Topic: Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Macphisto80]

Surprised there isn't a thread about this one yet, as it's not just looking like a GOTY contender, but a contender for one of the best games ever created, if not the best, if you're to judge from the pedigree it comes from.

Edge Magazine have reviewed the game and given it a score of 10/10.

Roll on next weekend. All other things can wait.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

I should have preordered this.

Still, I haven't got time to play it

[Zlen]

Never played a single Zelda game, are they that good?

[Macphisto80]

Never played a single Zelda game, are they that good?

Yep. They're that good. As far as pure game design goes, they put most games to shame, and I'm not even talking about the newer ones either. The way some of the dungeons are constructed makes you feel as if you're solving a giant rubik's cube from the inside out.

[Zlen]

Sounds good.
I may take a dip on the new Nintendo console, if I understood correctly they plan to release old hit games from previous platforms as digital purchases?
I don't really have too much time for gaming these days, so using it as a handheld would be a great option to have on my commute.

[Macphisto80]

Edge's review footnote.

" The result, for all the longevity of its series and the familiarity of the open world genre, is a game that evokes feelings we haven't felt for 20 years. Not since Ocarina of Time have we set foot in a world that feels so mind-bogglingly vast and unerringly magical, that proves so relentlessly intriguing. Plenty of games promise to let us go anywhere and do anything. Few, if any, ever deliver so irresistibly. 19 years on Ocarina is still held up as the high water mark of gamings best loved and greatest series. Now it may have to settle for second place".

[Broad Spectrum]

I would be all over it if it were on PS4, but I'm not buying a Switch just to play it at the moment. Might take me 12-18 months to get there but I'm sure I'll buy one eventually, I loved the N64 Zelda games, some of my best gaming memories ever on those two games.

[iSmiff]

bit expensive, paying over £300 to play one game

i might pick up a switch when/if it ends up with a number of must have games

[bailey90]

I would be all over it if it were on PS4, but I'm not buying a Switch just to play it at the moment. Might take me 12-18 months to get there but I'm sure I'll buy one eventually, I loved the N64 Zelda games, some of my best gaming memories ever on those two games.

bit expensive, paying over £300 to play one game

i might pick up a switch when/if it ends up with a number of must have games

It is a shame that it sounds like such a great game and not that many people are going to actually play it.

[Upinsmoke]

Only the 19th game edge have gave a 10/10 to.

I never played ocarina of time in the 64 and my first experience of zelda was Twilight Princess on the wii. I didn't get that far into it, not sure why really but just didn't click with me.

Needless to say I can't justify picking a Switch up for a game where one of its predecessors left me feeling decidedly average about it.

Sure fans of the series are in for a treat though.

[Redman0151]

Not gonna buy the Switch at that price with so few worthwhile games. Will keep an eye out for it in future though

[Chalky Boots]

Basically the same as everyone else on this. It looks awesome but at the same time until Nintendo start putting out some great titles again then I can't really justify the price of getting a Switch. Maybe it's something to consider but I feel by the time they amass the titles to make it worthwhile I'll probably be spending my moneys on a PS5.

[sminp]

I love Zelda but I'm not sold on the hardware unfortunately. At the moment the Switch looks more Wii U than N64 to me.

[Slick_Beef]

bit expensive, paying over £300 to play one game

It is.. and yet.. That's basically what I'm planning to do. I've played all of them except Wind Waker (never owned a GC or Wii u ) and playing through them is not just a few hours of entertainment but a real memorable experience. I can't afford to buy it at the moment but hoping to get it before the end of the year

[DanFromMars]

Coming out on Wii U isn't it?  Will pick up a cheap second hand console with this.  I've still yet to play skyward sword also.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

Coming out on Wii U isn't it?  Will pick up a cheap second hand console with this.  I've still yet to play skyward sword also.

I think you can play nearly all of the main ones on Wii U, I've got Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Link to the Past. Still havent finished WW to be honest.

[Haemoglobin]

It may require a loving personal Zelda history to be 10/10.

Not saying that to knock it at all, because the same goes for so many great things which work their real, deep magic by building upon a legacy and a sacred space formed in people's hearts from a young age, and carried throughout their lives into adulthood.


Also curious how many features of the Switch it utilises; HD Rumble and so on. If it's a very immersive, enchanting experience that also does some very new things very well, fair play.

[puroresu_kid]

Small update from the french press: the reviewer from Le Monde thinks Breath of the Wild is better than Witcher 3.

Looks like Nintendo have done it again.

[Haemoglobin]

Small update from the french press: the reviewer from Le Monde thinks Breath of the Wild is better than Witcher 3.

Looks like Nintendo have done it again.

I would say that while they're both coexisting within the same broad genre space, they're also clearly both trying to do very, very different things with their immersive fantasy worlds, so that smacks more than a little of some apples & oranges type shiz to me.

