BOTW is better than TOTK

[@Neko123Uchiha]

This video was superb! I expected some sort of meme video, but oh no, your arguments were super valid. I "only" have around 50h in TOTK, but after two weeks I just feel tired of this game. It's too big in my opinion, just like you stated. Open world in general is getting pretty stale lately for me. TOTK feels like a chore, and the new mechanics are honestly a bit overwhelming. You have to juggle so many things at the same time, it's crazy! I want to go back to BOTW, which I only played once after launch. The more minimalistic approach seems far more relaxing. Sure, TOTK has some great things, but overall, BOTW might just be the better game for gamers like you and me :)

[@cscooperau]

Glad you liked it! Please share it around.

[@swagmiredoesall]

Then go play BotW. The other 20,000,000+ of us who knows what's really a better open world Zelda will continue playing TotK. They aren't going to exclusively make open world Zelda games from this point on, and you don't have to play the open world games they or anyone else makes. Those of us who actually want an open world Zelda game all think this is the framework they should look at and improve upon for future open world Zelda games.

[@Neko123Uchiha]

@@swagmiredoesall I never said anything about hating open world games lol In fact, I love BOTW and really like TOTK. I just said it can be a bit too much. Open world fatigue is real, and just putting in more (and mostly incoherent) content won't solve the problem. Both Zelda's are actually great examples of a good open world, with lots freedom and choice and no annoying map markers that guide you. But that choice can be overwhelming for some players. I get real fomo while playing TOTK, because I could miss a really cool quest line or a cave full of treasure. And I never had that with BOTW, because the game was more manageable in terms of content. That's pretty much the only thing we're trying to say. Less is more :)

[@swagmiredoesall]

@@Neko123Uchiha I can kind of understand that, but TotK is much better at inspiring you to actually seek out that content and guiding you to it. I barely could get through any of the shrines without getting bored in BotW, and after playing for an hour I felt like I had seen everything (granted I didn't the glitches made the game much more fun, but those weren't intended). The DLC really saved the game imo. I don't think I could go back to BotW especially not without the DLC unless I'm going to be messing with glitches. In TotK I feel much more inspired to explore as much of the world as possible, and it feels like everything in the world (excluding enemies) just helps me do that in some way. I also felt like whenever I did go out of my way in BotW the rewards were very underwhelming. In TotK I always feel like I'm going to get something I can actually use for something even if it's small. The side quests and story also clearly have much more thought and care put into them in TotK. There was only a few memorable side quests in BotW, and a few of them were memorable for very bad reasons. I wouldn't have even been able to get into the story of BotW if it weren't for KZbin because I hated doing the memories. Granted the story of BotW is alright, but I think the story to TotK is better, and it's framed in a better way as well. I actually feel hesitant to watch KZbin content unlike when I was playing BotW because I want to keep getting surprised by what I find in the game. Even though I haven't kept up on that I still keep finding new things I haven't seen or heard about while playing. The Music Troupe sidequest alone gives me flashbacks to some og Zelda sidequests like in Majora's Mask and other games in all of the best ways. I just feel like TotKs Hyrule, and it's citizens feels more like the other Zelda games. I personally felt BotW was lacking after playing for a while, and TotK came and fixed 90% of my issues with it. I don't hate BotW, but to say it's better than TotK would not only be wrong in most people's eyes, but it also undermines all of the effort the Zelda team has spent over that last few years to make this game possible. I personally feel TotK is the BEST OPEN WORLD EVER. While Eldin Ring is great it still has a lot of linear elements that I feel hold the open world aspect back, but it does pay off with a more in depth combat, weapon, and armor system. Another issue with Eldin Ring is old weapons, and gear can very quickly become useless regardless of the fact you can upgrade them.

[@HowManySmall]

@@swagmiredoesall i was able to surpass my final botw completion percentage on my first playthrough of totk totk makes botw look like a tech demo, which is an insane achievement

[@MalzraAirwynn]

I'm glad to see someone else who feels similar about TOTK. It's a great game and I really enjoy it, but it's somehow exhausting in a way that BOTW is not for me. Also, specifically when it comes to solving shrine/dungeon puzzles, I prefer the runes as my primary tools over the TOTK arm abilities. The TOTK stuff is great for the overworld, but in shrine/dungeon puzzles recall and ascend feel pretty limited without resorting to cheesing in what you can do to solve puzzles with them. And while ultrahand is interesting I get tired of the vehicle building. And Fuse, outside of stuff like rocket shields to gain height etc, is mostly a combat thing.

