Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Part II - Oops, I Got Sidetracked Again.

[x Tame Impala]

I've mentioned it plenty around the Geek Emporium the last 3+ weeks but I've read through both parts of the BOTW thread here on HF and have completed enough of the game to where I feel comfortable talking about it.

I love this game. It's a masterpiece.

I'm about 80+ hours in, have 49 shrines done, 3 of the divine beasts (I've done all 4 beasts but didn't beat Fireblight Ganon yet), all the towers, 40ish Korok seeds, and have unlocked every area in the game. I saved my game last night having gone to all of the "Skull" icons I made on my map from playing it earlier when I ran into a baddie I couldn't handle. Killed THREE labels and that red Hinox before I went to bed

Here's some things I love and things I don't...

LOVE:

• Exploration: The game's main focus isn't the combat, the cooking, the motion controls, the story, etc..it's exploring Hyrule. Typical Nintendo fashion, their primary goal is simply to make you enjoy playing the game. They do it perfectly. The loose/non-linear story is a great start. Giving you full authority in how you want your experience to play out. You really don't HAVE to do anything in the game. You don't have to get all of the shrines, you don't have to unlock all 4 divine beast powers, you don't have to get the master sword. Or you can, and do it to whatever extent your gamer-heart desires. Adding the Korok seeds as a game mechanic was ingenious as it actively promotes exploring Hyrule by tying it to the crucial ability to increase your inventory slots.

• Environment: Hyrule is gorgeous. So many different landscapes. All unique. All with something special to offer, harsh conditions you have to account for, slight differences in enemy-type that offer you a familiar but different challenge, and new things to find everywhere you go. This ties into the 'Exploration' aspect of it but because the Environment has so many things that look cool and you want to go check them out, you voluntarily want to see every inch of this place. You entice yourself. You're not prompted by a a rigid story structure. You see something intriguing in the environment of Hyrule and you're compelled to get there. Then when you DO get there, there's almost always something worthwhile for you. It could me a powerful weapon you've never seen, a new town/stable, korok seed, or a whole new important part of the game. The environment is so well made it demands to be explored and it rewards you for doing so.

• Ambiance: The soundtrack is excellent. There were some throwbacks to older Zelda games but BOTW is the only one I've played so the nostalgia was mostly lost on me. However, the game sets such a gentle and peaceful tone through the game's music that it's quickly turned into the most relaxing gameplay experience I've ever had. Over the last 3 weeks I've been a full time student and was planning my wedding so I've been pretty stressed and very busy. Popping in BOTW, smoking a -redacted-, and drinking some tea before I go to bed while playing this for 60-90 minutes a night has been one of my favorite things ever.

• Shrines: Disclaimer, BOTW is the only Zelda game I've ever played so take this with whatever grain of salt needed. The Shrine-format is really good, IMO. They're complex enough to where it's still a relative small-challenge and requires you to be a little clever, but they're not overly complex where it's a huge PITA to get through 120 of them. I like how not everything is laid out for you, how there's more than one way to finish a lot of them, and how they're challenging but not infuriating. I think I've only had to look up how to do 2-3 of the 49 so far.

DON'T LOVE:

• Enemy Variants: The enemies are a little juvenile. Goblins, bats, giant lizards, and bouncing jellies in each and every area of Hyrule gets a little boring even as they strengthen up with Blood Moons. I thought those enemy types were just going to be in the "tutorial" stage and was gradually more and more disappointed seeing that they're basically it. The Guardians and Lynels are cool as f*** though. I don't wish there would be more variety, just better enemies. Maybe this is a residual effect from not playing any prior Zelda games but I expected something a little different than bouncing chameleons to be the henchmen for Ganon.

• Combat: Combat could be tuned up a little bit. Beating the Lynels for the first time, and it's entirely possible I'm just not good enough at it yet, but getting the shield-parry right seems really tough. I can do it but only with a 50% success rate on Lynels and surprisingly less with the Bokogoblins and Lizalfos. I think they need to rework the dodging mechanic because it isn't effective enough. Also, and this might just be my fault, but switching from shield to sword back to shield isn't as smooth as I feel it should be. I find myself crouching on accident way to much and even though my brain is thinking it fast enough, I can't pull my shield out to block reliably.

• Sidequests: There needs to be a little more incentive to do these things. I've done a lot of them so far and the rewards aren't very tangible.

• Horses: Some quality of life additions should be made here like being able to call your horse from wherever and making the a little easier to control. To put it bluntly, a system closer to the RDR style would make traversing Hyrule on a horse way smoother.

All in all this game is breathtaking. It's an incredible exploratory experience and with a few tweaks I think it would be perfect.

