#I wish the story was a little stronger but it was better than BOTW's

[geekyzelda]

If you haven't blocked "totk Spoilers" tread carefully. I finished the game and am finally unblocking my tags and reblogging art.

[picory]

hey @angelofmoosics i hope you don't mind me posting your comments like this, but my reply to you has gotten... extremely lengthy by accident... lol

i don't mind you rambling at all! and i couldn't agree more. the highlight in BOTW for me personally were the champions and their tragic story. they were doomed from the start. they were never getting out of this alive. their death, along with the deaths of many people in all of hyrule, that grief was the key to the awakening of zelda's holy power. so the more you remember them, the stronger the desire to free their souls from entrapment, to avenge them, to have some closure, and to mouth your last goodbyes. it's very bittersweet and tugs at your heartstrings.

and zelda, who's been in the heart of the calamity for 100 years, her powers weakening, her strength waning, her body and mind exhausted, you can't NOT free her of that burden. the time is ticking and the more you dawdle, the closer the end of the world as we know it is. the impending doom feels near and real. you have to do something quickly, lest everyone's efforts go for naught.

as for TOTK, i'll be frank and say that i haven't been properly following the plot just yet. having a bit of difficulty comprehending these time travel shenanigans and bodily transformations and everything. need to cook that all better in my head, plus i haven't finished the game yet, so maybe it will all fall into place at the end.

but for now, you're right, you don't have the same urgency as you did in the previous game. sure there's danger all around. the chasms that reach the bottom of the earth filled to the brim with miasma (calling it that instead of "gloom" cuz it sounds more dangerous); a resurgence of monsters who have gotten stronger and more intelligent, working together to terrorize innocent people; the sky islands and their pieces that keep falling down, barely missing crushing people; and as you mentioned the regional phenomena that've been causing trouble for the people living in those areas.

regarding the regional phenomena... what is more dangerous: a giant beast potentially stomping you with its heavy hoof, or a never-ending sandstorm and some zombie looking creatures roaming the streets of your beloved town? both scenarios suck, but one is more tolerable than the other. the gerudo had a bunker that the gibdos had no way of reaching, and even if they could, the gerudo were already close to figuring out the best strategy against them. the sandstorm is still a problem, but it's not a "they're gonna die any minute" kind of problem. unless you count them running out of supplies if link doesn't hurry up and help them out, but even then i'm sure they could've figured something out.

that is to say, obviously the sooner link saves these people the better, but even if he takes his time, i believe they would very well manage on their own.

(i've only helped out the rito and the gerudo, so idk about the extent of trouble the other two races are having)

i was also going to say that like, "oh these people don't even need link at all. tulin and riju could've gone to those temples by themselves". but then i remembered that both of the temples required authorization from link's stupid little zonai hand. something i wish was done differently, is to have the new sages do that instead of link, the "pressing palm against the translucent green screen" thing. since they're such important people, being descendants and all. it would make so much more sense, and would give them an even bigger role. like hey, you need THEM to complete the temple, and not just their powers that surely you could replicate. only they could open access to the temples or whatever.

phew. well that's all i have to say for now

[sniperduel]

I still have conflicted feelings about Byleth. i’m trying hard to separate my assumptions from what the game actually gives us. I think fe3h could’ve benefited from giving byleth more lines even if they were more unvoiced single-option choices, just to flesh out Byleth and give them more interaction with characters in the main story that aren’t just “i dont understand” or “joke” or “yes i agree”. The game tries to balance having a self-insert combined with actual character and it just falls a little short. 

Sorry long post below i wanted to talk about byleth thanks

I think there’s a lot in Byleth that is interesting. Byleth is emotionally stunted, and socially sheltered from the larger Fodlan culture by Jeralt. Everything that has been done to Byleth in an effort to protect them, but by people with selfish intentions. Jeralt is highly protective of Byleth due to his own issues (and for some good reasons), and Rhea is still attempting to connect with Sothis somehow through Byleth (even though she claims she did it for Sitri); honestly, Sitri is one of the only people that ever did anything selfless for Byleth and the only time Byleth has any meaningful interaction with their mother is in a traumatizing AU moment where their mother’s deceased body is combined with some cuckold backstabber into a monster. I think that Sothis also is rather selfless in her actions with Byleth.... but i think that is just Sothis’s nature and bc she technically part of Byleth...

Byleth’s supports with Hanneman bring another element to Byleth’s relationship with themselves. From the potential “I’m a demon” line to Sothis to Hanneman commenting on their Ashen Demon moniker and Byleth’s visible discontent. Byleth does appear to dislike those things being said about them regardless of player intention; Byleth has a complicated relationship with their humanity. Their whole life is honestly traumatizing and probably further enforced their tendency to not have emotions, or mask them when they did appear. Byleth has somehow been abused by the social systems and Church of Fodlan, but also remains a sort of outsider. There needed to be more opportunities for Byleth to voice their thoughts in actual events, rather than just implied interactions during class or teatime. Their support chains are better (because characters need responses in order to have a conversation) but not by much. Byleth has such a complicated relationship to Fodlan outside of being an avatar for the player, and I think its far more interesting than doubling down on the self insert aspects.

