#First ToTK impressions

[kittygorian]

Haha jk!! ...Unless...

[ihavehatsinmypants]

first look at the arm. This was my first reaction at seein it before, yknow, found out who it belonged to.

(i find the arm very cool now. but at first i was like ew what, mummy arm? But the mummy arm has grown on me)

[gaylactic-fire]

As stated in the title, please try and put aside any personal love or hatred you may have toward Matt Mercer. I want to know your opinions on whether you think this voice is good for Ganon.

[sevennbees]

[bmpmp3]

after six years of the game being out and after three and a half years of me actually playing the game i have finally beat botw. did u know finishing video games is. fun,,

[thegeminisage]

GOT HIS ASS!!!!!!!!!!!

my hands are literally fucking shaking right now. oh god

[maepolzine]

First Impression of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Sharing my initial thoughts on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[linkeduniverse]

Our Hero transformed a lot in TotK. At first, he was known as Zelda's knight, but he became much more. People recognize and respect him, and he plays a big role in the kingdom's growth alongside Zelda becoming an active and involved member of his community. This change from being a quiet knight to a lively community leader would really impress Twilight and Warrior. But When it comes to LU Wild, he's yet to achieve these things. His life in the Kingdom still has its challenges that he is trying to tackle. Originally, I wrote Wild to desire growth for his kingdom, much like Terry Town but on a larger scale. Surprisingly, it became quite literal in TotK!

So here's the thing: He's not a character to simply replace; he's dynamic and evolving. His life and journey have significant phases, showing growth and change. If I introduce the ToTK version of Wild in TotK, it disrupts his character development in LU. I've crafted scenes where he learns and grows from various individuals—heroes, princesses, and queens alike. The Princess of the Wild also has her own moments of growth interacting with others. Skipping to their 20s would mean ditching this growth.

I suppose Wild's a lot like Time now. Time, how he's featured in LU, is in the middle of his canon appearances. A little of who he was, and a little of who he will be. Wild too is that middle ground now that he has a trilogy for himself. But what I will say is TotK revealed more of  Wild's unique ability to be resourceful in unconventional ways. I did intentionally limit his usual resources to highlight his uniqueness. Missing an item would break any other Zelda adventure, but for Wild, anything can be a tool. No key? No problem! He’s at his best when circumstances are at their worst because unlike other heroes reliant on specific items, Wild finds a way. But now with TotK, that's his defining trait. The crazy builds in TotK perfectly showcase this…creativity… of his.

TotK definitely gives me a canon trajectory for Wild's (and his princess) goals. All in all I would still like to add some sort of TotK, even if it's small, in LU but as of now I'm still  drawing a blank. I'm not worried about it. An Idea will happen organically if it's meant to be

[h3rmitsunited]

First Impressions of LOZ: Tears of the Kingdom - First ~10 hours

I've played for three days and here's my thoughts on how it's been so far (could be a bit more than 10 hours, but I haven't been keeping track and the Switch doesn't show you total hours until after the first like 10 days).

Spoilers below the read more!

• First of all, it's pretty fun so far. It is feeling a bit like a (massive) expansion to the first game, but there is like so much new stuff, even if it is the same world, and it's fun to run around and see the things that have changed and the new things in the world.

• The intro just really shoves you right into it and the opening clips were like so eerie and the music was creeping me out, but I liked it a lot. I'm like I don't know what the heck is happening, but it's fun and new and more LOZ yay!

• I think the "tutorial" section was done pretty well. It did feel a bit like, oh this is Great Plateau part 2, but I didn't feel like it dragged on and I like the new mechanics so far.

• The Ultrahand is like magnesis on crack, and it can be a little tricky maneuvering things and trying to battle the camera (especially when you make very large things). I made a long bridge across a large gap and it was a bit of a pain trying to angle and see if it was long enough and rotate it just right to get it in the right spot. 

