Board 8 > The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is out so let's talk about it maybe.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I am 5 hours in and just jumped off the floating isle for the first time in a direction I don't think I was supposed to go but I saw one of those challenges and went for it.

After beating the challenge I teleported back to the beginning isle, becasue 10 minutes before that I found the cold weather jacket and now I want to explore the rest of the island. Yeah I was running though that cold area with a dumb torch dying for arrow chests.

I don't think I am playing this right, but it sure is fun to explore.
---

Also first stepping off the plateau and then realizing how much time you spent compared to how gigantic the world really is...it was kind of overwhelming.
---

I went through half of the tundra part using Spicy Pepper recipes. I got halfway through, climbed to the top of the mountain, and the old guy was up there. He made fun of me for getting this far without any warm clothes on and pity-gave me a coat.
---

MrSmartGuy posted...

I went through half of the tundra part using Spicy Pepper recipes. I got halfway through, climbed to the top of the mountain, and the old guy was up there. He made fun of me for getting this far without any warm clothes on and pity-gave me a coat.

that is also what just happened to me

goodbye Switch shirt
---

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6EgNbFU8AAZo5H.jpg

... Time to finally check out that first main quest after the plateau.
---

ninkendo posted...

MrSmartGuy posted...

I went through half of the tundra part using Spicy Pepper recipes. I got halfway through, climbed to the top of the mountain, and the old guy was up there. He made fun of me for getting this far without any warm clothes on and pity-gave me a coat.

that is also what just happened to me

goodbye Switch shirt

I played for 16 hours and still don't have warm or cold-weather clothing. You really can do most things any way you want...
---

soo much space
---

I made sure to make his special food to get the warm doublet.
---

iiicon posted...

I think Luster Soldier is standing next to me. He's walking up to everyone and asking how many copies of Zelda we think will be sold

XD at Icon. No, that wasn't me.
---

phewwwwwww I just had a long challenging fight with some tiny ancient robot, it was a shrine boss fight out west at the back of the snowy gerudo highlands ... and now I got some badass weapons and a shield from him awwyeah

also in some other shrine somewhere I got a nifty bandana

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C6E5CY7U8AEhiwg.jpg
---

Climber's Bandanna? Yeah, me too. Thing's nice.
---

Best Zelda game confirmed.
http://i.imgur.com/2aiu8g5.jpg
---

ARGH!!!!

I want to do this to all of you.

https://youtu.be/EKRhxvmtass
---

I'm extremely early on, but one complaint I would have about the story is this : I kinda really like Ganondorf / Ganon as a character (maybe that isn't such a surprise). Games like Wind Waker did a good job giving him characterization when characterization didn't really exist in Zelda. Even in OoT, TP, and even Hyrule Warriors Ganon may not have been the deepest character but he still had a cool presence and he was an active participant in the story. In BotW, if Ganon really is only some generic evil beast with no personality who just hangs around the castle then that would be a little bit of a letdown, especially since this game is trying to push story and characters a lot more than usual.
---

Played for a bit and got off the starting plateau and made my way to the stable/inn.

This game is absolutely crazy. The number of ways you can do things is just unimaginable. On the starting plateau I ended up climbing Mt. Hylia/the snow mountain by basically climbing up from a spot where it could be done (without spamming stamina recovery because I'm sure that would work too) and ended up working around the place what I assume is "backwards." And I was wondering what was the probable intended way and ended up finding what I think was it with the river and raft. And even though I had no reason to bother I was just so interested in how it was meant to be solved with the abilities you'd have at that point (since I could trivially solve it with ice pillars now.)

Then in a shrine to get an optional treasure chest I held a switch down with stasis and ran for it but later saw there were some metal barrels off in a place you would never go and you probably could have solved that same puzzle with magnesis and I found that so cool.

My only "complaints" so far would be:

Swimming - Maybe this is just because I'm doing things wrong like trying to fight the current at times but it can be a pain. A lot of times I end up just spamming ice pillars to make little islands for myself as checkpoints.

Weapon Durability - I'm fine with the concept but I feel some things break too quickly. But maybe that's the point so you always feel some tension.

I assume travel will get better once I get some horses. I had one earlier when I was heading to a shrine I saw and took one from a mounted enemy but left it at the shrine and teleported out. Whoops. Couldn't beat the horse taming sidequest either. Hoping it's just a matter of needing more stamina. I keep getting thrown off the horses I approach. They seem like the one color kind that are supposed to be harder to tame, but I wasn't seeing any spotted horses in the direction the quest guy pointed me. This game being what it is, I'm sure I could try looking elsewhere, even with the time limit, but I'll leave it alone for now I guess.

Playing the WiiU version and I wish you could have the minimap or world map on the WiiU tablet instead of it just being completely unused.

