The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Cue the trumpets. My first game for gametimebro's Scatterglory has finally been completed! WiiU says I put in over 400 hours on this game, which can mostly be attributed to keeping it on overnight several times, but... BUT! I do believe my quest to half-heartedly 100% the game certainly brought me across the 50-hour threshold.  

So here I am, reflecting on having recently completed the Zelda franchise's latest -- and arguably most ambitious -- game in the series. What do I think?

This is a damn fine game. However, this is not the best Zelda title. For me, at least.

I'm sure this is going to spark some controversy as a lot of people immediately recognize Breath of the Wild to not only be the best Zelda title, but perhaps one of the greatest action-adventure games ever made. Well, here are my two cents. Let's talk about what I loved first.

The design. At a time where games are becoming more and more ambitious about the worlds they create, the pressure seems to be on developers and creators to give us games we can truly immerse ourselves in. Breath of the Wild has accomplished this beautifully. With a map size that rivals other legendary sandbox titles like Skyrim, The Witcher III, and GTA V, you have this enormous land that's completely accessible to you (permitting you have the strengths or attributes in your favor to reach them). And while you're exploring one mountain peak to the next, there's beautiful sceneries across various environmental landscapes for you to soak up. Incorporating an art style that felt a little Miyazaki-like, I've got to say that over the hours I played this, this gorgeous, vast world never felt stale. 

Complementing the game's aesthetics was a magnificently minimalist musical score (my, my... those are many m's to mind). Perhaps one of the most famous element's to any Zelda game is its music. From the grand main theme that calls you into adventure to the tranquil serenity of Zelda's lullaby, the music composed in these games is so beloved that there's even a Nintendo-licensed orchestra that travels across the world playing a medley of different Zelda tracks. In Breath of the Wild, they took the music in a slightly different direction. More times than not, the only instrument recognized were the subtle, soft notes of a piano. The notion of "less is more" comes to mind as these blissful melodies carried me through my adventures.   

That leads me to the gameplay. I feel like the largest complaint people would have with Zelda is that it's become too formulaic. "Oh, we go to the first temple. We get an item. We beat a boss. Then we repeat the whole process with a new temple until the game is over." The formula works, in general, but you can't blame folks who've played through this franchise for years and years now not to feel the fatigue from the same rigmarole.

Breath of the Wild, well, frankly, breathes whole new life into this stale gameplay. Gone are the days of linear progression from one temple to the next. Now you wake up in a this gorgeous, expansive world; are given a collection of items you'll use throughout the game; and then are sent on your way to figure shit out. And when I say you are sent on your way, I mean you are left to beat the game however you damn well choose. You want to say "fuck you" to the main quests and run straight to the face Ganon at Hyrule Castle with nothing but a stick and your underwear. Power to ya!

A rare example of one person who just wants to watch the world burn -- just because they know they can survive it.

I mean you'll likely get slaughter using this technique, but the game won't hold you back from playing it how YOU want to play it. And that's my point. The game is loosely non-linear and adapts to any play style. There's one clear finish line to end the game that you're introduced to almost immediately. After that, it's up to you to decide when you're ready to cross it. This gameplay design was thoroughly satisfying.

Ok, enough of the good. Now onto the bad.

The characters. And to a larger extent, the voice acting. I can't remember if Skyward Sword had voice acting, but this game does... and boy, is it bad. Some of it's passable, but other times, yeash... it can make cut scenes cringe-worthy to watch. The biggest offender, by far, is Zelda. Whomever made the decision to make Zelda a whiny, soft-spoken British girl should really re-think some of their life's decisions. Not only did I feel like the voice acting completely missed the mark. Zelda's character was unsatisfying. I won't give away too much  in terms of spoilers, but you piece together her story by running around the map and finding "memories" of your times with her prior to the first big battle with Ganon. These memories do little to build a rich character development. They more just paint a vague picture of what happened in the past. I never felt like it fed into the larger story well, or... make me give a shit about the character at all or the conflict she's trying to overcome. Mostly, Zelda's just a whiny, confused princess in this game when should could -- and should -- be so much more.

The other character I had a beef with was our time-old villain, Ganon. Sorry to spoiling anything else here, but Ganon is once again your nemesis. I should make note that it's actually Calamity Ganon in this game... just because. I think what you should really takeaway from this is that there's no Ganondorf. And that's a shame. Not because I really needed to see Ganondorf back in action someplace else besides Smash Bros., but because I feel like Ganondorf at least has some personality behind him. Calamity Ganon is nothing more than a smoky Dragon draped in black and red fog who menacingly circles Hyrule Castle as a beacon for your final battle. When you do engage with Ganon for the final fight, you'll have a fun time. And depending on how stacked up Link is, you could have a very easy time beating him. But that victory lacks any cathartic triumph like I felt with Ocarina of Time. You don't feel like you finally conquered an evil that's been taunting you since you hit the power button. You more feel like, well... I've said it once already, you just feel like you've crossed the finish line at a marathon. As great as that sense of accomplish can feel, it lacks a much needed emotional depth that should have come with it. For a series that has been able to do that in the past, it was a bit of let down to not see it here. 

My only other beef has to do with collecting all the armor and needing Amiibos to do so. I mean, come on... Either give me the opportunity to get everything I need in the game, or fuck off. But don't force me to buy over-priced pieces of plastic just so I can look like Link from Ocarina of Time. That's a small, small gripe, though. 

All in all, this is a fantastic game totally worth the praise it's received. However, it's from the lack of any riveting character development and the weak build of its story that left me wanting more... and left me feeling confident that both N64 Zelda titles still stand as the magnum opuses to this franchise. 

Feel free to start chucking any Deku seeds at me.