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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Review Thread

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GRW810

Member
It's been so long...

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We truly have waited a long time. It's crazy looking back and remembering all those stages. I've had two children since the game was first announced.
 

Yarbskoo

Member
Oh so I wasn't even playing the good one. I really want to try 2 right now (well, after Zelda)

Honestly, there's not a huge difference in quality between the first 4 games. They're all extremely fun, and I'd probably put Underground in that same tier.

The modern ones are poop though.
 

ghostjoke

Banned
I'm legitimately wondering about this. I haven't played any open world games before, and I'm wondering: is Zelda really so different from them? What makes it that much better?

Don't get me wrong: I'm really excited for BotW. But it did always seem to me like just another open world game with some extra Zelda flavor. What about its game design really differentiates it?

From what I've read/watched, they focus on exploration by the player. There's not just a map of icons to go to an tick off. You can climb a tower, but it's up to you to choose what to mark and explore. They also have very clear landmarks that stand out at great distances, removing the stare-at-mini-map-for-90%-of-the-game that dominates most open world games. It's closer to the original LoZ than its contemporaries in how it directs the player, i.e. little direction. They made a world, not a landscape that connects various dots. It's genuine kid-like wonder, run around in the woods, exploration. Some games like The Witcher 3 could be played like that by removing HUD elements, but it wasn't fully designed around it and there were frustrations at times. BotW looks to be the open world game built entirely around what made the original LoZ so impactful and a lot of people have been wishing for such a 3D open world since the words "see that, you can go there" were first uttered.

And never underestimate the Nintendo magic and attention to detail. Those little things you might take for granted could collide for someone else into a Rube Goldberg series of events and leave a lasting memory.

Take all of this with a grain of salt as I'm someone who has bounced off almost all open world games because of how artificial they felt, so any step in the direction of true exploration and I'm salivating.
 
I know you're probably joking but that's how I felt after I beat Metroid Prime and Deus Ex back to back, back in the day
Straight up got bored of other games for a while

A few games have done this for me:

Metroid Prime
Half-Life 2
Resident Evil 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Portal 2
The Last of Us
Bloodborne

After finishing each of these games, I had to take a short break from the hobby. Nothing else felt worthy of my time. I'm hoping BotW is that special kind of game.
 

AESplusF

Member
A few games have done this for me:

Metroid Prime
Half-Life 2
Resident Evil 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Portal 2
The Last of Us
Bloodborne

After finishing each of these games, I had to take a short break from the hobby. Nothing else felt worthy of my time. I'm hoping BotW is that special kind of game.

Weird. I've played most of those and have never felt that way.
 
The score has me excited to finally jump into this game, but then there is a part of me that's like "Damn...if BotW does TP or OoT numbers with this kind of reception/metascore...I'm not gonna get another OoT-style 3D LoZ with a compact dungeon-like overworld until like...a decade or two from now...that kind of sucks."
But I guess if fans of sandbox Mario can wait 15 years for Odyssey I can do the same for my preferred style of 3D Zelda, hopefully I'll this'll make the wait for that a little less painful.
 

Palmer27

Member
I'm legitimately wondering about this. I haven't played any open world games before, and I'm wondering: is Zelda really so different from them? What makes it that much better?

Don't get me wrong: I'm really excited for BotW. But it did always seem to me like just another open world game with some extra Zelda flavour. What about its game design really differentiates it?

Yup. This. Im not pessimistic or anything. I'm just not going to let the hype train take me away.

Im VERY curious what an Open world looks like to Nintendo...and how it has supposedly changed the formula so much.

I mean, we live in a world where Skyrim (and Morrowind), Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, GTAV, Red Dead Redemption, and games, exists. (and hell, we have Ultima before that...the ancient dragon of them all).

What does Zelda do that is remarkably different from the above?

Can't wait to find out.

I think both these comments are very fair concerns - I had these worries up until getting my hands on it today.

It's still hard to put my finger on what it is exactly but believe me there is something more special about this than all other open world games. I would say it's the shear versatility of options at every turn and that each one of these option leads to a nintendo game design solution, a miniature puzzle, rather than say an interesting but janky Bethesda event or a tick in a Ubisoft checklist.

That said, the game certainly borrows. The vibes I've interpreted include: Skyrim, Journey, Souls, Shadow of the Colossus, Minecraft and Far Cry 3.

Do play it for yourself!
 

Scrawnton

Member
The score has me excited to finally jump into this game, but then there is a part of me that's like "Damn...if BotW does TP or OoT numbers with this kind of metascore...I'm not gonna get another OoT-style 3D LoZ with a compact dungeon-like overworld until like...a decade or two from now...that kind of sucks."
But I guess if fans of sandbox Mario can wait 15 years for Odyssey I can do the same for my preferred style of 3D Zelda.
Now that Nintendo has their engine in place and have experience with this game, they can make a game with the scope of BotW with more of a traditional dungeon focus. It doesn't have to be just open world or traditional zelda. It can be done both at the same time.
 

MTC100

Banned
It's fascinating to watch right now, lmao

A game gets a 98 but there has to be some kind of hook right


The hook is:

"Breaking all the conventions of the series, and even a few general gaming conventions, Breath of the Wild is essential for any self-respecting gamer. A new bar has been set in open world gaming."
-WCCFtech

Either you're a gamer, then you have to play Zelda, or you aren't then you can play your cinematic experiences some more, best on some let's play youtube channel :)
 

lt519

Member
Now that Nintendo has their engine in place and have experience with this game, they can make a game with the scope of BotW with more of a traditional dungeon focus. It doesn't have to be just open world or traditional zelda. It can be done both at the same time.

I'm thinking some tightly orchestrated DLC would be nice to go along with the base games open world.
 

kunonabi

Member
It's crazy that I've never cared for open world games but now there might be three in my top 50: xenoblade x, MGSV:TPP, and now BotW.
 

