While it couldn’t replicate the critical success of its predecessor to win GOTY for 2023, there’s no denying howThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdombrought the open world formula forward with creative, fun, and somewhat bizarre decisions.TOTKfound inspiration from the exploits players discovered with the physics engine, resulting in players making machines to do something similar to the exploits, with floating islands that added verticality. Still,TOTKhasn’t seen much love after its launch version, and while its Switch 2 version will make it look better than ever, players have been asking for more.
Despite how well-receivedTOTKwas, it hasn’t received the same amount of content asBreath of the Wilddid. WhileBOTWhad two expansions,TOTKhasn’t got a lot of love, with the closest thing to extra content coming from a newHyrule Warriorsgame set during the early years of Hyrule which Zelda traveled to. It isn’t as thoughTOTKwas poorly received, and although it hasn’t made the impact its predecessor has,it is odd that Nintendo has decided against using the Switch 2 as an opportunity to give the title more.
TOTK Should Have A Switch 2 Release Expansion
Other Switch 2 Upgrades Are Getting Extra Content
While it does cost extra cash to get the upgraded versions of Switch titles on the Switch 2, quite a few titles are receiving more content at launch.Super Mario Party JamboreeandKirby and The Forgotten Landare both getting more content with their Switch 2 versions, for example.Kirbyis getting an additional story section with a new threat, whileMario Party Jamboreeis benefiting from additional mini-gamesthat make use of the Switch 2’s features, like the microphone, camera, and mouse controls. Unfortunately, not every title benefits from this additional content for the Switch 2.
The Switch 2 is largely backward compatible, although not every Switch 1 game will work completely with the Switch 2’s new controls.
There has been a lot ofdiscourse around the Switch 2’s pricesfor games, fromMario Kart World’s outrageous $80 price point to having to pay an additional $10 to get Switch games on the sequel console. This is assuming that the prices remain the same amid the tariff situation, which could make these prices hike even further. Still, these prices would be more palatable if all Switch games got more content, meaning that the $10 upgrade is more like paying for an expansion and the Switch 2 upgrade, but this isn’t the case for eitherBOTWorTOTK.
It would have been the perfect opportunity to giveTOTKa Switch 2 upgrade expansion, which could have come in many forms consideringBOTW’s expansions. It makes the upgrade pack more reasonable by comparison, and it doesn’t have to be as large as theBOTWexpansions. More importantly, it gives players a reason to revisit the game and just a bit more of this version of Hyrule until anotherZeldagame comes out, possibly to make the Wilds era a trilogy. Instead, players are left with almost nothing besides more easily sharing builds and having the game run at 60 FPS.
BOTW Gave Link A Greater Challenge
And This Greater Challenge Could Have Given TOTK Players A Reason To Come Back
BOTWhad two expansions,The Master Trials, adding the Trails of the Sword and Master Mode, andThe Champion’s Ballad, which included more story content.The Master Trialshelped makeBOTWa genuine challenge for those looking to have Link suffer even more, and while there is an element of tediumplalying in Master Mode,something similar feels like it was missing fromTOTK. That extra challenge might have given a second playthrough more purpose than it would have otherwise, although a few tweaks might be required to make the difficulty feel less artificial.
In Master Mode, enemies can regenerate health over time if they don’t take damage after a while.
The Trails of the Sword helpedBOTW’s combat shine, and withTOTKhaving a construct-building system, something similar could have been used to test these constructsPokémon-style against some of the game’s mightiest foes. It could have resulted in a Master Sword upgrade like inBOTW, or maybe unlock more parts to build from. Either way, it would have made a decent late game, or even a post-game challenge,especially since theZeldateam has made noticeable improvements to its boss fights inTOTKcompared toBOTW. It could have continued these improvements further with a story expansion instead.
The Champion’s Balladallowed players to see more of the fallen champions through interactions with Zelda, andTOTKcould have benefited from something similar, perhaps showing memories of Ganondorf in his youthand his ascension to King. More importantly, it would have been a chance for another boss fight.The Champion’s Balladhad the boss fight with the monk Maz Koshia, the best one in the game, in my opinion, and ifTOTKhad an expansion to bring another fight that improves upon the bass game’s boss quality, it would have made the$10 upgrade seem worth it.
TOTK Should Have Followed In Mario Party And Kirby’s Footsteps
Tears Of The Kingdom Deserves More
TheWilds era ofZeldagames have been a revelation for Nintendo andTOTKdeserves to be treated with more content, likeMario Party Jamboreeand the latestKirbyhave been with their Switch 2 upgrade packs. Considering thatBOTWgot DLC, it feels odd to denyTOTKsomething similar, since this means that Nintendo isn’t opposed to DLC for its games, justTOTK. WithBOTW’s DLC not being part of its upgrade pack, it was unlikely that Nintendo was ever going to add much meaningful content for $10.
Still, withZeldabeing a larger IP thanKirby, despite the little guy selling plushies around the globe, and with Nintendo doing more in the Wilds era with anotherHyrule Warriorsgame, it feels like a title as big asTOTKdeserved something extra.Nintendo did state that it would not make DLC forTOTKearly on in its release, but even something like a Master Mode would have made the extra $10 seem more worth it. It would have at least given players an excuse to replay the game on the Switch 2 outside the performance benefits.
An optimist would like to believe that thelack of content forThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis because the team is working on the next game and doesn’t want to divert resources from this project to an older one. Considering the six-year gap betweenBOTWandTOTK(inflated because of Covid), this might be a good sign for anotherZeldagame in theWildsera, but it looks like fans will have to fork out a pretty penny for it. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot in eitherZeldagame’s upgrade packs for the Switch 2, and it feels like a missed opportunity.
