Tears of the Kingdom for someone who only played Elden Ring

[@matthewheimerdinger9118]

I love that people who play Elden Ring think you're supposed to fight the Lynel.

[@OpXarxa]

tbf, most every zelda player(myself included) thought "I don't have to. but I CAN."

[@CrestOfArtorias]

Considering how easy they are thats no surprise.

[@Oceantaikutsuu]

@@CrestOfArtorias iI bet most of the players who went through the elden ring and tried botw, went through it with zero complications... On the other hand, in vice versa they didn't get past margit (assuming they could handle the tree sentinel, which is the first miniboss in the game and the equivalent of a lynel in zelda, which is like the hardest enemy in their game).

[@CrestOfArtorias]

@@Oceantaikutsuu Dunno if Tree Sentinel is an issue they likely won't have an easy time. Tree Sentinel is actually rather simple if you learn his moveset, which isnt exactly varied.

[@SonOfIzalith]

​@@Oceantaikutsuuy'all are so funny like we never played another game than Zelda that's so dumb.

[@AllenAllanAlan]

Agreed that TOTK is an ADHD paradise/hell. You either prioritize or end up doing half of everything. I love it though, because the game is not going to end for me for some time.

[@Prime_Rabbit]

A fun little tidbit about dragondorf is if he hits you, you straight up lose a heart permanently. The gloom disables a heart but dragondorf deletes it

[@linklink3069]

some of ganondorf's second phase also do that.

[@Auvisome]

All phases do that

[@dorianfreeman1129]

yeah its a good thing that it is at the end of the game and does not have a massive impact.

[@lozangekitten-gamer7626]

@@dorianfreeman1129 considering he did that in the beginning of the game (yes as a cutscene), it was showing that no matter how much gloom-powered beings are, only Ganondorf can erase those hearts (which is a demon form thing, as its Gerudo self only does the heart disabling)

[@dorianfreeman1129]

@@lozangekitten-gamer7626 yes indeed. I just mean that in the beginning it is mandatory, so it does not matter because you can't change that, but at the end it just doesn't really matter because it's the end and re loading your save after reverses the heart losses

[@theprophet2444]

Just a little addition, in Breath of the Wild Link is NOT the all powerful hero, he is the Hero that has lost once one hundred years ago and he will be reminded of his failure through the game, time and time again, his progression isn't that much different than the one of the tarnished in Elden Ring. Also the whole style of BotW is that you're living in a ruined world where people try to get by still. It's no where as dire as any Dark Souls setting of course but it's quite a step for any Zelda game. In ToTk it's different, Link is known as the Hero you can count on, still he lost Zelda and that is quite a blow for the Protector of the royal family.

[@katmannsson]

His literal Primary Job Description for His *actual* Normal Person Employment is "Protect Zelda" and he Lost her smh

[@EvanExplains]

idk, sure link is a "nobody" but he was also the missing key in the war on calamity Ganon, I hear ya I just think Link is very much the chosen one in his world

[@Apotheosis0]

@@EvanExplains He’s definitely the chosen one, but he’s somewhat of a failure at the same time. I really appreciated how in TOTK we get to see Link correcting his mistakes. For example, when he caught Zelda’s hand after beating Ganondorf at the end of the game compared to the prologue where he loses to ganondorf and fails to catch Zelda.

[@randomhandle111]

@@EvanExplains You are completely correct, Link is inherently the chosen one in every iteration of this world, in the lore every version of Link is a different reincarnation of the legendary hero from Skyward Sword

[@flamebreaker7318]

​@Apotheosis failure If anyone's a failure it's zelda link held his own and even got up when he was on the brink of death to protect zelda from that final guardian as the king said he fought valiantly

[@reymondd220]

Hidetaka Miyazaki said himself Breath of the Wild is one the inspirations for Elden Ring 👍🏽

[@albertooliveira4227]

Elden ring started development before botw release

[@Ckrost]

@@albertooliveira4227doesn’t change the fact it was had inspirations from it the game was still in development far after it

[@Rafter907]

​@@albertooliveira4227 and? Development means almost everything. They could start writing a story or making music or concept arts. The world creation is part of the later stage of development. They had 5 years - yeah, thats a lot - to take inspirations from botw, as even main producer said that

[@jonson856]

There is no shame in taken inspirations from other games as long as you do a good job

[@pabloallende1914]

​@@albertooliveira4227 er start its production just a few months before botw began to be sold, in games development for aaa games the first months are just about concept and art and character design at best

[@kei9611]

Link diving to save Zelda makes me teary. He finally saved the princess after missing at the start

[@marinmarinhola]

Not only at the beginning, but also finally saves her like he was supposed to 100 years before. Botw link doesn't really save her, just gets her out of the power deadlock with CG.

[@local_cryptid]

Imo the game should have ended at that catch. Its such a hype moment after such a hype fight and then... the plot just kinda farts and fizzles out. "Im home" just doesnt hit as hard as "May I ask, do you truly remember me?" And Mineru is a nothing character introduced as an actual character at the tail end of the game with arguably the most tedious, underwhelming mechanic, so why do I care what happens to her? And why is Riju picking up the pledge significant when shes as much a side character as the rest of the sages? Shouldnt it have been Link? They had the perfect setup to finally let the man talk and instead its brushed off as "whoopsie we stumbled over the words! Oh Links not saying anything? Classic Link lol, anyways..."

[@Velarieth]

@@local_cryptid ""Im home" just doesnt hit as hard as "May I ask, do you truly remember me?"" It hit's harder in Japanese. ただいま is a pretty intimate statement. That and her disbelief that she actually succeeded and is alive. I dunno, I think it's pretty good.

[@justjackorwhatever]

Just like andrew garfields spidey didnt catch gwen, but in no way home, he caught MJ

[@Vyloka]

And the dudes face was ._. Likw link my dude its ok to be happy

[@evanf1997]

this video saved my marriage

[@10TARDIS]

GGs man

[@helhal]

How?

[@theapexman7405]

How tf

[@victorvicg]

How?

[@lowki07]

I am your marriage

[@marcayu]

I like how when Raoru mentions Link at Ganon, the main theme of Zelda starts playing

[@SugoiBoi94]

That moment was epic! Chills🥶

[@renoirrr]

probably that and the whole ending has got to be one of my favourite moments in gaming history. hell, i’d consider all the big reveals and story twists also like one of those ‘holy shit’ moments. I don’t think i’ll ever forget this game.

[@deadbeatseikor0wonl1dance88]

Serious chills. I felt the anger rauru had when he said those lines.

