#my thing about BOTW is I love the colors and I love the characters clothing and I love all of it

[cozwalt]

I know I want to cosplay from BOTW at some point but I don’t know who, and even if I opted for Link what outfit.

[burntheedges]

get to know your moots

thank you for tagging me @ace-turned-confused @kedsandtubesocks @sawymredfox @iknowisoundcrazy @jeewrites @katareyoudrilling @ghotifishreads 🧡 I freaking love these lol I know it's been a minute but hi, here I am.

what's the origin of your blog title?: username and title are both from a Hozier song, Eat Your Young (because "I'm starving, darling" is how I feel about Joel Miller)

OTP(s) + shipname: alright I've been reading fic since I was 12, here are some of the highlights in vaguely chronological order - Dramione (but like, in the 2000s, lmao), Drarry, Sterek, Johnlock, Arthur/Eames, Stucky, Stony, Sirmione, Wolfstar, Damen/Laurent, 00Q, Spirk, PPCU/reader, Rookanis, DinLuke

favorite color: orange

favorite game: Dragon Age Veilguard, Dragon Age Inquisition, the Mass Effect trilogy, Stardew Valley, BOTW, TOTK

song stuck in your head: Not Like Us, Kendrick Lamar

weirdest habit/trait?: hmmm my husband would say it's no outside clothes allowed on the bed, but I don't think that's weird. probably biting my cuticles. 😬

hobbies: knitting, sewing, writing, gaming

if you work, what's your profession?: let's not talk about work lmao

if you could have any job you wish what would it be?: I don't wish for work lol but maybe owning a book store or yarn shop.

something you're good at: languages, parallel parking, overextending myself

something you're bad at: not overextending myself. feeling my feelings.

something you love: talking to people who love the same things I love 🧡, going to concerts

something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: knitting, linguistics, languages, video games, hockey

something you hate: everything going on right now in the US

something you collect: hmm I used to collect a lot of things and then I moved across the country multiple times and got tired of having stuff. books, probably lol

something you forget: anything that's not in my calendar

what's your love language?: fyi the love languages book is fundamentalist nonsense BUT I do feel very loved when my husband does what they call acts of service (which he knows). that's what I tend to do by default, too, but he likes when I use my words.

favorite movie/show: LOTR, Ever After, Deep Space 9, The Matrix, Clueless, Inception, TLOU, The Mandalorian, Skyfall, Pacific Rim, CA:TWS, Andor, so many others lol

favorite food: pasta, a perfect caeser salad, sopes, sushi

favorite animal: cats. also hippos, those big dorks

are you musical?: I was kicked out of band lol but I was in a singing group in high school and another later. I can read music ok

what were you like as a child?: looking back, obviously unmedicated for ADHD, lmao. but extroverted and hyperaware, really

favorite subject at school?: languages, and then history

least favorite subject?: science, but mostly because some of my teachers sucked and I was socialized to think I was supposed to be bad at it

what's your best character trait?: probably my empathy?

what's your worst character trait?: not taking the time to think (I'm working on it)

if you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be?: I want my cold to be gone lol

if you could travel in time who would you like to meet?: ETA just realized I never answered this one. I spent a lot of time thinking about it and I'm still not sure!

recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

I have yet again begun to reread Be-All and Endor by @djarins-cyare because it brings me comfort (which I've needed lately) 🧡

A new favorite is The Morning Commute by @iknowisoundcrazy -- speed!AU Javi! god I love it

I think a lot of people have already done this, but in case you haven't, np tagging: @maggiemayhemnj @secretelephanttattoo @schnarfer @the-mandawhor1an @sixhours

@@davnittbraes @wannab-urs @justagalwhowrites @beardedjoel @futuraa-free

[scopophobia-polaris]

Honestly I have a theory that sheik was ORIGINALLY early in development supposed to be their own character but became Zelda’s alter ego later. Regardless their body types and features are so different it’s so fucking funny seeing Nintendo try to gaslight us and say « NUH HUH SHEIK IS LITERALLY JUST ZELDA IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES » like come on she definitely gave herself a dick be real. Zelda is SO the non binary person who says « yeah I dream about changing genders and I wish I wasn’t always a girl but I’m not trans I’m just cis haha »

🫵👍 BWAHHAHAHA YEAH oh my god, there is a chance that could be the case because of this

Because this is Sheik

Like OBVIOUSLY so, he could of been made to ve a separate chracter originally yes! And i don't know if there are any alternate development notes or interviews that says otherwise, but...the more I look at this picture, I'm scared this was gonna be Tetra before Tetra if you catch my drift.

OoT and MM to a lesser extant probably have so many weird production stuff we just don't know about, if we had like the stuff we have today about botw's devlopment but for OoT I would be so excited, the little stuff we has interests me to no fucking end and I wanna see what the hell was going through their brains for half of it cuz one thing....Im just gonna word vomit out this theory.

Link's mom. There is a chance that her design in the manga was actually by Nintendo originally and not the akira himekawa. So, here me out, the German Club Nintendo comic, it's called Hyrule under fire, its supposed to be about the end of the civil war that happens before OoT, so, since Link's dad is so close to just looking like Link with cheek bones (designs that drive me up the way in a funny way for reasons that if you ever ask me I'm gonna throw up on a post) I think he was just made up for the comic.

Like....look at him, HOWEVER.

Link's mom has a consistent design between here and the offical manga

(Love his dad dying in the shadow like HDNSBDHSN)

bUT STILL WITH THE WIDOW'S PEAK AND EVERYTHING! SAME CLOTHES AND EARRINGS TOO.

The ONLY thing that's different, is that in the legendary edition of the manga her dress colors are different

BUT, THEYRE FLIPPED, ITS STILL BLUE AND PINK, and her earrings are still pink.

Both of these came out within 2 years of eachother, the German comic in 1998 when the game came out and the manga in 2000, so either Akira Himekawa saw the German comic from 1998 and decided to reference that design for their own work OR....Link's mom had an offical design that was SCRAPPED FROM THE GAME.

I wish I could ask them about it because they would be the most straightforward I bet, look if any of you ever want to @ them on twitter and ask where they got that design I would LOVE to know

[imexperiencinggrowthgetoverit]

After I posted this I did a lot more building and have their names and colors! I also have their clothing and the extremely basic plot outline of “playing through the game” lol

Here’s the kicker though: I’m having Link finish BotW and the Memoir finish TotK

That’s my tentative name for them btw. “The Memoir” is all I could think of lol. It’s related to the title since “Addendum” and also the definition of Memoir PLUS the fact this takes place during TotK not BotW… Tentative though cuz it doesn’t roll off the tongue despite it having good meaning and interconnectivity

So, onto the part you’ll probably be most interested in, their names and colors:

Rush - Violet - They/Them

Star - Yellow - She/They

Cane - Green - He/Him

Volt - Orange - She/Her

Flint - Black - He/They

There’s much more about them and their personalities already, but I gotta keep some things secret for now! Plus I might be able to draw them as a reveal <3

I will say though, that Flint is just as much a part of Link as the rest. There’s no shadow business at all here cuz I wanted the character but frankly couldn’t figure out how to impliment it cleanly otherwise. He just here to make Five Links and we love him for that

By the way, @fwoosheye I’m making a name for my interpretation so it’s, ya know, not literally just using your well-earned title (cuz like seriously such a good name)

