When going fromThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildand its sequel,The Legend of Zelda:Tears of the Kingdom, one of the more evident improvements is the game’s combat. While Link’s moveset in both games is more on the simple side, something thatThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomexcels at is giving players options to mess around with whether in or out of combat.
Enemies have also seen a noticeable improvement across both games, asTears of the Kingdomadds a greater variety of foesthat all feel different enough to ensure players will always keep multiple strategies in mind when going into any encounter. This paired with the expanded options at Link’s disposal often brings out the best of how enemies can interact with the player and vice versa.
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Tears of the Kingdom Brings Out the Best in Both Ends of Combat
WhileBreath of the Wildhad a decent number of enemy types, they pale in comparison to the number present in the sequel as not only do most of the enemies from the prior game return inTears of the Kingdom, but they have been expanded on to the point where the new foes more than make up for anyone absent.
This is to be expected in a direct follow-up, and it is still impressive seeing the number of common enemy types practically double with the inclusion ofmonsters such as Horroblins and Boss Bokoblins alongside various classes of constructs. Based on how differently they fight from anyone present inBreath of the Wild, their inclusion alone brings more substantial variety to fights, especially when paired with older enemies.
Further steps were still taken to make combat feel more robust and varied with the new powers included in the game. The function of something like Fuse or Ultrahand is to more or less combine different objects, but while one is more concerned with what is in the environment, the other is meant to augment Link’s arsenal. WhileBreath of the Wildhad fixed properties associated with weapons,Tears of the Kingdom’s few restrictions often have the player’s imagination be the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Almost any weapon can be given a flat increase in damage or gain a wide range, but they can also be infused with elemental abilities based on what has been attached. Zonai devices attached to weapons and shields can also offer more unorthodox ways of fighting. Examples of this would be creating a flamethrower by attaching flame emitters to a shield orcreating RPGs by combining spears and cannonsto have a devastating new part of Link’s arsenal.
Combat does not need to be restricted to weapons as the player’s abilities can also be weapons inTears of the Kingdom. This has led players to use Ultrahand toconstruct vehicles such as attack helicoptersthat can easily attach armaments to rain chaos down upon any unfortunate souls. Unless Link has powerful weapons and armor, going into battle against powerful foes like Gleeoks can be difficult without using vehicles or currents that can lock onto enemies. Even the Recall ability can be a powerful counter as boulders thrown by Like-Likes can be turned against them for easy damage while still making players feel smart for turning an enemy’s attack against them.
While there is something to miss with thelinear pace from earlierZeldagames, the enemy design inTears of the Kingdomworks so well because of the large variety of enemies that mesh well into the game’s overall flow and also because there are many ways to interact with them. One of the game’s biggest victories is figuring out how to intelligently design enemies that could threaten the player while also having the easiest way to overcome the challenge often being the most creative.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis out now for Switch.
