The Zonai from BotW feels so disconnected from what they are from TotK that I feel like there’s an argument to be made that those ruins in Faron aren’t even Zonai. TotK shows the Zonai to be another high-tech civilization completely disconnected from literally everything we could gather from 'em in BotW. Theyre they are presented as an Aztec, warlike tribe and we get the barbarian armor corroborating it. Then here comes the sequel to tell us that those ruins are actually completely meaningless and it just makes me feel completely stupid for even thinking there was something there to begin with. Apparently the Zonai were more advanced than the Sheikah all along. And the worst part is we learn almost nothing about the Zonai during the entirety of TotK. Three whole characters (Rauru, Sonia, Mineru) and their entire civilization's gone for a reason they didn’t care enough to come up with. Also it's weird that Rauru and Sonia don’t seem to have a child. They didn't plan to have an heir to the throne?
It doesn't feel like a mainline sequel but rather a weird spin-off game they came up with to keep people busy 'til the next true mainline title, it feels like BotW + Nuts & Bolts feat. Green Sheikah. Like how do you even make an already completed game feel so much worse?