Alongside, I’m changing the characters’ names as I’m altering their colors (cuz frankly I dont see an issue occurring storywise if I do so)

The color change also helps facilitate the name change. I am considering keeping Rush and Cane as they are, but I’m definitely changing Chill’s name and Red didn’t even have one yet for me so…

I don’t know. Lemme know if you think I should keep or change any of the names or colors I guess! Your input especially is valued for this AU

**Edit: I just realized I forgot to clarify I would be keeping the idea you had of using food items as their names cuz that’s bloody brilliant of you. Might’ve been obvious but just in case-

**Edit 2: Should I include a Shadow???? I just realized I didn’t plan for that at all! Genuine question cuz like- I didn’t have a plot in mind that included one and now I’m like “shoot is that too important to just leave out?” which if it is that’s fine

[donexmiras]

ALL THE QUESTIONS

I figured you'd ask XD @janeelyakiri also asked for 1, 3 and 17 so I'm tagging them too

what song makes you feel better? Currently listening to “Down under” by SharaX I like her remixes a lot, and it’s a lot more upbeat than what I’ve been listening to otherwise 

what’s your feel-good movie? I really like Princess and the Frog honestly 

what’s your favorite candle scent? Blueberry or something floral 

what flower would you like to be given? Aaaaah I’m a sucker for flowers there are so many! Maybe daylilies or stargazers, lilies are always a fav

who do you feel most you around? My partner, though if I get to meet my two closest friends irl I’d definitely fully unwind around them for sure, go full goblin mode

say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical). uhhh uh uh, I like my eyes, my hair (fluffiness be damned) and my thicc thighs, and I like my creative brain, suppose I’m decently patient, and mm, I like my sense of humor 

what color brings you peace? Orange, just gives me soft vibes

tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. @kuvvydraws @ivyprism @fruitsnackart @the1920sisntaphasemom @a-very-tired-raven @janeelyakiri and you!

what calms you down? I tend to rock a lot or pace 

what’s something you’re excited for? opening up comms soon! and the next adoptable, gonna be a spider~

what’s your ideal date? Quality time is usually fine with me, maybe a movie every once in awhile, but sitting in a park just vibing is peak date 

how are you? Getting over a meltdown, so I’m at least doing better

what’s your comfort food? Ice cream honestly 

favorite feel-good show? The last show I watched was BNA and that was two years ago or so but I remember that I enjoyed it

for every emoji you get, tag someone and describe them in one word.

compliment the person who sent you this number. I love the scenarios you come up with and send me, big brain, very nice, funny and overall a good person ^^

fairy lights or LED lights? LED seem easier on the eyes, I don’t like bright lights 

do you still love stuffed animals? Of course! I can’t sleep without one

most important thing in your life? My partner and friends

what do you want most in the world right now? Therapy 

if you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be? I’d rather just hug them, no words need to be said

what would you say to your future self? Give them a hug too

favorite piece of clothing? My black hoodie, it’s like my security blanket 

what’s something you do to de-stress? Listen to music mostly, but I also just draw and let myself space out 

what’s the best personal gift someone could give you (playlist, homemade card, etc.) Literally anything hand made, though I cherish any gift I’m given, dragon mentality 

what movie would you want to live in? Hard question I have no idea XD 

which character would you want to be? I know this is probably related to the movie thing, but I’m taking it as a general question, which I’d say Link, specifically BoTW

hugs or hand-holding? Hand-holding

morning, afternoon or night? It’s 8 PM so I think I gotta say night

what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)? Open fields, sunsets, the smell of rain, winter under a warm blanket 

[ezlo-x]

Hey! Just wanted to say I really like your art, you’re pretty cool :] the way you use shapes and colors is very pleasing! zelda is very near and dear to my heart and one of my biggest comforts so it’s very warming to see someone have fun with the designs and story- your mipha design is one of my favorites i just love how squishable and soft she is!! very creature i am a big fan. And Sheik’s and Ganon’s and Revali’s designs don’t get me started !!! i’m fairly new so sorry if these have been asked already but what’s your favorite zelda game? :0 and how many have you played so far? is there any specific lore you especially like from a game? what inspired you to start making your au and redesigns?

aaaa thank you so much! :'0 My fav tloz game is a bit hard but I have a lot of good memories with Majora's Mask and BotW :] so far I've played 7 plus the beginning of TP cause I haven't gotten the time to get back to it. I actually like WW's worldbuilding and lore when watching gameplays it is the most memorable for me. Also you say that abt what inspired me to create my au, I created this au around the time I was completing Age of Calamity. I was enjoying the game, mostly gameplay rather than story, but I liked a few things about the story was about how we finally had more interactions with the main characters with side characters. As much as I dislike this game's story now, it was around the time my fixation w tloz was brought back from slumber after a year or so it fulled a lot of ideas. Originally my au was supposed to be an OoT au with a few BotW elements, but as time went on I realized I could do more in BotW's world. So taking the idea of the story starting in the forest from OoT to my au.

Majority of my redesigns especially monster designs, were very much inspired of Monster Hunter! With more small scale monsters I wanted to give them more animalistic features. With the rest of my redesigns, specifically w Sheik and Ganondorf, Sheik's very much has similar design traits as OoT Sheik and a few Fierce Deity Link design traits cause there was originally meant to be a Link in my au but scrapped him and both of them had similar clothing. Ganondorf's design, honestly I think OoT Ganondorf was like my main inspo of design cause like I said! This au used to be an OoT au. But myea! That's all I have to say!

[alenadragonne]

Getting to know you, me

rules: tag a few people you want to know better; make a new post, don’t reblog!

Tagged by @theheightofdishonor

Favorite color: green for like, aesthetic I guess? But for clothing or decor I prefer pink and purple.

Currently Reading: My Dress-Up Darling (which I HIGHLY recommend if you’re into wholesome and can tolerate/enjoy PLENTY of ecchi content in an manga/anime). I’m also thinking of finally actually reading bnha instead of only watching it. The next season is taking too long and I’m starving for content.

Last Song: y’all gonna hate this, but I don’t really listen to music that often… it was probably something super mundane like a top 40 pop song on the radio while I was driving. Last song I like purposely listened to was the Tuna Fishing song from the game Spiritfarer lol. It’s a jam ok.

Last Movie: Jujutsu Kaisen 0. I saw it for my birthday and it was GLORIOUS.

Last Series: Currently watching Our Flag Means Death. Slowly lol. Trying to make it last. I’m also currently watching the new season of Demon Slayer. And obviously I was watching My Dress-Up Darling until the season ended last week :( I also just finished Fena Pirate Princess recently, which was cute but I have my critiques of it. Let me know if you care to hear them 😂

Sweet, Spicy, or Savory: honestly all three. I love a good sweet and salty mixture. I love to eat sweet pickles and sharp cheese together for a snack. And I loooove me some spicy foods. Even though they make my tummy hurt lol

Coffee or Tea: Tea. Coffee makes me spazzy. But I do like to have the occasional decaf.

Three Ships: this one is always hard for me for some reason. I’m currently on a Sk8 kick so Renga (reki/langa), kiribaku (kirishima/bakugo) is a classic, my OTP is PROBABLY Chise/Elias from Ancient Magus Bride. It’s still my all time favorite show.

