Breath of the Wild – Improvements Needed from Tears of the Kingdom

On June 5th both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will receive major updates that allow them to be played with nicer graphics, better performance and additional features on the Nintendo Switch 2 (see here). In case of Breath of the Wild we will be looking at version 1.7.0.

Well, we're talking about Nintendo here, where it's rare that they are fixing their games once they are released, unless we're dealing with critical issues. But they do it from time to time. There are the occasional updates for your quality of life needs... And the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a great chance to bring over a number of such improvements that were introduced with Tears of the Kingdom, where they had learned from their mistakes in Breath of the Wild.

Of course, we would have heard of such improvements by now if there were any, since Nintendo invited the press to play many of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 games. So, this is likely another missed opportunity to do one or more of the following:

• When using the quick select you can now sort and drop your weapons, bows and shields
  
• Whenever you can't take an item out of a treasure chest, because your inventory is full, it displays the quick select to let drop something and make room.
• The Travel Medaillon can now be upgraded at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab, so that you may place up to three of them at the same time.
• The armor inventory limit has been increased to 150.
• The Sheikah Sensor now has a height pitch, making it easier to track things in a vertical space.
• There are no glitched treasure chests any longer that cannot be accessed.
  
• When you touch the ground after gliding, riding, swimming or boating for a longer period of time, randomly spawning foes won't appear instantly any longer.
• Not all Lynels will evolve into the silver / golden tier, so you can still get all their pictures and weapon tiers at the end.
  

This is all some minor stuff, really, but it made Tears of the Kingdom more enjoyable overall, where it would be a shame if Breath of the Wild never saw the same level of polishing.

 

There are also some bigger things that they could change or add, but this is really entering true remaster territory. It starts with the main menu, where the vertical inventories allow for a much quicker navigation.

And they should also add Sticky Frogs, Sticky Elixirs and the Froggy Armor, which always has been one of the most-wanted features for the game. Climbing in the rain wasn't the big game changer in Tears of the Kingdom, because the Zonai vehicle stuff lets you traverse terrain easily, but this addition would see a lot of use in Breath of the Wild. Another much desired feature was the Recipe Book, giving you a nice overview of everything you can cook and also an incentive to really try out all the different ingredients.

There also could be the more sophisticated sky diving mechanic, even though you wouldn't be able to utilize it as much. And finally, a remaster should add some additional shrines to offer more warp points. The Rito Stable, Kara Kara Bazaar and Deplian Badlands immediately come to mind here, where all of these areas got shrines in Tears of the Kingdom.

Tears of the Kingdom ~ Sages amiibo Announced

Also amongst all the news last week was the reveal that they will be making more amiibo for Tears of the Kingdom, which are also going to be released on June 5th, together with the Nintendo Switch 2 and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of the game. There will be four new amiibo at once, of the four Sages Riju, Sidon, Tulin and Yunobo.

This is very reminiscent of when they had released the four Champion amiibo for Breath of the Wild, about a month before the Champions' Ballad DLC pack. Only that this is happening much later. But Tears of the Kingdom never got such a DLC phase, where it returned to the spotlight, so I suppose the Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade is that DLC phase, where they use the chance to market the game even further.

The amiibo will unlock new paraglider fabrics, like all others before them. And I'm certain that they will also work with the upcoming Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment in some form. In addition, an amiibo of Mineru's Construct is planned for a later date, where I suppose this will be a bigger one and maybe you can even bend the arms, like with the Guardian amiibo.

So, at the end Tears of the Kingdom will have eight amiibo in total, which is almost as much as the nine for Breath of the Wild. They made sure that the game is in no way treated inferior to its popular predecessor... Except for the lack of a Master Mode.

Correction on the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions

Yesterday I've made some posts about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, claiming that the upgrade packs will only be included as download codes. This apparently came from the UK customer service and I instantly believed it, because this sounded like a Nintendo thing to do in the current economics. But there is actually some conflicting information about this (see NintendoLife), where we have yet to get some clarification.

The other answer, also coming from Nintendo Support, states that the upgrade pack contents are indeed included on the card, but you will still be able to play these Nintendo Switch 2 Editions on a Nintendo Switch, just without the enhancements.

If the upgrade packs were to be included on the cards and ideally also the latest version of the games (and potentially even the DLC for Breath of the Wild), then owning the physical Nintendo Switch 2 Editions would be quite desirable in the long run. I prefer to have as much on cartridge as possible to not be dependent on the eShop and downloads.

