What I Learned Photographing NPCs in Tears of the Kingdom

my favourite NPC interaction is loone, who goes from obsessing over guardians to obsessing over the 3 great skeletons. She has some hilarious dialouge too

Zelda's impact on the characters and the echoes of her kindness is what made me want to bring her back most.

I noticed that more NPCs recognize you if you wear the Champions leathers and hairband, I think a lot of people don't recognize link in this game because it's been 7 years and he got a new outfit and longer hair, but you jog their memories by looking like your old self

I was also offended that Beedle didn't recognize Link, but at the same time it sort of fits. He probably encounters a dozen different people each day, travelling around and selling things, so I guess even Link wouldn't stand out in that situation. I think my favourite was Penn viewing Link as some rando who gets a little too full of himself at times. True the koroks don't change much between games, but I thought it was funny how many puzzles were just undoing whatever action you took in BOTW, like moving boulders back, etc. It adds to the silliness of their puzzles not actually having a purpose, they're just playing games. Lovely video, thank you!

my favorite npc is Moza. in botw, she could be found making terrible meals on a plateau full of rotting food and bones. in totk, she is found in a well, and has "mastered" her craft of cooking, changing your failed cooking into meals that actually heal you, once you finish her side quest. She was hands down my favorite npc in botw, and even more so in totk. i immediately went to that plateau, and got worried when i didnt see her. Eventually, while exploring, i stumbled into and well and accidentally found her and freaked out.

I love how they made the Zora people in Breath and Tears so unique. Each one of them having their own design and often representing different aquatic species. I also love that some of them remember Link in a difrerent way because they knew him by the time of the Great Calamity. And there's also the new ones such as Yona, that use gold jewlery instead of silver, making the difference between domains clear.

One of my favorite moments in TOTK was when I was messing around in Gerudo and jokingly decided to take a picture of Madison to see if her parents would have a reaction. I aimed the camera at her and her name popped up like she was a monster confusing me, but when I went to go show her parents they actually had a reaction to seeing she was doing well. What a sweet moment that the game gives you no idea you could do. Maybe theres the hint that you show Hudson pictures of monsters so maybe you make the connection between the monsters and his daughter they have a whole side mission for, but the game is really ok with people not seeing the icing on that already sweet cake.

You know, I’ve never really been one for virtual photography, but this series has given me a new perspective on the ‘smaller things’, as it were.

In the lead-up to TotK's release, I spent a lot of time playing through BotW, making notes of my favorite NPCs to check up on once the new game was released. I genuinely shrieked with joy when I greeted Oliff at the castle gate and he, now a member of the Monster Control Crew, was relieved that Link was okay. It's amazing how much random, "unimportant" characters can really pull you into a game world and make you feel like you belong there.

You are the exact person that game designers love. Appreciating details that might be missed is just so gorgeous. Somehow you make seeing a form of art.

Tears of the Kingdom is so impressively alive with its world that I wouldn’t be surprised if the developers didn’t know that you can do hour and a half long nature watches/walks, and still find new things to look at. This game is truly alive.

An NPC interaction I like, that wasn't mentioned in this video was Chessica - the woman running the Lurelin inn. I found her in Kara Kara Bazaar at the start of the game where she was taking shelter, and after I finished the Gerudo quest line and the Lurelin side plot, whenever I'd go to the salt spa to replenish my hearts, Chessica would always greet me with a Gerudo phrase that she had picked up during her stay in the desert.

Although I didn't remember most NPCs from BOTW, seeing them still moving around was incredible. Obviously my favorite was Tulin- because he was such a minor character in BOTW I didn't really pay attention to him. But as I realized the kids had grown up, I had slowly begun to ask the question of "Wait, Teba HAD a kid in BOTW. Who was-" and then when his introduction occurred, I couldn't help but grin. "LIIIIINK!" 'TULIIIIIIN!' The only NPC I was not happy to see again was... Shudders ...Flowerblight Ganon...

Ever since I found out the NPCs’ faces were built in a modified version of the Mii Maker, I’ve never been able to stop noticing their Mii facial features. It’s like a fun development easter egg

I just finished the Rito Village arc, and yeah, I actually stopped when I saw the kids and shouted at the screen "Look how much you've grown!!!" and gushed a bit over them. Also, it's noticeable that ritos lives are the shortest. Their resident senior, for example, has already passed. And though i'm still 'just starting' the world feels more alive, lived in. The people are starting to thrive and spread again and it shows.

This was a phenomenal video, start to finish. One little note, the man who marries Prima, (15:15), is in Breath of the Wild too! He was on the patio of the Ton Pu Inn, so it makes sense how they ended up together. Another nice little touch by Nintendo :)

The moment when you mentioned how some NPCs remember and some don't, specially the gerudo that remembers a kind stranger helping, reminded me of the episode from Futurama where bender meet's god, "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all"

It's incredible how in the past, Majora's Mask whole design was based on the cycles of everyone's lives over three days. Now it's just a background thing on a giant scale that no one pays much attention to.

no but seriously, you've captured moments and details that many big youtuber's have done in "tHings yOu Never nOtiCeD in tOtK" like srsly THIS WAS SO CHARMING, ur attention to detail and dedication of time to the studying of npcs is insane, woof, when i thought totk couldnt get any better.

One of my favorite parts of TotK was meeting an NPC, not recognizing them, then they do a unique animation or unique dialogue and I would think/say “OH! You’re [NPC] from BotW!”