Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

One thing that annoys me is that the item-descriptions appear on screen EVERY SESSION. No matter if you have picked up a mushroom several times, every sessions the description appears.

Oh, and yes I noticed lots of slowdown in the first village. People say this is a problem in the other vilages too. But its not a game-breaker.

Yikes. I've played this game almost non-stop all day. I never do that. I feel weak and nauseous, and my eyes hurt...

It really is brilliant, though. Every second of this game has been magical so far (even some of the more annoying shrine puzzles!). THIS is the game the series has been leading to all along.

Speaking of shrines... I've been focusing on finding those since I got the game. And I've only completed 20 so far. And there's apparently 100+ throughout Hyrule. The scale of this adventure is astounding. Yet, everywhere I've been, I've found something interesting to do or discover.

I just unintentionally created my most memorable moment of the game so far.No spoilers,just a personal experience I just had there that I have to write down.

Tired of my slow,easy to tame horse called Ringo I went hunting for another on Blatchery Plain.One jet black horse with a white main caught my eye.Something told me she was going to be a feisty one and indeed she was.She kept knocking me off before I could get her trust.I tried 4 or 5 times to no avail.I assumed I didn't have enough stamina so I thought I'll try to swallow a stamina booster just before she sends me flying.I brought up my menu in just the nick of time,turns out I didn't have anything to boost it.I closed the menu,managed to hit L a couple of more times and,bam I had her trust.I knew then this was going to be my horse for a while.I didn't bother taking her to the stable to register her,I headed off for Kakariko Village.Turns out she was my fastest horse yet at level 4 speed.She just wasn't being obedient for me though,always resisting,trying to go her own way.I was constantly having to show her affection.Anyways,this continued for a while,she wasn't happy in Kakariko especially.So after some time left the village and ended up on Pierre Plateau and she was still frequently resisting. After admiring some views I ended up on Bonooru's Stand for the first time,it was incredible. Galloping at full speed over the rolling hills with the sun setting behind us,I finally had her trust.She was happy,I was happy.

As we headed down the steep hill from Bonoooru's Stand towards Lake Siela,I noticed she started to slip at parts.I got control of her again but then she'd slip some more.I didn't think there was any danger though.I kept pushing her further down the hill until eventually her legs gave way and we started sliding down the hill together at an increasing rate.I was not able to take back control,it was out my hands.We slipped further and further and I was sure we were going off the edge but then we fell into this narrow crevice.it eventually slowed us down to a halt.There we are stuck in this narrow crevice with a huge drop below us and no way out,at least together.She wasn't happy,neighing like a mad horse.There was no way to get her out though whatsoever,we could turn a little bit to each side but was it.I thought I'm going to have to jump off and just leave here there.I really didn't want to do that after the experience I just had with her.

Then it happened,she started to slip again,desperately trying to regain her footing but it wasn't happening.We were going down and falling a long way onto a rocky surface just above Lake Siela.Then just the split second before she fell from the edge,i instinctively jumped off and clung to the cliff.Looking down as my horse plummeted to the rocky surface below,looking at me all the way until she disappeared altogether.I quickly made my way down to see if I could find her but to no avail.She was gone.

I spent the next few minutes pondering the untimely demise of my horse, was she dead,would she appear back in the stable?Then it came to me,I hadn't even registered or named her.She was for certain gone forever.

I really didn't mean to rabble on there as much but that but that was a really incredible personal experience I'm not sure I've ever experienced in a game.I was so immersed in the game with that horse for about 30 minutes when that happened.

What a game!

@Maxz @TheLZdragon: Did that mission today. Had some really unfortunate deaths the first two times around. Had a funny instance there as well:

Progress:

Overall, this is on a fast track for becoming my favorite Zelda and favorite game ever. I can't really think of a reason I could rate any other game higher. I know I'm just scratching the surface of this game (or at most maybe a nibble), but it's been three days of complete enjoyment. I can't think of a moment that's been dull, I basically refuse to fast travel. This is a true high mark for the series (although there are still a few more performance dips than I'd like). I just have to wonder what the next game will do to try and match this. So yeah, mark me up in the "endlessly gushing with praise for this game" group of people. I'll happily find my seat, or stand if there aren't enough chairs.

Also, moments that really stood out to me: A Bokoblin set his club on fire and ran into a patch of grass to attack me. He and his friends all caught on fire and died. Lightning, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Any Rube Goldberg-esque chain reaction.

"Unless you changed a setting it shouldn't do that. The only item descriptions that come up multiple times are for stuff you pick up from chests or if you get a reward/gift from someone"

I didn't know there's something about this in the options menu. The only thing I changed was the jumping (mapping it to b, feels more natural that way).

Anyone know where I can reliably pick up a traveller's sword. I know it's one of the first weapons you get in the game, but I'm still having trouble finding one.

Same here. I've owned several of them, but now I need one and I can't find it anymore... I guess some Bokoblins carry them? Don't know if they respawn though.

@Dezzy Purposely limiting supply of the Wii U version. Nintendo really are the worst when it comes to this.

