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Zelda Wii U - Recap of 5 hours gameplay stream

D

Diffense

Member
Soo, one of the conventions Aonuma set out to challenge was that Zelda should be played alone. I wonder if there will be loose online features or multiplayer shrines.
 
B

Brainfreeze

Member
So, in terms of the pouch, we saw them categorized into a few sections:

Weapons: Swords, axes, spears and clubs

Bow and Arrows: I guess you select 1 bow and 1 arrow. I think there's a quick select menu to change your bow/arrow, so which one are you changing? Or is there a way to do both?

Shields: Duh (though, of note, I noticed that sliding with it actually causes damage to it, so I wonder if different shields will ride better than others)

Armor: So far just two types, shirts and pants/boots. They have different defense stats as well as weather resistance. I wonder if certain clothes could reduce noise made/ stamina used as well? Or maybe heavier armor makes louder noise/ uses more stamina as a trade-off. I also wonder if there's any hats or helmets. I figure there has to be a way to equip Link's iconic hat, but maybe it just counts as a hair style, since we already know you can change that somehow.

Food: Apples and whatnot

A Pot: I assumed this is cooked/combined food, and the previous category is all raw food and ingredients?

Star: I assume this is special items, which could include something like Flint, which I believe can be carried with you and then just dropped in the world when you want to use it. So is anything from this category just "used" from the menu or is it all just miscellaneous things that you carry? Because the star seems like a misfitting icon if they're not really "special."

This is assuming the Star tab does not include something like the fire rod, which I figured was just a normal weapon that shot fire when the attack button was pressed. Though, this would raise the question of how the ice rod works. Does hitting attack just bring up that pillar function, and it has no normal attack? Is their a secondary attack button anywhere that raises the pillar? Does it count as a tome? It doesn't really seem like it's used to attack like other objects in the weapon tab, but it may not be consistent with the pocket that holds flint and firewood either.

There's also the "tomes" or magic items or whatever, which thus far includes 2 bomb types, a magnet and a stasis field (and maybe something else I'm missing). It looks like it's all timed instead of having a magic bar, which is a bit disappointing to me, since the survival elements seem to already be a bit too forgiving, but we'll see how that plays out.

I also noticed that when it comes to (at least) food, you have the option to eat or hold. If you hold, what are your options with it? Throw it, eat it, drop it?

Am I missing or misunderstanding anything? Are there any other item types? I feel like a lot about the game could be gathered just by fully understanding all the different types of items we can acquire.
 
W

wishdom

Member
Gsnap said:
I love it. The fact that the enemy's head follows as Link jumps over him really sells it. And the hitboxes in the game seem pretty on point. This game has some of the most intricate and interesting enemy actions, reactions, and interactions I've seen in a long time. In one of the videos, a guy accidentally chases a boar into an enemy camp and the enemies start shooting at it. Another video had a guy light his torch on fire and try to throw it at two boko's. It missed the one he aimed at, but was just close enough to set the enemy's wooden club on fire. And the enemy he threw it at watched it fly past. Then as it attacked the player with a flaming club, the other one decided to hang back, walked over to the torch, and lit his club on fire on purpose before joining the fight. The Boko-skeleton's are especially interesting. You have to kill every head because if you don't the bodies will continue to get back up and reassemble themselves. So you can have one head jumping between multiple bodies or two heads switching bodies. And if one is broken and another is still up it can grab the broken one's arm and use it as a weapon. Then the other one will get back up but has to fight with one arm. I even saw a video where one skeleton picked up another skeleton's head. It looked like it was either going to help put the head back on the other body, or throw it at link, but the player killed it before it could do anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah the AI is much smarter than in previous Zelda games, can't wait to see what's in store for tougher enemies.

Couldn't find the Bokoblin hunting the boar. So many gifs left to make

s3HuOas.gif
 
K

Kevtones

Member
Yeah we need an all-inclusive speculation thread that goes over all these cool details.



Honestly haven't been this hyped for a game in years. Like since OOT.
 
O

OricWindstar

Member
My only worry with shrines is that all of them will have a similar aesthetic. I love the actual content of them, but hope they are somewhat different looking as you progress. Unfortunately, the two they showed from beyond the plateau had the same theme as previous ones.
 
