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New Zelda: Breath of the Wild interview w/ Aonuma (transl. summary from French)

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Deleted member 465307

Unconfirmed Member
This lines up with what I was expecting, so no surprises here.

The big dungeons will be
inside the Divine Guardians
and all look pretty much the same. There won't be any Forest/water/desert dungeons, but I think the overworld will progress into these kinds of areas more than in previous games to make up for that. The place with the firebreathing Lizalfos in the trailer is a good example, the overworld will extend into Death Mountain. In short, no more themed dungeons, but a more varied and themed overworld.

Speculation, obviously.

Yeah, that's what I'm guessing as well. I'm undecided if that Lizalfos section from the trailer is in a dungeon or just a very dungeon-like overworld area. I think I'm okay with either because I wouldn't mind the dungeons having a semi-consistent aesthetic (with variation, of course) if the surrounding areas (like we see of the
Zoras' domain
in the trailer) are as uniquely portrayed as we've seen.
 

duckroll

Member
Remember Skyward Sword's 3rd dungeon's boss ? The scorpio thing that reappears latter as a regular enemy.
I fear that we may get generic big enemies, like the rock giant we saw in the E3 Demo.

We're just going to fight this boss 12 times with different upgrades each time loooooooool!

amiibo-guardian.png
 

K' Dash

Member
No dungeons in any form???
No collectible items or weapons???
No bosses whatsoever??
Fuck.
I think I'm out and I was very much looking forward to it:[

We have seen a collectible weapon in the streams, there's no reason to believe that's the only one.

He is saying RIGHT there that there are Dungeons with bosses at the end.

You're just making that up, read and watch the streams
 
So essentially "grand shrines" that are much bigger and more intricate essentially making them dungeons? Are people essentially angry about semantics now?
 

hatchx

Banned
But it's all in the execution. They really have to get the feel right. If it ends up feeling like the themed experience of a new area is no longer there, then they lose the magic.

I wouldn't worry Duckroll. They've absolutely nailed the feel so far, and then some.
 

ksamedi

Member
The shrines probably wont have themes but the overworld traversal, getting to places is probably dungeon like with very distinctive themes in different areas.
 
So essentially "grand shrines" that are much bigger and more intricate essentially making them dungeons? Are people essentially angry about semantics now?



The problem is whenever Aonuma meant they're basically bigger generic shrines with a generic big enemy or truly dungeons well crafted with a theme or identity.
 
We have seen a collectible weapon in the streams, there's no reason to believe that's the only one.

He is saying RIGHT there that there are Dungeons with bosses at the end.

You're just making that up, read and watch the streams
Yeah but no towns or NPCs is a dealbreaker.
Not to mention no focus on story as well.
 
I have no idea what these could be if they're not dungeon entrances:



Hopefully we can get a quote on this that hasn't been translated twice into two different languages.



That's the BIG problem here. Even as a native french speaker, I feek like something has been lost in translation already. The quote feels really clumsy.
 

Yonafunu

Member
This is a good observation and also something I've been musing. I think that it's possible that in creating the open world, they might be trying to translate the concept of traditional dungeons into parts of the world itself rather than just interiors. We have in fact already seen this with the desert dungeon in Skyward Sword. :)

But it's all in the execution. They really have to get the feel right. If it ends up feeling like the themed experience of a new area is no longer there, then they lose the magic.

I'm not that worried about the bolded. We've already seen a (very short, admittedly) snippet of the jungle area at the Game Awards, and it looks distinctly different from everything else in the game, with it's own flora, architecture and enemies. I can imagine the same would go for the Death Mountain area, with it's Goron culture and the Zoras with theirs.

The fact that Aonuma calls the Shrines rewards (for exploration) also feeds into this idea of having the overworld go into more traditionally dungeon-like areas, both in environments as well as gameplay.
 

TheMoon

Member
We have seen a collectible weapon in the streams, there's no reason to believe that's the only one.

He is saying RIGHT there that there are Dungeons with bosses at the end.

