Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

@Tsurii I haven't played the HD versions, but I have played the 3D ones. It didn't seem important in either.

Besides, they already have the quick-select menus in Breath. I don't see how it's 'beyond backwards' to focus the player's attention on a single screen as opposed to splitting one's attentions. And I don't want a second screen map myself. Not unless it's removing the minimap UI from the top screen so I can ignore it. I want everything to be one focused experience so it will 'flow infinitely better' and not pull the mind this way and that.

The quick inventory is pretty important in making the water temple less annoying. That's about it though for me. Most of the time, regular menus are fine.
The second screen would be good for a map though.

So, my list of stupid things to do in Breath of the Wild now consists of;

• Sail the Great Plateau raft off of the waterfall (impossible, a bridge blocks its path)
• Snowboard down Snowpeak like it's the '06.
• Gather up a full inventory of boko clubs and slaughter camps on the Plateau with only comically-sized thrown clubs. One after the other, like mighty, wooden hammers of justice.

Don't care what the game tells me to do, or how difficult it is, or if it's even possible due to Wind Waker style invisible walls that Haru loves so much, but the first thing that's on my agenda is running straight at Death Mountain and beating the crap out of that gigantic laser guardian.

@Octane Hey, I'm only a fan of invisible walls when they are made of geologic-sized lasers.

@Tsurii

Is Spirit Tracks supposed to be the same world? I never finished it.

@Haru17: I'll start a list as well.

• Try (and hopefully fail) to beat Ganon.
• Pick a direction and just start running and see how far I can get.
• Visiting every large mountain and structure in hopes of finding a large and difficult dungeon early in the game. (In my first playthrough of the original LoZ the first dungeon I ended up finding was level 6, which consisted solely of rooms of hordes of enemies. It took me a long time to give up, but I eventually did)
• Sit and listen to a pretty song for hours.
• Spend lots of time at the beach near the desert (I hope wolf Link knows how to fetch).
• Chart out the jungle area like I'm a pioneering explorer from the 1600s.
• Hiding in shelter from the thunder.
• Try to make the most complicated gourmet dish in the game.
• See how high and far I can launch boulders using catapults, runes, or any means I can think of. I'll have a designated launching point (perhaps at the edge of the plateau) and keep track of the distance.

...in addition to what's already been said.

I feel ya, man. Gotta just pick a direction and get lost in the world. However, I feel like seeing the end before you can actually beat it or have finished the game's story really takes away from it. With Skyrim, I only finished the game after the first DLC, several of the faction questlines, and a whole lot of exploring. I think that made it more satisfying as not only could it seem like the culmination of all of my actions, but I could also beat it on the first try when everything's new.

So...Link's a paladin in this game? XD

@Tsurii: I believe the word you're looking for is Holodrum. Technically there's also Subrosia, but eh...details.

@Tyranexx Link's always a paladin if he has Din's Fire. That noise smites undead like nobody's buisness.

The source for this screen is secret because Facebook are a bunch of isolating fascists and Nintendo UK uploaded it first. It's not the same horse-head outpost as was shown in the trailer.

Copy+paste settlements confirmed.

@Octane Basically. Think it's gonna be some sort of "horse refueling" station and probably a bazaar like Skyward Sword's. Hopefully with better music.

All the same, it's a pretty neat / horrifying horse-lipped building to be repeating. I don't mind it, but hopefully all the ruins and lookout platforms are bespoke.

@Haru17 I hope so, it's just that I'm wondering whether they're are showing the same stuff on purpose, or whether they have little else to show. I thought the horse building was supposed to be a unique location, seems it's just one of many. Add the fact that most the screens show empty fields, not even the grassy meadows from the first E3 trailer, no trees, no rocks, nothing, and I'm starting to wonder if this game is maybe a bit too ambitious for Nintendo or their hardware. Here's hoping that they'll show some more stuff next week.

@Octane I think there's just a lot of pop in and objects aren't loaded in the distance. This is a 3D Zelda game, after all. Even the bad ones have been relatively rich in unique mechanics and locations. I'm not worried about that as much as how it all comes together.

@Octane Well if it is the hardware reason then we'll probably see a cancellation of the Wii U version next week along with new stuff in the Switch presentation.

I think cancelling the Wii U version of their biggest game during their make-or-break limelight that will largely dictate the company's fortunes for the next few years would be the biggest PR mistake Nintendo has ever made.

And I think there's a bug merchant.

@Haru17 It's just weird, because we've seen environments that do look good, Hyrule Field, or whatever that vast grassy plain is called. Or the forest from the Great Plateau. Then compare that to the surroundings of the image you posted or this gameplay section from that live Switch demo from December. I know, I know, different environments and all, but some parts just look absolutely barren. Textures are not great to begin with, and when there's no grass to cover the ground, it all looks really empty, a few rocks here and there and some bushes and plants wouldn't hurt those areas. We know it's not a rendering issue, because the draw distance is pretty decent in the areas that do have a lot of objects.

@Grumblevolcano It's not a Wii U exclusive issue. If the Wii U hardware is the issue, then I don't think the Switch will fare much better. It's not that much powerful in the end. And no, I don't expect the Wii U version to get cancelled.

I was going to comment how his backpack looked like a beetle, but now I see the close-up image, it's definitely beetle-shaped, complete with the secondary horn on its thorax. I liked the bug catching from SS, so I hope it's making a return, along with fishing. Give me those collectible time wasters.

I'm really hoping Nintendo didn't fall into the open world trap of copy pasting stuff over a mostly empty map. I like to think they knew that was am issue they'd work to avoid. I'm still hyped as heck, but I do kind of hope they continue having smaller handheld games that aren't open world for fans like me to enjoy.