By the time you reach Final Fantasy XVIafter a minimum of 35 hours, protagonist Clive Rosfield can call upon the power of eight different magical beings called Eikons, each the guardian of a specific element. Phoenix fire offers several different ways to scorch enemies, and Shiva’s ice can freeze them solidly. But if you want to be ready for what awaits you in the endgame, you’ll need to prepare with a very specific build. In fact, it’s such a good build that you can take it in pretty much any encounter, whether it’s a high-level hunt or a side quest.

Some Eikon abilities are great for crowd control. Others are great for single target damage. Therefore, the best abilities for a given battle depend on what you will encounter. Without spoiling too much, the final gauntlet of battles is against a single target that’s roughly Clive’s size. It is therefore similar to the fights against Lord Commander Sleipnir of the Kingdom of Waloed or the battle against Odin’s Dominant, Barnabus Tharmr. As such, the best kit is going to focus on counter attacks and single target damage.

With all that in mind, here are the Eikons you’ll want to channel:

If you’ve upgraded all of the best Eikonic abilities enough, you’ll be able to equip them regardless of which three Eikons you channel (or equip). The only reason you would channel any Eikon is to take advantage of his Eikonic Feat, the innate feature like Phoenix Shift teleportation.

Channeling Titan is a must, especially against single enemy fights so you can take advantage of the innate Eikonic Feat Titanic block. Tapping the circle at the right time triggers a precision block that launches a three-hit counterattack that fills up Clive’s Limit Break gauge at an accelerated rate and deals a solid amount of damage.

Learn more: Final Fantasy XVI: 8 useful settings to adjust for the best experience

With Arm of Darkness, the circle button allows Clive to wield Odin’s sword. All attacks charge the Zantetsuken gauge to be an ultimate attack that slows down time and deals a lot of damage.

These are the Eikonic abilities you want:

PulseAir BlastRising FlamesRanging FistsGigaflareDancing Steel

Screenshot: Square Enix

Bahamut’s Pulse has great DPS bonus potential as it sends out multiple spheres that track targets and deal continuous damage, and it has a very reasonable cooldown. Whether you’re going up against a crowd of enemies or a boss, it’s a solid choice. Garuda’s airburst summons a tornado that deals a massive amount of Willpower damage, so it will stun enemies faster than anything else and stalk enemies…just like Impulse!

Phoenix’s Rising Flames is a must-have for any build at any stage of the game. Although its damage is lacking compared to most other abilities, it has one of the shortest cooldowns of any attack and is easy to land. Spam it as often as possible between regular attacks. Titan’s Raging Fists is a good game to pair with Rising Flames as it has a modest cooldown that is reduced by 50% if you execute a well-timed block against enemy attacks. In theory, if you time your blocks well, you should be able to spam both of these attacks. And that gives you a counterattack option on two of your three Eikon channels.

Odin’s Dancing Steel is an excellent ability that summons twin blades for a flurry of attacks that charge the Zantetsuken Gauge. So you’ll want to channel Odin so you can capitalize on access to Zantetsuken, part of his Eikonic feat which deals a huge amount of damage with two powerful slashes. Gigaflare is by far the absolute best Eikonic ability. Not only does it get top marks in raw damage, but it also has a slowing effect while Clive summons wings of Bahamut and blasts enemies in a straight line with a massive beam of energy.

Final Fantasy Gear You’ll Need Bahamut’s Mercy – Reduces Gigaflare cooldown by 6.0 seconds. Genji Gloves – Increases damage dealt to enemies by 5%. Berserker Ring – Temporarily increases attack skill with each precision dodge.

Gigaflare’s big downside is its long cooldown, so equipping Bahamut’s Mercy mitigates that significantly. It’s a reward for completing the “A Tail to Tell” quest, in which you find a flower for Harpocrates to give to Dion at the very end of the game.

Increasing all damage by 5% with the Genji Gloves is also better than pretty much any other damage increasing accessory. (Most of them increase the damage of a single ability by 10%.) This one is a reward for reaching 2365 Renown at Boss’s Whisper, so if you miss out, complete more side quests and hunts until so that you can earn it from the NPC Désirée in the mess.

Learn more: 15 critical tips to know before playing Final Fantasy 16

The Berserker ring is also a great choice, as it improves attack skill with each successful precision dodge, something you’ll want to do constantly anyway. This is the first Patron’s Whisper reward at 85 fame. If there’s one item you can swap for something else, it’s this one.

The strategy to bring it all together in FF16

Always start with Aerial Blast then Impulse. This will deal a solid amount of Willpower damage that will cause the enemy to stagger. And, if necessary, use Titanic Block against any attack that comes your way.

Then it’s time to switch to Phoenix to use Rising Flames and go for a Raging Fists block. But as soon as that’s done, go straight to Odin and unleash Dancing Steel. This will recharge Zantetsuken a lot. If you were successful in staggering the enemy, now is the time to start blasting with Gigaflare. Otherwise, you might as well use Odin’s Arm of Darkness for a while, focusing on the Flash of Steel precision dodge counterattack and Steel Counter parry. (That’s where that Berserker Ring will come in handy.) Pop Zantetsuken as soon as it’s ready. And keep going through your abilities in this way.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more effective combat flow than this to handle just about anything Final Fantasy XVI can throw at you.

Ever since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released on May 12, fans have been obsessed with the game’s new crafting abilities. With Link’s new skills, including Fuse and Ultrahand, players are build nonsense like planes and tanks to commit war crimes in the kingdom of Hyrule. But there is one thing people can’t help but create: dicks, dicks, shlongs, penises, wangs; you understand.

Learn more: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Players take forever in the massive tutorial area

Critics called the sequel Breath of the Wild a certified classic, which makes excellent use of the Switch’s aging hardware. And with Link’s many new rune abilities that allow him to combine items or rewind an item’s place in the world, people are letting their imaginations run wild. Like, really wild.

