Breath of the Wild

I haven't done any of the bosses yet, but I have unlocked all the map towers. It wasn't easy, but it is so very worth it.

 

I haven't played BoW. How does it compare to Ocarina of Time?

 

Its the best Zelda game(IMO) that I have played, and I have played all of them.

 

If it gives you any idea, if the Switch were immediately discontinued, and it just remained a dedicated Zelda machine for eternity, it would still be worth the $360 dollars to get it.

 

It's better in every way, better overworld, better characters, temples that make sense, and a Zelda that actually does something. Don't let fanboys hear you say that though.

 

I just beat Calamity Ganon.

 

The Blood Moon tune gives me chills

 

How so (especially compared to OoT)?

 

As much as I'd like to say "it just does," I'll try to explain. Minor spoilers about game mechanics and a little story below.

Spoiler

So in OoT, the main temples were supposed to be places of worship, or a cave, or inside of tree/fish. These were puzzle rooms that seemed odd in the sense of the story, like how the spirit worshippers in the desert needed an item you found in a grave in a village in the Far East, or "sacred feet" in the same location. Let's not forget the poor Gorons, who's place of worship requires climbing and jumping, something Gorons (assuming they're the same Gorons in Majora with the same abilities) can't do. Who can also forget the fire based puzzled in a tree."These were trials built for the destined hero." is basically the only explanation, which modern day game critics would call a cheap cop-out.
In Breath of the Wild, we get shrines, basically mini-dungeons, that focus on a trial given by achient Sheikah monks that wished to test the resourcefulness of anyone who entered, that utilize achient Sheikah abilities that you get in the beginning of the game.(and also bows that aren't some dungeon items sacred weapons, you find bows everywhere in the world) It's a puzzle trial because the story's explination allows it to be a puzzle trial, and not just "it's a puzzle because game."
Then there's the "main dungeons," the sacred beasts. These are giant mechanical animals from an achient time that utilize the same Sheikah powers, built by the same people who built the slate that gives you those abilities. So it makes sense you use that time stopping ability in all four areas, because they had that same ability when they built the thing.
There are no dungeon items in the game, and all abilities you get you get early on. So instead of the mindset of "I'm stuck, I probably need the dungeon item for this," you get, "I'm stuck, I should try something different." You become more immersed in the game because breaking the fourth wall by expecting the dungeon item doesn't exist. Puzzles here aren't random puzzles either, you have to activate nodes in the beasts, which includes turning gears, moving the entire monster to play with gravity, and complete electrical circuits. Something that actually makes sense in the context of the story.

 

Alright I've done all 120 shrines, freed all the divine beasts, got the Master Sword, and defeated Ganon, all which took me about 90 hours. Surely I'm at least 80% done with the game right? "Checks to see I've only done 25% of the game" ... excuse me while I cry in the corner.

 

Korok seeds, there's 900 in the game.

 

Also there are the weird quests that you get in the game and then ignore since they are something really basic that you would do anyways and not report back to the person such as killing the enemies near hateno.

 

120 shrines?!

 

Yeah, they're not too hard though. Some of them take only about 5-10 minutes to complete, sometimes even less. Really the only difficult part about most of these shrines was simply finding them.

 

Reminds me of the hidden places in the very first Zelda game.

How big is the explorable land in Breath of the Wild?

 

I actually started doing research on elixirs. Since i refuse to link my blog here, ill just copy paste some shit.

Stamina elixirs:
example ingredient = restless cricket (rc)
*monster part = mp

for each rc, stamina wheel goes up.
for each mp, hearts are added

for example if we have the recipe:
1rc + 4mp
we get 1/8 of the stamina wheel restored and 3-4 hearts

if we have 4rc + 1 mp:
we get 3/4 of the stamina wheel restored and no hearts

*mp have their own stats, rarer parts yield more potent elixirs. still being investigated.

Time based status effect elixirs:
these have tiers, depending on how many ingredients you use in comparison with the monster parts. More tiers = more time(?). still being investigated

example elixer = increases stealth for x minutes.
*monster part = in this example we will be using bokobin horns (bbh)

for each monster part, 3 minutes of time is added to the elixer.

so, if we have

example ingredient = sunset firefly(sf)

if we have 2sf + 3 mp
we get 13:30 minute elixir with 2 tiers of stealth

if we have 1sf + 4 mp
we get 7:20 and a 1 tier of stealth

this is because mixing different kinds of monster parts seems to help in making more time, however. it appears adding 4 "low tier" parts does not stack more than 7 minutes.

elemental monster parts seem to count as higher tier elixir

Ive been using this interactive map to help find stuff