Liam plays Tears of the Kingdom for the first time

[@LiamTriforce]

Thanks for checking this video out! Consider this a bit of a test run for future videos in this style. Also, this video goes all the way to the credits, so SPOILERS INBOUND. I don't know when I'll make another video like this, but they don't impact the schedule of my primary retrospectives at all, so it'll be fun to do them here and there. For more stuff like this, you can follow me on Twitch, where I stream once a month (if you're lucky): www.twitch.tv/liamtriforce

[@Zerolink30]

No bueno on the spoilers but i will watch what would be considered the "beginning" of the game

[@KobeLoverTatum]

pretty sure that dragon appearing there was 100% by chance and actually was rendered in the distance

[@lonurad1259]

I played this game before watching this and I find it funny we both teared up at the exact same time hearing the colgera boss fight theme peak lmfao

[@theprophet2444]

you missed the ending scene though. Didn't collect all the memories?

[@lonurad1259]

@@theprophet2444 ikr

[@CalamitasCalliope]

"So the sky map is this big, and it's on top of the already existing BotW Map?" Yeah, two whole maps are insane. Imagine if they did 3? Now that would be really crazy

[@Iffondrel]

The universal experience entering the chasms really is just looking at the map and realizing "Oh. Oh you're BIG big."

[@habama1077]

I just finished my playthrough of the game yesterday. Honestly I would have been fine with it even if the chasms didn't exist. I'm kinda glad they do, but man, did I feel overwhelmed with the amount of shit I could be doing for basically the whole game after discovering it. I honestly don't know how much time it would take to hunt down all the bosses and Yiga hideouts down there (and even then, I'd still have a bunch of things to do above). I'm a bit of a completionist, plus BotW is basically my favorite game (which extends to TotK taking a similar spot in my mind) so I wanted to do as much as I could before finishing the story: Petty much all armors acquired, most schematics, paragliders, side quests, etc. but the game still has probably 20+ hours worth of stuff to do.

[@HyperNova808]

@@habama1077 “20+ hours” oh boy, you severely underestimated the size of this game

[@Bayyside]

​@@HyperNova808 my dumb a* spent 20 hours trying to locate a Misko's treasure chest that I couldn't find the right cave to 😂

[@Tohlemiach]

Calling the sky map a second map is preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty fuckin generous bordering on plain ridiculous. Most of it is empty space and most of the islands that ARE there are just stepping stones to get to the islands with actual content and most of *those* are copy pasted sky crystal delivery quests for a shrine with a chest in it. The only other series of islands that even comes close to the intricacy and fun of the Great Sky Islands is the Dragonhead Isles. The big rotating orbs are fun, Zonai Forge was neat, and there was that one with the dark cave with mirrors that was pretty sweet too, but let's be real here. The Sky Islands were *clearly* barely an afterthought in the development of this game despite being basically the entire hook of the marketing budget. Let's not keep up the lie now that everyone knows.

[@sukamadik5983]

I love these little bite size videos covering short indie games like Tears of The Kingdom.

[@Kyubi5737]

Nintendo should learn a thing or two from the small team behind this hidden gem

[@MrDoYouKnowMe2211]

an hour and a half is bite size?

[@lilili765]

​@@MrDoYouKnowMe2211 bro does'nt get the definition of a joke

[@Mathiasvandenberge]

@@MrDoYouKnowMe2211 woosh

[@middaymeds]

​@@MrDoYouKnowMe2211 as much as tears is an indie game

[@Pimpgamer101]

The Tarrey Town stuff hits so freaking hard if you completed the original quest in BotW. I felt like a town Hero coming back and checking in on my neighbors.

[@mb2001]

For some reason, only Hudson and Rhondson seemed to recognize me when I first stopped by?

[@oliver-04]

I feel like i didnt get the recognition i deserved from the citizens. I made the Town, praise me!

[@TheKeybladeKeeper]

@@mb2001 Honestly this was the disappointing thing about TotK. Some NPCs recognized Link from BotW but then other random NPCs act like they're meeting for the first time. Like Bolson. How could he forget Link when he was constantly flirting with him during the quests to build Link's home 😭

[@leargamma4912]

I was mad that I couldn't end Hudson's life

[@ryanerickson3063]

Hudson is a hero in his own way. Community leader, loving husband and father. Great guy.

[@VVEGA2940]

47:57 probably the only point in the game that made me feel really emotional. The realisation of what happened to Zelda, and then waking up surrounded by Silent Princess flowers, which now have a completely different significance to their name. Man....

[@superlagbro192]

Unfortunately for me, the master sword geoglyph was the first one i found, so i had the whole thing solved off the bat. Wish they had made it less obvious in that cutscene what was going to happen.

[@Saracen93]

Worst feature of TotK: can’t delete my memory to be able to experience it for the first time again. These videos help a bit.

[@nathanpfirman625]

Youve heard of downloading memory but why not delete it.

[@matthewjones6786]

Alas, he could recall anything... except himself.

[@timohara7717]

And not being able to delete other stuff about pictures and stuff

[@kriscynical]

When I sat down I knew - since BotW had finally dethroned OoT as my favorite game after 20 years - that I was about to play my favorite game for the first time. I savored _every SECOND_ accordingly and was truly sad when it ended. 😩

[@insertmetalusernamehere]

I’ve rigged up a system that drops something heavy on my head but I can’t remember the schematics

[@pit_lol]

Fun fact: When you make your way back under Hyrule Castle to fight Ganondorf, you can find Zelda's torch from the intro laying on the ground! The attention to detail in this game is astounding lol

[@Tustin2121]

Oh, THAT’S why that random torch was there! I thought I had to use it for something, like it was going to be dark ahead, lol.

[@K1ttyGam3r]

Going into this game 99% spoiler-free was the best way I could have ever experienced it. Absolutely magical

[@zlvno]

For real btw dark link is the one controlling ganon at the end of the game have fun!!!!!

[@K1ttyGam3r]

@@zlvno bro I already beat the game I know this is cap as hell.

