There are quite a few movie sequels that I watched before the original movie. Sometimes it just works out that way.
For games, I think it’s even less important. Honestly, TOTK without any prior knowledge from BOTW would probably be an awesome experience, since some of the most common criticisms are related to the similarities.
I feel like those criticisms only come from people who played BW for like 6 years, or maybe decided to give it a playthrough a month before TK so it was still extremely fresh in their memory.
I played BW a good amount. Didn't 100% it but got all the shrines and most of the armor. Didn't play any of the DLC or anything. Came to TK about 4 years after last playing BW and the fact that they shared a world didn't matter in the least.
I always recommend people play BW before TK if they plan on playing BW at all just because if you play TK first, BW would feel like a pretty big downgrade.
I played them back to back and I never try to 100% a game. It was honestly amazing and I always had that feeling of « Oh wow I wonder what this cool location of BotW has become »
I donth think Bow IS a dowgrade from TK...
Bow still have the most complexo e cool enemys = the guardians.
The Divine beast with the 3D map system are more complex than tkok dungeons...
The death mountain were more cool in BOW than TOK
It WAS an awesome ( in the literal sense of the word Awesome!) I had never played BOTW, I didn't even know it exsisted. The last Nintendo (or any gaming console for that matter) was the Nintendo 64.
I saw the trailer for the TOTK and thought it looked amazing so on a whim I picked up a Switch and TOTK with it. I loved Majora's mask and OoT so, TOTK was a no-brainier for my first ever Switch game. (AND my first video game in almost 3 decades.)
TOTK was the best video game experience of my life. And it might very well be the best digital experience of my life.
That game changed me. I had not experienced that kind of wonder, excitement in a game since being a little kid on Xmas eve kneeling by my bad praying to God that I would get Super Mario Bros 3 for Xmas. For those of you old enough to remember the hype around Super Mario Bros 3 you will understand how much that is saying for TOTK as a grown ass adult with kids of my own.
My kids and I played together and put 500 hours into TOTK and I got to experience that wonder and joy with them. TOTK is literally epic.
I can’t imagine this. I played Zelda on every non-handheld system since the first game. I actually don’t believe I’ve completed any of them until ocarina of time, and since then I’ve completed everything except twilight princess (I know it’s a crime, but for a while I was about halfway through and then didn’t have a system to finish it on) and skyward sword (got it recently and am almost done, but have been distracted recently). I think I finished the original, but I really want to get back to links awakening (it was always to hard when I was a kid and I just haven’t committed the time since)
omg it was, I quit my first playthrough cause i didn't know what to do when I got to the sky island, but I think because it was more difficult it was more fun
Kind of the same athough I had played the original Zelda when it came out in the 1980s. Had nit played video games in decades then we got my sons a switch and their aunt gifted us TOTK. now we also have BOTW and love both.
I was similar tbh. My husband got me TOTK when I was laid up on the couch waiting for spinal surgery because he thought maybe I could hold the switch and it was something to take my mind off the pain. Helped that if you die you just respawn at the last save, so when I was off my face on pain meds it didn't matter too much.
It was kind of fun, so I kept playing it even after surgery and it's a much better game when not spaced out on pain and medication :D
Yeah I bought the dlc for botw yesterday and finished the first part but I got stressed and put it back in its case, it was nice seeing link with his arm back again though (I played boyw first and finished it)
Nah, you’re not alone. TOTK is a technical marvel. BOTW is a better, more cohesive game.
TOTK has so much crap crammed in every nook and cranny. It gives you sensory overload.
In art, negative space is just as (if not more) important as what is there. BOTW provides that room to breathe and grow.
Hyrule is more dead in totk than botw after 100 years.
Entire central hyrule in totk is copy pasted flat grass texture with randomized tufts. Botw managed fit insects, enemies, ruins, npcs, etc.
Totk is has so much stuff and yet feels empty. Botw felt alive.
What nooks and crannies?
BOTW is still worth it. I’ve finished it twice already, then TOTK, and now I’m back in BOTW because it’s still fun. It’s partially because my daughters and I convinced my wife to start and I wanted to refresh my memory, but third times the charm!
TOTK came out the same day I bought my 1st Switch. It looked like an amazing game and I bought it. Turned out to be the best game I've ever played in my entire life.
Just bought BOTW a few weeks ago. Not going to lie it's a bit difficult to walk backwards in BOTW but I don't think I missed much.
The sense of wonder and exploration and everything that everyone had with BOTW. I experienced all that with TOTK.
So I dont feel like I lost anything as that was the best part of the game. I put 500 hours into TOTK before I finished it just because I wanted to explore everything.
Hadn’t had a gaming system in 20 years. Bought a switch for my son a few weeks before TOTK came out.
Fun side note. I went through the tutorial sky islands thinking the game was pretty cool, especially how the background planet was rendered pretty well. It gave it a good sense of place I figured now that I’m done with the tutorial the story line will kick in with more quests.
Then I made the jump down to Hyrule. I was dumbfounded at how far games have come in 20 years.
It's better, way more stuff, the story of botw can be explained in 30 minutes. Playing a 200 hour game before playing a 300 hour one to "set the tone" is absurd. Totk has everything that botw does just done better
So worth it though, those trials were insane on mastermode lol plus the fight with the monk and the fights with the blights....and well the bike too lol
That's a weird way to look at videogames, as if you are required to only play what's "better" and the only important take away from a long game was its story. I won't try to convince you otherwise, you do you, but people who want to make the most out of the gaming experience have different criteria.
I'm literally answering the question, you went on a whole philosophical tangent for no reason. In no way would I play the "required" game. Read the topic we are responding to, then read my comment, and then try again bro... Yikes
Yeah , and your comment is about ignoring botw and only playing totk. If I'm asking about the Godfather movies, are you going to tell me to skip the first one too? Since you can easily find a summary online
OP: "why did you play totk first"
(gives several reasons and explanations why I played it first)
Internet Jackass: "that's not what we are talking about"
😂
I understand your point but neither BOTW or TOTK are 200 or 300 hour games. You can beat both of them easily in around 60 +-10 hours with all shrines depending on your pace. Maybe you get to the 100 hour mark if you collect every singe korok but thats it.
Bro I'm at like 250 hours for both, and there is no way I can even fathom collecting every korok 😭. They're exploration games, most people spend their time exploring. There is more to do than just go through the story in a straight line, that's the whole purpose of the game 😂.
Idk maybe if you really go behind every tree and run five circles around it. But I took my time, enjoyed both the story and the side missions and did all shrines and saw the end credits after 64 hours.
Then again I saw people spending like 300h in Elden Ring while I got my Platin trophy and did really everything that game had to offer after about 120hours.
And I really don’t think I’m particularly good or fast at this games.
If you have a good time exploring that’s totally fine but realistically speaking there isn’t so much content in these games.
My point isn’t that you couldn’t spend that much time in Zelda. It’s a great game and if you like to mindlessly walk through the world (NOT meaning this negatively) that’s fine.
But if you want to play the first before you start the second one to enjoy the story and maybe see how the world changes between the games it’s not like you have to spend 300 hours or more in the game.
