My ISSUES with Tears of the Kingdom

[@raveouscarlias4479]

Every game has flaws. For my Money, ToTK was the Game of the Year for 2023. I enjoyed it more than Baldur's Gate 3 the whole way through. I had more issues with act 3 of BG3 than any issues I had with ToTK. I LOVED ToTK. It's just a better version of BoTW imo. Not that BG3 didn't deserve GoTY, because it was amazing. But ToTK haters are just pretty annoying to be honest.

[@1996Stein]

The devs definitely need to stop being afraid of small keys The terminal setup made sense for the Divine Beasts because they're huge machines but when I'm heading into ancient ruins looking for all powerful artifacts to awaken a sage, having 5 points marked on a temple map kinda feels like cheating lol

[@CaptBurgerson]

Great work on this one TGA, and hey thanks for the shoutout!

[@keithtorgersen9664]

I liked the story as it was presented in game, but one thing that bothered me about it is Nintendo’s marketing trickery, making it seem like the memories that were presented in the last trailers for TOTK, were events that we as the player were going to witness in action, instead of finding out that all those events took place outside of gameplay.

[@EdiggityDog37]

Bruh Sidon doubles the pristine zora weapons output… at around the 200 hours it was my go to way of taking out silvers just Sidon and zora weapons 🤘🏼

[@keithtorgersen9664]

Puffshrooms and sneakstrikes with fused 8 fold blades are way faster in taking out silvers.

[@Pheicou]

This game has my favorite Zelda story told in the worst way possible.

[@TheGeekApprentice]

That’s a fair statement! I don’t mind the memory scheme too much, but I do wish the story happened with us directly involved lol

[@Pheicou]

@@TheGeekApprentice That would’ve nice, I also liked your idea for the memories appearing in order.

[@keithtorgersen9664]

Something I’ve thought was weird, why is there no frigidly cold area in the depths, despite the fact that there are ice enemies? Even the yiga make a passing note on this when one clan member records his frustration about the superheated areas.

[@Nintendo-Memories]

Great video geek and yes I wish we had more big sky islands similar to the great sky island.

[@speedude0164]

I remember hearing you say that bit about the dungeon names in CaptBurgerson's one year anniversary discussion video, and it made me realize how much better it would've been for the Temple names to be the descriptions and the descriptions to be the actual dungeon names. I see them more as just having the Temple names because they all have a single room in them meant to store that race's secret stone, and as much as I love having elemental temples back in an open world Zelda and with the Divine Beast format to some extent, it would've been better to make the more unique names the titles and have the Temple names be used to explain the place's current purpose. There are very few things in Tears of the Kingdom that actively hurt the experience for me, but if there's anything that does and would be the one thing I choose to change about the game given the chance, it's that god-forsaken materials quick menu. Being able to throw any material or Fuse anything to arrows is such a genius idea, but having to scroll for up to 20 seconds to find some of those materials really discourages experimentation. They really should've either given that menu more rows or just let you do it from the inventory.

[@coolguychecker7329]

I get what you're saying about small keys but I feel like just replacing terminals with small keys won't solve the problem. I also think there are puzzle designs in BotW and TotK that are kind of equivalent to keys, such as get the electric orbs in Vah Nabooris to open a gate to a terminal. I think it's more that these puzzles are too independent in the dungeons and really should have some connectivity such that solving one opens the way to another. Regarding the story, I have to say I enjoyed it a lot more watching the memories in order. But something still feels off about it. Zelda and Sonia's trick to get Ganondorf and him getting the secret stone just feels like a very dumb scene somehow. I get the memories are supposed to be this intimate view into Zelda, but they lack the intimacy of BotW's memories and are instead very focused on exposition. The memories in BotW were really the story of Zelda and Link's relationship and her development through his experience of it. The story itself is told by the environment, by the world, the memories just fill that in. But in TotK the environment doesn't do any storytelling, so the memories have to carry the whole weight. I get that they were trying to develop Zelda from her own perspective this time, but this double duty for exposition and Zelda's development results in the story feeling very small. It tries to be intimate by having Zelda only interact with a few characters throughout the story but it makes the Imprisoning War feels more like the Imprisoning High School Debate. I also think Zelda is not characterized very well, her interest in the ancient Sheikah should be driving her actions, trying to find out the origins of Calamity Ganon and Sheikah tech. I'm okay with the Sheikah tech disappearing, on the other hand I don't buy Zelda's obsession with it disappearing too.

