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

[Tales]

This rain is pissing me right off. Whoever thought this was a good idea should be tied to a chair and forced to watch the super mario bros movie over and over again.

 

Agreed. The game is fantastic but this really kills the fun at times.

[Hero-of-Time]

The frustration when you have to light blue torches but can't because it's raining for 20 minutes....

 

Haha. This happened to my mate today. I got a text with him kicking off how he couldn't light torches due to the rain. He was well annoyed and the language in the message he sent was very....colourful.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

The frustration when you have to light blue torches but can't because it's raining for 20 minutes....

 

Then do something else in the meantime. Thats the beauty of this game for me - and there are many things to do.

 

I wonder where @darkjak is?

[Esequiel]

Then do something else in the meantime. Thats the beauty of this game for me - and there are many things to do.

 

I wonder where @darkjak is?

 

I still think the game is fantastic, I just feel like some things are there to slow you down from finishing too fast.

 

I'm struggling to find shrines even with the sensor, im only at 24 shrines. I need 1 more heart container to get the.... sword and was going to do the Korok trial until I had to stealth behind 1 to get there, it just felt pointless.

 

Anyway, I'll be finishing up the divine beasts this week and then heading to the castle. I can't see me dipping back in after the end credits though.

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

I still think the game is fantastic, I just feel like some things are there to slow you down from finishing too fast.

 

I'm struggling to find shrines even with the sensor, im only at 24 shrines. I need 1 more heart container to get the.... sword and was going to do the Korok trial until I had to stealth behind 1 to get there, it just felt pointless.

 

 

But the weather system is random so I doubt thats what its there for.

 

With the sensor, I walk in 4 directions to see when it beeps and following the direction it beeps the most and Im usually right.

[Happenstance]

I assume it must be the areas I'm playing in tonight but I'm getting some terrible pop in. Basically wondering why Link is running in place and then a tree just appearing in front of me.

[FalcoLombardi]

I assume it must be the areas I'm playing in tonight but I'm getting some terrible pop in. Basically wondering why Link is running in place and then a tree just appearing in front of me.

 

Are your eyes open the entire time you're playing?

[Cube]

I was exploring the desert looking for some shrines when I stumbled across an interesting looking area. Found some metal balls and some holes for them to go into.

 

It was a massive puzzle. I had a lot of fun solving it.

[Esequiel]

So. Looking around the forum I see a lot of people talking about this game pointing out its apparent greatness and the obvious flaws. I see the reviews, everyone saying it's a masterpiece and it gaining 10/10 reviews pretty much across the board. I'd like to hear people's honest reviews. I'm about to say something completely contradictory to itself but;

 

Is it the best Zelda game ever created? Yes. So it's better than OoT? .... No....

[Blade]

 

Is it the best Zelda game ever created? Yes. So it's better than OoT? .... No....

 

Is this a riddle? Like one of those in BOTW that will reveal a shrine when figured out?

[Esequiel]

Is this a riddle? Like one of those in BOTW that will reveal a shrine when figured out?

 

Well.... it's my genuine feelings for the game. I'm just wondering what other people opinions are!

[Blade]

Well.... it's my genuine feelings for the game. I'm just wondering what other people opinions are!

 

I personally absolutely love it! I have posted lots in this theead and others about my opinions - overwhelmingly positive with a few little criticisms

 

They are my honest opinions. I didn't lie when I posted them.

 

My opinion is subject to change as I progress through the game.

 

The opinions on this game are like mine - overwhelmingly positive. There are a handful of people who have mixed feelings. They are all honest opinions.

 

I am unsure what you are looking for? Constructive criticism about the game? Some people see the broken items as a flaw, I see it adding strategy to a series where not much previously existed. I think I have seen a post criticising the story. I find it fantastic.

 

The people who have mixed feelings about the game looks to be in the minority. Doesn't mean that their opinions are more honest than those in the majority or on the other hand less relevant than the majority opinion. Its great to discuss

 

The slow down though does my head in. The weather can also be annoying but at least the forecast gives the player a heads up

Edited March 7, 2017 by Blade

[Esequiel]

@Blade

 

I am unsure what you are looking for? Constructive criticism about the game? Some people see the broken items as a flaw, I see it adding strategy to a series where not much previously existed. I think I have seen a post criticising the story. I find it fantastic.

 

I'm just looking to get some discussion in regards to people's view of the game after a few days. I'm enjoying it immensely, but I'm now looking forward to getting it finished and seeing the rest of the story. Very similar to GTAV in that at the start I wanted to 100% it, then I just wanted to get it done!