I have updated the previous posts accordingly. Sorry for the misleading information!

Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Editions Announced

Last year we had some rumors that Nintendo might be working on a new version of Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch 2. Not only turned this out to be true, but they are also going to release an enhanced version of Tears of the Kingdom at the same time, as part of the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition program. You can watch a full overview trailer on Youtube, which wasn't featured in the Nintendo Direct, and these editions will launch together with the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5th.

"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" and "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition." That's quite a mouthful. I would have called these "2nd Edition" if it weren't for the fact that this is the third version of Breath of the Wild, counting the one on Wii U, which already had less features than the Switch version.

Anyway, those are not full-fledged remasters. Like with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, these are the same old Nintendo Switch games with some graphical updates installed on top of them. They don't go into any specifics here, only mentioning higher resolutions and frame rates, as well as HDR support, but I suppose it will be similar to Metroid Prime 4 (either 120FPS or 4k in 60FPS). They also have improved the texture quality for Breath of the Wild and the load times of both games are now much faster.

In addition, both games will now support a second save file, which comes with the usual number of automatic and manual save data entries. This will allow you to start a new game without losing your old data or using a second user profile on your system, which is handy. Your old save data will also carry over. Plus, it sounds like you will technically be able to continue on your adventure on an old Nintendo Switch after playing on the Switch 2, but the data in the second save data slot won't be accessible in that case.

If you have the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, then you will get access to these updates for free, as long as you stay subscribed. So, this will work similar to DLCs like the Booster Course Pass or Happy Home Paradise, where the access to them can be revoked. We've seen that there is going to be a new version of Breath of the Wild, version 1.7.0, which enables all this and may only be offered on Nintendo Switch 2. Version 1.6.0 was already exclusive to the Switch and never made it onto the Wii U (it contained the VR feature).

There has yet to be a confirmation on this, but it looks like the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Breath of the Wild won't come with the DLC on the card. At least the box or the website doesn't mention anything about the DLC. Curiously, there have been editions of the game that also came with the DLC, so this would feel like a rip-off if it were true, because you would still have to pay more for Breath of the Wild than Tears of the Kingdom if you want the full experience. But if the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Breath of the Wild were to include all the DLC as well as upgrade pack on the card, then this would be quite valuable to have in any case.

 

ZELDA NOTES

There is an additional aspect here and this is the new "Zelda Notes" app, which is similar to the NookLink app for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. You will be able to access it via the existing Nintendo Switch Online app.

This offers a variety of new features for both games, some of which are useless gimmicks, but others are actually quite interesting. The not-so-interesting stuff is an amiibo boost, where you can scan any amiibo a second time per day after using it five times. You can also edit your screenshots in the Photo Studio. And there is an Item Sharing feature, which seems to be the spiritual successor to the Tag Mode from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, where you can trade consumable items and weapons with your friends.

The Autobuild Sharing is probably more interesting, because this lets you turn your builds into a QR code, which then can be scanned and transferred into the game by other players. This is really nice to have and makes we wish that Link's Awakening will be added to the Zelda Notes app at a later date, because this would be awesome for sharing Chamber Dungeons.

Then there's the Play Data, which keeps track on a number of statistic and even features a set of medals that you can earn based on them. So, both games are now basically getting achievements, the uncreative kind. I'm mostly curious about how this will behave in relation to your existing save data. Both games do track a number of hidden statistics, mainly in relation to the level scaling system, and maybe everything this new play data needs is already there. It would be very unsatisfying if the hundreds of hours I have put into both games were for nothing with these play statistics.

Many players are not even done with their existing playthroughs, but maybe the Navigation app will help with finally getting to the 100%. It's essentially like all the fan-made guide maps out there, or apps like the Breath / Tears Companion. So, this isn't anything new, but the main advantage is that this can be connected to your game, so the apps knows what things you have already found and what you still need to discovers. It's very convenient and absolutely perfect for finding your last missing shrines or Korok Seeds.

For those who have already completed the game or aren't as interested in collecting golden poops, there are also the Voice Memories, offering a new experience. These play special diary entries in certain locations, featuring Princess Zelda, King Rauru and even Master Kohga. However, these are not an actual part of the game – you have to visit the corresponding locations in the game and the app will then play the voice entries. It's a bit weird and disconnected, which reminds me of the Tingle Tuner in The Wind Waker. There you also had these little story segments happening on your Game Boy Advance, but with nothing visible in the game. It's weird. Still, this might be the most worthwhile addition and a good reason to revisit all these locations, where it looks like there will be a lot of them.

