There has a general trend in gaming towards simplicity and a general audience there is a reason why "NES hard" was a term among gamers for long games of that era were simply designed to be more unforgiving then most games of today. This can be seen no better then in the Legend Of Zelda series which became increasingly linear and tutortialized across each entry barring a few minor step backs like Majora's Mask (with its focus on side quests) and a Link Between Worlds. With Skyward Sword it seemed like all the worst aspects of 3D Zelda had boiled over into a slow, linear mess with way too many cutscenes for how much story there actually was; issues which ruined any good ideas it may have had.
It seemed with the launch of the Switch we saw a publisher which followed this trend turn back the clock in a big way with Mario Odyssey adding to Mario's moveset more then it took away (bucking the trend of previous 3d Mario's past 64) and The Legend of Zelda A Breath of the Wild turns back the clock the furthest: all the way back to the original Legend of Zelda on the NES.
This is the modern Nintendo game most willing to stop holding you hand and let you discover things on your own, let you tackle areas in the order you want, and solve problems in multiple ways (some even unintentionally). Wrapped up in a story which is itself non-linear and adds a degree of pathos and intrigue back into the Zelda Universe after Skyward Sword removed so much it with its goal of uniting all Zelda games into one story.
Perhaps the most striking fact about Breath of the Wild is how popular and accessible it is despite its complexity. Despite the openness of the game there is still enough direction and tricks in order to make the game easier for players of all skill, which paid off in Breath of the Wild attracting fans from both the hardcore Zelda players and casual players alike. Perhaps a signal to other companies that toning down on the rail roading can in fact bring in more players then it alienates.
Certainly Breath of the Wild isn't perfect many of the shrines are way to simple and stripped down-reeking of the overly playtest idiot proofing of a Valve puzzle something that goes against the core ethos of the game- and too many of the side quests involve pointless fetch quests for little reward in terms of both the literal reward given and the story reward. Ultimately Breath of the Wild shows the value in giving a long running franchise a breather so it can totally refreshed and go back to the source; where it can be purified of all the gunk and failure which has struck it down and rise anew 100 years later. Fresh, amnesiac, and virile.
It seemed with the launch of the Switch we saw a publisher which followed this trend turn back the clock in a big way with Mario Odyssey adding to Mario's moveset more then it took away (bucking the trend of previous 3d Mario's past 64) and The Legend of Zelda A Breath of the Wild turns back the clock the furthest: all the way back to the original Legend of Zelda on the NES.
This is the modern Nintendo game most willing to stop holding you hand and let you discover things on your own, let you tackle areas in the order you want, and solve problems in multiple ways (some even unintentionally). Wrapped up in a story which is itself non-linear and adds a degree of pathos and intrigue back into the Zelda Universe after Skyward Sword removed so much it with its goal of uniting all Zelda games into one story.
Perhaps the most striking fact about Breath of the Wild is how popular and accessible it is despite its complexity. Despite the openness of the game there is still enough direction and tricks in order to make the game easier for players of all skill, which paid off in Breath of the Wild attracting fans from both the hardcore Zelda players and casual players alike. Perhaps a signal to other companies that toning down on the rail roading can in fact bring in more players then it alienates.
Certainly Breath of the Wild isn't perfect many of the shrines are way to simple and stripped down-reeking of the overly playtest idiot proofing of a Valve puzzle something that goes against the core ethos of the game- and too many of the side quests involve pointless fetch quests for little reward in terms of both the literal reward given and the story reward. Ultimately Breath of the Wild shows the value in giving a long running franchise a breather so it can totally refreshed and go back to the source; where it can be purified of all the gunk and failure which has struck it down and rise anew 100 years later. Fresh, amnesiac, and virile.