It’s so easy for me to imagine Byleth’s growing discontent and overall humanity as they are forced into increasingly concerning situations. As White Clouds progresses, Byleth is forced to learn a lot of information and interact with many, many new people. While Byleth definitely does not talk much, it is so obvious that they grow and do make decisions based upon their newfound emotional capacity (agreeing to help students in paralogues, being concerned about student’s health/resting habits, deciding to protect or execute Edelgard, etc.)

Although, this just brings me back to wishing that Byleth was voiced. Byleth would have been a much more relatable character had they been able to just speak like Robin or Corrin. I understand they were trying to go the LoZ Link route here but I just think it is to the detriment of Byleth, who is so SO close to being a fully realized character. A character that could still be shaped by the player. While Link’s dialogue choices in BoTW are kinda.... false choices... Byleth’s choices matter a lot more because FE3H is about personal connections and growth (which is a theme that has only been growing stronger in the series, and its hindered by how Byleth’s character was handled). 

I also think it would make Crimson Flower a more effective route for the people who don’t like it. I don’t like when people see it just a shoehorned Edeleth romance because while the route does focus on Edelgard’s relationship with Byleth, it also is the only route that allows Byleth’s character to grow further WITH agency. There is a reason that Byleth’s heart beats at the end of Crimson Flower. Crimson Flower is a good base for Byleth to go through their own traumas and to forge their own path like Jeralt and Sothis implore them to do. It’s actually a big reason why i think Edeleth is a well recieved ship, despite Byleth’s apparent lack of character to some people. Byleth does gain more personal motivation rather than obligation in Crimson Flower by siding with Edelgard (influenced by Jeralt’s distrust of the church, Byleth’s connection with the black eagles). Edelgard always establishes Byleth’s autonomy by asking if Byleth wishes to continue following her. Imagine if Byleth would talk more in CF, because they become more of their own person, rather than just an amalgamation of those who influence them. I think that would be such an interesting mechanic to really drive home the Byleth character arc. 

I love those moments where Byleth’s personality shines through and I wish there was more.

[certainempatheticturkeymuffin]

Age of Calamity Review

Hey! I wasted three hours of my life writing this in Arlo's comment section and part of it had to be cut out because of Youtube's word limit, so y'all get to suffer with me.

Here's the video that I wrote this on, give him some love, his opinion is a great juxtaposition to my own!

There are a few weird formatting errors because tumblr wants me to make new paragraphs, but there's no missing words as far as I can tell.

_

I like it, but I like the first one better, mainly for the appearance. I don't know why, but the pop ups are hard for me to see (by pop-ups I mean the challenges and weak point meters, the out of battle menu is actually pretty good, though I admit the text is a little small on the opening screen), and the lack of saturation makes it hard for me to see. Actually, that might be it, I just don't like the paler color palette in this context, since for a fast paced game I kind of need to be able to see, which I can't because I'm partially blind, and glasses have a glare that's an annoying trade off. Compare that to the original Hyrule Warriors, the weak point meters are brightly colored and change color the more you damage it, which is good for those with visual impairment who need some extra feedback to judge their next actions. The menu was also this aged tan color which provided a great contrast that wasn't the blinding white on top of dark blue, which wasn't bad at all, but the buttons and text were always big enough for those with visual impairment to see, though I will admit that the little pop ups with all the people crying out for help have a bit of the same issue as AoC. I think I just like the more vibrant colors of Hyrule Warriors in the context of a faster game, rather than the pale beauty of BotW, since my eyes can't really see what's going on if the colors aren't at least comparable to what you'd find in Minish Cap or Triforce Heroes. I can see fine in BotW during the day time, but at night, well, I just run and hope for the best, trying not to get killed by an electric keese, which is also a problem in AoC, mainly Zora's Domain; I could barely see a thing and it negatively impacted my experience.

I've got hundreds of hours in HW, and maybe five or ten in AoC. It's mainly because I just don't like how it looks. I've heard a lot of people say that it looks pretty much exactly like botw and...I have to disagree. A lot of areas are pretty perfect, but some, like the tower, are just a little off in a way I can't describe. That's a personal irrelevant nitpick though, but it negatively impacted my experience, so I thought it was worth a mention, the tower on the opening screen always annoyed the crap out of me, every time I see it I just want to exit the game because ew.

