One Year Later: Why Tears of the Kingdom is an Underrated Masterpiece

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now officially a year old, so I wanted to take some time to discuss the game and its lasting legacy. In my eyes, despite all of the accolades, this game actually feels a bit underrated these days. That's a shame too, because I believe that TOTK is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best video games ever made.

[@chooongusbug724]

I also think TotK is better than BotW and I feel TotK's world was a lot more enjoyable to explore. I appreciate this take, good stuff

[@BuffedGaming]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching!

[@zacurrya9485]

They could only improve botw, but if we are talking about which one was more revolutionary compared to what came before, botw was innovative to another level, totk builds off of what came before. The sky islands are very bare bones and nowhere near as fleshed out as they could have been

[@chooongusbug724]

@@zacurrya9485 I don't care about any of this, TotK has the better gameplay loop and isn't devoid of content like BotW was. Have a nice day

[@theoaremevano3227]

I didn't like Breath of the Wild much, and while it wouldn't be expected to reverse my opinion, given its similarities, Tears of the Kingdom had a much better time selling me on the Breath of the Wild experience than the first game did.

[@zacurrya9485]

@@chooongusbug724 story of botw is better though don't you think, and the Zora bit was much more entertaining than in this game

[@ranacama]

Im still playng, and hasn't finished yet. Savoring every bit.

[@creamwobbly]

I just got enough fire keese wings to upgrade my climbing set fully. I'm going for the glide set next, then the mining set. It's just great the way it leads you from one thing to another and you can ignore everything and do your own thing and Zelda, she's cool with it, she's waited _this_ long who cares? Go get your bod kitted out, Lonk.

[@A-RonHubbard]

I'm doing my 2nd 100% run currently :)

[@Alex-1776]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. As someone who has put hundreds of hours into both games, totk makes botw feel like a rough draft to me. I haven’t played totk in a few months now, but I could easily pick it back up and enjoy it. I have zero desire to play botw again. My only real complaint about it is I wish the tear storyline was locked in a linear way somehow just because they are so easy to get out of order, and to me it’s a story worth experiencing in the proper order. And speaking of the story, it’s the first Zelda game that made me care about the character of Zelda, and it truly lives up to the name “the legend of Zelda” I never went crazy with the building component, but I find the possibilities of it and what they were able to do on severely dated hardware amazing. To me it’s the best Zelda game ever made

[@BuffedGaming]

Absolutely agree. The tear storyline order is a good point, feels like it would have been very easy to just have them activate in chronological order despite which one you were actually physically at. Thanks for watching!

[@kanyegrande4312]

@@BuffedGamingthe thing is the room where you get all the locations of the tears gives you the order to find them on the walls. Even finding the order of the tears was a small little puzzle.

[@higurashikai09]

​@@kanyegrande4312 unfortunately it's very unclear. I was insistent about getting them in order, so I just looked up a spoiler free guide. Never occurred to me that the mural showed the order

[@jamesmcgauhey7832]

I absolutely love TOTK over BOTW. When I replayed BOTW I kept on wanting more of the TOTK experience but alas, it didn’t happen. Now BOTW is great, don’t get me wrong here, but I believe TOTK had a lot more to offer. I am still playing it even though I have beaten it more than once and I still get surprised when I discover rocks that can still be blown up. Lol.

[@jamesmcgauhey7832]

Undiscovered rocks previously not seen.

[@jamesbates5552]

Totk was 🔥 I ain’t play botw but I doubt it’s better

[@JuanSinMiedo441]

to me it is. Simpler. Original. Unique. It flows, with no need to mix or build stuff. It's just you and the environment.

[@havenfractal]

My first playthrough of TotK was your typical first playthrough... do what you want, but don't do everything. After doing all the main dungeons, I finished all the shrines and light roots and fought the final boss. Great game. My second playthrough, I knew what I was doing, so I tackled the main dungeons in a different order, and even skipped one. For each dungeon, I challenged myself to do it in a different way than I had before. For example, with the Zora temple, I did the whole thing without ever getting the Zora armor. Not the hardest challenge, but fun. Likewise with the shrines, since I'd already solved them all, my question was "how can I cheese this?" and I had a great time with it. Now I'm on my 3rd run, and I'm finally trying to do "everything". I'm not worrying about making progression towards the end, I'm just exploring and doing whatever I find. Caves, wells, Addison, Koroks, mini-bosses, there's just so much to _do_ in this game. I'm sure I'll get to the end eventually, but I'm in no hurry, and I'm having fun just being in the game world.

[@tinyhumans9304]

Highly recommend a no paraglider run buddy, it's so much fun

[@Scramblefred2399]

@@tinyhumans9304you’re psychotic 😂

[@painuchiha2694]

I love Totk and going back to replay it gets better everytime imo Botw had that initial novelty that was much stronger but Totk is much more interesting to replay and wins the long run because of its gameplay and improved story and bosses

[@xerohh]

story is bad in totk

[@pancakes8670]

​@@xerohhIdk man, the story itself is pretty good. I loved getting to know the new Sages and actually fighting alongside them for the first time in Zelda. What was bad was the method of storytelling, the flashback sequences being out of order.

[@tinyhumans9304]

​@@xerohhThe story in most Zelda games are bad/mediocre, what?

[@diandrarizvi]

Thank you, and i agree with you 100% Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is such a great game yet still has the status of underatted. Mainly because first, people are expecting a beyond perfect game from the get go, being the follow up to BOTW and also Zelda game in general. Second, they're very VERY nitpicky about every little details. Almost every critique that i found about TOTK are actually not around what it lacks, but instead what has TOTK done improving from BOTW, but it's not enough... And lastly following the second reason, is people always comparing TOTK to BOTW. BOTW is just this perfect game in the eyes of many, and TOTK is just the toppings on top. While i'm not fully disagree, i think ppl tends to simplify this way too far. If i think BOTW is a simply classic and delicious fried rice, then TOTK is the same fried rice with improved aroma spices, more portion, a side of delicious fried chicken, sunny side egg, prawn crackers on top, and fancier plate 😁 Cheers

[@xenomorph6599]

I can take the people hating on totk as seriously as i can take the people who wrote the masterpiece known as Windwaker off for the art style change.

[@BuffedGaming]

Haha great comparison. Wind Waker is my favorite game of all time so I can definitely back this line of thought!

[@minecrafter3448]

Can’t wait until all of these people shut up 9 years from now and we can all enjoy the masterpiece this game is in peace

[@alibabaschultz352]

You are describing morons. There are intelligent people who think for themselves. I loved Wind Waker when it first came out. I also hated Totk.

[@tinyhumans9304]

​@@alibabaschultz352You are far from intelligent though when you have to describe people as morons. And you fall into the category of those "morons" when you get in your feelings about Tears of the Kingdom

[@christophernash8166]

Yes, we all come to things with certain expectations like we wanted more with the sky islands, but you have to let those feelings be put to the side to enjoy what this game is. There are many decisions in movies and TV shows that I dont like at first, but I put those feelings aside and learn to love and accept what they are after putting aside expectations. And that's how you appreciate things because you are accepting and appreciating someone's vision that is overall brilliant. Tears is an imperfect masterpiece. An imperfect 10/10.

[@brightya]

Absolutely true, but this revolutionary masterpiece probably cannot be fully recognized until the next gen grows up.

