Zelda: Breath of the Wild Broadcast Confirmed for Japan on 12th December

Very interested to see what they came up with!

This DLC can't come soon enough. I decided to wait until Christmas to get Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and now I'm stuck clearing out my Switch, 3DS and Wii backlogs...

It's gotta be the DLC there's no hoping about it.

"Champions Ballad will be available to download at the end of this broadcast."
Fingers crossed!

I really hope this is quite meaty. I hope they didn't consider DLC pack 1 to be worth half of the price. I'm hoping DLC pack 1 was about 1/4 of the total stuff and DLC 2 will be about 3/4 of it.

I'm getting to the point that I resent BOTW. It's so damned good that it's ruined me for other games. I have Xenoblade 2 sitting unopened on my dresser as I contemplate whether to open it or restart Zelda again.

Can't wait for the next tranche of DLC!

The one thing BotW was missing was a decent story. I didn't like the way they told it this time around. I feel like it worked okay with the nature of the game, but the story was boring and forgettable, and so were the characters.

Please be based on a flashback to pre-Calamity Hyrule.
I want to explore the castle town as seen in the flashbacks.

Really hyped for this, the first glimpse of this new story should be amazing!

I think this could hint at content after Champions Ballad while The Game Awards looks more closely at Champions Ballad.

Honestly, I have zero hype for the Zelda DLC.

Right now, all I care about is playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Zelda just seems so... dull... in comparison (not that it wasn't a great game, it was immaculate, but playing more Zelda just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest in light of Xenoblade 2)

2:30am

Thanks Nintendo. Zelda just got docked another point in my book.

I still have the last third of the Trial of the Sword to finish. I’d better get on that.

The DLC better be worth it story wise and by that, I mean actually having a story.

Ready for disappointment!!!

Chances of a xmas eve/day release?
Could the new story be as long as the first one?
Is Nintendo going to show the rest how you do real dlc?

I'm pretty sure The Champions Ballad will be revealed at The Game Awards.

'Hopefully'? What else should the Direct be about? ^^

DLC time. There's no doubt about it. I haven't bought any DLC yet for it because I hate 'hard modes' in games and everything else was just kind of 'meh'. My expectations for this are low but let's see if they can offer something I'd be interested in. Hopefully story related stuff.

Honestly I’m all in with Xenoblade I already played about 20 hours this weekend. I’ll buy this eventually anyway just to get my Zelda fix.

@shani

has anyone even read the blog post? the broadcast is about a singer and a voice actor and fan's experience with the game. it's not about the dlc.

@LUIGITORNADO BotW really isn't about the story. Its about the gameplay and the overall "open air" feel, hence the name. I feel like this point is lost on most people

Does seem odd they waited this long for at least a trailer to the new story content. Just hope its a good size and not too lackluster * Gets chills remembering how disappointing Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC was *

I'm tempted to delve into the information that this broadcast will provide. Yet at the same time, I still haven't played BotW yet....

My quest to avoid major spoilers continues.

@manu0 Yeah I saw that but I'm pretty sure it's just an excuse. They wouldn't make a Direct only for that, usually they cover this stuff in interviews or short videos.
If they're making a Direct, it'll be about something new to show ingame, you can be sure about that.

@shani well but it's not branded as a direct

@manu0 Oh you're totally right, my bad!
I misinterpreted the article (should've read it more closely), I thought they announced an actual Direct.

This sounds more like retrospective of the game, definitely a warm up to the dlc drop but I see the game awards as the date announcement, a japan only item doesn't feel right for something so big.

Hope to god they don't announce more dlc packs :/ lol

I just all of the sudden had a horrible thought, what if all it's going to be is more memory cutscenes to find scattered throughout Hyrule. I really doubt it is but wouldn't that just be completely awful?

I would like the DLC to focus on story rather than gameplay because there definitely aren't enough games that do that already and I can't read books

Okay.. Im exited!

@Dezzy Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly certain the DLC has been confirmed to be after the end of the game chronologically. I hear you though, I really wanted to explore pre-calamity Hyrule too.