You're just making that up, read and watch the streams

You're replying to sarcasm :D
 

Biocoincoin

Neo Member
To go further about what Aonuma actually said, I am a bit puzzled about the part "Now they are designed in a way to make Link progress and all are built on a rather similar base".

My guess is that Aonuma wanted to emphasize the fact that there is no item in the shrines since all puzzles and hurdles will be based on physics. But since item gathering can be seen as progression in Zelda games, I don't really understand what he means here and I wonder if the journalist does as well.
 
In the waypoint interview he did mention this:

There are fewer big dungeons in the new game, and an emphasis on Link having many smaller shrines to explore, spread around the map. Is that a design choice that goes back to the beginning of the project? Or is that a change you made when the decision was taken to make the game for two platforms, to reflect the battery life of the Switch when it's undocked? So the player can finish a shrine in a single handheld sitting?

Aonuma: It wasn't necessarily an original design point. At first, we were planning to include more large, labyrinth-style dungeons, the sort of things you'd expect in a Zelda title. But the reason we decided to include the smaller shrines—which isn't to say there aren't some larger dungeons in Breath of the Wild—was to strike a balance, between this extremely large (over)world that you're exploring, and these goals and objectives to explore within that. So by dotting these shrines around—a larger number of them, but with each smaller in size than the older-style dungeons—it helped bring up balance, and break up the huge world into smaller, explorable chunks.

And at a gameinformer interview:

During the demo, you hinted that there are a couple larger dungeon areas and bosses in the game. How do those differentiate from the shrines that are scattered throughout the world and what are the benefits of the shrines?


Aonuma:
As I mentioned earlier in the presentation, if you go to the shrines some of the items you get will increase the growth potential for Link in terms of the amount of hearts you get or the increase in the amount of stamina gauge you get. And speaking about the bigger dungeons with bosses they actually serve a completely different purpose than the shrines and so the reason that Link has to go to those dungeons is different than the reason he has to go to the shrines.
 

TheMoon

Member
To go further about what Aonuma actually said, I am a bit puzzled about the part "Now they are designed in a way to make Link progress and all are built on a rather similar base".

My guess is that Aonuma wanted to emphasize the fact that there is no item in the shrines since all puzzles and hurdles will be based on physics. But since item gathering can be seen as progression in Zelda games, I don't really understand what he means here and I wonder if the journalist does as well.

I read this the same way as you do here.

Same base = not requiring specific items because you'll have all the tools necessary at your disposal. Instead relying mostly on physics engine puzzles which include the various Runes you get access to.
 

Cerium

Member
As we can see from the onibi and the ghostly glow, this Goron is clearly dead. (He kind of looks like Darunia doesn't he? Maybe he is Darunia.) Maybe all the Gorons are dead.

pGJ0WDp.png


Regardless he appears to be helping you out in some kind of fiery area which can't possibly be a boss fight tied into the narrative.
 

Branduil

Member
In the waypoint interview he did mention this:

There are fewer big dungeons in the new game, and an emphasis on Link having many smaller shrines to explore, spread around the map. Is that a design choice that goes back to the beginning of the project? Or is that a change you made when the decision was taken to make the game for two platforms, to reflect the battery life of the Switch when it's undocked? So the player can finish a shrine in a single handheld sitting?

Aonuma: It wasn't necessarily an original design point. At first, we were planning to include more large, labyrinth-style dungeons, the sort of things you'd expect in a Zelda title. But the reason we decided to include the smaller shrines—which isn't to say there aren't some larger dungeons in Breath of the Wild—was to strike a balance, between this extremely large (over)world that you're exploring, and these goals and objectives to explore within that. So by dotting these shrines around—a larger number of them, but with each smaller in size than the older-style dungeons—it helped bring up balance, and break up the huge world into smaller, explorable chunks.

And at a gameinformer interview:

During the demo, you hinted that there are a couple larger dungeon areas and bosses in the game. How do those differentiate from the shrines that are scattered throughout the world and what are the benefits of the shrines?


