TOTK is stellar of course.... but BOTW was such a nicely compact experience, and just felt so 'fresh'.
Nothing beat diving off the Great Plateau for the first time, utterly amazing.
TOTK suffers from the same issues as Spiderman 2, GoW Ragnarok, Horizon FB.... more of 'the same' but bigger/better - ultimately though the special feeling of the predecessor games.
Nonetheless TOTK still great, but I would have personally preferred a new/different map as well as slightly 'less' game to avoid burnout
How long have they known this would eventually happen? Why weren't they restocking retro games and consoles for the last 15 years instead of going in the opposite direction and phasing them out? They did this to themselves.
@Broosh I was terrified my aforementioned order was in limbo since one of the games I ordered, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails was delisted from GS's website the day after I made my order. I figured it was one of those scenarios where an item wasn't listed as unavailable too late. Thankfully that isn't what happened...I think. The game I received was sealed and legitimate.
@Not_Soos Well I agree with everything you had to say save for one point: I didn't even like the story. Specifically, the ending soured the experience for me. They say that an ending can ruin an entire experience and it rings true here. The reason why I hated the ending was because of Zelda being too afraid of having consequences, when in the past it had no issues with killing off characters like in WW. In TotK they set up these rules for its story and the way it resolves itself in its ending just doesn't make sense and is such a massive cop out. It's like they established those rules for the Secret Stones only for it to not matter in the end. They even fix the issue that Link had for no reason lolol. It's just terrible writing. The story was actually interesting until that part. The setting was darker and more serious, only for it to have the happiest ending in the series in ways that betrays its own rules rofl. Just doesn't make sense. Probably the worst story in the series if I'm being frank.
I feel like a vacuum is forming, GameStop hasn't been hardly anyone's first pick for years. My hope is that a new chain, or a smaller existing chain, that's kind of everything we love about our smaller retro stores, steps up. Better environment, deals, employees. I know it would hurt a lot of people in GameStop fell that like work there, but for the industry, I think it would make things better.
Or GameStop takes a 180 I'd be happy with that too. It's happened before, like subway stepping up their game like a decade ago.
As there's been an ongoing discussion about the world going from physical gaming to digital, so too do brick and mortar stores suffer from this change. Even the once powerful resale market that Funco Land once was driving has dried up more and more-- If the gaming giants can distribute the games directly to consumers, what then becomes the point of a middleman digital reseller? More specifically, even if GameStop became a digital only reseller, they would have to come up with something that would make it worthwhile, and besides unique sales/deals, I can't think of anything sustainable. At this rate is only a matter of time before GameStop goes the way of Game in EU.
Just bought it. Should get to it around May or June. Looking forward to it^^ The most interesting part of this update for me are the added illustrations.
Love them both equally as they have a pretty different vibe. But if I had to pick one right now probably Totk. Dungeons are lesser and I don't really care much for the overall story, but it has better designed puzzles, the crafting systems are outstanding, and most of all the multi tiered world is an absolute joy by taking the spirit of the first game and multiplying it by a hundred and also finally cashing in on Skyward Sword's blown potential.
Tears offers the player significantly more freedom. That much is as clear as day.
…But I would argue that Breath better captures the spirit of adventure — and adventure has always been at the heart of what makes Zelda tick.
The feeling of embarking on an epic adventure is not simply about making the world feel big, but making the player feel small within it. Without that contrast, there is no sense of awe or wonder. And without wonder there is no wanderlust: no motivation to explore. And without exploration there can be no adventure in the first place.
Tolkien’s epics feel epic precisely because they are mainly carried out on foot or horseback, filled with detours, stopovers, and memorable encounters en route. If Frodo and co. has simply flown on broomsticks from A to B, the scale would technically be unchanged, but the sense of scale would be vastly different.
Even beyond the world of fantasy and fiction, we find ourselves drawn to accounts of adventure: continent-spanning bike rides, epic hikes, and voyages over oceans by boat, navigating fatigue, hunger and stormy seas. If the same trips were to be completed by helicopter or private jet, there would be almost nothing to write about. It’s the graft we’re after, not the distance.
To me Breath feels epic because it makes you work at the act of traversal. You have to fight for height; no sailing gaily up into the heavens on a stone elevator that convenient crashed down to earth moments earlier.
Elevation is the core currency of exploration, opening up your view of the landscape and letting you glide down to whatever catches your eye. But this currently is not freely given: it is the fruit of hard graft, which makes reaching the top of a mountain feel like a genuine achievement — even if the only tangible reward is a single Korok seed, or nothing at all!
