So Nintendo has revealed the title for the long delayed new Zelda game, Breath of the Wild. They've been streaming gameplay all day and it's looking really great. Some bullet points:

• The game begins with Link waking up in a mysterious technological looking chamber and receiving the "Sheikah Slate" item.
• There is voice acting to some extent, though they're either not done recording or not every character will be voiced. Likely only the main story will be voiced.
• They're going with a bit of a loot system. Multiple pieces of gear and weapons can be found in the world which have attack and defense stats.
• There are over 100 "shrines" in the world which are basically mini dungeons. There will also be an unknown number of more traditional Zelda dungeons.
• Multiple abilities related to the "sheikah slate" item were shown including remote detonation bombs and magnetic telekinesis.
• Wolf Link Amiibo can be used to summon in Wolf Link as a companion that behaves a lot like the dog in Fable.
• Little was revealed of the story, but a ruined Temple of Time was seen as well as Koroks, possibly meaning there is some connection to Wind Waker.

I am personally really digging everything they've shown. The world looks beautiful, even on the Wii U, and the fact there are so many shrines is awesome. The ones they showed had rudimentary but still interesting puzzles and they said later ones are more complex. Having that much dungeon content is the perfect way to fill a giant open world in a Zelda game in my opinion.

What did everyone else think of what was shown?

Here is the trailer:

That time freezing power they showed off earlier looks pretty f'n rad.

I don't know why it impressed or surprised me, but the fact that the game has all of the best visual elements of Windwaker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword together in a cohesive way did in fact surprise and impress me.

you also have to eat and keep warm apparently.... don't know how I feel about the shoehorned survival stuff they got in there...

Game looks pretty rad, looking forward to it.

This is immensely frustrating.

Eating is just in place of heart pickups. There's no hunger mechanic, the food is just health items. Cooking also creates food that has more potent healing or temporary buffs. The warmth is limited to snowy/mountain regions and there are clothing items that will keep you warm. It's not like they're trying to make Zelda a survival game.

Also, having mechanics doesn't automatically equate to it being shoehorned in. That stuff seems pretty well fleshed out from what they've shown.

Eating is just to restore hearts or get some boosts. It's not an actual hunger mechanic.

I really like the idea of keeping warm or cool based on the environments though. It's not exactly new, considering they had environments like that in previous games (Death Mountain), but it sounds like it's something you have to be more aware of when entering a new zone and there are more options to deal with that like gear and potions. When you have a big world with dramatically changing environments I really like it when games treat them as more than just a texture swap. As long as managing that stuff isn't too cumbersome or intrusive.

ah, I was left with the impression that it was a hunger mechanic in there, I guess it's ok if you're eating only to get your health back.

After trailer: ooooooooooo the Petty's, this looks awesome, give me an nx now! This game will be the best Zelda ever!

After gameplay stream: wow this world seems really baron and kind of dull, which is incredible given the colour pallett. Gameplay mechanics seem a bit so so... Awwwh sheeeeeeet

Excitement level : 7/10

Super interested to see what the dungeons look like, but it seems real solid.

@efesell: That's almost as dumb as all the shit they said around Tomodachi Life.

Can't possibly just make the boring, avatar character a female. That's too difficult.

I mean, I would have liked the option to play as a female character, but the fact that's it not a route they chose to go isn't something to get upset over. Tomodachi Life is one thing, but Zelda is a bit different because Link, no matter much of a blank slate he may be, is an established male character.

I almost always choose to play as a female character if given the choice just to mix things up from all the games with set male protagonists, but Link being a male only isn't something to get upset over. It would have been nice if they'd offered the choice, but it's understandable that they didn't.

I just want to get my hands on it. Like all the time I was seeing footage I just wanted to be playing it and exploring.

I'm not even upset that they aren't doing it. What's frustrating is that it's a known rumor for ages and when it comes time to finally say "Well, no actually.." the reasoning is this bullshit about 'Oh what would Link do if Zelda was a fighter?' or whatever the hell they're trying to say about the triforce.

