Poll: So, Have You Used Zelda Notes Yet?

The only thing I don’t really like about Zelda Notes is that it absolutely murders your phone battery. Beyond that, it’s really useful for finding things in these games, and the voiced flavor text bits are cute and neat. IMO, the review for BotW S2 was really way too mean to the Zelda Notes.

I have 0 intents on using it. Most of the features for it break the game since the game wasn't balanced around said features to begin with- and I don't really care to use the notes function enough to keep my phone near-by when I play.

I also don't think the map is useful for Tears of the Kingdom, given how the shrines are really easy to complete if you know that the Depths are just a mirror world version of the main map- and all the light roots are underneath the shrines.

I would rather see these features.. Sharing.. navigation assistance or maps etc be all included on the cartridge.. I don't want to look at my phone while playing

I tried it out and I know that I would really enjoy this. However, one thing I don't like is that they keep track of things between save files without actually let me reset it completely, not to mention some of the statistics wasn't kept track until certain update and some were already there from beginning. I will wait for a few weeks or months in case Nintendo decides to update the possibility to reset it

i am actively using it and its fun. it doesnt spoil too much, only the location of something. the only things i do not use are the item box and the gps voice the rest is good. currently i only play botw, so i cannot say much aboit totk but the memories are great, most of them are flavor text, but then some try to connect both games a bit. my favorite currently is the one at the rauru settlement. really feels like they hired someone to care at least a little about the lore. the only issue is it gives me a little hope for age of imprisonments lore that it isnt a complete rewrite about what we know, like aoc.

I really have only used it for the Voice Memories so far, but that alone is neat enough for me to want to keep using it.

So does it work like an interactive map that shows only what have not found yet? Because if so I might have to try it out

If they released this feature for the Wii U gamepad I would have given it a try.
Messing with my phone while holding another controller, nah.

Not done more than peck at the BotW upgrade so far but even when i do really dig into it I highly doubt I'll even bother to check it out. Just seems like way more of a hassle than it's worth.

@Lizuka Honestly it’s pretty seamless. Just start playing the game with the same account you’re signed into with the app.

Using it quite a bit actually. I enjoy the navigation tool as well as the voice memories. Really adds to an already phenomenal game.

It's better than watching some YouTube video where some guy talks the whole time telling lame jokes and showing you where to go to find the koroks. That reviewer who complained about zelda notes and how it breaks immersion must normally play videogames to review them while having no interference whatsoever from the outside world. Must be nice having no other obligations or distractions and you're normally able to fully immerse yourself in a videogame.

I wouldn't know.

I found zelda notes to be rather handy and expansive. Kinda gives the game a fresh feel.

It's awkward to use and the volume levels are abysmal (to hear the voice memories properly, I have to turn up the volume, which means all other notifications end up too loud). The content itself is interesting enough and worth checking out, but it should have been added to the game itself, not to a separate mobile app.

Most of the stats for both games are 0 for me. I thought it was a timing issue but I've left it for ages now and still the same.

E.g. Time spent in Hyrule = 199 Hours, but Enemies Defeated = 0 etc etc etc

Anyone else have this problem?

Used for the first time yesterday and it's honestly an amazing added value.
I can already see myself spending a good 100 more hours into the game just going around collecting all the stuff that I missed in my first 250hours.

Too bad some achievements are not retroactive and I have to get them all again. Don't know if I'm doing stuff like "Collecting 3000 materials" again, or stuff similar to that.

@gwyntendo check the achievements descriptions. Some carry over from ver.1.0. Other achievements are activated from the last update onward.

@solarwolf07 you can personalize what you can see and not see. There's even a spoiler mark in case you don't want to see certain things on the map.
Personally I have activated only the miniboss on the Maps and the Koroks seed for example.

the more i think about it the more it feels like the NSO app is just a lot of repurposed 2nd screen ideas the wii u gamepad wouldve used if the system took off

which on paper does sound really nice, especially useful for ACNH qr codes and message typing. but i dont think a lot of fans even remember the app is a thing

I have used it during almost every session of my new BotW Master Mode playthrough. The map is incredibly useful, I'm really enjoying the voice memories, and I like getting a nice little free food boost or repair per day, as well. I also just started using amiibos for the first time and it's awesome to know when each one is ready to be scanned a bonus time that day.

Where is the option for “Yes, I’m not a big fan, I won’t keep using it, but I’ve already got all the Voice Notes and it serves no purpose for me any more?”

I think it’s great. Granted I’ve only used it for the korok collection aspects briefly, but what’s its done is allowed me to switch off and explore everywhere knowing that when it syncs I’ll know exactly how many I’ve got and where, then I can go back in once I’ve finished the game and collect the rest.

The alternative? Mark them on a physical map? Download a 3rd party app and manually input the ones you’ve got? This is much easier.

i was surprised. it's better and more helpful than expected. but u should not use the navi stuff (except the voice notes) when u play the game the first time, because u can see every secret on the map. now its very easy to find all korok seed

This sounds like something that would have been perfect on Wii U and/or for a dual-screen device, but if this requires a dedicated app and a constant internet connection, then forget about it.

Hell, they should have allowed Zelda Notes to be accessible via GameShare on the original Switch, giving the old girl new utility.

Call me old-fashioned, but I loathe it when mobile apps are required in order to utilise all of the functionality of a full-priced physical game on a console.

I'd like to use it for the voice memories, but I play with earbuds so I wouldn't be able to hear them

I have not tried it yet but I fully intend to do so. It's just that I did not have time for some Tears of the Kingdom yet. It's there installed on my NS2 but I'm playing MKW, SF6 and Cyberpunk so yeah.

TBH I really love it. It's a great way to keep track of things and if you're still missing some quests, shrines ... etc. I went back to BOTW because of it.

