A post about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been on my to-do list since starting this blog, it was just always a bit daunting. Part of the reason was re-playing the game was itself daunting, due largely to my tendency to become completely obsessed (something I haven't allowed the time for), but I felt I should probably get into it again before writing this up. I haven't done that, and yet I need to do this now. More on why later.
If I had to pick one video game franchise, there's no doubt it's Nintendo's the Legend of Zelda. I said this before, in another way, in the only other Zelda post I've written (see Link's Awakening). It's the best gaming have to offer, with big worlds to explore, good action, tons of puzzles, tricky dungeons, lovable characters and more than a sprinkling of humor. You're constantly challenged, required to think on your feet and remember what you've seen and done before. It's fun, no matter how old you are. For those that haven't played Zelda nearly every game features a new iteration of a legendary hero (named Link), who returns to save both the world and the princess Zelda. Few of the games are directly connected, though there are familiar themes and storylines. Over the decades (OG Zelda came out in 1986) Nintendo has been ridiculously inventive with a number of aspects of gaming, open world adventure in particular, and that's a big part of its popularity. Since I was a kid I've considered the 1998 N64 Ocarina of Time my favorite game and the best video game ever made, and I wasn't alone in that opinion. But that may have finally changed.
Breath of the Wild came out in 2017, as a launch title with the current generation Nintendo console, the Switch. It was immediately lauded a lot of places as the best Zelda game so far, a feat considering the reputation of some of the others (e.g. Ocarina, A Link to the Past). I had my doubts, chalking it up to recency bias. When I finally got into it myself, however, the draw was hard to deny.
As in most Zelda games, you're taken to a place past its prime. There's something perpetually sad about the land of Hyrule, a beautiful land and home to a once-great civilization that's now fallen and filled with monsters. This is again the case here, but Link's backstory is different. You wake up in the 'Shrine of Resurrection,' unaware of everything that's happened, are immediately given a tablet (the Sheikah Slate, something that looks a lot like the Switch) and sent out into the wild. Gradually you'll learn the backstory, bit by bit. I can supply an abbreviated version but don't want to tell too much. Princess Zelda, 100 years prior, was charged with leading a defense against the foretold return of Ganon, the franchise's main villain. They find and restore huge machines, including things called the Divine Beasts, each to be operated by a champion of the different peoples of Hyrule (Goron, Zora, Gerudo, Rito). Link was the personal bodyguard of the princess, chosen from the knights of the kingdom, and wielded the Master Sword, necessary to defeat Ganon's darkness. Basically Link was already the Hero of Hyrule before you even start the game. In the end Ganon comes back and wins, and with the last of her strength Zelda seals Link in this healing chamber and locks herself in kind of frozen, timeless battle with Ganon. But again, you know nothing when you first venture out. The quick immersion is one of the game's many strengths, you start right away without a bunch of long story videos.
What's striking from the start is the scale of the world. The starting area, an elevated plateau in the middle of the map where you learn the basics, is rather large and feels like it has a fair amount to explore if you want to spend the time (I always do). I heard somewhere this area is bigger than the entire map in Ocarina of Time and it's believable. What's crazy is that once you do what you need to escape, basically gaining an item that allows you to safely fall down to the rest of the map, you'll rarely return. There's so much more out there.
The exploration, more than anything else, is what makes this game engaging and addicting. After leaving the Great Plateau you can go any direction on the enormous map you choose. From playing previous Zelda (or other open-world) games, you're ingrained into thinking that the large physical aspects of the landscape (mountains, cliffs, etc.) are impassable barriers to control where you can go. With BotW it's kind of mind blowing to realize there are no such limitations (except the very edges of the map). You can climb anything and go anywhere you see, though some places have stronger enemies than others and most challenging climbs require built up stamina (used in sprinting and climbing) that only comes from completing Shrines.