[@filletmignon5221]

I’ll never understand people saying botw isn’t a Zelda game when it’s literally the first ever devoloped Zelda game just 1000% modernized

[@TheSpooniest]

Because their first game was Ocarina of Time, and they want games in *that* mold. BotW and TotK represent Zelda going back to its roots.

[@chriskirkpatrick4184]

Its the dungeons/boss thing, honestly. People always talk about BOTW being the original game modernized, but even the original had multiple, unique dungeons and fun unique boss fights. Only as unique as the NES allowed, but they definitely were. BOTW is the first game in the series to not have multiple interesting dungeons to play and uninteresting boss design. I think thats what it boils down to at least for myself.

[@chriskirkpatrick4184]

​@TheSpooniest I don't really agree, at least for myself. I've been playing the series since I could barely hold an NES controller and its the dungeons and boss designs that made it not feel like Zelda to me. Thats always been what made Zelda feel like "Zelda" in my case, those really great boss fights. That being said, I've got about 200 hours in BOTW and about 120 in TOTK right now. I think TOTK just "feels" a lot more like Zelda. The world feels a little more alive and weird, those boss fights are back, and a lot of traditional enemies make their return.

[@michaellane5381]

@@chriskirkpatrick4184 but if you had played a shrine on the NES, would it really have been worse than that games dungeons? Nostalgia goggles on roids friend, that's all the NES dungeons have compared to shrines.

[@nowonmetube]

​@@michaellane5381imagine having shrines in a NES game... I try to imagine an alternative universe with an old school Zelda game that has dozens of little "one-room puzzles" I wonder how that would have felt. Instead we got all the puzzles and secret in the dungeons and on the overworld itself. No new shrines needed. In fact I thought that could have butchered the experience.

[@ljmendez6930]

The tears being out of order actually made my experience even better. Piecing together memories out of place was way more fun imo than had it been in chronological order.

[@TopOfAllWorlds]

Same!

[@enklenkeame6078]

it actually didnt even matter for me as I somehow watched them all in order not knowing there was an order idk what are the chances of that tbh

[@bananaspice1967]

@@enklenkeame6078 As little as someone telling the truth on the internet

[@azurlake]

Felt like the original run of Suzumiya Haruhi, if you know what I mean

[@minecrafter3448]

For me I think it would have been the opposite, and I went out of my way to get them in order, but it’s cool to see different people playing in the way that is most fun for them

[@brentgrisier1738]

Its stated in lore that the divine beast, shrines and other sheika tech was broken down to make the towers and othe tech in the game so ganondorf doesnt take over them again.

[@EvanExplains]

Honestly wish we got a cutscene talking about this, but I’d have to think Nintendo wanted the games to be completely separate experiences with some fan service for BOTW fans

[@brentgrisier1738]

I wish it was stated in a cutscene or quest. That is one of the things I had problems with in totk. Stuff like this is found only in diaries and stuff you have to go out of your way to find.

[@MBrandr]

​@@brentgrisier1738 That sounds awfully a lot like the same arguments I've seen claiming that the Souls-like games don't have good stories, because you have to go out of your way to find and read the lore.

[@brentgrisier1738]

@MBrandr it's different games with different moods. I just wish some things like that were explained in the story, not in passing footnotes. I love dark souls, but it's a different kind of story from zelda. With different kinds of storytelling.

[@Ryuxpale]

​@brentgrisier1738 can you please share where you found this? I would love to read it myself!

[@mookiestewart3776]

You can also get the master sword by finding the great deku tree and solving his issue then he’ll start the quest for the sword. Also mineru didn’t die in the imprisoning war only her brother did , everyone else survived

[@knothe7317]

I totally ended up arriving at the Sword before having all the Tears, just because I couldn't live without Hetsu's upgrades, I knew Zelda became a Dragon before that cutscene, but the emotional impact wasn't affected by that

[@wolfekupo5651]

@@knothe7317 as soon as I heard the mention of the 'Forbidden Technique with the Secret Stones' I knew where the memories were going

[@Tarro57]

@@knothe7317 Spirit Temple was my first temple, and I was pacing myself on getting memories, so when she told me to get the Master Sword I had no idea about the whole draconification thing. It took me a long time to finally get into Korok Forest, still with no idea about her being the dragon, so then when I learned where the sword was I was just kind of taken back. It wasn't until after pulling out the sword that the gears finally started going "oh so Zelda put the sword in a dragon so it would get it's energy, wait, what if Zelda is the dragon... Ohhhhh"

[@Haydz_Benz]

@@knothe7317 I got the master sword before all the memories too. I didn't put things together that she was the dragon until I got the memory talking about dragonification and then I started to tear up. I full blown cried when I got the last memory where she goes ahead with it. I'm just glad that I never thought to hit the light dragon with an arrow before I knew, and now I refuse to hit her. I will not be the abusive boyfriend/husband. even if it gets me better equipment.

[@TROBassGuitar]

I had to look up how to get into the kokiri forest, I was done with most the main quest and already got the master sword, I thought I would I get a hint how to make it through the forest only to find out it was in the depths

[@grixxy_666]

I think you're the only person in history to hope for something to be more like OoT water temple.

[@franck4727]

I actually like the water temple from OOT but my favourite version of it is the one from TP

[@jlidean]

@@franck4727 Same, only thing I would change is No soft lock (I did not run into it)

[@EvanExplains]

i loved that temple, probably the most complex of that game

[@annemariegeudeke8378]

@@EvanExplains I agree, one of my favorite temples in the series, especially on 3ds with easy boot switching ;)

[@twitchingtriforce8010]

for the format of BotW and TotK i have to agree with Evan here, though a lot of people were turned off by the Water Temple in OoT it would have been nice to have the harder challenges in puzzle solving inside of the main dungeons so having a Water temple style Temple for these games would have worked perfectly imo

[@conjon4918]

i feel like you forgot to mention how awesome and emotional the story is for botw. maybe it just didn't connect with you idk, but personally i had tears in my eyes a LOT. link losing all his memories and friends that he used to know, being thrust into this world with impossible tasks, then regaining his memories as well as the emotions he had tied with them is just great to me. the dlc makes the story even better too, giving you more time with all the champions of the past.

[@EvanExplains]

I think for me BOTW was more of a peaceful experience and not really an emotional one

[@ncnoman]

i agree with this. my brother just got a switch for his bday and started asking me about zelda and i recommended and gifted him BOTW expanded edition. TOTK is a bigger game (can't necessarily say better, it's different, and thats a credit to Nintendo), but BOTW something about the setup just makes sense. youre dropped in this world, 100 years asleep, and literally know nothing. this setup, theres an amazing parallel experience between player and character. in TOTK, you play Link, but something about the setup/"incomplete" story in BOTW, you get to feeling like you ARE Link.