[Cube]

Finally got THE sword.

 

 

[Aneres11]

My opinion so far is that it truly is the masterpiece that it was built up to be when the majority of the reviews came out.

 

I've made no secret that I've never finished a Zelda game as I often found it difficult to know where I needed to go next, what items I needed, what person I needed to speak to etc.

 

I worried that because this was open world, it'd be even worse for me. Turns out, so far it's the opposite. Having the freedom to do what you want and when you want is the best thing about it for me. Opening up the map, discovering shrines, the side quests, the puzzles dotted about the world are just some of the many things that always keep me with something to do. They may not have any relevance on progressing the story, but that's not what my goal is with this game. I don't think it's a game that should be picked p to just get through and move on to the next. It's an alive world that needs to be explored in whichever way you choose to do it.

 

The combat is hard for me and the breakable weapons leaves me having to be tactical in the way I approach a hoard of enemies. It truly feels like I am Link when I play it as everything is on my terms and how I choose to play.

I don't think a video game has ever made me feel that way before.

 

When I'm not embroiled in a battle or a side quest or a shrine hunt, I'm just screenshotting my surroundings. The game looks utterly amazing at times and I've had my finger hovered on that screen grab button so often throughout my play time so far.

 

I haven't even attempted any of the 'beasts' yet as I don't actually want to. I'm still in the same clothes I started in (although I have dyed them green! ) so I need to find some better clothing from somewhere. I also want to increase my health and stamina which I need to get to more shrines to achieve, but with only 4 section of the map open yet, I've got a long way to go and so much more to see and do.

 

I play a lot of games where I find myself wanting to get to the end so I can just complete it and tick it off or then grab all the trophies. That's basically become my modern day approach to gaming which I guess is sad when I compare to how I played games growing up.

Breath of the Wild takes me back to that old style of gameplay as it lets me explore and go at my own pace so I get to see everything I possible can. It's how I played MARIO 64 back in the day and also Shenmue 2, which this game has reminded me of on a number of occasions so far. It's nothing like it of course, but they're the games I played and got totally sucked into as a kid and this game is doing the exact same thing.

 

I said I hoped it'd be the first Zelda I completed, but at the same time I really don't want this one to ever end.

[Happenstance]

I was planning on waiting until I'd completed the game before I posted my actual thoughts on the game but so far while I am enjoying it and think it's a good game, personally I don't think it's the genre defining open world game everyone else does and I do think there are better open world games out there.

[Hero-of-Time]

So. Looking around the forum I see a lot of people talking about this game pointing out its apparent greatness and the obvious flaws. I see the reviews, everyone saying it's a masterpiece and it gaining 10/10 reviews pretty much across the board. I'd like to hear people's honest reviews.

 

Myself and @drahkon were PMing each other after finishing the game. We kept our thoughts to ourselves because there are a lot of negatives we were discussing and we figured we would be burned at the stake if posting them here. People don't like to here criticism about something they love and tend to get all defensive.

 

Seeing as you asked for people's honest thoughts, then here it goes.

 

WARNING: If you can't take the criticism i'm about to post then please don't read the following.

 

Negatives

 

Ever since seeing the open world footage of the game I was worried that the world of Hyrule may feel desolate and empty and sadly that's what I found when I played the game. While it does fill up a little more as you open up more of the map, there's still a sense of emptiness and not much going on.

 

Story wise I think the game is pretty weak and half hearted. We a living in a time where games can have fantastic narratives, with a deep storyline and characters you care about. For me, this has always been one of Nintendo's weakest points. They admitted many times before that gameplay comes first, which should always be the case, but you can have both an amazing story and amazing gameplay. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

 

The Zelda in this game has got to be one of the worst incarnations the series has ever seen. In the past we have seen her as a strong leader but in BotW she comes across as a spoiled brat. It's a different approach but one that doesn't resonate with me.

 

Speaking of Zelda, the voice acting for the character is awful. It really is. I've no idea if this is due to the direction given to the actor or the actor herself but either way it is very rough.

 

I was overjoyed to hear that Zelda was finally going to have voice acting in the game but then we heard that it was only for certain cutscenes, which kinda bummed me out. Having heard Zelda speak, i'm glad there wasn't more in the game.

 

Again, my point comes back to other games handling a narrative in better ways. Before playing Zelda I had played an hour of Horizon and within that hour you can see the difference in the quality of the voice acting. I'm play Ghost Recon at the moment and it's the same thing there. It honestly feels like Nintendo looked for the cheapest option and went with that. I don't mind that the game takes itself seriously but I would like the lines to be delivered a lot better.