• I totally screwed myself up getting to the Ascend shrine in the snow area and it led to my first death of the game and I felt so dumb lol. I got up to the part right below where the shrine is and the cliff sides are icy so it's like oh you can't climb, you slide down, and there's a patch of trees right by that, and my dumb brain is like... oh darn, guess we can't go up right here, we must need to keep moving around the area to get to the other side where you can get up to the top. I'd gone through the cave, so there was the whole other side of the snow area with the little fan boats and the waterfalls, so I went down from the top, down past the waterfalls to where the boats were and was like... wait... this seems... incorrect. And then I struggled so dang much getting back up the stupid side of the mountain. The first death was because I jumped into the water and the construct had said something about the water draining stamina, so I'd thought, oh, okay, that must mean that it doesn't hurt you immediately, it just makes your stamina drain fast, so I should be okay to swim this tiny bit more. I was not. It killed me so fast. I did eventually make it back up, but it probably added another like half hour to getting to that shrine.

• Ascend is cool and it obviously doesn't work everywhere, but it's fun where it does work and I like the animation and Link popping up out of the ground like a little prairie dog.

• Fuse is interesting, but I think I haven't used it enough to really wrap my brain around it. Like I like silly weird weapons with rocks and wheels and long sticks attached to them, but I'm still like, okay but how do I make good weapon that doesn't look insane. And also there's like so many things and weapons and the slot limit is low and I hate using the good stuff but I just gotta get over my hoarding tendencies because like stuff is everywhere.

• Reverse seems like it'll be the cryo of the abilities, where it's very situational and otherwise you don't think about it. I haven't really used it yet on the surface, so I'll  have to mess around with it more at some point and see what I can get it to do.

• I've gotten through a few main mission things, primarily getting to the surface, talking to Purah, going to the castle ruins, and going to Rito Village to talk with the people there, but I've found that I'm more interested right now in seeing all the new stuff and just riding around the map.

• Speaking of riding around the map, it's fun that it pulls your horses out of your old save data from BOTW. Along with their like mane decorations and stuff, even if it's not unlocked in this save, so now I have my pretty flowered mane horse from my old game.

• The little tunnels in the wells are fun. I haven't explored that many of them, but it's cool to go in and use the ascend feature to just pop back up out of the ground. You're in there like oh man I've got to run all the way back to the ladder and climb back out and then remember oh shit! No I don't! And then just burrow up out of the ground.

• I feel like the hardest thing is trying to keep from just making as much stamina food as I can and then just flying to every location on the map instead of like exploring on the ground. I'm like oh well, I don't have to fight my way through all that, I'll just pop up to that sky shrine and then fly for seven minutes and eat every stamina meal and now I'm where I wanted to be. It is still interesting, and I think I like that you can do that because I feel like I'd be driving myself crazy just trying to zoom all over the map to see the stuff I wanted to see. I guess I just long for that feeling in the first game when you were discovering the whole world and seeing the stuff as you go rather than I know where everything is and now I'm just flying to stuff because I can. But I mean, I guess it makes sense because Link would be familiar with the world already and he isn't the amnesiac that doesn't know anything about Hyrule, so we're going into it the same way with the same info.

• I'm hoping that there will be clips in the game like the memories in the original game, I loved getting to see the interactions between Link and Zelda and the brief moments we've had so far in the game leave me wanting more.

• (This has all been spoilers, but seriously spoilers because this is so special to find on your own) Hateno Village and the Zelda of it all. I started the game and I was like... I need to see the house, there's gotta be something there. And let me tell you I pulled up to the gate and the whole like clothes thing and mushroom and nobody knew who Link was and I was like... oh no, what is there nothing, and then I head over towards the house and see the little girl that's like when's ms. Zelda coming back and my heart. Zelda was living in Link's house in Hateno and all the little bits and pieces in the house, the pictures and her journal about starting the school and teaching the kids. And then the secret well lab with all the frogs! And Link's hair band being in the chest down there and her diary entry about how she's been busy and going to help and Link has been by her side the whole time and neglecting his own clothes and his Champion's tunic was all ratty so she commissioned a new tunic and was going to give it to him after their investigation under the castle and just... guys... But also, it's driving me a little bonkers in Hateno that apparently Link had been by Zelda's side the whole time... except... nobody in Hateno knows who you are except the guy at the school? Like he would have been around, so now I'm curious if Link had been staying somewhere else, if he's got some room or other house somewhere and only Zelda has been in Hateno every now and then or whatever. More to come and explore obviously though. The school is cute and the little student evals with messages to Zelda :)