[@K1ttyGam3r]

@itsmeike yeah I hate it when people spoil games

[@HumanityLies]

​@itsmeikebrooooo, you spoiled it 😢 (jk)

[@kriscynical]

It was the same for me. This was also the first Zelda game I had ever played completely blind the first time, and it was sincerely one of the best experiences of my life. What added to it was the fact that I got my 75yo mother into Zelda via BotW right before this game was first announced, and she was my avid audience for the entirety of my playthrough. She was just as into the story as I was, pointing out little things I missed to pick up while running around, collaborating during the shrines, and literally clutching a pillow to herself so hard that her arms fell asleep during the final showdown with Ganondorf. I had to play slower because of it since we could only play about 3 hours a day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. It was absolutely magical, just like you said.

[@Pimpgamer101]

They stepped up the music by lot. From Big bombastic moments to somber quieter moments. They went incredibly hard.

[@finngardiner5358]

Manaka Kataoka really knocked it out of the park

[@JecciClark]

Can we talk about how Link would’ve felt throughout this game? The world feels so loved in now. So many people finally know who you are. Link is so much more expressive in this game. The spirits of some of his closest friends follow him wherever he goes. But yet, Zelda’s gone. He chases after traces of her. Only to find out that she’s been there All along. Watching over him, healing his blade, parting the skies for him to once again save the world. Link has to find this out by discovering memories left over by her tears nonetheless. So much of the world and the main quests points to Zelda and the reveal of her did not disappoint. But it’s so goddamn sad. It’s so bittersweet. Link is about to face of Ganondorf to finally bring peace to hyrule once and for all, fellow sages and closest friends by his side. But no Zelda. His only link to her being the sword of evils bane of which she gave her mortality to revive. I love it so much

[@AthelstanKing]

i hate when people are the personification of reddit. you arent actually typing your own thoughts, youre typing what you think the hivemind wants to hear.

[@Sagan_Blandard20XX]

I hate it when people talk like the personification of assholes. Ironically, it's what you just vomited here that makes me stay off reddit.

[@mori2037]

​@@AthelstanKing rude

[@HyperNova808]

@@AthelstanKing i’m willing to bet you liked your own comment

[@jamilf9947]

@@AthelstanKing what are u talking about 😭😭😭

[@josbird]

That last point is so good... the contrast between the bittersweet solitude of BotW and the triumph of fighting with friends by your side is amazing. It's like all that desperate, last-stand, lonely fighting we did in the first game was rewarded with companionship.

[@muhammadmusa6276]

I followed a girl in Kakariko village and another kid. After following them, turns out they were going to pray for their dead mother. Hit me so so hard.

[@kriscynical]

Those were Coco and Cotla, Dorian's daughters. Through one of the shrine quests in BotW you find out Dorian was a Yiga, but once he met his wife he left. They had their two girls, and then the Yiga Clan murdered his wife as punishment for leaving. It's _incredibly_ sad.

[@ShadowSkyX]

It also shows that the little one was finally told about it because in botw she was blissfully unaware. Coco knew though and had already figured out her dad was not good at lying. So in botw, early in the morning you can wait or watch her go the graves nearby and cry over her mother.

[@moldomre4838]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who bawled his eyes out doing the Mattison quest. That music was tear-jerking.

[@WackoWambo]

cringe

[@habama1077]

@@WackoWambo yes, how dare people experience emotions while playing video game?

[@Doodle1678]

I had to take a picture of the sun on the switch it was so beautiful what a nice quest it was so amazing

[@Katitorsi]

​@@WackoWambo awww who's an edgy boy? you are! yes you are! aww so edgy

[@Procrastination21345]

@@Katitorsi😂

[@irresponsible-cardboard]

Playing the game, in all my 36 years, I was like "this is easily a 10/10 masterpiece." Then I finished it. And all I can think was that "damn. this is at least 11/10." And that is not an exaggeration. They literally followed up the greatest video game of all time, with the greatest video game of all time.

[@IdentifiantE.S]

Fr the game of the year !!

[@Tohlemiach]