[@Sam_T2000]

my issue with the Sky isn’t that it’s relatively empty… it’s that what _is_ there is boring and repetitive, and most of the islands themselves are barren. I would’ve preferred a handful of densely and intricately designs archipelagos like the Great Sky Island to the Sky that we got. and I think the same could be said about the Depths to some extent… of course it’s massive, but it’s also relatively empty, and the aesthetic is one-note and gets old fast, unlike the Sky. the Yiga quest is fun, though, and the Zonai mines and such were always a pleasure to come across. …but honestly, my biggest disappointment was with the main surface map. I know there were changes, but going my surface area, did the changes account for more than 1%? the towers and shrines were in new places, there was one new town, and the old ones were mixed up… but it’s virtually the same map. when I heard they were using the same map, paired with the trailer of Link in a toga, I predicted the game would be taking place in the ancient past (where Zelda spends the game), and that while the terrain of Hyrule would be largely the same, the built structures, from Hyrule Castle all the way down to the roads and little wooden bridges could’ve been different. the Zonai ruins from _BOTW_ would be still standing in all their glory… the biomes and vegetation could be very different… and maybe the terrain could even have a few changes, like perhaps the Dueling Peaks were still connected? the surface map, which makes up the majority of the map, where the player will spend the majority of their game time, really just needed to be radically different from the map in _BOTW…_ simple as that 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@t14dann18]

I honestly don’t understand the negativity towards totk. For all the games I have played in my life only ocarina of time even comes close. I’m sorry that these silly lore KZbinrs feel like it doesn’t connect to some massive larger story, but that is purely a KZbin invention. Zelda games are not all supposed to connect. Not everything is Marvel and it’s clear to most that these connected universes ALWAYS collapse under the weight of their expectations, limitations, and required pre knowledge. Totk is a beautiful game with a wonderful story and the best gameplay physics I’ve ever seen

[@goodmanwiseman303]

It was really boring for me, but I agree the physics are amazing.

[@Sephiras]

Yea I do agree and while these games were always intended and designed to connect to each other in some shape or form that wasn’t the whole point of the series but really a small fraction of the series and is more of a tool used to build the world of Hyrule and build of the world of certain games like how Wind Waker uses Ocarina for its world Building leading up the world of the great sea after the flood or how Twilight Princess uses the events of Link in the child era for its story and events connecting Ganondorf to the game the way Zelda games connect is similar to something like the Dragon Quest Series where the games do connect and at times even reference past games but it’s merely a tool used to build up that world and it’s currently told story which Botw and Totk not only builds up off the world that Ocarina of Time had it also builds off the narrative from Skyward Sword but ultimately all we know that was confirmed is that Botw and totk takes place after ocarina of time and and Skyward Sword is still the official origins to the sky barrier we see throughout the games and the Master Sword the rest of the games are nothing more than Myths during the Botw/Totk time period which helps build up not only its vast open world but its lore and I think people being upset about how this Ganondorfs isn’t the same as the one in Ocarina and the past games or how Rauru is the suppose first King of the Hyrule we see I honestly think it fits with the lore with the Curse from Demise and that ultimately Hyrule is destined to repeat history not only with the whole reincarnation aspect but even events itself can repeat and while people point out “oh Ganondorf is repeating similar events like that of Ocarina so totk is a reboot of the series”is dumb it’s like saying “oh Link is pulling the Master Sword or wait he’s not using the Master Sword now he’s using the Four Swords it’s a reboot”it’s just dumb now honestly Totk lore imo doesn’t really contradict any past Zelda Lore but actually builds off from it and honestly the main questions we don’t really get answered is like who are the Zonai and what are the depths and why does it exist or who were the past dragons named after the Three Golden goddesses who created the world and who was the ancient hero in the tapestry who fought the calamity of 10,000 years ago besides those few questions I don’t think it really contradicts the whole lore or if any at all tbh it’s like you said these people just want it to connect like Marvel on top of these Zelda KZbinrs building up the lore of the series as if it’s crucial to understand overhyping it which in result causes massive disappointment ultimately while ultimately Totk may not be the strongest Zelda game in terms of narrative like something to Wind Waker or Skyward Sword or Majoras Mask it’s still enjoyable and a overall great game with a good story and amazing world and gameplay it’s undeniably one of the best Zelda games

[@dayveo]

I don't care about lore at all. I just thought it was pretty boring and seemed unfinished. The physics and gameplay were amazing, but none of the story elements seemed to work together coherently. Felt like 3 different games jammed together on the skeleton of BOTW. Too many absolutely repetitive cut scenes. (Really? Why do I have to watch the same exactly thing after ever boss battle?) Not a terrible game but not a masterpiece either.

[@pancakes8670]

I've said it before, but I personally think TOTK is just going through the "Zelda Cycle". Where a game comes out and it's initially praised. Reviews and criticism will roll in where the game is turned against, and then when the next game comes out people will look back on this one fondly. It's happened with literally every single game since Ocarina of Time. People hated WW, until TP came out and now WW is underrated. People hated TP, until SS came out and now TP is underrated. People hated SS, until BOTW came out and now SS is underrated. People hated BOTW, until TOTK came out and now BOTW is underrated. I'm willing to bet eight of my fingers that when the next Zelda game comes out, everyone's going to look back at TOTK and yern for it. The Zelda fandom has a really insecure relationship with the series where they can't just admit that they like the games. There's always gotta be some narrative. Edit: Saw another commenter pointing this out, but Theory KZbinrs especially did a lot to harm TOTK by building up expectations for things that were never promised.

[@blacky_Ninja]

You can ride dragons. There is literally nothing else one would need to say. 😌

[@tinyhumans9304]

Man, when I first realized I could do this I made the surprised Pikachu face lol

[@leandro2002198]

You can stop on his back, not ride...

[@blacky_Ninja]

@@leandro2002198 You ride the dragons the same way you ride trains. Or do you „stop in the train to Exampletown“?

[@Scramblefred2399]

@@blacky_Ninjai agree ride is a stretch

[@math9172]

TOTK definitely felt a lot more Zelda-esque than BOTW. The NPCs were more relevant and charming, the world was a bit more interactive (not enough, but still much better than BOTW), the side quests were fun and refreshing. The feeling of finding a hidden cave or passageway felt exactly like an old Zelda's mini-dungeon without breaking the open-world experience. For example the underground tunnel/cave between Lookout Landing and Hyrule's castle was amazing. And honestly, I didn't think it was possible to improve the graphics and performance on the exact same console as BOTW, yet almost everything looks sharper and more detailed in TOTK. PS : Is it really controversial to say that TOTK is better than BOTW ??? I mean it's not even a debate, it's a fact. Anyone saying botw is better is genuinely insane. TOTK offers basically everything BOTW had, but hieghtened in every single domain.

[@minecrafter3448]

If anything breath of the wild felt more “Zelda” than tears of the kingdom. It was a return to form after 20 years of complacency the series went through, formed around conquering the wild. Tears of the kingdom hasn’t really been done in the Zelda series before. I guess this is what the next evolution looks like. At least it’s an evolution and not… whatever 1998-2011 was.

[@math9172]

@@minecrafter3448 Lmfao, are you trying to win the bad take olympics ? Did you even play any of the Zeldas pre 2011 ?

[@minecrafter3448]

@@math9172 skyward sword sucked and ocarina of time was mediocre.

[@alibabaschultz352]

Its not a fact. Its completely subjective. And there are plenty of people who think Botw is much better than Totk. You gotta get used to hearing other opinions.