[@xay6460]

Cause it's not emotional it's just your avg hero saves princess story it is a peaceful relaxing game most of the time

[@conjon4918]

@@xay6460 seems like u didn't read my comment or don't know how to. didn't know it was a classic trope for link or characters similar to him to lose their memory. sure you can boil it down to "link saves zelda", but that's throwing away like 80% of the story. sure the main missions in these games can be repetitive, but that doesn't mean the overall story is. point is, in botw link is alone, then he learns he used to have friends, then he learns they're all dead, then he makes new friends along the way. literally load up botw and simply watch all the memories in order. the story in these games is the cutscenes, not the gameplay.

[@pdjinne65]

I did shed a tear, and it's the only game that had this effect on me (maybe with RDR2, I don't remember)

[@goli8699]

Funny thing about the Master Sword: you don't have to interact with the Tears or the Spirit Temple to get it. You can just go into Korok Forest (if you find a way to avoid the Lost Woods that is) and get rid of some Hands in the Great Deku Tree's stomach to have it tell you where it is, giving you a goal point that moves with Zelda's movements.

[@mattwroe4776]

Or just find the dragon on your own and take it.

[@SnakeEater776]

After the final tear when the dragon spawns in for the first time you can just get it there and then. I tried using a plane i quickly threw together (with ace combat music in the background) but it fell apart so i juat quickly warped to the water temple and got on there.

[@TheLegendofGumby]

It’s crazy how different our opinions are, I absolutely hated the tedium of that 3 rail shrine and built the exact same contraption you did to solve it. And I was in love with the low gravity water temple and was hoping temporary low gravity would be the reward as broken as that would be. It felt so awesome zooming around and not worrying about fall damage especially because I already had two pieces of the wing suit.

[@gunsevenwhillans420]

Personally never liked low gravity in any game I played, makes it so much harder to move around because you can't really control where you move after jumping. As goofy as that may sound I've even ended up falling down a pit a lot of times in some shrine because of low gravity.. at the exact same spot.

[@Ernireg3]

This is a testament to how everyone experiences botw completely different. Vah Rudania was the easiest divine beast for me. Death mountain was also really easy to traverse once you get the Goron jacket from that guy chasing fireproof lizards. Vah Naboris, on the other hand,was the hardest for me, including thunderblight.

[@anonymousperson015]

Came here to say this. I laughed out loud when he said Fireblight was clearly the one devs intended you to fight last - not only is it right next to the Zora, I've watched a tonne of letsplays and I'm fairly sure there's universal agreement fireblight is the easiest. Still it does just highlight the level of nonlinearity: so much is missable and there's so much choice in approach that will radically change the experience for every single individual. I didn't even find that guy who gives you free fireproof armour - I bought it all :(

[@hellzonefirebrigade3056]

​@@anonymousperson015the guy who gives you the free armor is at the place right before Gordon City where all the other Gorons are together mining. He offers you the piece in return for some Fireproof Lizards

[@anonymousperson015]

@@hellzonefirebrigade3056 yup found him later & also on my mm playthrough. Pro-tip: if you buy the top and pants before talking to him you can get the helmet (most expensive piece)

[@hellzonefirebrigade3056]

@@anonymousperson015 nice, and ya discovered that on my third playthrough of the game myself lol

[@Dotz_Sumimasen]

Agree. I actually laughed at his statement about Vah Rudania being set up as the last to tackle. In my head I was all - “what game was HE playing??” Never EVER heard anyone say this before. Fire Blight was so easy too. If he also had Urbosa’s Fury already it should have even easier. 🤷🏻

[@DrinkyBeery]

"You can get the master sword 1 of 2 ways" My ass bein like "yo bet I can jump on that fuckin dragon, bet the developers never expected me to try this....whassdat on it's face?" Then finally finishing the dragon tear quest like "OH GOD, I AM SO SORRY FOR SHOOTING YOU IN THE FACE FOR MATERIALS"

[@MousaThe14]

That was 100% me. I literally was like “I wanna get on that dragon.” However, instead of grabbing it I was like “I’ll be back for you when I have a few more cutscenes.”

[@itsricki]

I believe instead of saying it's not a Zelda game it's better to say it's not Ocarina of Time as not many Zelda games feel the same,

[@Praying_Mantis3]

Yeah I agree, when people say it’s not Zelda they are referring to it not being similar to ocarina of time and usually in the way of dungeons and straight forward story.

[@gamersinger5118]

@@Praying_Mantis3 It isn't like the older more traditional Zelda games might be more accurate. But if we are being honest from the beginning Zelda games drastically changed from game to game due to unique mechanics that only really existed within certain games in the series. Nintendo has probably tried more new core ideas in Zelda than any developer has ever done for any other game series. Especially in the 3D games. Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda 3D game. Majora's Mask had a 3 day time system with masks that drastically change your very character and abilities. These systems are only present in this one Zelda game. The Wind Waker came along and it used a ton of sea exploration with a ship. Again this was also only present in this one game. Twilight Princess came along and introduced a wolf transformation mechanic. Another new one for that particular title. Skyward Sword used mandatory motion controls and emphasis on using that motion control for the new combat and was the first to have a stamina meter. Also instead of riding a horse you would ride a giant bird. This is unique to that one game as well. Then there is Breath of The Wild and Tears of The Kingdom which we all know differ so much from the traditional experiences of the older games. They are closer to the original though in it's idea of a free roam open world game. The Zelda series has probably overgone more changes than any game franchise in history.

[@Praying_Mantis3]

@@gamersinger5118 if the wolf mechanic is the only difference than it’s not that different. I should have also included twilight princess in my comment as most people refer to it and ocarina as the Zelda 3D experiences

[@gamersinger5118]

@@Praying_Mantis3 It's everything pertaining to it as well. Remember as a wolf many things change as well with his new abilities. There is also the fact that after his transformation it was like he was in a different world of spirits and he had to collect those pearls to change things back.

