Revisiting Breath of the Wild’s Beta World

A look at the development of Breath of the Wild (and Tears of the Kingdom)'s overworld.
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SOURCES:
Aonuma/Miyamoto signpost interview: news.denfaminicogamer.jp/engl...
About the survey: recently, multiple different users on Reddit claimed to have been sent a survey from Nintendo. There are a number of posts, in different languages, which gives some weight to the authenticity of the survey, though it cannot be confirmed to be legitimate. Below are two examples, but there are more:
/ 10z3x4f
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► Intro music by: bit.ly/RuvenWegner
► Outro music by Clangon: • Zeltik Outro Theme (Wi...
0:00 Intro - Miyamoto's Signpost
2:55 Returning to Hyrule
4:15 Building a Kingdom
5:12 E3 2014
7:27 The Game Awards 2014
12:58 November 2015
13:32 E3 2016
13:59 What will change?
15:11 Outro
#Zelda #Nintendo #tearsofthekingdom

[@v01d_207]

I can't believe it's been 6 years! I've been playing this game since day one and I'm still shocked that people are still finding new stuff about this game!

[@netweed09]

Like what. A new variety of mushroom and birds egg? Or the 858th Kor*k? Yea,,, excit!ng.

[@Bucketlord_]

Ikr I myself have found new weird stuff

[@caioox]

​@@netweed09 or maybe a statue of a dragon with 3 heads in the typhlo ruins with leaves that catch fire on their heads, basically telling us about the return of gleeok. yep, nothing interesting

[@egonnes]

​@@netweed09 lol .. what a hater 🤣. No. Wind bombing That you can use bombs for the balloons Steel weapons carry electricity under water. U can use that in a shrine. If you feed a dog 3 Apples at a stable he will lead you to a treasure 1 fucking single korok is hiding under a stick. Its the only motherfucker. Link flexes when he is idle shirtless Try cooking under a bloodmoon Yea and windbombing is kinda fun. but im lacking very much behind.

[@netweed09]

@@caioox Lol, what?? Oooh a piece of rock!1 😂 That's the best you got?! [Mini spoilers for those not knowing yet] That Gleeok is in Tears, a _much_ better game than Breath of the 😴 Why are you talking about that lol? I already like TotK 10x more than Breath anyway.

[@CZsWorld]

It always drove me crazy that I could find the area from the original reveal

[@justinradabaugh0207]

Didn’t expect to see you here

[@subpsycho]

Yeah same, I really wanted to just ride a horse over those rolling hills, that scene hit different

[@Vader-Editz]

I SEE YOU FUCKIN EVERYWERE WTF

[@ploso22]

couldn't*

[@netweed09]

Why did they even change it? It looked much more interesting then, the actual game played it way too safe; the pillar features are gone and the hut and rolling hills looked much more like a Zelda 1 remaster would. They made it too bland and just dotted it with boring ruins and roaming Guardians to grind on.

[@randaltd]

I think the “metal disk with four pillars” 10:10 might be an early concept of the “Fruit Offering Spots” except the statues are arranged in a circle rather than in a row that we are accustomed to seeing in BotW.

[@hansonlangi4347]

I thought they might been the dlc shrine things that you need to go to in order to unlock the champions shrines

[@pistolsniper7945]

@@hansonlangi4347 that's what i thought too

[@LtCdrXander]

My first thought was of the Evergaols in Elden Ring, which look eerily similar to the "metal disk with pillars" for lack of a better name. Maybe the pillars were an early version of the magnesis korok puzzles? The food offering theory makes more sense though... Very interesting. I can't wait for TotK!

[@noaag]

would've helped too, i had no idea how to do those until i saw someone do it on youtube... but i feel they may look more natural in a row and it's kind of cool for there to be stuff in the world you wouldnt notice on your own, even if it is just koroks

[@TheBrazilRules]

@@noaag If I am not mistaken, some NPC in Kakariko tells you about offering food, but to me it was just natural to put an apple on a plate

[@kenjamin9147]

How pertinent Mitamoto's words are now; 'Hey, how great it is to be able to explore this vast Hyrulian world horizontally! But how cool would it be if you could also explore it vertically?'

[@andredelacerdasantos4439]

Genius comment rigt here

[@leemo5580]

@Hackety rackety 4st dimension lets go!!!

[@MilestheDirtyMindedGoblin2099]

@Hackety rackety yes

[@thechugg4372]

Mitamoto

[@Crybaby-Media]

Who’s mitamoto?

