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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Preview Thread

T

takriel

Member
Going by the previews, this game should get a 90+ average. I hope this general consensus among the reviewers hasn't changed in these last few days, what with all the talk about poor performance etc.
 
B

Boem

Member
conpfreak said:
There are so may biased opinions and poor arguments surrounding this game because of the hype that it's really annoying. There seems to be a level of scrutiny of Breath of the Wild that I do not remember recently given to other big titles. For instance, had Final Fantasy XV had the same amount of scrutiny related to the graphics, gameplay, and voice acting, the game would have been critically panned yet FFXV reviewed >80. Witcher 3 had performance issues as well as launch, and it's combat system is what it is. Anyone remember GTA V PS3/360's performance? I feel bad that some gamers miss out on some amazing experiences with games because they are compelled to not like a hyped game that isn't from their "team".
Click to expand...

Those games got plenty of criticism about those exact problems you're describing.

The hype is reaching weird levels on Gaf now: people are getting angry about other people not being 100% positive or excited about everything related to this new Zelda, and even the smallest criticism is seen as an attack.

I mean comments like this:

Cloukyo said:
These criticisms don't really apply to me. Boo hoo the graphics aren't the same as Horizon, that must mean every game on the ps3 and below is worse than Horizon.
Click to expand...

Are making this whole thing a bit silly/embarrassing.

It's fine to be hyped about the game. It's fine to think the game looks great. It's also fine if other people think it doesn't look good enough compared to modern competition. It's just opinions, it's just a silly game. Other people not being entirely into it doesn't mean you're not allowed to be. It's a forum, people will have different opinions. Relax.
 
N

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
conpfreak said:
There are so may biased opinions and poor arguments surrounding this game because of the hype that it's really annoying. There seems to be a level of scrutiny of Breath of the Wild that I do not remember recently given to other big titles. For instance, had Final Fantasy XV had the same amount of scrutiny related to the graphics, gameplay, and voice acting, the game would have been critically panned yet FFXV reviewed >80. Witcher 3 had performance issues as well as launch, and it's combat system is what it is. Anyone remember GTA V PS3/360's performance? I feel bad that some gamers miss out on some amazing experiences with games because they are compelled to not like a hyped game that isn't from their "team".
Click to expand...
I feel like this is has happened for every major release of a game for the past 30 years.

Breath of the Wild has barely been reviewed yet, let's wait to see if it actually gets critically panned before complaining.
 
N

Neoleo2143

Member
OrbitalBeard said:
After putting 20+ hours into Final Fantasy XV, it should have been panned a lot more than it was. The game is honestly pretty bad.
Click to expand...

It was pretty obviously a 4/10 at most for me. I hated the balancing so much. The side quests were by far the worst of the JRPGs I've played this gen and had no interesting aspect to them. It was lacking in good QoL. The animations got in the way of gameplay, stamina doesn't offer anything interesting. The world is flat.

Just infuriating how poorly designed that game is. Total mess.
 
O

OrbitalBeard

Member
Neoleo2143 said:
It was pretty obviously a 4/10 at most for me. I hated the balancing so much. The side quests were by far the worst of the JRPGs I've played this gen and had no interesting aspect to them. It was lacking in good QoL. The animations got in the way of gameplay, stamina doesn't offer anything interesting. The world is flat.

Just infuriating how poorly designed that game is. Total mess.
Click to expand...

For sure. And yes, the world itself is incredibly flat and bland. I'm so glad BotW puts a big focus on verticality.
 
J

Jon

Member
Actual question for the thread - how does saving work in this game? With so many deaths, it seems like you'd want to manually save before entering a perceived difficult area. Sometimes in games like Fallout I find myself over-saving after beating a small batch of bandits. If you die in Zelda, does it simply load from your last save or is there some basic auto-saving going on as well?
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
Jon said:
Actual question for the thread - how does saving work in this game? With so many deaths, it seems like you'd want to manually save before entering a perceived difficult area. Sometimes in games like Fallout I find myself over-saving after beating a small batch of bandits. If you die in Zelda, does it simply load from your last save or is there some basic auto-saving going on as well?
Click to expand...