The gameplay is fine, and thank goodness for the addition of the meditation room, there's not a feature like that in the original, so I had to play the first stage over and over again to figure out new combos, I think Mipha is my favorite hero that I actually unlocked (though I've been wanting to play more just to see if I can control Revali and Teba like I can Fi (which makes her insanely good since her wide area of movement is the only thing you need to account for)), and I think Zelda is my least favorite, since she's a little clunky for my taste (Daruk is too, but his rolling makes that more bearable). I was a little disappointed with Impa, but her seal thing is kinda like Zelda's and Fi's thing in Hyrule Warriors (there are probably stronger connections, but I'm not experienced with every single hero), and I think it was just the hype that she got. She's not the type of character I like to play, since Zelda and Fi are my favorites, speedy and nimble area clearers (Sheik and Marin are cool too, I just have less experience using Marin, and Sheik is always a B pick since I find them a little harder to control with less area of impact), which meant that Mipha, a character I admittedly was never attached to, became one of my favorites in the game. Impa wasn't an area clearer for the most part, she had a few moves that could do that, but she was mainly a boss-killer to me, Mipha though? She's great, set up a few waterspouts and everything dies.

I do like that they've lessened the kind of ridiculous amount of items that were in HW, and that they didn't try to strong arm fairies in, because that system was the most annoying thing in the world and so poorly explained that I had to watch the same tutorial three times over about once a month because it was so convoluted.

I do hate the runes though, I just, couldn't seem to use them right. It might just be me, but I found trying to use them weird. It's a little hard to explain, but it's probably just a me thing. Not only that, but I found the inclusion of the rods on top of the runes annoying. The rods were entirely unnecessary if you were going to use runes. They just added another layer that was thin at best, not to mention that I found them hard to use as well. I hated the weird controls of the targeting system. I don't think there's anything wrong with a basic hack and slash, and if you're not going to have the excessive amount of items, runes were a good idea i think it might've been a me issue, but rods? It seems a bit excessive. It's probably just a "you'll get better with practice" kind of thing, which, fair, most people can't use Fi like I can, so that makes sense. I figured it was worth a mention anyway since the runes were a constant source of annoyance and I used the rods twice before never bothering again because I hated them so much.

I do like the addition of healing from food drops whenever you want though. In the original if there was a dropped heart but you were at full health, sucked to be you, going back for it when you need it would waste time. The plot is still as weird as ever though (from what I've heard from other videos and such), which is fine, since I tend to play my favorite levels over and over rather than actually do anything plot relevant (can you believe that it took me over a year to finish the story of HW because I kept getting distracted by letting Fi and Zelda mow down everything in the Adventure maps and challenges? I literally got the boomerang like six months after

getting the game. It's perfect for people with ADHD I swear) though I am extremely disappointed with the fact that they took the cheap way out, it's a kid's game and a nintendo game, what did I expect? For them to let everyone actually die? Nope...though honestly, I can't comment on the overall amazingness of the plot they went with because...er....I only did Mipha's and Daruk's stages before just losing interest, so I'm not the person you want to ask about any story criticism, because that would be pure conjecture and utterly pointless.

The customization of heroes, now that's great. It's a weird system that I needed to google a lot for, but it's absolutely brilliant and I love it. Sure, getting the specific seals I want is a little annoying, but it's a great mechanic and I love it.

I probably should've said this earlier, but I'm comparing it mainly to Hyrule Warriors rather than BotW because AoC's a Warriors game and thus plays more like Hyrule Warriors than BotW, and BotW has a different set of standards due to being an open-world game. I'm still salty about the plot though, so I guess there's your comparison.

Also, I absolutely ADORE the fact that you can track materials. Not having to google which stage gives me which material is just the best. And the fact that the side quests have little blurbs, absolutely fantastic. We didn't get that in HW, but then again, once you finished the main story, the rest was just, Have Fun and Kill Everything, which is great, and I love it, but adding in a weird ingredient fetching quest with a nugget of lore is kinda cool. I don't wish we got it in HW though, since, as aforementioned, there was no way to track which material came from which stage, so that would've made it a nightmare.

The Divine Beasts....I hated them, they were literally just time wasters, and, granted I only did Rudania and Ruta before dropping the game, I just hated them. The UI was horrendous and even Ganon's Fury was better, and I absolutely DESPISE Ganon's Fury. Once I finished them, I was just happy for them to be over and never bother with them again. I hated their controls, I hated the cramped paths, I hated how I couldn't really turn and see anything, and honestly, I commend the champions for being able to control these bulky slow and absolutely horrible machines.

On the music, I think it's good. I loved BotW's soundtrack, I loved Zelda 2's soundtrack, I loved Wind Waker's soundtrack, I loved Cadence of Hyrule's soundtrack, I loved Hyrule Warriors's soundtrack, I loved Minish Cap's soundtrack, Triforce Heroes, Spirit Tracks (you're lying if you say otherwise, this soundtrack is a bop and I will actually fight you), etc etc, and this one is no different, though I will admit it did a pretty good job of having me ignore it, though that may have been more due to my frustration at the rods and runes and Zelda and Daruk more than actually having an unimpressive soundtrack.

