Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Florete]

The Yigas are annoying more than difficult. It's kind of a pain to be fighting something like a moblin, then have a yiga spawn, then also get stalfos.

Some reasons I think this is the best Zelda game:
-Freedom. Probably the biggest one. Over time Zelda games have gotten more and more linear and I think with the backlash from Skyward Sword they realized how far they'd strayed from what made the original game so beloved. There's some guidance but BotW really gives so much freedom, even the tutorial segment feels pretty free. This isn't to say linearity is necessarily a bad thing but all Zelda games kind of have that feel like they want you to explore but they restrict you too much. BotW finally gets it right. It gives you a huge world with so much to do and see and lets you just have at it.

-Link. Link is more of an actual character in this game than in any previous. He's got an actual backstory and though he doesn't technically have dialogue, there are still dialogue options the likes of which have never really existed before that help add to his personality. Seeing as they decided against allowing the player to name him, I think this was very much intentional. It also helps to justify not having a female option.

-Lore and story. Most Zelda games are pretty standard in their stories, with only Majora's Mask feeling like they tried to do something special. BotW's story still isn't anything super inventive, but it accomplishes more than most of its predecessors without forcing much on the player through the memories.

-Divine beast dungeons. Previously the dungeons have almost always been just a location for something else important. This time the dungeons themselves are actually an important part of the story. And while they're smaller in scale, they're not really lacking in content. It's a great integration of story and gameplay. And another thing worth mentioning is how they don't fit the convention of previous dungeons, which was always "do some rooms -> get item -> use item to clear rest of dungeon." You have all your "dungeon items" from the beginning so the dungeons could be made in less restrictive ways.

This isn't to say I don't have any problems with the game, but the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. This was already likely to be my last Zelda game but even more so now since I can't imagine them topping this. It's been so long since I played a Zelda game that just made me always want to be playing it.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Florete

[Anacybele]

I still don't think Skyward Sword's linearity makes it bad. I don't think linearity makes any game bad if the rest of it is still enjoyable. I understood people's complaints about Fi being handholdy and how the gameplay controls weren't favorable for lefties, but other than that, I never understood the hate for the game. It's still my favorite Zelda and I'm not sure if I see it being topped. I thought BotW COULD, but it didn't.

And see, the freedom/exploration is great and all, but I don't think that's the most important part of a Zelda game. It's important, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't completely define Zelda. Dungeons and story do, imo. The original Zelda game started out as a dungeon maker. Literally. But Miyamoto and his group decided that they enjoyed playing the dungeons more than creating them, so they made it The Legend of Zelda. A game with a bunch of dungeons to explore in an overworld and a simple story. The stories, while never REALLY deep, did get a bit more complex over time too. BotW lacks real dungeons to me. So to take out such a big Zelda thing, especially in a world THIS big that could fit lots of them, makes it lose significant points for me.

And thing is, I got ambushed by THREE Yiga. One blademaster guy and two archers. All at once, and very suddenly. I was just riding towards the Rito area minding my own freaking business with nothing else going on...

Edited March 17, 2017 by Anacybele

[Dai]

I don't mind the lack of traditional dungeons. As it is, I feel the divine beasts serve a perfect purpose for the story. As for the overworld, one of the original designs for Zelda was also that, Miyamoto liked to explore as a child. I feel this game embodies that sentiment rather well, and it's rewarding exploring this world.

[Anacybele]

Oh, I like that the beasts serve a purpose for the story. I just wish they were bigger dungeons or that there were more of them, basically.

[Dai]

I kind of feel like having more beasts would kind of just make the game seem to...drag on a bit. Given that there's a beast for each of the major humanoid races...unless they added like, the Zuna from Four Swords or something, I don't think there's much they could do. You could also consider each shrine as a room in a major dungeon, and if each dungeon on average had thirteen rooms, that's almost fourteen dungeons there. XD

[Anacybele]

The Sheikah and Hylians don't have beasts for themselves. I would've been content with six of them. They could've also brought back the Kokiri and given them a beast. I mean, they brought back the Rito and the Zoras even though one evolved from the other, so I don't see any issue with having both Koroks and Kokiri...