[@Onavi1]

Even the original Zelda had iconic memorable music, dungeons and bosses to go along with the open world, BotW didn´t have that, that exactly why a lot of people say it isn´t like a Zelda game

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

There’s another way to get the master sword, if you make your way under the lost woods and ascend to the korok forest, you can dive into the great deku tree. At the bottom of his roots, there’s some gloom hands, which if you defeat, (and subsequently defeat phantom ganon) the deku tree gives you a quest marker for the master sword. Speaking as someone who did that so early that my only viable weapon at the time was zonai devices (stake mounting a cart up high on the wall, and a construct head and cannon aimed downward) it’s doable VERY early

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

Also, found the spirit temple on accident, still haven’t been to any of the 4 region quests

[@Auvisome]

Great video overall, but I have some hard disagreements on certain topics. I think the Water Temple is great overall. The environment and low gravity mechanics were a fun set piece and playground, especially within the lead up, which was better than the temple itself frankly. The biggest issue with it was that the temple was too short, but its lead up sequence accounts for the rest of the content and more than makes up for losses. Other than that, fundamentally I would’ve preferred if the player couldn’t climb or spawn in zonai devices or use autobuild in dungeons. It only really affects the Water and Fire temples (to a lesser extent Spirit), but its absence would’ve encouraged players to utilise the puzzle mechanics more. The fire temple especially could’ve been the goat if it wasn’t so easy to cheese. Alternatively, having walls could’ve done the trick but that in turn could disrupt the atmosphere. The depths are just a mechanical and explorative improvement over Elden Ring's underground. It’s not really close either. The underground in Elden Ring is just another zone in the end, separated from the rest of the game, whereas the depths is seamlessly tied to the rest of the game in TOTK. The are puzzles and quests that have you go between layers regularly, in fact it's required to navigate to reach certain landmarks. Mechanically, lighting up the place poses a navigation challenge, and when you realise the depths is an inverted version of Hyrule, which a lot of quest lines take into consideration, your ability to properly navigate around walls and obstacles adds further depth to the depths. Mountains become canyons, canyons become mountains, rivers become infinitely tall walls, landmarks clue players into where they may be in the depths (dungeons, mining depots, colosseums, boss rematches, etc). A lot of important and interesting upgrades are found and necessitated by the depths, and that can’t really be said about Elden Ring. The most ER has going for it are really the bosses, which is practically it’s entire identity, when the traversal and explorative mechanics can’t otherwise make these locations interesting besides visuals.

[@VonBoche]

I agree with the dungeon argument (altho I think it also comes down to some discipline on the players' part not to cheese the dungeon, it's clearly a deliberate decision on the devs part to not artificially limit the player) but I fully disagree with the depth. There simply isn't much to the depth that warrants the size it has. It's a single biome with few truly worthwhile things to find stretched out to the size of the map above. The challenge posed by the darkness and topography gets old because there's really not much to it beside that, to the point it's better to skip over most of it with vehicles than really explore, hence the vehicle construction platforms littered all around the place. Your journey through the depth won't be paced with sidequests, with towns, with shrines, with caves, etc, etc. It's too repetitive. The fact that it's an inverted reflection of the surface sounds cool but now I'm thinking it is the way it is because it was easier to implement a second map that's just the topography of the first but inverted instead of creating something completely new and that's not the takeaway I wanted to have because I don't believe the devs are lazy. I would have nothing but love for the undergound in TOTK if it was simply much more obvious how much of it is dead space that's not worth trudging through, like having water cover substancially more of the depths or seemingly endless kilometers visibly empty or better yet, covered in so much gloom to insure that players don't spend too much time in repeated asset land. The depths and the challenge they pose are genuinely good but it's just too big. In comparison, Elden Ring's underground zones being ultimately not too different from the surface is a blessing. They still have their gimmicks here and there to feel somewhat different from other zones, climbing roots, dealing with archers, trudging through rot or merely exploring a dead city or two. Even if Elden Ring has a much smaller pool of movement options, the undergrounds of Elden Ring feel so much more varied in what they present and expect of you than those of TOTK. They're obviously not trying to accomplish the same thing so this comparison is dubious at best but my opinion of Elden Ring's depth never soured as the game went on.

[@Auvisome]

@@VonBoche You clearly haven’t explored enough of it then lol. Aside from landmarks that literally mirror the surface, you can find bosses roaming around, boss rematches, enemy camps and ore deposits, poes to collect, yiga hideouts, bargaining statues, treasure chests containing armour and other upgrades. There is literally so much to do while you’re mapping out the place. It’s designed around vehicle usage because there’s fucking gloom everywhere. It’s actually quite difficult to navigate not on foot because you’re unable to use brightbloom. The depths has enough content to justify its size, not even counting the quests and dungeons to be found. It’s just that most players want to vary up their experience with other content. Or the fact that it’s required to access certain areas in the surface so they naturally detour afterwards. How is this a surprise? People did this in BOTW all the time for seemingly mundane oddities in the world. What are you fucking talking about? It’s still completely unique. Topographically it is inverted sure, but the actual content-the layout of structures and buildings, enemy placement, level design, is wholly unique. It’s not laziness at all, it’s intentionally made this way to aid navigation, exploration and quest lines. You’re expected to realise the surface and depths are related inversely, so you can make those connections during quests like getting the Master Sword, or finding Koga. Now you’re being dishonest. The game makes it very clear that you should be exploring the world and obtaining upgrades. The depths literally contains materials for necessary upgrades or important abilities-zonaite, sage's blessings, autobuild, poe souls, etc. Once again, there is more than enough reason to revisit it throughout your playthrough. "Repeated assets" it’s a fucking biome, of course it’s going to be consistent with itself visually. Your argument isn’t even valid because there are specific locations that are distinguished graphically. Death mountain and Hyrule castle's chasm lead to separate, distinct environments. The actual landmarks, such as the mining depots, the springs, the dungeons, the colosseums-all contain unique structures, layouts and environments. Hot springs will contain lava pools underneath them. Mazes will contain mazes underneath them. Your argument completely ignores the nuance of the level design and concerns only the colour pallet and graphics-not the actual content of the location. It’s disingenuous and dishonest. How is that not the case in TOTK and not better executed in it? TOTK has the benefit of better puzzle and traversal mechanics, combined with the inherent navigational challenge of the depths with light and layout, to make for consistently challenging and engaging gameplay. There is very little offered in Elden Ring's underground besides visual distinction, although they all virtually play the same. Enemies that you’ll run past on Torrent, unimportant and unimpressive items or collectables, samey level design, and the few bosses that are the selling point. It really isn’t worth revisiting in repeat playthroughs unless you're doing "all bosses" or using Mohg's palace as a rune farm. Can’t say the same about the depths when it not only contains 2.5 dungeons, but also several worthwhile upgrades, materials and abilities that can only be found there. TOTK makes each layer of Hyrule always worth exploring, engaging in combat and puzzle solving. They all lead into each other through those 3 facets.