• I've only done one of the monster hunter side quests, but I thought it was fun how it felt kind of like the Age of Calamity/Hyrule Warrior style of combat where it's the big crowd of monsters and people and you fight alongside to clear out a location. I thought it was cool that they brought that into this game, even if it did feel like Hyrule Warriors in that the other guys didn't really do that much lol

• The depths are scary lol. I'm such a wimp, especially early game when it feels like you're so vulnerable and everything can almost one shot you. I like how they made it so dark and how it's like you have to slowly work your way across and discover that area. There's so much freedom and flexibility and openness to the surface and air areas, so it's fun to have an area of the game that is not like that and forces you to slow down and manage your resources and slowly work through the area. I've barely made it anywhere in the depths, but I hope there's some cool weird stuff to explore down there and it's not just like big caves. Like I hope there's some cool ruins and stuff too.

I've done more stuff, explored the Great Plateau, the Shrine of Resurrection, seen the terrifying looking thing in the Colosseum and went nope no way, and hopped around a bunch of the sky island, unlocked two towers so far, other than the Lookout Tower, and stayed up way too late. I'm still very confused about what the heck is going on, and what's going on with Zelda, and the timeline and zombie boy, but I'm gnawing at my arm to play more, and I wish I could just take a week off to play for seven days straight.

So far, I'm enjoying it! I've only been playing docked, but I'm planning to take it handheld on a trip at the beginning of June (I'm visiting my friend in Phoenix and we're going to Phoenix Fan Fusion), and docked has been good, I haven't noticed any lagging or difficulty loading, other than something the game gets a little wonky with the big attached objects, but that's mostly maneuvering and camera reasons and not like framerate or lag. There is like so much stuff in this game, so we'll see if that performance holds up in handheld too. I need to send off my joy cons before then though because I have been using my pro controller and my joy cons are so drifty it's driving me crazy.

[selenityshiroi]

No Story Spoiler TOTK Hype

I played just over 5 hours at midnight, which took me through the opening, the 'Great Plateau' area and a little more. Got to a good stopping point and took a nap.

Which I was awoken from by the arrival of both my physical copies of the game!

The Collectors Edition is SO MUCH BIGGER than I though it would be! I though the artbook would be a smaller book but it's a very nice size.

Anyway, the way they've presented the game's story is so different than BOTW and gives a much stronger narrative, whilst also maintaining a significant amount of freedom. Freedom based on checkmarks instead of how you do it. I was two years late to BOTW so I'm not sure how varied the first gameplays were. I'm sure everyone will have explored the first location differently.

The controls are a little janky right now, I will admit. But I finished my most recent playthrough of BOTW just 2 hours before starting TOTK. I died to not having a paraglider yet twice! And I miss my max stamina haha! The controls will become more natural with use (just like BOTW) and I'll eventually stop pressing the item menu to change abilities!

Performance has been smooth for me and the game looks very good. Mist occasionally rolled in on the starting area and I wasn't sure if it was weather effects or if it was a way to limit render distance and reduce load. If the latter it's a neat solution.

The game mechanics, though, are very VERY obviously 'can I copy your homework but change it a little?'

Although many game mechanics are presented differently in this new story they are identical to BOTW. Which isn't a surprise but the usage is so blatant they almost might have not changed them at all! But it's not really a downpoint. Just a bit...cringe?

Anyway, I can already tell that exploration in this game is going to be massively time consuming. And I doubt I'm going to make too much story progress over the next few days off work, even if I played almost constantly. But I'm going to enjoy this so much!

[nolongerapileofashprobably]

Zelda constantly rambling is 100% a trait I adore with every ounce of my being but the reason behind it is actually so heartbreaking.

Zelda and her studies were condemned mercilessly by her father. She legitimately ran away from the castle and her father’s orders multiple times because of how stifled she felt inside the castle.

And though she had the support of Impa and Purah, she was forbidden by the King to continue with her research on the Guardians.

And then we have Link who actually listens to her. He’s with her constantly as her knight attendant and he actually listens. She will ramble about anything, because she is so smart and has a wide variety of knowledge that was always looked down upon because it wasn’t her ‘duty’. And he shows genuine interest.