 

I love the Kingdom Hearts series. It's a series that takes itself WAY to seriously and the dialogue can be confusing as hell. However, S-E hire some great actors that pull of amazing performances and draw you into the game, despite the state of the script. In the past they've hired the likes of Billy Zane, Christopher Lee, Haley Joel Osment, David Boreanaz and Leonard Nimoy for the roles of various characters and the quality shows.

 

Moving on, I found the combat in the game to be annoying. It was sluggish and slow and I think it could have done with being redone. A lot of reviews were claiming that the combat was as brutal as the Souls games. They were right in the sense that enemies hit hard but that is where the comparisons end.

 

In Dark Souls/Bloodborne/Nioh the enemies can do a lot of damage in a short space of time but you always feel like a dodge here and a parry there can turn the tide of battle. Nioh was immensely satisfying in this regard as you could switch between 3 stances and two weapons without having to pause the screen and change it in a menu. Everything was fluid and, while the battles were tough, the combat and systems these games have always felt like I was in control. I never felt this way in Zelda.

 

The combat in the game also has another problem and that is the weapon breaking system. For me, this system actually discourages fighting. For example, with the way I played the game ( found all the towers first ) I got some very strong weapons early on and kept a hold of them. Knowing that these weapons were strong, I didn't want to use them out in the field and any time I seen an enemy encampment I would simple walk on by. Why use and break my powerful weapon on enemies that aren't worth it? I would win the fight but possibly break a strong weapon and pick up a far weaker one.

 

If Nintendo wanted to people to use different weapons then they should have done something similar to what Nioh does and allow for a quick weapon change with the press of the button. Having to go into a menu, scroll along and then equipment a new bit of kit is annoying. It's not a game breaker but it's certainly not fluid and it breaks up the combat.

 

The music in the game is very lacking. Outside of the usual Zelda jingles, I can only think of one song that has stuck with me and that was the one right at the end when going through Hyrule Castle. The tune that plays at that part of the game is very epic. I listened through the whole soundtrack while doing my work yesterday and it's very minimalistic ( not sure if thats the right word to use). It's more about setting the mood rather than being a big and memorable orchestral piece. It works in a couple of instances, such as the one I mentioned earlier in the thread about the snowy regions, but for the most part this method didn't work for me.

 

Music has a great way of lifting an average game to something greater and that could have worked for Zelda. I'm not saying Zelda is average by any stretch of the imagination but I feel it could have helped me enjoy the game more.

 

I played through Final Fantasy XV last year. The game has many issues but the music in the game was absolutely amazing. It had some epic tracks that really set the mood and got my hyped while playing through the sections that played this music. Something like the following what I would have loved to hear in Zelda

 

	Audio

 

	Audio

 

	Audio

 

Dungeons in Zelda games are always a highlight. These have the ability to lift an average Zelda to new heights. Many people have issues with Twilight Princess but love the dungeons in that game. There are only 4 dungeons in this game and they were all disappointing.

 

Aesthetically all the dungeons are the same. In previous Zelda games there is a lot of variety in the way a dungeon looks, from frozen palaces to fiery mountains, each had their own theme and distinct look. This isn't the case here and the look they choose is pretty bland.

 

Each of the dungeons are pretty short, as well. You can probably knock them out on your first go in about 15-20 minutes, with a lot of the puzzles being straight forward. This is because you pretty much have all the items on hand that you need to finish the dungeon. In a sense it removes the back and forth/exploration of the past Zelda dungeons and makes it more straight forward.

 

The dungeon bosses were a let down, as well. I won't really go into much as I don't want to spoil those for people but I wasn't happy with how easy they were or how they all looked pretty much the same.

 

Positives

 

On a more positive note, I loved the look of the games overworld and characters. The design and art they went with is absolutely beautiful and I imagine will be far more timeless than any of the other games I have mentioned.

 

I did enjoy making my way around Hyrule, despite the emptiness. While I had issues with the rain hindering my progress, I did enjoying the verticality of the game. Climbing up the mountains, looking at what was in the distance and then gliding my way towards that spot I seen on the horizon was a joy.

 

I also enjoyed the amiibo functionality. There have been very few games that use the little Nintendo toys so it was nice to be able to get them off the shelf and scan them in for useful items and special outfits.

 

The shrines are something I really enjoyed. The little bite sized dungeons are perfect to break up the overworld exploration. Seeing your radar ping and then heading off to look for where the shrine is located was a fun experience. I imagine the shrines are also great for those playing the game while traveling on public transport. Being able to dip in and out of these little dungeons would be perfect for someone who travel a lot.

