Breath of the Wild Is Breath of the Wild the greatest Zelda game ever?

[Jamie]

I'm only four hours in and I'm definitely someone who falls for the honeymoon period, but I don't think a game has made me feel like this in a long time. I hardly play games anymore and if I do they're casual games like Fifa or Rocket League with friends. Even when a big release comes out, I like the game... just its not the same. Breath of the Wild is the first game since Fallout New Vegas where I'm playing and I seem to forget about the time and everything else. It's like playing games when you're a kid and everything is so exiting and new. I've only had this feeling with around 20 or so games and most of them were games I played as a kid.

Everything seems to just work. They've integrated so many elements from other Zelda games seemlessly, but the biggest thing really is just how free the game is. I've played open world RPGs quite a lot and it's probably my favourite genre, but they've never given me the freedom this game has. 2 minutes in, no extended cut scene or prologue phase. The game just says go and explore. The freedom of movement you have: climbing, sprinting, jumping, paragliding etc. So many great RPGs restrict movement and make it awkward. Its one of the few open worlds that has verticality (Fallout 4 being the only other one I can think of). Then the physics system is just amazing. You can interact with the world in so many ways which is where so many RPGs lack life. For example, a cliff was too high for me to climb, so I cut down a tall tree and created like a perfect ladder to make it up. I'm only 4 hours in and I've approached so many different situations in interesting and unique ways. Just sitting there planning out your next move is satisfying.

I can't really speak on much more, even though there are other aspects I didn't mention which I love. The only comparison I can make to this game was the feeling I had playing San Andreas (coincidentally my favourite game of all time). The past GTAs were insane, but rockstar just decided to go "**** it" and not only improve on every single aspect and expand the game, but also add tons of tons of new features which were ahead of its time. Breath of the Wild makes other Zelda games feel like beta testers. I still love past Zelda games, but this game feels like it's evolved several times over from whatever Zelda game we got in 2011. I can only hope this experience continues and I can finally replace a game as my favourite of all time.

Right hand to God, the game only gets better. The first bit until you get the divine beast quests is actually the slow part.

 

[Fraxinus]

Well. That's a tough question to answer. BotW sort of picked apart that question we ask ourselves: "What makes a Zelda game a Zelda game?" And the game doesn't really *feel* or play like a Zelda game, but still at its core, it somehow does. That being said, I'm not sure if it's a safe thing to say it's the best Zelda game because that's like saying the best of something is whatever is the least like it.

While I am enjoying playing this, I'm not sure I would want the series to go in this direction. I think it's safe to say the majority of the series' audience sort have over time grown to play openworld games, so I guess it makes sense they tried it with the Zelda series. I like BotW as an openworld game; it's actually my first. But idk how well the series would handle trying to outdo this without being overly superfluous.

I haven't touched on much of the plot yet, but the exposition is very vague and light like the first in the series which I do like. However, the actual details don't make much sense from a logical standpoint (I'm not talking about the timeline or anything; just in general), but I think BotW is doing something right with the storytelling in that it's not the focus and it's not incredibly intrusive so you can sort of just focus on playing. Also a plus, I'd say, for the most part.

Back to the overworld though. I think the actual map is what has me most impressed with this game. How cohesive it is, and how it pays tribute to an assortment of titles, including the Minish Cap (oh yeah). I just love it. I've spent most of my playtime exploring, and I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of effort was put into its design.

Really, my only complaints are a minor assortment of playstyle mechanics and the voice acting. Oh and Zelda's portrayal is ****ing awful, but I was expecting that so that's not too big a deal. The implication that Hyrule has been around for 10,000+ years kind of bothers me too.

I actually don't know which game is the best in the series. I would definitely put BotW amongst those titles, but it still feels hardly Zelda enough to be *the* title to represent Zelda.

 

[River Zora]

"The best of something is whatever is least like it..."

*looks at Majora's Mask*

 

[Azure Sage]

It's more amazing than I was expecting. It jumped up to my favorite game almost immediately. It's taken me 11 days to beat it. 11 days to get all four divine beasts, collect every memory, beat all 120 shrines, and find 335 korok seeds. That's a lot of time. Might be the longest time I've ever taken in beating a game in my life.

