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Breath of the Wild Breath of the Wild. I can not comprehend why this game exists.

Bowsette Plus-Ultra

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It exists because:

1) Aonuma doesn't want to make a game the Zelda fans wanted.

2) The Zelda games Aonuma wanted to make weren't doing well. At least as far as sales goes, Zelda was regressing horribly.

Breath of the Wild is actually the best of both worlds in that regard. By completely abandoning the core values of the series and the formula the original LoZ set up, Aonuma is able to make a game he wants because he is leaving the Zelda formula. The Zelda fanbase as a whole has always been a niche, so instead he is focusing on the much larger fanbase dedicated towards Open World games.

In addition, Aonuma has never been a game. He's never liked working with gamers. He's said himself that he prefers to have non-gamer developers. So this was also his chance to remove the old Zelda development team and replace them with new developers who don't have a gaming background.

I mean, the series abandoned those values years ago. The series stopped being about adventure and exploration and started being about routine and following a specific series of directions with little to no deviation. Heck, the need for a "formula" at all is no doubt partly responsible. No game series should ever follow a formula.
 

DarkestLink

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I mean, the series abandoned those values years ago. The series stopped being about adventure and exploration and started being about routine and following a specific series of directions with little to no deviation.

This was never important to begin with. LoZ itself is a pretty linear game, with most of the "non-linearity" coming from sequence breaking that would only be available if you used a guide or had already beaten the game and had knowledge of these things.

Heck, the need for a "formula" at all is no doubt partly responsible. No game series should ever follow a formula.

At this point it would no longer be a series....frankly an oxymoron IMO.
 

Mikey the Moblin

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The "Zelda formula" just refers to its niche in the puzzle adventure genre with regards to design choices that have become embedded in the series due to inertia. Without the formula all that ties your game to others in the series is the world building.

I'm not going to beat around the bush
I think breath of the wild is the worst story I've experienced in main series zelda.

The core design of the game is fine, focusing on open ended exploration and individual experiences, it just isn't Zelda (and does have noticeable flaws that other open world games had already solved, like difficulty curve and the weapon system)

The world building was just bad and needed to be done another way. If you want to make the story something you search for, fine that's great it's what dark souls did

You did not pull it off nearly as well as dark souls.

I am excited to hear that the second game will be using the same physics engine because that's one of the coolest parts of breath of the wild, it's a super unique engine that allows for a lot of interesting individual experiences.

But for the 5ish million players who loved the games from 2002-2013 we're out of luck in a big way

maybe I should make a new thread discussing differences between dsr, skyrim, and botw since all 3 are playable on the switch together
 

Bowsette Plus-Ultra

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This was never important to begin with. LoZ itself is a pretty linear game, with most of the "non-linearity" coming from sequence breaking that would only be available if you used a guide or had already beaten the game and had knowledge of these things.

At this point it would no longer be a series....frankly an oxymoron IMO.

But you could explore and there wouldn't be some wall or some companion or some artificial obstacle designed to insult your intelligence and keep you along a rigid line. It's the lack of exploration and trust in later titles that I criticize to harshly.

It's Breath of the Wild's lack of intrusive narrative that I like. I like that there isn't a companion or some constant NPC contact who gives you a specific step by step list of things you need to do before you fight Ganon.

Zelda reached a point where it was comfortable. It was treated well by reviewers regardless of problems. It stopped doing anything new, because it didn't need to. I appreciate Breath of the Wild for throwing out as much of Zelda as it did, because it threw out most of the stuff I disliked.
 

Vanessa28

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BotW is a great game in my opinion. It has many flaws yes, but the concept of cooking meals to survive cold, heat, being low on health etc is a fun concept. To be able to go anywhere you want without being told what to do and where to go first is refreshing.
However, one of the biggest flaws in the game is the overworld being too empty. You finish the game and all main sidequests and then where to go next? Yes, korok seeds ugh, or treasure chests play master mode. But still the overworld is pretty empty.
But all in all, it's a great game. At least, to me
 

Mikey the Moblin

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But you could explore and there wouldn't be some wall or some companion or some artificial obstacle designed to insult your intelligence and keep you along a rigid line. It's the lack of exploration and trust in later titles that I criticize to harshly.
these are restrictions that largely don't exist in wind waker, the best zelda game
yes you have to immediately go to forsaken fortress then dragon roost but after that it's pretty much open world with progression and exploration locked behind key items
 

Sheikah_Witch

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these are restrictions that largely don't exist in wind waker, the best zelda game
yes you have to immediately go to forsaken fortress then dragon roost but after that it's pretty much open world with progression and exploration locked behind key items


That's not really true, though. Upon leaving Windfall, the King of Red Lions will tell you that 'it's best that we stay on our path from now on' when you go to Dragon Roost, then Forest Haven, then Greatfish Isle etc etc.

It only becomes fully open when you have all 3 pearls.
 

Mikey the Moblin

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korl telling you something is irrelevant to the game limiting exploration
he has very compelling story reasons to tell you to hurry up
on your way to dragon roost and then forest haven, there's a decent portion of quadrants you're allowed to explore without korl turning you in the proper direction
after forest haven there's no restriction in direction
you are only prevented from full open world exploration by lack of key items
 
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thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
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I see so many people say “BotW is just like the original” when it’s clearly not. Zelda 1 had actual objectives, it had actual dungeons, it had items hat were required to beat the game and not just an iPhone and a Deku leaf ripoff. Saying BotW is in any way, shape, or form similar to the original is simply incorrect.

BotW is closer to elder scrolls than an actual Zelda game. Hell its closer to Minecraft than it is Zelda. I really, really, REALLY hope this isn’t the new direction for the series.












(Skyward Sword was better)
 
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It exists so Nintendo can make more money off one of their most beloved franchises.

It exists so fans can try out a new Zelda game. Whether they like it or not depends on the individual. Its not my favorite, but I don't hate it.

It exists to return back to the spirit of its roots.
 
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The game was fantastic. It had callbacks galore and offered unprecedented levels of exploration. Really it just "needed" 5 things.

4 distinct dungeons providing some history on Gannon/Gannondorf. They could even provide useful information leading up to the divine beast battles/Calamity Gannon fight.

Item #5 History. Some creepy locations with further history. Honestly I'm hoping they keep the overworld in the sequel and add the history/exploration there.
 
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Breath of the wild. Is by far the best game I've seen on switch. Theres a few things I would change about the game. But besides this. The game is fun and Addictive. If your having troubles doing things on the game. Check youtube! :D
 
I love BotW, and I love most everything else about the rest of the Zelda series.
that's probably the case for most botw fans since there also Zelda fans..
 

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