A cool thing about the Plateau that I rarely see mentioned: Your first objective, marked on your map, is to activate the tower. But visually and through the old man, you're directed to the Temple of Time, which is not associated with any goals at all. That means that the very first experience most players will have is setting aside a clearly stated goal for later and exploring something else.
So true story: I first played it in fall 2017 and completely missed the indication of where to go, and then got lost around the plateau before even activating the towers & shrines, thus leaving me to die a few times getting lost in the mountains of the plateau and think it was stupid that it didn't help you figure out where to go. I then proceeded to play about 1000 hours of the only other game I'd bought (my roomie and I split a switch at the time so we shared): splatoon 2. Fast forward to May 2020 (yup) and I finally went back to be like "okay it can't be that bad if everyone loves it I must have missed something" and then proceeded to realize what I'd missed and feel like the biggest idiot ever because I'd managed to ADHD my way out of playing the most ADHD friendly game ever made
This game is the second single player video game my mom has played since the 80s, and the first one with combat. She had no idea what LoZ was going in. She ended up 100% completing this game on her first playthrough and it kept her engaged for months. She's disabled, and unable to work, and housework takes a lot out of her, so I suggested video games as a hobby to keep her occupied, as its one I enjoy as well. I think this game changed how she sees video games as a whole. She would talk so excitedly about all the new discoveries she made, showing me her progress when I came home from work and school. This game is so special to her, and myself by extention. From the combat to the puzzles to the exploration and story, my mom explored every inch of this game and adored every second of it. All 120 shrines, all 900 koroks, every single side quest in the game, every single miniboss. Everything. I love her. And this game Edit: mom has now been playing totk all day every day for about 3 days now. She's currently in Hebra, after completing the Wind Temple. She absolutely loves it, though she is nervous about fighting Gleeoks lol
This is adorable! Such a treat to read. I love how video games and especially Zelda can bring people together. Animal Crossing was that game for me to connect really well to my Mom. But I love that Zelda could be that for you ❤
I’ll never forget the first time I spotted one of the dragons. It was midnight, real world time and I was crossing the long bridge and I said “oh shit, is that a dragon” and I got tingles. Truly a breathtaking game.
I hadn’t done any of the Divine Beast quests yet, I was just derping around trying to find memories with like 4 hearts and 1 1/2 stamina wheels, somehow found my way to the top of Mount Lanayru, found corrupted Naydra and scared the crap out of myself because I didn’t even know there were dragons in the game and she was purple and soaked in Ganon goop at the time. It was horrifying and magical at the same time. (I ended up fighting for my life to free her with only 4 hearts)
To be honest, when I found the Lord of the Mountain and put two and two together, I cried. It's honestly one of the sweetest, most respectful send-offs I've ever seen in any media.
Just watching the gameplay demo video that Zeltik made the other day had me wanting to open a portal in time to two weeks from now, I can't wait for it man
I didn't play Breath of the Wild until April 2020. I was trapped in a foreign country due to covid travel restrictions, away from my wife and kids, and was in the process of recovering from emergency dental surgery due to an infection that developed while I was recovering from Covid itself. Once I started getting to the point of feeling human again, a friend I was visiting lent me Breath of the Wild to play. It was the first Zelda game I had touched since Windwaker. Wandering that world, listening to the soundtrack, it got me through some of the worst my depression has ever been.
i wasn't able to afford a switch until january 2023, and i am planning to finish the sword trials and face ganon within the next few days. i finally took the leap to buy the switch because my partner was gone on an extended, many months long trip, and i've been slowly becoming more and more lonely. this game has really, really helped to make the empty apartment easier to bare. it doesn't sound nearly as bad as what you went through, and i certainly hope you're doing alrighr now, but i can really relate to how this game helped get us through tough periods in our lives. it is truly the most immersive video game i've had yet to experience, and i'm sure that feeling is only going to double if not triple with the upcoming sequel. i hope you get to enjoy totk as well, mate, and also hopefully under better circumstances!
The first time I did Eventide, right after completely clearing most of the island's enemies and specifically the top camp shown at 1:27:16... I got a Blood Moon. Luckily, I managed to not die but there was about 8 minutes of the high-level strat of "run for your life while dropping bombs behind you." Good times, seriously.
After some attempts, I eventually figured out that you can bring a raft to Eventide Island, and if you drop some weapons on that raft before stepping foot on land, you can pick them back up after the cutscene. Clearly not intended, but it's cool that it works.