You get one manual save and five autosaves at a time. It loads from your last save (manual or auto) when you die.
 
J

jariw

Member
Jon said:
Actual question for the thread - how does saving work in this game? With so many deaths, it seems like you'd want to manually save before entering a perceived difficult area. Sometimes in games like Fallout I find myself over-saving after beating a small batch of bandits. If you die in Zelda, does it simply load from your last save or is there some basic auto-saving going on as well?
Click to expand...

There's some auto-saving going on. If the player dies in an enemy camp, it seems to consistently respawn outside the camp.
 
C

Coxy100

Banned
Cloukyo said:
I hate to say it but I might reduce my anticipated score too.

People like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/zelda/comments/5wkr91/warning_sony_shill_site_dualshockers_will_give/

Will be bringing the score down in a big way.

These criticisms don't really apply to me. Boo hoo the graphics aren't the same as Horizon, that must mean every game on the ps3 and below is worse than Horizon.
Click to expand...

That site (in the link) gave No Mans Sky a perfect score apparently - instantly for me it loses credibility.
 
R

roddur

Member
Anybody who have a chance to play this game, does it give you an option to sit anywhere?

I just want to sit in the tall grass area and look at sky. Just want to enjoy nature :)
 
C

Caelus

Member
I'm hoping people properly read the arguments and justifications critics give regardless of the score (I'm expecting a 7-10 range) to see where one personally weighs certain aspects.

Reading comprehension and controlling knee-jerk reactions is a rare sight on the Internet, though.
 
C

Cucurbitacée

Member
roddur said:
Anybody who have a chance to play this game, does it give you an option to sit anywhere?

I just want to sit in the tall grass area and look at sky. Just want to enjoy nature :)
Click to expand...

Small spoiler:
Not really, you'll get a seat up and down animation when passing time next to a fire. And you can stand on a horse too. ;)
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
Caelus said:
I'm hoping people properly read the arguments and justifications critics give regardless of the score (I'm expecting a 7-10 range) to see where one personally weighs certain aspects.

Reading comprehension and controlling knee-jerk reactions is a rare sight on the Internet, though.
Click to expand...

I never know why y'all post stuff like this. You should know how it works by now, especially for something like Zelda lol
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
Coxy100 said:
That site (in the link) gave No Mans Sky a perfect score apparently - instantly for me it loses credibility.
Click to expand...

I said NMS was going to be a shitty mess months and months before it was released and, and while their score is WAY too high, they didn't give it a perfect score.
 
R

Ray Down

Banned
conpfreak said:
There are so may biased opinions and poor arguments surrounding this game because of the hype that it's really annoying. There seems to be a level of scrutiny of Breath of the Wild that I do not remember recently given to other big titles. For instance, had Final Fantasy XV had the same amount of scrutiny related to the graphics, gameplay, and voice acting, the game would have been critically panned yet FFXV reviewed >80. Witcher 3 had performance issues as well as launch, and it's combat system is what it is. Anyone remember GTA V PS3/360's performance? I feel bad that some gamers miss out on some amazing experiences with games because they are compelled to not like a hyped game that isn't from their "team".
Click to expand...

I don't get where your coming from but XV was attacked across the board before it was coming out, lol.

This happens to every big game in some level or another.

Zelda isn't special, if it is it's due to Zelda fanbase, expectations and what not.
 
C

Caelus

Member
Cucurbitacée;231189752 said:
Only for major characters in some situations.
Click to expand...

Gameplay footage also debunks that voice acting is only in cutscenes, there are some sequences where it's present.
 