Both are great games, but jesus christ that's a bit much. I'd easily put Nier Automata, Smash Ultimate, Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Diablo II above either of those games just objectively, not even personally speaking (If we were speaking personally I'd put FFVII original and Remake, Xenogears, Death Stranding, and Xenoblade Chronicles on there too). BotW aged terribly in light of the innovation that Ghost of Tsushima and then Elden Ring brought to the table (BotW's open world is fun to traverse but you end up doing the same shit over and over again and the lack of variety in content is abysmal in hindsight) and TotK completely failed to catch up to those new standards, which I really think people should be acknowledging more than they do right now. Yet, playing TotK is an absolute blast while you're not thinking about it, and it's got I'd say about 60 hours of pure joy in it, but the longer you play after that point the more you start to realize they too just copy pasted most of the "content" in the game and expect you to make your own fun by spending hours making machines that don't work because you're not an engineer. The story is great (if you don't spoil yourself by doing a memory out of order, which the game makes it extremely easy to do), fantastic even, the music is out of this *world*, and every single thing is an improvement on BotW. BUT. Most of the surface world is the same or different in ways that don't really amount to anything more than what you'd expect from like a WoW expansion, the Sky Islands are miniscule and extremely repetitive, and the Depths, as cool as it is, eventually starts to reveal the same pattern of content once you spend enough time with it. Essentially, I think the biggest sin TotK commits is the ratio of unique to repeated content. Once you do all the dungeons, a couple of the bigger quests, and see about a 3rd of the Depths, you pretty much have seen the whole game. If you intersperse all of that throughout a 60 hour period of alternating between main story and side content, by the time you finish I think you'll have had easily that 11/10 experience so many people talk about. But for me, I foolishly kept doing content because I thought it would get more interesting even after the 60 hour point. I foolishly thought "there are over 100 surface caves? Well surely they must have some really interesting stuff to find if they made so many!" or "they remade the *entire* overworld map in the depths? Well surely they must have just as many unique locations and things to do!" And in each and every case, I got to a point where I suddenly looked back at the last 10 hours of gameplay and realized I hadn't seen a single new piece of content in that entire time. 10 hours of finding another mineshaft with another chest that had another 20 energy upgrade point thingies. 10 hours of finding another cave with another bubbulfrog and another camp of Horriblins guarding another chest with another bomb-fused spear in it. Yes, every now and then a cave would have a piece of armor in the chest or might even have a little pond with fairies around it, but I'd say that was like 1 out of every 15. To be fair the Gerudo caves were way more varied and interesting, so if you have to scour a region of your choice, definitely do that one because you'll get the most bang for your buck. Just stay away from Hebra if you want to keep your sanity. The developers took the same approach as they did in BotW which was to put a bunch of stuff on the horizon to tempt you to go look for secrets there, but the point of curiosity is that you have to have reason to believe that you don't already know what you're going to find there. Ghost of Tsushima evolved this design philosophy by having a greater *variety* of things you could find, but it still eventually ended up being condensed into a spreadsheet, like see a fox, follow it to a shrine, get an equippable passive stat boost or see a hotspring, get some more max hp. It too got boring by the very end of the game (and actually in the same vein as BotW made the final boss hilariously easy if you actually went and did all the cool content the game kept enticing you to do). Elden Ring blew the lid off of open-world design, though, by actually rewarding you with things you'd *never* seen before with each discovery you made. Sure, finding the Jar Cannon that requires 30 strength on my 40 Faith 12 strength Priest character was *less* exciting than finding, say, the Golden Order Greatsword, but you better believe I made a STR character on my next playthrough and made a bee-line for the Volcano Cave to pick up that Jar Cannon first thing. At the very least you always got something *unique.* Now I know people whine about boss reuse in Elden Ring, but honestly, the combat is so enjoyable that it starts to not really matter. It's not about wondering if you'll see a new boss in a mini-dungeon, it's about what new combination of bosses you'll see, because that is certainly always unique (aside from Astel 2. That was really shitty.) I could go on and on about the things Elden Ring did right, but my point is that what they did *changed* my expectations of open world games going forward. I know TotK finished development a year ago and they only spent this past year doing bug fixing, and that's some really unfortunate timing to be sure, but that is just the reality whether you like it or not. Elden Ring gave me the excitement of truly never knowing what I would find if I followed my nose, and TotK made following my nose an absolute chore that was very rarely rewarding. A game that fails to reach the new standard in its own genre set by a game that came out a year previously can't possibly be the greatest game of all time because it's not even the greatest game in its own *genre* of all time. It's not even the greatest Zelda game of all time if you go by what makes Zelda games Zelda games. Embarrassing excuses for dungeons, still very little story despite being very good, and a mostly reused map, to me, makes TotK an absolutely terrible Zelda. Compare it to what the likes of OoT, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess were like and BotW and TotK just don't really compare. They are really a different *kind* of game entirely, and that's not inherently a bad thing, but they are just NOT Zelda games by any standard set in the last 30 years of the franchise. So for me, a lifelong Zelda fan, that's yet another point of disappointment on top of TotK's lack of innovation in open-world design philosophy. Once again, just to reiterate, TotK is a fantastic game if you completely ignore the wider context of its place in gaming history, but the more you know and the more games you've played, the less impressive it is. I don't see ANY way you could say the game is the "greatest video game of all time" because to do so you'd have to compare it to, well, every other videogame, and it simply doesn't hold up. It put GMod in a previously released game and added 6 years of unreleased DLC updates. That's really not something you should be giving that level of praise to.

[@irresponsible-cardboard]

@@Tohlemiach Of course its all my opinion. But sans Xenogears, I've played all the game mentioned and none have made me feel the way TotK did. Except, Maybe the first Monster Hunter or Final Fantasy Tactics. But I do tell people, TotK isn't for everybody either. On my scale, its an 11/10, but I know a lot of people who couldn't play it past 10 hours due to it not being their cup of tea. TotK is far from perfect too. I agree the Sky Islands (which was heavily marketed) was probably it's weakest point.

[@darthsnarf]

@@Tohlemiach holy crap maybe go write a review instead of a KZbin comment lmao just literraly copy and paste that and go put it on a review website don't waste time writing a KZbin comment no one's going to read lol

[@darthsnarf]

@@Tohlemiach it's probably not the best game of all time but it's definitely a 9-10, go look at professional reviews almost all of them give it 9+, and most of them have played all those games you mentioned, I do agree about botw not being the best game of all time, it's a good game and I played it a bunch, but totk does improve on botw in almost every way so you have to rate it higher.

[@meganmcdonald3333]

Both the Japanese and the English Dub for Tears of the Kingdom is pretty amazing. The cast who voiced these beloved characters old and new really nailed it when it came to the cutscenes!

[@ringer1324]

It’s truly magical seeing you play this for the first time.

[@IdentifiantE.S]

Fr

[@HyperNova808]

It’s still not even a month old!

[@machodgdon]

The reaction of Link jumping off into the title drop is what I was hoping to see from Liam, and it certainly did not disappoint

[@FordyA29]

I love how he got stuck on the minecart/fan/hook puzzle, then went to bed and couldnt sleep thinking about what wacky way he would solve it, adding a second minecart... when all he needed to do was just realign the hook/fan so they were facing straight and not diagonal 😂 What a lack of sleep does to you!

[@daniel8181]

I was laughing at that part that he pulled it off.

[@MekBoooooi]

Man what I love about this game is how each persons path is different. I went towards Rito and the path you took has so many things I had to pause for spoilers!

[@Bighomie39]

It's not just the paths being different, there are immense differences between *how* each playthrough I've seen play TOTK. Personally, I've been going through the game with no armor upgrades and next to no cooking. But then I see RT's playthrough abusing rockets, Dunkey messing with Ultrahand, or Smallant having just completed a no equipment challenge. There isn't just no wrong way to go, there's no wrong way to *play*.

[@R.A.M_Games]

That is something I wish more games going forward should adopt. The fluidity in gameplay mechanics that allow some much gameplay variety that the entire genre of that game can change depending on the player

[@jexami]

Found your Zelda essays right before TOTK came out and binged them to stave off the hype, and been excited to see your feelings on this game! Probably my best Zelda experience to date haha

[@renaokawa6199]

The scene with the light dragon is a straight gut punch. You can see the confusion and then the pain on his face as he realises after you see the one on the spiral peice of land. It always chokes me up.

