• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Mr. Aonuma Gameplay Demonstration

Punished Miku

Gold Member
I'm going to build a death mobile with flames on it, and swords lining the sides. And graphically, it will look like a disaster. Might even build a few ramps.

The BotW physics system will be fully unleashed.
I hope they have a dungeon.
Yep, same. If it doesn't, I'll definitely complain about it. We'll see.
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
I know it is. So you're just saying it looks like BOTW? In what way, the graphics or gameplay?

Because it is a direct sequel to BOTW on the same hardware, so you're likely not going to get a massive boost in graphical quality. Well you could, if you aren't too ambitious in your gameplay objectives which could tax your engine I suppose.

As for gameplay, they clearly showed off a number of things that could shake up the gameplay or at least, are different to BOTW's setup, as per a sequel anyway.

I suppose some people were expecting a MM type makeover? Complete with a graphical overall or a different look and approach, or something that stands out as definitive gameplay mechanic like the masks and time reversing perhaps. Don't know what to say then, not all sequels are going to be like that.

6 years in a console lifetime usually means a considerable visual improvement. No one's expecting a generational leap, but normally developers can achieve a lot more optimization when you compare the very beginning of a console's life and its end.

This simply hasn't happen here, and it's not like other developers haven't managed to achieve considerably better results.

I was expecting progress. Which simply isn't there.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
So far I really like the mechanics of fusing weapons and building vehicles with anything. They made fun world to mess around with.
 
each time I feel less and less attracted to my fav game series, like they're now catering to a totally different kind of gamer.
those who like:
-survival mechanics
-construction of stuff
-physics
Nevertheless I'm a sucker for Zelda and always be, so I'm still buying and playing 🙄 even though right now i feel 0 hype and no will to play it.
I did none of that stuff, but I still found the core game to be fun, and the exploration compelling.

My nieces are all into the cooking, collecting, and outfits in BotW. It's like they're playing a different game.
 

Rodolink

Member
I mean... You can play the game in a traditional way if you want. Is up to you, like BOTW.
battling things with a stick or useless iron swords was not really fun, and the appeal of cool weapons drove out knowing they're destructible. even the master sword with the stupid 15mim delay.
but who knows maybe in this sequel they added some indestructible weapons
 

eye__writ

Banned
Neogaf reacting like Neogaf with a big Nintendo reveal... This game is going to be massive CONFIRMED. Also, some people saying that looks like an expansion because 10 minutes of gameplay showing NEW GAMEPLAY mechanics... lolol. Never change Gaf.

I too enjoy how NeoGAF cuts through the bullshit and realises that Nintendo are now just the Apple of video games.

Highly successful and profitable but resigned to recycling the innovations of other companies a decade after the fact.
 

jaysius

Banned

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
It's so ironic that alot of the games today have weapon durability but Only Zelda gets a fit of criticism and hyperbole for it.

https://gamerant.com/best-games-with-breakable-weapons/

Even world of warcraft had weapon durability when I played.
Crap even monster hunter has a form of weapon durability!! 🙄🙄

That's because in these games weapons are either nearly irrelevant (Yakuza) or they aren't made of butter and sand.
 

Fredrik

Member
I’ll play it because it’s Zelda but it really looks like a game from 2017. Should’ve delayed it and released it as a launch game for the next console.
 

jaysius

Banned
How does it fit in MH? I have to sharpen my weapon every few hits? I'm just saying there is bias.
Some games have very few things going for them, and need a gimmick to make up for lack of gameplay in other areas, Zelda never needed this bullshit.
 

Imtjnotu

Member
Something Something..about the price of tea in China.
gerry dee lol GIF by Mr. D
 

SaintALia

Member
6 years in a console lifetime usually means a considerable visual improvement. No one's expecting a generational leap, but normally developers can achieve a lot more optimization when you compare the very beginning of a console's life and its end.

This simply hasn't happen here, and it's not like other developers haven't managed to achieve considerably better results.

