In 2014, Shigeru Miyamoto asked Eiji Aonuma whether Breath of the Wild would actually release on the Wii U in 2015. When Aonuma said yes, I knew he was lying. Nintendo always delays Zelda games, after all. Twilight Princess was delayed in 2006 because of the stupid Wii (I’m still bitter that I had to wait 3 more weeks for my GameCube copy), Skyward Sword was delayed to 2011 with its stupid motion controls, Breath of the Wild was delayed to 2017 as a launch title on the Switch, and now we have to wait until May 2023 for Tears of the Kingdom.
The Switch was the first video game console that I bought on day one, all because of Breath of the Wild. For every other console I’ve owned, I always waited 1–2 years or longer before purchasing it. But I needed my Zelda, and I wanted to play it on Nintendo’s new hardware.
I have extremely fond memories of Breath of the Wild. In fact, it is one of the few select games that I immediately wished to replay (on Master Mode) after I had finished my first (100%) playthrough. That’s how much I love this game, even if I hold Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past in higher regard.
Despite my substantial praise for Breath of the Wild, I don’t consider it to be the best Zelda game. I believe most people who do are simply too young or ignorant to know better, or they aren’t as well-versed in The Legend of Zelda series, or they just have an opinion. My own belief is that Breath of the Wild is certainly one of the top Zelda games, but there are much stronger arguments for either Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past to be the best one (and I myself cannot decide between the two), especially since they set the templates for all 3D and 2D Zelda games thereafter. No, I don’t hold this view simply because these games are old and I’m old, nor because of nostalgia’s blinding influence.
Unfortunately Breath of the Wild only has four main dungeons. Though I suppose if you include Hyrule Castle, that’s five, and with the DLC dungeon, that’s six, the same as in The Minish Cap (shoutout to Elpizo). The number is still sparse in comparison to the typical eight or so found in prior Zelda titles. Even if it’s a sheer joy to explore Hyrule, climb mountains, paraglide all over Hyrule, and complete all the Shiekah shrines, Breath of the Wild has some quirks that long-term Zelda fans like me needed some time to acclimate to.
When Breath of the Wild was first released in 2017, I recall when its average user rating on Metacritic was in the high 7s (out of 10) even though the critics’ average score stood at 97/100. At the time, I thought the user scores were too low, but I understood how the apparent “open-world reinvention” of the Zelda formula might have irked traditionalists who might have preferred a 3D Zelda game more akin to Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. And understandably so — the high quality and legacy of these games are unquestionable.
Fast forward five years, and in 2022, Breath of the Wild’s user rating on Metacritic has increased to 8.7 (as of 10/20/2022). The game hasn’t really changed since then, but it seems to have aged very, very well. Perhaps people’s opinions of the game gradually shifted as they spent more time with it, or perhaps the influx of younger gamers who might have played Breath of the Wild as their first Zelda game contributed to the higher present day user review score.
Even if I don’t consider Breath of the Wild to be the best Zelda game nor the best game of all time, none can deny that it remains so in the minds of many, and it still among the greatest games ever made.
Why don’t I consider Breath of the Wild to be the best Zelda game? Well, in regards to the notion that this game reinvented the series with its open world, technically the very first Zelda game was already open-world. The development team even used the original Legend of Zelda game as a basis to create a 2D prototype to experiment with ideas. Furthermore, Breath of the Wild’s lack of dungeons and excessive number of shrines, several of which are merely treasure rooms or repeats of robot bosses, seem far less epic and scenic than the elemental temples of Ocarina of Time and the likes of Arbiter’s Grounds and Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess. But perhaps some gamers prefer Breath of the Wild’s approach; they may lack the attention span or intelligence to cope with the longer or more challenging dungeons of past Zelda games. On the other hand, I recall when one of my students, an 8th or 9th grader at the time, expressed disdain for Breath of the Wild after spending roughly ten hours and feeling frustrated that she had only completed the Great Plateau. Kids her age usually like popular or copycat games like Genshin Impact instead, proving that not all opinions are well-constructed nor equal.
Granted, the fact that Breath of the Wild is far larger than any Zelda game before could make a gamer ecstatic or irate depending on their preferences. I personally love getting lost in Hyrule for hours at a time, climbing mountains (Breath of the Wild’s best feature), collecting ingredients for cooking, discovering new locations, and, in all honesty, just doing whatever I want. Breath of the Wild’s physics engine (outside of its subpar combat) for using the various Sheikah Slate tools and solving shrine puzzles is excellent, even if fickle at times. It’s just so much fun to experiment in this game, and none of the time spent feels wasted.
