away very quickly is that seems to be the current norm when it comes to fandoms lately. Many things are super popular but they die out very quickly, movies, TV, and video games are all falling prey to that. When Encanto came out, people were obsessed but then felt like the hype was over after a few months. I saw someone on TikTok comment on how they wanted to do a cosplay 5 months after it came out, but asked if it would still get views or not since the "hype was gone." People don't hold onto fandom content as long as they used to and I think we need to bring it back!!
Yea and that's very bad for online games these days
tiktok kids with zero attention span
Idk. I still think about xenoblade 3 and pikmin 4. I really enjoyed those games. But totk? Something about it was just off.
I don’t think they’re losing their charm, necessarily, more that Breath of the Wild created the open world craze we have in the current gaming market, and people are getting really tired of it.
Open world has been around for the last 20 years or so in gaming. It is not a craze it is just one type of game.
BOTW is far from being the first open world and didn’t create the “craze”. If anything BOTW was late in the game with open worlds.
I feel like Skyrim and Minecraft as well as botw peeked an interest in open world and sandbox environments. The freedom of player expression is the appeal, but all of those games also lack proper immersion, each one holds a key part of the formula that I think we crave. Skyrim gave brilliant context to its story, introducing people to the gods and politics of the place through use of unreliable narrators to keep people questioning contradictions without the overwhelming sense of plot holes in the story telling. Minecraft brought attention to the genuine curiosity of how a world similar yet different to our own brings all its own set of questions that inspire scientific hypothesis and testing without any guidance whatsoever. Botw showed us how beautiful a space can be crafted and how subtle suggestions and queries can be far more compelling to investigate than objective markers and plot points. Soon I hope a perfect blend will come about.
@@therealtaydev me when i can’t read, botw did indeed breed a very specific niche of open world like elden ring. Bro also never said it was the first
@@krashdevaughn5360 Thank you, somebody can actually read
Not really on topic but I had a theory that randomly popped into my head, head me out, what if Gorons turn into rocks when they die? We know that Bludo in BOTW and TOTK has back pain right? What if that’s him dying and turning into a boulder? Maybe the painkillers are slowing down the process? Idk it was just a random thought please don’t come for me 😭
Amazing video btw ✨ :)
To be honest that makes a lot of sense.
Ooo, I like this theory!
That would be cool, but it leads to some unsettling implications regarding how they feed themselves.
I believe they are to an extent. To me, I think the games have TOO much freedom if that makes sense? Linearity I've come to learn after going through BOTW/TOTK is that they can't focus down, and build the world more intimately for the active story line. The same goes for the arsenal of neat items you'd get as well. (Though this is easily subjective.) The story felt like it has less room to breathe in the exchange of letting the world be more explored to this scale. I think it could do well letting some of that old focus/linearity return and finding ways to safely expand in that value.
I agree. I like the open world, but things that should have been linear weren't and that kinda ruins it for me. There are parts that are best experienced like an attraction.
Agreed. I definitely prefer linear games over open world games for the most part for a variety of reasons. Linear games imo tend to have more density, substance and depth when it comes to gameplay, characters, story, combat and progression whereas many (not all) open world games tend to compensate for all of that with purely freedom. Linearity gives an actual sense of buildup and progress in both the gameplay and story and thus makes the game feel much more climactic once the ending is reached.
Of course preference is subjective but I just want to explain why I prefer one style over the other.
Agreed! In a more linear game, as your progress you become more and more in tune with the story and the stakes. Also, the things you find in loot boxes matter, in older LoZ, every now and then you open a chest, that gives you a new item that changes how you play, that allow you to beat new monsters, that overall make you more baddass, there is none of that in botw and totk. In these games anything you loot doesn't matter, it might give you an advantage for a brief time, or a cosmetic improvement, but the gameplay is unchaged, it is the same boring game loop, over and over again, in a gigantic setting.
@@MrFernandobg Eh...they do matter, especially in TOTK with how weapon fusion works, they impact and effect combat and different armor sets can affect climbing too. They still allow you to beat new monsters and make you feel more badass, like really all of that is in BOTW and TOTK.
@@MrFernandobg Eh...they do matter, especially in TOTK with how weapon fusion works, they impact and effect combat and different armor sets can affect climbing too. They still allow you to beat new monsters and make you feel more badass, like really all of that is in BOTW and TOTK.
I agree with you, there isn't a right or wrong way regarding how a person feels about the game.
It's really hard to judge games overall because honestly, many views are quite subjective.
Including myself, I wish there was more to the Sky Islands-such as in size and the way they look. I do wish you could find more items that are cool.
However, on the islands, there is still a lot there, such as finding the "Sage's will" and even armor. The way you have to do puzzles as well isn't the same way you would do them on the surface-which makes it intriguing. Finding the Koroks as well for some can be interesting because you are looking for them in a new location-which is the sky.
Because the Depths still have items to find and materials to help you on your adventure-to me, makes it fun to explore. I personally do not agree with the depths being empty.
By the depths having the same style, it can look samey, however, the way it's designed made it interesting. I like how when you light everything, it is a lot more fun to explore.
I am personally happy with the size of BOTW/TOTK. I know some feel because it's big that is when things get repetitive. However, to add another perspective, though things can get repetitive because of the fact you have to explore many different areas, I think that's why the size is fine.
Though some want less content, I think for others because the game is enjoyable, it is something that keeps them wanting to play, so as time goes on, you can go back to it.
I don't believe BOTW/TOTK are games made to finish ASAP. You are supposed to take your time with them.
With the rewards, which is something else some have an issue with because you get something for your time and effort, it was worth it. I feel many of the rewards were like a trophy for your accomplishments.
(Tbh, I don't think the Zelda series gave what you would call the most perfect rewards), but then again, what makes a reward worth it can be subjective as well.
By the world changing I didn't mind exploring the surface again. Originally before the game came out, I was super disappointed. However, as time went on, and seeing how even other game series would use their world again, I didn't mind anymore.
Of course, do I believe TOTK to be perfect? No, but there isn't any game that won't have flaws.
However, what those flaws are will be different from person to person. I feel with TOTK and BOTW many are trying to be too objective in critiquing the game. There isn't enough balance in their views.
I do wish to see more talk about what TOTK did right because there is a reason why many still love the game. I wish to talk more to others about why the game is good. Though there are a lot out there who will talk about how it's good, it's sort of hard to find.
However, I do believe this is just another Zelda cycle.
I personally remember the views about why BOTW wasn't a good game that happened a lot sooner. To me, it was around 3-5 months like TOTK.
However, after TOTK, you see people praising the game again. Even many talk about how BOTW's story is good now- whereas before it was "terrible."
Another big game this happened with was Skyward Sword. From my understanding, it started out with massive praise, but later many fans and others shared the view that it wasn't that good. But when BOTW came out many loved it again-and because of this, asking for it on the Switch, it's how it's on the system.
More than likely, when the new Zelda comes out, TOTK will be held as one of the best games ever again. However, as of now, it can be a bit disappointing and indeed gloomy to see some talk regarding TOTK.