[@rvnglntk1010]

You can put mushrooms wings springs time bombs and a whole bunch other things to the shields and I don’t get the being exhausted/overwhelmed argument you have as much time as you need it’s not like it’s going anywhere you can come back to anything later and focus on what you were doing

[@Splonton]

Completely disagree with the opinions fundimentally, but the video was very well put together! Props on the editing and script!! (Edit: I do not agree with this anymore lol)

[@Theanimefanidk]

The honesty Here made me bust out laughing.

[@Splonton]

@@Theanimefanidk lol yeah, I'm pretty sure I don't even think that anymore

[@Theanimefanidk]

@@Splonton ehhh I am spilt totk gives me headaches tho so I guess I like Botw

[@Splonton]

@@Theanimefanidk I think I like the atmosphere and storytelling of BotW more, while the gameplay feels more focused. TotK has more yes, but it also feels like there's so much wasted potential in so many places that BotW doesn't feel like nearly as much

[@Theanimefanidk]

@@Splonton I get your point and that makes total sense but in my opinion just running around hyrule and solving shrines was fun although you can do that into Totk it feels more cramped the improvements in TOTK are great. It feels like to much and I feels a bit grinding for some reason I don’t know.

[@memeboi6017]

If I were to summarize the difference between the two games, it’s that breath of the wild is thematically, aesthetically, and mechanically pure, and ToTK simply has loaded so much onto Botw that it cannot aspire to that beautiful purity.

[@winterbelle03]

i think this is the first totk critique video that actually has valid arguments and comparisons. i think it really comes down to what a player values in a game. for me, i enjoy trial and error as well as the overall gameplay more than the story. because of this, i have more fun playing totk due to the gameplay mechanics and creative freedom. but if a compelling story is more important to a player, then theyll like botw more. i love both games for different reasons and both aren't perfect games by any means. i think my biggest issue with totk is the sages, honestly. its just clunky to activate their abilities and i dont find their abilities as useful as the champion's. in botw, i used ALL of the champion abilities often. miphas grace saved me in a pinch, revalis gale was amazing for getting up mountains, daruks protection had a shield that took huge hits, and urbosas fury did a great number on my enemies. in totk, i pretty much only use tulins gust and occasionally the others for specific circumstances. they dont have as much utility as the champions.

[@Didmikedothis2023]

Go look at the one I posted a week ago, more agreeable points

[@lewanbroski504]

​@@Didmikedothis2023I mean no offense but you yourself saying this is kinda biased and would actively push people away from watching your video

[@theapexman7405]

I genuinely Think this proves a pint I’ve held for a while: It’s more about the execution than the idea”

[@Ceronia]

Sum up my exp with both game since i played them back to back Early game BoTW: Touch grass with a slice of adventure TotK : Cave man unga bunga stick together stonk. Mid game BoTW: getting a bit stale with all the quest and stuff TotK: You have now reach Middle age Civ. Late game BoTW: Touch grass again, but with bike. TotK: Modern warfare and minecraft .

[@swagmiredoesall]

Late game TotK: Build the fucking deathstar if you want to. What's stopping you? This person clearly just didn't explore the world and mechanics thoroughly or is just doesn't like open world games in general. This game does everything BotW did better, and improved upon almost every aspect of the game.

[@calebkaminski6951]

​@@swagmiredoesall sadly the capabilities of the switch and physics engine ( that and the limit of things you can attach to things ( so you don't break down the game)) ( well only if you're making a really big one you could probably make a tiny kinda working it would be really cool)

[@Quin360]

😅😅

[@benjaminchaulk6269]

​@@swagmiredoesall keep glue gunning your nerd Legos 😂

[@Alstanus]

BotW was the superior game to me. TotK was good but exhausting, often boring as it is the same world and the subterranean portion was exactly the same from border to border. Sky map was cool. Building vehicles was boring and killed the flow of the game. The shrines seemed a lot easier in TotK, and you could just "cheat" the solution in many of them.

[@rockowlgamer631]

5:20 The English voice acting isn't THAT terrible. The way you made the story out sounds better than what Nintendo did to portray TotK. It felt so cliche and boring when it came to the story. What really irked me was that they kept referring to the fact that Zelda would be stuck as a dragon if she ate the stone, but then the game chickens out by reverting her with ghost magic. While this Zelda in particular deserves a happy ending after the crap she's gone through, I just wish they had done it differently. Gameplay wise TotK might be better than BotW but BotW has better character development. I'll gladly take Majora's Mask over the overhyped Ocarina of Time anyday.

[@cscooperau]

I kinda hoped they wouldn't turn zelda back too. It could've set up for another game, where link seeks out a way to turn her back. It could have gone back to a more traditional zelda.

