The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Can I just say - I fucking hate the shrines where you have to roll the ball through the maze by tilting the controller. Awful. Just awful.

That is all.

[The Sonic Mole]

I crumbled and bought this just before I went on holiday last week. It got its hooks into me so deep I ended up taking my Wii U with me to Center Parcs! Last time I took a console on holiday was when I took my SNES to play Super Mario World in 1992! I'm now 50 hours in and just wow. What a game.

[Flabyo]

Patch out for this today apparently. Major frame rate buffs across the board on switch, maybe the WiiU too though no one is talking about that.

[ratsoalbion]

Yep, same update for WU with noticeable improvements.

[Suits]

Yeah, the GameExplain video comparison I've seen makes it seem pretty impressive.

I wouldn't say the FR issues bugged me too much but I did notice them.

If they've managed to optimise it further it iron these out (and it seems like it in that video) then that's wonderful.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Yeah I've certainly noticed a difference on Switch but then as per Suits comment, frame rate hasn't really bothered me up to this point anyway. Just seemed like the internet getting all het up over nothing (must unlike the internet). I've been too busy enjoying what is an incredible game (apart from the tilty ball maze puzzles...).

[Craig]

What's amazing about this game is that despite how open it is, it's leaving with me hugely memorable moments. Most of the enemies I can still remember where and when I first encountered them, and how the fight went. Brilliant stuff.

[hazeredmist]

Started this on Wii U.

Wow.

Never got into a single-player game this deeply since maybe Mass Effect 2. The hype is real. I'd be treading over everyone else at this point so I'll just say it's got me wowed at every turn, I'm just in Kakiriko Village so not too far in.

One double-edged thing I will say is I'm almost annoyed at Switch for stealing the limelight with this game - Gamepad management of things like the map, recipes etc which clearly would have been there had development not crossed over so much is quite a miss, it feels strange going from Wind Waker HD which utilised it so well to this. The loss of that is really sad, It's such a shame it didn't take off like it should have, this game would have been even more mesmeric with true Gamepad functionality, something the Switch will never be able to do.

...now the counter point - I'm playing with my Pro Controller which has been an under-utilised purchase so far, it feels fantastic on it and I know I'm not missing out by using it, plus when I go Gamepad-only and I'm in bed, I'm basically pretending I've got a Switch, which I kinda do as I have all the benefits (just became a Dad so there's no chance of me needing to game out of range for a while!)

[ratsoalbion]

Completely agree about the game and the lack of GamePad functionality.

If there is one way in which BotW could obviously be improved it would be less hopping in and out of the menus and subscreens.

I'm playing on Wii U with the GamePad and to have its features completely disregarded feels like a shame.

[dezm0nd]

Before the Switch launched, I would've told you that a Zelda game without a second screen for inventory would be a chore but honestly, I didn't miss it.

Having a screen lay dormant in your hands, however, might've brought the issue to my mind a lot more.

[Flabyo]

Especially when the WiiU gamepad screen displays a constantly pulsing 'tap here to play on the game pad' message that you can't turn off. Ended up covering the screen with something in the end, the pulsing kept drawing my eye even though I knew it wasn't doing anything useful.

[hazeredmist]

Since booting up and initially starting it I've not touched the Gamepad with Zelda, pure Pro Controller for me. Gamepad is only being used for off-TV play. Much more comfortable for longer sessions anyway.

[dezm0nd]

I wonder if because of the hot key buttons being used a lot and in general, there are less items in this Zelda to be constantly swapping about that I didn't miss a second screen as much.

[Flabyo]

The game works just fine without it, sure. But in interviews they do say they removed a few things from the game design that required it once they knew it would need to be on Switch, so they definitely had plans to do something with it.

It doesn't leave a gaping hole like the unfinished content of Wind Waker does, but its there nonetheless.

Hell, if they just patch in the ability to have the map and pins down there it'd probably be enough for me

[ratsoalbion]

Indeed, and even if they'd simply given the option to deactivate the GamePad screen it would be less distracting and also the battery might last a little longer!

[Flabyo]

I should say that all of these nit picks I'm raising are mainly because all of the really cool stuff I want to talk about would be too spoiler filled for a game that many people are still playing through.

And I find having discussions where everything sits inside spoiler boxes a very frustrating thing to do on forums, especially when I'm using the iPad where it's a pain in the ass typing the square bracket tags out.

[ratsoalbion]

I am also finding the game to be an absolute marvel.

One fly in the ointment is that although, post update, the overall fps is improved, I had a couple of notable (second long) freezes last night as the game calculated multiple elements during combat.

Unsurprisingly the Wii U is straining when there are so many things to process, especially during battle in bad weather, with multiple elemental weapons in use.

Still a remarkable achievement. I look forward to replaying the game on Switch for the podcast in the future!

[Flabyo]

The pauses seemed to me to be most closely associated with large enemies going into rag doll when you land certain attacks. Hard pauses like that are much easier to diagnose than general low frame rate, so I'm surprised they haven't corrected it yet (I was seeing it pre patch)

[hazeredmist]

I should say that all of these nit picks I'm raising are mainly because all of the really cool stuff I want to talk about would be too spoiler filled for a game that many people are still playing through.

And I find having discussions where everything sits inside spoiler boxes a very frustrating thing to do on forums, especially when I'm using the iPad where it's a pain in the ass typing the square bracket tags out.

Easily remedied by a dedicated spoiler thread

[Suits]

So I'm very close to 100 hours now, tamed all the DB's and thinking about approaching Gannon.

However, I've inadvertently seen a few screen shots flying about of people having multipliers next to their DB silhouettes on their HUD.

I play with the HUD off but changed it back yesterday just to have a look at how things have changed. Mine are still all at X1.

Does anyone know what the multiplier figure next to them means or represents ?