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

S

skypunch

Banned
1.21Gigawatts said:
Well, it kinda hit me when i was playing Horizon the other day.
I came across small herdes of machines and spotted stacks of logs conveniently placed somewhere. So you startle the herde, shoot the stack, machines get rekt.
Nice, but it seemed so scripted and constructed.

When i watched Zelda gameplay the physics based combat seemed way more organic.
The game introduces you to the concept the same way as i described it in Horizon (just with a boulder) but then it goes way further.
With the physics charge ability for example.

It just seems like a coherent systems driven game where nothing has to be designed or scripted. The laws of the game world are already enough.

Of course i havent played the game yet. Thats just my impression from what ive seen so far.
Click to expand...

This is something I do really appreciate about BotW's gameplay and Nintendo games in general, that none of the gameplay is scripted.
 
J

Joeshabadoo

Member
skypunch said:
You can kill things in different ways.

That's literally it.
Click to expand...

lol literally not. traversal in and of itself is puzzling, challenging and rewarding on several levels. beyond that combat encounters can be largely dictated by how you use the environment, bait things, use obstacles, sometimes stealth, disarm foes, play other hazardous elements of wildlife against your enemies...

look I like me some Xenoblade, but combat pretty much comes down to 'initiate combat, choose tactics (and there's cool shit therein, strategic stuff, sometimes based on good timing) and then the numbers fly back and forth. This game is about arching a bomb arrow just right to take out a couple of dudes and maybe distract and disarm some others. then lock a object nearby in stasis, apply direction momentum and then send it flying at a foe, running in and grabbing one of their own spears and chucking it at the lead unit for a killing blow.

completely different dynamics at play which will resonate differently with different people. but to say you're being anything but reductive is just false
 
N

NewGame

Banned
skypunch said:
Systems that are already in open world games like The Witcher 3.

All the systems in BotW have been taken from other open world/RPG games.
Click to expand...

Okay that is true, this Zelda has been inspired from other open world RPGs, RPGs that were inspired by... Zelda.

Next lets look at the scope, does any game actually play or function like Zelda? Do you know of any other open world RPGs with deteriorating weapons, horse back combat and the ability to climb any surface?

Last, is there anything that Zelda has 'taken' from other games that it does worse?
 
C

correojon

Member
skypunch said:
Yeah, the physics system implemented in an open world has nothing to do with the open world aspect of the game. Physics systems already exist in all kinds of non-open world games.
Click to expand...

Just an example: you won´be able to climb walls if it starts to rain and they get wet. You can cut down trees (any tree) to alter the landscape and create a path over a chasm. This is not scripted, but handled by the physics system, which means that you can do it anywhere. I haven´t seen this, but I suppose you could cut down a tree and make it roll down a slope to get rid of many enemies at once.

I think incorporating the physic (and chemistry) system into the world is precisely what makes this game so interesting. Watching your posts over the last weeks, I really think your negativity is blinding you.
 
S

skypunch

Banned
correojon said:
Just an example: you won´be able to climb walls if it starts to rain and they get wet. You can cut down trees (any tree) to alter the landscape and create a path over a chasm. This is not scripted, but handled by the physics system, which means that you can do it anywhere. I haven´t seen this, but I suppose you could cut down a tree and make it roll down a slope to get rid of many enemies at once.

I think incorporating the physic (and chemistry) system into the world is precisely what makes this game so interesting. Watching your posts over the last weeks, I really think your negativity is blinding you.
Click to expand...

Well, you give some good examples of some interesting gameplay there. I am probably being a bit hard on the game.

Looking forward to playing it myself though when my Switch and copy of the game arrives.
 
B

BeeDog

Member
LotusHD said:
Freedom wise, you just go out into the big world almost immediately. You can go straight to the boss and try and fight him, or you can take your time, enjoy the sights, maybe go to a dungeon or two, explore some shrines, find some villages. There's nothing that forces you along a predestined path.

As for the interactivity, that's the real highlight. Basically more or less, if you think you can do it, you probably can. Shoot an arrow through a fire and it'll be set aflame. Want to cross a river? You cut down a tree, or you climb on top of a higher ledge and paraglide over it. Want to set the grass on fire and create an updrift? You can do that too.

On the surface, these things doesn't sound particularly revolutionary. At the very least, it's much better for you to see it yourself, as videos do a better job of explaining than we ever could. But the main thing is that with other games, they would have stuff like that in small doses. BoTW claims to have all of that interactivity envelop its entire massive world, including its dungeons and shrines. That's pretty much it, the fact that they implemented all of it onto an open world.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the thorough reply, appreciated. As you say, the things you mentioned on their own are not revolutionary since they've been in various games over time, but if Zelda manages to fuse them all into a solid and cohesive whole, I'm definitely satisfied. But my comment to the other poster was more about reacting to the "facade" stuff; even if Zelda seems particularly interactive due to the comprehensive physics engine, it still features lots of land mass that acts as travelling ground with lots of breathing room. Anyways, no doubt this will be an excellent game either way.

One thing that I fear is being overestimated not just with Zelda but with other sandbox games is the "your creativity sets the limits". Sure, you can cut down trees or make seesaws that fling you across chasms, but in some cases a complete lack of guidance can be stifling. Being constantly encouraged, or even forced to, find ways forward can kill the momentum and be draining. But this is a separate gaming discussion from Zelda per se.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
BeeDog said:
Thanks for the thorough reply, appreciated. As you say, the things you mentioned on their own are not revolutionary since they've been in various games over time, but if Zelda manages to fuse them all into a solid and cohesive whole, I'm definitely satisfied. But my comment to the other poster was more about reacting to the "facade" stuff; even if Zelda seems particularly interactive due to the comprehensive physics engine, it still features lots of land mass that acts as travelling ground with lots of breathing room. Anyways, no doubt this will be an excellent game either way.
Click to expand...