The overworld is stunningly beautiful no matter where you go. I have so much fun just walking through it, I almost never even use my horse. The music is some of the best in the series imo, and so are the characters. The Champions are all fantastic, but even the minor characters like Paya and even the villagers that are only important for sidequests are all very well-written. The story of the game has also become my favorite in the series. Piecing it together bit by bit with recovering memories and talking to people was an adventure in and of itself, and the full picture is incredible. I was very emotional throughout several of the memories and cutscenes, especially those pertaining to the Champions.

The weapon system is totally fine with me and I like the armor system a lot. I'm very picky when it comes to armor, and I was able to get a few different sets that I actually like the look of and still have good defense. Flurry strikes are awesome and so much fun and it feels so good when you pull them off at just the right moment and turn the tide. The dynamic overworld with its weather patterns that actually affected how you played the game was very welcome. It made for a lot of unexpected developments. The subtle references to various games to and the direct references to Ocarina of Time made me very excited. I love that kind of thing.

Before the game came out, I was predicting a lot of things, like being able to invite characters with you like how the Wolf Link Amiibo worked. Unfortunately I got that wrong and I was a little sad about that. I think if the game had such a feature it would be absolutely perfect in my eyes. This game isn't perfect, but even so, all the hype I had leading up to its release was well-rewarded beyond my expectations. One of the things I did successfully predict was that it became my favorite Zelda game of all time. I absolutely love this game.

 

[Jamie]

It's more amazing than I was expecting. It jumped up to my favorite game almost immediately. It's taken me 11 days to beat it. 11 days to get all four divine beasts, collect every memory, beat all 120 shrines, and find 335 korok seeds. That's a lot of time. Might be the longest time I've ever taken in beating a game in my life.

The overworld is stunningly beautiful no matter where you go. I have so much fun just walking through it, I almost never even use my horse. The music is some of the best in the series imo, and so are the characters. The Champions are all fantastic, but even the minor characters like Paya and even the villagers that are only important for sidequests are all very well-written. The story of the game has also become my favorite in the series. Piecing it together bit by bit with recovering memories and talking to people was an adventure in and of itself, and the full picture is incredible. I was very emotional throughout several of the memories and cutscenes, especially those pertaining to the Champions.

The weapon system is totally fine with me and I like the armor system a lot. I'm very picky when it comes to armor, and I was able to get a few different sets that I actually like the look of and still have good defense. Flurry strikes are awesome and so much fun and it feels so good when you pull them off at just the right moment and turn the tide. The dynamic overworld with its weather patterns that actually affected how you played the game was very welcome. It made for a lot of unexpected developments. The subtle references to various games to and the direct references to Ocarina of Time made me very excited. I love that kind of thing.

Before the game came out, I was predicting a lot of things, like being able to invite characters with you like how the Wolf Link Amiibo worked. Unfortunately I got that wrong and I was a little sad about that. I think if the game had such a feature it would be absolutely perfect in my eyes. This game isn't perfect, but even so, all the hype I had leading up to its release was well-rewarded beyond my expectations. One of the things I did successfully predict was that it became my favorite Zelda game of all time. I absolutely love this game.

Do you have any issues with the story progression? That has to be my personal biggest gripe. I don't like how the story is all in the past.

 

[Azure Sage]

Do you have any issues with the story progression? That has to be my personal biggest gripe. I don't like how the story is all in the past.

To be honest it wasnt at all what I was expecting, but I don't necessarily dislike it. Discovering the story for yourself was definitely not something I was used to, but I think they handled it satisfactorily well. The story in and of itself was very good, at least I thought it was, so I didn't mind too much. I can understand how it would bother some people, though. I know I definitely would have enjoyed a more in-the-moment adventure with all the characters.

 

[Justac00lguy]

My only one big criticism so far is lack of dungeons. I mean Zelda style dungeons.

Shrines are great, but they are very brief. I associate dungeons with large overwhelming temples riddled with puzzles and complex designs that you can get lost in. You can't get lost in shrines since they're completely linear. They have some great puzzles, but it's just the one or two and then it's over. Plus they all have the same visual theme and music, I would love for some variety.

This wouldn't really matter all that much if the game was comprised of traditional dungeons, but there's only four and, from what I've played so far, they're very short and super easy. No big emphasis on themes or any sense of individuality. No big challenge or any feeling of being "stuck" - something I've always associated the series with.

