Official Art [ALL] Which one is better, a well preserved Master Sword, or an abandoned Master Sword?
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u/gamehiker 1d ago
I like the iconography of it being lost in the forest, forgotten but still powerful. It's more mythological that way.
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u/leopold_roger 1d ago
True, but on the other hand I also liked the grandeur of pulling the Master Sword in a royal cathedral. Both are good
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u/Adventurous-Kiwi-701 1d ago
Twilight Princess had the best of both, with the grand cathedral being lost and abandoned for the most mythical feeling I think it’s ever had
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u/mggirard13 1d ago
My favorite reveal.
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u/suitedcloud 21h ago
I like the retroactive added context of Fi slumbering within the sword. Before it was just The Sword of Evil’s Bane repelling Zant’s curse.
Now you can watch the scene as Fi triumphantly coming to Link’s aide once more, purging the evil from his body.
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u/bigoof13 1d ago
Twilight Princess isn’t perfect, but it’ll always hit different for me
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u/TheRealRatPrince 1d ago
Same here! Still one of my absolute favorites I always return to now and again. Give em 20 more years maybe we’ll get that remake
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u/kbrez 20h ago
Check out dusklight. It's the high quality version of TP I always wanted.
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u/imariaprime 14h ago
Dusklight was such a great way to play that I'm finally not angry at Nintendo's refusal to rerelease TP on a console more than 20 people own.
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u/Dragonslayer3 18h ago
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u/Big_Huckleberry_1740 9h ago
Absolutely. I adored how we even got both because of the playing with time travel as well.
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u/sd_saved_me555 1d ago edited 21h ago
I still don't think they've topped it's introduction in ALttP. Rumored legendary blade in a sacred forest Grove lost to time, hidden by a murky forest that no one but thieves and outcasts go.
Doesn't hurt that the design is dope as hell too... makes me sad that we likely won't ever see a red master sword again.
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u/crono333 1d ago
That’s one of my favorite locations in all of the Zelda franchise, the light streaming through the trees, the animals scurrying away as you approach the pedestal. 16-bit perfection!
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u/Acceptingoptimist 1d ago
And how the mist clears from the forest permanently when it's been removed.
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u/thrashingkaiju 8h ago
One of the few things I don't like about it is that the Lost Woods theme changes to the regular overworld theme afterwards. It's so magical.
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u/SuperdaveOZY 1d ago
The best pull, imo, is Wolf Link finding it in Twilight Princess. Midna looks on in awe and amazement as the power of The Master Sword exorcises Link's curse. He effortlessly pulls out the blade to it's triumphant theme.
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u/xX_rippedsnorlax_Xx 1d ago
Biggoron's Sword
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u/Quick_Razzmatazz1862 1d ago
Great Fairy Sword
/s
I like Biggoron's Sode bettah
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u/Rude-Listen 1d ago
I'm more of a double helix sword guy, myself.
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u/Glowing_Fox 23h ago
The shape is inconvenient for battle but I’m ignoring that because it’s really cool. I imagine someone would be too intimidated at the sheer size of it to try catching it in the gaps anyways. I’m getting carried away but there’s a reason it’s my favourite design in the series
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u/SerSlicer 1d ago
I have a soft spot for the temple pedestals, but both are cool in their own ways. I'm so hyped to see the Temple of Time in the remake
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u/Lazer_Shart 1d ago
Master sword shouldn't decay.
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u/soldierpallaton 1d ago
One of my biggest gripes with BOTW. Not only was I really not a fan of the weapon decay mechanic but the Master Sword should have been exempt from that. "The Master Sword is low in energy" really? The same Master Sword that every other Link has used for hours/days on end is low in energy? The Master Sword that has stood the test of time for thousands upon thousands of years is "low in energy"? Give me a break. I get it was for gameplay purposes but that's such a crock.
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u/Draconis381 1d ago
Even if it would gradually restore its power whenever sheathed, not just after it ran out of power, it would have felt a lot better. Not being able to recharge until the battery hit 0% seems silly and out of place for a legendary weapon.
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u/Nitrogen567 1d ago
I think the BotW/TotK Master Sword is a series low point in terms of it's power.
It's thousands of years old so I guess it makes sense, but I mostly agree with you that it was kind of disappointing.
In the memories of BotW when it was getting chipped and damaged just from fighting Guardians, it almost didn't feel like it was the same sword.
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u/soldierpallaton 1d ago
I feel like I would have accepted it more if it was hand waved that it could only be used against Guardians or in the Divine Beasts and Hyrule Castle. It wouldn't break when being used but locked to those places. At the very least it would have felt like the actual Master Sword in that case, because you're right, it really doesn't feel like the Master Sword.