Personally, it didn't do much for me, I can't get over the color palette, the mechanics, the divine beasts. I had pretty average, maybe a bit high, expectations, but they weren't quite met. I played it for a few hours one day, dropped it, picked it up again a few months later, then remembered exactly why I dropped it. I think the original Hyrule Warriors is just better visually for me, even if the plot isn't great or it's a bit fanfictiony, it had depth in combat that didn't absolutely annoy me, and the annoying battles were usually optional, and the bosses had variety, which is a fault mainly of BotW and was just an inherited problem for AoC, and I'm not a completionist, I don't want to have to complete anything with Darunia or Cia, so I don't unless I have to to progress something, which means that I don't stress about the gargantuan amount of content in HW.

IN SUMMARY: I've never had problems with frame rate (though I play docked due to visual impairment), and if you're visually impaired, wear anti-glare glasses because the pale colors aren't going to help much. I haven't found an option to make text bigger. The soundtrack is good,

there isn't much boss variety (not AoC's fault, but it's still there), the meditation room is great, the runes take a bit of getting used to, as do the rods(i never got used to them), Divine Beasts tank performance in all aspects and are just disappointing, you actually know which stage drops which item, and there's no My Fairy (which is definitely a positive).

To slap on an arbitrary rating that only means something to me: 4.5/10

It's a good game if you can get passed the issues that bug ME to no end.

And there we have it. There goes....holy crap I spent three hours on

I wanted to like this, I really did, and I'm glad others enjoy it, but as it stands, I'll let y'all move on to Age of Calamity, and I'll stick to my handy dandy Hyrule Warriors ice cream with a dash of Breath of the Wild, a sprinkle of Cadence of Hyrule, and a Zelda 2 cherry on top. It's not like I have to wait long for Subnautica; hopefully that doesn't disappoint me too much, I preordered this one. Actually, I get Pokemon Snap today too, hopefully it isn't a SwSh level disappointment, AoC is magnitudes better than SwSh at a 4.5

this????? Three hours of my life. Gone.

[sittingoverheredreaming]

I have a lot of thoughts on how Age of Calamity could have worked better for me, but one thought I’ve had since the Demo that only got stronger after completing the game is the idea of putting Impa in Terrako’s role, because I’m just not fond of a robot changing everything instead of a character we know and love.

The game still opens with the original timeline calamity, but after the first shots of the castle the focus moves to Blatchery Plain, where the final battle is taking place. Impa watches from near Kakariko Village, where she and other Sheikah, are stationed to defend their home. She wants to run and help her princess, but is held back. You know this is how it was foretold, you know this is how it has to be, someone, possibly Purah, reminds her. (You cannot take the idea that the Sheikah as a whole had some knowledge that the events of BotW would happen in order for Ganon to be defeated from me). And so she waits, until Zelda’s powers awaken, until Link is taken to the shrine of resurrection and her princess approaches her to ask her to guide him when he wakes, her princess, who has lost so much, tells her that she is going to fight Ganon alone for as long as it takes. And as Zelda walks away, Impa breaks, she can’t let her suffer like this, she opens a time portal and jumps to before it all unravelled.

The first battle of Hyrule Field happens largely the same as in game, except everyone is surprised to see Impa there, rather than at the research lab or in Kakariko. No one more so than Zelda, who comments that it has been years since Impa has visited her. For a split second it’s clear how deeply sad about it they both are, but Impa quickly fakes a smile and says she’s missed her and it seemed like a great time for a visit. Later the King seems mighty unhappy about it, but reluctantly agrees to Zelda’s request to have Impa accompany her to approach the Champions. (Maybe Link doesn’t even get to go with her yet, and there are some parallel missions about him proving himself, and/or he happens to already be there for one or two of the battles, it’s easy to put him in Zora’s Domain with Mipha, but it also makes more sense to leave him out of the Gerudo Town mission).

At the end of the chapter, it’s revealed that the Yiga Clan and Astor have taken the opportunity to capture the original Impa from this timeline, having noticed the time travel using their own ancient technology and figuring out that the presence of the other Impa means no one will notice if the original is missing. Kohga interrogates her for information, but Astor states there may be a better use for her, and then the scene cuts to black. 

That’s all we see of that Impa for a while, the story progresses much the same as it did originally (maybe with a little more adherence to BotW canon and some more character stuff, but that’s not my point here), with Impa inserting herself into every situation she can and trying to steer events away from the original timeline. Unfortunately, part of that is encouraging everyone to drop their use of Sheikah technology, which eventually leads to a fight with Zelda because You sound just like father! Is this why you came back? Just to be his puppet? And she says she doesn’t want Impa coming around her anymore, and she’ll be going to the Spring of Wisdom the next day without her. Impa panics but cannot change her mind, and when she tries to run after her Link blocks her way.