Edited March 17, 2017 by Anacybele

[Dai]

I will concede that, at the very least, the Sheikah could have had a Divine Beast. I think part of the reason for them not having one however is due to their prior exile. The Kokiri, I'm not so sure, seeing as, one, they ARE permanently children.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Dai

[Anacybele]

5 minutes ago, Dai said:

I will concede that, at the very least, the Sheikah could have had a Divine Beast. I think part of the reason for them not having one however is due to their prior exile. The Kokiri, I'm not so sure, seeing as, one, they ARE permanently children.

Didn't stop them from being sages. We had Saria and Fado. Each of the other beasts are named for sages as well (Ruto, Darunia, Nabooru, and Medli, who is also a child btw). The Kokiri, I think, are just stuck in children's bodies. They still eventually gain the minds of adults. Saria seemed pretty mature for a child, at least.

[Dai]

Might also have been due to the fact that each of the Champions were warriors. Even Mipha was said to be peerless when she carried her spear/trident. The Kokiri don't quite strike me as Warriors.

[Nobody]

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

I still don't think Skyward Sword's linearity makes it bad. I don't think linearity makes any game bad if the rest of it is still enjoyable. I understood people's complaints about Fi being handholdy and how the gameplay controls weren't favorable for lefties

And see, the freedom/exploration is great and all, but I don't think that's the most important part of a Zelda game. It's important, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't completely define Zelda. Dungeons do

 Agree with all of these. I'll even go as far as to say that linearity is not a bad thing. It's just a different way to design a game. A game being linear or open doesn't change how i like it and i don't judge games for that specifically. I really liked skyward sword's dungeons and how full of puzzles its areas were, specially lanayru, and i value these things more than exploration, for exemple, even if that's also fun.

that said, i view botw way more favourably than you. I'm someone who likes challenging games (i mean, fire emblem -which i only play on the hardest difficulty settings- and dark souls are my favorite game series), so the tough-ish combat in this game is really fun to me. I can totally see your point, though.

imo botw is as good of a zelda game as it could have been ditching traditional dungeons. I really like the shrines, so i don't feel like the game is lacking puzzles, and i also really like its world and how full of secrets it is. 

With that said, i certainly hope they go back to traditional zelda dungeons next game. BoTW is amazing and i really like it for what it is (not comparing it to other zelda games helped it) but zelda dungeons are one of my favorite things and i certainly will miss them if they're goners.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Nobody

[Magical Glace]

Tbh I was kinda surprised at the lack of a Korok Champion, since we had a Korok Sage in the last game they were in, and Champions functionally serve the same general purpose in the story.  

Though, the way I interpreted the Koroks vs Kokiri thing is slightly different from Rito vs Zoras, since Koroks/Kokiri are more like a sort of "forest spirit" taking on different form than anything else, while Rito and Zoras are more straight up divergent evolution (with, in this case, two populations being isolated and differentiating considerably).  

Also Medli is an adult in TWW Rito culture, since she has her wings (this doesn't apply to BotW Rito, obviously).

[Anacybele]

2 minutes ago, Glaceon Mage said:

Also Medli is an adult in TWW Rito culture, since she has her wings (this doesn't apply to BotW Rito, obviously).

Nah, she's a kid. She's a lot smaller than the actual Rito adults. Granted, we don't see any other female Rito in TWW, but I doubt they're all that small compared to the males.

And yeah, I hope we get traditional Zelda dungeons back in the next game, I don't want them to be gone forever either. I really enjoyed the dungeons in SS, and for the most part, TP as well. And exactly, linearity isn't a bad thing, it's just a different way to do a game.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Anacybele

[Bankai]

I kind of wish each race had something akin to the Yiga hideout as well as the divine beast. Especially if like the thunder helm you can get really good pieces of armor thunder proof has been a lifesaver for me.

