The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, changed my world. As a child of the 80's, I ignored both NES Zelda games because I thought the pointy-eared protagonist looked weird. I was not a person open to new experiences. When I bought an SNES to play Street Fighter II in the mid 90's, I didn't even notice a A Link to the Past was packed in. A cousin noticed the game wasting away in my room one day, took it out of the box, and urged me to play it, but still I resisted. I don't know what caused me to finally give in, and switch the Street Fighter cartridge for Zelda--maybe it was losing to M Bison for the 5,000 time. Whatever the case, Street Fighter II didn't find its way into my SNES again for quite a while. Within seconds, A Link to the Past drew me into its world, and I have been a huge fan of Zelda, and new experiences, ever since.
Speaking of new experiences, while subsequent Zelda games have been mostly incredible, they haven't exactly been original. Every major Zelda console release between 1998-2011 has essentially been an updated translation of A Link to the Past, but in 3D. Explore the fantastical kingdom of Hyrule (or some variation), fight monsters, tackle dungeons in a storyline-decided order, use the new items found in the dungeons to progress in the game, complete side quests, until the end is reached. Some games added cool gimmicks, like Majora's Mask's Groundhog Day-esque time-resets, but at their core, the Zelda games' hearts have been the same.
Let me be clear--I love those games. Ocarina of Time, Nintendo's first post-A Link to the Past Zelda game, and the series' first foray into 3-D, is one of my all-time favorites, and may be the greatest game ever made. Its direct sequel, the afore-mentioned Majora's Mask, is one of the most immersive video games ever made, and right up there with its predecessor. Wind Waker was rushed to completion, but it is a charming game. Twilight Princess is Ocarina of Time on 128-bit steroids. However, with 2011's Skyward Sword, the Zelda engine started coughing. While Skyward Sword certainly has its moments, it is also clearly a step down for the series, with the game's producers clearly looking to change up the formula, but also uncertain and indecisive about how to do so. In the end, with Skyward Sword, they settled for streamlining the experience, and adding motion controls--limiting the exploration, while changing the method of play. Thankfully, after Skyward Sword, Nintendo went back to the drawing board for nearly six years...and what they came up with is not a rehash, but a heart transplant. For the first time since 1993, The Legend of Zelda feels new. It feels new by going back to the beginning.
The very first Zelda game for the NES, which I certainly went back and played after A Link to the Past, simply drops the player into a world without instruction, direction, or guidance. Nintendo is known for creating intuitive games that get right to the gameplay. Unfortunately, the last few Zelda games had fallen into the modern game-making trap of forcing the player through endless cutscenes and tutorials before the game even truly begins. "Just wait til you get to hour 30! Then the game really takes off!" Breath of the Wild forgoes that completely. The game starts, Link, the Zelda series' long-time protagonist, wakes up in a strange room, walks out the door, and an entire 140 square-mile world is open for whatever purpose the player desires.
Want to pursue the game's story? You can do that. Like all great Nintendo games, the story is integrated into the gameplay seamlessly, and you are an active participant. Want to wander aimlessly? Boy can you do that. Want to follow every whim like a dog in an enormous backyard full of rabbits? I do, and I did! Want to just fight monsters, and collect better weapons and armor? Kill em all! Want to meet Hyrule's scattered citizens, socialize, and help them out? How empathetic of you, and how possible with this game! Want to hunt and forage and then experiment with your cooking? Bon appétit! Want to find and tame the wildest of horses? Saddle up! Want to explore every square inch of mountain, plain, forest, hill, lake, river, beach, ocean, jungle, swamp, desert, canyon, cave, crater, ruin, and tower of Hyrule? How much time do you have?
