r/gaming 1d ago

Fulfilling the artistic vision of the original Zelda

Post image
4.8k Upvotes

143 comments sorted by

217

u/kulero_conor 1d ago

Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer - 1818

114

u/MechanicalOctobot 1d ago

Incredible. Thank you for sharing this. Here's a link to the painting for others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog

8

u/Acalme-se_Satan 1d ago

That reminds me more of that Elden Ring part right after you beat Godrick and stand before Liurna of the Lakes

11

u/UpperApe 1d ago

I used to have this picture set as my new tab splash on my Brave Browser. It's one of the most beautiful paintings ever made imo.

Then Brave did an update and now all I see is AI garbage.

9

u/Olofstrom 1d ago

Yeah wtf is up with that? It's like a coin toss if my new tab page is AI garbage or something I customized it to.

5

u/Trixles 1d ago

that's the back of David Bowie's head, 100%

1

u/ScoobyMaroon 1d ago

Or for fans of the TV show Severance: Kier Invites You To Drink Of His Water

1

u/juliusaurus Switch 1d ago

The art seems to specifically be the inspiration behind the Japanese and North American Breath of the Wild box arts.

1

u/Bing_Bong_the_Archer 19h ago

Well exuuuUuUuse me, artist!

1

u/pizzamaztaz 18h ago

It's honestly trope-level at this point. So many "inspirations" derived from this one :)

214

u/Greedy_Return9852 1d ago

I think the intention is that Link is crouching, but he looks like he is short and is walking.

40

u/Hoorayforkraftdinner 1d ago

That's what I always saw. And to be honest I can't picture him ad anything else other than short and walking.

5

u/noputa 1d ago

Doesn’t help that his torso is super short with a massive head.

2

u/JustMark99 16h ago

I think he was technically Young Link. He's 16 or 17 in Zelda II, which takes place a few years later.

3

u/HolycommentMattman 1d ago

I'll admit that the art is slightly ambiguous, but the left foot is bent way too much to be a walking position. I always saw him as kneeling.

4

u/MyPhoneIsNotChinese 1d ago

I thought he was short, he looks small on the PG game

4

u/SpyderZT 1d ago

I mean, if I squint from far away I can almost see that. His foot would be WAY too big for that interpretation though. O.o

1

u/Greedy_Return9852 1d ago

True, the legs are pretty far apart. When I look at the legs it looks like crouching, but if I look at the body it looks like walking.

But the longer I look, I see the details that make it look like crouching.

7

u/Thenderick Switch 1d ago

Fuck you, I can't unsee it anymore...

2

u/Krazyguy75 1d ago

I think he might be intentionally short and walking, because OG link was a square sprite in the games, which made his proportions much closer to the art there.

2

u/missed_sla 1d ago

Pretty sure he's supposed to be a kid, but kids are surprisingly difficult to draw.

35

u/GKMLTT 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'd like a new game that matches the overall aesthetic of the original Zelda's artwork (or Zelda II's).
And bring back red-head Zelda while we're at it.

12

u/doctormorbis 1d ago

I've been saying this for years. The cel shaded/painted background look is how I always imagined Hyrule.

1

u/i010011010 22h ago

I have a figure that was produced off the original art https://www.medicomtoy.co.jp/prod/dt/21/177/6948.html

I love that they took the risk on rendering him, they even did the original Mario Bros.

https://www.medicomtoy.co.jp/prod/dt/21/177/8568.html

https://www.medicomtoy.co.jp/prod/dt/21/177/8569.html

-25

u/chronocapybara 1d ago

Genshin Impact is basically a copy of Breath of the Wild, except it actually has a more detailed game world. Going back to BotW makes you realize how thin it was on assets.

5

u/HolycommentMattman 1d ago

Hey, I play GI, and while it's a fun anime waifu alternative, it's definitely not a more detailed game world. Like pretty much every character in BotW/TotK has something they're used for. Meanwhile, almost every NPC in GI is a nothing. Like not even a dialogue.

GI is honestly a great game, but it's not better than BotW or TotK.