 

Closing Remarks

 

For the length of time that this game was in development for, I was expecting something far better. I was hoping that Nintendo would have taken a look at what other developers have been doing, nick the good ideas that have been used in those games and then apply them to the world of Zelda.

 

I play through a LOT of games and as such I will compare all these games to each other. While BOTW has done some great things in the game that have made steps forward for the franchise, I still think it's lacking certain qualities and features that other games have that are out on the market today.

 

Despite all my issues with the game, I still really enjoyed my time with it. I was actually contemplating starting a new save file and going through it again, once the rush of PS4 games have died down, but I may just hold off and wait to play the Switch version.

 

There are bound to be some dazzybee type typos in here but i'm at work and can't really go through proof reading this...so suck it. :p

Edited March 8, 2017 by Hero-of-Time

[Blade]

@Hero\-of\-Time

 

Excellent impressions there and I enjoyed reading them despite the fact that i hardly agree with what you are saying. I can understand why you and Drahkon did not post your final thoughts.

 

Its a shame that you don't particularly rate this game highly. I say that not as a criticism but how disappointed you must feel being a big fan of the series and gaming in general. This game is looking to be the most highly regarded Zelda and game of all time by critics, fans and general gamers alike so it is a shame you and Drahkon are not in the same boat.

 

I hope the next one is better for you

[Hero-of-Time]

@Hero\-of\-Time

 

Excellent impressions there and I enjoyed reading them despite the fact that i hardly agree with what you are saying. I can understand why you and Drahkon did not post your final thoughts.

 

Its a shame that you don't particularly rate this game highly. I say that not as a criticism but how disappointed you must feel being a big fan of the series and gaming in general. This game is looking to be the most highly regarded Zelda and game of all time by critics, fans and general gamers alike so it is a shame you and Drahkon are not in the same boat.

 

I hope the next one is better for you

 

I honestly don't feel that bad about it. There's been a pattern emerging with my feelings towards 3D Zelda games. I didn't really enjoy TP, hated SS and now i'm very meh about BOTW. The series just doesn't have the same pull on me that it once did. This is something I seen within myself back when I played Skyward Sword.

 

It doesn't bother me that the majority of people are loving it. I'm happy they are getting joy out of a series I once loved. I've never been one to be swayed by popular opinion. I've been gaming for 30 years and my tastes are my own. It's why I don't rate reviews anymore. I don't really need someone to tell me if i'll enjoy a game or not because what I want out of a game may not align with what the reviewer wants.

[Rummy]

Enemies standing on metal. Throw a box down that has electricity. Enemies die.

 

I love this game

 

I've only seen rain once and was on a lakey bit with low rocks so the climbing didn't bother me - but the lightning was an interesting one! Killed me first off - next I just took off all my metal and went and pestered a lizalfos - cruel but so hilarious to just watch the poor fucker get repeatedly shocked to death every time he starts making progress towards me

[Rummy]

So. Looking around the forum I see a lot of people talking about this game pointing out its apparent greatness and the obvious flaws. I see the reviews, everyone saying it's a masterpiece and it gaining 10/10 reviews pretty much across the board. I'd like to hear people's honest reviews. I'm about to say something completely contradictory to itself but;

 

Is it the best Zelda game ever created? Yes. So it's better than OoT? .... No....

 

I'm only about 6-10 hours in really; but I can already tell that whilst I very much like this - I couldn't ever give it a perfect 10. The inventory management feels clunky, the slowdown on fighting some enemies is tedious, there's a big flaw with vertical camera inversion and magnesis for me, and this is when I've only seen 10 hours or so of the game. Sure there's lots of great stuff in here, and the feel and approach is fun and nice(if possibly not so Zelda) - but I think the flaws are too obviously there too much of the time I couldn't give it a full score.

 

However! I'm not far. Let's see what I'm saying about it in 40-50 hours when I'm hopefully done!

[drahkon]

Well, if @Hero\-of\-Time posts his thoughts I can do the same They are pretty similar, though.

 

World

 

Looks gorgeous.

Some great ideas when it comes to world design. Really liked one particular island that served as a challenge to unlock a Shrine:

All your items are taken away and you have to survive and fight with the resources you gather on the island.

Too empty – on my way to Shrines/quests I often times just held the analogue stick up and browsed on my laptop…I wish it was more lively, sprawling with flora and fauna but hardware limitations prevent that from happening.

 

Gameplay

 

Shrines are fun but too easy.

Battles are fun but too easy.

Dungeons are disappointing, they all look the same and they kinda work the same, too.

