Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Breath of the Wild 2) 12th May 2023

[CrichStand]

6 minutes ago, JPL said:

Pre-order cancelled. 

😂 It’s all I can hope for as my sticks have got drift. Still I’m sure my drifty sticks will be great for climbing up and traversing intricate platforms miles up in the sky. Maybe. 😕

[Stanley]

1 hour ago, moosegrinder said:

Personally I'm looking forward to whatever Amiibos they announce because I need that plastic crack fix.

I’m right there with you. 

[scottcr]

Worthwhile drawing back some of the expectations on what the game will do - it’s fundamentally limited by the capabilities of the switch itself. I don’t think we’re at complete real-time seamless travel from moving sky islands to underground caverns yet…

[Ste Pickford]

Is it 'tears' as in 'rips'?

Or is it 'tears' that you cry?

[Uncle Mike]

Yes

[CrichStand]

4 hours ago, scottcr said:

Worthwhile drawing back some of the expectations on what the game will do - it’s fundamentally limited by the capabilities of the switch itself. I don’t think we’re at complete real-time seamless travel from moving sky islands to underground caverns yet…

I agrree in many ways, but that’s exactly what the gameplay in trailers appears to be showing! Link seems to leave a Dungeon, jump off a platform and then glide straight down into the world, past all the other islands scattered above Hyrule. The higher you go......it turns into Sky Diving.
 

Look at the clouds you’re flying through, I wouldn’t have thought they would be possible on the Switch but they’re working the old Nintendo magic. Coming up with really elegant and incredibly clever workarounds. We then also see the opposite - Link leaving the ground and diving up through the sky, straight through a platform. And whilst this is going on you can see the craters left by the islands below. It’s crazy! This is partly why I’m so excited for it.....atm it just looks so freeform, ambitious and sort of “what the actual fuck is even going on.......and how are they even going to pull this off......are they going to try and pull some of this stuff off”. That’s right across the board. Seems to be so much stuff to talk about and get stuck into!

 

Plus, I’m currently finishing BOTW and.......it’s just staggeringly good all these years on. Stands toe to toe with anything on PS5 and Series consoles, and in many ways is head and shoulders above them. They’ve had almost 6yrs since then to push things forward. 😲

 

3 hours ago, Ste Pickford said:

Is it 'tears' as in 'rips'?

Or is it 'tears' that you cry?

That’s a good one! Again, ties in with all the duality stuff. Above and below, music playing forwards and backwards, the imagery having hints at mirrored stuff and opposites, Link and Zelda looking like twins etc. Hyrule tearing itself apart, or Hyrule crying? Or is the Evil holding Hyrule Castle down, not forcing it upwards, stopping it from being reborn as we see in other Zelda’s, explaining the same world being used?

 

What with currently playing BOTW again, I noticed the Elders have icons that are a single eye crying, so possibly linked to that in some way?

 

 

[Mr Do 71]

4 hours ago, scottcr said:

Worthwhile drawing back some of the expectations on what the game will do - it’s fundamentally limited by the capabilities of the switch itself. I don’t think we’re at complete real-time seamless travel from moving sky islands to underground caverns yet…

Rockstar worked wonders with GTA V on the Xbox 360, especially after you remember what GTA IV was like. 

[scottcr]

16 minutes ago, CrichStand said:

I agrree in many ways, but that’s exactly what the gameplay in trailers appears to be showing! Link seems to leave a Dungeon, jump off a platform and then glide straight down into the world, past all the other islands scattered above Hyrule. The higher you go......it turns into Sky Diving.

 

Cynical old me saw that as a way of hiding loading...  like a more clever Skyward Sword transition from the sky to the ground.  

 

We'll see - I can't wait tbh.  

[CrichStand]

See I’m usually really cynical with stuff too but the more I think about what they’ve shown the more it blows my mind. So many open world games are just getting bigger and bigger and wider and wider to the point it just feels totally burnt out, and old hat. The same 5mins of gameplay plonked across the map at random. This seems to be the answer to that! It seems like it could be a huge step forward for game worlds. 
 

Instead of going bigger and wider, they’re going with depth, literally. Extending the world upwards creates whole new gameplay possibilities, as does extending the World downwards at the same time. The world becomes more complex but also so much more interesting and offers so many more mechanics, different ways to play, to interact with the world and experience the world itself. 

[Mars]

6 hours ago, Ste Pickford said:

Is it 'tears' as in 'rips'?

Or is it 'tears' that you cry?

Depends on whether you’re playing the Ring Fit DLC ‘Tears of the Ringdom’.

[David Kenny]

14 minutes ago, Mars said:

Depends on whether you’re playing the Ring Fit DLC ‘Tears of the Ringdom’.

Neither of those sound like something you'd want.

[Popo]

I heard it was a cautionary tale about unplanned pregnancy. 
 

Spoiler

Tears of the Condom. 

 

[Strafe]

10 hours ago, CrichStand said:

😂 It’s all I can hope for as my sticks have got drift. Still I’m sure my drifty sticks will be great for climbing up and traversing intricate platforms miles up in the sky. Maybe. 😕

Nintendo should still fix them for free. I sent my launch model joycons back last year and they did.