@@gnolfo First playthrough: "I finally have enough stamina to paraglide to that island!" Second playthrough: "I'mma blow myself up to get there faster."
My favorite part of my various playthroughs was my first time on the Gerudo Highlands. I left the Great Plateau on the West side on a whim, and ended up going straight to the Gerudo Desert, and doing the quests there. After completing the Yiga hideout, I climbed up to the Highlands and started exploring. At that point though, I had never visited the Rito and gotten cold weather equipment. All I had was the Warm Doublet and the ruby circlet I had taken as reward for the Jeweler's quest in Gerudo town. I also only had around 6 heart containers. Everything there could one-shot me. It was an absolute blast. The most fun I've had playing the game. I explored EVERY inch of the Highlands, taking a picture of the Eighth Heroine's sword at the top, getting zapped by Farosh, finding the Yiga camp, encountering an invisible wall at the end of the world... And I didn't find the tower until much later, too, so I was flying blind. It was just incredible. I wish I could experience it again. One of my biggest problems with Breath of the Wild is that, once you've gotten good at the game, you will never experience the same level of wide-eyed wonder you had at the beginning again...
@@Draezeth BotW is one of a number of games/movies/TV shows/books/whatever I wish I could write a note to myself saying, "Ay, yo, this is you. You'll like this, trust me!" and then completely obliterating every bit of knowledge of that thing from my mind. I wanna say "get on it, science" but uh.... I don't think that tech would end up doing as much good as bad, sadly.
The fact we are at a point we can have a retrospective of botw is startling. ... It feels like just yesterday people were running around the starting area for the first time.
@@HealyHQ I'm not concerned with what time I have left. Only where I go once that time is up. I believe in God and Heaven and Hell. And I believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior. So I very much plan on going to heaven. Eternity in peace and paradise. It will make all this on Earth not really matter so much. Even if you don't believe the same as I do. You have to admit if it is true it's a very peaceful thing to look forward to.
Liam, your journey has meant more to me than you realize. Two years ago my son was diagnosed with Pre B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia right after turning three and it was a dark and uncertain time. Your content has done a lot some days to really uplift my spirits and give me a different outlook. Now my son only has one more lumbar puncture as long as all goes well so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep doing what you do man, thank you.
"Eventide island forces you to work with no equipment" meanwhile I just dropped my gear on the raft and magnesis it over to the beach before I jump ashore, so I can pick it all up.
1:32:33 In 2 years, I found 744 seeds on my own (630 unassisted, 114 with korok mask). I was determined to find them all without a guide before a sequel came out. I gave up in 2019. Once I found out there would be Koroks in TotK, I swallowed my pride, found an interactive map, turned on my WiiU, and got exploring. Totk is 11 days away and I have roughly 49 seeds left. Wait for me, Hestu. Edit: just got my golden poop pile! Ready to look for them in totk in the sky, sea, land, and underground.
I am probably speaking for the entire community when I say that the dedication that you have to your craft, the time that you put into your thorough retrospections, and the passion that you have for games, art and life is adored by so many people. Thank you for all that you do and who you are. You’re incredible. I cannot imagine the time this video took, but I was giddy like a child when when I saw it was posted. Here’s to Tears of Kingdom, and the new adventure that’s about to unfold.
I liked ghost of Tsushimas mechanics for leading you towards stuff but i dunno if it did anything particularly new otherwise tbf it was overall a forgettable game
@@TROBassGuitarHmmm... Yes true it didn't really have an emotional Impact on me. I only remember i was super salty that i had no choice and poison them even tho I played the whole playthrough as a honorbal samurai. Overall i would say it's a great game i had so much fun and finished the whole map
Breath of the wild was the game that launched my sister into playing ALL the zelda games. She saw this game and fell in love with the adventure and dove right in. Breath of the wild was incredible in every sense of the word and was the first game that truly felt like I was on an adventure, not the character. I’ll always hold it near and dear to my heart
1:54:19 Urbosa wasn't caring for her like a sister. Urbosa was caring for her lil her child. She was a close friend of Zelda's mother so it would make sense for Urbosa to be like a second mother to Zelda.
