• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |OT3| Your Free Time is Badly Damaged

TheMoon

Member
I know that, and I'm aware that you can activate a quest at any point. However some side quest markers only take you to the person that gave you the side quest.

I guess I'm just used to games where the quest marker changes location e.g goes from the place where the quest was given, to then where the next step actually is.

The game wants you to actually play it, it's not an on-rails check-box quest like others ;)

Just read the quest description and do what that says.
 

Red

Member
I know that, and I'm aware that you can activate a quest at any point. However some side quest markers only take you to the person that gave you the side quest.

I guess I'm just used to games where the quest marker changes location e.g goes from the place where the quest was given, to then where the next step actually is.
I can't recall any quests that didn't at least clue you in to what you should be looking for. Sometimes NPCs will give you more detailed direction if you speak to them again after receiving the quest.
 

BFIB

Member
I beat this last night. Below are my thoughts. Sorry, its going to be a long one.

To preface, Legend of Zelda is what began my lifelong gaming hobby. I had played my brothers NES off and on, and while Super Mario Bros. was OK in short sessions, the first time I played the original Zelda on the NES, I knew this was going to be something that was going to stay with me forever.

Going through the console generations, a LTTP was my favorite game of all time. Until now. I never really felt the same about the 3D Zeldas the way I did the original and ALTTP. I always yearned for that open world feel, and while OoT was open world, the graphics/engine really didn't stick with me the way the 2D Zelda titles did.

Seeing BOTW in the initial trailer in 2014, I immediately picked up a Wii U. I dabbled in replaying Skyward Sword, and WW HD (my favorite of the 3D Zelda titles), but all that was in my head was the initial trailer for BOTW. Once the Switch version was announced, I quicky put my money down and opted for that version.

Long story short, I had high expectations. I can honestly say, this is the game I have wanted since my 7 year old self played Zelda on the NES. I have put over 150 hrs in, and thought about doing a 100% run, but I know I am going to want to play through this again, so I stopped short of doing so. I finished with 95 shrines, a handful of side quests and shrine quests to complete on my next run. Here are my bullet point thoughts:

-I know some wanted traditional "dungeons". To me, the entire overworld was the main dungeon. However, I do think the 4 divine beasts were lacking a little in variety. They all felt the same, minus the puzzles. It would have been nice to have 4 main "dungeons", each with a weapon that you need for the guardians/Gannon.

-The graphics were jaw dropping good. I just started HZD, and while I appreciate the visuals, BOTW really stood out to me. Looking across vistas, seeing death mountain from the Great Plateau, I really appreciate the grand scope of how the world was created. At any point, you could make out distinct roadmaps and markings to guide your path.

-The story was OK, but we all know this game was about the journey, not the destination. A little more at the end would have been nice, but since we know we have DLC coming, hopefully its a good epilogue to the story. There were little snippets that you had to pick up on (The Kings diary for one) that filled the gaps.

I now feel like I have an empty spot in my life, as odd as that sounds. I had this with Witcher 3 as well, I did not want this game to end. In fact, there were a few times I thought about just starting over again just to delay the later stages in the game. Anyone else have this feeling?

I'm going to try master mode next, but I may hold off for a little bit just to let experience I had sink in. This has been a big part of my weekend rituals since its launch in March, going to be a tough void to fill.
 

Red

Member
BotW is often stunning. I wish the haze effect didn't settle so often and dampen the image, but even then it evokes the sense of watching an animated feature. Link's expressiveness is a real evolution for the series.
 
I can't get used to having no direction. A side quest will come up but I have next to no guidance.

I'm told what I need to do, but no idea where to go to do it.

It's wonderful and one of my favorite aspects of the game. For many of the side quests, the game expects you to explore, instead of following a marker. It's how all open world games should be designed.
 
I've just finished four guardian beasts, finished the lost woods trials and yet I've only found 4 korok seeds and to my disbelief I've read there are nearly 900. I have also activated all the Sheikah towers so I have been exploring. Wtf am I doing wrong?
 
I've just finished four guardian beasts, finished the lost woods trials and yet I've only found 4 korok seeds and to my disbelief I've read there are nearly 900. I have also activated all the Sheikah towers so I have been exploring. Wtf am I doing wrong?

source.gif
 

Boney

Banned
This game really is all about just exploring the wilderness.The topography has been painstakingly crafted to every minute detail where a lot of thought went into how geographic accidents alter the world. Running through Satori Mountain is a "Mario 64 courtyard" moment. It allows for your curiosity to run wild as you explore ever nook and cranny. The gameplay loop is quite elegant between overworld - shrines - enemy camps - towns, wit feels very natural to just want to keep going and peek over that mountain. What I really want to see in the next entry is exploring caverns.

