Back in 2012, I made a thread on how to fix Zelda. Among my humble requests: Nonlinear progression in an open world, with immediate access to core items and a skippable tutorial. Many scoffed at the idea at the time, saying they couldn’t imagine a Zelda without a rigid structure, linear progression and handholding.
Then, in January 2013, Nintendo announced the new titles would break conventions. Later that year, ALBW came out, featuring nonlinear progression with core items available from the start. It was my Game of the Year 2013, edging out TLoU.
And now, in BotW, we’re getting nonlinear progression in an open world — or “open air,” as Nintendo likes to call it. BotW recaptures a sense of exploration and discovery that hasn’t been present in the series since TWW. It even skips the tutorial! It’s like they were listening all along…
So BotW is giving me pretty much everything I wanted, but it goes a step beyond that by addressing another issue that has plagued recent installments — and one that I wasn’t sure how to solve: Items lacking value.
Until BotW, rupees were of little worth. Why spend money buying supplies when you can find them by cutting grass and make money at the same time? And if you can find everything in the grass, there’s not much left to find in chests around the world. There are only so many Pieces of Heart they can hide before you hit the full 20 containers. Then they’re left to fill the chests with yet more rupees… Yawn.
BotW solves this beautifully by doing the unthinkable: Removing hearts and rupees from the grass. Now you refill your hearts by fishing and hunting wildlife… by foraging for fungi and insects in the underbrush… by climbing up (or chopping down) trees to reach apples… by stealing steak from enemy camps, and more. By cooking food over a campfire, you can increase its efficacy; by mixing it together in a pot, you can create dishes and elixirs that grant buffs and resistances. You can even make fires yourself by chopping up wood and mixing it with flint, then striking it with a steel weapon. Everything you find is potentially life-saving — and with some enemies dealing eight hearts of damage in one hit, this is crucial!
So that right there adds VALUE to the many food items you find. But then there are the changes with the weapons and gear, as well. The clothes you equip now have stats, and can help you survive extreme heat and cold. And the weapons you find also have stats. They even degrade and fall apart with use, forcing you to scavenge for new weapons to defend yourself. Not only does this encourage you to experiment with different approaches in battle, it gives these items real value, as well. The designers can litter the world with chests that will finally be worth opening, since there’s a chance they will contain superior weapons or gear.
Sometimes you’ll even find rare materials, with descriptions that tell you they can be sold for rupees. Again, this makes the rupees themselves more valuable because of the effort that goes into attaining them. Presumably there will be items and upgrades that are only available via rupees — like the ability to expand your inventory so you can carry more weapons, or access to weapons with better durability. The entire in-game economy will now have meaningful utility to it.
Your ability to survive — to heal yourself and defend yourself — is now tied to items you find out in the field, items that won’t last forever. So each item is now valuable, in and of itself, and any rupees you find will likely have value getting you those items quicker. You can’t just cut grass with your everlasting sword to refill your hearts and ammo. Now you have to seek them out in the right places, with tools that break with use — which means that buying them in a store will be a useful alternative.
These changes make me excited to explore the world of BotW. I want to uncover every chest, including those hidden in the 100+ shrines, where I imagine the best loot will be found. Exploration has always been its own reward in Zelda games… but finding stuff that will actually benefit the player is a refreshing change of pace. I hope they go all-out with the variety of stuff to find! Judging from the looks of the Great Plateau, that seems to be the case.
Oh, and before someone says, “This has been done before in other games,” that’s missing the point. Other games have done loot and open worlds, yes — but they weren’t also Zelda games. Like I’ve said before, BotW is a combination we haven’t seen before: the best of modern games, and the best of Zelda. Like ice cream and cake, or peanut butter and chocolate!
So what are your thoughts on the way Zelda: BotW is adding value to items?
Then, in January 2013, Nintendo announced the new titles would break conventions. Later that year, ALBW came out, featuring nonlinear progression with core items available from the start. It was my Game of the Year 2013, edging out TLoU.
And now, in BotW, we’re getting nonlinear progression in an open world — or “open air,” as Nintendo likes to call it. BotW recaptures a sense of exploration and discovery that hasn’t been present in the series since TWW. It even skips the tutorial! It’s like they were listening all along…
So BotW is giving me pretty much everything I wanted, but it goes a step beyond that by addressing another issue that has plagued recent installments — and one that I wasn’t sure how to solve: Items lacking value.
Until BotW, rupees were of little worth. Why spend money buying supplies when you can find them by cutting grass and make money at the same time? And if you can find everything in the grass, there’s not much left to find in chests around the world. There are only so many Pieces of Heart they can hide before you hit the full 20 containers. Then they’re left to fill the chests with yet more rupees… Yawn.
BotW solves this beautifully by doing the unthinkable: Removing hearts and rupees from the grass. Now you refill your hearts by fishing and hunting wildlife… by foraging for fungi and insects in the underbrush… by climbing up (or chopping down) trees to reach apples… by stealing steak from enemy camps, and more. By cooking food over a campfire, you can increase its efficacy; by mixing it together in a pot, you can create dishes and elixirs that grant buffs and resistances. You can even make fires yourself by chopping up wood and mixing it with flint, then striking it with a steel weapon. Everything you find is potentially life-saving — and with some enemies dealing eight hearts of damage in one hit, this is crucial!
So that right there adds VALUE to the many food items you find. But then there are the changes with the weapons and gear, as well. The clothes you equip now have stats, and can help you survive extreme heat and cold. And the weapons you find also have stats. They even degrade and fall apart with use, forcing you to scavenge for new weapons to defend yourself. Not only does this encourage you to experiment with different approaches in battle, it gives these items real value, as well. The designers can litter the world with chests that will finally be worth opening, since there’s a chance they will contain superior weapons or gear.
Sometimes you’ll even find rare materials, with descriptions that tell you they can be sold for rupees. Again, this makes the rupees themselves more valuable because of the effort that goes into attaining them. Presumably there will be items and upgrades that are only available via rupees — like the ability to expand your inventory so you can carry more weapons, or access to weapons with better durability. The entire in-game economy will now have meaningful utility to it.
Your ability to survive — to heal yourself and defend yourself — is now tied to items you find out in the field, items that won’t last forever. So each item is now valuable, in and of itself, and any rupees you find will likely have value getting you those items quicker. You can’t just cut grass with your everlasting sword to refill your hearts and ammo. Now you have to seek them out in the right places, with tools that break with use — which means that buying them in a store will be a useful alternative.
These changes make me excited to explore the world of BotW. I want to uncover every chest, including those hidden in the 100+ shrines, where I imagine the best loot will be found. Exploration has always been its own reward in Zelda games… but finding stuff that will actually benefit the player is a refreshing change of pace. I hope they go all-out with the variety of stuff to find! Judging from the looks of the Great Plateau, that seems to be the case.
Oh, and before someone says, “This has been done before in other games,” that’s missing the point. Other games have done loot and open worlds, yes — but they weren’t also Zelda games. Like I’ve said before, BotW is a combination we haven’t seen before: the best of modern games, and the best of Zelda. Like ice cream and cake, or peanut butter and chocolate!
So what are your thoughts on the way Zelda: BotW is adding value to items?
