The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[CrichStand]

12 minutes ago, Tezcatlipoca said:

I'm planning to get a Switch for MK8 Deluxe, but given the constant praise I'm hearing about this on here and elsewhere, I may end up getting this too.

 

- I've not played a Zelda game since Ocarina (my only ever Zelda game). I loved it, but for some reason later Zelda games never appealed to me.

 

- I loved Oblivion and Skyrim, but never finished either of them as they were so big I gave up after 100 hours (most of which was side quests) when other things started demanding my time.

 

- I tried to like The Witcher 3, but didn't enjoy the combat and wasn't remotely grabbed by the story or characters, leading me to give up not long after the Baron and some freaky Welsh Witches. I may have got to Novigrad(?).

 

- I've just spent 60 hours utterly engrossed in Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

 

Am I likely to like this? Is it so big it's overwhelming?

I'd put 45hrs into Horizon before starting this. Had just got up to Meridian. I don't think there's actually that much difference between the size of the two game worlds to be honest, in fact Horizon may actually be slightly bigger than this. It's a really great game but, there's just sooooooooo much more to do in Zelda. To tie this post into my earlier one......

 

You're given way more freedom here, there's a far better sense of place, mystery, exploration, discovery and adventure and overall the world feels so much more alive, believable and consistent. Not only that it's memorable! It's proper witchcraft levels of shit! Even though the world is huuuuuuuge, it's all distinct and feels like a totally believable, consistent location. For example I've been to Kakariko village once.......yet I already know it like the back of my hand. I know how to leave there and travel across half of the gameworld to another location without using a map! I mean, shit, I can even remember a stone circle I didn't complete 20hrs ago and could walk straight back to it no problem from my current location, which is miles away. That, to me, shows just how well designed this gameworld actually is! Its something I couldn't do in Horizon even after 45hrs of play. Yeah, the graphics are face melting, and so the world looks amazing but that level of design is just not there. To be fair to Horizon though, there's very, very few games that have this level of design. Its incredible. It's basically like a masterclass, just as Ocarina and Mario 64 were back in the day.

 

Also, pretty much all of the quests I played in Horizon consisted of -  talk to character, travel to x location, CUE FIGHT, talk to another character, return to where you originally started.....job done. Rinse and repeat, over and over. It gets very predictable, very fast. It's made even worse by the fact that, you're told exactly where to go and what to do, in fact there's an on screen HUD, or map marker, that you can't switch off and it directs you everywhere as though you haven't got the brains you were born with. It's a common thing with a lot of games these days, they're designed to be idiot proof and so have basically been dumbed down to epic levels, losing so much of what can make them great in the first place. 

 

That's not the case with BotW. It does shit properly, like it used to be done. You'll talk to a character and they'll mention something interesting, maybe drop a subtle hint.......and that's it! You're left to head off and explore, go look for it if you want......or maybe not, it's up to you - the player. That's how it should be! It openly encourages you to explore, it makes it part of the gameplay and so it gives you a sense of freedom, mystery, wonder, adventure, it makes it, well, fun, and of course when you do finally discover stuff it actually means something feels rewarding, it gives you a sense of achievement. And there's so much to discover in BotW! As many people have mentioned it's almost impossible to travel from point A to B without becoming sidetracked by "what's that over there"?  It's mental and it's also proper awesome! 

 

So, er, yeah. I'd say if anyone's wondering about trying this game then I'd say go for it! I've been increasingly disillusioned with Zelda since OOT. I've personally felt that Nintendo's choice of using "limited" hardware has really held the series back and stopped it from progressing. In other words......I thought Skyward Sword was a right load of horseshit. Hahaha. For me though, this is up there with Ocarina so far and all I've really been doing is wandering around exploring and collecting Korok seeds.  

 

 

[Gotters]

had an interesting/painful experience yesterday watching my 20y old university student son playing this for the first time, he is a gamer but the sort that puts 100h into the latest AAA fps and FIFA every year and plays them whilst talking to his mates and watching youtube at the same time. He's the typical modern young gamer raised on big flashing map arrows and running down restrictive corridors from point A to point B.