I was expecting progress. Which simply isn't there.
It doesn't automatically mean 'considerable visual improvement' though. Like I said, you CAN achieve better graphics/framerate if your engine/hardware allows for it, IF you aren't doing anything too ambitious gameplay wise that can take up resources. Nintendo likely went with the latter from what I've seen. 'Optimisation' and time aren't some magical graphical potions. You're still working within set boundaries, pushing one thing means another gets pulled.
 

Ristifer

Member
I mean, it looks like it could be fun in pieces? But really, by the time they crafted a raft out of wood and random fans, you could've crossed that body of water five times. I get the idea behind it, but eh.
 

ANDS

King of Gaslighting
You can't even see the game world beyond Hyrule Field.


It was being referred to as a trailer on GAF yesterday.

I mean, if there's more to the world than what we haven't already seen (already mentioned that that village in the presentation was in the first game, so odd that there's all this new content, but they're sticking with regions and areas seen before), awesome. Nothing about this - lengthiest so far - look at the game is showing that.

How about turning the question on its head: other than adding in more item manipulation abilities (e.g. an expansion on the previous game), what about the presentation gives you the impression that this feels like a generational leap above BOTW warranting the increased cost of the game?

Yes that $10 increase is inexcusable.

Come on. If SONY and MS and third parties on their own platforms (rightfully) got shit for bring next generation prices to games which didn't warrant it, NINTENDO should also get it. They've literally increased the price because everyone else has. That's it.

. . .like this game might well have fixed the issues with BOTW while keeping everything the same and I'll be like "Okay, I'll plunk down 70 funbucks for this. . .", but there is literally nothing we've seen here that justifies the development time or the price of this. I don't know where people are getting the "it's the same map" info from, but it does look like that, what you've got is literally what you would expect to come in an expansion pass.

Didn't horizon also have so form of weapon durability? I could be mistaken.

Oh. . .you probably want to not start off with the disingenuous posting like that. The durability system in HORIZON isn't even close to what is going on here and you know that.
 
Last edited:

Elysion

Banned
Not gonna lie, as much as I liked what I saw from those new abilities and the gameplay possibilities they represent, I couldn’t help but be disappointed with the graphics. Yes, I know its a Switch game, but considering BotW was fundamentally a Wii U game that got ported to Switch, I’d hoped that a sequel made from the ground up for Switch would look… better. I mean, the Switch is more capable than the Wii U, not to mention that BotW was a launch game, while TotK is a late gen title, so you’d think Nintendo would’ve managed to update their graphics engine. But this literally looks exactly like BotW; the same lighting, the same textures, the same assets etc. And we know that the Switch is capable of more; forget Witcher 3, Crysis Remastered on Switch for example looks a generation ahead of TotK, and that’s also open world, with lots of physics-based destruction. The Switch version of Crysis 3 looks even more insane; it looks straight up like a PS4 game at 720p (seriously, the Crysis games on Switch have no business looking as good as they do).

And now we have to wait another six years before we get to see a Zelda game with visuals beyond the capabilities of a Wii U.
 

Jessmo23

Banned
That's because in these games weapons are either nearly irrelevant (Yakuza) or they aren't made of butter and sand.
In MH your weapon basically is a class.
But, my volvidon Para hammer looses sharpness every few hits. I'm just saying it's extremely annoying, but the issue wasn't noticed until Zelda did it.
 

jaysius

Banned
In MH your weapon basically is a class.
But, my volvidon Para hammer looses sharpness every few hits. I'm just saying it's extremely annoying, but the issue wasn't noticed until Zelda did it.
It was fucking shit when that Oasis Sega Genesis game did it, stop fucking trolling dude.
 

BootsLoader

Banned
Gameplay and mechanics are very advanced, much advanced from the rest of the industry but….the game is sooooo ugly and outdated. Even textures in front of the character are so low res and ugly, they really need to release a new system.
 

