So, a friend lent me a WiiU with Breath of the Wild. I was very excited to play it, considering it's one of the rare Zelda titles I didn't play (the others are Skyward Sward, since I don't own a Wii, Oracle of Age/Season and Zelda 2 on NES) and Zelda is one of the franchise I simply love.
So I started Breath of the Wild...just to find it insanely boring.
First, I don't really like the open-world setting. I think the game is too big with so many empty spaces in it. But I can pass on this. What I can't pass on is the AWFUL upgrade system. In order to get more hearts/stamina you need to find shrines, beat four of them and than get the power-up.
It's a waste of time, really, because you need to first find the shrine, you need to beat it (usually in a couple of minutes, since the ones I found were all very easy), repeat three other times just to get a single upgrade. I'd prefer something similar to the past, considering the layout of those little dungeons is the same for all of them.
Second, breakable weapons. I don't know why Nintendo did this, but it's simply awful. Two-three swings and your weapon is done. You can't repair it, it simply vanishes from your inventory. Other games have durability, like Witcher 3, but the swords don't work like in BOTW, you can use them for a while and finally repair them if they broke. You are forced to costantly find new weapons, and your inventory is generally filled with garbage, since you need to micromanage it every single time you find a new chest, which should contain a better weapon.
Link is also...just to weak. I understand the reason
You run two meters and you are done, out of breath. You swim in a puddle, you die because your stamina depletes. But for some reason you can climb a giant tower much easily than travel a 4 meters large river. It makes no sense. I feel the stamina is one of the most important element in this game, and you need more, but to get more stamina you need to sacrifice your health by choosing the stamina upgrade when you clear 4 shrines.
Weater conditions: again, they make no sense. You are in a sunny plateau, you walk one step, and you are now in a frozen wilderness where you can die because of the temperature. There should be something in the middle.
And last, which is again a very important point to me, the plot.
In the game, simply, there's not a plot.
When you reach
, a point I believed it would give me some more information, a dungeon, an upgrade...something, well, you are pointed in another direction:
That's it? Really? I died hundred of times to reach that village, and this is what I got? Well, I proceeded to meet the scientist,
This is the point where I dropped the ball. I put like 10-12 hours in the game, exploring and whatever but the game didn't feel a Zelda to me. It feels like a generic open-world game filled with Ubi tower and collectibles (why to get more "memories" I need to find the places in the photos? Why hiding plot elements behind collectibles? Also those collectibles are really not so easy to find, considering the world is massive). I can understand why people like the game, what I don't understand is the score given by a lot of reviewers around the globe. So many 10/10 which I think are not deserved, considering the issues the game has.
It also totally lacks a soundtrack. While the other Zelda titles had plenty of memorable themes (in fact Nintendo hosted several concerts around the world to play the amazing soundtrack), this one has...none? I mean, I can't get the "it's an open-world game, soundtrack could break the immersion", because FFXV is also an open-world game but it has a very good sountrack too.
Maybe it's me, but this is the first Zelda in my life I had the opportunity to play and I voluntarely dropped. And it wasn't an easy choice, but when I need to force myself to play something, it's the time to stop.
So I started Breath of the Wild...just to find it insanely boring.
First, I don't really like the open-world setting. I think the game is too big with so many empty spaces in it. But I can pass on this. What I can't pass on is the AWFUL upgrade system. In order to get more hearts/stamina you need to find shrines, beat four of them and than get the power-up.
It's a waste of time, really, because you need to first find the shrine, you need to beat it (usually in a couple of minutes, since the ones I found were all very easy), repeat three other times just to get a single upgrade. I'd prefer something similar to the past, considering the layout of those little dungeons is the same for all of them.
Second, breakable weapons. I don't know why Nintendo did this, but it's simply awful. Two-three swings and your weapon is done. You can't repair it, it simply vanishes from your inventory. Other games have durability, like Witcher 3, but the swords don't work like in BOTW, you can use them for a while and finally repair them if they broke. You are forced to costantly find new weapons, and your inventory is generally filled with garbage, since you need to micromanage it every single time you find a new chest, which should contain a better weapon.
Link is also...just to weak. I understand the reason
he almost died 100 years before.
Weater conditions: again, they make no sense. You are in a sunny plateau, you walk one step, and you are now in a frozen wilderness where you can die because of the temperature. There should be something in the middle.
And last, which is again a very important point to me, the plot.
In the game, simply, there's not a plot.
You awake from your 100 years sleep, the spirit of the King of Hyrule explains you what happened 100 years before, how the four guardians were turned evil by Ganon, Zelda survived, and now you need to set Ganon out of misery, and setting free the guardians in the middle.
When you reach
Impa
meet the scientist to upgrade your tablet, and find the four divine beasts.
That's it? Really? I died hundred of times to reach that village, and this is what I got? Well, I proceeded to meet the scientist,
she asked me to retrieve a blue fire, I did it with literally no effort and the upgrade I got was...the possibility to make photos? Really? I need to make photos to save the world?
This is the point where I dropped the ball. I put like 10-12 hours in the game, exploring and whatever but the game didn't feel a Zelda to me. It feels like a generic open-world game filled with Ubi tower and collectibles (why to get more "memories" I need to find the places in the photos? Why hiding plot elements behind collectibles? Also those collectibles are really not so easy to find, considering the world is massive). I can understand why people like the game, what I don't understand is the score given by a lot of reviewers around the globe. So many 10/10 which I think are not deserved, considering the issues the game has.
It also totally lacks a soundtrack. While the other Zelda titles had plenty of memorable themes (in fact Nintendo hosted several concerts around the world to play the amazing soundtrack), this one has...none? I mean, I can't get the "it's an open-world game, soundtrack could break the immersion", because FFXV is also an open-world game but it has a very good sountrack too.
Maybe it's me, but this is the first Zelda in my life I had the opportunity to play and I voluntarely dropped. And it wasn't an easy choice, but when I need to force myself to play something, it's the time to stop.
