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Choose The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom if you want the stronger side-quest package overall. Its optional missions do more with memorable characters, longer chains, story connections, and meaningful rewards. Breath of the Wild is still the better fit for players who want side content to stay loose, lightly tracked, and discovered on their own terms. “Better” depends on how much direction you want: Tears of the Kingdom improves quest writing and presentation, while Breath of the Wild preserves a purer sense of unstructured exploration.
Quick verdict
For most players comparing the two games specifically on optional missions, Tears of the Kingdom wins. The sequel gives side quests more narrative weight, extends them into connected chains, and more often uses rewards or character moments to make a detour feel worthwhile. It also gives you clearer objective trails, which reduces the chance of losing track of what an NPC asked you to do.
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That improvement comes with a trade-off. Some players loved Breath of the Wild because its optional activities felt less like a checklist and more like discoveries made while wandering. If explicit objectives, a busy journal, or being pointed toward the next step makes exploration feel over-managed, Breath of the Wild can still feel better despite having fewer standard side quests.
| Category | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Character writing and memorable situations | Tears of the Kingdom | Reviews describe more memorable characters, events, and rewards. |
| Long quest chains and story links | Tears of the Kingdom | Some optional chains connect to the wider story or point toward its next lead. |
| Loose, self-directed discovery | Breath of the Wild | Its optional content feels less explicitly catalogued and less directive. |
| Help finding unfinished objectives | Tears of the Kingdom | The Adventure Log records active and completed quests and often preserves hints. |
| Amount of standard side-quest content | Tears of the Kingdom | Nintendo Life lists 139 standard Side Quests, compared with 76 in Breath of the Wild. |
The counts establish volume, not quality. They also are not a perfectly like-for-like total: Tears of the Kingdom separates standard Side Quests from a larger Side Adventures category.
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What counts as a side quest in each game?
Breath of the Wild: one broad optional-quest pool
Breath of the Wild presents its ordinary optional missions as side quests. They sit outside the main story and can involve errands, requests from townspeople, exploration leads, or rewards for solving a local problem. The game’s design encourages you to encounter these tasks naturally rather than follow a rigid sequence.
Nintendojo counted 76 side quests in its 2023 review. That figure is useful for comparing the amount of standard optional quest content, but it does not measure how memorable each mission is, how long it takes, or how often its reward changes your play style.
Tears of the Kingdom: Side Quests and Side Adventures are different
The sequel keeps standard Side Quests and adds Side Adventures, a separate category. Nintendo Life’s June 16, 2023 guide lists 139 standard Side Quests and 60 Side Adventures. Side Adventures are generally longer, more story-linked missions involving important non-player characters or special rewards. Treating all 199 entries as ordinary side quests exaggerates the direct comparison with Breath of the Wild.
Standard Side Quests can still reward you with money, items, or armor, while Side Adventures are designed to carry more narrative and structural weight. Shrine Quests are another category and should not be folded into either total when you are asking which game has better side quests.
| Game or category | Reported total | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|
| Breath of the Wild side quests | 76 | Standard optional side quests counted by Nintendojo in 2023. |
| Tears of the Kingdom Side Quests | 139 | Standard Side Quests listed by Nintendo Life on June 16, 2023. |
| Tears of the Kingdom Side Adventures | 60 | A separate, generally longer and more story-linked quest type listed by Nintendo Life on June 16, 2023. |
Why Tears of the Kingdom usually feels better written
More memorable characters and situations
Nintendo Life’s review gives the sequel its clearest advantage: “The sidequests are a lot more interesting with even more memorable characters, events, and rewards, and there are long quest chains that also help point you in the right direction for the story, such as hinting at where to find a missing item.” The statement comes from Nintendo Life’s Tears of the Kingdom review; the captured passage does not identify an individual speaker.
The important distinction is not simply that the sequel has more dialogue or more entries in its log. Its better missions are built around people and situations that create a reason to care about the next step. A request can become part of a chain, reveal a useful lead, or pay off after the world has changed around the characters involved. That gives optional content a stronger sense of progression than a one-off delivery task.
Longer chains create a sense of payoff
In Breath of the Wild, many optional activities are satisfying because they are compact interruptions to exploration. Tears of the Kingdom more often asks you to remember an NPC, return to a location, or follow a sequence whose reward arrives later. Longer chains make the eventual result feel earned, especially when a mission intersects with the game’s larger story or introduces a new clue.
