The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[colacentral]

I meant more the shrines; the koroks are everywhere so finding at least 700 should be pretty effortless. I'm not using the shrine detector thing on the slate as it feels like cheating, but I'm at a complete loss as to where I haven't looked yet. I'm just concentrating on side quests at the moment and hoping that in doing that I'll come across some along the way. The map feature would be a useful tool for shrine hunting without having to resort to a loud beeper telling you there's one near by.

[Mango Chimes]

The run tracker is basically just a dev tool they're switching on for the public. They talked about mapping where people were playing in playtesting, then putting things in the gaps to make players visit more of the world.

Nice, though – I spent ages cunting about in the Hebra Mountains the other day trying to find a cave entrance for an evidently underground shrine before fucking it off and Googling it.  If I could've taken a more methodical approach...  Well, tbh, that one I'd still have had to look up because the entrance was obscure and miles away...  Still.

Zelda's voice has grown on me (she's weirdly variable; in some of the memories, she sounds reasonably natural, but in the blood moon bit she's absurdly mawkish) but I like the idea of being able to listen to the Japanese version.  I wonder if the Rito Champion sounds like less of a prick.

[Kelvin]

I meant more the shrines; the koroks are everywhere so finding at least 700 should be pretty effortless. I'm not using the shrine detector thing on the slate as it feels like cheating, but I'm at a complete loss as to where I haven't looked yet. I'm just concentrating on side quests at the moment and hoping that in doing that I'll come across some along the way. The map feature would be a useful tool for shrine hunting without having to resort to a loud beeper telling you there's one near by.

Ah, I misunderstood, sorry. In that case, you're absolutely right. Although I actually think the easiest way to mop up shrines is by looking for empty areas on the map and exploring those areas thoroughly, with the shrine detector on. The last 3-5 shrines were a nightmare, even using the detector, and I only found the last one by scouring loads of areas on my map that seemed conspicuously empty of shrines. Eventually I found the last one in a fairly open area I'd somehow totally missed. I guess it would have useful to have the map feature at that point.   

Nice, though – I spent ages cunting about in the Hebra Mountains the other day trying to find a cave entrance for an evidently underground shrine before fucking it off and Googling it.  If I could've taken a more methodical approach...  Well, tbh, that one I'd still have had to look up because the entrance was obscure and miles away...  Still.

I was literally going to hint at that shrine in the paragraph above. Even with the shrine tracker, it's exceptionally hard to find. I have no idea how you'd do it without the shrine tracker to make you look around. 

Zelda's voice has grown on me (she's weirdly variable; in some of the memories, she sounds reasonably natural, but in the blood moon bit she's absurdly mawkish) but I like the idea of being able to listen to the Japanese version.  I wonder if the Rito Champion sounds like less of a prick.

Same here. I hated Zelda at first, partly because the early memories made her out to be such a snooty, bad tempered bitch in general, not just the voice. After I'd found all the memories, I actually had a lot more sympathy for the character, and was much more engaged by the performance. As you say, the absolute stinker is Mipha. I was actually planning to start a second playthrough today, only focusing on the main quest, so I'll probably try it in Japanese now I know it's available.   

[colacentral]

Do you mean the Hebra one you need a snowball for? That one I got pretty easily, as the path leading up to it basically pulls you along with visual clues. I think if I'd used the shrine detector and picked it up from the opposite side, I'd probably end up confused and frustrated looking for it in the wrong place.

I initially thought you were talking about another one which I think is near there, that is hidden in a cave which appears to be inaccessible. You can see the orange glow through a crack, but no entrance on either side. There's even a bit of a red herring built into the map to make you think the entrance is somewhere it's not. What I found frustrating about it more than anything was the weather in the snow, which is almost constantly foggy and dark, making it hard to spot entrances and paths. Once every couple of days you'll get the sun coming out and the snow becomes alot more fun to explore, but it doesn't last very long.