@ll_exile_ll: What's understandable about it? Hyrule Warriors literally had "Linkle," a female version of Link. And why can't they make a game actually staring Zelda? Can't have them spend ten minutes rethinking the design dock from the bog-standard formula to make something interesting. Not Nintendo. The reasons they gave were garbage, as bad as Ubisoft talking about how they can't make the AC lead a woman because it would require them to change the animations.

yup, i'll be buying this... doubt i'll get an NX at launch so i'll go with Wii U for now.

I'm really looking forward to trying it out. Wind waker is my favorite zelda so any connections to that are bonus points for the game for me. I love the art design. I'm mainly skeptical on how the open world is going to be. I really enjoyed sailing around and finding random islands that all had some reward or puzzle, but if the world is overpopulated with generic side stuff that has no interesting reward aside from existing then I'm going to lose interest. Open world games are in abundance right now so open world zelda doesn't set my heart on fire the same way it would have 5 years ago. Game looks cool, but I just hope it's actually fun.

Yeah, this reminds me a lot of the AC thing where, if they just hadn't come up with some bullshit story/technical excuse it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it is. I'd like to think they could've just said "No, there's no female PC", left it at that and no one would've been shocked.

Also this game looks fucking rad and I'm crazy excited for it.

They are changing up the Zelda formula a ton. Just because they didn't change that one thing doesn't mean they aren't trying a bunch of new things in other aspects of the game.

It's understandable because there's no reason they should have to change Link to a female or change the main character. I'm right there with a lot of people in feeling that there aren't enough female protagonists in the game industry (though it definitely feels like things are trending in the right direction in recent years), but that doesn't mean every game with a male protagonist is somehow doing something wrong, doubly so for a series with an established male character.

Link has been the main character of every Zelda game over the past 30 years and has always been a male. Given the new direction they're taking the series, it makes a lot of sense to keep some things, like protagonist, familiar. It keeps it connected to the rest series when a lot about the design and gameplay is quite different.

It would be interesting if they had mixed things up, but it's totally fine that they didn't. Let's not get into the trap of conflating two very different ideas. Thinking it would be nice if more games had female protagonists is very different from shaming every game that has a male protagonist.

With all that said, please let's not derail the discussion about this game into gender politics. In the grand scheme of the game it doesn't really matter, let's just discuss the actual game.

Yeah, the game looks pretty damn cool. Loving the art style for the different areas as well as the colour present in each of them. The abilities, from what they have shown seem pretty good too. I will almost certainly get it, it is just a matter of on which platform. Just need to know what the NX is all about I guess.

Yeah. This was pretty much my reaction to the game. Good artstyle, but I am still not sold on the gameplay.

Best showing from E3. The breakup of Shrines (mini-dungeons) and Temples is really exciting, with there being over 100 shrines each of which give you a Spirit Orb which I'm assuming you use to unlock Temples. It's like the structure of "Jiggies" from Banjo-Kazooie applied to Zelda in a way that allows for the world to be packed with awesome secret content to discover.

EDIT: Also, on the Treehouse stream one of them said that there were 4 shrines in the "E3 Version" of the Grand Plateau, maybe they removed some that will be in the final game? That + Epona could explain why the world seems slightly barren.

It's really sad but not surprising that people are so entitled they are blasting Nintendo for no female Link. Do we really need to continue bullying developers into 'checklisting' their games? The amount of outrage for something as unimportant as video games keeps catching me off guard.

I don't understand, I have played as women in many games and never found myself wishing I could play as a guy instead and I certainly would not cry out for a 20+ year old character to be changed to suit my worldview.

This is the most exciting Zelda has looked in a very very very long time and yet a lot of people are just complaining there's no 0 or 1 option corresponding to male or female.

Yeah, seems like a great way to handle linear progression in a nonlinear game. I was wondering how they were going to handle progression in a game where you're supposed to be able to do stuff in any order you want, and this is a great idea. Essentially using the rewards you get from completing dungeons/shrines as currency to unlock new stuff is perfect. It allows them to dole out items or progress the story after you've completed a certainly amount of dungeons, but it doesn't matter which particular ones you've completed.

I was hoping they didn't do the item rental thing from A Link Between Worlds, and this system seems infinitely better. It maintains the feeling of progression in your arsenal while still retaining the freedom to let you do things in any order you want.