Hopefully, as time goes on, the talk regarding the game will get better!
Something kind of related to your points and what I think is also a main reason why ToTK has lost its charm: Nintendo has done this before and in a much better way. After OoT (Ocarina of Time) came out, Nintendo used the same game engine and assets to create MM (Majora's Mask). Despite MM being significantly shorter and recycling almost everything from OoT, it felt fresh because of how creative the developers went with it. New game mechanics (mask transformations, 3 day cycle), vastly different story (darker, more mature), changed settings (Gorons in the snow, Gerudo and Zora in the ocean), characters with the same faces but different personalities (Kotake & Koume) and so on. It felt like a completely different game but still Zelda at its core. You could tell that the developers went crazy with their creativity and poured it all on MM. Apart from the game mechanics, most changes were minor but placed in the right positions in the right amount to make it feel different.
That's not what happened with ToTK. Sure, it has several new mechanics but they don't feel that different from the ones on BoTW. Nor are they creative enough. They simply feel like ways to make the game easier (don't have to climb as much, magnesis works on everything). The fundamental gameplay did not change much. MM's mechanics did. You have to play differently as a Goron than as a Zora or Link. And it didn't make the game easier. It either expanded access (can swim underwater or fly to certain places) or made it harder (time limit on the dungeons) neither of which ToTK does. ToTK just enlarged the map for the former and did the opposite for the latter. That lack of different game mechanics along with the copy & paste you mentioned makes ToTK seem like an added skin to BoTW (or DLC).
I remember a lot of the hype for ToTK was about pulling off something like MM with an open world setting. It came up in a lot of forums, articles, and videos. But clearly ToTK is not as creative as MM. Nintendo took a gamble with MM and it paid off. With ToTK they played it safe. Because of this, much of the hype died down. At least that's my opinion.
mmm I don't agree
@@danielcaro5892 it's just my opinion based on what I observed. What don't you agree with?
And that's sad. When did MM come out? 1998-99? So this game that came out 23-24 years ago was more creative and has more lore to go off of than Totk. Not to mention the Zelda devs had only one year to make it! Totk took six. It's sad because the blueprints were there to make something special and they just... didn't care, or it seems like they don't
There's still plenty of charm, just no longer in the main story. A lot of the side quests-the Yiga clan, the Hateno Village mayoral election, Tarrey Town, etc.-these have memorable characters with silly premises that nevertheless carry their heart on their sleeve like we're used to with this series.
But the main plot just... Well, first of all I think the whole concept of mainly telling it through flashbacks is wrongheaded from the outset. I think it's by far better for this series if the story happens with and to Link-to _you_ -rather than have it simply happen and then you find out about it later. I think it's a mistake to make all the interesting stuff occur in the backstory and then have the actual story that you actively take part in be relatively boring. In TOTK you can see this in how Link and Ganondorf, the protagonist and antagonist, have practically zero character dynamics with each other. Despite you knowing Ganondorf's entire backstory as a villain, there's no real emotional connection to him or sense for how he works against you. Look at Ocarina, that memorable moment when Ganondorf chases Zelda out of Castle Town and then defeats Young Link so quickly; this makes it so you as the player remember that for when you have your final confrontation and get to face him on more equal terms. Majora's Mask and Wind Waker do literally the same thing. Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, whose final antagonists come relatively out of nowhere, still have you as the protagonist connect and clash consistently against _other_ big antagonists to compensate in Zant and Ghirahim. You as Link are always making the plot happen in these games, always an active player in its major events. In BOTW and TOTK, not so much, so to me it feels a lot less personal and kinda weightless.
There's also frankly a lack of follow through with a lot of the ideas these newer games present. Just look at the dungeons: in previous games, these dungeons were mysterious locations which always carried a strong sense of place. Lost mines, abandoned sand ships, holy temples. Sometimes there was a vague backstory, but even though you never knew exactly why these places had been built or what had happened in them you always got the impression that they were real, that there had been a purpose to them once before you wound up exploring their now abandoned corridors. In BOTW, "dungeons" are these extremely impersonal robot animals, a cool idea on paper but they're all so incredibly samey, and despite them being giant machines it's impossible to see how they could really operate. Like, did they have crews who worked their mechanisms? No, it was just each champion I guess doing it by magic. TOTK tried to do better-certain temples had actual backstories-but even then the game failed to make them feel _real._ The Wind Temple is a huge example of this failure: during the portion of the story where you're climbing up to it, the Rito characters tell you about the legend of their lost flying ship, hype up this location so that when you actually find it you feel impressed by all the leadup. But when you actually do find the ship, despite its impressive appearance on the surface it immediately becomes apparent that this is not a real ship. There's no helm, no captains quarters, no storage hull or cabin where crew might have slept. It's impossible to see it as a real place, and rather, it looks like what it actually is: a virtual space made by game designers through the use of generic assets. This same lack of follow through is I think visible in other areas of the games as well; good ideas abound, but often it feels like the promise made on paper winds up being shallow in reality.
But there's another problem with how these games treat their story which is much harder to explain because it's a bit ephemeral. Let me use an example to explain it, because it's kind of hard do so otherwise. During one of the TOTK flashbacks, I believe it's Rauru who tells Zelda something like "With your time and spirit powers, we can do so and so." He says it like these are distinct categories of magic, like Zelda runs on a hard system. In previous games, this same line of dialogue would've been said as "You have the power of the goddess," or "The goddess' spirit flows through you" or some similar more vague explanation. TOTK in particular is absolutely _riddled_ with dialogue like this, just very frank sort of fantasybabble about spirit stones and time powers and zonai tech.
What I'm trying to say is, I think the main story in BOTW and TOTK takes itself too seriously. This isn't to say that they get too emotional or dark or any of those things-previous games did that too, constantly changed the tone between light and dark, much to their benefit. What I mean when I say these games' main plots take themselves too seriously is that they try too hard to pretend like this is a world of systems with actual politics, logic, hard supernatural explanations. They turn Zelda into a more by the numbers fantasy world, when previous Zelda games weren't fantasy stories but _fairy tales._ They carried weight because their plots were timeless and even mythic, not because those plots fit into standard fantasy conventions. You couldn't exactly explain why things happened the way they did or how things worked, but there was always the sense that you didn't need to. You could just _feel_ the world and the characters, understand the emotions rather than the logic, and this vague worldbuilding made it so the story activated your imagination more than your reason. By comparison these newer Zelda games treat themselves more like contemporary fantasy novels, and while that's not necessarily a problem I just don't think it fits the series' character and it takes out a lot of the charm imo.
👏🏾👏🏾
I think the lore inconsistenties part is mostly an issue in this game cos its an actual sequel, not just a new game
I wish to share my thoughts.
Gameplay wise the hype was rocky. The hype started strong but the September trailer actually started a long period of negativity that didn't end until the final trailer turned most people back around. There has always been this off feeling a lot of people had with the game, but longterm I don't think that the story was what nailed the coffin.