[David Heath]

Fucking hell, I check the thread for new info because there are like 400 new comments and all we have is the first draft of a 9 hour Adam Curtis documentary about the fall of a post Ganondorf Hyrule but using events he dreamed up after an all night mushroom party instead of actual facts.

[CrichStand]

On 30/01/2023 at 21:25, Strafe said:

Nintendo should still fix them for free. I sent my launch model joycons back last year and they did.

Cheers for that! 👍🏻 I had no idea, so will have to get them sorted in good time. 
 

So, discovered the box cover art for TotK.  Link is no longer carrying the slate but instead seems to be carrying flasks full of the green spiral magic that’s seen emanating from the hand sealing Ganon and that seals his own hand and is behind the diving upwards stuff. The same colour green as the twin snakes and the new master sword.
 

You can also faintly see columns rising up to the Sky Islands in the background, which seem to be the diving points themselves you use to access them. The Sky Island he’s stood on, also has ancient writing all around its edges, which 100% points to there being something hidden beneath Hyrule. You can also see the evil tendrils down below, emerging beneath Hyrule Castle and from the top of Death Mountain. The master sword is also half real and half in the Twilight Realm from Twilight Princess style. Implies that half of the master sword is in another World and ties in with the duality stuff. 

 

The giant symbols now painted on the surface of Hyrule are also the same colour green and in the same style as the seal, master sword and stuff from Twilight Princess. Really intrigued by these and Link riding down on the big stone Bird Statue. Maybe this happens after defeating a boss in the heavens? Where did all this stuff appear from though? When Link emerges from the Sky Dungeon the doors have the circular dragon logo on them used in the marketing and on the box, only the dragons are faced head to head, with their heads at the top of the circle. Seems to imply there could be Sky Dragons and Underworld Dragons. 
 

Didn’t know that Nintendo are supposed to have patented sky combat stuff - falling shooting the bow upwards etc plus being able to soak through objects like water and being able to rewind time. All things I’ve been saying in my posts after analysing the trailers and thinking how the gameplay could possibly work! 😁 Cool as fuck! 
 

What are people’s thoughts on the game having some kind of Co-Op element? Makes sense with all the duality. Maybe could have some people playing as Zelda and others as Link. Some kind of Dark Souls style interaction between the 2 worlds?

 

[CrichStand]

Aaaaaaand BOOM! Think I’ve figured it out! 😁

 

So, Zelda either dies in this or falls into the Twilight Realm, which is deep below Hyrule. The character making the circular Dragon symbol with Zelda in the trailer, is the long eared character that is depicted in the heavens, surrounded by the seven symbols. Zelda is represented by one of these symbols herself. Hyrule was created by an unknown ancient race that lived in the Sky. The trailer seems to imply that Zelda is directly linked to this particular race of Sky Gods and is half of the key to Hyrule’s creation and survival. One thing to note is the way they are holding their hands - it creates the exact symbol that is on the Sky Dungeon door that Link emerges from in the Trailer. Pause it as the doors are opening and it’s crystal clear. No idea how people trying to decipher all this stuff online appear to have completely missed this over the course of 3-4yrs!! However, if you look at the Dragon logo that gets overlaid on this scene (the one used for the marketing) the dragon representing Zelda’is half of the circle is no longer facing upwards but is now facing down. Literally showing Zelda as being below! Also on the marketing and box art.......the top of the Master Sword is Hyrule style and the bottom half of it is Twilight Realm style. 
 

So Zelda falls into the Twilight Realm, leaving the whole Kingdom in tears and Hyrule facing destruction. Ganon was sealed in the Twilight Realm but has now broken free. All of this has been foretold which is why Midna called Zelda the Twilight Princess. Link has to travel to the City in the Sky and collect the tears of the Sages (seen in the flasks on his hip) in order to bring Zelda back from the Twilight Realm and save Hyrule. To do this he needs to rebuild the Twilight Mirror with the Sages tears. The only way of getting to the Realm and back is via the Twilight Mirror. At the end of Twilight Princess, Midna shattered it with her..........tears!!! Thus no-one could cross between the realms and back again. The Sages Tears = Dragon Tears = fuck off Sky Battles with Dragons. Yeah man!!!
 

Think that’s about as good as it’s going to get for now, in terms of making any of it make sense. Certainly seems better than some of the theories doing the rounds. 

 

Basically, it seems TotK will tie the Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess worlds into the BotW version of Hyrule whilst expanding on Zelda Lore and Princess Zelda’s importance to the whole series. Plus you get the whole Underworld/Overworld idea and the islands setup of Wind Waker. It’s like taking all the best bits from each Zelda and mashing them together in to one ultimate game. It’s going to be a proper banger!!! 👍🏻

[Stanley]

10/10 for effort! 

[scottcr]

I think it’s fair to say you’re collecting tears in the game… also the imagery is reminiscent of Twilight Princess. 
 

 

[CrichStand]

[Strafe]

I hope they do a Nintendo Direct special on this and it’s 10 seconds long, showing the title and then the words “you’ll love it”.

