This was an exceptional read, thank you for putting a lot of thought into this.
Nintendo has historically taken very little interest in what their competitors do. Normally I'd say this has worked to their benefit, but not in this instance. They need to acknowledge the need for accessibility.
In my opinion Nintendo is the best developer when it comes to making games accessible from a difficult standpoint –I've seen both casual players and hard-core gamers enjoy the heck out of this game - so I think it's great that they consider their younger audience while not dumbing things down (take notes FromSoft!!). I sincerely hope they start considering disabled players - it would be amazing to one day see them make accessibility one of the tent poles of their company. But it might be a while and might require a lot of backlash and criticism in order for them to start taking those steps.
Mannn.....now I feel bad. Because I've struggled with TotK's shrines WAY more than BotW. :/ I've legit gotten stuck a few times, I wonder if it's a creativity thing - I can logic my way through something but I'm not as good with open-ended solutions. I'm glad everyone likes them way more but I'm in the minority that liked BotW's simple conundrums compared to TotK's (at least for me) take forever to build something and hope it works type of puzzles. No shade at all if you love that though.
I like how people are basically saying 9 is too low and 10 might just barely be too high 😅
Very fun game, I'm hooked and will play it a ton, but it doesn't have the same impact that BotW had on me. That game felt like NOTHING I had EVER played before, it was so fresh, so mysterious, so exciting, and was a Zelda game like no other. TotK is excellent, but I already know this world. I love that it's a direct sequel with its own merits and improvements, and they play with your expectations, but I miss not knowing where anything is. It'd be hard to re-capture that launch BotW magic, but I think they've still created a superb game.
People seem to keep forgetting that the until the final BotW trailer dropped, we had NO idea if this game even HAD a story. We only had glimpses of the world and mechanics, and one line from Zelda. I remember some people theorized that this was all a big remake of the first Zelda game, with little to no story, no towns or characters - only pure gameplay.
BotW's trailer was not only amazingly edited and composed, it was a huge RELIEF because we finally knew that yes, there will be gorons and zoras and characters and voices and a story behind the stellar open-world gameplay. This elevated it and made it endlessly rewatchable.
I will say TotK's final trailer definitely has that same magic, since we haven't really seen many characters, but as good as it is I don't think it quite reaches the heights of the BotW's trailer because we already had the assurance (just by playing BotW) that the game will be good and have a story we care about.
As one of my all-time favorite franchises, it absolutely kills me how it went strong for so long before being left to the wayside. To me, the story and production value was the greatest selling point, so I feel LMJ could have been great in its own way, but they really missed the mark on it. Here’s hoping the franchise comes back someday!
Last year I had a great retrospective discussion with Bob from “DearestHershel” about the state of the franchise on the Level With Us podcast, and I think he summed up how special the setting of the series was when he said that it captured real-world European locations in a fantastical, anachronistic way. I miss this series!!
I actually quite enjoyed this game! The dungeons are linear but very meaty. In my review (Level With Us) I talked about how badly it makes me want to have new 2D Zelda’s.
I think it’s really cool - it lends the series its own identity, compared to some of the other big JRPGs put out there, such as Square’s stuff. I think this should continue to be the tradition going forward for the series
Super fascinating stuff here. I actually ended up referencing this article as a trivia question on a discussion I did for the game Overboard! Here it is: https://youtu.be/JYdp_tUjJqI
I've been with the series for most of my life now, but surprisingly my happiest memories of it come from the most recent mainline entry - Breath of the Wild.
I will never forget the pure magic it was to explore an open world like that. Best of all, I played through most of it with my little siblings watching me. After my college classes were done for the day, I would rush to my parents' house so that I could spend a few precious hours in Hyrule with my little sister and brothers.
The game was fantastic - we loved tracking down the memories and exploring each area of the map - but we also had a lot of fun doing little roleplays with the game. For example, one time we dressed Link up in the terrifying 'Ravio Hat', gave him a squeaky hammer and had him terrorize the denizens of Hateno Village, doing backflips and dropping eggs on the ground like some kind of mad Easter rabbit (complete with a goofy voice I voiced while playing as him). Another time my sister suggested we give Link the Lynel hood, and have him ride shirtless down the slopes of the Hebra peaks, doing tricks and flips and pretending he was a stoic, silent, daredevil called "The Beast".
There were others - a nature safari guide, for example - but it was amazing to have a Zelda game with this much freedom to use our imaginations and come up with fun, engaging ways to play. I don't know if another game will ever top my memories of playing Breath of the Wild with my family.
I know I'm in the minority here but I'm grateful for age ratings. They help me make decisions, as sometimes something will look interesting but will contain content I find objectionable. It's not perfect (there's plenty of M-games that don't bother me while some T-games absolutely do) but on the whole I'm glad there's something in place to help sensitive people like me safeguard ourselves.
Comments 63
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Straight Up Fails In Just One Respect: Accessibility
This was an exceptional read, thank you for putting a lot of thought into this.
Nintendo has historically taken very little interest in what their competitors do. Normally I'd say this has worked to their benefit, but not in this instance. They need to acknowledge the need for accessibility.