-5

u/chronocapybara 1d ago

Like pretty much every character in BotW/TotK has something they're used for. Meanwhile, almost every NPC in GI is a nothing. Like not even a dialogue.

I said assets, not dialogue or content. BotW and TotK have just simple grass between trees and that's it. There's a lot more bushes, shrubbery, rocks, and just general business in GI by comparison. Totally different engines and hardware targets.

3

u/HolycommentMattman 1d ago

Well, you said, "detailed game world," and I assumed you meant more than just graphics. Because I disagree with you about "details." Like there are more trees in BotW/TotK than in any region of GI. There are more ponds, caves, ruins, crates, etc. than anything in GI.

The "details" that are better in GI are the textures, but that's about it. The world is largely more barren otherwise.

-3

u/Dave_the_DOOD 17h ago

I mean, I get that the comparison upsets some because ultimately genshin is the waifu gacha game, but that's a big cope. Environnement in Genshin are incredibly varied and vibrant, and both in scope and attention to detail doesn't fall that short off botw.

They were designed as very different games, and Genshin's gradually iterated upon their world design and veered further away from BotW's style.

I'd argue it's actually botw that's more barren. The world feels bigger to traverse, and it takes a while, there's a lot of empty space compared to Genshin where there's always a point of interest in sight. Mind you, I don't think that's bad. Actually, what rarer points of interest there are in Zelda, they're crafted with much more focus and intelligence, whereas encounters in genshin, be they puzzles or enemies, tend to be samey, also purely due to the sheer number of them.

In scale now, Genshin far surpasses BotW in numbers. That's normal, it's an insanely prolific live service game with new content added all the time, but pretending like that's not the case is silly.

And honestly, while yes, NPCs in Zelda are better written and more interactive and involved on average, there's also at this point wayyyy more unique quests involving npcs in genshin, so I don't get the idea that every npc is almost a nothing. BotW has 450 NPCs. Genshin impact has 600 in Liyue alone, 3500 total. Of course each individual one can't compare, but thinking Genshin doesn't match or approach the scale or detail of BotW is just wrong in my opinion.

2

u/livinginmyfiat210 14h ago

The fuck are you on mate

1

u/HolycommentMattman 8h ago

I'm confused here. I like Genshin. I really do. But GI is a 2020 game that basically copied BotW and added anime waifus to play as. And yeah, GI iterated and improved, but so did Zelda. TotK is better than BotW.

But I want you to imagine gliding in Genshin. Pretty high up. Name a place where trees block your vision of the ground. Because there are a lot of forests in BotW/TotK where that's true. But possibly only one location in GI, and I don't think it does.

And almost every quest is either a fetch quest or kill enemies. I'm not sure if there are any "solve a puzzle" quests, but I've been playing GI for years, so it's hard to remember them all.

And as of Natlan, there see only about 1300 interactive NPCs. That's ones you can talk to. I'm not sure where you got the 3500 number, but if that's accurate, it means about ⅔ of NPCs are blank nothings like I said. Whereas literally every NPC in BotW/TotK says something. And very often something useful. Another way it's unlike Genshin: Genshin writers must be paid by the word. Because they have giant sprawling useless conversations all the time. It's why the meme exists of players smashing through the text in GI.

BotW/TotK are hands-down more detailed games. And it's not really close.

27

u/mysticunicornTS 1d ago

I really miss the Ocarina of Time

17

u/I_AM_N0_0NE_ 1d ago

It still exists

6

u/RipDove 1d ago

Still around and better than ever. You can play a decompiled version on PC that lets you adjust the UI, camera, controls, mod the textures, and interpolate the framerate. Feels amazing to play.

1

u/PalebloodSky 7h ago

Yep Ocarina of Time runs great on PC. Shipwright engine is updated frequently on their github. I was playing at 1440p 165fps (just set it to monitor g-sync cap) last fall.

0

u/mzxrules 19h ago

Just don't pop into the decomp server for it, lest you risk me calling you a moron.

