The Next 3D Zelda – General Direction?

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have been tremendous hits for the Legend of Zelda and for Nintendo as a whole, where they will shape the future of the series one way or another. We can be certain that the open world direction will be kept and iterated, where a high level of freedom has become the biggest selling point. Other than that, we really don't have a clear idea about the way forward, only Nintendo does.

The most interesting question is how the game will look like and whether we're going to see a new Link and Zelda. Breath of the Wild really has established a new brand for the series, one that has become very successful and recognizable, much like the Nintendo Switch itself. With the re-introduction of both titles as "Nintendo Switch 2 Editions", it also seems in Nintendo's own interest to push forward with this brand on their new system.

On the other hand, we have a series that has always been quick to reinvent itself, to experiment with different art styles and ideas. So, it is not out of the question that they might come up with something that looks completely new and fresh. It just doesn't feel necessary at the moment...

Overall there seem to be three different options going forward:

1. A third game in a Breath of the Wild trilogy.
2. Another game in the same style, but taking place in a different era.
3. A completely new version of The Legend of Zelda. 

The first option doesn't seem very likely, because Aonuma already said so in an interview with GameInformer from late 2023 – they were not keen about making a sequel to a sequel. And they had exhausted their ideas for this iteration of The Legend of Zelda.

However, it felt more like they were talking about this Hyrule specifically. And no one wants to return to the same Hyrule a third time (or a fifth time if you count the Hyrule Warriors games), where you may even be of the opinion that Tears of the Kingdom doing so already was a mistake. That's up to debate, but a third game in the same Hyrule would certainly overstay its welcome, no matter how much they are going to change this time.

If they are going to make another game with the same Link and Zelda, it will have to take place in a different land. That's actually a very common thing to do for sequels in the Zelda series. We have Koholint Island in Link's Awakening, Termina in Majora's Mask, the world of the Ocean King in Phantom Hourglass, or Hytopia in Tri Force Heroes. But this always gave the sequels the character of a side story and if they truly were to make a Zelda trilogy for the first time ever (with that I mean a story with the same Link and Zelda for three games in a row), then it would feel weird if it were to end on a such a note.

Still, the idea of a true trilogy is tempting and there is also quite some potential with such a sequel. While Tears of the Kingdom has brought back some classic ideas from Ocarina of Time, like Ganondorf, the sages and their temples, it never touched upon the most fundamental part of the lore: the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. Despite appearing in symbols and seemingly as part of Zelda's sealing powers, the Triforce still a forgotten mystery in this world of Hyrule and we have yet to learn why that is. And making this the topic of a third game would certainly be fitting.

There is also Princess Zelda herself. Ever since the first teaser trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild, where Link and Zelda went to explore Hyrule's underground together, there has been a lot of interest in a game where she is also playable, right next to Link. This didn't come to fruit with Tears of the Kingdom, but Nintendo made the princess the protagonist of a main game shortly after, with Echoes of Wisdom. Maybe also to test how such an idea would be truly received...

But after all the hardships the Zelda from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom went through, she really deserves to be in the spotlight of a 3D Zelda game where you play as both Link and the eponymous princess. It would be disservice if they were to replace her in such a scenario.

Well, there is still the problem of dealing with the same Hyrule for a third time. We don't want this, but there is no good reason for Zelda to leave this Hyrule, unless she gets forced to or this some sort of higher calling. However, this could connect quite well with a plot around the Triforce – the third game could lead both Link and her inside the Sacred Realm. And the Sacred Realm can take all sorts of shapes, maybe even reflect other Hyrules from the past somehow...

However, we are already getting Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as an upcoming spin-off game, where you primarily follow Zelda's journey in the distant past of Hyrule's founding. So, this will already be a game where this Zelda is the playable main protagonist. And maybe, just maybe it will also explore the topic of the Triforce...

The third option certainly can't be dismissed, but it feels also not very likely. As already said, they have established a strong brand with Breath of the Wild and they are already continuing with this brand on the Nintendo Switch 2. The mix of realism and cel shading also has worked out quite well for the series, it's truly the best of both worlds. So, coming up with something completely new for Zelda at this point might not be what they want and might also not be needed.

