Highlights
Tears of the Kingdom takes The Legend of Zelda to new heights, surpassing its predecessor in terms of an enhanced gameplay experience. With its multi-layered map, intricate storyline, and expanded customization choices, players are in for a truly immersive adventure.
The customization in Tears of the Kingdom is top-notch, however, there is a minor drawback wherein certain outfits cannot be upgraded, limiting their usefulness in the later stages of the game.
The game truly focuses on user-generated enjoyment and offers an extensive range of clothing options, providing players with the ability to personalize their experience. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in the armor upgrade system to ensure that every item serves a purpose.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom surpassed its predecessor in numerous aspects. With its multi-layered map, intriguing storyline, and extensive customization options through Zonai devices, the game further enhanced its already non-linear design. These elements ultimately justify the existence of the game by offering players a fresh perspective on exploring Hyrule, amplifying the concept of user-generated enjoyment.
While the customization aspect is commendable, there is one particular frustration that remains unaddressed. Despite the rewarding experience of wandering the land, leaping between sky islands, and delving into the Depths, there is a slight drawback in Tears of the Kingdom. Some of Link's outfits, which provide various perks and advantages, become disappointingly unavailable for improvement.
Tears of the Kingdom's Armor Sets are Diverse and Detailed
While Link is primarily recognized for his blonde hair and signature green tunic, the recent mainline games have taken a different approach. In Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, he sports a blue shirt and a modest hairband, which has quickly become iconic in its own way. This change in appearance aligns with the new open-world games' focus on freedom, making it delightful that players have the opportunity to dress Link in various interesting outfits, particularly to suit different weather and terrain conditions.
Tears of the Kingdom introduces a selection of new clothing items, including the Evil Spirit Armor, the Zoanite Armor, and the Armor of the Depths. Not only are these garments visually captivating, but they also provide upgrades and stat boosts that greatly facilitate exploration in the expansive game world. The joy lies in mixing and matching these items to achieve a perfect balance, or going above and beyond quests to acquire them all. Furthermore, some of these outfits can be upgraded, ensuring that players can spend countless hours perfecting Link's extraordinary wardrobe.
One Breath of the Wild Limitation isn't Corrected
However, while some armor sets and items can be upgraded at the fairy fountains in Hyrule, others, such as Tingle's Armor and the Well-Worn Hair Band, cannot. This can make these sets useless in the later stages of the game, regardless of their appearance or benefits to the player. Thus, some clothing in the game is more focused on vanity rather than functionality. It is unfortunate because Tears of the Kingdom is a highly customizable Zelda game, but there is still room for improvement in expanding the upgrade system.
Tears of the Kingdom is not lacking in player freedom, but rather the opposite. The open world allows for endless possibilities and user-generated fun, especially with the ability to dress Link in various outfits. This allows each player to create a unique and personalized experience. However, the game falls short in the armor upgrade system, which should have included the ability to upgrade all clothing items. This would ensure that every item serves a purpose, whether it provides protection against external forces in Hyrule or gives Link an offensive advantage in battle.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.