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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Wii U / Switch

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And @Daft your opinion is obviously valid but I feel like you could have shown some restraint and disabled the powers you got for completing the divine beasts and not got the Master Sword so soon or at least only used it on Lynel's and Ganon. I feel like a lot of your complaints were just about the way you chose to play the game, you would have seen a lot more natural progression if you hadn't made yourself feel so over powered.

 

This is kind of bizarre. A game that is built on choosing your own way to play...except for the one I picked?

 

It's not my job to curate the experience Nintendo presents. I might understand if you asked me to play it on a harder difficulty, I've done that plenty of times (and that option doesn't exist in this game), but to moderate myself? To me that flies in the face of what the openness and freedom this game presented. At what point do I start to play the game correctly? What's an inventive solution to a puzzle and what is me breaking the game?

 

And it wasn't really a case of feeling overpowered. I didn't really feel overpowered. I got one-shot enough to know I wasn't OP. It was more a case that you basically have an infinite amount of health and, for most of the game, the challenges weren't worth the rewards. Same with Stamina, it was never a problem; climbing gear, elixir, Revali's Gale. Why give me these things if I shouldn't use them? (And honestly, I didn't need to resort to these stamina tricks bar a couple occasions.)

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Each to their own I guess, I felt happy enough to disable the powers and didn't get the Master Sword until i'd completed all of the Divine Beasts. Obviously it's the way you have chosen to play, I'm not saying it's the wrong way to go about it but it seemed like you really felt the inclusion of the powers and being able to get the Master Sword straight away detracted from the experience so I'm just curious as to why you didn't turn them off or refrain from using them.

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Nah! I didn't have a problem with the powers. They were fun to use. I had a problem with how they were implemented. And the Master sword, I enjoyed getting that. It felt like one of the rewards worth getting in the game. The powers were fun to use. As was shooting laser beams out of the Master Sword.

 

I don't see why you would get the Master Sword after doing all the Divine Beasts, it's designed specifically to be extra effective against them. Why would I want to miss out on the most iconic item in the series?

 

And really, neither the Master Sword nor the Divine Powers were problematic for me. I'm not sure I ever said they were; it was the implementation of those two items, that was something I had a minor issue about.

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...I don't see why you would get the Master Sword after doing all the Divine Beasts, it's designed specifically to be extra effective against them...

 

For no reason at all, I did them without he Master Sword. Just because I hadn't decided to go looking for it.

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You consider bad voice acting a positive? :D

 

I went with French language (well.. my wii u is set to French to help me learn :D) and the voice acting doesn't seem so bad.. perhaps helped by my french level being weak enough that I'm not so critical? or perhaps the french voice actors did a better job...

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70 odd hours down, this game is 9/10 for me; the only thing holding it back for me is the story line which is nowhere near as epic as Ocarina.

 

Apart from that this is the defining game in the Zelda series for me, and what I've been desperate for for years, an overhaul of how the Zelda games play.

 

The freedom, the ability to get lost for hours, the opportunity to essentially do whatever you want to and in whatever order you want to are phenomenal. Some of the conversations in this thread about how people have tackled certain shrines/islands etc are exactly what this game is about, everyone has their own story and memories to take.

 

I just wish the story had meant more and closed up better as well. The lore is there if you go looking for it, in note books, conversations with characters both major and minor and, in many cases, in filling in the dots yourself.

 

What a great game to start the Switch off with, i really hope the DLC story is substantial and, for me, i would love to actually play those memories of 100 years ago rather than just watch them, that was far more interesting than the main quest!!

 

Anyway, back to. Just wandering around the Hebra mountains looking for Leviathan bones without a care in the world :)

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I definitely feel like the game could still have included more typical Zelda dungeons alongside the shrines, the Divine Beasts were decent but definitely not my favourite part of the game. The sense of discovery, the mini boss encounters and things like the labyrinths were my favourite parts of the game. It surprises me that people think it's such a surprise that Nintendo followed up Skyward Sword with this. The same sense of charm and character in the world and the citizens was as present in that game as it is in this. Skyward Sword had the same sense of fun as BOTW does but just in a more linear fashion. The individual regions of the game were as alive with character as much as BOTW is, but due to hardware limitations or just creative decisions of the team the world's were isolated. BOTW feels like a natural progression from Skyward Sword to me, just mixing in elements of the Wind Waker.

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70 odd hours down, this game is 9/10 for me; the only thing holding it back for me is the story line which is nowhere near as epic as Ocarina.

