Social NintenZone Social 5 - Thanks, Everyone

[redfeatherraven]

At this point I've taken to practically becoming a hunter for profit, killing everything I can find in the most efficient location possible for profit.

I feel too awful about hitting wild horses to try to do it deliberately since I already heard they don't drop anything and they make these sad pained noises, though. Not that foxes and wolves don't make sad noises, but I ain't feeling sorry for the wolves one bit after reading their Compendium entries, getting stalked and bit by them, and considering they set off the encounter music. Wolfos with meat, that's what they are.

Oddly I get the feeling people feel less bad about killing the Yiga than the animals.

Huh, wonder why. Maybe it has something to do with their organization having the sole mission statement of killing you? Nah, that can't be it.

Right, horses. Horses have been the exception so far.

I've grown quite attached to mine, actually. His name is Misneach, and he's been a phenomenal companion.

Once, during a mission, I accidentally rode him off a tall cliff in Akkala. Tried to save us with the paraglider, only saved myself. Listening to him cry out as he fell, and the sudden silence, and the fact that his broken body just lingered there...

It was the most traumatizing thing I've so far experienced in game. Bless autosave.

Anyway, since then I've been reluctant to injure a horse even accidentally, because I never want to see that again. Also anything that injures my horse gets hatemurdered.

At least you can steal the bananas they drop and eat them in front of their bretheren.

Slowly. While savoring it.

I...feel like this would not have the effect you're intending.

Here's a question for Breath of the Wild peeps.

What did you think of the overall story and characters?

Some people are saying they're a bit weaker than other Zeldas due to the nonlinear design of the game.

What do you think?

I agree that it's weaker, but not due to the non-linearity.

Spoiler: Thoughts, with some minor spoilers

It feels like it's missing some of the tension and characterization of the other Zeldas out from most of what is presumably the main cast.

Calamity Ganon is kind of a terribly under- and mis-utilized incarnation. You're saving the world from an amorphous gasbag with nothing to do but respawn the same packs of cannon fodder every week, and while everyone assures you it's evil and dangerous as hell I don't think you ever really feel it properly.

He's got evil eyes spawning from piles of literal malice sprinkled through multiple locations in Hyrule like rock salt on fox steak or suck on a Bokoblin and all he feels like is part of the scenery. We're fighting the furniture for ****'s sake. If we'd seen a little more out of the memories perhaps this wouldn't have been so bad, but we never really did - we just see the before and the after of when the **** handshakes the fan and all the truly terrible stuff happens off-camera.

Also there was no need for each Champion to repeat the same set of directions in each Divine Beast with barely any changes in delivery. I know there are four more terminals you ****manglers, I see the ****ing dots, and I don't need to know that Shrug the Hatesquid #1-4 shanked you one hundred years ago in Cheerful, Adoring, Sassy and Asshole flavors. I'd rather hear more about Cheerful, Adoring, Sassy, and Asshole. And that's not a non-linear problem. Have the terminals chirp out how many remain and give each champion one line exploring their relationship with Link, or their thoughts on the Calamity, or whatever. Ninty had all the actors in the soundbooth anyway, they just whiffed on that.

It's a shame because the game otherwise gave me everything I never knew I wanted in a Zelda, and the story wasn't per se bad, it just felt frontloaded and woefully predictable. And sure, there's a lot about a Zelda game's story beats that we can guess at - "hey guys, I bet this is the one where Ganon ruins everything and Link has to save Hyrule" - but BotW just seemed kind of acceptably bland, and I feel like they could've done better.

Woof. My fingers need a break.

 

[PLATINUM7]

I still didn't kill foxes though, foxes are the best. :3

Glad there's someone else who understands.

 

[redfeatherraven]

About that. . .

Spoiler: BotW Spoilers

The old way of Travelers putting up a facade is still there as well, they just have better equipment and yell at you about their master.

Spoiler

Oh of course. And sometimes - rarely - it's still amusing to hear them out. The Mighty Banana salesman and Kohga's #1 Fangirl were awesome.

