LogFAQs > #888528841

Jiggy101011 posted...

It's fun, but I was really missing the dungeons/boss fights. I just felt like the story/plot wasn't there which is surprising as this one had voice acting.

Personally, after awhile, LoZ dungeons and boss fights felt like they were becoming nothing more than set pieces to showcase the dungeon's unique item, an item which half the time would become nigh-useless after its dungeon was completed. Sometimes this was fun and exciting, but it became too structured and predictable. Getting stumped by a puzzle? Odds are your shiny new item is the ticket out.

This is why, for me, the shrine structure was a breath of fresh air (and a spiritual successor to A Link Between Worlds' excellent item mechanic): you are given all of your powers in the opening act, which allows you to use all of them in creative tandem while opening each shrine up to a unique and unpredictable challenge. Figuring out on your own that you have to use Magnesis to balance this lever or Cryonis to raise that gate is more rewarding to me than being guided through a setpiece dungeon.

In fact, one of the things that occasionally disappoints me in BotW is its adherence to what little structure remains, which can make exploration predictable. So you solved some great wilderness puzzle or noodled your way through a riddle? Your reward is almost exclusively a shrine. Throwing a few monkey wrenches into this formula would have gone a long way (for instance, I was really expecting / hoping to get some kind of Triforce power for gaining access to the Courage, Power and Wisdom Springs).

As for the plot, I haven't been let down so far on that front because I've never really considered the Zelda franchise to have strong plots - Wind Waker takes the lead in this regard, but even at its highest points the element is still easily secondary to the gameplay. I think the base plot is very good, and gives a nice bit of melancholy to your travels when you wander a ruined world that you yourself failed to protect. I might be a little biased because I ended up doing the Zora questline first, which so far is heads and shoulders above the rest (haven't finished Gerudo and Rito yet, but the Goron questline was considerably weaker). Admittedly though, the voice acting is unnecessary and sounds PS2-era quality at times.
---

Simple questions deserve long-winded answers that no one will bother to read.