My Thoughts & Plans

Overall, these new editions make a lot of sense. They could have gone with completely new remasters of these two games and they certainly would have sold well, where in case of Breath of the Wild I also had a number of ideas how to improve the game while they are at it. And some of that may still make it into the upcoming update... (More on that later.)

But I also dreaded the idea of there already being a third version of the game, while I haven't even started Master Mode on the Nintendo Switch yet. Turns out that this is actually a good thing, because when I now replay this massive title for the fourth time, I will be able to do so with better frame rate, nicer graphics, and some new features, which is a great incentive. Collecting all 900 Koroks again will also be easier with Zelda Notes.

But I'm not sure I ever want to replay Tears of the Kingdom, unless there is a major remaster, which gives you a new experience. This game was just too much for me. I will check out the new Voice Memories in any case, which should work in the existing save files, and then let's see how these new medals will work. Luckily, I will be able to play the upgraded versions right away, once I have a Nintendo Switch 2, with the NSO Expansion Pack. Though, in the long run it makes sense to purchase the upgrade packs or even the physical editions, so you don't require the subscription. I also own the Booster Course Pass and Happy Home Paradise...

Anyway, these upgrades also makes sense when you're looking outside the bubble of the Zelda fandom. Even inside the Zelda community the number of players who have fully completed both games is quite low, mainly due to the Korok Seeds. And the more "casual" players are either still in the middle of playing these games or have lost interest at some point, because it was all too much. And these people were certainly taken into consideration when making these new versions of both games, not just the fans. Being able to pick up from where you've left off in 4k graphics and with additional guidance certainly sounds appealing.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ~ Full Beginning

During the Treehouse Live stream on Thursday there was one segment dedicated to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Here they play the full beginning of the game, which features everything seen in the announcement trailer from last year, up to the point where you first encounter Sylux. And this is giving us a number of new insights to the game, starting with the story introduction:

It is the cosmic year 20X9.

Determined to defeat Samus and the Galactic Federation, Sylux and his army of Space Pirates launched a series of attacks on Federation Research Facilities.

It is believed that the Space Pirates are being controlled by Metroids that have the ability to fuse with other life-forms and control their minds.

Now, on Planet Tanamaar in the Desolan System, another Federation Research Facility is being attacked.

Galactic Federation HQ received their distress call and dispatched Samus, who was on a reconnaissance mission nearby.

So, this right away confirmed what we saw in the Nintendo Direct from last week: Metroids now are fusing with enemies, which is a thing with different bosses in this game. The first one is Aberax, reminiscent of the first Berserker Lord encounter in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but with some Mogenar mixed in for an overall tougher battle.

Anyway, the Galactic Federation has found a mysterious artifact somewhere in the Desolan system, which is the thing that you can see in the game's logo and also what Sylux is after. He shoots the artifact and this causes some gigantic eruption, swallowing Samus and everyone around her, in fact most of the research facility.

What happens next, that we don't know, but we can make some educated guesses. Right in the middle of this tutorial section there is this gigantic mecha getting controlled by a soldier, which – unlike those in Federation Force – is actually threatening and impressive. This mecha also gets swallowed by the artifact's burst and in the Viewros footage from last week we could spot it hanging in the trees:

So, what seemed like another crashed ship actually comes from the research facility seen in the intro. However, it looks like it all has been there for quite some time, meaning that Samus arrives on Viewros long after everyone and everything else.

It's an interesting premise and also gives Sylux the chance to grow as a villain, should he also arrive before Samus. In the intro he gets knocked over by a single charged shot and this is to be expected, since he is canonically about as strong as Samus in her most basic suit, which gets portrayed quite accurately here.

The threat mainly comes from him partnering with Metroids that are controlling Space Pirates. And you have to respect a villain, who isn't some grotesque force of nature, like the Metroid, the X, or Phazon, and therefore really tries his hardest to overcome both Samus and the Galactic Federation with some evil schemes. I'm curious to see where this will lead and how they will utilize him as a villain.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond ~ Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Announced

In the latest Nintendo Direct we got introduced to the concept of "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" games. A variety of Nintendo Switch games will see updates to enhance performance, increase resolutions, and enable the new sharing feature on the Nintendo Switch 2, where most of them will be free. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, however, require you to purchase an "upgrade pack", but they will also come with improved graphics and new features.

