Tag: Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom: An Amazing Game, but is it an Amazing Zelda Game? (Full Review)

June 25th, 2023
“Oh my god, I can’t believe Tears of the Kingdom topped Breath of the Wild” is what people are saying. And I’ll give them that; Tears of the Kingdom is far better than Breath of the Wild. What people don’t understand is that Breath of the wild isn’t objectively the best Zelda game, and it’s possible for a game to be better that Breath of the Wild but still not the best Zelda games. These people call themselves Zelda fans and won’t even take the time to play and appreciate the other Zelda games. I could honestly go on for hours explaining why Breath of the Wild isn’t actually that great compared to the other Zelda games, how it has no story, no dungeons and much less life than the others. So, in my mind, it would have been embarrassing for Nintendo if Tears of the Kingdom wasn’t better than Breath of the Wild. The real question is, “is Tears of the Kingdom the best Zelda game?”, and if it’s not the best Zelda game, “how does it compare to the Zelda games older than Breath of the Wild?”

There’s going to be a ton of spoilers in this article, including spoilers about the game’s ending. It would really be a shame if I spoiled this game for you, so, please, if you haven’t played the game, and plan on playing it ever, please don’t read the body of this article until you do. If you want to know my opinion on the game without spoilers, skip to the last paragraph.

The first category I’m going to compare is Gameplay. The Gameplay is quite honestly the best part about the game. From Link’s abilities, to the side quests, to the depths and the sky islands, there’s almost too much to do—in like the best way possible. It’s extremely fun to fuse weapons together and to build vehicles. There are a ton of side quests throughout the game. My one complaint is that, though the dungeons are themed like classic Zelda dungeons, they still feel more like divine beasts, and aren’t exactly what long time Zelda fans were hoping for. The gameplay is still the best part of the game, though, so it would be unreasonable to give it anything less than a 3 out of 3.

Moving on to the game’s Music and Environment. Tears of the Kingdom used the same world as Breath of the Wild, but a lot has changed. There are many new towns and places to explore. I especially enjoyed seeing how Hyrule has developed since the events of Breath of the Wild. The world is certainly livelier and more lived in (I don’t know how much of an achievement that is, though, considering most of the old Zelda games had extremely lively towns). The depths are also kind of empty, and most of the sky islands are the same. As for the music, I have mixed feelings. Compared to games like the Wind Waker or Skyward Sword, there does seem to be a slight lack of music throughout the main part of the game. The main theme is really epic, though, and there is still a bit more music in Tears of the Kingdom than in Breath of the Wild. I like how there are a lot of riffs on Zelda’s Lullaby and other classic Zelda songs in the soundtrack. I only wish they played some of these songs outright instead of hiding it in the new music. I mentioned this in my pre-Tears of the Kingdom article, but I miss how music was part of the gameplay in games like Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks, and, well, Ocarina of time, of course. Overall, the world was really lively, and the music that the game had was good, but I wish there were more music, possibly as part of the gameplay, throughout the game. 2.5 out of 3

Finally, I’m going to go over Tears of the Kingdom’s Story and Characters. Most of the game’s story was repetitive. Each time you completed a temple, they’d explain the same plot all over again, adding hardly any details. There were a few twists and turns involving Zelda in the past, but that’s what it was: in the past. Not once does Link travel back in time, and the only way to see the interesting parts of the story is through memories. Also, can someone explain to me how Zelda is a descendant of Rauru and Sonia if they both died. That seems like a plot hole to me. I do respect how Zelda draconified herself, and I think the way her character developed since Breath of the Wild was good, but I still don’t understand Nintendo’s choice for her voice actor. I actually dislike all of the voice acting in Tears of the Kingdom (and in Breath of the Wild) because it feels kind of cheesy and awkward. Whereas if it didn’t have voice acting, it would have been sillier and more comedic. I also want to point out that there was no mention of the Triforce whatsoever. On a more positive note, I did really like how the game came to a book ending, with Link catching Zelda, after missing her hand at the beginning of the game. The whole ending sequence was great, and the way Ganondorf draconified himself was epic. I think Skyward Sword’s story was better, but Tears of the Kingdom’s story wasn’t bad, and it’s great that there even is a story, unlike one of the other Zelda games (looking at you, Breath of the Wild). I’ll give the game’s story a 2.5 out of 3.

In the end, Tears of the kingdom is an amazing game. It has a lively world, is fun to play, and it has a pretty good story. It’s a huge improvement from Breath of the Wild, and it’s definitely a memorable game (plus 1 point). Above all of the minor flaws I’ve mentioned, my biggest issue with the game is that it doesn’t really feel like a classic Zelda game (and neither did Breath of the Wild). If you’re not looking for that, then it’s a great game. I just can’t get over the magic of the older games. Compared to Zelda games other than Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom is not bad, but compared to games that aren’t Zelda, it’s amazing, and maybe that’s what counts. So, to answer my original question, “is Tears of the Kingdom the best Zelda game?” no, it’s not, but disregarding the other games, Tears of the Kingdom an epic game and I would totally recommend it. Overall Score: 9 out of 10

Rating: 9 out of 10.
Tears of the Kingdom Pre-launch Thoughts

April 30th, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases in less than two weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited. In case this article doesn’t make it obvious, I’m a really huge Zelda fan. Popular game reviewers have already played the game at this point, but I haven’t, and I assume you likely haven’t either, so I think now’s a good time to think about what we actually want this game to be like.

