The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

We're so late into the Switch's lifecycle that it doesn't make much sense anymore

We're halfway through, they literally said as much two months ago.

Do you think Furukawa is sat there thinking to himself "well the PS4 Pro came out three years after the PS4, so now's the time to release an updated Switch", instead of looking at what the present day and actual Switch sales trajectories tells him?

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

Both the DS and 3DS were on the market for 6 years & a couple of months before being replaced by their respective successors.  Switch 2 launching in March 2023 would be right on schedule if we're looking at Nintendo's handheld history (the Gameboy is an outlier, and that only happened because Nintendo's first attempt at Project Atlantis was a tremendous failure).

It would be on schedule you're right, if they were basing their business decisions on history, which they shouldn't/aren't. 

Why would you base your prediction on history when Nintendo themselves said 12 months ago that the Switch Will Have A Longer Life Cycle Than Previous Consoles, Says Nintendo President.

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Ronnie

[nekunando]

3 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Oh what? You mean the Fourth Best  Zelda Game of All Time?  

Is this the sort of thing you were calling for, @Hero-of-Time?

[Dcubed]

5 minutes ago, nekunando said:

Is this the sort of thing you were calling for, @Hero-of-Time?

It’s a better Zelda game than BOTW  

[Hero-of-Time]

28 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

It’s a better Zelda game than BOTW  

[Sheikah]

It’s a better Zelda game than BOTW [emoji6] 

Haha. Purists gonna hate.

[nekunando]

2 hours ago, Dcubed said:

It’s a better Zelda game than BOTW  

As is Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Skyward Sword.. the real triforce

[Happenstance]

9 hours ago, nekunando said:

As is Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Skyward Sword.. the real triforce

The real triforce is the friends we made along the way

[Julius]

Ahead of the Direct tomorrow, seeing as I think there's a good chance this game will be there: what do we think this game is going to be called?

I ask because I know normally, even when the same Link has returned in the past, the title is completely different, but considering that Breath of the Wild is the biggest Zelda game in terms of sales by some margin, would it be smart of them for that title to return in some way, such as by being called Breath of the Wild 2 or Breath of the Wild - [Forbidden East or some other such nonsense]? Do you think it'll be named after an item this time around? Or just be completely different? 

The only title I've thought of so far in keeping with "Breath of the Wild" would be something like Whisper of Malice, just based on the first game and what we saw in the trailer for this. 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Julius said:

Ahead of the Direct tomorrow, seeing as I think there's a good chance this game will be there: what do we think this game is going to be called?

BOTW: Proper Dungeons Edition

[drahkon]

1 minute ago, Hero-of-Time said:

BOTW: Proper Dungeons Edition

[Ike]

9 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

BOTW: Proper Dungeons Edition

Better be for the time they are taking on it. 

[darksnowman]

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: A Link in Cahoots

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Princess Zelda Links Up 

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

[Aneres11]

Probably something that won’t identify it as a new game, knowing Nintendo. 
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wilderness

 

[Hero-of-Time]

NEW Breath of the Wild

[Hero-of-Time]

31 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: A Link in Cahoots

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Princess Zelda Links Up 

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

I like the first one.  

[darksnowman]

I'm hoping for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2: Ganon's Going Deeper Underground ft. Music by Jamiroquai SO THAT WE KNOW IT HAS MUSIC THIS TIME.

More realistically, they will say it's been pushed back and beg us to please enjoy Dampés Dungeon Designer in the meantime.

[Hero-of-Time]

9 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

BOTW: If You're That Desperate For Proper Dungeons Play The Other Literally Eighteen Games....

Ronnie, you know that I have you on ignore, so please don’t reference any of my posts. Due to the ignore feature not working on the side bar, I do see some of your posts from time to time, which is what has happened here. For the sake of keeping this a comfortable place for me to visit, I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave me be. Thanks. 

[Ronnie]

16 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Ronnie, you know that I have you on ignore, so please don’t reference any of my posts. Due to the ignore feature not working on the side bar, I do see some of your posts from time to time, which is what has happened here. For the sake of keeping this a comfortable place for me to visit, I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave me be. Thanks. 

I have you on ignore as well, I saw your post referenced by another poster. The sidebar is also annoying for that sort of thing too. Hopefully a future forum update will fix it.

[LazyBoy]

As much as I'm looking forward to this, I'd be gutted if they've reskinned or reused BOTW Hyrule. I want a whole new world dammit. 

BOTW2: I'm not going back there

[Hero-of-Time]

4 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

As much as I'm looking forward to this, I'd be gutted if they've reskinned or reused BOTW Hyrule. I want a whole new world dammit. 

BOTW2: I'm not going back there

I’ve now got visions of Link and Zelda flying on a magic carpet over Hyrule.

[LazyBoy]

4 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I’ve now got visions of Link and Zelda flying on a magic carpet over Hyrule.

Oh fuck you Hero, you’ve ruined my video post for when a whole new world is revealed.

[darksnowman]

25 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

As much as I'm looking forward to this, I'd be gutted if they've reskinned or reused BOTW Hyrule. I want a whole new world dammit. 

BOTW2: I'm not going back there

[Julius]

26 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

As much as I'm looking forward to this, I'd be gutted if they've reskinned or reused BOTW Hyrule. I want a whole new world dammit. 

Honestly, this is the biggest reason that I want to see it at their Treehouse, just because even a meaty 4 minute trailer will have trouble making clear what's new in terms of the world this time around. 

