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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (JP) (also known as Breath of the Wild or BOTW) is the nineteenth The Legend of Zelda game, the third[1] released for the Wii U and the first not being an enhanced port from the GameCube.
Like Twilight Princess, it was a dual release, being a Nintendo Switch launch title as well. Nintendo promised it would redefine the formula of Zelda's adventuring and return to the sense of exploration that was felt in the first game.
Plot
After a 100 year sleep, Link awakes inside the Shrine of Resurrection. Then, guided by a mysterious female voice, and using a new gadget he finds inside the shrine called the Sheikah Slate, Link explores The Great Plateau. During his exploration, he encounters an Old Man. The Old Man tells Link that a monstrous being called Calamity Ganon had appeared one hundred years prior to Link’s awakening and destroyed much of Hyrule before being sealed away in Hyrule Castle by Princess Zelda. After Link finds the treasure hidden inside the four Shrines on the Great Plateau, the Old Man later reveals that he is in fact Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the former King of Hyrule, in spirit.
Link also learns that although Calamity Ganon is trapped, his power continues to grow and it will be a matter of time until Princess Zelda cannot contain him any more, which implies that Link must defeat him before he breaks free and destroys Hyrule.
The Old Man tells Link that he should head over to Kakariko Village and talk to Impa. He explains that she will tell him more.
Once Link reaches Kakariko Village, Impa tells Link that a hundred years before Link awakened, Hylians discovered the ancient relics that the Sheikah Tribe had constructed ten thousand years prior: the Guardians and the four Divine Beasts, which were constructed to protect Hyrule.
This discovery coincided with the prophecy about Ganon’s return, thus King Rhoam decided to create a group of warriors to control the Divine Beasts. He called these warriors the Champions.
Commanded by Princess Zelda, their ranks included Link, her royal knight, and a representative of each major race of Hyrule. Princess Mipha of the Zora was chosen to pilot Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Of the Gorons, Daruk was to command Divine Beast Vah Rudania, while Urbosa, the chief of the Gerudo accepted the invitation to be in charge of Divine Beast Vah Naboris. Revali of the Rito was selected to control Divine Beast Vah Medoh. While the four Champions chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts began to control them, Princess Zelda went on a pilgrimage under Link’s protection, in which she prayed to the goddess Hylia for the sacred power required to defeat Calamity Ganon.
Gameplay
The gameplay has been refined to help fit the open-world aspect of the game. The game is focused on exploration with most of the key items unlocked in the beginning area and weapons and food available across the world. In place of the main story is a quest system which guides the player to the various regions of the world to help the survivors. There are also shrines scattered across the world replacing most of the dungeons which are built around certain concepts. The game does not require the completion of any quests or shrines past the Great Plateau to reach Hyrule Castle and face Ganon.
Weapons & Gear
Link has no base gear when he starts the game. Instead, he gathers weapons and gear from the environment and chests, the first two being clothes for Link to start with.
Link can use various weapons, though there are a few distinct styles such as swords, axes, bows and spears. He can also obtain shields which he can use in conjunction with the sword or board on like a skateboard for mobility.
Many weapons can be taken from enemies, but higher quality weapons and gear have to be obtained from chests across the world.
Items
The main item is the Sheikah Slate, obtained at the start of game. With the Sheikah Slate, Link gains numerous runes that give several powers, including the following.
- Magnesis: Allows Link to manipulate certain metal objects.
- Remote Bomb: Comes in two forms; Cube and Round. Round bombs roll with the environment, whereas Cube bombs are usually stationary. They can be exploded from any given distance by simply pressing L.
- Stasis: Freezes certain objects in time, allowing you to apply as much damage as possible. When it unfreezes, all the force applied while it was frozen is unleashed all at once, usually sending the object flying. Once upgraded, it can freeze enemies and animals, and even Calamity Ganon.
- Cryonis: Summons a pillar of ice from bodies of water.
- Camera: Allows Link to take pictures and upload them to the Hyrule Compendium.
There is also an optional rune for amiibo functionality. The runes can be upgraded as well once the player acquires parts from various ruins or merchants.