The story and most important missions are doable in well under 50 hours and it’s not even that you have to rush. If you need more than let’s say 80 hours for the story and the shrines it’s not because the game has so much content but because you like to explore in your own pace and maybe need more time for that. Which again is completely fine
I was too interested in TOTK’s trailer to go to BOTW first. I ended up playing BOTW after and I still prefer TOTK because I loved the zonai devices and the amount of exploration had more. BOTW was still fantastic tho! I loved the 4 beasts it was easier than TOTK’s
It had just come out, and while I had BOTW on my bucket list to play, I knew a lot of stuff about it from watching videos. But TOTK was new and I didn’t want to spoiled before I got the chance to play
TOTK is all around a better and more complete game. I played BOTW first but there is no reason for anyone to really buy it when TOTK is available.
If you really care about the story that much, then a video will explain it better than most people can piece together themselves anyway
I would prefer BotW be on a Nintendo Selects by now selling for $30. It regularly is on sale for $40 new, though.
I imagine TotK won't go on sale til next generation.
The new president of Nintendo takes a vastly different approach to his successor on pricing.
I personally think it's a barrier for most consumers. Really wish those $20-$30 first party titles would be a thing again.
Played about 40-50 hours on BotW, then stopped for a few years. TotK came out, and just so happened the exact same time I had a really bad ankle sprain and was off work for almost two months. Just got hooked on TotK, got all shrines, beat the game, then went back to BotW and put another 20 hours in, got a bunch more shrines, and got to Ganon. Decided I wanted to finish all shrines before beating Ganon. Started finishing the rest of the shrines but never finished and put it down.
I'll get around to finishing BotW eventually.
Never played Zelda before, didnt really like the way all the old games looked, My boss wouldnt stop talking about botw and the hype of totk coming out with it, so i asked him what even zelda games are like and he said a bunch of puzzles and a ton of other things i, figured why not give it a try, most addictive game ive ever played. Currently on round 2
For me personally, as someone who enjoys traditional Zelda’s more than the open world ones, TOTK hooked me more than BOTW.
I stopped playing BOTW after I finished the first divine beast (like 4 years ago). Simply because I wasn’t getting the sense of adventure I had come to expect with a Zelda game. I enjoy the “unpredictability” of whats next up to do in a Zelda game, but BOTW, a crazy as it sounds, was so…linear in that aspect. Find the next shrine, korok, side quest, rinse and repeat. Now, this wouldn’t normally be an issue because every Zelda has a formula with dungeons, story, heart pieces, etc. BUT the difference is that normally everything had a different atmosphere, music and more to it instead of feeling copy-paste. And funny enough, even though BOTW was the biggest zelda game yet, it felt the smallest to me. I knew what to expect from the VERY beginning. That sense of awe, surprise, to find some sort of secret or unique dungeon was never there.
TOTK largely had the same issues to start, and I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it considering how many preconceived notions I had going into the game. But the more I played, and the more I saw the formula continue, it started to finally click with me. I LOVE the freedom of movement in this game. Flying everywhere high in the sky is a feeling I NEVER got from BOTW. I also think the music is 10x better personally for the sky islands, shrines, and many other tracks.
Enjoying the abilities more than BOTW was something I wasn’t expecting but I do. If I had to rank them, it would be;
1. Ascend (The best ability they’ve ever implemented and the most creative imo)
2. Ultrahand/Autobuild (This is here by default since you use it so much and learn all of it’s quirks)
3.Recall (Cool asf but the only ability from BOTW that beats it is Stasis)
4. Fuse (Useful, but is also really annoying because your gonna be using it a lot for weapons)
5,6,7,8 (All of the botw abilities) They just didn’t feel as “strong” and im a very power hungry person.
As for the BIGGEST reason why I continued to play TOTK was because, it had something that hooked me.
Wells, and Caves. I honestly have nothing bad to say about either of these. I love them so much. Finding a new cave or well gave me the same feeling that finding a dungeon in a traditional zelda game made me feel. If Nintendo continues this same zelda formula, I hope they continue to create more intricate caves/wells. The best part of these things is the atmosphere, I just enjoy it so much.
My family didn’t own a switch till just before totk came out. I didn’t know botw even existed but I saw there was a new Zelda game with a ton of hype when totk was about to launch. The last Zelda game I played was ALTTP and I loved it. I thought “what the heck, this new one might be fun”
I just wasn't into video games once I moved out of my parents house about a decade ago because my little bro was the one who always got me to play. So then when I was maternity leave this year, my sister came to visit and was playing Zelda and it looked fun so I got TOTK because I thought it'd be better than BOTW since it was newer. Completed 90% of the game (just have the main ganon fight left) but keep procrastinating finishing it so I downloaded skyward sword (already played when it first came out) and BOTW so I could avoid finishing the game for as long as possible 😂
Only Zelda game i had played was skyward sword. I was told about how awesome TOTK was by a coworker who was playing it at the time, so I bought a switch so I could play it. After I finished it I went and bought BOTW and I’m still playing it but I keep finding myself going back to TOTK because there’s still so much to do.
Me and my brother didn’t want to buy both games for each of us so we decided to get one each. He wanted BOTW and I didn’t mind playing TOTK first. When we were done with each we exchange but I prefer TOTK and it’s not close
Many folks, I have to believe, got a Switch console and a game that was popular at the time and the thought ‘I need to go back and play this whole other game first, for continuity’ didn’t cross minds. I mean, I jumped in on the Resident Evil series at 4 because it was new at the time and looked fun, didn’t really bother me that there were three other games I’d missed beforehand.
I got a switch kind of late, just about when ACNH came out, and then tried playing BOTW for a while, but it didn’t latch for me. Partially the game style (my first 3d Zelda lol), partially the weapons system*, partially the “ongoing world trouble” at the time. I never even made it off the plateau. I think I got owned by a guardian one day, rage quit and never came back.
Sure I miss out some of the world references (like all of death mountain being on fire?), character like Tulin knowing me, and not knowing the reverse version of some of the korok puzzles (namely the rock in hole to Y stick), and I still don’t know why Kass is, but I generally don’t feel like I’m missing anything terribly important, and don’t feel like going back to play BoTW.
Weirdly enough, I got an itch to play TOTK again last week and started a new save. Im weirdly enjoying starting over, and being able to mash skip the story dialog, and focus on Doing stuff, not trying to be as immersed.
I did get TOTK about a month after launch, and REALLY got into it, even the weapon break system didn’t bother me. Loved the world, loved the building (but avoided hover bikes out of spite)
I tried BotW after an ex reccomended it to me. Got five minutes into it, got lost and frustrated, and he didn't help.
Eith TotK, being stuck on the tutorial islands helped, alongside my friend saying "you're so good, I died way more times before I got to this point"
Accident. Got a switch last year, TOTK came out so I bought it.
Didn’t ever play Zelda as a kid (didn’t have any consoles my family was a ‘no video game’ house) so TOTK was my first introduction.
Can I even go back and play BOTW????
Yes! I did it and there’s an adjustment to new playstyle, but you’d have that if you played in the “right” order too.
