*** Zelda: Breath of the Wild ***

[KraniX]

I've tried a number of Zelda games in the past and they've never appealed to me (much as I wanted them to being a big Nintendo fan), the dungeons in particular were always very annoying with lots of backtracking.

I am loving Breath of the Wild, the scale and openness reminds me of playing Oblivion for the first time.

The only thing I haven't enjoyed is the Divine Beasts, 2 down so only 2 to go but they are very annoying, had to use a guide for Vah Naboris

Don't think I would have figured it out without one, or would have taken a bloody long time and I don't get much time to play with a 3 year old and a 3 month old around. Had I not done so I'd probably end up not playing and moving on to other games.

 

[Wilko_Dog]

It's a typical Nintendo story line , princess is in trouble , got to go help her... same as Mario storylines... the thing with these games though is the way you get to the end , the gameplay is as always so polished...

Never played an open world game like botw before , I just keep wanting to go back to it even if it's for half an hour just to explore a bit more.. game of the year for me

 

[megalomanic]

Details on the first DLC pack "The Master Trials", coming sometime in summer

Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.

Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure.

Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.

Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time.

Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby.

New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom and Majora’s Mask.
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Free update also available today that adds dual audio option and other unspecified "gameplay improvements".

 

[mahius]

Trial of the Sword

Pay extra for DLC that makes the Master Sword what it should have been like, in the first place. And small features that sound like they should have been in the base game... way to go Nintendo.

 

[Plainsong]

Sound good to me. I'll be switching over to Japanese audio too.

 

[megalomanic]

Pay extra for DLC that makes the Master Sword what it should have been like, in the first place. And small features that sound like they should have been in the base game... way to go Nintendo.

Master Sword being stronger than it is now would have kinda broke the metagame imo, it's already quite powerful in that it greatly reduces the number of weapons you have to break, and how you have to prioritise using them overall.

With these features in the base game we have likely been waiting longer for release. And if that was the case they would just add other "small features" as the first DLC instead of these, and people would still probably complain that they were not in the base game

After playing through the game, I didn't feel that the game was incomplete or missing features in any way at all. I got my moneys worth and then some.

Sound good to me. I'll be switching over to Japanese audio too.

I'm only disappointed by the hard mode. I'm not sure it's really going to add an engaging enough challenge to make me want to do everything again. I want to fight the next tier of enemy though (Gold Lynels maybe?...)

 

[Nitefly]

Meh not enough for me to want to revisit the game. I was hoping for another fully fleshed out dungeon.

 

[megalomanic]

Meh not enough for me to want to revisit the game. I was hoping for another fully fleshed out dungeon.

That's coming with the new story content in the winter update.

 

[KraniX]

Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.​

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This sounds really interesting and very useful, shame it wasn't in the game at the start.

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[Syph]

I wasn't going to bother with the DLC but I think I will now I know a bit more about the added content. I do genuinely feel I'd come back to Zelda - I set out each play session to discover one more thing or do something like an upgrade, end up somewhere I've not seen properly, and that's the session over. Sometimes I'll have travelled to a place and saved there to start the next session, forget, and still not complete the mission I went there for in the first place. I don't feel beating the divine beasts or Ganon is essential to that, whereas before the story pushes you along regardless.

 

[megalomanic]

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This sounds really interesting and very useful, shame it wasn't in the game at the start.

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It's actually retroactive, so you'll be able to use it to see where you've been since you started playing (within the last 200 hours gameplay). So the game is already tracking you're exact travelled path behind the scenes.

I'm in two minds whether it'll actually better for the exploration aspect of the game, as part of the fun for me is trying to figure out where you havent been using discovered korok markers and your own markers as a guide.
Fortunately it's use is optional.

 

[KraniX]

It's actually retroactive, so you'll be able to use it to see where you've been since you started playing (within the last 200 hours gameplay). So the game is already tracking you're exact travelled path behind the scenes.

I'm in two minds whether it'll actually better for the exploration aspect of the game, as part of the fun for me is trying to figure out where you havent been using discovered korok markers and your own markers as a guide.
Fortunately it's use is optional.

