The 2016 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known to most as E3, was held in Los Angeles June 14-16. E3 showcased presentations from gaming companies Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda and Nintendo. While every company pushed the show to new heights with their reveals, Nintendo stole the show with their reveal of the highly anticipated new “Legend of Zelda” game titled “Breath of the Wild.”
Unlike most Zelda games where the player is tasked with getting from point A to B, “Breath of the Wild” takes everything that has defined the Zelda series for the past 30 years and redefines it. One of the most exciting announcement made about “Breath of the Wild” was that it will be the first game in the franchise to introduce a free roaming concept, which will allow the player to go anywhere they desire. As Nintendo CEO Shigeru Miyamoto put it, “If you can see it, you can touch it.” With this open world concept integrated into the game, the story, plot and levels do not need to be played in a specific sequence.
Another exciting reveal was the graphics, which capture a vast landscape in the art style of famous Japanese animation.
The game also displays new concepts such as armor, breakable weapons and shields that can be found throughout the world. With these new additions, “Breath of the Wild” has been referenced in the gaming community as “Nintendo’s version of Skyrim.”
The hours of gameplay at E3 showcased the mysterious beginning of the adventure. It showed the protagonist, Link, waking up in a place called the Resurrection Chamber. The player was then thrown into a post-post-apocalyptic Legend of Zelda world, where Hyrule has fallen to ruin and nature has reclaimed society.
The gameplay was a specialized demo that left out certain characters and villages to avoid spoiling the whole story. However, the gameplay did reveal that players will have to acquire strong gear to take on difficult enemies and travel to regions with unbearable climates early on in the game.
Unlike previous installments, E3 disclosed that “Breath of the Wild” will be more strategic and customizable to player’s preferences. While the gameplay and story are vastly different, with Link having to scavenge and hunt for food to replenish health instead of mowing grass to find hearts, Zelda has also stuck to its roots with bosses and dungeons in the game along with the iconic Master Sword.
“Breath of the Wild” is rumored to release March 2017 for Wii U and Nintendo NX.
Collegian A&C Reporter Connor DeBlieck can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CDeBlieck1995.
