What I Love About Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Today marks the 6th anniversary of the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the game that redefined the series and video games overall. In honor of its 6th birthday as well as getting ready for the release of the highly anticipated sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, on May 12th, I’ll go over six of my favorite things about BOTW and list one thing that I am looking forward to in TOTK.
1.) Environment - At the start of the game, the Kingdom of Hyrule is in decay. The once beautiful, vibrant kingdom is now slowly being taken over by nature. Once filled with people and culture, buildings and towns are gone, and all remains are ruins. This is a result of the Great Calamity that happened 100 years ago, with a beast called Calamity Ganon nearly destroying the kingdom. It was stopped thanks to Princess Zelda, who contained it for a century in Hyrule Castle but is now losing her grip.
This is the darkest version of the Kingdom of Hyrule…which is saying a lot because Hyrule has always plummeted to darkness one way or another. But here, we see Hyrule destroyed, and very little is left. This is perhaps the closest that Ganon has come to winning. Even though at the end of the game, when Link, Zelda, and the Champions defeat Calamity Ganon, and Link and Zelda start the new adventure of restoring Hyrule, it will be a task that will take a long time, especially when after February 2023 trailer for TOTK shows a resurrected Ganondorf wanting the kingdom “eliminated” and “leave no survivors.”
Though the environment is dark, that is what I love about it. Hyrule is broken and in ruins, but instead of being shown in a loud, violent way, it is depicted in a quiet and lonely way. You know tragedy has happened when going through the kingdom, but it is portrayed silently and calmly. The music (more on that in a bit) further solidifies the environment. I’m glad that developers went in this direction.
2.) Music - Every game in the Zelda series gives us memorable music, and Breath of the Wild is no different. However, this time, we get quieter music than the bombastic upbeat music usually in the games. This reflects how you are going through a kingdom in ruins and now being taken over by nature. The pieces also help as the music assists with the lonely feeling you get through the kingdom.
While many didn’t like the soundtrack and would have preferred the usual Zelda music, I enjoyed it as I think it complemented the environment very well. The use of the piano elevated the music pieces, especially the terror-inducing Guardians Theme. Some of my favorite pieces are Mipha’s Theme, Revali’s Theme, and Tarrey Town. We’ll see if this music plays a role in the sequel.
3.) Cooking - A new mechanic to the Zelda series, you must cook if you want to survive on your journey. Cooking is the only way to replenish your hearts; no more cutting the grass, your hearts back. You make recipes such as Apple Pie, Glazed Meat, and Monster Cake with the cooking mechanic. Some recipes can also give you certain effects when eaten based on the ingredients that were put in, such as extra hearts, defense boosts, and stamina recovery. You can also make elixirs as well.
The cooking mechanic is fun as it allows you to make almost any recipe that you want. I have spent so much time trying to hunt down every recipe to make. I spend so much time cooking when I should be saving Hyrule, but it’s so much fun. You can also randomly put a bunch of ingredients together to make food, but once you learn that you can make actual recipes, it’s more fun. It’s a great mechanic that should be reappearing in TOTK and future games.
4.) The Champions - Breath of the Wild introduced a new group of characters called the Champions: Mipha, Urbosa, Daruk, and Revali. They were tasked with aiding Princess Zelda and Link by piloting the Diving Beasts to defeat Calamity Ganon. Mipha, the Zora princess, controlled Vah Ruta; Urbosa, the Gerudo chief, controlled Vah Nobris; Daruk, the Goron warrior, controlled Vah Rudania; and Revali, the Rito archer, controlled Vah Medoh. However, during the Great Calamity, they were killed by the Blight Ganons and stuck in their Divine Beasts until Link arrived and defeated them 100 years later. For his efforts, they each award him with their champion abilities and get their Divine Beats ready to finish the mission that they started. Once Calamity Ganon is finally defeated, they and King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule ascend and finally rest in peace.