[@minecrafter3448]

@@alibabaschultz352 Pretending all opinions are equal is the most cowardly thing that’s become commonly practiced today

[@Yojimbo8]

I think part of TotK’s fading in the gaming consciousness is that so many Zelda KZbinrs made all these theory videos about BotW, convincing themselves these theories were actual truth. Then when TotK comes and doesn’t confirm these theories, that segment of the fan base is disappointed, dismissive, and derogatory to what the game is, resulting in the “glorified DLC” narrative.

[@chooongusbug724]

This is the truest shit I've ever seen, look at KZbinrs like Monster Maze and Zeltik for example...Those crazy theories then they're upset TotK isn't what they're headcanon made up for themselves? I'm glad they're a vocal minority though and mostly looked at as memes by the gaming community as a whole

[@chooongusbug724]

@@Ghost-Toast819 no they didn't, their theories were so dumb lol

[@chooongusbug724]

@@Ghost-Toast819 naw, we watched the same ones, I've seen you in the comment section of Monster Maze's videos, crying about weird, fanfic theories not coming true 😘

[@chooongusbug724]

@@Ghost-Toast819 dead silence? People still talk about it all the time, maybe not in the neckbeard lore groups but people who actually care about good gameplay, good mechanics, etc. still talk about it. I think you just sit in an echo chamber TBH lol Edit: you're also proving my point, the only ones upset by TotK are the ones mad their weird theories didn't come true and that's hilarious TBH lol

[@chooongusbug724]

@@Ghost-Toast819 all these words just to say you're upset you're the vocal minority and mad your wack fanfic-esqe story theories didn't come true Way to project about someone's age though, I was playing ALttP and OoT, when they first came out, when you were just a twinkle in your daddy's eye. No one was talking any sort of nonsense until your previous comment. Go sit in your echo chamber though, upset that a children's video game didn't do exactly what you wanted. "I looked it up" so you saw all those polls where TotK is called the best Zelda game? Even now? That's funny, I definitely believe you /s Edit: Nintendo also said, specifically Aonuma...Y'all are blinded by nostalgia and he doesn't care about y'all 😘

[@StarlinkFK]

i remember exactly 1 year ago, i was grinding totk and exploring the dephs for 3 days straight

[@BuffedGaming]

Yeah this is one of the few games where I took PTO for release day lol.

[@dhbomb]

I completely agree with everything you said in this video! I’m going to miss being able to experience breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom for the first time. I feel like no gaming experience will ever live up to them. And I also found tears of the kingdom to be superior to breath of the wild

[@LinkMountaineer]

This game got scrutinized so much. A lot of sequels expand on the world the predecessor introduced. A lot of people even said TotK’s story was worse than BotW. I really enjoyed both, but definitely like TotK’s more. The Divine Beasts were okay, but I really loved TotK’s temples. I’ve seen a lot of people also complain about the geoglyphs when the order and locations are revealed in a location you can reach early on even expanding on a location that didn’t do much in BotW in the process.

[@BuffedGaming]

Yeah I think if there's one area where TOTK completely outclasses BOTW its with its dungeons. I love BOTW too, but I will always believe that the divine beasts are by far the weakest aspect of that game.

[@LinkMountaineer]

@@BuffedGaming I didn’t exactly mind the Divine Beasts, but they definitely weren’t very distinct.

[@randychristensen1028]

A lot of sequels expand on the world the predecessor introduced but they also do so without reusing 90% of everything from said predecessor like the ENTIRE overworld

[@LinkMountaineer]

@@randychristensen1028 Tears of the Kingdom indeed does expand on the previous world. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 took literally the same approach and it’s widely considered one of the best Pokémon games.

[@namelessone5022]

Unfortunately, a nontrivial portion of the players didn't appreciate the game fully because they said there is no discovery factor due to reusing the map, which is partially true, because while it has the same basis, tons of stuff were added (tons of wonderful caves and fortresses, coliseums and labyrinths in the depths) and changed (towns), the side quests were better (there is no quests as good as the Gerudo's mysterious eighth, or Team Cece, A call from the Depth, Zonaite forge, to name just a few). The other, related issue, is that, from what I've seen thus far, a lot of people who played/streamed TOTK played it pretty much like BOTW, that is, they did not fully make use of the new devices, which is the main strength of TOTK. So of course, playing that way, they would be disappointed as it "feels" too similar to BOTW. What TOTK does, which I didn't see in any other games including BOTW, is that it rewards creativity and curiosity. Unsurprisingly, players who don't care about these features, and will not tinker with zonai devices, will not like the game. If what you wanted is a new world, new graphics, new characters, TOTK is not for you, it doesn't mean it's inferior to BOTW. Honestly, TOTK is superior to BOTW in every way. The complaint that TOTK is too much travel to reach one location, making it feel boring, holds true for BOTW as well, but what TOTK does better is that it lets you travel the way you want, with Zonai devices, assuming you use them. Also, the time it takes to reach interesting locations is due to the fact the world is too big. But if you remove the traveling time and only consider the time you spent in main quests and side quests, you'll see the game has a lot to offer, and it's super tough to finish. If people feel the world is empty, it's because it's too big, making traveling time lengthy, not because there is nothing to do. But "empty" is a very misleading word because it implies there is nothing interesting. As I said above, the quality of the side quests alone makes me want to play it again and again. When you add everything you could do with Zonai stuff, it's so much better. Whenever you see people saying BOTW is better than TOTK, or relatedly, that they prefer BOTW, the argument is very often the following: "TOTK is objectively a superior cake, but BOTW was the first cake I ever ate, and the first cake feels always better." I still see some reason to replay BOTW: master mode and some sick, unique combos you do with stasis and/or cryonis.

[@minecrafter3448]

You explained it perfectly. People only think it’s too much like breath of the wild because they played it like breath of the wild. (Or didn’t play it at all)

[@melian9999]

Im still playing. Already did 100%, took 11 months, started over and am enjoying it more, finding things i dont remember or just zoomed thru it first time. Botw got me back into gaming, but totk is better, i miss the bombs and revali gale and combat needs a master mode but totk is amazing

[@amit_patel654]

I'm just now getting ready to fight Ganondorf 😂

[@vicki2015]

😂 I have played every day for a year and still haven't faced the final battle! Don't want it to end... Good luck to you!

[@amit_patel654]

@@vicki2015 Thank you! 😂

[@B-ot2xx]

@@amit_patel654 Have you finished the game? 👀

[@amit_patel654]

@@B-ot2xx lol yup. I finished it a few days ago. That was pretty epic. 😃

[@joshtor29]

Finally, a channel that wasnt all ahh i am the totk acolyte for the first months and then bashed on totk when it suddenly became cool to call it lame

[@davidmarsteller5561]

I absolutely loved BOTW, but I feel that TOTK was a better game play.

[@airooooinsky1386]

Im not goig to lie, the only thing i think TotK could have done better was the sky islands. 3-4 more ones as big at the great sly islands would have been amazing. I also actually really liked the story--more than BotW story if im being honest.

[@minecrafter3448]

You know you’ve struck gold when the only possible improvements are just more of what you already have

[@Pablo1517]

To be honest, BotW was a better "game" when it comes to the expierience. I spent 250 hours in BotW simply wondering what's behind the corner and exploring the world. Totk i pretty much finished the story and never came back. The story and moments like catching Zelda left me in absolute tears and awe. But structurally, it wasn't as good as BotW. For example: BotW encouraged exploration by limiting it. You had to move on foot, by horse, sometimes being cheesy with some crafty runes use, but overall - you had to scale that mountain to see what's on top. In TotK I would just teleport on one of the sky islands, craft the same ship I used for the entirety of the game and just flew over to the place I wanted. Never had I any cool "puzzle" of figuring out how to get somewhere. BotW was a game about exploration, and TotK (while providing absolutely outstanding mechanic of Ultra Hand which was a toy in itself) butchered the idea.