 

I agree it's a 9/10. Although I can genuinely understand reviewers being bowled over enough to give it a 10/10, for me it didn't have that "I've just played a masterpiece" feeling that I got from Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker. Similarly, I don't think anything less than 9/10 conveys how amazingly-built the game is.

 

I just wish the story had meant more and closed up better as well. The lore is there if you go looking for it, in note books, conversations with characters both major and minor and, in many cases, in filling in the dots yourself.

 

I agree with this as well - there is the lore. What it doesn't have is plot, and that's fair enough in a way; I just don't think it was made by people with much sense of drama. Not much actually happens. It's more a scenario than a plot. As I say, this doesn't completely ruin it for me, but I think it's a fair analysis.

 

Anyway, back to. Just wandering around the Hebra mountains looking for Leviathan bones without a care in the world :)

 

Oh man, those ones are really hard to find. I suspect you want to work it out for yourself, but give me a notification if you want a hint.

 

It surprises me that people think it's such a surprise that Nintendo followed up Skyward Sword with this. The same sense of charm and character in the world and the citizens was as present in that game as it is in this. Skyward Sword had the same sense of fun as BOTW does but just in a more linear fashion. The individual regions of the game were as alive with character as much as BOTW is, but due to hardware limitations or just creative decisions of the team the world's were isolated. BOTW feels like a natural progression from Skyward Sword to me, just mixing in elements of the Wind Waker.

 

This could be an extremely interesting topic, actually. In one way, I do think it's the complete opposite of Skyward Sword. It was beginning to look like Nintendo wasn't prepared to make big budget games - thankfully, Breath of the Wild provides much reassurance on that point (I'm pleased it's been rewarded with sales too). The environments are also huge and natural, as opposed to Skyward Sword's small and stilted levels. On a company/production level, Breath of the Wild is the opposite of Skyward Sword.

 

In terms of directorship, there are definitely similarities. Both have a sense of humour that, as strange as it sounds, is slightly callous. I seem to remember Beedle being a bit of an ass in Skyward Sword, similar to the woman in Breath of the Wild who doesn't like you stepping on the flowers. There is also the crafting, which frankly takes it further into RPG territory than before, breakable shields (if I recall correctly?) and a decent amount of wildlife.

 

They also both share a combat system that is hard to master, but easy to cheat. Honestly, I thought Skyward Sword had the most difficult combat (and final boss) in a Zelda game, which was easy to cheat with waggle. Breath of the Wild probably has the best combat in the series, which you can (thankfully) get around with lots of food replenishment. If you do master the counter-attacks, however, it's very satisfying.

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I'm not at all envious of Sam having to give this game a review score. I don't think I could've done it. I think how you feel about Breath of the Wild comes down to what you've played in the last 5 years and your individual experience with previous Zelda games and the entire franchise in general for that matter.

 

It's almost impossible, for me, to not have the previous games influence how I feel about Breath of the Wild. From that point alone, as I pointed out in the review, it is my favourite Zelda game and it is a wonderful marriage of the original game's scope and sense of adventure with the 3D possibilities of modern game design. As a Nintendo game, it is unquestionably ambitious, especially coming off the back of the past 10 years. And while there are most certainly technical niggles (which are uncommon when it comes to Nintendo), I feel they are allowed some leeway in this regard. Breath of the Wild, being Nintendo's first "open world", is still a technical marvel. I feel they pulled off the open world design and physics engine magnificently, and the flaws (such as the framerate dips) don't detract enough from the experience for me to view this in a negative enough light.

 

I can say exactly the same when it comes to the story. I really enjoyed both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword from a narrative point of view and was left disappointed with the story in BOTW, if I were to compare the three. The voice acting was horrible as well. However, the story seemed so insignificant and almost a sideshow to this entire world I got to explore, that I was happy to let it slide and kind of embark on my own quest. This whole idea of every gamer having a "unique tale" has kind of overtaken the narrative aspect for me and I've just enjoyed not only finding my own way through this world, but also hearing what others had to say about their experience. This is something I've never experienced in a video game before and I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of it, thanks to all of you who shared your gameplay experiences, they have all enriched mine.

