The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[ratsoalbion]

The most 'gamer' post ever right there!

[Alex79]

God I'm excited for this, and I'm not even a fan of the series. I don't think I've ever seen such universal acclaim.

[ratsoalbion]

That's because you haven't. As of right now it's officially the highest rated game of all time - or at least since records began (by mean average):
http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html
(click on all time best)

[DomsBeard]

Hope it's as good as it sounds. I'll get a switch at Christmas no doubt and enjoy it then.

[Stanshall]

Having played for about ten hours now, I understand the reviews. It's the best adventure game I've ever played, at this point. I honestly can't believe anything has toppled Dark Souls for me but this is the one.

[ratsoalbion]

If there's one thing we've learned over the past 18 months it's that when it comes to Zelda, one player's meat is very much another's poison.

Having played 7 or 8 hours, I think the game is incredible (so far), but it changes so much about Zelda that I think some will be alienated and feel that in attempting to please 'modern gamers' and take influences from other games, Nintendo may have diluted some of its personality.

To this end, while I don't much like, let alone agree with it, this one negative review at least serves to illustrate how some (will) feel about thegame:
http://www.zam.com/article/1365/the-leg ... ild-review

[Stanshall]

I'm perfectly happy for people to not enjoy this game but I do think that review is simply wrong on count after count. The criticisms of traversal are just bizarre. The climbing is more versatile, and quicker, and often a puzzle in itself, than in any other Zelda game. Traversing the world on foot, horseback or glider is again more versatile and free and fast than it's ever been, and I can't think of many games - open world or otherwise - which come close to this freedom of movement, or pleasure of movement. The dash when swimming has both a basic movement purpose and a gameplay purpose if well timed, to help you catch fish. It's also a risk reward mechanic if you want to explore beyond where your breath may take you.

And on the exploratory note, the claim that the world is shallow and barren is simply not true. It's not a matter of opinion. It's absolutely packed with individual moments and secrets and if Zelda isn't about rewarding exploration and freedom, I don't know what it is about. That's actually one thing which has most blown me away. Every time I decide to veer off course and try something out that pops into my head, the game rewards me for it in some way. It's the most generous game I've played since...it could well be the most generous game I've ever played. Oh, the checkpoints thing. The outright lie about needing to constantly save! I've never played anything with such a well judged checkpoint system. Because of the nature of combat and the challenge, generous checkpoints don't just mean you can brute force it by rushing straight in after a death, it just means they respect your time.

While I won't disrespect the guy's opinion as wilfully inaccurate, I have little respect for his observations or judgements of almost any aspect of the game, based on my personal experience. The only point I will give him is that the stamina wheel feels restrictive when you're used to rolling or side stepping or backflipping furiously across the map.

All that said, I do agree that some folk won't like the openness over the linearity, but I don't feel that the transition has diminished the personality of the series at all. I'd actually say that I'm surprised at how much it's retained that spirit and charm and tone. Like, that's one of the enduring impressions which I most want to applaud. They've blown it all wide apart, and yet it feels like Zelda far more than anything else.

[seansthomas]

Amazon just told me, 3 hours before it was due to arrive, that my Wii U copy is now delayed by a week...



Cancelled it so will go Zelda hunting today.

Have you Wii U owners got yours OK, or is this some bullshit shortage to try and force me into buying a Switch?

[ratsoalbion]

I had no problem getting a Wii U copy from Simply Games.

[seansthomas]

I had no problem getting a Wii U copy from Simply Games.

Thanks Leon. I canceled it and picked it up from Argos. Cashier told me I was the 10th person to buy the game within 15 minutes of the store opening, leaving just 2 Wii U copies for that part of London.

No-one is going to ruin Zelda day for me!

[ratsoalbion]

Great stuff! Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

[hazeredmist]

Amazon just told me, 3 hours before it was due to arrive, that my Wii U copy is now delayed by a week...



Cancelled it so will go Zelda hunting today.

Have you Wii U owners got yours OK, or is this some bullshit shortage to try and force me into buying a Switch?

Got my Wii U copy today from Amazon safely, I did order at 7am that when it first became available though.

Glad you got a copy in the end!

[AndrewBrown]

I ordered Zelda for Switch and Wii U through Amazon as soon as they became available, they're still delaying them until tomorrow (Saturday) night. I'm sure there are a lot of very unhappy people right now.

[Flabyo]

My WiiU copy hasn't turned up yet, but I can't remember the last time I ordered something from Amazon that actually arrived on release date so I'm not overly surprised.

If it doesn't come today though... I will be unamused.

[seansthomas]

Put about 4 hours into it last night.

I seem to be a complete tool and haven't got used to the buttons yet - keep whistling to the enemy when closing in for a stealth kill - but the game looks and sounds amazing.

Just left the plateau when I realised how small the bit that I'd taken an hour to navigate was.

Need to get me some clothes sometime soon...

Favourite bits so far:

Spoiler: show

Found an enemy settlement near a windy alcove surrounded by grass, so basically set fire to the rushes and walked along behind it clearing up any enemies running for their lives.

Spotted some treasure chests in a mud swamp doing nothing, but about 2 minutes away found some old doors. Used the telekinesis ability to make a rickety bridge to them.

Kept dying trying to find that shrine in the icy area. Eventually scaled round the side of a huge crumbling fortification to get near the entrance, cooked up a spicy broth and charged through the area and temple, completing it with 10 seconds and a quarter of a heart to spare.

[Flabyo]

Yay, postie just delivered my WiiU copy. The Weekend is Saved.

[ratsoalbion]

[chase210]

I fell into a river and died from cold almost immediately. Loving the game though.

[Flabyo]

This is a good game. You should all play it. (I've already played more of this than I did of skyward sword...)

[Suits]

The ambient sounds in this is very good.

Switch Owners - Don't forget to set the sound on your system so that when docked it runs in 5.1 surround. I had to change mine after an hour or two, when I found it - makes all the difference.