To add to the gender discussion, I was pretty disappointed that we didn't end up playing as Linkle. That said, they denied it all the way back in E3 2014 so a bait and switch was unlikely anyhow. We kind of attach these expectations arbitrarily when it comes to existing characters, though. Leaked e-mails hinted James Bond would be played by Idris Elba, now people will be disappointed if he's played by a white dude in a way they won't if Sherlock Holmes receives the same casting. Link looked more effeminate than usual in the 2014 trailer, now we're disappointed that Link is a man in a way we wouldn't be if Mario were a man in the next Mario game.

I think it's fine to be disappointed they didn't go that route, I am to an extent as well. It's when it gets to being upset or mad at Nintendo for not doing it that I think is ridiculous. The only appropriate response to this is "well, that's a shame" and then move on. It's really not a big deal.

It looks pretty cool. I like how they are shaking up the formula. I am a little worried about the open world tho. I like my games to be fairly focused and am worried that the massive open world will detract from that.

I see a lot of people saying this about the environment... you know what they showed was only 1 field area right? It's basically the Hyrule Field equivalent. There will be more densely populated locations in the full game.

Nintendo's response as to why they didn't include a gender select option was pretty tone deaf, though I'm not going to get too up in arms about it. I think the unfortunate aspect is the way people can still get really angry about the idea of a gender select option, as the only reason there hasn't been in the past is the age of the series. If it had started in the 2000s, it'd probably have a gender select option like every other modern RPG/action RPG. It would not subtract a thing from the series to have one. I mean, for a series with RPG routes, the character of Link is the most nothing of about any game ever made.

As for the parts of the demo I saw, it looked like a lot of Dark Souls in my Zelda, which is a-okay with me. I'm glad they're shaking up the formula so much.

If they didn't decide to serve up grade A bullshit as their response then it'd be way easier to do that. I can respect a simple "That's not the direction we wanted to take."

They specifically said they are deliberately not showing any towns or inhabited areas at E3 to avoid spoilers. It's a safe bet there will be more interesting things to be found in the full map.

Even with that said, I don't think the E3 area seems that barren. There's a bunch of enemy encampments, ruins, and a few shrines. There were lakes, rivers, and mountains in just this small area. I don't know what people expect from an open world that makes this seems barren and dull. Would people rather there be a bunch of ubisoft icons with dull cookie cutter activities to fill up the world?

went into the demo feeling cautiously optimistic. And afterward I was stiil just cautiously optimistic.

It does a good job of capturing the mood and feeling of Zelda 1 and bringing it to a modern game. But I'm not certain how engaged I'll be with this world after 20-30 hours. I'm worried it might be too big and open for its own good.

In any case I've beaten Zeldas 1 thru 15 and I want to keep the streak going so I'll buy this regardless. Not like they really have to win me over any way :-)

I haven't liked (or finished) the past couple of console Zelda games, but this one looks to shake things up enough to make it interesting. The fact that you wake up and go out into the world within minutes like that really sells it to me. The openings for TP and SS were so slow that I almost lost interest by the time you actually get into the game. The loot system and changing weapons stuff looks interesting. Just hope it doesn't get annoying. Either way it definitely looks like it's worth buying so far.

I'm having a hard time putting into words the reasons why i think this looks... boring? I don't think the art style looks good, the animations to go along with said art style are really not good, you can chop trees, swim, engage in minor crafting, go anywhere in an open world and... these are all things we've done in other games. The open world looks empty, like a really long stretch of landscape you have to trek across between places of interest, the trailer demonstrates all the minor things you can do in this space and not what the objectives of the game are, what the player is actually aiming to do and what the reward for doing it will be, i'll note here that i didn't watch any further footage of the game on the stream as they lost me in the Pokemon segment, so i'm going purely on previous footage and this trailer.
As far as Zelda games go it seems the same as Ocarina of Time, just stretched out across a bigger space, for all the talk of completely changing the formula it doesn't seem all that different aside from the amount of space there is.

@cikame: They have purposely kept most of the major story related elements hidden for this showing (dungeons, towns, most NPCs and major objectives, etc). We simply don't know what the bigger picture of what the game is yet, they are only showing off a few of the mechanics and a very small portion of the available landmass. (Apparently something like 1%.)

