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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild **SPOILER FREE** Impression Thread

L

Lilo_D

Member
Dusk Golem said:
So a few misc things going off streams of the WiiU version (and don't worry, I'm sticking to thread guidelines and not spoiling a thing):

-The game has some gorgeous details and it's really cool you can see so much so far away. There's a lot of surprising touches, and some things I think will fill people with wonder and awe (can't go much further in detail than that).
-...But the game does suffer from some fairly empty large spaces in some places, there's a lot going on in some places, but other spots are rather barren.
-Frame Rate on WiiU unfortunately isn't good. It fps pretty frequently, it looks like it gets to 15-20 frames sometimes for example when facing more than five enemies at once. to be seen how it compares to Switch, but unfortunately the frame rate on WiiU is certainly noticeable. I also will clarify this isn't one place or anything, it happens kind of frequently in all areas of the game when there's more going on.
-Now I started with some of the bad stuff, but there's a lot to like here as well. The dynamicness of the world is charming, there's a lot you can toy around with, discover, and do. It really does seem to capture the simple childhood wonder of exploring a big fantasy world, which I think was the point.
-Sound design is phenomenal, from the ambient sounds, to the music, there's a LOT of detail to what's going on audio wise that adds so much to the atmosphere.
-...Unfortunately there's some really atrocious voice acting though in English. And it's a pretty wide spread thing, it unfortunately... Some of the voice acting is simply not good.
-There's interesting requirements and challenges to specific things I think is quite creative. I can't say more than that due to thread rules since it goes into side quests and such, but I thought I might mention it.
-One of the game's biggest things I think is basically everything, even the main story, is basically sidequests. You don't really need to do anything except go to Ganon, and it's already been proven on stream you can literally rush down and reach Ganon if you put your mind to it (mentioning this since they said this before release I know, but we know that for a fact now), though let's just say you probably won't get far if you go that approach. Be very fun to see how speed runners will tackle this game.

The easiest Zelda comparison is the game reminds a LOT of Majora's Mask in a number of ways, just on a much, much larger and more open scale. It's not exactly like it, but some things definitely seem inspired by it. I think the people who really will love it are those who like the idea of a big explorable and full of secrets fantasy world, and the sound design and oombat are quite something. But it's definitely not a flawless game, it has a few missteps mostly with some of the new stuff they try. Some of the world does feel like filler, the technical side leaves much to be desired in performance on WiiU at least, and the voice acting is... Hmn. But I think it's been made like this so people can sort of form their own story in the game, kind of make a big playground if you will where you can share your experiences with friends or people online or whatever since it's certain everyone's going to experience and discover different things.

All I can really say without going deeper, but hope this helps some of y'all.
Click to expand...

about the empty space I believe they said they leave those space on purpose instead of filling as much as they can, it's the design choice they take
 
A

Afrodium

Banned
Dusk Golem said:
So a few misc things going off streams of the WiiU version (and don't worry, I'm sticking to thread guidelines and not spoiling a thing):

-The game has some gorgeous details and it's really cool you can see so much so far away. There's a lot of surprising touches, and some things I think will fill people with wonder and awe (can't go much further in detail than that).
-...But the game does suffer from some fairly empty large spaces in some places, there's a lot going on in some places, but other spots are rather barren.
-Frame Rate on WiiU unfortunately isn't good. It fps dips pretty frequently, it looks like it gets to 15-20 frames sometimes for example when facing more than five enemies at once. to be seen how it compares to Switch, but unfortunately the frame rate on WiiU is certainly noticeable. I also will clarify this isn't one place or anything, it happens kind of frequently in all areas of the game when there's more going on.
-Now I started with some of the bad stuff, but there's a lot to like here as well. The dynamicness of the world is charming, there's a lot you can toy around with, discover, and do. It really does seem to capture the simple childhood wonder of exploring a big fantasy world, which I think was the point.
-Sound design is phenomenal, from the ambient sounds, to the music, there's a LOT of detail to what's going on audio wise that adds so much to the atmosphere.
-...Unfortunately there's some really atrocious voice acting though in English. And it's a pretty wide spread thing, it unfortunately... Some of the voice acting is simply not good.
-There's interesting requirements and challenges to specific things I think is quite creative. I can't say more than that due to thread rules since it goes into side quests and such, but I thought I might mention it.
-One of the game's biggest things I think is basically everything, even the main story, is basically sidequests. You don't really need to do anything except go to Ganon, and it's already been proven on stream you can literally rush down and reach Ganon if you put your mind to it (mentioning this since they said this before release I know, but we know that for a fact now), though let's just say you probably won't get far if you go that approach. Be very fun to see how speed runners will tackle this game.