But me and trails don't usually mix unless I'm headed somewhere on horseback, and clearly the Yiga have determined this as well. Occasionally while I'm fighting whichever silver enemy wants to make me rich that hour a Yiga will pop up and support them, and since I'm mostly wandering where there is no trail that's become the more common experience versus the travellers.

I only have Phantom Hourglass, half of Spirit Tracks, and the opening animation of Four Swords to compare it to, so. . .LOL.

You poor thing.

Get yourself some Majora's Mask, stat.

PH and ST were alright, though.

I still didn't kill foxes though, foxes are the best. :3

So if you killed everything you saw at Hyrule Castle but the foxes...

Fox only, final destination?

 

[Cutie Gwen]

The thread has another silly title? I thought we'd get a cool one, but the miracle never happen

 

[PLATINUM7]

The thread has another silly title? I thought we'd get a cool one, but the miracle never happen

Typoes can be kool.

 

[redfeatherraven]

Typoes can be kool.

Platinum no.

We stopped that in the 90's, let it die.

 

[Coricus]

Right, horses. Horses have been the exception so far.

I've grown quite attached to mine, actually. His name is Misneach, and he's been a phenomenal companion.

Once, during a mission, I accidentally rode him off a tall cliff in Akkala. Tried to save us with the paraglider, only saved myself. Listening to him cry out as he fell, and the sudden silence, and the fact that his broken body just lingered there...

It was the most traumatizing thing I've so far experienced in game. Bless autosave.

Anyway, since then I've been reluctant to injure a horse even accidentally, because I never want to see that again. Also anything that injures my horse gets hatemurdered.


I...feel like this would not have the effect you're intending.


I agree that it's weaker, but not due to the non-linearity.

Spoiler: Thoughts, with some minor spoilers

It feels like it's missing some of the tension and characterization of the other Zeldas out from most of what is presumably the main cast.

Calamity Ganon is kind of a terribly under- and mis-utilized incarnation. You're saving the world from an amorphous gasbag with nothing to do but respawn the same packs of cannon fodder every week, and while everyone assures you it's evil and dangerous as hell I don't think you ever really feel it properly.

He's got evil eyes spawning from piles of literal malice sprinkled through multiple locations in Hyrule like rock salt on fox steak or suck on a Bokoblin and all he feels like is part of the scenery. We're fighting the furniture for ****'s sake. If we'd seen a little more out of the memories perhaps this wouldn't have been so bad, but we never really did - we just see the before and the after of when the **** handshakes the fan and all the truly terrible stuff happens off-camera.

Also there was no need for each Champion to repeat the same set of directions in each Divine Beast with barely any changes in delivery. I know there are four more terminals you ****manglers, I see the ****ing dots, and I don't need to know that Shrug the Hatesquid #1-4 shanked you one hundred years ago in Cheerful, Adoring, Sassy and ******* flavors. I'd rather hear more about Cheerful, Adoring, Sassy, and *******. And that's not a non-linear problem. Have the terminals chirp out how many remain and give each champion one line exploring their relationship with Link, or their thoughts on the Calamity, or whatever. Ninty had all the actors in the soundbooth anyway, they just whiffed on that.

It's a shame because the game otherwise gave me everything I never knew I wanted in a Zelda, and the story wasn't per se bad, it just felt frontloaded and woefully predictable. And sure, there's a lot about a Zelda game's story beats that we can guess at - "hey guys, I bet this is the one where Ganon ruins everything and Link has to save Hyrule" - but BotW just seemed kind of acceptably bland, and I feel like they could've done better.

Woof. My fingers need a break.

If something bad ever happens to your horse, there's someone out in the world that can help you. It might even be why the body lingers, I dunno. Not sure what the mechanics are behind it.

But yeah, bless autosave. I've been too scared to risk my horse, but even an uncaught wild horse falling off a cliff or hitting an enemy horse by accident feels bad.

I like messing with the mane, saddle, and bridle of a horse. There's one in particular that I don't feel right having in anything other than a specific combination, though.