The theorizing community was going insane the moment the game leaked. There are some details which make it less bad than it seemed but it was too little too late, by the time the game launched the theorizing community was radicalized against the game. Nintendo tried too hard to force the game to be mysterious, and that left people not being invested at all.
People complained about Breaths story sure, but it and its characters were loved. The champions were well beloved characters and stuck in the minds of players. Tears is one of the best games I have ever played, but with a story that disappointed many and left them uninterested really means that a lot of people were left uninterested.
A dlc would have been the perfect opportunity to clear things up and leave tears and the breath era as a whole on a better note storywise. Sadly, that is out of the picture now, and a full new breath era game would only cause even more backlash at this point.
I feel like BOTW and TOTK were games that Nintendo focused more on experimentation with gameplay rather than story. And I completely understand that making a game is HARD, let alone adding a complex story to one that is open world. I'm hoping that after this, they go back to focusing on story. Imagine a big game like TOTK with a story like Twilight Princess? I'd go absolutely crazy.
Edit: Just finished the whole video. Glad I'm not the only one hoping they'll go back to story and lore after BOTW/TOTK and see those two as gameplay experimentation.
Overall I love Totk, but like many said, it feels like they pulled back a lot about Lore. The mechanics the game itself is amazing, but the lore is so shallow and when they revealed no DLC I was like "What do you mean there's nothing more to do here?"
They also under performed Ganondorf and the sense of urgency didn't increase in the game, which it would have been awesome for villages to be constantly attacked the closer you were to the Castle or something like that.
I really enjoyed the concept of Lurelin where you had to rescue it from the Pirates and rebuild it. It would have been nice if they made you build up defenses in order to protect it from future invasions and do this to several areas around Hyrule. Unfortunately they didn't push this as much.
Also reaching Ganon should have been made very difficult and to fight very hard mobs but also they didn't do that. This game had so much potential. I mean don't get me wrong, overall its amazingly fun and I hope they can make something better beyond this.
I was too a bit disappointed that there were no any other besieged city than Gerudo Town. It would have been great to protect villages and outpost, even more to the main outpost where soldiers come from liberated regions. It would have been epic, but eh...
Zelda 1 gave us a map that we wanted to explore but which did not easily give up its secrets, and hard guantlets to gate our progression.
The go anywhere, do anything design philosophy removes any delayed gratification changing the genre from adventure to sandbox.
The BotW map has aged well and will likely continue to do so. The physics sandbox will probably age about as well as the Zelda 1 combat: good for its time but not a reason to replay it.
My problem with TotK was that I really wanted to know what happened to the kingdom since the events of BotW but 1. Not much of the towns changed and no new settlements sprouted up besides lookout landing and 2. Almost NONE of the people in the towns had any recollection of the events of BotW or of Link.
Honestly a lot of my favorite parts of Tears of the kingdom were the very small details, like there were a couple conversations with NPC's that you could only achieve through talking to other NPC's and they werent actual quests, it was just neat things they let you do without any purpose, which I honestly enjoyed a lot
Funny enough, TOTK and BOTW are my first real exposure to LoZ games and now I'm hooked!
I've never had a chance to play all the older games and they were not as mainstream when I was growing up.
If you play Zelda I & II and are not set on having the original experience, then definitely play the redux (romhack) versions.
@@Goosewitdajuice317 not that I really care. It's like saying you're not a true FF player if you haven't even played I-VI.
I can revisit the old games any time if I want to as well. I've seen the convoluted timeline.
kinda… they need more Tingle.
This is the correct answer
I was disappointed in the game the story wasn't there the game still felt empty to me I wish Zelda and link went on quests together and voice acting throughout the whole game it would have been nice I would like to see sequel doing this I would even be happy with the same world with new buildings
Honestly, I think they need to leave this Hyrule behind as Nintendo doesn't seem to know how to properly use the setting and would more then likely just copy the same plot for a third time.
Giving them a fresh start with a new world might be able to help with this
I'm still dreaming of the game where one player can play alongside zelda, in the sense she's a companion with well designed gameplay where she can help you and have her own attacks. And/or there is mutliplayer and a 2nd player can control her. It would be really comfy / feel good to have Link and Zelda working alongside each other a lot throughout the game and story. A totally fresh thing for a Zelda game to do. I don't mean something as simple as how the Sage companions worked obviously.
@@fatrick9001Didn’t they do that with Spirit Tracks?
The sub par voice acting and the lack of an entirely voiced game is just lazy from Nintendo as it's open world peers tend to all be fully voice acted with high quality acting. BotW and TotK are triple AAA titles with massive budgets so it's hard to overlook.
Nintendo have been rehashing the Link, Zelda and Ganon story since the very beginning. The story is the weakest part of any Zelda game I can recall playing but they're about gameplay rather than a story experience.
it seems like a lot of people are just shitting on it just for the sake of shitting on it, because it’s become the popular thing to do, it’s the negative videos that get the most views. i’m not saying they’re wrong for criticizing but sometimes it feels as if it’s disingenuous, idk maybe it’s just me
As much as I enjoyed the game and the new lore and theories generated by it I will admit that I am disappointed that story and character interaction did not carry over between games. This hit even harder since Hidemaro Fujibayashi was the director and had already done so when directing the Oracle games. It was a nice surprise to see my horses from BotW, but that only shows that TotK was built with the capability to search for existing BotW data which it does nothing else with. I understand having a base dialog option for new players who did not play the previous game, but it would have been nice to see altered dialog showing that Link has lived in the world, with these people for the past seven years.
I too used to live Zelda, but I've been feeling disenfranchised from it since Twilight Princess honestly. A friend told me that I'm "chasing the dragon" that Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask showed me. I thought maybe I was just growing out of the series but I don't think that's the issue.
Once you go Ocarina and Majoras Mask there aint no goin back 😂
Man... I'm in the same boat. And it's frustrating because I still see so much potential with Zelda. I think the old formula still had a lot to offer that was never fully realized
@@abrahamcisneros1425 Those are the only 3D games I haven't played. Maybe if I did I'd be as mad at TotK as several others are. 😂
I actually feel like Tears of the Kimgfom feels like a middle step in a trilogy. I remember someone saying there was a theory that breath of the wild and tears were going to be part of a three game theory based on colors and the triforce. Having one blue, one green, and then a third one being red, for the colors of courage, wisdom and power.
I personally really love the way they transitioned the world of tears, giving it a great, but not perfect feel of a world moving forward from disaster, spreading and growing. But while I don't think there will be a third game, this video did make me think it would actually kind of fit well as a middle step to a really grand third step that had some really large trilogy worthy story bits
Definitely has not lost its charm for me. I still personally keep theorizing with others based off this game and still play TotK.
There's so many videos of Tears of the Kingdom that use music from older Zelda games, I think that says something
It's a simple answer. It's because it's just another open world fantasy game that still foregoes many of the core elements that made a charming Zelda game...charming. It's a survival adventure game that barely pushes the limits as to what can be done in a Zelda game and gives you little incentive other than piecemeal collectables and a middling story to continue on. You feel like you're on an adventure without purpose. That's what it's missing.
