The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY!) (Last Update: September 6)

You’ve surely heard about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by now. About how it’s one the highest-rated games of all-time, how it completely shakes up the open-world formula in an exciting new direction, how it throws out much of what defined the Zelda series for the past twenty-five years to go in a completely unique direction. So let’s skip all that and get to the Let’s Play itself.

I freaking love this game. The world is massive, there’s things to find everywhere, and it’s an open world game that encourages exploration. The bits of story are surprisingly strong, the music sparse but incredible, and the gameplay incredibly diverse, always giving you a variety of options in approaching combat and puzzles. Of course, it’s not perfect, with the difficulty curve being incredibly wonky, some bad framerate issues in spots, and a lack of real dungeons that the series is famed for. Nonetheless, this game hits pretty much everything I want in a game and has already cemented itself as an all-time favorite of mine. Thus the inspiration for this Let’s Play.

I’ve ultimately decided to go screenshots, albeit with plenty of videos and animations to show off all the cutscenes and cool moments that happen in the game. I’ve also decided to let the audience decide what I do in-game. Should I explore every inch of Hyrule? What order should I do the major areas in? Should I even do all of them? Should I beeline straight to the final boss? You’ll decide!

There’s only one thread rule, but it’s an important one.

No spoilers, even in tags. No hints on what to do next. No being coy about clues. Don’t be an idiot and we’ll be fine.

Lurkers can follow my Twitter to be notified about updates.

:siren: For a more structured Let’s Play, I recommend ThornBrain’s video LP! :siren:











































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:siren: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR THE NEXT TWO POSTS!!! :siren:

As of “Chapter 8”.

CURRENT MAP

Click to reveal.

CURRENT ARMOR

Click to reveal.

* Cannot be dyed
L# Gear’s current level, if none listed then cannot be upgraded

Head

Barbarian Helm (L0)
Climber’s Bandanna (L2)
Diamond Circlet * (L0)
Hylian Hood (L2)
Rubber Helm (L0)
Soldier’s Helm (L1)
Stealth Mask (L2)
Tingle’s Hood *
Zora Helm (L2)

Body

Champion’s Tunic * (L1)
Hylian Tunic (L2)
Nintendo Switch Shirt *
Old Shirt
Soldier’s Armor (L2)
Stealth Chest Guard (L2)
Tingle’s Shirt *
Warm Doublet
Zora Armor (L2)

Legs

Climbing Boots (L1)
Hylian Trousers (L2)
Soldier’s Greaves (L2)
Stealth Tights (L2)
Well-Worn Trousers
Tingle’s Tights *
Zora Greaves (L2)

Dye Colors

Blue, Red, Yellow, White, Black, Purple, Green, Light Blue, Navy, Orange, Peach, Crimson, Light Yellow, Brown, and Gray.

CURRENT QUESTS AVAILABLE

Click here to view all current quests.

CURRENT MEMORIES AVAILABLE

Pictures will be removed from section as memories are discovered. Any hints to locations will be below the picture in spoiler tags.

Click to reveal.

UNLOCKED MEMORIES

Current Memories: 4/18

Click to reveal.


Memory #1: Subdued Ceremony - (Video)


Memory #10: Mipha’s Touch - (Video)


Memory #13: Slumbering Power - (Video)


Memory #15: Return of Calamity Ganon - (Video)

Click here to open the update!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqxO_l80468

This video contains this entire update. It’s a short update because I figure it’s good to ease people in for this one (and so I don’t post a huge update full of large images for people jumping in).

The Legend of Zelda

Breath of the Wild

…Open your eyes…

Open your eyes…

It’s kind of hard to tell in text, but this scene is voice acted, a first for the series (well, a first for a game on an Nintendo console at least). It’s…alright, though I don’t know if having a voice actress say “Open your eyes” repeatedly is the best way to introduce new players to the joys of voice acting.

This is Link. Due to said voice acting, we can’t give him a different name like in past Zeldas.

More so than other iterations, Link is hot. This is canon.

Most of the other games open with Link growing up in a small, remote community, or immediately after undergoing a crisis. For a game that pretty much advertises itself as a big departure from the series standard, we’re already shaking things up.

It will be awhile before we learn what this thing is or why Link is here. Let’s focus on where we are and what we should do for now.

On the other side of this room, a pedestal. Sounds like a good a place to start as any!

At this point, we have control. Not that there’s much to do besides checking this pedestal out, of course…

https://a.mega64.net/botw/u01/014a.mp4

Hmmm… Actually, the design of this thing kinda speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

Anyway, this is the Sheikah Slate. Get used to it, as this baby has a lot of utility gameplay-wise.

Obtaining this wonderful portable device unlocks the next door.

Within are two chests, containing…

Clothes! We can’t have Link just go out in the nude, can we?

