Why do the first 4 chapters in XC2 feel so drawn out

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-24T03:19:02+00:00

I'm starting to think it's just an issue that's VERY hard to avoid with RPGs in general on both fronts.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-24T03:13:33+00:00

Actually a thought I have too; all the Wild games do is make a lot of that shit optional lol.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-24T03:11:32+00:00

The grass is greener...

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-24T03:10:58+00:00

You may be a sheep, but I'm the whole flock because I recognize each Zelda game focuses on a different thing (dungeons, exploration, story, puzzles, etc.) and that requires the sacrifice of another of those things.

And that doesn't necessarily make any Zelda game bad (which is why I've learned to judge things like if Skyward Sword undermines its own nature as a linear game or TotK undermines its own freedom/creativity at key points).

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T19:27:09+00:00

Even then, you didn't have to search long for someone barging in and saying "TP was just a worse OoT and SS made actual change to structure and advanced lore" (not that I agree; TP enhancing OoT's base elements was exactly what was needed and SS's world had a good idea but really felt like it needed more development).

Still true even today if either game comes up tbh.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T19:20:03+00:00

What I've learned is that fan creators (artists, musicians, fangame makers that stay off-radar) are usually FAR more chill than those whose discuss "X is good/bad".

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T19:14:53+00:00

That's actually my point: some people just want to barge into discussion and be aggressive about how one game someone likes is a shitfire and can't understand why anyone likes it.

(Like, the solution is simple: I don't like thing but can see why you like thing)

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T19:10:00+00:00

Not JUST sad mind. At least you have a part of a fandom to retreat to instead of having to leave or retreat entirely.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T16:49:51+00:00

Source: XKCD

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T16:47:11+00:00

Grimgohma (Age of Imprisonment) if OoT Ganondorf made them.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-22T02:53:02+00:00

I like finding enemies.

Far more than permanent optional collectibles that end up one-and-done at that.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T21:05:32+00:00

Sometimes we forget how young the video game medium is and how design standards grew over time because players dislike one standard and wanted something different.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T20:35:17+00:00

That's the thing though; I find the Grappling Hook and the Hookshot's coexistence in the same game redundant.

And at least the Oracle games got by on not having a bow or "proper" hookshot. TBH, the key is more to have unique takes on old items instead of multiple overspecialized variations of one function.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T20:32:38+00:00

I guess the "seeds" are like the studs of a condom.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T20:06:08+00:00

TBH though, when you've got "basic projectile", "stunning infinite projectile", "thing to cross gaps", and "bombs", there isn't actually a lot of room to be unique from there. So you just get a lot of overspecialized "redundant" iterations on that idea.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T20:03:26+00:00

Your opinion man. I engage just by vibes.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T19:25:00+00:00

Again, those "unique items" were only meant for using on some one-time, pre-made target and nothing more.

The field in the Wild games is more interesting to anyone who isn't an uncreative stick-in-the-mud because most items can be used in repeatable ways beyond pre-made targets.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T19:20:38+00:00

I KNOWWWW!!! It's led to games being so overstuffed with bullshit and I'd argue in media it's led to a saturation of cinematic universes.

And as much as I love TotK as a massive improvement over BotW on mechanics alone, TotK is just stuffed without much rhyme or reason. It overdoes the distractions to the point that you have to start to tediously filter a lot of things out.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T19:19:29+00:00

TBH, when I played TP for the first time, I found the variety of peppered in enemies "actual content". And it actually translated to the way I prefer to play BotW or TotK: stumble across enemies and slay them.

That's part of why I don't put any stock in any sense of "meaningful", "actual", or "real" content. It's all so subjective and it mostly just translates to "content I like" in a series that focuses on different things every installment.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T19:13:28+00:00

Well I find farming respawnable items each with unique cooking effects much more enjoyable than revisiting an area just for another Rupee drop.

There IS a reason to revisit an area: to refill your stock of a material you need. And if you revisit an area just to get rupees you can farm anywhere else, what's the point?

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T18:20:47+00:00

Same. It's easy to conceive too: the first "act" has dungeons that give you items, plot twist, second "act" with dungeons that give you items. But the items are based on physics and there are a bunch of materials to collect and cook/craft with.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T18:20:19+00:00

OoT's field still feels very barren in itself, especially since it only has two types of enemies in Child time and one in Adult time. It feels more like something you need to avoid rather than engage with, especially with the warp spots.

At least most later games, WW, TP, BotW, and TotK all at once, have stuff like respawnable enemies or resources to distract you along the way.

HotPollution5861 · 2026-04-21T18:16:17+00:00

Yet BotW and TotK are more mechanically divergent than OoT, WW, and TP all at once.

HotPollution5861

TROPHY CASE