[@rockowlgamer631]

@@cscooperau The biggest problem would've been how would that work?

[@amandaslough125]

​@@rockowlgamer631Getting the Master Sword, but finding out Zelda's stuck in dragon form absolutely would've been a mid game plot twist to start a 2nd arc in any traditional game. All they had to do was actually make use of Impa saying she would research a way to restore Zelda. Something related to the skies or depths would've helped a well.

[@Monki_Lives_Again]

The first time I played totk I thought it was definitely a better game all in all but replaying totk a second time it couldn’t help but feel nostalgia and miss botw I feel like I remembered the map and play style more of botw than totk and liked the simplicity. Totk isn’t much of a sequel but more of an overhaul than can get overwhelming with all the stuff you can do

[@Giggles_iJest]

*To further BotW's sheer superiority, I will say this:* TotK's story is bad, Fs with pre-established key lore aspects, absolutely shatters all the Master Sword's reputation, unga bunga buff Dorf with little to no ambition other than "me strongest there is" uninteresting, nearly everyone forgot who you were despite this game taking place a mere 4-6 years after Wild, Rauru existing is an insult, no Fi, no breaking of the Demise curse despite it being falsely hinted being the case what with all the Skyward Sword PR this game got (I distinctly remember Skyward Sword being advertised as heavily linked to TotK somehow which, again, is misleading as on Nintendo's part), no dog petting, no hookshot spiderman swinging with the physics being suuuuch a driving factor in these newer Zelda games, no underwater exploration instead a damp dark smelly overgrown cave can't see jack, COLLOSAL missed opportunity to hitch the princess with her handsome knight in shining armor, no stakes since Zelda's sacrifice was reversed giving the story little to no agency or consequence, Link as a protagonist felt nonexistent feels like everyone else was the star of the show not the guy who's saving all their 🫏s, no Link backstory before any of this went down aka no Arryl 2 or Granny 2 aka NOT WIND WAKER, didn't make me cry like Twilight Princess, dungeons are STILL NOT dungeons (pulling a couple levers to open a door and then be treated with literally the same copy-paste cutscene at the very end with each champion? Yeah naw), sky islands hardly anything worth noting although they are pretty asf to look at, I was expecting a totally NEW revamped endgame super Saiyan master sword golden tier 4 legendary new hilt new everything but naw same design with a booboo scar and hilariously less powerful... hoverbike autobuild pales in comparison to THE Master Cycle As a game, sure, it's leagues above BotW but BotW will never be topped as a one-in-a-lifetime *experience* TotK was an overblown $70 DLC and I'm tired of pretending it's not. Mid.

[@DubsBrown]

The main problem with BotW is like Twilight Princess how they pivoted away from the previous console towards the new one with odd results. You 100% were supposed to control the divine beats with the gamepad, and having the map/climate info off the screen would allow you to be more immersed in the landscape. Maybe even eat meals and use items on the go. Instead, you have to pause the game constantly during the main dungeons.

[@cscooperau]

You can disable the HUD, including the weather display.

[@DubsBrown]

@@cscooperau but you can’t see it on your gamepad

[@cscooperau]

In the Wii-U version, you could.

[@LeonardoRodrigues-uj1sm]

You can't , stop spreading misinformation

[@theguitarman5311]

I disagree. Breath of the wild is a great game I will definitely agree with that but I feel like Tears of the Kingdom just really expanded upon Breath of the wild and a lot of ways and just ultimately became better overall for me as I continued to play it and uncover the mysteries of Tears of the Kingdom. With all the different new areas added on and the old areas have changed quite a bit as well. The situation is completely even more dire than it was in the predecessor game of Breath of the Wild. Both games are actually really big and arguably could be too big maybe for some people, but honestly I have no regrets to playing either Zelda game. I mean I was crying tears of joy at the very end of the game when Zelda was saying I'm home. I love exploring the dark mysterious underworld of the depths and the darker tones of the story. I wasn't exhausted all playing this game and exploring it, I was headlong into it. And who says Zelda can't be dark at times it's done it before very effectively with Majora's Mask and there's a lot more to it because it has changed and then the sky world in the underworld are just great to me as well as the original overworld with its changes. There's always other ways to do stuff too, you don't always need balm flowers a rock hammers to remove obstacles and get the precious gemstones from the mine ores, the stage of fire and spirit can help too with those and so can your devices like the cannon. And the auto build being able to build whatever you want to help you in any scenario you want is crate I can definitely overway the power of the sages if you have trouble to use their abilities in combat. I mean I've seen people build moving water sprinklers to help conquer a particular certain boss fight along with moving other contraptions with fire lightning lasers ice you name it or all of it combined. It really just comes down to what you can put your mind to. And if you ever are running low on the devices are not too hard to get more of either in my opinion and you can always get plenty of zonaite in the depths as well quite easily if you know where to look. Calamity Ganon was just too easy to me to at the end of Breath of the Wild. I had a much more fun time fighting Ganondorf in Tears the Kingdom for his fight. To me Tears of the Kingdom just surpassed it's predecessor in every way. I feel you should experience both to see everything you can because without it predecessor you won't fully understand when Tears of the Kingdom mentioned events from Breath of the Wild there are crucially important yes but to me I just felt like Breath of Wild was lacking in some ways where Tears of the Kingdom just wasn't lacking. The only thing that I felt lacking in Tears of the Kingdom was probably the main dungeons weren't all I was expecting them to be but they were still great and much better than the Divine Beast dungeons were in Breath of the Wild Also yes while the Japanese voice acting might be better to othi, I still like the English because I can actually understand what they're saying without having to look at subtitles. I really don't find Zelda's voice to be that bad in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

