Eiji Aonuma Has Completed Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom "About 20 Times"

POV: This old man is cooler than you

Gotta admit, it’s Zelda so I’ll play it for hundreds, but it hasn’t grabbed me quite yet. Hope it does, slow-burn like. A question of comparative excellence, I guess, that a Zelda game is a great game almost by default (not discounting the effort and care that go into them by any stretch), but it doesn’t have its hooks in. Maybe I’m not being imaginative enough.

I got to the Wind Temple and then left to get cold resistant clothes and then never went back

I've been teetering between other games, but even without that I am taking my time, just going to shrines and getting distracted for hours on the way, not even touched story stuff yet. I'm savoring it, it's not going anywhere, gonna be a long ol' while till the next game, enjoy it and play however the heck you want, it's not a competition.

I’ve put in about 20 hours, haven’t really touched any main quests. Done 34 Shrines and 5 Towers, 2 light thingies.
I am happy just exploring at the moment

So today I've basically done absolutely nothing of note in the game despite playing it for a few hours. I spent maybe 20 minutes sourcing porridge 😅 the rest of the time just more little side stuff in one village, cave treasure hunting and some exploration. I did unlock one really cool cutscene, number 6, I believe, so that scratched a little story/lore itch 😁

I definitely want to get back onto some of the main path when I next pick it up. Probably by continuing my started exploration to the north east, which will no doubt lead to more side adventures anyway. It's cool how you can pick up bits of lore and story just by reading things and exploring too, so that's nice.

@OctoAmbush LOL same! I went to go get cold resistant clothes, saw how expensive they were, and then “went to go get more rupees.” This turned into me forgetting to back and just exploring the map, completing the Water Temple in the process. Oops!

I keep being sidetracked by everything really, I’d say the only place I have avoided is the depths, I found it frustrating, I’m sure if I spend more time there that it would get better? Here’s hoping..

That is some dedication right there and it shows.

I would guess about 26 miles.

No clue how far I’ve got to go.

How many times did he 100% it while completing it?

Is that from beginning to ending or just beating the final boss 20+ times?

I can't even get past the 3rd section of the first dungeon. How the heck do I assemble those hooks, chain, and board?

Tears of the Kingdom came at a perfect time for me. Last Sunday I was attacked by a guard dog and have been bedridden for the past week. I have been playing totk the whole time. Just rolled credits yesterday. So yeah I'm one of the few people that's beaten it lol

Managed to die goofing around in the first shrine lolll I don’t mind it’s part of the fun

140 hours I finish 2 temple.

I have one temple done and about 60 shrines. This game is going to take me until at least the middle of June, probably beginning of July, to complete.

I don’t have this level of patience.
I never finish the same game twice. The second time around I feel like I’m wasting precious time of my life doing the exact same thing. I am unable. I can’t even watch the same movie twice…I feel bored.

Imagine playing the same single-player game 20 times. Does this man have a wife??

I just got the first heart container

I’m nearly 30hrs in and I’ve only just done the Rito tower. This is gonna take me months and months. And I’m more than happy about that. Not sure how others feel, but I like this a good bit better than BOTW. Is that controversial? It’s also shaping up to be my favourite game of all time! Yes, that good.

Sometimes when you play a game, and they might do something so crazy you wonder if the devs play there own game, (which I’m sure they do 100%) so hearing he has played it 20 times, means he knows the game, and it’s really reassuring to know.

I'm just wondering around looking for shrines and towers and another thing that catches my eye 😂

I will do a couple of main quests tomorrow then go back to exploring 👍🏻

It's amazing how Nintendo can push the old switch hardware. The draw distance in this latest installment is loads better than BOTW.

@Rykdrew "Aonuma mentioned how there were times when he had to rush ahead and clear the main story from "start to finish" when testing the game."

He is a game developer, he kind of has to play the game multiple times to ensure it works. That's his job!

@Nancyboy no you're right.

