The Past-Due Zelda BotW Review: The Combat
Let me get this out of the way now; I’m no expert sword fighter in Breath of the Wild. My face usually ends up flat in the mud as I desperately try to get up before the Chu Chus strike again.
This doesn’t mean the combat is poorly designed in the latest iteration of the Zelda series. It feels more fluid than anything else in the series, and nothing compares to that adrenaline high you can get as you perfectly dodge a Lionel strike, then flurry him to oblivion.
What makes the combat so special, though, is the way it incorporates itself into the sprawling world around you.
In the first segment of this series I talked about the final battle. (It’s a spoilerific, yet epic, retelling that you should check out, if you haven’t already). I’ll stick with the storytelling to showcase how combat and the world work in such beautiful harmony in Breath of the Wild.
Combat and the World
I realized in my adventuring that I had ignored the area of Lake Hylia. Being such a prominent landmark from many of the Zelda games, I decided I might find some cool little easter eggs and references. At the very least, there was probably a Korok or 17 that I missed.
I went to an island in the middle, found a shrine, got some scales from the immense dragon leisurely floating through life, and headed into the hills north of the lake. There I discovered the remnants of a town long forgotten. It was one of the sadder areas in the landscape. A dozen homes (which in the Zelda universe is a huge civilization) were left rotting in a bog. A couple of lizard dudes were hanging around and dealt with as I explored the moldy planks of houses that once bustled with life. I ended up on a pile of rocks to get a better vantage point to see if I could spot any chests, because I respect the dead by looting the dead.
Then that pile of rocks stood up!
The music chimed in with an echo of a chorus ringing out in the forgotten basin. A Stone Talus was waiting patiently for any curious enough to get too close. I drew my sword as the solid beast lumbered before me (phrasing).
Early in the game, my heroic deeds included running my ass the other direction, once that chorus started playing, but I knew it was time to fairy-boy up. After all, was this the creature that had obliterated this town in the first place? There were some boulder-sized holes in the buildings; it wouldn’t have been the biggest assumption. Now it was lying dormant in the remains of its villainy. (If a bunch of rocks can be villainous).
It started chucking boulders my way, pulverizing on rocks I hid behind. It wasn’t exactly the quickest enemy out in the overworld, but I knew it probably wasn’t going to feel good if it landed a hit on me, using much of the ground we battled on to hurl my way.
The Difference Maker
This is where I appreciate the combat in Breath of the Wild even more so than other Zelda games, many of which had exciting combat to begin with. There isn’t one really specific way to beat this enemy, a boss-like enemy at that. Usually, the Zelda series is well known for its huge battles against towering monsters, but you just need to shoot it’s eye three times then slash at it on the ground and that covers 90% of the fighting you will do. Not here, or at least not in the same way.
Sure, there’s a weak spot via an ore node on it’s back, but getting to it is very much up to you. You can scuttle around and use an arrow to stun it, or you can fire off a bomb arrow and do some real damage. You can take a more direct approach and climb the damn thing until you are close enough to smack it with your sledgehammer. You can also toss a couple of bombs over and blast its bouldery arms to bits, giving you some time to get around it.
And there needs to be multiple ways to deal with it, because unlike other Zelda games, it’s no guarantee that you will have much of anything in your inventory. There’s been plenty of times I didn’t have arrows, or the right kind of arrows, or a sledgehammer, or enough stamina to keep running my heroic ass away from danger. And you can’t just go get more arrows from grass or even pots anymore. Supplying yourself is much more realistic and makes having the right tools feel like that much more of an accomplishment.
This, in turn, forces you to get creative. I’ve run around dropping bombs behind me because a Hinox happened to wake up when I had no arrows on me. I’ve wrecked enemy camps before they even knew I was there because so many times there’s something in the surroundings that can help you deal with a bunch of bad guys all at once, instead of testing my previously stated lack of swordsmanship.
You never know what you will run into, and sometimes you don’t know what you will have at your disposal to deal with the unknown. It makes combat something fresh every time you take on an enemy. It adds a layer of ingenuity to the fighting that has been fun in the series, but fairly straightforward, especially in the open world areas of Zelda games. A few slashes here, roll around when your sword blinks, and hit it from behind. Even camps you have taken out before, (thanks for nothing blood-moon), have the potential to be an entirely different kind of fight the next time.
Some Downsides
All that being said, it is a double edge sword…*nudge nudge. This is because your weapons, swords especially, can and will break. At first, I thought I was absolutely going to hate this. And I do, but not at a conceptual level. I like chests in the world having that potential of being something really special. And I need them constantly because I keep losing weapons. In other Zeldas, chests pretty much meant rupee, a piece of heart, consumable ammo, or maybe a shoe. You certainly weren’t going to get a bitchin’ new sword out in the blastable rocks behind Lon Lon Ranch. In Breath of the Wild, every chest is a new possibility.
The weapons break too much, however. It seems I’m always using clubs and pointy sticks to take out enemies I come across because I never know when a Lionel will be waiting around the corner. And yes, I experience more breaks because I’m using crappy weapons, but even the good stuff doesn’t last too long. I don’t want to wreck my Blade of Duality on a damn Keese! So, I keep those in my inventory never to be used, maybe.
It’s a bummer. If the weapons just lasted two or three times as long, they would still be something to go through, but you could use some of the cooler stuff for a longer time. Or make a way to craft weapons, or repair the ones you have. Make the pointy sticks break completely, but I would love to hike up to the Gorons to fix my Flameblade so I can keep setting the prairie on fire in peace!
It’s no game breaker, obviously, but it’s more annoying than it is strategic.
At the End of the Day
Now that I have completed the last battle and jumped back into the world to find the many, many things I’ve missed, I know things will stay fresh, even if some of the mechanics get frustrating. There’s something to find around every corner and something might burst out of the ground right under your feet, so I better hope I have what I need to deal with it.
After taking down my ambushing landscape of an enemy, I collected the ore and gems from my defeated rock foe. I looked around the lost village knowing I had made things right. All the souls that once lived here may be gone, but vengeance was mine. And in the form of some pretty sweet combat.
There will be more to come in this analytical breakdown of Breath of the Wild so be sure to keep a lookout and join for our next episode of the podcast below.
