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Never played Zelda BOTW before (I know..) Should I start there or jump straight to TotK ?
- Thread starter Flabagast
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64gigabyteram
Reverse groomer.
totk is better than botw and many of the flaws of botw are remedied in totk. there isnt much youre missing out on story wise
John Marston
GAF's very own treasure goblin
I have about 30 hours in BOTW and jumped straight into TOTK.
Lots of familiar systems are back plus you get the new good stuff.
Lots of familiar systems are back plus you get the new good stuff.
Hugare
Member
Straight to TotK
It almost feels like a remake of BOTW in many ways.
It's the better game by far.
BOTW is only worth experiencing today if you have a decent PC that can run it at 4K/60 with graphical mods on the emulator, and if you are not going to buy TotK anytime soon
If you are on the Switch, buy TotK
It almost feels like a remake of BOTW in many ways.
It's the better game by far.
BOTW is only worth experiencing today if you have a decent PC that can run it at 4K/60 with graphical mods on the emulator, and if you are not going to buy TotK anytime soon
If you are on the Switch, buy TotK
diffusionx
Gold Member
If you really want to play TOTK, just play TOTK. If you insist on playing BOTW first you run the "risk" of burning out before you get to the game you actually want to play.
This and also if you play TotK first you don't get that whole "wait this is new" feeling when you stumble across something that wasn't in BotW.
Mr Branding
Member
Don't get burnt out. Start with the superior version of their formula, Totk.
BlackTron
Member
Hard disagree on starting with BOTW. I agree the games are the same, in the way that BOTW is the early access version of TOTK.
Why would you fully play and complete the early access version of the same game before moving on to the full one? Especially with how much it relies on exploration in the same Hyrule, sinking in hours. No way.
I mean play BOTW too but just for a few hours. Just to get the general vibe of the game, see the different tileset in the shrines (seen one, seen 'em all), see how TOTK iterated on it. For example BOTW had Magnesis. We don't have that anymore, but Ultrahand works the exact same way, just on lots of stuff not just metal.
feynoob
Banned
I meant the gameplay is the same as totk. You have an issue playing totk, if you played botw.
BlackTron
Member
Not sure what you're trying to say, I checked back on your post and you said "start with BOTW" which is what I disagreed with
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
I'm in the same dilemma as the OP. The fact that the two games have many similar features, including the map, seems to make it difficult to play them one after the other. I see a lot of comments that it will be difficult to return to the BOTW after playing TOTK. So I decided to play the BOTW first, then I will play the TOTK after a long break. I will continue to play Skyward Sword on the Wii for now. I think it's the only game that makes Zelda's fighting mechanics interesting.
BlackTron
Member
I feel bad seeing people doing this, because I think TotK is an exceptional game but it's hampered by the fact that Nintendo marketed the beta as its own game first. I think it greatly dilutes the experience.
This will impact the sense of freshness and wonder in the world when you get around to playing the full version. Sucks.
I would just play the opening Great Plateau. At that point you've tried all the runes in the game and checked out a few visual/sound differences. Beyond that, it's really the same game early access vs. vastly superior finished version. You will play TOTK and be like "oh I could have just done all this busy work in my TOTK file the first time without wasting 100 hours in the beta, fuck"
Edit: basically people who never played BOTW have a great opportunity: forget the TOTK early access game ever existed and feel bad for people who couldn't wait. You now have a superior experience.
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AV
We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Give over. It's still two games. The quest are unique, the dungeons are unique, the shrines are unique, I'm gonna assume the Koroks are in new places in TotK. I haven't even been to Eventide yet to see what that is this time but I assume that's not just the same thing again.
It's fine to prefer TotK but BotW is its own game and it came out 6 years prior. It just shares largely the same map.
BlackTron
Member
I'll give you that the shrines are unique, but a big problem in BOTW was not enough unique stuff for the size of the map, it felt anemic. The shrines and divine beasts added up to a very diluted amount of Zelda puzzle content over a VAST map. The fact that TOTK has the same map but is better at making it feel alive and saddled with stuff worth finding is huge.
