The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023) - Part 2
Can you surpass a masterpiece?
So, how the hell do you top that? Tears of the Kingdom had a lot to prove, just like Majora’s mask did back in 2000. When it was confirmed that the next game would feature the same Hyrule map, Korok seeds, Shrines, and many other returning mechanics, I was immediately intrigued and worried. With the conventions of Zelda changed already, what can they do to surpass Breath of the Wild when returning elements no longer feel fresh.
To Kingdom Come
Tears of the Kingdom starts much stronger than Breath of the Wild. Link and Zelda explore the deeper portions of Hyrule castle, investigating a dark energy called “gloom” that has been affecting the residents of Hyrule. There, they find the sealed body of Ganondorf… just as the seal is about to break. Ganon attacks Link, shatters the master sword and scorches Link’s right arm. The land below them starts to give, and Zelda falls into a chasm as Link reaches for her… to no avail. It’s an intense moment that suddenly fades to black as Link loses consciousness.
I gave Breath of the Wild so much praise for having a mysterious introduction, but its sequel surpasses it tenfold. Link wakes up in a floating island, with a new magic arm, new abilities and a broken master sword. This floating island, aptly named The Great Sky Island, serves the same purpose as The Great Plateau, teaching you the fundamentals of the new abilities.
The core abilities for Tears of the Kingdom are brand new. This time around, you have 4 main abilities: Ultrahand to move objects around (more on that later), Recall to turn back time, Ascend to move across terrain vertically, and Fuse to combine weapons together. While it’s sad to lose some abilities from Breath of the Wild (RIP remote bombs), I’m content with the choices for the sequel.
Clearing the Great Sky Island ends with Link putting the Master Sword in a pedestal where it is transported through time and then appearing on Zelda’s hands. As Link jumps into the surface, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, finally begins.
Tears of the Kingdom’s introduction leaves you with so many questions, a good thing if you want to keep the mystery going. For the first 4-5 hours I had no idea what was happening, and that level of mystery continued for the better part of the game. Tears of the Kingdom provides you many quest lines at the beginning, many involving Zelda being spotted at several places in Hyrule, usually causing mischief wherever she is seen.
Same Hy-, Different -rule
Between the two to three years between the events of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, many things have changed in Hyrule. New buildings, different weather conditions… oh and a catastrophic upheaval that caused huge craters to open and floating islands appearing out of nowhere, causing chaos in all the land.
On a literal surface level, the map of Tears of the Kingdom is the same as Breath of the Wild, but elevated. Again, literally, with the inclusion of floating islands across the entire map. Trailers and marketing material made it seem like most of our adventure would be happening in these islands, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Not in terms of quantity, because there are multiple islands across Hyrule, but rather in terms of content. They feel like Shrines, offering a quick puzzle and a small reward at the end (the reward itself usually being a Shrine of its own). Though, aesthetic-wise, the Sky Island are the best part of the game; the chosen color pallet is filled with bright colors that reflect well on the open Hyrule skies.
A new area not included in any promotional material, but one of the biggest additions to Tears of the Kingdom, comes in The Depths, a region located entirely below Hyrule. This map is a inverse version of the surface: mountains are valleys, rivers are chasms and everything is just, so, so dark. This area effectively changes the tone of the game; a game characterized for climbing mountains and looking towards the horizon suddenly turns into a survival-horror game where the unknown is the norm. I enjoyed the feeling of despair coming from this new darker area, it effectively nullifies everything you know from Breath of the Wild, and it takes time to learn how to navigate it.
My problem with the Depths comes in its size. This part of the game is designed to make you feel helpless, but at times, is filled with long stretches of absolutely nothing. Great for the powerless vibe, yes, but countless times I spent running into sections of plain fields of nothing. Another way it shows the mirroring of the surface map comes in navigation, which is heavily constrained. They turned the “go anywhere” game into a constant struggle just to move forward. I wish they had carefully crafted The Depths as well as the surface of Hyrule.
Ironically, my favorite part of the game was the surface of Hyrule. The changes made here were very smart, combining familiarity from the previous game with a new twist. Often times I would travel to a spot I knew from Breath of the Wild, only to find out they added a new cave or activity that made it worth the revisit. Countless caves were added throughout the map as well, usually with a fun reward at the end.
I spent 80% of my playthrough in the surface, the only area mostly unchanged from its predecessor, which speaks volumes to how good that map was from the very beginning. The new sections designed to keep the game fresh, The Depths and Sky Islands, where overwhelming and underwhelming, respectively. The surface of Hyrule achieves that perfect balance, but a good portion of it feels a little too familiar from Breath of the Wild.
The new Ultra Abilities
The biggest addition between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom come in the new abilities. Their main purpose used to be puzzle solving in shrines, but now they’re built around the world itself, and fundamentally change the gameplay.
Take Ascend, for example. It allows Link to travel vertically through any structure from a ceiling to a floor. In other words, it allows you to exit a cave by literally transporting you to the land above the cave. The entire world is designed with the idea of Ascend in mind, making traversal a breeze. Think of wanting to reach the top of a mountain; sure, you can climb it from the outside, but you could also look for a cave or tunnel that stands right below the top, and ascend vertically in an instant.
