The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Nester the Lark]

Feb 15, 2017 18:57:01 GMT -5 Da Robot said:

The DLC is a surprise considering that BoTW is supposed to be a massive game. Really think they should have saved this announcement till late March or early April, when they say there's gonna be DLC before the game releases it just makes people think they held back content to charge for later.

I'm actually not surprised about the DLC, but I think you're exactly right about the timing of the announcement. I've been thinking about it, and I realized that's pretty much the only thing I found off-putting about it.

I kind of expected there to be DLC about 3-6 months after the game is released, which is exactly when it will actually come out. And I expected it to be of a similar nature (new dungeon, extra story, etc.). It's something to expand the game for people who are playing it a lot.

But announcing it before the game, itself, is actually out does give a bad impression.

[Da Robot]

Feb 16, 2017 11:31:35 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

Feb 15, 2017 18:57:01 GMT -5 Da Robot said:

I kind of expected there to be DLC about 3-6 months after the game is released, which is exactly when it will actually come out. And I expected it to be of a similar nature (new dungeon, extra story, etc.). It's something to expand the game for people who are playing it a lot.

But announcing it before the game, itself, is actually out does give a bad impression.

What I find strange, didn't Iwata make mention of this very issue? Wasn't that the reason they didn't reveal new Coin Rush map DLC for NSMB 2 until months after the game came out, was because of this development perception from fans?

Mario Kart 8's DLC was greatly welcomed and that was announced month's after launch. The only exception I can think of that makes people less angry with pre-release announcement DLC is to have free DLC updates like Splatoon but not every genre of game can do what they did.

[Leon]

The previews I've seen really make the game look fantastic. Zelda had a pretty rough decade, with Xenoblade taking its spot as king of exploration games, but it seems that they've really made something special. My hope is that Zelda and Xenoblade keep pushing each other to higher highs.

[Nester the Lark]

I'm gonna miss Miiverse...

[Nester the Lark]

Something I was curious about in the game was whether the scene from the original reveal trailer from 2014 was still in the game.

This is what it looked like:



We can clearly see Dueling Peaks in the background, making it the only landmark. So, trying to find a similar vantage point, which seemed to be West and slightly North, I made my way here:



As you can see, it's quite different looking, so the map went through some big changes. The plateau I'm standing on has a grassy meadow with trees and rocks (all behind Link in the picture), but it looks very little like the scene in the reveal trailer.

Just for kicks, I also tried to get a view from the opposite side of Dueling Peaks. It's also grassy with trees and rocks, but much more mountainous, so it maybe resembles the early screen just a bit more. However, I couldn't get a clear view of Dueling Peaks, or stand far enough away from it to match the distance (even near the coast).

Anyway, just thought it was fun to try to find it.

[Nester the Lark]

Apparently, there's an NPC in the game that's likely based on Satoru Iwata:



I don't think I've come across him, myself, yet. However, I actually did go over Satori Mountain and discovered the pond while on my way to the location I was looking for in my previous post. The terrain was really beautiful and serene around there, and there's a shrine nearby, so it's easy to teleport to. I'll have to poke around there more to see what I can find.


It's a really nice tribute, though.

[Nester the Lark]

I thought this might be an interesting discussion.

While the aim of Breath of the Wild was to break Zelda conventions from a gameplay standpoint, I can't help but notice how much of it originated from previous Zelda games, especially Skyward Sword. I thought I would list some of it here in case anyone would like to add other gameplay connections they've noticed.

Note that this is in regards to game mechanics and design, not characters, lore, music, or other elements that are simply series continuity.

So, here are things in Breath of the Wild that originated in Skyward Sword:
- Stamina Meter
- More agile Link that can run and climb across terrain
- Gliding
- Collecting materials and creatures
- Crafting system
- Dialog choices
- Expandable inventory & inventory management
- Radar (Dowsing in Skyward Sword)

And here are some things from other Zelda games:
- Breakable equipment started in Majora's Mask with the Razor Sword.* (Skyward Sword also had breakable shields.)
- The emphasis on showing the wind and weather is very much like The Wind Waker.
- The way the world “resets” when a Blood Moon appears is vaguely reminiscent of Majora's Mask.

* You could, perhaps, count Deku Sticks from Ocarina of Time, but I think that's stretching it.

Breath of the Wild does expand upon a lot of these ideas (although what I wouldn't give to be able to use Dowsing instead of BotW's nearly-useless radar), but it's pretty clear that Skyward Sword was an incredibly important stepping stone for the series.

[nocturnal YL]

Similarity with Skyward Sword? There's one I can think of.

Link is right-handed.

More than a decade since the Wii version of Twilight Princess, and I still can't get over this.

But seriously, I don't think it's very unusual at all that a game would take parts from the direct predecessor. After all, if you write a program (whether it's a commercial application or a game), the version directly before is usually the one that's known to work the most closely as intended and would be where you port the logic. Same reason why Mario 3D Land and 3D World feel kind of like Galaxy and why Smash 3DS and Wii U have Brawl parts.

[Nester the Lark]

Well, I just think it's interesting that there are a lot of people who still see Skyward Sword as a big misstep for the series, and Breath of the Wild was seen as a return to the idea of the original, but BotW actually carries much more influence from Skyward Sword.

I thought of another: deflecting attacks with a shield, which appeared in both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. (I can't seem to get the timing for it down in BotW, though.)