Well, actually we could. There are very few situations where clothes are mandatory, and of course due to the open-ended nature of the game we can just skip those situations.

This won’t be an all-nude run, though, plus clothes provide some handy defense, even if it isn’t much at this stage of the game. Plus Link can make anything work.

After that is another door and another pedestal. Guess what we’re going to do next?

https://a.mega64.net/botw/u01/025a.mp4

So this starting labyrinth? Only two rooms it seems.

And…that’s it! All we have to do now is exit.

Unfortunately, there’s a steep incline in our way. Guess we’ll have to backtrack to figure out a way forward…

Or, we could defy all video game logic and simply climb our way forward. This seems like a simple mechanic to point out, but honestly it’s one of the most defining features of this game, and one that helps set this game apart from other open world games. It gives you the idea that, hey, if you set your mind to it, you can explore anywhere.

Music: Into the Wild

Which is good, because, well, there is a lot to explore.

Welcome to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild!

Next time, maybe we’ll check out that old man near us. Or maybe not! The world is ours to explore!

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Basically character in this game is somewhere on a spectrum between cute and hot.

:wiggle:

Immediately run away from the old man.

Also, a screenshot LP of Breath of the Wild is, while unexpected, a neat idea.

Is this the Switch or Wii U version?

Switch. Figured playing portable Zelda would be nice. Which it is!

I was considering video very carefully, but there’s enough fluff to cut through that screenshot should work fine, especially if I still capture all the cutscenes and cool gameplay moments. I’m hopeful it’ll work out for those interested.

Had some footage recorded, but…

Going to go ahead and rerecord that right now!

Oh boy, I already like how this LP has started!

Click here to open the update!

This game has loading screens, each usually giving helpful hints. The loading happens when you fast-travel or enter specific areas. The entire world is loaded, so you could go from one end of the map to the other with no loading. Right now, we’re not going to get many loading screens.

Anyway, I had the second update all ready and recorded, but after getting a couple of suggestions…

…I decided, screw it. Let’s get this going proper!

The game Breath of the Wild most resembles is the original Zelda, with that sense of exploration and not really sure where you’re going. Thus it’s appropriate that the first NPC we meet in both is some unnamed old man.

Normally, most people will walk towards the old man and speak to him. He’s right along the obvious path, right?

But we’re trailblazers. We’re going our own way!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/004.mp4

…Oh. Fall damage. Welp!

Anyway, first let’s get started with general gameplay knowledge. We’ll get into the basics to start, but we’ve got plenty of game to go into finer details.

Objects lying on the ground will sparkle. If you’ve obtained one before, you’ll get the name of it beforehand. Otherwise, you’ll have to pick it up to find out what it is. This…

…is our first weapon. As you’ve probably heard, one of this game’s biggest points of contention is weapons having durability. They will break after some use, and you have a limited number of weapons you can hold. Some people hate it, but I think it works well with the spirit of the game. You’re constantly forced to adapt your tactics based on the state of your weapons, and you’ll usually get plenty just from enemies and the environment.

The tree branch itself is incredibly weak and fragile. Definitely not a long-term weapon, but it’ll do for now.

Further down the path, we see some mushrooms.

Unlike previous Zelda games, you won’t find hearts from cutting grass, smashing pots, or killing monsters. It’s tough to heal yourself in this game, and the majority of the time you’ll be doing it from eating food and other edible items like these mushrooms. It’s not suggested to eat them raw, if only because cooking them will increase the amount of hearts they restore. Cooking can wait for later, though.

So, we want to avoid the old man, so the best way is to go the opposite way, right? But the only path down that doesn’t involve dying is by the old man, so that leaves only one option…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/014.mp4

You can scale almost everything, assuming your stamina allows it. Run out and you’ll fall off, so…don’t run out of stamina.

Eventually, we reach the top and get a nice view of the nearby mountains. All in due time, however.

We go to the northwest, eventually reaching this snowy area.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/020.mp4

We’re not quite ready to tackle this area yet, as it’s cold and thus will slowly do damage to Link. Even if we were wearing the clothes we got from where we started, the cold would still get to us.

Technically we could just eat and try to tank it through, but it’s easier to come back later. But we could technically explore there now if we wanted!

Gotta love that soft-gate approach to content. The game doesn’t force us not to explore there, but it does discourage us until we’re ready. That won’t be long, don’t worry.

As we explore…

…we hear a voice.

Exploring is good, but it might be a good idea to have an actual goal, too. You know, when we feel like getting to it.

There are three types of quests, but right now we’ve only got a Main Quest. Complete all of these to get the best ending.

There’s only a handful of main quests we have to do, though, all but one being the quests we do on the Great Plateau. We’ll reach this place at the end of the update.

The Sheikah Slate works as a map. The arrow is us, the building is where we woke up, the dot is our destination, and the X helpfully tells you where you last died.

