Topic: Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch/Wii U)

[Fatty The Hutt]

Khush how can you hate on Seabert like that? He has 60 minutes of fun. 60 whole minutes! When was the last time you had that, and from a seal no less, hmmm?

[Soren]

Is it bad that I have no faith in Nintendo actually filling up a world this vast with useful things to do? I feel like the size detail doesn't really help sell the game.

[Shaymin]

We did a video about how Xenoblade Chronicles X world map was the same as Fallout 4, Skyrim and The Witcher 3 combined. All that did was scare the crap out of me pre-review.

[rygar]

As long there as it feels like a coherent natural environment, and it has sufficient (but avoidable) random fauna and enemies, I'd love a substantial wilderness surrounding the settlements and ruins. I'm even more hopeful about the aesthetic direction.

[Evan_B]

There seems to be multitudes of enemy encampments, and the actually sizable towns we've had a look at from the trailers implies there's plenty to be seen. In all honesty, I'm in the same boat as others who feel that a sprawling, natural environment might also serve the game well enough without a multitude of elements cluttering it. I want things to do, but with the rumored 100-ish shrines, enemy encampments, bite-sized environmental puzzles, and traveling characters and semi-randomized events, it sounds like there's plenty enough to do in this iteration of Hyrule already. While I certainly hope (and it already seems that this is the case) Nintendo has kept the world more dense than Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, I also wouldn't want every inch of the world to contain something to do.

I'd like to think some of Monolith Soft's influence and expertise came into play in that regard. With the FrontierNav, every hex of Mira (a world of arguably the same size as Breath of the Wild, if I'm not mistaken?) contained some sort of element that would tie into a story or side quest arc. While some of these were simple collection quests (which I truly hope Breath of the Wild doesn't use to pad its playtime), others built on long narratives that fleshed out the civilization as well as giving reason to go out exploring. If the Zelda team approached Breath of the Wild with the same mentality, I think Hyrule will give us plenty enough to do. Remember, there are also weather and climate effects that are going to factor into how you explore and overcome Hyrule.

[Luigi Dude]

Yeah the demo and trailers have already shown there's a **** ton of content throughout the world.  Every direction someone wonders to ends up with Link fighting a group of enemies, or items to discover all over.  Plus the Shines are basically there to reward the player with a mini-dungeon experience for their exploration skills as well.  Unless Nintendo is pulling a Sonic Team and intentionally putting all their resources in the early area's of the game so they get decent previews while neglecting the second half for the actual final version, I doubt we'll have to worry about the game being too barren.

Plus like Evan already said, the world is a similar size to Xenoblade X and that game was filled with things to do.  Considering Breath of the Wild has been in development longer, has a larger team that even consist of some of the Xenoblade member, and a much larger budget I think it's safe to say the game will make good use of it's large size.

[Luigi Dude]

Well I hope your bodies are ready.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1911015257/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

- 120 Shrines

- 900 Korok seed puzzles

- 76 side quests


So assuming none of these are typos or Amazon has false information, yeah, that's a lot of fucking content in this game.  Looks like people can stop worrying about the game not having enough to do in the overworld when if anything there's going to be way too much.  Anyone going for 100% could literally spend the next year playing just this game alone especially if that 900 Korok's to find is true.

[Soren]

I'm saying it right now I ain't doing 900 of anything in this game.

[Stogi]

Soren, you'll probably find a vast majority of those simply by exploring.

[Khushrenada]

Is it bad that I have no faith in Nintendo actually filling up a world this vast with useful things to do? I feel like the size detail doesn't really help sell the game.

Are you serious? That is nuts!

[Shorty McNostril]

Anyone remember this thread.  (Hint: It's 13 years old)

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=9055.0

This is how I'm feeling right now.  All over again.  Twilight Princess is my all time favourite Zelda game by several thousand orders of magnitude.  And that's probably an understatement.  That's how much I adore that game.  Everything about it.  I was most pleased to discover that it wasn't just nostalgia from my original playthrough on Wii back then.  I felt all those emotions coming back when I played through it again for the Wii U HD release.