Aonuma:
As I mentioned earlier in the presentation, if you go to the shrines some of the items you get will increase the growth potential for Link in terms of the amount of hearts you get or the increase in the amount of stamina gauge you get. And speaking about the bigger dungeons with bosses they actually serve a completely different purpose than the shrines and so the reason that Link has to go to those dungeons is different than the reason he has to go to the shrines.

Yeah I thought I remembered Aonuma actually mentioning bigger dungeons earlier.

It sounds less like themed dungeons don't exist and more like there's some key changes to how they work/what they look like that he doesn't want to elaborate on, other than that they'll use physics puzzles.
 

duckroll

Member
also added to OP (with added source links) for maximum foolproofness.

thx!

I think it's too late. We already know that BotW has no dungeons, no items, no towns, no NPCs, no Zelda, no master sword, no main theme, and the Link in the game is actually a clone of Epona. Pre-orders all cancelled.
 

Thud

Member
I think it's too late. We already know that BotW has no dungeons, no items, no towns, no NPCs, no Zelda, no master sword, no main theme, and the Link in the game is actually a clone of Epona. Pre-orders all cancelled.

Legend of Epona

Tudududududu
 

TheMoon

Member
I think it's too late. We already know that BotW has no dungeons, no items, no towns, no NPCs, no Zelda, no master sword, no main theme, and the Link in the game is actually a clone of Epona. Pre-orders all cancelled.

What if both the card and disc are empty?
 
I know people are focusing on other things in this thread but what is this bit about Aonuma including messages to his son in the games? I've never heard this before and the interview doesn't explain it - as if it's common knowledge. I'm trying to Google it and can't seem to find something clearly exemplifying what they're talking about.
 
awesome!! what else is in the game?? can't wait til I get more visuals spoilers!! after all, why would I want to wait til I experience it myself if I can get it all spoiled with a shitty pic on an internet forum?

I think you have a hard time making a case that things shown in the marketing material and trailers are spoilers. :/
 

Yonafunu

Member
awesome!! what else is in the game?? can't wait til I get more visuals spoilers!! after all, why would I want to wait til I experience it myself if I can get it all spoiled with a shitty pic on an internet forum?

You should probably stay out of Zelda threads if you consider trailers spoilers.
 

sphinx

the piano man
I think you have a hard time making a case that things shown in the marketing material and trailers are spoilers. :/

I am on a nearly media Blackout, so for me it's not cool to go on random topics and seeing screenshots of materials I should decide if I want to see or not
 

Biocoincoin

Neo Member
I know people are focusing on other things in this thread but what is this bit about Aonuma including messages to his son in the games? I've never heard this before and the interview doesn't explain it - as if it's common knowledge. I'm trying to Google it and can't seem to find something clearly exemplifying what they're talking about.

I didn't know about this too.
The interview was made by William Audureau who has written several books related to nintendo, including a biography of Miyamoto. I guess he has acquired an extensive knowledge on the development of the Zelda series.
 

Cerium

Member
awesome!! what else is in the game?? can't wait til I get more visuals spoilers!! after all, why would I want to wait til I experience it myself if I can get it all spoiled with a shitty pic on an internet forum?
Well in this shot we can see clearly that Link is being dragged around by a friendly sand walrus who appears to be the mount of choice for the desert area:

CcXqBFl.png


Now if you'll look at this image that branduil posted:

The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda%20Breath%20of%20the%20Wild%20-%20Nintendo%20Switch%20Presentation%202017%20Trailer.mp4_snapshot_02.46_%5B2017.01.25_20.59.48%5D.jpg


We see that Link is standing with the Gerudo woman and two sand walruses whilst staring at what appears to be the giant camel guardian which is now disabled. Are we about to go inside it? Could that be a dungeon? Seems likely.

The camel while active:

NkONOea.png
 

13ruce

Banned
Dungeon spoilers:

those 4 shiekah mechs will be the dungeons i think, so they will all have a common inside a machine theme probably. You can see a part in the trailer where Link runs through a room that looks like he is inside one of them.

Edit: post above helps my case sort of.
 