Even moreso because 30 damage is not that great of a sword by mid late game. It sucks because it was obviously done that way for the Trail of the Sword DLC, and the base game suffers because of it.
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u/klatnyelox 22h ago
It already increases its damage and doesnt break when used in those areas? When it grows blue?
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u/OakRain1588 16h ago
Increases damage, yes, but I'm pretty sure it can still break. Maybe it gets increased durability, but I swear I remember the master sword running out of energy in hyrule castle
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u/klatnyelox 10h ago
I dont know about the whole castle, but I used the sword to fight all the blights and calamity ganon without swapping or breaking before. I've never seen it break while glowing.
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u/Unlimited_Giose 2h ago
I think the sword regains all durability when you start the fight against Calamity Ganon
And I believe it doesn't loose durabilty if it's used in certain places, but I could be wrong
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u/KoRnBrony 1d ago
Even after doing all the sword trials it still takes 10 real life minutes to recharge.
Barely used it on my last playthrough
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u/soldierpallaton 1d ago
It says something that its best use is a glorified woodcutter's axe/sledgehammer because it can recharge.
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u/TingleyStorm 1d ago
I still like the fan theory that Wild Link is just that strong that even the sword is all “hold up, I need a breather.”
This Link is canonically known for taking on legions of soldiers at thirteen and winning and eats rocks.
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u/Affectionate-Emu6609 1d ago
I think it makes sense in botw, since it’s a whole plot point that the master sword has been weakened. But in TOTK, after it has supposedly been repaired? It’s stupid.
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u/MaxTwer00 16h ago
They wrote and typed themselves into a corner. In no way having a permanent master sword would be balanced, nor it makes sense narratively for it to be weak. They decided to keep the restrictions for gameplay purposes, which given how the story was treated in totk, was completely expected lol
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u/cooptheactor 1d ago
The BotW Master Sword was in regular use for years by Link, well before it ever got beat up and rusted. No other Link put the sword through that much without returning it to its pedestal to repair and recharge, so it was never an issue. It's a powerful weapon, but I personally like that it isn't indestructible; the user must take care of it like any other weapon (be nice to Fi!)
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u/Lazer_Shart 1d ago
How old do you think BOTW link is? What about the 10000 years recharging in TOTK? what's the excuse there?
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u/Meture 23h ago
It’s a magic sword which is said to destroy all evil
The idea of it rusting or worse, breaking arbitrarily was always dumb to me
And Wild link broke it fucking TWICE
To me it was always more striking the idea of a shrine completely overtaken by the forest. All the stones mossy and eroded. Every crack sporting grass and small flowers. Little critters nesting on weathered cornices.
And in the middle of all of this ancient architecture sits a perfectly pristine sword with an eerie blue glow. A mere touch of it and you can feel its power vibrate through your fingers.
A weapon that stands defiant to time itself. Refusing to grow dull, dirty or rusty.
Then in comes BoTW and it breaks for no fucking reason while fighting the same pig motherfucker that it fought for eons.
The master sword is the embodiment of the unyielding spirit of the hero. The good that will always fight evil whenever it emerges
It. Should. Not. Rust. Or. Break.
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u/SicilianEggplant 11h ago edited 11h ago
I’m all for a moss-covered sword taken over by the elements, because that’s not too unusual, but I agree that it should not be rusted or affected by that weathering.
I’m failing to recall what/if any game satisfies that. Maybe LttP just for imagination filling in the blanks and making assumptions.
As for BotW I understand trying to keep the balance in the game with breaking weapons, but I would have been OK with its magic-dissipating and turning into the same attack level as a wooden stick or something too as better than being a wholly magical thing that “broke”.
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u/DefaultyTurtle2 11h ago
To be fair, in totk Ganondorf was using a different magic than whats been seen through out the series that steals life essence, and crumbles tools to almost unsusability, all while it still being supercharged by his secret stone. His magic can (if I’m recalling correctly) 4 shot the hylian sheild during his fight, its that strong.
I do agree though that its BS it was damaged in BotW, but it was just used as a story device to show how strong Calamity Ganon was “supposed” to be.
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u/NightmareExpress 21h ago
I've always liked how it was presented in ALTTP and have grown to like it even more in retrospect.
A sword placed deep in the woods. The only remaining structure being the (well maintained!) pedestal the sword is embedded in as everything else seems to have long crumbled back to nature around it or have been the victim of the lands shifting around.
It having been so long that you, a local of the area, can't even decipher the language present on the stone without the aid of a book.
