Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

@Randomlight The Zelda naming convention came later in the timeline (Zelda II), despite it actually being the name of the first ruler of Hyrule (SS Zelda). Although that would be embarrassing if the princess/queen that happened to get stuck with fighting off Ganon had a non Zelda name. I think otherwise it was mostly that Zelda is a common noble (due to it being enshrined in history by the first Queen) Hylian female name.

"Look, your Highness we are going to need you to change your name. This whole....Helena thing isn't working for us. Starts too many wars...how about Zelda? That is a softer, unassuming name."

"Are you kidding? Every Zelda in history has had to fight off the end of the world...but you think "Helena" is the problem?"

"Well the Scribes have gotten really good with the Z brush work. So unless you want to have your story told as the Legend of Zelena then, yeah Zelda it is."

@Octane

The Legend of Harvest Moon, surely.

@DarthNocturnal I'm sure there would be other skirmishes and issues to deal with. Or at least rebuilding after Ganon flattens the world again...could make a good RTS /Civ side game.

@Tsurii I would love to see a version of Ganon that didn't WANT to follow the compulsion of Demise. Not saying it wouldn't take him over in the end, but I think it would be cool if we got perhaps a best friend of Link's that was a decent dude until he found out he was the "chosen one". Make him a Gerudo Exchange student or orphan or something... (actually what if a Gerudo follower of Hylia (or descendant of Nabooru or Urbosa) had a son and realized she just gave birth to evil and left him for dead?) Basically how Link awakens but from the other side. Granted, we have a few games that feature the same OoT Ganon (or just dead resurrected LttP/OoT Ganon) so I can see why he doesn't want to change...People keep stabbing and shooting him. I'd be angry too.

However I think he'd be more sympathetic...in a X/1999 Kamui vs Fuuma sorta fashion.

Edit: Lol at your response above.

What about a game set 10,000 years before BOTW? High-end Sheikah tech everywhere, and most importantly, no stupid horse AI:

@Nicolaison I don't think there is a miiverse page. Although I'm playing on Switch so it wouldn't help me anyway. I get why Nintendo dumped miiverse on switch but I miss it sometimes. Edit: there is one for the WiiU. See now I have to buy the Wiiu version. Argh.

@Octane I actually thought that was where BotW was going to go when they put Link in Mario Kart. Well before we found out what BotW would be that is. It would be a easy way to silence those that want Zelda to go Sci-Fi or steampunk (not everything NEEDS this, but some people have to paint with the same paintbrush I guess).

@Tsurii I can't read your response if you are spoiling the ending...I'll come back in a few weeks.

Oh ya, the talk about the Horse AI, was having a real hard time with a pole jumping mini game, the controls were not the best and with the horse trying to move in a certain path, made it that much harder, at least I got all the horse stuff. Do hope in future updates they add more horse customizations though, apparently a unannounced amiibo has more horse armor.

Speaking of unannounced amiibo, people are getting NFC tags and getting said unannounced amiibo content early.

@Ryu_Niiyama That same OOT Ganondorf, in Wind Waker, does, in a sense, question why he does all the evil things he does. He rationalizes it as attempting to secure better living conditions for the Gerudo, though never identifies it as part of a curse (though at that point, neither did the devs ). In general I don't think he or any other member of the Triforce really has knowledge of anything that happened in Skyward Sword. BoTW seems to be the only time they try to ''force'' this cycle to happen (while also attempting to stack the deck in their favor as much as possible).

@meleebrawler However he never actually attempt to better living conditions for anyone in the few times he has held power. He usually kills as many people as he can and then sets up shop in Hyrule Castle so he can work on his pipe organ playing. Look at LttP, the dude held the entire Sacred Realm in his grasp and it was a craptastic place to live. He is a lipservice well intentioned extremist. Since he never tries to deliver on his supposed positive motive. So again I give him the side eye when he harps about the poor living conditions of the Gerudo (who DON'T complain about living in the desert actually...just his pampered, whinny self).

Of course we are dealing with a video game narrative spanning 30 years so take my objection with the knowledge that I still view each Zelda game as self contained and loosely related. Comic Books and games (and in my opinion TV shows as well) are notorious for trying to sell an incoherent narrative as cohesive. However if this had ever truly been written to feature the same antagonist (or in WW's case to tie the games together somewhat), then based upon his actions, he is full of hot desert air.

Well I think that Zelda has always tried to be a central mythos eternally retold, (the opening to WW and PH illustrate that I think) and the successive games have pulled ideas from their predecessors to make the cycle work. However the point (IMO of course) seems to be that as time moves on people forget and thus the need to prepare for the eventual uprising of Ganon wanes. Plus he is sealed or killed more often than not, so it is highly doubtful that anyone can predict when he will return. The person most likely to do so (Zelda) is not in the best position as she either has a kingdom to prepare to rule (or actually rule depending on the game) and it would seem that she doesn't have a ton of knowledge passed on from her mother (and I keep getting the sense that early death happens to the Queen Zelda more often than not after she has given birth to her heir). After all the Sheikah get scattered to the four winds every other game and they likely chronicled the majority of the cycle of the Trinity and I would think at best Zelda knows that she carries the blood of Her Grace and is the defacto leader of the Sages but not knowing how to summon that power. It is obvious that Hylia doesn't transfer memories to her vessels (good thing too as I'm sure they would go insane) and so with some half baked prophesies, a random dude with a magical sword and maybe the help from some dead or captured people (sage descendants are kinda useless aren't they?) they have to stop an evil that technically can take any form. Hard to read or predict any way to combat that.

