Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most popular game franchises. And with it comes theories, lore, and questions. My mission at The Sheikah Stone is to find the answers by research, playthroughs, and theories. There have been thousands of questions and theories, but with an 18 game series, there may still be more to discuss, debate, and discover.


Here we go again. With another Zelda game on the horizon, the expectations are through the roof. We've been here before, with every Zelda game, there have been hopes and doubts. With expectations that are a little exaggerated, but are usually met or exceeded. And I hope this next installment is the same case. We have a few hours of controlled demo gameplay released by Nintendo channels, and some prototype figurines and merchandise to go along with it. So we have a good look at what this game is all about. We have some stunning, but extremely confusing trailers, some awesome covers and artwork, and an absolutely enormous map that we've only seen a fraction of. So I have a lot to break down and give my personal opinions on, but I'll probably only go over the main points.

First, let's look at the world we've been given a glimpse of. My first thought when I saw some map comparisons to previous titles, and some demo videos, is that there is no possible way it's that big. But Nintendo has surprised us time and time again. The graphics look absolutely stunning, giving us almost a Skyward Sword feel with the shadows and the lighting, but with much more of a clear and more realistic image. We have a day-to-night cycle, which was missed in Skyward Sword, and we also have a random weather cycle, which I don't believe we've ever had before. So the playing style and experience will be totally different for every player. But to add to that, we are given a free-roam style of world, which is totally different, but I believe would be well-appreciated in the Zelda universe. The massive expanse of a starting area, The Great Plateau, the Breath of the Wild version of the "Hyrule Field" center of the world, is really the only area we have access to see, and already we're given many different areas and things to explore. Which brings me to my next item.

Second, we have more chance at exploration than we've ever had before. The world has chests, cliffs, lakes, camps, and shrines to explore. When the idea for Zelda was in working process, it was based on the world full of exploration and discovery, which we've had to a certain extent in every Zelda game. But I don't think we've ever had it to this extreme. Our favorite pal, Link, can now climb almost every available surface, meaning we can climb mountains that would be previously unavailable if this was our normal Link. Our familiar Bokoblins are scattered around the world and have camps just waiting to be attacked and raided. There are huts, villages, caves, anything you could want to explore. So the want for adventure is in good hands. Outside the Great Plateau, there are many more areas that we've only seen glimpses of, so outside the little demo area, the opportunities to explore are endless.

Third, we have shrines. Shrines are somewhat unfamiliar to the Zelda world, at least in this form. We have temples, Sacred Springs, Praying Statues, so Shrines? Why not. From the couple videos released by Nintendo, which I suggest you go check out some time, we have six shrines available for our entertainment and education in the first area. They appear to be some form of mini-dungeon, only three or four puzzles each, and at the end, you are granted with a Spirit Orb, the item currency of the game. They are all very sci-fi looking and covered in sparkly lights and shiny, black walls that are unfortunately one of the only non-climbable surfaces in the game to my basic knowledge. There are hundreds of shrines dotting the landscape, and each one gives you some goodies and toys to take back to the outside world.

Fourth, we have the items. This is where it really takes a step (or a leap) away from the Zelda routine we've grown accustomed to. Instead of having just the iconic items from big bad boss battles, we have this whole new "finder's keepers" system going on. You find items lying around that you can pick up and use for a limited amount of time. That sounds super lame, but with an open, free roam world, it seems to really work. You can have tons of close combat items outside your trusty, rusty Master Sword. You can find anything from a straightforward club to a double handed sword of death that can take any Bokoblin in a couple of calculated swings. You might have some of the classic items from some more mainstream dungeon and boss system, but from the footage we have, they haven't integrated right away like in the previous titles, if it's involved at all. But either way, I'm a huge fan of this new groove we're setting here. Not that I want this to be a part of all the new Zelda games, but I think it's a breath of fresh, wild, air to have these new things incorporated into this new installment.

So with the theories, ideas, and personal opinions in place, you can make your own verdict on what type of game this will end up to be. Will it be the super epic adventure with everything we hoped for that we all want it to be? Or will it be the Ichorous game, that had so many hopes and expectations, but ultimately tried to hard and put too much into one game, and turned out to be an old Zelda game that no one talks about and disowns from the Zelda family. The last one is unlikely but is (knock on wood) a possibility. Obviously, this is a biased opinion from a hype-high fan who left all reasonable expectations a long time ago. But as always, make and set your own thoughts and expectations, and comment what you think and theorize about the newest installment to the continually surprising Zelda series. Happy Adventuring! :)


~Stalfos