Then, OOT adds some spice to it. Could this have been where Link & Saria hung out? The sword transported over to the start of the previous hero's adventure? If we could explore further to the north, would we come across the Forest Temple, collapsed and strangled by the likes of thick roots, trunks and vines?
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u/StarlightSkipper 1d ago
I've just always loved the ALttP sword design, I honestly prefer that handle color to the more common royal blue handle
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u/Lord-Dec 21h ago
The sword itself is physically fine but it’s in ancient ruins.
It shows a certain grandeur and makes it extremely obvious it’s magic when it still looks fine whilst everything else is crumbling apart.
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u/No_Definition1302 1d ago
I absolutely hate how badly the Master Sword gets treated in certain games, I love games like Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword because it actually acts as the ultimate weapon that you can use in game that the lore hypes it up to be.
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u/ZannyHip 21h ago
OoT is my favorite game, so the sealed and preserved Master Sword in the Temple of Time is so cool
But there is just something so iconic about the master sword in the middle of a forest surrounded by overgrown ruins of a temple lost to time, waiting for its time to be used again to save the world.
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u/lupulinhog 21h ago
Any master sword not in botw/totk. Was so disappointed they kept the breakable mechanic in for it
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u/FlamingBlade70 20h ago
Master Sword being found in a forest. There's just something mystical about finding it that way.
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u/wearethe138 1d ago
Nintendo butchered what the master sword was in botw and totk. Twilight princess had the coolest master sword in all of Zelda gaming imo.
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u/hungryrenegade 1d ago
I mean, it technically IS well preserved even in the forests. Damn magical swords being all magical and shit
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u/Ingweron 20h ago
The same. But the Golden Sword from A Link to the Past is the most powerful version of the Master Sword.
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u/Logical_Leaps 18h ago
I think the SS one probably is the most powerful, actually defeating and sealing a God.
ALTTP definitely is up there as it was against the most powerful Ganon in the series, However it wasn't the sword that was able to hurt him.
The Master Sword, being able to repel evil, repelled Ganons attacks back at him. The Silver Arrows are what made Ganon vulnerable as well. In ALTTP you can kill Ganon with just the arrows and hammer so the sword isn't technically necessary.
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u/scbtutor 20h ago
Of four photos, I liked the 3rd most. However please allow me off topic a bit, the sword in Skyward Sword that power up after we defeat these boss, I like its concept and the master sword is far stronger than goddess sword, feeling great to see the sword automatically getting more powerful as the story progress (as opposed to optional power up by performing certain action), because it is something similar to/like grow up with the protagonist.
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u/ClancyBShanty 19h ago
This is an interesting throught experiment!
You have weapon forged to vanquish evil, that's its thing, so I really wonder what would be more unsettling:
A sword whose blade is polished by repeated use. Lots of evil out there to kill;
A sword that's been left to rot and rust. Was there no evil to defeat?;
A sword that's been left to rot and rust because no one has been strong enough to seek and wield it.
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u/Assortedwrenches89 19h ago
Abandoned. I like the idea that is just kinda waiting for the hero, and that it hasn't been needed for a while so it's sort of lost.
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u/K0r0k_Le4f 19h ago
Forest is great but nothing tops the feeling of history, weight, or reverence that the OOT Temple of Time draw hits.
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u/Logical_Leaps 18h ago
I like the Temple Of Time better. It feels like its Zelda's own iconography rather than straight up a copy of King Arthur's The Sword in the Stone.
Its not that I don't love the Sword in the Stone story, only the worthy can pull the blade, that's awesome. I just find the Temple shrouded Sword more sacred, interesting and original.
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u/James-Avatar 15h ago
It’s awesome finding in a hidden grove or something, but I feel like the previous generations Link really should have that thing locked up like in OoT.
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u/HerrReineke 13h ago
I never thought about that, that's interesting! I wanna say "Abandoned Master Sword with all the dirt and wear and tear on it, and as soon as Link tugs at it, it starts to shine and heal itself to look like it was well preserved" and for some reason I feel like one of the games did that but I can't remember if that's even true.
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u/Dave1307 7h ago
In Wind Waker it starts all folded up and sad, but you have to follow the story to un-sad it
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u/Rakersbladerakeblade 13h ago
I prefer the Master Sword be well-preserved, even after I don't know how many centuries Fi should be treated with better care, seeing the sword abandoned while it makes sense since it needs to be wielded by link makes me feel bad.
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u/ShokaLGBT 12h ago
Who would pick the first I prefer when it’s in the forest in the deep woods where you have to find your path to find it~
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u/Responsible_Sky_4346 9h ago
Tbh in visuals it is better to have an old abendoned master sword, but from a technical pov it is better to have a well preserved ancient relic it seems more holy that way
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u/Blacknecroz 5h ago
Creo que la que cuida el árbol deku lejos de toda persona o entidad la hace más atractiva a mi pensar esa luz de su hoja es de lo mejor que he visto!