[Kelvin]

Do you mean the Hebra one you need a snowball for? That one I got pretty easily, as the path leading up to it basically pulls you along with visual clues. I think if I'd used the shrine detector and picked it up from the opposite side, I'd probably end up confused and frustrated looking for it in the wrong place.

No, there's another one, only accessible via a hard to reach, hard to see gap, and I only found it because my spider sense was tingling on the snowy field above. There's a music cue when you're over it, actually, but it's very easy to miss, if you don't stand in the exact spot. 

I initially thought you were talking about another one which I think is near there, that is hidden in a cave which appears to be inaccessible. You can see the orange glow through a crack, but no entrance on either side. There's even a bit of a red herring built into the map to make you think the entrance is somewhere it's not.

Not that one either. Although its a similar idea (visual/audio clue quite a long way from the actual entrance).

[Mango Chimes]

For the record: the one

Spoiler alert

hidden in a load of caves near some hotsprings

[close]

, I had trouble with at first but then triumphantly found it; the one I was on about was the

Spoiler alert

snowball/leviathan one

[close]

, which the sensor was picking up off the north cliff face, miles away from the entrance. If there's an even more obscure one, bollocks to that.

When I was a kid, I'd have scoured the map for days, with an extreme stoic's aversion to cheating (although I did fuck off the skull spider things in Ocarina out of utter boredom and the lunatic impossibility of it all) but my patience is shorter these days. Knowing this update exists might put me off just looking up a completed map, though. Shame that the DLC includes features which will be massively less useful to anyone who's already played the game loads, like this and the moveable teleport point.

[Kelvin]

Shame that the DLC includes features which will be massively less useful to anyone who's already played the game loads, like this and the moveable teleport point.

Yeah, a lot of these features really feel too late, at this point. I suppose if you play through the game in the new hard mode, they'll be fun additions. But honestly, for most people, I doubt there's much incentive here to pick it up again.

Unrelated, but I can't believe how sexy I find Link in this new DLC outfit:



dude looks great in everything

[Shay Chaise]

When I first put the Hylian Hood on him, and that colourful, textured tunic, I actually got goosebumps. It just looked so cool and beautiful and like both he and I were getting strapped in for a long ride together. I also got a crimson stonker.

[Twed]

They made him just feminine enough for me to have gay thoughts when he was cross-dressing. Especially as the Gerudo would make comments along the lines of "you have a lovely tight girl bod x_x".

[Kelvin]

When I first put the Hylian Hood on him, and that colourful, textured tunic, I actually got goosebumps. It just looked so cool and beautiful and like both he and I were getting strapped in for a long ride together. I also got a crimson stonker.

I felt like that about the knight's armour (without the shit helmet). It just looks like something out of a fairytale; this heroic knight going on a quest.

Also, let's also not forget how stellar Zelda's bum looks in certain cutscenes.[nb]Not sexist, because I've already said Link is a fucking stud, okay.[/nb]

They made him just feminine enough for me to have gay thoughts when he was cross-dressing. Especially as the Gerudo would make comments along the lines of "you have a lovely tight girl bod x_x".

They knew what they were doing. Almost every female character, and even a few male ones, comment on how sexy he looks, and if you leave him with his shirt off, his idle animation is to flex his muscles.

[Shay Chaise]

I couldn't tell you the number of times my wife asked if he's a girl so I was delighted to get that outfit and confuse her further. The male Gerudo gear is also pretty sexy!

[Thursday]

Japanese voices now available so you won't have to listen to the terrible English voice acting.

Not much use now, but at least it's there for when the proper DLC dungeon rolls around.

[Kelvin]

Japanese voices now available so you won't have to listen to the terrible English voice acting.

This was mentioned on the previous page, but we got sidetracked talking about shrines and Link being sexy.

They've also outlined the first batch of DLC.

http://kotaku.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wilds-first-dlc-adds-some-very-coo-1794821521

[Thursday]

Yes I missed the words you posted because I was entranced by link in tingle tights

[Bhazor]

Female Link cosplayers are definitely a goer. But then those little helpers you get in shopping centers at christmas with curly boots and green jerkins have always turned me on. I guess mythical creatures just give me the horn.