Spoiler: BotW Spoilers

Namely the Royal White Horse. I made them look EXACTLY like Zelda's horse, and they've gotten me through both horse challenges. I named them Lux, best to have a name I want to keep on a horse I want to keep, and what better name for the seat of luxury?

Right now I'm riding around on a VERY fast horse that I tamed. Needed a horse other than my specific one to feel comfortable using other gear and manes on, so why not something that runs like greased lightning? I caught one with a black coat because one set stands out better on it.

. . .Maybe I should catch a BotW Epona look-alike sometime.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Platinum no.

We stopped that in the 90's, let it die.

But Red!
Sonic and Pokemon are cool again and there's a Power Rangers movie coming out, we ARE in the 90's!

 

[Deleted member]

I was hoping we'd follow up Sonic: The Force Awakens with The Eggman Empire Strikes Back.

 

[PLATINUM7]

I've just been informed that typographical errors died out in the 90s.
Thread title is seriously outdated then.

I was hoping we'd follow up Sonic: The Force Awakens with The Eggman Empire Strikes Back.

All we need is the Death Egg in Sonic Forces and everything goes full circle.

 

[lady_sky skipper]

That feeling when you really want Kirby as a playable racer in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, yet you realize that unneeded clones of Mario and Peach (Metal Mario excluded due to nostalgia for many) exist in the game over actual unique characters. Nintendo, please... we can all hope they plan on doing DLC for the deluxe version if we're lucky enough.

Also, I bet many users here can tell I feel really bored right now. However, @Shishœ might be pleased to hear I'll be watching LWA next week in an anime club I'm in once my one week vacation concludes.

Oh man, I would love to see Kirby as a racer in Mario Kart 8, I would also love to race as a Waddle Dee in the game too.

 

[Coricus]

Well huh. A falling rock just came down and punted me off my horse, while it missed the horse underneath and the horse came out perfectly fine.

I still gave them an armful of apples as an apple-ogy, though.

 

[redfeatherraven]

If something bad ever happens to your horse, there's someone out in the world that can help you. It might even be why the body lingers, I dunno. Not sure what the mechanics are behind it.

Oh I knew, but I felt immensely guilty and couldn't bear to lose Misneach. I heart my horse.

In hindsight I should have considered his resurrection a personal quest and made it priority one immediately. Would've made a much better story.

Would've done it if he'd died again, but Misneach survived the remainder of the game so I never had to.

I like messing with the mane, saddle, and bridle of a horse. There's one in particular that I don't feel right having in anything other than a specific combination, though.

Spoiler: BotW Spoilers

Namely the Royal White Horse. I made them look EXACTLY like Zelda's horse, and they've gotten me through both horse challenges. I named them Lux, best to have a name I want to keep on a horse I want to keep, and what better name for the seat of luxury?

Right now I'm riding around on a VERY fast horse that I tamed. Needed a horse other than my specific one to feel comfortable using other gear and manes on, so why not something that runs like greased lightning? I caught one with a black coat because one set stands out better on it.

. . .Maybe I should catch a BotW Epona look-alike sometime.

Always intended to fiddle with horse customization, but so far I haven't come across any gear that wasn't made out of All-Natural Bokoblin Bits™ and I feel like Misneach's mane is already just right. Possibly someday.

If you're interested in Epona, one of the amiibo can get you the genuine article. Capped stats all round. Don't recall which one does it, though.

But Red!
Sonic and Pokemon are cool again and there's a Power Rangers movie coming out, we ARE in the 90's!

Yes, yes, and we have Beauty and the Beast in theaters.

But I haven't seen a single Pog.

And I won't be convinced until I do.

Well huh. A falling rock just came down and punted me off my horse, while it missed the horse underneath and the horse came out perfectly fine.

I still gave them an armful of apples as an apple-ogy, though.

Thought I was the only one that did this.

I suppose it's half apology, half presuming it restores their health. Haven't found any evidence of that mechanic, and unwilling to test, but I'll take the perceived comfort.

 

[PLATINUM7]

Oh I knew, but I felt immensely guilty and couldn't bear to lose Misneach. I heart my horse.

