The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo Switch cover
Developer(s)	Nintendo EPD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date	March 3, 2017 March 3, 2017 March 3, 2017 March 3, 2017
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone 10+ PEGI: - Twelve years and older
Console(s)	Wii U, Nintendo Switch
Mode(s)	Single player
Media	Nintendo Switch Game Card, Wii U Optical Disc, digital download
Input	Wii U Controller, Joy-Con, Switch Pro Controller

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the nineteenth installment of the main The Legend of Zelda series. It was released for both the Wii U and Nintendo Switch in March 2017. The game features large, open world exploration like earlier three-dimensional The Legend of Zelda titles but is more non-linear in that the dungeons can be completed in any order, similar to the first The Legend of Zelda.

Gameplay

As Link, the player explores an open world spanning various regions in Hyrule Kingdom. Such regions include trademark locales of the series, namely Zora's Domain, Death Mountain, Gerudo Desert, and Hyrule Castle, some with specific terrain and climate that may require special equipment to traverse. Unlike other titles in The Legend of Zelda series, the game does not impose a predetermined or linear path to completion, instead encouraging players to explore on their own accord, finding new ways to interact with the environment and overcome obstacles. To this end, the player employs different moves, weapons, and resources while frequently engaging in puzzle-solving and real time combat. The main character is controlled from a third-person view, with full control over the camera.

Link's primary actions include walking and jumping, which extend to running, gliding, swimming and climbing. The more physically-demanding actions are constrained by a Stamina Wheel, which decreases at a constant pace as said actions are performed but refills on its own while Link is idle or performs more relaxing actions. Another attribute of Link is the health counter, which depletes with long-distance falls or with hits from enemies and hazards, such as falling rocks. The health counter can be expanded by acquiring Heart Containers, obtained from either clearing a Divine Beast or by trading in Spirit Orbs at a goddess statue, which can also provide stamina-increasing Stamina Vessels. For enough rupees, the player can also exchange accumulated Heart Containers and Stamina Vessels through the Horned Statue.

A large part of Link's performance relies on effective use of resources found in the environment. Food restores Link's health and stamina, and is acquired in various circumstances such as hunting wild animals, bonking trees to make fruit drop, or finding nests with eggs. There are also non-edible resources such as herbs, small animals, and monster spoils. Link can use raw ingedients to prepare various dishes and elixirs that replenish his health and stamina, or provide him temporary status enhancements such as endurance to hazards. Link has access to a wide array of weapons consisting of melee weapons, bows, and shields, obtained by salvaging them from the surroundings or enemies. These are primarily used in combat and hunting, though they may have other uses; for instance, axes or swords are needed to cut down trees and procure wood, while shields can be used to slide down hills. Most weapons in the game have some degree of durability that determines how quickly they break after repeated use. This is often proportional to the amount of damage Link can inflict when using them.

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Trivia

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the first The Legend of Zelda game that simultaneously released for two consoles; a previous title, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, was initially released on Wii despite development originally being on Nintendo GameCube.

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