Despite many people hailing Breath of the Wild as the greatest Legend of Zelda game of all time, I had much more of a love/hate relationship with it. While my overall experience was far more positive than negative, there were a handful of things that really irritated me about the Nintendo Switch launch title. The combat system is a little basic and somewhat wishy-washy, and some of the more uninteresting shrines felt like they were only included to make up the numbers.
Then there’s Link’s inability to climb in the rain, which was a steady source of frustration, at least until I unlocked Revali’s Gale (and even then I still had issues getting to the top of some structures).
My biggest complaint of all, however, is the weapon durability system, which very nearly ruined the entire experience.
Sadly, based on the latest Tears of the Kingdom Direct conference, weapons will continue to break in the Breath of the Wild sequel.
You can watch the Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Direct conference below.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/I0-nzrEft4w
Weapon durability in and of itself isn’t a big problem. Lots of games feature a degradation system, with weapons needing to be repaired or upgraded in order to restore their effectiveness.
It’s even included in the excellent Resident Evil 4 Remake, where Leon’s main combat knife will eventually break after extended use.
The difference, however, is that while Leon can repair and even upgrade his knife every time he visits the Merchant, Link’s weapons are permanently removed once they shatter.
What makes this even worse is that Link’s weapons are so flimsy that they’ll often break during a battle with only one group of enemies. Even if you find a weapon you like, it will inevitably break before you can get into any kind of groove.
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The Master Sword is the only weapon that stays in Link’s inventory for the duration of the game, but you have to wait for it to re-energise before you can use it again. Completing the Master Trials DLC makes it more durable and increases its power, but it still temporarily breaks mid-battle when you need it most.
I’d happily endorse the system if there was some way to repair weapons or prevent them from breaking completely, even if it meant embarking on an epic quest. Unfortunately, however, this currently isn’t an option.
Based on the March 28 Nintendo Direct presentation, Tears of the Kingdom does, at least, give you the ability to turn useless items into something a bit more powerful.
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma spotlighted the newly added Fuse ability, which lets Link craft new weapons by fusing together different items. For example, Link can construct a makeshift hammer by combining a stick with a rock.
Hopefully this will make the weapon system a little less frustrating, even if it doesn’t eliminate the issue entirely.
Fingers crossed Nintendo has also made weapons more durable, so players can at least rely on them not to break during a battle with harder enemies like the Lynels. You really shouldn’t have to go through a handful of seemingly powerful weapons just to beat one enemy or group.
The company has taken some criticisms on board, with the Ascend ability letting Link potentially reach higher areas and mountaintops by travelling upwards through caves.
Likewise, you can now create speedboats and aircraft by piecing together different items you find within the game world. This should give players the ability to reach higher areas when it’s raining and Link is unable to effectively climb, or start a campfire.
Weapon durability aside, the March 28 Nintendo Direct made me more excited than ever for Tears of the Kingdom, just so long as Nintendo addresses some of the biggest problems with Breath of the Wild.
The floating islands look like they’ll be a blast to explore, and Link’s new abilities have lots of ramifications when it comes to combat and puzzle solving.
The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom has a May 12 release date, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
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