[@swagmiredoesall]

Sub purist piss me off and there everywhere across all forms of international media. They think if you aren't watching or playing sub you're doing it wrong. Imagine being able to listen to a cutscenes or a show and at the same time be able to get food or do anything else. If you can do that without speaking the native language of whoever made that piece of media you're a terrible person according to those people. However, the rest of the world looks down upon those people for the idiots they are.

[@AllyJ1141]

I JUST realized something.... A HUGE plothole that was never pointed out... If Zelda was a Dragon for centuries flying around Hyrule, periodically dropping HUGE puddles of tears everywhere... How does NO ONE know of her?? No legends of the white dragon? No lore for Zelda to read about? No myths? No mention AT ALL throughout the generations? Does she eat?? Does she have a set path? Nothing?? Hell, this didnt even have to go back to other games. Mentioning her or just SEEING a white dragon randomly flying around in BOTW would have been enough. Please, Nintendo. Do better 😂😂😂

[@cscooperau]

TBH, I don't think TotK is even a sequel. I think it's a separate game, like how Link Between Worlds is a "sequel" to Link to the Past.

[@AllyJ1141]

@cscooperau Yeah, but the issue is that is how the it was marketed, hell, the CREATOR himself said it was a direct sequal, HELL, even before that, the very very first sneak peek said it was a sequel... ALBW can get away with sliding that line because that connection was more made by us, the consumers.

[@jjtheenton]

I genuinely don't think it's fair to say either game is "better" than the other. Both BotW and TotK provide distinct experiences with a specific vision and have fundamentals that they excel at more than the other. BotW is a peaceful, but melancholy experience in a post-apocalyptic setting. TotK is a bombastic and chaotic experience in the same aforementioned world that has begun healing, but is now threatened to be annihilated again. BotW deliberately has more empty space to sell to the player that Hyrule was nearly wiped out 100 years ago. TotK fills that space with what feels like twice the amount of content to sell to the player that not only has restoration taken place during the time skip, but also just how powerful Ganondorf is to be able to dramatically affect the landscape by lifting Hyrule Castle into the air. These tie into the games' central themes of tragedy vs unity. Where BotW is a tragic tale about a kingdom falling into ruin with the defeat of the heroes sworn to protect it, TotK is a heroic tale about that same kingdom uniting together to stop a new threat from repeating that tragedy. Both games weave their core gameplay experiences into their narratives like no other games I've seen before, resulting in two of the most complete packages ever crafted that become even better when played together.

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

I think it is fair to say one is better than the other

[@Kav_Games]

This video was a rollercoaster, I cringed, agreed denied, accepted and refused many opinions. But from what I gathered from watching this is that, no my opinion isn't right or wrong, I'm just different and so are you. You prefer an engaging story and a relaxing yet fulfilling gameplay experience, while I enjoy those same things I also love chaos experimentation and creativity, not separate but all at once, something that's quite overwhelming to some. I'm glad I took the time to watch this and see a dramatic almost opposing option to mine but still within the same vein of argument and reasoning that I might have. Though my opinion on BOTW and TOTK has not changed, my morals have and I can understand with better reasoning why someone wouldn't like TOTK over BOTW, or even more than that. Crowded in internet culture often makes you think having a vastly different opinion is negative, however that's just not the case.

[@cscooperau]

I'd love to know what you think about my other videos

[@Zelink108]

You clearly overlooked TotK’s retconny story and lore and how it doesn’t even do a good job at connecting with the game that it is supposed to be a direct sequel to.

[@amandaslough125]

​@@Zelink108It doesn't even need to be connected to it's prequel. Unless you look at it from a surface level with the shiny cinematic cutscenes telling you how to feel, the story completely falls apart.

