The most recent mainline entries in The Legend of Zelda franchise, both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, took players in a completely new direction, offering them the chance to explore a vast open-world designed with a more painterly, artistic style. For some, this was a major change to the standard cel-shaded, cartoon-esque style of previous Zelda entries, but for others, it was considered Nintendo's magnum opus.
Released in 2017 and 2023, respectively, for the Nintendo Switch, and more recently for the Nintendo Switch 2, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, otherwise known as the Wilds duology, introduced a new legion of fans to the long-running franchise which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. However, have they stood the test of time?
With many preferring the more classic style of Zelda entries, Breath of the Wild may not be for them, due to its new artstyle, large open-world, and tons of features. However, with the 2017 entry widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, Nintendo was definitely doing something right.
Now, in recent years, hype...