[@TheGeekApprentice]

I also don't believe replacing with small keys would help. My reference to them was simply because they're as common between classic dungeons as terminals are in botw/totk, but because those dungeons were so unique, keys weren't bothersome :)

[@CodeRed0]

I think everybody should be able to have their own feelings towards the game, be that loving it, hating it, or anywhere between. It irks me a bit to see people insulting complainers because I think complaining should happen where it's due. I know for a fact Nintendo listens to criticism, so I think it's fine for people to complain, otherwise there'd be nothing to go off of - they wouldn't know what to improve next. I think it's cool that Zelda has been able to touch on what Miyamoto had originally envisioned for it, but I do also think that it's important for the Zelda team to utilize feedback from the players to build upon that. Them knowing what works and what _needs_ work is a good thing!

[@Ramiel1point0]

I'm one of those people that's largely uncritical of the depths as they are (genuinely love the depths as is) but I think denser enemy concentration near the perimeter of the map/ even random gloom spawns throughout would have been an improvement. Also no master mode...why??? 😢

[@nickn271]

TOTK was a mixed bag for me. 100% a fun game. But it has some of the highest highs and the lowest lows in the series for me. Pulling the master sword from the head of a DRAGON? Incredible. Good luck topping that Nintendo. Hooking into the skyview tower and launching into the air? Breathtaking every single time! Those first several hours in the depths? Spooky! Buuuuut… The water temple? “How dare you stand where he stood!” -Harry Potter. That was ridiculous and should not bear the water temple name in vain. “So that was the imprisoning war?” Yep, the name hasn’t changed since I saw the last cutscene. Building an amazing airplane that fades away after a set time/distance? Ugh. I thought I was told to be creative. The “Master” Sword still needs to go take a nap? Seriously, Nintendo? For me the first 40% and the last 5% were amazing and if it had ended shortly after I think it would have left a better taste in my mouth because that middle 55% was repetition to a bad degree. I know people don’t like when others call this DLC, and I’m not saying it was. But it may have been better as a highly produced DLC and shortened because I do feel like it was stretched too far.

[@NuiYabuko]

Shortened? You are deciding how much time you put into it, though.

[@EpicPaul64]

This is the third video I've watched on your channel, and I'm thoroughly impressed! I love your style of talking, and I especially adore that you love Banjo-Kazooie! Thank you for convincing me to subscribe!! Also, I don't know if this still applies, but you said in your Banjo-Kazooie Worlds Ranking video that you were a devout Roman Catholic. I am as well, so thank you for our mutual Faith!

[@brandonbaggaley2317]

I hate the durability system. In previous games, when a durability system is applied to a sword (the Razor Sword and the Giant’s Knife), I skip to stronger and unbreakable alternatives (the Guilded Sword and Biggoron’s Sword).

[@Wxyver_n]

I can't seem to have a strong opinion towards TOTK. I enjoyed some parts and didn't in others which I'm sure some will agree. Even a year later my thoughts about it are still conflicted.

[@rockowlgamer631]

I'm glad TotK didn't get Game of the Year because BG3 deserved it more, plus it goes to show TotK had more work to do to be considered a masterpiece. The biggest issue I have for both BotW and TotK is that we're in the aftermath and not in the action. Age of Calamity fixed the issue of us not being there during the calamity in the first place. And either having another warriors game exploring the past where Link goes back WITH Zelda and they change the past to prevent any of the disasters in the future which would be dope.

[@TheGeekApprentice]

I actually disagree and believe totk is a masterpiece :) Multiple games can be a masterpiece, but only one can win. :) BG3 isn't my kind of game AT ALL - tried it, no thank you - so I can't speak to it.

[@VSMOKE1]

I don't know why they completely got rid of shika technology running into a couple of it would have been pretty entertaining like a Guardians upgraded with zonite tech every once in a while

[@InquisitorReid]

A year later, my one consistent issue with the game is the inconsistency that the developers had when connecting TotK with BotW. The story of BotW worked well for what it was, and seemed to go out of its way to leave a lot of room for interpretation as to how much of the older games were connected to this iteration of Hyrule. The story of TotK - in a vacuum - works well enough, too, in that it shows off these revelations on the origin of this version of Hyrule, Ganon, and other legends, and felt like it was designed to be a fresh start going forward with the series. The problem here is that the game doesn't bother to address this sort of disconnect between the two. Breath of the Wild is full of symbolism from the series' history, and the land itself was crafted with this in mind, but Tears of the Kingdom seemingly disregards this in favor of a history it doesn't bother to explain. I'll admit that part of this could very well be on fans for overthinking what those references and symbols meant to this particular world, but that doesn't change the end result. Less on the history part, though, was the weird inconsistency with the characters remembering Link. I know this point has been made by many people, but it just felt off sometimes. I don't buy the excuse I've heard in the past from others before that it's so people who didn't play the previous game aren't confused. Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword all feature areas (the starting ones, no less) where the characters all know and seemingly have some sort of history with Link, despite it being the first time you as a player are meeting them. Even A Link to the Past had several characters that already knew Link. I don't see any reason why the same couldn't be applied to any character in BotW that was - at the very least - part of side quest. Then there's the Sheika Tech, but yeah...

[@TheGeekApprentice]

On the point of people not remembering link, check out CaptBurgerson’s video on this! It’s sooo good! And you realize it actually all makes sense!

[@Mattjazz47]

@@TheGeekApprentice I think the Zelda team should take lessons from Nihon falcom with the Trail Series when it comes with the NPCs and worldbuilding. My game of the year for 2023 was Trails to Azure which was a direct sequel to Trails from Zero and both take place in the same exact city. This game basically expanded what was established from the previous one while completely raising the stakes which was all happening real time and no memory storytelling.

[@speedude0164]

I never really thought the Mabe Village Ranch Ruins and Arbiter's Grounds among other places were the actual locations from past games more than they were just references, and I never cared much for the idea of a Zelda timeline, but there are a few ways in which the game handles past references that I don't really like, namely the intro mentioning Rauru and the Imprisoning War only for both to end up being completely different versions. I'm also pretty confidant that the Nabooru Urbosa spoke of in Breath of the Wild is actually the Ancient Sage of Lightning, and although this isn't that big of a deal, it does take away from the significance that reference had.

[@InquisitorReid]

@TheGeekApprentice just listened to it earlier today, as a matter of fact. Generally, I agree with the reasoning, but it still feels a bit weird to me. I think this is one of those situations where the player's perception of the characters has more weight than the devs might have accounted for. As a bit of a side tangent, what I would've liked to see was more connectivity between the two games' saves that could affect some dialogue for characters.

[@greenbubbl]

Awesome video! Personally, this is the only Zelda game I've played that I didn't finish. I ended up watching the story and lore in videos. My biggest issue with it is how disjointed a lot of the gameplay felt for me, specifically the building mechanic. It's fun seeing all the stuff people come up with, but when I play a Zelda, I just wanna adventure and solve puzzles, not sit there for 10 minutes figuring out how to build a temporary flying machine to get somewhere. I appreciate how it gives creative freedom, but IMO it's too much. I was able to brute force WAY too many puzzles, didn't feel like I solved a puzzle. I could see how the devs wanted to have players get creative with building, but it's simply not what I want in a Zelda game. I also agree that the game would have benefitted from a bit more linearity. I was so hyped for this game too. BoTW is one of my favorite games ever. I had fun with TotK for a few hours, but it ended up just not being my cup of tea, which was a major bummer.

[@MetalSnowStudios]

Thoughts on the new hunger games book/movie announcement??

[@Cyclingismywholelife]

Great video. I appreciate personal honesty. I didn’t play this game as much as Breath of the Wild, I do love Tears of the Kingdom. My favorite part was the depths, my favorite Zelda game is the original, I miss the old school format. One thing I think Tears of the Kingdom got right was the sages, the reason being is that I grew up playing Megaman, in that game you use the right weapon for the right enemies and bosses to streamline the game, it was all discovery and the satisfaction of the struggle. The sages I think should be used the same way, each sage has its own advantage and disadvantage and learning where and how to use them is what made Tears of the Kingdom amazing for me.

[@Rito_Gamer]

I think I basically agree with everything said in the video! I think we have basically the same opinions about it lol. Love the video!!

[@danielhundley9348]

There's no such thing as a perfect game. At this point, people are just nitpicking and making mountains out of molehills

[@Joe-ik1ph]

A few opinions. I actually liked the terminals in the dungeons. Mainly because I find small keys kind of annoying. One idea I’ve had for future dungeons would be to go back to traditional dungeons, but replace small keys with something like a piece of boss key. The story was good, but the problem was how it was told. Nintendo tried so hard to make this a linear story while still being open world. But it didn’t work for some. Also, no more memories please. Let’s live through the story next time. For the Sheikah tech, the only problem I had was the Shrine of Resurrection. I don’t understand how it could still be there but have all the Sheikah tech stripped away. It should have either stayed the same as in BotW, or be sealed off so that we couldn’t enter it.

[@speedude0164]

I find the present has so much more going on than in Breath of the Wild to the point where the memories don't bother me as much (not that they really bothered me in Breath of the Wild either). The biggest problem I have with the story is that the past and present storylines don't work off each other very well. It's really easy to have seen memories that confirm the answer to questions others around you have, and although I get that they can't change every bit of dialogue to account for what you know and it is plausible that Link just doesn't tell people stuff like what happened to Zelda so he can keep their spirits high, it does get rather awkward. Take the Dragon Tears quest out of the picture and the presentation makes much more sense, so I think it would've been better to tie those cutscenes to main quest completion rather than reusing the memory system.

[@NuiYabuko]

You do live through the story. All the Regional Phenomena etc. are the story you play through.

[@michelzwiers7742]

I am of the opinion that the Sheikah Towers should have definitely been in the Depths, along with maybe a Guardian on occasion. It would've made sense given the lore in BotW, and it would've been a cool way to still have them be part of the game

[@InquisitorReid]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought about this. Going into the game, this is what I genuinely expected at some point (though more specifically, I expected broken down towers and possibly ruined versions of the Divine Beasts), so I was a little bummed when I was mostly done uncovering the map and hadn't seen a single reference to the tech outside of the arrowheads in the Spirit Temple.

[@speedude0164]

That would've been neat. I would've loved if you could encounter a single active Guardian in the world, and it turned out to be the Battle-Tested Guardian from Age of Calamity which you fight as a superboss.

[@NuiYabuko]

If that was the case people would've have had to stumble on the Depths during the excavations.

[@ShadowWizard224]

The towers from Breath of the Wild were so much better.

[@trinity31409]

I enjoyed the game as much as BotW. I am one of the newer fans to the series even though I have played the original on a NES. I missed everything from that game until BotW launched. My BotW file is 1500 hours in 7 yeard and TotK is already past 900 in 1 year. As someone without context for the rest of the series I have no problems with most of the major fandom complaints. My problems with TotK are around the gameplay bits that are worse than BotW. In TotK drop rates for parts that are needed for the armor upgrades are horrible. I spent far too much time going back across the map for lizalfos tails and hinox bits. If a Lynel has 4 legs it should drop 4 hooves. Treat it like Monster Hunter and the player should get realistic rewards for taking in the larger enemies. Simple bits like that would have made the game less of a slog. I would have liked a better Korok mask mechanic with a directional indicator. I could have enjoyed it more with a greater number and variety of sky islands. They should have kept remnants of the Sheikah technology. I want an ancient bladesaw again. I really miss the ancient horse gear and being able to summon a horse at any time. Building was lots of fun but there is something very special about riding the horses. Hopefully in the next game they take into account the fan response and allow for a large and open world with an optional setting to present the objectives and story elements in a planned , linear system. I would like to see the players be able to select either guided or unguided play at the beginning. Once we choose that is the playstyle for that playthrough. So all of the people who enjoy the do whatever, whenever style can have a version and those who want a structured and more cohesive story can have their way too. Allow for mass meal prep instead of doing them one at a time. Allow for fusion or similar gear adjustments in the menu instead of selecting, dropping the item and then using fuse. Display the stat countet screen in a menu instead of only during fast travel. I spent time fast traveling just to check my count of shrines and total Korok seeds. Allow for an item collection notification if the player has fulfilled the collection of the items needed for an armor or other upgrade. That way I don't need to keep writing things down and going back to Great Fairies often jyst to see which parts I am missing for the next upgrade. I have enough to keep going but I will stop here. Overall still well worth my time ane I enjoyed it and will continue to go back around the anniversary as I have been doing with BotW eavj Marvh 3rd.

[@shoolroyq1055]

This is my 2nd favorite game from Zelda, Ocarina of Time is No.1 for me now and always. I would say the dungeons, though a massive upgrade from Breath of the Wild, and the open world are the weakest links to this game. I do have some minor gripes with shrines, some parts of the story, but overall this game is amazing. I hope we go back to better dungeons like Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess while keeping the massive open world while giving it a bit more life.

[@frogdude1337]

first depending on your botw save data if any, npcs should have been able to remember you. 2nd dungeons were pretty shit. 3rd all of the little zonai islands on the ground were ugly and shouldn't have existed. they should have kept weapons able to conduct electricity. thats all I can think of before the video. now to watch it. edit. the sages were abysmal companions other than tulin, who was mid at best. sheikah tech being missing was disappointing and confusing. oh and the sky islands were so boring absolutely nothing to do. I disliked the depths just cause I hated navigating them in the pitch black

[@Sam_T2000]

how does _TOTK_ a year later compare to _BOTW_ a year after its release?

[@ShadowWizard224]

Breath of the Wild was vastly better and way more impactful.

[@TheGeekApprentice]

I personally enjoy Totk a year later more than botw a year later. However, the general reception of botw was better which is odd to me🤷🏼‍♀️

[@toomin2316]

"9:15 "keep your expectations low and you'll never be disappointed" Kratos

[@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.

[@pralyuris5936]

Personally, this game was a huge disappointment for a game that was explicitly set up as a sequel and had a development time exceeding its earth-shattering predecessor whose engine and map were copied for this game. It has arguably one of the worst stories of the franchise so far, destroying most of the already shaky "lore", a lackluster design philosophy, and, ultimately, was not all that fun after the Big Sky Island. Even the dungeons lacked the character the divine beasts had, despite all their flaws. It is objectively still a good game in isolation, to be sure, but it doesn't exist in a vacuum and I'm tired of hearing the argument it is a strict improvement on BotW when stuff like release window and the community around the game do matter for the experience. TotK definitely flatlined after like at most two months after release due to the aforementioned disappointments.😊

[@pralyuris5936]

Idk where I smuggled that emoji in, but I guess it's there now

[@michaellane5381]

I disagree the dissapointment was that bad. I have few large problems with the game just a lot of smaller gripes, for example the cutscenes... I disagree with the creator that we needed one glyph/tear at a time, what we needed was the tears to require "translation" by a device in the lost temple to allow linearity AND exploration. For the relics we needed less formula for each champion cutscene, I am (element) sage... Stone... Imprisoning war... Demon king would have been better if we had I am(Name)... History of Gorondian catastrophe the Demon king caused.... Stone.. Then another champion actually calls out the Demon king and loyalty to Rauru... Basically mix up each cutscene to address each village's specific priorities and reason for aiding Link..

[@NuiYabuko]

TotK uses a different engine.

[@ShadowWizard224]

“Even the dungeons lacked the character that the divine beasts had.” It’s about time someone said it. I’ve said this before and I will say it again but the Divine Beasts were better than the dungeons from Tears of the Kingdom. The Wind, Water, and Spirit Temples were all trash. The entire overworld of Breath of the Wild was basically centered around the Divine Beasts and they were under appreciated especially from a lore perspective. Breath of the Wild also had a much more well balanced story and the four champions all had interesting backstory’s. There’s absolutely nothing interesting about the story and lore of Tears of the Kingdom.

[@michaellane5381]

@@ShadowWizard224 I definitely disagree about the wind temple vs Medoh, the Stormwind Arc is far more relevant as in BotW there was almost no way to reach that beast outside the story, it wouldn't really do anything until you started that quest at all. Otherwise I do agree the other 2 were underwhelming, especially bosses in the Water Temple... We should have had far more Muctorok and Muck-Like in the temple, all the other creatures come off like Kaiju/monsters, they don't.