And to fast forward to totk where we learn that they are practically inseparable to the point that people assume Zelda is safe because Link is or know something is immediately wrong bc Zelda isn’t by Link’s side…. *spoilers for totk ending below*

It’s just so precious to me because Zelda grew up with her hobbies and interests put down and now she has Link who she is not at all afraid to ramble on and on to about the zonai and some of her first thoughts upon waking up at the end are the many things she just has to tell Link about. Zelda finally has a home where she can just be her and that home is Link and the Hyrule they are rebuilding together.

Also just adding the fact that Zelda obviously rambled about Link to Sonia prior to memory eight and gave the impression that Zelda’s absolute devotion and faith in Link was 100% reciprocated bc of Sonia’s teasing comments ….

Zelda’s rambling is absolutely precious to me and I’m so happy she has Link who is forever supportive of her and her endeavors regardless of what they might be.

[z3rinn]

# #. I WANT YOU MORE.

in which link has secretly been pining for the new librarian, and when he finds out you like someone he goes a bit batshit. warning : theres some blood and yandere content ahead !!

this took so long omg T_T testing and everything was hectic, but i hope you guys like it! this was written with botw or totk link in mind !! is it weird that I love Zelda so much but I haven't written much for it?? yes. but uh. LINK !!!

Link had been blessed. That's what everyone told him. He was a hero. Someone who saved this land for more than a millenia. He weilded the legendary sword, the one said to seal the darkness. He was blessed by the Triforce of Courage, given to him by the gods themselves.

Link had many titles in life, many burdens he had to carry. It was his job, his duty as a citizen of Hyrule. His duty as the hero.

He had almost everything in life. An outstanding reputation, a good job that kept him steady and afloat. A big house, secluded from others but close enough to not be considered an outcast. Good cooking skills that could impress anyone. Girls flocking and cooing over him. Link was the perfect man for anyone. He had it all.

Except for you of course.

The cute castle librarian.

He first noticed you in the old, rundown, library. A place that definitely needed to be renovated. The hylian glanced around as he stepped into the room. Cracks and shatters littered the room, bookshelves were close to falling, and the roof just seemed to barely be holding up. Books were piled everywhere and anywhere the eye could see.

It was an impressive library, he had to admit. Just a bit outdated. Perhaps that's what gave the building its beauty though.

Link glanced over to the small door near the end of the library, noticing a person coming out of it. You must’ve been the librarian, he quickly realized. He sized you up and down, you looked… done, oddly enough.

Zelda was the one to first talk to you of course. You were the head of the library, so kind and soft-spoken. Links eyes stayed fixated on your form as you greeted him and Zelda, showing them around. It was obvious you were trying to impress the princess while still being as kind as you could.

However, Link watched closely, scrutinizing your form with his piercing gaze. He noticed the way you talked about the different books and architecture of the building in great detail. Usually people spoke about the details with great pride, flaunting how they were so well versed in the subject.

Yet Link could tell you were tired. Tired of your duties and being stuck in this library. The way you spoke sounded energetic, and the smile on your face could fool anyone.

Yet he noticed the way you deflated after speaking with the princess. As if you had said these words a hundred times over. It was all calculated. A prepared speech. You were tired. That much he could tell.

He was tired too.

☆

Link found himself gravitating to the library after his first visit. There was something about it that called to him. Perhaps the want to know of his ancestors and their accomplishments. Thats what he kept telling himself.

He wouldn't do much while there however, other than picking up a book ot two before taking a seat at the table closest to your desk.

He tried reading the books of course, and at first succeeded without much distraction. However from the corner of his eyes he watched as you worked. Placing books onto their shelves, helping out customers, and tidying up as best you could.

Link’s eyes followed your form wholly. Although he could still notice ths small details, like your walking being sluggish, the knight couldn’t help but gawk. You were just so captivating. So fluid with your movements.

The way you moved around so swiftly yet carefully, aware of what you were doing while still being carefree. You could balance various books in your hands, all in different sizes. You maneuvered across the children running around, being steady to not harm them.

A light laugh escaped your lips as you told them to be careful, this was a library after all.

Link could tell that laugh was genuine at the least.

The heroes gaze fell to his hands. He wondered how you could act so engaged while still hating your job. The book he held felt as if it weighed just as much as his sword now.

"Oh, if it isn't the princesses guard! Uhm, Link... right?"

Link’s head snapped up, his gaze meeting your own. He was quick to note that the library had become silent. He hadn't realized it, but it seemed as if it was only you two left in the library now.