If this Zelda is full of uncompromisingly bleak, grimy, complex interpersonal drama and hard-boiled political intrigue just beneath the beautiful Studio Ghibli-esque surface, then colour me impressed! 


(not suggesting a fantastical adventure ever has to be anything like that; this looks lovely)

[Macphisto80]

I would say that while they're both coexisting within the same broad genre space, they're also clearly both trying to do very, very different things with their immersive fantasy worlds, so that smacks more than a little of some apples & oranges type shiz to me.

If this Zelda is full of uncompromisingly bleak, grimy, complex interpersonal drama and hard-boiled political intrigue just beneath the beautiful Studio Ghibli-esque surface, then colour me impressed! 


(not suggesting a fantastical adventure ever has to be anything like that; this looks lovely)

Political, emotional, angst driven complex storylines in games can be great and all that, but once in a while you need a game to be a videogame, and that's what Nintendo does best. They come out with masterpieces like this that remind you why you play games to begin with. Personally speaking a game has to be a game first and foremost. If I wanted a complex narrative, I'd read a novel. Witcher 3 is a great game, but I just felt it was too bogged down in it's own lore rather than game design. It was a chore to play at times due to it playing like an interactive novel, which it essentially is.

3 reviews in so far, one from a notoriously hard-nosed German mag called Gamepro, and they gave it 94 percent. They've only ever gave one game a higher score than that, and that was 95% for GTA IV.

[Haemoglobin]

I know, I was saying because of that it's a flawed comparison, it's not like for like.

People will not be looking for the same things from Zelda as they would The Witcher, and vice versa. So 'better' is very debatable, because one is providing something you don't want but others do, and the one you are into doesn't provide them with that. They're far from direct competitors, so you'd have to qualify what exactly aout it is superior; as a blanket statement it's a bit daft.

It's almost like saying PES 2017 is better than Ni no Kuni, or something. There's lots of grass in both of them, and a Welsh thing with a stupid face

[puroresu_kid]

Political, emotional, angst driven complex storylines in games can be great and all that, but once in a while you need a game to be a videogame, and that's what Nintendo does best. They come out with masterpieces like this that remind you why you play games to begin with. Personally speaking a game has to be a game first and foremost. If I wanted a complex narrative, I'd read a novel. Witcher 3 is a great game, but I just felt it was too bogged down in it's own lore rather than game design. It was a chore to play at times due to it playing like an interactive novel, which it essentially is.

3 reviews in so far, one from a notoriously hard-nosed German mag called Gamepro, and they gave it 94 percent. They've only ever gave one game a higher score than that, and that was 95% for GTA IV.

I did the same with Witcher 3.  Lost interest

GTA IV highest rated game with Gamepro is so disappointing.  Edge gave that 10/10 as well but GTA IV was a let down.

Nintendo have many faults and I get annoyed with them all the time but they are still the only ones who get me excited like I was a kid again when new software and Hardware is released.

[bailey90]

Nintendo certainly do know how to make a game, I'll give them that.

They just need to catch up everywhere else.

[Macphisto80]

Nintendo certainly do know how to make a game, I'll give them that.

They just need to catch up everywhere else.

And interesting hardware too that directly influences how a game is made. You don't need a bizillion gigaflops to produce a good game. The entire industry, and gamers as a whole, have become overly concerned with all that nonsense. "Here, have a look at the hairs moving on Nathan Drake's chest!" Yeah, great! Technically, the hardware spec of the Switch and Wii U is over a decade old, but yet look what Nintendo is doing with it. The games might not have the veneer of certain graphical features, but they have it where it counts, and where large swaths of the industry have neglected for a long time now, and thats in game design. Resident Evil 7 is a perfect example of taking something back near two decades in terms of design, because it wasn't broken then, and it certainly isn't now. It's telling of an industry where games from 20 years ago can be still held up as a benchmark, not because of their visuals, but because of how they played.

[puroresu_kid]

Nintendo certainly do know how to make a game, I'll give them that.

They just need to catch up everywhere else.

Thing is if this was purely just a handheld I think the reaction would be different.  Its a beast for a handheld and there isn't much more they could do power wise unless people want a device which lasts 30 mins before dying.

Part of me wishes they would make a home console which was really powerful but I'm not convinced it would be a success. 

[bailey90]

And interesting hardware too that directly influences how a game is made. You don't need a bizillion gigaflops to produce a good game. The entire industry, and gamers as a whole, have become overly concerned with all that nonsense. "Here, have a look at the hairs moving on Nathan Drake's chest!" Yeah, great! Technically, the hardware spec of the Switch and Wii U is over a decade old, but yet look what Nintendo is doing with it. The games might not have the veneer of certain graphical features, but they have it where it counts, and where large swaths of the industry have neglected for a long time now, and thats in game design. Resident Evil 7 is a perfect example of taking something back near two decades in terms of design, because it wasn't broken then, and it certainly isn't now. It's telling of an industry where games from 20 years ago can be still held up as a benchmark, not because of their visuals, but because of how they played.

