It'll always be funny to me how when they released the E3 2021 trailer and then did Skyward Sword HD it really felt like we were about to get some kind of massive, timeline-spanning epic plot, and then totk, as much as I love it, did the complete opposite
Why's the third time line when "Link dies" and not one where he just doesn't warn the child Zelda and the course of history goes without him ever going to fight Ganon?
now i am not a huge fan of zelda and never played any of their games besides botw and totk, so i thought totk would be similar to ocarina of time where link was shown to be climbing “trees” in the korok forest in the trailer (this is before where they given the official name to this new game) and link would wake up in the korok forest but i was wrong. the more you mention about the game’s issues, the more i begin to have realized the story wasn’t great but the gameplay itself is fantastic! like you can have your own house but i felt like there are should be more to when creating your own home like having link actually siting down on one of the tables if you process to buy it, or him actually having to study- it could be just a simple (A: study) button and then it would fade to black as you can hear link writing something or you can have him reading something like a book when you’re not using the controller, so basically watching him lol. i do love the small additions to the game like mini games, link finally able to drink, i would love if link can sit down and have a drink with the women in gerudo in general bc you know that feel more personal and more realistic. i did have a feeling that “zelda” was actually made by ganon but i wasn’t sure if that was true or not until the reveal was shown and yeah, i was basically right lol. someone mentioned that the imprisoning war feels more like a fight than a actual war and now i thought about it and yeah it does feel like a fight than a war where bunch of soldiers should be there instead of like 4 or 5 people just defeating ganon by themselves. i believe i just want more from this game because i thought that the reason why the story was similar to botw is because maybe people who haven’t played botw or haven’t gotten this game can enjoy the story, but botw has been out since 2017 soo.. yeah. i feel like the characters should have a more personal relationship with link bc link has done so much for the people across hyrule castle and other various places. i did predict that game play would be very similar to botw and i was right- especially i spent most majority of the game just be on the surface i just want more from this game
Disappointing Masterpiece is a great way to put it. I think TOTK is a great game, and did enjoy playing it once. But ultimately it was a let down in some key areas for me and at the end of the day I much prefer BOTW over it.
As requested; I agree with your overarching conclusion, though while yes, it's possible to find out what happened to Zelda relatively early, I'd like to argue that the chances of that aren't all that high. I've seen plenty of streamers go through both BotW and TotK and not a single one of them ever did anything remotely like what I did, or anyone else. That does not excuse the story from your criticism, as that's on point, but thanks to the sheer scope of the game being as big as BotW and arguably with the inclusion of the depths, bigger, we're just down to a matter of chance. I've also yet to replay the game myself. Thanks to how the game's set up, the task of it seems incredibly daunting. I've done it once, and I know how big it is now, and I don't know when I'll be ready again to dive into this incredible DLC. And truth be told, I actually wonder if I'll ever be ready again for it.
1:49:10 - Calling BotW's environmental storytelling "masterful" is a serious stretch. In the same way that the Zonai worldbuilding in the depths and sky islands falls flat for being bland and repetitive, so too did the ruins in BotW. The only story that BotW EVER told with its environments was "this place got destroyed by the calamity" OR "this place was set up by the sheikah to test the hero". Broad strokes, as you say. Nothing of any substance, and TotK is unfortunately just more of the same.
Nintendo should’ve focused on their existing fanbase instead of catering to new players. Not to be dramatic, but they’ve been sort of disloyal to us.. I think we were all clear in wanting something different than what we got. Everything feels so empty and cold. There are no secrets for me to look for. I paid 80 dollars to feel sad and bored.
I always took the start of TOTK as some kind of clash of parallel worlds melting together due to time travel stuff. People from Link’s former universe remember him as the hero, while others don’t. Some people are befuttled by the sudden appearance of the sky islands, but some don’t acknowledge them at all. Almost like they’ve been up there their whole lives. This theory at least let me rationalize the disappearance of the divine beasts and some of the other inconsistencies from BotW.
I think there was a Game Theory video that puts it the best for me. One of the non-canon hyrule warriors games involves a blending of multiple realities, this in turn might’ve tainted the world so that species like Zora and Rito (who canonically evolved from Zora) can coexist. Add on a few millennia for the old established canon to fade to dust and the scene is set to establish a new Hyrule just in time for the Imprisoning War and for Zelda to quote “whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or glowing in the embers of twilight". hyrule warriors isnt afraid to mess with timelines (see Age of Calamity), so it makes sense to me if you consider them part of the same canon.
Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece, but it lacks a lot of things that gamers ever wanted. That's one of the reasons why a 3rd Zelda game is in order.
Can we take a minute and appreciate that this man spent over 2 hours breaking down every detail of this game? You earned my sub. Your points on the story building shortfalls were spot on. TotK just felt a little off when I played it and I think your explanation there was one of the reasons for that. Another reason it felt just a little weird was because everything felt so recycled. The concepts of shrines, towers, spirit orbs, divine beasts and more almost seemed copy and paste from BotW. I was reminded of this painfully with the end sequence of the shrines. The caves were awesome and I got genuinely excited when I would find one and I really liked the depths but sadly there just wasn't much of significance to fo down there. The story was super "meh" in my opinion. I didn't like Raru or the zonai partly because it felt so detached from Zelda lore and from the the events going on around you in the game. The Sheika in BotW had a solid previous connection and I feel like it gave that part of the story more credibility. I was also disappointed in the execution of the memories and actually got the master sword before I got all of the memories by mistake, so that was a major damper on the story arc for me. For the record though I did get choked up when Zelda turned into a dragon and had some major eye sweat when Link grabbed her in the air. For me it felt like the creators came up with some really good concepts but failed in the execution. I felt like such a huge emphasis was made on the ultra hand aspect that it took away from the other parts of the game. Personally I didn't care much for building and I only used it the bare minimum. But it just felt to me like the designers put more emphasis on perfecting and incorporating that part then they did the story or dungeons. Overall, I can't say it was a bad game. It was enjoyable and had a handful of great moments but it just felt weird and forced, as opposed to BotW which felt very effortless and natural. I don't think it makes my Zelda top 5 but I will say that it is Good but not Great.
The only way a Zelda movie, like Super Mario Bros. works is if Link never speaks. His fairy companion has to do all the talking, otherwise it bombs. He can scream and sigh, but no words.
For over two years, this was in my "watch later" because I've never played this game (I am waiting for it to come to switch) but I bit the bullet today and I don't think I saw any spoilers
It makes me sad knowing this world of hyrule is done and that we’ll never see this specific Link again. It makes me sad, I remember when this game was just coming out. It feels like just yesterday.
I have a lot of criticisms but that everything involving the final battle and the ending will never be one of them. I wasnt even truly watching, im playing dark souls, and im still getting choked up and teary-eyed. Easily the most powerful ending in the franchise.
The fact that you, in any shape,way or form, try to describe THIS beautiful game as disappointing - speaks volumes. You need to distance yourself from games to appreciate them again. This game was clearly and 100% the game of the year. (And to those that want to tell me - well, no, BG3 was the game of the year and is one of the best of all time - nope. Its not even close. And it wasnt even finished when it got released after a couple of years being buyable on steam. NO unfinished and unplayable game should be awarded any game of the year award. And i dont mean to hate about it - its just a fact. If game devs release an unfinished game and people still award it in any kind of way - other devs will follow. That is a huuuuge problem in the gaming industry.) Whelp, just my thoughts. But i am truly disappointed to see this video from a so called "Zelda Fan".