First Ship: Percabeth :3 (Percy/Annabeth)

Currently Working On: idk if you’d consider it a WIP since I’m incapable of ever actually working on it, but I’m currently working on a series of chibis for my favorite moments and characters in Elden Ring. The game is packed full of waifus and I must draw them. I just, gotta.

Favorite Piece of Clothing: my CLOAK. It’s the plush one they recently released and it’s soft and warm and pretty :3

Comfort Food: sandwiches lol. It’s like my favorite food because it satisfies all my flavor cravings the way I make it. (Whole grain bread, sliced turkey, cheddar cheese, Mayo, and spicy mustard. If I have lettuce or tomato I’ll add that. OH AND CHEETOS. I love Cheetos on my sandwich. Not with, ON) And it’s easy to make so I don’t put off eating it like when I have to cooking something.

Favorite Time of the Year: Spring :3 it’s my birthday season. And it’s pretty

Fave Fanfic: good gosh idk if I even know that. I don’t ever reread fics. It’s just a thing. I don’t rewatch most shows either. (Except a special few). So once I’ve read a fic it just kind of, gets added to my history and I move on? I know that sounds terrible. I read on AO3 so I always leave kudos and a comment on the ones I enjoy. I just don’t bother to hold on to them or reread them. BUT I usually read bnha fics just because there are SO MANY of them. Plenty to choose from. I also read fics for ancient magus bride, spirited away, inuyasha, demon slayer, and Zelda BOTW. But I couldn’t give a favorite unfortunately.

I’m tagging: @rosieposiepuddingnpie @floating-head @thundergodtempest and of course

@naked-aardvark (I know I already know everything about you, but I’m just curious on a few of these what you’ll say)

And of course if I didn’t tag you but you wanna do it, please go ahead!

[songzhong]

1 3 6 22 30 35

GENSHIN IMPACT ASK GAME

1. Who did you choose as your traveler?

KONG / AETHER ! Pretty much because I prefer to play male characters. Since he is a blank slate, I personally picture mine as a kind, calm, very self reflecting, “on the verge of breaking but my mission and love for the person I yearn for (in this case his sister) keeps me going I have literally no other option” hero type, much like, let's say, Syaoran in Tsubasa RESERVoir CHROniCLES and Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass (as they were based on the same type made by CLAMP) and personally prefer depictions of Aether looking like a young man than a young boy. I understand where mihoYo came from with BOTW and appealing to a wider audience with more teenage-looking characters, but you know I'll always be a bit sad that we didn't have the option to look more like an adult like the Honkai Impact male protagonist.

3. Your favorite party?

Casual showcase for friends. I’m a midcore type of player so I always like a good mix of meta and characters I like. I got talked into rolling for Childe even though he’s not necessarily my favorite character, but ended up REALLY liking how he plays he’s so fun. He still doesn’t do as much damage as Physical Zhongli which is pretty cute.

Childe C0 / Zhongli C4 / Bennett C6 / Xiangling C3 Heart of Depth set / 2 Noblesse 2 Gladiator (WIP) / Noblesse Oblige set / Crimson Witch set

Tested both Vaporize and Electro-Charged comp as Childe is... basically a main DPS support and is 100% dependent on either Xiangling and Fischl hahaha and by far I preferred the Vaporize burst damage... plus I get to play two polearm characters (well, technically three ~).

6. The character you have but you never use?

I literally got no use for Razor even if he’s C6 and a genuinely great character to play. Zhongli fill all my physical DPS need, and Razor is an extremely selfish character who cannot be used as sub DPS so... RIP. Lvl 1 forever.

22. Your favorite character’s design and the least one?

My favorite is by far Zhongli. I mean we’ve all seen the man. People who have been following me since the beginning know I cannot shut up about anthropology and history, and with Zhongli mihoYo are hitting the mark in so many places. From the motifs, to the very silhouette, every detail has a reason to be there, and is such a clever and gorgeous mix of modern fashion, but also ancient China emperor robes, and I could go on and on and on. I can’t get tired of looking at this man. The favorite thing about his design to me are his shoes. I LOVE good dress shoes, and Zhongli’s are absolutely beautiful. Just minimalist enough to be classy but with some golden details that mesh perfectly with his outfit, and an elegant shape that complement his curves... I’m in love.

My friends are going to kill me, but my least favorite is Beidou hahahaha. Listen, in itself, I think she’s a beautiful hommage to Madame Zheng, the historical Chinese pirate queen,  with red colors, the smugness, the hairstyle, etc. However, I do find her personally too all over the place to find her looks appealing, despite the characters being very cool. It seems to not commit to a direction unlike the other characters. She’s tomboyish with the top and gloves, but then her hair are long and feminine, it looks like she got short pirate practical clothing but then all of a sudden it’s a long dress... I just find it visually messy. But it is a matter of preference. Really, all characters in Genshin are honestly fantastic, and any serious criticism on visual design is, to me, bad faith nitpicking.

30. Something you like in general.

How mature the storyline and characters are, despite the game being PG. It has darker moments, but is not childishly edgy like many shonen are. All characters are clear, colorful archetypes, yet none act out of the scope of their character personality just for the sake of drama and plot : the writing doesn’t take for granted that the characters, especially the adults, are exceptional individuals, they SHOW it to us. And this is great writing. They are rational and composed, even if their personality can be active and impulsive. Whereas cheap anime writing nowadays tend to just TELL us a character is exceptional without actually showing it to us.

It is a mature handling of setting and character that made me like Childe’s character so much, when normally he wouldn’t be a type of character that appeal to me that much in an anime context. Childe is a very, very well written character who acts pretty childishly, but is still a capable adult with a head on his shoulders, and results to show the mastery of his craft. He is just realistic enough to feel like a full fledged person who puts up a charming, dismissive front but is so much more. I really, really appreciate this and will continue supporting anime writing like this.

35. A random headcanon.

No matter if their relationship is positive, negative, friends, enemies, rivals or lovers, whenever those two duos interact in the same room, it’s gay af. No homo bros.

[muffintonic]

Alright, I think i’m done BOTW 2 spamming for today. Anywho, time for some thoughts in general!

