One Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Area Shows The Game's Great Puzzle-Solving Potential
Few games offer the freedom available to players in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which can be felt in almost every facet of the game. From the ability to create war machines that cause death and devastation to everything unfortunate enough to be within reach and having out-of-box solutions be viable in many of the game's shrines, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom can often feel limitless with the possibilities on offer.
Something of a notable exception to this is the game's temples, whose purpose is more to offer a somewhat more linear experience in line with previous games in the series, albeit with additional freedom granted by the abilities Link possesses. An exception to this would be the Water Temple in Tears of the Kingdom which offers a level of freedom that isn't found in the others.
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The Water Temple Allows Players to Get Creative
Part of the main story quest for Tears of the Kingdom requires obtaining Zora Armor to swim up the waterfalls that lead to the Water Temple, and while it does provide a simple way to reach the top of any fountain, the Zora Armor technically isn't needed. Vehicles also get the job done, provided players have a sufficient supply of Zonai Batteries.
This flexibility also translates to navigating up the platforms below the Water Temple because traversal in this section especially shines since there are not only several waterfalls available to scale using the Zora Armor but because the platforms themselves are compact with typically little space between them. Players can attempt riskier jumps or drop Zonai Platforms to find unconventional vantage points to get the drop on enemies if not avoid them. This even extends to entering the Water Temple proper as entering it from its lower level is as viable as walking through the front entrance, potentially giving players a different initial impression of the temple than others based on finding creative paths that the developers might not have originally intended.
This potentially unintentional level of flexibility extends to the temple proper, as puzzles can not only be completed in any order but reaching them offers several possibilities. These can range from using the giant bubbles spawning at specific points to reach certain areas or platforming across any surface Link can stand on to building a simple contraption with Zonai Devices to circumvent any traversal challenges.
Even some of the puzzles within the Water Temple can be solved in fun ways should players not want to feel rushed at any point. One such puzzle involves draining a pool of water which lets a ball players bring over to drop into its slot, opening a gate that gets players to an object they need to interact with. Some might use the Rewind ability to keep up the gate flooding the pool while others might attach two nearby platforms to keep it suspended as long as the Zonai Battery remains charged. A more permanent solution that does not require using batteries for long or using the Rewind ability involves simply attaching the platforms to both ends, keeping the gate suspended and allowing players to not rush to their destination.
Even the temple's boss can be more easily dispatched if players have a hydrant to wash all the muck away in a method more efficient than using Sidon's ability, showing that even the game's pivotal moments can be tackled differently with a funny revelation. Despite the generally more linear nature provided by many of the temples, the Water Temple often shows that in Tears of the Kingdom, even if a method to reaching a place or solving a puzzle is impractical and likely not intended by the developers, it will be treated as a valid way to play the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available on Nintendo Switch.
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Source: GameRant