[@realkingofantarctica]

That first drop into Hyrule Kingdom from the Temple of Time had me in awe. I could feel my scepticism on the game melting away during that.

[@Thirteen13551355]

My skepticism only grew bigger. I had let myself believe it would at least be somewhat different, but it wasn't. I love what people are building in this game, but that's not what I play Zelda for.

[@nicolemonrue]

@@Thirteen13551355 get the game...you'll see

[@Thirteen13551355]

@@nicolemonrue I played over half of it...

[@Alfonso88279]

@@Thirteen13551355 Hard to believe given how long the game is and how disappointed you were. I mean, why forcing yourself. To me the game feels the way it should: Like an evolution from Breath of the wild. In fact, to me it felt wildly different given how different our powers are. It made me look at the world in a completely different way. The story is freaking solid this time (it could have been told better though) and the dungeons are pretty good. I mean, what the hell you wanted.

[@Thirteen13551355]

​@@Alfonso88279 ​For you it's hard to believe someone to be disappointed in a game, because you weren't. Tears of the Kingdom barely evolved. It has the same annoying quirks the first game had. The powers are not much different unless you take into account the building (which I didn't like. I like exploring, not building). The story is freaking solid, except it all happens in the past and your character has zero connection to it. Also, if you trigger late memories early, Zelda's fate is already revealed and yet, Link never takes this into account. A HUGE plot hole. You're in menus half of the time. Healing, adding items to your items, choosing arrows, dropping weapons, replacing weapons, throwing objects, switching between abilities, and so on and so on. The world has become an incoherent mess. Junk is lying about everywhere. Great for if you enjoy building, but again, I do not. If you do not, it's just litter strewn about the world, ruining the organic and natural feel of the landscape. Areas are often changed for the worse, and the devs did not quite go all out to facilitate a change in traversal in these areas (Goron place has become boring, there's no lava to distinguish it from other places, all you do now is walk, save for a linear sequence of minecarts in which you have no agency). Building things is annoying, takes time off of actually playing an adventure game, which is what I signed up for. The Depths are barren, featureless and needless except if you want materials to... you guessed it, to build. The sky is mostly just small islands with a single Shrine, or worse, a single chest. No exploration except for on the (admittedly great) introduction island. Please, open your eyes. Either you haven't played Breath in ages or didn't explore it much at all. Or you're huge into building, which is fine.

[@RyderPlatinumWarpstar]

I'm surprised we didn't get to see your reaction to the amazing scene where Rauru first tells Ganondorf of Link's name and his theme starts playing. That scene sent me massive chills. But nah this was great getting to see your first reactions to this game. I was really hoping we'd get to in some form or fashion.

[@atoxee6867]

Yeah, he also didn't get the true final ending. I suppose he skipped the spirit dungeon.

[@gektoast4968]

@@atoxee6867 😢 bro didn’t get real steel (wait yes he did)

[@MirageFox43]

He might’ve skipped the Ring Ruins quest. Never talked to Impa. Didn’t unlock the camera. One of those. It can’t be memories because Zelda’s transformation only appears after seeing all the memories. Edit: He has the camera so nevermind that.

[@BustyCatbot]

@@MirageFox43 If you immediately go after Ganondorf, you still see the ending cutscene, you still turn Zelda back.

[@MirageFox43]

@@BustyCatbot I was referring to Zelda into the Light Dragon. He showed his reaction to that cutscene, but never got the post credits scene.

[@milesrodger3724]

45:52 this sequence is so legendary for me. I was utterly awe struck when I got to it. Gods bless Zelda.

[@netweed09]

I got so so much emotional stick for criticising Breath & basically calling it a bad game; flat & boring over the Years. I hope Tears, a _Proper Zelda game_ now shows what I meant. Thank you Mr Aonuma, while others were making endless theory videos and milking / fawning over Breath for all they could (to gain subs) - thank you for listening & giving Us Our Zelda back!! 💫

[@SorchaSublime]

@@netweed09 TOTK wouldn't be anything without the ground that BOTW broke with open world design. The whole point of BOTW was to go back to basics and reinvent 3D zelda in the image of the very first legend of zelda (which lacked most of the things you would consider "proper zelda"). TOTK on the other hand is comparable more to A Link to the Past

[@netweed09]

​@@SorchaSublime ''TOTK on the other hand is comparable more to A Link to the Past'' Exactly my point. Just because ''they pioneered something'' doesn't exactly mean Zelda I and Breath are Great. Whereas Tears as indeed ALTTP are Great and will always be seen as Iconic full Zeldas and Masterpieces of their platforms. Not enhanced tech demos.

[@trevormiddleton1769]

I was surprised it didn't add the the cry counter. The Zelda's lullaby got me

[@kurokofs113]

@@netweed09 TotK is still closer to BotW than it is to a "proper" zelda. its still 98% full on open world, just expanded and reiterated on, the story is still told via memories found across said open world, aside from the fact that most of the story is just bad, there are still no classic items, all main abilitys r just enhanced versions of BotWs abilitys, dungeons r still no actual dungeons, just beefed up divine beasts and the combat literally didnt change aside from the fuse system adding depth to it, albeit the enemy variety certainly was refreshing. BotW and TotK r still some of the greatest gaming experiences over the past decade, but its far from a proper zelda, idk how u could cope that hard

[@tmalecki1521]

Don’t worry Liam, the jump off the island into the title scene made me cry, too. The music hits hard

[@barkley8285]

cringe

[@LostBassPlayer]

Nah, not cringe at all. Got me too.

[@tmalecki1521]

@@LostBassPlayer let that idiot talk his shit, internet trolls ain’t worth it. It was an emotional opening to a game and I loved every second of it

[@moosesues8887]

@@tmalecki1521 hi

[@tmalecki1521]

@@moosesues8887 hello

[@dre1426]

I love the sudden switches between the serious analytical voice and the ultra excited/mindblown voice lol. You can feel the love he has for the series.