K

KingBroly

Banned
Instro said:
Yeah they are quietly sending that one to die. Hopefully they learn from this, but I'm sure they'll just mothball the series.
Click to expand...

I mean, yeah. It's obvious they're doing the latter. It's no longer a series that Nintendo works with the Nintendo way of making games. It's not supposed to be cartoony or cute or happy. Its everything Nintendo is trying not to be right now, and has been for the last decade.
 
H

Hero of Time

Member
I find the intro to this game so intriguing. Link waking up in a futuristic looking pod in the "Shrine of Resurrection" has me really curious where they're going with the story. I hope the non linear openness of the game doesn't mean they skimp on the story to much.

Anyone know if there is some direct feed footage of the intro without commentary? looked but couldn't find any.
 
C

chadboban

Member
Hero of Time said:
I find the intro to this game so intriguing. Link waking up in a futuristic looking pod in the "Shrine of Resurrection" has me really curious where they're going with the story. I hope the non linear openness of the game doesn't mean they skimp on the story to much.

Anyone know if there is some direct feed footage of the intro without commentary? looked but couldn't find any.
Click to expand...

Yep, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZj8q9PqzzY
 
K

KiN0

Member
I hope we see the Rito in this game. Gliding seems to be a big part of exploration so they'd fit right in to the game's world. If we're lucky, there might even be something like a Rito Feather that grants the ability to fly.
 
G

Gsnap

Member
wishdom said:
Yeah the AI is much smarter than in previous Zelda games, can't wait to see what's in store for tougher enemies.

Couldn't find the Bokoblin hunting the boar. So many gifs left to make

s3HuOas.gif
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the one!

I love that they put so much effort into making sure enemies actually pay attention to things with their head and eyes, and not always ignoring things or turning their entire body to it. It's very fast and fluid.
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
wishdom said:
Yeah the AI is much smarter than in previous Zelda games, can't wait to see what's in store for tougher enemies.

Couldn't find the Bokoblin hunting the boar. So many gifs left to make

s3HuOas.gif
Click to expand...

The left Bokoblin when and lit his club on fire on purpose! Wow, looks like the AI pays attention to its surrounding too.
 
I

Inquisitive_Ghost

Member
Brainfreeze said:
So, in terms of the pouch, we saw them categorized into a few sections:

Weapons: Swords, axes, spears and clubs
Click to expand...

Things that get equipped in the "sword" slot. So also the Fire Rod, pitchforks, sticks, etc.

Bow and Arrows: I guess you select 1 bow and 1 arrow. I think there's a quick select menu to change your bow/arrow, so which one are you changing? Or is there a way to do both?
Click to expand...

There are separate quick menus for bows and for arrows, yes.

Armor: So far just two types, shirts and pants/boots. They have different defense stats as well as weather resistance. I wonder if certain clothes could reduce noise made/ stamina used as well? Or maybe heavier armor makes louder noise/ uses more stamina as a trade-off. I also wonder if there's any hats or helmets. I figure there has to be a way to equip Link's iconic hat, but maybe it just counts as a hair style, since we already know you can change that somehow.
Click to expand...

I want to say I heard someone on the Treehouse stream "theorize" that there would be stealth-enhancing clothes (seems obvious, really).

I would assume the "hair styles" are actually just different headgear.

Food: Apples and whatnot
Click to expand...

Materials. Includes ingredients as well as minerals, etc.

Star: I assume this is special items, which could include something like Flint, which I believe can be carried with you and then just dropped in the world when you want to use it. So is anything from this category just "used" from the menu or is it all just miscellaneous things that you carry? Because the star seems like a misfitting icon if they're not really "special."
Click to expand...

I believe I saw the Sheikah Slate in this category, so key items.

This is assuming the Star tab does not include something like the fire rod, which I figured was just a normal weapon that shot fire when the attack button was pressed. Though, this would raise the question of how the ice rod works. Does hitting attack just bring up that pillar function, and it has no normal attack? Is their a secondary attack button anywhere that raises the pillar? Does it count as a tome? It doesn't really seem like it's used to attack like other objects in the weapon tab, but it may not be consistent with the pocket that holds flint and firewood either.
Click to expand...

No Ice Rod has been seen, as far as I know. The ice ability is a Rune.