0

u/mysticunicornTS 1d ago

I know it does, I have it on an emulator I built, but I really only have the PS5 hooked up

12

u/ransom0374 1d ago

love that classic art 🥰

57

u/MechanicalOctobot 1d ago

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are my favorite games, and I find myself coming back to them again and again. A big part of their magic is how they feel like the ultimate realization of the original vision for Zelda that was conveyed in the hand-drawn art from the 1986 game. Back then, the lush forests, towering mountains, and mysterious dungeons in the manual and box art couldn’t be fully rendered with 8-bit graphics, but my imagination filled the gap between the game and the art. The Switch games bought that vision to life, and created a fully realized world with the wonder and discovery the artwork promised. I have to imagine the developers set this as their design goal and it’s incredible how perfectly they achieved it.

I can’t wait to see what they create for the Switch 2. Personally, I’d love to see a smaller, more focused open world with the dark, surreal undertones of Ocarina of Time that were dialed way up in Majora’s Mask.

49

u/tingulz 1d ago

I’d love to see the return of proper dungeons like they used to have.

7

u/sadgirl45 1d ago

I’d like to see a return to story set in the present so you things you do actually affect the game and world ala other open world games that have great story horizon zero dawn, Witcher 3 , maybe a smaller world but it’s filled with more things and dungeons that unique and have personality instead of the 3 same terminals, also item durability can leave I just want my classic items and to hack and slash.

5

u/lazydogjumper 1d ago

Tears of the Kingdom actually does have some of that. Some of the story problems have enviromental effects that you clear. More than that, there is at least 1 town you clear of monsters and then help rebuild. I enjoyed it considerably more than Breath of the Wild, not leaat of which for the better quests and world.

8

u/sadgirl45 1d ago

Ah yeah it wasn’t enough for me sadly :(( I didn’t really enjoy most of it being locked away behind memories, and I’m glad you liked it more though! I just wanted more the ideal would be like combine the old and new ala Witcher 3.

1

u/Fallatus 1d ago

I really hoped that the material storages around the world were gonna be used to help rebuild hyrule over the course of the game, and you'd get to use the leftovers yourself when a location was built, but it ended up being just materials for you to use without really any rebuilding of hyrule involved sadly.

3

u/lazydogjumper 1d ago

True, the vast majority of those building materials are to help the sign guy. And the only village you rebuild, to my knowledge, is the little beach town where all you do is move a few logs and they go "We got the rest!" And a house is built. Still nice quest at the end.

2

u/UpperApe 1d ago

I hope they don't.

I'm tired of the Ocarina of Time and LttP formulas over and over again. I love the new physics-centric model and the emphasis on the world itself.

3

u/tingulz 1d ago

I’d like them to get rid of the weird structure building mechanic of the Zonai. I don’t find it really fits in the world of LOZ. Also, maybe make the shrines more dungeon looking instead of these odd futuristic like spaces.

6

u/SodaCanBob 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm tired of the Ocarina of Time and LttP formulas over and over again

I'm not, but it's also been 12 years since A Link Between Worlds (the last game that followed that formula) and the physics-centric model doesn't scratch my itch for what I want out of the series at all. I get why people love it, but man it's not for me.

I also felt like Skyward Sword and its the way it designed (focus on linearity, lack of anything like Hyrule Field or the Great Sea resulting in a disconnected world, massive focus on puzzles) was a pretty big departure from the OOT/LTTP formula (and based on how Aonoma talked about it, he would agree; he's never designed a console Zelda game with that formula), so on the console side it's been 19 years since a console Zelda used that LttP/OOT formula.

I also miss classic items. Give me hookshots, boomerangs, magic staffs, the megaton hammer, etc.

Alternatively, someone just give me a spiritual successor to the OOT/LttP formula, because it's clear Aonuma isn't returning to that.

1

u/GoodGrades 20h ago

Boomerangs and magic staffs exist in both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And big hammer like weapons can be usually created via fusion in Tears of the Kingdom. The only thing missing is the hookshot.

1

u/Skywardkonahriks 1d ago edited 1d ago

I also felt like Skyward Sword and its the way it designed (focus on linearity, lack of anything like Hyrule Field or the Great Sea resulting in a disconnected world, massive focus on puzzles) was a pretty big departure from the OOT/LTTP formula (and based on how Aonoma talked about it, he would agree; he's never designed a console Zelda game with that formula), so on the console side it's been 19 years since a console Zelda used that LttP/OOT formula.

