#also the zonai rock

[natlysblog]

ok new theory zonai are from the moon

[thecaroliner]

PLAYING THROUGH TP AGAIN AND THIS DROPLET ANIMATION IS SURE FAMILIAR

[ganondoodle]

totk is like a highly polished alpha build of a game to me

graphic- fantastic, i just love botws style of graphics, its the perfect blend of something more realistic but very stylized and timeless

visual design- great, i cant stand anything sonau (zonai), and ganondorfs concept art is better than final (and still involves lots of annyoing stereotypes) but overall still pretty solid

sound design- phenomenal, it really is, the underground, the rain on the parasail? unmatched, already loved botw but they really outdid themselves here

music- possibly best in the series to me, like ... theres so many fantastic tracks, in isolation i love so many of them so much ... which sucks bc being connected to such a lackluster rest sours them badly

mechanics- working but undercooked/unfit for the world, its impressive they got ultrahand working at all, but its still clunky/quickly frustrating and badly balanced also contributes to utterly destroying botws world design- this ability was simply not made for this world and is in the end both detrimental to it and itself, bc that mechanic could have truly shined in a game REALLY build around it (... if they could manage to balance it well and stop handing you the solution, it would be funyn if it werent so sad how many times the game literally doesnt even make you engage with its main gimmick bc it just hands you the prebuild thing) time reversal breaks every puzzle/challenge, also unbalanced, ceiling jump is the most harmless but i still think it lets you skip too much

writing- worst in the series, where would i even start with that, not a single character is written well/interestingly, most detrimentally the main characters, .. like all of them, zelda, ganondorf, rauru... and the "story", its barely even bare bones, its plain cardboard with an old divine right propaganda slogan written on, continuity in a direct sequel is non existant, there is no follow up on anything, why did they call it that when they dont seem to have any love for anything botw did given how much they trample over everything it established, i struggle to believe they actually thought this was good, theres has to have been trouble during development

world design/changes- a joke, ... i dont know how people dont feel scammed by how little was actually changed, no, a few rocks sprinkled througout are not meaningful changes, i was one of the people not worried about them reusing the world bc i loved this world and was sure theyd meaningfully change it- god how wrong i was; the sky and underground are both like the bare bones with textures and placeholder rewards/points of interest, they both do not matter at all and their potential is yet again utterly, painfully, wasted and only add more points of destruction to the map in case of the sky, and both add confusion about everything, not the good kind of intriguing confusion, the bad nothing makes sense confusion it really does seem like they put some quick changes into every main point of interest where most players would go to make them think they changed things when .. they only changed these parts, barely, either bc they knew everyone would skip around the world anyway so it wouldnt be worth it, or bc its ... unfinished

game design/structure- baffling (bad), connected to the point above, but it truly is beyond me why they repeated the exact same structure as botw while removing what made that work, why would you repeat every point of interest of the previous game, i know zelda games always have their regions and thats where stuff happens, but they REUSED THE SAME WORLD, you CANNOT repeat the exact same points in the same world, you just cant, its the same places, the same characters, the same structure (aka dungeons being less interesting/easier titans (divine beasts) with a paint job in structure), you basically erase the well integrated ancient tech civilization to replace it with another, not well integrated, more boring and overly pushed into your face, ancient tech civilization and make them the answer to everything that ever was (BORING), the same story structure (but worse, like the memory system but remove what made it work in botw)- AND THEN repeat the same points in the underground too? thats bonkers, literally baby bananas

dungeons/puzzles - worse than botw by FAR, as mentioned above, dungeons are less interesting titans with a paintjob (plus an extraordinarily awful cutscene, which is repeated like FIVE TIMES almost word for word), they serve no purpose but to act like they are totally real traditional dungeons when they are not, they are laughing at you, shrines are back with a paintjob with less interesting puzzles (if they even have one given how many just give you a spirit orb knock off) that can all be skipped, though the puzzles can often not even be called that (put log over gap WOOOAH puzzle) among many awful and unecessary tutorial ones (its not bad to have easy ones, but aside from the few ones that take all your stuff away -omg restrictions in MY freedom tm game??- which are the best ones, to have none be even a little challenging or not utterly skippable without even using glitches, its like they didnt even try to stop you from cheating, which is like being given a skip button with no strigns attached, doesnt even let you feel smart bc you dont have to try to cheat)

UI/controls- awful, you cant tell me this was tested by real people playing for longer than 10 minutes at once, how did the ghosty sage control scheme and arrow/weapon fusing get through this, HOW, its unbelievably tedious and detrimental to any fun (as im doing with my rewrite, a crafting system would have been so good here ..... like a proper simple crafting system, have the materials, craft your new arrow types in stacks etc) the ghost sages are not only utterly useless in combat, but clog your screen, play distracting animations as soon as you look at a slope, you constantly accidentally activate them or the wrong one bc its mapped to the main interact button!!! if you use them say goodbye to your framerate, fights are now spent chasing after some ghost guy whos actively running away from you, they do not invoke a feeling of 'connection' to my 'friends', they are invoking feelings of hatred and frustration

performance- ... passable (if you dont have the sages out .... well, it runs better than pokemon scarlet so i guess its fine, the lag when closing and opening the menu is rly annoying, especially combined with the finger and patience breaking menues and how often you need to open a game pasuing menue, but fights with a monster horde AND the sages out? yeah no its as bad as pokemon scarlet at its worst, not to mention the chaos of having five useless ghost scramble around you getting knocked around by enemies)

price- a scam, this game is not worth 70 bucks, its just not, if you get a used copy and dont spend more time in it than it takes for you to just go straight to the main points, or if you dont care about anything else but dicking around with a clunky building system ... then you can have some fun with it yeah ..... still not worth 70 money, theres probably better building games out there for less too

it jsut feels not done, not finished, its presentation and some parts are highly polished and their marketing for it is unlike anything i have ever seen, but its so .... unfinished, no amount of epic visuals is gonna let me not think of this game being half done at best, after what, 6 years of development no less? with most assets already being there and being reused unaltered??