Hyrule Kingdom can’t escape the dicks

Link gets a whole new suite of runic abilities in TotK that replaces his old BotW abilities. So say goodbye to things like Magnesis and Stasis and instead say hello to things like Ascend and Autobuild, two skills that allow Link to glide through solid surfaces and instantly build previous creations. respectively. Fuse and Ultrahand are mixed together, abilities that give Link the power to combine items to create anything from giant mechs to pickup trucks. And while people are totally building these things, many players here are flooding Hyrule Realm with dicks. So many cocks, in fact.

You’ve got flamethrower, thick cocks, cars that look like dicks, cock rockets, cocks with rocks for balls-The list goes on and on and on. Hell, Twitter user HKSIcabb even had our Hero of the Wild ride a dick…a raft.

Meanwhile, hideyopo made a wheeled mecha monster that sprayed a patch of hyrulean grass with his water-squirting dick.

What is going on? Why are TotK fans just days after launch stuck on dicks? There are some interesting theories, like a Freudian fear of castration or the idea that it’s all a dick measuring contest. Glamor wrote in 2017 that dick drawings are actually about toxic masculinity– which is not so surprising. Even Kotaku pondered this question in a blog from 2013, speaking to developers and psychologists about why dicks are everywhere in games. And even though we’ve come to the conclusion that drawing a dick is “pushing the limits”, there’s another simpler answer here: dicks are fun.

They are (mostly) hairy and (sometimes) curved. They come in different shapes and sizes and more often than not function as if they have a mind of their own. They are bizarre, serving both comedy and sexuality. And as Maxim wrote in 2015, dicks are fun for “despite what they mean, there is no real place for them in the world, and yet they are there”.

Learn more: Tears Of The Kingdom Could Include The Zelda Series’ First Gay Character

These are facts. Because no matter where you look online, from TikTok to Reddit to Twitter, there’s a TotK dick. They are almost unavoidable now. At least Autobuild’s other abilities, Fuse, Ultrahand and Link can be used for something other than genitals –although players use them for torture. I guess our weird code nature hero is actually nature’s war criminal. Whoops.

It’s May 12, 2023, and on this beautiful day, Nintendo’s much-hyped sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, finds itself in the eager hands of gamers around the world. But you: Maybe you stand out. Maybe you didn’t end up playing the previous game, 2017’s hit Breath of the Wild. Or maybe you touched it and fell for some reason. I won’t judge, I’m here with you.

Now here you are, seeing all those cool trailers and…interesting things you’re jumping into the new Zelda game and wondering, “Should I play Breath of the Wild before Tears of the Kingdom?” Should I?” Well, that’s what I’m here to help you understand.

A series purist will always say to go back and play the games in the correct order (which, if you’re considering how long Zelda has been around, you might want to be careful with that line of thinking). But here I will lay out some pros and cons for each action plan. There are valid reasons for either approach, so let’s go.

By the way, this article is a spoiler-free zone. So feel free to keep reading even if you haven’t touched 2017’s Breath of the Wild.

Is the Breath of the Wild story worth living before Tears of the Kingdom?

Breath of the Wild tells a very average fantasy story. Hold your farmer’s pitchforks; I’m not saying that to put him down. In general, the overall story beats are very familiar to almost anyone who has experienced a joint from Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. You have your dark lord, your threat to peace, your amnesiac protagoboy, your magic items of power, rinse and repeat. Watching a short recap video would be enough to give you a general idea of ​​BotW’s plot, and you won’t be missing out on an all-time great epic if you do.

Learn more: Catch up on Zelda: Breath of the Wild before the sequel in under seven minutes

How Breath of the Wild tells its story, however, is something you might want to consider living through, not just via synopsis. Link’s journey to regain his memories has led him to meet countless charming and memorable characters along the way, which will get you much more emotionally interested in Hyrule’s bigger story (as simple as that is) and the people who live there only if you just blow. through a summary.

If you’re just interested in a SparkNotes brief overview of Hyrulian history, a wiki or video will do. But if you enjoy the experience of meeting interesting characters and gaining a greater emotional investment in a fictional world, jumping into Breath of the Wild first will be time well spent.

Does Tears of the Kingdom make Breath of the Wild gameplay obsolete?

We’ve all been there: first you play a sequel, then the original just seems old in comparison. Some sequels improve on their predecessor so much that it’s hard to go back. Mass Effect 2 is an example. Skyrim may be another.

First of all, no: Tears of the Kingdom certainly has its share of quality of life improvements, as in fast travel and cooking– but nothing as earth-shattering as Breath of the Wild suddenly feels Neolithic in comparison.

Tears of the Kingdom does not make Breath of the Wild gameplay obsolete. Image: Nintendo

As for whether or not they feel too similar, never fear. While very similar in some ways, Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are distinct enough that going back to the old game after Tears of the Kingdom would still give you plenty of new experiences to enjoy.

Learn more: Zelda: Tears Of the Kingdom fixes some of BotW’s failures

As my colleague Kenneth Shepard told me after his early hours in Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel’s gameplay is “less of an evolution and more of a sidestep.” Link’s new abilities, especially the crafting and new Ultrahand abilitymake it a distinct enough experience that if you play them in reverse order, you won’t feel like your abilities have been greatly reduced.

Tears of the Kingdom is a looker – and it won’t melt your Switch into plasticky goop. Image: Nintendo

Tears of the Kingdom looks graphically daunting for the old Switch, so should you wait for future hardware?

It’s no secret that the aging Wii U wasn’t too kind to Breath of the Wild. And basically, anyone who saw the first footage of Tears of the Kingdom was a little nervous wondering if the humble Nintendo Switch, released over six years ago, might be able to keep up.

Learn more: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Switch performance feels like a minor miracle

Well, I have good news. Or rather, Digital Foundry has good news: Tears of the Kingdom will work damn well on your old Switch. You can expect a very close to solid 30fps with a few drops here and there, especially when using Link’s new Ultrahand ability. Fast loading times are also quite fast, around 30% faster than in BotW.

Nintendo / Digital Foundry

I hear you thinking, “surely there’s another Nintendo console on the way, isn’t there?” The Switch has been out for a while, that’s true, but as we reported on tuesday 9th mayNintendo has no plans for a hardware refresh or follow-up to the Switch in 2023.

