11 Other Subtle Differences between Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and BOTW 

Why would they remove the stealth muffling? That was a nice little feature!

Man a bummer about the stealth sound effect one, I thought that was so cool in BotW. If I remember correctly, it wasn't just lowered volume, it was a whole different sent of movement sound effects of quiet / padded / muffled movements! But the NPC bow startle is definitely an upgrade in TotK, makes way more sense!

With the addition of horns, you can also see how enemy behavior was changed. The Lizalfos now really swing their heads and attack with their horn, and you can even see it cutting the grass in front of them.

I KNEW I wasn’t imagining the Yiga charge attack being slower in TOTK!

I think in the latest update, they changed horses to spawn behind or next to the shrines when exiting to hide the pop in

One small thing I’ve noticed is that in totk when a Lynel falls to the ground after getting headshot their impact with the ground sounds heavy unlike in botw when they hit the ground it’s quiet if not completely silent. Totk makes Lynels feel literally more fleshed out

So when swinging a weapon in TOTK, Link learned to really put his back into it!

my favorite armor set in botw was the sheikah set because of how much quieter it made link's movements so i could really hear the sounds in the world. it really is a bummer that the sound muffling was removed in totk :(

As a heavy Stealth Set user in both games, I noticed the change in sound. I realised that it seemed I made more noise in this game. Thanks for the confirmation! These videos are great. Cheers!

The stealth change honestly feels like an oversight than a conscious decision. But the boomerang going at the back is definitely a decision and arguably a downgrade.

the changes to combos and those animation tweaks go a surprisingly long way to helping make combat feel noticeably snappier and more engaging in totk

A subtle difference I've noticed between the two is about the chuchu jelly enemies: In Breath of the Wild their appearance or shader refracts the light behind them which gives them a nice effect, but in Tears of the Kingdom it is no longer the case!

7:28 I wonder if the horse spawning behavior displayed here is the same between games, except the horse doesn't become visible until after the game checks that it has successfully landed on the ground.

in botw throwing a spear(e.g. fishing harpoon) at a fish(e.g. porgy) would do no durabiliy dmg, in totk the spear sadly breaks imediatly

A detail I discovered just a few hours after playing the game for the first time is the spear flurry rush attack delivers more hits in TotK than in BotW

For the most part TotK seems to have a lot of upgrades, but I am a bit bummed out about some small things like them no longer muffling the stealth set sounds. That, and the fact they removed the log balance animation really bother me, as they're such small but lovely details. That said, far less was removed in comparison to what was added so I still adore the changes they made in TotK. You are a LEGEND for finding all these differences and breaking it down for everyone. I adore these videos and honestly wouldn't have noticed all these changes, despite being obsessed with details in things. Thank you so much for this series.

I find it weird that in TOTK when you load your game, you spawn behind your horse. I prefered when Link would already be sitting on it in BOTW just like how I saved my game. Oh well, it's just a small detail, but I prefered it that way XD

3:14 in tears of the kingdom they also get scared when you equip the Phantom Ganon armor, or any equivalent piece of armor. I think most npcs also have some dialogue when they see you without clothes equipped. Ive seen it at some stables

I've got a few things to say. One response, some change suggestions. - The stealth muffling is sad, but I heard they completely changed the sound system, so I wouldn't blame them if it were much harder to or they just didn't have enough time to re-add the feature. Or, perhaps, this change might need more testing, maybe it's still there but works differently. (Edit: Someone else suggested trying to put on the pants/boots, I think it'd make sense if only those lowered the volume for footsteps/jumping, so maybe that's exactly what they did.) - There's a few UI changes I noticed after watching a few of these videos. I think everyone's noticed how all the blue text in Breath of the Wild's HUD was changed to white in Tears of the Kingdom, but a few other very minute things have changed. The red on the hearts is a lot more orange, while it was just pure red in the original. The hearts also have a subtle glow effect on them now. I'd imagine the change was either to make it feel more distinct, or maybe to go better with the first ability you get. Pure red looks good with the magenta(?) of the Magnesis rune, but I'd imagine it doesn't look as nice with Ultrahand. The red change is a lot more prevalent than just hearts, however- it also affects text highlighted in red as well as enemy health bars! - The Paraglider has a completely different construction in Tears of the Kingdom. Put on the Nostalgic Fabric, you'll see it's made of some sturdier-looking white wood. Speaking of, that fabric pattern itself is also changed a bit! The yellow triangle-line at the bottom of the fabric has been turned into a line of solid color, the top one has been made into a line of rectangles. The Rito's emblem is also slightly smaller in comparison to the size of the fabric. - The shield and sword icons on the HUD have changed. I think the bow may have, as well, but I can't check at the moment. - The item collect box is a bit wider and less round in Tears of the Kingdom, with funky Zonai patterns on the side borders, and a circle pattern in the bottom-right corner. Yeah. I can nitpick like crazy. All of these changes (other than the stealth muffle removal) are very good though, I really like the new designs of everything.