When I first picked up the Master sword in TOTK I immediately assumed that my task was going to be going around Hyrule and finding pieces of the sword to fuse them back together into a strong powerful sword again. Then that obviously didn't happen, but Im still stuck on the idea. I think it would have been fun if each dungeun boss dropped a piece of sword that could be premenately fused to the master sword (in whatever order of course) maybe we could have found a piece from a quest or something as well. Then when its all complete it still lacks the power to repell evil, and after meeting with Mineru or someting we send it back in time to Zelda. I guess maybe what I wanted was the abilities to be more tied to the progression and story of the game. I still had a great time playing the game tho.
I think it’s because we were theorising on Tears of the Kingdom for like 4 years personally, the hype for BOTW had a BIG boom with BOTW2’s reveal, it got people into the series, so the majority of the hype for TotK was just before the game rather than after… that and the lore :))
I’m not sure, but honestly I kind of get this question. Tears was a really good game and continuation from Breath of the Wild.
But at the same time…I just feel a bit empty. The loss of elements from previous games is a factor. The open world style with all the crazy ways you can use Links’s powers made for a fun playthrough. But the story still isn’t as good as previous main series games. There’s a charm to the more focused and linear games that can’t be there with the strengths of the open world style. And with the creators openly stating that they intend to keep leaning into that open world style, maybe there’s just a loss of excitement for some people.
It’s weird to say for sure since I did enjoy playing Tears of the Kingdom. But like Breath of the Wild I’m not sure I’ll actually go back to it.
No dlc killed the momentum. The charm is still there but our expectations for zelda lore continuation via dlc was set too high i guess.
Now we have to wait for the next zelda game to drum up possible lore hype again
Nope. Last month when they announced that there would be no DLC was the moment when the hype stopped in my opinion.
Oh crap, that's the first I am hearing of it because I don't pay attention to Nintendo announcements. Very disappointing and silly business decision. I'm guessing it's because they want the Zelda team to be focusing on a new game for a new console. I'd pay 20 bucks just for Master Mode honestly with no extra content besides that.
Really
If they had pulled a Majora's Mask and did a good sequel in like a year or two, it would have been fine. The biggest problem was just the longest wait for the most direct sequel in Zelda history that ended up with more hype than any game could actually live up to.
I think TOTK is in a weird spot for a few reasons. It is a direct sequel, which we almost never get. It’s a mainstream game, which no pre-BOTW game truly was. And it has no DLC, which is something we aren’t used to anymore. It does not give anything close to the story ANY group wanted, and lore things people thought would be important a year ago just weren’t even mentioned.
I think a lot of things outside the game contribute to this, even if the story and lore are missing some things. There’s not been a Zelda quite like this one.
That being said, I don’t think they’ve lost their charm, but I think the charm isn’t found in places we’re used to in Zelda games
I think it's because they've really exhausted all the ideas they had for these two games. Not having a completely new map with completely new characters for TOTK definitely made exploring a lot less interesting. While the ultra hand is a really cool ability, it really just feels like a Sheika slate+, not exactly reinventing the wheel the same way BOTW did. I feel like the reason a game like Majora's Mask worked so well as a sequel to Ocarina of Time was because it had an entirely new map with entirely new characters. The story was a lot different too, and especially tonely, the game was a lot different than Ocarina of Time.
The developers said that they have no intentions of making DLC for TOTK because they've already exhausted all the ideas they had for this world between the two games, which I think says quite a lot. They've got to start over on an entirely new map at this point. That's one of those things that keeps Zelda games feeling fresh. Gameplay-wise they obviously need to evolve the next game beyond what BOTW and TOTK did. I'm sure they'll nail it, now that they have a working formula, and I'm sure they'll be able to achieve far more on the next console.
I think the issue is that TOTK is very paint by numbers, it's BOTW again but without the new sense of exploration. The storyline is broken up again, its four temples again, champion abilities again, the novelty of climbing everything has been replaced by ultrahand. with so much the same theres no a lot to talk about really. and the new elements just dont cut it, the depths are empty, the sky is empty, the story is bare bones and the development cycle has been looong. there should be more and cuz there isn't, the discussion has fizzled out very quickly.
The franchise isn't losing it's charm, when the next game is another unique take on hyrule etc the hype will come back. but TOTK should definitely be a case study on how to not do a direct sequel unless your metric is just sales.
I don't know how many times have I said this but here I go again. All Zelda games are open world games (including SS). Most of them are linear...but still open. And so is Metroid, and basically every Metroidvania out there. If by the end of the game you are able to re-explore the areas you have visited before then the world is open. I just don't understand why everyone keeps confusing this.
Honestly, even while playing it, I was really disappointed in Ganondorf as a villain, I kept hoping they’d dive into his motivations of why he wants to destroy hyrule, but no nothing he’s just evil for the sake of it and the only time we see him actively do anything was the past and the final bossfight, I was also hoping we’d dive more into the history of the Zonai, what happened to them, why’d they come down from the heavens, what did their civilisation actually look like, but also no for all of those, so as someone who primarily plays games for their stories, I was just really disappointed with that aspect, especially since it’s basically just a reskin of botw‘s story
Honestly, I can understand where you're coming from by explaining these things because I, personally, never saw issues because I like messing around in the world of BotW/TotK and just do little "What if..." scenarios in my head here and there with all of the gear sets. I just enjoy relaxing in the world, despite being what was mentioned here, and that, agreed, shouldn't be a bad thing. I haven't lost the hype myself because I tend to run into little nods of past games via exploration, but I'll admit that it could've been more. You gave valid points, and it's one of the many reasons I enjoy your videos a lot. Keep being awesome, HG.
The problem is that you're comparing it to the game that changed everything in Zelda, unless we did some form of research on the hype following games like WW, TP or SS we can't really know if this is just totk or something normal.
I was wishing that the idea of ridding the curse and freeing Ganondorf from the curse, things going full circle, going back to locations from previous games like skyloft would happen, sadly no but maybe someday
I remember people talking about how the Great Sky Island looked like Skyloft after the 2021 trailer, but I'm not sure if that's actually the case. Although it isn't Demise's curse, you do kinda break a curse in this game by killing the man responsible for the Calamities, which is more or less the same idea.
I'm still playing and loving it since release day, though I do have a considerable game queue with Christmas looming... 😅 I won't 100% it, but I have a couple of monster medals and am currently touring the depths for more, though as has been mentioned, it's all very samey, so I kinda expect to fail. I would like to find the last few Bubbulfrogs and bits of clothing, buuuut I might not do all the upgrading.
On the note of the depths being very samey, I think it's kinda funny that people complained of BotW's dungeons being so similar to each other so they fixed that in TotK, but then the sky and depths they added fall into the same trap! But that said, I love that they expanded the map upwards and downwards.
I played through once and loved the game. Haven't had much urge to play it since though. Even though im missing about half the shrines and barely touched the skde quests. The story was extremely moving, the new crafting system was quirky and fun, but otherwise it was a continuation of BotW.
