The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) - Part 1
Reinventing the Conventions of Zelda
Zelda sequels are a rare occurrence. Since the very first one released in 1986, most games in the series drastically change the direction from its predecessor, making it difficult to generate a direct comparison. Games like Wind Waker and Skyward Sword completely redefine what it means to be a Zelda game, while still being one at its core.
So far, there have been 2 Zelda sequels that follow up in terms of game engine, gameplay and story: Majora’s Mask and Tears of The Kingdom. Sure, we could count the Four Swords Adventures, Phantom Hourglass, Crossbow Training and many more as sequels, but these only continue the story while being mechanically different than their respective predecessors.
It’s been almost a year since I finished The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and I’ve had some time to gather my thoughts on it. Instead of doing a full review of this game on its own, I thought it would be a fun idea to focus on the evolution from Breath of the Wild, a game I already consider to be a masterpiece when it released back in 2017. Part 1 will focus on establishing the foundation, while Part 2 will be dedicated to my thoughts on the sequel.
Making a Sequel with Major(a’s) Changes
While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the main focus of this post, I wanted to take some time to explore the other Zelda sequel that exists in the world: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
It’s no secret that Ocarina of Time is considered one of the best games of all time. As a matter of fact, over a dozen publications have openly declared this Zelda game to be the best game ever, period. But taking a look back through time, it was consider a masterpiece in 1998, obtaining a perfect score from publications such as IGN, GameSpot, Famitsu and Edge; and a Metacritic score currently standing at a 99/100.
With so many accolades and perfect scores, Nintendo made the bold decision to make a direct sequel. Using the same engine and assets, the team had 1 (one) year to finish a follow-up on a game beloved by many. It is a heavy burden to create something new in the shoulders of a masterpiece like Ocarina of Time. Make it too similar and it’s just the same game again, make it too different and it isn’t a Zelda game anymore.
The end result of this heavy project with a strict deadline was The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. A game that, while smaller in size, manages to tell a deeper story, humanizing the large cast of characters. No other Zelda game before or since has been brave enough to tell stories about dealing with death, denial and love. It takes a character like Anju, whose only purpose was failing to herd chickens in Ocarina of Time, and gives her a sad love story that you uncover bit by bit while you play. This sort of personal stories were non-existent in Zelda games at the time.
Majora’s Mask is known for its 3-day cycle, which culminates with the moon crashing against the earth. Clock Town, the main hub of the game, is filled a wide array of characters, each with their own schedules, motivations and goals. Most characters have a story to tell, and the time-looping story allows you to experience every last bit of it.
It might not have received the same praise Ocarina of Time did when it released, but culturally it had a greater impact. While it kept most of the action-adventure aspects intact, it achieved a darker, meaningful story that kept you engaged. It is a significantly shorter game, yes, but it achieves so much more than its predecessor. It managed to strike a perfect balance for a sequel, giving you enough old and new to achieve perfection, once again.
Breath of Fresh Air
Eiji Aonuma promised that Breath of the Wild was going to change the conventions of the Zelda series. Little did he know, it changed the conventions in gaming as a whole; I would be brave enough to compare its impact to what Super Mario 64 did for 3D games in the 90s.
It did achieve what most Zelda games do. It redefined what a Zelda game is, but to a greater level than any other game in the series. The typical cycle of beating temples in order to get an item that moves you forward in the story doesn’t exist anymore. All main abilities are unlocked from the start of the game. Sure, you can get better weapons, shields and bows, but, mechanically, nothing stops your progress towards the final boss. This is not something you see often in gaming, where your total playtime can be 30 minutes, 150 hours, or anything in between.
Replacing the typical temple design, Breath of the Wild has over a hundred smaller “shrines” that provide you with a small puzzle or a small combat challenge you can finish in a few minutes . It’s a clever gameplay loop where you constantly switch between fighting enemies, getting new weapons, exploring, performing side-quests and solving puzzles.
Breath of the Wild is truly an Open World game. It lets you travel anywhere at anytime, without feeling overwhelming. This is due to its carefully crafted world designed to keep you picking your next objective on the fly. You reach the top of a mountain, and you see a shrine in the distance. You reach and complete the shrine, only to see a special type of mushroom you need for a side-quest. You finish your side-quest and your reward is an ingredient to cook a meal that increases your defense. You go back to an enemy camp with strong foes, and your reward is a stronger shield. You then see a mountain in the distance with something on top and you decide to investigate. And the loop begins once again.
It’s very hard to put into words how open this game is, and how exciting is to explore no matter how you play. And your exploration, little as it can be, is often rewarded. It might be just a couple of rupees or one of thousands of Korok seeds, but the game is designed in a way that exploration is never in vain, encouraging you to continue reaching for the next mountain-top. The world itself is a character; every single mountain is there for a reason, and every inch of this world has something to do, something to collect, something to see.
It has one of the best introductions of any game: letting you play in a controlled sandbox, called The Great Plateau, designed to get used to the world, the controls, and your abilities. This time, Link is completely lost, suffering from amnesia waking up in a random place after sleeping for 100 years, which creates a good connection with the player, also experiencing this for the first time… that is until you finish the prologue, and you get a long cutscene expositioning the entire plot. The game keeps the mystery going with the design of the world itself, but sadly does very little to have an overarching narrative. The story is divided into four siloed chapters for the four races of Hyrule: Zoras, Goron, Gerudo and Rito.
Don’t get me wrong, I could sit here and talk about Breath of the Wild for literal days, but I’m trying to only give the necessary context required for Tears of the Kingdom. Not so much in terms of a story (because there isn’t much of one), but in terms of the world itself.
The impact of Breath of the Wild is impossible to ignore. It fundamentally changed what it means to be an Open World game, and its influence could be seen everywhere after 2017. Games like Immortals Fenyx Rising and Genshin Impact were born inspired by Breath of the Wild, and even long established franchises, like Sonic, Dark Souls and Pokemon, fundamentally changed their gameplay style to match that of this new Open World Zelda.
Similar to Ocarina of Time, Breath of the Wild was a critical success. Very similar in fact; the same websites listed in the previous section gave the exact same review score as they did Ocarina over 20 years ago. This Zelda game redefined the open world genre, just like Ocarina did for action-adventure games. And all that critical success blossomed into a sequel that suddenly had a lot to prove.