In hindsight I should have considered his resurrection a personal quest and made it priority one immediately. Would've made a much better story.

Would've done it if he'd died again, but Misneach survived the remainder of the game so I never had to.


Always intended to fiddle with horse customization, but so far I haven't come across any gear that wasn't made out of All-Natural Bokoblin Bits™ and I feel like Misneach's mane is already just right. Possibly someday.

If you're interested in Epona, one of the amiibo can get you the genuine article. Capped stats all round. Don't recall which one does it, though.


Yes, yes, and we have Beauty and the Beast in theaters.

But I haven't seen a single Pog.

And I won't be convinced until I do.


Thought I was the only one that did this.

I suppose it's half apology, half presuming it restores their health. Haven't found any evidence of that mechanic, and unwilling to test, but I'll take the perceived comfort.

SSB Link gives Epona.

 

[Coricus]

Oh I knew, but I felt immensely guilty and couldn't bear to lose Misneach. I heart my horse.

In hindsight I should have considered his resurrection a personal quest and made it priority one immediately. Would've made a much better story.

Would've done it if he'd died again, but Misneach survived the remainder of the game so I never had to.


Always intended to fiddle with horse customization, but so far I haven't come across any gear that wasn't made out of All-Natural Bokoblin Bits™ and I feel like Misneach's mane is already just right. Possibly someday.

If you're interested in Epona, one of the amiibo can get you the genuine article. Capped stats all round. Don't recall which one does it, though.


Yes, yes, and we have Beauty and the Beast in theaters.

But I haven't seen a single Pog.

And I won't be convinced until I do.


Thought I was the only one that did this.

I suppose it's half apology, half presuming it restores their health. Haven't found any evidence of that mechanic, and unwilling to test, but I'll take the perceived comfort.

Oh, Epona's not capped. I got my horse from the same place I got a horse with the same stats as Epona but the even better spurs of a certain other horse. My current horse is just weaker because they have capped (I.E. better than Epona) speed and that's presumably the game's way of balancing it.

I have the Amiibo needed, mind you, I just haven't decided whether I want to open the box yet, LOL.

Spoiler: Saddle Locations

Assuming you're talking about Kilton's little art project, the other three sets are for registering the Royal White Horse and then talking to the old man at Outskirt Stable, doing the horse athletics minigame at Highland Stable, and doing the horse archery minigame nearby said stable to the west. I think there's another set tied to the Rider Link Amiibo, but I DON'T own that.

The latter two were frustrating to earn considering the time needed for one and the perfect archery score needed to complete the other, but at least they look great LOL.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Oh I knew, but I felt immensely guilty and couldn't bear to lose Misneach. I heart my horse.

In hindsight I should have considered his resurrection a personal quest and made it priority one immediately. Would've made a much better story.

Would've done it if he'd died again, but Misneach survived the remainder of the game so I never had to.


Always intended to fiddle with horse customization, but so far I haven't come across any gear that wasn't made out of All-Natural Bokoblin Bits™ and I feel like Misneach's mane is already just right. Possibly someday.

If you're interested in Epona, one of the amiibo can get you the genuine article. Capped stats all round. Don't recall which one does it, though.


Yes, yes, and we have Beauty and the Beast in theaters.

But I haven't seen a single Pog.

And I won't be convinced until I do.


Thought I was the only one that did this.

I suppose it's half apology, half presuming it restores their health. Haven't found any evidence of that mechanic, and unwilling to test, but I'll take the perceived comfort.

Last year there was Pogs for Boglins!

 

[Baskerville]

So my Switch just came today... with a packet of Tooty Frooties alongside the console.

Spoiler

Thanks, I guess...

 

[Warchamp7]

I did a thing. Let me know if you hate the thing.

 

[SuperMii3D]

I did a thing. Let me know if you hate the thing.

What thing did you thunk of thinging to existence?

 

[Warchamp7]

It's subtle

 

[Coricus]

"Hm. . .this person says I would be crazy to go to Goron City without Fireproof Elixirs. I wonder if it would change the dialog if I put on my Flamebreaker Armor?"

