Tears of the World
Nintendo took another big swing at worldbuilding with Tears of the Kingdom, focusing on building a bigger, three-dimensional world. I think that Nintendo took a bigger bite than they could chew.
First image is Tears of the kingdom , and the second is Breath of the wild . Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom fit like a puzzle. Zelda's evolved from a damsel in distress to a fearless adventurer, even putting herself on the line to uncover the darkness beneath Hyrule Castle that plagues her people. Tears of the Kingdom is a darker, more ominous world compared to its predecessor, hinting at greater dangers and challenges ahead, but still keeping nostalgic elements like character relations, sacred places, and well-known soundtracks.
The storyline is a masterpiece! It’s incredible how much the story progressed from Breath of the Wild to Tears of the Kingdom. I can understand why the developers wanted to expand the world of Hyrule.
Tears of the Kingdom picks up several years after the events of Breath of the Wild. Link and Zelda are investigating a mysterious, force from beneath Hyrule Castle. As they descend, they uncover ancient murals depicting a cataclysmic war and the Zonai civilization, a technologically advanced race that created the Hyrule Kingdom tens of thousands of years before the present day. A cataclysmic event then occurs: Link’s arm burns off along with the Master Sword after he is sucker punched by a dehydrated humanlike entity (who is Ganondorf), and Zelda seemingly falls to her death from a cliff (she goes back to the past to set the building blocks for the recovery of the master sword) tearing apart Hyrule and creating floating islands in the sky.
The story follows Link as he explores this new, fractured world, that is divided into three regions: the Depths, (the underworld, Ganondorf’s layer), the Surface, and the Sky (the sky are all parts of Zonai architecture that has been picked off the surface and hidden in the sky before brought down again by Ganondorf. )as he tries to understand the origins of the disaster and confront the resurgent evil that threatens his people. This brings him to the edges of Hyrule, saving the 4 main regions from disaster, and helping the leaders of each people realize they are part of a fabled magical order called the: “7 sages”, who, with their tears, can turn the tide for Hyrule (objects that magically enhance an individual’s energy).
But at some point, we need to let go of the grandeur that we see with our eyes and understand so much time much time in Hyrule, because the Developers clearly didn’t. When thinking about the gameplay, I don’t like what I see…
… dividing the new content into two areas feels like spreading Nintendo efforts too thin. It would have been better to focus on one expanded area and dive deep into its potential. Another very important part of worldbuilding are the people—they make the world much more interactive. Where is the “Kingdom” in Tears of the Kingdom? When I travel across Hyrule, I see disoriented, unconnected groups of people.
For a $70 dollar game, I expect the best: all gaming boundaries stretched and possibilities explored. Nintendo could have done much better job with their game, and here’s why.
Let’s talk Depths
I didn't spend as much time in the Depths as I did exploring the surface and following the main story. While it was interesting at first, the core appeal of Breath of the Wild and its sequel is the vast, breathtaking open world, that we can see, and therefore explore. It feels like Nintendo got too happy stopping all their plans for the sky to surprise players with the concept of creating an underground world, before fully realizing what makes the series truly special: the joy of exploration.
The Depths, while initially impressive, became repetitive after a while.
For example, have you ever noticed that if you keep wandering in the depths, you’ll find the same things repeatedly, no matter your location? Muddle Buds, Bomb Flowers, Puffshrooms (I had to search that up on Reddit because I haven’t gone to the depths in so long😅😅😅), some weird trees, stubs of grass, and purplish gray mountains. Is Nintendo trying to trick us? Everything looks the same. Nintendo’s desperate attempt to put a bunch of Yiga quests, dungeon bosses, and dragons in the Depths barely increased my playtime there (also, isn’t the special thing about dungeon bosses the fact that they are unique to their dungeon? Where’s the charm of a hard boss when you can practice again and again afterward and find joy in repeatedly obliterating them?)
If you are here just for game development advice, the main takeaway for you is that instead of getting too high on your genius idea, take a second to think about what things you’ll embed into it, or you’ll find yourself pulling a Depths and randomly throwing side quests and bosses into your bone dry impulse. For example, think about putting the story in the landscape: if you want to expand your happy story about rainbows and sunshine, think about what your story represents, and add a landscape that adds to the story (I’ll be fixing the legend of Zelda and be adding some other instances so go to the bottom if you want to see those)
Let’s talk Sky
The sky had so much potential. The story, about dragons ancient ruins, and lost history, was perfectly aligned with the free and openness of the sky, which, if used correctly, would have pushed the limit of game freedom. Instead of leaning into the Sky, the Developers leaned into the Depths.
By muting the sky, but keeping all the quests there, I felt forced, because it was the only to get gloom-fighting ingredients or finish the Regional Quests (main story quests). The activities were all the same! Let me give you an example: look at the photo below, and tell me you haven’t seen this all over the map:
Credit to ZeldaWiki for the photo
Remember these? They are Sky Archipelagos, and I don’t think I’m the only one who feels they've seen them one too many times.