SaintALia

Member
Didn't horizon also have so form of weapon durability? I could be mistaken.
Horizon games don't have weapon durability afaik. Also most Zelda games have 'gimmicks'. They usually revolve around one or more core central mechanics each game that is usually different each time.
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
It doesn't automatically mean 'considerable visual improvement' though. Like I said, you CAN achieve better graphics/framerate if your engine/hardware allows for it, IF you aren't doing anything too ambitious gameplay wise that can take up resources. Nintendo likely went with the latter from what I've seen. 'Optimisation' and time aren't some magical graphical potions. You're still working within set boundaries, pushing one thing means another gets pulled.

Sounds like an excuse.

We're talking about a game that looks pretty much exactly like its cross-generation predecessor six years later without being cross-generation. There's zero valid excuse for this.

In MH your weapon basically is a class.
But, my volvidon Para hammer looses sharpness every few hits. I'm just saying it's extremely annoying, but the issue wasn't noticed until Zelda did it.

Weapon sharpening is a completely different mechanic, and MUCH less annoying.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space

Stop. Of course it could work, it would just take more effort to make it work. There was nothing stopping them from gating tools behind shrines that required tools to obtain them, or designing a world that had SOME progression in terms of utility. Instead they went with "That's too much juice for the squeeze, so lets just front load what you get in the beginning and we'll pretend it was our intent all along."

And hey, maybe it was, but the idea that the "immersive" gameplay of BOTW couldn't have worked hewing closer to the series roots is just ridiculous.

Of course they COULD, but that would completely undermine everything they were going for with their open world. So no, it wouldn't work for this game, that's a different game that doesn't exist and that seems to be largely what people's issue with weapon durability is - they wanted a different game where you get the boomerang in level 3 and now you can open boomerang doors.

My point was always about weapon durability being a good thing in this particular game because it encourages the user to try every type of weapon they pick up. Nothing to do with the progression of the game which is tied to the tools you get at the beginning, the two are mutually exclusive and I think you know that.
 

Cashon

Banned
I thought Breath of the Wild was a pretty decent game. Hugely overrated (I think Immortals does everything better, but I am not the type that enjoys games like Minecraft, where you create your own fun; that's the type that I assume really loved Breath of the Wild), but decent.

I was really hoping that Tears of the Kingdom would take more of a Majora's Mask route and feel completely different. This video just looks like more of the same, expanded, which is disappointing. It looks like they even doubled-down on the elements that I didn't like. I will likely skip this one completely.
 

mxbison

Member
Very underwhelming.

I don't care much about crafting, and the warp mechanic looks silly. If those are the 2 new big features they chose to hype up the game, oof.

I'll play it anyway and it will most likely be a good game, but that definitely took away most of my excitement.
 

SaintALia

Member
Sounds like an excuse.

We're talking about a game that looks pretty much exactly like its cross-generation predecessor six years later without being cross-generation. There's zero valid excuse for this.



Weapon sharpening is a completely different mechanic, and MUCH less annoying.
That's the reality of game development afaik. Unless you know the secret of pushing physics interactions AND graphics while maintaining the same CPU/GPU load on the same hardware. You'd have to have quite a bit of leeway in the first place to do that and it's not like Switch was running BOTW at 1080p 60fps. The Switch was more powerful than the Wii U, but it wasn't a PS4, it wasn't even an XBO.

I'm not sure what goes under the hood for making Zelda's physics interactions, but I can't imagine it being too easy for Switch, especially with that CPU.
 

SpiceRacz

Member
I mean, if there's more to the world than what we haven't already seen (already mentioned that that village in the presentation was in the first game, so odd that there's all this new content, but they're sticking with regions and areas seen before), awesome. Nothing about this - lengthiest so far - look at the game is showing that.

How about turning the question on its head: other than adding in more item manipulation abilities (e.g. an expansion on the previous game), what about the presentation gives you the impression that this feels like a generational leap above BOTW warranting the increased cost of the game?



Come on. If SONY and MS and third parties on their own platforms (rightfully) got shit for bring next generation prices to games which didn't warrant it, NINTENDO should also get it. They've literally increased the price because everyone else has. That's it.

