Gameplay demonstration video released for Tears of the Kingdom

[Perkilator]

After quite a long while of nothing, we finally have a proper gameplay demonstration video for Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo also released a video about a Switch OLED Special Edition for this game.

 

[Armchair General]

It looks pretty good, but I'd rather see what other type of monsters that we can kill.

[vanguard333]

The new abilities are definitely interesting and have a ton of potential; fusion in particular looks like it provides a good workaround for weapon durability.

It still saddens me a bit that it seems that, once again, Link is travelling solo. In almost every 3D Zelda game, and even in a few of the 2D ones, Link wasn't alone; they had someone with them that complemented their abilities and filled the silence, and though some of them could get annoying (Navi and Fi), most were great additions to their respective games; my favourite being Spirit Zelda in Spirit Tracks, and, in Breath of the Wild, it did feel like something was missing without an adventuring companion for Link.

9 hours ago, Armchair General said:

It looks pretty good, but I'd rather see what other type of monsters that we can kill.

Yeah; I hope we see a greater variety of enemies in this game. In particular, I'm hoping that Darknuts and Iron Knuckles return in some form.

Edited March 29, 2023 by vanguard333

[Armchair General]

20 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I'm hoping that Darknuts

As much as killing them in TP and WW was, I'd rather have Dark Link, tbh

[vanguard333]

3 hours ago, Armchair General said:

As much as killing them in TP and WW was, I'd rather have Dark Link, tbh

They don't have to be mutually exclusive; we could see both, though it would likely be some form of "Blight Link" rather than Dark Link.

[Zanarkin]

I feel like darknuts have a good chance of coming back this game. They are typically corrupted knights, and seeing as hyrule would have been in the process of reconstruction (I'm assuming more than a few days have passed) there might have been a small army that was started.

I'm quite excited for this game. I would have been fine with BotW but with like sky. I'm really exicted for the new fuse mechanic. And I mean breakable weapons are back, but at least fusing them seems like it will help a lot. A few times in botw i found myself struggling to find anything but a branch, cause the good weapons broke. In this game if you have a branch you might be able to get more use out of them and that is a plus.

[indigoasis]

please for the love of all things holy, don't bring back the korok seeds. i'll find them all again if i have to, but i don't want to

This was a really nice presentation. It showed just enough that I honestly wish we could've seen more. Either way, I'm looking forward to this more than I already was. I really hope I can scan my Link amiibo for Epona. If not, total deal-breaker.

[Armagon]

Haven't watched the whole thing but i've seen the highlights. Given how long it took for the team to optimize BotW's physics alone, I can imagine why this game took so long to make now. Because of the Fusions. The fact that seemingly any inanimate object that isn't fixed to the ground can be manipulated tells me this game will reward creativity. We will also see a lot of dick thingamajigs being made because it's the Internet.

Durability chads stay winning.

Gotta say, i still find it hilarious how some people are going "it could've been DLC". Has the exact same energy as "Smash Ultimate looks like a port".

9 hours ago, Armchair General said:

It looks pretty good, but I'd rather see what other type of monsters that we can kill.

There is the Zonai robots. Which are probably just reskinned Guardians but them being more compact probably means more often encounters with them. I'd imagine there's more models.

8 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

It still saddens me a bit that it seems that, once again, Link is travelling solo. In most previous Zelda games, especially the 3D ones, Link wasn't alone; they had someone with them that complemented their abilities and filled the silence, and though some of them could get annoying (Navi and Fi), most were great additions to their respective games; my favourite being Spirit Zelda in Spirit Tracks, and, in Breath of the Wild, it did feel like something was missing without an adventuring companion for Link.

I did a headcount, fun fact, there are an equal number of Zelda games where Link has a companion vs the ones that don't.

Link's first companion was Navi in Ocarina of Time, so the four Zelda games before that don't have any. Then there was Tatl in Majora's Mask. Link's next two adventures, the Oracle games, were solo. From Wind Waker to Skyward Sword, a period of six games, there was a companion with him. Red Lions, Etzio, Midna, Linebeck, Zelda herself and then Fi. 

Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild did not give Link any companions.

As things are, Tears of the Kingdom will be the tiebreaker. Either it has a companion and thus there are more Zelda games with companions that than the ones that don't or there is no companion and there are more Zelda games without companions than the ones that do.

 

[Acacia Sgt]

Gah, I missed watching this in the morning. Well, it's fine, watched it now. Hmm...