The main piece of concept art for Breath depicts Link staring out over an expansive Hyrule, which paints a pretty good picture of what the game is about. The other piece of key art shows Link scaling a nondescript rock face against the backdrop of a setting sun. This picture is perhaps easily forgotten, but I feel describes the game just as well. Link is going nowhere fast, and a long day of travel has already passed. It stands in contrast to the iconic Tears picture of Link perched on the edge of a sky island, staring downwards. One is about ascent, arduous and slow-going. The other is about descent: being at liberty to soar down to the world below, free as a bird.
Tears is definitely bigger and freer, but I greatly prefer Breath’s more measured adventure. The sun may have set on Link’s initial open-world outing, but to me it remains the closest we’ve ever come to a perfect adventure game.
Love to see it, so looking forward to playing this when I finally have the time for it and these additions (not the difficulty setting personally, but it's welcome in general) will make it even sweeter!
Although I preferred TOTK story, for me BOTW was a much better experience as everything was fresh in 2017. I wasn't a fan of Ultrahand as I was ***** at building
I hope the next one is set somewhere other than Hyrule. I'd happily see the current characters of Zelda and Link remain the same though.
Hopefully, they started work on the next game long before TOTK was finished.
I have to say that, TotK blew me away, even more than BotW, so, that's now my best game I've ever played. But, before it, BotW had that spot hehehe. My kids are playing it again (on Wii U, imagine that!), and, it gave me huge urges to play it again! The best games ever, and they are from Zelda. What else can we ask for.
I didn't have a Switch when TotK was about to release (had a Lite during early Covid and played BotW - sold it after because I kind of felt like that was the capstone of video gaming), so I watched a YouTube video with all the TotK cutscenes the night before it was released.
The next day, release day, my wife surprised me with a Switch as a semi-late birthday present! I put off getting TotK because I'd seen the story (which I liked a lot! Not much of a shipper, but I still really feel like Link and Zelda being a thing should have at least been hinted at in the last scene, but hey...). Finally got it a couple month later, but struggled to get into it. Is it the crafting? The less novelty? That I knew the storyline? Not enough years between? I don't know.
All that to say (probably surprisingly), I've picked it up again a couple days ago, finally headed up Death Mountain for the second temple. I think I like TotK better. Someone else commented that it seems happier, and I'd have to agree. Even with the Depths, I like seeing more people around Hyrule and less of an overarching sense of gloom. But, as many have said, that initial feel of exploration and discovery in BotW is unmatched. Setting that feeling aside, I think TotK is a better game, and one I imagine I'll keeping picking up and taking breaks from for years to come.
I feel like BOTW was a big enough game and the grandest Zelda game to date that gave me the fullest adventure I could possibly ask for. With that said, I feel that it was more than enough adventure for one console generation. I absolutely love TOTK, but to take on such an even bigger world than BOTW on the same console has left me at least a bit worn out from this era of Zelda gaming, so I've been playing TOTK much slower than I played BOTW-- I really don't understand why they just didn't save the scale of TOTK for the next console. In summation, I can put one ahead of the other for different reasons. I can put BOTW ahead of TOTK because of the introduction and amazing feeling I got that Zelda managed to take the vision of the original Zelda and give us a complete, humongous, thriving landscape to play in where your next step truly is your next step you take. I can put TOTK ahead of BOTW because it is simply such a grand adventure that leaves no part of the firmament beyond your reach, and with so much to do that you truly cannot claim you're not an adventurer once you've explored between sky, ground, and depths.
@FlashmanHarry It definitely makes the setting less interesting. BotW's setting revolved around that already happening, but over 10,000 years ago from an extinct civilization. I adore that kind of setting. But TotK normalized it and now it's everywhere, losing the original concept and vibe.
I bought '23 for $5 a few months ago in a sale, and I still haven't gotten around to playing it. So, take your time NL. It's amazing how badly they're treating the Switch version of this game. The past couple years, they've been great about supporting the Switch.
I wonder if it was released like this intentionally. We know Sony don't like putting their games on other systems, and we know the only reason they're releasing this one multiplatform is because MLB is forcing them to. This could be a case of malicious compliance.