[@Bradley202]

I put a lot of Hours in to Breath of the Wild. It will always be a great game to me. But, I do like Tears of the Kingdom just slightly more.

[@Zelink108]

2:00 Please don’t tell me you take PragerU seriously.

[@joseantoniofierrorobles6088]

THIS VIDEO WAS AMAZING!!!! Super spot on mirroring what i feel. BOTW is simply a better game overall.

[@ubergoober25]

Tears Of The Kingdom is objectively better. If TOTK was released back in 2017, and BOTW was released in 2023; the latter would’ve felt like a complete downgrade in almost everything.

[@spartanq7781]

Even to me a Breath of The Wild hater find Tears of The Kingdom is much worse. It doubles down on the samey environments,"puzzles",weapon durability and a lot if other things I didn't like and makes it worse. Redoing it all on the same map is excruciatingly tedious. The new additions aren't terribly interesting to me. The depths is just a dark version of the boring overworld but even more boring. The sky islands are tedious too. The story structure was garbage in Botw and Totk just repeats the same almost unanimous problem. It really bothers me seeing Totk being heralded as some masterpiece when it is just a carbon copy of it's predecessor. Even to Botw lovers I can't fathom how it can be 10/10. Sequels are to iterate and improve. Totk stagnates and coast or worsen things. Majora's Mask had far more differences between it and Ocerina of Time while also reusing assests and it did it in a fraction of time. Tears of The Kingdom is the laziest Zelda game.

[@rishaansayedusuf5812]

Probably the best reviews and comparison of the two games. I really enjoyed botw but did find totk exhausting. We get to know Link and Zelda in botw. Totk borrows from this.

[@OnlyTwoShoes]

The controls and UI are terrible in TotK. For a cart builder core, they should have made the building feel more intuitive. The menus have terrible sorting. Why isn't food in the food menu until it's cooked? I have a billion items in a single section, can we get some better sorting? Can it persist? Also, Link feels like a fat guy compared to BotW. Just slower with attacks, jumps and dodges.

[@Zelink108]

7:14 I think you meant to say LOVE. 8:20 No, she awakened her sealing powers because of her love for Link. It’s the power of love. Mipha implied that earlier when she told Zelda to try thinking about Link when unlocking her powers. It’s pretty clear.

[@ronaldthered6650]

I was so happy to watch a coherent analysis of BOTW and TOTK as whole games, rather than a random list of complaints about this and that. Thank you!

[@cscooperau]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rGGdom]

yeah, that's what I been saying since I had a few hours playing Totk. That world, that thematic and that - almost everything - was clearly made for BotW, not for a sequel, and it shows. Everything fells repetitive and longer, but longer due to excesive padding, not like good natural longer. Also there's almost no sense of discovery. BotW is just better in every way... they tried to hide that by adding the building mechanic to break the world, but even with that the world is just not as worth it as the first experience given by BotW.

[@richardii5989]

I will save you ALL the trouble.. video is a ton of fancy words and praise just to again say that TOTK is just glorified DLC…the end A big justification for his argument is that we wouldnt have any attachment to the story or characters without BOTWs story.. its self sustaining IMO…. He misses the sense of discovery from BOTW even though theres sky areas, depths and an entire system of caves to explore.. the issue with having to “talk” to the sages and them always being occupied when needed is fair BUT if you whistle the available sages will move and regroup with Link (useful in combat) Above all things I feel his lack of enjoyment or frustrations with TOTK are borne from fatigue of some of the major mechanics from playing too much BOTW… this is simply remedied by focusing on other aspects of the game.. burned out in shrines but need the health/stamina? focus on recipes etc etc.. I respect that he prefers BOTW its a personal thing after all but the whole winded video to again try to justify the “its DLC” argument was lame

[@spidaaahs]

literally 90% of his points boil down to "botw better cause it came first"

[@notuxnobux]

There is the sky, but it's only a few sky islands and they are all copies of each other. The depths is the same map as the land, except reversed. Once you realize that it loses its magic. But the depths was still my favorite part. The towers ruined the game somewhat in my opinion as it fights against adventuring as it removes the reason to actually move on the land.

[@sfrert2759]

It's DLC. Period.

[@sfrert2759]

And also a really bad DLC.

