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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has the better side quests for most players. Its optional stories are more likely to feature memorable characters, multi-step chains, meaningful rewards and clues that connect to the main adventure. Breath of the Wild is still the better fit if you want side content to stay sparse, loosely tracked and discovered with minimal direction. The difference is not simply the number of quests: it is how each game makes optional objectives feel while you are playing.
Quick verdict
| Question | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Which game has more memorable quest characters and situations? | Tears of the Kingdom | Nintendo Life’s review describes its side quests as more interesting, with memorable characters, events and rewards. |
| Which has more story-connected quest chains? | Tears of the Kingdom | Longer chains can point toward the wider story, including clues about where to find a missing item. |
| Which offers more explicit guidance? | Tears of the Kingdom | Its objectives and journal trail make it easier to understand what a quest expects next. |
| Which better preserves unguided exploration? | Breath of the Wild | Its optional content generally feels less catalogued and less directive, which some explorers prefer. |
| Which contains more standard side quests? | Tears of the Kingdom | Guides published in 2023 list 139 standard Side Quests, compared with 76 Side Quests in Breath of the Wild. |
That last row measures volume, not quality. Tears of the Kingdom also has 60 separate Side Adventures, a longer, story-linked category that should not be combined with its standard Side Quest total when making a like-for-like comparison.
What counts as a side quest in each game?
A fair comparison starts with the games’ labels. In Breath of the Wild, the familiar Side Quest category covers optional objectives separate from the main quest. A 2023 Nintendojo review counts 76 of them.
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Therefore, saying that Tears of the Kingdom has “139 side quests” is accurate only when “side quests” means its standard in-game category. Adding the 60 Side Adventures creates a larger total of optional quest-like content, but it does not create a direct comparison with the 76 Side Quests counted for Breath of the Wild. The categories describe different kinds of activity.
Why Tears of the Kingdom’s quest writing feels stronger
Memorable people and events
Nintendo Life’s review makes the clearest qualitative case for the sequel: “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.” That sentence is from Nintendo Life’s Tears of the Kingdom review; it is an assessment, not a player poll or a claim that every quest is universally superior.
The important change is the sense of an unfolding situation. Instead of treating an objective as a single errand that ends when an item is delivered, the sequel more often lets a character, location or problem develop across several steps. A chain gives a return visit a purpose: a later task can pay off something established earlier, introduce a new person, or reveal why the original request mattered.
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Longer chains with a reason to continue
Longer does not automatically mean better. A chain earns its length when each stage changes the player’s understanding of the situation or offers a new kind of activity. Tears of the Kingdom has a stronger reputation because its extended quests can connect optional work to the main story rather than leaving it in a completely separate compartment. The chain may not be required for progress, yet it can supply context or a directional clue that makes the larger adventure easier to follow.
Nintendo Life singles out Tarrey Town as a rewarding example without requiring a spoiler-heavy explanation. The example matters because it demonstrates the sequel’s preferred shape: a recognizable place, returning characters and a sequence that feels like a small story rather than a checklist entry.
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Rewards that reinforce the detour
Rewards in Tears of the Kingdom can include rupees, useful items and armor, according to Nintendo Life’s Side Quest guide. A reward does not need to be the most powerful equipment in the game to be worthwhile. It can compensate for time spent traveling, give a reason to revisit a familiar settlement, or make an otherwise optional objective feel acknowledged by the game.
The sequel’s reward design works best when the outcome matches the story. A character who needed help should react to the resolution; an extended task should provide something that feels more substantial than a single disposable pickup. That combination of recognition and utility is why the sequel’s side content tends to leave a stronger memory even when the mechanical objective is straightforward.
Where Breath of the Wild still has the advantage
Less management, more discovery
Breath of the Wild treats optional exploration with a lighter touch. Nintendojo’s 2023 review presents the trade-off clearly: players who wanted more direction may welcome the sequel’s explicit objectives, while players who valued the earlier game’s unstructured quality may find that structure intrusive.
In the earlier game, a side objective can feel like something you notice while traveling rather than a task list you intend to clear. You may hear a request, see an unusual location or recognize a problem and decide to investigate on your own terms. The game’s lower quest volume and looser presentation leave more room for that personal sequence of discoveries.
Fewer entries can make each detour feel optional
Nintendojo’s count of 76 Side Quests is much lower than the 139 standard Side Quests listed for Tears of the Kingdom. That difference can be read as a shortcoming if you want a large catalogue of stories, but it can also reduce the pressure to process every marker and conversation. Optional content remains optional in a psychological sense: you are less likely to feel that a journal is waiting for completion.
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This is a preference rather than a quality ranking. A player who enjoys wandering without a prescribed order may remember the earlier game’s side content more fondly, even while agreeing that the sequel has richer individual chains.
Unguided moments are part of the appeal
The best Breath of the Wild side-quest experiences often depend on when you encounter them. You might accept a request before you have the ideal equipment, leave it unfinished while exploring, then return later with a solution discovered elsewhere. The looseness can produce a personal story that a more explicit objective trail would make less likely.
That style also means the game can be less convenient when you forget what a character wanted or where you were supposed to go. The same absence of direction that protects discovery can create uncertainty. If you prefer to keep your own notes and follow environmental clues, this is a feature. If you want the game to preserve your place, the sequel is more accommodating.
