The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Review

00:00:00.560wake up link from its mysterious opening

00:00:19.920to its action-packed conclusion The

00:00:21.750Legend of Zelda breath of the wild feels

00:00:23.400like a revolution for Nintendo's revered

00:00:25.260series it's both a return to the classic

00:00:28.170feel of Zelda and a leap into uncharted

00:00:30.119territory and it exceeds expectations on

00:00:32.399both fronts you have to be cautious

00:00:34.410creative and willing to go to great

00:00:36.120lengths to secure valuable resources

00:00:37.860Death Comes quickly and whether it's at

00:00:40.440the hand of a formidable enemy or

00:00:42.239because you charge it unprepared down a

00:00:43.829treacherous path you're forced to

00:00:45.539reconsider almost everything you've

00:00:46.950learned from past Zelda games there's so

00:00:48.840much to see to accomplish and to learn

00:00:50.820that you never feel like you have

00:00:52.320control over the world this is a great

00:00:54.809thing where so many games front-load

00:00:56.640excitement and wonder breath of the wild

00:00:58.379sustains the thrill of unexpected

00:01:00.059discoveries throughout you begin your

00:01:07.380familiar quest to defeat Ganon and

00:01:08.970rescue Princess Zelda with a little more

00:01:10.979than a tree branch to defend yourself

00:01:12.600from roaming goblins however it doesn't

00:01:14.549take long to build up a diverse arsenal

00:01:16.500nearly every enemy carries a weapon or a

00:01:18.509shield and if you can beat them their

00:01:20.070gear is yours for the taking this is

00:01:22.049also a godsend given that every weapon

00:01:23.700has finite durability therefore you will

00:01:26.280blow through dozens if not hundreds of

00:01:28.049weapons during your adventure which no

00:01:29.939doubt feels strange at first but you

00:01:31.650learn to move on there's no shortage of

00:01:33.720new gear to discover them and though you

00:01:35.340aren't able to utilize a consistent

00:01:37.020stable of familiar tools you learn to

00:01:39.000expect that for every weapon you've lost

00:01:40.590there's something better coming just

00:01:42.479down the road in practice the weapon you

00:01:45.390wield is important but not necessarily

00:01:47.310as important as how you control it

00:01:49.229enemies and breath of the wild are

00:01:51.060intelligent and utilized wildly

00:01:52.740different tactics that force you to read

00:01:54.570their movements and react accordingly

00:01:56.070it's imperative that you parry or dodge

00:01:58.500an attack at just the right time which

00:02:00.659will trigger a moment of slow-motion

00:02:02.040that allows you to unleash a flurry of

00:02:03.899attacks against a vulnerable foe

00:02:05.690[Music]