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Tarrey Town is a useful example highlighted by Nintendo Life’s review. You can approach it without spoilers, but the broader point is that the sequel uses a familiar location and its residents as a rewarding optional thread rather than treating every side activity as an isolated transaction. The appeal comes from seeing relationships and circumstances develop, not from a single payout.
Story connection without making every quest mandatory
The sequel’s strongest optional missions can point you toward the main narrative without forcing you to complete them in a prescribed order. A quest may hint at where to find a missing item or identify a person who can clarify the next lead. That kind of signposting is useful when you want the world to guide you but still want freedom to postpone the objective.
This is a meaningful improvement for players who found Breath of the Wild’s optional content too detached from its central story. It also explains why another player might dislike the change: once a journal records several leads and a quest chain signals its next destination, the act of getting lost becomes less central to the experience.
Where Breath of the Wild still has the advantage
Optional content feels less managed
Breath of the Wild’s appeal is not that every side quest is deeper. Its strength is that the game often lets you decide what counts as a quest at all. You can follow a character’s hint, investigate a landmark, or ignore an objective for hours while climbing, gliding, and experimenting. The world remains the primary organizer of your time.
Nintendojo’s comparison captures the trade-off: the sequel’s explicit objectives can be welcome structure for players who wanted more direction, while fans of Breath of the Wild’s deliberately unstructured exploration may find the added guidance intrusive. Neither response is incorrect. The same marker that saves one player from forgetting an unfinished request can make another feel that the game has converted discovery into a task list.
Fewer entries can make each detour feel lighter
With 76 reported side quests, Breath of the Wild offers less standard optional content than the sequel. That smaller pool can make the activity around a town or stable feel less crowded. You are less likely to open the journal and see a long backlog of partially explored objectives, and you can move on without feeling that you have left a large portion of the game unaddressed.
This is not a claim that every one of the 76 quests is more distinctive. It is a statement about presentation and mental load. Players who prefer a small number of loose leads may experience the original’s restraint as a feature rather than a deficiency.
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Variety and rewards: which game makes detours worthwhile?
Tears of the Kingdom offers more reward types in the comparison
Nintendo Life’s Side Quest guide notes rewards such as money, items, and armor. The sequel’s larger quest structure also creates room for outcomes that feel different from a single payment. A longer chain can provide a special reward, open a new lead, or resolve a character’s situation over several stages.
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Breath of the Wild keeps rewards subordinate to exploration
In the original, the reward is often a nudge rather than the reason to continue. You may accept a request because you are already in the area, because an NPC’s problem catches your attention, or because solving it gives you another excuse to explore. That design suits players who do not want every optional mission to promise a major upgrade or story reveal.
If you judge side quests by how often they produce a memorable character moment or a reward you will remember hours later, Tears of the Kingdom has the edge. If you judge them by how naturally they blend into free-form travel, Breath of the Wild remains competitive.
Quest structure and direction
The sequel gives you a clearer trail
Tears of the Kingdom is more explicit about what you have accepted and what remains to be done. Longer chains can identify their next objective, and story-linked missions can point you toward a relevant person, place, or item. This reduces the need to remember every detail from a conversation.
That clarity is especially valuable in a game where you can leave a quest for dozens of hours. You can pursue another region, experiment with building, or focus on combat and still return to an organized list when you are ready.
The original leaves more room for interpretation
Breath of the Wild generally asks you to rely more on location clues, environmental reading, and your own memory. The result can be satisfying when you enjoy assembling a plan from incomplete information. It can also be frustrating when an NPC’s hint is vague or when you return after a long break and cannot recall why a location mattered.
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Therefore, “more direction” is not automatically “better design.” It is a usability improvement for one kind of player and a reduction in mystery for another.
Using the Adventure Log without turning the game into a checklist
Nintendo Support explains that started and completed quests can be viewed in the Adventure Log, and that many entries include hints or reminders. Characters may point you toward areas without dictating a single route, so the log is a reference tool rather than a requirement to clear every entry.
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- Open the Adventure Log when you resume after a break. Check the active quest description before travelling so you recover the immediate context.
- Read the hint instead of searching every possible location. Use the reminder to narrow the region, then choose your own route and timing.
- Leave a quest inactive when you want unguided exploration. You can pursue another objective or simply travel without treating every marker as an obligation.
- Review completed entries only when you need to verify progress. The log can confirm that a chain stage is finished without requiring you to retrace the entire conversation.