A

ASIS

Member
conpfreak said:
There are so may biased opinions and poor arguments surrounding this game because of the hype that it's really annoying. There seems to be a level of scrutiny of Breath of the Wild that I do not remember recently given to other big titles. For instance, had Final Fantasy XV had the same amount of scrutiny related to the graphics, gameplay, and voice acting, the game would have been critically panned yet FFXV reviewed >80. Witcher 3 had performance issues as well as launch, and it's combat system is what it is. Anyone remember GTA V PS3/360's performance? I feel bad that some gamers miss out on some amazing experiences with games because they are compelled to not like a hyped game that isn't from their "team".
Click to expand...
I have to say I did not see that much complaining about The Witcher 3. But that's also because I'm not as interested in the game so I don't read much about it. Perhaps you are on the same boat? FFXV has been criticized to hell and back. Maybe not to the extent of BOTW but that's also because I didn't read as many impressions.

In short, your interest in a game dictates how much you want to read on it. And you will be exposed to more opinions. You need to readjust your expectations too. It's a game after all, it won't be perfect.
 
C

Caelus

Member
Cucurbitacée;231189928 said:
Yeah, I tried to stay as spoiler free as possible.
Click to expand...

No worries, I think Game Informer also mentioned that in their spoiler-free impressions earlier.

ASIS said:
In short, your interest in a game dictates how much you want to read on it. And you will be exposed to more opinions. You need to readjust your expectations too. It's a game after all, it won't be perfect.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are few perfect games (like Tetris), but this game is taking a lot of risks, shaking up the conventions of a series older than me. It will never be 'perfect', higher ambitions means more compromises and missed potential and that applies to every big game like this and Horizon.
 
N

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
DualShockers isn't even on Metacritic, why are people worried about their review bringing BotW down?
 
C

ckaneo

Member
MosquitoSmasher said:
Ah well, it doesn't really surprise me. Full voice acting for all NPCs would have been awesome, but at the end of the day it IS a Zelda game.:)
Click to expand...

No it wouldnt lol. Can you imagine all the bad acting we would have gotten?

Even the best rpgs, have flaws in facial animations and constant dialogue.

Give me text.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
MosquitoSmasher said:
Ah well, it doesn't really surprise me. Full voice acting for all NPCs would have been awesome, but at the end of the day it IS a Zelda game.:)
Click to expand...

I like it and think it's better this way. Nier Automata is doing it too. I imagine it would take forever to give every single NPC full voice acting, especially in a huge game like this. Limiting it to just the major characters lets you get your voice acting for the important stuff, but they can still let you talk to everyone else without having to worry about increased costs or even delaying the game further.

Certainly better than say something like FFXV, where the majority of their NPCs are just window dressing.
 
D

Deleted member 752119

Unconfirmed Member
Peltz said:
But it's sort of got that Minecraft "it-factor" of allowing a lot of experimentation particularly with physics. I have a feeling youtube videos could make this one more popular than previous entries.
Click to expand...

Very true. It will be interesting to see how that pans out and what kind of interest and buzz it builds.

conpfreak said:
There are so may biased opinions and poor arguments surrounding this game because of the hype that it's really annoying. There seems to be a level of scrutiny of Breath of the Wild that I do not remember recently given to other big titles. For instance, had Final Fantasy XV had the same amount of scrutiny related to the graphics, gameplay, and voice acting, the game would have been critically panned yet FFXV reviewed >80. Witcher 3 had performance issues as well as launch, and it's combat system is what it is. Anyone remember GTA V PS3/360's performance? I feel bad that some gamers miss out on some amazing experiences with games because they are compelled to not like a hyped game that isn't from their "team".
Click to expand...

You're talking reviews there though. Those games did and do very shit on a lot for those issues here before and after launch.

Garrett Hawke said:
i don't know where you were in the lead up to ffxv but literally every thread was people shitting on the graphics, the voice acting, the gameplay (hold to win) etc.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Zelda will review extremely well and win multiple GOTY awards in all probability. Discussion on GAF always skews negative before release, or at least before overwhelmingly positive previews and reviews come in.