Interesting that you didn't mention the bomb method for defeating Moldugas, which I always thought was the classic way to fight them (if you throw a bomb on the ground while they're looking for you they'll think the bomb is you and pop out of the ground to eat it. Then you activate the bomb while it's in their mouth and it does some good damage and stuns them for you to get in close with your sword). No knock against you, it just goes to show how many different ways there are for overcoming any challenges in the game.
Can we all agree that Liam’s retrospectives are awesome and always well timed? Thanks for your complete badassness, Liam Triforce. You make our days worthwhile whenever you pop-up in our notifications!
They aren't. He is far too cheesy in some moments, and I get irritated that he can't even say "I am" at the closing of his long retrospective videos. They're enjoyable to watch, and I will admit he changed my mind a couple times - especially with how botw is a zelda game. But he isn't perfect and has his issues. Like all of us, I suppose.
It’s been three years since my girlfriend died because of COVID, and it still hurts every day. Knowing that you suffered with a life threatening illness for that same amount of time broke my heart, and I’m very grateful that you’re here with us.
Hearing that someone passed from COVID an entire 3 years ago is so mind boggling, that is so long ago time is flying... Anyways sorry for your loss king 👑 🙏
the intro already has resonated more deeply and evoked more emotion than any video i’ve seen in recent memory. cant wait to dig into this over the next weeks or so. thanks for putting your heart into these!
This was an emotional video for me Liam. This game came out when I was in my last year of college and it was so magical. I recently lost my grandmother a few months prior and left a serious relationship with an ex. It really did bring me back to when I first played Ocarina of Time with my mother when I was just a child. Just the whole idea of summarizing one of the games themes with "Life goes on" left me speechless. It's so true, just having hope is enough to make me persevere through almost anything. Also the music was a bit controversial to me but hearing you go into so much depth with it changed my impression on it completely. I almost shed a tear hearing the themes and you explaining the emotional impact it has with each song. As a die hard Zelda fan for over 25 years, thank you so much for this video and all the others you have done in the past. This is seriously making my hype for Tears of the Kingdom that much more intense.
It feels cathartic to finally hear Liam go into this as I'm sure it was to create it. This was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't have asked for more after all this time.
I love how each champion gift is truly a special and cultivated thing. They all capture the character's most defining aspects, their strongest strengths, and inevitably, the things they weren't able to provide for Hyrule in the end. Link being bestowed these gifts kept the champions in a way. I think my favorite is Revali's gale in that sense, because although Revali always loved holding his ability to fly over Link, he was willing to swallow his pride in the end to allow Link to take flight for the better of Hyrule.
I haven't heard anyone say this but I like how OOT and Botw are the only ones in the collection that say "another (title here) retrospective Just something funny
I think my favorite experience in this game was on a replay. I was heading to Vah Ruta, but was attempting to find a lot of koroks along the way, and I eventually found my way to the Zora’s Domain without ever meeting Sidon. The cutscene plays, but it’s different. Sidon looks surprised and delighted to see a hylian here to help, and introduced himself. The fact that I could truly do anything I wanted was so cool.
I listen to these videos while I make artwork and I've got to say you're my favorite youtuber when it comes to long-form content. Not only is your voice incredibly calming, you articulate each point with the perfect balance of objective observation and personal insight. There's always multiple times in each video where I think "I wonder if he'll mention this?" Only for you to say something about it less than a minute later. And lastly, the way you describe the different stories told through these games is so heartfelt and sincere that they make me tear up a bit. Thank you for your work, and I look forward to more of your videos.
This video exactly depicts how I feel like toward this game. My favorite thing about it is every time I feel like I know the map by heart, a new thing appear to me suddenly and I am like "how was I able to not see it before ?" and I feel like I discover the game again.
This video is a masterpiece. I just finished watching it, and seeing this video brings back memories of not only me playing botw, but also a lot of other games that I have nostalgia for. You should really be proud of what you did with this video. Working on it for a full year is tough, but it really did pay off. Thank you Liam, for not only making this video but for also making my day.
I replayed BOTW recently after three of my grandparents passed away pretty close to eachother, and even though I loved it before, it definitely has a special place in my heart now. It helped me through a lot.
as someone who didnt care for the game on release, this video still made me really emotional. everytime you talk about a game you make it feel like so much more than one. the experience, the feeling, the emotion, and the music come together so well, this was so impactful. your work paid off
I got this game on the Wii U in a time where I was going thru probably the worst moment of my life, physically and mentally. It became my escape and holds a special place in my heart. Thanks for the great video.
