The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[darksnowman]

10 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

So March 03/03/2023 it is for BOTW 2 and Switch 2 then... All according to keikaku.

I think you'll find it's because they saw @Helmsly recently powering through BotW again, so they're being like yeeoo should've paced yersel.

[Dcubed]

BTW, we got some legit new information about the game from that video that we haven't really noted...

1:  The Master Sword is broken & dishevelled.  Clearly the sword is not in a good state, and that obviously has a role to play within the story with how they went out of their way to show this.

2:  Aonuma confirmed officially that there is a seperate Sky world map that resides above the original BOTW map (implied before, now made official).  This also has another implication in that it makes the outer parts of BOTW's original map (that were previously inaccessible) now fully accessible thanks to the new skydiving mechanic.

3:  Aonuma implied that there is actually a 3rd new map in addition to The Sky... and I think that it's The Underworld (as seen in the first trailer).

 

I reckon that the reason why they don't want to reveal the title yet is because it relates to having worlds above and below... so I reckon it'll be something like The Legend of Zelda: Worlds Apart, or The Legend of Zelda: The Light Above & The Darkness Below.  Or maybe they'll go full cringe and highlight the three maps with something stupid like The Legend of Zelda: Tri World Force.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Dcubed

[MindFreak]

There is a rumour that the title will be Breath of Duality. I don't know how credible it is, but it's coming from a guy named Paul Gale. 

Sigh at the delay but oh well. When they announced Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for November it was almost certainly going to mean a delay for BotW2. But I had hoped for it to release this year, though spring is usually less busy, I guess. 

[Mokong]

I'm actually fine with a few months delay, there's a ton of other stuff out this year it was looking oretty packed.

Pushing it to Spring next year also gives more breathing (pun not intended) room between Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and this.

Hoping for a March 7th release so it is out on 6th birthday of the Switch and BotW

[Ronnie]

38 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Aonuma implied that there is actually a 3rd new map in addition to The Sky

What he actually said was...

Quote

The adventure in this sequel will take place not just on the ground as in the previous game, but also in the skies above.

However, the expanded world goes beyond that, and there will be an even wider variety of features you can enjoy, including new encounters and new gameplay elements.

It could mean more locations, or it could just mean new gameplay elements and encounters that are completely different to the first game.

It was probably kept nebulous on purpose.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Ronnie

[Dcubed]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

What he actually said was...

It could mean more locations, or it could just mean new gameplay elements and encounters that are completely different to the first game.

It was probably kept nebulous on purpose.

Of course it was.  But the part where he says "the expanded world goes beyond that" is a pretty clear indication that there's more to the new map than just the addition of The Sky... It's not hard to figure out that he's hinting at the Underworld map that was implied by the first trailer (I mean, it's no coincidence that there have been exactly two trailers, with one showing an Underground map and one showing a Sky map...).

Edited March 29, 2022 by Dcubed

[Julius]

31 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

1:  The Master Sword is broken & dishevelled.  Clearly the sword is not in a good state, and that obviously has a role to play within the story with how they went out of their way to show this.

Durability is back and now you can permanently destroy the Master Sword 

In all seriousness though, yeah, it'll definitely have a role in the story. I'm guessing there'll be some ancient forge or something underground or in the skies for someone to fix it. The full shot of Link's new get-up and his arm was super cool, as is the robe he's wearing. 

They've gone full Princess Mononoke with the "infection" spreading up his arm, and I'm here for it. Cool looking prosthesis (or glove?) too. 

31 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

2:  Aonuma confirmed officially that there is a seperate Sky world map that resides above the original BOTW map (implied before, now made official).  This also has another implication in that it makes the outer parts of BOTW's original map (that were previously inaccessible) now fully accessible thanks to the new skydiving mechanic.

Yeah, no real surprise there to be honest. I'm very curious to see how traversal works between the different islands: portals? Are the islands going to be neatly overlapping to allow us to warp up as seen in the second trailer? Will there be a constant airflow to allow for gliding between these spaces? 

31 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

3:  Aonuma implied that there is actually a 3rd new map in addition to The Sky... and I think that it's The Underworld (as seen in the first trailer).

I find it really curious that they haven't actually acknowledged the underground area yet, whereas the sky has been shown much more, hinted at to be quite expansive in previous game descriptions on the official site, etc. Maybe it's only going to be limited to small areas and the temples, which is why they're showing so little...but I'd guess from the first trailer that it's actually the opposite and is kind of expansive. Either way, I'm hoping that we're in for some cool ancient race stuff both above and below the ground. 

1 hour ago, killthenet said:

Do we think they'll show anything more of the game this year?

Predicting Nintendo is always such a sticky wicket - Kings of Left Field and all that - but I think they do show more of the game this year. It really depends on if the game comes in Spring 2023 and isn't delayed further. 

At the latest, I think it's a safe bet that it shows up at The Game Awards, and could close it out. If it is making Spring 2023: trailer, potentially the title, release date, and "we have a Direct for the game next month on X date, now enjoy Christmas ya filthy animals". If it's not making Spring 2023 and is delayed further, trailer and "stay tuned for more". 