The first line of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games include Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and... Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Some of these will even feature additional contents, like the Star-Crossed World for Kirby, but in case of Metroid Prime 4 this is primarily about the controls.

The game will support the mouse-functionality of the new Joy-Cons to offer a new control method. And it even does so seamlessly, so you can play with the pointer controls and as soon as you put down the right Joy-Con's side on a surface you will be able to utilize the mouse aiming. That's really cool!

Otherwise, the game will run in 120FPS, twice as much as on the Nintendo Switch. Or you can alternatively play in 4K. Both modes also support HDR in addition for even prettier visuals.

This sounds great, so there should be no good reason to go for the Nintendo Switch version, right? Well... there is a catch: the atrocious boxes. Here are the ones for Metroid Prime 4 in comparison (the different size of the boxes is just a guess, but the Switch 2 ones will be larger in a similar dimension to the consoles):

 

I'd say that the Nintendo Switch versions are actually more desirable. They take away less space and the covers are much cleaner. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition looks like one of those empty boxes that only include a download code.

And that might be partially even true. There is conflicting information about this, but we don't know for sure yet whether these upgrade packs will be included on the cards or as download codes. If it's the latter, then there will be no real value in owning the physical versions of the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions over the normal ones....

Well, in my case, I won't get a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch, so I will likely play Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on my current Switch anyway and then upgrade it later. The enhanced visuals are very nice, but I can also appreciate what Retro Studios was able to achieve on the old Nintendo Switch. It's very impressive. And when I replay the game later on, like in a harder difficulty, I can do so on the Nintendo Switch 2 with even nicer graphics.

Nintendo GameCube on Nintendo Switch Online

The Nintendo Switch 2 opens the doors to additional libraries of classic games, where the Nintendo GameCube will be the first. Technically, it was already possible to emulate GameCube and Wii games on the Nintendo Switch, as proven by the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection, but probably not within the online environment, which is a crucial part of this.

Anyway, only four games will be available at the start, but half of these are interesting for Zelda fans. There is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker finally making it on the Switch, just not in the form everyone wanted. Maybe this is the reason why Nintendo has not yet released a port of The Wind Waker HD yet, but they also had released a Game Boy library with Link's Awakening DX after producing the remake of Link's Awakening, so this may not be a deciding factor. These online libraries simply offer a cheaper alternative, where now it doesn't look like we'll be getting back the two Zelda HD remasters from the Wii U anytime soon... or ever.

The other title is SoulCalibur II, starring Link. I loved this game on the GameCube and I might even play it again on the Switch 2 with this, but I was always hoping for its remaster on a Nintendo system with Link, which didn't happen. And I suppose this will be a common pattern with GameCube and Wii games. Luigi's Mansion? Nice to have, but I would prefer a remaster to complete the trilogy. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes or Metroid Prime 3: Corruption? Nice to have, but I would prefer a remaster (and complete the trilogy).

However, there is one game I would never expect to be remastered, because it's just such an odd creation. In fact, this GameCube online library is the only real chance I ever saw for a return of this title – The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. It requires such a unique setup, where each player has his or her own screen with a Game Boy Advance, that this made it difficult to return on new hardware. Maybe on a Nintendo 3DS it could have worked, but instead of going through the trouble of porting Four Swords Adventures over, it probably was the better – or at least the more interesting – choice to make a completely new multiplayer Zelda game instead, with Tri Force Heroes.

But this is it, this is where Four Swords Adventures can finally return. Playing this game in multiplayer will be easily possible with the online connectivity, just like it was with Four Swords last year. And the integrated voice chat of the Switch 2 will make things even more convenient. However, Im curious to see how they will handle the whole GBA connectivity. Will this be supported in The Wind Waker? If not, you won't be able to get Knuckle's figurine and the Tingle statues...

What's finally supported is button remapping and it even allows doing so per title. They will also add this functionality to the Nintendo 64 library, together with the rewind feature, but only on Nintendo Switch 2. This is something I wanted from the beginning and is very important to have, because the default button mapping is not always ideal. Hopefully they will also make this happen in the other libraries, no matter how arbitrary it may seem. The Select button, for example, can be quite important in some NES games, like The Adventure of Link or Metroid, but isn't very comfortable to use via the ⊖ button.