The easiest Zelda comparison is the game reminds a LOT of Majora's Mask in a number of ways, just on a much, much larger and more open scale. It's not exactly like it, but some things definitely seem inspired by it. I think the people who really will love it are those who like the idea of a big explorable and full of secrets fantasy world, and the sound design and oombat are quite something. But it's definitely not a flawless game, it has a few missteps mostly with some of the new stuff they try. Some of the world does feel like filler, the technical side leaves much to be desired in performance on WiiU at least, and the voice acting is... Hmn. But I think it's been made like this so people can sort of form their own story in the game, kind of make a big playground if you will where you can share your experiences with friends or people online or whatever since it's certain everyone's going to experience and discover different things.

All I can really say without going deeper, but hope this helps some of y'all.
Click to expand...

Bolded is pretty much all I've ever wanted from an open world game.
 
T

The Lamp

Member
Anustart said:
They experience it new just the same as anyone playing the game.

Just like if you replay a game, is it a sin because you spoiled the replay by playing it a first time?
Click to expand...

They didn't experience it as it was intended, by playing or watching the game. And many of the people are those who simply cannot wait with virtue for launch. Heathens.
 
CharminUltra

CharminUltra

Member
Sometimes I'll go into the spoiler thread and then close the tab just before the images load.

EntireSpiffyAmericanpainthorse.gif
 
M

MiamiWesker

Member
The Lamp said:
When I play Twilight Princess to try to fill the hype left by BotW, I feel like a cocaine addict who's been found rolling around in the flour aisle at the grocery store trying to compromise, snorting flour and hissing like a cat at everyone around me.
Click to expand...

If horizon wasn't so amazing I would be feeling the same way. But I am hitting those late game story moment, HOLY FUCK what a game.
 
L

Lupin the Third

Member
blue_phazon said:
Where are people watching these videos of the wiiu version?

Any links?
Click to expand...

Saw a Spanish-language-only one today that was absolute torture to watch because he didn't do a blasted thing....he mostly just warped back and forth between the two or three early-game shrine-type fast travel points he had unlocked and casually walked around. All I could think is "You have this massive game before you and this is all you're doing? Are you waiting for something to happen?"
 
S

speiky

Member
Well he did just do a shrine.
Some slowdowns when there's lots of effects but the game still looks great to me.
 
JaseMath

JaseMath

Member
The Lamp said:
When I play Twilight Princess to try to fill the hype left by BotW, I feel like a cocaine addict who's been found rolling around in the flour aisle at the grocery store trying to compromise, snorting flour and hissing like a cat at everyone around me.
Click to expand...

I played Skyward Sword for the same reason and now I want an HD remake more than ever. If any title deserves it, it's that one.
 
V

Vibed

Member
FUCK accidentally entered the spoiler thread and backed out.

I read two words of what appeared to be a summary. They appeared to be pretty significant words. :(
 
K

KingBroly

Banned
I don't think Nintendo understands voice acting. If you go to the last trailer for BotW when the old woman says "Calamity Ganon" it's said just straight through with no emphasis or anything like that. If you put a break in-between there it becomes much more powerful and menacing. But I feel like Nintendo's long-standing tradition of bolding everything important in color is what will make them never do such a thing. It's just something like that that makes me frustrated.
 
B

Blues1990

Member
The game is pretty awesome, so far. The one thing that I love about it, is how you can climb on (almost) any surface and traverse in a multitude of ways. It's also refreshing that the game rarely hand-holds you and allows you to make mistakes.

You guys are in for a treat this coming launch day. The game is good.
 
S

sirap

Member
Oh god, do yourself a favor and never play the Wii U version on a 4K display. I thought it'd look good on my B6 :(
 
SinCityAssassin

SinCityAssassin

Member
Blues1990 said:
The game is pretty awesome, so far. The one thing that I love about it, is how you can climb on (almost) any surface and traverse in a multitude of ways. It's also refreshing that the game rarely hand-holds you and allows you to make mistakes.

