Review - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
“Link… you must find me!”
Publisher - Nintendo
Developer - Nintendo
Director - Hidemaro Fujibayashi
Producer - Eiji Aonuma
Composers - Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui
Genre - Open World Action Adventure
Platform - Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda is a series filled with some of the best video games ever created. It's a rare franchise that produces multiple titles that are discussed among the elite of the elites. Its characters and world are part of the pantheon of iconic staples of Nintendo. Whenever a new Zelda game comes out, it's an event in itself, and as a long-time fan, I can’t wait for a new Zelda experience. So with Tears of the Kingdom, I dove into the sequel of Nintendo’s most consequential Switch game, Breath of the Wild.
Usually, I’m not really into the successors of significant entries in the series. I’m actually not a huge fan of Majora’s Mask and Skyward Sword. Both of those games are solid and have their good parts, but I consider them low-tier in the series (also ahead of time, apologies to fans of those two games; I have no issue with you disagreeing with me). A consequential game is usually followed by a fantastic sequel that comes close but doesn’t touch the heights of its predecessor. However, I found Tears of the Kingdom to not only match Breath of the Wild, but surpass it. What Godfather Part II is to movies, Tears of the Kingdom is to video games.
I find this game to be the greatest game in the legendary series and, quite frankly, a major contender for the greatest video game ever. In a series filled with masterpiece after masterpiece, Tears of the Kingdom combines some of the best elements missing from Breath of the Wild and makes up for that game’s shortcomings.
Now, there is no such thing as perfection. The temporary feeling to almost every item and collectible is back, and this time around, I was slightly more annoyed with it despite being ready for it. Its not just the weapons either, as even the Zonai devices don’t run forever. You can put together an incredible creation, but unless you favorite it as part of the Build mechanic (if you find it that is), it’ll disappear after some time. Like Breath of the Wild, you’ll explore and find some cool weapons (some even being callbacks), but remember they can break on you. And yes, the Master Sword once again “loses its power” and requires a wait for recharge, making that temporary as well. The breaking of weapons is still the worst aspect of this new modern Zelda formula. Luckily, this mechanic does become tolerable as the game goes on and you can stronger and more durable weapons, but its the number one con of the game.
The rest of the game however is just pure bliss and even a return to some of the old series aspects I loved. While not a return to their full form, dungeons make a comeback. The shrines are still there, but as someone that wasn’t crazy about them I was surprised how much more tolerable they were compared to the ones in Breath of the Wild. Varied and epic boss fights are back! No more fighting Ganon spinoff bosses, and when I say epic, I mean some of the most epic fights in the series. The final boss battle is tough but fair and leads to one of the more feels inducing endings in a Zelda title.
The story of the game is my favorite in the series since Twilight Princess (a game I love and feel gets too much hate online). The previous game had great characters that made up for the disappointing story told mostly through memories. This one takes those characters and brings in some solid character development from the last time you saw them. Memories are also back, but feel more important and help you connect to the overall plot. Ganondorf is at his absolute best. The longtime foe for Link delivers what I feel is his best appearance and performance in the series. He was already an iconic villain, but I feel this is Dark Knight type of appearance that truly shows you what a great villain and truly evil character he is. There is also a side plot around Princess Zelda and the mystery to find her that has a really cool plot twist, while also once again adding confusion to the timeline. Last but not least, this is probably my favorite ending to a Zelda game, which following an incredible boss battle hits you with the feels and a nice wrap up to the whole game.
The soundtrack is a major step up from Breath of the Wild, which I felt had a disappointing one considering how great music in the series tends to be. You’ll hear familiar themes and some new stuff that’ll stick in your head. The boss fights bring it up to excitement levels and the finale’s music just adds to the excitement you’re already experiencing.
The new mechanics added to the game, the Ultra Hand and Ascend being the most important, work much better than I anticipated. I will say, they do have a learning curve as the game adds so much freedom that you can tell they ran out of buttons and had to do combinations that can confuse you until you get it down. In fact, it took me about 15+ hours before I could say I got the hang of it. I do think this is a Zelda game that is better recommended to the hardcore Zelda fan and even some From Software fans, as I would steer someone to another Zelda game before playing this if its their first time.
The exploration in the game is like Breath of the Wild on steroids. You’re not just exploring Hyrule, but you’ll also explore the sky and even deep in the depths of the world. The game is so massive that I was intimidated when I first started playing and told myself I would not be exploring it all. However, the rewards for exploring are well done that I did go ahead and try to do everything. That being said, if you just explore and take a long break from the main story, you can find yourself feeling like the game is too much and want to wrap it up, though for me that disappeared once I was back to the main story and missions. It’s one of the biggest worlds I have ever explored in a video game and I loved it. One small point I noticed is that the team did a good job making you forget that the surface world is the same as the one in Breath of the Wild, but it makes me think I would’ve liked a new surface world to explore.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is yet another master class from Nintendo’s most critically acclaimed series. This is a series filled with some of the most transformative, consequential, and inffluential games of all time; The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and now Tears of the Kingdom. For me, this is the greatest video game sequel and continues to show why it's this franchise that is consistently regarded as the best video game franchise in the industry.
I can't do anything else but call this a MUST PLAY game. This is the Legend of Zelda series at its best, while also doing insane new mechanics that even seasoned developers are baffled by. I thought Elden Ring was everything I wanted in a game, but struggled to place it as the greatest game because its difficulty creates a barrier for new players (even thought it is the easiest of the Souls titles in my opinion), but this game is the answer to that. If you love nearly endless exploration and immersing yourself in a high fantasy setting, with the Nintendo charm to boot and everything else Zelda entails, this is your game. Everyone should take the dive into Hyrule and come find Princess Zelda.
Pro
Endless possibilities to explore in not one, but three areas of a massive map
The best Zelda story in a over a decade
Ganondorf’s best incarnation for the series
Epic boss fights and music
Fixes a good chunk of the issues many had with Breath of the Wild
Challenging at times, but more fair and easier than a From Soft game
Revolutionary gameplay mechanics that will leave you amazed
Dungeons are back!
Con
Breakable weapons and temporary Zonai device use
Dungeons are back, but not fully the way people wanted
What I Most Loved
The story. I’m going to be thinking about that ending for a good while.
Verdict - MUST PLAY 🤩
This is a video game that you must try to play at least once in your life. A true master class.