[@sociallysatanic]

equating botw and totk to the child and adult timelines in oot is EXACTLY the sentiment behind why i've felt very very little anxiety about if totk is going to go over well. they spent SIX YEARS pouring over this map to make it fresh for green and seasoned players alike - it's the same place but things are GONNA be different. i'm so stoked.

[@camwyn256]

I'm not getting my hopes up. Look at what happened to Duke Nukem

[@brettpardue8786]

@@camwyn256 This isn't the team behind Duke Nukem. This is the team behind The Legend of Zelda series that have literally proven the skeptics wrong over 20-something times with pretty much every mainline Zelda game.

[@camwyn256]

@@brettpardue8786 Zelda 2 is my favorite

[@olsonbryce777]

@@camwyn256 this is a stupid comment

[@camwyn256]

@@olsonbryce777 point me towards a game that was in development hell for years that was good when finally released

[@CheddarBayBaby]

I’ll never forget those original reveals. It felt very mysterious back then. People weren’t even sure that it was Link at that point.

[@tigglesbruh]

Spider's Nest is seriously so cool to me. Lanayru Prominade (Spider's Nest) is one of the few spots on the map that has ancient Hylian architecture, meaning it was likely built by the Hylians who left Skyloft for the surface, or just after. This makes it one of the oldest structures in Hyrule. I really hope they end up implementing some form of Spider's Nest in TOTK.

[@liamnehren1054]

I really hope that Tears of the Kingdom takes place a few years after BotW and not just immediately after. Just think Zelda, Robbie and Purah investigating why the Divine Beasts are deactivating one by one and finally the towers and shrines shrinking back into the ground in order of energy usage. Link and the leaders of each Ally of Hyrule directing the cleaning of Castle town just for Zelda to finally find a lead and ask for Link to come to the castle library.... This kind of setup would give plenty of time for Humans in general and Hylians to immigrate to the now much safer lands. The rebuilt wall of Castle town serving to keep out the newly empowered enemies who are thankfully no where near as destructive as the guardians.

[@homerman76]

Same, they could even follow the BotW ending immediately and just establish that that ending is a few years later and I'd be happy 🤔

[@Vixcal]

Without saying much about the artbook leaks, it does look like it will take place a few years after

[@jonsmith5058]

My hope is that the hand we see holding down Ganondorf is Fi, as she is the master sword and its supposed to be the blade that seals Ganondorf away. I'd love to see her return and us connect this back to Skyward Sword with the islands in the sky. I can see it as a cool story thing that they find him sealed away but he's able to lash out and Fi ends up unleashing him as she has to shift her focus to save Link.

[@jimfertall8351]

Could take place well before!

[@lukestarkiller1470]

@@jonsmith5058 that’s a cool idea, I definitely think we need more of Fi in the Zelda franchise

[@bepis_real]

Happy anniversary to Breath of the Wild! Can I just say now sentimental it feels to still see you make content? I still remember your Zelda U coverage like it was yesterday. See you in Tears of the Kingdom soon!

[@thelawlessone666]

After playing totk I can honestly say I feel like how they handled the reuse of the same map was amazing. It feels exciting to explore the different layers

[@cameronc6114]

The first trailer for Zelda Wii U came out while I was in my last year of high school. I've now gotten two degrees and am working my dream job in a different city. It's an understatement to say that the Zelda Wii U-Breath of the Wild-Tears of the Kingdom saga has been a journey that I'll always hold dear. Seeing the 2014 reveal is very nostalgic. Maybe it's a bit much to say this, but the development of this Hyrule and my own development into an adult have almost perfectly coincided. Thanks for this video Zeltik :)

[@Chris-qr8ng]

Maybe for you but the rest of the world is still living in the real world with war and covid.

[@KuroShiiiro]

good stuff bro. nice job landing your dream job

[@badpiggy2403]

That’s awesome! Glad your journey is going good

[@cameronc6114]

Thanks guys :) it wasn't easy! Wish all of you the best 🙏

[@curtissiebold4460]

Hope you enjoyed TotK

[@TimTimTimTimTimTimTimTimTim]

I’ve been slightly scared of being bored by Tears of the Kindom once it releases because of my having over 2000 hours in the game but when you said “Our familiarity with this Hyrule only adds to it.” Gave me a lot more hope and excitement. That line literally gave me chills.

[@Crash_Knight]

4:44 This here is one of the reasons I loved Breath of the Wild's world so much. The principle of spacing things out so walking from a city to another town is an actual trip. For so long I saw people constantly saying "dense open worlds are the best" but one of my main issues with Skyrim's world was that you couldn't walk 100 feet without discovering a location. The result of that means that nothing actually feels like the wilderness. Your world feels less real. Some people complained about the empty space but I think that was what made the world feel so believable to me. Having tons of content everywhere can be good, but I'd prefer to have space to let the world breathe. I like having biomes be big enough to have plenty of room to feel like you're actually deep in that biome, without being able to walk for 2 minutes and be in a completely new biome.

