The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has again commented on the possibility of revisiting the style of past entries in the series – but there are no plans as of now. Speaking with RTL Nieuws, Aonuma said that games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were possible because of what came before them. However,...
As someone who thinks BOTW and TOTK have a TON of glaring flaws that modern game journalism refuses to critique, this is disapointing to hear. I fear they’re just gonna keep making BOTW clones with different powers and I’m never gonna get a traditional zelda game that isn’t a remake again.
The worlds are largely empty and boring to explore even compared to some much older open world titles
movement/controls are clunky
the combat system is incredibly simplistic especially compared to other games and makes combat largely uninteresting and unchallenging
the weapon durability system is terrible and not only discourages exploration (to save your good weapons), but also prevents more complex combat mechanics from existing at all
the plots really aren’t good at all
the shrines are repetitive
the side quests have no good rewards and often aren’t worth bothering with. This is due to any substansial rewards (health and stamina) being locked to shrines, main tools being given to you at the start, a lack of proper progression, and other tools like weapons being disposible.
Because they give you all the tools at the start of the game, there’s really no sense of progression making the game feel stale a lot more quickly then it otherwise should
TOTK doesn’t really address any of these problems from BOTW. It does address things like enemy variety, and dungeons/bosses (barely), but both games share so many of the same issues I struggled to get through TOTK.
I disagree with all and every single point you made, to the point that I think the complete opposite about most of them. So I guess those are subjective, not objective issues, and the game is not for everyone. I don’t think every game has to be for everyone, but it’s clear looking at popularity, sells, and cultural impact, that both BotW and TotK are liked by a huge amount of people just as they are. And I for one would definitely like to have a third installment.
The final point really gets to me. New items and abilities were such a great part of pre-BotW era Zelda games. I get why they did it. The open world being so large means you aren’t likely to want to re-explore the same location again once you get the requisite item. It’s a sacrifice they made to avoid gating content off and allowing you to go anywhere and do anything at any time. I just don’t really think that sacrifice is worth it.
As someone who thinks BOTW and TOTK have a TON of glaring flaws that modern game journalism refuses to critique, this is disapointing to hear. I fear they’re just gonna keep making BOTW clones with different powers and I’m never gonna get a traditional zelda game that isn’t a remake again.
What flaws are you referring to (I’ve not played them myself)?
TOTK doesn’t really address any of these problems from BOTW. It does address things like enemy variety, and dungeons/bosses (barely), but both games share so many of the same issues I struggled to get through TOTK.
I disagree with all and every single point you made, to the point that I think the complete opposite about most of them. So I guess those are subjective, not objective issues, and the game is not for everyone. I don’t think every game has to be for everyone, but it’s clear looking at popularity, sells, and cultural impact, that both BotW and TotK are liked by a huge amount of people just as they are. And I for one would definitely like to have a third installment.
The final point really gets to me. New items and abilities were such a great part of pre-BotW era Zelda games. I get why they did it. The open world being so large means you aren’t likely to want to re-explore the same location again once you get the requisite item. It’s a sacrifice they made to avoid gating content off and allowing you to go anywhere and do anything at any time. I just don’t really think that sacrifice is worth it.