SBC #02.1: Sheik & The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Today’s article contains game-long spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. If you are someone who cares about the plot of this game that is all about gameplay, I understand completely. Right there with you, buddy. So, please be aware, spoilers and all that riot. You have been warned.

SBC #02.1: Sheik & The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Sheik in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

• System: We will cover all the Smash Bros. stuff next time. For now, just remember this is only available on the Nintendo Switch.
• Number of players: One player. You cannot even get a second controller to steer one of your ghost buddies.
• Lament of a Hero: “I have seen this land from east to west to north to south. I have completed a map of not only every place the sun shines, but the deep depths as well. I have conquered temples, and beaten back untold monsters. I have acquired a great many treasures, including blades of many types, and outfits of various styles. I have explored caves, and hunted mystical creatures. I have reclaimed my greatest weapon, and uncovered all the memories of my missing companion. … I still have no idea where to find some milk.”
• There’s a story there: Everybody seems to know that eating a secret stone transforms you into a “mindless” dragon. Zelda had to learn this, but Ganondorf just knows, and it is not like the cat lady would have told him. So how did that become common knowledge? Did Goat God very publicly give a secret stone to a toddler, and the inevitable happened?
• Do it right: I appreciate that the optional and plentiful shrines forbid blueprints and other shortcuts, but the mandatory (as much as anything is mandatory in this game) temples allow for all sorts of solutions to obstacles. Want to summon a prebuilt plane to solve all your problems? Have at it! That said, you can still find unique solutions in shrines, and I kind of wish I kept track of which locations I simply used a rocket shield to crack. I would like to return and try it “for real” now…
• What’s in a name? I had nearly completed the game before I realized the Light Root names are just their corresponding shrine names backwards. I thought they were gibberish!
• Dreams Fulfilled: As I have said before, all I ever wanted out of Skyward Sword was exactly what we can see here:
  

  Being able to actually see the land from the sky is 10,000 times more effective than using a “level select” via cloud cover. That is nonsense. This is the good stuff. Glad it only took two more console generations to get there.

• Say something mean: By the end of the game, you simply have too many verbs. It is easy to get stuck on a simple puzzle when you are mentally cycling through your many arm abilities, weapons, companion skills, and even fused items. Sometimes the solution is simply “jump and use an arrow”, but you still spend a half hour trying to figure out how this puzzle could be solved by your pet robot.
• Identity theft: I previously noted that Goggle Robbie was the standout character of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But now…
  
  
  
  
  I think someone is spying on me and reporting my life back to Nintendo. I am only moderately annoyed by this.
• Did you know? There was a “wind sage” intended for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but the only trace of that design decision still left in the final game was the “windy” room in Ganondorf’s Castle during the finale. Whatever would have been gusty was replaced with Saria as the Forest Sage. Not to say Saria would not have ever been the Forest Sage, just that she may have previously had a more airy title.
• Would I play again: Well, if you really want to ask…

What’s next? I may have completed every last shrine, but I’m not done with this game yet! We have more traditional Tears of the Kingdom coverage next week! Please look forward to it!

When those shrooms kick in