You guys are in for a treat this coming launch day. The game is good.
Click to expand...

When Aonuma says you can climb that mountain, you climb it.
 
T

The Lamp

Member
MiamiWesker said:
If horizon wasn't so amazing I would be feeling the same way. But I am hitting those late game story moment, HOLY FUCK what a game.
Click to expand...

bruh I hear you. I was there a week ago and the Horizon late game is awesome.

Blues1990 said:
The game is pretty awesome, so far. The one thing that I love about it, is how you can climb on (almost) any surface and traverse in a multitude of ways. It's also refreshing that the game rarely hand-holds you and allows you to make mistakes.

You guys are in for a treat this coming launch day. The game is good.
Click to expand...

Is it true that you cannot climb the walls of the Great Plateau? So you have to fast travel back to the plateau?
 
B

Blues1990

Member
SinCityAssassin said:
When Aonuma says you can climb that mountain, you climb it.
Click to expand...

"Why does Link climb the mountain? 'Cause he's in love."

The Lamp said:
Is it true that you cannot climb the walls of the Great Plateau? So you have to fast travel back to the plateau?
Click to expand...

I need to check that out. I've just been exploring every nook and cranny before heading off into the next chunk of land, as I don't want to rush things. I'm expecting this game to be a slow burn, especially with the other Switch games being spaced apart in the upcoming months.

When I get the chance to climb the walls of the Great Plateau, I'll let you know.
 
M

MrFixIt

Member
Zolbrod said:
Can anyone tell me the EXACT size of the mandatory install on Wii U?

I only know it's "at least 3GB" and I have like 3.2GB left on my HDD...
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I desperately need to know. Can't believe I bought this fucking 8 gig console at launch. Can barely afford Zelda as it is, now I might need to buy an extrenal drive.
 
JaseMath

JaseMath

Member
sirap said:
Oh god, do yourself a favor and never play the Wii U version on a 4K display. I thought it'd look good on my B6 :(
Click to expand...

I hope the Switch looks good on a 4K display. Everything I've played on Wii U looks great on my set—don't know why BotW would be any different.
 
S

sirap

Member
JasonMCG said:
I hope the Switch looks good on a 4K display. Everything I've played on Wii U looks great on my set—don't know why BotW would be any different.
Click to expand...

It's mostly down to the aliasing. I'm fine with the blurriness but even on a 720p TV this game looks like it's rendering beneath that.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
Debirudog said:
Just in response to the tired complaint of barren empty fields even though the game is chock full of animals, NPCs and secrets to find. Sometimes it's just nice to run through a large landscape.
Click to expand...

Ahh lol, I was about to say

But yea, I like that it accommodates everyone. If you're gonna have a big world, fill it up with a lot of shit. But BoTW's world seems to be so big that you still have those moments where you just have a bunch of ground to cover before you find said shit.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Debirudog said:
Everything is barren no matter how much content they feel in.
Click to expand...

It's just there's more than you might expect. It's a bit hard to express without seeing it on a larger scale, but there's some tightly detailed pockets were there's a lot to do, and then there's a lot of just large masses of land with sparse details that attract the eye.

It's certainly not a game killer, but it's also definitely noticeable. And I don't doubt some of the big open areas have deeper secrets, but there's a surprising amount of... Well, barreness.

I haven't seen the whole game, but from what I have seen it so far seems like there's a pretty even 50/50 split of areas that are lush full of content and areas with very little to do in except go through. That's hardly an accurate percentage for the whole game since obviously I probably have only seen a small fraction of what the game has to offer, but there's definitely merit to the "barren" comment, I'd say as a comparison the lusher areas have more to do than Twilight Princess for example, but there's nowhere in Twilight Princess that's as big and barren as some of the places in Breath of the Wild.

You're basically going to 100% need a horse or something in this game because there's a loooot of big empty spaces. Like more than you probably think. It's not the biggest problem in the world, but it's definitely noticeable and pretty consistent.

By barren sometimes it's quite literally just long stretches of nothing but fields without trees or monsters or anything. Maybe a rock occasionally. and the thing is there's a lot more areas like I just described than you might think until you see it in motion.