I noticed that a lot of Zelda fans, myself included, have this weird thing going on where there is a much grander focus on the negatives instead of the stuff they would normally praise under any other circumstances.
We aren't talking about how the includion of an area entirely dedicated to the challenge of traversal and survival itself. We're talking about the lack of visual variaty of that area.
We aren't talking about the absolutely marvellous final boss (and bosses in general), both aesthetically and gameplay wise. We're talking about the missed potential in enemy variaty overall.
We aren't talking about the gorgeous main questlines, which feel grandiose and adventurous even for Zelda standards. We're talking about how the dungeons that follow didn't meet the expectations we had.
We aren't talking about the feelings this world provides us with, like the calming peacefulness of the sky, the sense of adventure of exploring caves, or the unique feeling of escaping the depths on the back of a dragon. We're talking about the lack of exploration compared to BotW.
And I could go on and on. But the point is, all of those positives are things we'd see the game as, but we don't. And I think it's mainly because of the 6 year lead up to the game, as well as how easy it is to compare it to it's predecessor.
And, while unfortunate, it's understandable in my opinion.
I like to think that by the time the next Zelda comes out, most fans would have reflected on TotK, and would've learned to appreciate the experience this game offered us, without it being bound by comparisons with the game that came before.
Honestly, it's a trend that always happens, not just for Zelda. It usually goes like this "This is the best game ever!" "Good god, this game sucks!" "You know, this game is really underrated."
After expectations cooled down and people are able to reflect more objectively, without their disappointments about not used ideas clouding their judgment, TotK will be fondly remembered. It might not be a game for everyone but it's still a great game. Just look at Wind Waker. It had a very bad reception as well but is now a fan favorite.
I totally agree with you, it happens very frequently with the Zelda franchise, I call it the "emotional instability of Zelda fans"
Think it’s the opposite, longer the game is out the less people will like it. Game just really isn’t that good IMO. Hurts to say as a die hard Zelda fan but honestly how I feel
I feel like several people are judging the game based on standards it was never gonna feasably meet, such as the inclusion of classic dungeons that were designed for a different kind of game than this, and recaptuing the same sense of discovery as Breath of the Wild with the same world. I also don't understand why people are only now complaining about the lore when one of the most popular games in the series and the literal most critically acclaimed game of all time essentially pulled an Age of Calamity and lead to the birth of the infamous downfall timeline.
I personally look forward to the next mainline Zelda game. I do hope they'll do something new rather than rehashing what already worked in the past. One thing I think could be pretty cool would be to have a Castle Town that's a proper, fully explorable urban environment akin to Balduq in Ys IX or the setting of any of the big Assassin's Creed games. They could do a lot with that, and still have a large map with different biomes, dungeons and content for us to explore outside of that, and it would actually make Hyrule Castle Town feel like the big city it was always implied to be in past games but never felt like.
My biggest issue with both BoTW an ToTK is that they feel more like a massive open world survival game and not like a Zelda game.
These modern open world games are becoming exhausting, mainly because of there being nothing interesting in them and because they're being put in franchises that they don't fit in and are only being implemented because of modern trends. Sandboxes like Destroy All Humans, The Incredible Hulk: UD and Banjo-Kazooie on the other hand, while providing enough freedom for exploration, kept the areas small enough to have loads of fun collectibles and secrets to discover without the areas becoming tedious to traverse and, in some cases, gave you upgrades to traverse those areas much faster. My point is that we need less empty open-world and more content filled, sandboxes to explore.
It doesn't lose it's charm nor the magic isn't wearing off. It's about Nintendo's general attitude towards game design (gameplay first and story maybe second, if at all) and particularly in ToTK case- how they didn't understand exctly why BoTW worked with storytelling devices they chose and why it wouldn't work with ToTK.
1) Nintendo is infamous for not caring about stories. On one side it's good, because their games are evergreens and everybody can play them- in my household we all play Mario games - from my 4 y.o niece to my 80 y.o. grandpa. Games are not localised to my native language, but it doesn't matter, they are easy and fun to get into and story is irrelevant, so nobody loses anything. But on the other hand, they are missing out with games that would be elevated with the story, exactly like Zelda. The gameplay is there, the lore for the gameplay is easy enough to construct, but why they ignore the story and handwaive everything?
2) They promised direct sequel to BoTW and ignore everything BoTW. Or almost everything. They are very inconsistent and if you played BoTW not long ago it is really annoying. In the end they created a game that feels like parallel world remix of BoTW gameplay, not really a sequel. I guess it's mostly due to them wanting to make a game that is extremely visually different from BoTW (only new tech) and extremely easy to access for new players who didn't play BoTW. SO the easiest choice was to get rid of BoTW. But they did it inconsistently, soit's annoying.
3) They directly copied the structure of BoTW, but made it worse. Wake up Link, do 4 shrines, get a paraglider. In BoTW it's very succint, very freedom oriented and is short. In ToTK you suffer through 7 minutes opening, Raru send you on a goose chase going back and forth, and then you have to spend another hour on getting paraglider by doing even more quests. 25 minutes of normal play compared to easily 1:30hrs to actually play the game. It doesn't help that tutorial area is pretty much 1:1 comparable. Secluded area, 4 shrines, Temple of time.
4) They directly took the shrines and made them worse. Yeah, some puzzles are better, but TBH with 30 more shrines they are boring after some time and so.many.blessings. So many. The appearance of the different shrines also doesn't make that much sense. it's just a mess. They should have made different mechanic allthogether.
5) They copied memories system from BoTW. In BoTW they worked, because BoTW is a third act to the story that started 100 years ago. BoTW is not a story, it's conclusin to it. Hero got defeated in 2nd act and now he's regrouping after his Darkest Day. We already know the story and conclusion so far, we just don't know the details of and don't know what path the hero will take to take on the Baddie. Memory system here works, because the memories don't tell the story itself, only character moments and add some details. We can watch them in any way and we don't get spoiled what happend, just we get an explanation how it happened. It works so well, because Link doesn't rememeber and he rediscovers himself. In ToKT they took linear story that should be watched in order, jumbled it, dropped it in random places on the map and gave the player freedom to roam around. Second tear I discovered was the last one, because I absolutely ignored Impa telling me to go to the temple. As I was allowed to do by devs. I can't tell you how pissed I was, when I got the Master Sword just after that early in the game and literally missed half of the playthrough with Deku Tree, majority of the story and so on. It felt so bad. And I was doing exactly waht devs wanted me to do - roam the map however the eff I wanted to. Not to mention that memories tell external story, these are not Link memories, but pieces of the "legend of Zelda" and they explain what happeneed, they aren't really random character moments. And so in the end storytelling in ToTK is basically incompatible with open world idea. You can't place linear story telling over open world without at least placing some checkmarks that flags event, like the most simple that next tear doesn't appear until you've seen the previous one. They wouldn't have to create very weird Impa/Temple quest and just let the player find the inside of the Temple of their own.