(i am holding tightly onto the theory of it either having an extremely troubled development that is being hidden bc of their reputation, or some sort of neglect in order to focus on other more lucrative projects, this is just all too weird to me)

[thezoraprince]

BotW/TotK men as dads

i have baby fever that won't go away

anyway, here's a... something

enjoy <3

Link

oh it’s gonna be wild

most rambunctious child (including Rivan’s)

sweet and caring

but overall, CHAOTIC

will teach his child literally everything he knows

not many words are spoken, but there’s so much love

sign language is a big thing for sure

hugs galore

will defend his child as if his life depended on it

Sidon (i have so many for Sidon, so only adding a little bit here)

so confident

yet so scared

lots of learning

gentle

the love in the household is UNREAL

takes his kid everywhere Mipha took him

the fun is never ending

Bazz

so much unlearning

scared he’s not giving his child enough attention

wants to spend all of his time with them

think’s he’s not good enough of a father

doesn’t know how to have deep; meaningful conversations

doesn’t want to be like his own father

loves and cares SO deeply

once he gets past all the heavy stuff, he’s the best dad a kid could have

Rivan

already a dad, and a good one at that

literally so on top of his game

others cannot compare

takes his kid to work and shows them how cool everyone is

“Bazz is a little on edge because you’re here, but we won’t worry about that.”

the fun dad

Dunma babysits sometimes to give Rivan a break

but he ends up not going anywhere because he loves his little family THAT much

silly af

an actual dilf

perfect father

100000/10

Ledo

so gentle

so kind

will literally gift his kid rocks that look cool

teaches them everything Dento taught him

would probably ask Dento to babysit

has the most well behaved child out of anyone on this list

another apprentice in the making

would hand-make his child toys

Revali

asshole stepdad energy to start with

lots of unlearning

lots of re-learning

scared shitless

once he eventually realizes his actions have consequences, he’ll own up to his mistakes

ends up being a cool dad

“don’t talk to me or my son ever again” energy

takes his child to the flight range everyday

“You’re the best, and don’t forget it.”

Teba

already a dad, and a cool one

Tulin is such a good brother (but man is he a little shit sometimes)

the kids would go to the flight range and Teba would let them go by themselves

not like he has a village to run or anything…

a little more strict than the others on this list, but it’s out of love and safety

trusts Tulin to take care of his younger sibling

goes with both of them to the flight range once every two weeks to watch what they’ve been working on

wants the best for his kids

but doesn’t want to get in the way of their fun

Daruk

a cool dad

wise

also fun

would be the one to take his child to the skatepark

Goron City better watch out, because these two are fly af

funny dad jokes

would call his kid ‘kiddo’ unironically

“kiddo goro”

Yunobo

i cannot see this one as a dad

more like the distant uncle

but he’d be so sweet

and so caring

so afraid he’d fuck up

needs constant reassurance

gentle af

takes things too personally

Tauro

THE cool dad

dilf energy for sure

would take his kid to research the Zonai ruins

and he’d probably end up losing them 30% of the time

don’t worry, they know where they are

uses his research and findings for teaching his child

these two would be the most knowledgable people in Hyrule 

Rauru

the wise one

and SO chill

and helpful af

only takes part in chaos if it’s the fun kind

will shut down ANY ‘funny business’

defends his child with his life

together they pick flowers for Sonia

the love is unmatched

and the surprises are never ending 

[neverchecking]

Day 10: Fucking Machine- Sage

Man, ya'll went feral feral for yesterdays prompt. Anyway by the time you guys see this I'll probably be in the courtroom (Meaning this was...*gag* queued.)

Smut so Minors Do Not Interact. If I find out a minor has interacted with my blog, I will block you.. Thank you!

Smut CW: Sage is still an asshole, inappropriate use of Zonai tech.

This is Day ten of My Kinktober so be sure to come back and check out the other days! Friendly Reminder that all of my smut is tagged 'Cindersins' including this, but this will also be tagged as 'Cinder's happy halloween' along with the run of the mill smut tags.

Kinktober Masterlist <<< Day 9>>>Day 11

What a sight you were. 

Sage would admit that he was not as…merciful as he felt most would’ve preferred. He liked watching your eyes shine with unshed tears, your lower lashes clumping together as low whimpers choked through your throat. He got a bit of a kick out of hearing you cry and whimper, thighs shaking uncontrollably as overstimulation rocked your entire system. Just watching you attempt to plead with him, blabbering nonsense and gibberish as you brainlessly obeyed his every command. 

It gave him such a kick. Such a rush of power that thrummed in his veins. Made his skin buzz in a maddening warmth that gave him a complex most likely too big for his ego, let alone his crumbling sanity. 

But there was something so devious about this recently hatched plan that he almost felt bad. 

Almost. 

Zonai tech was something he himself didn’t even fully understand, yet he knew enough he could bullshit his way through it. And he had become fairly good at bullshitting. It had taken a few tries and a few missteps, but he had gotten his design patented at long last and what a payout it was. 

It was so erotic watching the machine move, the circular gears interlocking within one and another as the pole attached pulled back then pushed forward, drawing out another noise from you. It made it all so worth it. 

Had he gotten looks from a few Zora after he commissioned the newest glass piece in his collection? Yes. But it was so worth it. Watching the milky sheen of your own fluids coat the frosty glass as the gears continued rolling. In and out, over and over. He could speed it up or slow it down if he so wished, moving it closer for a more intense hit against your sweet spot. All with the control panel on his Purah pad which he could man from the comfort of his favorite armchair. 

Slowly Sage palmed his own cock, thumbing it up and down in time with the slow rolls of the gears, hearing you cry out with every thrust forward. If he had any respect for the rotten goddess’ that claimed to watch over the land of Hyrule, he’d consider thanking them. 

As it stood currently, he’d remain his own god and thank himself, squeezing his shaft as he turned up the speed, hearing you sob out his name as another orgasm shook your core. 

[build-a-zel]

jewelry! there's so much jewelry out there so I have no idea how you want to split the polls for them, but like there's earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, anklets, hair ornaments, and all types of piercings!

How about we start with materials first? Just for her royal outfit, any religious ceremonial ones will get a separate poll.

This is the divide I'm using between what's warm and what's cool.

Also note that if colored jewels are picked, we'll have another one for accents.

What are these polls for?

[butthatsjustmyfilthyopinion]

Could BotW’s Hyrule be an unflooded Wind Waker?

Oh boy, buckle up because I have a whole conspiracy theory.

So this whole thing started as I was browsing the Nintendo Gallery in Wind Waker and came across this on Ganondorf’s figurine:

I was like: huh. That looks awful similar to Zonai Constructs. These were the closest I found but looking at it once you’re used to Zonai technology, you see the resemblance pretty clearly.

