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Beautiful. 

Legend of Zelda Posters made by MarinkoIllustration

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(via I was depressed, anxious, and on the verge of suicide… then Zelda: Breath of the Wild saved me | GamesRadar+)

Why did I dive so hard into BoTW? A little bit of this.

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Happy Halloween!

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Darned right, Link is sporting that Tunic of the Wild.

I’ve earned this, too. Though I’d trade those skimpy shorts for something a little more Skyward Sword. 

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By  _

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This is it. Number 120.

How in the name of the Goddess did I find time to do 120 mini dungeons?

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That’s right, I took my clothes off to grab the fully-powered Master Sword.

Really, the Sword Trials were fun. Like a giant Eventide Island, but so challenging. Those last bits were a killer, but by the time I made my way past the lynel in the final trials, the rest was pretty straightforward. Use the ancient arrows on lynels and flying guardians, and the rest you can hack to bits.

Buddy, I’ve earned this glowing sword. 

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(via Legend of Zelda- Find Yourself in the Lost Woods Art Print by The Retro Videogamers | Society6)

Kokiro National Park? 

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OKAY I GET IT, PAYA! 

Let’s go upstairs and get this over with, for chrissakes. 

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In Defense of Breath of the Wild

Browsing through the Reddit forums and reading blog comments, you get to hear a lot of arguments that Breath of the Wild is not a true Zelda game, or that it doesn’t live up to the expectations set upon it by longtime Zelda fans. 

No game is perfect, and few even get close. BoTW does have its issues, and they’re to be expected – this is a dramatic departure from Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword era Zelda games.

But to say it’s not a true Zelda game? That’s silly. What, after all, defines a true Zelda game?

Let’s talk points/counter points...

There’s No Dungeons!

No, not in the tradition sense. There’s no Forest Temple, or Arbiter’s Grounds. There’s no compass to be found, or a master key. But BoTW does have Shrines, and lots of them, and if you added them all up, they’d equal a couple of fantastic dungeons. Then you have labyrinths: maze-like structures that have tons of hidden secrets, enemy fights, and a great reward. Then you have the Divine Beasts, which are not on the epic scale of traditional Zelda dungeons, it’s true. But the Beasts plus labyrinths plus Shrines gives us plenty of puzzles and bosses to fight.

There’s No Cool Items!

You mean besides all the weapons? That’s true too: there’s no hookshot or spinner or blue candle. There are boomerangs! And you pretty much get an iPad with bombs and new magnetic and freezing powers built in. Oh, and a camera. Oh, and you can make ice columns on water. They are aids in exploration, just as the hookshot was, and you get them right away so you can set out on your Hyrule adventure in any direction that suits you. 

There’s No Discovery In Exploration!

You mean besides finding dragons, a hidden sanctuary, random mini games, or treasure chests full of gear, gems, and rupees? Or do you mean there’s no hidden heart containers? Because there are, except for the heart containers – and I’ll take BoTW you-have-to-earn-your-hearts method over those pieces of heart any day. This Hyrule isn’t closed off because you don’t have a particular item, it’s closed off because you might get your ass kicked if you go over that ridge. It’s closed off because you don’t have the experience yet to fight a Hinox in complete darkness. It’s closed off because you don’t have the stamina to climb Death Mountain just yet. Ability over items? I’ll take that trade. 

There’s No Story!

You mean besides the lost memories and Divine Beast quests? There’s a story, and you get to uncover it in chunks through your adventure. For BoTW, it’s about the journey, not the destination. I love a good story, just like anyone, and by uncovering the memories you learn that [spoilers] Zelda is a reluctant hero, who initially doesn’t appreciate Link, but their bond (and confidence) grow even after the calamity hits. It has character growth, and tragedy, and heroism, and moments of real beauty and adventure. 

There’s No Music!

You mean besides each village’s beautifully composed theme, or the Hyrule Castle epic, or the lovely callback to the Zelda overworld theme while you’re horseback riding? No, BoTW lets the music accentuate a moment of discovery, and then hangs back to let the environment do its thing. I like hearing the wind blow, and the birds chirp, and the foxes grunt as they’re running away. And then, when I get to town, or a Shrine, or a stable, their musical theme gets to shine. BoTW has a wonderful soundtrack where there’s a soundtrack. For the rest, it’s (again) about exploration and the overworld. 

The truth is, this is another take on a Zelda game, with points taken from The Legend of Zelda on the NES to the more recent games. In some cases, it abandons the previous games entirely (Link wears blue!) for the good of the series’s evolution. And right on for that. 

Again: every Zelda is different. Some are more different than others. Breath of the Wild is just another step in this wonderful series. 

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(via The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Piano - Hateno Village - YouTube)

Lovely.

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(via Zelda Breath of the Wild - 5 Advanced Combat Tips - YouTube)

Fun, did-you-know? combat tips.

Jump cancel! Who would’ve thought?

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The best.

MIPHA

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After 30 long years, I finally did it: defeated Ganon and rescued Princess Zelda in the original Legend of Zelda.

It was way more fun that I thought it’d be. The sense of exploration, of dungeon crawling, of simplified Zelda – it was fun. 

I did use a guide to get through that final dungeon, after many, many failed attempts. But the rest was all on me. 

Hero of Hyrule, indeed! 

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What a pair.