| SPOILER THREAD | The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Ratcicle King]

Still, if he gave up on self repairing himself, that would still mean whatever happens next he wouldn't be able to fix himself afterwards unless he wins. Which he didn't, Link killed him while he was in his most vulnerable form (Aka before he could repair/reincarnate from his decayed form).

Also I'd like to add that it's apparently implied(Read on TV Tropes, don't quote me on this one) Zelda's power here is the whole Triforce, and she unleashed it all on Ganon once it was all said and done (To seal him but still). Even if he somehow survived this humiliation conga, even if someone somehow unseal Ganon, he'd probably be in such a miserable state he wouldn't be able to do a thing.

[Meta77]

13 minutes ago, Ratcicle King said:

Still, if he gave up on self repairing himself, that would still mean whatever happens next he wouldn't be able to fix himself afterwards unless he wins. Which he didn't, Link killed him while he was in his most vulnerable form (Aka before he could repair/reincarnate from his decayed form).

Also I'd like to add that it's apparently implied(Read on TV Tropes, don't quote me on this one) Zelda's power here is the whole Triforce, and she unleashed it all on Ganon once it was all said and done (To seal him but still). Even if he somehow survived this humiliation conga, even if someone somehow unseal Ganon, he'd probably be in such a miserable state he wouldn't be able to do a thing.

This I can live with

[KHCast]

3 hours ago, JezMM said:

King Rhoam's diary in Hyrule Castle confirms he was not having an easy time on it either and was harsh with her out of desperation and regrets the way he acted to her.

 

I have to say I adore how grounded the characters are in this one.  They respond to the stress of something like an infathomable oncoming evil in pretty realistic, flawed ways and it's great.  Even Link gets the most character development any Link character has ever had I think by reading Zelda's personal diary in Hyrule Castle (not the research diary found near the memory there).

 

 

Also agreed with everyone that Zelda was really good in this one.  At FIRST I didn't like her, found her snobbish and awkward.  But as you get more memories you start to see how the way she acts all comes together.  Reading the diaries in Hyrule Castle is the final glue that melds her, Link, and King Rhoam all together as strong characters with distinct, believable motivations for all their actions, good and bad.  Really love it.  I need to rewatch all the memories in chronological order at some point.  While it makes TOTAL sense for the way the game is structured (and Link regaining his memories), some of the individual moments do lose their impact when you don't have the full context.  The memory in which Link saves Zelda from the Yiga clan in Gerudo seemed really kinda random at the time but now I understand (from her diary) it was the turning point where Zelda becomes interested in what kind of person Link actually is.

I'm still a bit disappointed it's relegated to diaries and stuff like that in order to better like and understand the motives and drives of these characters. I mean they're good don't get me wrong, but I wish that it could also be told and portrayed in more traditional ways that don't feel like side things.

[JezMM]

1 hour ago, KHCast said:

I'm still a bit disappointed it's relegated to diaries and stuff like that in order to better like and understand the motives and drives of these characters. I mean they're good don't get me wrong, but I wish that it could also be told and portrayed in more traditional ways that don't feel like side things.

To be honest I found these to be the most rewarded I've felt for my exploration in the whole game.  Plus, both concern the personal and private thoughts of the characters, and particularly take full advantage of the "final entry" aspect of discovering them in a diary.  The stuff about Link couldn't have been done without him having a voiced flashback scene since it concerns Zelda's recollection of conversations with him.

Like I really can't imagine any other way to present these particular nuggets of lore, and they're hardly the only bit of hard backstory hidden away in diaries (namely Purah and Robbie's involvement with the overall narrative).

[Wraith]

3 hours ago, KHCast said:

I'm still a bit disappointed it's relegated to diaries and stuff like that in order to better like and understand the motives and drives of these characters. I mean they're good don't get me wrong, but I wish that it could also be told and portrayed in more traditional ways that don't feel like side things.

It's an example of taking advantage of interactivity and using it in a way that fleshes out the cutscenes and makes them even more enjoyable to watch on repeats. To me it's nothing but a good thing.

[Nepenthe]

9 hours ago, KHCast said:

The secret ending has Link and Zelda walk towards eachother as the screen pans out, and people are assuming they kiss or something before the screen fades to black 

(which is kinda dumb if true since there was no romance between them, and fucking mipha was the clear love interest)

I thought they just met up with each other and both proceeded to walk back to their horses. It would be absolutely dumb for Nintendo to do such a thing, not only because of Mipha (which seemed quite one-sided, as her affections seem continuously repressed by Mizu and hidden from Link by circumstance) but because of the angle of the shot. Way too far out to be meaningful, especially after we got the absolute adorable romantic fest that was Skyward Sword.

6 hours ago, JezMM said:

King Rhoam's diary in Hyrule Castle confirms he was not having an easy time on it either and was harsh with her out of desperation and regrets the way he acted to her.