@business-scrub

They did say it would take place after the main game. But that might just mean in terms of when you should undertake it. Given that it features the champions who are dead in the present, my guess is it'll be flashbacks but that you're supposed to do them after the main game.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the DLC. For starters is not an official Direct, just a live broadcast with two singers who played the game sharing their experiences with it.
When Nintendo announces the DLC will be with a worldwide announcement not with a Japan only broadcast.
Just a suggestion but, Nintendo Life needs to get some Japanese speaking staff instead of relying on Google translate or whatever they’re using.
Don’t get your hopes high for an announcement because, most likely, it won’t happen.

@AirElephant #7
I get you! I was constantly feeling disappointed how limited the movement in other games felt after getting to climb anything, fly with the paraglider and shield surf anywhere in Zelda!

But other games, like Xenoblade 2, have other great qualities and gameplay mechanics that Zelda has no idea of having. For example X2 has an amazing story and deep RPG mechanics.
I've been playing Skyrim, and how ever clumsy it feels, there's just so much content in it that I could get lost for hours in that game.

Not to talk about completely different genres. Splatoon and Mario Odyssey offer completely different challenges and stimulation compared to BotW.

So you mean we can play as THEM?
Whatever it is, I can't wait!

@maruse Yep, the big reveal will definitely be a worldwide thing and not in this broadcast. It could world feature some footage though as that's until the12th December, by when the reveal will probably have already happened. The Game Awards are this coming week, it's looking ever more likely that's where it'll be revealed. The last 2 years have had BOTW reveals, so it makes sense it's happening there. There will be a huge audience watching too. 3 years in a row of reveals of the same game does seem a bit overkill though. Non-Nintendo followers who watch the show might think that's all they have to talk about.

@JaxonH "but playing more Zelda just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest in light of Xenoblade 2"

Why do I feel like you are just baiting me with that comment?

Well anyway, I'm taking the bait. This is close to my view on DLC that I've been trying to explain to you over the past year or so but all you keep replying with is "the more DLC the better, bring it on". OK you write more elaborately than that, but it's sort of how I feel. I don't like playing a game then waiting 6 months to go back to it, once I'm done and moved on I'm done and moved on. Sure, I'm looking forward to Uncharted: Lost Legacy and I still need to play TLoU: Left Behind, but those are more like their own games. I have no idea what Champions Ballad will be, but the sooner the better. And I am waiting on XC2 until the DLC drops next fall. I just don't like going back to things. And I really have developed a distaste for paying for things a year in advance - waiting on Episode Ignis for FFXV.

So I'm sure you didn't mean and it you are really are looking forward to the Zelda DLC, but as the saying goes " hold that thought".

@Moshugan

I'm sure I'll open XB2. Thought of grabbing Skyrim but couldn't pull the trigger. Nice to know that I have something to look forward to if I change my mind.

And the dlc will be out soon after the presentation, well i can dream i guess lol!.

I am too focused on grinding away in Xenoblade Chronichles 2 and Skyrim afterwards to be worried about the DLC. It's going to have to be a major, interesting story and dungeon to get me excited at this point.

I really hope that the new area isn't a deep dungeon, but a flashback to Hyrule Castle Town... can you imagine if the entire map was transformed to before the war? All the ruins are back to functioning gates, and outposts... that'd be huge!

People who say BotW was lacking in plot I think miss the nuance of the story. It's much more character driven than previous Zelda's, where instead of Link fulfilling his destiny as the chosen one and finding various mcguffins to progress the plot, you're instead given a pretty in depth character study on this incarnation of Zelda and her overall character arc. She goes from being deeply mistrustful of Link to profoundly caring about him and his well being. She's trying to prepare for the calamity in the way she feels she can best contribute, but ends up resigning herself to trying to fulfill a destiny she is told she has but clearly is doubtful of. And in the end she does live up to the expectations placed upon her, but not in a way anyone would have imagined. She's also just a massive dork I feel like this was a departure from traditional Zelda stories but it was certainly present and it was extrodinarily interesting for me. I still go back and watch the cutscenes now. However, if they revert back to how they told stories in the older Zelda games for the DLC I'd be okay with that, because they laid such extensive groundwork in setting up Zelda's character.