Continuing on, we reach one of numerous enemy encampments on the plateau. All of them have these guys, Bokoblins. They show up in Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. They’re this game’s basic enemy and are generally easy to defeat, at least one-on-one. If we went the way with the old man, the game would ease us into fighting them one-on-one before taking them on in groups.

But we’re going the opposite way, so…

Music: Battle Theme

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/032.mp4

I rush right in and start attacking the nearest Bokoblin. This is generally a poor idea, especially early on, but I’ve played before and have the combat down pretty well at this point, though I’m going to avoid advanced moves right now…for the most part.

When a weapon breaks while attacking, it deals double damage and can knock off an enemy’s weapon. Leaving us the perfect opportunity to take it…

Our reward is our first spear.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/034.mp4

Spears are low-powered but can get off several quick hits at once. Of course, this also means their durability tanks more quickly as well.

Bokoblins usually drop Horns and sometimes Fangs. Monster items like these have a couple uses, mostly for elixirs. More on those later, though.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/038.mp4

One of Breath of the Wild’s big innovations is how the environment reacts to changes. My wooden spear hits a fire, so it catches fire, dealing increased damage to enemies. There’s lots of lovely tricks like that, and part of the fun is experimenting to see what works to your advantage!

Bows, a standard in Zelda, are a separate weapon slot from regular melee weapons. There’s a few differences beyond weapon power, but they’re less diverse in general as far as use. There are some cool ones later on, though.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any arrows to use. Yet…

…but you can pick up the arrows that enemies fire into the ground.

It’s down to me and this Bokoblin. If I can hit it just right…

…or maybe I’ll die instead.

The damage formula is simple. Weapons - Armor, where each quarter heart counts as 1 damage. We probably would’ve lived longer if Link was wearing clothes, but…

If you’re wanting to watch some combat where Link doesn’t die, here’s a full video of said encounter, attempt #2.

https://youtu.be/qyypZuVeMbs

I start off in worse shape, breaking my only melee weapon and being stuck with a bow and no arrows! Have to wait for a Bokoblin to fire one at me, killing off the bow user that had five more arrows.

That’s enough to kill the spear user, letting me counter on this guy until he falls. He has some good loot as well.

The final major equipment slot is for shields. There’s really no difference other than their strength and material (wood or metal). You can’t use them while holding two-handed weapons either, obviously, so be careful using those in combat.

Luckily, we got another one-handed weapon, albeit a simple one. Handy for now, though!

Holding right on the D-Pad and navigating with the right joystick lets us select weapons mid-battle. Left D-Pad does the same for shields. If you have a bow out from pressing R, then right handles bows, and left arrows.

Anyway, the last Bokoblin has fallen.

…Quite literally, in fact.

Some encampments have a special chest that unlocks once all enemies have been defeated.

This is a rather basic gem. They’re pointless for now but will have their uses soon enough.

Meanwhile, I decide to destroy these crates with fire.

They had some apples and an acorn which just happened to cook due to being set on fire. Free food is always nice!

Moving on, we see the top of this pillar.

Scaling it is a bit of a climb, but…

…the reward’s not half-bad at this stage of the game.

You also want to take advantage of high points, as it lets you scout the area and find points of interest.

For instance, this camp of Bokoblins. If I was paying attention, I would’ve seen the obvious way to scale up to that platform. Sadly, I missed it and thus could not get up there.

Not that it stops me from slaughtering the enemies, of course.

Insects will fly away from you if you run at them. If you walk quietly, though, you can sneak up and grab them. They’re useful for making elixirs (which, again, I’ll get to in a later update).

We can crouch for added stealth. Noise and visibility are factors in trying to get the drop on enemies and to avoid being detected.

We can set arrows on fire. Why not?

All I can do is snipe at these guys, because I’m dumb and didn’t notice the entrance.

If we wanted to cook, we could use these to make a dish that would make braving the cold easier.

However, there are other ways as well.

Torches are mainly useful for transporting and setting things on fire. You can’t dash with it though or else you put out the fire.

Another cooking ingredient, one that recovers Stamina. Useful for scaling mountains!

There are a variety of ways to protect from the cold. We saw one method from cooking spicy peppers, but simply holding a lit torch will keep us warm as well. You know, as long as it stays lit.

We don’t really have a way to cross that bridge, though, so we’re done here for now.

Uh oh. That’s a Blue Bokoblin. These guys are much hardier and have much better gear. This guy can easily one-shot me.

Got to be careful for this one. Make my distance and plan my attack.

I take care of him, but I’m not showing you how quite yet as I “cheated” and used some more advanced combat moves, stuff I want to wait to show off until it’s appropriate.

That said, I get some really nice gear as a result. That sword will be incredibly useful for awhile.