[@minecrafter3448]

That’s not the goal tears of the kingdom set out to achieve. It’s all in themes. Breath of the wild was about conquering the wild. (Akin to the first game) Tears of the kingdom is about mastering it now that it’s yours. You know this place, time to make sure everyone knows that.

[@amla816]

great video! I definitely agree. as someone who merely finished botw but put over 100 hours in totk in the first two months, i can safely say the world of totk was far more enjoyable and still is to this day. i love the game so much and can't get enough of the giant world there is to explore!

[@CALEBROBERSON-sv9yh]

Thank you. This made me feel a lot better after hear all the complaints about totk. It is an amazing game.

[@BuffedGaming]

Glad you agree! Thanks for watching!

[@LouisLuzuka]

I prefer the feeling of breath of the wild for the first time ❤but I will never go back and play it again ever because tears just cleaned it up 😅so it’s bittersweet 😊

[@jimifender22]

Its strange to say it's underrated given its critical and commercial success and how much hype there was for, and the consensus that it mostly delivered on the hype upon release, but I agree. It really dominated the landscape when it came out but felt like it came and went very quickly. I guess given that it obviously isnt as impactful as breath of the wild it was always going to feel a bit more forgotten, but I felt like it improved on BotW pretty substantially. The only real complaint i had was the dungeons were not what i was looking for, and the shrines still had the same issue where they all had the same music and aesthetic like BotW's shrines did. But that aside i thought it was a significant step up and kind of an astonishing accomplishment in terms of scale and technical achievement. To be basically passed on entirely within a month felt a bit strange

[@BuffedGaming]

Thanks for the comment! You're right- I remember people absolutely loving it and thinking it fully delivered for that first month... But sometime within the last year people started to turn on it. The dungeons are still a weak point for me as well, but 1000x better than what we got in BOTW.

[@crystalskies1314]

i agree with all of this. people keep hating on totk for not being what they expected/wanted it to be and in doing so, failed to appreciate what it really is, a masterpiece 💕 only thing i liked better in botw is the characters of the champions over the sages (and its music will always be nostalgic). great video!!!

[@PhoenixKeebs]

I actually got this game like 2 months ago. So I'm still playing it. This game got me back into gaming after a 2 year hiatus. Definitely one of the best games I've ever played

[@jordkinsmith3588]

People just love to jump on the hate train. This game is better than BoTW in literally every way

[@deathisaprimitiveconcept]

Still playing it, still loving it.

[@user-im7mv7dj1u]

I’m playing botw right now and it is unbelievably boring. The map is really really cool, but all there is to do is collect korok seeds and do shrines which is just stupid. Wish they had actual mini dungeons instead of shrines. Side quests are so boring and there’s nothing you really get for doing them besides rupees. I’m really hoping this game is better. They give us such an incredible map with absolutely nothing to do in it.

[@chooongusbug724]

You'll enjoy TotK a lot then. My biggest issue with BotW was how devoid of content it was, TotK is rich with content

[@fdakis]

Terrific analysis. This makes me appreciate the game that much more.

[@BuffedGaming]

Thank you!

[@lcding8349]

Honestly, I feel like The Great Sky Island is the MOST Underrated Part of the Game by far. It has way better dialogue than The Old Man has, and absolutely perfect runes. The music is just an absolute masterpiece. It does everything the GP does but better. And the best part, Open-Air and Linear TOGETHER! I recently just played Breath of the Wild’s GP, and I felt like it was way too open-air. The GSI actually has Linear and Open-Air puzzles combined. (Example: The bunch of optional treasures that need you to have a certain ability while also having multiple solutions that make the player feel like they’re playing the game, not the game playing you. Btw sorry for the weird “game play you” thing, I just kinda made it up on the spot😅) Anyways the dungeons also do have this like for example the Stormwind Ark having a mostly Open-Air setting while also having a linear progression. The Fire Temple does this MASTERFULLY with those mine carts and actually can be compared to the linear progression of older Zelda Games. Spirit Temple is so cool. The Final Trail but way better. And I cannot go without mentioning the LIGHTNING TEMPLE. OH MY GOD.(Time to talk about why it’s so good and write a essay hehe) It has a really cool pre-dungeon quest where there’s a riddle but it’s not confusing as hell like BOTW’S trash Shrine Quests. And the 1st half of the dungeon has a really neat tutorial section where they tell you that Riju can’t teleport which is SUCH a good cheese inhibitor. And also a small, easy mirror puzzle. It also adds a lot of secret rooms which are so CLAUSTROPHOBIC I love it! It has a really cool dark vibe here and yeah, best dungeon I have ever played so far. (I’ve only played TOTK dungeons and Van Medoh. Also the TP Forest Temple.) Now for the amazing 2nd half which is extremely underrated. It has BIG puzzles which I feel lacked from my recent play through of the Forest Temple. Linear dungeons have good progression but not good puzzles. BOTW’S dungeons have okay puzzles and bad progression. And now Open-Air + Linear dungeons have GOOD puzzles AND GOOD progression. It has a hidden room at the start, and one of the rooms have a tease at the start. I love it. The puzzles have the best design ever. This game deserves a 99/100, just because the Water Temple dropped it 1 point. (F*** THE WATER TEMPLE THE PRE-DUNGEON WAS WAY BETTER)

[@BuffedGaming]

Thanks for the comment! Great breakdown of the games' dungeons- way more detail than what I provided in the video! Haha! Also, great point about the Great Sky Island. I feel like myself (and many others) forget just how great that part of the game is. What a fantastic intro!

[@lcding8349]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REPLYING! TotK was actually my first Zelda Game. BTW you should check out CaptBurgerson. Because TotK was my first Zelda Game, I really didn’t really care about Dungeons because well I mostly only cared about getting to the boss, didn’t really focus on the Dungeon Design. But after watching his videos on TotK dungeons, I realized how good the Design really is! Honestly, I think Linear Dungeons have not really good puzzles because they’re Linear. All the puzzles are just like “oh here’s a puzzle go next room another one yay!” But they have good progression. Anyways I’m currently writing a review for TotK for fun but so far it’s only for the Early Game part. BTW Royal Hidden Passage is also EXTREMELY underrated. It’s literally a mini Hyrule Castle it’s just so cool! BTW I might type my (extremely long) review later in the next video so if you actually reply to that I will be so happy. By the way you really surprised me because everything you said was just the same as me. You’re one of the rare people to actually properly analyse TotK’s amazing Game Design rather than judging it as a bad game just because it has the same map. The map has changed alright! Anyways uh vielen dank! Translation: Thank you very much!

[@lcding8349]

Btw I’m writing a review for fun about TotK right now (I STILL PLAY IT IT DESERVES GOTY) so yeah I’ll just type it in the next video or something hehe

[@minecrafter3448]

That was actually my least favorite part of the game. Good as far as tutorials go, but very underwhelming compared to the great plateau. The great plateau was the best tutorial in any video game, ever, by far. 10/10 doesn’t come close to describing how good it was. Then tears of the kingdom comes around with an 8/10 tutorial, and I worry I’m about to be disappointed. Good thing that’s the worst part of the game, and the rest is perfect.

[@lcding8349]

Can you PLEASE actually give an explanation and example? I always just see people criticising a game but never give an explanation or example. I really do not want to start an argument here so please?