I know I’m not the first to notice the resemblance to Gohdan either, boss in the Tower of the Gods (we’ll come back to that) because this convenient picture exists.

But so what, right? It can’t be Wind Waker’s Hyrule anyway because it’s not the end of the timeline, right? WRONG. It may be the first in the adult timeline but it’s also the last in that timeline to take place in Hyrule. Phantom Hourglass takes place in the World of the Ocean King, Oshus’s dream if I remember correctly but most importantly, not Hyrule, and Spirit Tracks takes place in New Hyrule, one that Tetra and Link founded later. It is not the same land.

Ganondorf ends up dying at the end of Wind Waker with the Master Sword stabbed through his head (cough cough, we’ll come back to this too). The Triforce is used by King Daphnes, the exact words as follows:

“Gods of the Triforce! Hear that which I desire! Hope! I desire hope for these children! Give them a future! Wash away this ancient land of Hyrule! Let a ray of hope shine on the future of the world!!! And let our destinies finally be fulfilled…”

Granted this is the English translation and I don’t know Japanese, so if anyone is able to translate this scene from the original Japanese that would fly in the face of what I’m talking about please make it known.

King Daphnes wished for Hyrule to be washed away, specifically his Hyrule that he’d been clinging so desperately to. If this is indeed the same land we see from the Zonai in TotK, then the old kingdom would’ve been gone long enough to not be recognizable. He also mentions a ray of hope for the world. This is obviously referring to Tetra, Link and eventually New Hyrule but I wouldn’t put it passed the Goddesses to revive the land now that the danger is passed. And that’s another thing!

The whole reason the world flooded in the first place was because of Ganon, now that he’s died, there’s no reason for it to stay flooded. I seem to recall there being a comment somewhere in the game that went something to the effect of “there’s no fish in these waters to catch because it’s magic god water” I don’t remember where it was but do correct me if I’m wrong.

Geography was another big thing. Zelda geography has never been exactly consistent, I always assumed it was because such large chunks of time were going by that tectonic plates had shifted everything now and then. However, Wind Waker and the BotW maps are surprisingly aligned.

Death Mountain and Dragon Roost are easy examples, the Forest Haven is in a similar location to Mount Lanayru and is in proximity to the ice island. The Forsaken Fortress is aligned with Hebra Peak, Outset Island is shaped roughly like Spectacle Rock in the Gerudo Highlands, the Gerudo Highlands in general, and interestingly enough, Satori Mountain is very close to the Great Fish Isles. Plus there’s a lot of other miscellaneous peaks in BotW.

Something else very interesting, the final boss arena lines up rather well with being either near the castle, or perhaps the Great Plateau. A friend I was playing with when I first discovered this pointed out how proportionately small the people are, and normally you don’t notice that, it’s a very stylized game. But maybe, perhaps the reason the world feels so big was because the Hyruleans evolved to simply take up less space on the islands?

Something else interesting is Luralin Village. We’ve never really seen a fishing village before besides in Wind Waker with Outset.

To finish off the miscellaneous details I’ve noticed, the sword pose. It’s suspiciously similar to the one Rauru has Ganon in in Tears of the Kingdom. Here’s the two side by side.

Now onto my heaviest hitters, the salt thing and the races.

As most people who’ve spent anytime debating BotW’s place in the timeline is aware, the rock salt description mentions it came from an ancient sea. This could be the Lanayru Sand Sea all the way back in Skyward Sword, in which case, why isn’t it localized to the desert area it was in? Or it’s from the Great Sea. Not much, but it’s very much suspicious.

The other big one is the Rito’s presence along with the Zora. Besides the games in question, the Rito only ever appear in the Wind Waker. We know based on the Zora iconography as well as Laruto, a Zora, being Medli’s ancestor as well as that special magic water comment from earlier I believe. So how can the Zora exist alongside them if they came from them? Answer: the Fish Map Men. They fill out your map as you travel through the islands, and on top of that, there’s a lot of Gyorgs swimming around. What is Sidon molded after again? A hammerhead shark. It’s likely a new species of Zora evolved from the sentient Fishmen, this time with more variety. The Zora monuments mentioning Ruto? Left over and well preserved under the waves, maybe like how Hyrule Castle was.

Tito weren’t the only unique race in Wind Waker, Koroks were as well. As I’m sure we’re all well aware, they are present in both BotW and TotK. They’re descended from the Kokiri, and there’s not a shred of evidence to suggest that the Kokiri ever came back. It’s likely they just stayed Koroks and since Kokiri don’t age and stay kids forever, and that trait likely carried over to the Koroks if they’re behavior is anything to go by, they just keep multiplying…

And finally, the Zonai themselves. All this started because I noticed Ganondorf was wearing what appeared to be Zonai accessories. Gohdan is said to be a trial placed by the Gods themselves. The Zonai descended from the heavens to settle Hyrule, it’s not illogical to assume that the Tower of the Gods was built at the behest of the Gods, by the Zonai. Perhaps one of Rauru’s ancestors. The Zonai also have extremely long ears, and it’s said in Ocarina of Time that Hylians have long ears so that they may hear the whispers of the gods. Wouldn’t those closer have longer ears then?

One last little thing I couldn’t seem to fit anywhere, isn’t it weird how Rauru’s name is one we recognize and yet Sonya isn’t? The Oocca canonically speak a different language than Hylians, perhaps the Zonai originally did as well and simply adopted Hyrulean names to better fit in. Rauru was arguably the most important sage. He could have chosen in to appear more humble while still showing his importance. Alternatively he didn’t want to disrespect the dead king by taking his name and/or it would seem arrogant.

[fantasy-drawings-ra]

Queen Sonia and King Rauru of Hyrule

I can’t begin to explain the trouble this piece has caused me, with my iPad losing the gazebos lineart to the loss of half the rendering of Sonia and Rauru. But I finally finished it so I hope you like it!

Image description: Queen Sonia in a side profile to the left and King Rauru looking to her also in a side profile to the right, from head to their hip. They are holding hands with Sonia’s over Rauru’s. It’s a sunny day with two tall trees framing them in the background. Behind them in the back is a stone gazebo with intricate engravings and designs. There are a few rocks and water behind the gazebo. The picture is framed with rune designed boarder of Zonai glyphs and art. And fluffy clouds curved to focal point the two of them but some hidden by the leaves of the trees.