The higher-ranked enemies drop more stuff.

Horns are most common, then fangs, and then guts. Guts are pretty useful in general, so it’s always great to grab monster guts.

We can’t really pass the boundary right now, so our best bet is to hug the northern border and head east toward our destination.

This leads to a cliff we need to climb down. Thankfully, just going to the edge allows us to scale down safely.

We can’t reach these areas yet, of course, but it’s good to get a general lay of the land since we’ll be striking out eventually.

Apples are incredibly common in this world. By the end of the game you’ll be swimming in them.

Hmmm… Two boulders, and some enemies beneath…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/091.mp4

Gotta love the panic that sets in once they see one of their friends get flattened! Sadly, that’s not enough.

Notice how there’s a lot of brown-looking grass near the area. Now notice there’s a fire that’s just there for no reason.

…Yeah.

At first, nothing seems to happen.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/095.mp4

Apparently, there’s an exploding barrel under that platform. Though it does benefit one of the Bokoblins by setting its weapon alight.

Guess we’ll have to climb down and finish the job ourselves!

Snipe one with an arrow, then sneak around and wallop the other.

Inside the skull structure are some fire arrows. There are five varieties of arrows, including regular and fire. Fire, of course, set stuff on fire. Very handy to have!

Moving on.

Another pillar to scout and hopefully obtain treasure from.

We barely make it up top, completely using up all of Link’s stamina in the process. Luckily it regenerates rather quickly.

Our reward are ten more arrows. Nice!

There’s another group of Bokoblins ahead, so a good time to heal up!

At this point, I’ve got enough gear and the right tactics to be able to handle a group like this relatively easy. Don’t get cocky, though.

Before I grab the chest, I grab a few more items along the way.

Another gem. Alright, then.

Then more food.

It’s incredibly easy to get sidetracked on your way to the next goal. Which, of course, is part of the charm and draw of this game.

This makes you quieter when cooked.

Yet another Bokoblin encampment.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/115.mp4

Watch the background for this one. Yes, that’s a Bokoblin trying to chase a boar. Enemies will do their own thing if they don’t see you.

Of course, I kill them all. Another monster chest, another opal.

Often you’ll see something a little…off. Like, say, a stone in an odd place.

If you see something odd like that, investigate! Because usually…

…there’s something hidden there.

Huh? You’re not Hestu! But you can…see me? I didn’t know your kind could see the children of the forest! Well, if you run into Hestu, please return this to him.

These are the Koroks. They originate from Wind Waker, where it’s implied they’re the evolution of OoT’s Kokori. Here, they give you rewards for exploring weird spots in the overworld.

There are nine hundred of these guys. Needless to say, I’m not obtaining all of them.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/130.mp4

Dropping the rocks back on their heads is always the best part. I do it often by accident.

Further on is a rather weird-looking structure.

This shrine looks important, but we can’t do anything with it for now.

Let’s move on.

This game lets you swim without any flippers, though it’s also tied to your stamina. If you run out, you drown and go back where you were last on land, albeit with slightly less health.

At last, we’re near our destination!

But first, a pool of fish!

More cooking fodder!

Fish can be hard to catch if you chase them, but you can also kill them with arrows and make life easier on yourself.

We’re at our destination, but I decide to snipe this Bokoblin first.

A small but handy upgrade, but…

There’s a limit to the number of weapons you can carry. Same with shields and bows.

Now, we could simply drop a weapon, but that’s boring.

That’s why there’s a button dedicated to throwing weapons!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u02/147.mp4

Isn’t life grand?

And with that, we’ve finally reached our destination! The rest of this update will cover this cutscene, so feel free to watch it in video form.

https://youtu.be/W9VJH7pfZfQ

Sheikah Tower activated.

Falling…what?

There’s a whole lot of shaking going on…

…probably due to this massive tower rising up to the sky.

And it doesn’t look to be the only one, either.

Looks like our first quest is done, then.

So this is the Great Plateau Tower.

Music: Rune Extraction

These towers let you fill in the map for that region. Pretty handy for getting an idea of your surroundings, and for giving you a better sense of direction in general. Well worth the lengthy trek here!

Guess we’re done here.

The voice seems to be coming from the direction of that castle.

Music: The Beast

The beast…

Now then… You must hurry, Link.

…Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.

1 Like

BotW rules and you rule for doing this. Hopefully I’ll discover some cool new things about the game!

This is probably one of the best games ever? My biggest complaint, besides some minor stuff we haven’t gotten to yet, is that the plot is paper thin and kinda sucks ass.

Went ahead and replaced the GIF links with an image. I was going to inline them all but for some mysterious reason it turns out 10+ MP4s playing at the same time is a terrible idea! So I quickly made them links and will do the image for future updates to make it easier to see.

Next update should be tomorrow. Until then, here’s a teaser.