First of all, I would really like it if Tears of the Kingdom were more musical than Breath of the Wild. Breath of the Wild’s soundtrack was pretty, but the game as a whole was not as musical as the other games. In the other Zelda adventures, there was amazing music in the background almost constantly. Breath of the Wild would have felt lot less empty and barren if it had a more lively soundtrack. Music was also literally part of the prior games’ story and gameplay. In fact, Link often even played instruments himself.

The game would also benefit from a more fleshed out story. Throughout Breath of the Wild, the main story of the game is told through flashbacks, or, rather, Link’s “memories” (though they aren’t actually his memories because he wasn’t even in all of them). The memories are only barely enough to create a coherent narrative in Breath of the Wild. I’m hoping Tears of the Kingdom’s story is more like Skyward Sword’s. The game doesn’t have to be as linear as Skyward Sword, but Skyward Sword’s story was really memorable, intricate, and took the player on an epic adventure.

Since the final trailer dropped, I’ve heard some very interesting theories about the game’s story going around. I really like the theory that Hylia and Demise will be in the game. I also think some time travel would be very exciting to see. Any Zelda fan would be able to back me up when I say time travel is a bizarre, yet common theme in the Zelda series. It would be very fitting for there to be some sort of time travel in the game, possibly even some version of the gate used in Skyward Sword or something to do with the temple of time.

The most recent trailer has also gotten me really excited about the chance that dungeons might return to the Zelda series. Yes, I am one of those people who really want dungeons in Tears of the Kingdom, but how can you blame me? Dungeons have been a staple of the Zelda series for decades. Dungeons are always filled with enemies and puzzles and are, overall, really fun to tackle. The most recent trailer teased some awesome boss fights and, though it is not officially confirmed, I really am hoping this means there will be some epic dungeons in the game.

I just want to mention that the new enemies look really cool. My personal favorite is the rock talus with the enemy camp on top. We have also seen the new constructs, which sort of seem like Tears of the Kingdom’s equivalent to guardians and seem to be related to the Zoni (which is a tribe that is, to my knowledge, confirmed to have a large presence in the game’s story).

I also feel that Tears of the Kingdom needs to be more immersive than Breath of the Wild. In Breath of the Wild, there was no set goal (or at least, a very loose one), and you would think that would add to the game, but it can really break the immersion at times. Immersive games also hold attention for longer, and personally, I’m hoping this game holds my attention for at least a couple of hours at a time. It would really help with that if there were an interesting storyline along with plenty of side quests.

And, on the topic of side quests, I really am eager to see what side quests the new villages and towns being rebuilt could have in store. The trailer showed shots of some new villages being built, and, from the way I see it, this could very well mean there will be a plethora of new side quests and funny NPC interactions. These towns could also bring a lot of life to the world (which was maybe my biggest complaint about Breath of the Wild). It’s just so exciting! I mean, just picture it—the Tarrey Town side quest, but instead of that one town, it’s the whole kingdom!

The new additions to the map also seem promising. Some people worry that with Tears of the Kingdom reusing Breath of the Wild’s map, there won’t be enough to explore, but I doubt that’ll be a problem. With the new sky-islands, towns, and other kinds of additions to the map, I think we’ll be entertained more than enough. It’s even been rumored that there may be underground areas to explore.

Probably the most exciting gameplay news was Mr. Aonuma’s gameplay demonstration. In the demonstration, Eiji Aonuma showcased (what I hope is only some of) Link’s new abilities. I’m particularly excited for the abilities: fuse and ultrahand. Fuse, as demonstrated, is the ability to fuse items and weapons together to make better weapons. Ultrahand, on the other hand (pun intended), is the ability to attach objects to each other to create innovative ways to venture across Hyrule, such as vehicles and bridges. Nintendo has only scratched the surface when it comes to the extent of these abilities—which only makes me all the more excited to try it myself. The possibilities are practically endless.

On a side note, I’d also like to mention that I think it would be cool if Link had a sidekick (like Navi or Midna, for example). I doubt that will happen, considering we haven’t seen that in any of the trailers, but I still think it would be really cool (and fitting considering he’s had one in plenty of other games). I know a lot of people really thought Fi was annoying, and I understand their complaints. Fi was annoying, but I still think all of Link’s sidekicks (including Fi) added a lot to the games. Again, it’s probably not going to happen, but the idea makes me happy.

The most important thing is that Tears of the Kingdom feels like a real Zelda game. It needs to spark that feeling of adventure, to be full of life, to be immersive, and to take the player on an epic quest. If Nintendo manages to pull that off, then Tears of the Kingdom may very well be another great addition to the Zelda series. I sure hope it is.

What do you think? Did I miss anything? I’d love to hear anything you have to say about the topic. I can’t wait to play Tears of the Kingdom (and hopefully review it). If you’d like to hear my thoughts on one of the other Zelda games, let me know. And with that, stay tuned for my Tears of the Kingdom review!