*tries*

What do you know? It actually did. If nothing else, you can't say this game doesn't have an attention to detail.

 

[Deleted member]

What thing did you thunk of thinging to existence?

You can now add your Switch Friend Code to your personal details.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm late to the FE thing but you know what kind of plot I'd reaply like to see in one? A civil war, making the conflict in the game mostly confined in the country the war is going on. No evil dragons or anything, just LA REVOLUCION

 

[Cutie Gwen]

I did a thing. Let me know if you hate the thing.

Goddammit you burned my 3DS to a crisp Warchamp

 

[Coricus]

You can now add your Switch Friend Code to your personal details.

Oh really? OK.

*bippity boppity boop*

Warchamp7 The format seems to be a little off from how mine works, the first line of my FC has two letters instead of four digits. Also is it not supposed to show up on my sidebar like the other codes or did I do something wrong?

 

[Warchamp7]

You can now add your Switch Friend Code to your personal details.

That's old actually :D

Oh really? OK.

*bippity boppity boop*

Warchamp7 The format seems to be a couple digits off from what mine is, the first line of my FC has two letters instead of four digits. Also is it not supposed to show up on my sidebar like the other codes or did I do something wrong?

Got a picture?

 

[redfeatherraven]

Oh, Epona's not capped. I got my horse from the same place I got a horse with the same stats as Epona but the even better spurs of a certain other horse. My current horse is just weaker because they have capped (I.E. better than Epona) speed and that's presumably the game's way of balancing it.

I have the Amiibo needed, mind you, I just haven't decided whether I want to open the box yet, LOL.

Spoiler: Saddle Locations

Assuming you're talking about Kilton's little art project, the other three sets are for registering the Royal White Horse and then talking to the old man at Outskirt Stable, doing the horse athletics minigame at Highland Stable, and doing the horse archery minigame nearby said stable to the west. I think there's another set tied to the Rider Link Amiibo, but I DON'T own that.

The latter two were frustrating to earn considering the time needed for one and the perfect archery score needed to complete the other, but at least they look great LOL.

She's not? Welp.

A month ago I would've said Link was an evergreen amiibo and safe to open...but now I can't seem to find him online, so I'm not so sure. If you've got a better horse, I say don't bother.

Spoiler

Dammit, I figured those were the locations, but I was hoping otherwise. Guess I need to brush up on my horseback archery after all.

I've got the Rider Link amiibo, but I'm similarly reluctant to open his box.

Last year there was Pogs for Boglins!

I could've lived a long, full life never knowing that was a thing.

But you still have to find me mainstream grunge music.

I did a thing. Let me know if you hate the thing.

The fading thing?

It's a nifty thing.

"Hm. . .this person says I would be crazy to go to Goron City without Fireproof Elixirs. I wonder if it would change the dialog if I put on my Flamebreaker Armor?"

*tries*

What do you know? It actually did. If nothing else, you can't say this game doesn't have an attention to detail.

And yet the goron child hawking the same potions in Goron City proper will tell you it's not his fault if you burn to a crisp because you didn't buy any.

In full Flamebreaker gear.

Either he's unobservant or that's some kind of threat. Maybe he's undercover Yiga?

You can now add your Switch Friend Code to your personal details.

And so I shall.

When I'm next in front of my Switch.

 

[Robertman2]

I'm late to the FE thing but you know what kind of plot I'd reaply like to see in one? A civil war, making the conflict in the game mostly confined in the country the war is going on. No evil dragons or anything, just LA REVOLUCION

Fire Emblem in the French Revolution, and all weapons are replaced with guillotines and baguettes

 

[Coricus]

That's old actually :D



Got a picture?

. . .Gaaaaaah I would totally screenshot but my computer's screen is being difficult so it's been in and out of repairs since the day the Switch came out. On my Wii U right now.

Unless you want a Switch screenshot of the FC, in which case I could Tweet it. But I assume you mean Smashboards.

 

[Warchamp7]

. . .Gaaaaaah I would totally screenshot but my computer's screen is being difficult so it's been in and out of repairs since the day the Switch came out. On my Wii U right now.