My two cents, anyway!

@Dezzy I don't think it's gonna be a flashback, as much as we'd all like it to be. I think it's going to pick up where the main story ended. At the end of the main story, Zelda tells Link that something has happened to Vah Ruta and they start heading in that direction.

The best birthday present I could ever ask for

YES!!

@Switch_will_fail
I completely understand that, but I still don't believe that gives botw a pass for not having a good story. It's a poor excuse, and an easy out.

Make it due right after the direct broadcast!!!

@LUIGITORNADO You could say that about literally any game that isnt primarily focused on story. Super Mario Odyssey is just the same old plot of Bowser capturing Peach and Marios gotta go rescue her again, buuuut the gameplay is fun and is what really ma- "NO. Thats just a poor excuse for having a bad story!" Could the story be a little more fleshed out in BotW? Sure, why not. But at the end of the day you gotta ask yourself, would it actually make the game "better"? Or are you complaining simply to complain

@Jacob1092 Finally, someone who gets it

Not sure if this has been shared here yet, but wanted to let people know that according to this article that it seems more like a fun stream for fans than information show.
http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-hosting-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-live-stream-on-niconico-on-december-12th/

Of course as the stream is now in December, I wouldn't get surprised if we get the date for the DLC and hopefully there will be a fair amount of fun stuff in the stream :+).

@JohnnyC,

Very likely!

I've been dipping into BOTW regularly since release, doing sidequests, DLC and finding koroks. I am very ready to see how substantial Champions' Ballad will be!

@Switch_will_fail It's also why I will rage so hard if they don't make more DLC or the next Zelda game isn't a direct sequel. Because of the limitation in storytelling due to the play style of the game, I dare say BotW Zelda is the most developed of any character in the series thus far (I've not played EVERY Zelda, so excuse my ignorance if I'm missing someone glaringly obvious! ) and so if we don't get to experience more of this to my mind it will be such a missed opportunity. But hopefully this DLC will give us plenty of that as it is supposed to be a Zelda centric story

@Lizuka Zelda still takes it for me, but I'll certainly put Midna up there. Her story arc is fantastic, and to refer to my earlier point I was infuriated at the ending because it completely cut off any chance we could see her again. Not to say the ending wasn't fantastic, but I'm still slightly bitter about it Not gonna lie though, I did crack at that ending and blubbed a little bit T_T

@Switch_will_fail I'm not complaining to complain. Stop with the lazy accusations, as I could say you sound like a blind apologist.

Of course a better story would have made the game better. All the 3D Zeldas had a decent story with memorable characters, and every Link since Wind Waker that actually emoted. BoTW is the first 3D Zelda that I've seen take a step back in storytelling and it's disappointing.

As for Mario, there are people who prefer Galaxy over Galaxy 2 because of the story.

I don't know how to make my point any clearer, so I'll repeat it. Just because something is made or designed to be minimal doesn't make that choice undeserving of critique.

Storytelling is a powerful tool to connect an audience to the world and characters you're trying to build. Having a poopy story is only going to hurt that connection. Considering how much Nintendo emphasizes the world in BotW, you think story would have been used to better suit this. Since the story in BotW is there for players to find it can be critiqued like everything else.

BotW's story is built to feature Princess Zelda's, Link's and the Champion's resolve after their tragic loss 100 years ago, but it's artificial feeling and lacks any emotional or significant weight. We hardly get to know Zelda or the Champions, or even Link even though we spend 100s of hours with him. The Champions are dead, and the story treats their loss so insignificantly, partly because Lonk (on purpose) had the emotional depth of a turnip. And I'm sure he was made like that on purpose. Some will say he had memory loss, but you can't have this tragic world of death and sorrow (the people of the world don't even act like they care that much, treating the post-apocalyptic world as a mere annoyance), and have a hero not react to it. It's absurd. And I don't care how stoic you are, losing your memory and being asleep for 100 years doesn't give you a pass for having the brain of a spud. I'm also call bullcrap on making Lonk so blank that he acts the conduit for the player to experience the world. Nintendo can keep trying to tell me that, and I'll never agree. Having a character with so little personality will never be a better substitute for a fully fledged nuisanced character. Never.

