Today we put too much emphasis on what is ‘new’ or ‘trending’. America is a consumerist country, I get that. That’s how industries are run, that’s how businesses keep going. I question whether or not our society hasn’t become a little shallow as of late. Recently I’ve had an experience that’s caused me to question whether we’re not missing something important by doing so.
I can recall back in 2013 surfing the internet and witnessing a video that blew my mind. There was a rumor video showing some leaked footage from an untitled “Legend of Zelda” video game. That was the same year that Nintendo had unveiled the Wii U. The Wii U was great concept, I liked it and all. The only issue was that at at launch there was now worthwhile titles. Who cared about the Wii U when “Skyward Sword” was on the outgoing Wii system? Then at E3, a brand new “Legend of Zelda” game was announced. What I saw absolutely floored my (easily impressed) mind. There was a video of Link going up against a massive spin that looked a lot like Shelob from “Lord of the Rings”. It was supposed to be a demonstration of the graphical ability of the Wii U and i impressed me. I could hardly wait for the new project.
Well, life turns out a little funny sometimes. The project got delayed for reason that to this day remain unclear. The untitled project needed up becoming “Breath of the Wild”, a title not released to the world until late 2016. I happened to be rather busy that year so I ended up missing it. But I did catch all the hype and watched some of the promo trailers. It looked incredible, I absolutely wanted to play it, but like I said I ended up being extraordinarily busy. Same for next year. Year after that. I never ended up playing it. Here it is 2023. It’s been quite the year, “Tears of The Kingdom” came out and the moment I saw it, I absolutely had to play it. So I splurged a little and got “Breath of The Wild” & “Tears of the Kingdom”.
“Breath of The Wild” is absolutely everything I could have hoped for. And more. From the opening scenes I immediately fell in love with the Studio Ghibli graphics. It’s hard to encapsulate just what it was like to see a massive, open world Hyrule opening before my eyes. The vast, wild, open spaces just waiting to be explored. I felt like a little kid wanting to go on a massive adventure.
I waited ten years to play this. From the very moment I saw the leaked footage way back in 2013, I knew this would be worth it. The “Legend of Zelda” series is extremely personal to me. Games like “The Wind Waker”, “Ocarina of Time”, “The Majorah’s Mask”, “Twilight Princess”, and “Skyward Sword” encapsulate all my best gaming memories. Even the very soundtracks from the games are enough to put a smile on my face. Returning to see what’s become of Hyrule after all this time feels pretty great.
I have pretty high standards for the stories I enjoy. In my opinion video game are (finally!) evolving into cinematic graphic novels, a fact I’m glad for. When coming into “Breath of The Wild” I wondered i the video game wasn’t better in my memory. Would this game be all that I really thought it would be? To my surprise, the story of “Breath of The Wild” represents one of the finest I have seen. Link awakes after a one hundred year slumber to combat The Calamity, a terrible scourge that comes upon the land every century. Only, the last time The Calamity hit, it decimated Hyrule. It’s a surreal experience to walk around the vast green fields and see burned towns, decimated villages and crumbling structures. Evidence of a once sprawling kingdom laid waste.
Then there’s the characters. “Breath of The Wild” is loaded with possibly the biggest cast of characters, great and small I’ve ever seen in the Zelda universe. (Zelda-verse?) I must confess that it is good to play a game that actually has me pretty entertaining dialogue to scroll through. Some of the dialogue/missions I’ve been on, caused me to laugh out loud. All over the place, there is ALWAYS something interesting to do or listen in on. Some fan favorites return; Lady Impa, Beadle, and of course, Princess Zelda. On that note, this is the very first game I’ve ever played that treats Princess Zelda as a legitimate character. Usually she’s basically just stuck in one place, offering cryptic words on her responsibilities as Princess (then she’s captured and she isn’t heard from until the end).
I am also impressed with the way “Breath of The wild” handles lore. Look at the all the best writers, from Tolkien, to Brandon Sanderson, they all develop deep lore around their stories. “Breath of The Wild” follows in that tradition. Each game has always been totally removed from each other, but not this time. “Breath of The Wild” is full of references to nearly every single video game, treating them as ‘legends”. (a cheap way to avoid create a cohesive chronology I think) More than that, upon reaching Kakariko village (a fan favorite place), players are treated to a dose of Sheikah backstory. Something we’ve NEVER gotten before and I say it’s about time. I remember playing “Ocarina of Time” and wondering about the Sheikah. There’s nowhere in this game that is ‘ordinary’.
Truly, “Breath of The Wild” is one of the greatest game experiences I’ve ever had. Everything from fighting epic battles, to traveling the vast wild, there isn’t a dull moment in this game. After ten years of waiting, it was worth it. And I realize that talking about a game that was released years ago doesn’t seem all that relevant, but this is a mistake. Why does something have to be shiny and new to be relevant? I’d sooner buy “Breath of The Wild” than “Starfield” any day of the week. (especially given Starfields lackluster fan response)
I’ll say one more thing before I wrap up here. As I’ve been working on my first novel, the number one goal I keep in mind is to ensure that I tell a story that will be meaningful to my readers. It doesn’t matter to me how old “Breath of The Wild” is. It still manages to thrill me. Every time I fire up the game it brings a huge smile on my face. This is the exact experience I want to capture to any potential readers. Thanks Nintendo for the memories, and thanks for giving me some new ones.