I feel like I had a lot more to say but just forgot because man so much stuff about this game. Feels like Zelda meets MGS3 or something to me.
---

I put a solid four hours in last night and yeeeeep, the game is something special.

I don't mind the weapon durability, but I wish I had more than eight slots for melee weapons. I try to keep tool-weapons (torch, hammer, leaf) available at all times, so it really limits what I can keep on me to bonk baddies.

Oh and cooking is awesome. The gf loved it as much as I did.
---

Yeah, I'm the same with the utility stuff. Have a torch, axe, sledgehammer, and leaf on me and then my rotating weapons I scavenge.

I'm currently super low on arrows though. I bought a few but man they're expensive so I'm still hoping to avoid using them for a bit so I can stock up again.

Cooking is fine but I do wish you could have the option to cook duplicates at once. Like if you have 20 apples and want to cook 6 batches of 3 apples if you could do that in one action would be nice, but that's not a big deal, just adds some extra menuing.
---

Oh, I might just be really dumb, but is there a way to see weapon durability other than the warning it gets before it's about to break?
---

GANON1025 posted...

I'm extremely early on, but one complaint I would have about the story is this : I kinda really like Ganondorf / Ganon as a character (maybe that isn't such a surprise). Games like Wind Waker did a good job giving him characterization when characterization didn't really exist in Zelda. Even in OoT, TP, and even Hyrule Warriors Ganon may not have been the deepest character but he still had a cool presence and he was an active participant in the story. In BotW, if Ganon really is only some generic evil beast with no personality who just hangs around the castle then that would be a little bit of a letdown, especially since this game is trying to push story and characters a lot more than usual.

If the game is at or near the end of the Downfall Timeline, that non-characterization would be accurate at least.
---

Did anybody else find the Kaam Ya'tak Shrine? The puzzles there were so damn satisfying. Definitely my favorite shrine so far.
---

Not yet, but I only put an hour into the "true" BotW (after getting the paraglider) and can already tell I'm gonna be a Shrine addict. There's just something about the way they dot the landscape with that orange glow.

MUST TURN THEM BLUE.
---

The only problem I have with cooking is that usually I have no fire and no way to get fire whenever I find I place I could cook at.
---

Hmm yeah, I can see that becoming an issue, but I've just gone on a cook-stravaganza anytime I see a pot to make sure I always have enough.

How have you guys been prioritizing health/stamina upgrades? I traded the first four orbs for a Stamina Vessel and am considering overloading on stamina until I feel the game becoming way too hard. With all the climbing, stamina seems really important in this game.
---

I had some sidequests that take you to Hyrule Castle

I didn't really want to go there until the end but decided hey let's check it out anyway

before I got there this happened

http://i.imgur.com/rj0mIq6.jpg

I am satisfied
---

Holy crap, this game keeps upping the ante.
---

I beat 8 shrines and traded in for 2 heart containers. Plan on going stamina next. I was thinking of going 2:1 ratio but it might depend on how much of an impact the stamina upgrade makes. But then I just like having lots of health. >_>
---

I was just going to alternate

I assume stamina maxes out sooner than hearts
---

Who knew climbing could be this much fun.

Also I enjoy that I've died a ton already.
---

xp1337 posted...

I beat 8 shrines and traded in for 2 heart containers. Plan on going stamina next. I was thinking of going 2:1 ratio but it might depend on how much of an impact the stamina upgrade makes. But then I just like having lots of health. >_>

I've encountered some enemies that kill me in one, and I've had a bunch of environmental deaths, so I just said f*** it, if this game wants to kill me it can, but I'm gonna climb everything and not worry about getting tired
---

https://twitter.com/Lythero/status/837789163336400896
---

I'm liking the Wii U version. It's very different from normal Zelda.
---

The first place I wanted to go to was Death Mountain, but in doing so I somehow found my way to the Zora's Domain instead. I actually found my first new piece of armor there, maybe I was unlucky but I thought I would some more armor before that but it is ok since the zora armor looks cool.
---

while doing this sidequest at Hyrule Castle I ended up locked in a room with a Hinox

after surviving him oh hey look what we have here

http://i.imgur.com/JT2d93h.jpg

I guess it can break but it has like 800 durability so it will take awhile
---

i blew 1,200 rupees on the ninja outfit

don't have the pants though >->

probably not the best investment but i prefer it to the bandana
---

ninjas don't need pants
---

oh and the costume shop owner makes the most ridiculous moans as you talk to her

it got annoying
---

I was having a hard enough time progressing as it was and now they've given me a camera. This game is going to consume me.

Currently trying to struggle through the South East island challenge. Killed me three times already, it's so damn hard.
---

Finally got to start this after Amazon failed with their release day delivery.

