Gaming Zelda Fans Come Hither...

It's a VERY subtle soundtrack in my opinion. There are some definite themes like the Shrine Theme, the Battle Theme, the It's Cold as Heck Theme, to name a few that you hear over and over again.

The most notable so far was in the giant metal camel, (I didn't notice it in the elephant), but it sounds like someone is dropping a piano during one part of the theme. As it repeats, depending how much time you spend there, it becomes a little grating.

 

That's interesting that it's a more subtle soundtrack. Narrative games have gone away from an always playing soundtrack for some time now, and I suppose Zelda has also joined this trend. The earliest example I remember was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It stood out to me that during more slow and puzzle solving sections of the game, there was no music playing, and you could sense the desolation of the abandoned palace the game took place in. That was the first time I played a game that actively chose when to play the soundtrack. That, of course, was way back in 2003.

 

A real mixed bag today.

• Went and tried to get Woodland Tower, took on a Wizzrobe and the bastard went called on an infinite fire storm - that move ought to be goddamn finite, but no - then hid beneath a platform where I couldn't get him in mid-air. Cheating ****er. Went and found another way to get the tower, but still want to do that ****er over.
• The big irritation today was the amount of times I'd be climbing and it starts raining. Worse, storms, the amount of thunderstorms the weather system spawned was beyond a joke, storms are supposed to be rare not ****ing sequential.
• The game has a quite brutal method of hemming you in - it simply slings up enemies that can kill in 1-2 hits while having enough HP to take out most of your weapons. Up to 150-200HP you might be OK, after that you'll probably be screwed.
• Did a combat trial, doubt I'll be doing many more, never mind the harder ones.
• Managed to do a load of puzzle ones, including those of total arse that involve motion control and really bad physics. The bulk of the puzzle came across as things that would only be fun to those who enjoy cryptic crosswords, a shrine with an actual logic you could work out and then execute was rare.
• Akkala Tower. Akkala ****ing Tower. Died about 5 times due to flying bastard Guardians, until I worked out I could climb it instead after getting past the first one. At the top, more game feckery, eventually got past and got the bastard tower.
• Still when it wasn't doing its best impression of Wales (rain, lots of it), the game did look very pretty - the approach to the Akkala Tech Lab being a case in point.

 

Two goes on Zelda today:

• The first had an irritating shrine where I did exactly what I was supposed to but still got killed because the game decided to vanish my metal boulder after first making it insubstantial. Bastard. On the next attempt it actually stuck to its own rules and that was that.
• Managed to get Eldin Tower, which involved traversing a canyon path, dodging boulders while exploding Red ChuChus. Then had to get high enough to get onto the tower - hell of a view, as it gives you the Death Mountain region and, in this game, it lives up to its name all right. Also, as part of that route I took out two 240HP Bokoblins, which was a first.

• Second go was surprisingly good - got to a shrine and did it, was actually a logical and fun one for once. Got to another shrine that was on the top, no joke, this massive ****ing pillar. Link just pulled off the climb part as I glided onto it. Got inside the shrine to be told I'd done well just getting in - cue freebie Spirit Orb! So I'm up to 9 hearts, you need 4 for a heart / stamina upgrade, got 2 orbs right now and have done 26 shrines, far better than I thought I'd do.
• Took out two sidequests too while progressing another - do need to find a way of restocking the arrow supply, but that'll wait until tomorrow.

Overall? I've got a third of the map unlocked, it looks amazing and is absolutely massive, just the pieces I've got so far. There's still more to go. I figure I've racked up over 20 hours and I've barely touched the main quest!

EDIT: <looks around thread> Come on, I can't be the only one here playing this !?

 

I've been busy so haven't had time to play it half as much as I'd like. And its definitely difficult. I also have a bad habit of attacking things I probably shouldn't and dying (like this big dragon around the lake). Found another of the memory locations, that was fun. Just wish we could replay them, but oh well, that's what youtube is for.

I wish weapons wouldn't break, but otherwise, still very fun game. I got my hands on a lightning staff, and have figured out how to attack things in water and... oh yeah.

 

Does Link's House in Hateno Village let you store anything? I am curious because I have a tendency to hoard stuff, so the tendency to have to discard items, especially weapons, just won't do for me.

 

Got 2 more towers, 2 more shrines, up to 10 hearts! And have what now looks to be two-thirds of the map.

Lake Tower was straight-forward but surrounded by Lizalfos and Bokoblins, so much arse was kicked and the tower climbed. The other tower was much higher in terms of where the platforms started so I did some serious climbing and circumnavigation, got higher than I needed to be and glided straight onto just below the tower top!

I also have got my first horse - name? This is a Zelda game so named the first horse Opona, 'tis tradition. Also duffed up 4-5 mounted Bokoblins, which turned out to be a sidequest, so went to the stable and instant reward.

 

I want to! Unfortunately I want to play the Switch version, but the Nintendo Switch itself is impossible to come by at this time without paying exorbitant prices to scalpers.

I am enjoying your write-ups, though--I feel like I'm playing the game vicariously through you.

 

Weapon / bow / shield mounts, not sure how many of each you can have as yet.

Although, you don't have to worry about discarding weaponry - it breaks!

 

Nothing can be repaired?

 

No. Some weapons break within 4-5 hits! Others are more durable, but will break. This ain't Skyrim!

You will get very adept at changing weapons on the fly, acquiring new ones and using the environment, along with your special abilities.

