The Pause Before The Next Game

In case you’re living under a rock and didn’t notice the final Tears of the Kingdom trailer that dropped today, it was awesome! It’s the one Zelda fans have been yearning for. The hype is real; I predict TotK will win GotY.

But gamers must still wait one more month before picking up a Switch Pro Controller and a six-pack of game fuel to explore the wildly anticipated title. In the meantime, what’s there to play?

For me, that’s an interesting question.

I recently finished the epic Xenoblade Chronicles 3. And with only weeks until TotK, I didn’t want to start a new game and not finish it. Plus I felt I should take it easy between such huge games. So I kept playing XC3 since there was more to explore and obtain. And as if not enough, I haven’t even touched the DLC for it yet.

But now things are playing out differently.

After enjoying XC3 at my leisure, I let myself pause gaming — finishing XC3 was the capstone to a 5-month blitz through JRPGs, after all. And now, I’m starting to feel the itch to start a new game, like, oh I don’t know, Octopath Traveler II that I just bought in February, or Tales of Symphonia Remastered. Or maybe I should pause until April 19th when Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster lands on Switch.

Those JRPGs are sure to be great plays, but JRPGs are not short or light. So I’ve got two other good options tugging at me. One is simply visiting my island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Yeah, I’m gonna get back to it, I mean it. But thanks to watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie, I fancy some good ol’ platforming action, like Super Mario Odyssey.

It’s hard to settle. But it’s nice to have so many great options. Without playing one of these games, I’m not sure how I’ll wait until May 12 to start Tears of the Kingdom. Many gamers are apparently replaying parts of Breath of the Wild to prep for TotK. I played some BotW myself a week ago for a session, wanting to check out the Zonai ruins in the jungle biome.

If nothing else, I can rewatch all the TotK trailers over the next 4 weeks.