Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

WTF, this game has Witch Time?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_58TbykoA

I don’t know what Witch Time is but yeah if you dodge or block just right you get an opening to land a bunch of hits.

Well shit I just may have to buy a used Wii U to play this because the open world goodness you guys keep talking about sounds like it would nicely supplant Witcher 3 since I’m done with that.

Bayonetta

I love that you are fully allowed to wander off into areas that you shouldn’t be in. I learned the hard way that I had wandered off on the wrong road from the great plateau. But, that was a lot of fun.

This game is straight up gorgeous. It takes the wind-waker aesthetic to the next level. The music fits perfectly with the action, ramping up during battles, beautiful piano melodies while exploring untamed wilderness.

The thing, that I love the most about this game, is the exploration. Never has a Zelda game been like this before, and it is stunning. The vastness of the world is hard to wrap your head around. The little secrets tucked away, and the attention to detail are astounding.

This game does such an incredible job of maintaining the vastness of the world, you don’t get maps auto-filled, it takes time to run to and explore new areas, and if you spot something odd off in the distance, you are rewarded for visiting it. Something good.

Arguably, the original was just like this, only 2D and with less physics. If you have time, look up their GDC talk. They prototyped Breath of the Wild with a 3D version of the original Legend of Zelda that they cooked up.

Rain with lightning for the first time today. Awesome.

The world is starting to feel intimidatingly huge. Like I think I’ve uncovered so much of the map and then I zoom out…
I keep telling myself I should stop playing the Wii U version since I’m getting my switch and that version of the game in like a week, but I just can’t stop. The good thing is the open nature of this game means I can blitz my way through what is probably 20 hours or so of gameplay in maybe a quarter of the time when I do get the switch. I’m tempted to just play through it fully on the Wii U and then switch it up on my second play through but I really want to be able to play in bed…and other places.

Unrelated, but has anyone made a run at Gannon yet? I’m kind of tempted to see what it would be like, but I can’t even come close to fighting a guardian yet let alone mr. Calamity.

In a related story what is the secret to fighting guardians because I’m getting my ass kicked. Even against the stationary ones.

Ordered this yesterday and won’t be able to play it for a while unfortunately. That said…

This is music to my ears. Negative space is my jam.

And I’m so happy to hear it has motion aiming. Cheers @Kadath ;-)

I’ve not, because I want the whole sequence of “how I get there and what happens” to be a surprise.

I’ve already run into enough Guardians and random powerful enemies scattered here and there that effortlessly kill me in one swipe to know that trying to face Gannon would be a pointless affair for me.

I guess there’s no real complaining about spoilers in this case, huh?

Need help with Vah Ruta terminal 3. This stupid fing game is ridiculous in what it expects you to understand. I have tried this for 31.5hours and finally had to look up what to do online and even THAT doesn’t explain it.

Apparently you have to stop time for the whole fucking elephant by hitting minus. Except when I hit minus it still shows me in world map, not elephant map. How the fuck do I get it to swap between world and dungeon / elephant map???

Edit, figured it out:

NM, it lets you open 2 of the terminals without a map, but you need the “Dungeon Map” to do #3. So dumb

Yea that pissed me off. No way for the player to know that unless they stumbled on it by dumb luck.

Right, dumb luck.

We’re explicitly guided to the map, told to get it, and it even has its own cut scene the second you enter the ‘dungeon.’ But only dumb luck will see us through.

I’m going to have to see that on video cause that does not match my playthrough at all

It’s been dispatched at last! Now I just have to finish HZD tonight…

Same here. £45.99 from Amazon for the Wii U version is a nice price, considering Game was charging £59.99 for it in store this weekend. Madness.

I’m impatient to give it a try after all the praise I’ve read here and elsewhere. My daughter who has never played a Zelda game is really looking forward to it too.

Wendelius

The Wii U version arrived yesterday but I probably won’t be able to compare properly til the weekend. I know there’s been a lot written about the two already, though.

Polygon is running ads for the Switch and the game and in the video there are so many things I haven’t even come close to seeing and I’ve already put in like four of five hours of play time at least. Maybe more? This game is crazy big and yet it all feels really crafted and not just procedurally generated. It’s impressive that way.

The Special Edition case is really cool BTW. It looks just like your Sheikah Slate. :)

Man I couldn’t disagree more with the complaint above. I just got to that point in the game and was in absolute adoration of the whole sequence from the very beginning to the final dungeon boss fight.

Being as vague as possible…from the linear path that leads to that first big area, to the massive vistas you see including the main objective you’re heading to, and then the fact that it’s not a skybox - you actually dive off a cliff to get there.

Then the first real dungeon of the game… my jaw dropped when I realized what was happening. The puzzles were really innovative, forcing me to think through all the abilities that I have, and how to use them, without holding my hand in any way.

And that led into the boss fight which epitomized everything I love about the combat in this game.

Every bow I had broke, and I was down to my last sword. The boss was down to a sliver of health. I didn’t really prepare my equipment well so I was on the verge of giving up entirely and regrouping, but I figured I’d try one last thing.

I equip my one remaining sword. I drink a potion which increases my strength. I pray to the gods and hope for the best - I lock onto the boss, carefully aim my sword, hold the R button, and release. The big lunky, two-handed sword slowly flies through the air spinning toward the boss. It connects! He’s dead! A miraculous Hail Mary saves the day!

I couldn’t believe it. A completely unscripted sequence that could have gone hundreds of different ways depending on how I wanted to approach it, all because there are so many systems at play multiplying possibilities.

None of these events spread across 3-4 hours were really unique or interesting to describe on their own. The boss itself was fairly mundane. But what makes Breath of the Wild so is how all of the systems combine to make my experience feel like it’s completely one of a kind, that no one else will see the same thing as me.

I just wish my Wii U had a game DVR like the XB1 or PS4, so I could share what I experienced last night.

Well now I own amiibo.