Playing for a second time, a more chill playthrough after coming in with more intense feelings to the changes on the first time. Unfortunately I decided to also do it on Master Mode which might have been a mistake.
Overall, my feelings haven't changed that much, I still really enjoy the traditional "Metroidvania" feeling of getting a new item, and go explore new areas and solve new puzzles of classic Zelda. And exploration which is the strongest factor here is somewhat diminished by systems working against the player (for example, rain), especially once you see how many "cheat codes" they give you in Tears of the Kingdom that remove a lot of the friction.
One thing I didn't enjoy the first time were the shrines, and while I still don't love them, Tears actually made me see it could be worse. Classic Zelda puzzles are also not that groundbreaking isolated like here, but the catch is that they are NOT isolated. In dungeons especially, a puzzle is usually one key to a major whole, you are getting a certain ray of light to shine in a certain way to on the next room solve a more intricate puzzle and this is what makes them feel interesting, which in these restricted scenarios make simple puzzles feel like just that, simple diversions. There is also not the sense of going through a room, not having the correct item and getting to come back later, the feeling of building up to a solution is also lost in a sense.
Durability is another feature I don't really vibe with, I think on normal mode it becomes way less of an issue over time, but on master mode it certainly feels bad to burn multiple weapons on a Bokoblin. I feel like master mode on Tears of the Kingdom has way more potential as each enemy will essentially give you a tier equivalent weapon that is its horn, while here it doesn't feel like enemies carry tier equivalent weapons, and it can be somewhat frustrating getting out of an encounter with what feels like less than what you spent.
I know it is unfair to compare it to Tears now, but I feel like, with the exception of Shrines, most features I felt dissatisfied with have received improvements in the sequel, and as my first impression were already not overly positive, it stays basically the same for me, but now it feels more like a first step to something greater, instead of a step in a direction I didn't like much before (but please make classic Zelda again someday).
Overall, my feelings haven't changed that much, I still really enjoy the traditional "Metroidvania" feeling of getting a new item, and go explore new areas and solve new puzzles of classic Zelda. And exploration which is the strongest factor here is somewhat diminished by systems working against the player (for example, rain), especially once you see how many "cheat codes" they give you in Tears of the Kingdom that remove a lot of the friction.
One thing I didn't enjoy the first time were the shrines, and while I still don't love them, Tears actually made me see it could be worse. Classic Zelda puzzles are also not that groundbreaking isolated like here, but the catch is that they are NOT isolated. In dungeons especially, a puzzle is usually one key to a major whole, you are getting a certain ray of light to shine in a certain way to on the next room solve a more intricate puzzle and this is what makes them feel interesting, which in these restricted scenarios make simple puzzles feel like just that, simple diversions. There is also not the sense of going through a room, not having the correct item and getting to come back later, the feeling of building up to a solution is also lost in a sense.
Durability is another feature I don't really vibe with, I think on normal mode it becomes way less of an issue over time, but on master mode it certainly feels bad to burn multiple weapons on a Bokoblin. I feel like master mode on Tears of the Kingdom has way more potential as each enemy will essentially give you a tier equivalent weapon that is its horn, while here it doesn't feel like enemies carry tier equivalent weapons, and it can be somewhat frustrating getting out of an encounter with what feels like less than what you spent.
I know it is unfair to compare it to Tears now, but I feel like, with the exception of Shrines, most features I felt dissatisfied with have received improvements in the sequel, and as my first impression were already not overly positive, it stays basically the same for me, but now it feels more like a first step to something greater, instead of a step in a direction I didn't like much before (but please make classic Zelda again someday).