You will do this - or you will die, possibly in 1-2 hits depending on what you've taken on.

 

So, other than the Master Sword, everything is disposable? Well, that changes things a bit, especially when combined with the inventory, which isn't perfect from what I have seen. I don't think it will be a deal breaker, but not being able to repair stuff is definitely a let down.

 

Have you actually played it? Works better than you might think.

Also,you always need to have an eye to your inventory not being 100% metal because if you do have 100% metal your arse will be fried very fast in a thunderstorm!

Even with the Master Sword - I haven't got it yet - you can't around abusing its power.

 

No, but from what GameXplain indicated, it is a bit frustrating having a full inventory and trying to pick up new items or scrolling through pages of items to find the one you want. I like sticking with a handful of favorite weapons, so pretty much everything being disposable will probably end up frustrating me a bit. That kind of explains why the amiibos can be used once a day, because any of the weapons you get from them will eventually break and have to be replaced.

 

What actually happens is you adjust quite quickly to a new gameworld instead of it being one where you can waltz in, porting over all your tricks from other games. You can still work out what weapons you prefer, you can still hold a number of them, but they will never be permanent.

Nor do you ever have that many weapons, nor armour, nor bows that you're going through screen after screen, so you have to be strategic and tactical in what you do hold while being able to improvise.

It's very hard to convey what a smart game this actually is - you need to play it.

It's the hardest game I've played in ages, but I keep going back to it because it's so well-balanced with a mostly smart auto-save system. It plays very, very well - in this respect it is vintage Nintendo.

 

I don't think I adjust to a new gameworld as easily. For example, I generally stick to a hoarding mentality in loot based games from Diablo 2 to Skyrim. I continue to hoard stuff in Diablo 2, Oblivion, and Skyrim, which makes my stash and/or storage rather cluttered in the various games, especially since I rarely use potions. In RTS games, I have a tendency to try to get the most from the least, which leads me to not spend my resources as much as I probably should.

 

Sounds like an ideal opportunity for you to improve your Adaptability skill tree then Zeta.

 

Its a little bit annoying, but then I always have a hoarder mentality. Like in other games I hate to use the elite stuff like elixirs and such unless more are relatively easily obtainable. And I do wish the inventory was larger (though there is a way to expand it), but its pretty easy to get used to.

Like hit one monster, your sword shatters, then grab their weapon and keep on going. Or use your bow to strike them first, then close in fast. Even if you miss, quite often its possible to pick up your arrows and reuse them if you look.

More than anything else, the huge world is just a beautiful place to explore. It is possible to defeat the final boss in less than two hours (based on speed runs on Youtube), so the inventory system works (defeat enemies, grab their weapons and then keep going), just don't get too attached to anything, there are always more weapons to find and use.

 

I am playing Zelda too though haven't been posting up my experiences as I want to keep playing and avoid spoiling things for everyone else I am loving it, it is beautiful. It is fun just going about wondering if you could do something and then set out to do it with unexpected results.

Spoiler

Like using a deer or the Lord of the Mountain as a mount and then trying to register them at the stables. Climbing everything and finding hidden secrets of the world. Shield surfing is fun. That sand / snow boots side quest is quirky
Also going to places like the Rito Villiage and hearing a variation of a familiar tune.

The durability of the weapons doesn't bother me as there is always something there to use and makes you think about the combat than randomly swing about. Amiibo functionality is a nice touch too.

 

Because of how well it plays, I'm not sure we can really spoil anything on this one.

 

I'm playing too Jedi Ben and no offense, but I'm not reading your logs as I'm avoiding potential spoilers as much as possible. With that said, here's my spoiler free review of the game after playing it for the past 20 days. (Totals: 31 instances; 55 hours and 17 minutes)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [no spoilers] review

 

I finally got some time to play this on my Wii U. Had to literally dust the darn thing off and vacuum up. Game Pad tablet is working fine, which is great because I apparently lost the USB charge cable for the Pro Controller (which is what I was planning to use). I ordered a new pro controller charge cable for like $7.00, but it's been charging on and off for two days and still isn't ready to use (light is still orange and it's not yet holding a charge).

Anyway, like I said, the tablet is working fine. I've now completed three shrines on the Great Plateau and have one more to go.

First impressions:

- Visuals. This is the best looking game I've played on the Wii U. The world looks massive and engrossing. I've already lost track of time just by exploring.

- Narrative. Too early to judge the story, but the game certainly​ doesn't hold your hand. In fact, for whatever reason, it took me a while to figure out where to locate the shrines (got them confused for the distant towers). This is good and bad depending on your style, but I like the freedom.

- Combat. Hated it at first. The constantly breaking weapons was so annoying. But I've learned to appreciate it. In this respect, the game forces you to try a variety of weapons and fighting styles, which is neat. However, I don't understand why bows need to break.

Combat itself feels a bit different. Certainly more challenging, and demands a strategic approach. I've become fond of using staffs.

-Music. The score feels minimalist​, and barely noticeable. Nothing really stands out so far. Possibly the only disappointing thing about this game imo.

- Witcher comparisons. Hmm... Yeah, I see why some folks believe this game lends itself to such a comparison, but being compared to Witcher 3 is a huge plus imo.

 

Well, I've barely touched the main quest so can't spoil that!

How did you work out your total game time? I know there's the daily log in the Wii U but that only gives a day total.

 

In the Daily Log, click on the game icon and it'll tell you play time and times played.