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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Preview Thread

M

Mike Double U

Banned
Griss said:
Damn, I've taken so much shit on here for calling them Ubi-towers. Glad to see I was right. They were obviously Ubi-towers from the very first reveal.
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I like Nintendo's approach on them however.

This vertical bent is also present in Breath of the Wild's Ubisoft towers. You literally climb a series of towers around the land, syncing them with your Sheikah Slate tablet to reveal the topographical map of the region you're in. Nintendo doesn't just play them straight though. The map shows areas, but it doesn't clue you to what's in each area.

Instead, you want to use your Slate's scope and the tower's height to look down upon the land below. Once there you can mark your map with colored waypoint pins, or up to 100 stamps of various icons. Breath of the Wild uses the towers to encourage you to build your own map, instead of just giving you a series of waypoints. (There are quest waypoints, so don't assume that Nintendo is throwing out everything.)
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Quote is from:

MHWilliams said:
Here's my written preview of the game
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Great write up! 😄
 
F

Forkball

Member
One bit of concern from engaget about the Switch

The Switch's screenshot capture tool is junk

This doesn't have much to do with the game, but if you were looking forward to sharing beautiful images of your gameplay anytime soon, curb your enthusiasm. The Switch's built-in screenshot tool outputs full-resolution images (1080p when you're docked, 720p in tablet mode) but for some reason they just suck. They're being saved as very lossy JPGs, typically weighing in at between 150KB and 300KB, making them soft and generally nowhere near as pretty as the game itself.
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I'm curious to see if the difference is super noticeable...
 
P

PrimeBeef

Member
MHWilliams said:
Yeah, there are still framerate drops in TV mode.



Occasionally, not always, it feels like there's a white haze over the entire game. I don't know if it's a lighting thing or not.
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Did you try setting your monitor/TV to a limited RGB settings if possible? There was someone who filtered an image through limited and it removed the haze. Not sure it that would do anything though. Just thinking.
 
G

GregLombardi

Member
HeisenbergLannister said:
From the Gamespot preview...



This will make people happy.
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This is the way it should always be. In every game. Forever. Just like I can't understand why directors of cinema put credits at the start of a film instead of just bringing you into the film, I have never understood Nintendo's and other games absolute penchant for putting you into a terrible tutorial immediately. FFXV comes to mind, and though it wasn't obligatory, it annoyed the hell out of me.
 
L

Labombadog

Member
Breath of the Wild is, five hours in, an enthralling and surprising experience, and the stories being shared among those playing it at GameSpot are all vastly different. Even though we are all playing the same game, we are envious of each other's unique experiences. Breath of the Wild embodies the freedom and danger that made the first Zelda game so enthralling, and captures the feeling of awe that came when Ocarina of Time hit the scene, in this case by layering unspoken variables into seemingly every facet of the game. Based on our early impressions, it's safe to say that Breath of the Wild will forever change what people expect from the series.
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QONVIyz.gif
 
A

akashhhhh

Member
Can anyone answer whether changing the system language changes the game language? In other words, are all the languages present on the cartridge? I may need to buy a copy not in my home country, but want to make sure I can still play in English.
 
K

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Not really a Zelda preview but Verge put this out at the same time the embargo ended.

The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is the best way to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild

One of the most surprising things about the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con grip — the standard controller that comes with the console — is that it works at all. The controller amounts to essentially a plastic shell with two Wii remote-like Joy-Con controllers snapped to each side. At first, it doesn’t feel so different from any other modern controller. But after an hour or so, its compromises are noticeable. It’s cramped for one thing, forcing you to hold your hands very close together. It also lacks a proper directional pad, and several buttons can be awkward to reach.

These faults become especially apparent when you’re binging on a game like the lengthy adventure of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. But there’s a solution: the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
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For Breath of the Wild, these changes are especially important. The game features a surprisingly complex control scheme. While exploring, you need to constantly swap between avoiding attacks, shooting arrows, swinging a sword, and more. With the Joy-Con grip this can be a bit cumbersome; the tiny face buttons mean that occasionally I will jump when I mean to attack, or throw my sword when I’m really trying to pull out a bow and arrow. These misfires are relatively rare, but nonetheless frustrating. It’s no fun dying in battle because you accidentally hit the wrong button.