[@nathanross4036]

Too much space, though, and you get something meaninglessly empty like OOT.

[@Crash_Knight]

@@nathanross4036 ​100% agreed. You gotta find a good balance. If there's too much space it just becomes a chore to travel around. And you end up relying on fast travel. For me, if they designed the map so that there were empty spots you could sort of avoid if you're not interested, I think that would be an interesting idea. Have the main road, and a big forest with lots of wildlife to hunt for example, or put something really cool at the other side of it. Whether its a beautiful vista or a fun dungeon or a secret item. Sorta like the desert in BOTW. They had the big empty desert which didn't take too long to traverse, and you had the fairy on one side, a shrine, the arbiters grounds, the town, and the Yiga fortress. Desert still felt like a desert, but I never groaned at the thought of going there.

[@nathanross4036]

@@Crash_Knight I gotta say, it's rare to find someone that shares my criticism of OOT. lol

[@SpinDlsc]

@@nathanross4036 It's actually a pretty common criticism that Zelda fans have with it these days. It wasn't such a big deal in the N64 generation, but it kind of felt criminal for Nintendo to not do much with it in the 3DS version, and people really started to notice it after playing so many games between the time of both releases.

[@nathanross4036]

@@SpinDlsc Yeah I will be the first to admit that it was an amazing game for it's time and set the standard for future games, but I don't understand the delusionists that think OOT is objectively better than BOTW

[@songoku9348]

6 years. Damn. I had a blast playing through BOTW.

[@kingjonny394]

at the time of writing this, its exactly 6 years since i first jumped off the great plateau! the memories of those first few days with botw are going to stay with me forever

[@Silvakki]

I like how they used the old unused concept of a floating castle just hovering above the ground. I forgot if the concept art was for the cancelled sheikah game or the early twilight princess concepts. Either way I'm glad they went back to that disign because I loved the way it looked.

[@Keanine]

I originally found you through your early Zelda U coverage, probably the video of the Game Awards footage with the enhanced quality and audio, so watching this was nostalgic in several ways! Thanks for this

[@myfly4711]

I was searching for an indepth analysis of the beta footage like a month ago. Now this video is exactly what I was looking for! Great job!

[@Methrael]

Interestingly enough, Zelda 2 apparently took place JUST north of the original Legend of Zelda, albeit on a much larger scale - Pinnacle Rock on Death Mountain, which was at the very top of LoZ's map, was at the very bottom of Zelda 2's map but only represented by two boulders rather than clumps of rock half the screen large. Before A Link Between Worlds this was the closest we had ever seen this, so it's really great to see all of it come together in a much larger way.

[@eemoot]

I am completely In love with how your video's aspect ratios are always 21:9 or 20:9? It files the whole screen and I LOVE viewing content this way. Not many channels take advantage of this! Love you videos mate!

[@james441]

6 whole years wow. Game still feels new

[@netweed09]

Like, alpha stage lol. There's barely anything in it. Everything's dead, breaks (so again, dead) or are just goopy clones of Ganon. Even the Dungeons died. The only things that survived were the 'vermin'; who like viruses, mass reproduced. So the annoying moblin clone army, Kor*ks and the boring identikit Shr!nes. 6/10 game. Tears however _does_ look much _much_ more interesting with already proven better enemies and assets. It just feels like an actual Zelda game.

[@dmclsl03]

zerla bowt

[@annaisntcool]

@@netweed09oh, is it already that time? welcome, botw, to the spot your older siblings have occupied before you: popular zelda game that fans turn on for a couple years and then inevitably change their minds about again. they grow up so fast🥹

[@netweed09]

@@annaisntcool ​ I still just cannot believe that supposed grown adults react _this_ emotionally and saltily to someone overall disliking a game. It is a sort of spectacle in itself watching people's mind unfold over a leveled view though. The funny facts are, as a Switch owner (so a fan & investor) I have nothing to lose as the game selling over 20 million units only benefits me (and has done as Tears looks quite stunning as it approaches its final form.) Anyway; it's Ok lady, it's Ok. 😄

[@JoJoboiWav]

@@netweed09 bro said 6/10 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@Shane-hs7xk]

I imagine their plan with using the same world is to create experiences where we feel involved personally to the game. Let’s say in the new game, Hateno is destroyed. Because we played BOTW and explored the town, talked to its residents, and even bought a house within it, it would feel much more devastating for it to be left in ruin.