Learn more: Nintendo says it’s not expecting a new Switch this year either

And no, I have no idea what a “You Zoo” is.

How long is Breath of the Wild?

Say you don’t mind waiting for the game everyone’s talking about right now and that you’re cool to jump into Breath of the Wild first. Can you expect to knock him out in a weekend? Well no.

Breath of the Wild is a long game, and every moment is worth it. Image: Nintendo

According Howlongtobeat.com, the main story of Breath of the Wild is around 50 hours long. What if you want to do all the side quests? You’re looking at just under 100 hours. If you’re a completion fiend, HLtB estimates 189 hours. Our own experiences confirm these numbers.

Breath of the Wild is a game of massive proportions. The world is huge and there is so much to do. If you haven’t played it yet and you’re really interested in seeing the release of Tears of the Kingdom to see what this whole Link thing is all about, expect to have to set aside some time for BotW if you’re jumping in first.

Even if you’re not a finalist, stepping into the world of Hyrule in Switch’s first Zelda title is an experience best enjoyed at a gentle pace, and you won’t feel worse for taking time to let everything sink in.

So yes, BotW is long. Which is good, because it’s a great game.

While some franchises can enter at almost any time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild offers compelling reasons to give it a shot first. The plot consists of standard fantasy concepts, but is told very memorably and in a sight-rich open world that is a joy to explore.

But, if you decide to jump straight into Tears of the Kingdom, a brief summary or two of BotW’s story beats will get you up to speed quickly. And with the differences in gameplay, playing the two games in reverse order shouldn’t feel too strange.

Order aside, another question is whether you should play the old game. You may feel differently, but my personal view is that Breath of the Wild is a truly wonderful experience, from the well-told story with satisfying gameplay, and a truly vibrant and beautiful world to explore, that you owe it to yourself to play this modern classic if you haven’t already, even if you’ve already spent a good few hours in it. Tears of the Kingdom.

Last night I was browsing TikTok in the middle of an edible descent, and I came across something so ridiculous, so grating, so shiny, that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. It’s called Maverwatch, and it’s a 2018 buzz video for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks that features its star players as Overwatch characters.

Learn more: NBA Star Luka Doncic Is Overwatch Grandmaster Mains Zarya

Edited to look like an Overwatch gameplay clip, which highlights a particularly gnarly play (usually a multi-kill) at the end of each match, this minute-long video looks like something my high brain concocted in a dream. But it’s not. This clip is real, and every second is piercing, a weird mix of car crash tragedy and knee-high comedy. You can’t deny, however, that the editing is top-notch, with the all-too-familiar sounds pointing to an Overwatch kill, Overwatch police showing rival player ‘kills’ getting delayed, and the game playing music. swelling between each delivery by a wooden NBA player of a line of heroes.

Athletes are, on the whole, not known for their acting and line-reading skills. In the rare chance of having an athlete with a bright personality who can actually say dialogue without sounding like a kid having to read aloud during class, teams will push him to the forefront of marketing materials and business opportunities (Eli Manning, Tom Brady) or even letting them star in a movie (LeBron James, Michael Jordan). I can say with some confidence that none of the 2018 Dallas Mavericks players have the same je ne sais quoi as James or Brady, but that only makes the Maverwatch experience better.

The man behind Maverwatch

The clip begins with Dirk Nowitzki aping Soldier: 76’s ultimate ability line (“I’ve got you in my sights”) while pretending to activate an imaginary visor before moving on to clips of him sinking three.

“Dirk got Soldier because he’s the tough former leader of the team,” Austin Guttery, former in-game media designer for the Dallas Mavericks and creator of Maverwatch, told Kotaku via email.

The second player highlighted is former Mavs center Deandre Jordan, who claims to pop a Lucio ultimate (“oh, let’s break it down”) under the nickname “Shootscio.” Help me. “Jordan got Lucio because of his great defensive plays and his ability to keep the team alive,” Guttery explained.

But when it came time to assign a character to Mavericks point guard and Grandmaster Overwatch player Luka Doncic, things got a little heated. “Luka really wanted to be Hanzo, since he’s the one he usually plays against, but there was one player on the team, Wes Matthews, who was known to pretend to shoot a bow and arrow after every shot during matches, so naturally we HAVE to make him Hanzo,” Guttery said. “I chose Luka to be Junkrat because of his blonde hair. Luka was the least bit salty and tried to convince us to make him Hanzo, but we had already shot the role of Wes, and we only had one quick hit with each player each year.

“Luka really, really wanted to be Hanzo” – Austin Guttery, video creator

Other players were assigned based on how much connection Guttery could make between them and an Overwatch hero — or if he thought they could mimic a character’s movements well enough. No, I can’t help but laugh at Luka pretending to fire a Junkrat RIP-Tire.

Aside from the drama that accompanied Mavs players being assigned their Overwatch counterparts, Guttery says it took him ages to get the video approved because his boss “didn’t really know what Overwatch was.” . But telling him that Doncic was a huge Overwatch fan “really helped sell him.” The clip was shot during the team’s media day and played on arena screens during a lull in the game to a “pretty good reaction” from fans.

But when Guttery shared the video on Redditwhich is probably where this TikToker found it, it got in quite a bit of trouble.

“I almost got fired!” he said happily. “Once our videos are released in-game, we generally don’t upload them until the end of the season, or unless we get permission from [owner Mark] Cuban to lead them. But I was so excited with how this one turned out that I really wanted to see how the Overwatch community would react to it. So I posted it on Reddit and within a day it exploded… It finally caught the attention of my boss who was, uh, pretty upset that it was there, and he was afraid that if Cuba saw, we wouldn’t no longer be making videos for them, so I deleted it. Luckily, Cuba never got wind of it, so it wasn’t a problem.

But Overwatch developer Blizzard actually saw the video and sent Guttery a “really nice Widowmaker figurine” which the team kept in the office. And now that same video is making the rounds on social media again. Time is a flat circle, but Luka Doncic is no longer a main Hanzo. It’s Zarya now.