Another thing you’ll be doing regularly in Zelda is pausing to load its menus. Pressing the + button lets you save, interact with your inventory, and check your objectives, while the - button brings up your map, which you’ll need to check constantly. The Pro puts these two buttons in a much more natural spot in the middle of the controller, easily accessible by your thumbs, while on the Joy-Con grip they’re awkwardly placed close to other buttons and one of the joysticks. The same goes for the screenshot button — a feature that seems tailor-made for Breath of the Wild’s many beautiful vistas — and the Switch’s home button. Both are in a weird spots at the bottom of the controller with a Joy-Con grip, while the Pro Controller places them in a more accessible area just below the + and - buttons.

jbareham_170221_1475_0003.0.jpg
jbareham_170221_1475_0010.0.0.jpg
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R

Rodin

Member
DriftingSpirit said:
It isn't even a problem either. It is what it is. I don't know why it has to be defended so strongly.
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You know what would be nice every once in a while though? Context. Because these are the towers equivalent of the WW's fish, not the Zelda equivalent of ubisoft towers. Revealing the map and finding out special places by exploring it and revealing 2000 activities on the map isn't the same thing.

But of course, they copied a mechanic that was in the series 5 years before ubisoft games started using it because the visual representation of it in the world is the same, and according to some people, a good mechanic is bad just because it's used by ubisoft lol
 
B

Big One

Banned
None of these previews are really surprising. Game has been looking amazing since we knew what it was all about at E3. It's really shaping up to be a modern Nintendo masterpiece.
 
G

Griss

Member
Mike Double U said:
I like Nintendo's approach on them however.
Click to expand...

Sounds great indeed, but there were a bunch of people saying that they didn't reveal the map, or that only the tower in the E3 demo would do so etc. That's all I was referencing.

The natural urge in an open world game is to climb some shit, look around and get your bearings. The reason ubi-towers exist in so many open world games is that they're rewarding this natural instinct and showing you what you can do and where. It's perfectly sensible and enjoyable game design and I don't know why Ubisoft ever got shit for it.
 
P

phanphare

Banned
Forkball said:
One bit of concern from engaget about the Switch



I'm curious to see if the difference is super noticeable...
Click to expand...

it's sad that the Wii U has the ability to take better quality screens than the Switch

being able to open the browser and upload to abload.de was really nice
 
O

Orayn

Member
Retronauts preview by Jeremy Parish

So, I've taken a cautious, if hopeful, approach to managing my Breath of the Wild expectations since playing it (and coming away deeply impressed) back at E3 last summer. Would Nintendo really get back to the spirit of the NES, or would this be another example of game creators promising to go back to a long-ago, cherished standard without quite grasping what it was its fans really loved about the older game in the first place?

Surprisingly, so far, the answer is: Yes, they got it.
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Edit: Beaten by the man himself
 
T

takriel

Member
So glad. Just like that, it hit me. We're getting a new console Zelda. And just like that, feelings of magical joy, that I haven't had since Skyward Sword launch.
 
C

_Clash_

Member
For those that weren't there for OoT.

It was like this but with print media and lunch room talk instead of the internet.
 
A

AGoodODST

Member
I can't take this hype. Sounds like something really special.

Just thinking actually, I'm sitting on the train reading these previews right now. Next week at this exact time I am going to be sitting on the train playing the game.
 
O

Orakio Rob

Member
MHWilliams said:
Yeah, there are still framerate drops in TV mode.



Occasionally, not always, it feels like there's a white haze over the entire game. I don't know if it's a lighting thing or not.
Click to expand...

I just want to say that i find it very nice that you're always around to answer our questions about your game previews/reviews. Thanks, Mike!
 
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