Chrome had no problems with these for me, but likely because the videos were paused until the play button was clicked. If other browsers automatically play the videos, maybe you can confirm there isn’t a way to make them paused in all browsers?

Clicking a link to see an animation is a bit inconvenient, and you have to remember to specifically open links in a new tab since this forum does not do that for some reason.

I’ll experiment later to make sure, because I agree it’s inconvenient to have them all as separate links. Thanks for the suggestion!

Looks and seems to load fine with me with all the MP4s edited in. Please let me know if this causes any issues for you, otherwise I’ll just inline them from now on.

Click here to open the update!

This game utilizes gyro aiming in both the Wii U and Switch versions. I don’t use it myself, but it’s pretty nice to have if you’re used to it through Splatoon or whatever.

Plus it’s a good bit better than the other areas where the game uses gyro…ugh…

So last update, the mysterious voice from what appears to be Hyrule Castle told us that Link’s been asleep for the past one hundred years and there’s a terrifying beast that’s close to destroying all of Hyrule and we’re the only thing that can defeat it.

So, uh, we may want to get on that.

But first…

There’s the castle slightly to the left, and a volcanic mountain slightly to the right.

Going clockwise are these two peaks and some sheer cliffs beyond.

A nearby temple, and lots of mountains.

There’s something in the air off in the distance.

This is the only way down that doesn’t involve us dying, so let’s get to it!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/009.mp4

…Maybe with a little more care next time.

We manage to climb down with slightly less incident, when…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/011.mp4

You didn’t think we’d avoid the old man forever, did you?

This tower and others just like it have erupted across the land, one after another.

Link, as usual, is a silent protagonist who mainly communicates through answering questions.

He doesn’t really have much reason to hide what’s going on from the only other human being around though, so he tells the old man about the voice he heard.

Unfortunately not.

I see. Well, that is unfortunate.

It appeared suddenly and destroyed everything in its path. So many innocent lives were lost in its wake. For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle, has managed to contain that evil. But just barely. There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is fast approaching…

We don’t know much. Link’s been asleep for a hundred years, this thing has conquered Hyrule Castle and remains there for some mysterious reason, and only we can save it.

But the one thing the various Links have shared throughout this series is a sense of courage. And our Link is no exception. We will.

I had a feeling you would say that.

So we’re pretty much stuck here until we get that paraglider. Wait, what’s this about a paraglider?

Oho! Piqued your interest, have I? Yes, I didn’t come soaring down here on my own feathery wings, you know!

Let’s see now… How about I trade it for a bit of treasure that slumbers nearby?

A quick walk over to this hill, where the shrine we previously visited looks a bit different now.

It began glowing at the exact moment those towers rose up from the ground. I would think such a place might house some sort of treasure, wouldn’t you?

Welp, looks like we’ve got our next objective.

Anyway, this pedestal is now active, so let’s try interacting with it.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/049.mp4

Looks like we’re clear to enter!

So, what exactly is this place?

Music: Shrine Theme

Welcome to our first shrine!

As you may be aware, there’s not really traditional dungeons like in earlier games, though there’s areas that are pretty close to them. Otherwise, much of the more puzzle-oriented gameplay takes place in these shrines, which are usually short areas that test your skills and logic. The nice thing is, because of the nature of the game, there’s usually more than one way to solve many of these shrines, especially if you’re particularly creative and can master some of the game’s weirder mechanics. There’s also shrines that are combat tests, and shrines that don’t have any challenge to them, usually because the challenge is to gain access in the first place through some overworld puzzle or test or what have you.

This shrine and the next several exist to introduce you to the major mechanics this game uses for interacting with the environment.

To be able to progress, we’ll have to insert our Sheikah Slate here.

And undergo a rather weird upgrade procedure…

…to get our first rune, Magnesis! And boy, is it a fun and sometimes broken one to play with.

Magnesis is rather simple. Activate the rune with the L button, use the camera to highlight any metal object (the rune helpfully highlights all metal objects that can be interacted with), and…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/063.mp4

…lift the metal object up! Manipulate the camera to control where it goes, with Up and Down on the D-Pad moving the object towards or away from you. B to stop manipulating the object.

Removing this slab of metal reveals a secret entrance to bypass the gate.

Next up, a stone wall with a rather obvious metal block in it.

Now, you may think, “Why not just climb up the wall?” While you can climb almost any surface in the overworld, you can’t in shrines to keep things from getting too busted. That’s no problem here, though, thanks to MAGNESIS!

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/066.mp4

Rather than crawl through a hole in the wall, we proceed to knock it down instead. And also run into a new enemy.

