I’m not going to lie; I was reluctant to pick up Tears of the Kingdom when it was shown in full glory. I wasn’t a big fan of Breath of the Wild, which isn’t a prevalent opinion these days. Yes, it’s a great game, but it wasn’t a great Zelda, in my opinion. I even wrote an article about it – which you can find here. So, why am I the one reviewing Tears of the Kingdom? Not because I want to pick on the little things, but because I want to give an honest review about one of my favorite franchises. If that’s enough to keep you interested, keep on reading!
For those wondering, ‘What was the exact plot of Breath of the Wild’ again? Nintendo has covered you since they made a video dealing with the most crucial plot parts of the 2017 release in this short six-minute video.
Tears of the Kingdom
So, fast forward to Tears of the Kingdom – I will talk a bit about the story’s beginning, so if you want to find this out for yourself, scroll to the following header.
Link’s victory over Calamity Ganon has allowed Hyrule’s residents to restore it to its former glory. Link and Princess Zelda investigate a mysterious event near the castle. Beneath the castle, Link and Zelda find Zonai ruins, telling the story of a great battle, and witness a mummified Ganondorf’s awakening. Ganondorf’s powers corrupt Link’s right arm and shatters the Master Sword. Hyrule Castle is sent floating upwards into the sky. The two fall below; Zelda vanishes with a mysterious artifact, while Link is rescued by a disembodied arm that had been restraining Ganondorf. Link awakens in the newly appeared Sky Islands and meets the spirit of Rauru, a Zonai, who gave Link his right arm to replace the latter’s corrupted organic right arm. Rauru assists Link in finding Zelda behind a door in the Temple of Time, only to witness a vision of Zelda taking the Master Sword.
Link returns to Hyrule, learning that the earlier events, the “Upheaval,” have caused chaos in Hyrule. Link gains Purah’s assistance to find Zelda and investigates the mysterious reports throughout Hyrule. Like in Breath of the Wild, it’s a wild ride between the four tribes of Hyrule. Story Spoilers: In the Gerudo Desert, Link assists its chief, Riju, in stopping unusual sandstorms and defeating the Gibdos. Link and Sidon teamed up in the Zora River to stop the sludge poisoning. In Rito Village, Link meets Tulin, the son of Teba, and the two defeat the source of an ongoing blizzard that threatens Rito. Finally, in the Goron Village, Link finds a brainwashed Yunobo; upon reasoning with him, the two fight a monster arising from Death Mountain.
Main & Side Quests
I think the storylines are pretty fleshed out and are more of what you would expect in a Zelda game compared to the Divine Beasts we got in Breath of the Wild. Is this a good thing? Perhaps. I’ll talk about that in a bit. The chapters are pretty straightforward and follow the standard Zelda logic and mechanics of defeating said boss, gaining a power that is useful for specific plot points – but still offering the choice of freedom we got in Breath of the Wild. One of the most significant changes in storytelling is the way memories work. Yes, the camera gimmick in Breath of the Wild was great, but I prefer how Nintendo made a mini-movie through the Tears you find in the fields of Hyrule. It’s Nazca lines gone Zelda, and it works well with the Impa Mainquest; since we all could use a bit more Impa in our lives.
Next to the Main Missions (a total of 23 chapters), there are a bunch of Side Missions and Stories for you to complete. They often give pretty decent rewards or show you some background of certain characters. So, time to jump into your pen and join up with Penn to finish stories for the Lucky Glover Gazette. Another fan favorite makes its return as well. Meet Addison, an avid carpenter advocate doing the absolute most for Hudson, who runs a construction company in Hyrule. He’s erecting signs promoting Hudson’s restoration program, which is trying to rebuild Hyrule after Ganondorf’s destruction ruined the world. However, almost none of the signs are on stable ground, and Addison, unwilling to let the laws of gravity disrespect Hudson, is holding them up all by himself. But as an upstanding citizen, you can help these signs be upstanding by using the ability at hand on materials found next to each sign to prop it up so Addison can let go and get on with his life.
Gameplay Elements & Abilities
Time to throw Link’s old abilities out of the imaginary window, along with his powers in Breath of the Wild. I’m talking about no more remote bombs and Revalli’s Gale. Instead, we get a whole assortment of cheating powers, with significant aspects like a magic clue, Senor Pink’s power from One Piece, and AI Lego construction (I don’t want to give away too much). I like these powers more than the variants from Breath of the Wild since they give you a more ‘authentic’ Zelda feel, not in the sense of old-school Zelda, but more in the sense of being challenged to get creative in a non-frustrating way. For example, the shrines in Breath of the Wild often frustrated me due to the mechanics of Link’s abilities, but I haven’t found a shrine in Tears that I did not like.
Sure, one can argue that these new powers are just a DLC of Breath of the Wild, but I see them more as what could have been with Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom’s abilities, shrines, and sense of direction are what I missed in Tears of the Kingdom. Instead, the whole world feels more alive, darker, and better developed (yes, I know it took them five more years of development). The new enemies, Zonai elements, and other minor quality-of-life upgrades will even turn the biggest Breath of the Wild hater into a new Zelda fan (I’m not looking at you, God of War producer).
Conclusion
So, to conclude! Is The Legend of Zelda – Tears of the Kingdom worth your time and money? Yes. Is it the direction I want my Zelda games to go? No, not necessarily, but I do see what Breath of the Wild needed to be to evolve into Tears of the Kingdom. Thanks to my time with Tears of the Kingdom, I have a newfound respect for Breath of the Wild, and I might even pick it up again after finishing Tears of the Kingdom. To put into perspective – we needed Link II for the elements we found in later Zelda games, Phantom Hourglass to set specific mechanics in motion, etc. So, for all those who hate this new Zelda game, see it as your necessary evil.
Tears of the Kingdom is a great game and a grand Zelda entry. It mixes elements of past Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword) and combines them with Breath of the Wild mechanics in an evolved form to become this great version of itself. It offers enough ‘I wish I would have thought about that’ moments to keep even the most seasoned Zelda players on their toes. And if you want that extra challenge, go and explore the deep dark layer beneath the ground; you’ll have plenty of challenges there.