Then there is the princess. We are told Zelda is tragic in BoTW bexause she's crying a lot. Are we supposed to feel
bad about that? Her father tells her to study her sealing magic, but she wants to study the machines. And because she didnt listen to Dad, Hyrule gets nibelsnarfeded up and people die. Does she even mourn her father? She hardly mourns the champions. Then there is her relationship with Lonk. In some cut scenes she's made to look like she resents him, but we don't really get to know why until we come by her journal in the castle, which is really funny mind you because she finds his stoicness as frustrating as I do. I think the scene where's she crying is the first time Lonk shows any sort of emotion, and it's confusion lol. What did they intend for us to feel In that scene? Her character development lacked any sort of weight because it was so off hand, and because of the possibility of experiencing the story out of order and punctuated by long periods of gameplay. Not only that, most of the the memories are exposition heavy, explaining more than showing and don't fit too neatly together other than Zelda doesn't like Link > Zelda likes Link. It's a poor way to tell a story.

Consider Midna's development. We spent time with the character. We got to see her pain, resolve, defeat, and triumph; not to mention Link actually responds to her instead of being a dead-eyed doll. This is why people consider Midna one of the greatest and most memorable Zelda characters, and why, if you ask, most consider Twilight Princess to have the most developed story.

I'm not the only one who feels this way about BoTW. There are many people complaining about the ending feeling insignificant and unfilling. Maybe if the story was developed better and treated it less like an afterthought then it would be more satisfying. Hell, I'm willing to bet most people didn't even finish the game because it's off the cuff story.

I think this game exists in a larger narrative of Nintendo continuing to try and deemphasize story. They explain to us that story doesn't matter and it's all about gameplay, and I'm looking all the great stories that I've enjoyed all my life and I'm scratching my head. Storytelling is civilization's earliest form of entertainment and the most powerful. Nintendo can't changed that and needs to stop running from it.

@LUIGITORNADO long read, but you hit some good points. I am one of those was that was disappointed in BotW.

I can't wait until the Champions Ballad DLC 2! I thought DLC 1 was great and fixed the lack of combat in dungeons. This is going to be epic! I love BOTW!

@LUIGITORNADO Quick point there I have to address. Zelda does everything she's supposed to. Her desire to study the Divine Beasts and Guardians is only partially driven by her scholarly interests. It's in part fuelled by her lack of confidence in her ability to unlock the sealing magic, a power she clearly grows to doubt more and more that she's even capable of as the memories progress. But she goes to the shrines and prays and does everything she's supposed to do anyway. The thing that ends up unlocking it, it's heavily implied, is her love for Link. Which isnt there at the start, but something that grows after he saves her life from the Yiga. With all due respect, and maybe it was the voice acting, maybe it was the cutscenes, I'm not sure, but you seem to have dismissed a lot of the changes her character undergoes and the situations that she is presented with like her father scolding her, her failure at Lanayru and how she finally does unlock her power.

@Jacob1092 Yeah I get it, but I don't see it. When you experience the story it's punctuated by possible long periods of gameplay and is mostly out of order. The presentation rather poorly affects how someone may interpret the story especially if they miss a memory or certain journals in the end-game. The game is stuffed with hours of content, and if you're not actively searching for memories, it could be hours or days before you discover the next one, and there's a lot of context missing between. Not to mention the memories are all from the perspective of a brain-dead imbecile.