This leaves us with the second option. Same art style, but new Link, new Zelda and a new land. This would be similar to Spirit Tracks, but it's also something that Nintendo has done very recently. Donkey Kong Bananza uses the art style of Super Mario Odyssey and shares that game's vibes, where it's easily recognizable as a spiritual successor, but it's also truly its own thing. It's a new 3D Donkey Kong with emphasis on destroying the environments. However, that game started its development on the Nintendo Switch, which won't be the case for the next big Zelda.

But staying with the current art style would make it clear out of the box that they are going to continue on the open world route, while placing it in a different era (and potentially even a different Hyrule) would allow for a number of changes. For example, such a game wouldn't have to bring back the exact same weapon system, where this never had so many fans to begin with. But that's a topic worth discussing on its own.

In any case, Zelda games always have been defined by their gameplay ideas and the next one won't be any different. The story usually gets developed around the core mechanics, not the other way around. And they choose whatever art style delivers their ideas the best. What those gameplay ideas will turn out to be, that's the million dollar question...

Donkey Kong Bananza vs. Harmony

Today Nintendo has aired a Direct for Donkey Kong Bananza and the game looks quite phenomenal, they are truly doing something fresh and grand with this classic IP. The Direct revealed a young Pauline as DK's singing sidekick and since this is likely coming from the creators of Super Mario Odyssey, it feels like a potential prequel to that game, where Pauline became the mayor of New Donk City. Some more connections between Donkey Kong and Super Mario, besides the usual Mario Karting, certainly wouldn't hurt. After all, it all began with Donkey Kong on Arcade.

Anyway, something about the footage felt quite familiar to me and it wasn't just the Super Mario Odyssey style and outfits. It was about a singing girl riding on some big animal, who can even transform into bigger animals with the power of "Bananza", like a running Zebra and a flying Ostrich. It reminds me of the cancelled game by Retro Studios, called "Harmony", where a demo of it was leaked alongside a Nintendo Switch devkit dump earlier this year.

You can read some technical stuff about it on TCRF. There also used to be some footage of it, but it was taken down, where you will have to settle for a video from Arlo. Anyway, in the game you were going to play a redheaded girl, who sings to summon different creatures, like some grassy plant giant, who even has a similar statue to Donkey Kong. And then she is riding on their tops as you control these creatures, just like young Pauline on Donkey Kong. It wasn't anything amazing, so I'm not disappointed that this project didn't go anywhere, but to me it seems like some essence of this is going to live on with Donkey Kong Bananza.

Since the Harmony demo is from 2017, the prototyping Switch days, I doubt that Bananza had any influence on its cancellation. Like, the similarities could have been considered a problem, but I feel like it's more likely that there was a healthy influence. Maybe there was and we could hear about this in the developer interviews. Maybe Retro Studios was even involved in the development somewhat, but they were busy with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, so it's doubtful.

In any case, the duo of Donkey Kong and Pauline has a lot more charm, so I certainly prefer that direction. And this truly has to manifest in the next Super Smash Bros. game somehow – I don't want the old Donkey Kong anymore, I want DK & Pauline. The Kong Bananza could even become his Final Smash.

Another game that I was reminded of by the footage is Tears of the Kingdom. The Lagoon Layer looks a lot like the Sky Islands. And the giant holes that lead down to the next layer feel a lot like the chasms into the Depths. If only the digging would have been as smooth in that game...

Tears of the Kingdom – Sage Fabrics

It's been a while since I have played Tears of the Kingdom. In fact, I haven't really touched the game since completing it about a year ago. And given that you own a Nintendo Switch 2 already, there are now several good reasons to revisit the title, such as improved visuals or the new voice memories in the Zelda Notes app. But if you stay with the Nintendo Switch for now, like I do, then the new amiibo will have to do.

Sadly, they still haven't fixed the amiibo system (and probably never will). So, if you want the new paraglider fabrics in a timely manner, you will have to save scum, where at least this still works fine. I got lucky with Sidon, who gave me his fabric on first try, and with Yunobo after a couple of tries. But in case of Tulin and Riju I had to reload over a dozen times.

The designs of the new fabrics are nothing outstanding, but still quite good nevertheless. They were at the risk of treading the grounds of redundancy, since you already have the fabrics for the different tribes in the game and also the four Champion fabrics, where now they had come up with something new. But Riju's is the only one where this might be an issue, but I personally like its design much better than Urbosa's or the Gerudo fabric.