The next cutscene is at night in Zelda’s bedroom, where she tosses and turns unable to sleep. She then hears a noise outside, which turns out to be Impa, sneaking in through her window. She apologises, and says she was wrong, and claims Purah and Robbie have made a discovery that could change everything, Zelda should come see it now before her father can stop them. Zelda agress, relieved to have something other than the pressure of the coming day to focus on and follows behind Impa as she leads her out. Unseen by Zelda, Impa’s eyes flash with Malice-- she is this timeline’s Impa, controlled by Astor.

The next day, Zelda is nowhere to be found. The king is barely keeping composure, Link is being kind of a dumbass in where he looks for her for a little levity (is she behind this curtain? Is she under this table?), the champions, who have come to escort her too, are very uneasy and Impa is all but having a breakdown because she feels this is definitely her fault, and this is when it comes out that she time traveled from the future and the Calamity is going to erupt that very day. Then the search for Zelda gets really frantic, and eventually someone raises the question of wait, if you’re from the future, where’s the Impa that was originally here? They put together that the two disappearances are likely related and decide that the likely most fruitful course of action is to raid the Yiga hideout.

And so they go, and of course it’s a trap, the Calamity erupts while they are all occupied fighting Yiga lackeys (Kohga, Sooga, and Astor are conspicuously absent). Impa urges the Champions not to go to the Divine Beasts, but then the other Impa starts insisting that one is an imposter, that one tricked her and Zelda into being captured, and the Champions begin to falter. Why had she come from the future and only said so now? Was that some tall tale spun to keep them there while Hyrule fell? Why should they abandon the only hope of Hyrule winning this war? They are all in agreement, Link grabs a hold of Zelda and they depart, he and Zelda for the castle, the Champions to their Beasts, all the while Impa yells after them that they can’t win.

And then, once they’re gone, the other Impa begins to fight, Malice coursing through her, strengthened by the Calamity. It’s a playable up to a point, when Impa begs her to remember Zelda, to remember the point of everything, and there’s a quick set of flashbacks to them playing together as children, Impa defending Zelda from Bokoblins, them tinkering with Sheikah tech as young teens, and then just a series of quick flashes of Zelda’s face. The Malice disperses, the timeline’s original Impa quakes in fear of what she might have done, but resolves to change the outcome of the Calamity. Impa says they may not be able to do it alone, and they nod resolutely before the scene cuts.

The new Champions are brought from the future, much the same as before (but they’re enough to defeat the blights on their own without another character). The Impas rush to the castle, where Astor is waiting. Zelda is inside, he says, and soon she’ll die there. It was foretold.

That triggers another flashback. A fortune teller, younger than Astor, dressed suitably for an audience with the king, but unmistakably the same man, whispering to King Rohm those same words. You! screams the time traveling Impa. You caused all this! 

They begin to fight, two against one, and Astor asks Can’t you of all people understand? How much have they asked of us, only to cast us out when we become inconvenient? What has our loyalty ever eared us?

Cut to King Rohm in the past, telling a child Impa that she must protect Zelda with her life. Cut again to him with a young teen Impa that Zelda can’t be distracted with any frivolous studies or games, and Impa is not to see her anymore.

In the present, both Impas appear to falter for a moment. Astor smiles and opens his hands to them. They look to each other, and nod.

And then completely obliterate him.

They make their way to Zelda and Link in the Sanctum, where Ganon’s power has converged for an endless assault on the hero. He’s protected Zelda, but he’s wearing down. For a moment it looks like the Impas are too late, but then the Divine Beasts strike! Maybe here there’s a mission for each of the Beasts complete with some cutscenes of each Champion pair.

Then, as Ganon is weakened, Link strikes again and again. Zelda despairs because even now, her sealing power will not awaken. The time traveling Impa tells her she knows she can do it, she’s seen her.

You have? Zelda asks, hope in her eyes for the first time since the Calamity started.

And then Ganon summons his strength to strike at Impa. She falls, badly injured, and Zelda and the other Impa run to her side while Link batters Ganon further.

Princess, Impa says with faltering breath. Your power has always been in your heart. I wish I had defied fate sooner. 

Her eyes close, and Zelda lets out an anguished scream for her old friend. Her power explodes outward from her, the bow of light materializes and the final fight is played as her, taking Calamity Ganon head on.

She is victorious, but it is, it seems, a bittersweet victory. She emerges from the castle somber, Link trailing her, one Impa carrying the other.

But Age of Calamity is a triumph story, and Mipha has healing powers.

Impa comes too and has an emotional reunion, and then the new Champions agree it’s time for them to return to their own time. Goodbyes are had-- Sidon is particularly lingering, though he won’t say why-- and they all step into a portal Impa makes.

But then it doesn’t close.

