Upon playing Final Fantasy XV I was concerned for Breath of the wild. Final Fantasy and The legend of Zelda are 2 franchises I have never compared in the past. It's like comparing one of those FIFI or Super evolution football games to Super Mario. But with the latest entries in the series, it was difficult not to, because they both seemed to be seeking to achieve the same thing and going about it in similar ways. But the execution is where both games completely diverge and Breath of the wild is teaching Final Fantasy XV some lessons along with it. In fact, it's teaching all Zelda fans a lesson.
Final Fantasy XV, in my eyes did open world wrong. This led me to believe that Japanese developers may have an idea of what they deem to be 'open world'. Open world in the context of Final Fantasy XV just meant 'big'. But it was by no means a radical departure for the series as a whole. The world of Final Fantasy felt barren. Unmemorable. It didn't feel like a world that was being lived in. Breath of the wild is the complete opposite. Much of the world is open, but there is always something happening. Even when nothing is happening, something is happening. Whether it be a creature among the grass, birds soaring overhead, the foliage swaying in the wind or the weather. The world in Breath of the wild feels the one thing Final Fantasy XV's never felt. Alive.
Breath of the wild marks a huge departure for the Zelda franchise. Not just in its open world approach, but generally. Breath of the wild feels like an exercise in de-programming what many fans had become accustomed to by previous Zelda outings. Things that you need to progress through the game are not just handed to you or in the immediate vicinity. In previous Zelda's if you were in a dungeon which required you to use your bow, but you were low on arrows; you could defeat an enemy and they'd drop some. You could break a pot and find some. In Breath of the wild, if you find yourself in a situation where you need arrows, then you better haul your ass out into the world and fine some, or go to a shop and buy you some. Nothing is handed to you in Breath of the wild and it's something that you have to adjust to very early on. Foraging is a key part of this new Zelda and the game never lets you forget it. There is a lot that you can't account for and there's no telling what the world can throw at you at a given time, which may force you to make an inventory sacrifice or take a complete detour from what you initially set out to do. This can be frustrating in some instances, but also liberating in others. It's often on these unplanned detours and quests to forage where the magic of the game shows and the sense of openness and discovery becomes real. Some may see this as something very un-Zelda like, but for me this is the Zelda experience that got sidelined in favour of formulas and linearity from Link to the past onwards.
Breath of the wild features dungeons, but in a semi revised form. The world of the game is littered with shrines, which are bite sized dungeons; each of which is based around one puzzle that you must solve in order to progress through it and complete it. The game features 4 more typical style dungeons, but even these vary in play style and layout from your standard Zelda dungeon. Firstly, they are optional. You can complete the game without doing them, although you will struggle in the final battle and you'll also miss out on some great set pieces, meeting some great characters and much of the story. These 'dungeons' are shorter than Zelda dungeons in previous games and layout wise they are much more open from the get go. Near enough the entirety of a dungeon can be explored in any way shape or form - providing you have the means. Dungeons no longer hold key items as they did before. So the reward for doing dungeons this time around feels somewhat lesser than it did before. That feeling of going into a dungeon expecting a new gadget or weapon is gone, and I have to admit - as much as I like the new approach, I do miss that feeling of knowing that I'm going to come out of the other side of a dungeon with something new to mess around with.
Whilst the switch to Switch came late in Breath of the wild's development, the new approach to dungeons and shrines suits the portability of the Switch perfectly. Almost scarily so. There aren't any stretches of the game where you can't save, leave or stall. So if you just want to pick up the game and play it for 15 minutes on the toilet or for 40 minutes during your commute, then you can do that. Breath of the wild wants you to invest as much time in it as possible, but it doesn't impose that you do. It's a welcomed addition which takes into account the time that some games have (or don't have) to sit and play games for hours on end. It's small conscious things like this that set Nintendo apart from other developers.