Whether you like or don't like what you see, it's still too early to say much with any certainty. From what they've shown though the structure of the game seems very little like Ocarina of Time. It reminds me more of the original NES Zelda if anything.

Isn't it Zelda canon that each iteration of Link is a separate person from previous games? If that's the case then the "Link is an established male character" excuse kind of flies out the window. They very easily could make a female Link without breaking canon. It would've been cool to offer players a choice, so it's a little disappointing, but I'm not terribly upset. The game still looks pretty cool.

The durability mechanic looked terrible and the world continues to look barren and sparse.

The excuse for no female Link might have been poor, but I think if a developer wants to make a game with a male main character they shouldn't be shamed by the entire community. Let them tell the story they want.

I don't reeeally care about not being able to play as a lady, but I hate their reasoning of "well what would Link do if Zelda was playable?" because the answer is so obviously "he'd get kidnapped by Ganon."

C'mon Nintendo. Let me rescue some cute-but-useless dork boy!

Seriously though, the game looks really cool from what they've shown so far, and I hope they can keep the open world interesting for the length of the game.

Oh, we're talking about the Female Link stuff? It's pretty simple: instead of giving the option for a female playable character, they just make Link more androgynous looking with each new installment. The one in this game certainly is pretty enough to be a lady.

But in all seriousness, they could've just said "This wasn't really what we wanted to do" instead of the dumb answer they gave. Also, I still think the idea of a female Link in one of these games sounds cool.

When did it become imperative zelda have a female main character? To me it reads as it should, there is no real reason to suddenly turn link (a 30 yr old iconic, male character) into a female, it may be your preference but that is all. Though the prospect of a female main character is interesting, they obviously have no current desire to do away with link so they considered Zelda, after this consideration they decided against it. I do agree the justification is arbitrary and dumb but giving link boobs and a different walk cycle IS an arbitrary decision, Aonuma doesn't give enough of a shit about this as a creative problem and hes trying not to sound flippant.

An argument can be made that Nintendo has some moral responsibility to take charge on the issue of representation, I just don't agree that hoisting this task onto indifferent people (especially artists) is the way to effect the change you're looking for. Nintendo has more female employees than most videogame companies, I have no doubt than in the future they will address this problem in a subtle and nuanced manner because it will be important to the creators.

I'm one of the few who have to hid my eyes in shame saying I've never played a Legend of Zelda game. That said I think this is exactly what Nintendo needs right now. I've been seriously considering buying a 3DS so I can play the remastered N64 titles.

Makes me wish I cared about other Nintendo games. Zelda has always looked really cool to me, but I don't give 2 shits about any other Nintendo franchise. This prevents me from ever buying one of their systems. Last one I bought was the Wii and the only game I ever played/enjoyed on it was twilight princess.

You can ride your shield down a mountain while shooting your bow like Legolas what more do you want. (not a huge LOTR fan but it's still pretty damn cool)

I think people are being a bit too harsh on the game because it's Zelda. That Wild game looked pretty barren but people didnt care because it looked interesting / funny. Not every open world needs Ubisoft levels of crap crammed into it. (i'm aware Wild is a Ubisoft game but you get what I mean)

@boozak: Does anybody even legitimately like Ubisoft's open-world design? Cramming that much crap into a dense space does not actually make for an interesting world to explore. You need a little "barren" so that coming across something new is actually exciting.

@ll_exile_ll said:

It might not be a big deal to you but clearly it is for some people. It's not our business to arbitrate how people should or shouldn't feel about decisions that may affect their enjoyment of a game.

I have to admit this is the first Nintendo game I have seen in a long time that even comes close to making me even remotely consider getting a Nintendo platform. I am really liking the art style and something about it just seems like good old fun. If Nintendo can back this game up with some other titles to make a console purchase reasonable, that would be good.

If someone gets so upset at a game for not doing something it never had any intention of doing, never claimed it was doing, and only ever even became a topic because of made up rumors, I guess people have a right too, but it's ridiculous.

Yep, if anything people who genuinely care about this sort of thing should be raging at the state of Metroid

I'm excited for 4 or 5 installments from now, when Link is a floating androgynous grey orb of jelly.