Easily one of the greatest games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild delivers a satisfyingly beautiful presentation on scale, world building, story, gameplay, and design. Most of my gripes are buggy graphics and such that have more to do with the Switch's shortcomings as opposed to the games'. And even gripes that are the game's fault are done purposefully to make the game better. If you play this game you will certainly not be disappointed.
That was the short version, long version of why this game is awesome along with a plot synopsis will continue now.
Synopsis: A century before the game begins, the peaceful kingdom of Hyrule was attacked by an evil entity known as Calamity Ganon, who is the game's version of the usual Zelda villain Ganondorf. Princess Zelda and her knight Link, fight the evil Ganon but lose, and Link barely escapes with his life. He's placed in a bed of water inside a cave for a hundred years and when he wakes up with no memory of what happens, he has to fight to defeat Calamity Ganon and his minions to purge Hyrule of its darkness.
Okay so first the plot. I'm not too familiar with the canon storyline of Zelda, but from what I've heard the game's storyline is completely original, at least in its structure. I really like how it got the elements of Zelda's story and broke them up into little parts and built up in its own unique way.
And surprisingly enough for such a simplistic children's story of good versus evil, it's very compelling. Link's memories become somewhat of a mystery and how he is in a world he has to defend but not remember becomes very interesting. Sure the whole "You don't remember me but you should" angle from almost every NPC becomes pretty flat, but I'll admit that its very compelling.
What limits the stories RPG elements such as the bog standard story and robotic NPCs are pretty much forgotten. I mean, the game is just genius. The music is atmospheric and engaging, what should make the game boring and forgettable such as the conventions of video game RPGs and fantasy instead make the game more classic. The combat sticks to the average shift and strike sort of method but still remains very very fun. There were times when I was on the edge of my seat, just slamming the respawn button to get back at an enemy in the game who defeated me.
Speaking of which, this game does not treat you like a baby. It doesn't hold your hand through a two hour tutorial, the handling of mechanics is very straightforward, and most of all the difficulty. On a scale between a Disney Channel online game and Dark Souls, Breath of the Wild is somewhere in the middle. It's easy enough that you can progress without being a hard core gamer, but hard enough to want you to keep getting stronger.
Likewise, there's something here for everyone. Hard core RPG fans can enjoy the rich worldbuilding and character design. Fantasy nuts can really enjoy the brilliantly created setting. And people who like fighting games can enjoy the very fun combat angle which is a very refined system which is based both on the player's skill and items. Everyday people who aren't too into gaming and just want to escape for a little can enjoy how investing the gorgeous graphics of the game are.
My gripes actually have reasons for them existing. I really don't like how weapons can break because its annoying to get a really cool or powerful weapon just for it to break two seconds later. However it prevents players from creating an overpowered build and flying through the game. I also don't like how the loading screen had awkwardly scratchy transitions and how riding at full gallop on a horse can make the bottom part of the screen sort of have an annoying 'ghost effect'. Again, this is the Switch's fault, not the game's.
Another gripe I have is the reliance on more powerful weapons as opposed to skill. To defeat stronger bosses you just need better arrows, which can be bought with the game's currency rupees. But this is just pretty tedious, grinding away at weaker enemies and selling their drops to exchange them for arrows.
Again this can be blamed on the simple fact that the game is an RPG, grinding is a simple facet of every role playing game. But it also limits the game heavily, you kill monsters to get drops, you sell drops to get rupees and spend rupees to buy arrows which defeat stronger enemies. You spend rupees on arrows pretty much. While limiting, I prefer this to simply having a purely skill based system which obligates newer players to just give up instead of grind when they reach an area of the game with too strong a boss.
Another gripe is that there is no simplified progression system to track your progress. Sure there's a 'Quest Log' that tracks how many quests you completed but still, on the game as a whole there is no way to know how many items you've obtained, there's no EXP system to boost your stats and most of all, and out of all of the game's content, how much of it you've experienced. Really enjoyable games such as Chasm, Assassin's Creed and even Lego Star Wars had clearly defined systems that let you know how much of the game there was left to uncover.
But like my other gripes I understand this entirely. In order to let the player create his own adventure instead of having a streamlined system tell him how much is left to uncover, he or she has to do it on his own, a surprisingly smart system for forcing the player to tackle the game on his or her own terms. Like Skyrim, the player does not have to follow the main story to progress through the game. He or she can take on side quests, dungeons and simply explore the game's magnigicent setting. This, like the removal of the average 'game percentage' aspect really allows the player to have the best experience possible.
The game gives an engaging experience on every level imaginable, from the simplest design to the most complex. The original game 'The Legend of Zelda' followed Link on his journey to reunite the pieces of the tri force, but this game focuses on Link's journey to defeat Ganon to free Hyrule from his grasp. The game does not retcon the whole series, but instead uses its elements in a new and intelligent way. It uses canon elements like building blocks to create its own beautiful masterpiece of a story and game. Unlike most RPGs, there is no leveling system, but instead...shrines which have replaced dungeons. Each shrine includes various obstacles, puzzles and enemies, at the end of which is a statue that gives you a Spirit Orb and a full health regeneration.
Every four Spirit Orbs lets you become stronger, either giving you an extra heart, or more stamina, which you use to run, glide and climb. There are over a hundred unique shrines with their own design and that in itself is genius and scrupulous game design. Can you imagine that? More than a hundred specially designed rooms, each with their own loot and obstacles. This really is a masterfully crafted game, with tons of effort and creativity thrown in. Little bits of fun here and there such as little 'Children of the Forest' or spirits, which have the most unique and interesting design, occur almost nine hundred times. How amazing is that? Nine *hundred* seperate encounters with unique spirits, each that give you seeds to max out your inventory. That is just one of the many aspects of the game that make it the most engaging and well designed video game ever made. The sheer amount of effort and ingenuity put into this game really shows, from the plethora of uniquely designed characters and monsters, items, dungeons (shrines), bosses, and puzzles.
I've never wanted to play a game that I hoped never ended except for this one. And when I finish it, I will probably play it again and again. And if you try it, you probably will too.
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