I prefer more "linear" Zelda games myself. A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds were the ones that made the biggest, classic impact on me. OoT was special too. As for BotW and TotK, played BotW for quite a few hours, enjoyed it, but burned out and eventually shelved it. TotK looked like more of the same, but with Minecraft esque elements when I watched friends play it. Both games are beautiful and have a wonderful OST. Fun games deserving of the hype. Personally, I'm just feeling haggard of everything going fully open world and being 100+ hr grand adventures where you can get story out of order, cos you got your nose easily led too far one way and made the story confusing. They're good games that have my respect, but I prefer old school Zelda.
@Tchunga Yeah I share this sentiment. The Depths is a place for the devs to recycle content. There's virtually nothing interesting to find down there outside of a handful of costumes and Ultrahand utilities.
BOTW and TOTK are like two chapters of the same book series. You can read one or the other, but you really need to read them both to get the full story. Both games are essential - they're almost like one giant game cut in half. My vote is that I love both equally.
The castle in BotW and the guardians around it were more thrilling than everything else combined in TotK. BotW was a much purer, focused experience, with real traveling, while TotK felt more like a permanent fast-travel plus endless walking in the underground. There’s no doubt that BotW is the superior game!
I'll tell you what's not stable after the update: my Joy-Con R. I just realized something happened to it's motion sensor and I cannot play games that use it auch as Trombone Champ. I don't know if it has to do with its drift or if it's a different problem altogether.
Oh wow. They have really made this game a dream come true. There's something for newcomers and plenty for those returning to it. Kudos to Square Enix for all the good love.
TOTK is proof that bigger isnt always better. As much as I enjoyed the game, there certainly is a lot of unnecessary bloat in it. Like pretty much the entirety of the underground. Its just content for contents sake, the depths is a baren wasteland. There are no side quests or NPCs outside of generic Yiga to be found, the entire thing feels procedurally generated.
Also tasks that were once simple in BOTW are now needlessly tedious in TOTK. It was bad enough that your weapons broke before but now that you have to constantly fuse them together only exacerbates this problem. Building various vehicles to traverse the environment and solve puzzles is fun for the first 20 or so hours but by the end it just becomes tiresome.
People say that BOTW was a "demo" for TOTK like thats somehow a good thing. But BOTW was already arguably too big to begin with. If anything a sequel to BOTW should have had a smaller, and denser map. Not a larger and more baren one. For me BOTW is the better game because it feels more focused, TOTK just got too carried away with itself. Less is more in this instance
I agree (at least I think I do). I just know the open world concept will be with Zelda for the foreseeable future. For better or for worse. That's why the series desperately needs huge, massively magical dungeons with orchestral melodies bouncing about to take one out of the samey open world. That's my wish anyway given the series trajectory.
BotW because it had that brand new Zelda game feel to it. Totk felt more like an extension of BotW because a lot of the overworld was re-used. The depths were too repetitive and the sky islands were mostly forgetable, aside from The Great Sky Island itself. I loved the Zonai tech but a lot of TotK felt overcluttered with grindy sidequests that didn't yield much of a reward.
I feel like a minority here, but I think BotW is a great game but its sequel isn't that great. Most of the content in TotK felt like padding to me. Nintendo's idea of making a bigger and better sequel was to add a few more things to it (caves, a couple new enemies) and then just shotgun spray those things all over the map and call it new content. I had gotten so sick of fighting the same bosses over and over again while filling out my map. Ultrahand/Fuse are neat ideas, but they crack the game's balancing into pieces and make a once too easy game even easier. Adding to this is these excessively broken consumables like Muddle Buds or Puff Shrooms that destroy any semblence of challenge that the game once had, and you can find hundreds of those things in the Depths so you'll never run out. I have a laundry list of other problems with the game but the reason why I liked BotW so much was because it felt novel and new, it felt like a superb attempt to reinvent the formula and with a little bit of fine tuning, a sequel would probably be an outright stunning game. But to me, TotK felt like a safe retread of BotW and it didn't do much to stand out. It just felt like BotW again, but bloated. Still waiting for a proper sequel to BotW personally, so I'll see it in another 6 or so years I guess lol.
Tears if the Kingdom was insultingly easy compared to Breath of the Wild. Everyone was excited to see the return of Dungeons; however, they were so uninspired and easy it turned out 5he challenging puzzles and excellent level design of the Divine Beasts were much better. TotK had so much uninspired and easy filler. The Depths felt pointless, repetitive and boring.