How direction and the Adventure Log change the experience
When explicit objectives help
Nintendo Support explains that started and completed quests can be viewed in the Adventure Log, and that many entries include hints or reminders. That makes Tears of the Kingdom easier to resume after a long break or after pursuing several objectives at once. You can check the current description instead of returning to every character simply to recover the next step.
Explicit objectives are especially useful when a chain points toward a story location or a missing item. They reduce the chance that a player abandons an otherwise appealing quest because its next action is unclear. The journal also lets you decide which objective to track, so a large catalogue does not have to become a single linear to-do list.
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When direction feels like over-management
The same reminders can change the emotional texture of exploration. A vague request invites experimentation; a precise marker tells you that the game already has a preferred next move. Nintendojo’s criticism is not that guidance is incorrect, but that it can dilute the earlier game’s deliberately unstructured quality.
Players who want the sequel’s writing without surrendering all of that freedom can simply postpone checking the log. Accept a quest, listen carefully to the character and explore naturally; consult the entry only when you are genuinely stuck. The system supports both habits, although the presence of explicit objectives means the game is built more visibly around tracking progress.
Characters still point without dictating one route
Nintendo Support also notes that characters may direct players toward areas without prescribing a single path. That distinction matters. A hint can establish a destination or theme while leaving the route, timing and tools to the player. The sequel is more guided than Breath of the Wild, but it is not a conventional linear quest system in which every action must be performed in a fixed order.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Quest volume: what the numbers do and do not prove
| Game or category | Count | Source and date | What the number represents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breath of the Wild Side Quests | 76 | Nintendojo review, 2023 | Its comparison count for the game’s side-quest content. |
| Tears of the Kingdom standard Side Quests | 139 | Nintendo Life guide, June 16, 2023 | The game’s standard Side Quest category, including rewards such as money, items and armor. |
| Tears of the Kingdom Side Adventures | 60 | Nintendo Life guide, June 16, 2023 | A separate, generally longer and more story-linked quest type. |
The count of 139 establishes that the sequel offers a much larger standard category. It does not establish that every entry is more inventive, that every reward is more valuable or that every player will prefer the denser catalogue. Similarly, the 76-quest figure does not mean the earlier game lacks memorable moments; it describes a smaller pool.
Keep Side Adventures separate when comparing the games. They are closer to extended story episodes than to the ordinary errands represented by the standard Side Quest list. Treating all 199 Tears of the Kingdom entries as one category would make the numerical comparison look precise while mixing unlike activities.
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Which game has more engaging side quests?
Choose Tears of the Kingdom if you value narrative payoff
- You want optional characters and events that are easier to remember after the quest ends.
- You enjoy returning to a chain over several steps instead of completing a single request.
- You appreciate side content that can hint at, or add context to, the wider story.
- You want rewards that can include rupees, items or armor.
- You may play in short sessions and need the Adventure Log’s reminders to resume a quest.
For this player, the sequel is the clear recommendation. Its side content is designed to make optional work feel like part of the world’s ongoing narrative rather than a collection of disconnected favors.
Choose Breath of the Wild if you value unstructured discovery
- You prefer to notice optional objectives while roaming rather than manage a large quest catalogue.
- You dislike explicit markers or reminders telling you what the game expects next.
- You enjoy solving an objective through environmental observation, experimentation or your own notes.
- You want a smaller pool of side quests and do not intend to complete every optional entry.
For this player, Breath of the Wild can feel more engaging precisely because it gives less instruction. The satisfaction comes from constructing your own route and deciding when a detour is worth pursuing.
Choose based on session length and play habits
A player with limited time may find Tears of the Kingdom more practical. The Adventure Log preserves started and completed quests, and its hints can recover context after an interruption. A player who spends long sessions wandering may prefer Breath of the Wild because the lack of a dense objective list keeps the session focused on whatever emerges naturally.
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A practical way to decide before you play
- Identify your preferred source of satisfaction. If you want character arcs and story clues, start with Tears of the Kingdom. If you want surprise and self-directed travel, start with Breath of the Wild.
- Decide how much tracking you tolerate. The sequel’s 139 standard Side Quests and separate Side Adventures create a substantial catalogue. The earlier game’s 76-quest count is less demanding to scan.
- Choose your approach to guidance. Use the Adventure Log freely when you want reminders, or ignore it until necessary if you want to preserve uncertainty.
- Do not use completion percentage as a quality test. A larger list supplies more opportunities, not a guarantee that every objective will be memorable.
- Allow the games’ different strengths to coexist. You can prefer the sequel’s writing while missing the earlier game’s restraint; that is the central trade-off, not a contradiction.
Final judgment
Tears of the Kingdom wins on side-quest writing and presentation. It offers more standard quests, a distinct set of longer Side Adventures, stronger character and event hooks, more substantial chains and clearer links to the main story. Those advantages answer the usual question—“Which game has better side quests?”—with a qualified but meaningful verdict in the sequel’s favor.
Breath of the Wild remains the better choice for a player who considers freedom from quest management part of the fun. Its smaller, less directive catalogue can make an optional discovery feel more personal. The right answer therefore depends on whether “engaging” means being drawn through a well-shaped chain or being left alone to make your own path.
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