“Legend of Zelda” fans everywhere were ecstatic for the release of a new game, only to be let down by Nintendo’s “Tears of the Kingdom” in many ways. Upon the announcement of a sequel to the last “Legend of Zelda” game, “Breath of the Wild” fans expected to get what they’d always gotten. Every game in the series seems to be unique, with a different map, plot and characters. In the new “Tears of the Kingdom”, however, none of these were provided.
The map is one of the biggest issues. Fans were very irritated when they discovered they’d be playing in the same world as before. Something many people love about the series is the creativity of all the different versions of the game’s setting, Hyrule. Playing in the same map was an incredible disappointment to many.
Thankfully, the game has something else to show off. It upgraded the map, adding floating islands in the sky and dark caves below the surface. While some of the new additions are great, others are more controversial.
Some of the so-called additions to the game are, in reality, replacements for some of the best parts of the previous game. An article from screenrant.com says, “The Sheikah’s Ancient Shrines are replaced by their Zonai counterparts.” Fans of the series know how important “Ancient Tech” is in the game – and it’s all been replaced.
The shrines aren’t the only thing replaced either. Items in the game such as Sheikah Slates and Divine Beasts have been replaced with nearly identical counterparts. The disappearance of the giant protectors of the kingdom also created a plot hole: where did they go? The mention of Divine Beasts brings me to by far the most frustrating part of the new game, the dungeons.
According to gamespot.com, “the dungeons often represent Zelda gameplay at its best.” This has been true for decades until “Tears of the Kingdom”. Gamers know that dungeons are the challenges presented to the player throughout gameplay. “Breath of the Wild” had a simple, yet unique dungeon structure that its sequel simply copied. Players were excited to go to different locations in a new world when “Breath of the Wild” was released, but got a nice big disappointment upon realizing that the dungeons in tears of the kingdom were in the exact same places, with the exact same structure. The player goes to one of the four main regions of the world, talks to a somewhat useful npc, finds the dungeon, solves five puzzles and beats an easy boss.