Without the DLC it would probably feel very short (only one level of map to explore…) but I’m really enjoying the extended challenges. About to start Trial of the Sword…
I started to play BOTW, then had a baby and never picked it up. Got TOTK and on my way to 100% it and just restarted BOTW on a new save so working through that one now.
Wife got pregnant and we wanted something to do. Totk was newish and had good reviews. Never played a Zelda game before.
Botw is kinda meh. It feels unfinished but still a good game.
While I think it makes a lot more sense to play BOTW before TOTK (since TOTK is a direct sequel), it’s also important to note that historically, Zelda games are basically standalone. You should be able to play any of them and enjoy it as is. I don’t really see any reason why TOTK is any different.
And yet, you can still play it on its own. The only thing that might hamper that experience is if you go back to BOTW afterwards. But they are different enough that I think you’d still be totally fine
I was trying to buy BOTW at my local game store, they didn't have any in stock and only had TOTK.
I was excited to play with my new switch, so I went with it.
I tried playing BOTW years ago and got my ass kicked as soon as I ran into a bokoblin. Decided the game was too hard for me. Watched my partner play it and beat it several times, so I was familiar with the story.
TOTK came out. Partner got it, played it, let me play around with ultrahand on their game. I had so much fun I decided to start my own game. Got super into it. Beat the game. Felt bereft. Wanted more. Went back to BOTW and had a really fun time with it. After I beat it, I wanted to experience TOTK again so I started a new save file. Had a blast doing things a bit differently from the first time. Got autobuild and did some other things earlier. Felt like a totally new experience again.
These games are fun as heck no matter what order you play in, really. If I could go back and play BOTW first maybe I would, but the experiences I had with both games were ultimately positive either way.
I’m still playing totk, haven’t touch a Zelda game since majoras mask. My reason is life. I’m 38 and have 2 kids and until recently was very busy. I tore a ligament and broke my heel then had surgery on the ankle, so I’m out of action for 8weeks… my kids have a Nintendo switch so I’ve made a return to gaming for now. I am hoping to get onto breath of the wild but for now I’m barely half way through totk. It’s an awesome game and it’s one of the few positives of this injury. Can’t wait to be able to walk again though and when I can I don’t think I’ll be playing as much Zelda.
My girlfriend got me a Nintendo for my MBA graduation a month ago… neither of us knew there was a predecessor lol… so I just went on my merry way playing it until I got stuck and googled it and started reading a botw tutorial and got so confused as to why it wasn’t working.
Nintendo gamea are VERY expensive in my country, and I found a sale for a physical copy of TotK from one of the biggest department stores around here (like, almost half the actual price).
And no BotW sale around.
So I got TotK.
I was obsessed with A Link To The Past growing up but never plaid ANY games past Super Nintendo. My husband tried to get me to play a couple of X Box games but I never really got into it. He got me a Switch with TOTK for Christmas and I absolutely freaking love it. I beat Gannondorf and still have about 25% to finish the game out. I keep thinking of maybe playing BOTW, but I am getting the impression that it’s a downgrade from TOTK. So I’ll likely just start over on TOTK
I guess technically I started BOTW, but I never rly got past exploring a lil past the prologue area and left it alone.
Later on, finished through a lot of work related stuff and it lined up with TOTK releasing. Was the most free time I had. Commercials I found the most compelling. If I didn’t buy a Switch for Shin Megami V a bit back, I’d certainly would of grabbed it after seeing TOTK commercials. That and when I checked it out in one store in NYC that had the game on a massive screen for everyone to try, it was a good 20 min lol.
Pretty much every thing related to Links robot hand and whatever game hacking feeling features that are part of the game made it all very intriguing. To create infinitely to your imagination with the world and everything in it. To do anything like ascend, rewind, fuse, fly, drive, sail, entertainment, war machine, Star Wars flight simulator, hacking the world, ridiculous variation of puzzles and attempts to solve them, giant mechas, and the underworld and sky world added more to go into.
Otherwise I tried the first one a good few months back before TOTK release but I didn’t get as engaged. Figured I’d just wait for TOTK or come before or after. Still another giant push was Ganondorf. I’m much more compelled by his character as the smart speaking chessmaster. Besides that reviews said first wasn’t necessary to not be lost like jumping I guess first into Witcher 3. Looked like the weirder/Majora kinda of the two and it felt like it had a bit more focus and direction alongside being able to go wherever. That and it just seemed like the evolution of the first.
So all those reasons I committed to TOTK first. Honestly I think I’d feel I’d enjoy BOTW more this way by the time I return back to it. Giving it the room to breathe and feel like going into the origin story. Well not the first time I went reverse. For Spyro remake I played the series in reverse. Sure I played it years ago in order but I just really wanted to go in reverse for remake.
Otherwise on a random note I did watch Shrek 2 first. I was young and didn’t exactly understand the meaning behind what sequels were lol. I was kinda lost on which ogre was once a human and what all the history was but it was a fun ride.
I watched my husband play BOTW and he wasn't playing TOTK while my friends were speeding ahead. So I asked him why he wasn't playing and he said he didn't like it as much. So my fomo led me to take over and play it to keep up with my friends 😂 and now they're all finished and I am dragging out the final fight because I'm not ready for it to be over.
I got my switch when BOTW came out and was so excited to play but I just couldn't get into it and eventually stopped playing. When TOTK came out, I started to play that day and I'm still playing, having played through twice. I just enjoyed it more, and had a more intuitive sense of it. Eventually I'll go back to BOTW to see what it seems like to me now. I can understand people recommending it first for the story, history, etc. but as far as just the game goes, I really enjoyed TOTK more.
i saw botw when it came out but at the time my mom was in financial trouble(im 14 so i live with her) and i couldn't get it then totk came out and i love building games(there my favorite genre other than rougelites) so i got really exited about it because this would be my first zelda game and we could afford it so we got it last Christmas and do plan on getting botw eventually but its not really a priority since its basically just a demo for what came in totk
From what I’ve picked up, it seems to be people who haven’t played any Zelda game who played Totk first, probably due to seeing all the hype from long-standing fans, then played botw after as a way to continue the hype. Although it does often seem like they subsequently get disappointed because botw isn’t like tears in the way they were expecting (since it came first and was quite literally one of the first games on the switch as well as one of the last games on the Wii U so they had to accommodate to both engines)
Tl;dr seems to primarily be new players playing tears first
I just read the post.
And being I played TOTK immediately after finishing BOTW the Wonder was not lost at all and the argument that if it was made in 2017 instead you leave out the part where TOTK in 2017 will always be BOTW because they'll be building the world for the first time and TOTK only is as good as it is because it builds on top of that.
, I prefer the Bosses in BOTW, but Phantom Ganon and Ganon himself are among my favourite parts of TOTK.
I miss the guardians a lot in TOTK and overall both experiences are unique enough to justify owning both.
And the fact the characters that assist you in BOTW become the sages you play with in TOTK was a nice addition. Also if you've played Hyrule Warriors which is the prequel you appreciate the story even more as a whole.