I admit, I do agree with you about Link being left-handed. I mean, there's no reason that among the various versions of Link, some can't be right-handed, but I've come to appreciate his left-handedness has a unique trait. At the very least, Link could be ambidextrous, and you could choose which hand he used.

(For what it's worth, he is left-handed in Hyrule Warriors.)

[Shrikeswind]

Couple corrections.

Mar 19, 2017 21:32:29 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

So, here are things in Breath of the Wild that originated in Skyward Sword:
- Stamina Meter
- More agile Link that can run and climb across terrain
- Gliding That was Wind Waker with the Deku Leaf.
- Collecting materials and creatures Twilight Princess with the golden bugs, though this one's a bit of a stretch.
- Crafting system
- Dialog choices Does a dialog cutscene really count as a gameplay mechanic? In any case, this is kinda just but-thou-must story-telling with personality, and even then you get it in OoT as well. Remember when you first meet Nabooru?
- Expandable inventory & inventory management
- Radar (Dowsing in Skyward Sword)

And here are some things from other Zelda games:
- Breakable equipment started in Majora's Mask with the Razor Sword.* (Skyward Sword also had breakable shields.) Ocarina of Time had the Giant's Knife. It was a bit blink-and-you'll-miss-it but it was there.
And yes, the Deku Stick would count, though like you said, it's a bit of a stretch.
- The emphasis on showing the wind and weather is very much like The Wind Waker.
- The way the world “resets” when a Blood Moon appears is vaguely reminiscent of Majora's Mask.

* You could, perhaps, count Deku Sticks from Ocarina of Time, but I think that's stretching it.

Breath of the Wild does expand upon a lot of these ideas (although what I wouldn't give to be able to use Dowsing instead of BotW's nearly-useless radar), but it's pretty clear that Skyward Sword was an incredibly important stepping stone for the series.

[Nester the Lark]

Couple corrections.

-Gliding That was Wind Waker with the Deku Leaf.

Ah, yeah! Forgot about the Deku Leaf.

- Collecting materials and creatures Twilight Princess with the golden bugs, though this one's a bit of a stretch.

That's not really the same as collecting materials for crafting, which is what I was thinking of. It's a sidequest like the Gold Skulltulas in Ocarina of Time.

- Dialog choices Does a dialog cutscene really count as a gameplay mechanic? In any case, this is kinda just but-thou-must story-telling with personality, and even then you get it in OoT as well. Remember when you first meet Nabooru?

I guess that depends on how you classify it. You can even argue the "shall I repeat what I just said" choices from A Link to the Past are dialog choices. As you say, it doesn't have a profound effect on the game, but it does add a lot of personality, and that does effect the experience (in my opinion). Skyward Sword was the first to emphasize them, though.

- Breakable equipment started in Majora's Mask with the Razor Sword.* (Skyward Sword also had breakable shields.) Ocarina of Time had the Giant's Knife. It was a bit blink-and-you'll-miss-it but it was there.
And yes, the Deku Stick would count, though like you said, it's a bit of a stretch.

Ah, I did not remember the Giant's Knife at all.

I've thought of another one:

- Wasn't Wind Waker the first game where you could pick up and use a weapon dropped by an enemy?

[Nester the Lark]

Here's everything included in the first DLC pack.

In short:

- Trial of the Sword
A survival mode with 45 rooms. If you clear them all, the Master Sword is permanently in its powered-up state. (Would also be nice if it didn't "break.")

- Hero's Path Mode
The maps shows a trail of where you've been traveling for the last 200 hours.

- Hard Mode
Enemies are all bumped up a level (ie. all red Bokoblins are now blue Bokoblins). They also regenerate health, attack more aggressively, and are harder to sneak up on. There are also floating enemy camps in the sky.

- More armor
Majora's Mask, Midna's Helmet, Phantom Armor, Tingle's Outfit, and the Korok Mask. The latter vibrates the controller when you're near a hidden Korok.

Personally, what I would really like is a New Game+ that lets me keep my Heart Containers, Stamina upgrades and most items, but lets me replay the story again. I've put about 190 hours into the game so far, and I really don't want to throw all that work away.

[Nester the Lark]

So, the DLC has been out for a few days. Here's a screenshot of my Hero's Path, if you're interested:



I do feel like I hang around the Necluda and Akkala regions the most. Didn't realize I'd spent so much time on the Great Plateau. Once I left it, I rarely went back.

I also like that thick green line from the top of Mt. Lanayru down into the valley. I went gliding down there many times while farming materials from Naydra.

As for the rest of the DLC, I was a little disappointed that most of the new costumes were just hidden in a certain area. I was hoping they'd be scattered across the whole world. That would've made it feel like I was going on more significant quests to find them. It's also kinda lame that you can't upgrade them.

I haven't really gotten much into the Trial of the Sword yet.

[Nester the Lark]

Someone discovered that there's actually a small area in the game where, if Link is in it, it disables the cel shading filter for some reason. The area is in a small crevice in one of the southern towers of the Bridge of Hylia. You can read about it here.

I just checked it, and it totally works:



How odd. I hope Nintendo doesn't patch this, 'cause it's a pretty cool glitch.

[Nester the Lark]

The Champions' Ballad DLC is available TONIGHT!

Trailer:


But I'm still playing Xenoblade 2!