[@fartgarfunkeljr]

The 11th tear gave me chills. that hasn't happened from a game cutscene, let alone a work of fiction, in many many years

[@frequency_vibes7822]

Liam: “I don’t know how they did it” That’s why I’m beyond stoked they really took their time and used that 6 years to the fullest. This in my eyes is the perfect mix of older style Zelda for the dungeon lovers and the ones who preferred the freedom from BOTW. It amazes me how similar of a game Tears is to Breath, and yet how incredibly different they are. Tears did nothing but improve BOTW’s base, and make THE definitive Zelda experience in my opinion. I just finished up the story finally and oh my god. I don’t have the words for how fulfilling and heartwarming my first casual play through went

[@Thirteen13551355]

I wish I could feel the same. Maybe it's because I explored all of BotW twice, or because I played Elden Ring shortly before it (which felt like everything I wanted a BotW sequel to be), but TotK gave me no incentive to explore. Lots of places were the same so the best part of BotW was gone. There's way too much going into menus and way too little actually playing new things. The depths are barren, the sky islands is mostly singular islands with a chest or a Shrine. The building is nothing interesting to me. All I can say is that I really loved the backstory scenes. I did two dungeons and after that I called it quite, decided it's just not my type of Zelda. But I loved BotW, so I still really, really want to like this.

[@Pimpgamer101]

@@Thirteen13551355 that’s sad bro. I enjoyed seeing what had changed around the overworld. Especially suprising with the weather (at least until the dungeons are beaten.) it’s nice to be able to explore death mountain easier. There are the wells and caves also. The depths are supposed to be kinda barren right? You’re traversing using zonai vehicles anyway, so point a to b should be rather painless.

[@Thirteen13551355]

@@Pimpgamer101 To be honest, I only used a single Zonai vehicle, and it was in front of the Goron dungeon in the depths. It was so unwieldy and kept steering the wrong way, so I thought "never again." That said, the biggest reason I don't really like the game is probably me not being super into build-y stuff. It's probably great but it doesn't get me excited. I kinda wish they had put that into something not-Zelda. I play Zelda for different things.

[@Pimpgamer101]

@@Thirteen13551355 I mean, even if one thing you don’t like is in the game, does that make it a bad game if everything else is good? You don’t seem to have a problem with the other abilities so I’m just wondering.

[@LPTheGas]

@@Thirteen13551355 "To be honest, I only used a single Zonai vehicle, and it was in front of the Goron dungeon in the depths. It was so unwieldy and kept steering the wrong way, so I thought "never again." " 🤦‍♂You didn't play the game, you tried to play the game you wanted it to be instead. OF COURSE you didn't enjoy it, doing that. That's like saying "I don't enjoy inventory management, so I'm never going to change the weapons my characters come equipped with in this JRPG" and then calling it a bad game when that keeps you from progressing past the third boss.

[@smoogieboogie1694]

So happy to see a video finally doing the Fire Temple justice. It was so good but gets so much hate because of its more traditional design.

[@Bighomie39]

I really enjoyed each dungeon except the Water Temple. Like, I think most of the dungeons in this game are at least on par with the dungeons from previous games in terms of enjoyment.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

I actually liked them all, but wish they were; yet again, longer and more complex. But it was definitely a step up from BOTW.

[@kernelofficial]

It was my first temple in my playthrough, and I absolutely loved it. I would say it's probably my favorite still.

[@firestarex3544]

I wouldn't call it "traditional design" per se but I enjoyed it. The navigation puzzle aspect was really cool. I think a lot of people just got tired of the minecarts and cheezed it.

[@realNom2mooncow]

Yes I loved moving the minecarts around and slowly getting a better and better grasp of how everything fitted together. I think it had just the right amount of cheaty/exploitable design to make it not annoying for people who don't want to figure that out, or who are tired of it and want to just do the last couple gongs and not have to do anymore puzzles

[@Sagan_Blandard20XX]

Getting that sword from Zelda and the whole geoglyps/tears thing was one of the coolest quests I've ever done in a game.

[@spinningredchair8092]

In BOTW Silent Princess flowers are one of Zeldas favorite. She struggles to get them to grow anywhere but in the wild. Strangely enough however, they blossom around Dragon Tears. Her tears. Once Zelda swallowed her stone, she became a mindless and voiceless Dragon. A Silent Princess.

[@Tvtardy]

Damn

[@BackflipBrickfilms]

Iirc they only spawn around the final one. Still, great foreshadowing for the contents of the last memory.

[@quonit37]

8:15 patiently waiting for him to find the rotate button. I was so happy it existed in this game because it reminded me so much of magnesis... but magnesis is.......... kiiiiiind of hard to control, so it's really cool they made it so much better

[@HyperNova808]

Ultrahand is basically magnesis, but for nearly everything, no wonder it reminds you of it!

[@wmloxley]

like others who commented, I stumbled upon your Zelda video essays waiting for TOTK. as a fellow sick kid and now chronically ill adult, your relationship to Zelda games resonated so strongly with mine. watching this playthrough and having so many of the same reactions as you, down to the very words, was awesome. looking forward to more of your work!

[@jackcramer8751]

Can't wait for your 3 hour video essay on this game

[@leargamma4912]

Better not be 3 fucking hours of him never getting to the damn point.

[@oldschooled5687]

Finished the game today - now I can enjoy a long essay made by Liam... IF I HAD ONE. Jokes aside, I love your content Liam!

[@SlumbieGames]

the Tears of the Kingdom is all the tears we shed through this game, i just beat the final boss and teared up so much. god i fucking love these games

[@SandyCheeks1896]

To give you a hint at how vastly different my playthrough was, I had 4 hearts and the mastersword when I went to my first temple which was the wind temple

[@ValunarTonix]

I think my current order and planning is Done: Random shrine prep, wind and water temple, sequence breaking to the spirit temple Planned: Lightning and Fire temple, more shrines.

[@K1ttyGam3r]

The order I did for my first playthrough was the same order I did for BotW years ago: Zora’s Domain, Rito Village, Goron City, and Gerudo Town

[@AwesomeMutation]

@@K1ttyGam3rhey that's my order too!

[@thedoomhunter6643]

As much as i am grateful for Liam giving us this edited video of his first playthrough of this game, as this was fun to watch, I'm a bit greedy and i hope he uploads an uncut version somewhere, as i would be down to watch a full playthrough like that with him.