And the others are a bit more original. With Tulin it even looks like you have mounted him right above you, which is funny. And Yunobo's fabric is bearing the YunobCo symbol, which is really cool, but it would have been disappointing if this weren't the case, and this feels like an omission in the main game, even. The only letdown might be Sidon, where I personally like the other Zora designs better, but at least they were trying to do something different.

Anyway, below you can find a gallery of all the new stuff. For each of the fabrics you can see the message when obtaining them, their full design in the paraglider rework, and how they look in action.

 

Sage of Wind Fabric

 

 

Sage of Fire Fabric

 

Sage of Water Fabric

 

Sage of Lightning Fabric

Got the Tears of the Kingdom Sages amiibo

While the entire Nintendo community is busy with showing off their shiny, new Nintendo Switch 2s, my inner Nintendo simp will have to settle with what's probably the least interesting thing that came out today: the four amiibo of the Sages. Tulin, Yunobo, Sidon and Riju, all featured in their awakened form, now also get some well-deserved attention in the form of plastic figurines, equipped with NFC chips.

It's only fair after how they had to take the backseat to the Champions in Breath of the Wild (well, technically it was Teba in that game and not Tulin), but sadly they didn't get the same four-in-one pack. Or maybe this is a good thing, because some people might only want one of them, e.g. Sidon. And the prices are 33% higher this time around.

The figurines themselves are nice. They can't really compete with the Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf from late 2023, but I do personally like them more than the Link and Zelda that we got in this series. Wielding the Champion weapons makes them look a lot more interesting already.

Riju and Tulin are quite filigreed, especially Riju, and they come with bent see-through stands to keep them in the air. Yunobo is very sturdy, not as heavy as Daruk used to be, but it still feels quite nice. And Sidon shines with his impressively detailed crown and collar.

They truly don't have to hide from their Champion counterparts, where they show more details here and there. For example, Sidon's Lightscale Trident actually shows those little, cyan pendulums beneath the top part. But they still go nicely next to each other, as you can see in the photos above.

What's not so nice are the new backsides for the amiibo boxes. They are now completely generic, only telling you that you can use amiibo with compatible software. And what software that might be is now up to you to find out... To be fair, with an amiibo from Tears of the Kingdom, you can make an educated guess, but it was still nice to read what it actually does within the game.

Well, it's curious that they were still featuring the Nintendo 3DS on the package back in 2023, where it's understandable that they don't want to show that any longer, or even things like saving your Mii on the amiibo. But they could have swapped all that for the Nintendo Switch 2 and generally put some more effort into this.

Of course, this isn't a deal breaker and most people may even throw the package away anyway. However, I always cut off the cardboard part to collect them for later reference and because the artworks look nice. And now there is a stylistic split between the first three Tears of the Kingdom amiibo and this group.

Still, I'm looking forward to the Mineru amiibo and to complete the collection. I have yet to scan them for their fabrics, where I haven't even seen them all, but I will do this later today or tomorrow and then make another post.

Nintendo Music: Tears of the Kingdom Added

There it is! Just in time for the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition release of Tears of the Kingdom, we get the entire soundtrack on Nintendo Music. It contains a total of 344 tracks, fully based on the official soundtrack from last year, track by track, which means that it also has all the trailer music. This new playlist is a beast to listen to and a gigantic addition with almost twelve hours, arguably the most important one for the franchise.

But of course they shouldn't stop here. Hopefully, the soundtrack of the Link's Awakening remake will be coming soon, to cover as much from the Nintendo Switch as possible. There has yet to be an official soundtrack for Echoes of Wisdom, where they will probably release that first, before they add it to Nintendo Music... Which means that it could still take years before it appears in the app, given that they bother with releasing a CD version of it to begin with, but I personally liked the game's music quite a lot.

The soundtracks for A Link Between Worlds and Majora's Mask are also good candidates to be dropped at any point. With Twilight Princess I'm guessing that they might wait for the game to be included into the Nintendo Switch Online library, where they could even do like a double release, where you get the GameCube game and the soundtrack in the same week. This could also be true for stuff like Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, but those have low priority and first there needs to be Nintendo DS games.

Anyway, there was no new Zelda music last month, but instead they have added a "Best of: The Legend of Zelda series" playlist, which is so shallow that it wasn't even worth mentioning until now. At least they are updating it when adding new games, where in case of Tears of the Kingdom they've added the main theme, the opening and Lookout Landing...