Twitch streamer and YouTuber Simply attempted the unthinkable: giving himself just 12 hours, he set out to learn the tricky speedrun from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and nail one as quickly as possible. . The speedrun challenge was insane, full of death and glitches to make for a hilarious and entertaining watch even if the feat wasn’t exactly accomplished as expected.

Learn more: Breath of the Wild’s hottest new Speedrun is getting all the hoes

BotW speedruns are absolutely cracking. According Speedrun.coma site that tracks speedruns for various games, the fastest time for Nintendo’s 2017 hit was set earlier this month and currently stands at just under 24 minutes by BotW speedrunner Player 5. This was for the any percent challenge, an achievement in which a player strives to roll credits as quickly as possible without worrying about completing any main quests or side activities. There are other speedrun categories that add extra stipulations to the bet, like hitting all dungeons or shrines, but sometimes you just want vanilla, you know? (Unless you’re a Limcube speedrunner, which recently collected all the hoes strewn around Hyrule in less than 30 minutes because he was just bored and desperate.)

All this to say that simply, a speedrunner who ran a few Super Mario 64s categories over the years, wanted to see if he could beat BotW as fast as he could, vanilla. In other words, he attempted a run at any percentage of Link’s latest adventure. However, to give this vanilla a bit more flavor like a French vanilla or a vanilla bean, he simply added an extra challenge to the mix: achieving a solid time in the open-world action-adventure game as newcomer to the category any percentage of 12 hours or less. The results were fun and have now been edited into an entertaining half hour video that really makes you feel the struggle of Simply.

Simply’s quest to become “the best speedrunner ever”

In April 18 YouTube video, Start simply by explaining how BotW works with any percentage of speedruns. You start by collecting Link’s Runic Abilities like Magnesia and Stasis from the four main shrines of the Grand Plateau so you can grab the Paraglider for air travel. From there you book it to Hyrule Castle to cheer the four Scourge Ganons of existence before taking down the big bad himself, Calamity Ganon. I simply had to learn a plethora of glitches, shield clips to enter shrines faster For the BLSS technique to fly over the Grand Plateau, to complete his timed challenge, all with the goal of becoming “the best speedrunner ever”. But learning was the hardest part here.

Merely

Simply died a handful of times trying to skip the intro section of the game. However, using scope clip And whistle– two issues that lock the game into its day cycle and preserve Link’s stamina, respectively – he was able to leave the early shrine and skip the first cutscene. From there, Simply picked up their first gear (after a few more kills, of course) to continue cracking BotW with glitches. With the help of the aforementioned BLSS technique and shield clip issue, alongside the movement of the wind bomb which launches Link several feet into the air, he simply gathered all four rune abilities to then grab the old man’s (aka King Rhoam) paraglider at the Grand Plateau tower. It was already about three hours into his 12-hour challenge. So he sent it back to see if he could do that sequence of events in under 35 minutes. The movement of the wind bomb made him back up a bit. So, too, made a death. Unfortunately, he didn’t finish in less than 35 minutes, but he was still having a good time. Just four hours into their 12-hour challenge, Simply had plenty of time to beat the game.

Limcube entered the chat to help Simply with his speedrun

Limcube, the noted BotW speedrunner responsible for March’s all hoes challenge, sought to give Simply some pointers to finish his speedrun, which only gets more difficult as you fling yourself to Hyrule Castle and the fight against Calamity Ganon ahead. After collecting mushrooms to cook up some Mighty Mushroom Skewers, which buffs Link’s attack damage for 13 minutes, simply used the BLSS technique to infiltrate Hyrule Castle, dodging all the guards patrolling the area. He picked up weapons with higher durability in hopes of making future fights a little easier. Unfortunately, they weren’t easy enough, because despite the coaching he received from Limcube, including how to perform a glitch to easily kill Windburn Ganon, Simply dead. A lot.

Now, normally, casual players would have completed all four Divine Beast dungeons to halve Calamity Ganon’s health. At this point, you’d probably also have more than three hearts so Link could survive more than one hit in the final encounter. But Simply was learning the all-percent route, which, in the interest of going fast, does none of that. So not only did he have to fight all four Blight Ganons in a row, but he also had to defeat Calamity Ganon at full health, a tall order for even the most skilled BotW players. I’m sure you can guess what happened. If you can’t, then let me tell you: just dead. Again and again and again, each attempt slightly better than the last. He simply completed the challenge, of course, but not in 12 hours or less as he had hoped. Instead, Simply’s last time to learn and complete a run at any percentage was around 12 hours and 40 minutes. His total speedrun time? Just under five hours. It’s not the fastest BotW speedrun, but hey, at least it did, and it’s probably faster than most of us could have too.

Kotaku has reached out to Simply for comment.

Learn more: Breath of the Wild’s greatest stuntman is back, and better than ever

I love stuff like that. The determination it takes to push through despite the insurmountable, if self-imposed, challenge before you. It’s amazing to see, especially considering that Simply could have given up on the feat once the going got tough. But he did not do it. It’s a good reminder that anything can be done if you try hard enough…and get a little coaching from a speedrunning master.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is almost here, and at first glance the enigmatic faction called Zonai could play a big part in the sequel after mostly existing in the background of Breath of the Wild. If you feel like you walked into something or missed a big storyline in the last game, don’t worry. Despite many theories being hatched over the years, even the biggest Zelda fans don’t have many concrete details about who or what the Zonai were. But let’s break down what we know and why fans think the Zonai are becoming a key player in Tears of the Kingdom.

What do we already know about the Zonai?

In Breath of the Wild, the Zonai are depicted as a tribe that no longer exists within Hyrule, but their nature is apparently up for debate in the game world. They are depicted as both a savage tribe of barbarians , as well as strong magic users who worship animals, especially Farosh, a water dragon that can be found in places like the Gerudo Highlands. Traces of their existence can be seen in places like the Zonai Ruins in the southern area of ​​the map, with long-abandoned architecture hinting at their reverence for Hyrule’s wildlife. In the story and art book The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion, it is revealed that the animals that feature prominently in what remains of Zonai’s house refer to the three rooms of the Triforce: a dragon for Courage, an owl for Wisdom, and a boar for Power. Beyond the animals, the Zonai also have their own spiral-like crest, seen on architecture associated with the tribe.

