I don't want BOTW's best DLC item in Tears of Kingdoms

Sometimes an item can be great and still not belong, like Breath of the Wild's best DLC additions and Kingdom Tears.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will undoubtedly see the return of some beloved features from Breath of the Wild, but a great item that appeared in its predecessor DLC is better off not returning. Tears of Kingdoms faces the daunting task of bringing the first game's incredible new world to life again. Including the wrong item, no matter how much it offers, can prove to be negative.

The Legend of Zelda series has never had much downloadable content, but Breath of the Wild has an expansion pack that includes two DLC packs. The first pack offers several new challenges and exploration modes, including higher difficulty settings and a new fast travel tool. The second pack adds a story expansion (and master loop) to the BOTW DLC Song of Champions, some armor sets, and an Ancient Bridle and Ancient Saddle to simplify the horse crossing. While this last set of items has proven beneficial to many players, there is skepticism about its future prospects given what is best for Tears of Kingdoms.

Tears Of The Kingdom Should Leave BOTW's Ancient Saddle Behind

Ancient Saddle changes how mounts work in Breath wildness. The game features a horse whistle, which is a fairly standard game feature, but its effect is usually limited. The whistle can only call to one nearby horse, so leaving a horse behind requires some backtracking to mount again. The Ancient Saddle, on the other hand, allows the horse to teleport to the player's location when summoned, removing any consequences of giving up a rare mount in BOTW, and providing a quick escape if necessary. This is incredibly handy for post-game or repeat runs in Breath of the Wild, but it should be ignored in Tear of the Wild.

The Ancient Saddle Hurts Breath Of The Wild's Exploration

One aspect of Breath of the Wild that sets it apart from other open world games is its sense of space and exploration, and the Ancient Saddle undermines this. Traveling in the game never feels like a waste of time, as each trip calls out new things on the roadside. Dismounting to search ruins or climbing promising cliffs often brings its own adventure. Impossible to call the horse back after these excursions Link pulls the player back on the road, creating an exploration loop as The rhythm of the game.

By temporarily leaving the ancient saddle, exploration in TOTK can regain the sense of natural progression of BOTW and aspire to new heights of player engagement and discovery. Even if the restrictions on calling horses can feel inconvenient at times, the gameplay benefits are worth it. If the ancient saddle does return to The Legend of Zelda: Tear of the Kingdom, it will be the most popular post-game reward, allowing players to experience the world for the first time in the best possible way.

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