There's also the "tomes" or magic items or whatever, which thus far includes 2 bomb types, a magnet and a stasis field (and maybe something else I'm missing). It looks like it's all timed instead of having a magic bar, which is a bit disappointing to me, since the survival elements seem to already be a bit too forgiving, but we'll see how that plays out.
Click to expand...

Runes.

I also noticed that when it comes to (at least) food, you have the option to eat or hold. If you hold, what are your options with it? Throw it, eat it, drop it?
Click to expand...

Drop it, put it in a cooking pot, maybe something else I don't remember.
 
B

Brainfreeze

Member
Inquisitive_Ghost said:
Things that get equipped in the "sword" slot. So also the Fire Rod, pitchforks, sticks, etc.



There are separate quick menus for bows and for arrows, yes.



I want to say I heard someone on the Treehouse stream "theorize" that there would be stealth-enhancing clothes (seems obvious, really).

I would assume the "hair styles" are actually just different headgear.



Materials. Includes ingredients as well as minerals, etc.



I believe I say the Sheikah Slate in this category, so key items.



No Ice Rod has been seen, as far as I know. The ice ability is a Rune.



Runes.



Drop it, put it in a cooking pot, maybe something else I don't remember.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thank you for all the info!
 
R

rokero

Member
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Link's clothes in this clip sort of remind me of the old Link to the Past comic, I've always wanted a Zelda that gave the feeling of epicnes and mysteriousness the old artwork evoked and so far Breath of the Wild is delivering
 
D

digdug2k

Member
wishdom said:
Yeah the AI is much smarter than in previous Zelda games, can't wait to see what's in store for tougher enemies.

Couldn't find the Bokoblin hunting the boar. So many gifs left to make

s3HuOas.gif
Click to expand...
I was actually happy to see him get hit right after this by the fire club and drop to 1/4 heart left. I think foregoing hearts and armor will make things pretty challenging.
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
One thing I noticed: there's enhanced weapons and some loot randomization. I noticed this in both the Treehouse stream and... - I want to say the Polygon video? - where the chest underneath the boulder outside the stasis shrine had a Traveler's Bow in it, but each time had a different modifier. Once it was a yellow box and icon that denoted Power +3 for 8 damage instead of 5, and the other time it was a blue-greenish diamond icon and text that said it had enhanced durability.
 
N

Neiteio

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
One thing I noticed: there's enhanced weapons and some loot randomization. I noticed this in both the Treehouse stream and... - I want to say the Polygon video? - where the chest underneath the boulder outside the stasis shrine had a Traveler's Bow in it, but each time had a different modifier. Once it was a yellow box and icon that denoted Power +3 for 8 damage instead of 5, and the other time it was a blue-greenish diamond icon and text that said it had enhanced durability.
Click to expand...
Good eye. That's pretty cool, because it suggests there will be some potent stuff squirreled away in places we have to work to get, i.e. Shrine #98 or whatever. I mean, those shrines can't all have unique powers, so I imagine they'll start dishing out great gear in addition to the spirit orbs or whatever.
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
Speaking of weapons, have I missed any we've seen so far?

Wooden sticks
Tree Branch
Torch
Boko Club

One handed swords
Rusted broadsword
Traveler's sword
Soldier's broadsword
A sword in the trailer that resembled an Egyptian khopesh

Two handed swords
Traveler's Claymore
Soldier's Claymore

Spears
Boko Spear
Farmer's Pitchfork
Traveler's Spear
Soldier's Spear

Other
Bokoblin Arm
Woodcutter's Axe
Iron Sledgehammer

Magic
Deku Leaf
Fire Rod
 
M

m051293

Member
RE: Aonuma's comments on finishing the game immediately

This is a good thing. If executed properly, this suggests that the game has a high skill-ceiling.

That gives the game depth and breadth. Players gain (literal) experience playing, familiarizing themselves with various enemy types, getting comfortable with the physics engine, learning which strategies work best against which enemies, how to manipulate/traverse particular terrains, etc.

Once this knowledge base develops, the next step is the trend towards optimal strategies. The key here is that each individual player will find their own optimal way of doing things as they get comfortable with the game/controls.

