T. K. Arispe

Sav'aaq! I've been on kind of a Breath of the Wild kick lately. Helping my sister and niece play through it is really fun; it's one of those games that's just really fascinating to watch other people play because no two people approach it in the same way. 

I think a big part of the game's charm and appeal is that, while on the surface it's an action RPG, in reality the gameplay reaches a much deeper level than most of the rest of its genre, putting an emphasis on creative utilization of the environment, lateral thinking, and applied physics principles. The fact that there's usually no one right way to approach a problem means that there are as many styles of play and ways the action can unfold as there are players--in other words, a groundbreakingly emergent RPG experience.

Unless you're my niece, in which case it's just a game about riding horses. :)

I was super thrilled to see the Gerudo make such a great showing in BotW! I have an affinity for warrior cultures (if you haven't guessed from a lot of my writing), and I love deserts, so I've thought the Gerudo were awesome ever since the bygone days of Ocarina of Time. I really love the treatment they got in BotW, with an expanded culture and lore and Urbosa being super epic (the fact that she shares a voice actress with Hollyberry Cookie just gives her extra awesomeness points). It was also fantastic to see the Gerudo portrayed as a protagonistic people with a lot of likeable traits, since (with the exception of Nabooru) they were pretty much antagonists during Ocarina of Time.

I haven't actually played Tears of the Kingdom yet, but my (other) sister says as soon as she's done with her copy, she'll lend it to me, so I'm psyched to dive back into Hyrule.

Until then, I am avoiding spoilers like the plague.