Wait, was that Volvagia in the horizon?

7 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I did a headcount, fun fact, there are an equal number of Zelda games where Link has a companion vs the ones that don't.

Link's first companion was Navi in Ocarina of Time, so the four Zelda games before that don't have any. Then there was Tatl in Majora's Mask. Link's next two adventures, the Oracle games, were solo. From Wind Waker to Skyward Sword, a period of six games, there was a companion with him. Red Lions, Etzio, Midna, Linebeck, Zelda herself and then Fi. 

Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild did not give Link any companions.

As things are, Tears of the Kingdom will be the tiebreaker. Either it has a companion and thus there are more Zelda games with companions that than the ones that don't or there is no companion and there are more Zelda games without companions than the ones that do.

 

Link had no companion in Wand of Gamelon either.

[Armagon]

8 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Wait, was that Volvagia in the horizon?

I think that was just one of the elemental dragons.

Wonder if they'll get expanded upon in some way. Closest we got was that one quest in BotW where you free the blue one from malice but other than that, they were simply cool things you saw.

[vanguard333]

29 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I did a headcount; fun fact, there are an equal number of Zelda games where Link has a companion vs the ones that don't.

Link's first companion was Navi in Ocarina of Time, so the four Zelda games before that don't have any. Then there was Tatl in Majora's Mask. Link's next two adventures, the Oracle games, were solo. From Wind Waker to Skyward Sword, a period of six games, there was a companion with him. Red Lions, Etzio, Midna, Linebeck, Zelda herself and then Fi. 

Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild did not give Link any companions.

As things are, Tears of the Kingdom will be the tiebreaker. Either it has a companion and thus there are more Zelda games with companions that than the ones that don't or there is no companion and there are more Zelda games without companions than the ones that do.

Yeah, I realized very quickly that it was incorrect to say "almost every game".

Wind Waker to Skyward Sword is actually seven games; Four Swords Adventures released a year after Wind Waker, and it did not have an adventuring companion unless the player counts the other three Links created by the Four Sword as adventuring companions. Similarly, the original Four Swords game released after the Oracle games. Despite being multiplayer-focused games, the Four Swords games are officially considered to be mainline Zelda games.

Oh, and, despite having most of the indicators of a spinoff title, Tri Force Heroes is officially considered to be a mainline Zelda game for some reason (incidentally, when that game was announced, I almost immediately suspected that the only reason it wasn't a Four Swords game was that they couldn't get the totem mechanic to work for four Links, and apparently there's an interview where they confirmed that that was indeed the case).

So, in a way, there already isn't a tie; the question simply is this: are the other Links in the multiplayer mainline games count as adventuring companions?

[Armagon]

I will say

I think it is very funny how there are now three Zelda games that handle the element of time better than Ocarina of Time.

6 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

Four Swords

I forgot about these oops.

[Use the Falchion]

I don't like Zelda games since I'm not a puzzle mechanics sort of person, but this looks fun! I may check it out...later in the year after Jedi Survivor...and I finally play Horizon: Forbidden West...and Spider-Man 2...

[Perkilator]

Nintendo just released the final trailer

Spoiler

 

 

[vanguard333]

I'm torn on this trailer. I like most of what was shown: villagers being more involved, new monsters and dungeons, the underground, etc. But there are a couple of things that I'm not a fan of:

1. Ganondorf with restored flesh: I dislike this for three reasons:

1. I suppose it was inevitable that Ganondorf would be rehydrated, but did they really have to show that in the final trailer? Couldn't they save that as a big in-game reveal?

2. Mummified Ganondorf, back in the first trailer, was properly terrifying, and everything about Ganondorf that has been shown afterwards has just made him less scary. His voice actor was badly miscast; he just sounds like some guy and doesn't sound intimidating at all, and his rehydrated form doesn't look that scary either; it honestly looks like a compromised blend of his Ocarina of time and Wind Waker designs, rather than something distinct.

3. The trailer could of course be misleading in this regard, but it makes it seem that Ganondorf will be rehydrated almost immediately, which seems like a big waste to me. I hope we get at least one boss fight against his mummified form before he rehydrates.

[Etrurian emperor]

Interestingly Riju seems to have her growth spurt and now looks very cool.

Its a shame Zelda doesn't seem playable but at least she seems to be doing her own thing rather than take a purely passive role. 

