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[JimiNutz]

The game will teach you organically and if you don't stumble upon it then you will figure it out through sheer logic as the games rules come into play.

Nice.
Looking forward to getting balls deep in this. Seems like such a relaxing game as well so will make for some good late night sessions so that I can unwind before bed.

 

[Fractured_Veil]

yeah BOTW is incredible. i've never been able to make it through a 3D Zelda because they have always been so hand holdy and linear. this game was just a massive world to explore. it brought me back to the NES days and the first TLOZ, the true roots of the series.

also for all the complaining about a lack of dungeons, Hyrule Castle itself is a masterpiece of traditional dungeon design, with lots of entrances and exits, side areas, etc.

Completely agree. I was worried that they'd lose a lot of what made the earlier Zelda games great, but they nailed it IMO.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I finally got around to starting this game on Sunday and really enjoyed the first hour or so that I've played.

I play very few open world games in general and have only ever played through Wind Waker (with a friend) many years ago so this is pretty much my first ever Zelda game.

Is there anything major that I need to know before I start out? I know that cooking is important but so far the game hasn't told me how to do it. Is this something that I need to work out for myself or will the game teach me how to cook once I progress a bit further? Any other tips for a Zelda virgin?

Like WildBoy said, just go along for the ride, especially if you're the sort who wants to discover things for yourself.

If you're getting your butt kicked by enemies, your weapons keep breaking, and you keep taking way too much damage, fiddle with the cooking recipes to (temporarily) boost your stats. Ingredients all have a description and in most cases it will say something like "known to harden defense" or something really obvious like that. An impassible string of enemies becomes easier with a +2 Attack meal in your belly.

I could give so many more little hints and tips, but the game is built to reveal those to you. Talk to NPCs. Examine things. Take your time. Enjoy the game. Chase after side-quests and tangents. Don't rush it. When I finally beat it I had sunk over 100 hours.

 

[Thaedolus]

If anything the realistic graphics of those games is trumped by strong art direction and a sense that everything "belongs" like everything in botw looks like it belongs in that world... I can't say the same for other open world games... Rdr2 was a massive dissappointment... Tbh most games are now after my 400 hours of botw... Only Nintendo will top it. Even Witcher bored me. I guess I like games where I make the adventure myself and the world doesn't force my to feel things... I cried in botw at one point. I stepped off the plateau, sneaked up on a horse and rode into the horizon with the most beautiful sunset welcoming me to the world... That moment I realised they made the Zelda game of my dreams... I don't get why people don't like it. The positives FAR outweigh the negatives for me. Only Nintendo will top it for me... I have no faith in Bethesda or Ubisoft. Red deads world bored me. The story was what captivated me.

I'm not even sure where the comparisons to games like The Witcher 3 come in here. The games aren't anything alike other than being in an open world. Gameplay-wise, Zelda has so much more to do than The Witcher, while The Witcher is way more focused on telling a story in a choose-your-own adventure sort of way. I like both and have main quested each twice for a couple hundred hours of playtime each, plus DLC content, but they're really different games at the end of the day.

BotW might be the first open world game that truly felt "open" to me in that if you imagine a way to accomplish a goal, you can probably do it, because they give you tools to do so right away and the physics systems are set up to allow for maximum freedom and creativity. I did miss some of the classic Zelda gameplay of dungeons being built around your new item and such, but the tradeoff was totally worth it for what we got IMO.

 

[WildBoy]

Nice.
Looking forward to getting balls deep in this. Seems like such a relaxing game as well so will make for some good late night sessions so that I can unwind before bed.

It is absolutely perfect for that. Some of my favourite memories were the quiet moments at 3am where I simply went hunting for korok seeds or in search of shrines. The music is also very clever and changes the higher you go meaning it plays beautiful melodies as you climb over the side of a mountain as the sun sets... Magic. Hope you enjoy your time with it.

 

[Xdrive05]

Majora's Mask has a much more lively world than Ocarina. I'm hoping that the BotW sequel will get the same treatment, simply because it's ostensibly the same situation, where the engine and lots of the assets are already done from the previous game, so now they can focus on ramping up the production qualities a lot more.

Anyway, FANTASTIC game. It's the defining Zelda experience for my son's generation, in the same way that the original LoZ (and then LttP) was for me.

 

[kiiltz]

BotW might be the first open world game that truly felt "open" to me in that if you imagine a way to accomplish a goal, you can probably do it, because they give you tools to do so right away and the physics systems are set up to allow for maximum freedom and creativity.

Ye, BotW is the first game in a long time to be a sandbox game in the purest sense and I think what some people don't seem to realise is that it's lack of purpose and direction is what allows it to be that way.

If I had to sum it up it'd be like taking a walk. One of those walks where you don't know or don't care where you're going. Maybe you'll go this way because the wind feels good, maybe along the way you'll find yourself near an old house you use to live in, then maybe you'll get distracted by seeing something you'd never seen before and the next thing you know, it's been hours and you're on the other side of town and should probably head home soon. One of those kind of walks.

 

[Orta]

Best game I've ever played in my 40 years.

 

[Shiken]

Game of the Generation hands down.

 

[Ikutachi]

I consider it an okay game, but it sets a stellar foundation for its sequel. I do prefer MM to OoT.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

I consider it an okay game, but it sets a stellar foundation for its sequel. I do prefer MM to OoT.

This want this darker sequel to be "Breath of the Weird"

 

[Spukc]

BOOOTYFULL GAME

 

[controller_lady]

BOTW was one of the greatest games I have ever played. Even as an adult it left me with that great child like awe. Even after I completed the game, well except for getting all the korok seeds, I wished there was more

 

[alabtrosMyster]

BotW is one of the bottom-tier Zelda games, along with Phantom Hourglass and Wind Waker.

Wind Waker is horrible, this is a fact. I can't tell about the others, I have not played Zelda since the Wii.

 

[Wolfgang Jr]

I still don't get the "empty" complaints???

You wake up 100 years after a calamatous event; were people expecting bustling metropolises or something???

Millennials have ADHD, bro.

 

[CyberPanda]

BOOOTYFULL GAME

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Completely agree. I was worried that they'd lose a lot of what made the earlier Zelda games great, but they nailed it IMO.

i am playing through Wind Waker for the first time, and finding it to be almost a proto BOTW, the way things looked, the character designs, the world design, general game aesthetics, etc. BOTW also has a lot of heavy references to OOT, the only other 3D Zelda I've played, yet it is very freeing in the scope of the adventure. IMO it is a faithful HD open world adventure in the true lineage of those classic games.