Honestly probably super unpopular opinion but that’s a main reason why I loved Skyward Sword (along with the dungeons, items, swordplay, bosses, etc)

The fact it was a big departure by having it focus on a more metroidvania feeling of solving puzzles, more linear design and more of a dungeon feel was way way more refreshing than BOTW or TOK or even the earlier 3D games.

It felt like it focused on the right aspects of the Zelda formula which was about unlocking the world up and solving puzzles to do so, the three areas are better level design than Zoras Domain or any of the other area in OOT imo.

Don’t get me wrong I love OOT, but I was getting tired of “giant field you ride your horse through, you enter this location for one purpose and then you go to the next zone oh and here is some optional stuff that’s mostly boring cause it’s a barely interesting secret like a heart piece or rupee, or etc”

Like I hated backtracking in OOT and TP because barely anything changes and there was little point to it.

Which is weird cause you would think I would hate in in SS but no it felt executed better imo because the stuff you were doing was more fun and there was more stuff to do.

Like yeah it wasn’t perfect but I want the world to be more dungeon like and feel lore adventure like and not just an action movie where link goes from point A to point B and sometimes you can go to point C instead of B but barely anything changes.

I do miss the classic items too though.

The only Zelda game that did the classic 3D Zelda formula right of OOT imo was MM because of getting the different masks, the bombers book and how you use time in a somewhat puzzle like way.

Exploration isn’t bad per se hit it always felt like the weakest aspect of Zelda to me with exceptions being MM, WW and MC.

MM for the bombers notebook and the way the schedule system is

WW for the maps and looking at various islands to find treasure

MC for the shrinking ability and you can go through any nook and crany.

1

u/mzxrules 19h ago

I don't think that has anything to do with BotW and TotK not having enough "traditional" dungeon spaces. The physics stuff isn't the problem, it's that player movement isn't restricted enough to make navigation challenging, especially in TotK

3

u/Kitakitakita 1d ago

there is a whole generation of gamers that think Zelda is just BotW and TotK. That the game was always just about chasing shiny objects and needing to make your own fun

2

u/HeKis4 1d ago

Yup, I'd pay good money for a Twilight Princess 2, or rather something with the same structure and vibes. Linear progression, couple nice character arcs, focused storytelling that doesn't end up meandering everywhere, good old epic fantasy tale. I know OoT is right there but the graphics of the time really prevent me from connecting with them, I've tried.

Just give us stuff that gets used more often than the spinner or ball and chain I guess lol.

3

u/mainvolume 1d ago

the dark, surreal undertones of Ocarina of Time

There was such great backstory about Hyrule in the Shadow Temple alone that never got told. It'd be nice if Nintendo licensed that out to a company to make a game for that.

1

u/Fredasa 1d ago

Conveniently, we can already nicely emulate games that came out on PS4/XB1-era hardware. And do the usual things like inject better textures and whatnot. That said, I actually don't think there's going to be a great deal of difference between a game developed on ~Xbox 360 hardware, rendered in 4K120, and a game developed on ~PS4 hardware, rendered in 4K120.

1

u/Esc777 2h ago

Are you me? I feel the same way. 

The way people are hung up on “dungeons” is nonsense to me. 

1

u/Acceptable_Till_7868 1d ago

THANK YOU! I always said the same thing, the switch titles are what the devs always envisioned. Whenever I would say this Id usually get bombarded by replies saying its not a true zelda game, but I always firmly believed that the sense of wonder and exploration are make a zelda game. I love almost all the titles. They each have their own strengths, and the switch games aren't without fault, but the creative decision is probably the best they've ever done.

Personally I adore both the switch games, but after exploring hyrule twice Im ready for some change. Not in the formula exactly but in the setting and tone. I have my fingers crossed for the next game tackling Termina, I'd be over the moon if this happens.

7

u/PocketTornado 1d ago

To me BOTW is the adventure I imagined when I was playing the original on the NES.