[@cbalan777]

What if you thought BOTW was just okay and you don't care about that?

[@plox8279]

That would be cool if BOTW was the kinda game that made you care about the NPCs...

[@wintersong2266]

I mean Breath of the Wild arleady did this by using familiar landmarks such as the ruined Temple of Time, Lon Lon Ranch and Castle Town.

[@n1conicokneecaps]

hello from the future! you probably already know this by now, but a village does in fact get destroyed. Lurelin is raided by pirates and Link has to defeat all the pirate forces, then help rebuild the village.

[@scotttaylor7146]

It kind of floors me that I would've been happy with the Aonuma Game Awards Demo version of the game, and yet every single reveal past that point made the game look better and better. And now here we are after Tears of the Kingdom, and Breath of the Wild almost feels like a tech demo

[@ragekage209]

that initial shot made me long for something we never got and i still can't really describe what that is. part of it may be that it's more densely detailed than the final game (which yeah obviously the wii u wouldn't have been able to handle that). part of it is definitely how much more alive and cozy the world seemed, with more peaceful settlements and populated areas. maybe it's the more saturated color palette which i really prefer over how washed out the final game is by comparison. i get the appeal of the world being in ruins to a degree, and of course i did greatly enjoy the game we got, but what i wouldn't give to be able to explore the game pre-calamity where all the ruined buildings are still standing. i think the comparison to ocarina of time's 7 year skip would make a lot more sense if the first game wasn't 100 years post-doomsday already. totk seems like its just an even worse situation now. hyrule in ocarina was very peaceful and alive because nothing bad had happened yet. i want to explore that version of breath of the wild. anyway, good video regardless of all that. hard to believe they conceived this world basically a decade ago and we're still here. hoping the next game after totk has a new setting and doesn't take another 6 years.

[@DaSchantinga]

I have also wanted to explore E3 2014 Hyrule ever since we got to see the first footage of Zelda Wii U/Breath of the Wild. Especially the very early version of hateno since it reminds me of my hometown in southern Germany with its rustic houses and sheep.

[@Pascal_Link]

I feel you so much. I too long for this, I wanted to see a bustling castle town or Hyrule Castle, alive cities and settlements, people everywhere and then they revealed how the game will be in a post apocalyptic setting and all I wanted was crushed. Age of Calamity didnt help, they had a unique town as a map, even intact Lon Lon Ranch! All I asked myself was "Why, why cant we play in this world!" I still enjoyed the game but it wasnt what I wanted. And now Totk comes and says theyre gonna use the same world, I thought "Oh ok, now we could see a rebuilt Hyrule!" just so that the newest trailer showed that things go even worse as in Botw. 6 years and this is what comes next? How long until the Zelda game after that? Will we finally get a Hyrule of this scope, but filled with life like I dreamed of when I saw the 2014 trailer?

[@DaSchantinga]

@@Pascal_Link Since it takes Nintendo six to seven years to make a new mainline Zelda game nowadays, we probably won't get a TotK sequel before 2029. I really hope that it will be a game like BotW in terms of exploring, but like you said I want to have a lively Hyrule with vibrant cities and not ruins all over the place.

[@Pascal_Link]

@@DaSchantinga Yup... But im confident the one after Totk will deliver

[@DaSchantinga]

@@Pascal_Link Hoping for Zelda „HD Experience“ type of graphics. Maybe with Raytracing, would be sick🪞

[@ChrisHoulihan]

This analysis, sir, is on point. From the intro about the oot sign to roll out of botw to what we can look forward to in TOTK. Zeltik, you kick ass

[@DaSchantinga]

Wow thank you for this video! I have watched your beta videos over and over again since I really love the E3 2014 Hyrule field and I think it‘s so so iconic.

[@sledgen.]

I love the idea of revisiting this game for its 6th anniversary. Not only thanks to the people who worked on breath of the wild for being an amazing game, but also to you for making all these great videos!

[@Iffondrel]

I am so full of emotions with this series. LoZ has been a part of my life since I was 3 with oot and botw was REALLY important to me.

[@noelic6744]

Funny thing is, I played OoT for the first time after playing BotW this year and I was so surprised by the signboards being cut in the direction link swung his sword. Its interesting to players even 25 years later.

[@hyruleguy9569]

This was really nostalgic. It was a really agonizing wait for me, but ultimately well worth it.

[@Moshugaani]

That E3 2014 demo video still looks amazing! That wide shot really captured my imagination back then. :) I think the graphics got downgraded from that in some regards?

