“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo released on March 3. It is the newest addition to “The Legend of Zelda” series, and has received a 10.0 rating and a 97 rating on IGN and Metacritic respectively, making it one of the most — if not the most — popular “Zelda” game since “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”. Photo Fair Use of Zelda.com.
By ASHLEY LAWRENCE – Cartoonist
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” is the newest installment to Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda” series. Originally announced in 2013 and set for release in 2015, it was delayed until it eventually dropped on March 3, proving itself to be well worth the wait.
As fantastic as “The Legend of Zelda” games are, over the course of the franchise’s 31 years, the games doomed themselves to routine. Following the success of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”, it was almost as if Nintendo picked up its strongest points and recycled them, linear game after linear game, reusing and remixing already existing elements and creating a routine — but not “Breath of the Wild”.
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” breathed new life into “The Legend of Zelda” series. It was as if the goddess Hylia herself came down and single handedly saved “Zelda”, because it was everything “Zelda” needed, yet didn’t have until now.
In “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, the user plays the role of Link, the champion of the Hylians, who awakens from his 100-year slumber post-Hyrule’s destruction. Throughout the game, Link must make his way to Hyrule Castle and stop Calamity Ganon from destroying the world for good and restore Hyrule to its former glory.
Yet to leave it at that would do the game a severe injustice because it is just so much more. The game is entirely open-world. The player literally could go off and tackle the final boss as soon as the game started — granted, he or she probably wouldn’t get too far, but the possibility is still there.
There is no strict order to tackle the game. Every playthrough could be different, and the player could still fully enjoy it.
And while the game is straightforward and open, it still offers a remarkable backstory for gamers who favor storytelling. However, the majority of the plot must be sought out and discovered of the player’s own accord, so it doesn’t intrude on players who would rather explore, but still offers a very sweet reward for the hard work for those who want the full picture.
Furthermore, the gameplay itself is masterful. The various gameplay mechanics by use of the Runes on the Sheikah Slate, such as Cryonis and Magnesis, is so geniously implemented that using it becomes second nature.
The items, as well, carry more importance in “Breath of the Wild” than the previous games. Rather than acquiring items from a chest that are primarily used in the same dungeon that they were discovered in before becoming virtually useless, items like swords, shields, and bows are discovered in the environment — and they’re breakable. The items are fragile and vary in strength, encouraging the player to seek out better weapons and implement better strategies to complete tasks throughout the entire duration of the game. Even the Master Sword is an optional weapon to obtain, and though strong, isn’t overpowered.
Overall, “Breath of the Wild” is beautiful, brilliant, and breathtaking, offering an experience that shakes “Zelda” fans to their cores and brings veteran players back to the old days when it all started. It was absolutely invigorating, and one can only hope 100 years don’t pass before fans see a “Zelda” game like this again.