I'll hate it if they don't make it. But it's the way of the world now. It's nice having a dedicated gaming store, but it's obviously not feasible since they do not make much money off of new games. I do not want to ever have to rely on Walmart or Amazon for my gaming, I use them as sparingly as possible anyway for whatever I may need. I won't mind going digital I guess.
@Not_Soos I thought I had lmao (your edits kept pushing down the "Leave A Comment" box while I was trying to type mine!), but it looks like you got in a few more paragraphs. I have NOW read it all the way through. I am up for your hopes for a future Zelda, though I love the artstyle of BotW/TotK, and do find it to be a sort of best of both worlds. I'll see your WW sequel with another Wild game, and keep your underwater swimming: the same BotW overworld has now been flooded, and it can be explored via underwater swimming, and the highpoints are now WW-style islands. Fishing and sailing intact. Would you be willing to dive into BOTW's world one more time?
It's shocking that stuff like this is even allowed to be released, and sold for real money. We're heading back to third party atari levels of games that don't even function at all (AHEM, ESHOP AI SLOP, AHEM)
Latest Comments
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
I’m almost half way into current losing franchise season on 23 Switch, while also have seemingly improved 24 with Game Pass.
Not sure what to do.
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
@CannibalChristmas nonsense this runs well on xbox the switch is using 2015 tech that is the reason for the problems of this port..
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
I worked at GameStop for 10 years. 8/08-6/18 I stayed that long due to my coworkers.
It was predatory sales.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
TOTK is stellar of course.... but BOTW was such a nicely compact experience, and just felt so 'fresh'.
Nothing beat diving off the Great Plateau for the first time, utterly amazing.
TOTK suffers from the same issues as Spiderman 2, GoW Ragnarok, Horizon FB.... more of 'the same' but bigger/better - ultimately though the special feeling of the predecessor games.
Nonetheless TOTK still great, but I would have personally preferred a new/different map as well as slightly 'less' game to avoid burnout
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
@Ballzilla @Ballzilla it will run very good on xbox.. sony main competitor that destroys your deliberate sabotage theory..
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I hope we get a classic styled 3D Zelda soon again. I'm so tired of open world games, filled with bloat.
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
How long have they known this would eventually happen? Why weren't they restocking retro games and consoles for the last 15 years instead of going in the opposite direction and phasing them out? They did this to themselves.
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
@Broosh I was terrified my aforementioned order was in limbo since one of the games I ordered, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails was delisted from GS's website the day after I made my order. I figured it was one of those scenarios where an item wasn't listed as unavailable too late. Thankfully that isn't what happened...I think. The game I received was sealed and legitimate.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
@Not_Soos Well I agree with everything you had to say save for one point: I didn't even like the story. Specifically, the ending soured the experience for me. They say that an ending can ruin an entire experience and it rings true here. The reason why I hated the ending was because of Zelda being too afraid of having consequences, when in the past it had no issues with killing off characters like in WW.
In TotK they set up these rules for its story and the way it resolves itself in its ending just doesn't make sense and is such a massive cop out. It's like they established those rules for the Secret Stones only for it to not matter in the end. They even fix the issue that Link had for no reason lolol. It's just terrible writing.
The story was actually interesting until that part. The setting was darker and more serious, only for it to have the happiest ending in the series in ways that betrays its own rules rofl. Just doesn't make sense. Probably the worst story in the series if I'm being frank.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Breath of the Wild is a superior game.
I am not a Zelda fan, but BotW is probably the greatest game ever.
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
I feel like a vacuum is forming, GameStop hasn't been hardly anyone's first pick for years. My hope is that a new chain, or a smaller existing chain, that's kind of everything we love about our smaller retro stores, steps up. Better environment, deals, employees. I know it would hurt a lot of people in GameStop fell that like work there, but for the industry, I think it would make things better.
Or GameStop takes a 180 I'd be happy with that too. It's happened before, like subway stepping up their game like a decade ago.
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
As there's been an ongoing discussion about the world going from physical gaming to digital, so too do brick and mortar stores suffer from this change. Even the once powerful resale market that Funco Land once was driving has dried up more and more-- If the gaming giants can distribute the games directly to consumers, what then becomes the point of a middleman digital reseller? More specifically, even if GameStop became a digital only reseller, they would have to come up with something that would make it worthwhile, and besides unique sales/deals, I can't think of anything sustainable. At this rate is only a matter of time before GameStop goes the way of Game in EU.