I love this game in most aspects, but I can't help but feel too much praise overshadows what this game sometimes lacks. Dungeons are one of my favourite aspects of the Zelda series and this game fails to deliver on that front. I guess it's a case of looking past traditional Zelda and taking the game for what it is. This is hard though, especially when I'm anticipating an epic dungeon and I know full well I'm not going to get that in this game. I discredited Skyward Sword for what I felt it lacked in dungeon experience and I feel this game lacks even more. This game could have easily just upscaled the main dungeons. Four was plenty for Majora's Mask. Or it could have had a handful of large scale optional dungeons scattered across the overworld. Such a missed opportunity and I hope it doesn't plague my experience with this game.

 

[the8thark]

My only one big criticism so far is lack of dungeons. I mean Zelda style dungeons.

I agree with you 100%. Very good points. However what you see in BotW is zelda styled dungeons and mini dungeons/shrines. Zelda Dungeons 2017 style.

I believe the dungeons you and many others like are RIP. Zelda as an IP has moved on from that.

 

[DoomDash]

I agree with you 100%. Very good points. However what you see in BotW is zelda styled dungeons and mini dungeons/shrines. Zelda Dungeons 2017 style.

I believe the dungeons you and many others like are RIP. Zelda as an IP has moved on from that.

Which is what scares me. Some of the reasons those dungeons were so good is because they were big/long enough to build up multi-tiered puzzles. Again I'm not extremely far in the game but these Shrines have been way too simple/short so far. If there are no dungeons I will be disappointed.

 

[the8thark]

Which is what scares me. Some of the reasons those dungeons were so good is because they were big/long enough to build up multi-tiered puzzles. Again I'm not extremely far in the game but these Shrines have been way too simple/short so far. If there are no dungeons I will be disappointed.

There is effectively 5 bigger dungeons in the game. That is something Nintendo has told us in official trailers.

The multi layer dungeons of old they were great. But most of them were just a bunch of single room puzzles joined together. Water Temple - OOT is the big exception here. That dungeon is probably the only one where you need to think of the whole dungeon the whole time.

 

[DoomDash]

There is effectively 5 bigger dungeons in the game. That is something Nintendo has told us in official trailers.

The multi layer dungeons of old they were great. But most of them were just a bunch of single room puzzles joined together. Water Temple - OOT is the big exception here. That dungeon is probably the only one where you need to think of the whole dungeon the whole time.

Water one in MM was a beast too, for me even harder than OoT's.

 

[Dio]

It is a good game but it is not the greatest Zelda game ever. That for me is still Twilight Princess. The game which is basically a bigger and better OoT and is the embodiment of what Zelda is all about.

BoTW to me feels like just another open world RPG and just doesn't seem that special compared to what I have played before. There is also a lot of stuff I would have liked them to do differently.

 

[MiguelP]

Hard for me to conclude at this point but it ranks up there. I'm not very far in (20 or so shrines in, 27 korok seeds...). I spend more time dilly-dallying around the landscape (tower & shrine hunting) than advancing the plot during a few hours some nights when I have time to play but it sure is fun!!!

 

[Tetra's Wink]

Is it shocking that I've ranked it 6th?

Bear in mind, I love a lot of the Zelda games. And all of my top 6 have at least a 9/10 from me. And out of 19 games, I think 6th is pretty high still.

 

[Jamie]

No, I'd say it's better than wind waker, SS and spirt tracks but not much else. The weapons breaking mechanic is ********, the new dungeons suck, the characters are so cringe worthy, the voice acting is poor, the game play is repetitive, the shrines are one note and few are unique, korok seeds puzzles are doing the same 5 things 900 times, the story is non-existent, the framerate drops arrive immersion breaking, there's no real rewards for doing anything, there are nother enough unique collectibles, there are only a few monsters with re-skins, the graphics are terribly dated, there's sailing, the stamina meter is back, the dungeons all have the same theme, the music is ambient and boring, the world is huge and empty and the amiibos have the best items and horse locked behind them

I'm surprised you think this given the time you spent on it, I thought you liked it a lot more. I also find your point on the world being empty to be weird since there's 120 shrines, 4 dungeons, and 900 korok seeds it's hard for me to agree. Also Epona isn't the best horse. I also find graphics being dated to be a poor argument since the graphics are still better than every Zelda game prior.

But to each their own, for me I think it's my favourite Zelda game.



It seems that the split between loving it and not being terribly fond has a lot to do with what games in the series were people's favourites. A lot of WW fans seem to love BotW, but a lot of TP fans seem to not be big fans of BotW. I wonder if there's a connection, because I don't see much of one, but perhaps it's more than a coincidence.