[@captaincruise8796]

Tears did have some glaring weaknesses, but to say that Botw was in any way, shape, or form better than Tears is just silly.

[@danieltinsleykhvsff9622]

Agreed 👍

[@alibabaschultz352]

I disagree

[@commenter5901]

The only thing that Tears couldn't do is give you that sense of wonder the first time you see the world after coming out of the shrine of resurrection, or when you find out that you can climb EVERYTHING. It's a freedom that you'd never had in a video game before so it really hit hard. In TOTK, you already knew about and expect lots of that. The only other thing that BOTW did better was the champion abilities. I usually play with them all turned off (except Tulin, because he actually works properly when gliding). I've played it through once to 100% blind and it took me over 600 hours. Finding all the changes in the map and the NPCs was so much better than having a whole new map. I don't think you could do a BOTW sequel and put it on a different map. That idea doesn't make any sense to me.

[@joelmccray2594]

I love both personally, I just beat botw on master mode, 120 shrines both dlcs, now I’m gonna go directly into totk as if it’s all one game

[@joshb2907]

Botw master mode was cool. You haven't killed a lynel until you kill one with sticks, axes, and pot lids. Takes a while.

[@minecrafter3448]

Still hoping for totk dlc

[@boilinswin102]

I got botw and totk around the same time, so it felt like one big game to me!

[@joshb2907]

@@minecrafter3448 aren't we all

[@minecrafter3448]

@@boilinswin102 that has to be the perfect experience. Play breath of the wild until you’re full, then with no unfair expectations being BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER by tears of the kingdom meeting the unfair expectations most people had.

[@ZeldaEastWest]

Agreed. I feel that many Zelda Tubers who initially praised TOTK began running out of video ideas and chose to change their stance on the game to maintain momentum on their channels, which disappoints me greatly. The sudden negative discourse over the past two months or so has come as a complete surprise to me. I think TOTK is a brilliant sequel and a masterclass in game design. I appreciate your video-great job.

[@jannemakela8107]

Or you know, maybe TotK isnt as long living as BotW. There are thousands feeling disappointed about this game and content creators being same is not unheard of.

[@eduardocoutinho4171]

Totk story is way better then botw

[@WalterFlores187]

THANK YOU FOR THIS. I only see content creators give their takes on this game based on what they wanted/expected, always ending up on a whining ramble about how it was underwhelming. But they almost never judge it for the game that it is and what it offers without looking at the improvements they expected from BOTW, a game no one expected

[@IzzyItachi]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought the depths were cool for like an hour until I realized it’s the same boring terrain for the entire size of the main map. After that I never really wanted to go down there unless I needed to upgrade my battery.

[@vicki2015]

6:40 pm Sunday 26 May 2024 I am still playing, not missing a day one year later! Absolutely love the challenges and still working through a few things (as a completionist tragic 🤭). Love using Ultrahand and Ascend, as well as being challenged by all the puzzles, riding the dragons through the worlds...I am always engaged, never bored. Absolutely love the outstanding Zelda series and applaud the creators - magnificent work. TotK is indeed a massive game - thank you for your excellent anniversary commentary 🎉

[@doclee8755]

Great review! My favorite part you highlighted perfectly, the depths! I avoided those chasms for a long while before being forced…and when I jumped in…I was waiting for the dying animation and music to play…instead you hear this creepy horn blast and realize there is a whole new world! For that surprise alone, I love Tears of the Kingdom.

[@tralijntje1540]

underated or not for me its a master piece its forever my first zelda game as a new gamer . (for me ) its challenging and sometimes a struggle to play this game but so rewarded when i beat a difficult part. and just riding a horse and just exploring without doing much or doing silly stuff with the abilities is so much fun in it self for me . the one thing i had a lot of trouble with was detach stuff with ultra hand that could of made a bit more clearer (solved it now)

[@BuffedGaming]

Ah man, I love to hear that! What a special title to have as your first Zelda game. Agree though, some of the ultra hand mechanics can be a bit clunky at times.

[@joshb2907]

You must be a young pup! I was there as a kid in '87 at the start of it all. Only Zeldas I haven't played is both oracles and spirit tracks. Been there and done that for almost 40 years. I'll tell you something else too. Totk is the best damn one, and you should consider yourself lucky that it was your first

[@KittMouri]

I actually just recently decided to go back to Breath of the Wild the other day, just so I could revist the past. I'm enjoying the trip down memory lane, but the quality of life improvements in Tears of the Kingdom have really spoiled me! It's still a masterpiece, as well, but TotK made so many improvements that give the impression that BotW is inferior. But, that's just not the case. BotW set the stage and TotK performerd on it. The platform was established in such a way that TotK could not fail! It was a team effort and both games played their roles, perfectly. ^_^

[@K1NG_of_ReVeNGe1]

It's the same thing as with Ocarina or Majora. I prefer TOTK and Majora, even if their predecessors did "more" for the franchise.

[@harishjoshi-wf2xe]

oh god didn't realize you had such little no of subs and views, what a great narration and video quality.

[@BuffedGaming]

Thank you!

[@wolficeblade9808]

Honestly thought I was watching a guy with 1m+ the way he has his video set up. 😭

[@BuffedGaming]

@@wolficeblade9808 Damn, thanks man! Maybe one day lmao

[@jellycore1316]

Wait, 128 SUBS?! I was expecting, like, 3000 subs or so when I read this comment, this video is awesome! 128 subs is amazing already, though! ^^ And make that 129~! Thanks a ton for the video!

[@BuffedGaming]

@@jellycore1316 Thank you! I hugely appreciate every sub. I'll get to that 3000 mark eventually!

[@bigfootapologetics]

Agreed. BotW is a masterpiece. It took me years to finally play it and beat it, and I was blown away, even by the stuff most people didn't like (the final battle with Dark Beast Ganon, for example, was amazing in my eyes solely due to the music). TotK has many things I don't like compared to BotW (the "cluttered" overworld, the sages being onscreen with you, and the lack of DLC/a Master Mode) but I cannot deny there's more (virtually infinite) things to do and ways to play, a great story that isn't as good as BotW but completes the BotW story experience (I will absolutely die on that hill), and vastly improved gameplay given the weapon fusing system. I couldn't argue TotK was worse even if I tried. I'm a busy dad, but I'm playing through Skyward Sword, then trying to 100% BotW (possibly Master Mode, but I'm scared of it), and then doing a second playthrough of TotK.

[@kathygriffin306]

This game is my second favorite, but above all ocarina of time was the best Zelda game. In my opinion I do love the expiration. I did a partial walk-through the first time this is my second time going through, and I am just trying to search and find everything that I can and I’m taking my time I am in no hurry, the game has so much game has to offer it is a great game in his own right and I think that’s how people should look at. It is not as being like breath of the wild but very different breath of the wild was good game, but I’ve been to the kingdom was better it opened up other things that were not possible, but I think it has a precedent for a lot of games going forward.

[@sulaimanbehbehani8054]

Speaking of the extreme level of freedom in the games, my favorite moment in the game was when I went all the way up to the wind temple without Tulin. I made my way all the way up and it was a challenge to make it to the temple and it was so much fun! Unfortunately when I got there I couldn’t interact with the dungeon, so I thought to myself “I need to find Rito Village I’m sure someone there would help me out.” I made my way down and found the village in the blizzard (which was harder than I expected) and got Tulin (the wind temple special item) and made my way back up to complete the dungeon.

[@Its3am]

I did the same. “Why can’t I start these engines?”