Anyway, I've really just gotten started, but good grief, I am having a heck of a time getting used to these unnatural controls. I'm not sure how much the Wii U's controller is to blame, but this is proving a great challenge to me.
---

I'm playing on a third-party pro controller for Wii U, and so far, I don't see the option to change ANY of my controls. I thought at least the sprint/jump buttons could be inverted, but I don't know where to do it and have fiddled with all the menus.
---

CaptainOfCrush posted...

I'm playing on a third-party pro controller for Wii U, and so far, I don't see the option to change ANY of my controls. I thought at least the sprint/jump buttons could be inverted, but I don't know where to do it and have fiddled with all the menus.

+ button > system > options > change jump button
---

I forgot it was coming out for Wii U

I think I need to buy this
---

For those who have climbed the Coliseum Ruins : Are all that is up here really just two chests with random stuff? Even the mountain it is on didn't have anything from my first look around.
---

The motion controls, at least coming from the joycons, may in fact be the worst sensors nintendo has created yet.

So I found the Master Sword and couldn't pull it out. Everyone should invest in hearts if they want it.
---

i bought the ninja pants and then dyed my ninja outfit black

assassin link here we go
---

JONALEON1 posted...

So I found the Master Sword and couldn't pull it out. Everyone should invest in hearts if they want it.

Master using this and you can have it
---

Played for about 6 hours today, done with the stable, 10 shrines finished. I think I will overall enjoy the game by the time it's over but it's still by far the weakest Zelda (TP was bad, but in a very strong sense) and by far the least polished game Nintendo has put out and the open world design is entirely to blame. I mean I expected an MGSVish disappointment, but I didn't expect it to make EXACTLY the same mistakes.

The game has no soul. There's no music at all, and you just run from objective marker to objective marker killing things. No characters, just hand holding exposition. The world is totally empty, just grass. Like 6 trees in the distance... seriously? Even if you get to a high spot, the view sucks. Everything feels totally hand-placed by a developer, not like a real world at all. Exact same as MGSV.

Graphics are terrible. Textures and meshes are super low res, you can see them staring at you even when sitting far from the TV. Completely uncharacteristic of Nintendo. The cel-shading is clearly thrown in to hide low-quality assets, and the style clashes with the more realistic environment textures. Some cel-shading clashes with itself too (e.g. Link when riding animals). Special effects are classic Nintendo brilliance though.... except they kill the framerate (you can basically toggle between 30 and 20 anytime you want by pressing L).

Gameplay is meh. Combat is the same old... except now your weapons break ALL THE TIME. I was initially a defender of weapons breaking since I can see the design advantages of it, but having them break SO OFTEN combined with your LIMITED INVENTORY is truly horrible. One of the worst designed things I've ever seen. It only gets worse when there are so many cool unique weapons like the boomerang and flame sword. Should I even use them? Will they break? The fun has been completely sucked out of it. Stealth is whatever. Sheika powers are very cool, but like TP they haven't been too useful outside the trials, except maybe the ice block.

Best things so far: climbing and cooking. Being able to climb everywhere is by far the most fun thing about movement and makes exploration actually fun (instead of really frustrating due to the terrible tiny sprint meter). Hunting for ingredients and mixing them is really addictive and fun. But also, both of these things end up being quite shallow. You can climb anywhere, so that trivializes a lot of things (especially with food), and the food... what's the point of making 6 heart food when I only have 3 hearts? I never really have to eat for health, since everything either does 1/4th heart or OHKOs me (also completely baffling design), so it's just for the effects, which ends up being kinda boring. Oh well, I guess it's better to have some fun shallow things that nothing fun at all *cough*MGSV*cough*

HOWEVER, the game got WAYYYY better when you get to the stable. It got way better when running into that character on the bridge actually, and then even more better at the stable. Characters in a Zelda game, imagine that! And background music! Too bad it took like 4 completely soulless hours to get to that point. Zeldas always have super strong and charming opening, within a minute you're hooked. I wonder why they just didn't bother with this one (rhetorical: it's the open world).

I climbed the dueling peaks and it was truly grueling and difficult. I had to eat a bunch of Staminoka skewers, but I made it. Definitely awesome, but I had a similar experience with Infamous 1's tower like 5 years ago. (The climb-wherever thing is also very Infamous)

That's what it is - the game does just feels 5 years old. It doesn't do anything new with the open world, and it hasn't learned at all from the mistakes of open world. It's just mediocre. But if it keeps delivering the Zelda charm like at the stable, it should turn out okay. Still very disappointing, but hopefully this is the end of this ridiculous open world obsession and we can finally design good games again.
---

JONALEON1 posted...

So I found the Master Sword and couldn't pull it out. Everyone should invest in hearts if they want it.

....god dammit
---

So I thought the float part of the Octo Balloon meant "in water" for some reason. So now this is happening.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/286874057457139722/287751250672484362/20170304_185946.jpg

Whoops.
---

I am now a homeowner. I also got a unique ice spear for defeating a boss, which I immediately put in my weapons display in my house, because I don't want to break it.
---