I mean, yeah, that's all fine. But the fact is, if they came out tomorrow and said, 'We have this new system that you can play all of our great and unique games like Mario and Zelda on, and it's as powerful as the PS4 so you can also play your CODs and FIFAs'. It would literally sell out in minutes.

[puroresu_kid]

I mean, yeah, that's all fine. But the fact is, if they came out tomorrow and said, 'We have this new system that you can play all of our great and unique games like Mario and Zelda on, and it's as powerful as the PS4 so you can also play your CODs and FIFAs'. It would literally sell out in minutes.

The problem being that a powerful Nintendo home console will still not mean they will get all the third party support.

[Macphisto80]

Thing is if this was purely just a handheld I think the reaction would be different.  Its a beast for a handheld and there isn't much more they could do power wise unless people want a device which lasts 30 mins before dying.

Part of me wishes they would make a home console which was really powerful but I'm not convinced it would be a success. 

The N64 and Gamecube were technically powerhouses, at least compared to their competitors at the time, if you exclude the original Xbox. If anything, they took a leaf out of Sony's book by putting out a weaker spec system. Where Nintendo has fucked up is not with it's hardware. The Wii proved that. It's the games, ironically enough, or lack of them. The N64 started great for the first year or two, and then gradually fizzled out as its games dried up, otherwise it would have lasted a bit longer.

The early signs for the Switch point to the same mistakes that Nintendo have been making in the past, but that's not to say they can't pull the thing out of a hole, if its even in one that is. I think they need to consolidate all their back catalogue for both handheld and console and make them available at reasonable prices. Do that, and the Switch will be a massive success.

[bailey90]

The problem being that a powerful Nintendo home console will still not mean they will get all the third party support.

Surely couldn't be that bad? They used to do Call of Duty on the DS, and the Switch is going to have FIFA, it's just going to be the ps3/360 version because it's not powerful enough.

I can't imagine third parties not wanting to make games for a powerful Nintendo console.

[Macphisto80]

Surely couldn't be that bad? They used to do Call of Duty on the DS, and the Switch is going to have FIFA, it's just going to be the ps3/360 version because it's not powerful enough.

I can't imagine third parties not wanting to make games for a powerful Nintendo console.

I don't think them wanting to make games for the weaker spec should be an issue. If anything, that's a draw on its own. It cuts production costs down, and if the Switch has a big attatch rate, then that's what attracts devs, not hardware. The thing is, do they want to create unique and exclusive titles for Switch? I'm more interested in that than just having them port  technically inferior looking games from lead platforms. No thanks.

[Macphisto80]

Another review. A perfect score from Famitsu.

[S]

I was kind of hoping this would be a disappointment so I wouldn't feel as though I'm missing out. By all accounts it sounds incredible though.

God knows how I'm going to stay spoiler free until I eventually get it.

[puroresu_kid]

Damn these reviews are killing it.

IGN 10/10
Gamespot 10/10
GiantBomb 5/5
GameRadar 10/10
Polygon 10/10

Move over Ocarina of Time I think you may have finally been surpassed.

[Lfsea]

All being well, my copy arrives tomorrow. Some of the reviews have had me close to tears - and I appreciate that sounds weird. If you're in here, you're a Zelda fan and like me you'll probably feel a combination of relief and joy that it's everything you wanted and more.

[Macphisto80]

I bought the game for the Wii U, and I don't even own a Wii U (that's the benefit of having a few nephews). Should be here tomorrow. It's been a very, very long time that I've felt as eager to get my hands on a game. Ocarina of Time still holds up today, and it was made 20 years ago. By all accounts, BoTW has surpassed it, and that means one thing: it's a straight masterpiece. Hopefully Nintendo does the same thing with the new Mario title. The Switch will be like the N64 all over again.

[BER]

Watched the giantbomb quicklook, not even a Zelda fan as such but i feel a little less enthusiastic now about getting stuck into Horizon Zero Dawn this weekend.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

Want.

[Macphisto80]

Watched the giantbomb quicklook, not even a Zelda fan as such but i feel a little less enthusiastic now about getting stuck into Horizon Zero Dawn this weekend.

It's a pity, because that game does look amazing. BoTW just came out and stole its thunder. If it weren't for BoTW releasing at the same time, I'd be far more interested in H:ZD, but as it is, it takes a back seat. It's excellent though that it'll be out there cheaper when I'm done with Zelda.

[PaulF]

It is.. and yet.. That's basically what I'm planning to do. I've played all of them except Wind Waker (never owned a GC or Wii u ) and playing through them is not just a few hours of entertainment but a real memorable experience. I can't afford to buy it at the moment but hoping to get it before the end of the year

was wind waker for GC? If so get a 2nd hand one, ridiculously cheap entertainment for wind waker and super mario sunshine alone.

[Upinsmoke]

Strangely this runs at 30fps portable and 20fps docked.

Must be a heck of a game to run at 20fps and be so highly rated.