I would venture even to say, play TOTK first, then go back and play BOTW if you really want to see every last shrine. TOTK is just a much more complete and finished Zelda game and it would suck to mar the experience because you just explored the same map in its predecessor. In BOTW the main attraction was exploring the map itself (you weren't going to find much better than yet another shrine by exploring it) so saying "it's just shares the same map" is ignoring Nintendo's big ask of BOTW: this game has a massive overworld so you should overlook its shortcomings in other areas.
TOTK shows up and says "Oh, actually those were shortcomings, lets fix it". Sure the shrines are different, but it's not like we are replacing Forest Temples, where if you missed one from OOT or TP it's a HUGE hole. It's just one smorgasbord of bite-sized, physics based puzzles for a different one.
Edit: Just gonna use this opportunity to expand on my thoughts. In BOTW, after playing a bit you started to understand the game and you knew there were no secret caves or grottos or anything like other games. There was no sense of mystery to what might be underneath where you are standing, something you might even get in a 2D Zelda game. Whereas TOTK, while still using the same map, added this depth where you are just poking around exploring and, without expecting it, stumble upon a secret like a cave or a well. I'm not talking about the depths, just as part as the normal Hyrule map, in BOTW you developed this sense that the simulation ended underneath the ground you're walking on, but now there is a sense there *could* be something there.
That was a huge complaint I had with BOTW, the world felt giant, but not really finely crafted in a Zelda sense. The fact that it's the same map but now much more teeming with this Zelda design philosophy is part of what makes me want to call it "the finished version" ESPECIALLY when the map was the main feature in BOTW, not the shrines.
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AV
We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
I'm in the other boat, I did all 120 shrines in BotW and in TotK I haven't (yet) found much of anything else in the open world that's "worth" finding, because my brain's already trained to know that those monster camps are never actually "worth" clearing unless you feel like doing it. The time and resource investment usually doesn't pay off much at all from what you get in the end. Sure, they've added caves and wells, which so far have all ended in one of those bubul things, which so far I've traded for... a mask I had in BotW anyway. Spotted a few new world bosses I haven't done before, so that's nice, but again, will they be worth doing? Don't know yet.
The building stuff is cool, it really is. But I think the shrines have pretty consistently been the places those mechanics shine best. Sure, you've now got Korok buddies to reunite, which is sometimes a fun little challenge, but in the end you're still getting seeds to trade for bigger bags you don't really need. The sky islands are usually cool, the underground so far has been utterly worthless to me.
Maybe I just haven't come across some of this extra cool stuff yet, but I'm 2 temples and 40 shrines down and I don't see myself doing all 150ish shrines this time. Phenomenal game as BOTW was, but it's not "the same game but bigger and better", it's a different game with different content.
balls of snow
Member
Yep I just watch a youtube summary of botw story and dive into tears. Playing both back to back especially with same map will burn you out faster.
BlackTron
Member
I'll give you the benefit because you're farther than me in TOTK, but on the other hand I didn't finish BOTW either. I think I got about 80 shrines on top of 3 divine beasts (never did the final battle).
I think the reason I want to say "the same game but bigger and better" is because the main attraction in BOTW was the world itself. It has different content, but that different content always took a backseat to the star of the show. You often see people talking about how their favorite part was exploring the world, which makes sense. The rewards for exploring, like weapons or even gameplay rewards like shrines, weren't that great, but everyone fell in love with the world itself. So if the world itself is denser, richer, has more verticality and mystery, even slightly better graphics, and 150 mostly physics-based puzzle rooms (even if they are different) and large dungeon-like things instead of divine beasts (IMO, not missing that much) then it's hard not to see BOTW as a very similar but worse version of exploring the same Hyrule.
Edit: to clarify, when I say 150 mostly-physics based puzzle rooms. Yes they are different puzzles but BOTW is giving you a helping of the same type of stuff. Whether you play BOTW or TOTK you will have to clear a lot of physics puzzles, yes the experience is different but this isn't like where one game gives you a boat and another gives you Wolf Link.
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Bruno_Arrais85
Member
you will miss a lot by skipping botw.
Werewolf Jones
Member
You have FOMO for TOTK due to buzz. Just go play TOTK, it's clearly what you want to do and need validation for it.