 

[robertmac43]

Great write up, been thinking I need to jump back into BoTW. Guess I'll wait for the secon wave to be in full effect :p

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

This has been in my backlog for a year. I really want to play it, but the sheer scope/size of the game almost is discouraging, if that makes any sense.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

• Combat: Combat could be tuned up a little bit. Beating the Lynels for the first time, and it's entirely possible I'm just not good enough at it yet, but getting the shield-parry right seems really tough. I can do it but only with a 50% success rate on Lynels and surprisingly less with the Bokogoblins and Lizalfos. I think they need to rework the dodging mechanic because it isn't effective enough. Also, and this might just be my fault, but switching from shield to sword back to shield isn't as smooth as I feel it should be. I find myself crouching on accident way to much and even though my brain is thinking it fast enough, I can't pull my shield out to block reliably

Question: Is it just the parrying that you find bad with timing or parries and the dodge/flurry rush mechanic?

 

[kingsboy11]

This has been in my backlog for a year. I really want to play it, but the sheer scope/size of the game almost is discouraging, if that makes any sense.

I've been turned off by a couple of games because of that reason, but in BOTW its just so beautiful and mesmerizing that it makes you want to explore every inch of the map as much as possible. Just look at this thread title about getting sidetracked at its 100% accurate. You'll be going to do an objective and there's something off in the distance that piqued your interest and then throws off whatever it was that you were doing.

The beginning of the game could be frustrating and scary because you won't have the gear to feel confident going up against enemies. But once you find solid ground and you can move about the map without fear, it becomes something more

 

[Emperoreddy]

This has been in my backlog for a year. I really want to play it, but the sheer scope/size of the game almost is discouraging, if that makes any sense.

It is daunting, but its worth taking the leap and digging in.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Question: Is it just the parrying that you find bad with timing or parries and the dodge/flurry rush mechanic?

Both for sure. Maybe it’s just me

 

[Unholy Diver]

This has been in my backlog for a year. I really want to play it, but the sheer scope/size of the game almost is discouraging, if that makes any sense.

I did the same thing, didn't want to jump into a big long game, and when I finally started it I kicked myself for waiting so long, it is a great game. well worth the time

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Both for sure. Maybe it’s just me

Yeah, the parrying has always been a pain in the ass for me. After multiple playthroughs I haven't been able to get the timing completely right.

As far as the flurry rush, I found it pretty forgiving to where you didn't need to wait till the last second to jump and activate it. Hard to tell what the problem may be considering how many options there are to dodge and depending on what attack you are trying to dodge.

From my experience I would experiment with different timing to see what works and what doesn't. Even though I have the timing down I still mess up on occasion, though. Probably just an aspect of the mechanics.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Have any of you tried playing on “Pro Hud” mode? I’m doing my second play-through of the game like this and it’s been phenomenal so far.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Can't say that I finnagled with the HUD at all.

 

[S E P H]

So I am starting my journey again after a long break, I am doing this without any sort of strategy guide and I finished Hateno Lab. Holy smokes the enemies really get an immense boost from when you make your way into the village to the point after you upgrade your "Zelda iPhone". Without spoiling too much, is there anything I should be working on in regards to armour or weapons to make it easier later in the game? Preferably if there are weapons which do not break?

Also I got a horse, a full colour one with wild personality and to me it seems that the controls are unbearable. I know I have to bond with it and I do know that (with a tiny spoiler) that Zelda's horse is in the game which is the one I am working towards. However, will my horse controls improve before then or should I get a multiple coloured horse in the mean time? Maybe it won't improve enough for my liking, but going by horse is sometimes unplayable for me because when I accidentality run into a minor rock upgrade (due to a lack of controls), it automatically stops which is annoying AF.

 

[S E P H]

Ocarina of Time blew my tiny preteen mind at launch.

I have played plenty of open world games including Witcher 3, Skyrim, and Red Dead

Nothing has given me pause at the scale and audacity as this game has.

This is a genius game and a true 10/10.

The combat is lacklustre, the enemies either go into dumb mode or one swipe K.O., and so far (for me) the horse controls are a pain in the arse to write that lightly, but in terms of pure enjoyment and playability...I can't think of a game better than this one. Like this game has zero achievements or trophies, but I want to take snapshots of everything and cook ever receipt due to the level of immersion the game absorbs you in.

 

[Byron Bitz]

I don’t like how your items wear down and break. I would have added a system where you can have one preserved item in your inventory from each class. (One bow, one sword, one shield) so when you find a weapon you really like you can keep it.

