Zelda Breath of the Wild: After the First 65 Hours

I am currently playing Breath of the Wild, the new installment in the Zelda series on the Switch. Yes. On the switch. I own a Wii and Wii U, but that Friday, March 3rd, I went to my second closest Target and they still had 12 in stock, so I got one. I also got the Zelda special edition game.

I am a fan of Zelda, though I confess I have not played all of the Zelda games, and my favorites are Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

This is also my first time playing an open world game. My husband has played them. He doesn’t play Zelda, but he owns an XBox and Playstation 4 and he has played Witcher and Skyrim (among others) and loves them. It wouldn’t surprise me if he buys Breath of the Wild for the Wii U (which is now his) and plays it, too.

I do have kids and other responsibilities, but whenever I can I play Breath of the Wild. So far, in the 20 days I have owned it, I have played for 65 hours.

So far, I am enjoying it more than I should and at first, I died a thousand times. I had died a thousand times by the time I got out of the Great Plateau.

I must also confess that I am not good at imagining where things should be. I am ok at solving the puzzles (like the Shrine puzzles), but not how to deal with nature and the outside world. For example, I did think to unequip my metal armor when it thundered, but I did not think to light a torch the first time I realized I would die freezing on my way to the last Shrine of the Great Plateau (which for me was this one).

For the other Zelda games, I used the walkthrough every time I finished a dungeon to guide me to where things should be (like hearts, for example). In Breath of the Wild, I only use the walkthrough to find armor or when I need to find a specific animal or plant. I also used it to find Hetsu after he moved from his original location. I think that’s not bad for someone who is used to relying on walkthroughs so much.

So far, I have not looked up the location of Shrines. For some reason I keep bumping into them. I have solved 52 shrines so far. Out of which I have used 8 to get 2 pieces of stamina. The rest I have turned into hearts. It was a difficult decision to use those shrine orbs for something not a heart, but I have not yet regretted my decision to increase my stamina wheel (which I hated when they were introduced in Skyward Sword). My plan is to complete an entire second wheel and then go back to the hearts. So far, I have 15.

Another thing I haven’t really used the walkthrough for, is finding the Korok seeds. Anywhere I’m walking I bump into them. I don’t know how many I have, but I have upgraded my shields and bows twice and my weapons four times. I am actually able to upgrade weapons a 5th time now, but I haven’t. Going from needing 1 seed for the upgrade to 12 is a big jump.

I was also able to find the first two fairies on my own. I have upgraded all the armor I can except for two items I do not have. One is the Sunset Firefly (which in my opinion are hard to trap) and the other is the Shard of Farosh (which, honestly, I haven’t a clue of what it is). I suppose I will eventually look at a walkthrough for that.

There are still so many things to do without having to look at it, though.

One of the first things I did was reveal the map. The only Tower I haven’t activated is the one that’s east of the Rito Village. It’s too cold and instead of eating the cold resistant food I am waiting to find a more cold resistant clothing. Once I activate that Tower I predict I will find a few more Shrines, as well.

Then there’s the main quest. I am working on my memories. All of them I have found with the help of the guy who asks you to look at your pictures when you bump into him in the stables. I have managed to find the ones I’ve found without looking at a walkthrough. So far, I’m good. I found Impa and the Tech Lab on my own, too! Then I went to Zora’s domain and managed to survive without the electricity protection elixir you are given. I still have it. Then I did all I had to do until I entered Ruta and defeated Gannon. Ruta is now mine and Mipha’s Grace is one of my favorite things to have.

From there I decided on the Gerudo Desert. I did because when I tried to get to a Shrine in the middle of the lava near the Gorons my clothes caught on fire (the paraglider, too!) So, like the more cold resistant clothing, I plan to get it before venturing there again. There must be a way. I discovered how to get to Gerudo Town on my own, too! See how proud I am of not using those walkthroughs so much 🙂

I found the Yiga Clan and defeated the boss (I found the rest of my luminous stones where that Shrine appears close to the Yiga Clan Hideout and delivered them for 2 diamonds 😉

I returned the helm and are about to go against the next dungeon. That’s as far as I got.

Now, I did cheat when I read about the unlimited arrows. So I did go to a plain to get 250 arrows. It was the thing I was spending all of my money on! Judge me, go ahead.

I have bought all the armor I have found so far except for the one they sell in the Akkala Lab. Those things are expensive! I’ve read about a way to get a lot of money, but it’s near the Tower I still haven’t activated, so I will wait until I have activated it to give it a try.

I know, I know… I shouldn’t cheat… but… go ahead, judge me. It’s ok.

I am having fun and that’s what matters!

cheers!