"What brings you here?" You spoke with a soft smile on your face. A costumer service smile it seemed. You were probably just waiting for him to get up and leave so you could close shop.

You shimmied over next to him, eyes focussing on the book in his hands. "Ah, a book on the master sword. You must be reading about your ancestors, correct?"

Link nodded, as you came to sit besides him. "I can help if you'd like? I’ve been researching the master sword ever since I was young. I’ve always been fascinated by the legends and heroes that fought with it.”

You turned to him, “It’d be nice to learn from someone who actually wields it as well.”

You spoke with a smile on your face, it was bright and real. He noticed the way you glanced at the sword on the table. Awe and admiration in your shimmering eyes. It looked as if you wanted to learn about it for a while now.

Hm. A small smile grazed his face. Blue eyes shining down at you.

Perhaps this could blossom into a nice friendship.

☆

It seemed as if Sir Link was visiting your library more and more often as of late.

You couldn’t help but smile as you noticed him outside office window, seeing the familiar blonde hylian sitting at the desk closest to you. He always sat there, eyes glancing around for you before just sitting and silently waiting. You giggled, placing the book back on your desk before walking out of the small room.

Walking towards him, you reminisced, recallinghow much time had passed. It had been around a month since you first met the hero, asking him to collaborate with you.

It started off simple, researching the master sword while talking about the heroes of past. There wasn’t much meaning to it, in fact it was just pointless chatter.

I mean the both of you knew the same exact things anyways.

However, you couldn’t help but think of Link as some sort of idol. It was a practically a dream come true, being the wielder of the legendary sword. Almost every kid that had heard of it wanted to become the great hero.

It was an honor and a sign of courage.

But also a sign of power.

You sighed, well if you couldn’t keep the sword, you could at least be friends with the person that did.

So it was only obvious to propose your grand idea.

And ever since then, Link would visit whenever he was off.

Sure, you didn’t expect him to show up every other day, but Its not like you were complaining. Link was basically unreal. He had a pretty face, and great hair. He was quiet and mysterious, yet soft and kindhearted. Plus he could cook. Practically everything you could want in a man.

You tapped your fingers against the table, another sigh escaping your lips.

Hm. Too bad you were already engaged.

Sure it was a forced marriage, but you wouldn’t cheat. You couldn’t deal with that guilt on your conciseness. You had to do it for your parents.

Your soon to be partner wasn't a bad person. He just wasn't the right one for you.

You didn't like him.

If only you could make someone get rid of him.

Your eyes shifted to Link’s form, staring at him intently. A smile was on his face as he rambled on about his first time seeing the sword. There was a childlike joy on his face as he spoke.

He was experiencing an old memory. A vivid scene from his past.

You noticed Link seemed to be opening up to you more, speaking incessantly and happily. You couldn't help but smile too. He was just perfect.

Someone that was already wrapped around your fingers.

Link was opening up more and more to you throughout your time together. At first he was silent, just watching you speak. You were the one to hold most of the conversations, with him just humming or intensly nodding along. He was so serious it was kind of funny.

You knew he had gone through a lot, so you'd let him take his time. He could become closer to you as time passed.

It didnt take as long as you assumed however, as the shell he hid behind had begun to crack. He started to smile and laugh when you told him a dumb joke. He was relaxed around you, his stiff posture loosening with a soft look on his face.

He started speaking on his own as well. That was probably the biggest improvement. The first time you heard his voice you practically swooned.

Link opened up conversations now, speaking about his experiences and abilities.

Someone that was already yours.

“So Link,” you suddenly started, staring at the wooden table before you while placing your head on your palm. Might as well as do it. “Have you ever had a lover?”

You were nervous to look at him. It was an odd question for sure, and you weren’t certian if you were close enough to ask him. A moment passed. And then another. Sweat ran down your back. Perhaps you were right for being concerned, as Link was silent.

You couldn’t help but glance up at him, gazing into his eyes fearfully. However, instead of the disgusted and judging look you expected, you were met by red.

Links face was flushed scarlet, hot and warm. His eyes were wide and darting to every corner of the room, so obviously avoiding you. Their pretty blue color was accentuated by his reddened face. Magically, his pretty hair became disheveled, adding to the almost comical scene before you.