The Legend of Zelda: Face of the Trials (Shrine Maker Concept 2.0)

Both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are going to be relaunched on June 5th with their Nintendo Switch 2 Editions. You can just pick up from where you have left on the Nintendo Switch or potentially even start all over again, using the second save files. Or maybe you will be playing them for the first time ever.

Whatever is the case, thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch 2, both titles should be free from any limitations of their previous systems, so you can enjoy them with smooth frame rates even when there is a lot going on at once. And with that in mind, this opens the doors for new possibilities, which brings us back to the idea of a Shrine Maker, an idea as old as Breath of the Wild itself.

 

The Basics

First, let's run through the basics again, but with some refinements. This will be Zelda's equivalent to the Super Mario Maker, but instead of 2D platformer levels you will be making 3D mini-dungeons. This will set it apart from both the Super Mario Maker, but also something like the Super Dungeon Maker, which was inspired by traditional top-down Zelda dungeons. It will utilize a similar interface to the Puzzle Creator from Portal 2, where you carve out a 3D space via a voxel-based grid, while making good use of the different assets from Breath and Tears.

Each level has an entrance and you will have to reach the shrine at the end, which is essentially your flag pole. Both can be freely placed by the person designing the level, and whatever challenges await the player between is also up to that person, where they could design a puzzle, or have the player defeat enemies in a series of rooms (like the Trial of the Sword). But in order to upload a level you will need to beat it yourself first.

Clearing a shrine will reward the players with something akin to the Spirit Orbs or Lights of Blessing, let's call them "Hero Tokens", where four tokens can be traded for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel, just like in the main games. The maximum is the same as in Tears of the Kingdom, so 40 hearts and three stamina wheels, where unlike in the main games you can actually maximize both here, since there is technically an infinite number of tokes to obtain.

Designers can define a recommended value of hearts and stamina for their trials and they will have to beat the shrine with these prerequisites, but players are not bound to them, so they can try their luck with less or completely steamroll shrines that are meant for beginners.

As additional rewards, the shrines can contain optional treasure chests with Rupees in them. The system will be similar to the Chamber Dungeon from Link's Awakening, meaning that their value will be determined by the shrines theoretical difficulty. Of course, this system still can be cheesed somehow, e.g. by making a shrine full of strong foes that can be avoided, but you won't just be able to create a shrine that offers a hundred chests filled with Gold Rupees. Replaying shrines will also lower the value of Rupees obtained from any previously opened chests and you can't get a token from the same shrine twice.

Rupees then can be used to purchase and enhance armor, which the players can freely equip before a trial... given that the trial allows it. Tokens will also be required to enhance your armor, so that they still have a usage once you've maximized your stats. The available armor will offer anything from the main games that can be somehow useful in a trial, which is most of it. They can also be dyed, where applicable, for an amount of Rupees – you don't need to collect any other materials here.

So, unlike Super Mario Maker, this game will offer constant progression, which will allow you to overcome more difficult challenges. A number of default trials that come with the game could even give you a basic goal, without the need of dealing with player-created content.

There even could be an actual story, taking place after the events of Tears of the Kindom. Purah discovers a plethora of ancient shrines all hidden deep under the earth and sends Link to investigate them, by teleporting him directly into the shrines. Simple, but effective.

 

Inventory

As already mentioned, players are able to equip a set of armor before starting a trial, where they can pick whatever they feel is best suited for them, given that they have unlocked it, and can also mix and match pieces as they see fit. Set Bonuses still apply, so you could use an enhanced Flamebreaker set to avoid fire damage. But you won't be able to change armor in the middle of a trial, unless certain pieces are given to you as part of the challenge.

Players will also be equipped with the basic Master Sword and – unlike in the main games – it will not break, so you will always have a fallback weapon. There will also be plenty of mechanics to ensure that the players won't run out of necessary resources to beat a trial, where weapons can respawn or fruits will regrow. Potentially, you could even make select weapons unbreakable as well.

However, the creator still has the option to make limited resources part of the challenge. They can also make their trial a "Proving Grounds", in which case the player won't be able to choose armor and won't have the Master Sword. The creator can give them a set of pre-defined armor, however.