Beyond that, Link can acquire Barbarian armor in Breath of the Wild that is said to have been worn by members of the Zonai long ago after navigating specific labyrinths believed to have been built by the tribe. While it all fits together, much of what we know about the tribe is speculation fueled by the game’s ambient storytelling. It’s a very minimalistic, FromSoftware-style approach to world-building and largely rewards those who want to explore the big game world. However, it could pay off for all of us in Tears of the Kingdom.

Nintendo of America

Why do fans think Tears of the Kingdom will involve the Zonai?

Theories that the Zonai would be a major player in Tears of the Kingdom have been rumored since the game’s reveal in 2019 due to the emphasis on the spiral pattern at the heart of Zonai architecture. However, the connection is much more concrete now thanks to the latest gameplay showcase. During this stream, Nintendo revealed that the Zonai were tied to the events of Tears of the Kingdom via a piece of loot. In the 10-minute gameplay trailer, Link defeats an enemy in the Sky Floating Islands and drops an item called Zonai Charge. The video doesn’t dwell on the object, but it clearly has the same green energy seen powering up the machine-like enemies Link is fighting, the (broken) seal around Ganondorf seen in the original trailer, and the Link’s corrupted and shiny arm.

Will we encounter the Zonai in Tears of the Kingdom?

Given Nintendo’s silence regarding the story of Tears of the Kingdom, it’s hard to say whether or not Link will encounter a member of the Zonai tribe. Given that the group seems to have disappeared entirely from Hyrule in Breath of the Wild, with the only information we have about them coming from theories and their remaining architecture, it seems more logical that the Zonai were wiped out or went into hiding. . But even so, their technology and magic are still present and causing problems for our hero in Tears of the Kingdom. That being said, it’s not entirely out of the question that some survived and waited for the events of this game to unfold. The series is also no stranger to time travel, as it’s a key mainstay in games like Ocarina of Time and Oracle of Ages. So there’s a chance that Link could come face to face with the Zonai during their prime, but it’s unconfirmed.

Wait, how does Twilight Princess play into all of this?

Like most of the possibilities discussed here, the connection between The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Tears of the Kingdom is still speculation, but fans believe they have found connections between the Zonai and the Twili, which were introduced in Twilight Princess. . Breath of the Wild incorporates multiple tribes and species of life from the series, from the Sheikah to the Zora. The Twili, however, are notably absent, but given the similarities to the architecture and magic seen in Tears of the Kingdom and that of the Twili, fans believe the Zonai might be the original race that were turned into monsters by Zant in Twilight Princess. There are even breakdowns of iconography and sigils throughout Breath of the Wild which look a lot like the images from Twilight Princess. It’s all theory at this point, and Breath of the Wild itself doesn’t do much to make this possible connection directly apparent. So don’t feel like you’ve completely missed out on a potential connection. That’s all the fan interpretation, for now.

Whatever the Zonai are, it looks like they will at least be part of the larger Tears of the Kingdom setup. Whether we’ll encounter one remains to be seen, but we’ll find out when the game hits Switch on May 12.

At Kotaku, we get a lot of tips by email. Some are spam, some are hateful messages filled with errors, and a few are serious allegations that require serious investigation. So it’s refreshing when something comes up that just points us to something fresh and cool, as was the case with a recent boot fashion tip from the house. Like a dragon: Ishin! developers, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

A development subdivision of Sega with roots dating back to 1998, Ryu Ga Gotoku (“RGG”) is a Japanese studio responsible for the 2012 third-person shooter Binary Domain. However, you’re probably most familiar with RGG’s most important work, the Yakuza series. Since 2012, RGG has been in charge of the action-adventure franchise, developing new main entries and remastering old ones while assembling spin-offs such as the Judgment series and the latest remake, Like A Dragon: Ishin!

It was this latest game, which was originally a Japan-only release in 2014 before making its global debut earlier this week, that was the subject of the advice email we received this week. In love with editor Alyssa Mercante “fashion legend” of The Game Awards bland dripthe reader (whose name we decided to keep hidden) said we should check this making-of of the video Like A Dragon to see “cool costumes”.

Learn more: The Best Fits at The Game Awards 2022

“I loved the fashion caption and The Game Awards follow-up article and 40 seconds in this video about Ryu Ga Gotoku making the next game Like A Dragon, there’s an amazing promotional photo of the staff,” said the reader in an email to Kotaku. “I guess if you’re in charge of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, you’re basically obligated to wear a cool costume.” And they don’t lie! RGG is literally setting the entire industry back in one fell swoop.

SEGA Asia

In the first episode of a multi-part series on Sega Asia’s English YouTube channel, we get a quick look at RGG’s fashion sense. Japanese fashion is quite captivating if you follow it. Filled with flowing silhouettes, wild colors and patterns, and an interesting mix of casual and smart aestheticthe inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun know how to dress. RGG is no exception. Sure, the suits the developers are wearing about 40 seconds into the video above are all black, but the nuance is in the details. Two staff members have jackets with interesting markings: one with a variety of white dots and another with many small crosses. A different member of staff has a coat with tastefully accenting white lines. Three other staff members have all-over designs, with two of the staff members’ costumes having a nice shine. If you told me it was an alternative J-Rock band and not a video game developer band, I’d believe you.

Even the developers’ boots, while indefinable on the surface, really add to the developers’ collective drip. Most in the photo have round shiny pointed toe boots without laces like they all just came out of filming The Matrix or something. Two others mix things up a bit, one staff member wearing what appear to be Dr. Martens lace-up round boots (but maybe not that exact brand) and another apparently wearing very dark boots, maybe Suede. Either way, RGG’s cuts are on point! I may not be the fashionista that Kotaku’s Alyssa Mercante is, but I, too, gag at the confident simplicity that RGG exudes in their almost matching looks. It’s great to see, especially in an industry known for some of the most predictable (graphic tee and blazer) outfit combos ever.

Learn more: Like a dragon: Ishin! : The Kotaku Review

Anyway, kudos to RGG for killing the entire industry in seconds with both their killer mode and their even more killer samurai game, Like A Dragon: Ishin! In fact, writer Sisi Jiang called it “the best samurai game you can play right now.” You should take a look at it.

