A Late Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild

A little late to the party.

Breath of the wild is definitely one of those games that just grabs you and shakes you and won’t let go. Any fan of open world games knows that feeling. Stepping out into Hyrule for the very first time in Breath of the wild feels like stepping out of the vault in Fallout 3. Only…even more enjoyable.

Absolutely gripping

Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been reviewed and discussed countless times. Some people even share the same opinions as me on the game. The game doesn’t feel like a Zelda game what so ever. Actually, if you took the name “The Legend of Zelda” and completely trashed it from the games title, you wouldn’t know it was one if you weren’t paying attention to the story. Breath of the wild has its own unique feel. And it works. From the very first step into Hyrule you realize what you’re in for. Countless hours of trial and error, new discoveries and interesting locations and challenges. Just like other games. Except this time, you can do whatever you like.

Just like in the most recent 3DS entry. “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds”, you can do any part of the game you might like at any time. That’s just about the only similarity between other games besides the obvious characters and items you find around the world.  Each new discovery leaves your heart pounding and there’s a real thrill when something gets completed. I’m reminded of playing the original Legend of Zelda while playing Breath of the wild. Remember finally finding your way somewhere? It feels the same 30 years later. There’s a new level to it this time though. Finding the right path leads to reward. Finding the wrong one doesn’t necessarily punish the player for finding it, but the enemies are slightly beefier. You can still get around the world with almost nothing. But its tricky.

Dungeons are very different.

If you’re just starting Breath of the Wild. Forget everything about the other games. This is something brand new. Finding one of the 4 main dungeons has you activating portals instead of using your boomerangs and slingshots to activate the different pathways. Although occasionally you need a special arrow or a torch to light your way.

Breath of the Wild

Finding on the over one hundred shrines in the game give link spirit orbs he can trade for hearts or stamina. The game does something different and it rewards you at every turn. Especially later in the game with some high ranking gear for low level challenges.

A couple of complaints

Thanks to the sheer size of the map. Sometimes it feels like you go on forever and haven’t found anything. There’s very little to actually see in Hyrule. Sometimes that’s OK though. Perhaps the game would be rather boring if you had a new discovery every 10 seconds. The map system, while it fills out when the player does something to get it, it leaves most places unmarked on the map. you actually have to go out and fill in the map yourself with new locations. The map allows you to lay stamps or pins on the cool things you find but sometimes it feels lacking. Especially after zooming in or out. You really have to zoom into the map in order to see the locations being discussed by some characters.

Weapon degradation is a pain in the ass. Finding one of the coolest weapons in the game (Like the frostblade….Har Har), can make you paranoid to use it for a little while because its so effective in stopping enemies in their tracks. Knowing you have so few swings of such a cool weapon can be really irritating and I often find myself switching weapons constantly or going to hide my weapon back in my house before it breaks. Come to think of it, I haven’t collected the weapons again after I did that, does it cause there durability to recharge?

Overall

Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a fantastic addition to an already fantastic series. Even though you can technically remove the Zelda brand from the game and just call it “Breath of the Wild”. Which I think everyone does anyway.

Do you agree? Have any more thoughts on breath of the wild you’d like to add?

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