The dungeons' bosses were piss easy, especially the final boss…and I really don’t like their design, they all look a bit same-y.

Inventory – I’ve said it earlier but I’ll say it again: The inventory itself is a pain to navigate through and the fact that you have to rely on it on so many occasions (mid-battle, healing, opening the menu every time you want to cook one meal, managing your weapons/shields…) is such a disconnect from the freedom you actually have in the game.

Really enjoyed how the game teaches you certain mechanics/provides hints via its design.

 

Traversal

 

Climbing is great, and gives you – limited by your stamina – freedom to go wherever you like.

Gliding is pretty cool.

Snowboarding is fun.

Rain causing you to being almost unable to climb sucks, especially when you travelled to a place just to climb it

sprint speed…so slow, and even with stamina upgrades it’s annoying to wait for it to recharge.

 

Story/Characters

 

Didn’t care for any of it…neither main nor side quests.

I would’ve actually liked it more if you were playing in the era of Sheikah’s advanced technology with Calamity Ganon entering the fray, maybe causing a war of some sort; have the races battle each other.

Zelda – I don’t like her in BotW…whiny, useless, boring, annoying;

Especially in the final battle she was gettin on my nerves…I actually said “shut the fuck up” out loud more than once…

Voice acting – acceptable but sometimes really bad.

 

Graphics

Beautiful. I didn't like the art style at first but it grew on me.

Framerate can be horrendous during fights, in towns, in forests…

 

tl;dr: It’s a good game that is limited by lots of issues and in turn fails to achieve greatness for me. I did enjoy the time I've spent actually doing things very much, though.

It also doesn’t feel like a Zelda game most of the time. I would’ve preferred if it was a new IP.

 

I don't care about reviews. If I think I enjoy a game I'll give it a try and see for myself. However, I did read a couple BotW reviews and I actually do not understand how the game gets a free pass on the technical issues. Even neglecting all the other issues there are, with the framerate drops and pop-in I don't think the many perfect scores are justified. Lots of other games get slaughtered when they drop to 20fps at times.

Edited March 8, 2017 by drahkon

[Happenstance]

I dont want to turn this into a "which is better" argument but how do you guys find it in comparison to the Witcher 3? That's the one that keeps popping up for me when I'm thinking about the example of open worlds done right and the amount of times I just stumbled onto some cabin or something which set me off on a whole new story. I feel like I havent really had those kind of adventures in Zelda yet and I've uncovered quite a bit of the map now.

[Rummy]

I dont want to turn this into a "which is better" argument but how do you guys find it in comparison to the Witcher 3? That's the one that keeps popping up for me when I'm thinking about the example of open worlds done right and the amount of times I just stumbled onto some cabin or something which set me off on a whole new story. I feel like I havent really had those kind of adventures in Zelda yet and I've uncovered quite a bit of the map now.

 

I personally found the Witcher fun but a bit overwhelming, and thus didn't really stick it out. I was getting all this stuff but not really understanding it and the weapon wear there kinda bugged me too. I maybe only gave it a few hours and just fell off(will go back to it some day I'm sure) - I'll say in Zelda's defence having given them both a similar amount of time that Zelda's at least felt more compelling to me so far. Witcher felt more indepth/polished though maybe.

 

I think it's really just different strokes for different folks(as is so often the case) - but I didn't take much to The Witcher anyhow so I'll be offering a much lesser opinion that those who've played more of it.

[drahkon]

I dont want to turn this into a "which is better" argument but how do you guys find it in comparison to the Witcher 3? That's the one that keeps popping up for me when I'm thinking about the example of open worlds done right and the amount of times I just stumbled onto some cabin or something which set me off on a whole new story. I feel like I havent really had those kind of adventures in Zelda yet and I've uncovered quite a bit of the map now.

 

It's difficult to compare the two. For me, at least. While they are both open world games they are still very different.

 

The Witcher 3's world feels...better? Simply because there is much more going on. Not only because there are a lot of little stories hidden in the game that you actually have an influence on, but also because the world is more densely packed with...everything, really. The flora and fauna make it much more interesting.

 

Comparing the gameplay is very difficult because "open world" is the only genre the two share. I think you have to judge the games individually.

 

 

I think game developers can learn a lot of BotW's approach to the open world genre, but Nintendo can learn a lot from other devs in that regard, as well. Here's something I said in the Horizon thread:

 

If BotW and HZD had a baby...I think that would define gaming for years. BotW's vertical traversal and approach to teaching a player about mechanics plus HZD's engine, combat and story. Build a world with those things in mind and boom. Best game ever