During his adventure, Link also obtains other items, including:
- Paraglider
Shrines & Dungeons
- List of Shrines in Breath of the Wild
There are four dungeons in Hyrule plus Hyrule Castle. Each one is closely tied to a Zelda race and their champion from 100 years ago. Aside from the initial shrines, none are required to go to Hyrule Castle and face Calamity Ganon, however, they do provide helpful improvements and abilities to better face the challenges. The dungeons are:
- Vah Medoh
- Vah Naboris
- Vah Rudania
- Vah Ruta
- Hyrule Castle
- Divine Trial - DLC
In addition to the main dungeons, there are 120 shrines in total, not accounting for DLC. They are like puzzle-focused mini-dungeons. Each shrine rewards a Spirit Orb upon completion. Players can exchange four of them for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel.
Korok Seeds
There are over 900 Koroks to encounter in the game. They are all over the world but require a small scale puzzle to be solved and give the player a seed. Link can trade these seeds in to expand his inventory.
Cooking
Memories
amiibo
The game is known to support the following amiibo:
- Wolf Link
- Link (Archer, Rider, Super Smash Bros., Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker)
- Guardian
- Zelda (Super Smash Bros., Breath of the Wild, The Wind Waker)
- Bokoblin
- Toon Link (Super Smash Bros., The Wind Waker)
- Sheik
- Ganondorf
- Daruk
- Princess Mipha
- Revali
- Urbosa
Tapping certain amiibo will; summon a companion character to help defeat enemies, summon a random amount of food, summon a random amount of barrels containing food or rupees, summon a random amount of fish, summon a random amount of plants and herbs.
Development
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was first shown at E3 2014's Digital Direct. In it was hinted at being in production in 2013. In the January 2013 Wii U direct, Eiji Aonuma hinted that the game would break the conventions of the Zelda series including elements like completing dungeons in an order and multiplayer.
It was originally planned to come out in 2015, however, in March of that year, Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma announced that the release date would be delayed until 2016, as he stated that 'our priority is to make it the ultimate and most complete Zelda game'.
In April 2016, Nintendo formally announced that the game would be delayed to 2017, as well as releasing on the NX (Now known as Nintendo Switch). On top of that, it would be the sole playable game at E3 2016 from Nintendo. During the January 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation, it was revealed that the game would launch on March 3rd, 2017 alongside the Nintendo Switch, as well as for Wii U.
Details about the content of the fist DLC of the game were communicated on may 2nd. During the E3 2017, a recap of the content of the first DLC was made as well as a first look at the second DLC and the announcement of amiibo for Daruk, Revali, Urbosa and Princess Mipha.
The second DLC was released on December 7, 2017 just after its presentation at the 2017 Game Awards ceremony. The DLC contains new trials and a new dungeon with an exclusive reward. On April 25, 2019 the game was updated to be compatible with the VR Toy-Con kit.
Voice Acting
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the first game in the Zelda series to feature voice acting. Credits for voice actors are as follows.
Japanese
- Yu Shimamura : Princess Zelda
- Hiroshi Naka : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Koji Takeda : Daruk
- Mayu Isshiki : Princess Mipha
- Noboru Yamaguchi : Revali
- Rei Shimoda : Urbosa
- Kumiko Watanabe : Impa
English
- Patricia Summersett : Princess Zelda
- Bill Rogers : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule/Prince Sidon
- Sean Chiplock : Great Deku Tree/Revali/Teba
- Joe Hernandez : Daruk/Yunobo
- Amelia Gotham : Princess Mipha
- Elizabeth Maxwell : Urbosa/Riju
- Andi Gibson : Impa
- Kate Higgins : Purah (DLC only)
French
- Adeline Chetail : Princess Zelda
- Gérard Dessalles : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Sylvain Lemarié : Great Deku Tree
- Jérémie Covillault : Daruk
- Donald Reignoux : Yunobo
- Bruno Méyère : Prince Sidon
- Caroline Mozzone : Princess Mipha
- Hervé Grull : Revali
- Benoît DuPac : Teba
- Laëtitia Lefebvre : Urbosa
- Charlyne Pestel : Riju
- Brigitte Aubry : Impa
- Valérie Bachère : Purah (DLC only)
German
Spanish (Spain)
- Nerea Alfonso : Princess Zelda
- Domenech Farell : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Pepe Antequera : Great Deku Tree
- Ramón Canals : Daruk
- Carlos Lladó : Yunobo