[@stefanklietsch5500]

This video was thoughtful, I felt that it did a good job of acknowledging the changes with TotK that I appreciated the most while still arguing for BotW being superior. The arguments did help me to appreciate my past playtime with BotW. That being said, Calamity Ganon being an "elemental force of nature" remains a problem for me. While BotW would not be the first Zelda game where Ganon does not speak or even the first game to lack a villain with personality, it is the one game where "Ganon" has an imposing presence without said personality. The "Ganon" name is almost at odds with the villainy intended for BotW, given the history behind the name. There is even an attempt made at describing a personality when King Rhoam claims that Calamity Ganon was "cunning", but elaboration on the entity's fundamental character never really goes beyond that. Plus, I don't think that BotW lived up to its early trailers the same way that TotK did, as the trailers seemed to hint at a more active and engaged story than ended up being the actual case. However, I find myself missing the Guardians from BotW, and also the Champions' abilities, Stasis, and bomb powers. Gleeoks, Flux Constructs, and Gloom Hands are fantastic additions, but they don't feel quite the same as a persistent threat like the Guardians did, with the way that they camouflaged themselves, could laser you even in the air, and clustered themselves together.

[@HadesFist]

I agreed with the overall concept. This video took so long to get to its main point. There was so much exposition; you don’t have to summarize so much of the story or what’s happening on screen because we are visually seeing it. Your personal stories about joycon drift and predorder could have been cut. Provide more examples and comparisons to prove your main point.

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

Womp womp

[@markbasilejr9808]

i can't be moved by a reboot it destroys any ability for me to think about the story as having stakes, and no stakes means no meaning. TOTK's story is bad. reincarnated time gods don't need dragons to travel time. Where were the sky furries in skyword sward?

[@swagmiredoesall]

First of all TotKs story is much better than BotWs and the way it unfolds is as well. Second of all TotKs story doesn't have to take place before or during Skyward Sword. Hyrule probably wasn't founded until later in the timeline. Or maybe this is the story of the first hero, and the Zonai died out before Skyward Sword. There's a lot open to interpretation there, and there's a lot of theories about it already. Most of them make sense depending on the framing

[@linkheroofwinds]

@@swagmiredoesall The story is much worse. Every cutscene for the sages is the same, and if you do things out of a certain order by accident then it'll spoil what happened before. For example I found Mineru early on and it spoiled all of the memories

[@swagmiredoesall]

@@linkheroofwinds you're acting like BotW didn't have both of those issues. I agree the framing of the story in the memory format was stupid and definitely made the game worse. However, to argue it was worse than BotW when it had the same issues is just ridiculous. The only part of that that's true is that the framing of the story in the memory format makes more sense for BotWs narrative. I do wish the story had more of an effect on the world, but they did more than the nothing BotW did to do so. Also the villain, while having the same issues as most Zelda games being inactive in the story, felt much more imposing than calamity Ganon who was a pushover especially if you did the main quests. Then if you bring the side quests into the mix then TotK REALLY outshined BotWs constant collect 50 of this item quests that made up 90% of them. Is TotKs story great compared to other Zeldas no. Is it better than BotW? Most definitely.

[@linkheroofwinds]

@@swagmiredoesall Tears of the Kingdom gave us basically no character development. Like I said, the cutscenes for the sages were identical to each other and we don’t get to know anything about them. Compare this to what we saw for the Champions in BotW, they all had a unique relationship with Link or Zelda. Also chasing fake Zelda for each of the regional phenomena stopped making sense after you finish the memories

[@swagmiredoesall]

@@linkheroofwinds there was not character development in BotW aside from Zelda herself. That's a ridiculous claim because every character is static aside from her. You could argue maybe in the Japanese version Rivali has developed, but in the enkish version he learns nothing, and remains as arrogant and self absorbed as ever. The memory mechanic CAME FROM BOTW. The needless avoidance of any linearity led them to create that story framing, and it's just as bad in BotW as TotK it just makes more sense with the themes of that story. If you actually think BotW has a good story you've never played any of the other games in the series because story was clearly not their focus with either of these games, and the flaws of that mindset began in BotW. I agree the repetition of the sage scenes is dull, but to argue BotW didn't have the same issue is just wrong. Sure the characters had their own personality, which is more than the sages have, they still have the same flaw of repetition with only the characters personality being different. To argue this alone carries the story, and a lack of a real villain, then you're wrong. There's a reason TotK was so much different than BotW, and part of that was due to backlash the several flaws of the game including poor story. Also to claim that BotWs bland story holds it up enough to be better than TotK is also wrong because while they did fumble with the story, and how it was integrated into the game, the gameplay still significantly outshines BotW in just about everyone's opinion, but yours. You never addressed a single one of my arguments, and the only part of the story you've pointe out problems in is the sage scenes. The story as a whole is better than BotW, and your lack of an actual rebuttal to ANY of my claims proves that. My only issue with the story itself, not how it was framed, is that after having a standoff with calamity Ganon for 100 years Zelda is a damsel in distress again who relies on link to help her when she could've mastered the time stone herself, and went back to her time without extreme measures. It comes off a a regression on character. However, you don't point out any valid flaws in the story itself like that you just keep repeating the sad problem with that one part of the story, and while I agree that's certainly a big flaw it's not enough to justify the claims you're making.