For an example. We don't see Zelda investigating the Divine Beats because it's all from Link's perspective. She's only in one memory with the Divine Beasts, and within that memory she is sleeping. And by the way, why was Zelda resting with Urbosa? Are they close? Because that's the only real scene they are together. Nintendo thought it was important enough to show that Zelda was closer to Urbosa than the other Champions, but she never mourns her. There's a throw-a-way line about the Champions being stuck in the Divine Beasts, but Zelda must've not cared too much or assumed they were dead because she doesn't do anything to help them.

Anyway, we also don't get to see the team's original assault on Ganon. We just come to Zelda and Link running, and Zelda is upset that the Devine Beasts and Guardians turned on them. Did they even try to go after Ganon? Or did they see the destruction and run because Zelda didn't have her sealing powers yet? But she chose to go after Ganon before that, so why would the Guardians scare them off? And if all it takes is a cooked truffle to heal Link fully then why did he have to go to sleep for 100 years? He can sneak into Hyrule castle with no clothes on his back or a Master Sword, and still defeat Ganon, so what was stopping him after he was knocked out for resting a few days then trying again? They call it Shrine of Resurrection, I get that, so maybe he was dead past the point of a cooked truffle. But how did Zelda know of the shrine? Did the Master Sword tell her that? Maybe it was trying to tell her that her Wii Remote batteries were low. And we're told that only the hero can access the shrines, so if the shrines are all sealed how did the Shiekah open the Shrine of Resurrection with a dead Link? How did Zelda know that the shrine would revive him? I guess Zelda could have learned about it in her studies, but that's never shown, nor did we hear Fi/Sword mention the shrine. For all she knew, or we for that matter, the shrine could have been another awful gyro puzzle. And still that doesn't explain why they ran from Hyrule.

The plan was to get rid of Ganon. Zelda was all for it. I fail to see why the Guardians turning on them is enough of a conflict to delay the outcome of said conflict by 100 years. It comes off as serving the concepts of the game (to set up that oh-so delicious open-air gameplay) rather than the characters being characters.

And how about that character? Did Zelda lay a magical assault on the Guardians after she put the Master Sword to rest? She had to get back to the castle somehow to seal Ganon. Why didn't Nintendo think this was an important scene to show? I guess they couldn't because they chose to tell the story through HERP DERP's memories. Too bad because that would have been a powerful moment to see Zelda sealing Ganon.

Also, did the King spur Zelda to study harder, or was she studying harder, and he was being a weiner? You really can't say one or the other. And it's obvious her problem was her heart wasn't in being Princess Zelda rather scholarly Zelda who is interested in machines and frogs and not magic and the Gods. And the King's diary reveals that he's a big softy, and he's going to let her study frogs arceus damn it. Too bad Zelda never get's closure with her father.

Which brings me to my next point. Did Zelda resent Link because she's jealous of his relationship with his father? It's alluded that Link has a father (I mean, yeah of course he has a dad, but in BotW we discover he isn't an orphan and that is dad was knight). Is Link's dad dead like Zelda's mother? Does Link care that he's dead? Why would Zelda resent Link for having a dead dad? MORE IMPORTANTLY did Link's dad have an affair with Zelda's mother, and the King had them both killed?

Oh--another dead mother. I'd hate to be the matriarch of the royal family.

You tell me why I should believe otherwise that Zelda is jealous of Link because his dad's dead, and she wishes her own father to kick the bucket because all she wants to do is study the frogs arceus damn it.

Those are questions a good-story teller would answer with showing, but the story is so sparse and minimal when they reveal some tidbits in Zelda's diary it only becomes more confusing. It talks about a fortune-teller (if they are referring to Impa why not just say so?). And then Zelda clearly talks about Link as HIM like she has some history of disliking HIM. Then she describes her travels, and she kind of describes Link as sort of *, before her tone changes to basically "senpai, notice me."

There's also a little self-loathing going on where she projects her low-self esteem onto what Link might think of her and in turn making her dislike him even more. WHICH IS JUST CRAZY. Crazy from a character perspective because basically Zelda's entire "growth" is hinged on Nintendo's archaic stylistic choice of not developing Link's character and keeping him silent, and we only really learn of this through a diary. I don't know if I should laugh or cry.