Music: Shrine Battle

This is a Guardian Scout. These guys are a bit more durable than the Bokoblins we’ve faced before, plus they can fire lasers. They’re pretty slow to attack though so if you’re agile enough they should be little threat.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/069.mp4

But this is Breath of the Wild, after all! We have options, including our handy new power! Heavy metal objects can do some damage as well as block projectiles. Not necessarily something you can count on in every battle, and it’s not very damaging later in the game, but it’s a great way to save a bit of wear and tear on your weapons.

The Scout goes down easily and we get some screw for our troubles. Alright, then.

Music: Shrine Theme

Next little puzzle is this gap. If only we had a bridge…

Oh, wait!

Many chests are considered metal. We grab it and bring it right to us!

Free bow is always nice.

Last “puzzle” is opening these doors.

Mainly a way to make sure you understand how to pull objects towards you.

Nothing too hard, just making sure you understand the basics of your new power. It’s enough to get you started, at any rate.

The end of the shrine has…uh…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/080.mp4

I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon. With your arrival, my duty is now fulfilled. In the name of Goddess Hylia, allow me to bestow this gift upon you.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u03/087.mp4

This is the reward you get for completing a shrine. As for what they do…you’ll find out soon! But not now.

And the monk disappears into the aether. And that’s our first shrine completed!

Only 119 to go…

Well, that was quick.

I’m quite curious as to how he knew a spirit orb was inside.

As one gets older, it can become more difficult to see what is right before one’s own eyes… However, that which was once hidden from view can often be crystal clear. But perhaps that is not true for everyone! Oho ho! The appearance of those towers and the awakening of this shrine…

Huh?

It has been quite some time since I have seen that Sheikah Slate

The great power of their wisdom saved this kingdom time and time again.

It is interesting, however, to think… how something like that survived all this time, hidden away in a shrine. These shrines are tucked away in numerous places all across this land. On this plateau alone, I believe there are still three more.

Ahahahahahaha, we’re never getting off this plateau are we. So apparently we need four total.

Whether it’s one treasure or four, what’s the difference for a young go-getter like yourself? Since I’m feeling generous, I will also teach you a trick for finding shrines.

Climb…up the tower? Really?

Oho ho! I am afraid not. But do not worry! I have another little trick to share with you for your effort.

You can travel instantly to any of those places with the Sheikah Slate.

…You’re terrible at this, old man. Anyway, we can simply fast-travel to the top of the tower, which is quite handy.

Next time, we’ll track the other three shrines and then proceed to ignore them in favor of futzing around some more.

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Are you gonna talk about the script used in the Shrines of Trials? 'Cause if there’s one thing I love in Video Games, it’s cyphers with tiny details/easter eggs/jokes.

Above Oman Au it says ‘GOALPOINT’!

Wasn’t even aware of that! Looks like I’ll have to now, haha.

Click here to open the update!

I’ll get into cooking proper later this update, but you can only have one active effect per food item. Thus it’s better to cook stuff to amplify the one effect you have, or to add more hearts.

Last time, we endured a lot of words and got a sweet new power.

So let’s use it!

Whenever you’re near water, it’s good to let loose Magnesis to see if there’s any chests hidden below water, as there often are. There’s two chests here with an Amber and Opal.

This gave me an idea.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/007.mp4

Hmmm. Well, if he’s impervious, then surely Link is too, right?

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/008.mp4

Nope!

Busting open those metal crates reveals roasted bass within. Alright, then.

This is a bog. If you try to swim in it, you’re going to drown.

Magnesis is good for navigating the pitfalls here.

…Assuming you don’t throw your object too far and strand yourself.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/015.mp4

If you die from drowning, the Game Over text is blue. Nice touch.

It’s very rare you get into a position where you’re screwed, though. You have to actively try to get in that position, like I did.

Anyway, we can make a bridge to these two treasure chests thanks to Magnesis.

While we’re here, we also find a rock attached to a stump. Place it in the stump, and…

Another seed! It’ll be awhile before these become relevant.

Anyway, the chests. Another set of fire arrows, and then ice arrows. They don’t have as much utility as fire arrows, but ice arrows freeze enemies and thus are much more useful in combat.

Anyway, we can use the Sheikah Slate to fast travel to towers, shrines, and a few other locations we’ve already visited. Since we need to climb the tower to scout for shrines, let’s travel there instead.

Music: Sheikah Tower

And one loading screen later, we’re here!

I definitely remember. I just got a little, uh, distracted.

Now then… I wanted you to join me up here so you could use this as a vantage point to search for shrines.

Look through it, and you can stick a pin anywhere you’d like to mark on the map.

Seriously, though, you know an awful lot about the Sheikah Slate that was apparently sealed with us for the past one hundred years, and all these towers and shrines that were hidden until now. Are you going to tell us how you know all this?

Oho ho! Just a few tricks I’ve picked up after many, many years in the wild… You may take my advice or leave it. Go ahead and take a look if you feel inclined to do so.