[TheKingOfTheDragovians]

I'm very close to beating Breath of the Wild at this point. I love the game, I put it in my top 5 Zelda games at the moment, after thinking it over, I might even put it at number two, of course it would take a lot to be number one as that belongs Majora's Mask which is still my favorite game of all time, so its not just competing with my favorite Zelda, but favorite game period.

[Florete]

I didn't say linearity is bad. In fact, I said:

3 hours ago, Florete said:

This isn't to say linearity is necessarily a bad thing

The Portal games are two of my favorite games ever and they are almost entirely linear. It just depends on how it's done and what we're meant to expect. The Legend of Zelda series works better without linearity. They have large worlds that they want you to explore, but they started to feel more like they were exploring for you rather than letting you explore. This leads me to another small but noteworthy positive about BotW; it never pans over a new area. I can't recall if they all did it, but previous console Zelda games would often pan the camera over a new area. Not only are these typically unskippable, they take away some of that desire to actually go and see the area for yourself, because you've just seen it.

[Anacybele]

Well, I suppose I'm someone that never cared too much whether I got to explore a lot or not. Skyward Sword, I just enjoyed the dungeons, story, characters, and areas so much for what they were that not getting to really explore didn't bother me much. Besides, I also appreciate that I don't get completely lost a lot of the time like I tend to do in games like BotW (Faron Woods was the only area in SS that I initially got a little lost in). Thankfully, I actually haven't gotten lost in this game much, though.

So, if I'm to get my poor deceased horse back, I think I can open a save that's not the most recent. Hopefully I won't be sacrificing much to "revive" Cookie.

Also, did anyone find that quest for the white horse? I remember awhile back some gameplay showing some guy asking Link to find a beautiful white horse. I want to find it! I love horses in this game!

Edited March 17, 2017 by Anacybele

[Kon]

The horse god spring is south of the Fural Plain on the map, it's pretty easy to find. And quest for the royal stallion is given by an old guy named Toffa or something at Outskirt Stable

[Anacybele]

Someone already told me where to find the horse god spring, but thanks. And I just restarted some slightly older save data to get Cookie back without having to spend 1000 rupees. Didn't lose anything, really, just a bit of traveling. Very small price to pay to get my pretty paint horse back!

I went back to the desert to find that labyrinth Glac mentioned anyway. But I can't find one anywhere. I just run into sandstorms...

But thanks for the info on the white horse quest. I'll get there in a bit. :D

[Kon]

I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain you only have to pay the 1,000 rupees once like with the Great Fairies, and then you can revive your horses anytime for free. I haven't had any of my horses die though, so I haven't had the chance to test it myself.

[BrightBow]

If horses can actually die, then how do you monitor their health and heal them?

And does anyone know what a horse's stats mean? Speed seems selfexplanatory but I'm not sure about Power and Endurance. I've got the feeling attacks are stronger from horseback, so maybe that's what Power does. For Endurance it could be their carrots and/or their health.

Edited March 17, 2017 by BrightBow

[Kon]

I want to say you can heal them by feeding or stabling them, but I don't know, and so far I haven't found any way to monitor their health either. As for the stats, Strength/Power I think applies to when you run over something with your horse. I've heard that the Giant horse (who has max strength) can kill low-tier enemies just by running over them. Speed is what you think it is, and Stamina/Endurance is the amount of carrots/spurs you have at a time.

[BrightBow]

Although if Horses can die, I would expect that one of the stats affects their health in some way. And if apples would be as effective on horses then they are on Link, then they wouldn't be very helpful.

Did anyone actually have their horse die? Were their any signs of their declining health?

[TheKingOfTheDragovians]

One of my horses died, I had noticed that after using them for a while they started to get the little white scratches around them, like if I hit a rock, they would have a bruise around the place it got hit.

[kingddd]

Yes horses can die.  I've had them accidentally get killed by guardian lasers and they disappeared forever.  No other indications.  I'm pretty sure they have a cool down health system to it where if they get damaged enough they will die.

Edited March 17, 2017 by kingddd

[Dai]

I did the white horse quest myself. Named it Gullfaxi, and redid its hair. Looks mighty fantastic.