Board 8 > Epyo's Top 62 Things to Stumble Across in Breath of the Wild (+writeups)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Epyo posted...

6. Town: Gerudo Town

Popular opinion: best town in the game.

My own hot take: the desert is hands down the best region in the game. Yeah, Naboris is probably the most high-quality Divine Beast, and yeah, the Gerudo bring tons of great lore and humor to the game, but even beyond that, I found it to be the best area to explore - and for this game, that's saying a lot. There was something especially cool about finding a Shrine or point of interest amidst the vast sand sea. "Romantic" might honestly be a good for it.

---

Yea, desert is definitely my favorite region here. Is the desert section the best section in any other zelda? I've only played 20 minutes of most zelda games.

---

Actually... the desert might be the best all-around region in 3D Zeldas. There's no desert in Wind Waker, but it's really well represented in Ocarina, Majora, TP, and Skyward Sword.

---

Yeah thinking about it they usually do deserts very well. Ocarina has the great Fortress stuff and the Spirit Temple, Skyward Sword's desert is by far its best area and a top tier area in the whole series imo, and most people think TP's best dungeon is its desert one (not me personally). I don't recall a desert in Majora unless you're counting Ikana/Stone Tower, in which case yes that's great too.

Everybody loves Eventide and for good reason, you laid out its strengths and weaknesses well. Now I'm wondering what the top 4 could be... I assume Hyrule Castle is one of them but the others I don't know. Getting the Master Sword? This game is so personal to each player your favs could be entirely different from mine! Like one of my fav moments is seeing the dragons for the first time, particularly seeing Farosh descend down the waterfalls in Faron. Or finally finding the last memory. Hyrule Castle has gotta be up there though.

---

4. Divine Beast: The Fifth Divine Beast (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)



Nobody ever talks about this beast so I don't know the popular opinion, but I think it's outstanding. It has the Confusion Factor of Vah Naboris, but way harder, with actual Legitimate Puzzles.

There's this cohesive "mechanical engine" theme going on throughout the beast, that makes everything really cool to look at and watch, it's intricate. As you complete puzzles, they all affect something in the main room, so the dungeon feels like one big interconnected puzzle. Mark Brown would be so proud. (Take some Beauty points.)

Many of the individual puzzles follow the "engine" theme: there are a lot of gears to adjust/climb on, there are axes to shove into slots so that they rotate other things. It's impressive how it all works, in my opinion it raises the bar a little bit on what a "physics puzzle" can be--that phrase usually makes me think of simply balancing planks to make bridges, or dropping weights on see-saws.

It's also a tough dungeon! For the puzzles, since they know you're used to your powers and divine beast manipulation by now, they really expect you to be ready to combine them all.

And, each time you come back to the main room, they throw huge enemies in there, like giant turrets and flying guardians, and the wild layout of the main room makes it hard to avoid them! It feels much more like a "dungeon" than the other divine beasts, with all the extra danger. (Plus, it's underground, and the theming is better.)

The best part of all: when the boss is revealed. That is the biggest "hell yes" fist-pumping moment in the game, such a great payoff Surprise twist. I get excited just thinking about it. And the boss fight is also really really good! (I can't believe how hard it was in master mode, even with a full backpack of resources!)

---

andylt posted...

Or finally finding the last memory.

oooo if I had thought of it, that probably would have made the list somewhere, that's a good cutscene

---

3. The view outside of the Shrine of Resurrection



A lot of people don't end up liking Breath of the Wild. But does anyone not get excited by the view outside of the Shrine of Resurrection?

I've excitedly bought nearly every 3D Zelda game (sometimes multiple times due to ports), but somehow, I never make it past the first hour. Why? ...The horrifyingly boring early game tutorial areas. The slow starts have literally ruined this series that I'm pretty sure I should totally love.

(Years later, I finally got to the real game in Wind Waker HD and mostly enjoyed it, in spite of the opening.)

The opening cutscene here, as you exit the starting tunnel and witness this view, makes a much-needed powerful statement, it's almost an apology for past games' mistakes. Here's the world. Here's the name of the game. ...And enjoy! You're actually playing now! No fishing tutorial, we promise!

And I'm glad they do the short controls-tutorial in the tunnel, first. If they showed me this view and then any immediate pop-ups, I'd be pissed.

Huge Beauty Factor points obviously, but also the Saturation factor for the excitement at all the things you wanna go investigate (near and far), and maybe even just some Surprise points, I did not expect the game to look this good or this big, at all.