But I think it would be wise to have it in their E3 slate (I mean, we say E3, but you know, just whatever they have going on in June). If it sticks to Spring 2023 it'll be the last big E3 before release, and I think the next time we see this game, we really need to see some gameplay and potentially get the game's title (I can't think of a single logical title that would be so revealing about the game and it's mechanics that would cause not telling us the title for 3 years, so either they just don't have a title, or they are playing coy).

I know it could be argued that the first game was the only thing needed for E3 2016 and was the only thing they showed off for the Switch pre-reveal and so far out, and they don't need to do it this time so far out from it's scheduled release, but I think they need to start distinguishing between the two games clearly once we get some gameplay, and a title would help with that. I don't think gameplay at their summer event if it turned up would be nearly as exhaustive as we got for BOTW at E3 2016's Treehouse, as they have other games to show, so an hour at an absolute maximum in my head...but honestly, it could be as short as 15 minutes. Again, they could easily have their own Direct to show off so much of this game by itself. 

I'm really curious to see how Nintendo handles the marketing of this game, because while they know success in all of its forms, I don't think there's been as much pressure on an individual title from Nintendo before. It is exceedingly rare that we get direct sequels from them in the first place, and games that have received direct sequels before haven't been nearly as big or successful in either the commercial or critical sense as BOTW has been for them these last 5 years. Add to that Elden Ring's success - very different games in terms of tone, but I think it's clear as day that Elden Ring was heavily inspired in its open world by BOTW in addition to all of the other usual inspirations for Miyazaki and From - and the fact that sequels these days are often to very linear story experiences (whereas BOTW was very loose), and I really think the heat is on. 

I'm excited, of course, but I think it would be really easy to mishandle this game's marketing. So yeah, very, very curious to see how they handle it. 

[Ronnie]

6 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

"the expanded world goes beyond that" is a pretty clear indication that there's more to the new map than just the addition of The Sky

That was my first thought as well, but it could also mean the expanded world goes beyond just a new location... 'and there will be an even wider variety of features you can enjoy, including new encounters and new gameplay elements.'. It's tough to know for sure. It probably does mean another new location, but he wasn't clear enough to say that that's been confirmed, imo.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Ronnie

[Dcubed]

Also worth noting that the Master Sword was originally forged in The Sky, during the events of Skyward Sword...

Perhaps part of this game's story is going to tie into SS, and Link is going to have to return the sword to the Goddess Flames in order to reforge the Master Sword?

[Ike]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

Also worth noting that the Master Sword was originally forged in The Sky, during the events of Skyward Sword...

No it wasn’t, it was forged on the surface.

[Glen-i]

43 minutes ago, Ike said:

No it wasn’t, it was forged on the surface.

Not the original Goddess Blade. That was in the sky when Link found it.

Now that doesn't confirm it was made there, but it's a possibility.

Maybe the Master Sword won't suck in this game? I hope so, finally getting it and realising it was 30 power and still "broke" was a massive let-down.

Ironically, it was a lot more useful in AoC. Which is funny, because it kinda sucked in the original Hyrule Warriors.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Glen-i

[Ronnie]

The game design was centred around finding and using lots of different weapons scattered the world. Having one permanent one went against that. Could be the reason it's not looking too good in the sequel...

[Ike]

34 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Not the original Goddess Blade. That was in the sky when Link found it.

Correct, but Dcubed said the Master Sword during Skyward Sword.

[Helmsly]

I think a lot of people were expecting a delay so weirdly this does not feel like a shock.

3 hours ago, darksnowman said:

I think you'll find it's because they saw @Helmsly recently powering through BotW again, so they're being like yeeoo should've paced yersel.

my journey to rescue Zelda is taking a little longer this time

 

[WackerJr]

Like others have said too, I’m absolutely fine with the delay. The expectations for this game are huge, and so I’d rather they got it right & came at least close to realising their aims then rushing it out.

The extra areas / features mentioned - could this be playable Zelda, even if just in the underworld?

[Julius]

6 minutes ago, WackerJr said:

The extra areas / features mentioned - could this be playable Zelda, even if just in the underworld?

Oh man, I'd love if it were. I've said it before, but give Zelda a magic skill tree and I'd be over the moon, especially if she makes it to the surface and the way we interact with the lands of Hyrule is different through her lens (bringing towns back together, hunting down more knowledge on the past, etc.) compared with Link's in the first game. 

We can only hope 

[Ashley]

made me laugh because that quote from a very different time gets trotted out way too much

I'm sure this game will be great and a delay to improve things is obviously fine, just the kneejerk use of that quote when arguably it's central idea is less relevant does wind me up. 

And actually just seen this which I never knew

but anyway, swords eh?

 

[Ronnie]

I think the quote still 100% applies, even in the age of patches. It's not about the micro level bugs and little quality of life issues, it's about rushing macro level game design. Stuff that can't be patched out. 