I'm feeling that same level of hype for this one.  That trailer is quite likely up there with the best crafted I've ever had the fortune of watching.  The music is just amazing.  Whoever scored that needs to be knighted and awarded an Oscar immediately.  Even in that 3 minute trailer there is beautiful emotion coming from it. I teared up too.  I still am.  Every time I watch it.  If this can surpass Twilight Princess for me that will be a HUGE achievement.  But the way this is looking it may just do that. 

I do wish it had the TP art style though.  But if that's my biggest complaint I'll be thrilled.

[Evan_B]

You wish it had TP's art style? Weird.

Twilight Princess is personally my favorite console Zelda, too, but even with its updated HD textures and such, it's art style works pretty much for its narrative. I wouldn't want to see it again.

[Stratos]

I loved the art style in TP. I think that is also where the awesome new logo released that had the triforce with wings. But I still love the new art style in BotW. It really improved and refined Skyward Swords art (which was refined Wind Waker art) to look like a perfect imagining of what the original game would look like in cutting edge 3D.

[Shorty McNostril]

I certainly do wish it had the realistic art style.

It just appeals to me far more than the cell shaded varient we have here. Not to say that BotW looks bad. Not at all. It looks amazing. But given the scope and setting of this game I think the realistic style would be better. But like I said above, if that is my biggest complaint I'll be thrilled.

Oh. Link apparently isn't a lefty anymore. Epic fail!!!!!

[Evan_B]

Twilight Princess isn't realistic.

Have you seen those character designs?

[Shorty McNostril]

Twilight Princess isn't realistic.

Well of course it's not 'realistic', but it's a hell of a lot more real looking than Windwaker, Skyward Sword and BotW because it's not a cartoon.  You know what I mean.

[Evan_B]

But it is a cartoon. Outside of the main characters, the secondary characters might look more macabre because of their proportions and texturing, but they're just as exaggerated as Skyward Sword's character designs- if not more.

A recent article posted on a certain other Nintendo News Site claims that shrines are a replacement for traditional dungeons rather than a supplement. There's been a long standing rumor that the game would only feature four dungeons, but honestly, this new article seems to make sense. Rather than centralizing their puzzles, the Zelda team has spread them across the overworld.

It's disappointing, for sure, as I've always enjoyed the build-up and execution regarding traditional dungeons.

[Stogi]

Wait...what?! Nintendo already confirmed dungeons in their Game Awards play through. Also, not to get spoiler-y, but there are very good reasons to think that there are at least four dungeons. I honestly think there will be more.

[Evan_B]

There's also mention by official sources of shrines and Korok puzzles specifically, but not dungeons. Coming from a news article about a week ago.

[Stogi]

http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-on-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-development-shrines-art-style-more/

– On Shrines: having them all be long/complex means players wouldn’t complete the game
– Nintendo made Shrines to be rewards rather than actual trials
– Shrines are very different from those of previous Zelda, though some are much larger and have a boss at the end similar to traditional dungeons
– Nintendo has done away with dungeons that have a particular theme
– Even if you come across a shrine located in a forest, it won’t necessarily carry that theme

That sounds particularly interesting. I can't wait for this game.

[KeyBilly]

Dungeons are my favorite part of Zelda games, but the shrines just sound like a way of spreading similar gameplay out.  Walking through the large landscapes and finding an entrance sounds exciting.  Having it on a portable device is perfect for exploration.  I will probably want it docked for big story moments.

[Soren]

I'm pretty sure there will still be a a Water Temple Shrine...

[Lemonade]

After playing half of Skyward Sword, I would be very happy to have much smaller dungeons. I didnt like having to dedicate an hour or more just for one temple.

15-30 minutes would be much better, as long as they dont all feel the same.

[Evan_B]

I understand that mindset, but I also love those long trials, and with how weapons and health function in Breath of the Wild, I can imagine dungeons being a test of endurance as much as cleverness.

[Luigi Dude]

Well the rumor right before E3 said over 100 mini dungeons around the world and 4 big main dungeons like Majora's Mask.  The rumor also said the game would have a technology vs nature aspect which the shrines and guardians certainly look like. 

Considering the recent trailers and the map Nintendo showed at the Switch event show 4 giant mechanical guardian beast, those beast are probably the 4 main traditional style dungeons the original rumor talked about.  So I imagine they'll be a pretty big size that take over an hour or more to complete.