Fledz

Member
Goddamnit, I really don't want to get this into and hyped about a game that I don't own the console for.

Oh please baby jesus in the manger, grant me the strength to not impulse-buy a Switch just for one game this weekend...

Are, are you me? I can't get to sleep because I'm thinking about this :/
 

pswii60

Member
A few games have done this for me:

Metroid Prime
Half-Life 2
Resident Evil 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Portal 2
The Last of Us
Bloodborne

After finishing each of these games, I had to take a short break from the hobby. Nothing else felt worthy of my time. I'm hoping BotW is that special kind of game.
Yeah I definitely felt like that after Portal 2. Probably the only game besides Monkey Island to actually make me laugh out loud, many times. And it was full of adventure and puzzle. And everything else seemed shit in comparison. Such a work of art.
 
Anyone else feel BOTW's current metacritic score (when taken in context of the different times these games released) is far more impressive than OOT's, Tony Hawk's and GTA IV's metacritic scores?

I agree. We've seen so many different and innovative games since those and it seems critics are a lot more demanding these days. Just looking at the high scores of the generation so far no game has more than 93 Uncharted 4, Metal Gear 5 and Inside.

the jump from 93 to 98 feels crazy.
 

FZZ

Banned
Yeah fam if this is what 3D Zelda 1 open world is like bc that's basically the idea for BoTW

Just imagine when they do 3D open world link to the past

Jmon
 
Now that Nintendo has their engine in place and have experience with this game, they can make a game with the scope of BotW with more of a traditional dungeon focus. It doesn't have to be just open world or traditional zelda. It can be done both at the same time.

True.
But going by how the big N's teams have been operating for the past few years, once they find a winning formula (from both a financial and critical perspective) they stick to it for a long while (which isn't necessarily a bad thing from my point of view).
So I expect we'll get BotW 2, BotW3, Botw4 in everything but name for the next decade or so.
 

FZZ

Banned
I agree. We've seen so many different and innovative games since those and it seems critics are a lot more demanding these days. Just looking at the high scores of the generation so far no game has more than 93 Uncharted 4, Metal Gear 5 and Inside.

the jump from 93 to 98 feels crazy.

I predict Mario Odyssey is going to challenge BoTW for GOTY

which is insane when you consider BoTW being a top 5 caliber game of all time
 

Scrawnton

Member
True.
But going by how the big N's teams have been operating for the past few years, once they find a winning formula they stick to it for a long while (which isn't necessarily a bad thing from my point of view).
So I expect we'll get BotW 2, BotW3, Botw4 in everything but name for the next decade or so.
I wouldn't necessarily say so. We could be in for a Majora's Mask situation where they reuse a lot of BotW assets and make a more story focused dungeon game. Kind of like how Far Cry Primal took Far Cry 4's original map and made some changes and made a whole new game out of it.
 
I agree. We've seen so many different and innovative games since those and it seems critics are a lot more demanding these days. Just looking at the high scores of the generation so far no game has more than 93 Uncharted 4, Metal Gear 5 and Inside.

the jump from 93 to 98 feels crazy.

I mean, it seems trite, but seriously it's monumental
 
Hype me to the moon
Let me game among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on
Hyrule and Termina
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, Zelda, kiss me
 
Wait Zelda was announced in the legendary January direct?
Is Zelda the last game announced to release then?
Man that direct was crazy

In hindsight, that Direct sucked. It showed us how unprepared Nintendo was for the generation.

But at the time, it felt great.
 

Aldric

Member
I predict Mario Odyssey is going to challenge BoTW for GOTY

which is insane when you consider BoTW being a top 5 caliber game of all time

We might have legit successors to both Ocarina of Time and Mario 64 in the same year. That's crazy.

Next step: same thing for Metroid Prime (it'll never happen).
 

Scrawnton

Member
In hindsight, that Direct sucked. It showed us how unprepared Nintendo was for the generation.

But at the time, it felt great.
They were unprepared for Wii U because they put so much muscle behind 3DS and killing Vita. It was crazy when 3DS was setting the world on fire Wii U was sitting there ignored by Nintendo.
 
We might have legit successors to both Ocarina of Time and Mario 64 in the same year. That's crazy.

Next step: same thing for Metroid Prime (it'll never happen).

Before last year, I would have never believed we'd get a Zelda like this.

Before this year, I would have never believed we'd get a Mario like Odyssey.

Don't lose hope in Metroid.
 

Scrawnton

Member
Before last year, I would have never believed we'd get a Zelda like this.

Before this year, I would have never believed we'd get a Mario like Odyssey.

Don't lose hope in Metroid.
If Switch can get a new metroid Prime next year and Pokémon stars this year then Nintendo would enter god-like status again.
 
I wouldn't necessarily say so. We could be in for a Majora's Mask situation where they reuse a lot of BotW assets and make a more story focused dungeon game. Kind of like how Far Cry Primal took Far Cry 4's original map and made some changes and made a whole new game out of it.

It's possible (and I'd love it), but I just don't expect it to happen anytime soon.
I imagine any sort of BotW sequel in the works (even a smaller one akin to MM) will be BotW2 in all but name.
 

Aldric

Member
Before last year, I would have never believed we'd get a Zelda like this.

Before this year, I would have never believed we'd get a Mario like Odyssey.

Don't lose hope in Metroid.

l'm sure another decent Metroid game will eventually be made, but l just don't see it being given the care BotW and Odyssey received. Zelda and 3D Mario are created by two of the most talented core teams from Nintendo while Metroid doesn't even have a dedicated developper anymore.
 
So out of all of these perfect scores, which are the most impressive? Like, which outlet had never given a perfect score, or only rarely?
 
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