6) The lack of consequences of Link actions on the story and world. There are none. He tells nobody it's a fake Zelda, he tells nobody Zelda is a dragon, he just bumbles around and doesn't open the mouth. They had 6 years to write and record two sets of dialogue for major characters depending on if he found Zelda or not. They had a year of just playtesting and they didn't figure it out it is annoying. I really think they were so concentraded on magic glue working, that they couldn't see tree form forrest.
7) Sky island and the deptht outside of singular instances are just boring. The islands were ovehyped and the depts have little to do in them unless you're big on ultrahand. If you don't build a lot and don't need zonaite or you're not 100% the game, there's nothing to do once you're maxed the battery and lit all roots. They clearly put a lot of work into that, but so much map makes the game more tedious than ever. I'm at same hours with BoTW and ToTK and I feel like I did so much more in BoTW in the same time and got so much more worth of fun for the money, because BoTW never felt tedious (minus Koroks). Iplayed BoTW few times now and I have no plans to restart ToTK ever, becuase just thinking what I would have to do to get to the same point I'm at now... NO. And the pacing of the tutorial doesn't help.
8) Ganon just is. He's chilling under the castel in his crib, doesn't even cause some minor earth tremor, doesn't scare children at night. You can play whole game just ignoring him, rush through the underground and deal with him with bone weapons. You don't even need Master Sword for that. Again storytelling and open world not gelling at all. He's not a constant threat. Once you deal with the temples, the only clue he exists at all are tendrills from under the castle.
9) They should have sent Link to the past, with or without Zelda. That would solve all the inconsitencies. New map. No Sheikah, no memory system, new shrines however they want them, lived in depth with much more thing to do. That would make it for so much more coherent game, with final act being Link getting back to the future and deaing with Ganon. Or something else. I don't know, but it would make so much more sense with what they wanted to do- they'd get a remix of BoTW with accessibility to all new players and totally new dressing without shitting on BoTW lore. They could've even used "Link forgot" excuse again and let Link figure out why he has new arm and is in weird place.
10) Nintendo openly shitting on their own lore is face slap to the fans. I mean it's one thing about them not caring about Zelda timeline - TBH barely anyone cares outside of YT channels. But saying it out loud is the easiest way to make people to disengage. BoTW held so strong, because it was magical and the worldbulding sucked in people who never cared about Zelda. Made them fans who cared at least about BoTW. And then the creators say it's wrong to care. You have to accept that your questions don't matter, and the only acceptable answer is "wizard did it". And it sucks.
So in conclusion, IMO, if ToTK existed without BoTW, it would have the similar wow factor and lore longevity. But it's a sequel and it was hyped at first, because it look like new beter BoTW. And first time playing first 20-30 horus it feels liek that. It's just after that people realise that this game doesn't care about what made them reach for it in the frst place (BoTW) and that new gimmicks are aftr a time are just awkward (building vehicles >>) and too complicated. And on top of that the tediousness of a map and quests, and worldbuilding... In the end it's amazingly coded game that totally forgot about storytelling aspect. And storytelling is the thing that is needed for the lore theorists, fans that take the game to the cult status. I won't e surprised if it wind GOTY, but I don't think it will be deserved.
There was too much fan speculation on what the game "would be".
Zelda would be playable, return of traditional items, Ganondorf will end up teaming up with Link and Zelda to break Demise's curse, etc
I hope the same disappointment won't happen with the Switch 2 when some of the "leaks" turn out to be fake.
speaking for myself and what i experienced, i had to play through totk much faster than botw because of people on the internet who just can't seem to keep their mouths shut. i didn't want it spoiled. i still put in about the same number of hours as botw, but i was playing hours every day because i didn't want it spoiled by the internet. playing through botw, i could take my time and slowly burn through it. i couldn't do that with totk. but i still LOVE zelda! no charm lost at all!
After twilight princess every game following didn’t feel like a Zelda game to me. It was new, cool, and different, but not classic Zelda. Maybe that’s because I’ve grown up and was a child back then.
I was very happy to hear you also didn’t feel like totk is dlc because it is really not. The shrines are better, there is more, there’s is more of everything in general. Regardless I’d say botw was a world you were placed in to explore but there were boundaries in how you explored. Totk says screw those boundaries and literally just gives you an open air sandbox to experiment for 100s of hours in. It’s truly wonderful, not to mention the music even down to the subtle different piano keys while exploring are different. There’s tons of small things that are there that a lot of fans probably haven’t even noticed that I really think made the game feel fresh and exciting, hell they even recorded new sounds for footsteps
I’ve been a Zelda fan since the original game, and even though I played and enjoyed BoTW, I’ve been saying in comments sections for years now that the lack of the classic Dungeon/Item/Dungeon metroidvania progression-formula and the fact that ToTK is basically a 2nd BoTW has never sat well with me.
I hate the shrines, hate the lack of original unique bosses in BoTW, and especially the crazy disposable weapons, stamina, (also in SS) and lack of getting new items that unlock new areas the way the old games did.
I dont hate the game, but it doesn’t feel the same as classic Zelda
twilight princess was the end of the golden age of zelda but albw was also great
The devoloping culture of being a real zelda fan by only liking the old games is the reason for this debate.
All zelda games are awesome, some are just better then others and Totk if in the top of that
I was definitely hoping for some bigger settlements in totk but it's still fun to see what's changed between this game and botw
I've been waiting for a video exploring how weird everything has been since TOTK came out!
I think the main problem is that, at least for me, they have disrespected Zelda timelines and the new story lore.
I expected that after totk I would be able to look backwards to btw and realise they had left hints related to the new story one could spot. Now I think that the Zonai lore has been wasted and that btw's story is not necessary to play totk.
The staff has focused on giving more freedom and playability to the player with new mechanics and also a vast content to explore. However I feel like thay have provided a big DLC, part of this, mostly repetitive to btw.
Also, lots of content feel hollow and unsignificant and are not worth the effort to obtain. The major part of the rewards are custom sets that already includes btw or common items (arrows, brightseeds, etc).
I think another clue to analyse the difference between the games would be the context in which those two games were released.
BOTW came out in 2017, the hype was huge around it, for the reasons mentionned in the video, but what helped maintain that hype was certainly the pandemic : lots of people quarantined at home, going further into the game to escape more and more. This gave us plenty of time to get to know every square inch of the overworld, every little lore secret, thanks to you, Zelda youtubers!
And of course, six years later, when TOTK came out, first of all we already knew pretty much everything, and it came out in a society full of action and consumption : after all these years we litterally devoured this game in a single bite, like when we're so hungry that we eat our meal very fast and don't take the time to enjoy it.
Thinking to the future, I wonder if they could explore the timeline unification thing with some sort of parallel worlds event, where there are three Links from the three main branches and then something something Ganon? Or something.