DownLikeBCPowder
Member
This is kind of tough. I will answer it two ways:
Do you plan on playing these back to back? If so, I'd consider skipping BotW because it might be a bit of burn out due to certain key and core mechanics oversaturating you.
However if you plan to beat BotW then allow some time to elapse before playing TotK, that's the way I'd recommend playing them.
Do you plan on playing these back to back? If so, I'd consider skipping BotW because it might be a bit of burn out due to certain key and core mechanics oversaturating you.
However if you plan to beat BotW then allow some time to elapse before playing TotK, that's the way I'd recommend playing them.
Roman Empire
Member
Don't listen to the Zelda purists. You can start with TotK because BotW was light on story (so are many of the other Zelda games). If you really want to, you can't watch a brief recap about BotW and jump straight to TotK.
AV
We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Yeah, I get that. My main point was that the world of BOTW was different, it's a lot of the same geography but the cool world you explore is different this time, it's two different games rather than one improved version of another. Like I said earlier, I have no idea what Eventide Island looks like this time round, but assuming it's not just the exact same thing again, that's something really cool that you'd miss by skipping BOTW.
That said, I do think the magic of the world has worn off for me a lot having already dumped 110+ hours into the first when it launched. The things that are grabbing me in TOTK are the new things they fill that world with, namely, new puzzles, even if they're mostly stuck in shrines again.
Many thanks for the detailed replies.
Still a hard choice to make. We hear everywhere that BotW is the best game ever but on the other hand there are now many people that seem to write if off in favour of the sequel, that seems a little bit contradictory.
I think I am maybe leaning towards BotW, but happy to hear other thoughts.
Still a hard choice to make. We hear everywhere that BotW is the best game ever but on the other hand there are now many people that seem to write if off in favour of the sequel, that seems a little bit contradictory.
I think I am maybe leaning towards BotW, but happy to hear other thoughts.
Marvel14
Banned
I would do BOTw first. TOTK is bewildering in all you can do but BOTW is an explorer's dream. And you'll benefit from seeing whats new and why TOTK is not a remake or whatever weird hot take people have. BUt hold off TOTK for a good 3-4 months after you've finished BotW. There's enough that is similar that you will benefit from taking some time away.
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Astral Dog
Member
They are more or less the same game,but the sequel is more complete i don't see you missing anything essential by skipping Breath of the Wild tbh
Gambit2483
Member
You will get a better appreciation for the story, world changes and characters if you play BOTW first since TOTK picks up about 2 months after BOTW.
But yea, you would probably feel burnt out if you jump straight from BOTW to TOTK. You can start with TOTK first but if you do I'd suggest watching a story recap to at least have some idea of what's happening narrative-wise.
But yea, you would probably feel burnt out if you jump straight from BOTW to TOTK. You can start with TOTK first but if you do I'd suggest watching a story recap to at least have some idea of what's happening narrative-wise.
Griffon
Member
Definitely BotW first.
And no, those two games are not the same at all.
ToTK is VERY different from a gameplay standpoint and puts a huge emphasis on building stuff like in Nuts & Bolts or Garry's mod. It's a big change of pace, but a welcome one if you've already played BotW to death with its more classical Zelda items.
And no, those two games are not the same at all.
ToTK is VERY different from a gameplay standpoint and puts a huge emphasis on building stuff like in Nuts & Bolts or Garry's mod. It's a big change of pace, but a welcome one if you've already played BotW to death with its more classical Zelda items.
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Rockondevil
Member
I don't rate BOTW highly on my Zelda list but if I'd played TOTK first I'd expect BOTW would be the very bottom of my list.
You'd be playing the same game with a bunch of features stripped from it.
You'd be playing the same game with a bunch of features stripped from it.
ZoukGalaxy
Member
You must start by Zelda 1, it's mandatory.
01011001
Banned
If you start with TotK it will be hard to go back to BotW down the line, the other way around you might have more motivation to play both.
TotK might be objectively better, but BotW is still one of the best games ever IMO.
I would start with BotW tbh, but it's hard to give advice on this as someone who absolutely injected BotW into my veins back in the day...
TotK might be objectively better, but BotW is still one of the best games ever IMO.
I would start with BotW tbh, but it's hard to give advice on this as someone who absolutely injected BotW into my veins back in the day...
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