[@z.a.y.n-5053]

Fucking hell you make me laugh, you've gained my sub. I really love how you said "The Japanese voice acting is much better than the English" I am not going to lie, even I prefer the Japanese then the English. You know your shit my brother Lmfao

[@ubergoober25]

If Tears Of The Kingdom came out *before* Breath Of The Wild, everyone would be making videos with the opposite opinion.

[@HungryWarden]

There is no evidence for such a claim.

[@robertw31968]

This was a good video, i really enjoyed it. In my honest opinion Ocarina of Time is my all time favorite Legend of Zelda game. If I had to rank them I'd say 1 Ocarina of Time 2 A Link to the Past 3 BOTW 4 Twilight Princess 5 Majora's Mask 6 Skyward Sword 7 Orginial NES Zelda I haven't played TotK yet. Im saving up to get it and a Switch. When i do then I'll edit this to put it where i think it goes.

[@swagmiredoesall]

Don't let this guy fool you. TotK is leagues ahead of BotW. This guy doesn't miss BotW. He either didn't spend enough time actually exploring the world and mechanics or he just misses being happy as Albertsstuff would say. Either way 20,000,000+ people disagree with him, and I feel he just wants to be a contrarian

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

no.

[@TryniaMerin]

Thank you for your insightful review. I enjoyed hearing your critique of the narrative elements and structure of each game. How you compared and contrasted the strengths with the weaknesses of each. Your retelling of both stories was captivating. I can see why you are a published writer since you're excellent with your phrasing and words. For the umpteenth time I am playing Breath of the Wild on the eve of starting another semester teaching at a new place. Thank. you for a breath of fresh air (maybe pun intended) in upholding my choice to play an old favorite as many times as I see. Good luck with your writing career.

[@cscooperau]

Thanks. If ever you read my books, I'd be keen to hear what you think.

[@Max.Paprika]

You go over both endings in depth, yet you chose to use BotW's ending to punctuate your own. That right there is all you really need to know.

[@cloecouvidat2470]

«looking for the shrines felt like a chore» however the TOTK shrines are more easy to find thanks to the roots in the depths and the award for the shrine is more interesting. Yiga outfit , Glide armorset , froggy armor set,caves and Zonai devices are really cool additions.

[@KyleThomas304]

it's the pricing that puts me off. Maybe some people don't mind forking out if they are well off..... in terms of making the TOTK, we can tell a lot less work was involved in creating the game, it has a very similar formula, same map(minus sky, depths and a few caves, new shrines) It feels to me, this was the companies response to people who had issues with BOTW, many people I know didn't like it, because it left the traditions that have been standard in the zelda series for some time. I bought the game pre owned, knowing that I was going to have to sell it, I also sold BOTW about a year before this, because of financial issues. Because I've sold both games, feel like I've earned some cash back. I didn't feel like rushing out to by TOTK full price at all, maybe even if I could afford it.

[@nikolasmus6969]

Bigger focus on good puzzles??? Has bro even played a previous Zelda game??😭😭😭

[@Gabriel12305]

This a very good vid even tho i think totk is better but i respect your opinion

[@thomasosullivan1704]

The US voice acting is not as bad as you say, seriously, it’s fine

[@Andysantiago7]

I hated TOTK! Felt more like BOTW 2.0

[@Sugurain]

You mean it felt like BOTW 0.5.

[@Andysantiago7]

@ yes!

[@pyrtsi]

I find all zelda games good

[@pheasantofhyrule]

Yep

[@jornoblol9650]

i agree with this video

[@KobeMadrigal-tu4tg]

I agree 100 percent

[@swagmiredoesall]

You didn't even play most of the game. If you even tried a few side quest, shines, and/or explored a bit more you would've had a much better time. Then you would've been able to see all of the areas and points that the game changed and improved upon. You clearly aren't an og Zelda fan either and most of these opinions show that, and that's fine. However, many of the points you make in this video sound like their coming from someone who hates most of what's been core parts of the game since day one. Mess around with the mechanics a bit more there's a lot more ways to get around, mine, and fight than using bombs all of the time. The game gives you more than enough options so even if you never run into them all you still can do just about anything you need to do with whatever you have on you. You just need to be more creative and especially take your time with the game to learn the mechanic. This video just sounds like you're mad they didn't just copy and paste BotW and add a little bit making it glorified dlc. Instead they made a full game that has a lot of interesting mechanics and places you should take your time exploring. Most of the problems you had with the game sound like they come down to you not taking your time with the game and exploring the differences instead opting to miss things you really don't need, and would be easily overshadowed by everything else we do have in the game if they were still around. I genuinely can't understand how you could possibly hold this opinion if you were an actual fan of the Zelda franchise and played both BotW and TotK all of the way through including at least a good handful of sidequests and shrines (which is all BotW really had, and TotK still has). Overall the amount they added completely overshadows anything they removed since BotW. You just need to actually explore what the game has to offer.