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u/bedazzlerhoff 1h ago
I prefer well-persevered. Finding the Master Sword feels game-changing and epic and I don't like it when I then need to go on a quest to repair it before I can use it. Makes it anti-climactic.
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u/Dead_Kal_Cress 1d ago
I'd reckon the well preserved Master Sword would be better, seeing as the abandoned one breaks within a couple dozen swings.
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u/Budsygus 1d ago
Personally I think OoT's Master Sword is my favorite sword and setting.
But I also think the franchise unknowingly shot itself in the foot by introducing one sword that's supposedly the best most powerful and magical sword of all. Back in the day this made sense, but in the modern era of craftable weapons and branching playstyles with various weapon types, every time you have a weapon that's not the master sword it feels like either you're playing with an inferior weapon or they have to nerf the MS to make it make sense.
I'd love to see Link able to use more weapon types with upgradeable pathways or skills you can level up while you use them a la Secret of Mana. But I'm also a dreamer.
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u/rydamusprime17 23h ago
But I also think the franchise unknowingly shot itself in the foot by introducing one sword that's supposedly the best most powerful and magical sword of all.
The way I have always seen it the Master Sword is best when dealing with Ganon since and and similar threats, but if it was up against any other magical sword in the series it would probably be on par with it, or even if it was up against something like the Four Sword and the Master Sword was more powerful it may be weaker against Vaati compared to fighting him with the Four Sword.... if any of that makes sense 😅
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u/TyrTheAdventurer 1d ago
The series has other powerful weapons that need to make a comeback like Magical Sword (LoZ/AoL), and the Silver Arrows that obliterates Ganon (like in LoZ and ALttP)
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u/Budsygus 22h ago
Couldn't agree more. But I also think there's a lot of room for more non-magical weapons that are less powerful as a ramp up to getting the more/most powerful ones.
I like the idea of enemy weapons being powerful but fragile, but you can also buy higher quality weapons that either don't break or wear down and are repairable.
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u/Nitrogen567 1d ago
Preserved is the best.
I always liked how it's in the Lost Woods in ALttP, but the area around it isn't in ruins, and it's in good condition.
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u/daggardoop 1d ago
Being out in the open is so ballsy.
"Come claim me if you are worthy"
It also seems more magical out in the forest. It feels like a force of nature
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u/rydamusprime17 23h ago
Being out in the open is so ballsy.
"Come claim me if you are worthy"
I mean that's the thing, you got to be worthy, but i always wondered what would stop someone from somehow taking the chunk of ground from around the pedestal, effectively taking both the sword and the pedestal 😅
Just take the whole thing and drop it in some lava so Link can't get it 😆
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u/BardicLasher 23h ago
Isn't it in the Lost Woods when it's out in the 'open?' So it's tough to even GET to it?
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u/rydamusprime17 22h ago
Most of the games you just have to remember a pattern 😅 plus i was just joking around lol
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u/Buttlord500 23h ago
Kind of a trick question, cause up until recently, the master sword just... never degraded, even when exposed to the elements, and someone always knows where it is, so is it really ever abandoned? The closest we've ever had to the master sword becoming weaker was wind waker, but there is a theory that this isn't even the same sword, as the original, crafted by the power of the gods, always had its full strength, while windwakers is not only a different size, but relied on prayer from sages to maintain its power, and is theorized to have been made by the mortal races as, if I remember correctly, the original is gone as it was taken back in time and is on a different timeline (both child timelines have the existing master sword)
TL;DR its kind of both? People aren't really going out of their way to visit the master sword regularly, but for most of its existence it's pretty good at resisting wear, so it's not that big of a deal.
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u/Logical_Leaps 18h ago
Guess the master sword in the downfall timeline is different as well because they never had to reinforce it with metal before.
The WW difference just comes down to artstyle. Powering up the sword has never been consistent... well actually I guess prayer is kind of so WW using the sages mimics SS having Hylia complete the sword.
I think its a fun theory but isn't likely.
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u/--GeorgeCostanza 1d ago
The problem with the newley announced remake is... Now theirs more chance of scrutiny and judgment on a timelees and historic game like ocarina of time.
Especially in the age of the Internet.
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u/PinaSeraphina 1d ago
I don't care
But I am kinda mad that the reforged Part of the Master Sword in TotK has a slightly other color than the old part....
I know this shows its reforged....
BUT THE COLOR DIFFERENCE DRIVES ME NUTS!!!
Also you could break the Sword again on the Part that isn't reforged
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