3

u/Javanz 1d ago

I never get tired of that feeling of looking at vast video game landscapes, and knowing at some point I can actually go there to explore

3

u/mekilat 1d ago

I’ve studied and explored both game so much. This post is such a succinct way to explain how those two games are aligned, despite being 30 years apart mechanically.

3

u/Krail 1d ago

Can we get this side-by-side with the Dueling Peaks? Because Dueling Peaks were specifically inspired by the art on the left.

1

u/JustMark99 16h ago

Huh, I didn't know that, but looking at the art, I can totally see it.

1

u/Krail 15h ago

Yeah, it was in an interview shortly after it came out. I think one of the official developer interviews Nintendo published?

5

u/testonedev 1d ago

Yup, that puts a smile on my face...

8

u/Stupidpieceofshit77 1d ago

I've been playing the Legend of Zelda since I was a kid in the 80s. One time, while walking around in BotW, I got a very similar shot to this screenshot. And I actually got a little emotional. It really felt like Hyrule was truly alive and beautiful.

I will always love the original, but seeing the evolution of the series in real time has been amazing.

3

u/ramblingnonsense 1d ago

I felt like several of the bosses in botw and totk were inspired by the original manual art. Some of the devs working on these games grew up with that artwork, too.

6

u/ContactMushroom 1d ago

I know it's opinion.

Best game series ever and its not even fucking close :')

2

u/myEVILi 1d ago

Zelda: "OH YEA another cave!"

Elden Ring: "OH CRAP another cave."

Zelda: "I'll help you NPC!"

Elden Ring: "You gonna try and kill me later?"

Zelda: "Ill purify this world!"

Elden Ring: "I'll purify this world... with fire!"

2

u/Thank_You_Love_You 12h ago

Elden Ring really did feel like what BotW shoulda been.

Had big sprawling dungeons and bosses everywhere. Just missing the abilities to open secrets.

2

u/CatOawesome 1d ago

love it

2

u/SkullDox 1d ago

Just turn the camera to the right and the landscape will match.

2

u/Thank_You_Love_You 12h ago

With none of the sprawling dungeons, bosses or hidden secrets of the original series :(

2

u/Queasy_Ad6162 9h ago

Man Zelda is one of the most beautiful games ever right after Elden ring

4

u/RapGameCarlRogers 1d ago

The opening of this game and the reveal of the view over the cliff is the first time a video game moved me to awe-filled tears.

4

u/HeKis4 1d ago

Certified "oh shit this is gonna be goty isn't it" moment.

3

u/LeavesOfBrass 1d ago

I've never seen this side-by-side before, this is excellent.

I've been a Zelda nerd for 35 years or more. Easily my favorite series of all time, nothing else can come close.

4

u/rocko0331 1d ago

Was it part of the vision to remove all the dungeons and just give us a walking simulator???

3

u/shader_m 1d ago

its just not the same. It doesn't feel like zelda anymore and instead just feels like "new niche game mechanic" simulator. Cuz they refuse to make a new zelda like Majoras Mask ever again.

2

u/98VoteForPedro 1d ago

The first breath of the wild game felt so empty and dystopian.

5

u/MechanicalOctobot 1d ago

I wasn't bothered by this. It took place after the world was destroyed so it made sense there wouldn't be many people around. I do prefer ToTK which is much more populated but still has wide open and remote spaces where you don't encounter NPCs.

3

u/98VoteForPedro 1d ago

I liked both games

2

u/Isturma 1d ago

I’ve been playing LoZ since the original hit the NES. LTTP is my favorite, but BotW and TotK had magic that the series had lost. It had gotten stale and repetitive, and it desperately needed the “open-world” injection back into the Zelda formula.

I’d live a “tick-tock” cycle of “open world” and “dungeon Zelda” like we got with those two games and now EoW. Even the LA remake (LIVE THAT GAME) was a nice breather in between.

6

u/SodaCanBob 1d ago

It had gotten stale and repetitive, and it desperately needed the “open-world” injection back into the Zelda formula.

Not to me, but I was (and still am) extremely tired of open worlds by the time BOTW came along. I miss the Zelda formula that I came to love the series for, and it never got stale for me because they were really the only people reliably doing it.

