Earlier this year, Nintendo dropped one of their most awaited games of the decade: “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” (TOTK), the sequel to the well-loved “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (BOTW). After over seven years of waiting, fans of the franchise and newcomers alike were ecstatic for this release, myself included. Many wondered what would be improved in a game that shocked millions with its impressive graphics and open-world capabilities. Needless to say, there were a lot of mixed feelings about the changes that were and weren’t made. Overall, the game is a fitting sequel that improves elements I felt the first lacked, although I do still have critiques and frustrations about it.
Starting off, the opening sequence was incredibly exciting and intriguing. It had been teased that Zelda and Link would be exploring strange caves together in Hyrule. However, it was the interactive aspect that impressed me and caught my attention. We got to interact with Zelda in a way we hadn’t before. As we delved deeper into the cave alongside Zelda, the suspense built as we learned of an ancient war involving the Hyrulians, a mysterious ancient race of people called the Zonai, and a “Demon King.” Learning this new lore of the BOTW universe, I was itching to find out what was going to launch us into gameplay, and I was shocked again by the circumstances leading to the ever-so-integral part of every Zelda game: getting separated from our heroine. With a strong start to the game that left me with so many questions and wondering how an already complex and interesting game could become even more exciting and engaging, I was in for the long haul. And boy, has it been so worth the wait.
From start to finish, the story felt strong and integrated into every aspect of the game, something I felt was lacking in BOTW. Although I did enjoy the loose feel of that game, it was refreshing to be guided by this mystery of Zelda’s disappearance and the history of the Zonai, the powerful and woefully forgotten ancestors of the Hyrulians. Following the sightings of the princess around the kingdom of Hyrule brought a whole new investigative aspect to the story that I enjoyed as a Yiga Clan appreciator (the talking prophetic chicken and the bloodthirsty tree creatures in particular were hilarious). It probed me to think about the main story in a way that BOTW did not. As for the Zonai, uncovering this vast illusive history and story behind their contributions to Hyrulian society as well as learning about their technology was very engaging and got me right into the meat of the game, similar to how Sheikah Tech did previously.
To convey this, TOTK uses a similar mechanic to BOTW of uncovering memories as a way to bring us through the story, except this time, they are Zelda’s memories, not Link’s. To me, this aspect of the game flowed much better the second time around. The game stresses that you should follow the order (something I’d recommend as someone who was vaguely spoiled doing just one thing out of order) to understand the scope of the mystery surrounding Zelda’s disappearance, the culture of the Zonai, the development of the imprisoning war, and, of course, the rise of Ganondorf a.k.a. The Demon King. The cinematography, music, and dialogue, and the concepts and writing in general were stark improvements from BOTW, in my opinion. They were more continuous, which was understandable considering the differences in the main story concepts and the fact that TOTK was building off of what BOTW set up. The memories not only culminated in the imprisonment of Ganondorf but the reason for Zelda’s disappearance in a shocking reveal that moved the whole of the Zelda community.
Despite how emotionally invested I was in these stories, there were some things that I, along with many fans, thought were lacking. As expected with a sequel, there is a large degree of continuity with the pre-existing story. And while this was true for TOTK, there were important aspects of BOTW that were left out or neglected. Most notably, Sheikah Tech vanished from the Hyrule Kingdom, without so much of a trace or whisper of its absence. This was a significant change to the original BOTW map and storyline to conduct without so much as a mention of why, since the original towers and shrines covered the kingdom much like the new and improved ones do. However, the game designers provided no further explanation in later announcements about the game. Additionally, some materials and characters were left out entirely, including Hearty Durians, Link’s cross-dressing Gerudo armor set, and Kass, the accordion-playing bard (although the need for the cross-dressing set was resolved, and Kass’ legacy was acknowledged by the new giant bird character). It’s hard to not miss these things from BOTW, but TOTK’s new mechanics helped satiate the hole left in my heart.
Introducing a new set of powers through Link’s new Zonai arm, changing the logistics of the acquired Sage abilities, and the inclusion of BOTW’s DLC items (downloadable content), TOTK was doing a lot to pack new mechanics in and change things up from BOTW. While I do love the new arm abilities and not having to spend $20 on very useful exploratory tools, I did not love the changes between the Champion abilities to the Sage abilities. I found it particularly frustrating to have to chase down the Sage that I needed to activate in the midst of a fight with a mob, rather than just remembering the right controller input. I found a way to work around this by calling the right Sage back and re-summoning them, but I wish this wouldn’t have changed from BOTW’s methods.
While many have been disappointed in the announcement that there will be no DLC for TOTK, I believe that this sequel is sufficiently well-rounded and has no need for additional content with its insanely large underground realm and new engineering system. Although, maybe after I finish the game I’ll have a different opinion. So far I’ve spent over 245 hours playing the game and I’ve only just completed the final boss battle. There’s still so much to be done in terms of side adventures, side quests, and collecting and upgrading all of the armor. Hopefully, I’ll be able to stretch it as far as I did with BOTW, for which I currently have 450 hours logged. To all Zelda fans and single-player open-world game fans alike, I wholeheartedly recommend TOTK as your next adventure (given that you play BOTW first!).
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