I think the game's biggest failing is enemy encounter design, it really feels undercooked. The three regular enemies are very repetitive, and their upgrades aren't much better. It's only when dealing with a large group of enemies where battles can be a little exhilarating, but players still have too many advantages with the perfect dodge and headshots. The 3 weapon types are very much appreciated, but while I wouldn't want this to be as technical as Ninja Gaiden or DMC, being limited to just one attack limits encounters. Horseback battles are also one of the most fun to deal with even though you can just outrun them most of the times. But it's the special enemies that dissapoint the most. Hinox and Lynels seem very threatening at first, but having to always deal with them on an individual basis makes their weak points easily exploitable. A Hinox with a Bokoblin troop or 2 Lynels simultaneously would dramatically improve encounters. The lesser enemies and the Stalfos variety being very weak to compensate the weapon durability also blows, especially with how versatile infinite bombs are.

Hard mode has been a major let down thus far. The floating platforms seemed to be a great addition in the Plateau by reinforcing camps, but they're mostly delegated to just guarding bridges. I think pushing for survival aspects would've made it a lot more dynamic. Limiting eating only for the inmediate dish you cook would make preparations a lot more integral and would make raiding enemy camps much more necessary for longer journeys. I wouldn't mind a more punishing 'rogue-like' experience where dying would make you lose most of your equipment, it would provide instances similar to Eventide or the Trial of the Sword of having to scavenge for supplies a lot more often.

Speaking of which. Trial of the Swors on Hard is kicking my butt. Got to the room with two silver Lizalfos (floor 10?) and my equipment wasn't doing much to them. Didn't play it on normal so every room is a surprise so far. I like it so far, but the "simulated" aesthetics grow old very fast.
 

VanMardigan

has calmed down a bit.
I can't even beat a Lynel and y'all talking about it's too easy. Damn. I have a ton of hearts and food but I stink at pattern recognition and just get whooped on. I can do guardians easy but nope out on Lynel every time.
 
I can't even beat a Lynel and y'all talking about it's too easy. Damn. I have a ton of hearts and food but I stink at pattern recognition and just get whooped on. I can do guardians easy but nope out on Lynel every time.

If you're good at aiming, get electric arrows and head shot them when they aren't roaring. But don't do it when they are charging.

If you hit their heads, they will drop down and you can mount them and attack them. Also, your weapon doesn't lose durability during this exchange. Just don't try to soothe them when you're mounting them. It will never work even with max stamina lol

Oh and upgrade your stasis.

Also I think that Lynel where you had to steal shock arrows from is always in its base form so you can keep practicing with that.
 

EhoaVash

Member
I can't even beat a Lynel and y'all talking about it's too easy. Damn. I have a ton of hearts and food but I stink at pattern recognition and just get whooped on. I can do guardians easy but nope out on Lynel every time.

Just stasis the lynels. do couple hits, run around in circle go behind him while waiting for stasis to come back and repeat if you're having a lot of trouble fighting them/ can't get the dodging right.
 
-The graphics were jaw dropping good. I just started HZD, and while I appreciate the visuals, BOTW really stood out to me. Looking across vistas, seeing death mountain from the Great Plateau, I really appreciate the grand scope of how the world was created. At any point, you could make out distinct roadmaps and markings to guide your path.

It's been a long, LONG time since I've disagreed so vehemently over something video game related...but this is HUGE to me.

BOTW has it's own brand of beauty in it's moments, but it is nowhere close to being the jaw-dropping looker that Horizon is. In art direction and technical accomplishments alone Horizon trounces BOTW.

I love BOTW, but it is disappointing in the open-world graphics department.
 

Maengun1

Member
oh my god I just had one of those moments

I've been collecting wood bundles by downing trees (with bombs), which seemed to me was annoying and time consuming as you only had maybe a 10-15% chance to get a bundle each time you downed a tree

Then I just realized that you have to bomb the FALLEN tree again, to get guaranteed wood bundles. I've just been down the tree and then moving on if no wood appeared.

I have logged 135 hours in this game and I just figured this out

and yes it's for the tarrey town quest
 

TheMoon

Member
I've just finished four guardian beasts, finished the lost woods trials and yet I've only found 4 korok seeds and to my disbelief I've read there are nearly 900. I have also activated all the Sheikah towers so I have been exploring. Wtf am I doing wrong?

You need to look at your environment more. Like, the actual environment.
 
oh my god I just had one of those moments

I've been collecting wood bundles by downing trees (with bombs), which seemed to me was annoying and time consuming as you only had maybe a 10-15% chance to get a bundle each time you downed a tree

Then I just realized that you have to bomb the FALLEN tree again, to get guaranteed wood bundles. I've just been down the tree and then moving on if no wood appeared.

I have logged 135 hours in this game and I just figured this out

and yes it's for the tarrey town quest

Use an axe. It's much quicker and easier than bombs. And I think the axe has an affinity to trees (like the hammer does with ore) so it will last a long time before breaking.
 

Red

Member
This may be a silly question, but do you really HAVE to pierce Naydra with an arrow? :( How can I do that
Shoot an arrow at it? Have you encountered Naydra yet? It's not difficult to get close. What's giving you trouble?
If you're good at aiming, get electric arrows and head shot them when they aren't roaring. But don't do it when they are charging.

