The land of Hyrule is protected by four Divine Beasts (animal-like machines) and an army of Guardians (weapons). Upon the appearance of Ganon (an evil entity), four warriors were chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts while the princess of Hyrule, Zelda, and her knight Link, attempt to seal Ganon away. However, Ganon took possession of the Guardians and Divine Beasts, turning them against Hyrule. Link is gravely wounded in the fighting, forcing Zelda to put him into a deep slumber in order to recover while she keeps Ganon sealed within Hyrule Castle. 100 years later Link awakens an sets off to defeat Ganon.
There is almost no narrative outside of "defeat Ganon". You'll see him floating ominously over Hyrule castle, and see his possessed Guardian machines scurrying about the wilderness, but you never actually get to see him do anything. In fact, no one in Hyrule seems to have been negatively impacted by his presence at all. The villages are unharmed and peaceful, the land is green and supporting life, and the NPCs go about their daily lives seemingly oblivious to Ganon's existence. The divine beasts are acting up, sure, but you don't really get to witness it, and very little in the world changes once they have been calmed. There is also no developing plot within the villages; you literally walk in, talk to the elder and within five minutes are inside a divine beast. Once that is dealt with, there is no reason to return to the village, except to shop. Out of the game's ten settlements, Geruda village had the closet thing to a mini-plot (highlight to read) involving the retrieval of a stolen heirloom.
The characters were equally lacking in substance or personality. In most instances they just wandered about the place or ran a shop, existing only to give an area a sense of habitation or to hand out the odd side quest. Even the supporting cast that piloted the divine beasts lacked individual motivations or conflict. Outside of a few optional cutscenes (that were short talks about nothing), they are never seen and are rarely mentioned. I never learned anything about their history with each other (if there was any), or how and why they were chosen to become a Champion, and how they were handling that responsibility. There is no character development or growth, either as individuals or together as a team. Because I never got to know them, I didn't care about their fates - (highlight to read) trapped inside the very beasts they piloted. Scenes with touching music, like Yunobo (descendant of champion Daruk) delighted to see a divine beast calmed, didn't move me in the slightest because I had no attachment to him or the Goron; Breath of the Wild had not earned it. The relationship between Link and Zelda was the closest Breath of the Wild came to basic character growth.
I am someone who really gets into stories, so the cast was just a real low point for me. By the time the credits rolled I could only recall the names of three NPCs: Sidon (fishman with the bubbly personality), Beetle (favorite merchant), and Kass (the lovely, accordion playing parrot). One other slight annoyance was how much of a blank slate Link is. I have played Zelda games before, so I kinda knew to expect this. However, a little bit of personality through facial expression or body language, especially considering Link dose not have a companion this time around to act as a voice, would have been appreciated. I do love his humming while cooking.
You start out with three main objectives: 1 mandatory (defeat Ganon) and 2 optional (recover Link's lost memories and regain control of the divine beasts). From the start you can go anywhere you want, including straight to the castle to fight the final boss. However, you'll need to explore and complete the two optional objectives in order to get the best ending. The Hyrule is surprisingly expansive and visually impressive when looking out to the horizon. You can glide from any high point or climb up any wall, limited only by Link's stamina gauge and the weather. The appropriate apparel and items prepared in advance are essential to Link's survival. Extreme temperatures will drain Link's health, rain will make surfaces slick, and lighting will strike any metal objects on you; which took me a while to figure out because its based on a myth.
The massive map is instantly filled out by reaching the top of a tower in each region and new fast travel points are added by activating shrines scattered around Hyrule. Each of the 120 shrines contains a mini-puzzle or "trial" that rewards the player with a spirit orb. Four orbs are needed to permanently increase Link's health or stamina gauge. Aside from shrines, there are 900 Korok (woodland sprits) lightly hidden around Hyrule. Finding one rewards the player with a Korok seed that is used to permanently increase the number of swords, bows, and shields Link can carry. Naturally, there are plenty of enemies wandering the land, but there is little incentive to engage them unless you are in need the parts required to upgrade Link's gear. Speaking of which, Links weapons wear down with each use and will eventually shatter like glass - lost forever. You can steal monster weapons but they are usually of poor quality. The better weapons are often found in the shrines or in chests.
One of my biggest gripes with the game is how empty the world felt. The occasional "WOW" moment from seeing a dragon for the first time, or the pillars that looked as though they had been lifted straight from Xenoblade Chronicles were to few and far between to make the exploration feel worthwhile. I was actually getting turned around constantly because so many of the areas I traversed felt similar. The copy/pasted shrines sprinkled around the map got old fast. The Korok lost their charm after the fiftieth one and I quickly started avoiding enemies because there was no suitable reward for fighting them. It would have been nice if the puzzles were integrated into the world instead of being sectioned-off inside of shrines. There were plenty of side quests to keep me busy, but most were of the "fetch X number of items" or "kill X enemy" variety. The rewards for completing them weren't terribly appealing either; a handful of rupees (money), ingredients, or breakable weapons. I would have been content if at least a few of the side quests had an interesting story to go along with them. Oftentimes that is all the reward I need.
I have never been a big fan of the Zelda franchise; I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I was hoping Breath of the Wild would finally be the one to grab me considering how it breaks from the traditional Zelda formula and was so well received. As much I love exploration and open worlds, this one just didn't win me over. Breath of the Wild is technically sound, aesthetically beautiful, and open to player creativity, so I can see why its beloved. I just wish there was as much substance as there was style. It had it moments, but I am of the unpopular opinion that Breath of the Wild is not the masterpiece it has been hyped up to be.
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