Review - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

           Hey guys, Chuck here back with another game review. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released on the Nintendo Switch, is the latest entry in Nintendo's long-running franchise The Legend of Zelda, and serves as a sequel to the 2017 Zelda game Breath of the Wild. 

         So, the game opens with Link and Zelda traversing through the cavernous ruins deep beneath Hyrule Castle. Some time has passed since the Great Calamity was resolved, and Hyrule has begun to heal itself. Unfortunately, people have been falling ill from a dangerous new substance called Gloom, which has been emitting from deep beneath Hyrule Castle, forcing Link and Zelda to investigate. In the ruins, Zelda discovers hieroglyphics and carvings related to the Zonai, an ancient race that descended from the skies above Hyrule long ago, and a conflict between Ancient Hylians, led by a Zonai, against a deadly warrior called the Demon King. Upon discovering another chamber, Zelda and Link come upon a mummified corpse with an arm upon its chest. The arm, with a Secret Stone on its hand, falls towards Zelda, and the corpse reawakens. Ganondorf has returned. Link, trying to protect Zelda, has his max health and stamina depleted, his right arm corrupted, and the Master Sword corrupted and destroyed. Ganondorf then unleashes an attack that sends Hyrule Castle into the air, and both he and Zelda vanish. 

          Link then awakens on the Great Sky Island with the Zonai arm replacing his normal one. The spirit of the Zonai Rauru greets him and reveals the was the original King of Hyrule, but is now a spirit sent to guide Link to the Temple of Time. After completing several Zonai Shrines and collecting new abilities and objects called Light of Blessing, as well as being given the Purah Pad (which replaces the Sheikah Slate in this game), Link enters the Temple and learns of Rauru's story, and how Zelda was transported ten thousand years into the past to Rauru's time. Link sends the corrupted Master Sword through time to Zelda, and then heads to the surface of Hyrule and the main bulk of the game. 

         So, one notable thing in this game is that an area previously difficult to reach due to a multitude of Ancient Guardians crawling around is now the site of Lookout Landing, a main hub for the game. Here, Purah of the Sheikah leads a team investigating what's been dubbed the Upheaval. And evidently, it's more than just Hyrule Castle floating in the air, holes in the ground leading to the dark, cavernous Depths beneath Hyrule, or the appearance of the Sky Islands above Hyrule. Apparently, other strange phenomena have been going on. These phenomena include a torrential blizzard covering Rito Village in snow, disgusting sludge falling from the sky and polluting the waters of Zora's Domain, bizarre red marbled rocks showing up around Death Mountain and becoming a delicacy for the Gorons, and a sandstorm buffeting Gerudo Town, which is under attack by monsters called Gibdos. 

       One by one, Link must team up with heroes from these four areas of Hyrule to solve the crises, restore things to normal, and save the day. And the heroes we have are faces we're familiar with, as Riju of Gerudo Town, Sidon of Zora's Domain, and Yunobo of Goron City are all among Link's allies in Tears of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, Teba of Rito Village is now the Village Elder, so Link instead teams up with Teba's son Tulin. And each of the four is given a Zonai Secret Stone by their ancestors, thus making them the Sages for the new generation. One noteworthy thing about this game is that whereas Breath of the Wild had Link predominantly fighting alone, Tears of the Kingdom has it so that, once a Sage Quest is completed for Tulin, Sidon, Riju, and Yunobo, their respective avatars travel with Link through over world and help in combat. 

        Now, of course, there are a few signature things that Link has to collect in the game, such as the Master Sword, the Hylian Shield, and the Champion Leathers (an updated version of the Champion Tunic from Breath of the Wild). The latter two are both in hidden chests inside of Hyrule Castle: one in the Sanctum, the other in the Docks. As for the Master Sword, it's embedded somewhere unexpected, unless you take on the "Dragon's Tears" quest in the game. Other outfits that are holdovers from Breath of the Wild include the Zora Armor, the Flamebreaker Armor, the Snowquill outfit, and the Desert Voe outfit. Yeah, the Desert Voe outfit set was an alternative to the Gerudo outfit in Breath of the Wild, but is the only one of the two Gerudo sets to return for Tears of the Kingdom. And personally, I prefer the Desert Voe outfit over the Gerudo outfit, as the Desert Voe outfit is more flattering and shows more of Link's face and physique. 

         One notable thing about the game is Link's new abilities, such as Ultrahand, Autobuild, Ascend, Fuse, and Recall. Ultrahand has led to many players to let their imaginations go ape shit and build a slew of creative constructs such as giant Jaeger-like mechs, vehicles that the creators probably were unaware of, and some designs that are just too bizarre to mention. Now, while I did say that the sky was the limit in Breath of the Wild, I can honestly say the same applies tenfold to Tears of the Kingdom. 

         Also, Nintendo addressed some issues regarding Breath of the Wild lacking dungeons that are staples of the Zelda franchise. So, in addition to the Shrines returning, we also have things like secret caves with various items to collect and enemies to fight, as well as the five Sage Temples and the Depths. There are also Coliseums with fights and challenges all of their own, which is pretty interesting. And in one of the Coliseums, the prize is a chest containing none other than Majora's Mask. How awesome is that? You can literally get Majora's Mask as an in-game item WITHOUT using an Amiibo. Nice. 

         I also enjoyed the voice acting in this game. Alongside returning voice actors like Patricia Summerset as Zelda, Elizabeth Maxwell as Riju, Kate Higgins as Purah, and Jamie Montellaro as Sidon, the game also has the likes of Cherami Leigh as Sonia, Matthew Mercer as Ganondorf, and Heather Gonzalez as Mineru, with my personal favorite being Cristina Vee as Tulin. Honestly, I loved the cutscenes and cinematics in the game, much like I loved the ones in Breath of the Wild. 

          There are a number of returning mechanics from Breath of the Wild in this game, such as the Paraglider and cooking. Unfortunately, weapon degradation also returns in the game, but that's where the fuse ability comes into play. Say, you have a sword at a strength level of six. Attach something like a Bokoblin horn and Presto! A new weapon with an increased strength level. And the stronger the monster drops, the stronger the fused weapon will be. Again, Nintendo really wants players to have fun in this game. 

         There is so much more that I want to talk about in the game, but I feel that just talking about it would be a disservice to how breathtaking the game truly is. All I can say is that this is a worthy sequel to Breath of the Wild, and yet another fantastic entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise. So, I'm giving The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom a rating of 5/5. Now, as far as comparisons between Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild go, I do think that hardcore Zelda fans will prefer Tears of the Kingdom for its deeper more involved plotline, and a more engaging final boss with Ganondorf. But for me, as someone fairly new into the world of Zelda, I personally prefer Breath of the Wild for its more open and welcoming presentation. Don't get me wrong, I love Tears of the Kingdom, but I think that I'll probably find myself replaying Breath of the Wild a bit more often.

         Well, I guess that's it for The Legend of Zelda for now, until the next game... or the movie. Yeah, that's right. Nintendo is working with Sony Pictures and Maze Runner director Wes Ball on a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. And after the success of last year's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it only makes sense for Nintendo to bring the world of Legend of Zelda to the big screen. Anyway, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.