Amazing video. As a fellow survivor of pediatric cancer, what you said about always being afraid of the world turning upside down again really got to me. We just have to push on and look to brighter days, while appreciating that there is so much good in life. Thank you for making these retrospectives, they're one of a kind, insightful, and heartfelt 😊
I remember vividly the experience of seeing one of the dragons for the first time. I was crossing Hyrule bridge, when I happened to see Farosh. My heart literally stopped. I was immediately filled with such a sense of terror and awe. It's a moment I don't think I'll forget ever.
What a beautiful send off for such a special game that changed not only Zelda, but the gaming world as a whole. It was amazing to witness it first hand and I love your entire video. All you said rang true, and you made with such respect and I appreciate it, thank you so much!
This retrospective can do nothing more for my monkey brain than playing on my Zelda game nostalgia and getting me even more hyped for Tears of the Kingdom.
just when i thought every retrospective on this game was overdone to death and seeing this video on my recommended feeling like i’ve seen it recommended to me months ago i gave it a chance and i loved it, i got so tired of every retrospective being so similar and just word salads for this game but you made it feel so fresh and unique
I don't think I've heard a better encapsulation of why I love Breath of the Wild so much. For me it is the only game in my adult life that has truly brought back that sense of excitement, adventure, and wonder that I experienced playing games as a child. Many of my favourite moments playing it where wandering aimlessly on a rainy day, taking a new route to a known location and galloping along the path as the sun set over Death Mountain, or just staring across Hateno Village towards snowy Lanayru Peak. And above all else, those first moments of emerging and seeing the sweep of the camera across the vast landscape, knowing you can go to everywhere you see in that vast landscape.
The quality is here in this video from the editing, writing, personal connection, voice speaking knowledge sharing, and entertainment factor. One of the best videos I've seen in a while and with how much of a botw mood I've been in since getting close to the release of tears of the kingdom this was the perfect video to just sit down and enjoy and take in every aspect you analyzed. Bravo
No Man's Sky also captures that sense of "do what want, go wherever you want". Although it's not as packed as some might like, the sense of endless exploration and discovery, building your own bases, nearly endless places to go, all make it something very special.
It took me until my current playthrough of BotW in anticipation for TotK for me to fully appreciate and love it. As soon as I let myself relax and explore rather than get caught up in destinations, it all just clicked. This video sums up a lot of that feeling. And honestly, if I'm only now appreciating BotW, imagine how excited I am that TotK seems to be addressing everything I wish *was* in BotW like more active story, dungeons, enemy variety, and magic.
@@r3dsnow757 I did end up playing TotK right after and I really enjoyed it. I can't speak to your personal sense of whether or not you'll be burnt out or not. Take it at your own pace
This just made my day. Love this game a lot. And while it’s not my favorite zelda I still hold it very dear because of how amazing that first time playing it was. It was a truly magical experience that I hope TOTK provides aswell.
my main gripe is just it doesnt have the regular dungeons like forest, water temples and that the divine beast while cool all felt too samey inside them. but there design and way to get into each was amazing as well as the story behind each one being linked (ha) to one of the other heroes while i wish we got temples i still think this game is amazing from all the innovations it has and im still incredibly excited for tears. also loved this video
i dont know why but when it hit the part where you showed off the songs on horse it just hit different this game was truly amazing and this video is not just a love letter to this game but zelda as a whole. it got me all teary eyed for a second damn it lol
I thought the same lol, I've just finished King K's video and am looking forward to starting this one. Plenty of material to keep me busy for the next 12 days until TOTK.
Your intro really speaks to me. There were games that came into my life at some really terrible times... And somehow they lifted me up and made me strong enough to power through it. My family life was horrible when I discovered Majora's Mask and it'll always be my number one. It saved me. Nobody can ever take that away. It's the time in your life that it comes to you.
I been listening to your retrospectives at work and well…… dude I love your stuff, your a good writer, your good at narrating I actually love your windwaker retrospective. Keep up the good work man.
Regarding the Divine Beasts, I think they also suffer from the issue you point out would happen if all dungeons were like Hyrule Castle. If you took just one of them and stuck it into a game like Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword it would have been an instant hit, but when every dungeon is like this it easily get tiring and the cracks begin to show.
