So, rather than diving into the nitty gritty of the missions, favorite characters, and story beats so far, we decided to discuss our initial impressions and notable moments from the game’s opening hours. There’s a poll at the bottom, so feel free to tell us what you enjoyed the most about TOTK in the introductory areas, and head to the comments to discuss anything we left out below. – But only from the opening two hours, please!
The beginning, “go home,” and the shrine doors
Black screen. In slow succession, the following words fade into tiny white text…
Nintendo advances
The Legend of Zelda
Kingdom Tears
Oof! Absolute degree and confidence in This opening was brilliant. No spinning slogans, no gimmicks, no bulls. Just Here you are.
Beyond that elegant opening, though, was the thing that struck me the most A feeling of coming home. I had a good time on Great Sky Island walking around, admiring the luscious golden grass and foliage and general cheerfulness in it all. I listened to the birds, did some cooking, and just laid back for a while.
After hearing about how great the game was from Alana while she was working on her awesome review, I had an idea of the huge adventure that awaited. But that moment in the beginning—the moment of anticipation—was something I cherished for as long as I could. Look! pigeon. Yes, we are at home.
Oh, and TARDIS-style impact through shrine entrances. I can’t get enough of it. – Gavin Lin
Voice acting and Hyrule transformation
The first thing I noticed with Kingdom Tears was… Huge production value It appears in the opening sequence. Sure, there was a voiceover in Breath of the Wild, but for the most part, it felt like it was reserved for moments that required a bit of exposition.
When Zelda and Link come across that mummy at the opening of TotK (and we’re pretty sure we know who this is), the raspy voice that emanated from the living corpse sent shivers down our spines. In one fell swoop, TotK suddenly felt like the most dramatic Zelda series ever. It was great stuff.
If that wasn’t enough, I was blown away How Nintendo managed to make the land of Hyrule feel very strange to me. When I fell skyward towards the roof for the first time, I thought “Yeah, no problem, I’ll know exactly where I am and where I’m going.”but when I landed, I really felt completely overwhelmed.
I’m not sure if it was the fact that I was dropped in a place I rarely ventured into in Breath of the Wild, or some landmark was altered by The Upheaval, or a combination of both. Needless to say, I needed to take a closer look before I could get my bearings. – Oli Reynolds
Builds
The first time you meet a builder in Kingdom of Tears, she is trying to hurt you. The next time you meet a builder, you wake him up from a long slumber, and unlike the previous robotic creature, he makes friendly beeps and offers to help you.
Yes, I love Construct Stewards. I can’t. With Great Sky Island’s warm palette of yellows, golds, whites, and pastels, and a mix of friendly and creepy robots, these Studio Ghibli vibes are back in full force. The Friendly Constructs made me smile from the moment I met the first one, and then each subsequent one—with its routines, turns, and playful reaction whenever I tried to use something alongside it—made me even more likable.
The builds are pretty common throughout TOTK – for good or bad – but they are all reminders of the past. She’s a relic of lost time, just waking up for the first time in a while. My favorite on the educational island is the one that cooks mushrooms, though he admits they don’t have a gastrointestinal tract. Do you do it for the joy of cooking? Or is it just there to give Link advice? I like to think that she does this as a reminder of her past life, and her purpose before the TOTK events. Their presence makes the world feel more lived in, and it is an absolute pleasure to encounter and interact with them every time. – Alana Hugs
He has faith
Remember the first time we saw the Breath of the Wild footage where Link runs out of the Shrine of Resurrection and reaches the Great Plateau? The title card appears, the music swells, and tears well up in your eyes (wait, not everyone? Well then…), there’s a reason it’s one of the game’s most iconic moments. Well, Kingdom Tears does it again.
Leaving the waking room with nothing but an expert’s sword and some ill-fitting sandals, Link’s first jump off the opening sky island It has all the wonders of its BOTW predecessor, but with the addition of a smile.”And you’d think this would just be DLCAgain, when the title came up on the screen, I found myself with small tears in my eyes and a bright smile from cheek to cheek – really cool stuff.
There’s only five hours left until the game starts at the moment, but so far, all of the diving animations have elicited the same response from me. Looks like we’re going to be in for many hours of Jim’s happiness to come. – Jim Norman
Those are some of the moments and elements that caught our eye, but let us know which ones impressed you the most in the first hour or two of the game – or if there was something else entirely that had you grinning from ear to ear.
#Zelda #TOTK #Watches #Smile #Crazy