The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
I haven't been this excited about a game for a long time. I've always been an absolutely avid, unabashed, and shameless Zelda fanboy. The games can do no wrong, I don't care if it's the "best" (and by 'best' you know I mean Majora's Mask)... I've played them all, on every platform. I loved Phantom Hourglass. I loved Spirit Tracks. I loved Oracle of Seasons. I loved Windwaker. I loved Link's Adventure.
The Breath of the Wild sounds mindblowing. The reviews are giving me shivers. Stuff like this:
"This is it, folks. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Nintendo’s Magnum Opus. It’s not only the best Zelda game ever created, it’s also one of the very best videogames in the history of the art. Games like this are so rare that it would be impossible to classify it as anything other than a masterpiece. Experience it at all costs."
"The simple fact is that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the best games ever made. It marks a turning point for the medium that will be learned from for some time. It is a system seller in every sense of the word, and if you don't already have a way to play it, you owe it to yourself to find one."
"There is no other way to define The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild other than sheer genius. Link's immense and extremely ambitious quest takes the series into new heights, as it introduces elements of survival and item management, bringing new life into a saga that now puts the players in the middle of an open and free roaming adventure, rewarding explorers at every single moment with its beautiful settings and far-reaching worlds. Nintendo has delivered and Breath of the Wild is one of the shiniest stars that could ever light up a new system upon its launch."
"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild isn’t just good, it’s the best launch title I’ve ever played. It will single-handedly validate the purchase of the Switch for many people, and given the device's $299 price tag that's a huge accomplishment."
I didn't get a pre-order of the Switch but the second I can get one, I'm all in,
Comments
I have a Gamecube with 1 game. I have a wii with 1 game. Now I'll have to get a Switch...and one game.
What is it about Zelda? What's the appeal?
Minor confession though, I've only played the NES version when I was like 6 or 7, and briefly because it was at somebody else's house. Haven't touched and barely watched it since.
@BlackHawk When the first Zelda came out I was 12. This was 1986. For my friend's birthday party his dad bought him a NES and Zelda. He then rigged his conversion van with an AC/DC converter, wired up the NES to a TV, and proceeded to drive his son and 4 friends up north to a family cabin for the weekend. I still remember playing that game with those friends at 80mph as one of my fondest gaming experiences ever.
I guess for me, its pure nostalgia. That was the game franchise that triggers all the feels for me.
@BlackHawk the modern Zelda games are nothing like the original except in DNA. There's a certain childlike wonder of discovery and accomplishment that, to me, is still unique to Zelda games. Each game follows a similar trajectory (except for, apparently, Breath of the Wild) - you start off with very little in terms of gear and skills and through discovery of secrets and solving of puzzles you get more powerful. It's like an RPG in the sense that by the end of the game Link is far more capable and has more abilities and gear than in the beginning, but there's no stats or numbers. You just learn how to do things and how to use the stuff you find to get things done. There's a very real sense of accomplishment and growth that has nothing to do with "stats", which is very satisfying.
Each story is, in a way, a coming-of-age tale with a young boy who becomes an unlikely hero. It's a time-tested formula that never really seems to get stale. Link is innocent, silent, and earnest. He is a very likeable hero. He doesn't have an ego, he doesn't really get emotional, he doesn't really have any negative traits - he's just a hard-working, courageous boy who goes out and solves problems.
The world of Hyrule has become a fully fleshed-out fantasy universe with its own unique flavor, culture, and characters despite the fact that almost all of the games are independent of each other in terms of "mythos" (though recently a unifying Zelda world timeline book was put out that ties the games together in some fashion).
The things that make Zelda so compelling are the items and gear that Link gets to use, the unique and very in-depth dungeon and puzzle mechanics, and the sense of wonder and accomplishment that each game is able to convey.
If you want to play a modern Zelda game before trying Breath of the Wild, I would recommend a few:
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Link to the Past
Windwaker
Link Between Worlds
Twilight Princess
I am the same wity Zelda games. I actually haven't played them all, but A Link to the Past on SNES is my favorite game of all time and the first game I ever played to completion. I picked up a 3DS just for A Link Between Worlds. If I had the money I would have bought a Switch just for this game, but I did pick it up for my WiiU.
The hype is getting me excited, but I also can't justify a 400$ system when I've barely used the WiiU I bought.
I just really hope that there is nothing that's disabled or sub-par about the WiiU version. I feel like they were probably developing it to be the WiiU Zelda game, and it went too long, got too big, and they decided to leave it for the next system, and hopefully that will mean it won't be missing features when I play it on my feel-like-i-just-bought-this-damn-thing-and-now-it's-already-obsolete WiiU.
It doesn't look like there is much difference between the two versions.
Am I the only one that thinks "Breath of the Wild" sounds like it should be the name of a dog food rather than a Zelda game?
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Or a Porno... but then again that can probably be applied to quite a few names.
Well that picture sold me on picking up the switch tonight
I am having an amazing time with this game. So good. I'm disappointed that they don't use the controllers screen at all on the WiiU version, but it's pretty fantastic.