I’ve seen a lot of introspective videos on BotW. Like an unhealthy amount. However, not a single on of them has compared to this in my eyes. The way you intertwined your own personal experiences with how you felt about the game was perfect. You were able to articulate perfectly not just why you loved the game, but why I loved it as well. I’ll definitely be rewatching this video for years to come. I’ve never watched one of your videos before, but this one just made me subscribe. Can’t wait to see what else you have in store.
i'm surprised you didnt notice the blights are corrupted versions of their respective champions. fireblight: attacks with a heavy hammer-shaped weapon, uses a twisted version of daruuk's protection (the orange shield). thunderblight: attacks with a shield and scimitar, uses urbosa's fury (the lighting rods). windblight: attacks with a ranged weapon, goes for trickshots during it's second phase. waterblight: attacks with a polearm, stays back further than any of the other blights, controls water. it adds a whole other layer to the tragedy imo
Man I was so excited when I saw this in my subscription feed. I'm doing a playthrough right now on my channel of BoTW before ToTK comes out so this should be even more interesting for me with it fresh on my mind. I love your other retrospectives on the Zelda series and have watched them honestly... many times each lol. Thanks for such a long video, can't wait to sit down and watch it all (twice).
Thanks for these retrospectives. Since the beginning of the year I have marathoned all the Zelda’s before Tears of the kingdom. Along the way I have watched your retrospectives and found them enjoyable and informative.
I am genuinely happy for everyone who loves BotW and TotK. The exploration of the overworld is amazing. But what I love about Zelda is unique, creative, linear dungeon design. And nothing will ever change that for me. It breaks my heart to know that I will never again experience that feeling from future Zelda games.
I will never like Weapon Durability. Ever. I just won't. And nobody can tell me anything to convince me otherwise cause it's just not something I like. People that like it? Cool for you but that's not me and never will be.
you’ve done it once again. I couldn’t have conveyed my feelings about the game better myself. what a wonderfully thorough, nuanced, inspiring, and entertaining video. thanks so much liam, this is perhaps my favorite youtube channel.
I am 10 hours into Totk. My favorite game used to be Botw. This game has had me distracted for 10 hours and I still haven't started the main quest. It makes Botw look like a demo. PS this vid is great. Can't wait for your Totk video.
Beautiful analysis as always. Breath of the Wild is already so nostalgic for me and I love revisiting what makes it so special. No matter what Tears of the Kingdom brings, this game will always hold a special place in my heart.
Your videos are so special. There's a million video essays on RU-vid, but your love and passion always shines through and makes every video you put out stand tall among the rest. Seriously amazing stuff man
Amazing video as usual my friend. Honestly one of my favorite parts was how you integrated the music into the storytelling of this video so beautifully. I feel as if BOTW's music does a lot of storytelling itself, and you did great representing that with how you displayed it throughout this video.
The music of this game is unbelievably underrated. It’s gorgeous. I love the subdued music that plays in the wild, but when you do find towns, the music is gorgeous. Hateno village has one of my favorite Zelda themes. The new version of zoras domain is so good
Fantastic video, I'm certainly one of BOTW's harsher critics, particularly on the story as well as the puzzle and boss design. I think that the problem for me is that the game does a poor job of making me forget that I'm doing the same thing over and over again. Past Zelda games always walked a great line with the series' most repetitive elements by using a compelling narrative to motivate the player. The lack of stakes in the world really makes the story feel flat and makes it difficult to care about the world. Calamity Gannon is nothing compared to say, Majora and the moon falling, or the destruction Ganondorf causes in OOT. Those games made me feel like my quest mattered, I never felt that way playing BOTW (even though the game is telling me I should ) even though I have played it a few times since my original run. I guess exploration for the sake of exploration just doesn't hold my attention.
@@frogglen6350 I never said the other games weren't the same, I said that BOTW does a mediocre job in its execution of the story. Calamity Gannon is painted as this destructive, world-ending force but doesn't follow through on those implications. Yes, it killed the champions and put Link in a long slumber but that's not what we play in BOTW. People have lived with this thing for 100 years and yet the game expects me to believe that stopping this particular incarnation of evil is necessary. No, I just couldn't buy into any of it, I was asked to care about the champions, I didn't, I was asked to care about the citizens, I didn't, I was asked to care about exploring I didn't. Botw is the only Zelda game that I have zero emotional connection to after I played it and it's not because the game is bad, it's because there is not one memorable moment I can actively recall that makes me think “Hey I want to play this game over again. The game is honestly too understated for its own good. Thankfully TOTK seems to be addressing all of my criticism about BOTW😊
@@frogglen6350 The theming attached to a lot of the characters is strong which makes up for the small amount of screen time a lot of them have imo. It doesn't seem like much by today's standards but I have always thought that it is waste of time to compare something from 1998 to today, what's important is that I remember all the characters from that game right down to things that they said, the only thing I remember from BOTW is Zelda and the town building sidequest that's it!
