I have been a Nintendo gamer and a Legend of Zelda worshipper for as long as I remember.
One of my earliest childhood memories is, unsurprisingly, video game-related. In the summer of 1996, when I was four years old, the Nintendo 64 and its launch title, Super Mario 64, came out into the market. My older brother, who was around twenty years old at the time, would play for hours on end. I used to enjoy watching the tiny fat man with the red hat jump on mushrooms, collect coins, reunite penguin babies with their mothers, and swing around a giant dinosaur and toss him into a ring of explosive mines.
However, no game has ever shaped me and my passion for gaming as Ocarina of Time and the Legend of Zelda has. I was seven years old when it was released OoT was released, November 1998. Again, my older brother would game for days and days, while I would watch the world being projected from the screen with awe and fear. A boy on a mission to save the princess, and the world in the process, by beating the crap out of monsters with weapons and by using magic. Traveling from the inside of a magical forest to the center of a dormant volcano, Link’s adventures–which automatically became the player’s adventures–made the most impossible task in life seem possible.
The Legend of Zelda franchise has transcended the boundaries of time and generations. With over 30 years and dozens of games from consoles ranging from the NES to the WiiU, The Legend of Zelda and its hero, Link, have a special place in the hearts of millions of players across the world. Its main game titles such as Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword have been constantly pushing the envelope on the franchise and its convoluted and contested timeline. And yet, many fans–myself included–were clamoring for years for change: a change in the formula, in the mechanics, and the gameplay.
After a six year wait, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was finally released on March 3, 2017 to perfect reviews and glowing praise. The fans had fervently requested a revamp of the trusted Zelda formula for years and oh boy, did Nintendo deliver: a beautiful open world, no traditional dungeons (and no dungeon keys), no rupees in the grass, and no easy solutions to killing a horde of monsters heading your way (z-targeting and smashing the A button are no longer a strategy, tbh). I won’t list all of the new components that Eiji Aonuma and Nintendo, aided by Monolith Soft, added to the franchise; there’s plenty to read on that already and most of these revolutionary mechanics were shown in Nintendo E3 last year, anyways. What I would like to address, however, is a question I’ve been hearing a lot recently:
Does it still feel like a the Legend of Zelda game?
I won’t be shy to admit that this is where the slope gets slippery. Does it follow the storytelling formula seen in other Zelda titles? I would dare to venture and say yes, although I have not probably reached half of the main quest storyline yet. Does it include monsters, items, races, geographical locations, folklore, and mythology from the main Zelda series? It does, although these have definitely been pleasantly complicated by Nintendo with the inclusion of new weapons, new villages, new characters, and thousands of secrets to be discovered.
Of course, there are numerous elements that Zelda fans might have been taken aback by; foraging, for instance, or even cooking, a mechanic I have grown to love as it allows the player to experiment with resources found around the land of Hyrule. Others, such as climbing and weapon durability, are not so prefered by players (I have not yet formed a definitive opinion on these). These mechanics, which initially seemed so out of character for a Zelda game, are an integral part of this game and, whether you like it or not, you will be climbing and cooking often. I believe that gamers well versed in open world games, such as Skyrim and Witcher 3 (or even Monster Hunter, to be honest) would feel right at home playing Breath of the Wild. For someone like me, however, who has only played Zelda her entire life, these mechanics were a welcoming change of pace rather than a nuisance.
So, back to the question: does Breath of the Wild still feel like a Zelda game?
The answer is yes. Breath of the Wild brings back the nostalgia and the possibilities that Ocarina of Time once instilled in me as a child. Every nook and cranny of the obscenely large overworld presents a scenario for adventure, whether in the shape of obtaining treasure, being ambushed by a monster, or discovering a secret. Breath of the Wild’s meticulously crafted storyline, rivaled only by that of Skyward Sword, creates an intense emotional connection between the player and the game’s characters. The world is rich with possibilities, with both familiar and new faces, and with the overwhelming feeling that your next big adventure is right around the corner (or in this case, just over the giant mountain you’re climbing).
Breath of the Wild represents everything I and other fans had been asking from the Zelda franchise for years: new game mechanics, innovative ways to approach enemies and puzzle-solving, more space to explore, better A.I. for monsters, and elaborate storytelling. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild pays homage to all the Zelda titles that came before it and celebrates the 30 year legacy that Shigeru Miyamoto began in 1986 with Legend of Zelda for the NES and that Aonuma and Nintendo so beautifully breathed life back to with this 2017 title. While Breath of the Wild might not satisfy every Zelda purist out there, with its clean break from conventionalism and traditions, it does open a window of opportunity from players of other fandoms and consoles to join the Zelda franchise and become part of the family. In this new Hyrule, everyone gamer is welcome. The game is certainly not perfect and has glitches and mechanics with plenty of room for improvement, but these shortcomings have not taken away from the overall experience of the game. One thing is certain, however. Whether you love or hate Breath of the Wild, make no mistake: a new era for the Legend of Zelda has arrived. The good news? It’s a splendid one.