[@VonBoche]

@@Auvisome " The game makes it very clear that you should be exploring the world and obtaining upgrades." Which I did, uncovered easily 90% of the depths and found it needlessly repetitive. Why do you have to insult me and assume I just haven't explored it when my criticism specifically stems from doing so ? You're mentionning such specific things that are crumbs of the overall scope of the depth to defend it. I've said the depth is a good experience that doesn't warrant the scope it's given so I'm not even arguing anything in the depth is inherently badly designed. All I'm saying is that these crumbs of great stuff in the depth do not benefit from the repetitive nature of the gameplay loop and visuals in between them. Complaining about unimportant or unimpressive items in Elden Ring in the same text where you consider zonaite and poes to be worthwhile makes me wonder why you even bother, especially since as I said before, the comparison between both game's underground areas is largely meaningless. Anyway here's all the fucking I could have written in this comment if I somehow was as irate as you : fuck fuck fuck fucking fucking. Insert them wherever you want. I'm more mad at how easy it would have been to make the depth better than I am at you anyway so I'm not gonna respond further, you're not making interesting points and I just don't care enough.

[@Apotheosis0]

@@VonBoche I wish the depths was crawling with even more dangerous enemies to make it feel scary, and some more creepy sights in general down there to make the player actually feel more intimidated. The Yiga clan should have been even more active as well, imagine the yiga clan jumpscaring while you think you are safe like how the gloom hands do.

[@VonBoche]

@@Apotheosis0 If there had been moldugas in the depth, I would have browned myself hard.

[@mrich2029]

35:41 - to be fair, this was quite easy to piece together just from context of having an "evil Zelda". Like, even if you didn't know specifically it was Phantom Ganon, this is a typical trope if there's "two" of the main character running around.

[@yohnouchi2024]

As you pull the master sword and it heals, you can hear the distinctive music of the master sword, but also hints of Zelda's Lullaby, despicting a blessed master sword. Trully a top ten moment

[@synderthmc]

Funfact, a thing I give praise totk for is that it actually made me care about elixirs. I never made an elixir in botw and the only time I used one it was given to my in the stable near death mountain so I could enter and since I grinded for money I could just speedran to get the goron armor piece

[@nathanpfirman625]

The dragon form he takes is basically just MEGA amped up form of his shade thing in botw. Even the eyes glow the same.

[@FierceShoresy]

Been a long time Zelda fan played pretty much every game 100% all them. Botw I played so much when covid hit loved it. Got Elden Ring being my first souls game really loved that to me it felt like a harder botw but so many aspects of it reminded me of Legend of Zelda in general. Read through some articles and Myazaki definitely had inspiration for the Souls games from Legend of Zelda and felt unworthy of comparison between the games because Legend Zelda is so monumental.

[@corywashington9580]

I personally really like the non linear structure of storytelling. There are plenty of games that have linear progression and story, i like that Zelda does something different.

[@Ancor_Vantian]

I really liked when Ganondorf started channeling his inner Madara Uchiha: "I had almost forgotten the thrill of battle".

[@stuartdparnell]

Shame Ganon didn't go, "You insult me by not bringing out the red vapor" or "Would you like my clones to use Susano'o or not?"

[@djblake3247]

It bothers me when players state that Impa is repeating what the King said earlier. Let's be clear - the King tells link what happened 100 years ago where Impa tells him of the legend that occured 10,0000 years ago. Slightly different times.

[@Shritistrang]

Wait, you think the way up to the Wind Temple in TotK is underwhelming? I think it's one of the best parts in the game.

[@jasono1361]

I just felt that completing the dragon quests in random order does not detract any bit. It was another shrewd way of the game soft nudging you when you rewatch all those scenes in-order you sure as hell know what you needed to actually do. That’s kinda beneficial for stragglers like myself who often got lost in all the exploration instead of solving hyrule’s more pressing issues.

[@cVanishMantle]

I think part of you wanting a more structured or less freedom has to do with how linear the first few zelda games you played were in comparisons. As someone who has played every game in this series, the open ended structure has been a welcome change. Not only that but how the dungeons felt more like a part of the world compared to other zelda games is what really sold me on them. Skyward sword try to do just this but they always felt separate where as in Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild they felt as one with the world. I also do think some of your feelings in regards to difficulty is very skewed due to your experience of playing elden ring. Nothing in TotK is super difficult or punishing but what it does do is teach the player how to better approach each enemy type or to make the most use of the tools you have. During the later half of the game i was assassinating silver tier mobs using Yiga clan weapons. Aonuma stated a few times that in all ways they wanted BotW and TotK to not restrict the player and that "cheating is fun" and you see that in the design as many shrines and puzzles can be done in a wide number of ways. Overall I think TotK is a vast improvement over BotW and i am sure the next game will build upon what the previous 2 have done. as for the tears I like how they handled them given that I saw the same cutscene early on but I did not think that the Zelda in the present was a phantom. Overall absolutely a solid video and worth the watch.

[@aarondubourg3706]

BotW was also a return to form. OG Zelda WAS open world that dropped you in and left you to explore. You could even miss the sword at the start.

[@cVanishMantle]

@@aarondubourg3706 oh absolutely I always forget how open the first few Zelda games were compare d to the later entries which were very segmented and linear.

[@zeroknight1311]

So regarding the Geogylphs, it is possible to do them in order. Since Impa is always by the next one that chronologically takes place. It's a detail you'll never notice due to exploring the world blindly and easily getting distracted.

[@Katitorsi]

also when she takes you to the ancient temple after the first geoglyph, there's a large room with a map on the ground showing all their locations and on the walls surrounding it is the exact order they're all in

[@Sleepless1897]

As someone who has played both as well I can say tears is awesome

[@EvanExplains]

Alright this is my largest project to date! Enjoy! Okay I read some comments: gotta work on my pronunciation 😂

[@zemrocku1287]

I’m 38 minutes into this video and I HAVE to stop because I’ve not finished the game so I’ll come back later

[@anthonylong2854]

Elden ring is more like tears of the kingdom than breath of the wild

[@IdentifiantE.S]

@@zemrocku1287Go kill Ganondorf man !

[@dmd356]

Elden Ring reminded me of BotW, but with more content and bosses, but “climb”(we all tried to cheese jumps) and go anywhere was there completely. Totk i can say absolutely fixed the somewhat emptiness i felt after BotW since it lacked in the dungeons department compared to other games, which id argue they were equally famous for dungeon aesthetics and enemies etc. no dungeon looked the same, which wasnt much the case in BotW.

[@ravoniesravenshir3926]

Did you not find the little bypass for the Lingrave Castle? You should really look it up... it makes exploring the game much easier.