6 too many times.
Yup, there are seven Sky archipelagos that all look the same. They’ve all got Zonai constructs, A device dispenser, Autumn plantlife, and the rotating propelling device that launches you to a quaint, simple island with a few trees, Sundelions, Stambulbs, and if you’re lucky, a chest.
Caught you Nintendo
How to Fix Tears of the Kingdom
Now that we know what’s wrong with Tears of the Kingdom’s two lands, let’s fix it!
To make a change in an open-world game like Zelda, let’s make some major changes, and then add some nuances.
Get rid of the Depths, and put More Emphasis on the Sky
The Depths was useless anyway, the Yiga storyline would be better up in the sky, the Dungeons bosses should stay in their respective areas, and the dragons should stay in the sky. I still like the presence of a whole other world beneath your feet, so we also need to add an ominous presence of the Depths, too.
There's no need to worry about removing the Depths from plans for the Zelda series (in theory) because many Zelda fans agree that the Sky Islands came from an invisible barrier between Hyrule and Skyloft.
The Lost City of Gorondia dungeon and the depths of Hyrule Castle are fantastic additions to the underworld. To truly capture the mysterious and menacing atmosphere of the Depths, focusing on these two locations and leaving the rest of the depths inaccessible would still keep the mysterious idea of an unreachable respawning place for Ganondorf and his hordes of monsters.
Creating More Hylian Presence
The Hylians feel detached from the happenings of Hyrule. While Lookout Landing is a step in the right direction, the game could benefit from a more engaging solution. Rather than isolated villages, a centralized location could foster a stronger sense of community and purpose.
That’s why I propose a Sky City.
Imagine a not-so-high but floating metropolis, similar to Skyloft, where Hylians from all walks of life can gather to collaborate and innovate. This sky city could become a symbol of hope and unity, heading technological advancements, and a sense of purpose. The Sheikah can learn how to utilize Zonai technology, instead of sitting on their butts and going about their everyday life under, or should I say surrounded by a rock. Their innovations as a people can help bring more people to the sky, and create a means to travel across clusters of sky islands close to them. This seems primary, but it’s an encouraging step in the right direction.
I can imagine lots of the population rejecting this idea, so when Link travels around the kingdom, he won’t be without company.
We also have to make sure that the game doesn’t become too multiplayer, because we still want Link to be the main character.
Upon awakening from his slumber, Link finds himself on the Great Sky Island. After returning the Master Sword to Zelda in the past, rather than returning to the surface, he's equipped with the means to ascend to the Sky Archipelago. There, a breathtaking sight unfolds: Hylians of all races building homes across the many islands scattered around, as Zonai carts connect the disparate islands of people. When Link meets Purah, the leader of the exploration, she explains that Hyruleans feared something powerful was lurking beneath Hyrule Castle, that something was already powerful enough to defeat Zelda and Link. To survive, they knew they had to unite their forces. Believing it was the decree of Hylia herself to conceive of the Sky Islands, Hylians united to learn how to combine Zonai technology on the Sky Islands with Hylian weapons so that the people can bring the fight to the Scourge of Hyrule.
Link is assigned by each of the Ambassadors of the 4 regions of Hyrule to aid their people. The regional phenomena are:
The Sky Temple
Water Temple
Gorondia (which is the first time Link ever gets to see the highest point in the Depths, where he needs special armor because of the gravitational pull of the core of their planet)
The Lightning Temple
After completing the Regional Phenomena, the sages continue to protect their region’s oncoming threats by themselves with their newfound powers. Upon finishing the “Crisis in Hyrule Castle” main quest, Link finds Mineru’s soul in the Thunderhead Islands by removing the storm and receiving the Charged Armor. By building a body for Mineru, fighting the final boss, and revealing Zonai factories to Link, he takes his findings to Purah, and she uses the factories to improve Hylian weaponry.
Link is tasked with leading a force of Hyrulean soldiers and the four Sages into the depths of Hyrule Castle to confront Ganondorf. But disaster strikes as a massive Lynel ambush decimates their numbers before they even reach the heart of the castle. As they descend, the survivors face relentless attacks from hordes of monsters. With allies falling around him, Link realizes he must face Ganondorf alone. After a fierce battle, Ganondorf is defeated but transforms into a monstrous dragon. Using the combined power of Zonai and Sheikah technology, swarms of Hyruleans soldiers on airborne Zonai devices fly in the air and land attacks to corral Ganondorf. The people manage to distract the beast long enough to give Link a window to inflict critical damage, ultimately destroying Ganondorf.
This new Tears of the Kingdom is more inspiring and innovative compared to the older one. This Tears of the Kingdom tells a story of diplomacy, action from inactivity, and unity amidst chaos. It's a tale of overcoming adversity through ingenuity and courage, where the fate of the kingdom rests on the shoulders of one extraordinary hero and his companions.
It puts the “kingdom” in “Tears of the Kingdom”.
If you liked the post, shoot me an email and i'll make side quests to fit the main story!