Finally, a review I've been holding back for some time now. Zelda Breath of the Wild, a 2017 release from Nintendo for the Switch, was quite the interesting experience. I write this knowing that there are countless other reviews, and specifically because of that. Here we go.
I'll start this off by saying that aesthetically, this game shows how massive of a team was behind production. The textures, and cross between cell-shaded, and true 3D graphics is amazingly executed. The draw distance and environments are high level. You start the game being woken from cryo sleep as Link, who is the known hero of Hyrule. Zelda- the princess of the land, and also master sorceress is battling Ganon, who is powerful and evil creature that has plagued Hyrule and the world for ages. She speaks to you telepathically from the castle where she is fighting to keep him at bay. You awaken in underwear and are guided to a sheikah slate on a platform which will be your guiding device. It allows you to interact with the ancient relics around the world that uncover maps, dungeons, and abilities for Link. There are conveniently 2 chests outside of this dark room with a shirt and pants with shoes. I would like to know where Link shops that gives kicks bundled with pants.
Anyway, you set out on a journey in an enormous world. You meet an old man who happens to be the king of Hyrule in disguise. Why an old man would have his daughter trapped in a castle fighting the ultimate boss, and choose to lead you on before setting you off on your journey to help, is beyond me. Link has lost his memory, and there were 4 guardians of ancient beasts who he discovers and receives help from along the way. He also gains abilities through the slate he possesses, and through the shrines he visits with monks within who grant him abilities. He has the standard Zelda equipment, with swords, bows, and shields, only more variety. His bombs are an ability he learns from the shrines, which he can spawn infinitely at will. They come in handy as the only offensive weapon he has that doesn't ever go away. He can also wield large swords two-handed, and spears, as well as wands. All weapons in this game, including shields, break, and that is the crux of my issues with this game, which I will expound upon.
The soundtrack is amazing, I must say. Not only do classic Zelda tunes make cameos, but original tunes up the standard for sure. I was never not pleases with the sound in the game, except for while cooking. When cooking one of the many enhancement recipes that you learn by trial and error, it makes a metal clanging sound that completely takes me out of immersion. I know it's a minor thing, but I want to hear savory sounds when cooking, like in any other RPG, like Star Ocean, or Monster Hunter. In this game, the cooking system consists of utilizing herbs, meats from slain animals, seasonings. vegetables, fruits, and monster parts you gather throughout the world. Everything can be cooked, but not everything goes together. Sometimes, you get a description prior to cooking an ingredient that will let you know the stat that it enhances, like endurance or strength. Much of the time, you are guessing, and trying to remember recipes. In the game, every shrine you complete, yields you a spirit orb. When 4 are collected, they can be redeemed at the shrine in Kakariko village, for 1 health heart, or an additional quarter of stamina bar. The health bonus is a joke, because giving me 1 heart in this game is like loaning me 1 dollar. Hits from the weakest fools do near full life damage. It really would have been nice to have 2 rows of health standard towards the end like in previous Zelda games.
The world is not just drawn. It is a literal enormous world, that is seamless and completely open and connected. When you see it, your first thought will be to expect a wall, but every single land and forest out in the distance, can be traveled to in real time as you see it. There is also very good variety, from cold regions, to deserts, to rain forests, to open fields, to mountains, to volcanic regions. They are all unique and vivid. Many praised the game upon release at changing the structure and meta of Zelda for being so interactive, and that is true and also false. The world full of people I was told to expect is partially a freaking joke. Much like Zelda games of old, there are a handful of people in general. Yes, there are towns, and a good number of NPC's, but there is a wide open, convoluted, and barren world in between. I was very often lost, with no clue or direction to where I needed to go. I must say, the night and day cycle was done very well, and something I wish games did more. I really liked how it seemed to almost change seasons at times. Towards the end of the game, it started to rain every night, which got annoying. I feel like the game reads the weather where you are, because the days got really long, just like where I am now, and it rained often here too.