[@Vsn24]

Nintendo defiantly didn't take the game over screen from Fromsoft. Been like that since the N64. Also, you said BOTW is metroidvania style saying you have the keys to go anywhere. Metroidvania is the complete opposite. You have nothing and slowly collect the tools you need throughout the entire game, metroidvanias are VERY linear when you break them down.

[@LowerBlack64]

Not quite necessarily. In Metroidvania the key component is "abilities as keys" with a healthy dose of sequence breaking where possible, with Super Metroid being the best example, in which you can skip some abilities altogether if you know the game well enough, allowing some freedom of progression, so it's not that they are very linear when broken down, but rather, can be made linear if following the sequence laid out by the devs. Of course, some games are more linear than others.

[@AltairEgo1]

There are open metroid-likes, the first example of course being Metroid NES. You can go straight to Kraid's or Ridley's lair in an order you like, and you need a very small percentage of items to beat it. Blasphemous is very similar in that regard. You can very much take just about any path you like, in just about any direction, with some item based progression gates that you sometimes come across. It more-so became a trend for the games to be linear when Metroid 2 and Super were released. But there are definitely Metroid-styled exploration based titles that were pretty non-linear in where to go.

[@Lc-Anders]

I disagree about the "spoiler" with the fake Zelda. Since the dragon tears quest is filed under main quest. It didn't matter which order you found out because I see it as more of foreshadowing. Also, there was no way you believed that any of the fake Zelda's was the real one to begin with anyway. The very first one I saw I went "that's not really her". It's not a spoiler if the game lets you find things out in a different order. You're playing the game and the game is telling you, not finding out from some random KZbin comment.

[@Lc-Anders]

Also Mineru didn't die in battle lol. You can see her alive after her battle in the tears cutscenes

[@TheGalaxyWings]

I mean it's not really a spoiler but it still makes the story way less engaging since everything the characters say feels off and disconnected. No riju, for the last time, this isn't zelda. Link, say something, you literally just saw her eat a rock and die. Yeah I did the whole dragon's tears quest before going into the second temple and everything after that felt really anticlimactic. I think the best solution would be to have that quest either progressively unlocked as you progress, or entirely unaccessible until after hyrule castle

[@Lc-Anders]

@@TheGalaxyWings I mean I guess that’s just a personal preference. It didn’t feel anti-climatic to be because no one ever believed it was the real Zelda to begin with. That’s my thing. You don’t know who are what it is but you know it’s not real and even when the current fake one is revealed, it’s completely different than the flashback. I would’ve felt like a boring story with the way you’re saying to me cause like…that’s just the most basic version and I prefer something actually being puzzle pieces that you can piece together however way you wish. But also to each their own. Everyone has their own thing they like and dislike and since the way I liked is in the game I’m not gonna harp on this too much.

[@Brizzle12341]

I feel like Elden Ring and BOTW clearly showcase the differences between the games even just in their tutorials. BOTW slowly introduces you to new abilities over the course of the great plateau, which is generally a pretty safe environment. Meanwhile Elden Ring just throws you into the world and kicks your ass for a while until you get the hang of things.

[@Praying_Mantis3]

I went to the depths in the Zora area for the first time and found enemies everywhere.

[@diamondinmyeye6160]

I'm not sure BOTW wants Eldin to be last. They clearly designed Zora's Domain as first, but there are lots of visible shrines from there which direct you to the mountain. They want you to find the flame guard armour and gift you with a piece and some elixirs to get to it.

[@peanut_butter_wizard1213]

35:45 you think finding that tear early was a massive spoiler? The second tear i found was the one in the Master Sword geoglyph, which pretty much spelled Zeldas fate out.

[@xthax0511]

same but the third

[@CrestOfArtorias]

To be fair that fate was spoiled the moment they talked about "eating" the pearl to be a dragon. I was "ah so thats how she ends up in my time."

[@satorrotas93]

Man… those last few hours of TotK brought a tear to my eye multiple times. The way Link’s theme and Zelda’s theme come together right at the point where you save her from falling was one of the best things I have ever experienced in gaming. TotK is far from perfect, but there were just so many little perfect moments that really pulled at my heart strings in way I haven’t experienced since Ocarina of Time.

[@thor576_3]

Funny enough, when I was supposed to go to the ring ruins , I couldn’t find kakariko so I went exploring and accidentally found the door.

[@TheGalaxyWings]

I randomly stumbled upon it when exploring before my second dungeon

[@emeraldpichu1]

Used an air bike To go to the thunderhead by force and then blindly glided until the shrine detector pointed me to the solution.

[@joelociraptorgaming80]

Elden Ring gave me a sense of adventure and discovery that TOTK just hasn't. I haven't been able to finish TOTK yet as I just feel bored playing it.

[@taykey17]

"Not cool unless it was a Shooter or sports". How sad.

[@GIRGHGH]

If you want things to be chronological it's very easy to just do things npcs suggest or going to the nearest of a thing first. The first geoglyph near the start is the first one, and then you're lead to a place that literally tells you the order, it's not hard. It sounds like you were just rushing yourself beyond caring.

[@cinnamonboy4584]

Saying Botw or Totk are not Zelda games is like saying Mario Odyssey isn't a Mario game

[@cheplays2482]

The images on the wall weren't hard to miss at all tho. When you first get to that room, see the map on the floor then see the same symbols on the wall from left to right, you're supposed to put 2 and 2 together.

[@rub800]

To me the last dungeon that Nintendo planned the players to visit was Naboris...

[@rasmuslahdetmaki3138]

Fun fact about the final fight before ganondorf, If you go straight to the final boss without completing the temples and the bosses with in, Then you will have to fight them before you get to ganondorf because you dont have the sages to do it for you.

[@huntrokilla]

Fun fact, that GAME OVER screen has been around since Ocarina of Time, piano and all…not an “inspiration” from from software 😉 nice try though

[@mondragonmsaul308]

I have all three breath of the wild, tears of the kingdom and elden ring and im saying they are all worth their price, time and more love each game individually

[@Doyoungismyfave]

Getting to the wind temple is one of my favorite moments in the entire game. 😩

[@ultraginge1990]

I love that you accidentally walked into the final boss fight just like most of us did.

[@local_cryptid]

Say what you will about breth of the wild; that line before ark beast Ganon, "Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten," will never fail to give me chills. I dont know if it would hit as hard for someone who picked up botw as their first zelda game, though. They do this weird thing where the story kinda goes out of its way to ignore almost all previously built lore across the series, most notably the staple macguffin. Zelda still has her triforce piece, so I guess we can assume Link does too, but its never, ever brought up. Hes not the aspect of courage in this game. Hes the aspect of amnesia.