Ah; I never found his diary. (Found both of Zelda's which was basically a nice elaboration on everything we knew, and on Link's character as well. You actually find out why he's so silent!) Granted, I don't doubt that he was having an easy time either; it was still his kingdom too. But it's implied in the spring scene that he'd been acting like this towards for her whole lifetime, or at least since her mom passed away. At least Zelda worked up the courage to apologize to Link not too long after she snapped on him, and she's a rich-ass 16 year old.

6 hours ago, JezMM said:

I have to say I adore how grounded the characters are in this one.  They respond to the stress of something like an infathomable oncoming evil in pretty realistic, flawed ways and it's great.  Even Link gets the most character development any Link character has ever had I think by reading Zelda's personal diary in Hyrule Castle (not the research diary found near the memory there).

Also agreed with everyone that Zelda was really good in this one.  At FIRST I didn't like her, found her snobbish and awkward.  But as you get more memories you start to see how the way she acts all comes together.  Reading the diaries in Hyrule Castle is the final glue that melds her, Link, and King Rhoam all together as strong characters with distinct, believable motivations for all their actions, good and bad.  Really love it.  I need to rewatch all the memories in chronological order at some point.  While it makes TOTAL sense for the way the game is structured (and Link regaining his memories), some of the individual moments do lose their impact when you don't have the full context.  The memory in which Link saves Zelda from the Yiga clan in Gerudo seemed really kinda random at the time but now I understand (from her diary) it was the turning point where Zelda becomes interested in what kind of person Link actually is.

Agreed with this on all counts, although I want to note I found it interesting that the way Zelda came across to you is different from my initial impression, despite theoretical access to the same information (which I guess is the nature of the game). I'm not sure which picture memory you got first, but I received the ceremony where it's very apparent before Daruk says anything that Zelda is stressed beyond belief. I didn't find her particularly snobbish. Awkward true, but what 16-17 year old dealing with impending doom isn't? It made me empathize with her immediately however, and I was hoping that her stiltedness would be explored some. Glad Nintendo delivered and gave her a full blown personality.

[JezMM]

3 hours ago, Nepenthe said:

I thought they just met up with each other and both proceeded to walk back to their horses. It would be absolutely dumb for Nintendo to do such a thing, not only because of Mipha (which seemed quite one-sided, as her affections seem continuously repressed by Mizu and hidden from Link by circumstance) but because of the angle of the shot. Way too far out to be meaningful, especially after we got the absolute adorable romantic fest that was Skyward Sword.

Ah; I never found his diary. (Found both of Zelda's which was basically a nice elaboration on everything we knew, and on Link's character as well. You actually find out why he's so silent!) Granted, I don't doubt that he was having an easy time either; it was still his kingdom too. But it's implied in the spring scene that he'd been acting like this towards for her whole lifetime, or at least since her mom passed away. At least Zelda worked up the courage to apologize to Link not too long after she snapped on him, and she's a rich-ass 16 year old.

Agreed with this on all counts, although I want to note I found it interesting that the way Zelda came across to you is different from my initial impression, despite theoretical access to the same information (which I guess is the nature of the game). I'm not sure which picture memory you got first, but I received the ceremony where it's very apparent before Daruk says anything that Zelda is stressed beyond belief. I didn't find her particularly snobbish. Awkward true, but what 16-17 year old dealing with impending doom isn't? It made me empathize with her immediately however, and I was hoping that her stiltedness would be explored some. Glad Nintendo delivered and gave her a full blown personality.

I think I essentially, overall, managed to find all the ones where she hasn't bonded with Link yet before the ones where she has lol.  There were a few inbetweeny ones mind - like the scene of them at Lake Hylia in the rain, which at the time I interpreted as the very first time she opened up to him (which it kinda was but, I didn't know they had started to get along before that scene at the time).

I think it was partially her voice too that made her come across snobbish.  It took me a LONG time to get used to but I'm okay with it now.  As people predicted from the trailer though she definitely didn't sound quite distraught enough in the scene where they escaped from Hyrule Castle.

Speaking of which I'm kind of bummed they used that scene so majorly in the Switch Direct trailer now.  Aside from the fact that the trailers didn't even hint that all the big cut-scenes would be flashbacks, I assumed it would be encountered early on, but it was the hardest one for me to find.  What annoyed me though was after realising the forest photo MUST have been that scene, I ended up putting things together from the other memories and figuring out that what they were running from was Hyrule Castle's attack, and thus began searching all the forests closest to Hyrule Castle.  Granted, I would've been at a loss on where to start otherwise (I came up with that idea BEFORE I found the Stable with the hint that spells it out for you) but it still bugs me that I had game decisions motivated by an external factor like a trailer there.

