The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/YMMV: Difference between revisions

* [[Alas, Poor Villain]]: If you've played previous ''Zelda'' games, it can be sad to see the state Ganon's in. Once a well-intentioned man who wanted to uplift his desert-dwelling people, he'd lose sight of his goal and become corrupted by his lust for power before battling Link and Zelda many times across the series' wide-spanning timeline. By the time of this game, he's long since been reduced to a near-mindless monster fueled entirely by his hatred and feral bloodlust, and any traces of his humanity are long gone. As evil as he's been, it's very tragic to see how far he's fallen, especially when you take his portrayal as a somewhat regretful old man in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker]]'' into consideration.

* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]:

** Is Calamity Ganon truly a mindless beast, or is he every bit as crafty as he was in the past? After all, a dumb, feral animal wouldn't be capable of planning and scheming to the point of taking a strategy that worked against it, turning it against its enemies, and tricking them into letting their guard down by launching a surprise attack from an unexpected, advantageous location. {{spoiler|''Age of Calamity'' actually lends credence to this, since the Calamity Ganon in that game is a manipulative schemer, albeit a silent one.}} There's also the theory that he isn't even Ganon at all, but rather a Phantom/Puppet Ganon being controlled by the real King of Evil from behind the scenes. {{spoiler|Again, Ganondorf's appearance in the sequel trailer has lent credence to this since he still has a physical body ''and'' seems to be leaking Malice, the substance Calamity Ganon is made from.}}

** Link can change into Vai clothing right in front of the Gerudo Town guards, and they'll let him in despite knowing full well that he's a guy. Is [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]] at play here [[Anti-Frustration Features|so as not to annoy the player with having to hide and ''then'' change clothes]], or does this play into their personalities? And if so, why do they let him in? Is it stupidity, or do they secretly disagree with the law banning men from Gerudo Town, and play along with Link's disguise as a minor form of rebellion?

** Lynels were never particularly popular enemies in past games, but they really came into their own here. Their redesign is [[Badass]] and intimidating, and they're an absolute terror in combat to the point that the toughest Lynels are considered to be harder to kill than Calamity Ganon himself. While fighting them is ''incredibly'' hard, it's also exhilarating and fun, making them opponents worthy of both your fear and your respect.

** Bears, because you can tame and ''ride'' them. Plenty of fans are annoyed with the fact that you can't board them at a stable, because riding one into battle like a grizzled Russian badass is as [[Rule of Cool|awesome]] as it is [[Beary Funny|hilarious]], especially when the bear is set on fire. Other temporary mounts like the Stalhorse and {{spoiler|Lord of the Mountain}} also got a similar reception.

* [[Epileptic Trees]]: As a general rule, ''Zelda'' games invite plenty of speculation and theorizing, and this game is no different.

** The game's timeline placement was left deliberately vague, partially to ''encourage'' this trope, but also so Nintendo couldn't limit themselves when conceptualizing future games. Because there are references to all three of the series' official timelines, there's plenty of speculation as to which one it could fit into, while some camps are convinced that it's where all timelines merge, or possibly an entirely new timeline in and of itself.

** Link wasn't the hero who sealed Calamity Ganon away 10,000 years ago. It was ''Ganondorf''. This theory took off when people pointed out the legendary hero's long, flowing red hair and odd greenish skin, which is far more in line with the King of Evil's appearance as a Gerudo rather than Link's. {{spoiler|The sequel trailer invited even more speculation thanks to Ganondorf's mummified corpse looking similar to the hero}}.

* [[Evil Is Cool]]: The Lynels, [[Badass]] centaur/lion-men who are some of the game's most difficult opponents.

** The set bonus of the Zora Armor will let you swim up waterfalls. While you can already climb them with Cryonis, it's a long and painfully tedious process that's easy to mess up, and the Zora armor lets you zip up as quick as a flash. This wouldn't be game-breaking normally, but Hyrule Castle has quite a few waterfalls you can swim up, which lets you bypass a majority of the dungeon while Revali's Gale can let you cheese the rest.

** On the surface, Korok Leaves seem like a [[Joke Weapon]] at worst and utility at best, since they deal a measly one damage and are mostly used to steer sailboats. But if you charge one up, the gusts of wind it'll generate will send enemies flying. And if an enemy is knocked off a cliff or fortress, or a Bokoblin or Moblin is blown into deep water, it's a one-hit-kill. When you're playing the Trial of the Sword, always keep one handy, because it might just save your life!

* [[Goddamned Bats]]: Who else but Keese? They constantly show up to harass you at night, can travel in massive flocks, and in certain regions you can be attacked by elemental Keese that can set you on fire, freeze you, or electrocute you for massive damage.

** Lower-tier Lizalfos are ultimately not much tougher than Bokoblins, but their jumpiness and speed make them annoying to hit. And if you want to run from them, prepare to run for a ''long'' time because they can easily keep pace with you.

** After you've beaten Master Kohga, you'll be randomly ambushed by Yiga Clan assassins all over the map. At this point they won't be a threat, but it's still annoying having them pop up and break the flow of whatever you're doing. Especially if you're attacked by a Blademaster, because they're a lot more aggressive and take a lot of punishment before going down.

** Octoroks. The sheer amount of variations they have ensure that you can run into them no matter where you go, and they are annoyingly good shots with the rocks they spit: instead of shooting directly at you, they tend to shoot where you're going to be which makes their weak rocks surprisingly annoying to dodge.

* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]:

** After decades of people jokingly and legitimately mistaking Link for a girl, or thinking he's the titular Zelda, we're graced with the most feminine-looking incarnation of the Hylian hero yet. Bonus points for him being able to crossdress, and passing as such a convincing girl that he has plenty of oblivious men head-over-heels in love with him.

** All returning enemies are standard Zelda monsters: Bokoblins, Moblins, Chu Chus, Keese... then there's the Lynels, which have never appeared in a 3D ''Ocarina of Time''-style game until now. They're rare enemies in the few top-down games they've appeared in, which makes their presence a huge surprise.

** A few of the races that show up are standard Zelda races: Gerudo, Zora, Gorons... but the appearance of [[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Ritos and Koroks]] threw plenty of people for a loop, since they're confined to one specific timeline (the Adult timeline). The Rito especially since they're what the Zora would eventually evolve into, but the two races coexist in this game.

* [[WTH Costuming Department]]:

** The Ancient Armor is well-liked for the most part, but most fans agree that the Ancient Helm bogs the whole set down. Not only is it overly tall and weirdly shaped, but at certain angles it makes Link look like he has a Hitler mustache.