Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Getting the Korok mask was the best/worst idea. On one hand, now I won't awkwardly walk right past koroks. On the other hand, I'll waste even more of my time on them.

@kkslider5552000

I genuinely hadn't paid attention to that at all. Only realised what it did when you just mentioned it.

@SMEXIZELDAMAN Glad to see you finally got the DLC!

How the heck did you know? @bezerker99

Because you said earlier in this thread that you were having trouble finding the Korok Mask. That is part of the Master Trials DLC and so I deducted you had finally purchased it.

Finally completed my second playthrough, so wanted to just leave my final thoughts about the game (it'll probably be a few years before I play it again, at which point this thread will be dead).

My opinion of the game has risen the more I've played it. On my first playthrough I was a bit disappointed with it, mostly because I'm a fan of strong stories in games, and I was hoping this would fulfill that desire (and the 2nd big trailer for the game really gave the impression it was a story-heavy game). So the fact that it's one the most story-light of all the 3D Zelda games did slightly ruin my first playthrough, and I ended up with a fairly short playthrough that time (something like 40 hours),

My second playthrough was more enjoyable because I no longer had that expectation for a strong story. I knew it was more of a gameplay-focused experience and I just got more into that side of it, and also did a lot more of the character-based sidequests, which do a bit of a job in filling the space that was left by the absent story.
I think part of what impressed me so much on this second playthrough is that I basically did an entire different set of shrines for the main game (up to the point of getting the master sword and doing the divine beasts). So in other words, I did 60 shrines on my first playthrough and then I did the other 60 on my second playthrough. Effectively meaning that I played 2 entirely different games (adding the DLC to the 2nd playthrough adding further to this sense).

So now that I appreciate how much I simply didn't see on my first playthrough, the game seems so much more impressive. I had no idea there was a golf game in a canyon. No idea there was a bowling game in the snowy tundra, no idea there was sandseal racing, no idea how big hyrule castle actually was. The list of new discoveries was endless and it cumulatively added to my respect for the game and my sense that this really felt like a genuine world that might exist (an achievement that's usually only possible with Skyrim levels of lore and background story)

In conclusion, Breath of the Wild is my 2nd favourite Zelda game. Ocarina will probably never be knocked off that top spot because of it's importance in the history of gaming, but this definitely outshines the rest of the series.

My main criticism remains though. If this had had a better story, on the scale you find in games like Witcher 3 or Xenoblade Chronicles, this would probably be my favourite game of all time.

I just picked up BoTW on Wii U (not impressed with the current state of the Switch hardware and software) and have a few initial impressions. Too bad Nintendo doesn't have an official forum where we can give our feedback, so hopefully someone from Nintendo checks the more popular fan forums from time to time.

Anyways, I'm still pretty early in the game (just got to Hateno Village) but I'm already finding some pretty annoying friction points. I know that I'm late to the party and that these have likely been discussed to death already, but they're still annoying enough that I want to at least say something about them.

First off, the game is almost too open right from the start. Maybe I'm just still in the old-school Zelda mindset, but part of why I like Zelda is getting all the cool items and seeing what kinds of new areas each item will unlock. I'm not necessarily advocating going straight back to the old linear Zelda games, but it seems like a bit more item-based progression would help a lot for overall game progression and storytelling, and would enable a lot more open-world puzzles (instead of just heading in a more or less straight line climbing over everything).

Second, I found the combat difficulty to be ridiculous right off the bat. Maybe I'm just not particularly good at combat in this game, but it's not fun getting killed in one or two hits all the time and having to watch loading screens. I know I can sneak past enemies (which I take advantage of whenever possible), but half the time enemies still see me and I end up dying. At least the saves (usually) are just before combat, but there's been a few instances where I got put a long ways back. Seems like there should be a more gradual progression in combat difficulty.

Third, item durability needs to die in a fire. It's most definitely not fun to have weapons breaking left and right. Whoever made this decision needs a reality check. I can understand having some consumable items (like the deku sticks from Ocarina of Time) and maybe even some breakable special weapons that can be looted from enemies that give you a temporary boost in combat, but we should always have a proper indestructible backup weapon to revert back to. That said, I do like the variety of melee weapons (especially the spear) but we should be able to get indestructible versions of these items.

Overall, it's a neat open world game and is mostly fun in spite of its issues, but it definitely has some pretty major flaws from my first-impressions perspective. We'll see how things go over the rest of the game.

