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Initial Breaths in the Wild

3/29/2017

2 Comments

 
"When we first presented this to Mr. Miyamoto, he spent about an hour just climbing trees . . ."

- Hidemaro Fujibayashi, in an interview with Kotaku
Picture
If I had to describe my brief experience with Breath of the Wild in three adjectives, I would say it is vast, beautiful, and overwhelming. This has all been remarked elsewhere many times, but now I fully realize just what the reviews were saying. This map is enormous - and without barriers. Not only do I have to scale every mountain and hill, but I have to scale it from every angle, just to make sure that I don't miss something. I feel as though I could spend a month in each province simply walking. Miyamoto was absolutely right to spend an hour climbing trees. I have. And I expect to spend many more hours doing so.

What this gets at, of course, is the simple fact that this game is positively delightful. It is a sheer joy to play. It is complex, intricate, and rich in detail, while at the same time allowing the player to enjoy the simplest things: walking, cooking, nature-gazing. Thus far, about fifteen hours in, I can't think of a single major complaint. Perhaps the story is a bit loose, but that's probably an inevitable conclusion with such a large, open world. 

The main question I have at this point is: how am I going to effectively and meaningfully cover this game? This game's version of Zora's Domain seems bigger than all previous incarnations of Zora's Domain put together. Plus, the screenshot feature isn't the best, which means coming by pictures might be difficult. But, in all, it has so far been an absolute pleasure. 
2 Comments
Moe
3/29/2017 10:05:21 pm

That's great to hear! I managed to place my order today and can't wait to get my hands on it! Everything I've heard and seen of this game has me extremely excited. Let me ask you this: If there was anything that I was concerned about regarding this game, it was the fear that the simpler acts of cooking, walking, tree climbing, etc. may get too mundane and take away from the more exhilarating and adventurous feelings of past Zelda games. From what you've played so far, is there any merit to this concern?

Reply
Talbot
3/30/2017 01:56:38 pm

Hey, Moe!

Good to hear from you again. I'm excited for you to get your hands on the Switch. It really is a breath-taking console. If there is merit to the concern, I haven't encountered it, yet. I still feel the pressure of the main quest, but, for me, it really doesn't interfere with the smaller pleasures of clearing an enemy encampment, finding a new shrine, or just looking for Korok Seeds. There seems to be a good balance between the "mundane" and "profound" aspects of the game, and I think they blend really well. Of course, I'm only in the beginning, so we'll see what happens as I go along. All I can say for certain at this point is that it's not your normal Zelda game. It's still adventurous and encourages exploration, but it also allows for quietude, huddling by a campfire, or searching for mushrooms. When you get it, though, please tell me what you experience!

- Talbot

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    The universe of The Legend of Zelda is replete with multifarious architectural oddities, beautiful and resonating structures, and ineffably-mysterious temples hidden in the remote corners of the world. It is my hope to explore said places, shedding light upon some of their salient features, and fulfilling the goals laid out by the introduction, the main goal of which is to help people understand and appreciate the unspoken, yet deeply-felt, allure of these locations and structures.

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