 

[Byron Bitz]

For me the paraglide is such a brilliant gamechanger, improves exploration exponentially. Being able to look around when your up high and see something you want to check out and paraglide over to it. I feel like i can’t go back and play old Zelda games because every time I’m on a mountain or something il wish I could just paraglide down.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

So I am starting my journey again after a long break, I am doing this without any sort of strategy guide and I finished Hateno Lab. Holy smokes the enemies really get an immense boost from when you make your way into the village to the point after you upgrade your "Zelda iPhone". Without spoiling too much, is there anything I should be working on in regards to armour or weapons to make it easier later in the game? Preferably if there are weapons which do not break?

Also I got a horse, a full colour one with wild personality and to me it seems that the controls are unbearable. I know I have to bond with it and I do know that (with a tiny spoiler) that Zelda's horse is in the game which is the one I am working towards. However, will my horse controls improve before then or should I get a multiple coloured horse in the mean time? Maybe it won't improve enough for my liking, but going by horse is sometimes unplayable for me because when I accidentality run into a minor rock upgrade (due to a lack of controls), it automatically stops which is annoying AF.

The horse controls greatly improve as you continue to ride or feed the horse.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I like that the weapons break. If they didn’t it would kind of ruin a huge chunk of the exploration mechanic. The weapons scale up basically with the strength of the enemies and at a certain point you get more 50+ melee weapons, 35+ shields, and 30+ bows than you know what to do with.

The point of the game isn’t to hold onto the most awesome weapons. It’s to come across them as you play and enjoy them while you’ve got them. I didn’t like it at first either but as soon as you start playing with the mentality that the weapons are all expendable you think about it way less.

 

[aleshemsky83]

• Combat: Combat could be tuned up a little bit. Beating the Lynels for the first time, and it's entirely possible I'm just not good enough at it yet, but getting the shield-parry right seems really tough. I can do it but only with a 50% success rate on Lynels and surprisingly less with the Bokogoblins and Lizalfos. I think they need to rework the dodging mechanic because it isn't effective enough. Also, and this might just be my fault, but switching from shield to sword back to shield isn't as smooth as I feel it should be. I find myself crouching on accident way to much and even though my brain is thinking it fast enough, I can't pull my shield out to block reliably.

Dont parry Lynels, backflip when they swing. Very easy to trigger a flurry rush. Also shoot them in the head with an arrow. Will stun them and give you 5 seconds or so to attack them or if you like you can mount them and hit them. Sort of a hidden mechanic, when you mount a lynel and hit them your weapons dont take durability damage.

I like that the weapons break. If they didn’t it would kind of ruin a huge chunk of the exploration mechanic. The weapons scale up basically with the strength of the enemies and at a certain point you get more 50+ melee weapons, 35+ shields, and 30+ bows than you know what to do with.

The point of the game isn’t to hold onto the most awesome weapons. It’s to come across them as you play and enjoy them while you’ve got them. I didn’t like it at first either but as soon as you start playing with the mentality that the weapons are all expendable you think about it way less.

I tend to agree with this, except for the 4 main story weapon sets you get. They break and are time consuming to recraft (they never drop you have to craft them to get them back)

Other than that, I actually like the durability system. The weapons also last way longer later in the game.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I don’t like how your items wear down and break. I would have added a system where you can have one preserved item in your inventory from each class. (One bow, one sword, one shield) so when you find a weapon you really like you can keep it.

It would completely unbalance the game. The game is really generous about giving you weapons so you will never be without.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The story weapons eventually get outclassed by regular drops and the Master Sword to the point its better to just display them in your house.

The DLC upgraded Master Sword basically makes weapon collecting moot. Any more permanent weapons would wreck the game as is.

 

[Mikeaveli]

It would completely unbalance the game. The game is really generous about giving you weapons so you will never be without.

The combat is already severely unbalanced due to the fact that at any moment you can instantly heal to full health. I don't think it would be that big of a deal.

 

[x Tame Impala]

The combat is already severely unbalanced due to the fact that at any moment you can instantly heal to full health. I don't think it would be that big of a deal.

So make the game worse by letting you fully heal AND have weapons that never break...

 

[Emperoreddy]

Plenty of enemies can one hit you in the early and mid game unless you cook really good temporary heart dishes.

Late game is a different story, but that was most likely the intent. Plus this isn't a Souls game.

If it's too easy, play it on Master Mode.

 

[kingsboy11]

The weapon thing was a bit annoying at first, but you're just able to collect so many as your progress that it never really mattered to me. I'm sure when the sequel comes out they'll find a better way to balance or refine it.

 

[Emperoreddy]

The issue is having too many weapons and not enough things to wack them with. Not the other way around.

More enemy variety is what the sequel needs. Not unbreakable weapons.