I finished BotW yesterday and tried Zelda Notes for maybe 10 min. I found it complicated and confusing, and I wasn’t keen to collect Korok seeds, so I saw no purpose for me.

I like it - it’s been a great excuse to mop up the 400 or so missing koroks as well as a few hinoxes (hinoi?) and taluses (talui?)

I do wonder how much work from a dev perspective it would have been to embed it into the game - that would have been much preferable. How many man hours are we talking here?

Didn’t really work for me, I’ll stick with the Breath Companion and Tears Companion apps.

I don't even have a Switch 2 yet, so I don't think there's any way for me to use the app to begin with, not even on the original versions for the first-generation Switch.

I tried it. It sucks!
Breaks immersion way more than a pause menu

That would require me having a copy of the game. Don’t have any bias against it, just not my cup of tea.

I have been busy with Mario Kart & Cyberpunk, but I will probably give it a try when I start on Tears of the Kingdom next.

I put away my phone when playing games, I want to disconnect from the world and get immersed, very pointless feature. This is why the WiiU Gamepad was so good, it allowed second screen interaction without disconnecting from the game.

I've been using it on my work phone and it's really slow 🐌 but it helps with finding hidden stuff, so that's cool. But I still don't like having to use a separate app when playing a game. So it's more of a necessary evil for me if I want to 100% the game

@solarwolf07 you can toggle things on and off and hide the ones you’ve found. So for example, you can enable shrines only, and use the map to track down the ones you missed. I’ve been using it to 100% my file and have been having a lot of fun with it.

Should be a "no, but I plan to try it" on the first poll

I kinda feel like this Nintendo’s way of saying “yes we know a Switch DS is what you really wanted/needed but since that would cost more to make, here is your hillbilly version, use your own second screen and pretend it’s a DS!”

I'll probably use it to get the Koroks and Hudson signs

I tried out the features, the only one I'm still using is the map of the Korok seeds.
When I'm using the app all I can think is, "Wouldn't it be great if BOTW launched on a console with 2 screens" (/s in case that's needed 😅)

I could not be more opposed to this entire concept.

I actually couldn’t get it to work. It was just loading forever each time I tried so I just gave up with it.

I've got an old iPad I'm going to repurpose just for this. No way I'm looking a my phone while trying to immerse myself in these games.

Saying that, I'm surprised no-one's designed a Joy-Con grip which could hold a phone in the in-between the two controllers. Wait a minute...

I haven't, solely because i haven't played either game on Switch 2 yet. I don't know if I'm interested in jumping back in. Maybe another time. I did upgrade to the Switch 2 editions through the NSO subscription though.

What is it with the truly bitter comments ? If you don't like it, don't use it. Otherwise get a grip, people !!! ... Having played through both games without a guide, I think it will be useful with replays to speed things up a bit. Zelda has never truly been a collect-a-thon - and the items you get for being a completionist are rather disappointing ( not only the Koroks, but the depths towers and Addison's and Koltin's rewards ). But Zelda Notes is very useful if you want to pursue them. The question is I have for Nintendo is ... now that they have given this to us ... how long will it be before they take it away ?

@Shepdawg1 The Switch 2 battery does not fare very well either - so they pair up wonderfully !!!

Oh and btw ... you can reset most of what you find on Zelda Notes .. if, God forbid .. you delete your save data when you start a new game. Although I don't think it resets the Voice Memories or the My Play Data.

I would, but I am from Iceland and none of the Nintendo apps are supported :c Not only that - you cannot use chat or camera for Switch 2: you need register it, but Icelandic prefix is not included in the form, so you cannot use Icelandic phone number. It is wild… Providers contacted Nintendo, but it wont be fixed, so basically whole country is not able to use chat or camera…

Yeah and they're pretty useful, especially early on for extra weapon storage and I like the auto builder QR code function.

For new players I'd recommend not using it for Koroks etc (straight away) as it kind of spoils your exploration and learning the environments

I have actually used it for shrine locations. This is my 4th time playing botw, so it's not really spoiling anything for me at this point. Just a little navigation tool.

I wanted to use the app to track my stats progress with a new play through. However, this is not possible as the “stats” are not working. Some of my progress is still there from a previous game (shrines visited at 120) while some stats are completely inoperative (zero kills). Why isn’t there a way to RESET the info in the “Stats” tab??

The Navigation feature is amazing. However, I haven’t used the app or even played the game since experiencing the disappointment of the “stats”.

@Scarmucci I deleted my save data and the cloud save data. I even deleted and reinstalled the game (BotW). The Stats do NOT reset. Further, the app seems to only update random info. Most of the info is wrong, and there is no reset option.

@Shepdawg1 Use it on your older phone, and keep ot pluged in..

Using in my new run to find the damn koroks. This chunks of story narrated by princess Zelda are very nice as well and make the game's lore more rich.

Works wonders for koroks I guess. Though having them on the sheikah sensor would've been great.

Maybe when I get my Switch 2 I'll go for a korok hunt, but beyond that, I'm not the biggest fan of the more recent Zelda games, and I don't think this app is going to change that, least of all when it's just another menu that I get to waste time navigating.

You did not include an option for I want to but Nintendo did not release the app in my country.

I tried it yesterday evening and found it quite fun to use. Though sometimes the sounds would scare me and break the immersion, it was fun to find the memories and have them start as I walked into them.

Currently playing through both ToTK and BoTW with my fiancé who didn’t grow up around video games much and the voice guidance especially has been really neat! I’m also a sucker for the random little extra voice lines, though the alert scares the crap out of me.

I’m old enough that I used to play through games with a paper strategy guide on the coffee table. I am really hesitant to have my phone out during a game, even though the concept is really cool