 

he was bored before the opening cut scene had ended and hated the graphical style, ran past all the chests in the opening cave (containing links first outfit) because 'how was I supposed to know they had stuff in them, he then ran down the hill to the old man ignoring every item (like apples and mushrooms) and moaned his way through every one of the first 3 shrines

 

if you are hoping the final paragraph here ends with 'but he then learned to love the game' or something redemptive afraid not, he was making Link sprint everywhere because 'I haven't got 6h to see all the good stuff in the game' and he found the whole game very frustrating to play, especially once it opened out - he wouldn't play past getting the paraglider as was bored with it. All the subtle marvellous weapon systems were lost on him as he wanted to kill things instantly with no skill of learning the bow for example.

 

He's clearly disinherited now but does show how a game as brilliant and wonderful as this can still totally miss the mark for some players, especially maybe those bred on dull predictable unimaginative AAA big publisher fare who want to be lead round by the nose and just see the sights on a bus tour.

 

I then played for a bit after him and found the final tower stealthing my way up in a half hour game of cat and mouse with what was guarding it in a very tense climb around surrounding areas, but even that didn't pique his interest, he found the whole thing inherently dull and not appealing at all.

[Gotters]

I was genuinely upset, had spent several weeks telling him it was the best game ever and looking forward to him coming home to try it and see the joy of somebody else experiencing it for the first time, I really felt quite sad.

 

I've not 100% ruled it out as a fail - I often recommend music/films/tv to him that he declares garbage after giving them a whole 5 mins to sink in but then discover he reconsiders and goes back to them.

 

Today will show whether the Zelda magic has wormed into his brain or not - but I'm not holding out much hope.

[The Tall Man]

I think you're absolutely right about changing attitudes to games, and what the makers are giving us these days. I've become bored of gaming in the last couple of years, only PSVR reignited temporary interest, and I think it is because of the handholding in modern games. They're based mainly around spectacle, not the kind of incredible experience BotW gives. It's totally made me fall in love again, and like most in here, I'm having a great time just exploring. Genuinely don't want it to end. 

[Cappuccino Kid]

21 minutes ago, Gotters said:

had an interesting/painful experience yesterday watching my 20y old university student son playing this for the first time, he is a gamer but the sort that puts 100h into the latest AAA fps and FIFA every year and plays them whilst talking to his mates and watching youtube at the same time. He's the typical modern young gamer raised on big flashing map arrows and running down restrictive corridors from point A to point B.

 

he was bored before the opening cut scene had ended and hated the graphical style, ran past all the chests in the opening cave (containing links first outfit) because 'how was I supposed to know they had stuff in them, he then ran down the hill to the old man ignoring every item (like apples and mushrooms) and moaned his way through every one of the first 3 shrines

 

if you are hoping the final paragraph here ends with 'but he then learned to love the game' or something redemptive afraid not, he was making Link sprint everywhere because 'I haven't got 6h to see all the good stuff in the game' and he found the whole game very frustrating to play, especially once it opened out - he wouldn't play past getting the paraglider as was bored with it. All the subtle marvellous weapon systems were lost on him as he wanted to kill things instantly with no skill of learning the bow for example.

 

He's clearly disinherited now but does show how a game as brilliant and wonderful as this can still totally miss the mark for some players, especially maybe those bred on dull predictable unimaginative AAA big publisher fare who want to be lead round by the nose and just see the sights on a bus tour.

 

I then played for a bit after him and found the final tower stealthing my way up in a half hour game of cat and mouse with what was guarding it in a very tense climb around surrounding areas, but even that didn't pique his interest, he found the whole thing inherently dull and not appealing at all.

 

I hate to tell you this, but your son is an idiot.

[NickC]

[Not Thread Owner]

7 hours ago, Fallows said:

 

It's as big as you want it to be. Strictly following the main quest (good luck with that...) will probably see you done in 40-50 hours,

 

Nah, 10-12 hours easy. If you're not going to deviate from the main quest there's no way it'll last more than 20 hours.

[jonamok]

If you're a rock hard ubergamer like dekay, that is.

[Not Thread Owner]

13 minutes ago, jonamok said:

If you're a rock hard ubergamer like dekay, that is.

 

No, I don't think so. Took me 75 hours to complete Zelda, but only the first 15 and final 2 hours of that were actually following the main quest, and the first 15 hours were still filled with distractions. Each boss (all three stages of them - reaching, the puzzles, the boss) is less than an hour long. The final boss is even less than that - 20 minutes or so.

 

Certainly doing only the main quest will be much harder as you'll have very few upgrades, but if you get parrying down pat (I didn't) you don't actually need any of them.

 

Of course, you can completely avoid all the bosses and just go straight for Ganon and have it done in under an hour...