Re: Star Ocean: The Second Story R Scores Bonus Difficulty Modes And More In New Update
Just bought it. Should get to it around May or June. Looking forward to it^^
The most interesting part of this update for me are the added illustrations.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Love them both equally as they have a pretty different vibe. But if I had to pick one right now probably Totk. Dungeons are lesser and I don't really care much for the overall story, but it has better designed puzzles, the crafting systems are outstanding, and most of all the multi tiered world is an absolute joy by taking the spirit of the first game and multiplying it by a hundred and also finally cashing in on Skyward Sword's blown potential.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
TotK built upon what was already a masterpiece and made it even better. TotK for me.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Tears offers the player significantly more freedom. That much is as clear as day.
…But I would argue that Breath better captures the spirit of adventure — and adventure has always been at the heart of what makes Zelda tick.
The feeling of embarking on an epic adventure is not simply about making the world feel big, but making the player feel small within it. Without that contrast, there is no sense of awe or wonder. And without wonder there is no wanderlust: no motivation to explore. And without exploration there can be no adventure in the first place.
Tolkien’s epics feel epic precisely because they are mainly carried out on foot or horseback, filled with detours, stopovers, and memorable encounters en route. If Frodo and co. has simply flown on broomsticks from A to B, the scale would technically be unchanged, but the sense of scale would be vastly different.
Even beyond the world of fantasy and fiction, we find ourselves drawn to accounts of adventure: continent-spanning bike rides, epic hikes, and voyages over oceans by boat, navigating fatigue, hunger and stormy seas. If the same trips were to be completed by helicopter or private jet, there would be almost nothing to write about. It’s the graft we’re after, not the distance.
To me Breath feels epic because it makes you work at the act of traversal. You have to fight for height; no sailing gaily up into the heavens on a stone elevator that convenient crashed down to earth moments earlier.
Elevation is the core currency of exploration, opening up your view of the landscape and letting you glide down to whatever catches your eye. But this currently is not freely given: it is the fruit of hard graft, which makes reaching the top of a mountain feel like a genuine achievement — even if the only tangible reward is a single Korok seed, or nothing at all!
The main piece of concept art for Breath depicts Link staring out over an expansive Hyrule, which paints a pretty good picture of what the game is about. The other piece of key art shows Link scaling a nondescript rock face against the backdrop of a setting sun. This picture is perhaps easily forgotten, but I feel describes the game just as well. Link is going nowhere fast, and a long day of travel has already passed. It stands in contrast to the iconic Tears picture of Link perched on the edge of a sky island, staring downwards. One is about ascent, arduous and slow-going. The other is about descent: being at liberty to soar down to the world below, free as a bird.
Tears is definitely bigger and freer, but I greatly prefer Breath’s more measured adventure. The sun may have set on Link’s initial open-world outing, but to me it remains the closest we’ve ever come to a perfect adventure game.
Re: Star Ocean: The Second Story R Scores Bonus Difficulty Modes And More In New Update
Love to see it, so looking forward to playing this when I finally have the time for it and these additions (not the difficulty setting personally, but it's welcome in general) will make it even sweeter!
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
"Release first, patch later"
Game industry, [insert 201x year]
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Although I preferred TOTK story, for me BOTW was a much better experience as everything was fresh in 2017. I wasn't a fan of Ultrahand as I was ***** at building
I hope the next one is set somewhere other than Hyrule. I'd happily see the current characters of Zelda and Link remain the same though.
Hopefully, they started work on the next game long before TOTK was finished.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I have to say that, TotK blew me away, even more than BotW, so, that's now my best game I've ever played. But, before it, BotW had that spot hehehe. My kids are playing it again (on Wii U, imagine that!), and, it gave me huge urges to play it again! The best games ever, and they are from Zelda. What else can we ask for.
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
I just play it on the Series X via Gamepass. Although would love to have one for on the go as well. Guess Sony just doesn't like money.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I didn't have a Switch when TotK was about to release (had a Lite during early Covid and played BotW - sold it after because I kind of felt like that was the capstone of video gaming), so I watched a YouTube video with all the TotK cutscenes the night before it was released.
The next day, release day, my wife surprised me with a Switch as a semi-late birthday present! I put off getting TotK because I'd seen the story (which I liked a lot! Not much of a shipper, but I still really feel like Link and Zelda being a thing should have at least been hinted at in the last scene, but hey...). Finally got it a couple month later, but struggled to get into it. Is it the crafting? The less novelty? That I knew the storyline? Not enough years between? I don't know.