[@xxPenjoxx]

I feel fortunate to have played many Zelda games in my life. Breath of the Wild is my favourite, I loved exploring the huge map, working things out my own way. Especially seeing my husband play through the world and shrines and doing things differently. The work they put into the mechanics and physics of botw is astounding. 6 years on, and there are still youtube videos coming out about it. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@Iffondrel]

The comment on A Link Between Worlds being the only/last one before to reuse a map actually just makes me more optimistic because that game was absolutely delightful and there's so much that can be dine with the wide expanse of botw's map. I'm so excited to see what changes, what's the same, and how they amplify and reconstruct the world I already love!

[@Asteroid473]

So often people ignore/forget A Link Between Worlds. It’s my favourite Zelda game! I hope TOTK has references/locations from a link between worlds.

[@moddedinkling4168]

This is a video that will be worth returning to in May. Age of Calamity convinced me enough that the very same world can be altered in many different ways despite retaining the same general layout, and that's not even open world. I am very excited to see even more crazier changes in Tears of the Kingdom.

[@cawfee-pv9ib]

3:40 Ugh god that track you paired with the landscape shots with Hyrule made my heart absolutely swell. This series is so special to me, I’m so glad I get to be around at the same time as Zelda and now TOTK, even if that sounds silly or trivial. It gives me this magic feeling that I wouldn’t want to do without ❤

[@samdunkley6989]

The E4 2014 shot of Link sat on his horse in an early Hateno, is one my favourite shots of a game ever. It looks like a painting, I love it.

[@maryherdman5755]

The disk with the pillars is in BotW. It looks like an early version of the shrine platforms, especially the ones in the DLC that start the shrine challenge for the motorbike. There's also the shrine platform at the Rito village where you have to use a Korok Leaf to play a melody before the shrine appears. Not to mention the Master Sword pedestal in Korok Forest (just larger), or the ceremony pavilion outside Hyrule Castle, or the shrine platform in Thundra Plateau (with the statues). From a distance with low graphics, that could be an early version of any of those (just lacking the details like everything else).

[@ESquadProductions]

Thanks for taking this documentary style approach Zeltik. Really gives a good perspective on game design and architectural spatial construction and ideologies that the developers had.

[@TheElegantOxford]

I can’t explain it but something about the cameral angle of the beta makes the game look larger, wider, and more epic. The scope of the beta landscape looked really mysterious and monumental.

[@bcj842]

I think it's also the fog and the shader they were using at the time. In a lot of ways, I prefer that over the more muted aesthetic of the final game.

[@dsbromeister1546]

The platform and pillars at 10:02 kind of remind me of the structures that appear in the champions' ballad DLC that give you the riddles for the champions' songs. Perhaps there were originally some main-game quests that were given to the player that way.

[@RobbWes]

You mean at 10:00

[@dsbromeister1546]

@@RobbWes yeah, I meant 10:02, thanks

[@tas-mania7950]

Your reference to TOTK resembling the adult timeline in OoT was really inspiring! Ever since I heard TOTK would be reusing the same map, I was worried the new game wouldn’t have enough new content/exploration to capture my interest (not after spending 1500+ hours exploring the old map) but your OoT reference helped me to finally understand and accept TOTK as a beautiful continuation of the BoTW story! Thank you!

[@kintober]

Dude that part that Miyamoto talks about at 0:50 ish, regarding the signs being cut different depending on how Link cut them.. That WAS a surprise to me as a kid! I thought that was so cool!

[@Write-Stuff]

This is such a well-done comparison. Thank you for putting this together.

[@mr.dr.prof.patrick7284]

this was such a good point. i remember praying that the map would be the exact same in the sequel when it was announced. and putting it was the “adult part” of OoT is just brilliant. it’s the same hyrule but shits gonna be different. different enemies, different things to find, higher places and lower places. last time was just a mindless evil beast that had a lock on hyrule castle… but now it’s gannondorfs show. i’m so hyped for this game

[@ZeCarrier]

Thanks for all the great Zelda content Zeltik 😊 definitely one of the best Zelda youtubers!

[@kksmith2282]

I can confirm, I got a survey too. I don't remember if it had that question from the video but it was heavily based on Tears of the Kingdom's marketing like you said. It started off really generalized with like "which of these games have you played?" with a suspicious number of them being Zelda titles (going back to Wii, Wii U and 3DS as well) but also some non-Zelda Nintendo games. Then it started asking specifically about Tears of the Kingdom, how you heard about it, did you pre-order it, what are you looking forward to the most, etc. I specifically remember there was actually a question about whether they've shown too much or not enough of the game off so far (sorry, I told them I mostly was happy being surprised so the little they've shown is kind of a good amount :3)

[@account8571]

The yellow structures featured in the VGA gameplay are very reminiscent of the golden Shrines discarded during development. In addition, you can also find one in the Hyrule field among the birch trees. Damn, how I wish I could play this version of BOTW!