Nintendo has populated this giant fallen kingdom with monsters great (and I mean looming 100 feet above you "great") and small, dozens upon dozens of flora and fauna to hunt, gather, and cook to Link's benefit, hundreds of distinct characters to interact with, and over 100 Shrines, where the player can test their mental acumen with puzzles or sometimes their skill in battle, rewarding the player with extensions to Link's health and stamina bars. The terrain invites exploration, as I often found myself wondering what was over every hill to the point that I had traveled miles and miles away from where I was originally headed, the game's sun and moon and stars and scattered rain showers passing overhead many times before I got back on track--and the game is fine with the player doing that!
This new lack of linearity also lends the series a much needed difficulty boost. I died many times wandering into dangerous territory the game had no interest in keeping me out of. This forced me to plan ahead, and use strategy and caution in battle against evil hordes, though later in the game, after I had acquired better armor, weapons, and power, I could return and destroy these same enemies head on. If you are very, very loyal to following the game's story, you won't die as much, but you'll also miss much of what the game has to offer.
Even though this is such a player-driven game, I don't want to give away too much to anyone who hasn't yet played it. Discovering all Breath of the Wild has to offer is the best part. Realizing how interactive the environment is, along with discovering the versatility of the incredible physics engine, is worth the purchase price alone.
Thankfully, the graphics are also suitably stunning, and the game's framerate rarely slows down--when it does, it doesn't effect gameplay in the slightest, even with this enormous world and so much going on within. The game's art and design are reminiscent of realistic-style anime, particularly that of the master, Hayao Miyazaki. The fitting music also takes cues from a Miyazaki film, balancing minimalist piano with several well-placed, huge orchestral swells, often following Japanese scales.
Controlling Link is so easy and intuitive that, as in the best Nintendo titles, the player forgets they are even holding a controller. Also, the portability of the Switch is an added bonus--I switched from TV to gamepad seamlessly with no drop in enjoyment, playing the game all over the house, my yard, the state.
The story itself is also quite good, if minimalist (essentially, restore the world, fight Ganon, save Zelda...the one thing that doesn't break from tradition), but rich with details, conjuring an appropriately epic tone, yet taking the series into a world of exciting possibilities. Even the twist on the Zelda staple, dungeons, is exciting, as they can be completed in any order, and feature a level of interactivity unique even to this series.
I have no idea how Nintendo will ever top this game, however, I've long felt the same way about A Link to the Past. Twenty-six years after that landmark SNES title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has done just that.
SCORE: 10/10
Ah, M. Bison. So many grudge matches in junior high... though I think something about Blanka's and Chun Li's victory animation always rubbed me and my friend the wrong way if the match didn't go as we thought it should have. (that same friend and I would have special match types, like only throws in the air versus Chun Li and Guile, etc. Ah, memories).
ReplyDeleteBack on point. It's kind of funny to say how many of this game's greatest strengths are tied in with its greatest weakness. That wide open nature of the game also makes you more divorced from its storyline. I think they could have made some adjustments to make the storyline stronger even in the current setup, but the setting of isolation is such a powerful one at the same time--I wouldn't want that changed for anything. As you pointed out, it's great how this game must tosses you in. That opening, lead in, and first few hours grabbed me like very few games have.
And I love the controls and art style. It's amazing how fun running around, climbing cliffs, sneaking up on bokoblins, etc., is... it's always a joy to explore the world. Being able to get to know the other major races was a great add-on as well, though some of these pieces were stronger than others (the Zora and the Gerudo trumped the others through how their storylines were set up).
My main complaints for the game, even though I still love it and think it's one of the best Zeldas ever (curious to see what you think):
1. How higher "difficulty" enemies are just bigger amounts of hitpoints. Yeah, a silver bokoblin hits you harder, I guess, but it mostly ends up being you hitting him continuously until he dies.
2. Zelda's voice actress. She's so breathy and high-pitched she is almost indistinguishable from Mipha (who is so breathy she can be hard to understand at times), and combining this with her storyline just makes her seem a whiny, spoiled brat much of the time. Mipha's storyline at least is more direct and isn't quite as challenging. This is partially due to my getting the most sympathetic memories of her toward the end of my playthrough (though the last memory you get is the one that makes the biggest difference, imo), but I think if they had a stronger voice presence for her, the whole storyline would work much better.