[@Pimpgamer101]

The VODs should be on his twitch channel.

[@f.prince6642]

I shed a tear at the very last scene. Had me reflecting on my child self playing ocarina and after prob a year I beat the game. Ran to my neighbors house elated to tell them about besting ganon. Thinking there is a kid out there where this is their first Zelda game is legendary. That child is just as hooked as I was back in 99’ games with ❤ man they outclass everything.

[@HyperNova808]

That’s wholesome!

[@VampirsTTG]

I wasn't paying close enough attention to the dragons to notice there was an extra one in the sky until the Master Sword quest made it obvious, but it's rly fun to watch this intro and see the Light Dragon hanging out in the background constantly

[@Yourhatedquestion]

This is definitely one of the best endings I've ever played through, the narrative threads of using the sword you pulled out of one dragon's head to crush the other dragon's head, Link borrowing powers from someone he never knew but held Zelda as dear as he hold her, Link finally managing to catch Zelda falling and the gigantic splash to get Zelda home in the same lake that got Link home.

[@rugofbugs]

you reactions to the music/nostalgia (i.e crying) is like... so on point with how I felt. this series is so magical

[@joelmills4304]

ganon's healthbar shenanigans was actually so cool

[@croissant-kun4025]

I remember running after the light dragon after the last tear. I may not have cried but hoo boy was I devastated. I haven't touched the silent princesses around the tear because I just couldn't.

[@cassieo]

I couldn’t take those flowers, either. My 9YO son, though, 😅😅😅🤪🤪🤪🤪 “SCORE!!! Those are worth ____!!!!!” Lol. He’s precious. 🥴

[@croissant-kun4025]

@@cassieo I'm sure Zelda would've wanted him to take it XD but I couldn't 😅

[@azure4622]

Yo i picked all that shit up and turned all my gear white

[@za_crispy]

Same man, I teleported to a tower as fast as I could to catch up to her. Just crouched by her head for a while. Luckily I had enough stamina as well to also grab the master sword. Such a great experience

[@KingDavidCreates]

There are just I feel so many more moments from this game that with forever be etched into my soul, compared to BoTW. That First Dive, Finding Zelda, Pulling the Master Sword, The Tears, That final boss fight. It all hits so hard. Even more so after discovering that Zelda was always there from the very beginning watching over Link at every step. Even before awakening the Sages you are still in a sense never alone.

[@thatoneguy52884]

I just struck gold when I found this channel dude. Your laugh is just so contagious and I smile whenever I hear you being exited. KZbin needs more gaming channels like yours frfr

[@SwitchyWitch_]

I love how we both basically had the same reaction to when the game suddenly just gives control THAT early into the game, during a cutscene too. I expected more cutscene but nope just instantly right into the game

[@creaturetapped]

I haven't completed the game myself yet so I can't watch to the end but the unrestrained joy so far is SO INFECTIOUS. Also your reactions to fusions at the start are killing me.

[@ExaltedUriel]

I literally beat the game yesterday and couldn't stop thinking about it, perfect timing since I'm on a binge of peoples' playthroughs and reactions lol.

[@sch2412]

"you want to tell me the sky is that big?" me: wait until you find out about the depths 😂

[@RossComptonthe19th]

Hearing your reactions is such a joy and extremely relatable.

[@cjdb1999]

My cat Finn laid with me for hours while I played this game from the start. Literally since the day I bought it. He sadly passed just before I finished the game and the night he did I kept trying to defeat ganon and failing, my cat laying next to me. After I found him passed and took him to the vet I couldn’t sleep so after hours of crying and now sleep I booted up the game and tried again. This time I was sucess full and The moment I dealt the final blow to Ganon I said to my self “this is for FINN” video games have a way of being a part of our lives and your channel and retrospectives have shown me that ❤️

[@SillyBilly-lg5dp]

That’s amazing man 🥲 I’m sorry for the loss of your cat 🫡

[@brendanrisney2449]

God, there are so few games that can give me that same pure, somber feeling as when I beat a Zelda game, especially these last two, and am returned to the title screen. I almost can't go back in. I'm done. I did it. There's so much left for the characters that I want to see, but that's not going to happen. Going back in just puts things to right before you beat it. It's the kind of feeling that Undertale was built on and it's one of my favorite, yet most hated emotions. I feel like an adrenaline junkie the way I seek them out. Even just seeing your return to the title screen there at the end hit me again with all of that. I love Zelda so much.

[@rumor3553]

Its the calmly analyzing dungeon design while carting a crucified korok for me..

[@hyperventalated]

This game did so much more for me in terms of making me care about the inhabitants of Hyrule. Even outside the more prominent side-characters, there are so many NPCs with their own interconnected stories that I would run into and recognize. So then by the time I beat the game, it was so satisfying. I was protecting all the people I came to know and love and go on mini adventures with. They definitely did such a good job showing you what Link is fighting for.

[@MaxWelton]

19:16 wow. This is an approach that quite simply did not occur to me. And then there’s Ultrahanding something whilst on a moving platform?

[@baileywoodroffe]

Glad I'm not the only one who cried multiple times during this game. Even cried at the final trailer. This game has the best music of any Zelda game and it's not even close.

[@jexami]

Yeah that final trailer also made me cry the first time i watched it and it’s what *really* got me excited for the game, and by god it did not disappoint

[@WackoWambo]

you actually cried? what

[@baileywoodroffe]

@@WackoWambo Yes, Incresible music. Totally emotional response. I hope one day you hear some music that does that to you, it's an experience for sure.

