Daily Debate: Should You Be Able to Go Straight to the Final Boss in Tears of the Kingdom?
Posted on April 19 2023 by Chakell Herbert
I think most Breath of the Wild speed runners would agree that the open world system in that game is perfection. If they want to risk it within the first minutes of the game, they can have Link face off with Calamity Ganon in nothing but his underwear and a few tree branches (and miraculously beat the game against all odds). Being able to go straight to the final boss in this game was a fascinating concept for me when I first played Breath of the Wild. However, being a story-loving player, I never attempted to defeat Ganon without completing everything else I was supposed to do beforehand because I wanted Link’s journey to come full circle. Jumping straight for the final boss just didn’t sit right with me when it comes to making everything in this iteration of Hyrule feel complete.
With that being said, I really hope that Tears of the Kingdom sticks to a more set storyline and classic Zelda formula that requires Link to grow stronger before he is ready to face off with who we presume to be Ganondorf. Zelda adventures that have more of the open world flavor like A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds had a great balance of choosing your own dungeons to tackle, but saving the final boss and final dungeon for last. I would love to see this again in Tears of the Kingdom so we can build up the anticipation for that final battle with the Gerudo King. However, we won’t know until we play. (Only one more month to go!)
What do you want out of the final boss in Tears of the Kingdom? Do you want to go straight there, or allow the story to progress before you’re allowed access? Let me know in the comments!
Chakell (pronounced shuh-kell) is an associate editor for Zelda Dungeon! She has loved The Legend of Zelda series since she was a little girl because of its equal mix of princesses, besting bad guys, and heartfelt stories. Chakell lives in the overall tame state of Utah, but holds onto her childhood hopes to find an adventure in her backyard one day. She has a degree in English and is a full-time editor for a magazine. You can usually find her gaming (obviously), laughing with her husband, taking a long time to tell stories because she keeps getting distracted; getting sucked into books and podcasts; or snuggling her cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
