The Legend of Zelda has its roots in being about exploration, setting your own path, and discovery. As time progressed, titles like A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time molded the Zelda franchise into a rigid archetype that’s been slowly losing its luster over the years. With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo is looking back at those roots and melding it with the western open-world titles of the last few years. The result is nothing short of pure bliss.
In the history of the Zelda franchise, oftentimes we’ve seen the subtitles reflect an object or a character that represents the game as a whole. “Breath of the Wild” evokes a sense of open-world adventure, and what we’ve been seeing throughout the course of the week definitely cements that feel. It’s beyond cliche to go “see that mountain, you can actually go to it”, but in regards to The Legend of Zelda, this is still brand-new territory. Mountains that look similar to art from the original Zelda can be scaled, and it’s still a lot to take in.
“Open your eyes.” Immediately, we’re in uncharted territory for the Zelda franchise. Speaking isn’t generally something that’s heard in a Zelda game, and we’re introduced to a very real-looking Hyrule. It’s teeming with normal-looking wildlife, breezy waves of grass, and locations that aren’t too dissimilar to the original The Legend of Zelda. While learning from the original in particular, Breath of the Wild has inspirations from an entire decade of open-world adventure games. Tracking enemies, degrading weapons, cooking food – it’s all part of the experience that is exploring the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Degrading weapons introduces us to a more varied form of combat Breath of the Wild has opted to go for. Oftentimes, you’ll be stealing enemy’s weapons and utilizing their various forms and stances instead of your standard sword and shield. Spears, axes, staffs, there’s plenty of variety to be found even in the short gameplay demonstrations.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is set to release early next year on Wii U and on the launch of the Nintendo NX, whatever that may end up being. How it’ll interact with the Sheikah Slate’s ties to the Wii U gamepad has yet to be seen. Regardless, public perception of this Zelda title is beyond positive, and we definitely can’t wait to get our own hands on it in 2017.