[@leargamma4912]

Nah. TP, wind waker, a link between worlds, and ocarina of time all had better music. This game just remixes old tracks with some garbage synthetic fonts. The original music it has is good, but not great

[@baileywoodroffe]

@@leargamma4912 I have to completely disagree. All the games you mention have just as many reused tracks, if not more. As for original music, the OST is over 5 hours long, only reusing mysuc is just objectively and demonsterably false. Every temple has multiple versions that escalate as you complete them, none of which disappoint in any way. All of the reimagined town themes are amazing, the construct enemy theme in shrines is great, ALL of the world boss tracks absolutely slap, especially the flux construct, The lookout landing theme is fantastic, and evolves as you progress as well. Even the little jingle for the outside of shrines is great. Dont let lack of nostalgia for the new music take you away from the fact that the game is absolutely masterfully scored. There are tons of tracks from other Zelda games that are unforgettable, and surely beat tracks from TOTK, but as a whole, it has the best soundtrack. Dont get me wrong, the biggest disappointment for me was just how many tracks returned unaltered from breath of the wild, far too many for me not to be bothered by it, but trust, go back and listen to some of the songs, you might have missed out on some bangers.

[@deathray252]

When I was first playing on the great sky island on the night of the 12th, my mind did briefly go to just how thrilled Mr. Triforce had to be at that exact moment 😊

[@ellarose8699]

this is the only person i can imagine watching the full uncut gameplay. its not like youre watching a youtuber play it for me it feels like im watching playing a game unscripted and it honesty feels so raw and thats really hard to find in the youtube industry. good job man

[@jaimeruiz7837]

Link starts off with 30 hp and three stamina wheels and by the end he’s at 39 with three stamina wheels… not 40 rip

[@doomslayer8985]

Must be for the dlc

[@jaxonfullmer5731]

angers me that its not 40

[@ashyunderscorealt95]

I mean technically Link is never "fully" free of the gloom's effect until the very end after healing Zelda and recovering his own arm. Probably that.

[@dlyn1124]

I only stumbled upon your channel yesterday (looking for Nintendo ds videos of all things) and admittedly haven't played BOTW or TOTK, but I watched this whole video. So many moments, but man, "You're never alone," hit harder than all of them.

[@theophany4935]

Holy shit your fight with Ganon was the best I've seen. So cinematic compared to the other people I've seen fight him. The way Tulin appears and starts blasting was perfect.

[@g1sunstreaker584]

I love this video, man. I come back here to relive my experience of playing this game for the first time; almost all your reactions were just like mine, haha. What a magnificent game.

[@RoibenxKaye]

honestly, seeing Liam being so joyful over every single new thing is amazing. its so rare seeing a man being so in synch with his emotion, that its really refreshing seeing a man that is not shy of crying over a video game. love that

[@bigbotzone]

The day i got this game i ended up playing 52 hours straight without even realizing it until my wife told me i was going on 3 days straight. I was so hypnotized everything it just had me.

[@CarbonMage]

A cool thing about the demon dragon fight is that when the sky goes red for the forehead phase, there's actually an ENORMOUS Blood Moon in the skybox

[@chargegarg8234]

I remember coming home after school and finding the game on my doorstep on May 12th. It was a Friday and I played nonstop the whole weekend. I remember I had an exam on Monday and I did literally 0 studying lol. I went straight to death mountain and the fire temple completely blew my mind. Then I found my way to korok forest, and I had a legendary battle with the phantom Ganon thing. I was really underleveled at the time so t was a real struggle but it was worth it for the feeling I had after I saved the deku tree. Good times

[@rightwing707]

I honestly loved how fresh the tutorial zone for TotK felt coming straight out of an all shrines run of BotW. I "accidentally" went down what I thought was a one-way drop after I noticed the ice when trying to climb back up. In doing so I thought I had to go around the entire island again to get back to where I was and in doing so, I found more Koroks and became a bit more familiar with Ultrahand and Fuse. Knowing what I do now I could have easily built a bridge up the drop out of trees and stuff, but not knowing that at the time was super cool. Reaffirming what I already knew with that second lap but coming to grips with just how wild you can get with the tools the game gives you was indescribably enjoyable. A moment of genuine euphoria I haven't felt playing games for a very long time. Then I started messing with fusing stuff to shields, learned about cart shield and saw a rail. The rest was history. Then I tried a bomb shield, thinking about that scene in the old show and whaddya know? It WORKED! Wanna put a wooden box on a shield or weapon? You can! It might not be practical in every case, but Fuse really opens up the combat in new and exciting ways that will definitely make a repeat playthrough more enjoyable. TotK has so many moments of genuine discovery and the sheer scale of the game makes it running on the Switch an actual technical marvel. I'm stoked for Pikmin and Prime 4 now. I definitely can't wait to see what Nintendo does with their next console which will likely be unveiled sometime in the next year or two. That excitement for upcoming games was already there, but the quality of TotK only elevated it. It's for sure my game of the year currently, but I'm not jumping the gun since I really love the Pikmin series as well.

[@HumanityLies]

My favorite part about watching videos like this is seeing everyone react to things i reacted to, seeing people get just as hyped as I did. This is the first time I've felt this way about let's plays since I was just as excited as everyone else for it to come out

[@linklink3069]

Today I got the last shrine, and I'm still only 50% done with the game. I can safely say this is my favorite game of all time.

[@thatonechick1318]

I just started my second play through and love exploring the Depths all over again.

[@HeisenbergFam]

Liam came back with quality milk after a month and plays Totk

[@trayhl]

4:02 - "There is a dragon out there!" Watching this scene with the full context of the game is so beautiful!

[@allegeddad]

finally someone who had the same reaction to mattison's sidequest that i did 😂 i didnt even get far enough in botw to get to tarrey town but it was so meaningful and beautiful

[@tksm97]

I found your videos in the month before TOTK released, and after watching your BOTW video, I decided that your Zelda retrospective series was going to be my must-watch series before TOTK came out to refresh myself on this universe. I am so happy that I did, and I am SO happy to see this video in my feed from you - I can only watch sections of it since I’m not finished with the game myself, but you were a big part of my days leading up to Tears of the Kingdom’s release, and I’m so happy to get to experience the game alongside you!!! Love the channel and happy to be here ❤️

[@tksm97]

i’ve finally finished the game!! oh my gosh, what an absolute *masterpiece*. truly a phenomenal game, it is awe inspiring to me to try and wrap my mind around what TOTK managed to accomplish. so i came back here to finish this video!! i can tell it’ll be one i come back to and rewatch regularly ❤️ your genuine passion, joy, fun, and love for the series shines throughout this entire playthrough!!