[Majora]

I dunno, I feel like fans love to come up with grand overarching theories that tie several games together in some Marvel-esque manner and when the game comes out it's nearly always just 'it was Ganondorf being evil lol' with a couple of cute nostalgia nods here and there that don't mean a great deal in the scheme of things.

 

I did get some Twilight Princess vibes from a few bits in the trailer though so you could be onto something.

[Stanley]

4 hours ago, scottcr said:

I think it’s fair to say you’re collecting tears in the game… also the imagery is reminiscent of Twilight Princess. 
 

 

Also, Demise, has to be Demise in that trailer, the first reveal. 

[Stanley]

5 minutes ago, Majora said:

I dunno, I feel like fans love to come up with grand overarching theories that tie several games together in some Marvel-esque manner and when the game comes out it's nearly always just 'it was Ganondorf being evil lol' with a couple of cute nostalgia nods here and there that don't mean a great deal in the scheme of things.

 

I did get some Twilight Princess vibes from a few bits in the trailer though so you could be onto something.

To be fair Nintendo did it themselves with Skyward Sword. 

[CrichStand]

That pic above is Zant (King of the Twilight) from Twilight Princess. Look at the markings on his sleeves and the tendrils. Same as the markings of the TotK Master Sword, the new giant markings on the surface of Hyrule that Link is seen flying towards and the tendrils holding up Hyrule Castle and emerging from Death Mountain. In the trailer Ganon’s neck cracks as he returns to life and his eyes light up like fire. According to the Zelda Wiki, in Twilight Princess Zant has the same eyes and in that game he cracks and breaks his own neck and then Ganon dies. So Zant and Ganon are back in TotK!!! One of Zant’s main power’s is manipulating reality thus the music playing backwards in the trailer and he can make things float - just like the Sky Islands that have appeared! He also summons and controls Dragons. 😄

[CrichStand]

Man, more HUUUUUUGE findings!!! Can’t believe no-one has seemingly discovered this stuff. I feel like Columbo! Just one more thing........

 

In the trailer, when Link’s arm becomes infected with Evil, we hear an anguished scream. It’s the anguished scream of Zant dying in Twilight Princess!

 

But here’s the big one! Take a look at Midna’s Helmet in BotW. Notice anything? Not only does it have the two Dragons/Snakes motif on it but it has the exact Tear symbols that we see in the trailer, displayed in the exact same way as when we see Zelda and the other character linking hands to form the two snakes/dragons motif!
 

In the Zelda Wiki it says that Zelda wanted to keep a connection with the Twilight Realm and Midna as they are “two sides of the same coin”. The exact phrase I’ve been using to describe what could be beneath Hyrule! 😂

 

100% the game is going big with Zant and Ganon, Midna and Zelda, the lost Tribes, the Twilight Realm and its relation to Hyrule plus the Sacred Realm in the Sky. Story is going to be waaaaaay more involved this time, which was one of the things BotW lacked. Cannot wait for this game!

[JoeK]

Argh. The more you go on about all this, the more I want to rebuy a Switch and play BotW again...

 

I feel like Gandalf when Frodo offers him the ring.

 

"Do not tempt meeeeee!"

 

Although, maybe if I do buy a Switch, that fucking Balrog won't whip me so much.

[CrichStand]

Hahaha. Do it!!!!  

 

I'm loving the mystery of it all, its like a game in itself figuring stuff out! Its pretty clear when you get into it that Nintendo have made the trailer so it purposefully holds all these little clues and hints, its really cool. Giving me the same feeling as doing Treasure Hunts as a kid or playing through OOT. Its a bit like the Golden Path in Tunic too.

 

The clip where Link comes out of the Sky Dungeon in the trailer has been edited into another section to look seamless, so there's something below the Sky Dungeon bit that can't be shown without giving too much away. But what?!?!?! I NEED TO KNOW!!!  

 

I'm right at the end of Botw, having never finished it before. Just got the Castle left to fully explore, Ganon to take down and a few sidequests and shrines left to do. From looking at the Zelda wiki i'm amazed how much stuff is in the BotW world, that ties in with the other games. Had no idea about it.

[Retroid]

4 hours ago, JoeK said:

Argh. The more you go on about all this, the more I want to rebuy a Switch and play BotW again...

 

I feel like Gandalf when Frodo offers him the ring.

 

"Do not tempt meeeeee!"

 

Although, maybe if I do buy a Switch, that fucking Balrog won't whip me so much.

 

It's better on PC tbh, I'm not a Yarr man but playing Zelda in 4K is just too good.

[JoeK]

4 hours ago, Retroid said:

 

It's better on PC tbh, I'm not a Yarr man but playing Zelda in 4K is just too good.

 

I've tried it a while back - there's something missing in the experience when I'm not playing a Nintendo game on a Nintendo platform. I'm sure it's all in my mind, but it's there and I can't get over it. 

 

It's like when I play games on my PC and they're not on my Steam library...just doesn't feel right.

 

I'm an odd duck.

[simms]

4 hours ago, Retroid said:

 

It's better on PC tbh, I'm not a Yarr man but playing Zelda in 4K is just too good.

Also 60fps, better draw distance and mods if you so desire.