The world is in Breath of the wild may look peaceful for the most part, but it isn't safe. Many characters you meet out in the world will either tell you they they had to run from monsters, or you'll catch them in the midst of fighting off enemies. And whilst enemies can now pretty much kill you in one hit, they aren't even your biggest problem. The environment is. Stray into areas where the temperatures are below zero and you'll freeze to death unless you wear the appropriate attire. Wander into areas which are too hot and you'll literally burn to death unless you drink an elixir that can temporarily keep you cool. Fall from too high a height and there is no fade to black, 'oh look Link is back from where he fell with a heart docked for negligence'. You will fucking die.
You aren't ever explicitly told 'You must do this if you want to go there'. And there is no prompt or warning of danger beforehand. It's literally, 'Oh shit. I'm burning to death'. Much of everything in this game is discovery and trial and error - the latter of which which factors heavily into Breath of the wild. This new take feels so fresh for a Zelda game, and a Nintendo game, period! Not being told what to do and having death stare you so casually in the face like 'Yes, bitch?' isn't something Nintendo have done in a game for decades. If this is the new line Nintendo are towing, then Lord help us when Super Mario Odyssey arrives. Nintendo are throwing us right back to 1986 with the difficulty and then some.
Nintendo literally set you into this world and then allow you to do what you like. There are no tutorials, no guides. So many of the games' features and nuances aren't explained. You have to discover them, and this is Breath of the wild all over. It's a constant voyage of discovery. No matter how many hours you clock or how much you think you've done, there is always something new that you have to or are yet to discover. Despite having completed the main story of the game, there is still a tonne of things I have yet to do. Every day I hop online, I see a video, a tweet, or a post on some new shit within the game that somebody has discovered. The world of the game isn't just big, it's dense. Nintendo have packed so many things into this game. Things that most will never see of experience. But they are there. Much of the game seems barren at first and as though there isn't much to go on. But if you invest the time into just wandering around and playing with the game's mechanics, you'll be surprised at what you'll find and just how many ways you can tackle a situation.
One area where Breath of the wild falls short is the story. Nintendo had underplayed the story and openly said they didn't think it was important. But none the less, the narrative in this game is still as prominent as it was in previous Zelda's. With there being voice acting, it would have been nice if this was utilised with a better story. Breath of the wild features the same trope we've gotten before. There is a descendant of the Goddess, that is Zelda. A reincarnation of the hero, that is Link. A force of evil, that is Ganon. There are no twists or turns with this story. It's literally, Defeat Ganon. And that's it. Breath of the wild features some great characters. So it's a shame that they are so under-used and that their inclusions aren't woven further into the game play somehow. The premise of the story also insinuates that Link actually had friends once upon a time and even a girlfriend. However, we don't really see these play out. That Breath of the wild trailer that made us all go wild oversells the story, because the story itself is literally a side quest. Many of the scenes you saw in that trailer aren't scenes you see in the game by default. They're actually flashbacks. Flashbacks which are triggered when you visit certain places. Places that you don't have to visit and many of which are so out of the way, that you would never end up at them unless you go out of your way to find them.
Breath of the wild also features a physics engine which doesn't sound like a big deal, but is in practicality, because it's another dimension you have to be aware of when you're playing the game. You need to be mindful of what you set on fire and where, because if there's a back-draft, it may come back on you and your ass will get crisped. You need to be cautions of how you throw bombs, because if it's on the slightest of inclines, it may roll down. If you want to para-glide farther, you'd be wise to make the most of storms and strong winds. There is so much to consider in Breath of the wild that you wouldn't normally, which changes how you play it. Breath of the wild sets a precedent for future Zelda's in this regard and I can't wait to see how Nintendo build on it in future instalments.