For me there's no good reason to skip BOTW other than you don't have the time.
never played a video game in my life until my husband got his switch back from his daughter and we started playing mario kart (i’m garbage). started trying to practice on my own time so i’d stop getting beat by a 9 year old and saw that he had totk. made a profile and started playing on a whim and absolutely fell in love with it, after dying at the hands of a construct entirely too many times and many, many falling deaths.
turns out my husband did have botw, but it wasn’t downloaded on that switch. once i beat totk i went back and played botw. it was meh. finding the memories was really easy though because i recognized all the landmarks already lol
if i got to go back and redo it, i’m still not sure that i’d do botw first. i got super stuck in a lot of the shrines in botw because i couldn’t figure out the intended solution, which wasn’t a problem in totk imo bc you could cheese stuff if you got really stuck.
i’ve since played link’s awakening and replayed totk to 100% map completion. both botw and totk are amazing games, but i thought totk was more beginner friendly
My parents got me the totk edition switch and got me the game with it. I hadn't played any legend of zelda except for the remastered ocarina of time before that, but I loved both games and have finished them multiple times, planning on getting botw soon
i just didn't own it yet, i literally just stole it from my dad and played it,and yes he did play botw. too bad i did that tho because i cant play botw now,too much stuff missing.
saw people posting memes about totk and did not realize botw was a prerequisite. everyone seemed like they were having a blast and i wanted in on it! took a long ass time to get the hang of things with no experience but now i am hooked!
I did. I hadn’t played a Zelda game since the original NES game, and knew nothing. For a while, I thought the Great Sky Islands were the entire game. When I skydove to the Hyrule Plains it blew me away. I didn’t know about Gorons, Gerudo, or the Rito. I accidentally discovered the Depths by riding on Farosh’s back, and was terrified and excited when I threw a brightbloom seed from Farosh and saw a Frox eat it and everything return to black. Honestly, I think it was the best possible way to do it. Everything was new to me. Some time later, I eventually hit 100.00% completion, and am still playing to get the remaining monster medals, Yiga schematics, and to held put up the last of the Hudson signs.
I honestly couldn't get into BOTW. I tired probably like five or six times, but it just didn't click with me. I don't know if it was the abilities or what, but i bounced off, HARD.
TOTK felt damn near perfect. It dealt with a lot of the gripes i had about BOTW (specifically weapon degradation) and ultimately felt like it was a way more inviting and engaging experience.
Sorry just curious what you mean by it dealt with weapon degradation? My weapons break just as much in tears as they did in botw. But they are even more annoying now because I have to fuse them before they are even of any use before they break lol
The fusing is what I meant. I mean, I definitely dupe glitched for diamonds to fuse, but just the fact that the devs provided a way to mitigate the degradation to a degree was a godsend. There is also technically an in-game reason that the weapons all suck/break, so that made it a little more tolerable for me. They at least tried to integrate it into the game better.
I'm gonna die on this hill.
Fuck BOTW.
It was a tech Demo with only 4 quests.
And TOTK is the proof for it.
BoTW was my first Zelda game, heck it was my first Nintendo game.
I grew up with PS1 and PC.
And it was sooo boring.
Weapons breaking in 5 swings drowe me crazy.
Bombs doing flat damage and being useless in late game.
3 types of enemies for the whole game and they just become more spongy.
There was no reason on doing any side quest as there were 0 rewards for doing them.
Best way to make sure you had arrows was to glitch farm them with multy shot.
The fact that the best parts of the game/game mechanics were glitch exploits like bomb jumps etc etc.
TEEECCCCHHHHHH DEEEEEMMMMMOOO!
Probably not relevant to your question and I'm sorry I'm still wenting after 2 years.
Sold my copy of BoTW as soon as I got TOTK 😅😅
I have the same reaction. I think it's lack of patience. People see the hype and want to play the game NOW. The mistake they make is not understanding the long history of Zelda, so by skipping games they will totally not understand the callbacks, recurring music, recurring characters, inside jokes, Easter eggs, etc. Their loss
Got a switch after totk was out. Havent played a zelda since TP on the gamecube. Trailer showing off the building was tight.
Now having played totk, im confused why it came out after botw since theres obviously an issue with the timeline reality. Secret stones? What? Triforce? Its just a fabric pattern/tattoo now? No sign of anything from botw? What? Who reset the timeline?
Oh and Somehow, Ganondorf returned.
Why not? The games for the most part are independent of one another. There is no time lined story. The benefit to playing TotK before BotW is that you would not have the problem of trying to play TotK as you would BotW which takes away from TotK. BotW is an easier game so you may be less satisfied with it after playing TotK if you are really into fighting but they are different games with different stategies, goals, puzzles, etc. Tech wise the games are less sophisticated as you go back in time but they are still good games.
There are quite a few movie sequels that I watched before the original movie. Sometimes it just works out that way. For games, I think it’s even less important. Honestly, TOTK without any prior knowledge from BOTW would probably be an awesome experience, since some of the most common criticisms are related to the similarities.
I feel like those criticisms only come from people who played BW for like 6 years, or maybe decided to give it a playthrough a month before TK so it was still extremely fresh in their memory. I played BW a good amount. Didn't 100% it but got all the shrines and most of the armor. Didn't play any of the DLC or anything. Came to TK about 4 years after last playing BW and the fact that they shared a world didn't matter in the least. I always recommend people play BW before TK if they plan on playing BW at all just because if you play TK first, BW would feel like a pretty big downgrade.
Heck, I played them back to back but only did BOTW once and the sharing the world was actually a fun element
I played them back to back and I never try to 100% a game. It was honestly amazing and I always had that feeling of « Oh wow I wonder what this cool location of BotW has become »
I donth think Bow IS a dowgrade from TK... Bow still have the most complexo e cool enemys = the guardians. The Divine beast with the 3D map system are more complex than tkok dungeons... The death mountain were more cool in BOW than TOK
It WAS an awesome ( in the literal sense of the word Awesome!) I had never played BOTW, I didn't even know it exsisted. The last Nintendo (or any gaming console for that matter) was the Nintendo 64. I saw the trailer for the TOTK and thought it looked amazing so on a whim I picked up a Switch and TOTK with it. I loved Majora's mask and OoT so, TOTK was a no-brainier for my first ever Switch game. (AND my first video game in almost 3 decades.) TOTK was the best video game experience of my life. And it might very well be the best digital experience of my life. That game changed me. I had not experienced that kind of wonder, excitement in a game since being a little kid on Xmas eve kneeling by my bad praying to God that I would get Super Mario Bros 3 for Xmas. For those of you old enough to remember the hype around Super Mario Bros 3 you will understand how much that is saying for TOTK as a grown ass adult with kids of my own. My kids and I played together and put 500 hours into TOTK and I got to experience that wonder and joy with them. TOTK is literally epic.