[@lawlietriver8869]

The part about the tears and how they reveal the story is such a strong one IMO. I thought to myself while collecting them: "What exactly prevents them from just showing them in order? Why wouldn't they just do THAT, instead of this BS where I get random parts at random times? I knew the entire ending waaaay before I should have. Several side quests had me looking into Zelda being gone, while I was just sitting there thinking: "She is a dragon. That other Zelda is a phantom. Why isn't Link sharing this CRUCIAL information!? WHAT IS HAPPENING!?." Don't get me wrong, a person could still collect the tears way ahead of schedule, but at least it would be more of a choice to get the story spoiled. I just ran across the map looking at shit and found myself picking one up and BOOM the end of the story was revealed. Needless to say, I loved the game to death while playing it, but they just dropped the ball with having the story not being forced to appear in order. It would have changed nothing other than letting the story be told properly. Just as much freedom, just as much everything.

[@rafaogrr]

bro, the game literally tells you the correct order, Impa and her bodyguard can be found near almost all of the geoglyphs, and she directs you to the forgotten temple. there's a map that tells you the order to find them, you just missed it sadly

[@KebaRPG]

"Breath of the Wild is not a Zelda Game" Says some one who probably never played NES Legend of Zelda or SNES Link to the Past where only a few Dungeons required Tools from other Dungeons to Complete.

[@Howitchewstofeel5gum]

"Breath of the Wild isn't really a Zelda game" This is a take that always makes me roll my eyes all the way into the back of my head 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@dablindscooter1973]

its true

[@innotech]

growing up with xbox instead of nintendo or sega is a pretty cursed existence to be fair

[@Cman04092]

Im very glad ER and TOTK came out in different years. Both deserve to be GOTY (thats assuming TOTK wins 2023, which isn't like its a risky bet if you ask me). I would have hated these 2 going up head to head, because they're both very special games.

[@earlmoore7003]

Don't TOTK will take GOTY for 2023 ❤💯😎🙏

[@Raffalius]

10/10 doesn't mean the game has no flaws or that nothing could have been done to make it better. 10/10 means it's a masterpiece, just like you said it was. Both Elden Ring and BOTW are imo 10/10 aka a masterpiece. But there is no such thing as perfection.

[@TheDarkfighter101]

I agree with a lot of your criticisms of both Zelda games as a fan of both. 2 things I found funny is you defeating the optional lynel meant to teach players to sneak and leave some fights and you wanting more of the thunder blight fight when most players hate that boss. Your Elden Ring influence is clear. If you ever go back to botw try master mode. It removes one shot protection, makes all enemies a tier harder, adds an additional gold tier, and Quadruples the damage you take.

[@epic_donut2.5]

55:00 I made a comment a long time ago when nintendo first announced the game and I wrote " wouldnt it be fun that at the end instead of having a boss that only sits around you fought the actual dragon that flys around hyrule castle, maybe in the next one" I wrote other stuff that came true since it was one of those theory videos

[@nathanpfirman625]

Sometimes I wonder: what if you could take a horn off of the malice dragon. How much damage would it add to your weapon?

[@somerandomboreddude3330]

It would probably take your health away like Gannon gloom sword but permanently like when demon dragon hits you and takes a heart away

[@c4n0]

tried. nothing falls from him

[@Experiment.626]

Pulling the master sword AFTER collecting all the tears was so good

[@JustinGarfield1]

Finally someone did and in depth comparison. Someone attacked me because I asked them which is better. They really believe you can never compare. I am like, why not? It's fun.

[@Gamertaque]

10:31 did u forgor the x button?

[@anonymousperson015]

While I think many people will miss autobuild until the endgame, that's only really down to the level of choice and non-linearity. One of the first questlines most players get (Robbie & Josha) leads you to autobuild, and requires you to use it to upgrade your ipad. A lot of people will want to do that as soon as they can - it's the totk equivalent to the hateno blue flame. So you only miss it if you adhd away from that quest... which is very easy to do.

[@jonah.w7397]

I don’t think the “terminals” from TotK dungeons are even meant to be puzzles. Just like how in botw the puzzle was how to get to them in the first place

[@Chron880]

as a fan of both games, this is a great vid

[@bingh4309]

33:35 I played with my friend spectating me. We coined the red rock roast, "Red rock crack"

[@McGomezAddams]

Tears of the Kingdom is the greatest game ever made

[@Leuky]

On GOD

[@alertowl6873]

you went too far but okay.

[@coleintheville117]

Agreed

[@totallytoffy]

Clearly you haven't played Cars for the Nintendo DS.

[@Apotheosis0]

@@totallytoffy The wii version was better.

[@Lockefr]

The two ways to get the master sword are either through the dragon's tears quest or the deku tree quest from the korok forest

[@avinaash2505]

SPOILER: You can get a quest to find the master sword from Puranas after completing the spirit temple( The 5th temple)

[@Experiment.626]

I’m 42 I’ve played every Zelda game to death and this has been my all time favorite adventure

[@rj86dr89]

I dont understand why people cant just talk to the characters in the game. I played the game completely blind and got the whole story in the order it was intended. Do you know why? Because i listened to the characters they put in the game to tell you where to go. If you do what pura says right in the damn beginning you wont accidentally hit any story spoiler. Listen to the characters. So many people complain that they found story plits out of order. Its your fault for not doing what you are told. Impa even says that the glyphs on the wall are in the order you are supposed to find them. I do agree that the temples needed a bit more and the ending cutscenes for each trmple should have been unique. But if they did that then people would complain like they do about the glyphs. Because people dont pay attention.

[@AzaliFinrandi]

Amen...like if you want to explore the game and decide not to interact with people or heed their guidance then you...kind of deserve it? I had none of these issues, I was just happy there were more people to actually talk to, made the journey less lonely (which was the point so yay!)

[@MAGAJerseyMike]

I just have to say as a 38yr old, I'm proud of you for actually going back and playing the games and not just giving a terrible opinion from watching others. Especially Botw being so open. The journey is completely individual. Ocarina was much more straight forward. Good Job. Oh btw Majoras Mask is amazing also. It's a real night owl type game imo. ✌️

[@eeeeeezeeee]

Botw, totk and Elden are my favorite games

[@asraarradon4115]

people who think botw wasn't really a zelda game never grew up on the nes version. botw felt like a 3d remake of what that game felt like in your head.

[@AltairEgo1]

There's very much a divide in fanbases, and I think most who grew up with the NES game moved on to other series' after Aonuma and his puzzles came with them. It's been so long since the series was like the first one that BOTW feels like an entirely different title on its own. It's like Evil Dead 1 VS the rest of the franchise. It started out very serious and scary, with the subsequent ones being an endless bag of gags.