[@cheesuschris2025]

why u raging cause someone has different opinion lol

[@swagmiredoesall]

@@cheesuschris2025 I'm not raging I'm just pointing out the flaws in their argument

[@calebkaminski6951]

​@@cheesuschris2025 if it was raging it would make less sense and probably be decently shorter

[@GabeTheCat]

@@calebkaminski6951 with that logic, wouldn't cheesus' entire comment be "raging". Besides, this guy is trying to express the fact how totk was originally gonna be dlc for botw, but ended up being, a *Sequel*, everything is supposed to feel different and new, after sinking 200 hours into the game (yes I've already played that much), I have yet to come across big things in totk, that made me feel like I was playing botw, aside from my first few lynel encounters where I relied on my botw experiences a little too heavily, I know personally, that when I was told "forget everything you know about botw before playing totk" that person was right, because this really did feel like an entirely new game for me.

[@cscooperau]

I actually did get most of the shrines, and did some of the side quests. And I found all the memories. BOTW is still better IMO. It feels more coherent, as one of the other commenters pointed out. TOTK has too much stuff laid on-top. Its like when I make a perfectly good chocolate cake (BOTW) and then my nieces and nephews try to decorate it and just pile sugar glitter all over it (TOTK).

[@KakarotD1]

isnt that what a game should be

[@factsoverfeelings1776]

Anyways....

[@shinnkun3730]

tok is better, botw dont offer much after you explore the world. 4 dungeon boss are trash even calamity ganon is a joke. imagine exploring the world ,finding the fairy fountain, looting and killing thousand of monsters just to upgrade your weapons , then you meet the final boss expecting to have epic fight but he is trash and easy to beat. My goodness i feel like an idiot for getting stronger.

[@tedkatzlipoka7965]

Both are just mediocre Zelda games

[@reebalamaka]

They'll probably add the sheikah slate functions on a dlc or something.

[@swagmiredoesall]

Maybe, but they really don't need to. The game gives you more than enough to do all of the things you could do in BotW and more. This guy clearly just didn't explore the world and mechanics thoroughly at all.

[@subjectnivleis7572]

botw is better no totk is better me majoras mask and skyward sword are better

[@spidaaahs]

all i got from this was "botw better cause its simpler and came first" lmao

[@cscooperau]

Sometimes simpler is better

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

Haven't you heard the phrase "less is more"?

[@Zarathustra-rj4yz]

The japanese VA is superb. Says weebs everywhere.

[@EmileAnimation]

Bro is complaining that theres much gameplay😂😂😂😂

[@prettyoriginalnameprettyor7506]

bro is complaining that there are a ton of mechanics that lack depth and don't fit together well.

[@Ernapalooza]

i disagree because i played botw and totk and im saying botw in my one of my least favorite game because the story is kinda trash and how the game feels low quality but it was a fun 20 hours but with totk i have over 140 hours of gameplay, fighting bosses and destroying koroks is also really fun. The building promotes creativity for koroks, puzzles, and exploration but i have my opinions and you have your's. i think simple is bad compared to complex story and most story's in Zelda is semi complex i mean look at skyward sword so that makes your reasoning hypocritical and i feel you made this just for hate views. TLDR You made this for hate views

[@cscooperau]

Nah, I just made it because I wanted to put my thoughts out there. I figured I'd get maybe 10 views and that was it.

[@GealuGalu]

it is not, cope

[@sfrert2759]

Yes, it is. You fanboy.

[@GealuGalu]

@@sfrert2759 Both suck ass shut up

[@Fr0gg0]

I guess I don't need to play Totk then, because Breath of the wild already sucked. It was fun until after the first beast, after that it got tedious as all hell and with a boring world/dungeons on top of that. Turned it off and sold it after the third beast. Zelda is not Zelda anymore, the magic is gone.

[@Forbe.]

L + ratio + totk better

[@BradsWorkbench]

They should of added a way to skip the parts of the game u didnt like...... 🫡