In any case, you will have access to the Paraglider, where all the different fabrics could return as another unlockable, whether that's from amiibo, from Rupees, or both. Potentially, you could also have the Earthwake as a fallback for when you have no weapons. And the other key item(s) may be determined by what type of shrine we're looking at...

 

Sheikah or Zonai?

The most important choice when creating a level is whether you want to build an Ancient Sheikah Shrine or a Zonai Shrine of Light. It's a choice made upfront, because this will not only alter the aesthetics, but also the different gameplay elements, where unlike in Super Mario Maker they won't be easily interchangeable. The main reasons for such a split are Fuse and the Ultrahand.

Fuse, in particular, changes heavily what kind of equipment you should have access to. Tears of the Kingdom only had very basic weapons and plain arrows, where you are meant to fuse them with materials or other weapons. It's not really compatible with all the advanced weapons you had in Breath of the Wild, which is why they got cut. What would happen if you were to fuse an opal to a Flameblade, for example? Would their elemental effects cancel each other out? Nintendo probably didn't want to bother with figuring out such questions, since Fuse is already insanely complex as it is.

So, when going for a Sheikah Shrine, you may not be able to fuse things any longer, but you will have access to all the weaponry from Breath of the Wild, including the different arrow types. Maybe there could even be new ones, like Water and Wind Arrows, just to give you a bit more of the versatility of Fuse without having Fuse.

Ultrahand on the other hand relies a lot on the different Zonai devices. Of course, they could simply make a Sheikah variant of everything, so it's not necessarily a limitation by style, but it would make sense from a lore perspective and also makes it clear right from the start what type you're dealing with.

Let's say that Link obtains some sort of Zonai bracelet, which gives him access to Fuse, Ultrahand, Ascend and Recall again. But it's only active within the Shrines of Light. Likewise, there could be a "Purah Pad 2" (as a nod to the Nintendo Switch 2), which by default gives you the Camera Rune and maybe the compendium. But within a Sheikah Shrine it draws power from them to enable Bombs and Stasis (in their enhanced form), as well as Magnesis and Cryonis. There could even be Bombchus as a third type of bomb and maybe you could use Cryonis on lava in this game to create rock platforms.

But throwing materials will work in any type of shrine, so finding a Sapphire would be actually useful in a Sheikah Shrine for some freezing blasts. In general, the quick inventory management will be based on Tears of the Kingdom, so you can quickly drop stuff and so on.

There also shouldn't be any limitations regarding enemies, other than what kind of weapons they are able to wield. But you could theoretically deploy a Guardian in a Shrine of Light, or a Gloom Spawn within a Sheikah Shrine. The only exception might be the Constructs due to their ability to fuse, but otherwise that's something where you could break completely loose from the usual shrine conventions, where you only ever face either Guardians or Constructs. Instead, you can have any type of enemy, even overworld bosses, similar to the Trial of the Sword. But Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity already has done this as well with its Coliseum challenges.

And this does not only concern the monsters, but other elements as well. You wouldn't normally find a cooking pot within a shrine, but this could be something that can be placed nevertheless. They could even go wild and include all sorts of recurring structures from the overworld, like trees or the skull caves... Again, the Trial of the Sword already did the same, even though it is not a real shrine, but a trial of the mind.

 

Themes

Well, if we really were restricted to only having the blue Sheikah Shrines and the green Shrines of Light, then the visual variety of the game would suffer quite a bit. It's already a major complaint about both Nintendo Switch games that their shrines all look the same. One way to avoid this would be a number of skins, which can be freely swapped during creation.

The first thing that comes to mind are the Divine Beasts as an alternative to your typical Sheikah Shrine. The Final Trial from The Champions' Ballad shows how those aesthetics can be used to create something that was essentially a larger shrine. There could also be a twisted Yiga Shrine variant, where everything is in red/orange and the Sheikah symbols are upside down.

As for the Shrines of Light, maybe let's reduce those lights and go for a "Zonai Mining Facility" variant, where they are placed within the Depths and give the same gloomy feel. There could also be a theme based on the ancient Zonai ruins, like the Lomei Labyrinths.

screenshot from ArchitectureOfZelda.com

If we wanted the fanbase to lose their minds, however, there could even be styles based on past Zelda titles. The most obvious example is something based on the Palace of Twilight from Twilight Princess, which feels like a predecessor to the whole magical technology theme from the later games. In such a case you wouldn't just want it to be a visual theme, however, but also something that alters part of the sound effects or potentially even some of the gameplay elements. For example, instead of the usual metallic orbs, you could have Sols. And the sockets that are activated by these orbs could get a corresponding reskin.

