What could Nintendo possibly do to follow up the game that "saved gaming" for me? Well, they simply iterated on and evolved everything about Breath of the Wild to make one of the most creativity and freedom-focused games ever. It's simple, really- why don't more people think of this? Sarcasm aside, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute wonder, and we're lucky to have it. Hope you enjoy the discussion!

Guest info: Michael Berger (he/him)

• Check out Bits of Time on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@bitsoftimemedia
• Check out the Bits of Time podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bits-of-time/id1616941089
• Check out everything else Michael is doing https://campsite.bio/matterofmichael

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:21 Introductions
• 5:35 Our Histories with Zelda and Tears of the Kingdom
• 8:49 Opening Thoughts About Tears of the Kingdom
• 16:39 Story Setup
• 20:26 Storytelling and Nonlinear Design
• 25:34 Emergent Story and the Adventure
• 29:52 Link's New Toys
• 48:58 Emergent Gameplay and the Magic of Scrounging
• 57:18 Dungeons and Boss Fights
• 1:03:15 Enemy and Boss Variety
• 1:08:07 The Depths and Exploration
• 1:16:33 Art Design and Music
• 1:23:20 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:31:31 Bits of Time
• 1:36:11 Spoiler Wall and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:38:25 Spoiler Section- Favorite Temples and Backstory
• 2:03:11 Final Boss and Ending

Music used in the episode is credited to Hajime Wakai, Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi and Tsukasa Usui. Tracks used: Title, Hyrule Castle - Upheaval, Shrine Battle, Seized Construct Battle, Skydive, Lookout Landing, Ganondorf's Theme, Final Dive

Check out Dave on Geeks & Grounds https://www.geeksandgrounds.com/
Check out Dave on Pixels & Polygons https://rss.com/podcasts/pixelspolygons/

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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Everybody has that game they played a hundred times as a kid and therefore can't be objective about anymore, and for us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is NOT one of those! Both my guest Ty and I both tried the game at various points, but never quite got on with it. The podcast has now given us a chance to revisit Nintendo's landmark title and give it the deep dive treatment- so listen in to find out how we felt this time!

Guest info: Ty Schalter (he/him)

• Check out FunFactor podcast http://www.funfactorpod.com!/
• Follow Ty on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/tyschalter.com

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:15 Intros
• 6:03 Our Histories with Zelda and A Link to the Past
• 10:59 Opening Thoughts About A Link to the Past
• 18:11 Story Setup
• 27:58 Visuals
• 31:59 World/Map Design
• 35:44 Music
• 47:13 Combat
• 58:41 Difficulty Curve, Exploration and Secrets
• 1:10:00 "The Zelda Formula"
• 1:18:41 Dungeons
• 1:23:23 Closing Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:38:37 FunFactor Podcast and Ty's Work Online
• 1:45:24 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-You's
• 1:47:49 Spoiler Section

Music used in the episode: Title, File Select, Opening Demo, Hyrule Castle, Dark World, Kakariko Village, Ending

Social Media:
BlueSky- https://bsky.app/profile/tftblpod.bsky.social
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/talesfromthebacklog/

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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TIMESTAMPS
Intros/Personal Histories/Opening Thoughts 1:15
Story Setup/Open World 20:38
Gameplay/Exploration 40:58
Emergent Gameplay 1:03:18
Music/Final Thoughts 1:49:37
SPOILER WALL 2:05:53

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Social Media:
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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://www.instagram.com/jackallencaricatures/ and his other pages

Listen to A Top 3 Podcast on Apple, Spotify and [other podcast platforms](atop3podcast.fireside.fm)!

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