I see where he's coming from regarding the "facade" of its contemporaries, because well yea, it's pretty much just there for its environment. Like FFXV for example. Looks pretty as fuck, but you can't interact with any of it. (Outside of warping for cover lol) If BoTW didn't exist, I'd probably just appreciate the beauty and all of open world games like I normally do (and still do), but simply wish for better traversal methods, as well as said open world having lots of neat, actually useful shit to find. BoTW does both, with the added bonus (which is an understatement) of implementing the physics to its entire world, thereby meaning there's now a new standard imo
 
T

Team Alucard

Banned
theaffection said:
So, is everyone else expecting this to be legit the greatest game of all time?



I'm scared
Click to expand...

I don't believe that Nintendo is capable of making groundbreaking, generation defining games anymore. The last game they published that I feel meets that standard was Metroid Prime, and that wasn't even made by their main studios.

What I'm expecting is a run-of-the-mill open world game that would have been phenomenal 5 years ago, but feels rather redundant and outdated today.
 
W

WiiRevolution1

Member
theaffection said:
So, is everyone else expecting this to be legit the greatest game of all time?



I'm scared
Click to expand...
I am literally more excited just to play the Great Plateau than any other game coming out this year.

So yes, I do. At worst it'll be third behind Twilight Princess and Smash 4 which is still quite the feat.
 
K

klier

Member
Team Alucard said:
I don't believe that Nintendo is capable of making groundbreaking, generation defining games anymore. The last game they published that I feel meets that standard was Metroid Prime, and that wasn't even made by their main studios.

What I'm expecting is a run-of-the-mill open world game that would have been phenomenal 5 years ago, but feels rather redundant and outdated today.
Click to expand...

Wow...
Why even post in this thread?
 
C

CaviarMeths

Member
Team Alucard said:
I don't believe that Nintendo is capable of making groundbreaking, generation defining games anymore. The last game they published that I feel meets that standard was Metroid Prime, and that wasn't even made by their main studios.

What I'm expecting is a run-of-the-mill open world game that would have been phenomenal 5 years ago, but feels rather redundant and outdated today.
Click to expand...

FWIW, Retro is in fact one of Nintendo's "main studios." I know what you mean, that it doesn't count because reasons, but this distinction is pointless. It's a fully first party game.

Also, many would argue that Nintendo produced two back-to-back Mario games for the Wii that were groundbreaking, defining moments of the generation.
 
N

noshten

Member
I have really enjoyed all the "concerns" people have had over the course of the last few years about Zelda Breath of the Wild. Thankfully reviews and the game is coming in a little bit and we can start dealing in facts, instead of "concerns".
 
S

skypunch

Banned
noshten said:
I have really enjoyed all the "concerns" people have had over the course of the last few years about Zelda Breath of the Wild. Thankfully reviews and the game is coming in a little bit and we can start dealing in facts, instead of "concerns".
Click to expand...

ksbp.gif
 
Lynd7

Lynd7

Member
CaviarMeths said:
FWIW, Retro is in fact one of Nintendo's "main studios." I know what you mean, that it doesn't count because reasons, but this distinction is pointless. It's a fully first party game.

Also, many would argue that Nintendo produced two back-to-back Mario games for the Wii that were groundbreaking, defining moments of the generation.
Click to expand...

Not to mention Retro Studios left alone would not have produced MP. The Nintendo producers and supervisation is what led to the that games greatness.
 
N

nogoodnamesleft

Banned
In a perfect world we wouldn't let reviews dictate how much enjoyment we have with our games and if people didn't agree with our opinions on said games we would be accepting of it.

Sadly i fear the review thread will be a bloodbath of crying if someone dares gives this game an 8 or something.
 
S

skypunch

Banned
Lynd7 said:
Not to mention Retro Studios left alone would not have produced MP. The Nintendo producers and supervisation is what led to the that games greatness.
Click to expand...

Both sides are responsible for the quality of the game.

What are Nintendo producers and supervisors without a development team? Nothing.
 
A

Ansatz

Member
Team Alucard said:
I don't believe that Nintendo is capable of making groundbreaking, generation defining games anymore. The last game they published that I feel meets that standard was Metroid Prime, and that wasn't even made by their main studios.
Click to expand...

Metroid Prime?? I think you misunderstand the meaning of those words you used. Games like Wii Sports and CoD4 are iconic, groundbreaking and generation defining. You gotta leave personal taste out of this.

As a sidenote, Super Mario Galaxy is literally the only game that surpassed Metroid Prime for me since then.
 
Charles Brandon

Charles Brandon

Member
off topic: I'm getting the Switch version but I also have the Wii U version on pre-order from Amazon (for £35 for some reason, which is way cheaper the £47.99 Amazon are selling it for to to other people). Is it worth keeping, sealed, for collection purposes? I do kinda collect games but I wouldn't normally buy new, standard-edition games just to keep because the value rarely rises. But this might be different maybe? Particularly if it's a small-run and I'm getting it cheap anyway?
 
Fredrik

Fredrik

Member
nogoodnamesleft said:
In a perfect world we wouldn't let reviews dictate how much enjoyment we have with our games and if people didn't agree with our opinions on said games we would be accepting of it.

Sadly i fear the review thread will be a bloodbath of crying if someone dares gives this game an 8 or something.
Click to expand...
That happens with all games, it'll be fine, and it's easy to spot which reviewer that are doing it for clicks so I rarely pay attention to the reviewers that gets some people to bring the pitchforks.

Sadly I don't have a go-to-reviewer I can always trust anymore, GameSpot's Greg Kasavin used to be that one, he was always spot on imo. The Switch review by GameXplain got me interested in their opinion though.
 
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