[Soniman]

speaking of romance, go read paya's diary again when your at the end of the game, this girl has it bad

Spoiler

i ship it

 

[JezMM]

Yeah honestly though screw fishwife she's dead and has zero sexy birthmarks I wanna marry Paya.

I mean... I want Link to marry Paya.

Link.

Edited March 11, 2017 by JezMM

[Wraith]

There's another girl in this game Link seems to have some kind of relationship with. Drawing a blank on her name though..

[JaidynReiman]

12 hours ago, JezMM said:

Aside from the fact that the trailers didn't even hint that all the big cut-scenes would be flashbacks,

Actually, pretty much every single scene with Zelda were heavily hinted to be the case. In most of them she's wearing the Sheikah Slate. And when Link is present, he always has the Master Sword and no other weapons or the Sheikah Slate.

Some people may have been avoiding these things, but it didn't take much to look over the trailers and realize most every scene with Zelda, if not every single scene with Zelda, were from the flashbacks. Youtubers looking over the trailers figured it out pretty quickly.

[JezMM]

3 hours ago, JaidynReiman said:

Actually, pretty much every single scene with Zelda were heavily hinted to be the case. In most of them she's wearing the Sheikah Slate. And when Link is present, he always has the Master Sword and no other weapons or the Sheikah Slate.

Some people may have been avoiding these things, but it didn't take much to look over the trailers and realize most every scene with Zelda, if not every single scene with Zelda, were from the flashbacks. Youtubers looking over the trailers figured it out pretty quickly.

Yeah you'd have to be really observant and intentionally scour the trailers to figure that out.  I had no idea there was only one Sheikah Slate and no idea the Master Sword would be a late-game acquiring.  As a casual viewer who just watched the trailer a few times out of excitement but overall leaving them alone, it really made me think that the scenes in the trailer would happen in the present.

[sonicgirl313]

12 hours ago, Josh said:

There's another girl in this game Link seems to have some kind of relationship with. Drawing a blank on her name though..

That would be Mipha. I should know, me and my brother simply adore her. She's just a big sweetheart that deserves love.

By the way, I've noticed something and I could possibly be imagining this but, does the king of Hyrule's name kind of (emphasis on kind of) sound like Robin Willaim's name. Nintendo said they would consider putting in a tribute of some kind and he king is Zelda's father. There's also the fact Nintendo has put in other names that are easter eggs such as all the monks name being rearranged names of the developers. It's possible but I can' say this with certainty.

Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

Ignoring the Hyrule part of the name, it's sounds reminiscent to Robin in a way. Of course I could be imagining things.

[Daisy-Fan]

After leaving the plateau, its pretty easy to get early strong gear, just play my 2nd run and i manage to get Great Thunderblade/Flameblade with the Barbarian armor, You can either get in the northeast of the castle to the basement, yet i haven't got problem on my way to the castle with that way, not much of Guardians to guard the place. Once you figuring out the best weapons 60+level spot in the castle, you won't have any much problem of weapons durability. i use a lot of 2 Handing weapons.

[Jetronic]

On 3/10/2017 at 3:28 PM, Nepenthe said:

Ah; I never found his diary. (Found both of Zelda's which was basically a nice elaboration on everything we knew, and on Link's character as well. You actually find out why he's so silent!) Granted, I don't doubt that he was having an easy time either; it was still his kingdom too. But it's implied in the spring scene that he'd been acting like this towards for her whole lifetime, or at least since her mom passed away. At least Zelda worked up the courage to apologize to Link not too long after she snapped on him, and she's a rich-ass 16 year old..

So...I know where the first diary is (which is near one of the memories), but where exactly is that other diary? I would definitely like to catch that before heading to the final battle.

[Nepenthe]

3 hours ago, Jetronic said:

So...I know where the first diary is (which is near one of the memories), but where exactly is that other diary? I would definitely like to catch that before heading to the final battle.

There's one diary in her destroyed bedroom where a Moblin should be lurking, and it's in the area directly above her study where the memory is located.

[JezMM]

Above?  I remembered it as being into the castle proper, across the bridge where the memory takes place - but I feel like I descended down into it from there rather than up.  Maybe I'm the one misremembering, one of us is right anyway lol.

If you're after the King's diary as well, it's hidden in the library (one of the larger multi-entranced rooms on the map if you haven't found it yet).  Specifically (spoiler'd in case you want to figure out the puzzle for yourself)

behind a bookcase movable by Magnesis (they have a particular consistent design).

[Meta77]

So what happens after you beat the game. Do you get to keep playing or what

[Jetronic]

 

So what happens after you beat the game. Do you get to keep playing or what

You'll be able to fight the final boss again whenever you want. A star gets marked on your save file letting you know you beat the game. After that, side quests and the works. Feel free to hunt down every Lynel.

