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

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D

Dystify

Member
Updated one last time I guess. Trusted Reviews and The Verge deserved the spot. :p

C56pl_wWMAESOaL.png
 
N

Nairume

Banned
The Lamp said:
So the voice acting is not worth criticizing? I keep hearing concerns about its quality but I have no idea. Haven't seen anything outside the trailers.
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Not to completely disregard the people who are saying that part is bad, it's just as likely that the people saying it's bad is playing it up as much as it is that reviewers are just ignoring it.
 
1

13ruce

Banned
I am really happy for Aonuma, Miyamoto and Fuji.

Especially Aonuma there is a decent amount of Zelda fans that seem to hate him and think he ruined the series (lol). Those can all eat a nice serve of crow now.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
This game will be a lock for Gaf's GOTY '17. Persona 5 might give it a run for its money, but will most probably settle for second place.
 
D

DeuceGamer

Member
Wow...I expected really good reviews but not this high. This is incredible with the amount of reviews. I was already excited to play it but this is making it even worse.

I've been trying to avoid spoilers so not sure I probably better avoid most of the reviews for now.
 
M

Metalgus

Banned
I placed my bet on 97, my coworker on 94. If it settles on 96 or higher I win. I think I'll tell my coworker to ready his 5 bucks.
 
B

Big One

Banned
Judging by the impressions, it seems the only real issue the game has is the framerate drops, unless you simply do not like open world experiences.
 
O

othersteve

Member
The Lamp said:
So the voice acting is not worth criticizing? I keep hearing concerns about its quality but I have no idea. Haven't seen anything outside the trailers.
Click to expand...
That was one of the few cons I listed at the bottom of my review. I don't blame you for not yet noticing it as in all fairness my review probably requires a couple days of reading. :-D

I also addressed it in my comparably massive Review Companion Article (yes, I seriously wrote one of those also). Here's what I said:


Claim: The Voice Acting Sucks

Okay. Now here’s a criticism I can partially agree with… though I wouldn’t say it sucks, just that it’s far from the best we’ve heard in a videogame. It’s true that most characters sound more like something out of a Saturday Morning Cartoon—but never is the performance cringe-worthy; it’s merely subpar. It’s also not a big deal, as the game does a really fine job of marrying the lighthearted with the heavyweight subject matter. It still features that zany sort of Japanese cultural humor that has long defined the series, and the characters are a mixture of serious and playful. It’s sort of Disney-esque in this regard to be honest.

Still, there are some characters who are far better portrayed by their voice actors than others. It’s not going to ruin the experience for anyone, but it’s one of those extremely rare aspects of the game that could have used some improvement.
 
S

Seanlole

Member
I just cant wait now.

Even if i waited months, even years to play this game, i just cant wait a few more hours because of this praise.
 
T

The Lamp

Member
Nairume said:
Not to completely disregard the people who are saying that part is bad, it's just as likely that the people saying it's bad is playing it up as much as it is that reviewers are just ignoring it.
Click to expand...

Well if it's worth criticizing, I think it should be criticized. Reviewers are always quick to be harsh about other Japanese games' English dubs whenever they are corny or unimpressive, and people even jumped down Horizon's throat because of the Brom scene (myself included) until we played the full game (and when I did, I assured everyone it was an anomaly).

So if this game truly does have disappointing voice acting for what should be Nintendo's magnum opus and first, most important foray into Zelda voice acting, I think it should be more visible in the reviews (I didn't actually read the reviews yet, I'm just seeing the quotes in the OP).
 
B

Big One

Banned
othersteve said:
That was one of the few cons I listed at the bottom of my review. I don't blame you for not yet noticing it as in all fairness my review probably requires a couple days of reading. :-D

I also addressed it in my comparably massive Review Companion Article (yes, I seriously wrote one of those also). Here's what I said:


Claim: The Voice Acting Sucks

Okay. Now here’s a criticism I can partially agree with… though I wouldn’t say it sucks, just that it’s far from the best we’ve heard in a videogame. It’s true that most characters sound more like something out of a Saturday Morning Cartoon—but never is the performance cringe-worthy; it’s merely subpar. It’s also not a big deal, as the game does a really fine job of marrying the lighthearted with the heavyweight subject matter. It still features that zany sort of Japanese cultural humor that has long defined the series, and the characters are a mixture of serious and playful. It’s sort of Disney-esque in this regard to be honest.

Still, there are some characters who are far better portrayed by their voice actors than others. It’s not going to ruin the experience for anyone, but it’s one of those extremely rare aspects of the game that could have used some improvement.
Click to expand...
Can't you just switch to the Japanese voices? It's hard to critique something that is optional content.
 
N

NESpowerhouse

Perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man before throwing him out of a plane.
Huh. Here I was thinking that amazing games like these aren't getting made anymore. Guess I was wrong.
 
S

SneakersSO

Member
Does anyone know if BotW will be available for download on the eshop tomorrow on the Switch? I didn't preorder a copy (since my original plan consisted of just buying it digitally) but now I can't remember whether that is an actual option in the game.
 
R

Raimond

Member
Congrats Nintendo. I'm surprised all the talk of technical issues didn't detract from the scores. Means they can't be that bad can they?
 