@Ryu_Niiyama Sorry for the delayed reply. That wasn't a "tl;dr" - I enjoyed reading it, although I had to Google "Yamato Nadeshiko" (but it makes sense). As you've pointed out in subsequent posts it isn't just Paya or the Gerudo women - most of the females in BotW (even the children) seem to be fawning over the males, and there seems to be a difference in dialogue regarding attraction and respect. For the most part I get the impression that the females are somehow... beneath(?) the males (not sure if that's the right term to use).

A few examples (better put them in spoilers):

There are probably more examples (and of course examples of the males being weak, albeit not on the same scale). It's nothing major - I'm not screaming "sexism" or anything, but I am surprised it hasn't received much criticism (if at all). We've seen people complaining about much less in other games (poor old Other M...).

As for Link's portrayal, he's never been built like a gladiator but I preferred his innocence in previous Zeldas. He was the hero, but not always an obvious one. Given he usually looks about fourteen (or younger... toon Link), it was more believable, especially with NPCs often questioning his abilities. With BotW, the constant admiration doesn't seem to fit his look. Yes, it fits with the Zelda lore (he is without doubt the hero) but I feel most of the previous Zelda games had the balance right (or at least better than this one).

I don't mind Zelda's portrayal too much. The voice acting could be better, but as I'm uncovering more memories I'm warming to her personality and can understand her plight. At least she isn't falling at Link's feet every time he looks her way.

According to the Hyrule Compendium they can be found in the Gerudo Desert and Necluda Sea.

I really enjoyed the little nods to the other games without beating you over the head with it. Urbosa's talk of a Gerudo man and the second to final memory with the sword.

And as lame as the final part of the last boss was, I think the game was going for more "epic" than actually challenging or testing your skills. And it succeeded in that regard for me. I much preferred the first form, that was the "real" final boss for me

@Monkey_Balls LOL your spoilers didn't work. I will respond to some of them but not all as I'm not finished with the game. No worries on the delay. I'm all over the place...slow day today at work. I'm actually not done responding but I have a 2 hour drive home. I'll be back later.

Zelda portrayed as being weak. So with this one it is a fine line and part of the whole you can't escape your fate that is common in Eastern Mythology (especially Shinto). Zelda is supposed to have ONE JOB, to the exclusion of her own intelligence (girl is a scholar), determination and possibly faith. So if she fails at the one job...nobody cares about the rest of her hard work (Except Urbosa...yep I'm shipping them now) because they are all gonna die if she doesn't goddess up. And that has to be frustrating as all get out. It isn't that she is weak but she isn't what the world is demanding and she is questioning that, dismayed by the fate that she can supposedly prevent, and a bit self castigating because SHE feels like a failure while Link is walking around with Fi's acceptance and these random Champions are working the beasts without an issue.Yet what I like about the game so far is that Technically they are all f-ups in the grand scheme of things. EVERY LAST one of them EXCEPT Zelda failed. Link got curb stomped, the Champions lost the beasts and Zelda made sure Ganon stayed put and that Link could return. In part because of all that research she'd done actually. If she had just followed orders I think we would be dealing with another TP situation. So Zelda is actually realistically badarse. However people see tears and go weak female.