[Meta77]

 

You'll be able to fight the final boss again whenever you want. A star gets marked on your save file letting you know you beat the game. After that, side quests and the works. Feel free to hunt down every Lynel.

That's good to know. Was afraid of have to start over

[JezMM]

Note as well that while you get given back all the items you used during the final boss, it DOES remember any photos you took, so you can still complete the Hyrule Compendium despite Ganon always being undefeated when you load your game.

[Meta77]

Ok I just took down mega sky bird. 3 beast down. How close to ending am i?

[Speederino]

Alright, now that I've finished the game, it's time for the most important discussion ever: BotW's placement in the Zelda timeline. I know, I know, you're all super excited for this. Now, the one thing that seems certain is that this game takes place at the tail-end of one of the split timelines, in the distant, distant future.

As I said in a status, I at first thought it was the "Hero is defeated" timeline since Ganon (and Ganon specifically, not "Ganondorf") is an ancient evil that keeps terrorizing the world. But then the game went and made that blatant Twilight Princess reference, so that seemed rather definitive (although I personally find it strange that the Hero of Time's story from the "adult" timeline is public knowledge outside of the royal family. Like, the sages are all remembered for doing things that they never technically accomplished in the child timeline).

BUT...is it just me, or is there a blatant reference to a character from Wind Waker? You know how all the Divine Beasts are named after historic figures from each race? Naboris = Nabooru, Ruta = Ruto, Rudania = Darunia. That just leaves the Rito's divine beast: Medoh. Unlike the others, this is never really properly hinted at, but the only possible correlation in my mind is Medli from Wind Waker (plus it's the only other game that has Rito, so). And if that's the case, trying to place this game on the timeline is now next to impossible.

For now I'm just going to assume it's after TP until I hear otherwise, but there's enough evidence for all three timelines here. I feel like Nintendo is toying with us. XD.  Incidentally, I've heard a theory that this takes place is some kind of unified/reconverged timeline that ties all three together. I kinda like that idea, although I have no idea how it's physically possible unless Hyrule Warriors is suddenly canon.

[JaidynReiman]

35 minutes ago, Speederino said:

Alright, now that I've finished the game, it's time for the most important discussion ever: BotW's placement in the Zelda timeline. I know, I know, you're all super excited for this. Now, the one thing that seems certain is that this game takes place at the tail-end of one of the split timelines, in the distant, distant future.

As I said in a status, I at first thought it was the "Hero is defeated" timeline since Ganon (and Ganon specifically, not "Ganondorf") is an ancient evil that keeps terrorizing the world. But then the game went and made that blatant Twilight Princess reference, so that seemed rather definitive (although I personally find it strange that the Hero of Time's story from the "adult" timeline is public knowledge outside of the royal family. Like, the sages are all remembered for doing things that they never technically accomplished in the child timeline).

BUT...is it just me, or is there a blatant reference to a character from Wind Waker? You know how all the Divine Beasts are named after historic figures from each race? Naboris = Nabooru, Ruta = Ruto, Rudania = Darunia. That just leaves the Rito's divine beast: Medoh. Unlike the others, this is never really properly hinted at, but the only possible correlation in my mind is Medli from Wind Waker (plus it's the only other game that has Rito, so). And if that's the case, trying to place this game on the timeline is now next to impossible.

For now I'm just going to assume it's after TP until I hear otherwise, but there's enough evidence for all three timelines here. I feel like Nintendo is toying with us. XD.  Incidentally, I've heard a theory that this takes place is some kind of unified/reconverged timeline that ties all three together. I kinda like that idea, although I have no idea how it's physically possible unless Hyrule Warriors is suddenly canon.

While the Twilight reference is a blatant reference to TP, from an in-game perspective its vague as hell. Plus, once the champions start talking, Zelda is still spouting off other things including a direct reference to Wind Waker.

Certainly far less so than tablets edged in the Zora region explaining exactly the events of the adult section of OOT (the ones revolving around Ruto anyway), which didn't happen in the child timeline. Nabooru is also directly namedropped.

 

I know that many people just heard Twilight and were like "oh, its child timeline," and left it at that, but its far, far more vague than that, and other evidence contradicts each other as well.

 

Medoh is definitely named after Medli, but she's never name dropped in-game while Nabooru and Ruto directly are. Medoh is also not nearly as close to Nabooru and Ruto.

[Speederino]

38 minutes ago, JaidynReiman said:

I know that many people just heard Twilight and were like "oh, its child timeline," and left it at that, but its far, far more vague than that, and other evidence contradicts each other as well.

What else could it be referencing, though? The only other game that seems like a sorta-possibility to me is Link Between Worlds, whose alternate world has kind of a twilight-ish feel to it. But that just seperates it from Wind Waker even further.

Btw just curious, what is Zelda's Wind Waker reference? I'm assuming you're talking about the same cutscene where she references Twilight Princess, which I need to watch again.