I mean... It makes sense. Breath of the Wild was INSANE, something never done before. But Tears of the Kingdom (with as many differences it has) is _still_ the same world. Its a lot less mind-blowing when the map is almost exactly the same, with the new parts of the map (i.e. the sky islands and the depths) having basically nothing of real interest. Even rewards are repeat armor sets from the previous game, so it makes it a lot less interesting. It makes Totk feel like a reimagined fan mod.
Even the story is just the same beats as Botw. Still split up as memories/tears, still going to each region to do a divine-beast-style dungeon for a neat gimmick ability, then you go fight ganon.
Honestly, things started going downhill because they got rid of the ocarina and all the abilities that came with the songs Link could play. Let's not forget about the fairies that no longer exist hanging out with Link. No Navi. No Tatl. Oh yeah and now Link can fly upwards and swim through concrete all of a sudden. It looks so futuristic. There are way too many reasons as to why things are going down hill. These new Zelda games don't even feel like Zelda titles anymore. If you're gonna throw away Links ocarina and not even give him his traditional outfit anymore, you might as well remove Marios red hat and grow out his hair so he can have locks for the next Super Mario title. Marios voice: "Wagwaan Star ⭐"
I still feel resentful being referred to as a "Zelda Boomer." I do and always will have a deep love for the original Zelda games. But ever since Botw came out, I've become a minority in my own community. This might sound harsh, but every time I someone tells me they're a huge zelda fan, and I ask which games they've played, and they say they've only played Botw/Totk, its always difficult for me to say that they've really played a zelda game. because these new games are such a far cry from the franchise's former self, that it's almost a completely different game at this point. but if I say that, then I'll be crucified by the new majority of the community. So when everyone was hyped for the new game, it was hard for me to be excited. because to me, totk was just the final nail in the coffin for the zelda that I loved. but I can't say that, because as the minority, that would be sacrilegious.
How old are you? I'm 40 and have played most of the mainline titles over the years. While I am nostalgic for what came before, I do realize that there will be hurdles on the way to what comes after. I have now spent close to 2000 hours altogether in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom combined. If nothing else, the new games definitely capture our attention more than the old ones did. The old games will always be with us, but you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette. When I'm 90, I want the full holographic Zelda experience. And if not that, then something very similar to what is shown in the Black Mirror episode "USS Callister"... Where you can just plug yourself in and forget about the world for as long as you want.
What's odd is that my experience feels like the opposite as a big fan of the Wild games. Engaging with the community feels like I'm in the minority of people who like them while everyone else just thinks the old games are better, even though I understand that the internet doesn't reflect the majority of players (maybe it's the human element of focusing more on the negative than the positive). Either way your view is completely valid, and calling you a Zelda Boomer for it is just loser behavior.
The cataklysm should have changed More the map, no Story in the deeps, missing Unnique Mini Bosses and enemies Like just one new Enemytype in the deeps are Not enough in this big big world
Great video. To me I was completely addicted for like two months and then I haven't really played much Tears of the Kingdom at all after that. I do think it's a great game and when I do play I love exploring, but that part was also the main thing I loved about both Botw and TotK, exploring, finding secrets and now it already feels like it's not that much left to explore and the things I need to do to progress the story like beating the last dungeon boss or beating the evil hands of Doom in Korok Forest or beating Ganon just doesn't appeal to me at all at the moment. So the game feels like it's in this limbo where I've already explored so much of the world that it feels like I have to do progress-oriented stuff that I don't feel like doing in a world where I can just play other games instead. Also a change between Botw and TotK is that in Botw there were parts of the story that I found so much fun that I wanted to do them again (like Eventide or the opening hours as a great example), so I've started new files twice and with TotK for some reason there's a lack of things I want to do again, at least at the moment. It's still a great game and I'm interested to see where Zelda games go next.
I think it has more to do with the games being released around it. 2017's release lineup just doesn't compare to 2023's. This year has had numerous incredible games, many of which are favored by the same people who play Zelda.
I played tp before I got totk and it just really feels like they're more focused on world over story I just don't feel particularly attached outside of characters personalities
Idk the story just doesn't seem as serious/dire as like the earlier 3d era games
But the world for these last 2 have been fantastical
I think a lot of the charm was lost reusing the same storytelling style as BotW where the entire plot happens in the past. BotW could get away with it, with Link dying and losing his memories. Getting them out of order wasn't horrible because we already knew the gist of what happened. It also worked in BotW because the Calamity was a mindless beast made of hatred, it didn't need a lot of screentime to be a menacing final boss or villain because of what it was. Ganondorf can't really get away with sitting underground all game doing nothing, on top of having bad writing to begin with in the past cutscenes. So yes I do think TotK lost a lot of charm the series had.
Also P.S. while we're on the topic of losing charm I always have to mention how much i hate Link being right handed and I hope they make him a lefty again in future games. Ik its nitpicky but it was an iconic part of his character and he was the one big name rep leftys had. Without him there really isnt anyone else and I miss running around as my left-handed hero 😞
The problem is that Nintendo has no interest in building or learning, TotK is proof of that. You can talk all you want about how much potential Nintendo has to build on BotW's formula, but the thing is _that's what TotK was supposed to do._ But instead they just made BotW x Garry's Mod. Barely any of BotW's fundamental shortcomings were addressed, and the ones that were, were addressed in the most half-assed and patronizing way possible. If a combined _TWELVE YEARS_ isn't enough time for the team to "figure out" open-world Zelda, then they simply aren't going to, period.
The Zelda games are finding themselves... That is profound. This is why we look to Hyrule Gamer for guidance and perspective!
Its because Zelda traded its soul to be a popular Ubisoft open world-clone
I think the next game will be a perfect match between open world and linear story.
So I think really the challenge with totk was expectations. BOTW we had almost no idea what to expect and it was so different and ground breaking. I think a lot of people expected totk to go a different direction. I think a lot of people wanted Link and Zelda to build more of a relationship in game and maybe even have a playable Zelda. Both Games we spent 100% without Zelda at all. Something I thought that they could have done that would have been cool is make the tears like portals and when we go back we play as Zelda and affect different things in the past. They would already have the blue prints for it
I personally was also hoping for more of a restoration. In previous games once you defeated Gannon a lot or all of his evil was undone. Hyrule was almost always restored. In botw we defeated him but the damage was too great. Everyone was dead, everything was a ruin. It would have been cool in totk if they made rebuilding or restoring part of the game. Using links ultra hand. Then if they had made Zelda a playable character she could master her time power and reverse time on the ruins and maybe even at the end use it to bring back some of the dead or something.
it's just been long enough that most of the discussion has been had by now, and everyone knows there won't be much more to speculate on for at least 5 years, at least for a new mainline HUGE title. there's nothing not charming about botw or totk, it's just over and done with now. there can only be added more to the world by the addition of new lore which won't happen until the next games come out. i think this era of hyrule and definitely been fully plumbed for all it's worth, so people are itching for a nice fresh experience for the next games and have had plenty of time to play these games to death for hundreds and hundreds of hours. it's easier to start deeply analyzing the flaws when there's nothing else to sate one's hunger for zelda games.