Technically, this could even warrant a third main variant of shrines – Shrines of Twilight essentially, or Twilit Shrines –, where they could take things even further, maybe even re-introduce enemies like the Shadow Beasts. But with such a project they would probably just want to focus on re-using the assets from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom one more time.

Another good candidate for a classic theme would be the Tower of the Gods from The Wind Waker. It also gives similar vibes of ancient technology and fits the whole "trial for the hero" concept that these shrines all go for. Naturally, such classic themes would have to be created within the engine and visual style of the new games.

 

Only on Nintendo Switch 2

This whole idea isn't new and Nintendo could theoretically already have done this on the current Nintendo Switch, as a direct follow-up to the two games that this based upon. However, like with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, there might be a number of advantages of having this exclusive to the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

• Performance. That's the obvious reason, where both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom don't always ruin smoothly on the Nintendo Switch. Rest assured that things will be tested to the extreme with such a tool, where creators will certainly throw too many monsters at you. But at least you will have stable 60FPS when you fight those dozen Lynels all at once.
• Mouse controls. This new Joy-Con feature will certainly make it a lot more convenient to control a level editor in 3D. Pointer and touchscreen controls will still work as well, but won't be as comfortable.
  

If the next Zelda game continues the open world direction, then it will likely have shrines again, or at least something similar that works mini-dungeons. And if the next game were to continue the Breath of the Wild brand, then it would be possible to expand a shrine maker with everything new. Maybe it won't even come out before, so it will already feature the next game and its shrines as the basis, but also still supports everything from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

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, so 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.

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 (Update: the site even warns about in-game purchases). Curiously, there have been editions of the game that also came with the DLC on card, 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.

 

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.

Zelda Calendar(s) 2025

The year is coming quickly to a close and it's high time to get some new calendars for your walls. If you want something Zelda-themed, you get to choose between two different companies again, which are Abrams and Danilo. I picked the latter, because their calendars are more easily available where I live and they are simply ahead of the competition.

Danilo's 2025 calendar is essentially a sequel to the one from this year. It's entirely focused on Tears of the Kingdom and uses exclusively the different characters arts for the game, but it's a different set for the next year:

You get Rauru, Yunobo, Teba, Hestu and the Captain Construct, which were all missing in 2024. And you also get the secondary artworks for Riju and Zelda this time, which is nice. However, the other five artworks are repeats, which is not so nice. Of course there aren't even that many character artworks to use, but there is still Yunobo's alternate art, as well as artworks for Purah and Mineru, which could have been included here. I didn't even know that some of these existed, like Hestu's for example.

At least the character variety is much better than it was this year. Only Zelda is seen twice and each of the sage descendants is featured exactly once. Ideally, they would have spread things out more, so that the 2024 calendar has no doubled characters except for maybe Link and then use the rest for 2025.

The overall design is fine. It's not the prettiest, but I appreciate that they were trying to do things differently for the same idea. The calendar by Abrams (not pictured) looks much cleaner with its backgrounds, but they are essentially just copying the competition from what they did last year, so they also are now doing a Tears of the Kingdom calendar with the character arts... At least they got the character variety right from the start, but this isn't the first time that they are just looking at the competition to make next year's calendar. This was also a thing when Pyramid was still around and it makes Abrams quite unappealing, because they always seem to be one year behind.

For 2026 I expect something that has Echoes of Wisdom in it... from both parties. But if you want some Echoes of Wisdom in 2025 already, you can try the free table calendar from My Nintendo.