But there are certain mechanics in Breath of the Wild that are highly questionable and unnecessary. Weapons constantly break; it’s as if the developers wanted Zelda to be more like Fire Emblem with weapon durability by constantly having Link’s weapons explode. This sucks. The combat is also wonky; spacing is a challenge since you have to be right in the enemy’s face, and it’s strange that you can trigger the slow-motion dodging mechanic even when you’re completely out of the enemy’s range. When Link swings his weapon, the animations look silly as he just waves his sword from side to side like a fan, unlike the more awesome and more authentic feeling swordplay animations in Ocarina of Time. But then again, subpar combat is common even in great games like The Witcher and Breath of the Wild.
Of course, as I’ve discussed in prior parts of this article series, the developers also likely wanted Zelda to be more like Skyrim and The Witcher 3 with the open world design. And Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule is certainly enormous. Unfortunately, there are also limitations on inventory space, just like in Elder Scrolls and The Witcher (restrictions not seen in previous Zelda games outside of rupees and ammo). Of course, this can be somewhat ameliorated by finding Korok seeeds. By the way, why the hell are there 900 Korok seeds in total? Better question — why the hell did I bother finding all of them, only to receive a golden piece of poop?
Breath of the Wild also tries to be a souls-like to some extent with its enemy and overworld level design. Whereas in previous Zelda games I always strive to maintain zero game overs on my save files (seeing that older Zelda titles would count how many game overs you had), this is impractical and unnecessary in Breath of the Wild. In the early stages of the game, you will likely die more than a few times, especially if you traverse into areas with stronger enemies. The frequent “Game Over” screens in Breath of the Wild, which I’m conditioned to feel aversion to in Zelda games, reminded me of the “You Died” screen in Dark Souls. Maybe this is just a coincidence.
Despite some of its flaws, I still love this game immensely. Whereas Hyrule in the original Zelda only consisted of salesmen and old men and women living in caves, some of whom give or take your money, Hyrule in Breath of the Wild is breathing with life. Walking through and absorbing the beautiful townscapes of Kakariko Village, Zora’s Domain, Rito Village, Goron City, Gerudo Town, and the Lost Woods and interacting with their idiosyncratic inhabitants make for unforgettable experiences. It’s fun to have Link cross-dress to sneak into Gerudo Town and run around the Lost Woods to see the adorable Koroks and count the number of dropped frames due to the Switch’s weak hardware. When I explored Hyrule Castle for the first time, the somber music elicited powerful nostalgia and invigorated my soul as I heard echoes of past melodies. I wandered the castle’s maze of caverns, halls, and towers, lost and confused because the place is too damn big.
Breath of the Wild may not be the best game, but it’s definitely a great game, and a damn-near perfect one at that. I just wish there were more dungeons and better combat and performance (more frames, please).
Breath of the Wild’s strengths:
- Climbing
- So much fun, so much to do
- Lovely and funny characters
- Beautiful environments
Breath of the Wild’s weaknesses:
- Weapons break
- Inventory limitations (-_-)
- Lack of main dungeons
- Dropped frames
The Legend of Zelda series has long been my favorite series in video games. It’s the franchise I’ve spent the most money collecting for, with all of my Zelda memorabilia likely totaling to over $1500. Zelda games are an amalgamation of action, adventure, puzzle, and role-playing elements that perfectly blend together and complement each other. Zelda games always have the “Zelda essence,” the feeling a player experiences when they solve a puzzle, hear the classic chime, or open a treasure chest to discover a new item. The gameplay loop in Zelda games is arguably the best in the entire medium, which is why it is of no surprise that there are so many Zelda clones out there.
Whenever I play a Zelda game, all of my gamer faculties are constantly engaged. I love the puzzles that challenge my intellect, the monsters and large-scale boss battles that test my skills and reflexes, and the exceptional integration of unique items, equipment, and environmental design.
Having played every Zelda game, I can confidently say that Breath of the Wild is one of the best games ever made, and it is my sixth, seventh, or eighth favorite Zelda game after Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Majora’s Mask, and A Link Between Worlds. I’ll put Breath of the Wild together with Wind Waker and Twilight Princess for my 6th-8th favorite Zelda game slots, at least for now.
Now I just have to wait for Tears of the Kingdom.