The Wind Waker wasn't "bad" of course, but it was rushed to market and was missing huge chunks, that are very noticeable, especially today. If they'd delayed it, it would have eventually been complete.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Ronnie

[S.C.G]

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel delayed until Spring 2023

Now up on the main page.

Text from the video, the video itself and a slightly altered banner image using a scene from the trailer.

This time, next year a new Zelda game should be released then.

[Ashley]

50 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I think the quote still 100% applies, even in the age of patches. It's not about the micro level bugs and little quality of life issues, it's about rushing macro level game design. Stuff that can't be patched out. 

The Wind Waker wasn't "bad" of course, but it was rushed to market and was missing huge chunks, that are very noticeable, especially today. If they'd delayed it, it would have eventually been complete.

Why is it not about that though? Given Miyamoto said it's about how as a game developer it'll be bad forever (ie you'll always go "I could have done it better") any other meaning, including the commonly ascribed "delaying helps improve it so it's not bad" one, is subjective as it's an opinion thrust upon it. 

Yes, being a fundamentally bad game is something that is difficult to fix even with patches but there's numerous examples of games getting better post-launch, something not possible when he first said it. No amount of patching will make Hooters Road Trip good, but post-launch content made No Man's Sky into something much better than it was at launch. 

I guess my main beef is with that quote thrown around by people. There is truth to it, but much less so than when it was first said decades ago (in the commonly held interpretation of it). It's fine to say a game should be delayed to give it time to reach its potential, but that potential could be realised after launch now in a way that just wasn't possible before. There needs to be an acknowledgment of that. 

[Jonnas]

I'd just like to add that Street Fighter V was absolutely rushed at launch, but got improved with time, patches, and updates. However, following the recent Street Fighter 6 reveal, a lot of people on the internet (including here on our forums) were still bitter about SFV's barebones launch. In the public mind, a game that was released badly will stay that way, regardless of what happened throughout the game's lifespan. So that part is important too.

Also, improving the game post-launch works far better for certain types of games than others. Roguelikes, multiplayer games, and various types of games-as-service are expected to be played lots after launch, so post-game support is expected, with initial flaws being easier to tolerate. But something like, say, Metroid Dread, that you're likely to only play through quickly once or twice, and then only replay sporadically, would not get the same type of tolerance from its fans. So there are types of games for which a weak launch is still a death sentence.

...

Anyway, Link's "corrupted Ashitaka" design looks Breath of the Wilder than I expected. Rad.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Jonnas

[Ronnie]

20 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Why is it not about that though? Given Miyamoto said it's about how as a game developer it'll be bad forever (ie you'll always go "I could have done it better") any other meaning, including the commonly ascribed "delaying helps improve it so it's not bad" one, is subjective as it's an opinion thrust upon it. 

Yes, being a fundamentally bad game is something that is difficult to fix even with patches but there's numerous examples of games getting better post-launch, something not possible when he first said it. No amount of patching will make Hooters Road Trip good, but post-launch content made No Man's Sky into something much better than it was at launch. 

I guess my main beef is with that quote thrown around by people. There is truth to it, but much less so than when it was first said decades ago (in the commonly held interpretation of it). It's fine to say a game should be delayed to give it time to reach its potential, but that potential could be realised after launch now in a way that just wasn't possible before. There needs to be an acknowledgment of that. 

Because a game that is buggy or in need of patches and bug fixes is not inherently "a bad game". It could be a great game but with performance issues, eg: Cyberpunk on last gen consoles. A fundamentally bad game, ill-thought through or not refined from a gameplay pov, is very difficult to make good with patches. That's what a lot of people argued with Anthem, the game that was rushed to market wasn't good and no amount of patches would make it so. ie. bad forever. Yes there's a little bit of creative license, obviously you can patch the entire game and transform it into something completely different, but the quote was never meant to be picked apart to such a degree.

[Glen-i]

You know, if the subtitle is some kind of variation of "Breath of...", I will groan so hard, I might just bust a vocal chord.

A Link Between Worlds got away with it because there had been a lot of Zelda games between that and ALttP, but there's no room for doubt on what this game is, so it really doesn't need that clarification.

What I'm saying is, Ninty may have let me down on the direction of it, but I expect a decent subtitle at least!

[darksnowman]

Nice one with getting a transcript up,  @S.C.G Very handy as I didn't pay much attention to what was said other than the date.

Quote

As previously announced, the adventure in this sequel will take place not just on the ground as in the previous game, but also in the skies above. However, the expanded world goes beyond that, and there will be an even rider variety of features you can enjoy, including new encounters and new gameplay elements.

First thing they showed was an underground area, they've since shown the sky. To expand beyond...

The final frontier?

Nah it'll be some Shiekah Scuba Gear for some Endless Ocean exploration with seahorses that are big enough to ride. 

[Dufniall]

Why is everyone under the impression that this game has not yet received a title? Clearly it's called The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.