Monster/enemy X may be most easily killed by combat method Y. However, perhaps the player is just really good at implementing combat method Z, thus for said player, optimal strategy might just be spamming method Z in the face of everything.

Replace combat/enemy with traversal/terrain and its the same applied concept.

The important thing to recognize is that MOST games already have this kind of system. HOWEVER, Aonuma's prodding is suggesting that this game will do this with a level of depth that isn't often or ever seen in Action/Adventure RPGs, which instead tend to focus on using in-game experience points to boost in-game skills - rather than allowing the actual human player to develop skills themselves via experience/experimentation. This, in theory, allows for much more unique experience, player to player, but also rewards experienced players - because their invested time/acquired skills will pay off (if you're good enough, you can kill things quicker, save more health, traverse areas faster, tackle more difficult challenges earlier on, etc.).

This as opposed to a game like the Witcher 3 (which I adore and have put >650 hours into btw), where you level up your character more than yourself. Think about it; greater tolerance for potions, stronger/quicker attacks, enhanced signs, all of these skills are added by applying skill points, they don't require the player to actually learn something. The extent of learning for the player is attack pattern rhythms for certain monster types and mastering the counter system. The skill curve is minor and the skill ceiling is low, Geralt improves because you can overpower him if you play/grind long enough. In BotW - YOU will improve if you grind long/hard enough (think competitive Melee).

Of course this is all talk until we can actually play the game, but with what little we saw, this is the exact picture being painted IMO. Look at how many gifys we've got of different ways to approach tackling enemy types, adapting to & using the specific environment to fight monsters, using countless methods to accomplish the same task. It's all very encouraging. This looks like a genius game.
Click to expand...
 
L

LowMax

Neo Member
Seeing the sailcloth making a return from Skyward Sword along with these massive chasms makes me suspect that loftwings will be making a return as well.
 
A

aravuus

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
One thing I noticed: there's enhanced weapons and some loot randomization. I noticed this in both the Treehouse stream and... - I want to say the Polygon video? - where the chest underneath the boulder outside the stasis shrine had a Traveler's Bow in it, but each time had a different modifier. Once it was a yellow box and icon that denoted Power +3 for 8 damage instead of 5, and the other time it was a blue-greenish diamond icon and text that said it had enhanced durability.
Click to expand...

Damn son, everything I hear is making me more excited about the game. Hope I can play the game on my 8GB WiiU without coming up with an external HDD when it's released.

Never thought I'd be hyped about a Zelda game, but here we are.
 
RomanceDawn

RomanceDawn

Member
LowMax said:
Seeing the sailcloth making a return from Skyward Sword along with these massive chasms makes me suspect that loftwings will be making a return as well.
Click to expand...

I sure hope so. Epona is back(even if it's just a horse that's her spiritual successor, hopefully not some random horse every time) so I hope the red Loftwing gets its chance to shine once more. As much as I enjoyed SS I hated how the Loftwings were supposed to be these deeply connected animals with their partners but because of their implimentation they are so detached. Call em when you need to fly, never see them standing on the ground outside of cut scenes.

With the game being so vertical and something of a ship or sky island floating way up above I've got to assume flight will come around at some point. If that red bird we see on every shield since the dawn of man was always supposed to be a Loftwing then I say bring it back!
 
R

RagnarokX

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
One thing I noticed: there's enhanced weapons and some loot randomization. I noticed this in both the Treehouse stream and... - I want to say the Polygon video? - where the chest underneath the boulder outside the stasis shrine had a Traveler's Bow in it, but each time had a different modifier. Once it was a yellow box and icon that denoted Power +3 for 8 damage instead of 5, and the other time it was a blue-greenish diamond icon and text that said it had enhanced durability.
Click to expand...

They mentioned this on stream. Items may share names, but they will have different stats and even abilities.
 
Zomba13

Zomba13

Member
LowMax said:
Seeing the sailcloth making a return from Skyward Sword along with these massive chasms makes me suspect that loftwings will be making a return as well.
Click to expand...

Gotta follow the XCX style. Start off on foot, then get a land vehicle (Epona/Horse) then get a flying mount (Loftwing), then go to the flying island! We have to be able to fly at some point, have to get to that flying island.
 