- Sergio Mesa : Prince Sidon
- Laura Monedero : Princess Mipha
- Marcel Navarro : Revali
- Manuel Gimeno : Teba
- Marta Barbará : Urbosa
- Joël Mulachs : Riju
- María Luisa Magaña : Impa
- Maribel Pomar : Purah (DLC only)
Spanish (Latin America)
- Jessica Ángeles : Princess Zelda
- Octavio Rojas : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Rubén Moya : Great Deku Tree
- Ricardo Tejedo : Daruk
- Alan Velázquez : Yunobo
- Pepe Toño Macías : Prince Sidon
- Alondra Hidalgo : Princess Mipha
- Enzo Fortuny : Revali
- Edson Matus : Teba / Sheikahs
- Kerygma Flores : Urbosa
- Monserrat Mendoza González : Riju
- Yolanda Vidal : Impa
- Lupita Leal : Purah (DLC only)
Italian
- Martina Felli : Princess Zelda
- Natale Ciravolo : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Marco Balbi : Great Deku Tree
- Pietro Ubaldi : Daruk
- Alessandro Germano : Yunobo
- Paolo De Santis : Prince Sidon
- Sabrina Bonfitto : Princess Mipha
- Massimo Di Benedetto : Revali
- Massimiliano Lotti : Teba
- Tania De Domenico : Urbosa
- Tiziana Martello : Riju
- Elisabetta Cesone : Impa
- Deborah Morese : Purah (DLC only)
Russian
Videos
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Reception
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was very highly received. It currently has a 97/100 on Metacritic, making it the highest scoring game this decade, and the fourth highest scoring game of all time. The game also holds the record for having the most perfect review scores. It was later crowned "Best Action/Adventure Game 2017" and "Game of the Year 2017" during the Game Awards ceremony.
Sales
During its first month, 2,76 million copies of the Switch version of Breath of the Wild were sold while "only" 2.74 million Nintendo Switch were sold, meaning that Nintendo had an attach rate above 1 for Breath of the Wild. Nintendo also said that in the U.S., Breath of the Wild is Nintendo’s fastest-selling launch title of all time and the fastest-selling game in the history of the Zelda series.
As of June 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 3,92 million copies making it the best selling Nintendo Switch game before Mario Kart 8 Deluxe And 1-2-Switch. As of September 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 4,70 million copies. As of the end of December 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 6.70 million copies.
As of the end of April 2018, Breath of the Wild sold 8.48 million copies making it the third most successful game on the Nintendo Switch as well as the best selling Zelda game of all time if we add the 1.5 million copies sold on Wii U. As of the end of June 2018, Breath of the Wild is the third most successful game on the Nintendo Switch with 9.32 million copies sold. At the beginning of September 2018, Breath of the Wild became the 3rd best selling Zelda game in Japan with 1.258 million copies sold, now only behind the original The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link which both sold over 1.6 million. As of the end of September 2018, Breath of the Wild is still the third best selling Nintendo Switch game, now with 10.28 copies sold on the system alone. As of the end of December 2018, Breath of the Wild sold over 11.68 million copies, now the fourth most successful Nintendo Switch game. As of March 2019, the game sold 12.77 millions copies, maintaining its place as the fourth most successful Nintendo game on the platform. It reached 13.61 million copies sold worldwide by July 2019. As of the end of September 2019, it managed to sell 14.54 million units.
Trivia
- Originally intended to be a Wii U exclusive, it is Nintendo's first and only Wii U ported game to release simultaneously with the Nintendo Switch since its launch on March 3, 2017.
- It is also Nintendo's very last game produced for the Wii U after the console's discontinuation in January 2017.
- This is the first Zelda game to utilize full voice-acting.
- The art style is very similar to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
- Bill Rogers, who was the English voice of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, has voiced Brock in the Pokémon anime franchise.
- With the combined global sales of 13.18 million copies, Breath of the Wild is the best-selling Zelda game in the series, to date. It has also been the Switch's best-selling game until January 2018 when Super Mario Odyssey has taken over the record at the time.
- Masafumi Kawamura, one of the game's sound programmers, has previously worked on The Wind Waker and Super Mario Galaxy.
References
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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