 

None of this is a complaint by the way. It just shows how Nintendo have made a game that is a big game. Or a short game. Or a hard game. Or a walkover. Just depends how you want to play it.

[NickC]

Those final 2 hours of main quest (played after 75hrs of levelling up) would take most people 10+ hours if they played the game straight through. 

 

It's a moot point anyway, the game is not designed in a linear way; the vast, vast majority of gamers will not just play through the main quest directly. Why would you unless it was some kind of second play through challenge?  You'd have to be actively avoiding what makes the game fun and a unique Zelda experience. 

[MrCarrot]

And you can cheat on the electric circuit ones by dropping metal weapons.

[kensei]

Has anyone

 

Spoiler

Deliberately killed a horse then talked to the Horse Fairy?

 

I wanna know if it follows up on its threats.

 

[R0b]

That spoiler is about the final boss showdown, guys. Click with caution. 

[SpagMasterSwift]

TV ad just came on and I realised that after 55hrs I've not seen the two main bits from it. Also realised that since the GameCube I've been going through the motions somewhat. This is like going back to records after CDs.

 

Yeah, I know, I'm old.

[SHarris78]

When do you get good enough weapons to have a chance against the Minotaur creature?  I've got swords of level 36 which barely scratch him, and if it gets close your side jump / back flip is so short you get hit anyway.

 

I'm loving the adventure part of the game but combat is dragging it down.

[nakamura]

Beat him up with a tree branch or go home.

[Fatsam]

3 hours ago, psycho_fox said:

I think you're absolutely right about changing attitudes to games, and what the makers are giving us these days. I've become bored of gaming in the last couple of years, only PSVR reignited temporary interest, and I think it is because of the handholding in modern games. They're based mainly around spectacle, not the kind of incredible experience BotW gives. It's totally made me fall in love again, and like most in here, I'm having a great time just exploring. Genuinely don't want it to end. 

 

 

I think holding hands and being taken a journey can be incredible too. A different kind of incredible. If it it's shit, you're holding hands with the wrong game developer. Or yeah, you just hate holding hands for some reason. They don't have to be all about spectacle.

 

Did you not play The Witness last year? BOTW isn't a billion miles away from that. A pure puzzle game yeah, but it's got the same go where you want exploration feeling.  And, like BOTW, features a phenomenally well crafted world. Ludicrously good actually. Special good. The way puzzles are integrated into the environment is incredibly well done. 

[sprite]

had an interesting/painful experience yesterday watching my 20y old university student son playing this for the first time, he is a gamer but the sort that puts 100h into the latest AAA fps and FIFA every year and plays them whilst talking to his mates and watching youtube at the same time. He's the typical modern young gamer raised on big flashing map arrows and running down restrictive corridors from point A to point B.
 
he was bored before the opening cut scene had ended and hated the graphical style, ran past all the chests in the opening cave (containing links first outfit) because 'how was I supposed to know they had stuff in them, he then ran down the hill to the old man ignoring every item (like apples and mushrooms) and moaned his way through every one of the first 3 shrines
 
if you are hoping the final paragraph here ends with 'but he then learned to love the game' or something redemptive afraid not, he was making Link sprint everywhere because 'I haven't got 6h to see all the good stuff in the game' and he found the whole game very frustrating to play, especially once it opened out - he wouldn't play past getting the paraglider as was bored with it. All the subtle marvellous weapon systems were lost on him as he wanted to kill things instantly with no skill of learning the bow for example.
 
He's clearly disinherited now but does show how a game as brilliant and wonderful as this can still totally miss the mark for some players, especially maybe those bred on dull predictable unimaginative AAA big publisher fare who want to be lead round by the nose and just see the sights on a bus tour.
 
I then played for a bit after him and found the final tower stealthing my way up in a half hour game of cat and mouse with what was guarding it in a very tense climb around surrounding areas, but even that didn't pique his interest, he found the whole thing inherently dull and not appealing at all.

This is so sad!

I do find it hard to sit still, I'm easily distracted even at work - I'll be working on something, have another thought and need to action it before returning to my work. I'll have the TV on whilst studying, I'll be on the forum between rounds of Overwatch, etc. I am aware that it's very "busy" and I suppose I am also a product of today's technology everywhere but...

Even then, for me sitting down and playing Zelda, I can focus on it. Maybe it's because games used to be like that, just you vs the world, and I played them then, so I have the patience for it.

It's a lovely break from the chaos I surround myself with.