However, this new physics quasi real-life shit approach that Breath of the wild takes falls seriously short when it comes to weapons. Now, some will agree to disagree on what work sin this game and what doesn't. But the one thing everybody will agree on unanimously, is that the weapon durability in Breath of the wild is a big issue. Let's just get one thing out of the way. The master sword is not given to you nor acquired by default as part of the story. You can complete the game without it and there are probably many gamers out there who played through this game, completed it and never saw the damn thing. Every weapon you use in this game is either found or snatched from the corpse of a fallen enemy. The weapons are varied and you'll need to be mindful of what type of weapon you use against which enemy, as it can be the difference between life and the GAME OVER screen. However, every weapon can and will break pretty easily. So don't be getting too attached to any of them. A couple of the weapons can be repaired, but this comes at a high cost. And when I mean a couple, I literally mean 2 weapons in the whole entire game. The durability of your weapon is not indicated by a gauge, so you have no idea how close your weapon is to breaking until a message pops up on the screen telling you it's about to. But weapons break so easily that one probably won't last longer than an encounter a Bokoblin anyway, so that's your gauge. Oh yeah, and even if you do manage to get the master sword, it won't break, but it will run out of energy of you use it will- nilly and you won't be able to use it for 10 - 20 minutes until it recharges. Weapon durability is badly handled in this game and it's one of the few instances of something which gets in the way of enjoyment. The game features those age old torch lighting puzzles. Torch wood and branches are weapons. Fire burns them out. Do the math. Being caught mid puzzle with 3 torches to set on fire, but nothing to use because 'YO' TORCH BROKE' lighting the first 5 is an absolute bitch. I'm all for a weapon durability system, but weapons shouldn't be breaking as easily as they do in this game.
Long lasting weapons are a distant memory and so are wild hearts and rupees. If you want to boost your health, you'll need to cook food to restore them, because there are no more hearts in bushes. If you want big dollar, you need to forage for materials and gem stones and sell them, because ain't no coin in clay pots no mo'. The hustle in Breath of the wild is very real. Nintendo ain't trying to give you shit easily this time around.
As big as Breath of the wild is, its the small almost mundane things that I took pleasure in. Every play session I would spend at least 10 minutes just cooking. Throwing different ingredients together to see what meals and elixirs I can whip up. Or scaling a huge mountain up to its highest point, looking around the world which seems to stretch out almost infinitely. Picking a point I want to get to and paragliding part way there. Nintendo allows you to do all the big things, like fight giant dragons, take on menacing Cyclops' and robots with lasers of death. But they also allow you to just enjoy really low key moments during your down time or moments where you just want to be a boring bitch and just wander around.
As much as Breath of the wild's forward thinking is to be commended, it also comes with some issues. Zelda used to be a franchise which rewarded your discovery and your bravery. But in this game, you're never far from being punished. There are many instances in this game where you are made to overcome huge obstacles or traverse for miles on a quest, only to be rewarded with some shitty weapon that will break after one strike or some piece of food. The ratio of discovery to reward is tipped very badly. So if you're a gamer who likes to constantly be rewarded with the best, shiniest most powerful weapons for doing large and lengthy quests, then prepared to be downright disappointed.
For how big the world of the game is, there are very few variations and species of enemy. There are probably around 5 or 6. 3 of them may wield different weapons and be different colours, but they're still the game damn enemy. The same goes for the main quest bosses, all of which look exactly the same aside from the weapon they wield. This also extends to the disappointing last boss, who is just an arachnid version of the main quest bosses. So the boss encounters do not feel as fresh and as new as they should. They also feel anti-climactic, especially when the journey just to get into the dungeon of where the boss lurks feels so much more epic, grand and of a true Zelda boss battle proportion than the boss battle itself. I also personally found that the boss battles were insanely difficult. I have made peace with the fact that as I've gotten older, I have become shittier at games and have a lower level of tolerance for struggling. But even so, I found some of the boss battles in Breath of the wild to be brutal. There is always more than one way to beat a boss. But the difference in this game, is that unless you have impeccable timing, you won't always stand a chance unless you are seriously prepared and have a boss' attack animation and range down pat.
In previous Zelda games, the dungeons were an exercise in boss preparation. You could never NOT be prepared for a boss. In Breath of the wild you can very easily face a boss, get your ass kicked and have to completely re-evaluate your weapon loadouts, your prepared meals, your elixirs, your armour set. In one instance, I was struggling with a boss so badly, that I left it and went and tackled another dungeon instead. Just to save my own sanity and hope that on the way, I would become stronger and come across decent enough weapons to go back and fuck it up. I like that there is no one boss which feels like an impossible obstacle that you MUST pass. But at the same time, I did find the main-ish boss battles to be a tad more difficult than they needed to be, which is in large part due to the high level of damage that any enemy can do, which forces you to just never get hit. These bosses move around quickly and attack quickly, so you have to be on your toes and also ensure the camera is always in the best position, because if you can't see the boss, then you're already fucked and chances are you'll see the GAME OVER screen before you've got the boss back in your sights again. And trust me. You will see the GAME OVER screen many, many times.