Isn't this game just fantastic?

I'd just left the Great Plateau and was making my way on foot along the river towards the gap between the two peaks in the vague direction of Kakariko Village. I'd just despatched a small camp of bokoblins and my heart sank, just a little, because for the first time the game just felt a little 'samey', but for multiple reasons it didn't last long and I fell in love all over again shortly afterwards.

@Tsurii You mean that thing that happens once in a blue moon? (...if you get the hint...).

@gcunit Yup, that road to Twin Peaks was nothing special, but you're in for a ride. There's a lot more variety in the rest of Hyrule.

Just found this quote from Hidemaro Fujibayashi, who directed both BotW and SS.
I think it's rather funny and it shows that Nintendo, as a collective of authors/developers, can really produce wonderful, deep and meaningful games (such as Breath of the Wild or 1-2-Switch), but if you take them individually, they really are just a bunch of pathological liars:

“When we were developing the game for the Wii U, we had touch features implemented as you have seen. Once we began to develop the game in tandem for the Switch, we aimed to provide the same gameplay experience across both on Switch and Wii U.”

“In doing our testing without the touch features we noticed looking back and forth between the GamePad and the screen actually took a little something away from this type of Zelda game.”

“Without the touch features it actually turned out to be a really strong gameplay experience. After more experimentation and testing out, we realized that this is the best way to experience the game. That’s how we ended up with the current gameplay style in the production version.”

“There was no hesitation or reluctance in removing those features because we felt the way it is now is the best way to play the game.”

So, in Fujibayashi's words, glancing down at the GamePad for a split second takes away from the immersion in the game world, but having to exit the game by PAUSING it to bring up a map on the TV screen doesn't. Geez, I just wish they were honest and said "We didn't want the WiiU version to have features the Switch version doesn't have, because that's the one we're ultimately trying to sell".
Plus I just noticed that BotW on WiiU is basically sold out in most places - Amazon doesn't carry it anymore and GameStop has even removed the listing from the website - they are really trying hard to screw WiiU owners over...

@spizzamarozzi Aonuma used the argument that you don't want to drive and look down at a GPS on your lap at the same time... That's why I never take any of their words at face value. The second screen of the Wii U was once the biggest innovation in gaming according to Nintendo. When it didn't sell, that idea was dropped immediately and suddenly it is breaking the immersion.. Yeah, right..

@spizzamarozzi I think they are just being honest with themselves. The gamepad wasn't as revolutionary as they thought it would be. It isn't lying so much as admitting the truth to themselves. They did however learn the most valuable thing the gamepad did, which is the central concept of the switch (Off-TV Play).

As for Breath of the Wild, I am fairly sure that it is pushing the Wii U to the absolute limit. It is the first game I've played in a long time that if you hit the home button there is a delay when returning because the game has to reload in everything. That tells me there is possibly some trickery happening to make everything work, and adding in dual displays might of been just a little too much.

@Tsurii There's an island off the east coast, is that the island? I shall get there ASAP.

Lol, if Nintendo wanted to 'screw Wii U owners over' they would have only announced the DLC for Switch and released the Wii U disc in April. Hell, if they really wanted to get the point across they could have canceled the Wii U version months ago.

But they didn't do any of that and Breath of the Wild has neither HD rumble nor dual screen gimmicks and is none the worse for it. Don't make something out of nothing.

@Tsurii I'm on my way there, but a comet landed in the region south of it. Haven't been there yet, but I want to get that thing first, whatever it is. So I'm making a small detour. It landed on a cliff, and right before I arrived at that cliff, it started raining...

Edit: Wait, you can only get those comets at night? That's stupid.. I couldn't even progress any further due to the rain.. I HAD to wait until morning..

Any tips? I've visited the first 2 villages story wise. And I want to make some money by selling off some of my wares.
What's the best place to sell at? I'm pretty sure those traveling merchants rip you off.

@Spanjard Not really, I don't think there's much of a difference between the merchants and the stores. Because with the things you're selling, who knows if you're going to need it some time. Don't sell everything of a certain item, always keep around 10-20 if you have a lot of them.

You can also try to complete side quests for money and other rewards.

Oh man, that fight with the minotaur is rough! He wrecked me several times. Basically forced me to learn correct dodge timing, because the only way I could kill him was by triggering flurry rush every time he attacked.

That felt like a fight from a Souls game.

Not releasing the game on WiiU would have caused quite a stir considering the game was promised, developed and showcased for WiiU first and foremost. I don't understand the April disc + no DLC portion of the comment though - it sounds like one of those random things people on the internet say every now and then to prove a point, but it doesn't follow any logic.
WiiU owners were screwed if only for the fact that additional features were there and fully formed but got removed without a real reason, full stop.

It's none of the worse for it, but it could have been more special. I don't think anybody would have complained with a map on the GamePad on WiiU or with HD Rumble on Switch. Maybe just the Nintendo Puritans, who enjoy gaming only if it comes with various forms of castration.