The Champions were a great group of characters, each with distinct personalities, and, except Revali, were likable. Though in the main game, we learn about them through Link’s memories and NPCs, the group shines in the paid DLC, The Champions Ballad. We must complete the trials they took when becoming Champions, allowing us to learn more about them and what they went through in their training. However, the best part of the DLC was seeing the memories of when Zelda was recruiting them. We learn that Urbosa is a badass that deeply cares for Zelda, Revali is an arrogant, perfectionist archer, fierce Daruk fears dogs, and Mipha is the protective older sister who, out of all the Champions, may have known fighting Calamity Ganon would cost her life. We can also read their diaries in the DLC, providing further information about them.
Some felt they were underdeveloped since, aside from the Link’s memories and DLC, not much is known about them. I agree we could have used more information about them, but I feel that what we know about them was enough to make them likable and memorable. I don’t expect them to play a significant role in the sequel though I do hope we see some callbacks to them as they were important, saving Hyrule and being close friends to Link and Zelda.
5.) Exploration - Exploration in BOTW is fun. This version of Hyrule is the biggest we have seen the kingdom, and we can explore all of it. Because it’s so enormous, you have many options to explore it. You can run, paraglide, go on horseback, climb, and when you complete the Champions Ballad DLC, you can motorcycle your way through Hyrule.
Going through the broken kingdom makes you wonder because you want to know what these ruins are and explore what’s left of them. It often sidetracks you from what you were doing because the developers have added little details to find throughout the map, which will require you to explore, such as the 900 Korok seeds. You also want to explore every region that Hyrule has. My favorite region to explore is the Akkala region due to the autumn theme and how the Akkala Citadel was the last stand for saving the kingdom before they were ultimately defeated.
Exploration is the best aspect of BOTW, and no matter how often I start from scratch, I always enjoy re-exploring the once-prosperous kingdom of Hyrule.
6.) Story - The Legend of Zelda is known for its stories, and BOTW is no different. While the storytelling was different and contentious as it was done through Link’s memories, I loved the overall story that was told. One hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Hyrule was preparing for the return of Calamity Ganon, who would be resurrected 10,000 years after his last attempt to destroy the kingdom failed. Almost everything had come together: Guardians and Divine Beasts, machines used 10,00 years ago, were excavated to be used again, and Link and the Champions were all set. The only issue was that Princess Zelda could not unlock her sealing power.
I enjoyed the story for telling us a dark, sad tale. Although I understand why many have issues with storytelling as you have to go out of your way to find what happened, I liked it as you have to find the memories and talk to NPCs to learn the full story of what happened a century ago. It forces you to explore the kingdom to understand what happened. The wonder and curiosity that comes with the exploration naturally lead you to learn what happens to the kingdom.
Obviously, in TOTK, we will see a different storytelling technique used in BOTW; in the sequel, we should see more linear storytelling.
Princess Zelda and Link in Tears of the Kingdom trailer
What I am looking forward to in Tears of the Kingdom
There is so much that I am excited about the upcoming sequel, but I am perhaps excited for the darker story that it will tell. All the trailers have indicated that the story will be darker than BOTW’s, but the most recent trailer confirms it. We see that Ganondorf will return. Instead of attempting to take over the kingdom like he has tried to in the past, he is hell-bent on destroying, trying to finish what he started as Calamity Ganon. We see him activate a Blood Moon, which not only resurrects his servants but also upgrades them as well. We also see Redeads, one of the creepiest enemies in the Zelda franchise, making a comeback. It seems his corpse, which was sealed below Hyrule Castle, is returning to life and taking the castle to the sky.
We also get other glimpses of a dark story. It appears that at one point, Zelda will fall into a pit of Malice despite Link’s best efforts. Link’s right arm is consumed and burned by Malice, only for it to be saved by the green hand. The Master Sword was also burned by Malice and destroyed by it. Though in BOTW, the sword was shown to have been heavily damaged, after years of rest, it recovered. Here, it is destroyed, and it will prove to be challenging to restore. There has also been some prophecy or mural depicted in the September 2022 trailer that seems to represent Zelda and the Goddess Hylia. The mural and the shot of Zelda failing into Malice have many believing that Zelda could die or reincarnate as Hylia. Regardless, we are in for a darker story, and I am here for it.
Here's to 6+ years of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 70 days until its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!
Additional Links for further reading:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Trailer 2