1) I hated how the shrines in BOTW were so cold and dark compared to the bright and lively nature outside (I wish they had all looked like the Master Trials challenge where there were trees and stuff incorporated inside), so I hope if we’re forced to have dungeons they’ll be more like the Wind Waker ones. 2) I hope they don’t make us use the grappling hook or anything like in Wind Waker to move around the sky islands (I hated that mechanic). 3) I’m probably one of the few people who wanted less Zelda and more of the Champions in HWAOC since i’m only really attached to BOTW (and we saw a fair amount of Tetra in Wind Waker)/apparently Zelda’s been sidelined in all the other games, so i’m hoping in vain that we get more Champions material in BOTW 2. Also, Link could stand to have some more cutscenes centered around him as well (the few we got in some of the sidequests in BOTW were great). 4) I only really somewhat care about Riju and Sidon, so I won’t mind if the new gang gets sidelined in BOTW 2 (I still think Nintendo wasted the found family/band of brothers aspect on the dead characters--I love them so much and they’re all I want!! The problem is, they’re dead and I don’t really care all that much about their replacements!!! I dunno, maybe i’m hampered by the fact that I can replay the original champions’ memories whenever I want/read their diaries, but I can’t rewatch the new gang’s cutscenes AKA i’ve forgotten their characterization since they don’t talk to me much now that the game’s over). It’d be great if they have some weaving storylines in BOTW 2 that will get me more invested in them, but currently i’m not that interested. 5) Speaking of which, I know it’s 100% not going to happen, but goddang if I don’t want the Champions to have been returned to life. Nintendo totally squandered HWAOC by not making it a true prequel/canon to BOTW (the Champions Ballad confirmed that the Divine Beasts had trials in order to be synced to the champs, so the new gen use of them wouldn’t have happened without that + Mipha thought Link had changed in BOTW yet says in HWAOC that he hasn’t changed + some scenes like “Champion Revali’s Song” never happened at all/got replaced with alternative scenes that really changed some dynamics + basically all of Revali’s time-relative characterization from his diary/pre-100 years of solitude got thrown out + I feel like Daruk got totally sidelined), so i’m still craving that Champions content. Also, I feel like it’s totally unfair that Zelda came out of 100 years totally unaged while everyone else died. Life seems to really suck for people in the LoZ universe who aren’t chosen by divine powers. 6) They’d better keep it open world and non-linear. I can’t go back to being forced to backtrack/trudge through things, I just can’t. BOTW was everything i’ve ever dreamed about in a game (truly open world + non-linear + interactive + meaningful story + lots of outfits + beautiful landscapes) with Skyrim previously being the only thing that came close to what I wanted, so I really hope BOTW 2 doesn’t deviate too much from that. 7) I really liked Kass in BOTW, but i’m not sure what direction they’d go with him in BOTW 2/i’d be fine if he sat BOTW 2 out. I worked so hard to complete all his quests in BOTW so he’d go back home to his family, GODDANGIT, KASS. 8) Someone mentioned that since the first trailer had underground aspects, we’re probably going to be playing as Zelda with the Slate there, and I agree. They didn’t make a playable model for her in HWAOC for nothing. 9) I want to be able to stable the deer and bears and stuff, but I know that won’t happen. Being able to ride the moose and rhino things from the Hebra area probably won’t happen either, but I want to ride them!!! 10) I hope there’ll be at least a few new buildings and stuff in the towns/they’ve started construction on some areas in Central Hyrule, but I guess that’ll depend on how long it’s been in-universe since BOTW. Or maybe not, considering how there’s still Karson and Hudson even though Bolson retired from Bolson Construction--insta-towns like Tarrey Town could totally be feasible if they wanted! 11) I have one foot in the camp that believes there’ll be time shenanigans in BOTW 2. HWAOC totally threw me off with it being an alternate timeline, so i’m not sure whether we’re going to be experiencing that again or time travel itself, but I definitely won’t be surprised this time around if Nintendo goes that route again (and it would be super interesting to see the Link from 10,000 years ago). I’m not entirely convinced that the Link we see exploring the sky in the second trailer isn’t our Link, mainly because he seems to still have on the blue boxers from BOTW. 12) I also heard that maybe this will be the last LoZ game ever since something something Demise something Skyward Sword something something lore from games i’ve only vaguely looked into (i’ve only ever played BOTW --> Wind Waker --> HWAOC)??? If so, it kind of sucks that I came in just when they started making games with playstyles palatable to me (I had to look up every single thing when playing Wind Waker, but BOTW let me solve things according to MY logic/I missed being able to explore in HWAOC), but at least it’ll end on a super high note/I won’t experience later disappointment, I guess. If BOTW 2 involves breaking the reincarnation cycle for the Triforcers, I would be really surprised. (On a related note, Nintendo making Ganondorf good would also be a 100% shock to me, but it would be great to end on that as a subversion. Yes, I want them to bring back the semi-complicated Ganondorf from Wind Waker.) 13) I hope they don’t rush releasing it. I heard they pushed back BOTW originally (I got it in 2019), but it came out fantastic for it! I know COVID’s been affecting things, so I really hope they’re treating their staff right and are mindful of crunch. 14) I want even more outfits (there seem to be at least two new ones, if the variant of the Hylian Tunic crossed with Link’s Champion’s Tunic counts). Give me all the outfits!!! Also, I hope we get even more hair variations in addition to the hair down option (which is all i’ve ever wanted since I saw the mod that altered the Ancient Helmet). 15) I wonder if we’re going to get a bonus for having both BOTW and HWAOC save data. 16) I wonder if we’re going to be keeping the Champions’ skills. I’m going to miss being super overpowered, if not. 17) I hope Nintendo doesn’t cave in and make surfaces climbable in the rain. Having that limiter is more realistic and Link would otherwise be too overpowered with a super climbing ability. 18) I liked BOTW’s scattered music that got more noticeable in populated areas because it was fitting for the post-apocalyptical/nature aspect. Hearing your footsteps in an open field and the buzzing of insects was super nice and prevented me from getting music fatigue (which i’d probably experience since whenever I play BOTW it’s for 5-10 hours at a time). I hope Nintendo either keeps that or makes audio options. 19) I heard that BOTW 2 is going to be super dark or something, and i’m okay with dark, but not GRIMdark, so I hope it doesn’t go that far. From what we’ve seen in the second trailer it still looks beautiful, but I hope it doesn’t do that thing that some games do where after the midpoint/a certain story point all the scenery permanently changes to be dark and scary (that’ll seriously hamper post-game playability for me if so). 20) If they expand on the Zonai, that would be super cool! Doubly cool if the time travel shenanigans involve them/ancient Link being one! 21) I kind of want windstorms to be a weather feature. We had lightning, heat, and cold, but no wind! No, I don’t count the wind geysers and the occasional breeze in Tabantha. 22) I want a chest in my house to hold more weapons than just the gear mounts. BOTW only had enough mounts for the champions’ gear, but it also had rare items like the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller’s Sword that you can’t get anymore once you use them up! 23) I want to be able to stable my horses at my house. What’s the point of that little area if you can’t stable your horse there! 24) Speaking of Link’s house: where is Zelda going to live? If the castle’s not reconstructed, it’d be neat if Link adds an extension to his house for her. 25) I hope they open up part-time jobs (think Mabinogi) as an option to earn rupees. Having to hunt for Luminous Stone deposits or feed Trott to make money can be such a chore. I think some of BOTW’s minigames/sidequests might count as those, but those minigames were either frustrating if your goal is to earn money (since most of them cost money to play in the first place and the mechanics weren’t always easy), or didn’t earn that much in general. 26) I wonder if Kilton is going to have updated items since the monsters seem to have changed. 27) I want to be able to dive underwater (mainly so I can explore the beautiful reefs over at Lurelin). A dive meter like the one from Super Mario Sunshine would be cool. Also, it’d doubly be neat if you had a separate stamina wheel for swimming and could permanently upgrade your swim/diving stamina (the speed+ swimming items just consumed your stamina faster, which was a pain)! 28) It’s definitely too late for this, but it’s a shame that the Hylians have so many face/body/hair and outfit variations, but the Zora, Rito, and Gorons don’t. The Gerudo were kind of okay with the hair and body variations, but the other races seemed to have a serious copy-paste problem. I guess technically some of the more important NPCs (ones with quests/cutscene triggers) had different coloring, but they were severely lacking in clothing variation. Also, the only old Rito was the elder??? At least the Gorons and Zora had some old folks besides their leader walking around. Very weird, but I don’t think BOTW 2 can fix any of this. 29) I wonder how they’re going to do the final boss battle, considering how epic/cinematic the BOTW 2x battle was. What can top fighting (on horseback, no less) a giant, flaming boar made out of malice? 30) I wonder what the Yiga are going to be up to, considering how Ganondorf seems to be somewhat kicking in BOTW 2.