 

As a Nintendo only gamer, I haven't even played a PS4, and I've had about 4-5 hours of playtime on an Xbox One. I'm so out of the loop when it comes to non-tendo that I don't even know what constitutes truly great and groundbreaking open-world design in 2017. I've seen people mention Horizon and read some comments which make it sound amazing, but I have neither the time or desire to expand my game collection beyond one home console. I understand that Nintendo are still behind the curve, especially with multi-platform gamers. That's why I understand people like H-o-T or Drakhon or Jim F'n Sterling, Son who just aren't hugely impressed with Breath of the Wild. I know that Nintendo is limited from a technical, graphical and audio standpoint. That gaming is about more than JUST gameplay, that pushing boundaries in other areas, such as storytelling or online is becoming vitally important to gamers.

 

To take all of these factors into consideration when it comes to scoring BOTW is something I just can't do. I understand the 10s completely, but I find myself agreeing with almost every criticism people have of this game. As A Nintendo game, it's as close to a 10 as they've come in years, maybe decades. As a video game, I don't know. For better or worse, every reviewer will have their own history with the medium, and Nintendo for that matter. Nostalgia will always be a factor, positive or negative. I'd just say that I think Nintendo deserve credit for their ambition and accomplishment with Breath of the Wild. It is the most fun I've had with a video game, despite the criticisms, but giving it a objective number seems to be an almost impossible exercise.

Edited by Nicktendo

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The game has flaws indeed, but... remember Tao Pai Pai?

 

415445-59_2.jpg

 

just found my third way of flying!! And my favourite so far :grin:

 

IMG-20170330-WA0016_zpslf1eutcj.jpeg

 

(I actually landed next to a new shrine)

Edited by The Cape

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Personally I think this is unlike any other Zelda we've seen so far - but I find that both a good and a bad thing. I *know* it's Zelda, but then if I step back and consider it more - is it? I dunno. I find this game really tears me down both sides of it, it's good when I'm into it and get going but sometimes I just can't be arsed to - and sometimes I feel like I've done nothing but waste my time on it too. It's got so many niggles, but it's also got a number of plus points - and it's just a bit frustrating really. I think I felt a bit better yesterday as I went much further afield and found a few shrines+map towers rather than just wandering aimlessly but part of me's almost waiting for the next 'lull' in things.

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Mod Note: Remember to stop complaining about complaining/praise guys. Everyone's entitled to their views - positive or negative and everyone has a right to express those views in a thread about the game. Complaining about complaining is NOT what the thread is for. Next time I'll issue an infraction.

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Oh don't get me wrong, when i say 9/10 i mean that as a good thing not as "well this is no 10/10 game".

 

As i say literally the only thing that has dampened my enjoyment as been a less than epic storyline that didn't hit the right notes for me.

 

In terms of game play, exploration and everything else, it's the thrill of a gaming life time :)

Edited by Rummy

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There's a new patch available (version 1.1.1) that improves the frame rate.

Edited by Ike

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There's a new patch available (version 1.1.1) that improves the frame rate.

 

Apparently about ~170MB and on both Switch and Wii U from a quick google round. I'll download it before I go to work and hopefully get a look in at the weekend - tbh still on Wii U I've only noticed it most crucially during fights with certain enemies and depending on my weapon. I get a bit of it at other times but if it's general exploring it doesn't do me much harm.

 

Not framerate related but a couple times I have noticed enemies randomly 'respawn' when I'm fighting at a distance - full healing and they literally disappear and reappear in their spawnish area. I've had it happen maybe 3/4 times now and it's tedious; one time I also had an enemy moblin spring out of nothingness and charge at me. Not sure but I think it was the same sort of thing in reverse(where I was at the spawn point like).

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Decided I'm not bothered about the DLC for this so I'll be trading in my copy tomorrow. Hopefully the VC is announced soon because otherwise it's sitting there for 4 weeks until MK8 (Aside from the last few levels of sniper clips anyway!).

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Oh don't get me wrong, when i say 9/10 i mean that as a good thing

 

That's a relief. I thought you meant the bad kind of 9/10. The one reserved for really dross games.

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That's a relief. I thought you meant the bad kind of 9/10. The one reserved for really dross games.

 

Stop interrupting my conversation with myself please

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For no reason at all, I did them without he Master Sword. Just because I hadn't decided to go looking for it.

 

I didn't go looking for it, I was searching for Hestu and it was placed right next to him. I think it's honestly hard to avoid. It feels like one of the few things in the game you are steered towards.

 

Did you go without Hestu's inventory upgrades for a chunk of the game, too?

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Apparently about ~170MB and on both Switch and Wii U from a quick google round. I'll download it before I go to work and hopefully get a look in at the weekend - tbh still on Wii U I've only noticed it most crucially during fights with certain enemies and depending on my weapon. I get a bit of it at other times but if it's general exploring it doesn't do me much harm.