06:09 THANK YOU for not using that weird interpolated slo-mo effect I often see others use

A thing i noticed is that in Botw horses will eat apples or carrots that are on the floor, for example i used to cut down apple trees and my horse would just walk up and eat the apples, or in Kakariko village i would put him in the carrot field and he would just eat them all, in Totk this isn't a thing anymore apparently, the horses eat only when eating from Link's hands

removing the stealth muffle makes no sense

I love all the tiny improvements they made that most people wouldn't notice. They really took their time and put in the effort to make it worthwhile

The yiga footsoldoer charge attack actually speeds up in a logorythmic curve in both games, but in BotW, they just start out faster.

I knew I felt less stealthy this time, what a bummer

5:40 with the bush rustling, especially in the depths, I whip around to see what the heck is next to me and it’s usually my sages. Haven’t gotten used to it yet, so hyper vigilant lol

Lava is water with a death layer and visual layer on top. They were also deep, and the splash is just water but lava texture. Now it’s shallow, making way for vehicles and Mineru. Also, just realized that his bow stance, while making sense for middle of combat, go and bow, isn’t perfect for consistency. More accurate stance probably won’t happen too much in a fight, so it makes sense. Maybe as a cool detail in the future when there aren’t enemies messing around with a bow would give him a better stance. Also, even for combat, that’s probably too much torque on the bow. Either up and down or side to side, make up your mind. 3:53 Why? Just why would they do that? They had a perfect little detail about him catching it and removed it. Outside of those, I’ve noticed he opens his mouth more. A dumb thing I know, but from what I can tell happens, minus cutscenes like memories because those are obvious. For example, he gets angry when he uses Earthwake. I think he does the burning wince but a little more exaggerated and surprised after being grabbed by a gloom hand(this I’m the least sure about though, I tend to avoid them). Could be wrong, but I feel like he has.

Did you check if the stealthier sounds could be tied to legwear?

this definitely explains why I'm always missing the parry on yiga charges

This explains so much why TOTK just feels so good to play.

That’s interesting, they made spears attack faster but the each hit is actually weaker than the displayed attack power. I guess they balance out but I kind of wish it was just straightforward even if slower.

I'm guessing they might've removed the muffling because it doesn't actually reflect what enemies will pick up? Who knows, I liked it

I would have preferred the horse drop somewhere in-between the two, so it still falls a few inches, but does the fall as soon as it appears. A nice little *pop* into existence.

2:57 i guess that makes more sense

loving this series!

The lack of sound muffling explains why i actually feel so much LESS stealthy in Totk

I like it better that the Yiga has the same consistent speed instead of this more predictable slow running start up.

These are super interesting. Thanks!

I hate that they removed the feature of link catching the boomerang with his hand and instead he now directly equips it. it looks more realistic and cooler when he catches it in his hand and is literally ready to fight.

I think I have noticed a difference but I don't have botw anymore so I'm not sure. In totk the small boomerang and the giant boomerang make the same sound when thrown, I'm pretty sure that in botw they made a different sound with the giant boomerang making a lower, "heavier" sound. Am I remembering wrong ?

2:23 I literally discovered this one today. It seems like the NPCs don’t flinch unless they see you and the reticle passes over them.

Can't believe it took 6 years to notice these details

The Goro watching you fight the Yiga guy: 👁️👄👁️

My favourite small difference is that collecting meat from a spit no longer brings up the collection box describing it. Really annoying that it did that every time in BoTW.

Also I think it’s worth mentioning that the battle music is way cooler in totk lol

Awesome, new video!😊❤🎉

I don't know if this has been said in a video yet, but the heart icon in the upper left is more saturated in BOTW than in TOTK

God, remember being able to rapid fire elemental arrows without a damn menu between each one

6:17 Oh my God that Silver Boko looks so bald now

I like to believe that the hit qnimation change means that Link has improved at combat due to those 6 years of sheer practice

In both BOTW and TOTK, a cloud occasionally blocks sunlight. In BOTW, this has no in-game effect: In Gerudo dessert during daytime you still need heat resistance to not take damage. In TOTK, the temperature drops while a cloud is casting shadow, enough to survive without any heat resistance.