[@Its3am]

I totally agree. Nice vid.

[@badluckhybrid]

Man, I really like Totk, but some of y'all in this comment section fr gotta learn how to debate with intellectual integrity 💀 (If you try to point at me for being a "fake fan," then, I'm sorry to inform you, but you can disagree with an argument in favor of a position you hold if that argument is using reasoning you disagree with. Ex: games shouldn't worry about having good stories.)

[@darknova26x]

BotW for me was gonna be hard to top. I put over 500 hours into it over the last handful of years leading up to TotK, and loved every moment of it. I was a little worried at what exactly TotK had to offer since it was set within the same Hyrule but with sky islands and a new story. I am glad I gave it a chance though, I ended up loving it just as much, there were so many new things that I am glad Nintendo left a surprise.

[@Ray-dl5mp]

Yes this video deserves 10x+ more views. Great job! I think you summed up key ideas about this game nicely. This game is truly special if you let it wash over you. But if you’re looking for things to pick apart, or focused on the art style being the same, then sure people might turn negative. But for pure gameplay, it’s such an incredible game. Not to mention basically perfect music for this type of game etc. You just have to dive into what the game is.

[@BuffedGaming]

Totally agree! I barely even mentioned the music, but yeah the soundtrack is incredible. Especially that main theme.

[@manongzki5817]

After playing TOTK, I cannot stand playing BOTW even for half an hour.

[@ubermacv2]

LACK of staying power?! What have you been smoking?! Been playing over a year now and I only have two of the main dungeons completed! I'm not a speed runner. I am taking my time to enjoy every moment of it!

[@BuffedGaming]

I meant staying power with the gaming community as a whole. Of course those of us who love the game could play it forever!

[@ubermacv2]

@@BuffedGaming Their loss! I'll keep on enjoying it!

[@10k-Noodles]

I remember following posts on resetera’s forums after the game leaked. When somebody posted that there was an underground area and they’d spent days trying to map it and it appeared to basically be as large as the overworld, I was like, “wtf?” Then you hear that horn sound the first time you descend into complete darkness and it was eerie as hell. First time a Zelda game managed to creep me out since Arbiter’s Grounds. I can partially understand why the sky islands would be underwhelming. If there were too many the size of Great Sky Island the overworld itself may look as dark as the depths. Dragonhead and Thinderhead were pretty cool. Water Temple was the biggest disappointment in the sky, with that furnace island being pretty close second. I was thinking it would be way more important, because it stands out. It kinda looks like one of the cut dungeons from Wind Waker. People say the depths were too samey. But I had fun wandering around and testing out different things to take down camps.Sorta had a Cave of Ordeals vibe to it. The overworld itself is easily my favorite still, and I was happy enough with the level of changes. And all those people complaining about not being able to pet the dogs need to remember. You can now ride dragons which, last time I checked, was infinitely cooler than petting dogs. Plus you can build jets and gundams and hover bikes and things that are rated M for mature, if you’re into that.

[@sebas41yt]

Great video! Soo true everything you said

[@DineDiamond91]

I loved (and still love) BotW, but I love TotK even more! Once I finished BotW back then, I started a second run. But it just wasn't the same, the "magic" of the first time was gone, so I never finished that run and moved on... I also didn't feel the need to do the 100%... But TotK did something to me that no other game has ever done! I had high expectations and still they were exceeded. I WANTED to do everything, even the Koroks, because I just didn't want it to end... To be honest, I still don't want it to end... I'm currently on my 4th run and every run was different, because the game gives you so much freedom, so many possibilities! (it even made me want to play BotW again) I still wonder how they made it possible to run this game on the Switch 😅 Something that (in my opinion) isn't appreciated enough!

[@ReapeX]

If you haven't completed the game be warned, this video has spoilers.

[@minecrafter3448]

Right, guess we should avoid those. Just figured since it’s been over a year since the game sold half of its total copies in a single weekend it should have been okay.

[@ReapeX]

@@minecrafter3448 The 1st year anniversary just happened. Nintendo is re-advertising ToTK more and there are more first time player videos being made. Personally, I've been playing over 100 hours and only recently started the story.

[@minecrafter3448]

@@ReapeX That’s impressive, even for this game. What’s been your favorite rune?

[@ReapeX]

@@minecrafter3448 For me its Ascension is just plain fun to me, couldn't do that in any other Zelda game. What is your favorite rune?

[@minecrafter3448]

@@ReapeX at first it was fuse because it single handedly fixed the durability system that was flawed in breath of the wild, but it’s hard to appreciate anymore since I stopped playing breath of the wild. Now I find myself spending hours at a time trying to refine vehicles. I’ve made a few better than the hoverbike, and had a blast with each one.

[@56ty_]

I think there was a disconnect between players and devs, with the marketing worsening the situation. The Zelda haters (formerly linear Zelda fans) toxic vocal minority was quick to latch onto this and now they’re monopolizing the discourse. Personally, with time I learnt to LOVE this game. It’s now my favorite on switch (my favorite console of all time). Cheers to this great video and to all the memories we made in Hyrule

[@adnnebs]

Just face it just like he said NO one is talking about this game. Look at Zeldatubers they all don’t release videos at all cause the game doesn’t give you anything lore wise. It’s a good game to play construction building but to deep dive into the lore it so lackluster.

[@56ty_]

@@adnnebs I’m sorry, ‘zeldatubers’ have different priorities. Criticizing totk makes for good content, the game being supposedly bad is news, coming from botw. It costs nothing and they don’t even have to come up with good arguments. Plus they can rely on said toxic part of the fanbase to farm views. Me, I’m just a player, I like the game and I can say it freely.

[@adnnebs]

@@56ty_ if criticizing TotK makes good content why don’t they do it then? They all did like one or two videos saying the game is bad (we all agree the gameplay is good but you can’t elaborate on that). Nintendo really dropped the ball on the lore here. They established a good lore for TotK but they chose to leave it vague. Like no mention in game about the sheikah tech disappearing

[@56ty_]

@@adnnebs I agree, they’re very hypocritical. Just like Pokémon haters. They hate it but they’ll continue talking about it because it’s easier. But you can see everyone else and their mama is doing it. I’m flooded with one hour and a half, copy paste totk takedown videos that fail to make one single good argument lol it is what it is, people are giving these influencers too much attention. But I agree, lore and worldbuilding were slightly better in previous games. It improved in some aspects while leaving others behind.

[@brightya]

110h TOTK so far with 20% main story and 99% were played on the handheld mode. Every time I pick up NS for TOTK, I appreciate how incredible the experience is to be able to play the greatest game ever on such an incapable device.😂 Don't take me wrong. NS is my favorite console still despite that it is so outdated.

[@joshdieckmann595]

I tend to agree that TotK is the superior experience to BotW, despite BotW having been previously my favorite game up until I played TotK. I still love and play BotW, and did another play through of it a couple months ago. But now that I'm working on my 3rd play through of TotK (1st this year), despite some things I miss from BotW (remote bombs and pre-made elemental arrows, for instance), I'm finding that after having been through that game 8 times, I've mostly seen it all. TotK is so big that it would take me at least as many play throughs to truly experience all the game has to offer, and that might not even be enough. I'm looking forward to continuing to explore the game for years to come.

[@danielleferreri4177]

I'm still playing it. It's my comfort game 😂

[@hawaiian87]

Not the he complained about it in the video, which I appreciated and thankful for, but people wanted a sequel to BOTW. With that would mean that you will have the same map. It’s 5-7 years later, not 100’s of years later. Something are going to be the same, most towns IRL don’t magically or complexly change in that amount of time. True new buildings could appear, but nothing drastically changes within 5-7 years.