[tashacee]

what if Rauru didn’t know who Wild was before he went to his era. it’s somewhat implied that he and Mineru are the only zonai left so a random half zonai half hylian appearing would be a huge shocker

I have so many feelings about this. Like fr.

Just imagine. The chain rock up and Wild is in his world but NOT his world. The duelling peaks are one mountain. Only three dragons are in the sky. Rauru and Sonia are fresh-faced newlyweds with Ganondorf barely a dark spot on the horizon.

Wild doesn't know where he is, but also he does. He has enough of an idea from the Tears to figure out where to go for help, so he makes his way to the Great Plateau, young and fresh and bustling with life, and to Rauru's palace.

And from how freaked out Wild is acting, along with a little sign, the others figure they're somewhere in his history, so they are down to HELP.

So they blag their way into the palace and HELL yeah Rauru wants to meet them? His whole court is talking about how a strange zonai just rocked up? He and Mineru are BUZZING with the news, Sonia can barely convince them to calm down beffore meeting him. They figure it must be a Zonai elder, someone who has been living sequestered away somewhere and is only now coming out to say hi.

And then they meet the Chain. And then they meet Wild. And Rauru's heart melts. Because Wild could not more clearly be young. He's young and he's scarred and he's at least half-zonai and jittery as hell and he can't speak - where has this kid come from?

So yeah. This is the story of how Rauru, not knowing who Wild is or what he's doing here, just. Adopts him. And the whole Chain. All of them.

[starryeyed-snakelet]

Eow thoughts bc I'm staring at every frame of the trailer because I'm crazy:

THE ZONAI???

Stop turning my girl into rock candy if i had a nickle for every time they turned my girl into rock candy

hell naw not pig man ganon i cant do this shit no more

fuckass sword

whys ganon kinda giving yuga?? istg if they lay a HAND on albw link n zelda i will riot let them REST

see no bc why are like, the chasms kinda giving lorule falling apart???

Maybe im insane but all his weapons (save for his shield) are giving zonai 2 me

SO PRETTYY??? Also botw ref who?

ZONAI PILLAR???

I wont shut up about the Zonai i want them BACK immediately

This whole thing is feeling like a parallel to botw/totk like. Link falling in a big scary hole after an encounter with ganon?? goopy little semitransparent companion??? introduction taking place in a dark tunnel with unfamiliar architecture???? PLEASE

let her stab people damnit.

[spanglewing]

pls pls pls pls pls explain

I think the part of generational trauma is the most evident in Breath of the Wild, and then carries over into Tears of the Kingdom.

(Spoilers Ahead)

The destruction and apocalypse of Calamity Ganon effects the descendants (whether descendants biologically, or spiritually via reincarnation like with Link and Zelda) of those who were killed or harmed by the calamity.

Not only with, for example, Urbosa down to Riju -- but also Nabooru down to Urbosa down to Riju.

Despite how the characters act, their responsibilities of protecting the world aren't fun, they're burdensome and traumatic.

We see this in Zelda's father. He seems to be the one character who is visibly weary of his responsibilities. Likely because he's older and has seen such chaos and destruction before. The champions, however, died young and are in spirit form, so it's not obvious how they've been tormented by war.

Because Zelda's father is traumatized or at least weary, he inevitably passes down his pain to his daughter. Zelda's anxieties about her being unable to awaken her power are amplified by the stress her father hands down.

As for colonization, while I've seen some great and interesting arguments about colonialism in the series in terms of whiteness and monarchy (which is 100% a thing), here's this for the sake of how the story is framed:

Ganon/Ganondorf could be viewed as a colonizer. He threatens Hyrule with the very real apocalyptic scenario of having their cultures wiped out as well as their lives. I'd argue he even aims to colonize his own race and culture, given he attempts to divide the Gerudo for the sake of power.

And then, in Tears of the Kingdom, we have:

-pollution (in the Zora's Domain)

-a possible allegory to chemical poisoning & weaponized drug dependency (the marbled rock roast)

-a similar thing as above but with climate change & unlivable weather conditions (the sandstorm in Gerudo Valley, the cold in the Rito Village)

And then there's the fact that the Zonai have been wiped out with the exception of Rauru and Mineru, which, historically, points to possible colonization of their race.

[ganondoodle]

a sort of mini-rant .. or more a personal opinion of totk; most my issues with it are probably clear by now, given how much i have talked about it, its probably also rather clear that i dont like the sonau (engl zonai) very much the way they were done in the game and its got lots of reason that all play into each other-

tho to mention something that is much more personal taste; i dont think sonau tech is actually that much 'tech', its mostly just magic animating some green rocky looking material or creating flames and rockets kinda out of nowhere

im someone that loves mechanical stuff, like old mechanisms, the first cars and first versions of technology, steam trains and such, i think its in part bc i like knowing the context of things, how stuff WORKS, and why it is or how it makes sense, huge metal beams attached to countless cogs, hearing the steam shoot out of the kettle(?) that powers a huge maschinery ... steampunk if you will

and shiekah tech, while obviously not exactly like that, still has some mechanical parts to it, sure its also magical, powered by some unkown material, but its got bits and pieces that move, it looks like something that seems pretty believable, if you look into a guardians ... hole at the flipside of it (you know what i mean) theres stuff that moves, glowy cogwheels and more, pipes and cores, you can see it between their 'head' and body too, you find springs and screws on broken ones, even the cores have some mechanism around it, and while being automatic and doing stuff on their own .. they are not sentient, not in the way sonau constructs are at least (listen i, in realy life, think of pretty much anythign inanimate as a sentient thing in a way, but maybe you know what i mean, i also like when things cannot just talk directly to you -also a reason i like silent characters- and instead you have to work a little or just ... pay attention to understand it?) (this also kidna goes for the shrine puzzles? like you often had to work with some sort of mechanical thing to get to the end of the shrine in botw, in totk you mostly just kinda glue stuff together and it .. just works?? not a fan of that tbh tho the shrine puzzles where one of the most fun parts nonetheless)

the sonau 'tech' isnt that, really, the most mechanical thing is a wheel or fan spinning? but all other stuff either just works (like rockets and stuff) or its a bunch of floating rings vaguely held together by some magical swirly string, and the constructs literally talk to you, like characters, while still being treated as nothing but 'maschines', i got nothing against magical maschinery (heck i love the shiekah stuff) but thats like .. too far removed from actual mechanisms to hit the right spot for me, that combined with the strange super modern look of some things (like the wheels, and kinda nonsensical steering thing, the rockets that just .. look like literal rockets with a vaguely rock looking texture over it .. etc) it made it all the more bleh to me

and while its far from a deal breaker it just adds another grain of salt on my opinion of the sonau things in general and the game as a whole (especially considering that lame ass excuse to just act like shiekah tech never existed ... ill never forgive them for that)

[errorwarblesrr]

do you like totk or botw better?