All that to say (probably surprisingly), I've picked it up again a couple days ago, finally headed up Death Mountain for the second temple. I think I like TotK better. Someone else commented that it seems happier, and I'd have to agree. Even with the Depths, I like seeing more people around Hyrule and less of an overarching sense of gloom. But, as many have said, that initial feel of exploration and discovery in BotW is unmatched. Setting that feeling aside, I think TotK is a better game, and one I imagine I'll keeping picking up and taking breaks from for years to come.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I feel like BOTW was a big enough game and the grandest Zelda game to date that gave me the fullest adventure I could possibly ask for. With that said, I feel that it was more than enough adventure for one console generation. I absolutely love TOTK, but to take on such an even bigger world than BOTW on the same console has left me at least a bit worn out from this era of Zelda gaming, so I've been playing TOTK much slower than I played BOTW-- I really don't understand why they just didn't save the scale of TOTK for the next console. In summation, I can put one ahead of the other for different reasons. I can put BOTW ahead of TOTK because of the introduction and amazing feeling I got that Zelda managed to take the vision of the original Zelda and give us a complete, humongous, thriving landscape to play in where your next step truly is your next step you take. I can put TOTK ahead of BOTW because it is simply such a grand adventure that leaves no part of the firmament beyond your reach, and with so much to do that you truly cannot claim you're not an adventurer once you've explored between sky, ground, and depths.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
WAND OF GAMELON
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
@FlashmanHarry It definitely makes the setting less interesting. BotW's setting revolved around that already happening, but over 10,000 years ago from an extinct civilization. I adore that kind of setting. But TotK normalized it and now it's everywhere, losing the original concept and vibe.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
39% vs 34%. Nice to see that both games are so amazing that they can stand toe to toe against each other.
Re: Ship Customisation And New Space Stations Arrive In No Man's Sky's 'Orbital' Update
@AG_Awesome Yes, you can.
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
I bought '23 for $5 a few months ago in a sale, and I still haven't gotten around to playing it. So, take your time NL. It's amazing how badly they're treating the Switch version of this game. The past couple years, they've been great about supporting the Switch.
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
MLB Show What
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
I wonder if it was released like this intentionally. We know Sony don't like putting their games on other systems, and we know the only reason they're releasing this one multiplatform is because MLB is forcing them to. This could be a case of malicious compliance.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I really dislike Tears of the Kingdom. There's far too much technology in the game. That just ruins the setting for me.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Only right answer to me is both of them.
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
What a surprise that a game by Sony on a Nintendo console is broken as hell… Sony higher ups are so petty, this is no surprise at all
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I prefer more "linear" Zelda games myself. A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds were the ones that made the biggest, classic impact on me. OoT was special too. As for BotW and TotK, played BotW for quite a few hours, enjoyed it, but burned out and eventually shelved it. TotK looked like more of the same, but with Minecraft esque elements when I watched friends play it. Both games are beautiful and have a wonderful OST. Fun games deserving of the hype. Personally, I'm just feeling haggard of everything going fully open world and being 100+ hr grand adventures where you can get story out of order, cos you got your nose easily led too far one way and made the story confusing. They're good games that have my respect, but I prefer old school Zelda.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
@Tchunga Yeah I share this sentiment. The Depths is a place for the devs to recycle content. There's virtually nothing interesting to find down there outside of a handful of costumes and Ultrahand utilities.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
BOTW and TOTK are like two chapters of the same book series. You can read one or the other, but you really need to read them both to get the full story. Both games are essential - they're almost like one giant game cut in half. My vote is that I love both equally.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
The castle in BotW and the guardians around it were more thrilling than everything else combined in TotK. BotW was a much purer, focused experience, with real traveling, while TotK felt more like a permanent fast-travel plus endless walking in the underground. There’s no doubt that BotW is the superior game!
Re: Nintendo Switch System Update 18.0.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
I'll tell you what's not stable after the update: my Joy-Con R. I just realized something happened to it's motion sensor and I cannot play games that use it auch as Trombone Champ. I don't know if it has to do with its drift or if it's a different problem altogether.
Re: Star Ocean: The Second Story R Scores Bonus Difficulty Modes And More In New Update
Oh wow. They have really made this game a dream come true. There's something for newcomers and plenty for those returning to it. Kudos to Square Enix for all the good love.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
TOTK is proof that bigger isnt always better. As much as I enjoyed the game, there certainly is a lot of unnecessary bloat in it. Like pretty much the entirety of the underground. Its just content for contents sake, the depths is a baren wasteland. There are no side quests or NPCs outside of generic Yiga to be found, the entire thing feels procedurally generated.