If, like many others, you’ve waited nearly a decade for Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, you’ve also lived on crumbs for the series since Dragon Age: Inquisition launched in 2014. Well, thanks to the wonders of the In social media engagement farming, we’ve had some new insights into Bioware’s fantasy RPG development to guide us until we get more Dreadwolf news.

It all started with a Twitter trend asking what “useless” trivial people knew about various art forms and media properties – there was “useless” knowledge of video gamesfor example, as well as “useless” animation facts– and finally we made one that asked people for their most useless Dragon Age facts. While some people have talked about well-known facts, like the show’s world name, Thedas, was a code name that stood for “The Dragon Age setting” who stayed, there were a few BioWare developers who chimed in and told behind-the-scenes stories about RPG development.

Horses don’t actually sprint in Dragon Age: Inquistion

One of the funniest came from John Epler, currently creative director on Dreadwolf, explaining that despite having a sprint option in Dragon Age: Inquisition when you mount a mount, the game doesn’t actually increase your movement speed, it just add some effects and movements. slightly the camera so that the player has the impression of going faster. It’s an illusion, and now that I’ve spent over a hundred hours in this game, I feel incredibly stupid for using the feature in the first place.

Why Iron Bull’s Romantic Scene Is Different From Others

While some of these stories remind us that much of the video game experience is smoke and mirrors, some of them are really interesting in the way they illustrate that surprising problems require surprising solutions. . For example, Epler said that the romance scene you can share with Inquisition’s resident pansexual hunk, Iron Bull, takes place in a different tower than the scenes with other romantic characters. For characters like Dorian and Sera, the player finds their love in their quarters to do the horizontal tango, which is located in the central tower of the party base. For Iron Bull, however, part of the scene takes place in a separate tower, and it takes a comedic twist when several characters enter the room after the lovers have had a good time. Because the scene’s mocap involved your allies Josephine, Cassandra, and others walking through a doorway, the scene wouldn’t have worked in the player’s quarters, as the entrance to this room has a staircase. So the developers created a special sex tower just for this scene.

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It’s a camera. For your car.
The Ring Car Cam’s dual-facing HD cameras capture activity in and around your car in HD detail.

Dragon Age: Inquistion’s ending had more permutations

Whether prompted by the trend or not, David Gaider, who previously acted as a writer on the series before departing in 2016, posted what was the original roadmap for Dragon Age: Inquisition’s ending. The ending that launched with the game featured a short stinger of Solas, the party member turned surprise villain, meeting with enigmatic series mainstay Flemeth and seemingly absorbing her life and power for his own. As it turns out, there was an outline for the ending that would have ended with the player or her daughter Morrigan killing her, instead. This would have been tied up in a decision earlier in the game in which the player decides to drink from the Well of Sorrows, essentially giving Flemeth control of the one who partook. The controlled character would have fought Solas on her behalf, but it seems, regardless, Solas would have left and either the player or Morrigan would have killed Flemeth. There’s not a ton of detail, but it does seem Inquisition’s finale had a lot more conflict going on at one point.

Gaider said in thread that he was okay with the ending of the final scene, comparing it to a Marvel-style dart that would hint at something to come, and says the team did not make a playable build of the original outline. Curiously, the player character is also present in the scene that unfolded, offscreen and in the bushes. It’s not for any narrative reason, though. Gaider speculate this is because the player had to be present in a game environment to play the cutscene.

As interesting as it is to hear more behind-the-scenes stories about the creation of Dragon Age: Inquisition, it would be even more enjoyable to learn more about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. The sequel has been in the works for almost a decade at this point. Recently, fans got a chance to experience the universe in a new way with the Dragon Age: Absolution anime on Netflix, which also included what appears to be clues to a new season or story beats in Dreadwolf.

Look, I thirsted over Professor Turo for half the year. It was a significant touchstone of 2022.Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

When it comes time to write these year-end lists, I usually slim them down to my top five favorite games I played because, despite what this job entails, I usually only have passionate feelings about a handful of games by the time we reach December.

But 2022 was a weird one for me, in that I feel like I played fewer games than ever. Not that any of that has anything to do with Kotaku, as I’ve only been here for about two weeks so far. But going through tumultuous times and a layoff at the last job doesn’t leave one much energy to invest time in a ton of games.

But I did experience a handful of games that really resonated with me, a few of which were old ones that got renewed in some way in 2022. So don’t yell at me when you see them on this list. It’s my list, and I’ll cry about Cyberpunk 2077 if I want to.

I’m a simple man. If the electric rat is there, I’m happy.Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Honorable mention: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Getting two major Pokémon games in 2022 was a lot for some people, but being able to run around a Pokémon world with Raichu by my side is the only thing that keeps me going some days. So I was happy to indulge in an open-world Pokémon in the form of Pokémon Violet. However, I just have too many issues with this game to give it a proper spot on my list. It’s buggy, sure, but it’s also designed in such a way that it can’t keep up with its own “find your bliss” philosophy, which made entire sections of its main story annoying and disorienting to play through.

That being said, the stellar endgame has completely rewired my brain and I can’t think about Professor Turo without crying, and playing a Pokémon game in co-op with my friends is a childhood dream come true. It’s deeply flawed, but I keep looking back at screenshots of me and my friends hanging out in Paldea like an old photo album. It’s got so many great ideas, but it’s all built on top of a shaky foundation. I’m awaiting its DLC with bated breath.

I loved Kratos and Atreus’ story, but all the other story threads God of War Ragnarök spun were too much for one game.

Honorable mention: God of War Ragnarök

I really adore the 2018 God of War reboot as an examination on the series’ previous gleeful glamorizing of gratuitous gore, and when it was at its best, God of War Ragnarök felt like it was building beautifully upon Kratos’ and Atreus’ relationship as father and son. But, man, what a messy follow-up it was.

