Forum - View topicWhat Makes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild So Special?
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DKL
 Posts: 1955 Location: California, USA |
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I didn't play a lot of Majora's Mask, but my impression is that the NPC interaction probably won't be that in-depth where they have like their own character arcs or whatever. The details are interesting because I noticed that the AI and dialog is programmed around things like major events, time and weather, so you at least have the illusion that these people are living their lives. Some recurring characters even travel the world map and you end up randomly saving them from monster encounters here and there. There's a lot of towns with a bunch of NPCs, but I'm under the impression that it's completely possible that I've missed stuff too since the world is so large lol But yeah, it's definitely a step above all the other Zelda games, barring MM I guess. Also, your main objective in the game is pretty much centered around defeating the final boss. You can theoretically just finish the tutorial and then walk to the encounter... you can even beat it, but it won't necessarily be easy if you're doing it blind. I can see how some people might see this as a flaw in design given that it's not very obvious what the bare minimum to win is unless you've actually gone to the thing and gotten beaten up (I think I must've spent like several hours figuring out how to beat the damn thing), but I do like that it's a solution that is very readily easy to reproduce once you know it. One of the first things I'm doing once I've had my fun with post-game content is to do a naked run (is hot Link a meme yet? I have this huge man crush on him) where I beat the game using only stuff I find around the final area. I'm THIS sure I can do it since I know all the patterns in the last fight now and have even seen some of the strats they use in speedruns. |
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Well, that's the thing--I also like to achieve 100% completion (where feasible). I like to squeeze every last drop out of every game I play. I want to get every equipment, see as much of the dialogue as possible in one go, and understand the game as completely as I can. Hence, while I have a goal-based way of thinking, I'm more interested in the smaller, minor goals, like sidequests, than the one given to you at the start, especially those involving NPCs and helping them.
I know there's a ton of content here though. But I just prefer clearly defined objectives. (I suppose I should've known there was no clear answer to how populated this game is, as the world is open and vast. There I go again, thinking from the perspective of someone who looks things up in advance.) |
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DKL
Posts: 1955 Location: California, USA |
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Getting this is pretty brutal in this game and I understand it as someone that has some form of OCD lol Like, so much stuff is hidden in the game... and they give you stuff to find the hidden stuff... but that stuff is hidden sometimes too :v But yeah, the only clearly defined objective is what they give you at the beginning: destroy the last boss. All that other stuff, you may or may not come across depending on how much you explore... you really do have to set your own objectives: my initial one was to fill out the map by discovering all the towers... but this doesn't necessarily serve the main objective they fed me and it's mostly something I wanted to do myself. So you then wonder how necessary it actually is to fill out the map: it mostly serves towards making your final objective easier, but in a way you don't quite understand unless you know the game well enough. But yeah, I can actually sort of see where you're coming from lol |
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Juno016
 Posts: 2392 |
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@leafy sea dragon: Your comments have been the most interesting to me. We think somewhat alike, which I think puts into perspective a lot of what you're saying, but also lets me think of ways you might enjoy the game. For instance, there are some (much shorter) games where I don't mind blind exploration the first time around, but when a game seems to be a long investment, I prefer to know what I'm doing when I jump in so I don't miss anything important. And while most people are definitely enjoying the blind discovery, and even I have enjoyed some surprises, I do think it's very possible to play in a way that satisfies a more technical goal. To put it simply, you're given a lot of play choice. The most apparent and immediate option is to just run around blindly to see what you can find, but while I understand the appeal to that, I'm more interested in learning the most I can about the world, the game, and its characters in the most efficient way possible. Thankfully, I've realized quite quickly how to optimize my playthrough in a way that most other open world games don't let me. I'll break it down in some non-spoiler tips:
Story You can skip the story and fight the final boss to get a bare-bones version of the story, but the world is full of people with story (cutscenes included) to provide you with a clearer picture of the past and present events, as well as Link's relationships with each race 100 years ago, before he lost his memories. If you seek to learn 100%, you don't need to run around blindly. The story gives you a pretty clear linear main quest you can follow, with quest logs to measure progress or remind yourself what landmarks you're looking for. In that respect, none of the story is hidden and there is a clear path to complete it in. Completing the story before facing the final boss will give you one very important advantage when facing him. It's not necessary, but it's very satisfying and high recommended unless you're speedrunning. 100% goals and how to reach them --100% map. Each tower you climb will fill the map, which is split into clearly defined areas. The towers glow red when not activated and are tall and easy to spot from afar. --100% Shrines. These glow red before completion and blue after completion, so you can find all 100 or so of them through observation easily. Any you can't find, like any other game, you can use a map online. Completed shrines also give you a fast travel warp point you can access from anywhere, so you can use them to access any point on the map quickly without needing to backtrack. --100% special items. Finding every field treasure chest isn't a proper goal in this game, but that's okay because they usually contain minor weapons you can find anywhere else. There ARE other things to get from hidden chests or side quests that you keep forever, though. Like any other game, guides will help here. --100% side quests. Unlike most open-world games I've played, this is more specific, like a traditional RPG. NPCs aren't randomly generated or given random, repeated requests. They have names, places and times to find them, and rarely ever