Impa realizes that she has to return as well. She argues I fixed it! I belong here! But it is unmoving. She turns heavy hearted to say her goodbyes. The Impa that belongs there promises she’ll be at Zelda’s side from now on. Link nods. The Champions say their bit, and then she finds she doesn’t know what to say to Zelda, and ends up pulling her into a tight hug and then running through the portal without another word. 

She finds herself back in her half-destroyed word, the bright sun of a peaceful Hyrule replaced with the dark clouds of the Calamity. Impa’s shoulders slump.

But then a portal opens up, and a letter flutters down, on stationary clearly marking it as from the Royal Family. Impa catches hold of it and smiles, a little piece of the victory she fought for now in her hands.

[antleredoctopus]

My two cents on Breath of the Wild since I finished it a little over a week ago. (School kept me from really playing the game, so I had to wait until the semester was over.) It’s long and there’s spoilers.

First I’ll say I do really love the game. I ended up getting all the shrines and all the armor I could. Normally I go straight through the main story and don’t bother much with collecting things unless I really wanna savor the game, so that’s a good sign!

However, it doesn’t quite make to the top of my list on Zelda games for a few reasons:

1) The ending. Fighting against Ganon was just... really, really easy. Like, I get that it’s cool you CAN face off against Ganon after completing the first part of the game. I get that they were allowing the player to just go wherever they wanted like in the original Legend of Zelda game. But at the same time, in the original game, you get fucking MURDERED when you venture into a part of the game where you’re in way over your head! This game just sort of gives you the tools necessary to beat Ganon at the beginning of the game. Literally the most powerful weapons are in Hyrule Castle if you just sneak around. What the fuck??? What’s the point in even going to the four corners of the world if all the most powerful weapons are literally right there? I feel like they should have at least put the stronger items scattered throughout or something.

I feel like because of the option to fight against Ganon from the get-go, it makes it really anticlimactic for players who actually did get all the Divine Beasts. The Champions weren’t even really a part of the fight or anything. It was literally “ok here goes our lasers to cut Ganon’s health in half! and that’s it bye now” ???? I dunno, I feel like in Ocarina of Time it was built up so the Sages were a big part of the ending throughout. (Maybe because they actually had the ending in mind throughout production for the game!!!) But the finale for this game was just a huge let down. You don’t even need the Champions’ powers to beat Ganon (although they do make it even easier to beat him).

When it got to the horseback portion, I thought, “OH maybe this will be challenging?” HAHA NOPE

This is the biggest thing holding it back and it makes me so mad, ‘cause I can’t really think of a Zelda that didn’t have a satisfying conclusion??? This is the first one that really felt underwhelming and bleh. The most important part of a story is the ending!!! That’s the last thing you want to fumble! UGH

They honestly really could have made everything open-world except for Hyrule Castle. Maybe then they would have actually worked on coming up with a good conclusion and designed Ganon to be more challenging.

2)  The story overall. It had such potential, but then I feel like it fell flat in the ending. I was also bothered with Zelda’s journal? Like, I loved the whole idea of recovering the memories. I thought that was a great way to show the story behind Link and Zelda, the history of the land, and also to get you out exploring even more. But having Zelda’s journal, which basically describes all these memories and then some at the Castle? It defeats the purpose of finding the memories.

That being said, I thought the game did the story well for not following a linear path and it did a good job of getting me interested in the characters... but I really wanted more and it never delivered. Maybe it was because it didn’t get to properly build up and have a great ending?

I also wanted more from the Champions!!! They had like two cutscenes and that’s basically all we got of them. I thought the descendants (Sidon, Yunobo, etc) were gunna have a plotline of filling the shoes of the Champions. ‘Cause that would have been cool and we’d see more characterization and it’d actually give us incentive to beat the Divine Beasts?? Really thought that was a missed opportunity.

3) The cutscenes. I appreciate Nintendo tried out voice-acted cutscenes, but if they’re gunna do this next time, they should polish it more. Specifically with the timing on the voice acting. Some of it just sounded very awkward and would take me out of the moment at times.

Also GIVE LINK SOME FUCKING EMOTION!!! This is such a huge let-down, especially after how emotional Link was in Skyward Sword. All of the 3D Links have had some expression - linking us to the story and what was happening in the game. Zelda gets kidnapped? SS!Link was fucking pissed, which mirrors how you should feel as the audience ‘cause HEY WE’VE WORKED SO HARD TO REUNITE WITH HER. What does Link do in Breath of the Wild when all these characters are pouring their hearts out to him? He has this blank look the whole fucking time.

I know Link has carried a blank look a lot over the years, but he’s always showed at least some emotion at select times. Heck, Link in Ocarina of Time was more expressive than in BoTW! There was only one cutscene in this game where Link showed any emotion and that was when Zelda was crying to him.