Horizon had the same experience, tons of people trashing it as all graphics, another stupid Ubisoft type open world etc. Some still say that, but many fewer after the postive previews, followed by it reviewing super well and then getting super positive impressions from GAF members who got it early etc. Especiallyw it's how much praise it got for side quest variety, story, characters etc. which were the chief "concerns" people had.

We'll see similar with Zelda once reviews are out and the OT is up etc. Maybe a bit more negativity there due to Nintendo haters etc., but it will die down. I love discussing sales, mass appeal etc. personally, but I leave that for preview and review threads and leave OTs for discussing the game and mostly for those enjoying it. I don't waste time in OTs of games I'm not enjoying, at most I post why I'm dropping the game and move on to playing and discussion the next game up.
 
N

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
M

Mael

Member
Man, am I ever so happy to be a few pages late!
So many spoilers I missed!

LotusHD said:
I like it and think it's better this way. Nier Automata is doing it too. I imagine it would take forever to give every single NPC full voice acting, especially in a huge game like this. Limiting it to just the major characters lets you get your voice acting for the important stuff, but they can still let you talk to everyone else without having to worry about increased costs or even delaying the game further.

Certainly better than say something like FFXV, where the majority of their NPCs are just window dressing.
Click to expand...

That's so weird...
Romancing Saga on PS2 had all its NPCs fully voice acted (the only dialog that is not is the tutorial children that was added way after the fact that don't even fit SaGa games...I mean tutorial in a Kawazu game?), granted most of the voice work was goofy in a way (but fitting the atmosphere the game was going for I'd say).
And Square-Enix never did that ever again.
All the more surprising with FFXII being so much more expensive to make and having "minimal" voice acting and being released so soon after!
 
M

Mael

Member
Spyder_Monkey said:
Isn't Dualshockers a Playstation fansite?
Click to expand...

Why did Nintendo send them review copies though?
I can understand random youtubers because hey youtube, but random fansites that aren't even on metacritic?
Did ZeldaUniverse people receive preview copies? Way more worsy of being rewarded with an advance copy if you ask me.
 
T

TwistedFreeze

Member
dmaul1114 said:
Oh I agree. Visuals are just one way to get people interested and to take that closer look. Games can do it on the basis of gameplay as well, and generate buzz and word of mouth that gets mainstream gamers and casuals interested.

That said, Zelda is a bit tougher there as it's never been the most accessible game gameplay wise, and BOTW seems less so than recent entries with weapon degradation, supposedly being a fair bit more difficulty than other 3D Zeldas etc. So time will tell their how it does after the diehards are done with it.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I've seen it happen often enough that I feel that mainstream gamers are just more interested in looking for a game that looks interesting or enjoyable than anything else, even if graphics are important to them, which it really is for most people, myself included

Ahh...okay, yeah, that I can definitely agree with. Sometimes, I forget that others may find Zelda games a bit tough to get into because I've played them for so long. For example, my little sisters have been playing games for a while but they're constantly needing my help to figure out where to go and how to approach the dungeons in Wind Waker, one of the more easy Zelda titles, whereas others games like MineCraft, Mario, and Call of Duty are easier for them to get into and thus they don't lose interest early on. I guess we'll just have to see how mainstream gamers respond to it
 
O

Omnistalgic

Member
Nickle said:
DualShockers isn't even on Metacritic, why are people worried about their review bringing BotW down?
Click to expand...
DS is certainly on meta...

And they review everything. You guys are starting to sound a like like the people in Horizon thread with the US gamer 5/10 review.

It sucks, but not everyone is going to see things how we do. All there is to it.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
Omnistalgic said:
DS is certainly on meta...

And they review everything. You guys are starting to sound a like like the people in Horizon thread with the US gamer 5/10 review.

It sucks, but not everyone is going to see things how we do. All there is to it.
Click to expand...

What's even more embarrassing is that the review isn't even out yet, and the guy that doesn't seem crazy over BoTW isn't reviewing it either.

It's the epitome of something not worth getting worked up over.
 
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