[@chamab.6800]

I love to hear folks getting emotional at the start of the game. I don’t feel so alone in that. 😅 When i finally started the game I had legit tears and sniffles. Thank God my husband wasn’t home. I would have never heard the end of it. Zelda games always have me in my feels tho. I have such wonderful memories associated with the series starting from OOT.

[@HarmonicWave]

12:28 "I would like to fuse this to my stick. I'm dead!" LOL 😅

[@Lyuze]

Blows my mind that you didn't cry at that zelda memory lol. I *still* cry watching that, and I've seen it probably 6 or 7 times now. I will admit, the dragon roost island motif during the wind temple boss theme gets me as well though ^^

[@WackoWambo]

cringe

[@augustmancuso2272]

​@@WackoWambour cringe

[@209musiclover]

The raw emotion and absolute GLEE expressed throughout this video was so wholesome and made me smile so much during a really rough day. Thanks for the cheering up!

[@ChRiAn0815]

Great supercut, but there are so many more moments where I want to see your reaction, because there are just so many great momentsand little things in this game.

[@gargles5270]

somebody else said the full vod should be on his twitch !

[@danisky14]

15:32 This made me like this video. I would ask you to make more longplays w commentary like this, but I feel like this kind of genuine excitement and enthusiasm only comes from a game like TOTK and none else. I love to just throw this video on while I do stuff! Thanks for your infectious enthusiasm

[@Kasai606]

What a pus- Nah I'm loving this. I've almost finished the video and it's so awesome to watch someone be so enthusiastic about something. I would watch hours more of you play Tears

[@lordtains]

I loved your reaction Liam! When you recognized Dragon Roost theme, I knew you were a real Zelda fan. You appreciate these games differently when youve grown up with them. My first was Majora's mask on the N64 as a kid, playing it with my sister. Then came Windwaker, Twilight Princess (which I waited for with as much hype as people have been waiting for TOTK), and then Skyward Sword. I tried BOTW, but I didnt really get into it. Something was missing for me; it felt too alone and I was missing the gripping storyline, temples and bosses of the old Zelda games. And now TOTK, and i have been playing nonstop. Somehow it feels like they have finally found the right balance between the open world feeling of the first Zelda games (Legend of Zelda on the NES) and the linear storyline of later games (Ocarina of Time). It's amazing.

[@pitchvantablack7005]

It is amazing how you condensed such a massive game into only an hour and a half.

[@AngelofGrace96]

I'm finally finished with my playthrough and can watch Liam's whole vid! And I gotta say, your essays are so great, but it's a lot of fun to hear you more relaxed and casual, I laughed so much at this vid

[@SylvaGardenia]

I never understood why people think Rito eating poultry or Zora eating fish is cannibalism. Cannibalism is when you eat something the same species as you. If a shark eats a tuna, is that cannibalism because they're both fish? If a mantis eats a grasshopper, is that cannibalism because they're both insects? No, of course not, because they aren't the same thing. If a Zora ate another Zora or a Rito a Rito, then it'd be cannibalism.

[@ramennoodles337]

With that in mind, we've never eaten monkeys i think ill... Wait no

[@MrArcadia2009]

I know many people who have been "helped" mentally, by playing a game, and it doesn't even matter what type of game it is. Tears of the Kingdom was the Game that helped me the most, but in a different way. The day the game was released, I was meeting up with my mother, who was waiting in the car for me. It was unfortunate for me that I fell, and I was in a lot of pain, in my foot, and I didn't want to put pressure on it. By the time I got to the hospital, they determined that I had broken my ankle in 3 places. The game helped me WELL BEYOND my entire downtime, and far beyond even that. So by the time I had completed 2 or 3 playthroughs, I could easily walk again, without pain. That's a considerable period of time. I'm certain that the record would show on my switch, that Tears of the Kingdom is the game that has been played the most, well beyond all others. I am entirely unable to put a number on this one game, as it'd be astronomical. ❤💖🔥🐐

[@greenberrygk]

That’s so beautiful

[@MrArcadia2009]

@greenberrygk Thank you. 🙂👍

[@wideunicorn722]

I love this commentary so much

[@jlshootingstar333]

I love how they really looked at how people played/wanted to play BotW and went all the way with taking away the limitations from the first game

[@Casin]

You missed a post-credits scene! If you complete the Fifth Sage sidequest you get an extra scene after the credits. Great video, btw! Really enjoyed it!

[@fortissimou257]

this video solidified that Liam is my favourite youtuber of all time. I’ve never related so hard to a video and this brought me so much joy.

[@leargamma4912]

Yeah but he isn't that great. He has flaws like all of us

[@SYLRMHA]

Special kind of stupid comment

[@exctasyi]

seeing you have so much fun with this game made me genuinely happy cuz that's exactly how it was for me too

[@lemoncat9329]

This game is such an emotional roller coaster!

[@MenacingThreat]

This dude is constantly coping🥲

[@AlaiaSkyhawk]

This was so fun to watch! A pity you didn't get the true ending/post credits scene (or you just left it out maybe?) It's definitely worth re-fighting Gannondorf after you have all the memories if you've not done so already :D

[@Kohana64]

This was a really fun watch. I hope to see more content like this in the future!

[@Hal0630]

I finished my main quest playthrough at 3am this morning, so perfect timing! 🎉❤ I don't think I'll get through your video in one sitting, but I'm excited!

[@MasonOfLife]

I wonder where they’re gunna go from here with the next game 😅 Like the Ultrahand ability is so crazy, they surely can’t get this crazy next time 😂 I wonder how they’ll change the art style or IF they will, what kind of items/abilities will they incorporate, etc Since we’ve had two Zelda games in a row with a big emphasis on sci-fi technology I hope for a more Witcher 3/ Ocarina high fantasy theme for the next one

[@perfessorclown5543]

It’d be cool if the next step were playing as an evil character trying to resurrect Ganon

[@Onemario-1234]

I was so hoping you'd do a video like this because I so desperately wanted to see your reactions!

[@praalgraf]

not watching this yet because i don't want spoilers yet but can't wait to see your reactions! consider this an algorithm comment

[@minksetti1168]

I absolutely loved your commentary, everything was so heartfelt and genuine.