I like large swaths of Ragnarök, and I think, had it been broken up into two games and made a trilogy, rather than Sony Santa Monica attempting to introduce and wrap up two games’ worth of story in the course of an exhaustively long game, I would’ve loved it a lot more. Its action still feels weighty and fun and getting to play as Atreus was a lovely surprise, but it feels breathless and bloated in a way the 2018 reboot didn’t. I’m always going to wonder what the conclusion to God of War’s Norse story would’ve looked like as two games instead of one, as those are the ones that would’ve likely made it onto my list.

Cyberpunk 2077’s city skyline makes me well up the way most open-world vistas don’t.Screenshot: CD Projekt Red / Kotaku

5. Cyberpunk 2077

I’m still very resistant to any narrative that Cyberpunk 2077 is “great” in 2022 after CD Projekt Red put in the work to elevate it from the technical disaster it was when it launched in 2020, but the game was still a central figure in my year, and has gone from something I played out of a work obligation two years ago to a game that’s become pretty special to me.

I played through and dissected Cyberpunk 2077 all year as part of Normandy FM, a retrospective podcast I co-host, and combing through that game in a relatively stable technical state unmasked that it’s a pretty unremarkable RPG. That being said, as a person who spent all of 2022 dealing with the realities of the capitalist gristmill that is America, both through job stuff and in the medical system, there was something freeing about existing in Night City, which felt like an oppressive, capitalist amalgamation of the cities I dreamed of living in while I was stranded in small-town Georgia.

When Cyberpunk 2077 wasn’t being insufferably cynical about people, places, and things, it was a constant interrogation of what I was willing to live for, and why I wanted the things I wanted in life. It’s a product of the same capitalist hellscape it claims to satirize, but in the margins there are things worth fighting for, even if you have to go looking for them on your own terms. I don’t boot up open-world RPGs very often, but throughout 2022 I would turn on Cyberpunk 2077 just to drive around the city and imagine the possibilities it held for me. Thankfully, I live in a city now, and no longer have to dream. But Cyberpunk 2077 was a lifeline during a time when the home it proposed felt unattainable. For that, I’ll always keep the story of V and Night City in my heart, even if I don’t think it’s a great video game.

Haven’s Couples Update gave queer fans a new reason to experience the RPG in 2022.Screenshot: The Game Bakers / Kotaku

4. Gayven (Haven, but gay)

Haven completely slipped by me in 2020, but that changed this year when The Game Bakers added an update that let you play as same-sex pairings of its main characters Yu and Kay. As a person who has written a lot about queerness in the video game industry, I was immediately drawn to Haven as a case study in a developer putting in the time and effort to make a game queer-inclusive. Getting to experience Yu and Kay’s story from the perspective of two queer men was a wonderful way to first experience the game, and made its angsty science-fiction romance all the more affecting for me as a gay man who eats that shit up.

Haven is a lovely meditation on long-term relationships, with its exploration and turn-based combat broken up by scenes of Yu and Kay just living together through the most mundane parts of being together. Where many video games thrive in the lead-up to a romantic relationship, Haven sits with what it means to already be well and established, and it leads to some of my favorite romance writing in a game. It’s full of big, oppressive science-fiction ideas, but its best moments are when two people sit together in their home and speak to each other not as spacefaring adventurers, but as two star-crossed lovers willing to find pockets of joy when they’re all they’ve got left.

We Are OFK is essentially an interactive music video, but the drama between its indie pop bangers is just as compelling.Screenshot: Team OFK / Kotaku

3. We Are OFK

The music of We Are OFK, an episodic biopic about a group of young adults drifting through the L.A. game dev grind and into a musical act, nearly topped my Spotify Wrapped this year. The band was second under Coheed and Cambria, my favorite band that released a new album this year, which speaks volumes about how catchy and contemplative Team OFK’s indie pop stylings are. These songs are interwoven between We Are OFK’s depiction of the dramatic, interpersonal relationships between a group of queer creatives just trying to figure their shit out.

We Are OFK is contentious as a video game, as its interactive elements feel insubstantial beyond choosing text messages and playing through an interactive music video at the end of each episode. But as an unapologetically queer musical drama about finding yourself and those willing to put up with your bullshit, it’s deeply relatable. The game exists as a springboard for a larger virtual band experience, and as long as they keep producing bangers like “thanks,” and “Infuriata,” I’ll follow it in whatever form OFK exists.

Overwatch 2 is still only half the game Blizzard promised, but its PvP suite is still pretty damn great.Screenshot: Blizzard Entertainment / Kotaku

2. Overwatch 2

Look, look, I know. I know Overwatch 2 is a mess of microtransactions and free-to-play grind, but Blizzard’s sequel/reboot of its hero shooter is still such a gold standard for team-based combat that I have sunk nearly 300 hours into it since its launch in October.

Right now, Overwatch 2 isn’t exactly what I was looking for when Blizzard announced it back in 2019, as its story content has been pushed into 2023. I (foolishly) came into Overwatch on the back of its characters and lore, so I’m still eagerly awaiting that side of the sequel. However, in its complete revamp of the original game’s format in favor of a 5v5 setup, its new modes, the heroes, and the great deal of attention given to its contextual banter writing, Overwatch feels more alive than it’s felt in years. This is damage of Blizzard’s own doing, as the company essentially put the first game on ice until Overwatch 2’s launch. But it’s comforting as a long-time player to finally see signs of life for the game after all this time, and to feel hope for its future for the first time in years.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus was a mechanical evolution, but also a narrative one, as well.Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

1. Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus was everything I’d been wanting out of a Pokémon story for over a decade. After years of watching the franchise add to its mythology and world, it never really felt like many of these games were living up to the promise of the universe Game Freak had built over 25 years. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was the first time since I was a child that this setting felt as large and unknowable as it did in my youth.

Much of that came from Legends: Arceus’ use of a historical setting, rather than the modern one seen in most other Pokémon games. Taking the player back to when the Sinnoh region was known as Hisui, being present for lore-defining conflicts, and watching the universe’s gods have it out was more impactful than hearing about them through historians and seeing cave paintings and statues. It felt like a second chance for Sinnoh to feel like the significant origin point of the universe it had been described as in Diamond and Pearl.

