The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Human Snorenado]

I'm probably going to beat the game tomorrow. Only have the Rito Divine Beast left. I've got plenty of hearts and stamina, I think. Only done about half the shrines but meh. Got the Master Sword. Will probably fill in the memories, craft a bunch of ancient arrows, and after beating the Rito beast just beat it.

So far the dungeons have been underwhelming. They feel kind of like a couple shrines stapled together. But, that's my only real complaint with the game. Other than the fact that it's on gimped, underpowered gimmicky hardware, obviously.

Still, best Zelda and I'm pretty confident in saying that.

[archie4208]

The Mipha arc was kinda sad. 

[bluemax]

The Rito arc was really short and it is weird how easy it was. I almost feel like even if I didn't have all the stuff I have the Rito area is the easiest area to explore and find shrines.

There are honestly a lot of of areas in the game that if you did just the story you would never really have any reason to go to. But I enjoy that there is something to find if you do go to them.

[I'm a Puppy!]

I'm totally running a weird campaign here. Just sorta picking a direction and going "that way" for a stint. Did Gerudos first then did the Zora domain. Decided to explore and found the Gorons. Need more food/money so just picking a direction and finding shrines/encampments. God, I miss this type of gaming.  I'd love to see a Metroid like this, but it sorta goes against the whole Metroid concept of "get x item, use x item to go to y place".

[Human Snorenado]

I'm totally running a weird campaign here. Just sorta picking a direction and going "that way" for a stint. Did Gerudos first then did the Zora domain. Decided to explore and found the Gorons. Need more food/money so just picking a direction and finding shrines/encampments. God, I miss this type of gaming.  I'd love to see a Metroid like this, but it sorta goes against the whole Metroid concept of "get x item, use x item to go to y place".

Breath of the Wild wasn't afraid to turn the Zelda concept of "get X item, use it Y dungeon and pretty much not at all for the rest of the game" on it's head, though.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Agreed. I think a Metroid like this would be astounding.
Too bad, Metroid is dead

[Bebpo]

I still think each area could've had a unique ability you get for that areas' quest and then use for the dungeon and gives you access to some new overworld areas/secerts.  You sorta do in Zora with the

spoiler (click to show/hide)

swimming up waterfalls ability

[close]

but then nothing in the other dungeon story arcs.

Like I think a middleground between "give you everything" and the old zelda "give you x, use it for dungeon y, never really use it again". 


The final dungeon could've made you use all the dungeon arc abilities to solve puzzles since it'd know you have them by it.  But then they'd have to force you to do all the dungeons before beating the game and I guess they wanted it to be free form where you could run straight to the final boss whenever.

[I'm a Puppy!]

The old Miyamoto rule of "The player must see some place they can't get to." is completely gone now. I can't see going back to it in a 3d zelda.

[bluemax]

I kind of like that the shrines forced me to think of new applications of the 4 base powers as well arrows. There's a lot of stuff I started doing in combat or traversal that I learned from doing shrine puzzles.

I don't think you can achieve that with the old Zelda formula.

[Human Snorenado]

Finished it. Overall, a great game, will have to think on it but almost certainly the best Zelda game ever and thus high in the running for best Nintendo game ever, which at this stage of their existence is a complete and total shock to me. If Nintendo has to go down, please go down with more titles of this caliber and less in the way of stupid gimmicks, plz.

[TakingBackSunday]

Eventide was tits.  Not hard though.  All about using bombs and stasis.

[I'm a Puppy!]

So I went around did some more shrines, did the thunder trial, I really love how the game is like "You have to accomplish X, how you do it, we don't care." In everything. I'm now bypassing the Rito and heading up to the do the Goron Guardian (wtf? more "stealth", can I just shoot down these sentries?, typically I'd by pass all this shit with my massive stamina but I gotta escort this dude, it's very Anouma-esque and I don't mean that in a good way).

I would love to see how they came up with the concept of this game, what caused the paradigm shift. Anouma has done great work with the series, but I don't see him thinking this outside the box, and while Miyamoto is brilliant this CERTAINLY didn't come from him. It's a new generation idea. Are there any articles or videos that go into how it all came together? As a case study in change it'd be fascinating. As it is, this is so good, it outdoes everything else. Like Zelda 1, Links Awakening and LttP were all variations and expansions on a theme. Then from OoT to Skyward sword it's another theme but just variations on that.  When you play LttP going back after OoT it was great but it felt like a different series practically. I have that same feeling here. That after this, it's going to be Zelda-LttP, OoT-Skyward Sword, and then BotW and everything (if anything) after it.