I did notice it's retroactive, what I meant was that it seems like such a useful feature it's a shame it wasn't in from the beginning, is a bit of a weird thing to include as part of the DLC don't you think?

I don't want to rush through the game but only have limited play time so backtracking all over the map is a bit of a killer for me so this seems like a useful tool.

 

[fez]

Looking forward to the tracking mainly. Want to see where I have been and what I might have missed. When is it released or have we not got a date for the first set?

 

[Mobius 1]

How odd. My Zelda is sat there with a flashing "X" on it. Says it's updating/downloading but it's not doing anything ?

I can't even start the game

 

[megalomanic]

I did notice it's retroactive, what I meant was that it seems like such a useful feature it's a shame it wasn't in from the beginning, is a bit of a weird thing to include as part of the DLC don't you think?

Yes and no, I agree with you in part.

It would be an odd feature to have as part of the core experience as it essentially turns the map into more of a checklist in terms of exploration, which I think goes against what makes this game so great. This feature won't necessarily remove the need to backtrack anyway, as you can still run through an area and miss things easily. As they call it a 'Mode' it might not be something available form the start, could require completing story first - or maybe it just means you have to manually enable it first.

To some extent you can vaguely remember where you have been from memory, and the marked locations of discovered Koroks help you work out where you haven't been more specifically. The Shrines are quite easy to find already thanks to the Sheikah sensor too. So I don't think it'll be as useful as some may think. It's a cool additive feature that will make the game more enjoyable for some, due to making exploration a little easier.

So I don't think it's weird that it wasn't there from the beginning, as it's not integral to the experience and it may simply not have been ready for release. What I do find somewhat strange is it (and other 'features' DLC) being included as part of a pack that includes additional content DLC (Hard Mode, Trial of the Sword, New Equipment). Personally, I want the additional content DLC but don't necessarily want feature DLC that makes the game easier and changes the base experience.

The additional content and additional features should be sold as separate DLC packs imo.

In terms of my opinion on DLC for games in general, as long as the base game is good value and feels complete then I have no problem with it; the more DLC the better.

Looking forward to the tracking mainly. Want to see where I have been and what I might have missed. When is it released or have we not got a date for the first set?

No exact date yet, sometime in Summer

 

[Syph]

Maybe they'll make the tracker an upgrade quest from Purah (?).

I'd like a tracker actually, because though I enjoy exploring, I can waste a lot of time when playing when I just want to get stuff done.

 

[KraniX]

Yes and no, I agree with you in part.

*SNIP*

In terms of my opinion on DLC for games in general, as long as the base game is good value and feels complete then I have no problem with it; the more DLC the better.

No exact date yet, sometime in Summer

It will all be fairly optional I guess, I'll probably have a look and if it feels like enabling easy/cheat mode then I probably wouldn't use it anyway.

I don't go mental when it comes to marking the map, it's a nice idea but since you can't add a note to an icon after a very short period of time I have no idea why I marked something in the first place...

I think anything they add to give the game more of a lifespan is a good thing, but being honest it's so stuffed full of great stuff if all we had was the base game I wouldn't be disappointed.

 

[megalomanic]

Yeah I guess it just depends on how you personally want to play, and if you can't play frequently enough then I can definitely see the appeal of Hero's Path.

I feel Hero's Path and the Korok Mask will worsen the core experience, which is why i'm glad these features were not in from the beginning. The game doesn't push you to find every seed or discover every area, and there's a very good reason for that.

I'm only especially interested in the Trial, so think I'll just wait for DLC2, which is what we're really paying for and a much bigger deal. It will be interesting to check out Hero's Path and see how I travelled the world though.

 

[Wilko_Dog]

I think the heroes path is a good idea for those people who are struggling finding everything , be easy to check where you have been , that's the only thing I would use it for ..

More looking forward to the second DLC with dungeons

 

[KraniX]

More looking forward to the second DLC with dungeons

Dungeon, as in singular