[@mridiot57]

i think the pillars are now used for the Champion DLC with 4 maps showing 4 different places, but they were definitely planned to be some sort of simple puzzle when this was shown

[@vedrisca]

Just finished tears of the kingdom; it's wonderful to see so many of these beta designs make a comeback in the game!

[@mitch_universe4058]

Crazy, I was just thinking back to this. I remember the times when the only footage we had of the game was a few bits link flying with the sail cloth and riding on a horse, and there were theories everywhere online about the story. Such an oblivious time, but the wait was well worth it

[@fwj_thewhite105]

The statue with the pillars are probably an early form od the DLC map pointers that come out of the ground after you finish the DLC shrines on the great plateau. Great vid btw!

[@marthmallow7420]

it feels like a dream that TotK is releasing soon. i picked up BotW not knowing i'd still be playing it for 5 more years. it's one of the two games that helped me through... *the dark times* lol

[@picklejho69]

What was the other game?

[@marthmallow7420]

@@picklejho69 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

[@misledchip]

After TOTK releases, you should revisit all your theory videos and make a 'what we got right/wrong' vid

[@titan_pax376]

It's so ironic that you used the comparison of Ocarina of Time's original map and the differences in the adult map. I made the same comparison myself and commented about it in your trailer analysis video, I think. I am SO pumped for this game

[@bleed0range]

Great video, I enjoyed the bits about just how much work was put into the topography of Hyrule and how much could still change between BOTW and TOTK.

[@kevinbreard2673]

The pillars at 10:13 remind me of the DLC shine location tablets, perhaps they could be a very early version of that?

[@IkesDaddelbox]

I must admit, when I discovered in Ocarina of Time how the signboards react to the sword I involuntarily had to cackle like a little kid (I was 21 when I first played it). Breath of the Wild made me feel like a kid again, discovering nooks and crannies in my grandma's spacious yard.

[@jackatk]

Thank you so much for adding subtitles!

[@santyjaen5001]

Wonderful video, so nice to have a nice deep view relating early builds with the final game as some of us have tried fooling around Botws Hyrule.

[@y2kinder]

Love the video! It's crazy seeing this beta looking like how they actually released Pokemon Scarlet and Violet lol imagine how good Pokemon could be if it was in development longer, it could be amazing!

[@HyruleGamer]

Happy Birthday to Breath of The Wild and The Nintendo Switch! 🥳 Looking forward to watching this one :D

[@fireembliam9090]

Hello.

[@Fantastical996]

Thank you for this one! Such a nostalgic video! I really don't think the words exist to express how excited I am for Tears of the Kingdom! Cheers man!

[@brobean6000]

i hear good audio, good narrating voice, and good editing. instant sub

[@hylianlikely6162]

Comparing Tears of The Kingdom to the adult portions of Ocarina of Time is so intriguing and spot on

[@Y_u_dum]

The game isnt even out, wtf are you talking about

[@d0ttxt]

@@Y_u_dum well yeah, but you dont see the parallel? Both are link coming back to an area that is now much more under control of ganon and dealing with the changes

[@hylianlikely6162]

Did you watch the video? Zeltic explained it very well, and I was agreeing with him.

[@d0ttxt]

@@hylianlikely6162 are you responding to me? Cause I am on your side here

[@hylianlikely6162]

@@d0ttxt not you bud, that No Alt guy. Thank you for the support. I thought my comment was fairly harmless, but he seemed to get awfully upset by it. Sorry for the confusion

[@Cextra_the_artist]

I was just looking at the first teaser trailer the other day. It felt like years passed between its release and botws actual release. Amazing how they hadn't developed the actual game yet but they were able to visualize the game they wanted and years later had built a game so close to the original concept. Also it's interesting to see how they were thinking of zonai years before botws release, really early into development. I love in the teaser trailer there's civilian interaction within botws world, I wish they could've implemented something like that but hopefully we do get a similar mechanic in totk!

[@KoollKam]

I love this game so much. It pulled me out of a serious depression back in July of 2017 when I got it. I've spent almost 1000 hours in this Hyrule and can't wait to see how it's expanded on. Great content as usual, Zeltik.