[TakingBackSunday]

As far as I understand it, this was something Aonuma spearheaded and was something he wanted to do since Twilight Princess, but Skyward Sword was tapped to be the MVP for motion based controls so they had to divert a bit.  They experimented with the concept in ALBW and went full speed with open endedness with this.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

Out of curiosity, how did you do the Thunder plains? I got the two orbs onto the platform via a combination of octoballoons and kinetic energy via stasis, but the whole time I thought I had to be doing it weird.

[archie4208]

http://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-director-inspired-by-minecraft-and-terraria-talks-developing-for-switch/

The director was a big fan of Minecraft and Terraria.

“I was rather inspired by playing Minecraft and Terraria. I was able to learn from the gameplay and the possibilities found in. I could learn from the sense of adventure, exploration and how it inspired curiosity.”

Notch singlehandedly reviving the Zelda series. 

[I'm a Puppy!]

Out of curiosity, how did you do the Thunder plains? I got the two orbs onto the platform via a combination of octoballoons and kinetic energy via stasis, but the whole time I thought I had to be doing it weird.

There was a rock platform on the east side that was lower but parallel so what I did was I used the barrells  with stasis to get it up there. I didn't think about octoballoons lol.

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Picked up a Switch along with Zelda last week because it was there but I haven't even had the time to open the Switch box and turn it on.  It's still sitting on our dinning room table.  Not sure when the hell I'll ever get to play this thing.... :/  It'll sit there along with Horizon Zero Dawn until god only knows.

Just too fucking busy anymore.

[bluemax]

Out of curiosity, how did you do the Thunder plains? I got the two orbs onto the platform via a combination of octoballoons and kinetic energy via stasis, but the whole time I thought I had to be doing it weird.

I just put them on a ledge and launched them with a weapon and stasis.

Finished the game today. Was only planning on making a short trip into Hyrule Castle but ended up finishing. Still have 31 shrines and 36 side quests so I'll probably keep going for awhile despite completing the story.

[Human Snorenado]

lulz, this guy should really whine some more

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/god-help-me-i-dont-like-the-new-legend-of-zelda-game-1793718635

[benjipwns]

Can I play this on my PC yet?

Yeah, and as soon as 1.7.4 comes out, the game will be a whole lot more playable 

[Trent Dole]

Ah, SOON, then.

[bork]

A patch got released for the Wii U and Switch versions.  Seems to address a lot of framerate issues.

[fistfulofmetal]

I finished it finally. Just needed to go in and beat Ganon. Decent little ending. Weird that it doesn't let you explore a post-Ganon world. Would have been interesting.

[BobFromPikeCreek]

A patch got released for the Wii U and Switch versions.  Seems to address a lot of framerate issues.

I've been burned by this kind of thing too many times. Like the time the obscene Bloodborne loading times got patched out the day after I platinumed it.

[demi]

You enjoyed the game that much anyway, I doubt a patch would make a difference.

[a slime appears]

I finally beat the game over a week ago and I've been slowly going through and trying to find and complete all the shrines.

I guess it's not surprising that the hardest enemy in the game is

spoiler (click to show/hide)

a Silver Lynel but knowing how to hop on their backs for a bunch of cheap shots makes the fights much easier.

[close]

On a related note apparently all Zelda related amiibo are now super pricey online, rofl.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Me: "Oooh this climbing stuff is fun and useful! I'm going to spend all my spirit orbs on stamina!"
Deku Tree: "LOL hope you didn't ignore your hearts."
Me: "Fuck"

Gotta find 8 more shrines now.

[TakingBackSunday]

Gerudo Town is so fucking cool

[Human Snorenado]

Me: "Oooh this climbing stuff is fun and useful! I'm going to spend all my spirit orbs on stamina!"
Deku Tree: "LOL hope you didn't ignore your hearts."
Me: "Fuck"

Gotta find 8 more shrines now.

You can swap em out.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Me: "Oooh this climbing stuff is fun and useful! I'm going to spend all my spirit orbs on stamina!"
Deku Tree: "LOL hope you didn't ignore your hearts."
Me: "Fuck"

Gotta find 8 more shrines now.

