REVIEW

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Review

by Liam Gittins, March 17th, 2017

Every now and then we have moments in a game series that take our breath away, 20 years ago, it was taking that first step onto Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time and seeing a vast world open up before us, seeing Death Mountain in the distance and knowing that we would at some point explore it. Yes, Ocarina of Time broke up the world into sizable chunks that the Nintendo 64 could handle, but for the time it was amazing and new.

Since then the Zelda series has fallen into a formula. The worlds have been large but fragmented, the storyline concise but linear, giving the player not much in the ways of freedom to roam Hyrule and do as they please. Nintendo have heard these complaints and set a goal to create the ultimate Zelda title, and after nearly 20 hours into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, they aren’t far off.

In this new title, the world is completely open and Hyrule is yours for the taking, we aren’t split by loading screens and everything opens up to the player in one fluid motion. With the world opening up, Nintendo have also removed all form of linearity from the title. Gone are the days of going to dungeons to unlock items in order to progress to the next dungeon. In Breath of the Wild, Nintendo gives the choice back to the player, go to dungeons in whichever order you want and the explore the vast world that has been created.

Nintendo has put faith back into the players to figure out the dungeons for themselves, dungeons no longer have a linear feeling and players have the choice to tackle the dungeons in whichever order they wish. Nintendo have turned Breath of the Wild into a world of experimentation as well as exploration. Nearly every item you pick up has some significant use in the world, whether it is to craft, to cook or to use in some form of physics experiment. For example, small things such as berries from foraging or guts found from the monsters you kill can be used to cook meals with bonus effects that can save you in a tough situation, or potions with added bonuses. In the beginning of the game you are given a set of powers and abilities to be the staple to help you throughout the world, these being powers of magnetism, pausing time and freezing water. The more you play with some of these abilities, the more you will learn of the greater level of depth Breath of the Wild offers.

One of the first things players will notice about Breath of the Wild is simply how breath taking (pun intended) and beautiful the world this desolate world is. Nintendo have always liked to experiment with visual styles in their Zelda titles. We’ve had the cartoon, cel-shaded experience of Wind Waker, and the grittier, darker visual style of Twilight Princess. For Breath of the Wild we see the love child of the two, with a sprinkling of the watercolour visuals from Skyward Sword.

Nintendo maestro Koji Kondo has also returned to create the soundtrack for this title. Whilst most previous entries in the Zelda title are sprinkled with memorable jingles that are etched into our minds, Breath of the Wild has taken a different approach. The music of Koji Kondo plays only when it feels necessary, whether it is finding a new town, fighting great monsters or just an epic moment in the titles narrative, the music kicks in and feels worth the wait of exploring the wilds with only the sound of nature surrounding you.

Breath of the Wild stands out from other open world titles by making every part of the humongous map to feel hand crafted and vital to the world, the world feels vast without feeling empty. There are always sights to see and interesting places to visit even if the story does not require it such as when you are exploring, camping, fighting and cooking. Though this world is beautiful, it is also brutal. Breath of the Wild demands the player’s full attention, and without that then it has no problem knocking you down a peg as a reminder. This happens in both the form of the monsters and also nature itself. When running around in a thunderstorm I was constantly being struck by lightning and killed. It was only when I stopped and thought about the amount of metal I was wearing could be a problem, I saved myself by removing armour and metal shields to stop being a conductor. Sometimes it’s the world that is out to get you not just the enemies. Whilst previous 3D Zelda titles held your hand, Breath of the Wild pushes you straight out the front door into the big bad world, and you will thank it for that.

The core gameplay of the Zelda series is all that links this title to other entries to the Zelda franchise, you still play as Link; the hero who has to travel the world and save Hyrule from the evil Ganon, and many elements of the core gameplay will be familiar to those who have played previous 3D Zelda titles, nothing new is added to the core gameplay, but changes are made for it to work with Breath of the Wild. You can customise and adapt Links weapon layout to help your situation. If you are fighting monsters near a volcano, wood weapons and shields will become a hindrance more than a help. Combat is riskier, running mindlessly into a group of moblins can result in Link losing his life, forcing the player to think about their approach, and some enemies can obliterate you in one wrong move.

Another element to keep in mind when attack enemies is the new weapon degradation system, the more you use a weapon, the more likely it is to break. Weapon degradation is not a slow process either, causing the player to think quickly when attacking enemies only to switch to a new weapon in order to defeat them.

Since the release of the Hyrule Historia, Nintendo have teased the idea of a timeline where Link doesn’t defeat Ganon but instead fails as Hyrule falls into ruin. Breath of the Wild is proof as to the limits this timeline can go. When you awake as Link in a room filled with strange technology and blue-glowing lights, you quickly figure out that Hyrule was destroyed by Ganon and you witnessed it happen, as a hero failed and this is your redemption. The damage of Ganon is immediately noticeable in the world, areas close to Hyrule Castle are dangerous ruins, filled with destroyed buildings and danger lurking around every corner. Towns and forms of civilization are only noticeable as you branch out to the further corners of the map and put significant distance between you and the clutches of Ganon. I won’t delve any further into the story as it is something you need to witness for yourself.

Even in the dystopian Hyrule of Breath of the Wild, it is still full of interesting characters that you meet throughout your journey. Characters such as a cocky Zora prince, eccentric travelling merchants, including the loud mouthed merchant Beedle who has appeared in previous entries such as Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. Nintendo has always been proud of their cast of side characters in Zelda titles, and Breath of the Wild is no exception.

Though this Zelda title is fantastic, with lots to say about it, it isn’t without its downfalls. This mainly falls on the technical side of things. I have been playing this title on the Wii U rather than the Switch, so initially I wasn’t too surprised to find the occasional framerate drop in some parts of the game, the Wii U has never had to process such a vast, expansive world before. Then reports came in of framerate drops occurring on the Nintendo Switch as well. These drops can be noticeable and leave players trying to play the game at a meagre 20fps for some time. These drops mainly happen in areas such as towns and largely populated areas. It isn’t necessarily game breaking, just slightly disappointing that Nintendo would let this happen on both systems, even more surprising when you consider Nintendo’s track record for nearly bug-less titles.

Though in all honesty, looking back on my time with Breath of the Wild, the faults end at its technicalities, the game is breath taking, entertaining and brutal. Nintendo said they would create the ultimate Zelda title, they have. It is also a beautiful swan song to the lovely, yet misunderstood Wii U system.