The game also features bosses who aren't part of the main story, whom you'll come across as you're roaming around. These boss encounters are much more fun and varied than the dungeon dwellers, because they feel more like your typical Zelda boss encounters. So my advice to you: seek them out and give them a go. You're more likely to get better rewards for beating them too.
Nintendo's consoles have always lacked the clout of their Microsoft and Sony competitors, but that's never stopped them from delivering the pretty and BOY is Breath of the wild pretty. Nintendo have proven on numerous occasions that a great art style can trump sheer horse power striving for photo realism. Breath of the wild is gorgeous. Every time I played this game, there was some spectacle, some graphical effect or some small detail that just left me gob smacked. The shattering energy field around a monk when you complete a shrine. Light shimmering on the surface of water at night. Staring out at the sunset from a tower.
Not only is Breath of the wild a gorgeous game, but there is so much feeling, context and story which is driven through the visuals. From the cold steel and blue hues of a shrine, to the rustic browns of the divine beast and the searing heat and fleck of ash in the air on Death mountain. Every area in the game feels distinct and visually unique.
The soundtrack in Breath of the wild is approached differently here. The overworld has a theme, but it's much more sombre and minimal than what we've gotten before. The Hyrule overworld theme is absent here, in place of a theme compromised of nothing but a piano. The theme comes and goes and it doesn't always play. This ties in perfectly with the nature of the game, which has you traversing large expanses of land alone. Having the typical Hyrule overworld theme play whilst your creeping through tall grass at night to sneak up on a deer would somewhat kill the mood. So I get the decision here of less being more.
But in more typical situations such as quests, villages, shrines, dungeons and battles you get the old Zelda aural experience. Every composition is gold and captures the world of the game perfectly. I have not enjoyed a Zelda soundtrack this much since The Wind waker. Breath of the wild quite possibly, may be one of my favourite Zelda soundtracks. It's just a shame that given how much of the game is optional, that there may be a large amount of music that you'll probably never hear. So you can either play this game inside out to see and hear as much as possible, or get your ass on YouTube and listen to the soundtrack, because it's beautifully composed.
Pieces to check out: Kass' theme, Gerudo town (Night), Molduga battle (Phases 1 and 2), Attack on Vah Ruta.
As bold a direction as Breath of the wild signals, the game isn't perfect. But this is what is exciting about the future of the franchise, because the door is wide open for Nintendo to either build on what they're created here or shift things into another direction. What has become clear to me and surely to Nintendo too, is that there will be no going back. At least not all the way. There are certain things about the old Zelda format that I do miss. But it's easy for them to be worked into this new Zelda template that Breath of the wild proposes, as opposed to just shifting the entire game style back to what it was and had become known for. Breath of the wild represents a new style of Zelda game which actually feels much more in keeping with the heart of Zelda and what it intended to be at one point in time.
Whether this is the best Zelda in the franchise will be something which is preferential to each gamer and fan personally. Breath of the wild will go down as the most divisive game in the series. I for one am glad that Nintendo took all of the risks that they took here, because it gives me a look at what Zelda could be and a better vantage point of what a Zelda game should be.
Breath of the wild is not perfect. But its new take on a Legend of Zelda adventure is far more bold and admirable than I thought was possible from Nintendo, despite all that they had done with their other franchises.
My lasting impression of this game is that I can't wait to see where the Legend of Zelda goes from here. And to still have me feel this way after 20 years is a feat and soemthing I can't overlook. So thank you Nintendo, for keeping my passion of Zelda burning after all these years.
Verdict: Chances are that if you're a Zelda fan or a Switch / Wii U owner, you're going to buy this anyway. But if you've never played a Zelda game before, jump in with this.