4) How long it takes (and repetitive it is) to get inventory slots. I wish there were less Korok seeds needed to expand your inventory because it gets tiresome playing the “shit I found something - what do I drop??” game. This wouldn’t be as big an issue if finding Koroks wasn’t so repetitive. (Push the boulder into the hole! Pick up the rock! Put this cube here!)

5) I would have liked it if the dungeons for the Divine Beasts were bigger and varied more. Maybe I’m so trained from the last 3D Zeldas, but the big dungeons felt waaay too short and underwhelming. This is a big deal for me since the puzzles/dungeons are probably my favorite part of the Zelda series. Not only do I like a challenge, but I like how each temple in the series looks unique. This game didn’t do that. All of them are short, easy to figure out in one sitting (at least once you figure out you can change the map), and they all look the same. It was a bummer for me.

6) The enemies could have had more variety. Like, if there were different kinds of enemies depending on where you were. This was never much of a problem in previous games; they all changed up the enemies as you progressed into different areas. But this one? It was just like “hey! here’s another flavor of lizalfos/bokoblin/moblin!” It feels lazy and gets old after a while.

7) THE BOSSES WERE ALL THE FUCKING SAME!! and the only strategy really was “get their health meter down!!” I was so disappointed in them.

8) I liked the ambient music, but unlike other Zelda games... the tunes didn’t really stick out to me. This is a shame for a series that’s known for having really good music. Heck, the songs I really enjoyed in the game (the Rito Village and Hyrule Castle) were throwbacks to older games.

Also a lot of things (like Kass’ theme) were just stuck in these short loops, which gets old after a while.

-

Alright, I wanted to get my complaints out of the way since I haven’t seen much of this stuff pointed out at all. On to the pro’s!

1) HOLY SHIT THE ENVIRONMENTS ARE GORGEOUS??!?! This is one of the few games where the environments are just so nice that it makes me want to explore all of it. I think the last game to really do that was Journey, so kudos to the environment team here!! I love all the atmospheric perspective utilized.

2) I really liked the interactions with the NPCs. The conversations with the Gerudo were some of my favorite. (And how savage Link was to Bozai was hilarious!) It really kept me wanting to do these quests for them and interact with them. Also Kass. Honestly all the characters had really great designs.

3) I loved how, even with such a huge map, the game still had plenty of stuff to occupy it. I felt like this was something that Twilight Princess (and, to a lesser degree, Wind Waker) suffered from. This game really achieved that feeling of the overworld being vast, but not empty.

4) I really liked some of the puzzles done in this game. The powers from the Sheikah slate opened up for some interesting things that weren’t just “push this here, shoot this eyeball.” The idea of changing up the “maps” in the Divine Beasts was cool without being tedious like the Water Temple. It’s just a shame those dungeons weren’t bigger...

5) THE ANIMATION WAS A+++!!! Some good shit right there!!!! The horses especially were really nice and those are really difficult to animate.

6) Despite my qualms with the main story, I loved Link and Zelda’s relationship in this game. Discovering their nice build up where they open up and trust each other was really great. I’m also just glad Zelda was a big part in this game and not just shoved into the background (coughTwilightPrincesscough).

7) I liked how unique each of the Champions were. Just wish we could have learned more about them and maybe even interacted with them.

8) I love all the dumb shit you’re capable of. (I’M GUNNA SHIELD SURF ALL THE WAY DOWN THIS MOUNTAIN--oop, there I go using Mipha’s Grace ‘cause I was a dumbass!) It makes the game a lot of fun. The gameplay overall in the open world is very addicting.

9) I really liked the Guardians. They were absolutely terrifying. So were the Lynels!

10) I just overall loved the atmosphere in this game. The visuals and music really sell this vast, open world that’s been through some history that you get to explore. It’s great and mystical.

So overall I really enjoyed Breath of the Wild, but mainly it’s the story and the repetitiveness that keeps it down on my list of Zelda games. So rather than being a 9 or 10/10, it’s more like a 7~8 for me.

It’s really interesting how this game flunked on a lot of stuff that have been staples in the series (dungeons, bosses, story), but it aced the exploration part and introduced a lot of new stuff. I enjoyed a lot of the experience, but looking back... it lacked a lot of what I’ve come to love about the series. I appreciate how they tried to go back to the original Zelda’s formula, but I hope the next game can find a better middle ground between totally open world and linear story-telling.

[saruteku]

Breath of the Wild Review

Breath of the Wild is the launch title for the Nintendo Switch as well as the Death Marker for the Wii U. It was one of the most hyped games when it was announced and promised to be completely different than the average Zelda title completely destroying it’s own formula. But you already know this. This is my view of the game with it’s strong points and weak points.