In short: Yes, I like botw better.

Here are my reasons, though!

I know a lot of people view it as the better experience, which is completely subjective and valid if you do and like it better, but I just view botw as being better in almost every way.

I will give it to totk. The dungeons have a lot better atmosphere. The game has some extremely high highs with the build-up to the wind temple, the whole great sky island segment, and the final boss is a much better fight (though dark beast ganon has a better theme song imo).

Other than that, I prefer botw. Totk has a much grander story, but it's completely mishandled. You can argue that totk has a great story but has poor execution, and to me, execution plays a big role in what makes a story good. You can have good ideas bit it all falls apart if they aren't executed well which ends up making the story bad. It's not that totk has a good story with poor execution, it has good ideas but the bad execution leads to a poorly told story. (I hope that makes sense). Botw has less of a story and is more like a set of events. Botw has history and backstory that is told more organically. Link has amnesia so he slowly regains some of his memories of the past with some people trying to help fill him in. It feels more real...in a weird fantasy way. I guess totk is similar with how we see Zelda's memories, but not really? It's weird to explain. Everything 100 years ago is felt in present day botw while in totk most of those things don't really matter as it happened so long ago. Things only start to resurge because Zelda wanted to investigate under the castle. Totk also has twists like a story. Idk if this is making sense but that's how I feel on their stories. There was just not much botw could mess up on story wise as the way it was presented.

Gameplay wise I can not lie totk is technical marvel with the zonai tech. That's the most impressive thing about it. Tbh building contraptions isn't my thing though, it takes too long to make and experiment with a machine when I can just do whatever that machine was gonna do much faster. I see why people have a lot of fun with it though, it just isn't my thing. One thing I HATE in totk though is the amount of menuing I have to do. Elemental arrows had a serious downgrade. Yeah it's cool to fuse stuff to arrows, but not when I have to do it to ever single individual arrow and if I want to try something new I have to scroll past 50 other items in a single line. It's just tedious. If I want to use a good weapon I have to go to the menu, drop an item, and menu again to fuse it to a weapon that will still break. Item breaking is still an issue but it's more annoying and the weapons no longer look cool. Totk has some cool abilities, but idk I'd trade them all for remote bombs lmao. I hate going through caves, especially early game, and having to deal with the rock walls where they want me to fuse a rock to a stick 10 times to get through one cave. There's just a lot of little things gameplay wise that bug me. They doubled down on botws gameplay issues and added some more annoying ones. I don't even have to mention the sages abilities, that's a whole mess.

On the topic of gameplay, botw just has the better world. Idc, exploring that world for the first time is an unforgettable experience. Totks main world is too similar so the magic is gone. The sky and depths are also unimpressive and repetitive. Botw also has the benefit on how the word felt so lonely yet alive. Everything had a purpose or a story. The world has a history. And totk just doesn't have that. Outside of the upheaval, totk doesn't really build on botws world that much. I was hoping to see if they would've added new towns or see how they'd rebuild hyrule, but they really didn't do that. We only got lookout landing, which doesn't really count as a town, and a bunch of building stuff lying around which is cool I guess. Hateno has a school and Terry Town expanded a little, but with the estimate of about 5 years since botw it makes you wonder...what have these people been doing? We can theoretically build Terry Town in one day. There could be new towns.

Totk is a sequel that doesn't really acknowledge it's predecessor which is so odd. Botw stands on its own and is an overall more cohesive experience. Everything in the world feels purposefully crafted for that world while totk just slaps things on top of it with not much thought. Botw has some amazing world building while for totk it's either "the Zonai did it" or has some contradictory world building. For example, the old sages lifted up the sky islands so that Link would be protected from Ganondorf shenanigans, but then other sky islands suggest how they've been around long before Rauru since young Zonai used to train in them or something. There is also how Zelda says Link never leaves her side, but people she interacts with on an almost daily basis do not recognize him and how even treat as if he doesn't know some facts about her. So either she is overexaggerating by a lot and/or lying in her own diary or that people in hyrule have the collective memory of a rock. There's also Zelda supposedly never giving Link the champions leathers yet as a gift, but we see him wearing it in the beginning. Idk there's more contradictories, but I haven't experienced this for botw??? Totk is so disconnected and disjointed in comparison.

I'm trying to be vague but there's a lot to say, I'm sorry. I really was enjoying this game at the beginning but the more I played the more I noticed or saw things that bugged me and just kept adding up and up on each other. Botw was never like this for me. It's just more cohesive and I like that. There are so many other things I haven't brought up like the repetitive cutscenes, or missing characters/characters that SHOULD know Link but don't (namely Bolson and Hestu). But this post is long. I can't keep complaining about this game. Botw really is that one of a kind experience, and totk tries to replicate it but worse. Botw had a vine that totk lacks. You feel so alone, but you meet knew people and make friends. You build connections as you learn about the past and help those around you. There is no story, you're just a person going through the motions and exploring the vast world around you. Totk can't replace that for me. I'm the main character playing a side role in a disjointed world where not much makes sense. Everything is similar in all the wrong ways.

And most important of all, they took away Link's fun dialogue and personality now he really is bland asf and used to defend that he wasn't.

[raycatz]

a bunch of words trying to sort out the lore of my LU Outer Wilds EOTE AU. THERE'S MAJOR SPOILERS for the game under the read more. If you have any interest in playing Outer Wilds, please don't look. There's only like three people I know who overlap with being in the LU fandom and having played Outer Wilds so only those three people can proceed lol.

