TotK really makes Switch feel dated

[sc94597]

zeldaring said:

sc94597 said:

I remember way back in 2008 or so on this forum there would be discussions about how weak the Wii was compared to the 360 and PS3. Often those of us on the Nintendo side would say, "as long as the gameplay is excellent I don't care how it looks." Then the reply would be "more powerful hardware is not just about how it looks, but allows for new experiences that couldn't be done before." Yet ironically, when I look back at that era, the games that pushed the boundaries of hardware in non-visual ways were just as often on the Wii as they were on the PS360. Xenoblade, for example, was one of the best open-world role-playing games of the 7th generation. Analogous games on other 7th generation platforms, like White Knight Chronicles  -- which had a similar combat system, art-style, and play-style had a world much smaller in scope and believability than Xenoblade. But the textures were nicer, and the image quality was better. Were and was, because now you can play the remaster of Xenoblade, which looks much better than WKC, or at a few years after Xenoblade's release you could play with a texture pack in Dolphin emulator and it looked on-par or better than WKC. Which world felt more believable and deep though? 

It is funny how much I can go back to many Wii titles and they feel more modern than quite a few PS360 titles that I enjoyed at the time. I can go back to Mario Galaxy and enjoy it without thinking, "this feels old", but recently I was playing Uncharted 1, and compared to UC4, it does feel old. Not necessarily visually, but mechanically. 

It seems obvious to me that when I will be replaying BOTW ten years from now (likely on an emulator) it will be a less dated experience than playing Horizon Zero Dawn. Why? Because the hardware was used to make a more believable, immersive world. And again, I love Horizon for what it is, a polished and fun cinematic experience that has an interesting world that I am not a part of, but BOTW is definitely the experience that makes me feel as if I am in the world.

Mario games are easy to go back too. great platformers in general with great gameplay never really age. mario 3, mario world,  and yoshi's island are still considered the best platformers ever. mario galaxy is still considered the best 3d platformer ever, the genre is not really advancing anymore.  trying going to twilight princess and sky sword aged like crap.

Open world games are so hard for me to go back too. way too big and bloated. gameplay is never as good and really they mostly about exploring, discovering and seeing cool places. while games with amazing combat and platforming that are more tightly focused are a joy to replay.

I regularly replay older Zelda games. Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword still have some of the best dungeons in the series imo. I last played Twilight Princess HD last year, and Skyward Sword when the remaster came out. Windwaker HD is also a game I regularly go back to, and it has aged very well due to its art style. And of course A Link to the Past and Majora's Mask are my favorites of the series before BOTW and TOTK released. 

The thing about Zelda games is that even if they aren't overall the best in the series, they can be the best at something. 

Last edited by sc94597 - on 21 May 2023