A small smile played on your face, mischievous and sly. You couldn’t help but giggle, "Have I struck a nerve?"

He looked away from you, albeit, while shaking his head. It surprised you honestly. He was oddly embarrassed for such a simple question...

A laugh escaped your lips, a joking tone laying on your tounge. "Really? I would've assumed the hero of hyrule would have a partner..."

You paused, watching his expression closely. He was just sitting there, listening to you intently. The blush on his face had slightly subsided, yet was still present on his pale face.

Was it right to say this now?

A smile grew on your face, elegant and sweet. Hiding your intent. "Especially since even I have one."

You looked closer.

It was subtle, but you could tell Link’s expression changed. His face fell, even if it was just slight. You could see his eyes grew wide, mouth slightly falling agape.

But as quickly as the shock arrived, it left.

A soft smile grew on Link's face, gentle and calm. It would've captured your heart if you didnt know him that well. It was so obviously sad it kind of hurt.

Eh. No. No it didnt.

"I'm surprised, you don't seem all that shocked...," you leaned forward against the table, placing your head in your chin.

The hylian simply shrugged, lip twitching as if he wanted to say something.

Suddenly Link stood up, stammering something about Zelda needing his help. It almost gave you whiplash with how quickly he tried to leave. What an obvious lie. You tried to hide the smirk peeking up on your face.

You didn't expect him to loose his cool that fast.

Instead, you mirrored Link's sad expression, standing up to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, I'm sorry to have taken your time away from the princess..." You flashed him a smile, patting his shoulder while trying to convey a solemn expression. "I guess I'll see you later?"

He nodded, taking your hand off his shoulder and keeping it in his. You noticed that he hesitated for a moment, eyes fixated on your softer hand.

He brought your hand to his face, gently kissing your finger tips and knuckles before turning away. You gaped, holding your hand close to your chest. Subconsciously, it seemed, that Link did the motion.

And he left you in the dust, just like that. With your heart beating and your mind racing. A smirk grew on your face, shining brightly as you giggled.

Link was the right choice.

☆

Link was sure he knew everything about you. From your favorite book to how many fruits grew in your backyard; despite never being formally invited.

It wasn't unwarranted for him to... conduct experiments per say.

You always told him to research if he was ever curious about something. And doing it hands on was one of the best ways to get good information.

So he researched, learning practically everything there was to learn about you.

Including your lover.

He just hoped you'd forget about them. Hoping you realized you didn’t need them. Link was so much better, he could love and care for you more than they ever would. He could protect you better then they ever could.

Your lover wasnt even there half the time. They didn't care for you. They didn't love you. They weren't right for you—

crash

Link stepped back, startled. He reached for his sword, before a light sigh escaped his lips, relaxing. A pretty vase sat in front of him. Now broken and shattered. He was getting carried away it seemed.

But Link cared for you. He was capable of everything. He could protect you. He would always be there for you.

He would love you.

Link would always love you.

Although. Sometimes he couldn't figure out why.

Perhaps it was because you spoke to him as if he was normal. Being the head librarian led you to learning heavily about Link's ancestors, and of course, their legacies.

They were all courageous hylians, heroes that were blessed by the gods themselves. Heroes that held the triforce.

Heroes he had to live up to.

But you didn't treat him like that.

While yes, you commented on him being a hero, and how he was lucky enough to have everything, you still treated him like a regular hylian.

You didn't judge him for his mistakes. Nor his skills. You laughed with him as you would a friend, jabbing and joking with him. No matter what he did, you accepted with a smile. Speaking to him as a friend would.

With you, he was like he was any other person.

He was so glad to have you.

It could've also been your mannerisms. You were gentle and soft-spoken, helping others with no compensation needed.

You were a model to many. The embodiment of a worthy citizen.

Yet there was also an air of mystery surrounding you. As if you knew more than you let on. It made you oddly compelling.

He noticed how you payed close attention to things. Just by the way he would speak, you could tell how he was feeling. Just by glancing over at someone's expression, you could tell what they wanted.

Link especially noticed how you looked at him. How you paid so much attention to him.

And only him.