[weizhentian]

Pokemon Shield impressions so far

The art direction is gorgeous!

Feels like BOTW, which I played before this, has way higher production value though.

I feel bad beating Hop.

I'm meh on all the fully-evolved starters. I wish Cinderace had longer ears :/

This game feels incomplete with all the missing features. It doesn't sit right with me the attitude of rushing a game and then patching it later. People who paid money for Pokebank must be pissed about being unable to transfer all their Pokes. Also I'm not sure if I'd want to drop $90 on the game and the DLC.

It feels wrong to be handed the Fly function this early.

Monkey brain loves to look for shinies in the wild area.

I like being able to see the Pokemon walk through the grass.

I wish we could just grow the berries we want for EV respec instead of shaking trees and hoping for the best.

Render distance too short :/

Why can't we turn off exp share and opt out of being auto healed so often, argh.

I love all the quality of life improvements in this gen. No more hacking to get perfect IVs and natures. No more ridiculous inbreeding either.

I found it refreshing that Team Yell was a red herring. I mean Sports fans are like That in real life.

I find it hilarious that the equivalent of surfing in this gen is attaching floaties to a bike to ride it on water.

A shame that Professor Oak's words of advice were not called back when you try to ride your bike indoors.

I appreciate the higher level mons in the Wild Area to grind exp on.

Electric bike powered by ghosts, wooooOoooo. I love this rotom lore.

Where are the nurses' companion Pokemon?

This game has the recurring theme of passing the torch to the younger generation. Magnolia to Sonia, Leon to the player and Hop, Opal to Bed, the two ancient heroes to the modern heroes etc.

Bede has a trans flag color uniform and two of his Pokemon are pink/purple blue and white. "Fairy" is slang for a gay guy. Do you suppose any of this was intentional?

Feels like everybody is coming out with douchey rich tech guy characters who are inspired by Elon Musk these days. I mean, there's plenty of things to mock.

I wonder why the guards couldn't just drag two kids away for intruding before they could get their Pokemon out. It feels almost like a legal liability thing, having to do a Pokemon battle in the name of fairness.

Leon didn't even use an Ultra Ball or Dusk Ball to try and catch Eternatus rip.

Nice job involving both cover Legendaries and the third legendary in the plot from the getgo.

Back in MY day gym leader rematches had all 6 Pokemon and went up to the 80s in level :9

I feel like Dynamax is Gamefreak trying to find a happy medium between Megas and Z moves. I wish there were a unifying lore explaining all the disparate phenomena we've encountered. I also wish single stage Pokemon like Mawile had gotten proper evos instead of being screwed over as soon as Mega stones got yanked away.

I'm so glad this gen does not being back the BS version exclusive clothing colors of Sun/Moon.

[noroalia]

please please pleaseee tell me about video game graphics

thank you zero, i owe you my damn life

a side note: i only have experience in Blender when it comes to shading, rendering and similar things, and Dreamy Theatre 2nd is the only Project DIVA game i’ve ever played. i am nowhere near an expert, and this is just a rant so this may or may not be inaccurate oops

OKAY SO. project DIVA. love those games, have been a fan of them since like?? i first found them when i was 12?? so seeing the fact that it now has a Switch release made me really happy, and i’ve been thinking of buying it, since i dont want to clog up my brothers PS3′s memory just for an old PD game, right? the other day though, i stumbled across this video, which compares 4 of the games World is Mine PV’s, right? and i kid you not that when i understood that the Switch version was the top right one, i got. so surprised. because it looks like a downgrade from even the PS4 one, which i personally believe that in this case was a downgrade from the PS3 one. 

turns out, Mega Mix uses toon shaders, which can be really good when used right! but from what i’ve seen in MM, it just looks so weird. 

i just wanna preface by saying that Future Tone is the game that looks the best overall to me; the shaders and effects highlights the models and sets really well, and uses textures (look at Miku’s clothes in Rolling Girl. they’re plasticy, the light reflects on them and the different textures on her models help highlight what is what. and i think Rolling Girl in FT looks REALLY BAD compared to some previous iterations. look at how it compares to F 2nd and how much the atmosphere is ruined in FT. by the looks of it, F 2nd also uses toon shaders, though im not sure)

toon shaders can be extremely effective. they make the characters more cartoony, overriding any textures and making everything look plasticy and smooth. MMD uses toon shaders - and it causes that unique, classic MMD look!! and i love that look!! but the MMD models were made with that in mind. Mega Mix’s models look like direct ports of the PS4 game, aka they weren’t made for toon shaders.

of course, the context of the song and the pv changes the situation drastically! i’ve seen songs like Arifureta Sekai Seifuku where i actually believe the toon shader enhances the colorful, bouncy nature of the song and PV! thats where i think the toon shaders fits, in bright happy songs! the issue is, that very rarely are there PVs like that. most of them use darker tones, grittier sets or just duller colors. for songs with effects, the PS3 triumphs, but overall the PS4 just looks so much better. just look at ODDS & ENDS. F 2nd still holds up, FT looks amazing and then. MM is just. she’s flat. it’s almost as if any sort of color filter or light bounces off her.

my main issue with the toon shader in this case, is that Miku looks washed out. any texture, bump or feature dissapears, in favor for a flat, bright look. note how you can’t see her nose at all? its small, and that makes it blend in. it drowns. any texture in her hair is replaced with a bright shine and an even, uniform color. look at how well the toon shader is utilized in Ghost Rule, and this was made in MMD. the toon shader in MM leaves no room for things like bloom, reflection or shine. it all looks like its absorbed into Miku, and that she exists on a different layer compared to her surroundings.

this was intentional, from what ive heard! SEGA wanted it to look kid friendly, which means cartoony, 2D inspired and simple. but thats pretty stupid, right? when i was 12, i was drawn to the PD games both because of the gritty songs, but also the bright, happy colors. hell, look at PoPiPo! i remember this PV so clearly because the bright colors and the look made me happy, and this was achieved without toon shaders! and its achieved in Future Tone too, like. Look at World’s End Dancehall. It’s all neon colors without a single dark shadow in sight. and that video came out this year, and because of it, i assumed that this was the Switch port! i was wrong, obviously. still the PS4 release.

i’ve seen some people argue that toon shaders were used because the Switch isn’t a powerful console. first of all, it runs games like Witcher 3, BOTW, and so much more. I agree, the Switch isnt the most powerful console! but it could easily run a game like F 2nd, which still has complex effects and shading. and toon shading is still heavy on the CPU and GPU! there’s even a video where they’ve removed the toon shader in Mega Mix, and it still runs well and looks super good. you can see the textures, the small details and it does her model wonders. you can see the wrinkles in her clothes!!!! and this is still on the switch! it looks straight out of Future Tone. and that game is almost 7 years old. the switch could 100% run it with no to minor problems.