[Mango Chimes]

Bit weird that the big faeries work by progressively sexually assaulting Link.

[colacentral]

It is odd, as is the abundance of sexual stuff in general. I wonder if something's been missed in the translation / localisation process.

[Shay Chaise]

I was quite surprised by almost every instance of innuendo or sexual frustration or expression. I actually quite liked it, to be honest. I like a bit  of smut.

[colacentral]

My latest big memorable moment was riding a Stalhorse around. It really made me laugh when I realised it was possible, and when the pink bonding cloud puffed up when I calmed it. That bonding actually made me quite sad when it inevitably died with the rising sun.

[Kelvin]

I also quite liked the saucy fairies and other moments of barely repressed sexual frustration.

The only things I didn't like were that Zora child, who looks about 6, falling in love with a middle aged human in one of the subquests, and the underlying sexism of Gerudu town, where an entire city of women still seems defined by their desire to impress a man. Everything else felt like a play on the real-world fandom that's built up around Link over the years.     

[Shay Chaise]

I finally finished this today, or beat the final boss, in any case. I finished my fourth beast, got Darduk's thingy and just bought a load of Ancient Arrows and leathered it. Surprisingly, I hadn't had what happens after Calamity spoiled for me, which was nice.

Anyway, I have only found sixty shrines so I have a vast amount of game to go when the DLC comes out. I've deliberately not rushed it at all, ninety hours or so to finish the boss, I've got all but one set of gear (DL), which I do really want, and I've spent much of it just wandering and upgrading my outfits. Even now, when I first turn it on, there's an immediate sense of peace, space and place which is uncanny. It's so relaxing and pastoral and full of nature, it's strange how beautiful and peaceful it is. I feel like I know those lands well but I'm looking forward to the map feature to see all the areas I've actually missed.

I'll stick with my early assessment, by the way. It's unquestionably one of the greatest games ever made.

[Kelvin]

I finally finished this today, or beat the final boss, in any case. I finished my fourth beast, got Darduk's thingy and just bought a load of Ancient Arrows and leathered it. Surprisingly, I hadn't had what happens after Calamity spoiled for me, which was nice.

Did you find all the memories? If not, there's another, longer ending to unlock.

Even now, when I first turn it on, there's an immediate sense of peace, space and place which is uncanny. It's so relaxing and pastoral and full of nature, it's strange how beautiful and peaceful it is.

I'm drawing to the end of a second playthrough, focusing only on the main story, and I was struck by just how good, and how different from the rest of the game, that opening section on the Great Plateau is. The lack of hearts, skills and powerful weapons means you place an even greater emphasis on stealth, cooking and interacting with the environment. I almost wish a lot more of the game was this peaceful and grounded; no larger quest, no other characters, just beautiful woodland, animals to hunt, and a series of conflicts best resolved through the environment, rather than with a sword. It's such a wonderful introduction, especially now that they've patched the frame-rate.   

I feel like I know those lands well but I'm looking forward to the map feature to see all the areas I've actually missed.

After 250 hours in the game, I thought I'd seen almost everything. Then, at the start of my second playthrough, I paraglided off the great plateau, and within a few minutes had discovered an area I'd never seen before. In the 20 hours since then, I've probably found 4-5 other points of interest I never knew existed. This is partly because I've been forced to take different routes this time, as I've only ungraded health, and have consistently avoided climbing mountains in this playthrough. As a result, it's forced me along the natural roads a lot more, and made me rely on horses in a way I never did when I could climb everywhere. It's funny how differently the game plays, like this. Horses and roads make the main quest much easier, but provide far fewer shrines, powerful weapons and koroks. They really have balanced the game incredibly well; even down to the way that shrines near main quest routes are much easier than those further afield.           