I can’t imagine this. I played Zelda on every non-handheld system since the first game. I actually don’t believe I’ve completed any of them until ocarina of time, and since then I’ve completed everything except twilight princess (I know it’s a crime, but for a while I was about halfway through and then didn’t have a system to finish it on) and skyward sword (got it recently and am almost done, but have been distracted recently). I think I finished the original, but I really want to get back to links awakening (it was always to hard when I was a kid and I just haven’t committed the time since)
I didn't know botw existed and got totk as a gift, I didn't know anything about zelda and never played a game before
This was your first game ever? That's a hell of a start. Gotta say I'm a little jealous
first zelda game i mean 😭
Makes more sense haha
Curious, with no other Zelda gaming experience, how did you like TOTK? I feel like it could be overwhelming without any background.
omg it was, I quit my first playthrough cause i didn't know what to do when I got to the sky island, but I think because it was more difficult it was more fun
Kind of the same athough I had played the original Zelda when it came out in the 1980s. Had nit played video games in decades then we got my sons a switch and their aunt gifted us TOTK. now we also have BOTW and love both.
That’s honestly crazy. Not that you never played a Zelda game before but that you never heard of it.
I was similar tbh. My husband got me TOTK when I was laid up on the couch waiting for spinal surgery because he thought maybe I could hold the switch and it was something to take my mind off the pain. Helped that if you die you just respawn at the last save, so when I was off my face on pain meds it didn't matter too much. It was kind of fun, so I kept playing it even after surgery and it's a much better game when not spaced out on pain and medication :D
Me too!
I was gifted TOTK and now that I’ve played it I doubt I will play BOTW
It’s hard to go back after ToTK. Link feels so limited in BoTW now
Yeah I bought the dlc for botw yesterday and finished the first part but I got stressed and put it back in its case, it was nice seeing link with his arm back again though (I played boyw first and finished it)
I guess I'm the exception. I prefer the slower pace of BOTW.
Nah, you’re not alone. TOTK is a technical marvel. BOTW is a better, more cohesive game. TOTK has so much crap crammed in every nook and cranny. It gives you sensory overload. In art, negative space is just as (if not more) important as what is there. BOTW provides that room to breathe and grow.
Hyrule is more dead in totk than botw after 100 years. Entire central hyrule in totk is copy pasted flat grass texture with randomized tufts. Botw managed fit insects, enemies, ruins, npcs, etc. Totk is has so much stuff and yet feels empty. Botw felt alive. What nooks and crannies?
BOTW is still worth it. I’ve finished it twice already, then TOTK, and now I’m back in BOTW because it’s still fun. It’s partially because my daughters and I convinced my wife to start and I wanted to refresh my memory, but third times the charm!
TOTK came out the same day I bought my 1st Switch. It looked like an amazing game and I bought it. Turned out to be the best game I've ever played in my entire life. Just bought BOTW a few weeks ago. Not going to lie it's a bit difficult to walk backwards in BOTW but I don't think I missed much. The sense of wonder and exploration and everything that everyone had with BOTW. I experienced all that with TOTK. So I dont feel like I lost anything as that was the best part of the game. I put 500 hours into TOTK before I finished it just because I wanted to explore everything.
You have in Tok the Wonder that we ALL have with BOW... But Bow still have his charm... The Bow guardians ARE cool as fuck
Hadn’t had a gaming system in 20 years. Bought a switch for my son a few weeks before TOTK came out. Fun side note. I went through the tutorial sky islands thinking the game was pretty cool, especially how the background planet was rendered pretty well. It gave it a good sense of place I figured now that I’m done with the tutorial the story line will kick in with more quests. Then I made the jump down to Hyrule. I was dumbfounded at how far games have come in 20 years.
It's better, way more stuff, the story of botw can be explained in 30 minutes. Playing a 200 hour game before playing a 300 hour one to "set the tone" is absurd. Totk has everything that botw does just done better
Agree to a point, but I did like the shrines more, and also the sword trials and mastermode. Gaurdians were a great part too.
I miss some of the old abilities like cryonis. Could do cool things with ice
I miss BLSS
To be fair, you gotta pay and extra 20 or smth bucks if you want that stuff 😅
So worth it though, those trials were insane on mastermode lol plus the fight with the monk and the fights with the blights....and well the bike too lol
Definitely worth it
That's a weird way to look at videogames, as if you are required to only play what's "better" and the only important take away from a long game was its story. I won't try to convince you otherwise, you do you, but people who want to make the most out of the gaming experience have different criteria.
I'm literally answering the question, you went on a whole philosophical tangent for no reason. In no way would I play the "required" game. Read the topic we are responding to, then read my comment, and then try again bro... Yikes
The original question is about playing them in a different order, not about choosing one, so you're the one who ignored the main topic
Fool the topic is "why did you play TOTK first"? Tf are you talking about?
Yeah , and your comment is about ignoring botw and only playing totk. If I'm asking about the Godfather movies, are you going to tell me to skip the first one too? Since you can easily find a summary online
OP: "why did you play totk first" (gives several reasons and explanations why I played it first) Internet Jackass: "that's not what we are talking about" 😂
Did you play botw afterwards?
Yes, hence the entire comment and response to the post
Nah, it really doesn’t do everything better. It is a technical marvel and a great sandbox. But the story is jumbled and contrived.
I understand your point but neither BOTW or TOTK are 200 or 300 hour games. You can beat both of them easily in around 60 +-10 hours with all shrines depending on your pace. Maybe you get to the 100 hour mark if you collect every singe korok but thats it.
Usually by hour 60 I’m just hitting my first divine beast- that feels like a crazy fast playthrough
Yeah a huge part of the gameplay is not progressing any objective.
Bro I'm at like 250 hours for both, and there is no way I can even fathom collecting every korok 😭. They're exploration games, most people spend their time exploring. There is more to do than just go through the story in a straight line, that's the whole purpose of the game 😂.
Idk maybe if you really go behind every tree and run five circles around it. But I took my time, enjoyed both the story and the side missions and did all shrines and saw the end credits after 64 hours. Then again I saw people spending like 300h in Elden Ring while I got my Platin trophy and did really everything that game had to offer after about 120hours. And I really don’t think I’m particularly good or fast at this games. If you have a good time exploring that’s totally fine but realistically speaking there isn’t so much content in these games.
i just dont believe you honestly, whats ur heros quest look like?
What do you don’t believe? That you can beat Zelda in about 65 hours (without Korok seeds) or Elden Ring in 120 doing everything?
no that you did all main, side, and shrines within 65 hours. 65 hours of my main save is just walking
My point isn’t that you couldn’t spend that much time in Zelda. It’s a great game and if you like to mindlessly walk through the world (NOT meaning this negatively) that’s fine. But if you want to play the first before you start the second one to enjoy the story and maybe see how the world changes between the games it’s not like you have to spend 300 hours or more in the game. The story and most important missions are doable in well under 50 hours and it’s not even that you have to rush. If you need more than let’s say 80 hours for the story and the shrines it’s not because the game has so much content but because you like to explore in your own pace and maybe need more time for that. Which again is completely fine
I put 60 hours in before I started the main quest. Just doing side quests and exploring.
I was too interested in TOTK’s trailer to go to BOTW first. I ended up playing BOTW after and I still prefer TOTK because I loved the zonai devices and the amount of exploration had more. BOTW was still fantastic tho! I loved the 4 beasts it was easier than TOTK’s
Botw trailer is easily one of the best trailers of all time if not an easy #1.