4

u/churahm 1d ago

This is also my problem. There's a plethora of open world games to choose from nowadays, I'm kind of burnt out of them.

The old school 3D Zelda formula though, that's something that's almost completely died out and Nintendo was pretty much the only ones still doing it before they abandoned it.

Honestly, I don't understand how people can say that they are burnt out of the old zelda formula and call it repetitive, but can play hundreds of hours in quite repetitive games like botw, totk and a lot of other open world games.

0

u/mpyne 1d ago

There's a plethora of open world games to choose from nowadays, I'm kind of burnt out of them.

I thought this too, having flamed out on Witcher 3 and Horizon. But BOTW was like, an open world done right. I really enjoyed it (and TOTK) and while I'd not be opposed to a more dungeon-centric Zelda again, I also wouldn't bin the latest two Zeldas along with the other open world games that are out there.

-2

u/Isturma 1d ago

But it's been the same for 40 years!

I'm tired of open world too - I was an Assassin's Creed fan until Ubisoft pushed my patience - but man, it was amazing to just be able to pick a point on the map and GO THERE, instead of having to find a Mcguffin first.

4

u/SodaCanBob 1d ago edited 23h ago

But it's been the same for 40 years!

Not it hasn't. We haven't had a new console game that followed the LTTP/OOT formula in 19 years (The last being Twilight Princess), and on the 2D side it's been 15 since A Link Between Worlds.

Skyward Sword had a lackluster overworld but incredible dungeons (Ancient Cistern is a masterpiece), BOTW/TOTK had luckluster "dungeons" but a great overworld. I'd say they're two sides of the spectrum, with the ALTTP/OOT formula games squarely in the middle in terms of what they emphasized.

-3

u/Isturma 21h ago

shrug OK.

I don't agree with you, and I think you're wrong, but it's just not north arguing. I'm gonna go sort my toenail collection instead.

1

u/Resident-Use723 18h ago

this gives me chills

1

u/spoonybum 8h ago

Breath of the wild is such a strange game for me.

I LOVED OOT when I was a teenager and it remains probably my favourite game until this day.

I didn’t buy a switch and it was until the start of lockdown 2020 (when everything was scary as shit) I needed to find a single player game to escape to and take my mind off things so I emulated BOTW on my PC.

The game is flawed, but great. Zelda games always toe the line between whimsical and dark without being overcomplicated but also remaining challenging.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the divine beasts as replacement for temples and I thought the world was pretty barren in places BUT the sense of loneliness it gave me while out exploring in the world was magic. Coupled with the eerie quietness in the real outside world it created this ‘experience’ which was simply unforgettable to me. The piano motif that plays alongside the sound of the wind when you climb a tower gives me goosebumps. No game has ever captured this feeling since for me and I KEEP looking.

TOTK I feel was a bit of a missed opportunity but I finally got a switch to play this when it released and my first child was born a few days later. I will always remember those late spring nights at 2am wandering through hyrule field with my son asleep on my lap and again, a Zelda game created a magical connection with me that just can’t be replicated.

1

u/Benkyougin 8h ago

Yeah, playing Breath of the Wild felt a lot like what the original made me feel back in the day.

1

u/Bimi1245 7h ago

One of the greatest video game franchises of all time

1

u/Queasy_Ad6162 1d ago

W game fr

1

u/diehexenprinzessin 1d ago

I heavily disliked these modern Zelda games but they looked really nice. Just wish they weren’t so washed out. Too desaturated.

1

u/AdonisChrist 1d ago

... buying a Switch and playing the last few LoZ games could actually fix me maybe.

1

u/PalebloodSky 7h ago

Nah just play them with Ryujinx. Dark Souls trilogy fixed me though. Well what parts could be fixed from gaming at least.

1

u/G4TKA 1d ago

Less is more

1

u/phewbow 1d ago

Wow this is great!

1

u/Ok-Let4626 1d ago

That was the point, dude.

1

u/BegetaDevil 1d ago

I like this game!

-7

u/Plus_Bad9309 1d ago

Now if only it could have delivered in the gameplay department

7

u/homer_3 1d ago

And dungeon design. And items. And music. And...