[@tarndaystar-tb4ke]

So crazy its been 6 years I remember sitting in my room watching your teaser breakdowns over and over, happy anniversary to Zelda Wii U!!!

[@Truedoogie]

I have never once heard anyone address how much prettier the original pre-release footage was than the actual game. The colors are brighter, post processing effects look cleaner, and the resolution is higher. Nobody ever mentions this. Even in this video, the side by side is shocking.

[@VexAcer]

Yeah the colors in BOTW were always something that bothered me personally. The art direction is good, but the colors are duller than they should be. The first reveal looks clean and super vibrant, I wish BOTW looked exactly like that.

[@biterness2323]

You can blame Switch’s hardware for that.

[@VexAcer]

@@biterness2323 *Wii U The game was made originally with the Wii U in mind. The only thing the Switch changed was removing the gamepad centric features so both versions had parity. BOTW def STRUGGLES in Wii U tho. Almost every town runs at a straight 20fps and there's constant drops throughout the world & combat. In comparison the Switch fares much better, especially after all the patches (which for Wii U none improved performance unlike Switch).

[@biterness2323]

@@VexAcer That is true but it’s only slightly better on the switch. Both of them are still weak consoles. Even with all the downgrades switch still struggles to run it consistently at 30 fps 900p

[@educampsrocks]

i disagree

[@tomasabrams7234]

Whats really cool is that in a few years time were gonna be looking at the TOTK trailers the same way you are here with BOTW looking at what changed into the final

[@vortessence8607]

Happy 6 years everybody! Thank you Zeltik for so many years of great Zelda coverage, and thanks for reminding me that the Scan Rune was a thing at some point.

[@paintfatpurple7394]

I celebrated by eating nine donuts link style😂. I was low on heart ❤️ what can I say.

[@jeremyachristensen]

I really really hope that there's more story to Tears of the Kingdom. While Breath of the Wild was fun enough for me to spend a bunch of time in, it mostly felt like checking off a checklist of collectibles while in a beautiful world. The entire main quest amounts to "The princess is in danger, kill the bad guy" and almost none of the side quests had much more depth than that. I'd LOVE to play in a Zelda world that makes you care about the people you interact with like Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess, that has interesting history to locations beyond "This existed before the calamity, but it doesn't now." The world is so great, but this time around I think I'm going to need more than fetch quests and endless collectibles

[@paintfatpurple7394]

Looks likeso

[@ood9700]

Damn, BOTW didn’t feel like that for me at all.

[@AK-gt8zy]

Yeah, I had the same feeling. It was so open world that the story got lost on me

[@gregallan4291]

That's insane to me. BotW is the least "checklist" open world game I've ever played.

[@jeremyachristensen]

@@gregallan4291 Like I said, I enjoyed the game just fine. I just wish there was some depth to the story and interactions. The reason I call it a Checklist kind of story is that well over 3/4 of the side quests (not going to go and review them all but I'm sure I'm close) are just fetch quests. "Go get such and such sword," "I need this soup ingredient," "I want a butterfly," "Go collect 900 Koroks" and the only reward you get for any of them is to get a little "Complete" logo on your quest log. Most of them don't have any story and you're not doing them for any reason that is even important to the character giving you the quest. I would just like to get some more narrative reward is all. To me the golden standard for narrative open world is Witcher 3.

[@jpronan8757]

6 years down the line and the first reveal of BoTW still feels magical.

[@itskareemelsayed]

Just the way you describe the details in these videos is so satisfying.

[@jacobmecrob5185]

I was quite late to this game, only started playing it a few months ago. It's an amazing game, really hoping tears of the kingdom is going to have the same feel to it as this did.

[@paintfatpurple7394]

Never to late welcome.

[@Xirrious]

I did the same ! I'm an old zelda fan, but just got around to botw. Now on totk and it's amazing, definitely more fun, and definitely glad I played botw first. Totk brings back nostalgic parts of many previous games.

[@acolvill1]

Zeltik, I know you and other Zelda content creators are struggling a bit since the TotK leak, but this video was a perfect way to bridge the gap as you figure out how to get back on track with your usual theorizing, without touching on any of the recent spoilers. Excellent watch!

[@FS_shore]

awesome video as always- it got me thinking/curious about what zelda will look like beyond Tears of the Kingdom? I feel like this Hyrule is so expansive that’s it’s hard to picture the next era of Zelda, if that makes sense. Exciting stuff

[@BalboaBaggins]

If the whole map is like a Tarrey Town, meaning we are able to restore Hyrule and help build things it would be amazing.