If you hit their heads, they will drop down and you can mount them and attack them. Also, your weapon doesn't lose durability during this exchange. Just don't try to soothe them when you're mounting them. It will never work even with max stamina lol

Oh and upgrade your stasis.

Also I think that Lynel where you had to steal shock arrows from is always in its base form so you can keep practicing with that.
Don't waste shock arrows. Lynels are immune to elemental effects so you'd just be throwing away your more valuable arrows.

Lynels are easy. Keep your distance, hit them in the face with arrows, mount them, hit five times with any weapon, then jump off and ready your bow again to enter slow mo. Wait til they are a little distance away, get another headshot, and remount. Repeat this and you'll never have to worry about getting hurt or even deteriorating your melee weapons. If you can't land headshots from the back, just unload with arrows as you're in slow mo, and then get a headshot when the Lynel turns around to face you.
 

D_prOdigy

Member
Shoot an arrow at it? Have you encountered Naydra yet? It's not difficult to get close. What's giving you trouble?

It's big innocent face is giving me trouble. I've got rid of the evil stuff on it, but now I'm told to shoot it again. Is this gonna have a happy ending???
 
Shoot an arrow at it? Have you encountered Naydra yet? It's not difficult to get close. What's giving you trouble?

Don't waste shock arrows. Lynels are immune to elemental effects so you'd just be throwing away your more valuable arrows.

I just checked and I have 130 shock arrows apparently. I never had a situation where i felt I needed shock arrows I guess!


It's big innocent face is giving me trouble. I've got rid of the evil stuff on it, but now I'm told to shoot it again. Is this gonna have a happy ending???

S/He'll be fine :)
 

BFIB

Member
It's been a long, LONG time since I've disagreed so vehemently over something video game related...but this is HUGE to me.

BOTW has it's own brand of beauty in it's moments, but it is nowhere close to being the jaw-dropping looker that Horizon is. In art direction and technical accomplishments alone Horizon trounces BOTW.

I love BOTW, but it is disappointing in the open-world graphics department.

I know how crazy it sounds. I just love the look of this game. Don't get me wrong, HZD is on a whole other level, but when I look in the distance on BOTW, I'm always impressed.
 
Wait...... You can freeze enemies with stasis? Wtf have I been doing with my life?!?

You have to upgrade stasis first. It's a great tool and makes Lynel fights a lot easier, at least for me.

I know how crazy it sounds. I just love the look of this game. Don't get me wrong, HZD is on a whole other level, but when I look in the distance on BOTW, I'm always impressed.

It's not crazy. I agree with you. I put 15 hours into Horizon before dropping it and found it technically impressive, but artistically, BotW is a much more beautiful game in my eyes. But that's all I'll say, for fear of derailing this OT.
 

DonShula

Member
I played through the game 4 times already. I also love looking the game pass time, possibly some of the most beautiful skyboxes in an open world.

I love taking snapshots. Went through them yesterday and found that I have a LOT of the blood moon in various settings. It's always striking to see it when you don't expect it.
 
I think I'm suffering from master mode Trial of the Sword related PTSD. I'm out searching the world for Koroks and every time I see a mushroom, acorn, apple etc I'm making a mad dash for it, telling myself I'll cook it up at the next safe area. I'm even worse for weapons. Oh my god it's a knight's sword! Stalfos arm? Yeah I'd better take that.

The trials turned me into a desperate kleptomaniac.
 
Am I crazy or does anyone else hear the motif of Goron's Lullaby in the Stables music buried underneath the obvious Epona's Song reference? It's so awesome.
 

nicoga3000

Saint Nic
I'm thinking of dropping Master Mode and just playing on Normal. Outside of Gold enemies and floating platforms, will I be missing much? Master Mode is just too much of a chore. Sneak everywhere, avoid combat at all costs, die if I fail one parry/dodge, etc.
 

watershed

Banned
I'm thinking of dropping Master Mode and just playing on Normal. Outside of Gold enemies and floating platforms, will I be missing much? Master Mode is just too much of a chore. Sneak everywhere, avoid combat at all costs, die if I fail one parry/dodge, etc.
Master Mode isn't that hard once you get stronger weapons. I've already beat 2 divine beasts. Just be aggressive and creative with every combat encounter and cook for buffs.
 

Red

Member
If there were more hours in the day I might dip into master mode. I don't know how I'll ever finish my normal run. It seems never ending.
 

Skelter

Banned
DAMN, I've been looking for days! I give up. Is anyone able to tell me which final two shrines I'm missing from these two screenshots?

wguDNSX.jpg

7QZOVUG.jpg
 

chrixter

Member
DAMN, I've been looking for days! I give up. Is anyone able to tell me which final two shrines I'm missing from these two screenshots?
You're gonna laugh. You have two shrines that you discovered but never completed in the Hebra region. You can tell because their icons aren't completely blue. Just gotta warp and finish them.
 

Skelter

Banned
You're gonna laugh. You have two shrines that you discovered but never completed in the Hebra region. You can tell because their icons aren't completely blue. Just gotta warp and finish them.

Ha, well I’m dumb. I feel stupid wasting so much time looking!
 
Top Bottom