Ocarina Of Time may have been the best thing to ever happen to gaming, but it’s long seemed a curse to The Legend Of Zelda series.
Whereas the Super Mario games have happily reinvented themselves with each major sequel, Zelda has wilted under the shadow of what many still proclaim to be the best game ever made.
That’s not to say many of the Zelda games released since haven’t been good, but they’ve struggled to either match Ocarina Of Time or find a way to reinvent its formula. Breath Of The Wild does both.
Although we still consider it the best of the post-N64 home console games, the reputation of 2011’s Skyward Sword has sunk considerably over the years – with fans, with critics, and seemingly with Nintendo themselves.
But its failings seem to be the driving force behind Breath Of The Wild’s changes, which is surprising considering both games share the same producer and director. Where Skyward Sword was criticised for its poor pacing and restrictive environments, Breath Of The Wild luxuriates in one of the largest and most intricately detailed open world landscapes ever seen.
And while Skyward Sword took painful long hours to get going, Breath Of The Wild has you out fending for yourself in mere minutes.
Although it seems impossible that a modern title could take any useful inspiration from a 31-year-old NES game the influence of the original The Legend Of Zelda is surprisingly obvious, as you’re thrust out on your quest with the very minimum of instruction – free to go where you like, and defend against extremely dangerous enemies, from the very start.
The Zelda games have always resisted easy categorisation but Breath Of The Wild more so than ever. It’s the closest the series has come to being a true role-playing game since Zelda II, but it also owes a strong influence to survival games.
Link still doesn’t have any stats but his three-piece outfits do, and so do the weapons, armour, and shields he picks up. The outfits can be upgraded but the equipment has an extremely short half-life before it breaks, and cannot be repaired.
Breakable weapons are not usually a favourite mechanic of ours, but here it’s used much more effectively than usual – to emphasise Link’s vulnerability and to force experimentation with the vast array of equipment.
From swords and two-handed spears to boomerangs that you have to catch and a variety of elemental wands, the range is hugely impressive and all handled by an elegantly simple control system.
Fundamentally it’s not very different to Ocarina Of Time, and still uses Z-targeting, but dodging or parrying at the right time opens up enemies to more powerful attacks, adding an extra layer of tactics. Meanwhile, firing your bow requires considerable skill and judgement to get the arc of the arrow’s flight on target.
We found the latter surprising at first, but Breath Of The Wild features not just a robust physics engine but an unexpectedly realistic approach to most of its mechanics.
Climbing becomes more difficult in the rain, and there are optional on-screen meters to measure both the temperature (you grow exhausted in the heat or freeze in the cold) and the amount of noise you’re making.
Even the artificial intelligence is remarkably good, as monsters gang up and retreat when necessary, or know to pick up dropped weapons. They’ll kick away unexploded bombs and throw explosive barrels – or even smaller monsters if they’re one of the bigger enemies.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch) – you can own up to five horses at a time
Set off a bomb in the water and fish will come flying out, while a magic ability lets you pick up metallic objects and throw them around like a wrecking ball. You can create balloon bombs to send floating into an enemy camp, sneak in at night and steal their weapons so it doesn’t matter if they raise an alarm, or use the call for your horse to distract guards.
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