On top of just feeling more vast, Pokémon Legends: Arceus was also the most tangible the world felt to me as a player. This was thanks to Game Freak’s shift into action-oriented mechanics like actually being able to aim and throw a Pokéball at an unsuspecting wild Pokémon, stealthing around the wilderness to avoid giant Alpha Pokémon, and being able to fluidly traverse its open areas on the backs of friendly critters. Even when Pokémon Scarlet and Violet attempted their own versions of these systems, it never felt like they quite captured Legends: Arceus’ frictionless traversal, and that’s why they felt flimsy in comparison.

Legends: Arceus solidified to me what it is I want out of Pokémon games. Some people want to capture every Pokémon in the Pokedex, some want to compete and become a respected champion. But for me, existing in this world and discovering its secrets with Raichu by my side is why Pokémon still holds my attention decades later, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the most I’ve felt captivated by this universe, probably ever. I hope it’s a blueprint for the series’ future, because I feel like, otherwise, I’m going to be chasing the highs of its best moments for years to come.

Earlier this month, the wiki hosting company Fandom has taken over several game sites, including Giant Bomb and GameSpot, in a $50 million acquisition. And that exorbitant sale price, coupled with what the website calls “questionable staffing decisions” at the company, led Zelda Wiki to free itself from “corporate consolidation” and assert its independence from vis-a-vis Fandom.

Opened in 2005 and independent until its transfer to Gamepedia hosting in 2017, the Zelda Wiki is one of the largest fan-run gaming wikis. With thousands of game entries across the franchise, you could spend days or weeks perusing the digital encyclopedia and probably not finish it all. It’s my go-to resource when looking for information on a specific enemy or weapon in Nintendo’s popular franchise, and it hosts 11,199 articles. However, you will now need to visit a brand new website if you have bookmarked and/or frequented the old Zelda wiki.

Staff on site announced on Twitter this week that, “after several months of preparation”, the website is now completely independent of Fandom or any other entity.

“For over a decade, from its inception in 2005 to its transfer to Gamepedia in 2017, the Zelda Wiki was an entirely independent site,” the wiki’s EIC wrote. “Even after the transfer and subsequent acquisition of Gamepedia by Fandom, Inc., the site has sought to continue its mission of curating an independent, high-quality fan-run editorial wiki. However, we have come to believe that these ideals are incompatible with Fandom.

There was a reason for such a scathing statement. Citing Fandom’s “recent takeovers and questionable personnel decisions”, Zelda Wiki staff said they wanted to “protect the internet from corporate consolidation” and “hegemonic control”. As such, the team moved the wiki to a new homeyet Fandom’s is still operational.

Reactions to the news have been overwhelmingly positive online. Several people have called it a big win for the Zelda Wiki, while others are eagerly awaiting less ads and better layout on the site. Even the Fallout Wiki’s Twitter account, one of the few to publicly feud with Fandom over intrusive site videos and ads, congratulated the Zelda Wiki team to break with the company. In general, the public is wary of Fandom’s growing influence on fan-run wikis that have provided useful free resources to the community on major franchises. Thus, there is now even shared resources for alternatives to Wikis Fandom, and some encouragement in the comments to this announcement for more Wikis to do the same. Although independent wikis exist, over the years Fandom has become the most dominant website when people search for certain topics on Google.

In Discord messages with Kotaku, community staff member ModdedInkling said the old Fandom wiki will “continue to be updated” by a few volunteers who have chosen to remain there. Just about everyone, however, will move to the new website domain. ModdedInkling also explained what this independence means for staff.

“Being ‘editorially independent’ means having full creative control over the content of the wiki according to one’s own policies, as opposed to Fandom’s policies,” ModdedInkling said. “This also includes the overall appearance of the wiki (UI, templates, etc.), which has been one of the main topics discussed by many independent wikis that split from Fandom. Another topic of interest is avoiding mandatory censorship. Some wikis also have socio-political and ethical content that is often limited by Fandom, but deemed relevant by the community.

ModdedInkling extrapolated on the nature of Fandom’s alleged censorship. He said that while nothing was blocked on the Wikia Zelda (as far as he knows, anyway), there were a few changes made to the entries after posting to other wikis.

“Basically, Fandom’s policies can invoke a level of censorship on certain sensitive topics, even if relevant to a work of fiction, if deemed contrary to their policy,” ModdedInkling said. “Sometimes that may mean changing his information as well, even if it’s less accurate. This can happen across a variety of topics, such as discussions involving retroactively changing a character’s traits, even if it was historically inaccurate to change them.

ModdedInkling brought up a case where Fandom’s policies prevented making available what they consider to be accurate information. On Wookieepediathe Star Wars Digital Encyclopedia, there would have been complications changing the name of someone who later came out as trans.

“There was some debate about the naming conventions of someone later identifying as trans,” ModdedInkling said. “The mandate was to retroactively change any of the names displayed for the person or character, even though that was not how they were referred to at the time. I don’t remember if it was a real person or a fictional character. This didn’t cause them to branch off, but it was a concern NIWA had in potential examples involving character pronouns like Vivian from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Sheik from Ocarina of Time, or Vilia from Breath of the Wild.

ModdedInkling clarified the example to Kotaku, saying it’s not representative of his beliefs or the rest of the Zelda Wiki team. He noted Nintendo’s Independent Wiki Alliance, a network of other wikis for Nintendo games, aims to “handle sensitive topics with care to avoid any form of misrepresentation”. This, he noted, aligns with the ideals of the Zelda Wiki teams.

Kotaku has reached out to Fandom for comment.

The Zelda Wiki is only the most recent digital encyclopedia to split from its parent company, and the third to split from Fandom specifically in recent memory. Earlier this year, the team behind Terraria Wiki announced on Steam that it will host a new site separate from Fandom. Meanwhile, the Runescape Wiki became independent years ago in reply to corporate mandates forcing videos to autoplay in the posts. The Zelda wiki can now be found in the NIWA databasewhich includes other independent, volunteer-run websites, such as Bulbapedia (the digital encyclopedia dedicated to all things Pokémon) and SmashWiki.

Update, 10/21/22, 6:30 PM ET: Added a clarifying statement from ModdedInkling.