Pressing the right control stick lets you zoom in on your surroundings.

At the edge of this mountain is a shrine.

We can assign up to five pins to highlight areas to investigate. They will show up on your map (and mini-map if you have the HUD enabled, which I declined to do for atmosphere) and when you use the zoom function on your Sheikah Slate.

Further to our left is another shrine, this one on the base of the plateau, though surrounded by walls.

Finally, beyond the snowy mountains, the third shrine.

We won’t be doing any of these today. Instead, there’s a bit more worth exploring.

Keese are a Zelda series staple, even though they’re nothing more than monstrous bats. They only show up at night and, being weak both offensively and defensively, are more of a nuisance than anything. They usually show up in small groups and only during night.

They have their own drops as well.

Another night-exclusive enemy is the Stalkoblin, the skeletal version of the Bokoblin. They usually carry weapons similar to their living kin.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/043.mp4

However, these skeletal enemies are also very fragile. One hit knocks their skull off, and hitting the skull kills the enemy. If the skull is left alone, eventually the Stalkoblin’s skull will return to its skeleton.

My personal favorite way of dealing with these guys is picking up their skulls, finding the nearest cliff, and booting them off into the beyond. I’ll be sure to show it off when I inevitably do so, of course.

They have similar drops to Bokoblins (though they don’t drop guts for obvious reasons), and sometimes they’ll even drop their arms, which serve as weapons.

Hmm. A boulder, Bokoblins, and a bunch of exploding barrels nearby…

Hmmmmmmm…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/048.mp4

Sometimes the obvious move is still the most entertaining.

Some stuff is locked behind time of day, so you can wait by fires to pass the time. There’s a few reasons to use this, one key reason being that exploring can be more difficult at night due to all the Keese and skeletal enemies randomly popping up. Then again, enemies may also be asleep during the night.

Anyway, I wanted to show off a couple of things for this update. We would’ve inevitably gone here if we went the route the game lays out for us, i.e. walking to the old man first thing, who then points this building out to us.

It would’ve been a better introduction to combat, since you only face lone Bokoblins here.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/054.mp4

At this point I can simply slap 'em silly.

This chest hides better pants. Useful!

Music: Temple of Time

Anyway, this area is…the Temple of Time, huh?

Series fans will surely recognize this place. It’s one of the most iconic locales of Ocarina of Time, and also pops up in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.

Strewn across the area are these massive stone structures.

Searching them lets you find ancient pieces like these screws.

The temple itself is guarded by a lone sleeping Bokoblin.

Sneak up on a sleeping enemy to Sneakstrike for increased damage.

The Temple of Time has seen better days. The whole left wall has collapsed in what must have been one nasty battle.

Off to the side is a chest with a bow.

Really, all there is to note here is this statue.

I can offer you great power. But you do not yet have four Spirit Orbs. Seek out the shrines scattered across Hyrule, and face more challenges.

I’m going to jump ahead a bit and spoil what the Spirit Orbs do since I’ll probably have you vote on our reward once we do the other three. Spirit Orbs are essentially this game’s heart pieces, though when you give them to the goddess you can choose whether you gain a Heart Container (an extra heart, max of 30) or a Stamina Vessel (adds a fifth of a ring of max stamina, maximum of three rings). Both are great early on, as hearts obviously let you live longer and stamina lets you explore more easily.

That’s all there is to the temple right now. There’s one more major area to check out before we go shrine hunting.

This rock has a rushroom, a mushroom that grows on the side of mountains. Cooking it increases movement speed, which is handy.

We’re actually close to the first shrine we saw, but I’m more interested in this cabin.

The old man must be living here.

In the meantime, let’s check out his diary.

[quote]
On this desolate plateau, the only pleasure that brings me comfort is cooking. And today, I outdid myself! Truly, I created the perfect dish. I call it…spicy meat and seafood fry. This recipe not only restores health, but it also keeps me warm, even when traveling in the snowy mountains. With this dish on my side, I no longer have need of that itchy warm doublet.

I do not know how I allowed this to happen, but it seems I forgot to write down a very important recipe. I know it contained raw meat and spicy pepper. However… I simply cannot remember what else I used! My age is catching up to me.

Sadly, on this lonely plateau, I have only my own knowledge and memory to rely on. Still… If I did find someone who knew the missing ingredient, I would happily reward them with my warm doublet. However, it seems unlikely that such a miraculous wish will ever be fulfilled.[/quote]

So, spicy meat and seafood fry. The spicy pepper’s the spicy part, the raw meat is the meat part, so that leaves…

Pot Lids are the weakest shields. That said, you can still humiliate a large number of enemies with one if you know what you’re doing.

This is the wild. You’ve gotta use what you can get!

There’s not just enemies out here, you know. There’s a large variety of fauna as well, such as this pigeon.