[Delargey]

16 minutes ago, SHarris78 said:

When do you get good enough weapons to have a chance against the Minotaur creature?  I've got swords of level 36 which barely scratch him, and if it gets close your side jump / back flip is so short you get hit anyway.

 

I'm loving the adventure part of the game but combat is dragging it down.

 

You can avoid his attacks if you time it right. I cannot time things right so mostly run away.

 

One day I'll kill those horse pricks but not today.

[Guest]

This game is truly magical. I was playing late last night, it seemed liked I'd I my been on it an hour. I looked at the clock and it was half two! Impossible.

[Not Thread Owner]

55 minutes ago, SHarris78 said:

When do you get good enough weapons to have a chance against the Minotaur creature?  I've got swords of level 36 which barely scratch him, and if it gets close your side jump / back flip is so short you get hit anyway.

 

 

 

You can kill him with a pile of sticks and a pot lid shield. So straight away.

 

Trick is to parry, and jump on his back when he's stunned.

[SHarris78]

1 minute ago, deKay said:

 

You can kill him with a pile of sticks and a pot lid shield. So straight away.

 

Trick is to parry, and jump on his back when he's stunned.

 

That's why I'm having so much trouble then - I'm hardly ever able to parry successfully, guess I better get practicing!

[Not Thread Owner]

I can't parry either so haven't killed one yet.

 

Came close by smacking one round the head with a chest though.

[spatular]

parrying maybe the best way (i don't know) but dodging works fine too.

[MrCarrot]

Yeah, fighting lynels is pretty much the only place I can ever manage to pull off flurry attacks consistently. The timing window for triggering them on their attacks seems to be pretty generous.

[NexivRed]

Is anyone else just captivated by the astoundingly endearing music/sounds that play whilst cooking  

 

What does everyond like to cook most? I find the bass/meat/radish combo pretty solid and easy to stock up on. Different levels too using hefty and gourmet etc. 

I also cook 5 apple simmered fruits for easy ass money, as well as 4x any critter + horn that I just don't seem to use ( crickets and the speedy lizards come to mind). Think they fetch 50 rupees each. 5x the lower level stuff like stealth mushrooms too. 70 rupees for those is it?

 

Speaking of crickets, anyone else proceed to catch 90 more for that love struck dude cos they didn't read the quest text properly 

 

Also, who else keeps specific "weapons" for functional tasks. I always keep a sickle for cutting grass and it doesn't suffer durability. I keep a leaf for rafts. Although, if you're heading out on a raft for some magnetic treasure hunting, be aware your leaf suffers if you hit the empty treasure chests sitting on your raft whilst wafting. Chuck em back (they remain open so you can still tell if you've looted them).

 

What's everyone called their horse? WHO'S RIDDEN A STAG??!! I don't think I've seen ANYTHING cooler in a video game than the animation Link uses swinging up onto a bolting stag by its antlers  I much prefer running after them and cutting across their path to get him to do that than sneaking. Apparently they'll allow you to ride in much rockier areas. 

[mdn2]

Had a successful monster marathon on this yesterday:

 

Did my second Divine Beast

Spoiler

The Iguana near Goron City

 which wasn't too difficult - took me a while to figure out the second phase of the boss though. After that, I found the Lost Woods and the secret of the Lost Woods . Only had 11 hearts though, so spent a good whole exploring for Shrines to get more Heart Containers. This led to me finishing my first Major Test of Strength Shrine and then I took on that Lynel who whooped my ass with Shock arrows near Zora's Domain. He was tougher than the Major Test of Strength, but went down eventually. 

Ended up clearing another 9 Shrines to get me up to the total needed for the Lost Woods item. I finally switched it off at 2am last night after claiming my prize. 

 

52 hours in total - 51 Shrines done, 63 Korok Seeds and 2 Divine Beasts down. I think I'll concentrate on opening up the last 4 areas in the map before reaching the other Divine Beasts. 

 

[shirubagan]

@Spainkiller \m/

 

[NexivRed]

On 25/03/2017 at 12:17, sprite said:

 

They're just different. I'm unsure if you are talking about shrines or Divine Beasts but the shrines fit in with the whole ethos of the game of going anywhere, doing anything, without needing to sit down and think "right. I'm going to commit x hours to achieve this."

I for one don't miss the longevity of, say, OoT's Water Temple!

 

 

Agreed!! Mostly cos I just hated being indoors for that long!!

[Nobuo's Organ]

I did the

Test of Wood

very carefully. This mad dash version is epic: