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Key · 03-20-2017, 03:01 PM

Part II: 6-10

6. Link's Personality

We've seen some shimmers of personality come out of Link through the existence of the games, but never before have I been so immersed in Link himself before. Not only do you have different dialogue options for when you're talking to someone, but you also have Link reacting to pretty much everything that happens in the world. And the reactions aren't the same for every thing that happens. If you're in a cold area, Link will start to shiver and wish for a blanket. If he's too hot, he'll get sweaty and run out of breath. When he's remembering something, his facial expression pretty much says it all. MINOR SPOILER ALERT BEGINS I think one of my favorite things about the additional personality to Link is the fact that you can customize his clothing to match what you believe he should look like. With the many types of different armor and styles, it really gives you the freedom to have Link look the way you want, and not just be stuck with the typical green tunic and brown pants. Adds variety which I think the series needed for quite some time. [MINOR SPOILER ALERT ENDS]

7. Difficulty

One of the many reasons I believe Breath of the Wild shines is because of the risks it takes and succeeds at them. Nintendo have had the reputation of making games too family friendly and easy, but good looking. With Breath of the Wild however, and maybe Twilight Princess as well, they ranked up the difficulty big time. I know I talk about this particular thing a lot, but it's because it's such a nice surprise when compared to the other games in the series. This is honestly something I was hoping for the game, that although it is humongous, I feared that Nintendo were going to make it too easy. But god damn, they definitely know how to make a difficult game. This will mesh well with the later point I'm going to make in this list about the degradable weapon system, which if you're interested in hearing my thoughts, continue forward. Yes, Breath of the Wild is pretty difficult, but the payoff has been worthwhile every single time I've been in a difficult situation. I've not once felt cheated or treated unfairly. Pretty much every death I've had has been my own ignorance and stupidity. And I'm a better man because of it.

8. Shrines

This is one of the things I really didn't know anything about when Breath of the Wild was being teased around. It's certainly not something I was expecting to like so much to the point of being addicting, but Nintendo once again showcased their ability to take risks, and have it pay off positively. Shrines are basically mini dungeons spread throughout the world that tests your skills in various areas of combat, mind games, and puzzles. If you were to basically take one or two big puzzles from each dungeon in the entire Zelda franchise, you'd basically have shrines. The payoff for doing shrines is always worth it too. Many times when I've completed a shrine, I learn about a new mechanic that my arsenal is capable of. They are worth doing because the award system gives you things that you need in order to make yourself more survivable and better at the game in the long run. If you've done shrines already in the game, you understand the importance of them. And plus, it's certainly a nice break from all the adventuring once in a while. If you feel like just completing puzzles for a little while, shrines are the perfect way to do it. Then once you're done, it's back to exploring!

9. Breakable Weaponry

I've seen people talk down about this new mechanic to the Zelda series, and I was on the fence about it when I started playing Breath of the Wild, but over time I've really come to enjoy this mechanic, a lot. I've found that having a breakable weapon system gives you the benefit of being able to try out different combat strategies, instead of just being stuck to the sword and board combat system. They accomplished this style of mechanic really well, especially with the simplified combat that the game offers. The two mix together well giving you the opportunities to try new ways of fighting with the many monsters throughout the world of Hyrule. Don't worry though, if you're worried about the monsters being too easy because of the simplified combat, well there are some really strong monsters in the world. Some of which you may even have to teleport away from and try again at another time. But again, that gives you the ability to plan out your attack, and try something new that you've never tried. It basically turns every encounter into an exciting one, instead of always wanting to run away from a group of monsters. It's even more rewarding when you consider how much loot they drop. The types of things they drop can either be new weapons, valuable items, or things you can cook with other things to help you rack up on elixers and food. It's always rewarding and it's always fun to try new things. Stealth is also a big factor in that.

10. Music

Last and certainly not least, the music in Breath of the Wild is absolutely amazing. There's been back and forth conversation discussing why the music is either good or bad, but in my own experience, I've come to really appreciate what the music brings to the game. You're not met with the typical Zelda themes that you'd be familiar with from playing the games. It brings a much more atmospheric and ambient selection of tracks that do a surprisingly well job at setting the scene for every single place you enter. You'll walk into several areas, and the music will change every time, and it gives you that self satisfaction of knowing that you just hiked an entire mountain, and then you're met with the over world music letting you know that you've made it back safely. The towns have their own music scores as well, and they are all fantastic. Once again it is much more ambient than what most Zelda fans are used to, but it really works well with this game, because the entire game is set up to be a world full of atmosphere and wonder. I think if Nintendo had gone the route they usually do with Zelda themes and remade a lot of the older tracks, I don't think the game would be as immersive as it is. You just have a calming selection of tracks in the background to guide you to the places you want to go. It's a surreal experience and Nintendo once again took that risk, and it paid off.

So there you have it, my top 10 favorite things from Breath of the Wild. I left out a lot of stuff because I talked in depth about the game in my previous review. But I still think I could add an additional 10 things or even 20 things, but I want to keep it at 10 just for the sake of you guys not being overloaded with Breath of the Wild stuff. There may be one or two more posts about Breath of the Wild, but other than that, I'll get back to normal reviews and talk about other stuff. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop playing though. I've still got several hundred hours to put into the game.

03-20-2017, 03:01 PM	#442 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Part II: 6-10 6. Link's Personality We've seen some shimmers of personality come out of Link through the existence of the games, but never before have I been so immersed in Link himself before. Not only do you have different dialogue options for when you're talking to someone, but you also have Link reacting to pretty much everything that happens in the world. And the reactions aren't the same for every thing that happens. If you're in a cold area, Link will start to shiver and wish for a blanket. If he's too hot, he'll get sweaty and run out of breath. When he's remembering something, his facial expression pretty much says it all. MINOR SPOILER ALERT BEGINS I think one of my favorite things about the additional personality to Link is the fact that you can customize his clothing to match what you believe he should look like. With the many types of different armor and styles, it really gives you the freedom to have Link look the way you want, and not just be stuck with the typical green tunic and brown pants. Adds variety which I think the series needed for quite some time. [MINOR SPOILER ALERT ENDS] 7. Difficulty One of the many reasons I believe Breath of the Wild shines is because of the risks it takes and succeeds at them. Nintendo have had the reputation of making games too family friendly and easy, but good looking. With Breath of the Wild however, and maybe Twilight Princess as well, they ranked up the difficulty big time. I know I talk about this particular thing a lot, but it's because it's such a nice surprise when compared to the other games in the series. This is honestly something I was hoping for the game, that although it is humongous, I feared that Nintendo were going to make it too easy. But god damn, they definitely know how to make a difficult game. This will mesh well with the later point I'm going to make in this list about the degradable weapon system, which if you're interested in hearing my thoughts, continue forward. Yes, Breath of the Wild is pretty difficult, but the payoff has been worthwhile every single time I've been in a difficult situation. I've not once felt cheated or treated unfairly. Pretty much every death I've had has been my own ignorance and stupidity. And I'm a better man because of it. 8. Shrines This is one of the things I really didn't know anything about when Breath of the Wild was being teased around. It's certainly not something I was expecting to like so much to the point of being addicting, but Nintendo once again showcased their ability to take risks, and have it pay off positively. Shrines are basically mini dungeons spread throughout the world that tests your skills in various areas of combat, mind games, and puzzles. If you were to basically take one or two big puzzles from each dungeon in the entire Zelda franchise, you'd basically have shrines. The payoff for doing shrines is always worth it too. Many times when I've completed a shrine, I learn about a new mechanic that my arsenal is capable of. They are worth doing because the award system gives you things that you need in order to make yourself more survivable and better at the game in the long run. If you've done shrines already in the game, you understand the importance of them. And plus, it's certainly a nice break from all the adventuring once in a while. If you feel like just completing puzzles for a little while, shrines are the perfect way to do it. Then once you're done, it's back to exploring! 9. Breakable Weaponry I've seen people talk down about this new mechanic to the Zelda series, and I was on the fence about it when I started playing Breath of the Wild, but over time I've really come to enjoy this mechanic, a lot. I've found that having a breakable weapon system gives you the benefit of being able to try out different combat strategies, instead of just being stuck to the sword and board combat system. They accomplished this style of mechanic really well, especially with the simplified combat that the game offers. The two mix together well giving you the opportunities to try new ways of fighting with the many monsters throughout the world of Hyrule. Don't worry though, if you're worried about the monsters being too easy because of the simplified combat, well there are some really strong monsters in the world. Some of which you may even have to teleport away from and try again at another time. But again, that gives you the ability to plan out your attack, and try something new that you've never tried. It basically turns every encounter into an exciting one, instead of always wanting to run away from a group of monsters. It's even more rewarding when you consider how much loot they drop. The types of things they drop can either be new weapons, valuable items, or things you can cook with other things to help you rack up on elixers and food. It's always rewarding and it's always fun to try new things. Stealth is also a big factor in that. 10. Music Last and certainly not least, the music in Breath of the Wild is absolutely amazing. There's been back and forth conversation discussing why the music is either good or bad, but in my own experience, I've come to really appreciate what the music brings to the game. You're not met with the typical Zelda themes that you'd be familiar with from playing the games. It brings a much more atmospheric and ambient selection of tracks that do a surprisingly well job at setting the scene for every single place you enter. You'll walk into several areas, and the music will change every time, and it gives you that self satisfaction of knowing that you just hiked an entire mountain, and then you're met with the over world music letting you know that you've made it back safely. The towns have their own music scores as well, and they are all fantastic. Once again it is much more ambient than what most Zelda fans are used to, but it really works well with this game, because the entire game is set up to be a world full of atmosphere and wonder. I think if Nintendo had gone the route they usually do with Zelda themes and remade a lot of the older tracks, I don't think the game would be as immersive as it is. You just have a calming selection of tracks in the background to guide you to the places you want to go. It's a surreal experience and Nintendo once again took that risk, and it paid off. So there you have it, my top 10 favorite things from Breath of the Wild. I left out a lot of stuff because I talked in depth about the game in my previous review. But I still think I could add an additional 10 things or even 20 things, but I want to keep it at 10 just for the sake of you guys not being overloaded with Breath of the Wild stuff. There may be one or two more posts about Breath of the Wild, but other than that, I'll get back to normal reviews and talk about other stuff. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop playing though. I've still got several hundred hours to put into the game.