My Nintendo Calendar 2025

Since I have lots of Platinum Points, I decided to give this one a try, which costs 300 in total. The quality is pretty much what you would expect, so it's just a bunch of thin cardboard sheets. And this isn't a purely Zelda-themed calendar, of course, but an overall Nintendo calendar:

At least there is some Zelda in there. You get artworks for both Echoes of Wisdom (in February) and Tears of the Kingdom (in July). This is the complete list:

• January - Mario & Luigi Brothership
• February - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• March - Princess Peach Showtime!
• April - Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• May - Splatoon 3: Side Order
• June - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• July - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• August - Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
• September - Metroid Prime Remastered
• October - Splatoon 3
• November - Pikmin 4
• December - Super Mario Party Jamboree
  

The only real complaint is seeing Splatoon 3 twice... Which apparently they also had done for 2024. Speaking of, I actually like the 2025 design much more, it's less cluttered. Anyway, I would have swapped Splatoon 3 in October for Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, but otherwise this is fine. And that's how it looks when you put it together:

Nothing too fancy. It's like a small easel made out of cardboard, which you have to fold correctly. And then you put the cards in there. That's it. But I suppose you shouldn't expect something more stable and with metal rings from a gift. So, I'm not sure I will get this again... Maybe if the motives are really nice.

There is also a second My Nintendo calendar for the retro gaming selection, but I didn't get that one, because I didn't like it as much. It does feature A Link to the Past & Four Swords, though, which was my 2024 highlight from these online services.

My Nintendo Switch Year 2024

Nintendo is offering your year-in-review statistics once again, but it's actually not as interesting as last year, because unlike in 2023 there is no way of seeing the play times of all the games that you've played during the year, only the top 3. And my top 3 doesn't really contain anything new from this year.

I've been still very busy with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the first half of 2024. But this already feels like forever ago, because we got a new Zelda game with Echoes of Wisdom in the meantime... It feels like I'm looking back at the wrong year. Though, I've spent only half as much time on the Nintendo Switch than in 2023, because it has been quite the busy year for me otherwise.

Luckily, you can also see how much you've played your games overall via your profile, even though it's rounded down to the nearest multiple of five, which you can use for new games in the statistic. So, I can compile a list that's a bit more comprehensive, with some links to the corresponding topics on this blog:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (192 hours)
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (98 hours)
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (57 hours)
   
4. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (55+ hours)
5. Game Boy Advance (40+ hours)
6. Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition (25+ hours)

Sadly, Echoes of Wisdom came in a close fourth – it would have been well deserved for the game to make it into my year's top 3. I don't even recall playing that much Smash Bros., though the new Spirits in the beginning of 2024 were an incentive to boot the game from time to time. And this ranking might change, because I was thinking about replaying Echoes of Wisdom in Hero Mode over the holidays. But Decembers don't exist in these yearly statistic by Nintendo.

My most active months, at least concerning the Nintendo Switch, were January and February. This is where I was finishing all side quests in Tears of the Kingdom, as well as searching for all those Hinox and Taluses for the medals and all of Addison's spots. And this took quite a while... I was left with completing the compendium, finding all Koroks, and discovering all recipes, which I did in April and May after a much-needed break in March.

Right after I had finally finished Tears of the Kingdom came two new Zelda highlights: the announcement of Echoes of Wisdom, already to be released in September, and the addition of Four Swords on the Game Boy Advance service. The latter let me finally experience the game in a four-player-set-up around June and July, but it also motivated me to replay both A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap on the same service.

The Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition then came after, in late July, which is a title I keep playing from time to time. I usually participate in the weekly championships, trying to score an S-rank in all of them, but I don't overdo it.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is another title that I keep playing, but this has died down from a daily to a weekly basis. During the year I finished collecting all insect and fish models, where now there is little left to achieve for me, other than filling out the Nook Shopping catalog, which is an insane task anyway and not worth the effort. But this will certainly stay on top as the most played game on my system, where it has been this virtual happy place for quite some time.

Anyway, there was a break in both August and November, where I had some other personal things going on. And between these two months my focus was on the new Zelda game, Echoes of Wisdom, of course. It came out just at the right time.

This is all just for the Nintendo Switch, where otherwise I'm also gaming on the PC quite a bit. In March I was going back to Unreal Tournament 3  and currently I'm enjoying the original Unreal Tournament once more, where I have returned to a personal project from five years ago, the console map pack.

Also in March I've got into Lonely Mountains: Downhill, which is another title that I keep playing from time to time, with 64 hours by now, according to Steam. So, if I had played this on the Nintendo Switch instead, it would have been in the top 3 before Smash Bros. Ultimate and Echoes of Wisdom. It's very enjoyable if you're looking for something simple to play in-between. And I will continue playing this in 2025, for sure.

Last but not least, after my GBA nostalgia trip during the summer I checked out TUNIC for the first time, with 37 hours on Steam. If you like classic Zelda games, then this is also something that I can highly recommend.