I've said this before, but it is almost like they got rid of or downgraded some things and improved others. They ought to focus updates on bringing back the good things they got rid of instead of patching out fun glitches.

I think that link moves a bit faster when holding a rock in Tears of the Kingdom.

Why does it look like old man Tokk does react to you drawing your weapon, even though you are directly behind him?

7:48 Horse Jumpscare

So they fix the horse by making it invisible until it hits the ground.. I suppose that works lol

1:08 You could say that it is a more experienced link, you can see the evolution in those new details

Beautiful, perfect... I just can't, I love it 😭😍❤️

7:51 i like my floating horse :)

The blunt weapon thing was already covered in one of your previous videos...

Im not 100 percent sure ima have to check but in Totk link jump attack for height distance animation was changed. If you hold down the attack button from the high distance I should be diff I’ll check later tho

1:39 is wrong, the sound muffling does work for stealth ups. Just on food/potion effects. Not sure if two star sheikah armour changes that too.

Maybe it's my imagination, but I feel like lynels are slightly slower in TOTK. Is there a way to check this?

5:32: Link do be getting a lotta ticks

I haven't updated my game yet but I notice that link is slower in Tok does anyone notice this? Or maybe enemies are faster but there's something weird.

U know its gonna be a banger when we start with a bottle of olive oil

4:10 what if you equip something else before the boomerang comes back?

Quick science ramble, most lava isn't very conductive since it's miscellaneous rock, but liquids from already conductive things melted like metal do stay conductive. Water's only a good conductor because of the stuff that's not water!

2:29 bros hearing is insane

Do you have to wear stealth boots in order to get muffled footsteps?

I am so glad that even after 100 years, Link changed his underwear.

huh.... on #9, I actually prefer BotW's animations. they look tighter, more controlled and powerful. the ones in TotK look like he's about to fall out of the motion

Why did they change the boomerang catch? It was so cool

Do more on glitches and past games. Otherwise, awesome as always, you have an eagle eye to spot some of these!

The stealth sound and boomerang catch changes sure are Ls

Here's another subtle difference: In botw, a splashing noise can be heard when pressing X to dash through water. This is no longer audible in totk.

I miss the muffling, the sound of Link’s footsteps is completely different in TOTK and I end up changing his clothes/gear just to soften the sound

They didn’t entirely remove the muffling though, if you pay closer attention there’s definitely a difference.

0:24 That's molten rock! How does that work?

I love these videos so much! I hope you'll keep making them.

Oh man the dude who’s in charge of designing the horse spawn animations must be so stressed. Bro’s been working on it 7 years and hasn’t figured it out yet. The funniest part is Nintendo not caring enough to fix it, cuz there’s no way horses have to be that hard to spawn on the ground right?

i think the villagers being more alert in botw is more because of the calamity with no one that took care since there weren't any kind of guard outside of guardians, meanwhile in totk there are even extermination groups against monsters, also i commented the lava thing in the last video

It seems to me like they wanted the physics to be more present or realistic in TotK

3:50 its?!

1:27 I hate this change.

No no no the first one may actually make some sense because there could be some metal in the lava

I wondered why spears felt so much better in totk.

some i wish they didn’t remove

5:10 it's almost as if link got stronger since botw that he is able to do it faster!

4:34 What the hell is ‘whiffed’?

The change to two-handers is honestly a disappointing downgrade. Looking at it in slow-mo, it's like BotW Link is doing one fluid uppercut swing, while TotK it looks like he's prepping an overhead swing, only to change his mind halfway through the swing, and has to awkwardly contort his body to change into an uppercut.

What about wind waker ?

If you walk in totk and crouch while walking Link will just crouch and walk. Im botw Link stops for a second, a bit more abruptly.

I totk when you open a treasure chest while crouching, link punches it and hurts his hand. I don't know if its the same with botw but funny nonetheless

Crazy to think botw was originally for WiiU

No wonder spears seem much better in this game.

Do you know what’s funny? My brother is strong in BOTW but weak in TOTK. And it’s vice versa for me. I’m weak in BOTW but strong in TOTK

4:27 less pixels as BOTW O_O this is the onley bad thing ! its to nice game for the week switch 7:54 again to week the switch for TOTK

botw: Lava is wet !!! totk: No.

Damb i thought i was crazy