Or maybe it was the way you slept with all the light's off. In pitch dark, no light whatsoever. It made it absolutely perfect for him to just stand over you in the night, breathing heavily over your gorgeous face. His hot breath mixing with yours—

Link blinked, glancing down at the broken shard from the vase in his hand. He had clutched it too hard it semed, as blood coated his hand.

It steadily dripped to the floor. A small pool of blood seeping into your wooden floors. It was red. Deep and scarlet like.

So different from the blood of monsters he'd slain countless times before.

He wondered how scarlet red blood would look pooling out of your lover.

While looking up at the clock on your bedroom wall he smiled.

Right.

You should've been home soon.

And he was right here waiting for you. :)

[weirdmageddon]

update to my last post about the falling zelink hug. besties we have it now not in 4K, not in 8K, but in 16K. the highest possible quality at least until someone develops a cutscene animation pause mod with freecam.

computer……ENHANCE

(if this picture ever loses quality from site compression or sharing you can find the original here)

as mentioned before, zelda’s right arm is sandwiched between her and link’s chests. but now we can finally see that link’s left arm goes across her upper back and holds her left shoulder. their skintones are too close from a distance to make out the edges (though you can see it with some adjustments) but i can see what i believe is his thumb. and if worse comes to worst in terms of clarity, look at the images below in the post where you can see how link is holding her shoulder (and we can finally see that the brown thing was her wooden upper arm bracelet accessory)

there is an unfortunate quirk in the game’s graphics where distant moving objects have jittery outlines, im guessing to make them appear sharper. (but honestly the way they look up close kinda reminds me of the official art style)

like with botw, the switch’s native maximum rendering resolution for totk when docked is only 900p (and upscales to 1080p). that means an original pixel width of 1600x900. this is cropped from a resolution of 8640p, or 15360x8640 pixels.

but look at how TINY they are in the original frame. the fact that we can see this much, going from this to this is testament to how impressive this is.

and from another perspective here’s the view from below

the first picture is from the first frame of this shot! here it is in full 14K since a 16K screenshot was too big for discord just so you can see how impressive the zoom actually is relative to the rest of the shot. but here’s the one actually pictured above sourced from 16K and cropped since the filesize could actually fit when cropped.

the second picture is a crop from a larger shot as well. here’s the original 16K sourced crop and the original shot it was cropped from for reference (though not ultra HD).

all credit where its due to EDMIRE2k on twitter who ran this on their PC and sent me the screenshots in DMs

again i hope this helps artists! or fosters discussion etc

[demilypyro]

Current thoughts on Tears of the Kingdom

I consider myself somewhat of a sceptic. I go into trailers not expecting anything and waiting to be impressed. And the first trailers for Totk... Did not impress me. The world and art design seemed generally unchanged, and while there was obviously a new plot, the minute to minute gameplay looked identical to Breath of the Wild. At the time, I felt, like many, that Totk looked like little more than extended DLC.

It wasn't until the months close to release that they started to show off the new mechanics, most notably the Ultrahand, the tool that lets you build structures and vehicles. And my first thought was... Why? What a strange, off-brand gimmick to insert into Zelda. It seemed totally random, completely disconnected from what people played Zelda for.

And I still think it is a strange, off-brand gimmick. However, having now played a dozen hours and completed my first dungeon, and come to grips with what Totk is going for... I also think it's one of the most impressive feats of open-world game design and game programming to date.

The range of options it offers, the way your toolbox expands as you find new toys to play with, and not to mention how it all works dynamically without any apparent bugs. Any of the things I made, in the average Ubisoft or EA game they would have instantly started clipping through the floor before flying into the sun while spinning at rapid speeds. But Totk makes it all work. Just the intense months of bugtesting that must have happened here boggle the mind.

At this point I am finally fully on board with Totk. It may not have been what I wanted, and I hope one day we'll return to a more traditional Zelda structure, but for now I just want to see what this game can do. Because it has impressed me. The sceptic is silenced on this one.

