Release 2021
Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
This is kind of a revisit, I played the original back on the Wii and had the Zelda itch so here I am playing the game again on Switch! Since this is a revisit, I'll keep it short.
I think this is the weakest Zelda game in the series because of what the Zelda series means to me. My first game was the original Zelda for the NES so to me Zelda games are about satisfying exploration, secrets, and the snappy combat. This game has essentially 0 exploration. The world is small (except for the huge empty sky) and brings you to every little thing over the course of the game. If it doesn't directly lead you to a place it bring you immediately next to it and play a cutscene to pull your attention to it. It's obnoxious!
The combat could be considered fun by some people, so I won't rail on it too bad, but I will say it needs some streamlining. Every time you encounter an enemy from the start of the game to the end it plays out the same apart from a substantial damage upgrade you receive about halfway through. But you still have to patiently wait for an enemy to guard from one direction so you can wail on it from another. It really makes going back through previous areas tedious. When I got the bow I started shooting easy enemies instead just to break up the monotony. When you are fighting enemies they take turns like you're playing an Assassin's Creed game instead of working together like in the rest of the series.
I read that they scaled back the amount that Fi pops up and talks to you in this game compared to the original release and I'm kind of surprised. I don't remember the game feeling obnoxious when I first played it but it definitely felt obnoxious this time. It's like the game doesn't have any faith in the player. Additional evidence for this claim is that every single switch you press gives you a cutscene to show what the switch did. EVERY TIME. Are there puzzles that require you to press switches multiple times? Yes there are. Does it still play the little cutscene every time? Yes it does. The gameplay is constantly interrupted either by Fi or a little cutscene to hold your hand. Maybe it was designed for people just entering the series or new to gaming, but this is also a legacy series that's been around for 30+ years. It doesn't feel good to alienate your long time fans.
This game isn't bad necessarily, but I think it's far and away the weakest in the series. At least from what I've played. Would I recommend this game? No, definitely not if playing any of the other games is also an option.
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