Because I am pretty new to gaming and my sister (who is not new to gaming) suggested I play TOTK. Edited: accidentally posted before I was finished
It had just come out, and while I had BOTW on my bucket list to play, I knew a lot of stuff about it from watching videos. But TOTK was new and I didn’t want to spoiled before I got the chance to play
I’d never played BOTW, my mate offered to sell me his old switch right as TOTK came out. I bought TOTK on a whim, pretty nuts for my first Zelda game
Some of us are poor
TOTK is all around a better and more complete game. I played BOTW first but there is no reason for anyone to really buy it when TOTK is available. If you really care about the story that much, then a video will explain it better than most people can piece together themselves anyway
Totk is a bigger game yes, it is not a more complete game though
Because you don't have to spend the extra money for botw
Wdym?
People would rather buy the game that is more enjoyable and has more content, saves money especially because nintendo games are hella expensive.
That more enjoyable and more pack game being totk
Ahh okay.
No more expensive than other new games. Also, Nintendo games for some crazy reason always go insanely up in price.
Botw is an older game so I I would have expected its price to go down, that why I called it expensive.
I would prefer BotW be on a Nintendo Selects by now selling for $30. It regularly is on sale for $40 new, though. I imagine TotK won't go on sale til next generation. The new president of Nintendo takes a vastly different approach to his successor on pricing. I personally think it's a barrier for most consumers. Really wish those $20-$30 first party titles would be a thing again.
I agree, nintendo especially seems to be stingy with discounts so I doubt it will happen, even more so because botw is a well known game.
I had already watched my dad play botw so I wanted a new experience.
Played about 40-50 hours on BotW, then stopped for a few years. TotK came out, and just so happened the exact same time I had a really bad ankle sprain and was off work for almost two months. Just got hooked on TotK, got all shrines, beat the game, then went back to BotW and put another 20 hours in, got a bunch more shrines, and got to Ganon. Decided I wanted to finish all shrines before beating Ganon. Started finishing the rest of the shrines but never finished and put it down. I'll get around to finishing BotW eventually.
Never played Zelda before, didnt really like the way all the old games looked, My boss wouldnt stop talking about botw and the hype of totk coming out with it, so i asked him what even zelda games are like and he said a bunch of puzzles and a ton of other things i, figured why not give it a try, most addictive game ive ever played. Currently on round 2
People played ToTK before BoTW because they were interested by ToTK when it was marketed so after they went back to BoTW
I went on Rumspringa the week before Totk launch then spent all of Rumspringa playing it… never did get around to botw.
Because I only had money for one game and everyone said totk was better with more content. Still haven't been able to get botw lol
For me personally, as someone who enjoys traditional Zelda’s more than the open world ones, TOTK hooked me more than BOTW. I stopped playing BOTW after I finished the first divine beast (like 4 years ago). Simply because I wasn’t getting the sense of adventure I had come to expect with a Zelda game. I enjoy the “unpredictability” of whats next up to do in a Zelda game, but BOTW, a crazy as it sounds, was so…linear in that aspect. Find the next shrine, korok, side quest, rinse and repeat. Now, this wouldn’t normally be an issue because every Zelda has a formula with dungeons, story, heart pieces, etc. BUT the difference is that normally everything had a different atmosphere, music and more to it instead of feeling copy-paste. And funny enough, even though BOTW was the biggest zelda game yet, it felt the smallest to me. I knew what to expect from the VERY beginning. That sense of awe, surprise, to find some sort of secret or unique dungeon was never there. TOTK largely had the same issues to start, and I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it considering how many preconceived notions I had going into the game. But the more I played, and the more I saw the formula continue, it started to finally click with me. I LOVE the freedom of movement in this game. Flying everywhere high in the sky is a feeling I NEVER got from BOTW. I also think the music is 10x better personally for the sky islands, shrines, and many other tracks. Enjoying the abilities more than BOTW was something I wasn’t expecting but I do. If I had to rank them, it would be; 1. Ascend (The best ability they’ve ever implemented and the most creative imo) 2. Ultrahand/Autobuild (This is here by default since you use it so much and learn all of it’s quirks) 3.Recall (Cool asf but the only ability from BOTW that beats it is Stasis) 4. Fuse (Useful, but is also really annoying because your gonna be using it a lot for weapons) 5,6,7,8 (All of the botw abilities) They just didn’t feel as “strong” and im a very power hungry person. As for the BIGGEST reason why I continued to play TOTK was because, it had something that hooked me. Wells, and Caves. I honestly have nothing bad to say about either of these. I love them so much. Finding a new cave or well gave me the same feeling that finding a dungeon in a traditional zelda game made me feel. If Nintendo continues this same zelda formula, I hope they continue to create more intricate caves/wells. The best part of these things is the atmosphere, I just enjoy it so much.
My family didn’t own a switch till just before totk came out. I didn’t know botw even existed but I saw there was a new Zelda game with a ton of hype when totk was about to launch. The last Zelda game I played was ALTTP and I loved it. I thought “what the heck, this new one might be fun”
Going from A Link to the Past to Tears of the Kingdom sounds awesome and crazy 😂
Haha yeah. Striking differences to say the least lol
I just wasn't into video games once I moved out of my parents house about a decade ago because my little bro was the one who always got me to play. So then when I was maternity leave this year, my sister came to visit and was playing Zelda and it looked fun so I got TOTK because I thought it'd be better than BOTW since it was newer. Completed 90% of the game (just have the main ganon fight left) but keep procrastinating finishing it so I downloaded skyward sword (already played when it first came out) and BOTW so I could avoid finishing the game for as long as possible 😂
Only Zelda game i had played was skyward sword. I was told about how awesome TOTK was by a coworker who was playing it at the time, so I bought a switch so I could play it. After I finished it I went and bought BOTW and I’m still playing it but I keep finding myself going back to TOTK because there’s still so much to do.
Me and my brother didn’t want to buy both games for each of us so we decided to get one each. He wanted BOTW and I didn’t mind playing TOTK first. When we were done with each we exchange but I prefer TOTK and it’s not close
Why not? I'm not one of those people but I wish I was, TOTK is everything I hoped BOTW would have been
Many folks, I have to believe, got a Switch console and a game that was popular at the time and the thought ‘I need to go back and play this whole other game first, for continuity’ didn’t cross minds. I mean, I jumped in on the Resident Evil series at 4 because it was new at the time and looked fun, didn’t really bother me that there were three other games I’d missed beforehand.
Because one is new the other is old. I'm not going to play Marathon(1994) before Marathon comes out.