The AU is based on the EOTE DLC. My first idea was that the inhabitants of the AU's The Stranger equivalent were going to be another offshoot of the botw Sheikah, much like the Yiga. The group would have been made up of those who refused to give up their technological pursuits and fled below the surface from where they could continue their research. (Not the depths, though. More like caverns in between)

You know the 5th divine beast structure from the BOTW DLC? - how the final chamber in which you meet Monk Maz Koshia, it's illuminated by beams of light like daylight. Through the windows you can see what appears to be very naturally shaped rock faces. I want to say there's lichen growing but it may just be the lighting. Anyways- like- what if there was just a whole underground city or town built to its best to share the aesthetics of the 5th divine beast? However, the people now living there have limited access to resources from the surface. They have their best scientists here, now, though. Is there a way to allow them to continue to pursue advancement without needing resources, and without the march of time? The Sheikah already have the technology to suspend someone in a healing stasis. However, currently doing so removes memories and the mind is asleep. They would need a way to tether memories and have an active role in the dream. GUYS THE WINDFISH. THEY CAPTURE A WINDFISH.

The windfish is put into a stasis itself, locked into the dream, and the dream is constructed around it into what's needed. A reality is fabricated that can be edited from within itself, offering a home as well as place to continue technological pursuits without the constraints of time or physical needs and resources.

If I'm remembering correctly, the Yiga formed because they had thousands of years for a grudge to fester, resulting in their desire for the revival of Calamity Ganon. This other hypothetical group of Sheikah, however, would be much closer to the events of the first calamity which was driven back by the divine beasts. They're upset with the royals but I don't know if they'd wish for the return of the Calamity. Probably not. More than being focused on survival, I think they'd just want to be left to do science forever. Is there an ends to it, though? Would there be any reason for them to end the stasis? Maybe once they'd reached whatever goals they had... but what would those goals be?

So what of the windfish? For the Sheikah, they get to move about the dream world freely. To keep the windfish asleep, I'm going to go with that they enshrine it in the waking world and then again within the dream world- trapping it asleep within the dream. I don't know if there will be a character like the prisoner who lets the windfish free for any time. The windfish gets to take the roles of the Prisoner and The Eye. The Sheikah might be paranoid of outsiders, however. So, like EOTE has three seals on the vault, there are three seals on the tank holding the fishy.

The seals are locked the same way as in EOTE. There are three passcodes and three puzzles otherwise unsolvable by outsiders. The seals can only be undone from within the dream.

WHAT ABOUT THE TIME LOOP THOUGH??!!

So this group of Sheikah finding shelter underground and using a windfish to build a dreamspace was the original idea. And then Tears of the Kingdom came out, and having a people whose ruins are beneath the surface of Hyrule is Really Convenient. I was thinking for a while to have the Zonai replace the Sheikah and built lore for that too. (I also think it would be cool to combine both ideas, since I don't want to just get rid of the Sheikah like totk did asdsjgdfs but we're getting there!)

Zonai lore for the Echoes of The Eye AU: The Zonai came to Hyrule from the sky. Did all the Zonai travel to the surface? Rauru and Mineru are the last Zonai by the time shown in TOTK so what happened to the rest? (I really like what critbit is doing with their totk linktober au rn where the gloom infected the Zonai living in the depths. I think that's so cool! This is an EOTE AU though soooo let's make the Zonai more like the inhabitants of The Stranger.) They came to Hyrule hoping to learn and teach about the golden power, spent time on the surface seeking it, got too close, saw a vision of terrible bloodshed in the history it's connected to, and just decided to wash their hands of it (maybe it's somehow connected to the three goddess dragons). A significant number of Zonai left. They returned to the Sky and reestablished the cloud barrier. Those dedicated to the new land and its people stayed behind to help them face the trials before them. However, the longing for home became too great to bear. With the path to return blocked, or without the proper energy and powers to return, they sought another way to return home- to find a windfish and live in its dream. I think it's much more believable for the Zonai to have access to a windfish than it is for the Sheikah, so it works out. Maybe the Zonai came to an agreement with the windfish, or maybe they overpowered and coerced it. The Zonai would have gone to whatever methods were necessary, regardless. A chamber is built underground for the resting place of the remaining Zonai. At its center in an ornate tank with the small windfish within. (itty bitty whale. Like, maybe a little over a foot long whale. It's tinyyyyy. This is magic, maybe?)

Rauru fell in love with Sonia and committed himself to her and her people, and Mineru wouldn't leave her brother, so they were the only two to stay behind. The issue with the Zonai's desire to live in the dream of their home however, is that if anything happens to their tethers (the artifacts (swords and/or lanterns)), or the windfish, they'll be removed from the dream.

So that the remaining Zonai can pass peacefully, Sonia puts a safeguard in place over the windfish which she watches over: should anything happen to the windfish that would cause it harm, that space will loop back in time, say 22 minutes, and alerts Sonia, allowing time so that the dreamers and fish can be moved or for any complication to be dealt with. With narrative magic- let's say that the funny thing about time distortions is that they tend to stick around even if the person who set them in motion isn't any longer. HUH I WONDER IF THIS'LL HAVE CONCIQUENCES? >:)

A ridiculous amount of time passes, the Sheikah while excavating happen across the Zonai ruins and find the windfish. They know what it is and understand that it's already maintaining a dream. They're able to hijack the dream and build around and into it, shaping pieces of it to fit their needs.

In Echoes of The Eye, the Strangers are tethered to the dream through their lanterns. If the lantern goes out, their consciousness is ejected from the dream world. I think creating the lanterns is what might allow them to force the windfish to host them. They also might be able to do so with magic. I'm not sure if the Zonai wished to live forever in the dream or if they'd wanted their tethers to be broken after a certain amount of time. Either way, they don't really have a choice anymore. Some of the lanterns (I'm also thinking glowy swords for the Zonai's artifacts would be really cool) would have broken naturally over time. The Sheikah probably accidentally (and/or purposefully) destroyed a few. There are some that cannot be found. I'd like the Zonai to still have a presence in the dream world. They and the Sheikah learned to live with or around each other in the space.

The Sheikah are in the dream world expanding their knowledge until they reach a satisfactory stopping point, and the Zonai are in the dream world forever living a dream of home.

Unbeknownst to the Sheikah however, the windfish has a timeloop built into it!