the same request. Handsome rewards, too. --100% photo book thing. You eventually get a camera thing. There's someone who wants photos of every monster or item. Anything you miss, even permanently, is still accessible for a semi-steep price. --100% Korok seeds. Like treasures, a guide map will help. --100% Memories. Story-related, there's a log for these to find them. And that's it. The world is open, but unlike so many open world games, it's quite calculated and conscious. It's hardly ever repetitive, either in environment or quests. The puzzles have ways to be completed, but you can be creative in solving them if you like (which gives me Layton vibes because you sometimes have to think outside the box to solve them, more like riddles than tedious dungeon crawling). The game doesn't force you to play freely or blindly. Ever. It just gives you the choice to do so. Otherwise, the only surprises you'll have are when you figure out, using real logic, that something works in a way you didn't initially expect, or when something like random weather or Blood Moons (no spoilers, but every few nights, this will happen, and you're either going to curse it because it throws a wrench into your expected progress, or love it because it gives you much-needed resources that will help you progress) change how you approach a challenge immediately in front of you. Or you just marvel at how huge, yet consciously planned, this world is. I won't tell you that you will love the game to pieces, but I will tell you it's worth a try to see if you do or not. It's got plenty to satisfy those like you and I in ways a lot of other people are choosing not to follow, opting for a more personal experience not unlike Dark Souls or a traditional open-world game. |
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Kikaioh
 Posts: 1205 Location: Antarctica |
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I also wanted to chime in to say that BoTW is a fantastic and amazing game. I was initially a skeptic based on the videos and gameplay I'd seen prior to launch, but after digging my teeth into the game, I can definitely say that it's definitely earned all of the praise that it's garnered. It throws away a number of tired constraints that had held back the series, and reinvigorates the franchise with a much-needed dose of freedom, creativity and unparalleled production value.
I did want to comment on one thing mentioned in the article:
The game does fortunately allow for expanding the weapon inventory slots later on in the game, in case the reviewer hadn't yet encountered it. |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2426 Location: Germany |
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I finished every core Zelda game outside of the 2 Nes ordinals. I will get this one too for my WiiU next month but i don´t believe that this one is a 10/10. None of them were but Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess more importantly got an astronomical reception on month of release and are now seen as "inferior" entries. I disagree there, these 2 are some of the best entries, but the series was always put on an undeserved pedestal. Mario innovates, a 10/10 franchise, no question. Zelda though just put simplified PC experiences on a console and the team is now playing catch-up to The Witcher / Bethesda and the Ubisoft collect-a-thon craze. The Souls inspired difficultly sounds fun, the breakable weapons less so, and i already don´t care about the story. How often do i need to kill that pig man again? We will see but the high quality of the graphics surprised me. This may turn out to be the most artistic one.
I now leave you with Jim´s 7/10 review and the stickied comment he decided to feature. Stay classy fanbase... http://www.thejimquisition.com/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-review/ (It´s actually interesting that he liked the game less as it went on. I wonder how many bothered to finish all the major quests before crying masterpiece.) |
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thenix
 Posts: 265 |
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reguardless of how i will think of zelda i have an observation to make. I love Japanese games and the things that make them Japanese. Western games just seem to lack some of the things that Japanese games do well. Of course all games of a single country arent going to be exactly the same but because the main influence of Japanese games are other Japanese games they end up having certain trends. Now it really seems that the more Western a Japanese game is the more praise it gets. BotW is open world and explorative so that makes it good? I like how Japanese games arent very sandbox. Final Fantasy has been going in the same direction. Not that everyone has to like the same thing i do but i wanted to get my view out there.
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Thanks for the detailed explanation about how this game is structured. I saw more of it, and it looks to have a very organized structure of information of what you've discovered and found, but I'm still not entirely clear on how it provides you hints about what to do next, since I thought the appeal of this is that it's a non-linear experience. The only time I'm seeing where you can plan a strategy about what to do next is when you hit a town for the first time and the NPCs there request particular things from you, though I did see a case of an NPC from one town asking you to go see someone in a town in a region the player hadn't yet reached. The Nintendo Gallery in Wind Waker was incredibly frustrating in that there were a number of things to take pictures of whose opportunity would go away forever. Even with the "wait a day" mechanic done away with in the HD version, it was still quite annoying as not everything was available whenever you wanted. How does it work in Breath of the Wild? In any case, I understand there are a bunch of compelling things in this game, and it's certainly not as annoying as I had previously perceived it to be, but wandering about the fields and such was always my least favorite part of a Zelda game. I always much preferred taking sidequests from NPCs and solving puzzles in the dungeons (in particular, I like them long and complex, with advancing puzzles in certain rooms triggering things in other rooms--it's why Banjo-Tooie is in my top 10 video games, because the puzzles and sidequests in that game are complex and require many steps to complete--no, I did not enjoy the Water Temple, because that was length by monotony), with exploration and combat towards the bottom. It's why I was never quite as attached to the Zelda series as most of the other Nintendo A-listers: It was always a mix of things I really like with things I really dislike. Playing a Zelda game was always a lot like that one chocolate in a box that has some flavor you dislike. (Frankly, from what I've seen of the combat, unless Link gets way better and more reliable equipment later on, this game's combat looks to be something I'd enjoy even less than normal for Zelda.) |
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