BUT there is a lot to do, yes. Some occasional very interesting landmarks to make your way too, and again some pockets are littered with stuff to do. Which is why it's not the biggest issue. It's not a consistent thing, but it's definitely more abundant than I imagined.
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
Not too surprised about there being some open spaces without much in them, but not disappointed either. It's a caveat of open world game design in general, it's just more noticeable in rural environments rather than cityscapes. It's preferable to artificial gameplay bloat to fill the space, at least.

Riding through the plains on horseback and just listening to the atmosphere still sounds pretty nice, it's just a different kind of fun from the more densely packed areas. When doing that loses its luster, then, idk, just fast travel.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
One thing to contrast is the game has some wonderful systems, every battle is spiced up because it's almost guaranteed something or another will happen in the battle that makes it more interesting. There's a lot of dynamic in the game's combat system and it's brilliant to behold with a surprising amount of depth. and that's only one faucet where the game's systems really shine.

I think it's also why the bareness sticks out so much, there's some really complex and interesting things. In the end it makes the bareness not the biggest problem in the world I think because the game is so insanely detailed and complex in other faucets, but there is no doubt the game has some vast big empty spaces that just aren't that interesting in unfortunately fairly high number it seems.

But when the game get's going, there is a surprising amount of depth and in the end there is a lot to do in the game. Though the bareness is noticeable because if you're doing story quests, there's a lot of back and forth between places at least early in. The barren complaint doesn't mean the whole game is barren, hardly so, just big patches of the overall map certainly are so. I doubt anyone who plays the game is going to argue that there isn't a lot to do in the game, because that is a lie. There's a shit ton to do, but it's a bit more spread out than you might think.
 
M

Marvie_3

Banned
Debirudog said:
Just in response to the tired complaint of barren empty fields even though the game is chock full of animals, NPCs and secrets to find. Sometimes it's just nice to run through a large landscape.
Click to expand...

This. Sometimes I just like to wander around in games. I don't mind empty areas as long as the entire game isn't that way. I don't need things to do every 5 feet.
 
N

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
Dusk Golem said:
It's just there's more than you might expect. It's a bit hard to express without seeing it on a larger scale, but there's some tightly detailed pockets were there's a lot to do, and then there's a lot of just large masses of land with sparse details that attract the eye.

It's certainly not a game killer, but it's also definitely noticeable. And I don't doubt some of the big open areas have deeper secrets, but there's a surprising amount of... Well, barreness.

I haven't seen the whole game, but from what I have seen it so far seems like there's a pretty even 50/50 split of areas that are lush full of content and areas with very little to do in except go through. That's hardly an accurate percentage for the whole game since obviously I probably have only seen a small fraction of what the game has to offer, but there's definitely merit to the "barren" comment, I'd say as a comparison the lusher areas have more to do than Twilight Princess for example, but there's nowhere in Twilight Princess that's as big and barren as some of the places in Breath of the Wild.

You're basically going to 100% need a horse or something in this game because there's a loooot of big empty spaces. Like more than you probably think. It's not the biggest problem in the world, but it's definitely noticeable and pretty consistent.

By barren sometimes it's quite literally just long stretches of nothing but fields without trees or monsters or anything. Maybe a rock occasionally. and the thing is there's a lot more areas like I just described than you might think until you see it in motion.

BUT there is a lot to do, yes. Some occasional very interesting landmarks to make your way too, and again some pockets are littered with stuff to do. Which is why it's not the biggest issue. It's not a consistent thing, but it's definitely more abundant than I imagined.
Click to expand...
Sounds good to me, open space isn't inherently a bad thing.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
the anime man said:
Disappointed to hear about the voice acting.
Click to expand...

Same. (I think, may be completely fine to me.) I just hope a certain princess sounds alright.

Marvie_3 said:
This. Sometimes I just like to wander around in games. I don't mind empty areas as long as the entire game isn't that way. I don't need things to do every 5 feet.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's a completely different thing if you know that basically the entire world has nothing really worth exploring for.
 
S

Spaghetti

Member
Marvie_3 said:
This. Sometimes I just like to wander around in games. I don't mind empty areas as long as the entire game isn't that way. I don't need things to do every 5 feet.
Click to expand...
This guy gets it.

Some game worlds are just nice to exist in, and BoTW more than likely has one of those.
 
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