The Recall Ability allows Link to rewind time on a specific object. It is the least used of the four abilities, at least in the beginning. You’ll encounter very few use cases where it is handy, the most notable one being debris falling from the sky that you can climb on and recall back to its origin, giving Link a quick gateway into the Sky Islands. However, as soon as you realize the Recall ability allows you to rewind time on objects that you move, it opens up opportunities everywhere to be used.
The last two abilities work in conjunction: Fuse and Ultrahand. Fuse allows you to combine any weapon, arrow or shield with another object. The most common object you’ll be fusing are enemy horns; most enemies have evolved form Breath of the Wild, now sporting longer, sharper horns which are dropped when defeated. However, you can combine any weapon with any object Link can collect. Even ridiculous combinations such as putting an apple at the tip of a sword, or combining two spears together for an even longer spear. The possibilities are endless, and even unlikely combos have surprising results.
Ultrahand is what really makes Tears of the Kingdom a game of its own. It allows the player to pick up any object, move it around, and attach it to other objects. In the simplest terms, that’s all it does, and yet is one the most powerful tools in this game. You can attach wheels to a plank of wood to make a car, attach three fans together pointing downwards to do a Green Goblin-y hoverboard. You can truly do what your mind desires, and it just works!
There is no greater feeling from imagining the most chaotic contraption, building it, and seeing it work exactly how you envisioned. This is enhanced by Zonai Devices, which represent real life objects you can easily identify. Rockets, fans, wheels, springs, and more can be used in conjunction with other objects in the world to create crazy vehicles, structures and weapons. One of my favorite contraptions is 4 flame-throwers attached to a wheel, creating a fire vortex killing all enemies on sight. Building an idea you have in your head is so easy, and will often work exactly how you envision it.
One extra level of detail regarding the fuse ability is how the game teaches you how to use it. Through shrines, you learn how to solve traversal puzzles that provide ideas on what to create. Enemies will also fuse weapons in unlikely combinations, giving new ideas, and teaching you how they work. I laughed at a Bokoblin holding a stick with a mushroom on its tip, but that quickly changed upon impact, which sent Link flying, caused from the mushroom bouncy effect. It’s a very organic way of teaching without tutorializing it.
The abilities in Tears of the Kingdom are a game changer. Going from very situational abilities in Breath of the Wild, to the ability to create the situations yourself with your own creativity is a huge step forward, one I’m sure many other game developers will start implementing as well.
Searching for The Chosen Ones… again
Coming back to the story, many elements are recycled from Breath of the Wild, but with added elements that make it feel organic. You still have four regions to explore, with the same four races, in the exact same locations, with the exact same cast of characters. But the context in which you travel and interact with them is a bit different.
Tears of the Kingdom’s journey has a strong aura of mystery throughout, something that Breath of the Wild failed at. The main plot is that Zelda is missing, and there have been sightings all over Hyrule, typically with a terrible fate surrounding it. Flashback memories also return from Breath of the Wild, but instead of being memories between Link and Zelda, this time it’s only Zelda. These are represented as the aforementioned “Tears” of the Kingdom. It’s an interesting concept that you come to find Zelda’s real location through these memories, yet they don’t match the descriptions from all these sightings, enhancing the mystery around them.
The main four Zelda sightings represent the main four places you visit in your adventure: Zora’s Domain, Goron City, Rito Village and Gerudo Town. Similar to Breath of the Wild, you visit these areas, meet fun characters, and solve their siloed side-story. While the events themselves are different, I was sad to learn the cast of characters is almost exactly the same. I was hopeful for a new generation of characters, but turns out they were all The Chosen Ones… again.
Breath of the Wild was designed towards solitude and finding peace in the wilderness, a theme I enjoyed very much. But Tears of the Kingdom flips the concept by making the central theme about connections. Gameplay and story are built around this idea, the most obvious example being the fuse ability, but once you connect the dots, you realize the character moments are also driven by this theme.
Purah, Robbie and a bunch of soldiers and researchers join together to form Lookout Landing, your center of operations. Instead of waiting for Link to save the day, they decide to create their own group to investigate the upheaval and look for Zelda. It is awesome to have so many characters join you in this task; you are rarely fully alone while adventuring Hyrule.
(I have more to say in the matter of connection, but involves heavy spoilers, so stay tuned for the next post)
Tears of the Kingdom is a masterpiece standing on its own two feet. I have a fair share of criticisms, but that doesn’t take away from the incredible game that it is. The theme of connections is what makes both the story and the gameplay truly unique, not only in the Zelda universe, but gaming in general. There is so much more depth to the story, from the very beginning til the credits role.
I love that the abilities are designed around the world itself. Want to exit a cave? use Ascend! Can’t reach a high place? build something to propel you upwards! Can’t beat a strong enemy? fuse some items to create a powerful weapon! The level of freedom this game offers is truly outstanding, and the only limit is your creativity. The mystery-filled story is a huge improvement from Breath of the Wild too.
My only problem with the game comes with its sheer size; I think they went a bit overboard with The Depths (and, personally, not enough with the Sky Islands). They tried to make an already big game even bigger, and I think it reached that threshold of too much. Not in an “impossible to complete” way, though, just barely crossing the line.
Picking my favorite of the two is quite complicated. Tears of the Kingdom’s best moments are often taken from Breath of the Wild, and for this reason I don’t believe it surpasses its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, it does a hundred things better (like whatever black magic they used to develop the Ultrahand), but nothing can surpass that feeling of stepping into the wild for the first time in 2017.