Also tasks that were once simple in BOTW are now needlessly tedious in TOTK. It was bad enough that your weapons broke before but now that you have to constantly fuse them together only exacerbates this problem. Building various vehicles to traverse the environment and solve puzzles is fun for the first 20 or so hours but by the end it just becomes tiresome.
People say that BOTW was a "demo" for TOTK like thats somehow a good thing. But BOTW was already arguably too big to begin with. If anything a sequel to BOTW should have had a smaller, and denser map. Not a larger and more baren one. For me BOTW is the better game because it feels more focused, TOTK just got too carried away with itself. Less is more in this instance
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
@andykara2003
I agree (at least I think I do). I just know the open world concept will be with Zelda for the foreseeable future. For better or for worse. That's why the series desperately needs huge, massively magical dungeons with orchestral melodies bouncing about to take one out of the samey open world. That's my wish anyway given the series trajectory.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Both of them are amazing, but TotK just can't capture the magic of exploring Hyrule in BotW for the first time.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
BotW because it had that brand new Zelda game feel to it. Totk felt more like an extension of BotW because a lot of the overworld was re-used. The depths were too repetitive and the sky islands were mostly forgetable, aside from The Great Sky Island itself. I loved the Zonai tech but a lot of TotK felt overcluttered with grindy sidequests that didn't yield much of a reward.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
I feel like a minority here, but I think BotW is a great game but its sequel isn't that great. Most of the content in TotK felt like padding to me. Nintendo's idea of making a bigger and better sequel was to add a few more things to it (caves, a couple new enemies) and then just shotgun spray those things all over the map and call it new content. I had gotten so sick of fighting the same bosses over and over again while filling out my map.
Ultrahand/Fuse are neat ideas, but they crack the game's balancing into pieces and make a once too easy game even easier. Adding to this is these excessively broken consumables like Muddle Buds or Puff Shrooms that destroy any semblence of challenge that the game once had, and you can find hundreds of those things in the Depths so you'll never run out.
I have a laundry list of other problems with the game but the reason why I liked BotW so much was because it felt novel and new, it felt like a superb attempt to reinvent the formula and with a little bit of fine tuning, a sequel would probably be an outright stunning game. But to me, TotK felt like a safe retread of BotW and it didn't do much to stand out. It just felt like BotW again, but bloated.
Still waiting for a proper sequel to BotW personally, so I'll see it in another 6 or so years I guess lol.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Tears of the Kingdom was such a letdown. So much potential wasted
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Tears if the Kingdom was insultingly easy compared to Breath of the Wild. Everyone was excited to see the return of Dungeons; however, they were so uninspired and easy it turned out 5he challenging puzzles and excellent level design of the Divine Beasts were much better. TotK had so much uninspired and easy filler. The Depths felt pointless, repetitive and boring.
Re: GameStop Hit By Layoffs As Analyst Predicts 'Unsustainable' Sales Decline
I'll hate it if they don't make it. But it's the way of the world now. It's nice having a dedicated gaming store, but it's obviously not feasible since they do not make much money off of new games. I do not want to ever have to rely on Walmart or Amazon for my gaming, I use them as sparingly as possible anyway for whatever I may need. I won't mind going digital I guess.
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
@Not_Soos I thought I had lmao (your edits kept pushing down the "Leave A Comment" box while I was trying to type mine!), but it looks like you got in a few more paragraphs. I have NOW read it all the way through.
I am up for your hopes for a future Zelda, though I love the artstyle of BotW/TotK, and do find it to be a sort of best of both worlds.
I'll see your WW sequel with another Wild game, and keep your underwater swimming: the same BotW overworld has now been flooded, and it can be explored via underwater swimming, and the highpoints are now WW-style islands.
Fishing and sailing intact.
Would you be willing to dive into BOTW's world one more time?
Re: Poll: So, Do You Prefer Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Or Tears Of The Kingdom?
Totk is the better game but Botw has that nostalgia that we like to cling to
Re: Site News: So, Where's Our MLB The Show 24 Review?
It's shocking that stuff like this is even allowed to be released, and sold for real money. We're heading back to third party atari levels of games that don't even function at all (AHEM, ESHOP AI SLOP, AHEM)