You can swap em out.

Wha?? Where?

[Bebpo]

Horned goddess statue somewhere.  You can google it.

[TakingBackSunday]

Me: "Oooh this climbing stuff is fun and useful! I'm going to spend all my spirit orbs on stamina!"
Deku Tree: "LOL hope you didn't ignore your hearts."
Me: "Fuck"

Gotta find 8 more shrines now.

You can swap em out.

Wha?? Where?

Hateno.  Check out the little pond underneath your house if you ended up buying one.

[bluemax]

I finally beat the game over a week ago and I've been slowly going through and trying to find and complete all the shrines.

I guess it's not surprising that the hardest enemy in the game is

spoiler (click to show/hide)

a Silver Lynel but knowing how to hop on their backs for a bunch of cheap shots makes the fights much easier.

[close]

On a related note apparently all Zelda related amiibo are now super pricey online, rofl.

Yeah when a speed runner said they were going up I checked on Ebay and saw that the two Zelda amiibo I bought way back were worth $50 in box. I actually bought one because I thought I had heard it was rare, so I guess I could flip it now.

Although I only have 2/3 of the Wind Waker clothes, soooo I dunno!

[Sho Nuff]

Finished.

That's probably the best game Nintendo's made in ten years

[archie4208]

Mario Galaxy was 10 years ago so I think you're right. 

...Mario Galaxy was 10 years ago. 

[a slime appears]

This has been my go to casual game for just screwing around. Puzzlin' around to get more shrines is more fun in of itself than most other games out there right now.

[demi]

Yeah when a speed runner said they were going up I checked on Ebay and saw that the two Zelda amiibo I bought way back were worth $50 in box. I actually bought one because I thought I had heard it was rare, so I guess I could flip it now.

Speedrunners buy the programmable NFC chips. You can do the same to get all the amiibo items, including items that aren't out yet.

Apparently WiiU players use homebrew to be able to map buttons and do whistle sprinting without straining their fingers.

[I'm a Puppy!]

So I finished it. I was really disappointed to not have Ganondorf in it. I think that would've been awesome. Still, not a bad Ganon fight. I love the multiple ways to get to the boss thing. That was brilliant. Really though, this could've used better music.

I admit I was in a bit of a hurry to finish the game so I can start Persona 5 (got my copy , waiting til I get home Thursday to start). So I missed the last memory that you get in the castle. After I plow through some of my backlog, I'll play it again at a much more leisurely pace.

Was sorta surprised at how sparse the ending was. It was just like "OK, it's done. Game end." Which is fine. That's how it used to be, but honestly, I think even Link to the Past had a more involved ending.

Sorta brings up the weird thing about this game. The world is lush and full and amazing but everything else is sparse, almost terse.  Yeah there's the gaurdian cut scenes which could be verbose but outside of that the music was a good example of post modern minimalism. And the ending was sparse and I'm used to having all this dialogue before the final fight and that wasn't there either. Just interesting that in a game with such a fully realized world the music would be so small and the story too. I could have done with more music, but the story was just fine.

The moment I finished it my daughter was like "I wanna play this now!" And started right away.

[team filler]

I've never really bothered with open world games. Getting my ass kicked a lot

[Boredfrom]

That was a pretty underwhelming ending, but then again I feel the game setting was better before I started unlock memories as this version of Zelda character... is lame as fuck (the voice acting didnt help). Feels like a step backwards in the story department specially since the basic setting and story could have been pretty awesome.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Wind Waker still has the best Post apocalyptic setting in the franchise, a better Zelda and better story climax.

[close]

But in any case, great game overall.

[Bebpo]

It's definitely a game about the journey, and making your own adventure across the land they give you, rather than the destination.  You really get to carve your own path, especially early on when you have no idea what's in any of these areas.  I don't really mind that the endgame/ending is just kinda eh.  Could be better sure with a final dungeon that makes use of all the abilities in the most complex puzzles and boss fights, but game was great already before it.

And yeah, Wind Waker has the best story in the series for sure.  Old Sad Ganon and Boat King really made that game.  I think the support cast isn't too bad in this one though.  I expected them to be more annoying, but some of the stories were kinda of sombering considering:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

they're all dead

[close]

[Boredfrom]

I feel that Zora domain arc was the only one that actually explored the ramifications of having

spoiler (click to show/hide)

their Champion dead after the calamity

[close]

Gerudo Town was an awesome setting but little to do with their champion. The supporting characters are not bad but they truly become just there after you did their quest related with their champion.