How the dungeons work is the biggest change from previous Zelda games. Going way back you always had to progress through the game in an intended order. With the abilities/items you possess at the start you could only reach the first dungeon. There you would gain something that allowed you to reach the second dungeon, etc etc. The point of the Breath of the Wild is to change this. You'll want to follow the prompts after leaving the starting area to 1) unlock all your essential abilities and 2) actually learn your mission, but otherwise you are free to go anywhere in the world. You'll likely spend a lot of time early on climbing to the top of tall towers that dot the landscape, to create fast travel points and reveal large sections of the viewing map, and going into Shrines. There are 120 so-called Shrines around Hyrule and they are a sort of replacement for traditional dungeons. None take all that long but most are a puzzle that can be fairly tough and teach skills that accumulate and build on each other. Many have more than one way to be solved. With every four Shrines you can choose to add to your health or stamina, a good incentive to do them.
There are also the four Divine Beasts mentioned earlier. These also are not as long as traditional Zelda dungeons, though are more involved than the Shrines, and they do result in gaining a helpful (but not essential) special ability afterward. For these you purge the darkness of a Ganon clone, free the spirit of the former champion there and learn about who they are and your history with them. It's necessary to do all four of the Divine Beasts to take on Ganon and beat the game, but the order in which you complete them is entirely up to you. It's hard to understate the impact of this change.
What's most impressive about Breath of the Wild, a necessary but so-far unexplained (here) part of the open world exploration, is the physics of the game. It wouldn't be so fun getting around if the engine that made it all happen wasn't itself a piece of art. Yes, I'm talking about what it looks like to walk and run around, to ride a horse, to climb towers and mountains, to fly on updrafts and glide with your sailcloth, to surf on your shield, all of it. Everything works and looks right, a rarity for video games. The Sheikah Slate abilities are also worth mentioning. You have a giant magnet to move objects around. There's a time-freeze element that, for one, allows you to put force on objects with a delayed reaction, so you can repeatedly hit something like a large boulder and make it fly way across the map. And more. How to use everything you can do, one thing at a time or in conjunction with each other, are the coolest part of the game and allow for a considerable amount of creativity.
There's so much more I want to talk about but don't have space for many details. The game can be really challenging at the start when you only have a few hearts but can run right away into big monsters or the always scary Guardians that can kill you with a single blow. It continues to open up more as you explore, find your bearings, get used to your abilities and gain life/stamina after finishing Shrines. The map contains all the locations you'd expect in Hyrule (the Lost Woods, Death Mountain, Zora's Domain, Gerudo Desert, Hyrule Castle...), with fun new wrinkles. There's again a fun collectible, another Zelda hallmark. You'll find, often without even trying, little guys called Koroks (introduced in Wind Waker) who are under rocks, in acorns in the trees, the solution to random little puzzles etc. There are 900(!) of them out there, and the more you find the more you can increase your weapon inventory. Speaking of weapons, this is the first Zelda game where your weapons (melee, bows, shields) all break down with use. It's constantly on your mind to keep a useful group for stronger and weaker enemies, plus, say, a hammer for smashing rocks for precious gems. On top of everything else there are a bunch of side quests that are nicely tracked on a menu screen.
I want to make no doubt that this is, through and through, a Zelda game, with how it feels and everything else, and yet it also transcends what came before. It's never been so fun just to run around, see and be amazed at what you can find and do. There's also a tremendous story that gets better the more time you spend in the game. The best example of this is number of special locations that reveal a memory from 100 years prior, further connecting you to the events and characters involved. This is (was?) easily the biggest and most ambitious Zelda game ever made and deserves every bit of its place atop greatest video game lists. Yes, all of them. It's a must play.
My first play-through, years ago now, was very thorough, and that's probably part of the reason I haven't gone back yet. Of course it doesn't need to be that way. From what I can tell lots of players directly run through the main story and complete the Divine Beasts so they can take on Ganon as quickly as possible. There's no requirement to try and check out every square inch of the world like I did (it's worth it though).
At this point I probably won't be coming back too soon, because, well, the sequel is out. Called Tears of the Kingdom it was released last Friday, and has already hit 10 million copies sold. I have it and will start it soon (wanted to finish this first). From what I can tell it looks to be building off BotW in a way no Zelda game has before. I'm certainly looking forward to diving in.
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