. . .like this game might well have fixed the issues with BOTW while keeping everything the same and I'll be like "Okay, I'll plunk down 70 funbucks for this. . .", but there is literally nothing we've seen here that justifies the development time or the price of this. I don't know where people are getting the "it's the same map" info from, but it does look like that, what you've got is literally what you would expect to come in an expansion pass.

Well, I never said it was a generational leap and I don't think it necessarily needs to be to justify a $10 increase.

This might be a case of Nintendo being careful about how much it's showing here, because like I said, they didn't show much beyond Hyrule Field and that floating island. The video was more a showcase of abilities. Nintendo is probably confident (or arrogant) enough to think they don't need to unveil a whole lot to convince anyone to buy the game. They're probably right too.
 

Ogbert

Member
Looks wonderful.

They were very clear with the original BoTW that Minecraft was a huge inspiration. They’ve doubled down on that.
 

Cashon

Banned
Of course they COULD, but that would completely undermine everything they were going for with their open world. So no, it wouldn't work for this game, that's a different game that doesn't exist and that seems to be largely what people's issue with weapon durability is - they wanted a different game where you get the boomerang in level 3 and now you can open boomerang doors.

My point was always about weapon durability being a good thing in this particular game because it encourages the user to try every type of weapon they pick up. Nothing to do with the progression of the game which is tied to the tools you get at the beginning, the two are mutually exclusive and I think you know that.
Regarding weapon exploration, you could simply have the different weapon types, that do not degrade, and have enemies for which only certain weapon types are effective.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
I mean... You can play the game in a traditional way if you want. Is up to you, like BOTW.

No we couldn't. There were no traditional dungeons in BOTW, just the shrines which were cool, but definitely not the same. Im hoping the new one has dungeons and that traditional sense of Zelda progression, but i'm not optimistic at this point.
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
That's the reality of game development afaik. Unless you know the secret of pushing physics interactions AND graphics while maintaining the same CPU/GPU load on the same hardware. You'd have to have quite a bit of leeway in the first place to do that and it's not like Switch was running BOTW at 1080p 60fps. The Switch was more powerful than the Wii U, but it wasn't a PS4, it wasn't even an XBO.

I'm not sure what goes under the hood for making Zelda's physics interactions, but I can't imagine it being too easy for Switch, especially with that CPU.

The reality of game development is that games six years apart from the same developer looking basically the same is the exception, not the rule.

And it's not a good exception.

But hey, feel free to justify them if that floats your boat. From a company with Nintendo's budgets and resources, I expect more.
 
Last edited:
Graphics whores are a fun bunch. They'll go on and on about "jagged edges" and the like but they never talk about gameplay. Why, you ask? Because they just like to enjoy the visuals as a casual gamer might. Never do you hear them talk about wearing metal equipment or carrying metal weapons in a lightning storm or replacing sleeping enemies' weapons with fan leaves then waking them up.

Naw, they just want to talk about pixel counting and what year it is.

Cracking Up Lol GIF
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
Graphics whores are a fun bunch. They'll go on and on about "jagged edges" and the like but they never talk about gameplay. Why, you ask? Because they just like to enjoy the visuals as a casual gamer might. Never do you hear them talk about wearing metal equipment or carrying metal weapons in a lightning storm or replacing sleeping enemies' weapons with fan leaves then waking them up.

Naw, they just want to talk about pixel counting and what year it is.

Cracking Up Lol GIF

Or they just don't care to pay full price for a product that has an aspect that's evidently and very visibly sub-par, nor to bend over twice to find excuses for that.
 
Last edited:

Jessmo23

Banned
I
Because in none of those games it's anywhere near as annoying as BotW.

Usually just a way to spend currency for item repairs.
Just want to point out in wow not only did your weapon break but your entire armor. I remember some nights in lich king content borrowing gold from guild's after a series of wipes.
It's not disingenuous to say that I think the talk about weapon breaking is overblown and an overreaction.
Especially when I point out games where your entire gear is broken.
 
Top Bottom