Because each player’s exploration experience differs, there is no correct completion order. The journal exists to help you resume a thread, not to define what a successful playthrough must include.
Which game has more engaging side quests?
Choose Tears of the Kingdom if you value narrative payoff
- You want optional missions with memorable characters and events.
- You enjoy quest chains that develop over multiple stages.
- You like side content that can hint at the wider story or a missing item.
- You want rewards that include money, items, armor, and special outcomes.
- You often lose track of NPC requests and prefer a detailed objective log.
- You want the largest amount of standard side-quest content, while keeping Side Adventures in their own category.
Choose Breath of the Wild if you value discovery without much tracking
- You prefer optional objectives to remain loose and easy to ignore.
- You enjoy interpreting hints and deciding for yourself where to go next.
- You dislike a journal that turns every conversation into a persistent task.
- You want exploration to remain the main event, with side quests appearing as incidental discoveries.
- You would rather have a smaller backlog than a larger catalog of unfinished objectives.
Choose based on the kind of “engagement” you mean
“Engaging” can mean several different things. If it means remembering a character, following a chain, and receiving a reward that feels tailored to the mission, the sequel is the clear choice. If it means becoming absorbed in a place without being told exactly what to do, the original can feel more engaging even when its individual quest writing is simpler.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare the games fairly
Do not use quest totals as a quality score
The difference between 76 and 139 standard entries tells you that Tears of the Kingdom contains more listed side-quest content. It does not prove that its quests are twice as good, twice as varied, or twice as satisfying. A count also says nothing about average length, reward value, or how many missions you personally will remember.
Keep Side Adventures separate
The 60 Side Adventures in Tears of the Kingdom are generally longer and more story-linked than standard Side Quests. If you compare the sequel’s 139 standard Side Quests with the original’s 76, you are making the cleanest category comparison. If you want to discuss all optional narrative content, name Side Adventures separately instead of presenting 199 as a direct side-quest total.
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A player who wants a clear next step will experience the sequel’s structure as an improvement. A player who wants to stumble onto solutions may experience the same structure as noise. Include that preference in your verdict rather than treating one interface style as objectively superior.
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Practical recommendation for a first-time player
If you are choosing only one game and side quests are a major part of your decision, start with Tears of the Kingdom. It is the more complete package for optional storytelling: the quest categories are broader, the best chains have stronger character and story payoff, and the Adventure Log makes it easier to return after a long interruption.
Pick Breath of the Wild first when your priority is the feeling of being left alone in a huge world. Its lower count and lighter direction can make optional discoveries feel more personal, particularly if you dislike being shown an explicit trail from one objective to the next.
Neither game requires you to complete every side quest. In both, you can follow only the characters, regions, or rewards that interest you and leave the rest untouched. The sequel simply gives you more structured material to choose from.
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Does Tears of the Kingdom have more side quests than Breath of the Wild?
Yes, using the standard categories reported by the cited guides: 139 Side Quests in Tears of the Kingdom versus 76 side quests in Breath of the Wild. The sequel also has 60 separate Side Adventures, which should not be merged into the standard Side Quest count.
What is the difference between a Side Adventure and a Side Quest?
In Tears of the Kingdom, Side Adventures are a distinct quest type that is generally longer, more story-linked, and more likely to involve key characters or special rewards. Side Quests are the standard optional missions; they can still provide money, items, or armor.
Are the side quests in Tears of the Kingdom connected to the main story?
Some are. Reviews specifically note longer chains that can point you toward the story, including hints about where to find a missing item. The connection varies by quest, so optional content is not one continuous mandatory storyline.
Can I ignore side quests in either game?
Yes. Both games allow you to prioritize the main story, exploration, or any optional objectives that interest you. The Adventure Log in Tears of the Kingdom helps you resume a quest, but it does not require you to complete every listed entry.
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Final verdict
Tears of the Kingdom has better side quests for the majority of players because it improves the areas that make optional content memorable: characters, connected chains, story-aware direction, and varied rewards. Its 139 standard Side Quests and 60 separate Side Adventures also give you more structured material to explore.
Breath of the Wild remains the better choice for a specific but important preference: optional exploration that stays comparatively unstructured and less managed. The fairest answer to “Which game had more engaging side quests?” is therefore conditional. Choose the sequel for richer quest presentation and payoff; choose the original when freedom from explicit objectives is itself the reward.
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