[@calicocookietv7994]

I like finding a good review on this game. Gonna get this game anyway. I'm sure it's gonna be epic! 😊 i saw a guy playing through this game abd i noticed you could build wagons and go into chasms and I was so excited 😂 then i realised it also had 4 temples. Like whaaa?? Temples and open world? Amazing!

[@BuffedGaming]

Hell yeah, enjoy the game!

[@Ghost-Toast819]

When you understand game design it’s pretty obvious why it’s success was short lived. It inovated the wrong things and broke their own limitations that create an environment for long playtime. Despite offering more ways to interact with the engine those interactions are not required and opened up options to break the game. In short Nintendo shot themselves in the foot.

[@TheGamersState]

The story is overall better as this game does have some amazing memorable scenes but there's 1 major area Zelda BOTW did better; That story, lacking as it was, was much better suited to an open-world setting. Let me explain; In Zelda BOTW it doesn't matter what order you find the memories. The purpose of the memories was just to provide context for the present. We knew Link was asleep for 100 years and we knew Zelda unlocked her power, we just needed to know HOW it happened. But with Zelda TOTK; If you, and you very likely will, view the cutscenes out-of-order, it can have horrible consequences for the story as you're learning stuff sooner than you should be. The main point brought up here is why doesn't Link tell anyone where Zelda is? They REALLY should have made it so each memory is unlocked after the other and not allowing them to be viewed out-of-order. I get that Nintendo wants to promote this "feeling-of-freedom" with the games but this is an example of when you make things too free. I remember 1 of the first memories I saw was the 1 when Mineru explained dragonification and another early 1 was when Zelda got the Master Sword. This basically laid out to me exactly what happened as it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened next which meant the "revelation" wasn't really a revelation as it was pretty much spoiled before we even got it. A better way would have been to have Mineru explain dragonification early and then not mention it for ages so we may forget and then at the big reveal, we suddenly have a "Oh my gosh! The Dragonification! That was foreshadowing!". Another memory I saw early was Queen Sonia's death. This killed any appreciation I had for her because I'd just met her, if you want a character's death to be impactful, you don't kill them off early, you let the audience connect with that character and when they die, it makes their death have purpose. But if you got that memory early like I and many others did, you aren't gonna care because you have next-to-no attachment to them. If Zelda TOTK had only made it so you cannot view them out-of-order, the story would have been MUCH better.

[@kittygirl0872]

"Underrated" yeah right

[@springtrap_66pg66]

more like "over-hated".

[@therealgaberton1683]

@@springtrap_66pg66overrated* its MOSTLY praised by everyone and people just say to “ignore the flaws”. and i can appreciate a lot about it but the flaws won’t just be ignored especially after waiting 6 years for this game

[@ReapeX]

@@therealgaberton1683 there are a ton of negative review videos on KZbin for ToTK. Many of the reviewers feel it should be DLC for BoTW and not it's on game. Then they scrutinize ToTK more, nitpicking it and complaining about why it didn't win game of the year award. So, yes there is a lot over-hate for ToTK.

[@therealgaberton1683]

@@ReapeX you’re mad a lot of people were left dissapointed? there are still wayyy more positive reviews and most negative reviews still give praise where it’s due

[@ReapeX]

@@therealgaberton1683 you completely misread my message. I was stating what some others thought, I never once stated how I felt.

[@Nin10doLetsPlay]

And this Channel is also underrated ;)

[@BuffedGaming]

Haha! Appreciate you watching!

[@theoaremevano3227]

Breath of the Wild sort of spawned the open world bubble that followed in later years, and funnily enough, that bubble sort of 'popped' around the time of Tears of the Kingdom, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say Tears caused people to realize it had popped. Still, I agree, brick-for-brick, it takes at least some steps on every front, even with some of its faults. I used the build mechanics quite a bit, and the only faults I have are that it tends to circumvent a bit too much too easily, and the game's efforts to encourage building tended to involve dumping a fully-formed obvious vehicle at your feet and having you put it together. I think this is partly because the physics they went with lean a bit hard on physical limits over fun/function, meaning the vehicles that can work tend to be limited to the point where, unless they put it together for you, or just drop you the exact parts you need, there's a risk of players getting flustered over it. I think if they'd loosened up a bit more on physics like friction, and had a little more control over how certain parts work (like rockets and weapons just firing uncontrolled once the machine was active), they might have been able to throw some more cryptic solutions at the players. Only other gripe I had was combat being a little too unchanged from its predecessor. Wasn't a fan of the first iteration, and this made me a bit worried they would just keep running with the exact same mechanics even beyond Tears of the Kingdom. I hope that's not the case. At least the final boss did a great job casting the combat in its best light. Ganondorf is almost like a 'Dark Link' in this game. :D

[@minecrafter3448]

I think they do that because some players can’t be bothered with ultrahand. It’s more of an appeasement to have an almost completed solution at the ready for the inevitably lazy players that will go complaining otherwise. It seems to have worked, as you’re the first person I’ve found to have a problem with it.

[@theoaremevano3227]

@@minecrafter3448 : It was probably inevitable without some kind of Hero Mode for this game. I've found people that do feel the same, but myself and most others agree, what you stated was probably the reason. I guess it's more accurate to call it a drawback than a mistake in design.

[@M_B_J]

Totally agree. I went back to BOTW after putting 100's of hours into TOTK and it felt lacking. Dont get me wrong, i adore BOTW, but its sequel surpassed it in virtually every way.

[@calvinsuhr2323]

i agree. i thout you had a lot of subs before looking at your channel, i was here before your channel blew up!

[@BuffedGaming]

Hell yeah, thanks for the sub and the support!

[@Cooper_Vision]

I wondered if because we played BOTW so much it impacted Tears, I have over 600 hours on the original and was still playing when TOTK released. It didn't really feel new but now I'm thinking it's because of the sheer amount of play I'd put in.

[@NickkaFlickkaWang]

I made it through BOTW barely found 1/2 the shrines and never once wanted to replay. I just started my 2nd playthrough of TOTK a year later after finding all 152 shrines, all armor and a TON of seeds the first go around. I'm enjoying this 2nd playthrough just as much if not more

[@StarWarsUnited123]

it really is an absolute masterpiece and an immense achievement. Shit gets better the more I play it. First run:"best game ever" Second run:"still great but kinda disappointed" Third run "wow what was I thinking. Peak gaming."

[@SecksyMan]

I still play it every week. One of my favorite games

[@lovepirate14]

Not having a Master Mode or plans to release one as DLC is such a huge mistake.

[@jazzyjswift]

I don't think it was underrated at all. This was literally one of the biggest anticipated games for literally years since it's original teaser dropped. But it was too similar to BotW, which caused many people to struggle to play it all the way through and fully explore the world they had already explored before.

[@minecrafter3448]

You just explained exactly why it’s underrated while somehow not understanding that it’s underrated.

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

3:56 “Totk is objectively a better game than Botw in almost every way” Define the word ‘objectively’. I think that’s where the problem lies. You might have high objectivity, given the measures you’ve very subjectively chosen, but those are very subjectively chosen. And you’ve also got to define the word ‘better’, given how a game’s worth is entirely determined by how its users collectively respond to it

[@Bojangles657]

Your mental gymnastics are astounding

[@alibabaschultz352]

@@Bojangles657 How so? If you think art is "objective", then you might be a narcissist.