Kakariko Village: "Lonely Arrow Girl" wanting a guy to "nock an arrow for me. It's been WAAY too long". That mess was creepy. Although I kept telling myself it was because her husband is obsessed...with chickens.
Kakariko Village: "The Bow Master" choosing the Cuccos over his wife. Cado is just...um strange. He must have been a heck of an archer to even get married in the first place. The whole thing is a joke that isn't funny.
Karariko Village: Mellie having to sneakily eat carrots behind her husband's back. I didn't know that...can't speak to it because isn't her husband like super doting?
Kakariko Village: Koko wanting to cook like her mother and being upset when she can't. That one isn't bad to me. Cooking is something that ties her to her mother whom she is probably too young to fully remember but she remembers her food. That is an imprinting thing. When I get homesick for my parents I cook meals that my mom made more often when I was a child as well. Even though I speak to her often, but it takes me back to my childhood. My father does it too actually. He likes to attempt to cook dishes his mom made (man is a horrible cook).
Zora's Domain: women and girls fawning over Prince Sidon. Yep. Creepy to me as well. I've been told before that is normal or expected of heterosexuals but nobody in my family did it to my knowledge so it just weirds me out. Heck I wasn't after females until puberty hit me. But if you look at Disney shows you will see children "lusting" after either older or same age so I don't know what to say there.
Hateno Village: boys being amazed about, and trying to spy on, the "girl" in the tech lab. Yep, creepy but I've seen that type of behavior before. Still creepy.
Hateno Village: Manny checking out all the women. Same as above. Creepy yes, but happens in real life.
Gerudo Town: most of the women and girls being obsessed with finding a man. I've gone into my feelings on this a few times, not gonna rehash. But really if I lived in a town of women that were intelligent and capable and looked like that? I'd be in heaven. I did think it was strange that they have a gay man in the game but the Amazon expy community doesn't have a single Lesbian? Excuse me while I roll my eyes so hard my prosthetic falls out.
Gerudo Town: Bozai being a bit creepy with "Vai" Link (snow/sand boots quests). I didn't even finish his quest because I didn't want to talk to him. I should not be uncomfortable playing Zelda...don't take away my happy place.
Tarrey Town: Hudson insisting his Gerudo bride accept certain wedding vows. Haven't gotten there yet.
Tarrey Town: Hagie talking down to Ruli about their sick daughter. Haven't gotten there yet.
Akkala Tech Lab: Robbie disrespecting his wife by constantly talking/thinking about his ex. Yeah I had a WTF look on my face but honestly wives are often taken for granted in such a way. Husbands too for that matter. I'm not trying to turn this into a gender studies argument as I just wanna talk games here but, yeah that isn't new behavior either.
Goron City: Ramella asking if Link is flirting with her and being disappointed he's not. I'm waiting on someone to grab Link by his junk at this point.

I went over Paya earlier. But she can't really do anything else as she isn't the ruler and I don't think she can fight, but she can maintain the traditions of her people. The rest of it is "Prince Charming" her idea of Link.

Also I'm adding the Great Faries to your list. I can deal with the first two levels but the last two...um I think Link gets deflowered after a point.

@Operative2-0 I feel as if this difficulty and offering a harder one later as DLC is part of a strategy. It wouldn't work with most other games, but with how huge this game you have more than enough time to grow accustomed to it, so that you can then tackle the harder difficulty with confidence. If they offered it right away, it would cause a bit of a dilemma (not to mention risk delaying the release further) in the player as to which difficulty to start with. They sell the exploration part first and foremost to the wider audience.

I am so salty that people are able to get this while I can't unless I were to buy a unofficial NFC chip.

Me tooooooo and I'm a little salty that it's stuck behind such a chip in the first place. You know how epic it would have been to have a sidequest that had little cameos from the game and the ultimate reward being that?

Just noticed that when you talk to beedle when he's wandering around Hyrule he has the same mannerisms as the happy mask salesman odd. This second playthrough is really great with over 340 hours on my first save I'm still finding places I've never been and seeing new npc scenarios, one of them just saw me doing something and mistaking my intentions actually talked me down it was so funny and quite dark.

@Ryu_Niiyama Do we know that there aren't any homosexual Gerudo? Maybe they make up the 50% of Gerudo Town's citizens who are satisfied enough with their love lives that they don't need to blab every romantic desire to a passing Hylian tourist. Perhaps they've just got their shizzle together.

What I'm more confused about is the Gorons. I'm pretty sure I've never seen them refer to each other as anything other than "he" or "brother". There simply don't seem to be any females. Which begs the question, how do they procreate? Maybe they can do it asexually, like slugs. Big burly rock slugs. They probably lay rock eggs, then leave them to float down a river of lava, and then after several months when the lava has long cooled and set solid, they head downstream to mine their offspring out of the rock.

And that's how Gorons reproduce. According to me. Just now. And until Nintendo plucks up the courage to inform the world of the Goron reproduction cycle, that's the explanation I'm going with.

@Maxz It interesting you mention the Gorons, I was thinking about this too while in Gerudo Town. I'm extremely curious why the two Gorons are allowed into Gerudo Town despite being male, besides it being humorous that they are allowed 'just because'. If there really are no female Gorons, does this have something to do with why they were let in? Doesn't it seem odd for a member of an exclusively male species to be accepted into an exclusively female society?

As for the Gerudo, I think it's probable that some of the Gerudo are involved in homosexual relationships. I mean, it makes sense — some of them must crave intimacy, and a society of only women and all... Except for those who are heterosexual and are forced to venture out into the world to find a partner. And it also could be that those who choose to stay in Gerudo Town simply aren't interested in relationships of any kind.

Well, being an all-male-looking species, what else will they do? Ban the entire species? One they have comercial ties with?

They probably simply don't want to get into the gritty details about what a female Goron is, and since chances are they're not even compatible for reproduction, they simply let them in. No questions asked.

No vai, no voi. Just Goron.

@Meowpheel Well that's my point exactly. It seems odd that they would allow Gorons, who are (supposedly) all male, into their "female-only" society. It makes me think the real reason isn't simply excluding males, but just those who are capable of reproducing with Gerudo.