Beautiful video! You're retrospectives are always so insightful. From the game to life in general, they are always worth the watch. I found myself glued to the screen and I watched it all in one sitting. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
This is by far the best Breath of the Wild analysis on the internet. You managed to capture in this video all that makes this game so unique. You showed that many of the elements that are often seen as flaws are an integral part of the game's philosophy, something that I have always only thought but that you managed to put into video format. A game with soul, an analysis with soul. Thank you!
Just a random thing I remembered when you talked about the Dark Beast Ganon fight, and specifically Link’s beloved horse appearing to help him. BotW was the first Zelda game my brother liked enough to finish, and he pretty much just sprinted to each of the Divine Beasts, then the Master Sword, and then Hyrule Castle without doing anything else. He didn’t find any memories, unlock any fairy fountains, or catch any horses. Turns out the game gives you a wild horse for Dark Beast Ganon if you don’t have one registered. It’s the only thing from the game that he seems to have any strong memories of, which is extremely annoying, but I’m glad he had fun.
My first time playing through BotW I had no clue that if you lost your horse, you could just go to ANY stable and instantly recall it. I didn't want to go back and find it and never ended up getting another horse. Instead I ended up running and climbing around Hyrule instead the entire time, getting super familiar with how far my stamina could take me, what angle of slopes I could safely stand on to recover stamina, how to best utilize leaps and such. I also realized that 4-5 wood piles burning in close proximity creates a small updraft that I affectionately refer to as "Bootleg Revali's Gale" I massively prioritized (and to be fair I still do) having large amounts of speed enhancements on hand. It was a really interesting way to discover the world. To this day when it rains, I know that if it's raining and I'm trying to climb, Link can pull himself up 5 times without slipping, so when I hit that 5th bit it's time for a leap to gain distance instead of losing it.
I have beaten this game twice. I have watched and listened to countless hours of video content about breath of the wild. I have watched the massive 4 hour retrospective on this game. I have listened to this video in its entirety three times now. And I just learned that Koko and Cottla's mother was assassinated
What I love about your videos is that you're not just going through the features and explaining the themes like a Wikipedia article, but you're explaining the emotional weight in a personal way. Love it!
Tests of strength would’ve been fine if they had different enemies with different attacks or are different from ones you encounter in Hyrule that force you to create new strategies, maybe a lynel that can grab you or a gold bokoblin that doesn’t take damage from melee attacks or an underwater battle with a a big lizalfos or a hinox that has an eye patch but can detect you through sound. A spin on these enemies would’ve helped them.
After playing TOTK, I think the Proving Grounds go a long way in solving this problem. Each one of these shrines has a different theme to it, and ask the player to take out a group of enemies in unique ways.
There's so much about this game that I didn't know, like the Divine Beast music holding a constant SOS signal. Releasing this two weeks before TotK was brilliant, thank you!
I appreciate you sharing your personal battle. Im currently going through an emotional battle that isnt as bad as what you went through, but what we have in common is how BOTW has been therupetic. I even have had an weirdly encouraging dream that shows I had BOTW in my subconcious. See I just started playing BOTW this past Christmas. Im a father so I dont get to play often, but I was immersed into this game. It was my first Zelda game and my first open world game. So seeing Link meet the ghosts of the champions and see them encourage him, I one night dreamed, with my own personal battle going on, a dream where I was under my great grandmother's oak tree like you see on BOTW and we were overlooking a wheat field and I knew she was a ghost, but I treated her like she never died. I ate snacks she used to feed me as a kid and she encouraged me to be brave and strong in my emotional battle. Ive always liked the hero's journey and how we can apply it to our lives. And BOTW is like an interactive version of the hero's journey.
Tears of the Kingdom more like tears of me watching this video Didn't expect to get so emotional, but damn, what a journey. I love this game so much. Thank you Liam.