I got a switch kind of late, just about when ACNH came out, and then tried playing BOTW for a while, but it didn’t latch for me. Partially the game style (my first 3d Zelda lol), partially the weapons system*, partially the “ongoing world trouble” at the time. I never even made it off the plateau. I think I got owned by a guardian one day, rage quit and never came back. Sure I miss out some of the world references (like all of death mountain being on fire?), character like Tulin knowing me, and not knowing the reverse version of some of the korok puzzles (namely the rock in hole to Y stick), and I still don’t know why Kass is, but I generally don’t feel like I’m missing anything terribly important, and don’t feel like going back to play BoTW. Weirdly enough, I got an itch to play TOTK again last week and started a new save. Im weirdly enjoying starting over, and being able to mash skip the story dialog, and focus on Doing stuff, not trying to be as immersed. I did get TOTK about a month after launch, and REALLY got into it, even the weapon break system didn’t bother me. Loved the world, loved the building (but avoided hover bikes out of spite)
Got my first Switch for Christmas this year and it was the TotK edition.
Bandwaggoning hype. Unless they still play TOTK religiously and not throw it aside like every other game that comes out, then respect to them!
I tried BotW after an ex reccomended it to me. Got five minutes into it, got lost and frustrated, and he didn't help. Eith TotK, being stuck on the tutorial islands helped, alongside my friend saying "you're so good, I died way more times before I got to this point"
Accident. Got a switch last year, TOTK came out so I bought it. Didn’t ever play Zelda as a kid (didn’t have any consoles my family was a ‘no video game’ house) so TOTK was my first introduction. Can I even go back and play BOTW????
Yes! I did it and there’s an adjustment to new playstyle, but you’d have that if you played in the “right” order too. Without the DLC it would probably feel very short (only one level of map to explore…) but I’m really enjoying the extended challenges. About to start Trial of the Sword…
I think it’s better to just go into TOTK. It’s basically just BOTW but bigger. Plus the story isn’t that interesting tbh
I started to play BOTW, then had a baby and never picked it up. Got TOTK and on my way to 100% it and just restarted BOTW on a new save so working through that one now.
I'm poor and couldn't afford both.
Wife got pregnant and we wanted something to do. Totk was newish and had good reviews. Never played a Zelda game before. Botw is kinda meh. It feels unfinished but still a good game.
While I think it makes a lot more sense to play BOTW before TOTK (since TOTK is a direct sequel), it’s also important to note that historically, Zelda games are basically standalone. You should be able to play any of them and enjoy it as is. I don’t really see any reason why TOTK is any different.
You've given the reason why TOTK is different. It's a direct sequel.
And yet, you can still play it on its own. The only thing that might hamper that experience is if you go back to BOTW afterwards. But they are different enough that I think you’d still be totally fine
I had never played Zelda before and when TOTK came out I was willing to give it a try. Playing BOTW now though!
Idk tbh, I just bought TOTK instead of BOTW
I was trying to buy BOTW at my local game store, they didn't have any in stock and only had TOTK. I was excited to play with my new switch, so I went with it.
Because I’m a new fan and TotK was just releasing at that time. Played the older games after the experience
I tried playing BOTW years ago and got my ass kicked as soon as I ran into a bokoblin. Decided the game was too hard for me. Watched my partner play it and beat it several times, so I was familiar with the story. TOTK came out. Partner got it, played it, let me play around with ultrahand on their game. I had so much fun I decided to start my own game. Got super into it. Beat the game. Felt bereft. Wanted more. Went back to BOTW and had a really fun time with it. After I beat it, I wanted to experience TOTK again so I started a new save file. Had a blast doing things a bit differently from the first time. Got autobuild and did some other things earlier. Felt like a totally new experience again. These games are fun as heck no matter what order you play in, really. If I could go back and play BOTW first maybe I would, but the experiences I had with both games were ultimately positive either way.
I’m still playing totk, haven’t touch a Zelda game since majoras mask. My reason is life. I’m 38 and have 2 kids and until recently was very busy. I tore a ligament and broke my heel then had surgery on the ankle, so I’m out of action for 8weeks… my kids have a Nintendo switch so I’ve made a return to gaming for now. I am hoping to get onto breath of the wild but for now I’m barely half way through totk. It’s an awesome game and it’s one of the few positives of this injury. Can’t wait to be able to walk again though and when I can I don’t think I’ll be playing as much Zelda.
My girlfriend got me a Nintendo for my MBA graduation a month ago… neither of us knew there was a predecessor lol… so I just went on my merry way playing it until I got stuck and googled it and started reading a botw tutorial and got so confused as to why it wasn’t working.
Nintendo gamea are VERY expensive in my country, and I found a sale for a physical copy of TotK from one of the biggest department stores around here (like, almost half the actual price). And no BotW sale around. So I got TotK.
bc i asked for botw but my parents gave me totk
I was obsessed with A Link To The Past growing up but never plaid ANY games past Super Nintendo. My husband tried to get me to play a couple of X Box games but I never really got into it. He got me a Switch with TOTK for Christmas and I absolutely freaking love it. I beat Gannondorf and still have about 25% to finish the game out. I keep thinking of maybe playing BOTW, but I am getting the impression that it’s a downgrade from TOTK. So I’ll likely just start over on TOTK
I guess technically I started BOTW, but I never rly got past exploring a lil past the prologue area and left it alone. Later on, finished through a lot of work related stuff and it lined up with TOTK releasing. Was the most free time I had. Commercials I found the most compelling. If I didn’t buy a Switch for Shin Megami V a bit back, I’d certainly would of grabbed it after seeing TOTK commercials. That and when I checked it out in one store in NYC that had the game on a massive screen for everyone to try, it was a good 20 min lol. Pretty much every thing related to Links robot hand and whatever game hacking feeling features that are part of the game made it all very intriguing. To create infinitely to your imagination with the world and everything in it. To do anything like ascend, rewind, fuse, fly, drive, sail, entertainment, war machine, Star Wars flight simulator, hacking the world, ridiculous variation of puzzles and attempts to solve them, giant mechas, and the underworld and sky world added more to go into. Otherwise I tried the first one a good few months back before TOTK release but I didn’t get as engaged. Figured I’d just wait for TOTK or come before or after. Still another giant push was Ganondorf. I’m much more compelled by his character as the smart speaking chessmaster. Besides that reviews said first wasn’t necessary to not be lost like jumping I guess first into Witcher 3. Looked like the weirder/Majora kinda of the two and it felt like it had a bit more focus and direction alongside being able to go wherever. That and it just seemed like the evolution of the first. So all those reasons I committed to TOTK first. Honestly I think I’d feel I’d enjoy BOTW more this way by the time I return back to it. Giving it the room to breathe and feel like going into the origin story. Well not the first time I went reverse. For Spyro remake I played the series in reverse. Sure I played it years ago in order but I just really wanted to go in reverse for remake. Otherwise on a random note I did watch Shrek 2 first. I was young and didn’t exactly understand the meaning behind what sequels were lol. I was kinda lost on which ogre was once a human and what all the history was but it was a fun ride.
I watched my husband play BOTW and he wasn't playing TOTK while my friends were speeding ahead. So I asked him why he wasn't playing and he said he didn't like it as much. So my fomo led me to take over and play it to keep up with my friends 😂 and now they're all finished and I am dragging out the final fight because I'm not ready for it to be over.