[@Chubby_Bub]

This made me wonder about how the Faron region in general was developed. Because the weird thing about the Faron Woods in this game is that despite clearly being a distinct area and mentioned as such in dialogue, the dense forest area is actually split between the Faron Grasslands and Necluda. There's no Faron Woods region. But, that gate with the Zonai pillars in this video, called "Faron Woods" on the map, is actually called "Faron Woods Entrance" in Japanese and other languages. So perhaps the jungle and Lake Floria area was created differently.

[@Sultanplayedcreole]

I really love how the sunset light was in the beta version, similar to TP general ambiance actually

[@silveryaero7719]

I love the way you put it. " The adult timelines half of this story." So pumped for this game!!!

[@thechugg4372]

I hate it, means we got a half finished game and paying full price for the second half....

[@silveryaero7719]

@Thechugg Sorry you feel that way. I have to disagree, though. This game has been under development for 6 years, so I have faith that it will be a full game. I've yet to be disappointed with a Zelda game.

[@stephanielynn6459]

happy 6 years to one of the greatest zelda games! 🎉❤

[@FoodumsCCS]

I love how much effort you put into recreating the scenes from before-you even have the same horse XD

[@smashdriven1640]

I really love that story of Miamoto and the sign. Thank you for sharing it.

[@TikkaQrow]

Tears is recycling assets Majoras Mask reused 90% of OoT's assets This let the team focus on mechanics and story I have HIGH expectations for Tears as a result. Nintendo's done this style of development before

[@tobipickle]

may i ask what you think now that its out?

[@revilno]

3:41 I think the way we can think of it is that we all know and loved that map, and this game will be the player coming back to save it. To prevent ganon and all his 100x stronger enemies from destroying the world, etc.

[@fluffaeropastale]

I don’t comment very often, but your content is just one of a kind. I’m a super Zelda fan and your content is so quality. Thanks for getting us by all these years!🤠

[@troloinkto]

I prefer the more "flat" surfaces of the beta, it makes the world feel more vast, and easy to traverse on horse, in the final game sometimes the horse just stops on its own due to unevenness of the terrain, I prefer something more like Shadow of the Colossus

[@levihuerta8279]

Man, this brings back memories. Just looking at it brings back memories when exploring that world was just a fantasy and it drove me crazy for more. I wouldn't care if it looked as rough as it did; I just wish I could play it and explore the early version of Hyrule. Thanks, Zeltik, you made my day.

[@ToxicMothBoi]

As a lifelong zelda fan, every bit of zelda information i can get is a blessing to me. Seeing the old beta world makes me so happy. Also been loving the way they redesigned the world in totk, it makes my brain create serotonin. Loads of it

[@JonJ727]

Great video! Haven’t seen anyone do a breakdown like this before

[@VeeOasis]

10:01 it could also be the early version of the now mini goddess statues you can find in the world to use the spirit orbs

[@Zegner2435]

The silver plate with stones surrounding it reminded me of that place you see after the first cave in Skyrim, the altar with three different stones and such. Perhaps that structure with the green rocks was a Great Fairy Fountain? would make some sense to live near one, giving them offerings in exchange for health, protection, somethings like that.

[@Rene16296]

The quality of ur videos is insane, we all can agree that we are lucky that u use ur talent for Zelda content!

[@BisexualPlagueDoctor]

The weird pillars around a metal disc were most likely an early version of the same thing we eventually get to see in the dlc, for the way to find the shrines for the champion emblems

[@math001]

Great job finding all the spots. You must've been crazy good at the memory quests

[@lickkittysplit3871]

Wow. 6yrs ago. Crazy. Watching this video, I can't help but wonder if the 2 were thinking about dungeons bk when first making the game and then totally pulled a 180 with the Divine Beasts. Be interesting if that Huge hole in the Gerudo Desert makes it's return in TOTK. Also, Spider's Nest Canyon sorta sounds like a Dungeon Name to be honest with Gohma making it's return. Also, I want the Rat infested with Malice as a Mini Boss!!!

[@sheriffzard5149]

I honestly loved the Simpsons gag you squeezed in, perfect! Had me laughing for a good minute

[@PrivateLZG]

I don't know why but the music in the "Returning to Hyrule" segment actually gave me goosebumps

[@Metalmyke]

Great vid mate. Really interesting stuff comparing footage from back then. This just makes me want to revisit BotW again before TotK releases.

[@ianlucca2171]

Watching this video and all the old Zelda U footage made me tear up. Those were some great times, we knew nothing about the game but already loved it. I've watched the TreeHouse gameplay so many times I had it all memorized hahaha! Great stuff as always Zeltik!!!