but as far as i am aware, the Project DIVA department has been merged with other departments in SEGA, so its very possible this was made because of budget cuts as well. after all, the toon shader probably takes less effort to slap onto a song, especially since it virtually looks the same on every song, and the game itself is basically a smaller port of Future Tone.

this is the only thing ive been able to think about this week honestly, it makes me kinda sad ngl

[bigskycastle]

ask

Yup! I’m gonna use this ask to answer the other ones finally lol

Hehe that’s a cute idea.. that’s sort of what I imagined the “special ready” effect is, but it would definitely be cooler if instead of just glowing/moving a bit their hair cycled through a bunch of colors

Hi! Oh that’s pretty broad uhhhhhhhh id say.. well. it’s N from pokemon bw but most of the characters I end up liking are just, like, silent protags lol

Honestly? at first nervous and uncomfortable because I very much forgot how to draw humans. But i’m feeling tons better about it now and having a lot of fun with it^_^

Awh thank you ! ❤ you’re also cool

Good at the moment! Got a 4 day weekend every week now so I should (maybe?) be able to be more active here. Also FINALLY have a doctor’s apptmt today so i can see someone about my mental health shit and possibly, perhaps, potentially actually get help lol

You’re sweet, thank you❤ I’d like to redo my spectrum piece at some point just because i think i’ve evolved a little stylistically since I finished it, but I still like it despite that. And ty again! They’re very relaxing for me now lol, I’m glad we (against all odds) got a zelda game with one

I think I first saw a streamer playing it when I dropped by their twitch page on a whim, and I saw all the clothing options and immediately decided “i must buy a switch just to play this game”. The fashion aspect is still one of my favorite things about it lol. 

I think my Favorite part has to be the singleplayer modes, in partic agents though (predictably), bc they’re exactly the sort of “mostly blank slate” characters+worlds I get attached to.. I’ve always rly enjoyed sort of filling in the gaps left behind in media, even if that means what I end up loving at the end is 90% headcanon stuff. I think that’s the best way 2 interact with media anyway. making it more personal. 

It’s always very cool seeing everyone’s different takes on the agents/splat world, and it’s Very cool how I can post a pic of, like, agent 3 and have a bunch of different people each see a totally different character, you know? But yeah i like the shoes in splatoon

Honestly kinda rough but I’m trying! I’ve started college now and the people there are nice enough, plus it’s got incredibly cushy hours and is pretty light on actual “learning”, but it’s good, I needed some kind of break from academia before I straight up died

I’m happy you enjoy it anon!!!!!! I will :-)! I’ve got a lot planned for zelda art in the near future, i just have to finish some commissions and stuff before I can properly work on it

I’ve never “studied” officially, but i’ve been drawing for like, 5-6ish years now? I didn’t pick it up until I was about 10 and didn’t rly commit until I was maybe 12. The course i took at college is meant to be art-focused, however, the stuff they’re teaching is like.. not a brag! but stuff I do already know. Like, a tutor tried to explain what “pixel art” is to me on my first day. I mostly took it to try and learn some Maya skills because I do want to pick up 3D art one day!

Ty! This question’s pretty similar to the last so i’ll put it here. I’ve been slacking on my actual studying a bit, most of what I do is force myself to draw anything every day. Doesnt matter if its a wonky doodle of a face on the back of a napkin or if its a full illust, its practice, it counts. Also, trying to shove myself out of my own comfort zone by doing things like environments and very detailed things (motorcycle.). It’s very rewarding just to look at something you made and think “I thought this was impossible before right now”.

hmmmmMm... I can’t think of any just off the top of my head but my friend @nickymemer (I think?) put the idea of Zelda, whenever shes sick of link and her dads’ collective shit, just running off to gerudo town to hang out with urbosa and the rest of the gerudo court, in my head and i love that a lot

Thank you thank you! As of rn it’s botw but that’s probably because it’s the only one i’ve played by myself. I watched a 30 hour longplay of twilight princess and really loved that though. I did watch an lp of both majora and ocarina but I get the feeling i’m missing a big part of the experience of both bc i’m not playing them. (That or they’re overhyped.) If i get a bit more cash at some point I’ll probably get both on my 3ds.

Alright that’s all I think! Thank you everyone ❤

[aarkyart]

Let me tell you a story about my failures. So a few days before Otakuthon this year, I was working on a BOTW 2 print. It was suppose to be one of my main sellers, therefore a lot of love and care went into that. In my attempts to clear my mind, I was deleting files that I didn’t need on my iPad... Including of course my BOTW 2 print. Of course this was not on purpose, I thought i was deleting a duplicate of something else. But yeah! That sucked and I moped about it. 

In actuality though, I think this taught me many things:

One, be more careful (obviously). Procreate doesn’t have a recycling bin, and unless your files are being stored in a cloud/drive they are only going to remain in the procreate app. So once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Two, save pngs! Whether it’s to lay out all your process work, or to have for reference, it’s so useful! In this particular case, saving a png could’ve given me the opportunity to just draw on top of it. Even if the png was losing my most recent strokes, I would’ve had something!

Three, scraping a piece and redoing it is not a bad thing. I know time and work gets put into something your passionate about. So when that thing gets eliminated it is devastating. The thing is though, it’s not completely gone- it’s still in your memory! 

When I finally accepted that the piece was gone, I decided that I would redo the piece. The way the characters and environment were composed, the colors and mood that were constantly played around with, and the details of the clothing or the surrounding materials were all things I could visualize and remember in my head. So I went ahead and did it. Not only did I spend less time on the print, but it ended up better then I could imagine :) Of course its not perfect, but I did what I could in the two days I had left before the convention :D 

Four, keep going. I’ve been doing conventions for a while now. Most of the ones I’ve done I’ve looked at the booth and said ‘it’s too empty’, 'my partner’s side is better’, ‘I hate my art’, ‘It’s not ready’, then I would proceed to sitting with my display for 1-4 days. It feels embarrassing and degrading. On top of that, spending all your efforts on something only to NOT make enough money or have enough exposure is the worst. But you HAVE TO keep going. I’m not saying put your health at risk. If you come to the point where you are unhappy or come to the realization that what your doing is not ideal or the right thing to do, then yeah, different actions should be taken. But don’t hate yourself for the mistakes you make and for all of the failures you’ve experienced. However many times it takes to get it right, you will get it right! Just learn from everything and try new things. 

Otakuthon was last weekend, and I’m happy to say that I was very proud of my table :) I was able to make a good amount of prints and fill up most of my table. My partner and my sides of the table blended nicely together, and although this event wasn’t 100% my demographic, I had a lot of fun and have become even more passionate about being a freelance Illustrator. 

--

Haha, well what was that about?! I don’t normally make posts like this, so take it with a grain of salt(?) Thanks for reading, if you did. OTHERWISE ENJOY MY BOTW2 PRINT LOL

[cavaliant]

meet the mun

Repost do not reblog !!

Tagged by: stolen Tagging: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE - Name: Kris irl, Dusk here - Eye Color: Dark brown - Hair Style/color: Short, black. If I’m not growing it for a cosplay I’ll often have an undercut. - Height: 160cm/5′3″ - Clothing style: Jeans/sweats/cargo shorts and graphic tees. I used to put more effort in high school and early uni with dress shirts, funky ties, and rainbow accessories. Nowadays I’m lazy and also have to dress business casual most of the time for work lmao. - Best physical feature: ??? I’ve been told I have a nice poetry reading voice I guess?