@gamer1000k funny to see that most of your early game frustrations were probably shared with a lot of us, but turned into something highly satisfactory for most of us. Hope that happens for you too!

@gamer1000k The start feels open, but no where near as open as once you start to build up your skills with the game. This is a game that feels easy to figure out right way and a person might feel like they understand things from playing previous games, but once you figure out that you are always learning and gaining skills as you keep playing, you understand the learning curve always is teaching you something.
Even the environment is an enemy that needs to be dealt with.
I am over 300 hours in and I keep finding strategies and things I had no idea were in the game.

Weapon breaking is a challenge at the start, but once you get better weapons and learn, not only how to use each weapon best, but which weapons are right for each situation and how and when to use them. It gets easier, a lot easier. I do not even think twice about common enemies anymore. After I wrapped my head around how the game wants you to use weapons, many weapons are basically throw away items and yet also items to hold onto for specific enemies. Figuring out the balance is key. I found the weapon durability a necessary and elegant control method in exchange for a completely open world game. Since you technically can run right to the "end" and grab some of the best weapons right away, (if you know where they are), not having them "break" would make the game way too easy. Initially I would hold onto everything and use everything sparingly, but then I realized that weapons are everywhere and it is very hard to really ever run out. You will figure out that even the weapons have a strategy to them. What do you keep, what do you discard.... You will figure out which ones are good for the easy guys and which ones to hold on to.

About dying quickly, especially at the start, treat this game like a stealth type game. Think about every battle you get into, later on in the game, it gets much easier. And you will not need to give typical battles even a second thought. Do not rush into battles early in the game. And figure out early what kind of armor suits your game play style and focus on getting that first. Figure out how to sneak up on enemies and use strategy.

You will have many, many aha moments. And figuring out how to use items in ways not initially obvious is fun too.

I hope you are playing on "normal mode" and not Master Mode first. Jumping into Master Mode would be very difficult without knowing the mechanics and having good game strategy under your belt.

Have fun, and try not to look too many things up, discovery is way more fun in this game (and there are a lot of things to discover) than just looking things up. But do not let yourself get stuck too much either. I can honestly say I have never played a game like it. Few games brought me back to 10 year old me with the wonder of exploration of the original Legend of Zelda like this one did.

So it sounds like the main issue with BoTW is the early game difficulty curve then (ramps up way too fast). Still a fairly major flaw, but glad to hear it gets better later on. Maybe they could have put one of the combat shrines on the Great Plateau (along with some sneaking challenge) to highlight how different these aspects are in this game and provide some tips for new players.

Seems like Nintendo has had trouble with the early game in the Zelda series since OoT and haven't really nailed it since (Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword had ridiculously long tutorials, but now it's gone the other way and doesn't really teach you much of anything before throwing you into the fray).

@gamer1000k - I wouldn't call the difficulty curve a flaw, more a delight of the game.

There were times at the start where I had to run away from confrontation, which yes, was frustrating at the time but later on you can revisit that area stronger.

One of the joys I had with the game was the Guardians. To begin they are genuinely run away! when they lock on and the music starts - but eventually you get strong almost without realising and start actively searching the Guardians out to fight.

Taking my first Lynel down was a moment too. There was a real sense of growing within the game.

@gamer1000k I spent a long time on the Great Plateau before I left and that might have given me an advantage. So I was fairly well equip and skilled up before I left. I had a ton of arrows and I had most early weapons and enemies understood. I did not feel the drastic difficult spike you speak of. I guess if you get off the great plateau and did not take much time to gather any resources but just do the minimal required, it might be more difficult. And it will depend what direction you go too. Some area of the map are far more difficult than others. I got a horse right a way. That made travel easier at the start until I unlocked more jump points. But once I learned that death has very little consequence, I did not let it bother me so much. It is just a little bump on the road. Most other games, death can have a big penalty, but here it is just part of the learning curve. Initially I let it bother me, even now, it just tells me I did something wrong and I need to figure it out.
I hated the hand holding in previous game. I gave up on both of those games out of boredom before the tutorials were done and I never went back. But I really thought BotW was refreshing. But I had not really enjoyed a Zelda game until BotW since Link's Awakening. I am sure I would enjoy ALBW though. I just need to play it.

I pretty much just followed the main quest markers as soon as they came up and headed east to Kakariko village and then off to Hetano village, and grabbed shrines along the way. I haven't spent a lot of time grinding, other than gathering random ingredients I come across to cook and sell.