O

Otakumegane

Member
I really don't want this to be lost in the wave on constant news.
Here's a little something I wrote on the natures of weapon durability, how it's implemented in other games, and how Zelda's system manages to balance choice within the interlock between variety and decay.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1234624

Or in quotes if you guys dont want to open a different tab.

I like weapon variety. I like having to experiment with Claymores and Hammers and the quickness of gauntlets and dual knifes. Often times, the trade off for this kind of variety in a game is a durability system.

In games like Fire Emblem,and The Last of Us, it's about resource conservation; melee weapons will break after few hits and with the limited resources in these games you must make the tradeoff between saving those precious uses or using it in a pinch. The problem with these kinds of implementations is that it never really feels good to have something break from usage. People were also prone to saving all their best items and weapons until the end like healing items in a JRPG. The newest Fire Emblem scrapped this entirely, adding stat tradeoffs instead and limiting the amount of weapons you could buy by increasing the price many times over. And while some may not agree with this change, many will tell you that the combat feels more strategical and satisfactory for it, choosing the best tool for the situation being far more important than saving all your best sacred uses and having it devolve to "should I use this OP super weapon or not?".

Monster Hunter and Dark Souls, two different games that are both highly praised for their combat systems in their own right, use a slightly different durability mechanic, but not one that is all too satisfying either. While weapons are not lost by losing durability, this stat ties directly into the amount of damage that you inflict, and the areas you can damage. Certain degrees of sharpness in MH are required to damage the more tougher areas of a Monster. One of the various problems with this sort of implementation is that while not incredibly important to your overall combat flow and strategy, it still serves as a minor annoyance all throughout the game. In Dark Souls, how often are you actually worried about if your weapon is at 198 instead of 200 durability? However, how much time will you spend resting at every bonfire and quickly repairing every armor piece and weapon that has barely lost durability like you're trying to level up forging in Skyrim? It not only is it a non-integral part of how you formulate an attack plan, it wastes valuable time and having them at perfect condition at all time is the only best possible solution forcing the player to waste valuable time and attention. If I may add a very small comment on this, is that Monster Hunter while not perfect with this is at least minimally understandable due to the rotations of the players in formation while playing in a well communicating multiplayer group, however it can be just as annoying)


This brings me to Zelda: Too Many Threads BotW. Zelda has had weapon durability in it before. The Razor sword of MM, the Giant Knife of OoT are all examples that followed the first examples of breaking after usage. Again, this is a imperfect method for the reasons stated above. When BotW was shown and revealed to have weapon durability, I was happy that variety was present but concerned that the developers still needed to tie this in with a durability system in order to make collecting them and gathering more prevalent. However, certain mechanics caught my attention.

In BotW, not only does the breaking strike of a weapon deal critical damage but one may throw the weapon, breaking it intentionally for the crit dmg and additional range and area of effect. Not only does this provide a outlet for satisfaction and not make you feel as if you "lost" that resource but that decided on a tradeoff for increased damage. Throwing the weapon also provides players agency for controlling when to break your weapon, instead of merely decaying over time, adding an additional layer of actual choice in attack planning and gameflow. Durability isn't merely an annoyance of a formality for variety no longer and this feature specifically really excited me. Even in exploration, you can choose to sacrifice shield durability for extra mobility with shieldsurfing allowing for more variations.

TLDR: While loving the games with weapon variety, I felt these games were shackled to a system of weapon durability. Of the many things I could praise all these games for their amazing combat systems, Zelda seems to have found a solution that I find acceptable in terms of this balance and with it added an extra layer of strategy on a traditionally unchanged mechanic, something that I've been longing for some of my more combat-intensive games, and of all the cool things Zelda has to offer, this stood out as something that may go unnoticed but truly clever.

If I could be provided with a gif of Zelda weapon throwing it would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
R

random25

Member
wishdom said:
Yeah the AI is much smarter than in previous Zelda games, can't wait to see what's in store for tougher enemies.

Couldn't find the Bokoblin hunting the boar. So many gifs left to make

s3HuOas.gif
Click to expand...

Forget graphics. Regardless if it looks outdated or technically unimpressive to others, it already looks pretty enough me. Forget music. It's Zelda and they're always one of the best. But smart and highly adaptive enemy AI is what I'm truly excited about in this game.
 
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