Core Memory Unlocked 2 - The Legend Of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom
Where I reflect on the aftermath of finishing a Zelda game for the first time.
Playstyle: Switch OLED, Switch Pro Controller. No rumble/vibration, aim with motion controls, no invert axis, camera sensitivity high, minimap locked to North, Version 1.1.2
Warning: Ending spoilers ahead!
Trusting the power of ‘A’
Welcome back reader, to the land of Hyrule.
Remember the power of A? To leave the Temple of Time, I hold ‘A’ so Link can pry open the gates to dive down to Hyrule.
At the end, this hold ‘A’ mechanic is drawn out to draw out every last emotion that silent Link as he, me, the player, rushes to save Zelda. Link wakes up caught in the clouds after saying his final goodbye to Rauru and Sonia. Not a second later, he looks down and sees his beloved Zelda crashing through the clouds, in a freefall towards Hyrule, asleep, helpless.
The game narrative then throws the player into a 3-part QTE. First, I have to hold the Right Bumper to dive closer. Next, I hold ‘A’ to extend Link’s arm to grab hers.
But it’s not enough.
Another hold ‘A’ comes up as poor Link keeps reaching for her hand. And you bet I keep my thumb on the goddamn button – until, several, tearful, breathless seconds later, I scream with joy when he grabs her and uses his body to shield her from the fall. They plunge into a lake, one uncannily similar to the one Link fell into at the beginning.
And that’s how the game ends. I hold ‘A’ to leave.
MajorLink is a creator known for Hero’s Purpose, an animated series attempting to link together the timelines of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Their incredible dedication joins the many creators out there who have spurned countless theories and canon stories revolving The Legend of Zelda. Its influence cannot be understated. Likewise, its effect on my return to its lore.
Link dons the mantle of the archetypal hero in all his reincarnations. He fights every kind of evil the Big Bad (mostly Ganondorf) throws at him, saves the princess and helps hundreds of others along the journey.
And yet, we must not forget that Link was forced to be a hero as a child. On his hero’s journey, the trials he undergoes are wrapped in layers of trauma that no child, Hyrulian or Hylian, should be allowed to endure.
New Zelda, that is – open-world Zelda – has softened the emotional blow of earlier titles such as Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time. Nevertheless, there is one key element that repeats in every Zelda game. Did you get it the first time?
Link loses Zelda, battles through hordes of monsters and Ganon types to save her. Along the way, he helps countless people and farms to his heart’s content while Zelda trusts he will eventually save her.
Link, the Good
In a digital world saturated by anti-heroes and anti-villains, Link being faithful to being good has maintained his legacy across time. Literally.
Throughout TOTK, the player can never make a bad choice because Link is canonically good. As much as you’re allowed to dawdle on side quests to mine rare ores or farm Gleeok Horns, Zelda’s trust means she will wait for Hyrule to be saved. She knows it will be. By giving the ultimate sacrifice of her body and time to be a dragon that recharges the Master Sword, she entrusts Link to have the Courage to defeat Ganon.
That’s where this game differs from its expected narrative. By making the ultimate sacrifice, Zelda no longer asks for Link to save her, but to focus on Hyrule instead. Although the game steers the player towards an ending where Link does save Zelda, it crafts a narrative making it clear that it’s Link’s choice, not Zelda’s.
A Link (back) in Time
Playing Tears of the Kingdom is being willingly trapped in a repeating loop. Thankfully, Link doesn’t have amnesia nor has he slept for a hundred years this time around. The loop I’m talking about is the loop Link is none the wiser about, the one he unlocks when he sees Zelda’s memories from her fallen tears.
To proceed through the game, I’m constantly reminded of what previous Link and his Champion party has done to help Hyrule. I’m made to gather my past party members “Age of Calamity” style, defeating tons of Gloom monsters along the way and restoring major towns by solving a bunch of classic temple puzzles.
And boy, when you’re made to do it solo, it takes a while.
As if that isn’t enough game, there’s a reversed map in the Depths, where pesky Yiga dash around as pretend researchers, waiting to ambush Link with bananas.
TOTK is the player getting a second chance to play a bigger, more in-depth Breath of the Wild. Yes – to previous game players, a lot of this is more of the same grind. Fighting off Yiga, finding 1000 Korok seeds, being inundated with fetch quests and unlocking twice as many Shrines – please, no more. And yes, not long after my 100th hour, I took five days off and was close to calling it quits. Time to fight Ganon and his army! No more trawling the bowels of the Depths for Wind Waker armour!
However, TOTK is Nintendo giving a second chance to fix what went wrong in Breath of the Wild.
Don’t get me wrong – BOTW is great on its own. TOTK is what happens when game designers are allowed to fully explore and tweak all its possibilities, and still make it enjoyable. While there’s no doubt that it is a sequel, within that is another try at the open-world gameplay that Breath of the Wild pioneered. And yes, that doesn’t just include removing Guardian boss battles.
Nintendo has revisited 2017, scooped out all that’s great about Tears of the Kingdom and polished it so it sparkles 6 years later.
More than 200 Shrines and Lightroots in total with Bokobin bosses, Yiga bosses and Phantom Ganons to make a simple hike twice as long? Check.
Terrifying fights with Lynels, Frox, and every monster in-between surrounded by gloom? Check.
Fun, random minigames where I get to build hoverboards, hovercrafts, and catch balls? Check.
Riding all dragons’ hour-long cycles to farm powerful materials? Check.
Repetitive yahaha’s that are irritating enough for me to drown Koroks without remorse? Check.
While Link is forced to go back in time to remember what he’s lost, I discover the game series’ history with every new nook and cranny I uncover. The best thing about all this spelunking (AKA cave diving) is it’s not necessary to finish the main questline. Yet I’m compelled to do it because the grind is so rewarding. As someone who has spent comparable hours on Persona social links, my approach here is atypically unstrategic. Even using guides, I skip around the map randomly just because it’s fun. For example, the game rewards me with a random Korok in the Hebra Mountains when my goal was to reach the map’s bounds. Yup.
All that said, did I collect all 1000 Korok seeds? Oh no, I’m not that level of completionist. I definitely enjoyed defeating monsters with muddlebuds and obtaining Biggoron’s sword. Which I promptly read up the history of.
Defeating a Bokoblin camp via stealthy Muddlebud shots so they attack each other.
Defeating a Depths King Gleeok by shooting eyeballs into its eyeballs.
Closing Thoughts
So, after 310 hours and 5000 words of being immersed in Zelda lore, what else is there to gush about? Well, the next time I find myself entering Ocarina of Time’s Water Temple, I’ll remember to make my twelve-year old self proud.
I’ve never finished a Zelda game… until now. I’m glad I did.