I liked Hyrule Castle as final area, but I was already in the idea that it would be more combat or stealth focused as the big selling point of this game is that is so open that you can kill the final boss with minimal equipment if you are good enough, so I already expected be light in puzzles (If any). I would prefer if the next game actually tries having a mega central dungeon that is puzzle/equipment progress focused. Like a no shitty version of the main dungeon of Phantom Hourglass, that you don't need to progress to unlock new areas but there is benefits in exploring it early on.

[Bebpo]

Tbh, I hated Hyrule Castle but I'm in the minority on that.  I just found it really unsatisfying that I just walk in, kill some dudes, and head to the boss room and that was it.  Even exploring afterwards there's lots of cool areas in it, but very little reason to go to them.  I think the castle would've been better if like the main entrance to the final boss has a gate with 5 locks and you have to go to 5 areas in the castle and get a key or something.  The actual final boss fight was ok, but yeah I didn't care for the castle, especially since I really liked the 4 puzzle dungeons and was hoping for a big final dungeon.

[Human Snorenado]

I didn't even bother fucking with Hyrule castle. Climb up it on the north side, you can bypass all enemies and go directly into the room Ganon's in.

[TakingBackSunday]

Yeah the ending was quite bad, but the rest of the game was so so good

[archie4208]

I wanted more areas like Hyrule Castle.  Shrines are fine, but I loved having a big indoor locale to explore.

[fistfulofmetal]

girlfriend started playing and she's managed to see and do so much stuff in the first 10 hours that I completely missed/avoided.

[chronovore]

https://imgur.com/gallery/575xtKc

[a slime appears]

GOT ALL ONE TWENTY

 

[I'm a Puppy!]

girlfriend started playing and she's managed to see and do so much stuff in the first 10 hours that I completely missed/avoided.

Yeah. Same with watching my daughter play it. I was like "Oh, I never saw that!"

I wonder, where will Zelda go from here? I think it would be awesome to get a remake of the first zelda in the breath of the wild style. You'd have to redo the dungeons, but to me I think it makes sense.

[ToxicAdam]

For me that's the most exciting thing about this game. It's like a new platform they can build off of and make even better.

[TakingBackSunday]

For me that's the most exciting thing about this game. It's like a new platform they can build off of and make even better.

The concept of this "open-air" design with more focused dungeons makes me hard.

[team filler]

I'm not a PC gamer, but I feel like Nintendo should port BOTW PC. It's too big of a game to be exclusive to one console.

[Beezy]

It's on the Switch and Wii U. That's 2 consoles.

[fistfulofmetal]

During the Waterblight Ganon fight in Ruta's dungeon, my girlfriend accidentally chose the stasis power when trying to destroy the ice block and found out you can send the ice blocks back at it, dealing damage. I didn't even do that. I just shot it with arrows. Her method was way more efficient.

[Great Rumbler]

Just finished off the second sacred beast, the camel in the Gerudo desert. I'm really in love with this game, even if I do get constantly frustrated by how often I get myself killed. It's mostly my own fault for playing too sloppily, put a lot of the enemies pack a pretty mean punch and can one-shot me [or close to it]. I didn't play Skyward Sword, but I don't remember Twilight Princess being a particularly tough game. I could honestly take or leave the combat, it's not my favorite part of the game, but the exploration of the world and it handles the puzzle shrines and the sacred beasts is just so good.

At the risk of being overly dramatic, Breath of the Wild has gone a long way in restoring my faith in Nintendo's game-making ability.

[Human Snorenado]

BotW is by far the hardest Zelda game, IMO. Well, it's not even really HARD per se, as there were very few encounters where my own hubris wasn't what got me killed, and the game auto-saves frequently so you rarely lose a lot of progress. But, you can and probably will die a lot.

[Bebpo]

During the Waterblight Ganon fight in Ruta's dungeon, my girlfriend accidentally chose the stasis power when trying to destroy the ice block and found out you can send the ice blocks back at it, dealing damage. I didn't even do that. I just shot it with arrows. Her method was way more efficient.

Nice, yeah I did it with arrows and then I realized later I couldn't just used the ice power to shatter them without wasting arrows.

[Great Rumbler]

[Brehvolution]