The first game I played on Switch. On the first night, I played for six hours straight, from Shrine of Resurrection through the entire Great Plateau, into taming my first horse.
I then proceeded to devour the entire game, putting in over 300 hours over the course of two months. Completed all the main quests and shrines, upgraded all the armor, and finished all the side quests and DLC (those Master Sword Trials were incredibly tough) before finally heading over to Ganon (sorry for the wait, Zelda).
I then spent the next 400+ hours hunting down all the Koroks.
The quiet atmosphere combined with the endless exploration and its litany of awards, from the excitement of finding and solving a Korok puzzle, to getting a memory or shrine. This game truly gripped me.
Although the story was sparse, the amount of character they gave to each Champion was still great. The memories were a highlight for me, and I really wish there were more.
Thankfully, those ideas were explored in the DLC with the Champion's Ballad, which I adored, as well as (loosely and sort of non-canonically) in Age of Calamity. Finding extra details and nuances between each character's relationships in the Champion's Ballad, as well as exploring and talking to other villagers, gave a multi-faceted view of many of the champions (besides Daruk - lovable guy, but not much else there than fun strong adventurer). Love each champion's theme as well, especially Mipha and Revali. And I appreciate how the descendants eventually got their time in the spotlight in TotK.
Speaking of details, the journals you can find are sometimes heavy-handed, as Zelda recounts her relationship with Link, or heartwrenching, as Rhoam reflects on his with his daughter.
I was a bit heartbroken that finding all the shrines, side quests, and memories, didn't give anything extra besides a short cutscene after the credits - though I've come to expect as much from Nintendo and Zelda games, always resetting right before the endgame.
I really didn't mind the item durability, besides in the very early game. I also found the Korok seeds charming and perfect for a completionist like me to scramble over. It also gave me a reason to truly appreciate all the features and topography of the entire map - why else would I try to climb to the top of every mountain?
~~~ DLC Review:
A week and a half within the two month blitz that I played through BotW. Glad I bought this while playing the game, and was able to find the chests and experience the story and trials throughout the game instead of afterwards. To go over each of them:
- Trial of the Sword was amazing, and gave a really challenging, interesting dungeon experience akin to Eventide, but massively more difficult. Really a different way to play the game, having to know which enemies were up in the next room and building up strategies. Definitely frustrating, and the middle chunk was probably the most difficult for me. Some of the bosses at the end in the final stages were much easier than the swarms of Lizalfos in other rooms. Super fun, and a showcase of what made BotW and its combat and basic mechanics so fun.
- Hero's Path, Travel Medallion, Ancient Horse Gear: all super useful to have, and I'm glad they included the former two as a base mechanic in TotK. Ancient Horse Gear was neat for the little while - until you got the Master Cycle.
- Korok Mask: A lifesaver. All the other outfits were cool, but this one made Korok hunting much more bearable. Was able to hunt down hundreds of those little poops with this on, would not have trekked everywhere to do so without it.
- Champions' Ballad: Already stated in my other review, but really brought the whole show together. Loved finding the extra shrines with their cool challenges, especially Mipha's sailing into the water. And hearing more of each champions' story and tragic end, as well as having to fight the bosses with their equipment, again shows off how good the core mechanics are of this game. Same with the One-shot weapon, and then leading into the Sheikah boss fight for the motorcycle (which also made traveling around and hunting Koroks way easier). The ending scene with Kass addressing Link directly will live on in my memory.
Master Mode: Only one I didn't do, but remains a perfect excuse for me to return to the game.
~~~
After 100%'ing TotK, it might be time to finally go through this game on Master Mode...
I then proceeded to devour the entire game, putting in over 300 hours over the course of two months. Completed all the main quests and shrines, upgraded all the armor, and finished all the side quests and DLC (those Master Sword Trials were incredibly tough) before finally heading over to Ganon (sorry for the wait, Zelda).
I then spent the next 400+ hours hunting down all the Koroks.
The quiet atmosphere combined with the endless exploration and its litany of awards, from the excitement of finding and solving a Korok puzzle, to getting a memory or shrine. This game truly gripped me.
Although the story was sparse, the amount of character they gave to each Champion was still great. The memories were a highlight for me, and I really wish there were more.
Thankfully, those ideas were explored in the DLC with the Champion's Ballad, which I adored, as well as (loosely and sort of non-canonically) in Age of Calamity. Finding extra details and nuances between each character's relationships in the Champion's Ballad, as well as exploring and talking to other villagers, gave a multi-faceted view of many of the champions (besides Daruk - lovable guy, but not much else there than fun strong adventurer). Love each champion's theme as well, especially Mipha and Revali. And I appreciate how the descendants eventually got their time in the spotlight in TotK.
Speaking of details, the journals you can find are sometimes heavy-handed, as Zelda recounts her relationship with Link, or heartwrenching, as Rhoam reflects on his with his daughter.
I was a bit heartbroken that finding all the shrines, side quests, and memories, didn't give anything extra besides a short cutscene after the credits - though I've come to expect as much from Nintendo and Zelda games, always resetting right before the endgame.
I really didn't mind the item durability, besides in the very early game. I also found the Korok seeds charming and perfect for a completionist like me to scramble over. It also gave me a reason to truly appreciate all the features and topography of the entire map - why else would I try to climb to the top of every mountain?
~~~ DLC Review:
A week and a half within the two month blitz that I played through BotW. Glad I bought this while playing the game, and was able to find the chests and experience the story and trials throughout the game instead of afterwards. To go over each of them:
- Trial of the Sword was amazing, and gave a really challenging, interesting dungeon experience akin to Eventide, but massively more difficult. Really a different way to play the game, having to know which enemies were up in the next room and building up strategies. Definitely frustrating, and the middle chunk was probably the most difficult for me. Some of the bosses at the end in the final stages were much easier than the swarms of Lizalfos in other rooms. Super fun, and a showcase of what made BotW and its combat and basic mechanics so fun.
- Hero's Path, Travel Medallion, Ancient Horse Gear: all super useful to have, and I'm glad they included the former two as a base mechanic in TotK. Ancient Horse Gear was neat for the little while - until you got the Master Cycle.
- Korok Mask: A lifesaver. All the other outfits were cool, but this one made Korok hunting much more bearable. Was able to hunt down hundreds of those little poops with this on, would not have trekked everywhere to do so without it.
- Champions' Ballad: Already stated in my other review, but really brought the whole show together. Loved finding the extra shrines with their cool challenges, especially Mipha's sailing into the water. And hearing more of each champions' story and tragic end, as well as having to fight the bosses with their equipment, again shows off how good the core mechanics are of this game. Same with the One-shot weapon, and then leading into the Sheikah boss fight for the motorcycle (which also made traveling around and hunting Koroks way easier). The ending scene with Kass addressing Link directly will live on in my memory.
Master Mode: Only one I didn't do, but remains a perfect excuse for me to return to the game.
~~~
After 100%'ing TotK, it might be time to finally go through this game on Master Mode...