I also like how you bring up that Zelda loves Link. Does Link love Zelda? I mean if you go back and rewatch the memories--because that's how you should have to experience the story--it's alluded through Mipha that loving Link specifically (because little fish girl loves Link for reasons) is the key to unlocking Zelda's powers. It's absurd. Link doesn't show an ounce of reciprocity with such feelings. Is Link even capable of it? He is so single-minded, more dog than man. He quietly follows Zelda around because of duty, not even taking a moment to defend his purpose/himself to her (you know besides Zelda saying they had a little talk in the journal which is just obscure and awful), which again was Nintendo's choice for having a barren character, but it's clunky. I can only imagine some web-comic strips of a sketchy Link following Zelda around at inappropriate times: going to the bathroom, leaving Hryule castle instead of confronting Ganon, sharing an intimate moment with Urbosa, It makes Zelda look like a crazy person to have so many emotions about a dude WHO DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING. Wouldn't it be something if Link really is that simple minded-- "I see enemy. I kill enemy. Truffles are enemies too. I kill truffles with stomach." --and Zelda begins to care for him, despite him not caring for her because he's just doing a job? How much does that diminish Zelda's character development in that it isn't her hard work that unlocks her power, but her immature love of a boy who cares more for the cook pot than he does for his dead dad?

It seems like an awful painful work to build these characters and relationships around a silent protagonist. It's more inhibiting than anything.

I feel like the game needed a voice for the audience to fill in the gaps. A voice to ask questions. I understand the philosophy of THE BREATH OF THE WILD, and not having a traditional partner because the world is the partner, and blah blah blah, it sure sounds deep and touching and pretty, but it's load of nonsense to make people feel like they have a deeper connection to the game than they actually do.

It's important for me to say that I really liked BotW, but I can't get by the story being a misstep when it could have been something grander.

And that's my rant. Excuse the typos.

@LUIGITORNADO TLDR

@LUIGITORNADO I can totally see certain criticisms you've made as being valid. However, give me a bit and I'll write a response to this. Apologies to anyone who couldn't care less but this sort of discussion, but I find it fascinating so back in a jiffy!

@Switch_will_fail

>Switch_will_fail
>Conker avi
>TLDR

Well said.

@LUIGITORNADO I sound like a blind apologist for prefering game design over storytelling....Lol. Now who's the one throwing around lazy accusations?

@Switch_will_fail Did I not say that if you make a lazy accusation than I can do the same? You fell for my trap card!

@LUIGITORNADO Two wrongs indeed make a right

@LUIGITORNADO watch the language...

@LUIGITORNADO

Deep inhale

Okay, so first off, you're totally right about the sequence thing. Because you can pick up the memories in any order, it doesn't help create a cohesive linear narrative in the traditional sense. Bit like a Tarantino film in that regard, there'll be bits that need revisiting in order to make sense of new plot points and certain things are lost without the context unless you're trying really hard to piece it all together, like admittedly I was while playing. I went looking for journals and bits and peices because I wanted to know all that stuff. However, once you've got all that information, it does all slot into place rather nicely. And I found wrapping my head around the full narrative with all the extra details here and there a very rewarding experience. But I can appreciate that may not be to everyone's taste.

Was it important to see Zelda investigating the Divine Beasts? To my understanding by the time we're introduced to the characters and the main story begins, they've been discovered and Zelda, Link and the Champions are in the process of understanding how to get them to function in order to fight the Calamity. Daruk is the only one who is seemingly having trouble, but the others are mentioned elsewhere as being either quick learners or already proficient. Zelda having a mosey around wouldn't really add much, I don't think? As for Zelda and Urbosa, I think that relationship is pretty heavily implied by Urbosa's knowledge of Zelda's training and her feelings towards Link at that time. For me, that scene was much more about Urbosa's view on Zelda's situation than it was anything to do with Zelda, in the same way each Champion has a dedicated cutscene.