@BenAV Is there a way to know how long you've played besides relying on the Switch which says I've been "playing for 4 days"? 😝 I don't understand how in 2023 games with save files don't have the time played on them. Maybe the photo life compendium will have it, my kid just unlocked that, he says he's playing "Pokemon Snap!" now.😂

I just finished the 3rd shrine, w/ fuse, took the long way round, and I'd say most of my time has been spent scanning my 8 Zelda amiibo each day then cooking 1 apple, 1 skyshroom and 1 piece of meat at a time. Not much point cooking more than 1 w/ only 3 hearts.

If I recall correctly the number 1 thing people wanted improved in BotW was the ability to cook multiple of an item at once. Guess Azuma was too busy playing to make it happen. (Or maybe that was ACNH crafting 😂.)

I only just got to Hoz, and am still disappointed with how terrible this game is compared to previous titles. Each time I cut the game on I'm barely able to traverse in any direction before being confronted with why the game sucks, and it's Ultrahand/fuse that's so disappointing. Only 2 main Zelda titles I've ever disliked, this and MM, and I keep hoping TotK will redeem itself but I highly doubt it.

I've done thd Rito Village Quest, saved Lurelin Village, done about 13 Shrines and upgraded the Hylian armour once. But I really feel like im still just scratching the surface of the game.

I still need to find where Hetsu is to trade in the Korok Seeds. So I can see myself many, many hours off completing it.

40 hours in, 2 "temples", all towers, all glyphs, 50 shrines, 1 master sword. But I only got a glimpse of the underworld and I havent even visited 3 of the villages.

It’s taken me hours to get to rito village and into the sky. Loving it the snow effects are amazing!

When you got the hints and tips and powerup why wouldn't you finish it 20x over.

@RobynAlecksys Reckless minority that won't phase the Majority that says quite the opposite. I always tells those sell-off your Nintendo Switch and Games and go game-less. All those rants are just that rants into air.

@OctoAmbush I’ve literally just done the same

I've got fire & air temples, enough shrines(50ish) for a full wheel of stam and 5 hearts, found all towers still need to "repair" 3, & about 10 lights activated underground done. went to the castle...couldn't find the throne room!

It's nice that that's this guy's JOB! Living the dream, sir.

@SwitchForce That's not how it works when you measure individual experience.

@OctoAmbush Pretty easy to make cold resistant food from peppers. Cheaper than clothes.

Really miss Iwata asks, would be such an interesting interview about the making of this game...

Considering how many times I have run through skyrim this isn’t surprising. Large games with lots to explore keep you coming back.

I know it is work, but the devs seemed to have had a lot of fun making this one.

@RobynAlecksys go play something else maybe???

I wish I had his work-life balance.

I can see myself playing it for 100 hours. The only negative I have to say about this game is that it invalidates BotW which I might never touch again. I miss cryo though

Sure ya did, sure ya did, because it's totally not a marketing tactic, nope not at all.

Who finishes an open world game?

Taking my time with this beauty.
Cleared the first temple, and just entered the wind temple, after i entered i left for cold resistant clothing, and never got back lol. Been doing side quests and helping those poor koroks.

I would have said halfway, but I am really not sure.

I mean, I have made some important main quest progress, but I have also been ignoring a ton of stuff in favor of finding Towers and Shrines (especially Korok-related things). I have been doing some side content along the way, though.

There is just so much to see and do, that I have no idea where I am in terms of actual progression.

It's probably going to be a while before I see those credits roll.

@RobynAlecksys cheap trolling:)))))

First 4 temples down after .... Maybe 30 or 40 hours? Have been pretty main story focused, unlocked all the map and zelda memories. Think I might start just exploring and doing some chill stuff before it ramps up, but no idea how much content is still left in the story so I put "half way"

@SteamEngenius why would it be hard to believe? The dude has eaten and lived Zelda for 20+ years. He must enjoy it to some degree.

@BiscuitCrumbsInMyBed they got less annoying once I realized I could use Ascend on the giant mushroom tree things and mostly avoid the enemies.

Enjoying the game so far but it definitely has the same tendency as BotW to be like "what if you had to fight the same handful of enemy types... a million times in a row?" which gets tedious IMHO.

