One of the breakout titles for the Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a game that is familiar to anyone who has ever hopped into an open world title and at the same time, completely unlike anything else on the market today. While it has everything that you’d expect from a Zelda game and an industry standard sandbox (stuff to collect, people thinking the lead character’s name is Zelda etc), it’s the unfettered freedom that Breath of the Wild provides that makes it stand out from the pack.
Here is a game that communicates a ton of ideas with minimal text and maximum visuals. You can learn everything that you need to know within minutes, spend hours discovering new tricks and you’ll still be surprised when the game throws another odd idea at you forty hours later. A monumental game on any level, any new Legend of Zelda title following in the footsteps of Breath of the Wild is going to have the mother of all bars to reach, let alone surpass.
So instead of going in that direction, Nintendo is cracking out a sequel that’ll combine even more mad ideas into a brand new adventure. “When we released the DLC for Breath of the Wild, we realized that this is a great way to add more elements to the same world,” Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said to Kotaku.
But when it comes down to technical things, DLC is pretty much data—you’re adding data to a pre-existing title. And so when we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that’s why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit. Initially we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, “This is too many ideas, let’s just make one new game and start from scratch.”
Breath of the Wild has already had a few pieces of DLC dropped into it, with one update introducing the most useful tool possible into Link’s arsenal: A proper motorcycle with plenty of Hyrule horses under the hood. Where Nintendo goes from here is anyone’s guess, but having a world that already feels magical and throwing every mad idea possible into it to make the sequel stand apart from the original game?
Yeah, my 10/10 senses are tingling again.
Last Updated: June 19, 2019
Original Heretic
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
It’s gonna be a hit (write that down…).
Pariah
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Roll for initiative!
Original Heretic
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Nintendo takes a 20.
Pariah
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
I thought that was this wonderful news website that we frequent?
Original Heretic
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
I’m too lazzy to think of a witty response.
Pariah
June 19, 2019 at 09:12
In the end, you rolled a 1 for initiative…
Original Heretic
June 19, 2019 at 09:13
I’ve wounded myself with my own weapon. Oh bother…
G8crasha
June 19, 2019 at 08:46
I am still battling to convince myself to invest in a Switch, but I so want to. I am just terrified that today I invest in the Switch, and then tomorrow, they announce a more powerful version. Like what Xbox and PS did with their respective X and Pro variants of their consoles.
I mean my Nvidia Shield TV box uses the same Nvidia chip as the Switch, and that is over 3 years old. How many years does the Switch have left? Is it worthwhile investing in the platform so late in its life?
Pariah
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Look at the 3DS as a good example here as to how Nintendo does things. Sure they might release a more powerful version, but you should still be able to play your games on the older system without issue. Nintendo aren’t about the pretty graphics and shiny shit, they’re about great games for as many people as possible.
I’d say if you’re into the games, don’t stress. I know they’re releasing (or have just released) a slightly upgraded Switch, but that should be a great entry point.
The D
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Wait until September I reckon. There’s heavy hinting in the air that Nintendo is going to unveil a smaller and cheaper Switch that sacrifices some power, but I doubt we’ll see a Switch upgrade just yet.
Pariah
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Ah, in some ways the smaller and cheaper is an upgrade to me. I guess my memory is slightly tainted by that perspective. XD
The D
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Nothing wrong with that! I love my Switch, but I’ll be the first to admit that playing it on the go does give me a pain akin to that of severe wanker’s cramp. If the new model is more ergonomic, I’d be up for that kind of upgrade as well.
Original Heretic
June 19, 2019 at 08:59
Yes! That’s what I’m after!!
My son will freak out if I give him a Switch with a Mario game.
My word, you should have seen him jump and down with joy (literally) when I unveiled Spider-Man recently!
The D
June 19, 2019 at 09:12
Man, that’s what gaming is all about. That sheer joy of a new game and passing it on to the next generation 🙂
G8crasha
June 19, 2019 at 09:13
I just read a recent article on Digital Trends, and another website dedicated to all things Nintendo. Apparently, there are two new updates in the works for the Switch: The more portable version, and a more powerful version. Apparently, production of the existing system has moved to Southeast Asia, and the current production facilities are already producing updated versions. There are also rumours that Nvidia will be upgrading the Shield TV, and considering it uses the same chipset as the Switch, the logic is that both platforms are being updated simultaneously due to their shared components. Guess that means I should hold off for at least 6 months at the most to see what develops.
Yahtzee
June 19, 2019 at 10:31
I had such high hopes for this game after playing most main title Zelda games… 2 hours later I turned it off and never went back xD
Geoffrey Tim
June 19, 2019 at 14:59
It’s legit one of the best games I’ve ever, ever played. 🙂 (Maybe give it a chance to really open up)