Unless you want a Switch screenshot of the FC, in which case I could Tweet it. But I assume you mean Smashboards.

I guess you just tell me the first half of it here in a post haha

 

[Drizzlebow]

So, uh..... A Hinox threw a Lava Talus at me and I died...




....




....




I love this game.

 

[PLATINUM7]

Oh really? OK.

*bippity boppity boop*

Warchamp7 The format seems to be a little off from how mine works, the first line of my FC has two letters instead of four digits. Also is it not supposed to show up on my sidebar like the other codes or did I do something wrong?

Pretty sure you don't need the letters. When I added a friend on my Switch, it said to just type in the numbers after the letters.

 

[Coricus]

I guess you just tell me the first half of it here in a post haha

Well I was trying to see about putting it in my sidebar, so I suppose I don't mind anyway.

But my FC goes SW-4794 followed by two other strings of four digits. Assumng the others work that way, they start with letters.

Pretty sure you don't need the letters. When I added a friend on my Switch, it said to just type in the numbers after the letters.

Well never mind then, I guess.

I wonder why on earth the letters are there in the first place, then?

 

[Robertman2]

View attachment 127200 Speaking of Death machines


to bad you cant eat the Yiga.

the yiga are banana people

when you eat a banana you either eat their meat or their young

 

[PLATINUM7]

Well I was trying to see about putting it in my sidebar, so I suppose I don't mind anyway.

But my FC goes SW-4794 followed by two other strings of four digits. Assumng the others work that way, they start with letters.

Well never mind then, I guess.

I wonder why on earth the letters are there in the first place, then?

Well everyone's FC starts with SW. Maybe it stands for SWitch?
Still that begs the question of why it's there.

Also, why did friend codes have to come back?

 

[Coricus]

Well everyone's FC starts with SW. Maybe it stands for SWitch?
Still that begs the question of why it's there.

Also, why did friend codes have to come back?

Considering what Reggie said, they'll probably be gone by the time we start having to pay for online.

Hardware-based Early Installment Weirdness?

 

[redfeatherraven]

the yiga are banana people

when you eat a banana you either eat their meat or their young

So a Yiga is a...banana man?

 

[Deleted member]

I did a thing. Let me know if you hate the thing.

Nothing to complain here.

 

[Deleted member]

Here's a question for Breath of the Wild peeps.

What did you think of the overall story and characters?

Some people are saying they're a bit weaker than other Zeldas due to the nonlinear design of the game.

What do you think?

Outside of Majora's Mask, and maybe Wind Waker, Zelda has never had a good story in general. It's very low tier fantasy overall.

I would say I'm disappointed, but I never really expected much tbh. I do think there is a lot of missed opportunity for something actually quite good with some thought provoking themes and the like. Calamity Ganon feels a lot like that black sludge thing from Mononoke, and the overall setting evokes Ghibli heavily, which is a pity the story overall feels extremely cookie cutter and generic.

As for the characters, they're all incredibly cliche and one-note. Especially the Champions. That said I should note I haven't beaten the game yet. I've only just finished all the main dungeons. Though I hear it gets worse from here.

Everyone likes the princess a lot because she's very pretty, and a bit tsundere, but personally, I quite dislike her, and I blame the atrocious voice acting most of all. What I guess is supposed to come off as endearing and cute, makes her seem like a stuck up ***** tbh, and it doesn't help that most of the time she's portrayed as incompetent, and in need of rescue. And again, it just makes me think... "well we could have had someone like Sen in Mononoke, and instead we got this." And it is quite bad when you think of Skyward Sword Zelda, who had her own adventure and stuff, which is one of the few positive things I'd have to say about that game.

As for the non-linear game design affecting the story... nah, I think the way the story was presented was just fine. Having to piece things together is a great way to keep the reader engaged in your plot. The problem is the plot itself is very weak and uninteresting. On a different note, I feel the excessive freedom of the game really hurt the GAMEPLAY. BotW is certainly a game that gets more boring the more you play it. The first few hours of the game are amazing, and then the grind and flaws really start to show. My biggest complaint are the definitely the shrines replacing the classic Zelda dungeons. Though I will praise Nintendo for willing to reinvent the series to such extremes. Just don't do it again. Bring back the 8 dungeons in the next game (make it OW though).