I’ve been replaying totk and am still curious to see where the series goes from here
Well, keep in mind that the internet is not real life. I’m sure there’s a vast majority more of people who still love totk than there are people that don’t.
I like to think of it in this way:
Breath of the Wild showed off that Zelda can be open world.
Tears of the Kingdom expanded the mechanics soooo much.
The next game will expand more; maybe lore.
I just got to the part of the video where you talk about this so uhhh yeah I agree that the franchise is finding out how to evolve right now!
The longer think about and I read/watch about this game, the more it feels like they had a new mechanics demo (links hand powers) that needed a platform, and that became TotK. The many constant small and big ways I come up with on my own about how the game could have been different and better really take away from the re-playability. Most of the time it feels like they HAD to get a game out cause they said they would, but it got too late, so they slapped some new powers on Link and then just sort of phoned in the rest of Hyrule.
TotK as it was delivered, felt like Zelda went back and affected only a few things that didn't really change Hyrule at all as it was recovering post Second Calamity (or did it? They don't mention BotW events at all, only the first and ancient Calamity) It's as if we as the player is the only person who remembers Link saving Hyrule, Zelda being stuck fighting Calamity Ganon for 100 years, and why there are SO MANY ruins all over. I mean, it wasn't the Upheaval that crushed Hyrule Field into rubble.
To make it a truly impressive reuse of the map, they should have made new and or bigger villages. They really missed an opportunity with the Time Travel aspect. Zelda going back in time had the potential for MAJOR down stream effects for the present TotK map, that went almost totally unrealized. Her knowledge given to the Sages to be used going forward could have dramatically changed what happened in the first Calamity, possibly even prevented the Second Calamity (events of BotW - and the even 100 years prior). As a result, TotK Hyrule could have had WAY more people and villages - even a fully intact Castle Town and Hyrule field. THAT would have been mind blowing for everyone. Hyrule as it was before BotW because Zelda time traveled and set events in motion to stop it. I don't know about most people, but if they were going to nearly scrub BotW events from the sequel at least they could have made that make sense. The very random carry-overs are almost worse.
They did not add enough for a 70 dollar game in a world people have explored already, monsters people have already faught, essentially the same weapons, the amazing ideas of fuze and making items got limited. You hit the nail on the head with the sky and the depths get boring. The new armor is ok but could have been more flushed out, no new combat techniques I could bitch all day. The game is great but not in the long term which is important since people have been fighting the same monsters and doing the same kind of crap for years. Also they consistency with the story and legends is very important, they basically did what GoT did.
I feel like totk would be a amazing sequel if it was released 2 or 3 years later. But the fact that we had to wait almost 7 years for a minimal amount of updates and almost to no story is dissapointing
The real reason it's not talked about as much as BOTW is because this is possibly the best year of all time for games and we're all busy talking about the newest thing rather than a game that came out (only) months ago.
I want the next Zelda game artstyle to look like the Zelda Wii-U tech demo. The one that looked like twilight princess but more colorful. And Link sees the Giant spider in a dungeon. It looks so pretty.
th-cam.com/video/fxvM1A_uHuI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=41qxmfwujfwZ_EIh
Link to the video I'm talking about ☝🏻
The lighting is nice.
I love wind waker and cel shading. But I think after BoTW and ToTk cartooniness, Nintendo should go back to the realistic colors and textures of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. Because it fits the forest nature vibe well. Not because i particularly want realism, I love fantasy. An example is Shadow of the colossus, its a beautiful landscape that has realistic look but still captures a magical feeling
My biggest issue was that I wasn't even remotely compelled to explore the sky islands or the depths. The depths in particular was just INCREDIBLY annoying to me...and bland
I used to be a huge Zelda fan. Favorite series of all time but I am now absolutely out on these games. Whenever the next one comes out unless it’s a return for form, I’m just not interested. That kills me but these games are simply not for me and many other OG Zelda fans. The charm is completely gone.
*Edit: I should watch first before commenting, we are on exactly the same page, haha.
I'll link this directly to my own experience so it is personal, but I think the 'charm' wears off sooner because even though they've added SO much, it's still a world we explored before. A large part of BotW's charm was the exploration and getting to know the world/land itself. Even doing nothing (skipping battle, Koroks, NPCs) it felt great to just wonder, explore and discover. TotK added the depths and sky, but let's be honest, they are kind of empty and have quite a few returning challenges and settings. They've altered the mainland, but it's still the same world, meaning (as a returning player) you've already seen and experienced a large chunk of the game, meaning it misses some of the charm. Add some of the weird continuation problems into this mix and this starts feeling a bit 'off', compared to BotW. Other direct sequels didn't actually happen in the same world/land of their predecessor did, so those sequels had free rein in creating a new world, like Majora's Mask did.
Also, people overhype themselves too much these days, making them easy to disappoint.
I think it comes down to 3 main things, and one bonus thing.
1) no one knows where TOTK is going in terms of new content. we know there's no DLC, but might there be a warriors game? we just don't know, and we don't know enough to even guess. the way no DLC was announced it almost feels like nintendo themselves dropped it and have no interest in keeping it going, which kills much of our hype with it.
2) fans are struggling to make content. theories, mostly. the new lore is so messy and confusing that none of us really feel like we can get a solid foothold, making theorizing and discussion tricky and even overwhelming (especially for newer players who joined at BOTW and didn't have the same knowledge as the rest of us). 3 entire maps is awesome, but if we can't really figure out how to talk about them, then there's not really a lot to be done with them. especially when one of them is already mostly known to us, and another is very disappointingly empty (and especially when that one was the source of much of the original hype). as well, with most characters around the map, even those who SHOULD know Link, suddenly didn't recognize him, making him seem disconnected from the world he lives in and like all our work, time, and effort in BOTW (for those of us who played) meant nothing.
3) BOTW was in a way, too big to fail, and the hype for TOTK was likely too big to live up to. BOTW was SO different and SO new it didn't entirely matter if it was even good or not, it was such a breath (ha) of fresh air that where it stumbled was easily overlooked by many. it also didn't really contradict the past in a way that was confusing, only making us want to know/discover more. and many of us loved it so much, that TOTK was assumed to be surely The Best Ever, except you can't please everyone. it didn't stumble any more than BOTW did, but it was so big that those tiny stumbles were far more noticeable, and damaging.
and bonus 4) nintendo kept constantly crippling TOTK at the knee with every new update that felt like they were just pure spite. they only fixed fun glitches, and have STILL yet to patch anything that actually functions incorrectly and MATTERS, like the master sword's damage. once you fuse something onto it and it breaks and the sword goes on cool down, it doesn't matter what you attach to it, it can NEVER be as good as it was the first time. it is STILL to this day right now unfixed. they only made sure to patch things out that players enjoyed and made the game even more fun.
and when it feels like the developers are out to spite your joy, even if you personally aren't using any glitches, meanwhile they aren't fixing things they need to be fixing, it can really kill your hype, making the death of TOTK's run all but inevitable. I don't think it's any less charming than past games, it just got crippled in a way BOTW never did.