My biggest question is around the shrines, to be honest. They can't be the same, right? But then there were 120 in just the base game for BotW, so that seems like a bit of an undertaking (though I guess they've had time!), but what's there in their place? Or are they just gone now? Could they be replaced to some extent by longer main quest lines? 

And speaking of shrines: dungeons. I know many here have speculated about there being an underground, and I think yeah, there will probably be quite a lot of stuff going on underground this time around. I was listening to an old Easy Allies impressions video from E3 2016 from when they played Breath of the Wild, and Damiani mentioned that in the original game the "dungeons" weren't strictly referred to as dungeons, but rather the Underworld (which I'm sure many people here knew anyways, but it was new info to me ). I watched a few analysis videos at the time, and while everyone speculated that there would be proper dungeons based on one of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots in the trailer, I looked up art for the Underworld and the first hit matched with pretty much exactly what we saw in the trailer. Imagine loads have picked up on this too, but for those who hadn't seen it, thought it was worth sharing:

The pillars, the balls atop those pillars, the teeth (though this time the lower jaw and not their upper canines), etc. Thought that was really neat, gives me the impression that it'll probably be like that original game in terms of accessing them, and makes me wonder what else they're going to go back and be influenced by from that first game. 

But back to the world, obviously new settlements in towns and cities would be great and are the expectation, but if Zelda is playable (especially if Link is stuck underground - maybe we're the one saving him this time around ) then I guess one way to make the world feel fresh if a lot of it is returning is to interact with it in a different way. The end of the first game, like one of my favourite films (also the thing that wraps around Link's arm in the trailer too...), made it abundantly clear that their next focus was on rebuilding Hyrule, so I'm imagining Zelda and Link journeying through the world with a larger emphasis on interacting with people you come across, helping them out (I still want a Seven Samurai-like side quest, damn it!), perhaps even a larger scale Tarrey Town situation. For this, Castle Town feels like it could be a hub of sorts (mean it is central) with upgradeable storefronts, new stores coming in, perhaps even some street food vendors and such, of course assuming it doesn't get wrecked by the castle going full on Laputa! 

And, if Zelda is playable (honestly, this is the part I doubt the most, simply because she was voiced in the first game) then there's also the chance to see her learn and use magic. I'm imagining a skill tree for it (so maybe shrines return but could be a challenge for Zelda's hypothetical magic instead, with Link focusing on the main dungeons?) and being able to swap between magic types similar to how you'd swap between Sheikah Slate Runes in the first game. 

I'm not sure just how much they could change the overworld beyond that, though. Maybe we get to travel across the ocean to some extent and there are new and massive regions to explore? I think they're in a tough spot to be honest, and as much as I'd love to see more areas added to the map to explore, I'm having a tough time seeing just how it could work, and the trailer we saw seemed to imply that they're focusing on expanding the world vertically (with what's under the ground and what's in the sky) rather than horizontally. Would love to be wrong on that, though! 

Something I'd love to see is some things carry over from a save transfer between the first Breath of the Wild and this one, it's a feature used far too infrequently in my eyes but could be great here. I'm going to have a tough time buying it that in a sequel Link ends up starting back at zero for health and stamina after all we went through in the first game (though I guess the green glowing arm could be a way to try to justify it in the story), especially so if Zelda is playable as we'd be starting from zero with her health and potentially magic, but I'd like to see those carried over from the first game if you've cleared it (and if you didn't then maybe just a flat 15 hearts and two stamina rings or something like that). I think carrying over your progress with your house in Hateno and what you have there would also be neat (side note: a more in-depth way to furnish the house would be great!), and I'm sure there are plenty of other examples of what they could carry over too (maybe what you've filled your compendium with?). It's tough, but when people have already spent hundreds of hours in a world like this especially, I think something like this would be a nice reward for those that played the first game and sank their teeth into it. 

I'm trying to temper expectations going in but it's hard to not get excited. I think there will be a trailer, we'll get a title for it, and we'll learn that they're aiming for a 2022 release; if it is there later, that would be my expectation, and so long as the trailer is good, I'll be happy with that. I honestly don't know if they will have this out by the end of their financial year in March (if they do then I think they'll imply as much),  as there's no real need, what with the Pokémon Diamond & Pearl remakes this November and then Legends in January meaning they already have blockbusters to see out this year and start the next.

I doubt that it will impact their plans, but from a player's perspective, with Elden Ring coming in January too, we already have two open world games in January alone (releasing just a week apart) from massive franchises, so unless one gets delayed (Pokémon, I mean Pokémon) I kind of selfishly wouldn't want it early next year? A massive open world feels like it should be a summer release (like how massive JRPG's should be in my eyes too), and I want to say if not early next year then probably September/October (you absolutely need to make sure people have had the time to play your game as much as they want before awards season), but I guess it depends on how they're approaching the rumoured Pro model. 

Either way, just under 7 hours until the Direct starts and we might see it again. I had issues with Breath of the Wild which I've talked about before, but it's still undeniably my favourite open world experience in a game, simply for the freedom of exploration. It's something I find myself thinking about often, and I think the fact that I'm even tempted to return to it after beating it just a year and a half ago, especially considering how much there is to see, says it all. Fingers crossed that this sequel builds on some of my/our misgivings with the first, because I think it's a solid foundation for them to knock it out of the park (again) this time around. 

[LazyBoy]

Christ, could you imagine if they didn't show it? "We'll have more for you later this year". I'd cry.

[Hero-of-Time]

7 minutes ago, LazyBoy said:

Christ, could you imagine if they didn't show it? "We'll have more for you later this year". I'd cry.

Some are speculating this may actually happen....