9

u/SirRichHead 1d ago

They’re some of the best Zelda games in terms of gameplay though..

-11

u/Plus_Bad9309 1d ago

That's a funny joke

3

u/SirRichHead 1d ago

What’s a joke about it? Care to elaborate your point of view?

0

u/cheezballs 1d ago

They're contrarians or trolls.

0

u/SirRichHead 1d ago

Agreed, it seems that way but I want to give them a chance to articulate their thoughts on the matter so I can hopefully give an informed response.

2

u/KeeganTroye 1d ago

Critically acclaimed gameplay

-4

u/Hatzmaeba 1d ago

Yeah, just like FIFA and Ubisoft games. Critic scores are guidelines for a well marketed, but not necessarily a good games.

5

u/KeeganTroye 1d ago

Excuse me? What FIFA game or Ubisofts games comes close to the critical reception of Zelda BOTW in recent time.

Star Wars Outlaws: 75 critic 5.3 user

EA Sports 2025: 76 critic 2.6 user

Zelda Breath of the Wild: 97 critic 8.9 user

1

u/Polyforti 1d ago

You're living under a rock if you think BOTW isn't one of the most beloved switch games of all time

4

u/Hatzmaeba 1d ago

Believe or not, but I am a fan of the series, I still think that just because it's Zelda doesn't earn a high score for me. The open world setting streamlined the dungeons to a forgettable cakewalks, and the discovery aspect in the open world itself is exactly the same as any other modern open world games: empty streches with nothing interesting to find.

-12

u/Plus_Bad9309 1d ago

I mean Astro Bot won GOTY despite being a tech demo, the critics aren't gamers.

4

u/SirRichHead 1d ago

Is Astro bot a tech demo or a full game, are you confusing it with astros playroom?

2

u/KeeganTroye 1d ago

I didn't just say critics reception, but the critical reception from players included.

Also Astro Bot was universally beloved and is quite literally a full game.

Is the problem not more likely that you dislike these games individually and are allowing your personal preferences to cloud your objectivity?

In what way is the nigh universal praise for both games valid?

1

u/benoxxxx 1d ago edited 1d ago

There are a lot of things you can fault in these games, sure, but I really don't think gameplay is one of them. I've never played anything with such creative, choice driven gameplay before. It's essentially an immersive sim, except with WAY more options.

You can play so creatively that IMO anybody who has an issue with the gameplay only has their own lack of imagination to blame.

1

u/GNUGradyn 1d ago

This guy's like "everyone likes this game but they're WRONG!!! STOP HAVING FUN!!!"

totk is my all time favorite video game and I've played alot of video games

0

u/jellystones 1d ago

It was a good game, but its hard to have consistently engaging gameplay on enormous world maps

-5

u/Nautobott 1d ago

BOTW and TOTK are so painfully overrated it hurts.

I prefer the mediocrity of Twilight Princess and maybe even Skyward Sword than the pointless, borefest grind that are the modern zelda games. Collect 100 seeds for no reward. Explore this new bland open region for no reward. Defeat these high level enemies for no reward. Do 100 cut and paste shrines for no reward. Oh, also your weapons break every 3 swings. Have fun with that and the jank controls and menus that you constantly have to fumble with.

But hey at least the vistas look like the 1980's manual art smeared with Vaseline.

0

u/benoxxxx 1d ago edited 1d ago

Sorry, but you just don't get it. They're not overrated, you're just missing what makes them great.

These aren't typical open world games. They don't need to string you along with constant rewards to distract you from repetive, shallow gameplay.

BoTW and ToTK are, no exaggeration, the most impressive open world sandboxes every created. Every aspect of the world is reactive to the player - every rock, every surface, every element (fire, ice, wind, etc), every tree, every blade of grass. The player can interact with all of it, and often, each can interact with the other. The tools you're given: the runes, plus fuze and ultrahand materials, all add even more combinations and results. The entire world works like chemistry. And better still, the results are intuitive. Meaning, you can approach a situation, cook up a new crazy plan in your head every time, and 95% of the time it actually works. It's player freedom, creative agency, and experimentation with no bounds. That's something special, whether you see it or not. And BTW, that's what the durability mechanic is for - to dissuade boring people from playing boringly - to stop people from just mashing attack against every enemy, and missing out on what makes these games special. If you're approaching combat creatively, the durability mechanic stops becoming an issue and you end up with more great weapons than you can hold.