 

Not framerate related but a couple times I have noticed enemies randomly 'respawn' when I'm fighting at a distance - full healing and they literally disappear and reappear in their spawnish area. I've had it happen maybe 3/4 times now and it's tedious; one time I also had an enemy moblin spring out of nothingness and charge at me. Not sure but I think it was the same sort of thing in reverse(where I was at the spawn point like).

 

That's odd. Enemies shouldn't respawn without a Blood Moon

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I didn't go looking for it, I was searching for Hestu and it was placed right next to him. I think it's honestly hard to avoid. It feels like one of the few things in the game you are steered towards.

 

Did you go without Hestu's inventory upgrades for a chunk of the game, too?

 

Yeah, it's not bothered me the weapon system. I have fun using the environment to fight with as much as using my weapons.

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As a Nintendo only gamer, I haven't even played a PS4, and I've had about 4-5 hours of playtime on an Xbox One. I'm so out of the loop when it comes to non-tendo that I don't even know what constitutes truly great and groundbreaking open-world design in 2017. I've seen people mention Horizon and read some comments which make it sound amazing, but I have neither the time or desire to expand my game collection beyond one home console. I understand that Nintendo are still behind the curve, especially with multi-platform gamers. That's why I understand people like H-o-T or Drakhon or Jim F'n Sterling, Son who just aren't hugely impressed with Breath of the Wild. I know that Nintendo is limited from a technical, graphical and audio standpoint. That gaming is about more than JUST gameplay, that pushing boundaries in other areas, such as storytelling or online is becoming vitally important to gamers.

 

This is pretty much it.

 

I've said before that my experience with other games has effected my enjoyment levels while playing Zelda. I play through a hell of a lot of games in a year and it's hard not to draw comparisons with these games. It's no coincidence that myself and Drakhon ( again, someone who gets through a lot of games ) pretty much had the same views about BOTW. While it does somethings that are new and unique, other stuff is either old news or done better in other games we've played.

 

A strong narrative is something that I expect out of these types of games and without one the game suffers. Final Fantasy XV had the same issue when I played through it last year. It had some great gameplay, fantastic soundtrack, some very memorable set pieces but the story fell completely flat and made the game a very meh experience for me. It's the same thing here with BOTW.

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I can say exactly the same when it comes to the story. I really enjoyed both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword from a narrative point of view and was left disappointed with the story in BOTW, if I were to compare the three. The voice acting was horrible as well. However, the story seemed so insignificant and almost a sideshow to this entire world I got to explore, that I was happy to let it slide and kind of embark on my own quest. This whole idea of every gamer having a "unique tale" has kind of overtaken the narrative aspect for me and I've just enjoyed not only finding my own way through this world, but also hearing what others had to say about their experience. This is something I've never experienced in a video game before and I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of it, thanks to all of you who shared your gameplay experiences, they have all enriched mine.

 

You've hit the nail on the head here. This game is about making your own story, having your own unique adventure and sharing that adventure with others. I genuinely find it to be as social a game as Pokemon Go was, everyone's talking about their own unique playthroughs and experiences. It feels like what happens to you, happened to you alone. The sense of discovery, not just of the expertly crafted land itself, but of gameplay quirks is quite wonderful. The systems and physics based simulation is absolutely top notch. You talk of Nintendo being behind the curve compared to the competition? Shoot a fire arrow into a body of water in Horizon and the flame will burn on the surface of the water just as it does on land. Use a fire rod in Zelda and the fire will not only (obviously) extinguish on contact with water, it'll keep you warm in cold climates. One example in many of how this game is ahead of the competition.

 

With respect to those who finished the game in two days, I'm not sure that's the best way to experience it and especially judge its merits. I've been jotting down pages and pages worth of fun little experience quirks in my 60+ hours to date, and I've only seen a third of the map.

 

I've seen better graphics in other games, I've seen better voice acting, I've seen more cutscenes, but I've never had this much fun playing a video game.

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I feel like the VA was very hit and miss. Zelda I hated at first but it grew on me. And it wasn't so much that it was bad, just not fitting. The young Goron too, and his was mostly because it doesn't fit that "huh? uhhhh..." sound we've been attributing to Gorons since OoT. Also didn't think much of the Zora champion. All the rest were totally fine with me though. I'd probably switch to Japanese in a heartbeat were it an option.

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