The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Review

The+Legend+of+Zelda%3A+Breath+of+the+Wild+Review

Players get the chance to step into the future of gaming in Nintendo’s latest masterpiece: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game, which has been in development for the past four years, was finally released on March 3, the same day that Nintendo launched the Switch, its newest console.

With mesmerizing graphics, ethereal music, and a storyline that surpasses the old “save the princess” cliché, Breath of the Wild is Metacritic’s fourth highest rated game of all time, only falling behind Grand Theft Auto 4 (third), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (second), and its own predecessor The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (first).

And it’s not hard to see why.

Unlike past Zelda installments, Breath of the Wild features a massive open world that players can explore at will. In other words, the player doesn’t have to follow the main storyline alone; he or she can do side quests (like playing hide-and-seek with a little girl in Kakariko Village), go hunting (stealth is key if you ever want to catch a wild boar), cook over the open fire (although you’ll need to forage for ingredients first), throw bombs at enemies, climb trees, change clothes…anything. The game is also compatible with Nintendo’s amiibo figurines, which, when scanned, unlock cool items. The possibilities are honestly endless.

That being said, the game retains the familiar elements that every Zelda fan knows and loves. Link’s health is still gauged by hearts, for example, and he can go horseback riding through the fields if he wants (although his iconic red horse, Epona, can only be unlocked if the player has the Link & Epona amiibo or the Link amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series). Characters like Ganon and Zelda also return, and so do races like the Gorons (rock people), Zoras (fish people), Ritos (bird people), Koroks (tree people), and Gerudos (a desert tribe). All these old elements combine with eye-popping colors and surreal voice-acting in way that makes the game feel like one big nostalgic cinematic masterpiece.

I honestly haven’t had the time to play it very much yet, but I can already tell you that it was worth every cent. I generally don’t give a rip about graphics when I play a game—and I don’t play video games much anymore—but Breath of the Wild made my jaw drop. Every inch of the landscape is so detailed yet cartoony that looking at the screen alone feels like taking in a breath of fresh air. The trees sway, the clouds change, the music remains quiet so you can hear the chirping bird in the breeze, the water splashes, the blades of grass turn black when grazed with fire…seriously. It’s easy to see why this game took four years to develop. It’s insanely complex.

And Nintendo’s decision to launch it with the Switch was a genius idea. The Switch, for those of you who don’t know, is the newest video game console on the market, and it’s generating a lot of conversation because it’s the first console to be a handheld and something you can play on your TV. This means you can play Switch titles like Breath of the Wild anywhere using its handheld device, and (from what I can tell) the handheld’s battery lasts a long time.

If you want to “switch” to play on the TV, though, all you have to do is slip the handheld into the console, remove the two controllers from the sides of the handheld, and slide them into a nifty at-home controller as shown below.

So yes: Breath of the Wild is a game that lets you explore nature in-game and out-of-game simultaneously. You can sit under a tree in your yard while Link cuts one down or chat with a friend while striking down a foe. All of these conveniences come at a hefty price, though, especially for us high school kids, but again: I insist that it has been worth every penny, nickel, and dime. I look forward to exploring more of its levels and features as my sister, brother-in-law, and I find time to do so.

In short, Breath of the Wild is a breath of fresh air in an era of video games that, for the most part, are either too violent, thoughtless, or unoriginal altogether to attract new gamers. If you’re looking for a game system to buy, though, I’d recommend the Switch ten days a week and then some. I might not play video games very much anymore, but Nintendo never fails to amaze me with its creativity, passion, and addictive games. Breath of the Wild takes me back to a time when I was five and when playing video games meant playing as a blocky green swordsman on box-shaped TV indoors. This is the future, though, and it’s beyond exciting.

What could be next?