 

[redfeatherraven]

Outside of Majora's Mask, and maybe Wind Waker, Zelda has never had a good story in general. It's very low tier fantasy overall.

I would say I'm disappointed, but I never really expected much tbh. I do think there is a lot of missed opportunity for something actually quite good with some thought provoking themes and the like. Calamity Ganon feels a lot like that black sludge thing from Mononoke, and the overall setting evokes Ghibli heavily, which is a pity the story overall feels extremely cookie cutter and generic.

As for the characters, they're all incredibly cliche and one-note. Especially the Champions. That said I should note I haven't beaten the game yet. I've only just finished all the main dungeons. Though I hear it gets worse from here.

Everyone likes the princess a lot because she's very pretty, and a bit tsundere, but personally, I quite dislike her, and I blame the atrocious voice acting most of all. What I guess is supposed to come off as endearing and cute, makes her seem like a stuck up ***** tbh, and it doesn't help that most of the time she's portrayed as incompetent, and in need of rescue. And again, it just makes me think... "well we could have had someone like Sen in Mononoke, and instead we got this." And it is quite bad when you think of Skyward Sword Zelda, who had her own adventure and stuff, which is one of the few positive things I'd have to say about that game.

As for the non-linear game design affecting the story... nah, I think the way the story was presented was just fine. Having to piece things together is a great way to keep the reader engaged in your plot. The problem is the plot itself is very weak and uninteresting. On a different note, I feel the excessive freedom of the game really hurt the GAMEPLAY. BotW is certainly a game that gets more boring the more you play it. The first few hours of the game are amazing, and then the grind and flaws really start to show. My biggest complaint are the definitely the shrines replacing the classic Zelda dungeons. Though I will praise Nintendo for willing to reinvent the series to such extremes. Just don't do it again. Bring back the 8 dungeons in the next game (make it OW though).

Generally agree with the above but had a few points of note, which I'll tuck for spoilers:

Spoiler

- The Champions being relatively one-dimensional isn't necessarily terrible, but does represent a missed opportunity. I think the primary reason they stand out as lackluster by comparison is the limited time we spend with them, preventing us from seeing how they'd react to situations outside of prepping for the Calamity and being stuck as a ghost in a megazord. We barely got much of a look at them.

- Personally thought Zelda got handled well in this one - it's clear she had her own adventures beforehand, helping with restoration of the Divine Beasts and the whole pilgrimage to the springs, and honestly she seems like one of the most competent characters of the crew, that whole matter of her sealing powers aside. There's more characterization for her to be found in the memories and certain hidden lore bits in Hyrule Castle. I'd go so far to say that her and Rhoam are the most nuanced characters in the game due to this, although as above noted, that may be because we spend so relatively little time with anyone else.

- The game beginning to show the cracks as it goes along is typical when the quest list starts to look more complete than incomplete and there's no tangible goal besides beating the game remaining. I feel part of that stems from a lack of overall progression from the game's primary conceit - everything open and available from the word go - and a vastly reduced toolset compared to most Zelda titles, which begins to make even very dissimilar puzzles look the same and the resultant trek feel a bit like cleanup. It wasn't exactly a big finish, but in its defense I'd gotten something like 30-40 hours out of the game before I'd explored all the regions and handled the Divine Beasts, which is when the thrill of the new and unknown became harder to replicate and things started to feel like chores.

- Even so, I would keep the shrines. Though several of the puzzle trials could be categorized and used in dungeons, freeing the puzzles entirely from the conceit of a coherent facility allowed for some rather oddball designs we might not have otherwise seen, and packed the overworld full of hidden trials and secrets to boot. It's honestly an exemplary concept. The problem isn't the shrines per se, it's that they replaced the expansive dungeons rather than complementing those dungeons. Done again, I'd request both, with a reduced number of shrines to compensate.