[Kelvin]

Oh, I also tried this playthrough with the Japanese dub, since I disliked the English one so much. Overall, the voices are far less jarring, even if I can't comment on the actual performances, really. Zeldas reaction to the blood moon is much less melodramatic, for example, and Mipha seems fine now.

Only one voice seems even worse in Japanese than it was in the English dub. Yonobo, the Goron who helps you reach the Death Mountain Divine Beast, sounds like this:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxiuLr0dzPY

It's like nails down a blackboard every time he makes a noise.

[Shay Chaise]

He sounds like a right tit.

And not found all the memories, I just assumed I'd be able to have the proper ending once I found them and fancied taking on Ganon again. If not, I'll just YT it or maybe do another playthrough when Hard Mode is available.

Totally agree on the Great Plateau. I'd say that's the best opening area since Bloodborne at teaching you the game and setting the tone. Like with Bloodborne, it's also arguably my favourite area in the whole game, though I am very partial to the rainforest area. I just couldn't believe it when I first arrived.

[Gurke and Hare]

I play games very slowly and rubbishly, but I've just completed the fourth shrine on the Plateau tonight. Just saved the game before bed standing on the edge about to glide off for the first time.

Just thought I'd pop in and say that I love this game.Beautiful, fun, and accessible. And stupidly massive. The fireflies at night are wonderful too.

[Bhazor]

I've just completed the fourth shrine on the Plateau tonight. Just saved the game before bed standing on the edge about to glide off for the first time.

Just thought I'd pop in and say that I love this game.Beautiful, fun, and accessible. And stupidly massive.

Reminds me of the cutest story I've heard about BotW.

My middle son is obsessed with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and he has taught me how to play the game to perfection.

Sometimes he tells me stories about a puzzle, or a fight he barely won. He talks about how frustrating it is when a weapon breaks, and he tells me all about his favorite places to visit when he just wants to hang out. He's unaware of arguments about frame rates, and he's completely ignorant of the existence of guides. He just plays.
""I'm going to learn how to ride a horse""

"Do you have the paraglider?" he asked me one evening after dinner. I said that yes, I had the paraglider.

"Oh. I just got it, and now I'm on the ground. I flew down like ..." and then he pantomimed flying around the house, his arms over his head as if he were holding the paraglider. I was gobsmacked for a few minutes; he had played hours upon hours of the game, and he just now got off the Great Plateau?

He had been content with walking around, memorizing the ground and making sure he knew exactly where everything was. He didn't feel any need to hurry, nor did he beat himself up if he didn't get far enough after a session of the game. He just played for an hour here and an hour there, and experimented to see what he could learn about how everything worked. He felt no great rush to beat those first few shrines.

"Being on the ground is pretty cool," he said. "I'm trying to find Kakariko Village, and I'm going to learn how to ride a horse." I told him I was proud of him for getting that far.

"Thanks," he said, nibbling on a piece of toast. "Zelda is my favorite game. Is there much left?"

[Shay Chaise]

I love that. Thanks.

I woke up this morning and played three hours straight of this, doing nothing in particular but collect stuff, have some fights, play around with some elemental bits and bobs and eventually made my way back up to the Temple of Time. It is probably the best wandering simulator I've ever played, right alongside Skyrim. I have a lot of stuff to do. I still have 60 shrines left and about seven hundred seeds but I've also got a number of outfits to collect, loads of side quests. Loads of shrine quests. The final memory and proper ending. I've put a hundred hours in now, not as much as some, but it's significant, considering I still have so much left that I'm enjoying doing as and when I come across them.

Can't wait for either DLC, just to give me a little more to add to my list. Every second in the game is a pleasure of some sort.

[canted_angle_again]

I've purchased the DLC but can't find it anywhere to download. Anyone else in the same boat?

[Thursday]

You just need to update the software, highlight BOTW on the home menu and press + or -  for options

[canted_angle_again]

Thanks! I feel like such a melon, I've been waiting all day for it to let me download it from the news link.