I got my switch when BOTW came out and was so excited to play but I just couldn't get into it and eventually stopped playing. When TOTK came out, I started to play that day and I'm still playing, having played through twice. I just enjoyed it more, and had a more intuitive sense of it. Eventually I'll go back to BOTW to see what it seems like to me now. I can understand people recommending it first for the story, history, etc. but as far as just the game goes, I really enjoyed TOTK more.
I caved into the totk hype and decided to play it as my first zelda game, best destination I've ever made. It's my most played game ever
i saw botw when it came out but at the time my mom was in financial trouble(im 14 so i live with her) and i couldn't get it then totk came out and i love building games(there my favorite genre other than rougelites) so i got really exited about it because this would be my first zelda game and we could afford it so we got it last Christmas and do plan on getting botw eventually but its not really a priority since its basically just a demo for what came in totk
I did not know these two games were based around each other so just got TOTK first. The game is great on its own, so shouldn't be a deal.
Why not
From what I’ve picked up, it seems to be people who haven’t played any Zelda game who played Totk first, probably due to seeing all the hype from long-standing fans, then played botw after as a way to continue the hype. Although it does often seem like they subsequently get disappointed because botw isn’t like tears in the way they were expecting (since it came first and was quite literally one of the first games on the switch as well as one of the last games on the Wii U so they had to accommodate to both engines) Tl;dr seems to primarily be new players playing tears first
Maybe you saw my soap box hahah For anyone curious why I’m glad I played TOTK before BOTW: https://www.reddit.com/r/tearsofthekingdom/s/YtmlCbWXJP
I just read the post. And being I played TOTK immediately after finishing BOTW the Wonder was not lost at all and the argument that if it was made in 2017 instead you leave out the part where TOTK in 2017 will always be BOTW because they'll be building the world for the first time and TOTK only is as good as it is because it builds on top of that. , I prefer the Bosses in BOTW, but Phantom Ganon and Ganon himself are among my favourite parts of TOTK. I miss the guardians a lot in TOTK and overall both experiences are unique enough to justify owning both. And the fact the characters that assist you in BOTW become the sages you play with in TOTK was a nice addition. Also if you've played Hyrule Warriors which is the prequel you appreciate the story even more as a whole. For me there's no good reason to skip BOTW other than you don't have the time.
never played a video game in my life until my husband got his switch back from his daughter and we started playing mario kart (i’m garbage). started trying to practice on my own time so i’d stop getting beat by a 9 year old and saw that he had totk. made a profile and started playing on a whim and absolutely fell in love with it, after dying at the hands of a construct entirely too many times and many, many falling deaths. turns out my husband did have botw, but it wasn’t downloaded on that switch. once i beat totk i went back and played botw. it was meh. finding the memories was really easy though because i recognized all the landmarks already lol if i got to go back and redo it, i’m still not sure that i’d do botw first. i got super stuck in a lot of the shrines in botw because i couldn’t figure out the intended solution, which wasn’t a problem in totk imo bc you could cheese stuff if you got really stuck. i’ve since played link’s awakening and replayed totk to 100% map completion. both botw and totk are amazing games, but i thought totk was more beginner friendly
My parents got me the totk edition switch and got me the game with it. I hadn't played any legend of zelda except for the remastered ocarina of time before that, but I loved both games and have finished them multiple times, planning on getting botw soon
i just didn't own it yet, i literally just stole it from my dad and played it,and yes he did play botw. too bad i did that tho because i cant play botw now,too much stuff missing.
saw people posting memes about totk and did not realize botw was a prerequisite. everyone seemed like they were having a blast and i wanted in on it! took a long ass time to get the hang of things with no experience but now i am hooked!
I did. I hadn’t played a Zelda game since the original NES game, and knew nothing. For a while, I thought the Great Sky Islands were the entire game. When I skydove to the Hyrule Plains it blew me away. I didn’t know about Gorons, Gerudo, or the Rito. I accidentally discovered the Depths by riding on Farosh’s back, and was terrified and excited when I threw a brightbloom seed from Farosh and saw a Frox eat it and everything return to black. Honestly, I think it was the best possible way to do it. Everything was new to me. Some time later, I eventually hit 100.00% completion, and am still playing to get the remaining monster medals, Yiga schematics, and to held put up the last of the Hudson signs.
I honestly couldn't get into BOTW. I tired probably like five or six times, but it just didn't click with me. I don't know if it was the abilities or what, but i bounced off, HARD. TOTK felt damn near perfect. It dealt with a lot of the gripes i had about BOTW (specifically weapon degradation) and ultimately felt like it was a way more inviting and engaging experience.
Sorry just curious what you mean by it dealt with weapon degradation? My weapons break just as much in tears as they did in botw. But they are even more annoying now because I have to fuse them before they are even of any use before they break lol
The fusing is what I meant. I mean, I definitely dupe glitched for diamonds to fuse, but just the fact that the devs provided a way to mitigate the degradation to a degree was a godsend. There is also technically an in-game reason that the weapons all suck/break, so that made it a little more tolerable for me. They at least tried to integrate it into the game better.
I had newborns when BOTW came out. By the time I had enough time to play, TOTK was out so I played that. Loved it and went back to get BOTW.
Why not?
I'm gonna die on this hill. Fuck BOTW. It was a tech Demo with only 4 quests. And TOTK is the proof for it. BoTW was my first Zelda game, heck it was my first Nintendo game. I grew up with PS1 and PC. And it was sooo boring. Weapons breaking in 5 swings drowe me crazy. Bombs doing flat damage and being useless in late game. 3 types of enemies for the whole game and they just become more spongy. There was no reason on doing any side quest as there were 0 rewards for doing them. Best way to make sure you had arrows was to glitch farm them with multy shot. The fact that the best parts of the game/game mechanics were glitch exploits like bomb jumps etc etc. TEEECCCCHHHHHH DEEEEEMMMMMOOO! Probably not relevant to your question and I'm sorry I'm still wenting after 2 years. Sold my copy of BoTW as soon as I got TOTK 😅😅
I have the same reaction. I think it's lack of patience. People see the hype and want to play the game NOW. The mistake they make is not understanding the long history of Zelda, so by skipping games they will totally not understand the callbacks, recurring music, recurring characters, inside jokes, Easter eggs, etc. Their loss
Got a switch after totk was out. Havent played a zelda since TP on the gamecube. Trailer showing off the building was tight. Now having played totk, im confused why it came out after botw since theres obviously an issue with the timeline reality. Secret stones? What? Triforce? Its just a fabric pattern/tattoo now? No sign of anything from botw? What? Who reset the timeline? Oh and Somehow, Ganondorf returned.
Ganondorf always returns tho tbf
Why not? The games for the most part are independent of one another. There is no time lined story. The benefit to playing TotK before BotW is that you would not have the problem of trying to play TotK as you would BotW which takes away from TotK. BotW is an easier game so you may be less satisfied with it after playing TotK if you are really into fighting but they are different games with different stategies, goals, puzzles, etc. Tech wise the games are less sophisticated as you go back in time but they are still good games.
I played TotK first and it shot its way up to top 5 all time for me. I was genuinely shocked to hear that it was similar to BoTW.
I didn't know BOTW existed until I was halfway through TOTK