I have put like 100 hours in the game and have only beat water and sky temple, think I'd be in like 20% of completion which is fine by me

Lucky one , i was bored 4 hours in

Anyone else started numerous quests but keep getting side tracked? Am loving it so far and probably should try clear some of my quests........or find more as I venture about lol

Really cause I’m 30hour in I’m starting to realise I’ve had enough…time to move on too many game out there to play!

Wow, so he's doing his job.

I mean, I've already found all the Geoglyphs (it was actually the first thing I did after visiting Lookout Landing), cleared three of the Temples, and even retrieved the Master Sword.

That last one was quite difficult, since it was really, really, REALLY high up, but using a Zonai Glider with fans and batteries attached, I managed to do it.

Yeah, I could have talked to the Great Deku Tree to make it a bit easier (according to what online game guides are saying), but where's the fun in that? Part of the reward is the satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult task.

Still, I have a LONG way to go. There's multiple main quests I still have to beat, a plethora of side quests to complete, and numerous Shrines I have yet to clear. And that's not even counting finding all the Korok Seeds to max out my inventory.

I’m in no rush. It took me more than a year to finish botw.

I’d put it down, and go back to it.

@DanElectrode For me it’s the repetitive nature of throwing and shooting of brightbloom seeds, I don’t mind it for a short segment but I don’t think I want to do it everywhere down there to light my way forward, it’s unappealing to me, it’s been my only criticism of the game for me personally

Now that i played the second one i can assure both games (suck) but it's just me Nothing interesting.

For comments like :why you played it if you didn't like it?: Answer is simple i just wanted to look what the fuss is all about sadly fuuuu.

Sad to say this but some indie games are better

Wow holy molly everyone should buy two copies, each! your mom and dad and your siblings, for an average of 6 copies of ToTK in each household, TODAY! Best game ever!!!!!

The man certainly is dedicated to his craft!

@JoeyTS Actually he’s not a developer anymore, he’s a game producer. So it’s his job to make sure the game “feels” correct. Therefore I’m not surprised he’s played it so many times! Ultimately he needs to have a vision of what the game should be and convey that to the director for the day-to-day management of development.

I try to make it a habit in all video games to save and quit at a really great moment so that I'm excited to go back and play next time. I quite literally almost never have to find a spot to do that in this game. I'm almost always in the middle of doing something cool by the time I get too tired and need to shut down for the night.

I’ve done like half the Zora quest. That’s as far as I’ve gotten in the story.

The rest of my time has been exploring, clearing shrines, doing sky view towers, and building stupid contraptions.

Like my ghetto fan blade helicopters. Never have enough batteries to get very far with them though lol.

@BiscuitCrumbsInMyBed

You can cook a dish using certain fish and a particular kind of flower that makes you glow in the dark. Plus there’s an outfit (it’s expensive about 2000 rupees total) that has the same effect.

That’s how I’ve been exploring the depths. Mainly the dish. Can never keep enough money to buy that outfit.

@Patendo

You’re not the only one. Every time I set my mind to a quest I see something in the distance and my brain basically goes “Squirrel!” And I have to go check it out.

Reminds of my first experience with Skyrim actually.

@RobynAlecksys

Wow you hate two of the best Zelda games ever made.

That’s shocking.

@The_Pixel_King

It’s got way more to do than BOTW that’s for sure.

I’m loving it so far. It’s my GOTY 2023 so far at this point.

That said FRXVI drops next month so it’s still open for me at the moment. But I suspect I’ll still enjoy TOTK more.

It makes me feel like a kid again. I felt the same with BOTW too.

I can understand people not liking this game. It’s how I feel about MM. To me it’s my least favorite Zelda because it goes against what I love most about Zelda. The freedom to explore at your own pace. I just can’t stand having a ticking clock over my head the whole game. Everybody has their likes and dislikes.

@BenAV Thanks. Having fun so far, but I just finished Horizon Forbidden West and the dlc and all of my save points for that game have the time played on them, as most other games do, so it's something I miss. BotW on Wii U must have had the time played b/c both of my kids and I seem to know exactly how many hours we each played it, my kids were like at 60 and 80 and I'm at 150. I can easily see Totk doubling that w/ ultrahand, fusion and the amiibo. I spent over 500 in Elden Ring, I'm very slow in open world games. 😂