[@galaxystarroad]

Let me tell you, I did the Spirit Temple as my third dungeon, before Goron and Gerudo so I totally missed the thunder set T-T

[@TheGrossDemon]

I missed it as well 😭 I saw dragon head island in the distance and needed to explore it! Jusy for the other sages to be like oh we gotta find the last sage! Wait you already did? Cool finish putting them together then! Time to find a video on how to find the set I guess lol

[@TheGrossDemon]

Just coming back to let you know that you can still do the quest to get the gear. Technology you don't need the quest at all, but the quest is an interesting one. Talk to Paya after you get all the sages. Idk exactly when she'll give you the quest, but I assume it's after you handle the stuff in Hyrule castle.

[@Onavi1]

It´s way interesting that way, if you do the quest before every cloud clears up and you just can go in a straight line to the Dragon Head Isle, i had so much fun just exploring blindly inside the Thunderclouds

[@dime124]

"I've never played Zelda before, I never had it as a kid" "This is where BOTW started to feel like normal Zelda dungeons" Wait, what 🤔

[@catalan500_8]

I just wanna know who tf stole my bike from BotW

[@TheRealSpicyboi]

If I had to say, the biggest reason why people are looking to compare these games is because they are some complete-ass games. No bullshit, you load it and start playing and you are enjoying it. So many developers fib this part of the process with optimization problems and incomplete games.

[@Spidoc]

"Watch this is if you wanna know if you should play the game" "This video is going to contain heavy spoilers" 💀

[@flamewing7851]

you can grind rails with any shield. not just cart rails.

[@starry-p]

I explored so much of the depths at the beginning of the game ( it’s just amazing to me). So I got the auto build ability early.

[@withnosensetv]

50:50 I 100% agree, I actually just started laughing when that happened. I would have never expected that from Nintendo, and I adore it

[@darkbow12]

the fact that he likes the rail shrine makes me mad i had to cheese the shrine with a rokect shelid

[@ajlucky0076]

That's the point, there are thousands of different solutions to each challenge

[@yardenzakai274]

Wdym? They were easy

[@Dado_nastro]

That was easy

[@whirlwind872]

TOTK is my first zelda game. My biggest issue with it is how exploration is rendered pointless by the repetitive / trivial rewards and just knowing that no matter where you travel, all you're going to find is just another bokoblin camp, shrine, or korok. Unlike Elden Ring, where you can find huge new areas of the world (Siofra, the sewers, etc) with unique bosses + challenges + lore + insanely good rewards + questlines that impact the ending of the game, there is NOTHING worth finding in TOTK except cosmetics and, very rarely, armor. Except the armor isn't even useful because the combat is SO easy and you have unlimited food. At the beginning of TOTK i was so excited to explore and conquer the map. But after I killed reskinned bokoblin number 5073, my soul left my body and I just couldn't wait to be done with the game. I will say though that the final boss is excellent, with mechanical complexity + spectacle + lore. That's how every boss should have been but instead the game is a repetitive cakewalk without compelling rewards or unique enemies.

[@Raiju.]

Just an FYI you could go for the master sword or Mineru at any point as long as you know where they are

[@Getdown8319]

I think these games are both master pieces. Elden ring focuses on combat and play style, while TOTK focuses more of creativity and exploration. Both are amazing worlds and I don’t believe one is better than the other. Just depends on what u prioritize for entertainment. These games will be talked about for years to come.

[@austinwiththehat]

Minerus flashback hits me so hard, “remember his name” then the theme song kicks in. Queue uncontrollably crying. Masterclass

[@Literally_A_Dragon]

1:06:18 about the all the shrines guardians and divine beasts going missing, in botw Ganon took control of all the sheikah tech so it’s likely Zelda made sure it was all dismantled, Purah probably was involved as you can see sheikah tech in TOTK device like the towers and purah pad, don’t forget that Ganon also was really weakened from the divine beasts (if you did the quests) so he could have also destroyed sheikah tech during the upheaval to prevent it again

[@marcus1228]

Was ER the first video game you played?

[@Ckrost]

Love your take on Joseph dude literally just hates to hate especially his Elden ring takes which have had hour plus responses videos pointing out how it’s him not the game

[@jonson856]

There was a post credit scene you know.

[@commenter5901]

I wanted to explore the sky islands and I explored the thunderhead (the beginning to the spirit temple) before getting all the other sages. I thought it just always poured rain there no matter what, so I wanted to get those islands over with sooner than later because it was almost impossible to see through that rain. You can't even see giant brightbloom flowers for more than a few feet. But I pushed through it and found both shrines and fought the flux construct and even found koroks and chests. It took HOURS. Then, after I finished the game, I was playing (my goal is to eventually 100% it without a guide), and I got the dragon quest that cleared up the storm... In my next playthrough, I'll be doing things in a different order.

[@TROBassGuitar]

I kept trying to get up there but I couldn't see shit and gave up lol must have been rewarding though

[@TheMrDrMs]

I also did the tears approach to the master sword, I think that's the way to go for sure.

[@yurglepop]

I don't think my issue is that you can do any tear in any lovation for the TotK's memories. I think my issue is that it doesn't ever recognize your efforts until it's required in the main quest. Like, tears tell you the entire mystery, yet the main quest continues acting like you're blind to it. I think dialogue should've been altered to acknowledge you know this already

[@ezperro6120]

On my playthrough of TotK (still ongoing), I actually did the post main quests a bit out of order, and honestly I feel it made some of the story beats hit a bit harder for me. I did the main 4 story quests first, then after the prompt to go find Zelda in Hyrule Castle, I filled out the underground map to get to the Great Deku Tree for the Master Sword (on a hunch). Did Deku Tree's little quest and looked for thebMaster Sword only to find it on a dragon. After that I did the Dragon Tears quest in memory order based on the walls in the map room (shoutout to feeding my preexisting existential fear and depression, thanks game) and got the impression that there was a fifth sage quest based on the Light Dragon flying toward a certain direction and Link still having an empty ring on hand. I then arduously sought out and luckily found Mineru's quest (which felt waaaaaay more satisfying that I figured it all out myself instead of having the game tell me firsthand). Then I went under Hyrule Castle to fill out the missing Depths Lightroot only to stumble upon the final boss room (lol), which I left because I didnt want to spoil myself quite yet. Only after all that did I go to Hyrule Castle to find Zelda. Honestly, so glad I did it in that order without spoilers or outside pointers, definitely gave me a different impression on the story.

[@thewindwakinghero7423]

I just kinda found the mastersword in TotK by knowing papa tree would know.