Nintendo has finally released the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game was released called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. And takes place roughly three years after the events in the previous game, so fans that played the previous game will see familiar areas but with a twist of the addition of sky and underground areas. Since, I haven’t finished the game (and won’t for some time), I figured I would give a first impression of this game versus giving a full review. So, there’s not going to be a lot regarding the plot in this post.
So, on surface level, this game hits all the same notes and uses a very similar formula for the plotline as Breath of the Wild, but there are different twists to make it feel new without feeling like you’re playing the same game all over again.
- Link has suffered a severe injury that results in him having no health or stamina, and the master sword is in ruins. Unlike the previous game, we get to see what happened to cause this. Link loses his arm and has to get a replacement after going under the castle with Zelda. This results in everything being stripped away from him before he’s taken to the Temple of Time to have his arm replaced by Rauru (the first king of Hyrule).
- Zelda is missing but is calling out to Link. In the previous game, she was locked in battle with Ganon for 100 years. Now, she seems to lost in the past after getting one of the Sage of Time stone. Though she makes random appearances, still don’t know what’s fully going on with her yet.
- Open world game where you can follow your own path as long as you have the necessary abilities or gear to do so. Unlike the previous game, the temples are not blocked off on their own separate map. It’s connected to the main world, but you will still get a separate map of the area, so you can get a better picture of the objectives but if you want to leave or return you easily can.
- Four temples with four champions. In the previous game these were the Divine Beasts, the champions were dead, and they granted you an ability afterwards. In this game, you visit temples in the sky (or at least the one I went to was) and you get a companion that actively helps you complete the temple. After the temple, they become a sage who you can summon an avatar of to help you on your adventures. Also, the temples are located in the same general regions as the Divine Beasts.
- Use abilities to complete puzzles. Previously, we got runes on the Shekiah Slate but this time with Link’s new arm he gains those abilities without the use of the Purah Pad (not sure how I feel about that name change). These new abilities give you the power of gods or rather the Zonai (telekinesis, fusion, rewind time, and ascension).
- Telekinesis (aka Ultrahand) works on most items, so you don’t have to worry about things being in the wrong place or orientation. Plus, you can make ultra long bridges and engineering projects with the ability… or mess with the Koroks.
- The fusion can change any weapon, shield or arrow so you can improve anything you get, which is insanely useful since we no longer have specialty arrows so you need to fuse common ones to various materials if you want certain results.
- Rewind time (Recall) lets you reverse objects to their previous state. So, if something was in the sky that fell to the ground, you can recall it while on top to get back to the sky. However, it only works on objects once. After you’ve recalled it, that’s it, you’ll need to find a different object to use that ability on in the future. You can also do this in battle to send projectiles back at enemies.
- Ascension lets you quickly transverse from underground to above ground. As long as the ceiling is somewhat flat and reachable then you can use this ability. It’s a bit like cheating in a way and from the sounds of it the developers used it to quickly change areas when working on places, so in a way it is.
- Same NPC Characters. They may have aged and things have happened in their life, but you get to see many familiar faces including: Purah (now grown up), Sidon, Riju (now grown up), Tulin (Teba’s child grown up a bit), Hetsu, Teba, Impa, Yunobo, Master Kohga, and more. Though some of the shopkeepers and general people of Hyrule that you interacted with before don’t recognize you or only refer to you as Zelda’s bodyguard. Like come on I did a lot for you in the past and this is all I get for that effort. Not my name but bodyguard.
Overall, I’m having a blast playing Tears of the Kingdom. When I start playing, I get drawn in for long periods of time and want to keep playing more. So far, I’ve done the Water Temple with Sidon and explored the regions directly to the east of the starting area. I’ll eventually go to the other areas but I had to start out with my best boi. Though, I did have words for him as he got engaged to someone who wasn’t me… I mean come on. I know was gone getting my arm replaced but you didn’t have to replace me like that. Give Link a break, he’s been losing everything left right and center.
I’m curious how the other areas are going to go and if my current solution of long bridge will continue to work for everything. But hey, it’s been getting me through everything thus far. You can also create various means of transportation other than just using your horse (which you do get the ones you had from the previous game). This mainly comes into play with helping the Koroks as many have gotten separated from their friends. And their backpacks you can control or stick to things, so I’ve been enjoying the heck out of that.
If you’re playing Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom what have you thought thus far without giving any spoilers.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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