This video made me relive the memory of pure excitement, wonder, and emotion when first playing it after its long awaited release! You have such a talent for what you do and make. I'm so thankful for the love and dedication you put in your retrospectives ❤
Liam, all of the effort you put into everything not only on this video but all of them is immeasurable. I came across your channel thanks to your Metroid Prime Trilogy retrospective and after seeing it I was hooked. All of the passion put into every video is amazing and this is no exception. I really have no idea how much time and effort is put into this retrospectives and analysis, but I can tell that all of the results are pure magic just as the games we all know and love. All I can say is: Congratulations and thank you for giving us this masterpiece. You are a RU-vid national treasure.
I love how passionate you are about games. 2 hours and 28 minutes but I’ma watch the whole thing cause I know I’m going to appreciate this game 100x more
I'm a game developer. I like putting on long form video essays while I'm writing code and trying to fix my crap that has broken. I've come to really enjoy your videos while I work. Your positive joyful approach to games reminds me a lot of why I went into this line of work. I love games, they're beautiful wonderful art, and I wish more critics would focus on that.
The amount of passion, enthusiasm and emotion you put in these videos are unlike any I’ve seen on this platform. You truly are one of the best at what you do and it’s great to see your retrospective on my favourite game!
As weird as it might sound, I think the ideal Zelda game is Elden Ring but less difficult combat. From armour, to unique weapons, more interesting “filler” content, way more enemy variety With a bit of the Zelda flavour mixed in with more puzzles, brighter disposition, etc Elden Ring actually made me want to explore, because the enemies I could fight were interesting, new and plentiful, the weapons and armour I could find were interesting, new and plentiful Add some in depth quests like that found in Witcher 3 and an engaging main story like in some of the other Zelda games Maybe I should say the ideal open-world Zelda game. Edit: and of course big emphasis on items or item like abilities as is the case in every Zelda game
I strongly disagree with the assessment. While Elden Ring is a fantastic game on its own, outside of combat, there’s a lack of reward when and on a second to third go around, make exploring way less reward especially with the lack of means traversal and also not always wanting to fight the same enemies over and over again after chillin at a site of grace. Not to mention outside of combat, there’s not much other ways to interact with the world outside of fetch missions. All and all I’m glad TOTK will be nothing like Elden ring
@@R.A.M_GamesBotw had much of the same issues Obviously i didn’t mean every single detail about Elden Ring like sights of grace I obviously mean a Zeldafied version of Elden ring, which mad more visually interesting “mini dungeons” with unique mini bosses in them (of course being Zeldafied would have an emphasis on puzzles and combat) Huge dungeons in the overworld like Elden Ring (which would also be Zeldafied to be more in line with Zelda dungeons) And the open world would still be as much of a sandbox as breath of the wild Maybe I should’ve said a mixture of Elden Ring, older Zelda games and Botw (with new things as Tears of The Kingdom is doing)
The one thing i really dislike about this game's approach to open-world design is how the Inventory upgrades and the Sheikah Slate upgrades, which you're supposed to start getting early on and which justify the collection of various things, require you to follow the Points on the Map at the start. I would like to be allowed to go ANYWHERE after the plateau, but skipping those things feels like a pretty huge handicap. i wish those things were either closer to the start, or had more places where you could access them. Also, if the player had started from the Plateau and got to just "pick a direction", then it wouldn't be the case that almost everyone goes to Zora's Domain first, because it's the closest to Kakariko, which is where the King sends you.
The game gives you a slight push in that direction because thats best for the story. But nobody is forcing you to do it. Thats the great part about the game
@@xshme it is probably a lot better that way for new players, but if the game says "you can go anywhere, but you probably should go here first" then it feels like i'm defying the game's intentions by not going that way, and i'm gonna miss out on beginner stuff that i need later. which turned out to be more or less true. i get why they did it, for the story it makes sense, it just feels to me like it defies the sense of discovery i was looking for.
@@keaton5101 yeah that is kinda the idea, if you want to fully experience the game, then follow the push the game gives you (even though you still have to explore alot to actually find all the good stuff). but on second playthroughs you can just ignore it as you already know those things and are probably good enough to survive without those if you want. but do those options only unlock when you have a new game plus or smth? no, you can do those on your first playthrough, which really does give meaning to the freedom, imo if there was no road you COULD follow or deviate from, then it would not feel as free.
You know, it has been more than 5 years since this game came out, and I still discovered new things about it every time I watch someone review or play it. I knew the zora armor let you swim up waterfall, but i never even thought of using it to scale up the castle as a way to reach the end. Truly a masterpiece of a game