Branduil

Member
I heard there's no actual gameplay in the game, when you start a new save file, it just opens a Nintendo Treehouse stream of an employee playing the game, which you're not allowed to play.

I don't think I'll buy it if that's true, depending on how nice the special edition actually is.
 
I love how everyone is so quick to disregard all of the many, many confirmations of traditional dungeons the second a questionably translated interview comes out.
 
To go further about what Aonuma actually said, I am a bit puzzled about the part "Now they are designed in a way to make Link progress and all are built on a rather similar base".

My guess is that Aonuma wanted to emphasize the fact that there is no item in the shrines since all puzzles and hurdles will be based on physics. But since item gathering can be seen as progression in Zelda games, I don't really understand what he means here and I wonder if the journalist does as well.
I think what this means is that instead of the items we get in dungeons being puzzle focused they will be focused on areas like combat and movement. So one dungeon will give you climbing gear to increase climbing speed while another gives you a force field rune that reflects projectiles for a short duration. You still progress just not in the usual puzzle manner.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
So, I heard that all the dungeons are small, have the same (lack of) theme and have the same boss at the end, Bowser. Is that true?

Is this game a spin-off of The Witness?
 

jxN3

Member
"Finally, Eiji Aonuma reveals that he stopped leaving messages to his son in his games (like the dialogue lines with the King of Red Lions in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker), for one simple reason… his son told him that he had grown up, and had enough of them."

Dang, with no context of his tone, this sounds pretty sad.. :(
 

PrimeBeef

Member
This lines up with what I was expecting, so no surprises here.

The big dungeons will be
inside the Divine Guardians
and all look pretty much the same. There won't be any Forest/water/desert dungeons, but I think the overworld will progress into these kinds of areas more than in previous games to make up for that. The place with the firebreathing Lizalfos in the trailer is a good example, the overworld will extend into Death Mountain. In short, no more themed dungeons, but a more varied and themed overworld.

Speculation, obviously.

I am not so certain that the Divine Guardians are in fact the dungeons. They certainly seem to appear to have dungeon aspects to them from the latest trailer. I only say this becasue the quotes always seem to be larger shrines with bosses in them when referring to BotW dungeons. The Divine Guardians do not seem to be shrines. They could just be optional super bosses.
 
So honestly, this interview, in context, does lend credence to that theory that each of the main story dungeons takes place
inside one of the four divine beasts
but how do we reconcile that with the new artwork showing that there are five pillars surrounding Hyrule Castle?

It sure seems (based on the images Cerium shared) that we'll have other interior locations which could also serve as dungeons, though perhaps not necessarily the main dungeons. Anyway, I'm not terribly worried about dungeons and interiors overall, but it's interesting to think about the story significance of all of this.

No ability to comprehend either apparently.

I see Poo's reputation for sarcasm isn't as strong as I thought...
 

Plum

Member
So, I heard that all the dungeons are small, have the same (lack of) theme and have the same boss at the end, Bowser. Is that true?

Is this game a spin-off of The Witness?

The only thing you're right about there is that all the shrines have the same theme. There are major dungeons (as is clear if you read the OP's edits) and 120 smaller shrines that can have combat, puzzles or both. We've already seen one clear example of an overworld boss so the idea that they'll all have the same boss is factually wrong as well.

EDIT: Oh wait, sarcasm? With all the hot takes in this thread this seems genuine.
 

BY2K

Membero Americo
If the 4 animal mechs in BotW ARE in fact the dungeons then yeah, there's probably no clear theme between them.

Unless their interiors are somehow completely different.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
The only thing you're right about there is that all the shrines have the same theme. There are major dungeons (as is clear if you read the OP's edits) and 120 smaller shrines that can have combat, puzzles or both. We've already seen one clear example of an overworld boss so the idea that they'll all have the same boss is factually wrong as well.

EDIT: Oh wait, sarcasm? With all the hot takes in this thread this seems genuine.

the same boss at the end, Bowser

I don't know, you tell me if it's sarcasm or not.
 

TheMoon

Member
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