O

Omnistalgic

Member
othersteve said:
That was one of the few cons I listed at the bottom of my review. I don't blame you for not yet noticing it as in all fairness my review probably requires a couple days of reading. :-D

I also addressed it in my comparably massive Review Companion Article (yes, I seriously wrote one of those also). Here's what I said:


Claim: The Voice Acting Sucks

Okay. Now here’s a criticism I can partially agree with… though I wouldn’t say it sucks, just that it’s far from the best we’ve heard in a videogame. It’s true that most characters sound more like something out of a Saturday Morning Cartoon—but never is the performance cringe-worthy; it’s merely subpar. It’s also not a big deal, as the game does a really fine job of marrying the lighthearted with the heavyweight subject matter. It still features that zany sort of Japanese cultural humor that has long defined the series, and the characters are a mixture of serious and playful. It’s sort of Disney-esque in this regard to be honest.

Still, there are some characters who are far better portrayed by their voice actors than others. It’s not going to ruin the experience for anyone, but it’s one of those extremely rare aspects of the game that could have used some improvement.
Click to expand...
Hmmm...this seems like a legit concern, but yeah, I think after investing so much time into the world, you might not consider it as big of a deal if it was say a 10 hour game with subpar voice acting or something.

This was my only real gripe (well that and weapon breaking, I still don't like the idea) with the game though so glad it's a minor issue. Can we use Japanese voice acting?
 
R

random25

Member
SneakersSO said:
Does anyone know if BotW will be available for download on the eshop tomorrow on the Switch? I didn't preorder a copy (since my original plan consisted of just buying it digitally) but now I can't remember whether that is an actual option in the game.
Click to expand...

The e-shop tour from one of the reviewers shows all the launch games for purchase on the Switch. So yeah, after the day 1 update you can access the e-shop for BotW.
 
C

Celine

Member
othersteve said:
Anyone doubting these scores just plain needs to play the game. It is abundantly clear that it deserves the acclaim after you do.

I even took a moment to add a note to the bottom of my review:

ADDENDUM – Editor’s Note

A 10/10 is a rare achievement; in fact, the last one I awarded was seven years ago in 2010. It’s also natural to doubt whether any game should deserve such high acclaim, so let me spend a few moments to address any such concerns.

In my 15 years of reviewing games, this is one of the easiest and most certain scores that I have ever awarded, and there is no doubt that Zelda: Breath of the Wild deserves every bit of the acclaim this tremendous score implies. I tried in earnest to conjure valid criticism of the game every moment I spent with it, but in reality, apart from the usual technical what-ifs and minor quibbles about platform limitations, there is truly nothing much wrong with this game. It is the first game in a very long time which I have felt compelled to spend 100+ hours playing, and most importantly, every single moment I have spent with it has been something special.

This is a memorable moment for gaming. Breath of the Wild is a very special product which we will probably not witness again anytime soon—or possibly ever. Let go of your concerns and prepare yourself: this is the ultimate adventure you’ve been waiting for. You are in for something unforgettable.
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Hypest quote ever.
 
G

Griss

Member
I'm glad I played the game before seeing these reviews. The hype would have affected me. Honestly, the first hour was my least favourite with the Plateau being the weakest area in the game and having to adjust to dreadful IQ and framerate (but I did adjust, though). Had I seen the reviews beforehand I might have been thinking 'How the fuck did this get a 98?' But it's the kind of game that just gets better and better and better.

Re: The voice acting

Two hours into the game I thought it was going to be a big issue. Ultimately, it wasn't. Later characters were much better and the game doesn't have very much of it anyway.
 
S

Skittzo0413

Member
BigTuna109 said:
Look at the reviews for every 3D zelda game. Every single one gets insanely over hyped by both consumers and games media. I think they're all hovering around 95 on MC. I am thrilled BotW is killing it critically. However, based on history of my personal preferences differing from the norm (wind waker is the only 3D Zelda that really gets me excited the rest are just okay imo), it's totally reasonable for people to take these reviews with a teeny tiny grain of salt. Further, just because someone like me isn't puking rainbows and jizzing all over my keyboard right now, it doesn't mean I'm not excited to play BotW eventually and hopefully have an amazing, 10/10 experience.
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I'm not talking about taking reviews with a grain of salt or some doubt, or the game not being right for you (the collective you). I'm responding to people who essentially said they read the reviews but didn't see any actual description of what is so good about the game, so they chock up all the reviews to Zelda bias. Which is an absurd statement for them to make, since they clearly haven't read many (if any) of the reviews, as they make it perfectly clear.
 
Audioboxer

Audioboxer

Member
Raimond said:
Congrats Nintendo. I'm surprised all the talk of technical issues didn't detract from the scores. Means they can't be that bad can they?
Click to expand...

They are pretty bad, but expectations are set on the fact even the Switch isn't "amazing" hardware, and this is one hell of a big open world game. Framerate chugs in towns, and around intense battles, almost consistently.

If the performance was like this on a PS4, or even XB1, reviewers probably wouldn't be as kind. Just the way the wind blows sometimes, especially if the overall package is simply that great.
 
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