I know that there isn't any penalty for death beyond having to sit through a loading screen, but it still does get annoying to die again and again and again (especially when a lot of those deaths are one-hit-kills from enemies that are obviously far above my character's equipment level).

Link's Awakening was the first Zelda game I played, and it does have a very good early game (like Ocarina of Time). Those games don't have enemies that can kill you in one hit in the starting areas, and generally do a good job of signaling which areas are appropriately difficult for your current equipment/hearts. BoTW IMHO doesn't do a good job of this, and even on the great plateau there's lots of enemies that can kill you in one hit, the freezing weather/water, not to mention what you'll run into just following the quest markers to the first few villages.

@gamer1000k I don't think I've ever come across anyone else with that view.

For me, the clue is in the name: Breath of the Wild

The only difficulty spike is when Link wakes up after 100 easy years of sleeping. Then BAM!... he's on his own, in the Wild.

If I woke up in the Wild, I wouldn't start approaching every creature I see with the assumption that they're willing to accept a can of my whoop-ass.

I would sneak. I would attack from distance with arrows. I would run when I had to.

No enemies are compulsory fights, apart from the obvious one at the end of the game.

The only difficulty in the opening stages of this game is the difficulty the player imposes upon themselves.

@gamer1000k I have found that I needed to think differently about how I play this game. The game is as difficult at the start as it will ever be. There is a slight ramp up as the game moves along, but figuring out how the world works is more important than grinding. There is a reason experienced players can "pass" the game shortly after leaving the Great Plateau, learning how the game plays is more important than gear obtained. The environment is as much of an enemy as any bad guy you will run into. Running away and not grinding are really good tactics. Find high ground and throw bombs. Keep a good stock of arrows and use them from far away, aim for the head. Especially early on, do not take on more than one guy at a time. Sneek up and use stealth. Remember that enemies do not respawn until after a bloodmoon, so take your time and isolate one enemy in a group. If the rest of the group sees you, then run away and wait until they get distracted before attacking again. Running into battle with multiple enemies is a bad idea.
To be honest, if you are getting many deaths, that is the game's way of telling you to try another method. Try this idea, search for Shrines to complete and avoid all battles. Then exchange them for hearts.

I went very far in the game without knowing that I could "level up" my armor per se. I was at the default level for all my armor until I was about 150~200 hours in or so. So I know it is possible to get far in the game with "low armor". Actually, I thought the "armor", or clothing, were just skills or enhancements for Link. I just kept ample food for when my hearts got low. Hearty ingredients are good for cooking.

Maybe this is not the game for you? There have been many games that I found frustrating, but others have really enjoyed.

I don't think this was any type of flaw at all. Similar to what @gcunit said, Link has been sleeping forever after being on death's doorstep and is thrust out on his own as a last hope. Monsters have been basically ruling the land, and Guardians stalk everywhere. Essentially, it's Fallout: Hyrule. Unless you bust out of the cave thinking it's Hyrule Warriors, the difficulty is quite balanced.

Come to think of it: pretty much the only thing I find frustrating is that I can't choose from more than one 'saveslot', as in most other (Zelda-)games. I feel like experiencing the first couple of hours on the plateau again every once in a while, but I don't want to lose my ~300 seeds and and all shrines and beasts save again (did that once since I felt like starting over).

@gamer1000k The main thing is that BotW is more like your typical open world game like Skyrim, Fallout, etc. than a Zelda game. If you keep trying to compare BotW to other Zelda games you'll end up disappointed but if you think of it as its own entity you may be able to enjoy it more.

This style of gameplay has been confirmed for the future of the Zelda franchise so maybe the change from 2D Metroid to Metroid Prime is a decent comparison.

I know what you mean, but easily overcome by playing under a different profile.

I think I like the Great Plateau section of the game more than most other parts of the game.
I think it's very well designed, especially for a small(ish) space and allows for more creative gameplay when compared to most other areas. Playing with great armour and the Master Sword, all of the Divine Beast skills and tons of meat skewers just isn't as fun.
I didn't realise that was how I felt about it until starting Master Mode, but I can easily tell what areas are carefully designed and what areas where generated to pad to world - and the designed areas are almost always better.

I think if the next game has a smaller but more vertical world I would enjoy it more. I understand they wanted a large scale so you would hunt down the shrines but I don't know if I want that l feature to return in the same way...