In my opinion Nintendo is the best developer when it comes to making games accessible from a difficult standpoint –I've seen both casual players and hard-core gamers enjoy the heck out of this game - so I think it's great that they consider their younger audience while not dumbing things down (take notes FromSoft!!). I sincerely hope they start considering disabled players - it would be amazing to one day see them make accessibility one of the tent poles of their company. But it might be a while and might require a lot of backlash and criticism in order for them to start taking those steps.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: TOTK's Shrines Are Brilliant At Making An Idiot Feel Like A Genius
Mannn.....now I feel bad. Because I've struggled with TotK's shrines WAY more than BotW. :/ I've legit gotten stuck a few times, I wonder if it's a creativity thing - I can logic my way through something but I'm not as good with open-ended solutions. I'm glad everyone likes them way more but I'm in the minority that liked BotW's simple conundrums compared to TotK's (at least for me) take forever to build something and hope it works type of puzzles. No shade at all if you love that though.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
I like how people are basically saying 9 is too low and 10 might just barely be too high 😅
Very fun game, I'm hooked and will play it a ton, but it doesn't have the same impact that BotW had on me. That game felt like NOTHING I had EVER played before, it was so fresh, so mysterious, so exciting, and was a Zelda game like no other. TotK is excellent, but I already know this world. I love that it's a direct sequel with its own merits and improvements, and they play with your expectations, but I miss not knowing where anything is. It'd be hard to re-capture that launch BotW magic, but I think they've still created a superb game.
Re: Random: Think You Know BOTW's Hyrule? Test Your Zelda Knowledge With This Map Quiz
24,243. So much fun! I love challenges like this.
Re: Poll: Breath Of The Wild Vs. Tears Of The Kingdom - Which Final Zelda Trailer Was Better?
People seem to keep forgetting that the until the final BotW trailer dropped, we had NO idea if this game even HAD a story. We only had glimpses of the world and mechanics, and one line from Zelda. I remember some people theorized that this was all a big remake of the first Zelda game, with little to no story, no towns or characters - only pure gameplay.
BotW's trailer was not only amazingly edited and composed, it was a huge RELIEF because we finally knew that yes, there will be gorons and zoras and characters and voices and a story behind the stellar open-world gameplay. This elevated it and made it endlessly rewatchable.
I will say TotK's final trailer definitely has that same magic, since we haven't really seen many characters, but as good as it is I don't think it quite reaches the heights of the BotW's trailer because we already had the assurance (just by playing BotW) that the game will be good and have a story we care about.
Re: Sonic Frontiers' Free Sonic Adventure 2 DLC Offer Ends Next Week
Amazon sent me an EU version, so even though I got the code for the shoes, the code was US so it won't let me redeem it 😭
Re: Talking Point: Professor Layton And The Lost Franchise: Where Did The Beloved Puzzle Series Go?
As one of my all-time favorite franchises, it absolutely kills me how it went strong for so long before being left to the wayside. To me, the story and production value was the greatest selling point, so I feel LMJ could have been great in its own way, but they really missed the mark on it. Here’s hoping the franchise comes back someday!
Last year I had a great retrospective discussion with Bob from “DearestHershel” about the state of the franchise on the Level With Us podcast, and I think he summed up how special the setting of the series was when he said that it captured real-world European locations in a fantastical, anachronistic way. I miss this series!!
Re: Review: Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince - A Cute Zelda-Like Adventure That Lacks Fresh Ideas
I actually quite enjoyed this game! The dungeons are linear but very meaty. In my review (Level With Us) I talked about how badly it makes me want to have new 2D Zelda’s.
Re: Poll: Do You Have An Issue With Xenoblade Chronicles' Accents?
I think it’s really cool - it lends the series its own identity, compared to some of the other big JRPGs put out there, such as Square’s stuff. I think this should continue to be the tradition going forward for the series
Re: New PEGI Gambling Criteria Means Remakes Of Old Pokémon Games Could Be Rated 18+
Super fascinating stuff here. I actually ended up referencing this article as a trivia question on a discussion I did for the game Overboard! Here it is:
https://youtu.be/JYdp_tUjJqI
Re: Review: Overboard! - Get Away With Murder In This Thrilling 'Youdunnit'
I definitely had fun trying it out and just posted a discussion about the game! Check it out:
https://youtu.be/JYdp_tUjJqI
Re: Feature: Our Most Treasured Zelda Memories
I've been with the series for most of my life now, but surprisingly my happiest memories of it come from the most recent mainline entry - Breath of the Wild.
I will never forget the pure magic it was to explore an open world like that. Best of all, I played through most of it with my little siblings watching me. After my college classes were done for the day, I would rush to my parents' house so that I could spend a few precious hours in Hyrule with my little sister and brothers.
The game was fantastic - we loved tracking down the memories and exploring each area of the map - but we also had a lot of fun doing little roleplays with the game. For example, one time we dressed Link up in the terrifying 'Ravio Hat', gave him a squeaky hammer and had him terrorize the denizens of Hateno Village, doing backflips and dropping eggs on the ground like some kind of mad Easter rabbit (complete with a goofy voice I voiced while playing as him). Another time my sister suggested we give Link the Lynel hood, and have him ride shirtless down the slopes of the Hebra peaks, doing tricks and flips and pretending he was a stoic, silent, daredevil called "The Beast".
There were others - a nature safari guide, for example - but it was amazing to have a Zelda game with this much freedom to use our imaginations and come up with fun, engaging ways to play. I don't know if another game will ever top my memories of playing Breath of the Wild with my family.
Re: Feature: Why Do Games Get Removed From Switch eShop? It's Surprisingly Easy
I know I'm in the minority here but I'm grateful for age ratings. They help me make decisions, as sometimes something will look interesting but will contain content I find objectionable. It's not perfect (there's plenty of M-games that don't bother me while some T-games absolutely do) but on the whole I'm glad there's something in place to help sensitive people like me safeguard ourselves.