[smilesrobotlover]

Ok that’s it. I’m just gonna scream about echoes of wisdom:

First off, this game is amazing. Like I’m so impressed with it and had a blast with it. I’m very impressed with how fun the gameplay was. I was nervous that it wasn’t gonna be fun, but no it was actually tons of fun! It’s not perfect ofc. I wish you didn’t have to sit and scroll through hundreds of echoes, I wish they separated monsters and objects to make each one easier to grab, and the amount of times I pressed the sword button instead of the echo button was insane. Fighting enemies is also a pain since it takes so long, and I wished I could just directly fight them, and it’s super easy to soft lock yourself as well. But all those negatives don’t outweigh the positives, because regardless of those flaws, it was still VERY fun to play through. Once you get powerful monsters, fighting is kinda fun to watch. I loved placing like, 7 fire octos against one ice octo and just watch it get destroyed. I loved setting things on fire, I loved climbing on trees, and overall I just, loved finding ways to solve puzzles. Thinking outside the box was a lot of fun in this game. Now, in some places like the Faron temple, it wasn’t fun BUT, still. I loved it

And the story, omg. This is the first Zelda game that I’ve played since becoming a fan that has a new link and Zelda in a new Hyrule, and it was so refreshing to see! I’ve seen the same ones for years now since joining the fandom and I love seeing new ones! I love how Zelda doesn’t know Link at all, that he’s just some swordsman who saved her. I just love what they did with Link in general. He wasn’t reduced to a damsel in distress, he had his own adventure, we just didn’t see it. He was competent and was fighting In the rift before Null captured him. Fighting along side him was SO fun and the final dungeon was very unique and fun to go through. I also loved fighting as him in the very beginning. They gave him an interesting backstory and I almost wish we got to see his adventure! But oh well, this game is about Zelda anyways :)

And Zelda is fun too, I love all the characters that know her. They were all so competent and didn’t actually sit around like a bunch of idiots. I wish Zelda wasn’t a silent protagonist though, but idk how else they would’ve done it. Oh well.

And I didn’t like Tri in the beginning but they really grew on me towards the end. They were very bland but some personality came out as we progressed further into the story, and I laughed out loud at some of the things they said lol.

But let me talk about my fav part of the game: Null.

I cant tell you how much I love the concept of Null. The idea of some creature that is the embodiment of nothingness that has been there since before the creation of the world is SO FREAKING COOL. It’s nice having a story where Ganon isn’t the big bad, it’s this ancient being that is powerful and very dangerous. Far more dangerous than Demise. And it doesn’t contradict the established lore? Like this makes a lot of sense that Null was imprisoned in the world, but was creating rifts because they wanted to go back to nothingness. It’s spooky to think that they were there the whole time, just trying to escape.

Though it does make me wonder about the timeline. My guess is that this game takes place before or after botw/totk with hebra mountain existing and things generally being in the same spot (except death mountain, but volcanoes move anyways right?). And no one knows what the Triforce actually is, which is also very interesting. It’s an ancient power that’s not well known which is very cool, and I LOVED seeing it again! Having them discover the primal energy being the Triforce was so freaking cool, and the legend of the princess (or priestess) and the hero defeating evil was cool, but it does make me wonder where it is in time.

But yeah, all in all, I loved this game. It was incredible and so much fun with amazing characters and great lore that expanded on the universe. Very very neat.

But I’m giving it a 2/10 cuz Linebeck wasn’t in it

[finluz]

//totk gameplay video spoilers

i was a bit cautious when they showed those vehicles in the last trailer, but after seeing the new gameplay video i am completely sold.

i was wondering how they were going to deal with the weapon durability since it turned a lot of people off of the game, and people were throwing around ideas like crafting or repairing or just removing it.

this fuse mechanic seems kind of genius because it embraces that crafting and player improvement without sacrificing the wild and improvisational aspect that makes botw so special. i think making the player sit at a crafting bench prepping for five hours would've been a bad idea, and this new shit is perfect.

a lot of open world stealthy crafty games like these have a lot of useless items in them that i just never really get around to using other than really specific situations, leading to them wasting a slot. (i.e. scatterbangs in legends arceus or literally any of the consumables in elden ring)

having that type of item just pull from the infinite pool of cooking materials you randomly pick up or pointless physics objects that normally don't have an interaction is such a seamless idea that im genuinely impressed.

one of the first things i saw was that the ability slider was replaced with a symbol of an apple, which seemed strange at first, but after seeing how the rest of the video played out, i realize just how much of a gamechanger this is.

i dont know how to stress just how happy it makes me that you can just do this instantly when a contemporary game would make you sit at a bench or menu screen crafting x5 homing arrows

god i love zelda

also i want to raw link