If you know me, you know I am fond of video games. If you know me a lot, you know I am a big fan of the Legend of Zelda games. I'm not sure why I like them; the plot? The huge, open world? The puzzles? I have always found this sort of game fun, although I am 3 for...11 finishing the ones I own, out of a combination of time constraints and getting stumped hard. Hey, I didn't say I was super good at video games, okay?
So, now, with the Nintendo Switch having just come out, with a brand-spanking new Zelda title at launch, let's just say my inner gamer nerd is doing the Kirby dance.
I knew I was getting the Switch as soon as the trailer released last fall. I knew I was getting the new Zelda game with it. So, when I hear that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may be one of the best Zelda games of all time...
...I get really emotionally frustrated.
You see, I am getting the Switch. I am getting the new Zelda. I am getting it for my birthday. In a month or so. I will not be able to play the game until then. And judging from gameplay footage, it is AMAZING.
Do you see this vista? This is the first thing you see in the game once you get out of the starting cave(after waking from suspended animation and receiving your free iPadSheikah Slate. Off to an interesting start here). Besides being really f'ing gorgeous, you can reach practically every point you can see. EVERY point. Link can climb those mountains. He can glide to the volcano. And yes, you do need to get to the castle to kill Ganon; that's just the way Zelda games are. And nothing's really stopping you from walking in a straight line to that castle from the start. No really long openings(looking at you, Skyward Sword), no "Collect the 3 pendants" or "Rescue the 8 maidens" tripe, and( kinda sadly) no wolf action sections before being allowed to explore the area. Well, except for this:
Why, yes, that is a robot firing lasers. There's probably a perfectly logical explanation for these things that I will learn once I actually get the game.
There's plenty of reasons not to just walk in a straight line to the castle: most notably, the puzzle shrines. There are almost 100 little puzzle shrines scattered throughout Hyrule; while optional, completing them will earn you upgrades. These are in addition to the dungeons you need to get through for items or plot. There are also staged encounters you can stumble across, and can be dispatched directly or using stealth; be careful, as your weapons will break. Did I mention that you can use all kinds of weapons picked off your opponents? Hopefully once we scrape the rust off the Master Sword(that better be part of the plot; we had to do it in Wind Waker), it has infinite durability. Will it? I don't know. I'm not looking at spoilers.
This is pretty much Skyrim, but Zelda. I don't usually play big open-world games, because you pretty much have to give yourself a goal, and that has always been one of my weak suits. Countless of my projects have died on the first page, if I even got them out of my brain. This time, I know what to do: walk towards the castle, killing things, solving puzzles, and cooking stat-boosts like a champion.
Like a champion.
...Once I get the game. In a month. Before Finals. While everyone else is loving the heck out of it(It had 100 on the Metacritic. 100. ). It'll be worth it. Until then...