Graphics: 7/10 The graphical style works for a Zelda game. It is a midpoint between Windwaker’s cartoony style which makes the game seem childish and Twilight princess’ more realistic style which made it serious. BOTW is a game that can put you at ease with a lot of it’s beautiful scenery or it can put the fear of god in you when there are suddenly 5 Guardian Beams pointed at you. This lets the game be dorky and carefree as well as serious, plus the game would probably have been unable to handle Twilight Princess level graphics with such a huge world.

Music: 4/10 For a zelda game it was rather....Underwhelming. None of it’s track really grabbed me and pulled me in, there is nothing I want to look up. It was nice hearing a few tributes to other game songs, but it really wasn’t enough. And one thing that honestly annoys me to this day. With so many of Ocarina of Time’s tracks being used WHY WAS GERUDO VALLEY NEVER REMADE OR TRIBUTED TO!!!

Story: 4/10 Remember. I love the Zelda Franchise and games, but I couldn’t let this one slide. The story was extremely generic, probably due to it being an open world which is rather hard to make a story for. Most of the story is shown threw memories which, surprising for a Zelda Game has voice acted cutscenes, but without saying who’s who we have the Silent Hero as always, the “I can’t do this” girl, the I’m scared man, I love you always, ect, all rather boring characters with little real personality. I wish I could have known them a bit better but the NPCs you meet in every city have more substance than the mains.

Combat: 9/10 I HAVE NEVER DIED SO MUCH IN A ZELDA GAME!!!! Fighting isn’t like in other games at all. Usually you get your sword and shield and cut slice threw everyone or you use your special item to solve an obvious puzzle weakness. in this one you need to consider things before you run in. Arrows aren’t as easy to stockpiled as say Skyrim, every sword, shield, and bow breaks meaning even the iconic Master Sword and Hylian Shield will not save your ass forever, and the enemies do not have any item specific weaknesses except the Shikah Slate Runes you get in the begining of the game. Even as a 3 heart hero with a tree branch and a pot lid if you are skilled enough you can attack stronger foes and kill them, nothing is locked out, it’s just hard as hell. In this game even if your weapons and armor get stronger it’s only half of the battle, as everything you have that makes you stronger you EARNED and if can be taken if you are reckless.

The World: 8/10 The world is fucking huge. Some people may view the emptiness as a bad thing but the emptiness actually really add to the world. Yes, travel is annoying at times. We all side jumped to fast travel in the 64 titles, and the mountains can be a huge annoyance, especially when nature decides to start raining when you’re half way up, but with all of the Shrines and towers there are a lot of fast travel points when you discover them, allowing Nintendo to show off the world they created as well as not annoy players after they have already seen parts of it. Everything is available from the get go. You don’t need special items to unlock the power of the Great Fairies, the Master Sword or even to get to Ganon, they meant it when they said if you can see it you can get to it. This made me wonder about how the bountries of the map would be but players are stopped by mountains that are impossible to climb and oceans you can’t cross. The world itself also adds it’s own challanges including temperature, weather (Getting struck by lightning isn’t fun, but it can be weaponized) and the elements, as Fire spreads and the before mentioned lightning.

Dungeons: 5/10 It’s kinda hard to call them dungeons as this is another things that was changed from the normal formula. It’s more the entire world is a giant dungeon as getting to the Divine Beasts has it’s own challenges and trials, and honestly once you found out the puzzles in the game once they are simple as a lot of puzzle elements are reused quite a bit. Same as with Shrines as there are a ton of them and they each offer a different challenge, but they just aren’t that big, that hard, or honestly that interesting. I do miss the well planned out bigger dungeons, but hey, it gives you the stronger weapons, something of great use in this game. I gave it 5 because it’s nostalgia combating the changes.

Gameplay: 9/10 I’ll be honest, the cooking alone is brilliant. It’s not a menu based one and the food you make can be completely controlled. exacally as many hearts as you need, as strong a buff as you need, and Elixers help you not waste your precious heart regenerating items. Next is the clothing which gives link a lot of versitility not seen in other games. He has more than just water breathing and heat resistence, climbing faster, being stronger, seeing the exact number of an enemies health. Stealth is useful (The Shiekah Armor is my armor of choice in this game) and even though this could have been in combat stealth kills, perfect counter, flurry attack, the small additions in the game allow you to exist in the world, and the thing I love more than anything in a game is immersion, and though BOTW has nowhere near as much immersion as Skyrim Link can own a house, help build a town, camp (Kinda) and take selfies. The one reason I cut down gameplay is because, at least in my case, I can never 100 percent beat the game because one of my shrines crash the game, and sometimes in combat I get a framedrop so bad I freeze up making dodging hard. It seems to have only happened against Guardians which makes it a bit worse, but since it seems I can reproduce the issues and they aren’t common they don’t destroy playability.

Final score: 6.5/10

That’s all I can think of for now. I will not say it is the best game ever, but it is a great title for 2017, and an amazing Zelda game dispite the story and the ending in my opinion lacking