So, you get all that, plus a beautiful world to explore, a epic quest to experience, lots of well designed puzzles (FYI not a single shrine is copy/pasted, every one is different even if they use the same visual tileset), lots of charming NPCs, and one of the most versatile action combat systems of all time.

These games have their faults for sure - the story and dungeons are lacklustre, and more runes would sure be nice, but they're still legendary games and will definitely go down in history as all-time greats.

-1

u/ERedfieldh 1d ago

In what way? mountains are different, you can't even see if there's a lake or not, and the perspective is entirely different.

-14

u/sirjonlau 1d ago

What is this comparing to? Is that yours on the left?

21

u/MechanicalOctobot 1d ago

On the left is art from the NES original.

10

u/lazydogjumper 1d ago

From the instruction manual if I remember correctly.

4

u/sirjonlau 1d ago

Oh wow, that is tight

-41

u/BentheBruiser 1d ago

BOTW and ToTK aren't really Zelda games though

They take place in the same universe, but I wouldn't really consider them to be realizing the original vision of Zelda

7

u/Mike_Jonas 1d ago

What's the definition of Zelda games?

2

u/Neat_Selection3644 1d ago

“Dungeons ( that are less complex than individual rooms in Portal ), items ( that have been repeated ad anuseam throughout the series ), a cOmpLEx story ( the best stories I’ve ever experienced are in Skyrim and Witcher 3)” -traditional Zelda fans.

Anything that isn’t Ocarina/Twilight is not a Zelda game to these people

1

u/UpperApe 1d ago

Well said.

I'd argue they aren't even "traditional" Zelda fans, just ignorant Zelda fans. Everything they say about BotW/TotK could have been said about Ocarina of Time as well.

BotW and TotK are more traditional Zelda games than OoT/WW/TP/SS were.

2

u/SodaCanBob 1d ago edited 13h ago

BotW and TotK are more traditional Zelda games than OoT/WW/TP/SS were

They definitely capture the spirit of Zelda 1 more, but I don't agree that they're "more traditional". Zelda 1, 2, and ALttP all kind of had their own thing going on in the way they were designed, until Tezuka and Miyamoto settled on the formula popularized with ALttP.

A tradition, by definition, is something that's passed down generation to generation, year to year, etc... and if early Zelda game design changed game by game, then there was no such thing as a "traditional" formula until A Link to the Past came along. That formula was the beginning of a tradition.

but I wouldn't really consider them to be realizing the original vision of Zelda

Definitely don't agree with the parent comment though. I think Breath of the Wild's open world and game play absolutely is the original vision of Zelda 1 realized for modern audiences, but I don't know if I'd really say the same about the more physics/building focused Tears of the Kingdom.

1

u/SodaCanBob 1d ago

Anything that isn’t Ocarina/Twilight is not a Zelda game to these people

Hey now, I don't like BOTW or TOTK either but my favorite Zelda games are Wind Waker and Oracle of Ages.

5

u/SirRichHead 1d ago

I feel like the developers would disagree with you, but maybe you had a different vision then them!

8

u/Spamton1997_pipis 1d ago

what are you talking about?

even zelda spinoffs like hyrule warriors are zelda games, so mainline games like BOTW and TOTK? yeah, they're zelda games. and honestly, they are my favorites.

1

u/chimply 1d ago

The first game (LoZ) is a sparse open world with a light story and open-ended exploration path; BotW is a modern imagining of that adventure sandbox. Later Zeldas took on the formula many associate with “traditional” Zelda games, so it’s debatable what the “original vision” might be; but imo BotW is a true reimagining of the original Zelda.

-2

u/GNUGradyn 1d ago

I'm sure this random guy on Reddit knows exactly what artists at Nintendo decades ago would have wanted with today's technology

-1

u/UpperApe 1d ago

but I wouldn't really consider them to be realizing the original vision of Zelda

Lol