More time passes. Much like the endings where the Hatchling loses themselves in forever, the Sheikah lose track of the days, of time, of themselves, of a goal- whatever it may have been is lost to them, now. The return of the Calamity and the activation of the towers, and the shifting earth with the passage of time, has left their town to decay. Walls have caved in. The stasis chambers built to last forever don't. There are no bodies left to return to. To keep it simple I'm going to say it happens all at once, or enough so that there's no incentive for those still in the simulation to leave. Those inside know it's happened and that there's nothing to return to, so they live inside the dream and protect it fiercely. The destruction of the tethers or the waking of the windfish would mean, as far as they know, true death, so they cannot allow it.

Now we're finally in present time with the chain WOOO YIPPEE!!!!!!! They're traveling in Wild's Hyrule. There have been some precursors to what eventually leads to the events of TOTK. Earthquakes here and there. Cave entrances opening up where there weren't before. It's all very worth exploring so that's what they're doing! They find a ruined city underground with architecture familiar and foreign to Wild. Lighting and greenery that give the impression of day. An underground river. Strange, half-built contraptions. Familiar beds of stone Wild hoped to never see anywhere else. And then there is an earthquake. And they happen to be in the right place at the right time for time to warp around crushed bodies and distorted yells, and they fall, and then time snaps back. And they're at their camp in the pine forest.

I think that's the background figured out! There's so many fun dilemmas for Time and Wild and Legend. Like, this time there are undeniably people in that dream! Legend gets to deal with that!!! But there's also a time loop! At the end of the loop the windfish dies (or the loop ends just before. Either way!) and if the windfish dies then the people die. They don't have bodies to return to. If you wake the windfish, the dream ends, but if you don't, the windfish dies and the dream ends anyways. Are the chain able to leave the loop? What would it mean to leave those in the dream looping, forever unaware they're playing out the same 22 minutes endlessly? The windfish has been trapped for so long. How is it that the chain are able to remember the loops?

I want to set Wind loose on the dream puzzles. I'm thinking the artifacts for the Zonai would be swords or the like, jewelry stuff on the arm. The teal fires would burn in a space in the hilt. The Sheikah would have lanterns. Either artifact would be a way into the dream world. Shadow of the Colossus style glowy swords >:D Like the lanterns, the swords are needed to access certain puzzles. And then with two items it opens up possibilities to make puzzles where the chain would have to trade the items off to each other. I reaaaally like the idea of Wild and Wind running from an inhabitant of the dream world. Wind's already figured out the lantern trick and has dropped it and Wild comes careening into him from another path with a glowy sword lighting up the whole area. Just- Wind trying to convince Wild to drop a sword while they're frantically running! Yeah yeah yeah you have to drop the thing that's been keeping you safe c'mon!

Also with some of the artifacts being swords- I think swords derivative of the white sword would work (as it came from the sky. so both the master swords and the four sword are okay) Wind's sword has magic but it isn't the right kind. Wind placing his sword into one of the pedestals to access the dream world would cause an explosion 0v0 there's an achievement for that

and Legend tackling ideas of life and death and Koholint and a windfish and dealing with it all, and choices!!!!!!!!! and then being faced with the third puzzle, the one with the sentry and the light and the bell. JUST AAAAAA. Timeloop angst >:D

[galahadenough]

I keep thinking about Sidon, and how totk handled him. I really can't help but wonder if one of the higher ups at Nintendo stumbled onto a fic for which he was very much not the intended audience. Because while no individual thing feels like it's horrendously bad, when it all comes together something does seem a little... fishy.

First and most obviously, there's Yona. At the most basic level, that is a classic reaction to having too much shipping. Throw a fiancee into the mix. And her design is interesting. It ended up working for a lot of people, it seems, but the head shape is almost edging into a cartoony look in comparison to the other Zora, and there are no other Zora with that vivid of a color. And for me personally, the english verbal aspects (yes, yes; sure) was somewhat grating. Sidon is also a distinct color, though, and it could be an indication of royalty. But it is still such a vivid green. But she is also lovely, helpful, supportive of both Link and Sidon, and really stands on her own as a character. All of these things ended up working really well for her, but it makes me wonder about the intentions behind the design.

So, we have tick one in the fishy column. By itself it wouldn't really stand out to me, but it keeps going.

With every other sage, you find the sage and proceed to work together. It is such a feeling of companionship, and support, especially in a franchise such as Zelda that is built on solitary questing for the most part. With Sidon, he sends you off on your own for nearly every step of the way.

He sends you off to talk to Jiahto at Toto Lake.

He sends you off to find the king.

He sends you off to figure out Floating Scale Island.

Oh! Finally! He goes with you to check out the beam of light... but he stays behind when you go through the whirlpool to the Ancient Zora Waterworks. Nevermind.

He goes with you to Wellspring Island, but immediately suggests splitting up until you reach the Water Temple.

So this is fishy point number two for me. It doesn't really fit his personality and actions in the last game, and it feels very distinct from the other sages. By itself, not too weird, but we're doing math here.

The water temple feels kind of off to me too. With Tulin, you have the Stormwind Arc, a Rito myth and children's tale come to life with a thrilling ascent into the sky. With Yunobo you have the Fire Temple, a gorgeous monument to the history of the gorons, rooted in the very depths of Death Mountain itself, buried among the rocks and lava of the earth, feeling so symbolic of the earth the gorons come from. Even with Riju, with the game not quite committing to the contentious history that the Gerudo have due to their association with Ganon, you have this epic and ancient temple rising from the sand, a monument to the Gerudo's past, a part of their history consumed by the very desert they call home.

The water temple is... pretty enough. I might have been a bit more impressed if it were my first sage. But it's not that big and it doesn't feel very connected to the Zora. It's in the sky. They are fish. It uses the low gravity mechanism. Which is fun. But why?? Why here, why for the Zora who are built for water more so than running and jumping? There isn't even that much water involved outside of the vases you fill to dump on the muck. No rivers. Nothing very deep, nothing with currents, nothing involving large or natural sources of water. Just. Water facets. And weird Zonai (Zonai, not Zora) water bubble machines.

That makes fishy point number three, and in my opinion the worse point against it (tying with my next point, perhaps). A lot of this post is based on opinions, and things that could be explained away. But it feels wrong that this temple is so disconnected from the Zora.