As for their assault on Hyrule Castle, Link and Zelda went with the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, but Ganon took control of them before they could attack (shown in the King's cutscene). So with the Divine Beasts gone and the Guardians attacking them, Link and Zelda had to retreat. At this time, Link had never faught a Guardian, so the fact he gets beaten by them would seem pretty accurate, especially considering what happened the first time I faught one of those horrible, laser-welding spider tanks! The shrine is detailed in Zelda's research journal, but I grant you'd have to find and read this to know how she knew. I like to think Fi simply reminded Zelda of the shine as she mourned Link after he fell, but she could also have just told Zelda and Zelda was all "Oh yeah, I know what you're talking about. I'll sling him in that." As for how she got in, I can't say, but she and Purah were researching it, making ajustments and had access before the Calamity struck. Again, Zelda's research journal tells us this.

Zelda was all for the plan, but as I mentioned, the original plan was scuppered. The reason it got delayed is because Zelda didn't get her powers in time. The Beasts were lost, as were the Guardians, and so the had to retreat. THEN she gets her powers, then she returns and holds Ganon in the castle. I'll give you that point too though, seeing her decimate the Guardians swarming Hyrule Field and Castle Town would have been cool. Ultimately though, only showing what happened to herself and Ganon via the cutscene after King Rhoam reveals himself was all that was needed to set the plot up.

I can address your point about the King as such; Zelda doesn't have faith in her capacity to unlock the sealing powers. The King wants her to concentrate on that avenue, but Zelda, filled with doubt, feels her efforts are best spent on the ancient tech. Rhoam didn't see the point in Zelda's studies and Zelda felt her trying to unlock the sealing powers was futile. If you think that Zelda's heart not being in it isn't something that is incredibly relateable then I envy you, as you've clearly never had anyone place any expectation on you that you couldn't live up to. That's one of the reasons I think the plot is so good. And it's not just her father. The Champions clearly expect Zelda to have returned from Mount Lanayru with sealing powers in tow. And it's tragic, because she never gets closure with any of those who die. And all on her birthday too. Girl can't catch a break!

Zelda resents Link because of how easily she thinks he is finding it to fulfil his role as the hero. That one's from her diary entry, but it seems pretty cut and dry to me. As for the rest of your questions regarding Link's dad... You lost me

As for your last few paragraphs, here I will agree with you to some extent. I think Link not reacting to things needs to change. If not by him speaking then by some other method. I don't think Zelda's journal entry was a bad way to explain Link's quiet nature, we just needed more of that sort of thing. If he can't speak, then we need another way to know about what's going on in his head. I think a really massive missed opportunity was the quest log in the english version of the game. In the original japanese they're all in first person, and clearly from Link's perspective. The entry once all the memories have been found, for example, in english reads;

"You've visited all 13 locations shown in the pictures, go save her as quickly as you can to ease her burden."

But the japanese translation for this same entry reads;

"I remembered all the things we've been through. Even just a little bit sooner, I wish to see her smiles again with my own eyes."

I think in the japanese version her love is reciprocated on some level, but you're right to say in the one we all played, we never get this impression. I was heartbroken when I found this out, not only in terms of the plot, but how much better it would have been for the entire questlog to have been in the first person from Link's perspective. Absolute travesty.

So yeah, I think that's everything I wanted to say in response to your comment. Hopefully some food for thought! Also, gonna go rewatch all the cutscenes now Safe travels!

@LUIGITORNADO you were completely correct. Half of the characters were dead.

It's easy to make a complex, all-over the place story. Just add a million characters and plot points. It doesn't even have to be good as long as there's enough stuff crammed in it.
A hard thing is to create a seemingly simple, but perfectly executed story with a lot of hidden nuances such as the one in BOTW.

@maruse They wouldn't care anyway if it meant not being able to create a misleading post for all them clicks and incentivized amazon links. This site sucks now.

Very interested considering the 2nd DLC is out...