The flow of the game was stupid in my opinion. There was some beautiful lore and story to be had, but from the outset of the game, the final mission is open to you. It is up to you to fill the measly 40 hours or so yourself, as you gain gear and experience, while preparing for the final boss. Having faced him, I can say that the prep you do in completing the dungeons and divine beast quests, actually makes the fight with Calamity Ganon- the ultimate boss of all Zelda games, too daggon easy! It isn't like other games like Monster Hunter or Final Fantasy Crisis Core, where the side missions that sit alongside the plot are meaningful and feel like part of the campaign. It felt like I was looking for missions after a while, to justify playing the game. And that became a chore after a while when I found that there were only 3 or 4 villages at my disposal in the entire huge world, and there was nothing left to do in them. I started hunting for shrines, and looking for lost towns to find purpose in the game. And I began to think to myself how stupid it is to be playing an RPG where I'm reaching for content. I'm not saying there is absolutely no content there. But in a world than enormous, it feels very out of place to run out of side quests and errands, minus the DLC, and be struggling to find something else to do, to avoid just going in to fight Ganon. You can fight him before clearing the missions to weaken him, and he wouldn't be that difficult, as well as the game being stupidly short at that point. That's an issue for a game that massive.
And while I'm sure there were a few places I didn't visit completely, I certainly made an effort, and found some lost cities as well. One was a coastal town ravaged by monsters, which I saved, and made a bustling town again. I found many of the shrines, although not all. Towards the end, I became disgusted with the baby errands that people would give you. I wanted a solid and juicy quest line to be had alongside the story, and there just wasn't one there at all. Just small, idiotic side missions to waste time and resources. One girl, I found by a river, on my way to look for Keese bats to build some armor. She wanted me to jump in a river and follow her bottle with lettter in it, to the first person it reached. I started the mission, and then just rolled my eyes and stopped. That's a summary of how the missions felt. And the next issue is why it was all the more annoying.
As I mentioned, all things beside armor break in this game. Also, another thing worth noting, is that all resources needed for building armor and equipment are limited. So when you build a sword with hard fought resources, after 10 swings, it breaks, and you have to find somewhere else where those resources are found. I've played games with equipment wear systems. I've never played one this stupid. Weapons and shield break ridiculously quick. After blocking 5 or so strong blows, your shield is gone. After swinging the sword, or club, or whatever, depending on the object you strike, 20 or so strikes and it's gone. And Link can't shoot the hands. When he is out of weapons and shields, he can not block or attack. And Nintendo was too stupid to put a base construction system in the game, which allowed you to construct equipment from resources that refresh, like trees and rocks. Nope. And no stores sell weapons or shields at a base level. The one place that does, is Akkala Research Center, which is in a perilous region, and has equipment that is very taxing to produce and afford. Those resources needed for that equipment are even more rare and limited. Luckily, the Ancient weapons and shields you build there last a bit longer.
Because of this setup, I was hesitant to explore, knowing that my hard fought inventory was being put at risk whenever I decided to venture out. It sucks not to have an equipment set, in an RPG, that I can call my own unique set that I keep. When I got to the end of the game, rather than complete a few extra quests, I took the healing items and equipment that I spent hours building, and went to face Ganon. The game has a lot of risk and very little reward. Enemies, or dungeons that you fight to the brink to conquer, losing all of your items and weapons, will often yield items that don't even begin to match the trouble it cost you. The abilities you gain from the guardians were priceless. One gives you the ability to launch high into the air to glide great distances, and one heals you to full health upon defeat 1 time before recharging. In the beginning of the game, you get a cloth that you can use to glide anywhere when leaping from a great height. It is the primary means of travel in such a big landscape. It is dependent on your stamina, which I increased quite a bit. Most people I see play the game didn't do that, but I appreciated being able to glide for extremely long distances across the map.
All in all, the story, and visuals were beautiful. I enjoyed the cinematic end scene during and after the last battle. It was far too easy, and hate the fact that to avoid that, the game would have to have been cut to ridiculously short length. I would have appreciated the ability to craft items and equipment I wanted, once I learned the components, like in other game. This way, even if it broke, I could always fashion a new set. That was a huge blunder on Nintendo's part. Idiots for that. The game isn't full enough, and while I really wanted to love it, it just didn't offer enough content. It was a beautiful world to explore for fun, but I wish there were more directed and meaningful things to do. All in all, I had to finish it, and it did have a lasting appeal in its own way. Great presentation yes! Not the GOAT that fools are calling it!! I Knight Thee- 7.5/10