3. What's up with the great fairies being so creepy? I mean... that last upgrade level, yeesh. They've often been disturbing in the past, but this was to the max, Nintendo.
--Neal
I wrote a long comment to this and then accidentally deleted it. Here are the cliff notes:
ReplyDeleteChun Li's taunt is mean, I like that the Breath let me beat it, even though I only recovered two of the memories...it's cool that the story is a mystery that you can unravel if you want, and just get the basics of it you don't, I like the Zora the best, mostly due to that insane lightning battle up the mountain just to get to them increasing my investment, 1. Didn't bother me, I felt that their often additional armor and extra hit points forced me to appreciatively alter my strategies, 2. That seemed to bother enough people that Nintendo offered the chance to change the language so that you wouldn't have to hear it, 3. C'mon, man, the Lovecraftian nightmare of the Nintendo 64 fairies is way more terrifying!
There, I think I just got 1,000 words into one paragraph! Sorry I didn't see your comment until today!
What's funny is I haven't seen that friend since junior year of high school, but I can still see and hear how he looked when he angrily imitated Chun Li's or Blanka's taunt after I beat him in a fight. We were both so calm and even most of the time, but those grudge matches, man... the rage they could inspire!
ReplyDeleteThe two big boss fights that stood out most to me were the Zora and Gerudo. There were enough moving parts to the Gerudo sand seal and keeping in the safe area when needed made that riveting, and the Zora one had some great variations. The Rito could have been on the same level, but it really needed another element to make it stand out, as it mostly involved slowly flying around and dodging occasional cannon fire. The Goron... I dunno. Really wish there had been something like riding around on a Goron's shoulders or something on top of going to a few spots and firing a cannon. Just didn't have enough to pop.
As for difficulty, I gave in and bought the expansion and the interesting thing there is more item management and being smarter with how you approach foes, as you go through weapons a lot faster. I also feel like I'm making greater use of potions, too, as even now that I have a some tier 4 armor, Lynels and the like still take out a huge amount of health if I'm not on my game dodging or perfect blocking.
Have you gone back and found all the memories? That whole arc and particularly how it builds to a final extra one does work really well (I said "about time!" in response to the last one... I'll leave it vague until I know if you've seen it). I'm still wishing for a Zelda that requires you to actually play Zelda for portions. They've danced close enough to the idea that I wish they would try it.
And as for the fairies... yikes, the 64 ones were incredibly off-putting. Up there with the designer that seemed to like big thighs and kept giving them to Chun Li in the Street Fighter games (come on executive producers, rein those maniacs in a bit!). But still, that tier 4 upgrade is just way too far. The other ones I play occasionally and can get a laugh some, but that one... just no. :(
--Neal
It's funny, my initial experience through the game was as unique as I'm sure everyone's was. I was far more concerned with climbing all the towers and filling out all of the map than getting all of the memories. But true to what I said in this review, I've gone back to the game as recently as yesterday filling in a bit more of the experience. I'm doing the Tarrey Town sidequest, and generally wandering around areas I missed the first time. Have you found that giant monster skeleton at the northern extreme of the map? The fight with the firewelders and bomb archers there is insanely epic. There's so much treasure up there! I never want to quit! And the best part is, I am slowly starting to check off more memories from the list by inadvertently finding them by going on extreme exploring tangents from the Tarrey Town sidequests. I may even be leaning toward pushing this game past my 20-year "Chrono Trigger is my favorite game" declaration. It's not there yet, but it's close, and I never thought that would happen.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I still need to get the tier 4 upgrade. I just got the tier 3 upgrade one this week (I beat the game with tier 2). Can't wait to see how freaky that fairy looks.
Finally, your intriguing comment ensures that I won't stop playing this game until I get that final memory. Also, I have three games in my current queue, but as soon as I work through them, that Expansion Pass is as good as bought.