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE - Your fears: Dying suddenly without getting a chance to let my family/friends know or finish the things I intended to do. Also losing my shit at home to a house fire/robbery when I’m not around. - Your guilty pleasure: writing cracky shit with serious characters?? making lewd jokes about them?? cursing my friends?? does it really count as guilty if I’m not guilty?? 🤔 I guess eating junk food since I’ve been trying to lose a little weight so I can fit into some old pants again lmao - Ambitions for the future: Find a job that pays the bills, lets me do meaningful work that helps people, and maybe also lets me have a little extra change to support artists...the dream tbh

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS - Your first thoughts waking up: What time is it can I go back to sleep - What you think about before bed: Scenarios with my muses I might want to see/write, what’s coming up the next day

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER? - Single or group dates: Never been on either before so idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’d depend on how well I knew the other dating peeps involved I guess - To be loved or respected: If you aren’t respected are you really loved??? - Beauty or brains: *cheesy voice* heart - Dogs or cats: Both, but I lean towards dogs a bit more

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU. - Lie: Sometimes to be nice, but I try not to keep big secrets - Believe in yourself: Sometimes. I flip flop between anxious and “idc” - Believe in love: Yes - Want someone: Not particularly

LAYER SIX: EVER? - Been on stage: Yes, mostly for academic awards and violin recitals. We did have a makeshift “stage” in our grade 7 class where I was the first witch in Macbeth though. - Done drugs: No - Changed who you were to fit in: Maybe when I was younger?? I was a lot more doormat-like/withdrawn back then.

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES - Favorite color: Green, red - Favorite animal: Falcons, hawks, dogs, cats - Favorite movie: Idk. Maybe The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? Mewtwo Returns? Destiny Deoxys? - Favorite game: I can’t choose just one :/ FE Thracia and PoR are here obvs. Pokemon Emerald, Fire Red, Mystery Dungeon (Red, Darkness, I haven’t finished Sky yet lmao); Dragon Quest V, IX; Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth; BOTW

LAYER EIGHT: AGE - Day your next birthday will be: Monday - How old will you be: ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ - Does age matter: It started mattering less to me in uni (or basically after graduating hs). Different people have different maturity levels and personalities regardless of age. I am more mindful of how I interact with people 18 and under though lmao. I feel obligated to be a bit more considerate and older sibling-like, though that might just be bc I’m the eldest of 3 siblings lmao.

[beesmygod]

breath of the wild is pretty good

my roommate @exexunderscore has been kind enough to let me play his copy of BOTW and his switch and i feel bad bc on twitter all i do is trash it!! i can easily mention the things that bug me bc theyre not spoilers and most of the stuff i like in the game is spoilers or things that would be fun to discover on your own. then i remembered tumblr has a read more function so i can post spoilers over here: here’s my pros and con list of BOTW and how i feel about it in general. i was mean on twitter and said it was a 7/10 game but its like a 7.5 out of 10. its good!! im just nitpicky.

VERY GOOD THINGS:

the enemy AI is fantastic. they did a great job programming these little assholes into doing shit ive never seen-or expected- in a zelda game. i love when moblins pick up bokoblins and fling them at you. its legitimately hilarious. and i love how when they idle they dance around fires and hunt pigs. they’re so full of character without making them sympathetic.

the biodiversity is great. i love all the lizards and birds and dogs and animals and PEOPLE populating the world. the world actually feels alive. i lost my mind when i saw my first bear and rode it around a mountain for a while. i also love how some animals are assholes too and will just run you down if you get too close to them. an emu knocked me off a mountain once and i couldnt even get mad. i was laughing so hard.

the character design is darling. it feels like a perfect midpoint between 64 zelda art aesthetics and windwaker-era coloring/shading. its really charming.

zelda, her character, is VERY good. a little cliche but a big departure from the zelda we’ve seen in the past where shes confident and perfectly composed and idealized out the wazoo. this zelda is vulnerable and irritated and frustrated with the position shes in.

the clothes/ability to dye clothes......[kisses fingers like a chef]. nintendo add more colors in dlc

the ability to tame/ride any horse you want, that you wander on in the wild, is executed really well. its challenging and fun. WHERE!!!!! ARE THE PINK HORSES!!!!!! I CANT FIND THEM I KNOW THEY EXIST

the puzzles are really fun, really thoughtfully made! they’re the perfect amount of difficulty, there’s only a few that are hideous and unfun (MOTION CONTROLS.....). the shrines are short and sweet. similarly, dungeons arent too long and wear out their welcome.

and the abilities you get with the shiekah sensor are actually super useful all the time instead of the zelda curse of getting a weapon/item thats useful for one dungeon....and thats it. i think the one i use the least is stasis but it still has some really fun stuff you can do with it

there are characters/areas of the map named after characters from old zelda games! O: not like as a fun easter egg but like they were historical figures who had things named after them! like linebeck island!

i get to take pictures

STUFF THAT KINDA SUCKS:

gerudo town has some pretty wack shit in it for 2017

the voice acting is so bad it actually actively detracts from the game quality. my friend ascribes the phenomenon as the result of “one take terry”.

the house you can buy sucks and nintendo totally misunderstood why people like houses in video games. its a rupee sink. its more than useless.

the writing quality sometimes dips really randomly. sometimes its just really stupid and bad. i feel like there are parts they handed over to certian writers that did a shit job on their assignment. both shiekah researchers come to mind.

nintendo let me register non-horses as mounts

nintendo where are the poes and redeads

nintendo why did you get rid of auto-jump

okay but for real im looking forward to dlc that adds more enemy types.

beedle doesnt say the thing

while the world itself feels alive with animals the towns and cities feel REALLY empty. like i get hella people died 100 years ago but comes onnnnn i like interacting with people....gimme gimme. 

[dany36]

SIGH so i’m done playing breath of the wild. i beat it about two weeks ago but i just now completed all shrines and sidequests. i thought about hating myself even more by trying to collect all 900 korok seeds but it’s not worth it just to have that 100% in the map screen (plus korok seeds stopped being useful a long time ago). i have 100%d all zelda games i own (except OoX) but i just can’t be bothered for this one.

having replayed all zelda games at least twice, i can’t say i will be doing the same for botw. here are my [long] thoughts about it (spoiler-free):

i can’t say i loved it. i think i was just playing just for the sake of playing it because....duh, it’s a zelda game (plus i sort of spent a crapload of money on the game+console). as a long-time zelda fan, it just...didn’t feel like a zelda game to me. i’m not opposed to change, in fact i was extremely excited to finally play this game, but the overall product just didn’t satisfy me at all. it just felt like a very dull and unfulfilling experience.  

- the overworld. i kept saying it over and over in my head while playing this game: it’s just too damn fucking huge for its own good. and it’s boring as hell to traverse. there aren’t really that many interesting things to do other than look for shrines. oh cool you can climb that mountain way over there? for what? oh haha a korok seed. most of the time, nothing. good job. it just felt tiring and bothersome to explore huge empty spaces of nothing. horses aren’t very useful since most of the time i was warping to try to not bore myself from wandering around empty spaces. i replayed the original loz at least like 5 or 6 times and i absolutely adored exploring every corner of the overworld. botw’s? yawn snore zzzz.