00:02:10.550these moves are your last line of

00:02:12.599defense when the going gets tough and

00:02:14.099they require very precise timing to

00:02:16.019execute given myriad enemies and weapons

00:02:18.330you're up against mastery feels almost

00:02:20.160unattainable even with substantial

00:02:22.019practice however that also means you're

00:02:24.239constantly learning in the face of

00:02:25.560unforeseen challenges and there are

00:02:28.590innumerable unexpected possibilities

00:02:30.390that the game never teaches you about

00:02:31.650you're never told for example that

00:02:33.629raising an enemy's wooden weapon with a

00:02:35.310fire arrow will set it ablaze thus

00:02:37.260making the fight harder for you and you

00:02:39.599may be shocked to learn that an enemy

00:02:40.829will pick up any weapons you discard

00:02:42.510during battle and use them against you

00:02:44.130your power and wisdom grow as you

00:02:46.049progress but you never feel totally

00:02:47.880invincible which allows even late-game

00:02:49.769exploration to feel tense challenging

00:02:51.959and rewarding beyond weaponry link also

00:02:59.579has access to magical skills known as

00:03:01.260runes these include the ability to move

00:03:03.450metallic objects with a magical tether

00:03:05.190which can be used for among other tricks

00:03:07.349dropping large iron boxes on

00:03:09.120unsuspecting enemies

00:03:11.730we can also freeze enemies and objects

00:03:14.379in place for a limited amount of time

00:03:15.640when an object is frozen it absorbs

00:03:17.860energy rather than reacting immediately

00:03:19.540to whatever force you exert upon it and

00:03:21.700when time unfreezes all of that

00:03:23.230collected force is released in an

00:03:24.550instant

00:03:26.160Bruns proved to be a wonderful source of

00:03:28.420creativity and problem-solving both in

00:03:30.670combat and when managing puzzles breath

00:03:35.319up the wilds four main dungeons differ

00:03:36.940from the norm in that you aren't focused

00:03:38.590on finding keys to open doors instead

00:03:40.750the goal is to manipulate the dungeon

00:03:42.250itself to literally change its form in

00:03:44.680order to access important areas it's a

00:03:47.590wonderful break from tradition and you

00:03:49.450still get a challenging boss battle to

00:03:50.920look forward to at the end

00:03:52.090gone are the oddly charming bosses from

00:03:53.860Zelda's past they've been replaced with

00:03:55.569dark and twisted fiends that are

00:03:57.099powerful combatants like your fights

00:03:59.079against normal enemies you have to move

00:04:00.910and act deliberately or suffer the

00:04:02.920consequences there are also dozens of

00:04:05.410mini dungeons that test your mastery of

00:04:06.970Link's combat and rune abilities

00:04:08.530compared to roughing it in nature these

00:04:10.690shrines provide brain teasers that are

00:04:12.459an excellent respite and make great use

00:04:14.410of the game's impressive physics system

00:04:15.880figuring out what to do is only half the

00:04:17.620battle the rest comes down to precise

00:04:19.630execution therefore solving even simple

00:04:22.389puzzles can feel immensely rewarding

00:04:30.490somewhat surprisingly exploration often

00:04:33.080proves far more challenging than combat

00:04:34.580or puzzle-solving you may struggle due

00:04:36.590to Lynx physical limitations and harsh

00:04:38.210weather that hinders his progress

00:04:39.800equipping metal weapons and armor will

00:04:41.510turn link into a veritable lightning rod

00:04:43.250during a storm and if you're climbing a

00:04:46.580mountain when it starts to rain you

00:04:47.780won't be able to climb more than a few

00:04:49.490feet before losing your grip and sliding

00:04:51.260back down you can fast travel between

00:04:54.200shrines but to avoid long treks is to

00:04:56.540really rob yourself of some of the best

00:04:58.100moments of discovery in breadth of the

00:04:59.750wild and the sense of satisfaction you

00:05:02.120feel for overcoming its most foreboding

00:05:04.040environments Hyrule is a beautiful world

00:05:06.440to behold from the top of a mountain but

00:05:08.389perching Lincoln High has other benefits

00:05:10.340link obtains a hang glider early on in

00:05:12.620the game which he then carries with him

00:05:14.300at all times

00:05:14.990your reward for scaling a mountain or

00:05:16.790tower is the opportunity to soar through

00:05:18.500the skies and cross large tracts of

00:05:20.330lands with your glider and if you're

00:05:21.800skilful you can even use your shield as

00:05:23.570a veritable snow board to glide down

00:05:25.010grassy hills and frozen slopes granted

00:05:29.030Lincoln's surf down hills at any time as

00:05:30.860long as his shield can handle the wear

00:05:32.240and tear but it's especially gratifying

00:05:33.830to drop on to a slope after flying over

00:05:36.289a massive canyon or a dense forest and

00:05:37.970coasts into a town in style

00:05:43.269the few towns that exist in the new

00:05:45.619Hyrule mimic the understated and rural

00:05:47.839qualities seen in Studio Ghibli's

00:05:49.549Princess Mononoke equally charming are

00:05:51.769the hikers you meet on trails these

00:05:53.479lonely yet upbeat adventurers offer

00:05:55.219humorous quips and perhaps a side quest

00:05:57.649with a quirky premise you spend so much

00:05:59.539time fighting to survive all while under

00:06:01.939the cloud of your impending fight with

00:06:03.379the dark and powerful Ganon by contrast

00:06:05.419your interactions with NPCs are

00:06:07.069opportunities to slow down and help out

00:06:09.079a friendly stranger in need now you have

00:06:11.179a goal in mind breath of the wild is

00:06:12.559just filled with delightful distractions

00:06:18.330[Music]

00:06:24.219if you've ever hiked deep into the

00:06:26.419wilderness and found yourself awash in

00:06:27.979wonderment and perhaps guilt for living

00:06:30.110a life steeped in modern indulgences

00:06:31.669breadth of the wilds reverence for the

00:06:33.319natural world will strike a chord it's

00:06:35.300the way the Rising Sun graces blades of

00:06:37.129grass as you climb a steep hill it's the

00:06:39.439flutter of a few well-timed piano notes

00:06:41.269that dance in your ear and harmonize

00:06:42.739with your own childlike amazement and

00:06:44.329it's the unwavering delight and

00:06:46.099excitement that each new discovery

00:06:47.179brings it can come when you reveal a new

00:06:49.429portion of the world map and find a

00:06:51.019curious landmark but there's also an

00:06:52.759endless stream of smaller discoveries to

00:06:54.499find in the middle the fact that breadth

00:06:57.889of the wild continues to surprise you

00:06:59.449with newfound rules and possibilities

00:07:01.039after dozens of hours is by far its most

00:07:03.439valuable quality it's a game that allows

00:07:05.659you to feel gradually more and more

00:07:07.069empowered yet simultaneously manages to

00:07:09.289retain a sense of challenge and mystery

00:07:10.969which together creates a steady

00:07:12.829consistent feeling of gratification

00:07:14.179throughout the entire experience

00:07:17.710[Music]

00:07:19.340breath of the wild is a defining moment

00:07:21.840for the Legend of Zelda series and the

00:07:23.730most impressive game Nintendo has ever

00:07:25.710created our light at must shine upon

00:07:34.530Hyrule once again

00:07:38.840[Music]

00:07:46.220you