I just rewatched Castle in the Sky and I’d bet $100 that the technology collapse and dilapidated robots in Laputa were a strong influence for Breath of the Wild. The vibe between the two is so striking.
Anyhow, it’s a great movie and worth rewatching.
I’m nearly in love with this game now. I seem to like it more the longer I play it, which is the opposite of how it normally works for me. I said I was going to the Zora’s village a week ago and still haven’t made it, despite playing the game almost every evening since. I keep getting distracted and exploring new areas instead. I did make it to the Rito village last night (I happened upon it while wandering around) and freed my first of the divine beasts. It was fun. I’m guessing that the story enemies do not level scale the way the random enemy mobs do. I was wearing my weakest armor and its attacks never did more than a heart of damage when they hit.
The story boss encounters are not terribly difficult, but they are inventive and fun. The only real scaling comes the longer you play as the mobs gain power and health. The DLC adds even harder everything.
I know where the Zora town is, and I know where the Rito town is, and that speaks volumes about the strength of your wanderlust. :)
My first boss was the most difficult one. Oof.
They obviously could’ve scaled the bosses or made the bosses even, but didn’t. A defensible choice, because teleporting off the other lands and returning is an option.
Plus they also gently guide you to the easiest one first. It’s your choice to go elsewhere. :)
Ha, that’s not even the half of it! I turned around while traveling to Zora town since I did not have many lighting resistance potions and went to the steppe and jungle areas in the south, saw Farosh the lightning dragon, made my way along the coast to Lurelin Village, went back west to the desert / wasteland area, then started heading north again and that’s when I eventually found Rito village. I’ve climbed all the towers except the central tower (guarded by guardians), the tower near Akkala (guarded by floating guardians), and the one in between the Rito area and Gerudo (which I haven’t spotted yet, but it’s next up on my priorities list). This game certainly exceeded my expectations as far as exploration is concerned.
Edit: forgot to add my adventures around the Lake Akkala area, which fit somewhere in there.
I didn’t even find Lurelin Village until I was almost finished with the game. Everyone’s Breath of the Wild adventure is so massively different.
Praise the Sun ;)
I finally managed to beat the final trails and power-up the master sword. The final section was an absolute nail-biter, with the all-seeing Guardian Turrets proving to be one complication too many. I had been pretty conservative with my resources until the part with the stationary Guardians, where I managed to waste heaps of my health and a few of my decent shields when I failed that fancy last-second deflection move multiple times (I’m pretty rusty after taking a lengthy break). I hadn’t ever made it that far before, and thought of having to start back 18 floors below was not appealing. Against the Skywatchers, I accidentally shot a bomb arrow too close while gliding to hit their weak point, and caught fire. By the time I reached the last area, I had barely any health left, no fairies either, as they never spawned at the final rest area, and only two ancient arrows (basically insta-kills provided you don’t miss the weak spot on tougher enemies). I was not prepared for all those horseback Bokoblins rushing me, nor a damn Silver Lynel overseen by a Guardian Turret, but I managed to deal with the mob with bombs and stasis, before making a mad-dash to the tower, which was isolated, meaning there was little cover to hide behind, so I had to solely rely on stasis. When I made it, and climbed to the top of the tallest structure, I tapped that jerk with my wimpy sword to get his attention before one-shotting him in the eye before casually gliding away. It felt incredible!
Afterwards, you’re whisked away to a giant, narrow staircase, which isn’t the biggest relief (I probably took a couple of minutes walking to the top because I did not want to risk restarting anything), but reaching the ancient chamber grants you a massive power-up that turns the master sword into a lightsaber. Worth it! Back to Hateno Village to rest up before Link sets off to heed the call of the Champion’s Ballad. Then Ganon’s getting evicted from Hyrule Castle after a year of adventuring. What a game!
I’m still playing and loving the base game. My daughters (7 and 5) are too. The 7 yr old just drew this.
Where’s the like button? That’s adorable!
That’s so cool. My three year old is not there yet. She mainly wants to take pictures of horses. She also asks for “the lady” - meaning Link - to get hurt so she has to eat something. She just loves the eating animation. The mind of a toddler is strange.
That’s so cool, Clay. Your daughter must be pretty invested in the world of Hyrule if she’s mapping out the terminal positions.
My kids LOVE this game. It’s an amazing experience for them; as fun as it is for me, it’s a completely magical world and experience for them. They talk strategy, develop the courage to tackle various challenges, are EXTREMELY proud of their accomplishments, and are completely inspired by it. I love watching them play and my only regret is that, as an adult, I can’t experience it as a child. What a cool experience.
Yah stuff like this has got to be mindblowing for a kid.
That’s so encouraging to hear, and I can totally see Breath of the Wild being a perfect game to experience together as a family. It’s such a departure from what I expect from a modern game, that it takes me back to that feeling of being a kid where I didn’t appreciate what was reasonable for games to support. For instance, in most games, a snowball is probably going to be a piece of set dressing, or, at best, might be interactive in the sense that it can be destroyed when you run over it. I would never expect it grow in mass when you roll it around in the snow, or to shrink around heat. Zelda’s full of moments like that, and to have that as a formative gaming experience would be magical.
I love it when a game stimulates someone’s creativity.
-Someone who spent a large portion of his youth drawing characters from Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6.
That’s so damn cool! I love that she remembered to include the volcano.
When I was a little kid, my friends and I would sketch enemies, level layouts, and new power-ups for Alex the Kidd during lunch time, which was probably already pretty dated by that point, but I have a hunch that Breath of the Wild might stand the test of time better than Sega’s forgotten mascot. :)