[@chooongusbug724]

​@@alibabaschultz352as you say BotW is objectively better than TotK? Who's the narcissist?

[@alibabaschultz352]

@@chooongusbug724 I didn't say that.

[@chooongusbug724]

@@alibabaschultz352 "BotW is objectively better than TotK in every way" Did you not say that in your stand alone comment on this video?

[@Dragynn999]

Yeah.... that game has it's problems. Still I think, it is the best open world Zelda.

[@bouncybubble]

I respectfully disagree Personally I hate totk but botw is my favourite game of all time🤷‍♂️

[@BuffedGaming]

Hey you can't go wrong with BOTW either! Both are fantastic experiences in my eyes.

[@geminisfl]

Maybe "hating" is too much of a strong word

[@israelwilson4022]

i respectfully agree

[@duncanwood2957]

I totally agree

[@ericwindsor339]

I doubt you will read any of this, but here are my criticisms of your points. You say BOTW's story was bad because it took place in flashbacks, and then praise TOTK's story despite it also taking place with flashbacks. You also say it's 'objectively better in almost every way' despite ignoring the fact that the Champion abilities run circles around the Sage abilities in both ease of use and power and the BOTW quick menu being way faster than TOTKs. BOTW horses are significantly better because of the ancient saddle, and the summonable vehicle the master cycle can be powered by anything not just Zonaite/battery like the TOTK vehicles. The only thing I would say is 'objectively' better in TOTK are the quality of life updates and the larger world/cave systems. You then go on to praise Ganondorf for not being like BOTW's Calamity Ganon that you've 'already fought multiple times before during the game', but Ganondorf is literally that exact same concept? There are Phantom Ganons littered around the world map which fight just like Ganondorf does, so you've already had plenty of practice fighting against him before the final fight. Ganondorf just hides alone in his cave from the beginning of the game until the end of the game, with no significance to the present-day story whatsoever outside of the gloom, which is literally IDENTICAL to BOTW's Calamity Ganon hiding in the castle until the end of the game outside of the Malice that it created. How can you complain about one but praise the other for doing the exact same thing? TOTK's dungeons DO look visually distinct which is a plus, but they function exactly like divine beasts with the same '5 locks to solve until you face the boss' shtick from BOTW. They are arguably worse in some cases because at least the BOTW beasts were all united around each beast's rotation/movement theme for traversal and puzzles, whereas the Water Temple was just 5 separate little islands you could just walk to in any order that just happened to be in the sky. The other temples were decently good, but I'd say the build up to each temple was better than the actual temple itself. The sky and depths are both underwhelming for the opposite reasons. The sky was oversold and overhyped and was severely lacking in content, the depths were undersold and underhyped and just ridiculously large with barely any visual or gameplay variety at all. Compared to what they did in 6 years making the first map of Hyrule, making all the characters/lore, making all the assets for NPCs/weapons/shields/buildings, it's very disappointing seeing them spend another 6 years doing such a marginal improvement and directly copy-pasting so many things straight from BOTW. That's the reason why the game disappeared from the zeitgeist - it stands squarely in the shadow of the giant that was BOTW

[@chooongusbug724]

I'm very glad y'all are the vocal minority to this day lol

[@BuffedGaming]

I strongly disagree with most of this, but I appreciate the comment! And I'll admit, there are some good points here. I agree that TOTK's dungeons are still a weakness when compared to the rest of the series, but I still found them to be a big step up from what we got in BOTW. And sure, missing things like Revali's Gale is a bummer, but I think those are minor omissions when compared to all the new things we get in TOTK- such as an entirely new building mechanic. To each their own though! Appreciate you watching.

[@alibabaschultz352]

@@chooongusbug724 In 10 years people will realize how mediocre this game is

[@israelwilson4022]

@@alibabaschultz352 its already been a year and plenty of sane people are realizing "wait, this is the game we were hyped up for six years for?" tho something i realize is that there will always be nintendo glazers no matter how bad something is, fortunately the "vocal minority" is them

[@JohnnyBoiiiiiiiii2004]

​@@israelwilson4022the old good new bad "glazers" are crying again. You all are the vocal minority though

[@Turtles144]

My turnoffs for the game were the lack of similarity to botw (like guardians and Sheila randomly disappearing) and the performance issues hope it’s fixed now

[@higurashikai09]

I loved BotW and did love it's more simple gameplay loop while TotK has a bit more tedious requirements like mining ore to upgrade the battery. In BotW I felt like I didn't need to be anywhere but in TotK, I had to make sure I visited the depths to grind for Zonite because it made the zonai mechanics more useful and more fun. However TotK greatly improved the weapons and combat for me over BotW. In BotW I would avoid combat because it would just diminish my good weapons-I became a hoarder. In TotK I still have weapons that I don't want to use but it feels much more rewarding to kill enemies for their horns to improve my weapons. Also TotK's final boss is significantly more fun than BotW. I absolutely loved the cinematic ending in the sky while BotW unfortunately just had tartet practice...I seriously think that we should have climbed Ganon Shadow of the Collosus style instead. I do also think that the Dragon Tears should have fallen one by one at set points in the game. I did them before the main quest and it's awkward to listen to characters get confused over fake Zelda when I already know what happened to her. I think TotK improved a lot, and I am very interested to see what the next game will be like in this new direction.

[@bradkoski]

I’m still playing it❤❤❤❤

[@TheLastZonai]

Imho Tears of the Kingdom is the best videogame ever made. And Im playing videogames for like....30 years now

[@admajoremdeigloriam7772]

What glider is this in the video?

[@BuffedGaming]

I think it's the Stalnox one?

[@lyndaalicea6037]

Every Zelda game is unique in itself. Time-lines are for history buffs, not gamers

[@duanecardinez1826]

Facts.

[@A-RonHubbard]

Here's the thing that blows my mind: I spent over 700 hours on my first play through, taking my time to discover everything slowly. I am now on a second 100% run, and I am still finding things I missed the first time around. I never knew until just this week that when you shield parry with weapons fused to shields, it actually does damage. I always just fused the shields to the weapons before. Yes, the game has it's issues but the detail and intricacy continues to amaze me - after more than 2,000 hours spent in this era of Hyrule in total.

[@ThomasLakin]

When botw came out the switch was new hardware. It was shiny and exciting. Everyone’s now sort of moved onto wanting the switch 2. I honestly think TOTK is the better Zelda game.

[@hyrumstephens2002]

I still play this game. Fire

[@SihyungLee-tm1uc]

Im looking forward to playing kkkk

[@justinpatterson5291]

TotlTK's good. But, I'm hoping we get the zonai golden age, or even founding era- for the next game. Maybe pre Skyward Sword.

[@minecrafter3448]

3:56 I subscribed on the spot

[@brightya]

How amazing the gaming experience of TOTK is depends on how curious and creative the players are. TOTK is the first and only game can do this. Ironically, this solely truly gem of the boring gaming industry is regarded as boring and disappointing by a large number of players. 😂

[@springtrap_66pg66]

People want the same thing on a loop. Note the "want" in that statement. People don't necessarily Know what they "want" in a videogame and most of the time, what they "want" would be complete trash. Developers do what they do, and put in what they put in because they understand game play and game development more than your average gaymer. But to those who complain anyway should feel free to make their own mods for this game :) otherwise, TotK is, indeed, PEAK gaming.

[@ekurisona663]

yet somehow no fishing...

[@Delulula]

It’s not underrated, but great video anyway