- weapon durability. i mentioned it in an earlier post but i hope this is something that never comes back to a zelda game. it’s especially shitty when you beat a shrine and your reward is a weapon. oh, a weapon that will break after 20 hits or less. so your reward disappears instead of it being something useful that you can actually keep for the rest of the game. this might just be a personal preference but i just hated the weapon system, especially when you find out that the master sword and the hylian shield can actually also break instead of being able to use them infinite number of times (and don’t tell me “oh it’s because otherwise you would never have used any other weapon!” bc idgaf, frost weapons and spears are cool and i would have used them either way)

- the story. oh my god. i know this is supposed to be a throwback to the original zelda, where you can go straight and kill ganon, but my goodness....it’s 2017. how is it that we got such a barebones story?? when i finally got to zora’s domain i was excited. i was finally getting to the story. boy i was wrong. the game gave me zero reason to care about saving the world and its inhabitants (except the gorons, which i think were the greatest in this game). i fucking hate that the story is mostly told through memories. the worst part is, the story told through the memories is more exciting than the one you play through the game. i hate that we are told from the start “you have to save hyrule and the princess because um....you’re a hero, you just don’t remember haha! so GO!!!!” instead of showing me actual, emotional reasons to want to save these people. through the memories we just become spectators, instead of the story actually making us bond and feel something for the people we are saving (except, again, yunobo, who i will save 1000 times if i have to). not even princess zelda’s incredible character growth (which, once again, HAPPENS IN THE MEMORIES and NOT in the present) can save the story from being lackluster. i would talk more about this but then it’d take up the whole post.

- the music. i’ve also complained about it before, but it’s a fucking joke, especially since it’s a zelda game, which are mostly known from having really good soundtracks. for me, there are zero memorable soundtracks. i think i only liked two, the one where you are near a Tower and when you are near a shrine. even minecraft, a freaking indie game, had better ambient music than botw. exploring the overworld becomes 3600% more BORING because as you’re walking, all you hear is link’s footsteps and clanky armor. so the overworld becomes twice as empty because 90% of the time, there is no music. except the five random ass piano keys you hear from time to time. it’s just bad and it makes me sad. people seemed to have hated SS’s OST, but at least it gave us Fi’s Theme and the magnificence that is the Lanayru Sand Sea theme. now THAT’S music that truly takes you into the game and gives it the proper ambiance that the overworld tries to portray. botw? a sad, sad attempt. i’m honestly wondering what they will play during botw’s section at the symphony of the goddess’s tour.

- the sidequests. 90% of the sidequests are boring fetch quests and “kill this type of enemy plz”. it’s just boring and tedious and the rewards are a joke (mostly, rupees, materials which you can easily find ANYWHERE, or food). it’s time for zelda to step up in the sidequests department and give me good, engaging, emotional-investing sidequests that tell me more about a certain character, or which tell me more about the world, or overall just make me CARE about its inhabitans that i’m trying to save. MM is the king of sidequests and botw once again pales in comparison.

- the dungeons. the first one (Vah Ruta) was cool. then it got boring and repetitive, really fast. all the dungeons look identical. the dungeons are for the most part short. there are no enemies inside the dungeons except these flying skeletons that die with one hit. oh yeah and maybe a robot here and there. so there’s some enemies but nothing tough. the premise revolves around manipulating the dungeon by rotating it to discover new areas. so it’s like playing four Stone Towers from MM. Except i guess the Gerudo dungeon, which added an element of electricity (that was cool). but other than that, all of the dungeons are pretty much the same and after you’ve played one, you’ve pretty much played them all, which is sad because it takes away the element of surprise and “oh man i wonder what the theme of the next dungeon will be?”

- the enemies. the lack of variety is a joke. there’s like 4 or 5 types of bokoblins, which just differ in their color and strength. oh and that’s the same for octoroks, moblins, lizalfos, chuchus, lynels, and wizzrobes (which are a fucking joke in this game. remember when wizzrobes were actually tough in the original game?). oh crap, i’ve actually mentioned 90% of the enemies you will face in the game... i think in total there might be 10 or 11, which is PATHETIC when you consider how fucking huge the overworld is. sad sad sad.

- stamina is stupid and so is climbing. stamina was tolerable in SS because of those silent realms you had to beat: you had to be careful of running and climbing and wearing out your stamina because of those crazy-ass guardians. so it made sense because it adds a challenge to the silent realms. in botw, for a game that focuses so much on exploring and climbing, stamina becomes a hindrance that actually makes it annoying to explore the world. you better not run out of stamina while trying to climb that mountain over there lest you run out and have to start all over!!! joy.

- the graphics. can nintendo please try something else with zelda graphics now. don’t get me wrong, i loved TWW and SS, but....these cel-shading graphics (or whatever they’re called) are getting tiresome. i didn’t like how most of the time the game looks bloom-y and blurry af (it’s especially bad when it’s raining or snowing). people complained about TP’s bloom effects but i feel like botw’s light effect (or whatever the hell that causes it to look like someone just put 200% of brightness on an image using photoshop) really takes away from trying to enjoy the scenery and view that the game tries to offer. for the next game can we try something like hyrule warriors or tp or hell even mm 3d? thx.

- the rain. it. rains. so. fucking. much.

haha oh man i never realized how many things i didn’t like about this game. i think i’ll stop here and talk about the things i did like:

- the shrines. although i didn’t like how all of them had the exact same design, the puzzles in them were cool and very zelda-ish.

- the warping system. thank god there are so many warp points to traverse the overworld because otherwise i would have never finished this game.

- the clothes system. i really liked all of the costume options the game gives you, and the fact that you can change the color of the clothes. it takes me back to the OoT days except with more variety. very nice.

- the runes. i loved not having to worry about running out of bombs and the ice rune was very cool and useful: it’s like having infinite ice arrows from MM to make platforms on the water! also the puzzles that involved stopping time with the statis rune were awesome. oh and grabbing treasure from underwater with magnesis never gets old.

- yunobo. yunobo is pure and great and needs to be protected at all costs.

- lynels. for once, a deadly enemy you actually have to be careful with and prepare yourself with good strategy to beat. i remember when i saw my first lynel i was so scared to approach it. they gave lynels such a great treatment and it’s the same one that wizzrobes should have gotten.

- the variety of the weapons.

- revali’s gale. saved me from having to climb so many mountains with its gust that elevates you so high. also after 3 it re-generates in 5 minutes. a blessing.

- the towns. i loved how lively they look. it’s like clock town from mm and it’s great.

- princess zelda. great character development and she has become my second favorite zelda (behind ST Zelda which will always be the best [while oot zelda continues to be the worst])

summary: while i enjoyed some aspects of the game, overall it just was very tiresome and unfulfilling. for a game that boasted about being open world, the world itself was just so barren of interesting things to do and explore. exploring the world of Xenoblade Chronicles, a fucking Wii game, was way more exciting because the environment, story, and music had more to offer. if there’s one thing i can thank botw for, is that it re-awoke my love for zelda games such as TWW, TP, and SS, which i will probably re-play next. i’m all for evolving the zelda series, and i thank botw for trying, but i honestly hope this game will not be the new zelda formula to follow. PEACE OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!