Fishy point number four. The Mucktorok. It... I have no real issues with it existing in a Zelda game. It wasn't my favorite, and I can see how people could enjoy it. I've enjoyed hearing other's perspectives on it. It's goofy and silly. It's interesting, in a way. But it's placement in the game is what makes it feel like a deliberate snub at Sidon and the Zoras. It is the only boss that isn't cinematic. It isn't dramatic or epic, and it doesn't give a sense of danger as much as a sense of comedy. We've had enemies like that before, but they are mini-bosses. On top of that, from what I've heard, you don't even get a cool fuse weapon when you defeat one in the depths. That, to me, feels a bit deliberate.

My last point doubles as an idea for improvement, and is somewhat connected to my issues with the Water Temple. And that is Sidon's sage power. Outside of the temples I get the most use out of Tulin's ability. Then Yunobo. I don't really use Riju's ability often, but I can really see the use. But Sidon's ability really doesn't seem that useful. The shield feels like a worse version of Daruk's Protection due to the fact that you have to activate it by tracking down Sidon's shade (and I think it expires if you don't use it quickly enough?), and while not useless, I don't think a lot of people plan to be hit. And the water projectile probably isn't useless, but it seems like more trouble than it's worth when you can use an arrow, or just throw something.

Inside the Water Temple it feels even worse since that is where the ability is supposed to be showcased. I had so many splash fruit, and that was so much easier than remembering to talk to Sidon and waiting for his ability to reset. I think I only used his ability for the water spout wheels. Maybe a couple of times in the boss fight, but that felt more difficult than using the splash fruit, too.

My idea for improvement is a bit of a rework of the temple and a different ability. Sidon is shown to be able to manipulate water and currents, so his ability could be the ability to do just that. He could create a current that runs up or down a river (or through still water), the current could be a stream of water that rises up above the water, straight up or at an angle. That could be a method of travel in the temple. Instead of using those odd Zonai bubbles to travel it would be a Zora ability in the Zora temple. That would also give more of a reason to have more or larger bodies of water. You know. Having water in the Water Temple. And this is all without even considering adding some mechanic for going underwater, like is so common in Zelda games. But that is another option that would have fit so well.

I could see this temple being either in the sky or on/under ground. And this ability would be so useful outside of the temple. You could travel more easily in the water. You could use it to travel up into the air above water to get a boost up, and that could fill a little bit of the gap from the lack of Revali's Gale. It would be interesting, it would fit the character, it would be useful.

So that's five fishy points. That.. kind of got away from me, but it's been cycling through my head for a while now. And like I said at the beginning, all of these points feel fairly innocuous by themselves. It's just so many things that add up to the feeling that someone in the creators really didn't like Sidon. And that bothers me because I really like Sidon.

Despite this (not) small rant, I truly love the game and so many things about it. And the funny thing is, I don't think I would have gotten so worked up about it if I hadn't gotten the thought of some horrified high up Nintendo executive reading shark-dick porn stuck in my head. I still find that thought hilarious.

And with that, I'm off!

[powdermelonkeg]

Tears of the Kingdom: The Final Analysis

Part 2

Picking up where we left off in Part 1, our next shot takes us to Hateno Village.

First and foremost, the mushrooms. ALL the mushrooms.

The mushroom umbrella is patterned with mushrooms, and the man in front of it looks to be wearing a mushroom hat.

Similarly, so is this girl with the broom. A mushroom emporium? Maybe a collector's thing, like golden bugs or gratitude crystals?

It looks as if they took over the Ventest Clothing Boutique; the shirt is patterned with mushrooms, and the flags now have mushroom hats of their own. For some context, here's the original:

Purely speculatively, I think this might have some kind of gimmick outfit that you earn by hunting down rare mushrooms.

Moving on.

We've got a somewhat better look at the strange new towers, this one on top of one of the smaller peaks surrounding Mt. Lanayru.

The next shot shows a camp in the ruins of Castle Town. All the malice and leftover guardian bits look like they've been removed.

This bit here looks like a plot of land. Maybe a Tarrey Town situation, where you expand camps by bringing them supplies?

We can see a tower and the rock portal in the distance.

And Link is here in his green garb, meaning that whatever this camp is, the return of Ganon hasn't done anything to dissuade them.

Link climbs up near the rock portal, and we get a better look at it, as well as the generator thing.

That is VERY deliberately made. Possibly a fallen ruin, but still, very portal-like.

The generator thing looks to have replaced Ta'loh Naeg Shrine

Because that down there is Kakariko Village.

EDIT: This is an error; I misinterpreted the angle of the town. Ta'loh Naeg is on the opposite cliff to this. Thanks @dracrownian!

Also, this scaffolding looks to have been built AFTER the sky isles appear, because this one is built on a piece of ruin.

Hyrule Castle floats in the distance, but now we can see beneath it. It's hard to tell from this far away, but it LOOKS like it's hovering over a pool of malice.

There's a quick shot through some trees

With some Zonai swirls off to the side

As well as some geometric shapes along the bridge. Between those and the ferns, I think this is near Faron Woods, but not in it, seeing as there are no tropical trees.

Edit: According to @fluffmugger, @priconstella, and @almostandrogynousdonut, this spot is actually up at Thyphlo Ruins!

And then this scene. Oh, this scene.

It took me awhile to find this geometry on the map. Especially with that spiral off to the right; most of them have correlated to where Shrines are, but this one doesn't. What clued me in was this bit here.

A bigger triangle-shaped rock with a small, short triangle beside it, slightly offset.

There's exactly one spot in Gerudo Desert that has these like this.

Southwest of Gerudo Town, right here. And there are two things of interest that stand in this area. The first, to the southwest, is the Gerudo Great Skeleton, which can just be made out here:

The second?

Arbiter's Grounds in Breath of the Wild was barely anything, just some vague pillars hinting at something-

-just beneath the surface.

The BotW pillars don't quite match exactly. They're definitely not the torii-style gates above in the sky isles. But they ARE arches, over on the left, and the top squares of the pillars match the square bricks peeking out of the sand as the temple rises. It could be that the arches in BotW are what the beta version of Zonai arches looked like.

We then switch to the castle. Recall-able rocks plummet down around it, which indicates sky isles above.

Due to the sheer volume falling at once, I'm willing to believe that the rise of the castle is what directly causes the isles to show up.

Also

These are Sheikah at the forefront

And this looks to be some kind of logging camp or new settlement. There's a sign here that I imagine is meant to be interacted with at a later date.

And I've hit the picture limit, so when I finish Part 3, that link will be updated here.

Edit: Part 3!