 

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Its a shame Zelda doesn't seem playable but at least she seems to be doing her own thing rather than take a purely passive role. 

Yeah; it is a real shame, especially since we just had Link and Zelda being separated for 100 years while Zelda does something important.

Credit where credit is due: NIntendo wisely had the trailer reveal just enough that we know she's doing something important while still leaving what that is as a mystery. Unlike Ganondorf rehydrated, they didn't reveal too much before the game's release.

One thing I do find a bit weird is how people are reacting to Link having important allies as if it's something new; saying stuff like, "From 'it's dangerous to go alone' to 'you are not alone' [OMG!]"; I find myself thinking, "Am I the only one that remembers that Spirit Tracks already did 'You are not alone'?"

[Hawkwing]

That was an exciting trailer that this game seriously needed! I had to rewatch it a few times to really absorb everything new they showed off, and I have no doubt there are several details I still missed. They seemed to have addressed most of the issues I had with Breath of the Wild. I'm expecting several of the large structures they showed off to contain/be dungeons, they cranked up the enemy variety, and the fusion mechanic is a double whammy of giving weapon durability more out-of-the-box workarounds as well as giving the various resources you can nab some much needed utility. Link may also be able to interact with NPC's in more interesting way this time around, as there were some villagers fighting in the background, Link built a carriage to transport some of them, and he has a partner in some scenes (potential multiplayer? I don't know exactly how it'd work but I'm down).

I'm very glad to see that they seriously shook up the world. I was concerned that they would reuse the same map with some floating islands being the only real additions, but no. The ground level has a ton of new structures, and the sky has a ton of creative new mechanics and set pieces. I wouldn't be surprised if the $70 price tag comes from having to use an expensive cartridge just to store the whole thing, as this is easily the largest game Nintendo has ever made.

I hope that Ganondorf has more of a presence this time around. While his actions clearly had an effect on Hyrule in the previous game, Ganon himself was really just there. I hope the story as a whole sees some improvements. Breath of the Wild's plot was fine, but it was very minimalistic and I could summarize so many cutscenes as "stop Ganon". I did enjoy Links interactions with several of the characters in that game, but the Divine Beast quests were pretty formulaic. I hope that Tears of the Kingdom seriously shakes things up this time around.

As excited as I am, I'm not going to lie that I wish we got a trailer like this earlier. The previous trailers gave off the impression that it was "Breath of the Wild with more stuff to do". It took until Aonuma gave a gameplay demonstration of the new mechanics for Tears of the Kingdom to really show if how unique it would be. As cool as that video was, I could have easily seen those mechanics being introduced in a far interesting and exciting manner. I just say this because I've seen some people call this the best trailer they've ever scene, and I can't say I agree. I personally would have been more hyped for this game if these details weren't revealed a literal month before the game comes out.

That aside, this trailer was still awesome, I'm looking forward to Tears of the Kingdom, and will likely pick it up as soon as I can.

[Florete]

I hate to say it, but I'm actually more worried than ever before for this game now. I get not wanting to spoil things, but I feel like they're keeping details way too close to the chest, almost to the degree that it makes me think there just isn't actually much at all. What's making this worth $70, 6 years, a pre-made engine, and occasional re-used assets? Some parts looked like Link had companions helping, which is...neat, I guess. The story seems to be the most generic Zelda story ever, and I honestly got kind of sick of how much hero worship Link got in just 2 minutes. Fusion is...something, but also looks like it might become tedious. Teba seems to have been replaced. Ganondorf exists. Woohoo.

And of course, the Vah Naboris in the room is Zelda herself. I get that they weren't obligated to make Zelda playable in any capacity, and technically we don't know for sure if she is or not yet so I could be wrong (and I'll be happy if this paragraph ages poorly), but they've known for years that people want to see Zelda in a stronger capacity, easily in time for this game, so what the hell are they doing with her?

I don't know. I just don't know.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Florete

[Etrurian emperor]

Teba is the big mystery among the NPC's. The trailer made it a point to show that there was a new Rito Champion. The design strongly implies the little Rito boy is Teba's son but where's his dad? Did he pass away off screen or something? Or does Nintendo just not like him? Because aside from being replaced he was also a non entity in BOTW, unlike Riju, Sidon or even Junobu. 

[Armchair General]

4 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Did he pass away off screen or something?

I remember that he was shot in the thigh by an laser. Might have pushed him out of his prime far sooner than he expected