And we’ve now got the raw meat part! And now we’re set to cook!

Alright, cooking. To actually cook, go to the menu, press X to hold items, then select up to five items to hold. For this recipe, we need a spicy pepper, any meat, and of course a fish.

Then go up to a lit cooking pot until it says “Cook”. Then…

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/097.mp4

There we go! As mentioned earlier, each dish can only have one effect. Each ingredient will add a specific strength of an effect, so stacking those up could make the effect stronger or last longer. Some ingredients don’t add effects and will instead add more hearts to be recovered.

This dish will increase our resistance to cold, letting us explore the snowy mountains from before without taking damage.

Any dishes you cook have an option to check the ingredients used. This is useful since most cooking is simply throwing stuff together to see what works, at least until you look up how it actually works. I won’t get into that here, though.

Anyway, the old man has woken up, though we can’t show him our meal quite yet.

I was just about to go cut down a few trees over there. We’ll have to talk later.

Let’s join him!

Isn’t it obvious?! I thought this tree here might make for some good firewood. However…getting a tree to fall exactly where you want it to is quite an art. The trick is to turn your hips so that they face where you want the tree to land. So… I see you found my axe. Why not help me out and give it a few swings? I’m working up quite a sweat here… but these bones could use a break.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/113.mp4

Basically, the tree will fall where you’re facing. You don’t need an axe either, any sharp weapon will do. So will explosives.

Also a good way to get acorns.

And to cross gaps, though this is honestly the only time where you’d use a log to cross a crevice.

Really, a lot of the little things set up around the Great Plateau, like rolling rocks onto enemies, aren’t things you’re going to do often once you hit the rest of the game. What’s important, though, is it trains you to learn to interact with the environment to figure out how to approach enemies and obstacles, as we haven’t seen even a sliver of what this game has to offer. So while cutting a tree to cross a gap won’t be useful later on, it’s a nice way to tell you to stay on your toes and see what various options you have to approach whatever stands in your way.

If you chop a log, you get wood. Drop it and set it alight (there are several methods, including our Fire Arrows) to start a fire to pass time at.

How about tips?

Simply open your inventory, grab hold of your ingredients, and toss them in! Try to consider how the ingredients will complement one another. You can even make a dish that increases your stamina! It’s all about being creative and trying different things. Oho ho!

Let’s show him what we cooked.

Wait… Is that… That looks just like my signature perfect dish, spicy meat and seafood fry! But how did you-?! Well, I suppose that is not important. Can I trouble you to share the recipe?

Well done! Now, please allow me to reward your culinary efforts with this warm doublet.

Showing the meal to the old man nets us a nice warm doublet. Same defense as the old shirt, but it gives a level of cold resistance, which gives us another way to survive the cold.

As for me, I know a great spicy meat and seafood fry recipe, so I can do without that warm doublet.

It’s nice this game gives multiple ways to handle the cold to reach the shrine above. You can cook foods to resist the cold, you can do this mini-quest to gain the doublet, you can carry a torch to stay warm, or you can just tank it and constantly eat to recover hearts.

At this point, I mess around, combining stuff with apples and mushrooms to make a few more dishes.

The Rushroom gives a small movement boost, and the Stamella Shroom recovers Stamina, which is great when climbing.

We can also make Elixirs. To make these, we need both an insect (like the Summerwing Butterflys that fly around the plateau) and a monster part (like one of the numerous Bokoblin Horns I have). The insects increase the strength of the elixir, the monster parts affect the duration.

There’s a group of Bokoblins nearby, and I’ve got the perfect disguise.

…Well, it’d be perfect if I was good at stealth.

I’m good at fighting, at least!

This spear is optimized for throwing, though usually you only throw weapons when they’re about to break and want to make room for the next one.

The main reason I dealt with these guys is to reach this poorly-disguised area.

Once we scare off the bees with fire…

Kinda rare but also a pretty nice ingredient. But that’s not all!

Now we’re talking! Bomb Arrows explode on contact. They’re as wonderful as they sound.

So how about we actually finally cross over to the other side of where this log leads?

Honestly not much here. Just these two Bokoblins.

Did you know Bokoblins are omnivores? They’ll eat pretty much anything.

https://mp4.mega64.net/botw/u04/150.mp4

And I do mean anything.

Otherwise, there’s an apple tree and a dead end. Maaaybe we could go up?

Anyway, that’s it for this update. Next time, we start tackling the other shrines. However…

…I need your help! Which order should I do them in? As a reminder:

Red is up on a high ledge.

Blue is on level ground, but surrounded by walls and other stubborn terrain.

Yellow is high up in the cold mountains.

VOTE FOR YOUR PREFERRED ORDER HERE! After a couple of days I’ll go with whatever’s winning and go from there.

Two or three more updates and we’ll be ready to explore Hyrule!

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