Topic: Will I like Zelda BOTW?

Hey folks, recently picked up my switch and loving it so far. Long time gamer in general and always had Nintendo consoles too. My problem now is, that I never really got into Zelda

ducks and runs for cover

Yeah. I know. I liked the one on the Gameboy Color though.

This doesn't have anything to do with Zelda per se, it's just, that I really have a problem getting into huge and elaborate RPGs, like Skyrim. I liked the world but I never really cared, thus failed to "get into it". Same with Elder Scrolls Online. The last time I cared for a huge RPG world was... EverQuest (long before most of you were born) or the Vanilla Version of WoW.

I liked the Golden Sun Games on GBA...

I mean. I don't care enough to bring some weird heirloom to some raggedy cat that might have lost it, like you do so many times in Elder Scrolls games! smirks - I do enjoy games with a bit of a narrative more than purely open world games. Seems like, I don't react to well with "filler content" aka Sidequests.

Thus my question, anyone else with a similar background who managed to get into Zelda BOTW? I can easily acknowledge it's beauty and the achievement of bringing such a game to Switch. Still, I'm afraid it's fetching vases and magic flutes all over again...

Comments and suggestions are highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Breath of the Wild is not like any other Zelda game, its open world, there is a story, but most of it is running around finding shrines

I think you might enjoy it. From what I’ve seen, there seems so be something slightly contrived about games like Skyrim, which I can’t fully explain. Like, the side quests are sort of an excuse for the game to send you scavenging around the world in the hope of stumbling across Thing A or half a dozen Thing Bs.

It’s not that these sort of challenges are entirely absent from BotW, but in my experience, the world itself is so beautifully and lovingly crafted that exploring it feels like a reward in its own right, rather than a chore to fulfil an arbitrary sidetask.

I’d recommend it to (almost) anyone.

It sounds like you won't enjoy this Zelda. It's less linear than previous entries and much of it relies on making your own fun. There are many many shrines (which are basically self contained challenge rooms) and things called Korok seeds to find. I'm afraid that if you can't enjoy the game for the world alone, you may find a lot of this to be "filler".

Zelda isn't really an RPG (apart from Zelda 2). It's an open-world adventure series, focusing on exploration, puzzles and combat. Breath of the Wild pretty much has as much in common with the (pre-Origins) Assassins Creed series as Skyrim, in many ways, while not being exactly like either. Breath of the Wild, in particular, has more in common with immersive sims - it serves up a mass of systems, like freezing time, magnetic powers, bombs, fire and ice, and lets you go nuts with how you choose to tackle any particular problem.

There are fetch quests, admittedly, but they are really just an excuse to get you to explore a beautiful world full of little secrets and Easter eggs. None of those secrets is essential to the plot or completing the game - they are purely there to reward the inquisitive player. If that's not you, then I'd give it a miss.

However, if you can, I suggest at least borrowing a cartridge from someone and giving Breath of the Wild a go. You will keep your save on the Switch regardless, so you can always choose to buy it yourself and carry on if it floats your boat. There is a reason why it picked up almost every game of the year award going in 2017.

@Shellcore Hmmm I don't mind exploring on my own, I just don't like "menial Tasks" being shoved in my face left and right just to keep me busy. I found most Elder Scrolls games to be like this and many many Ubisoft titles…

On the other hand I got myself busy in GTA Online just by driving around, exploring and doing stupid stuff. I might be able to enjoy this in Zelda too, even without senselessly beating People...

@Scollurio You can still senselessly go after and beat Bokoblins to keep you busy if you want

BoTW was designed with a different game play "Open Word" and your quest are Shines, Korok seeds, and sides quests. But if your first reply was:

That already would preclude this game. You should go into a game with a open mind and try experiencing it first. Also since is been out for some time now you can go and probably buy a used BoTW for less then when it came out as well. Or as others mentioned borrow someone if they let you and give it a try to experience a Zelda from different game play. I still have the game and from time to time try to finish it but have more fun just exploring the game and it can burn hours if your not careful about it.

I think you'll really enjoy this game. I'm a huge zelda fan. My favorite franchise of all time so i may be biased.. but I'm also in the camp that doesn't appreciate lengthy side quests little fillers to pad a game. While there are tons of shrines, they never felt like side quests since they never had to be done in a specific order. The entire game is all at your leisure. My only gripe about the game is that there are only 4 "dungeons" to be played. Dungeons are my favorite part about zelda games so i felt a little cheated in that regard. But anyone who's never played a zelda game can without a doubt jump into this game and finish it without having to look up information online or researching. I think you'll have a great time playing it and you should give it a shot. I wish a could re-experience it again and have that same feeling I had when I first played it.

It took me a while to get into BotW. Things like the breakable weapons and the climbing (damn you rain!!!) kept pissing me off... but I gave it another chance recently and fell in love with it...

Use this thread: https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/the_switch...