---

If you somehow haven't done this one, don't read this! Keep playing the game!

~~~~~

2. Combat Sequence: Spring of Wisdom / Freeing Naydra



My main memories of Skyrim are randomly exploring, finding something intriguing, oh wait, I guess I'm not allowed to do it, I have to go on a two hour terrible quest chain first that leads up to this, and also, it turns out it wasn't that cool anyway.

The biggest insane design risk they took with Breath of the Wild is: if you find it, you can do it. Right away. No matter how cool it is. You can do it right now, no bullcrap. No long quest chain, no ability you have to unlock first, nothing.

You found, it, so enjoy!

I didn't fully appreciate this design choice, until I randomly decided to climb this mountain, for no reason other than it sounded fun. It was a fun difficult climb, with the freezing temperature and freezing lizalfos.

And what's at the top? Holy crap, it's a corrupted dragon, I have to help it. Cool. Well I'm excited to go on a long quest chain, to find the ingredients, and come back in 20 hours or whatever and...

...Wait...stop...wait...it's moving...it's happening??? Right now???? But what about.....whaa!!!!!!!!

And the following epic battle...it is more than mind-blowing. This is the most beautiful "boss fight" I can think of in any game. And it's just...waiting to be found!

---

One more to go!

62. Shrine: Katosa Aug Shrine: Katosa Aug Apparatus (motion controls minigolf)
61. Explorable Area: Fort Hateno
60. Tower: Hateno Tower
59. Shrine Quest: Master of the Wind (Kass)
58. Secret: Zora Helmet Treasure Chest
57. Shrine Quest: The Two Rings (Kass)
56. Shrine: Sho Dantu Shrine: Two Bombs
55. Divine Beast: Vah Rudania, Death Mountain
54. Shrine: Myahm Agana Shrine: Myahm Agana Apparatus
53. Tower: Central Tower
52. Explorable Area: Lanayru Promenade
51. Shrine: Etsu Korima Shrine: Path of Light (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
50. Side Quest: Missing in Action (In the canyon path to Gerudo Desert)
49. Korok: Orange pinwheel bow challenge, on Floria Bridge, Lake Floria
48. Side Quest: Death Mountains Secret
47. Shrine Quest: The Bird in the Mountains (Rito Village & Hebra Mountains)
46. Explorable Area: Bridge of Hylia
45. Shrine Quest: The Stolen Heirloom (Kakariko Village)
44. Cutscene: Urbosas Champions Ballad Cutscene (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
43. Shrine: Neez Yohma Shrine: Pushing Power (45 degree waterfall)
42. Explorable Area: Thyphlo Ruins (North of Hyrule Forest)
41. Shrine: Bareeda Naag Shrine: Cannon
40. Combat Sequence: Forgotten Temple
39. Shrine: Kaam Yatak Shrine: Trial of Power
38. Puzzle: Getting through the Lost Woods
37. Shrine: Takama Shiri Shrine: Dual Purpose (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
36. Shrine: Keive Tala Shrine: Big or Small (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
35. Minigame: Hebra Mountain Shield Surfing Through Hoops (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
34. Shrine: Yowaka Ita Shrine: Collected Soul (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
33. Shrine Quest: The Seven Heroines (Gerudo Desert)
32. Shrine Quest: Watch Out For the Flowers
31. Main Quest Segment: Carrying the blue flame to Hateno Ancient Tech Lab
30. Shrine: Shorah Hah Shrine: Blue Flame
29. Shrine: A Major Test of Strength+ (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
28. Combat Sequence: The winding path to Zoras Domain
27. Shrine: Rota Ooh Shrine: Passing of the Gates (weird axis rotating room with the door)
26. Side Quest: Miskos Treasure
25. Explorable Area: Forest of Spirits (on the Great Plateau)
24. Shrine Quest: Test of Wood
23. Explorable Area: Abandoned North Mine
22. Korok: The tippy tip top of Hyrule Castle
21. Shrine: Rohta Chigah Shrine: Stop to Start (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
20. Shrine Quest: The Perfect Drink
19. Shrine Quest: Recital at Warblers Nest
18. Korok: Kakariko Village: The arrows on the entrance archways
17. Shrine: Hawa Koth Shrine: The Current Solution
16. Shrine Quest: The Crowned Beast (Kass)
15. Side Quest: Tarrey Town
14. Town: Hateno Village
13. Main Quest Segment: Infiltrate the Yiga Clan Hideout
12. Divine Beast: Vah Medoh, Rito Village
11. Secret: Hebra Great Skeleton
10. Tower: Akkala Citadel Ruins and Tower
9. Explorable Area: Lomei Labyrinth Island, in Akkala
8. Divine Beast: Vah Naboris, Gerudo Desert
7. Shrine: Mah Eliya Shrine: Secret Stairway (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
6. Town: Gerudo Town
5. Combat Sequence: Eventide Island
4. Divine Beast: The Fifth Divine Beast (Champions Ballad, DLC Pack 2)
3. The view outside of the Shrine of Resurrection
2. Combat Sequence: Spring of Wisdom / Freeing Naydra

---

Gee what could it be???
---

1. Explorable Area: Hyrule Castle Indoors



(Not so much the outdoor parts, and not the last boss, wasn't crazy about that part. The lower the better.)

A player might assume that Hyrule Castle is an end-of-game challenge, that simply leads to the final boss. But actually, it has a super fun gigantic indoor area, that you can explore anytime you want! I almost wish the game made that more clear to people!

It scores big in lots of this list's criteria. Beauty points of course, one of the best looking places in the game, and the music is possibly the series' best. Love that long Library area in particular. Saturation for the size, variety, and good loot to find. Surprise Factor for all the great secrets, and for the surprise gear guarded by that close-quarters skeletal hinox fight. Confusion for the intricate map and figuring out how to get past all the corruption blockades. Legitimate Gameplay for sure, loved fighting and sneakstriking through the hallways, dungeons, and giant rooms. You could probably argue that Multi-Solution points should be given for all the ways to get in, like the docks, mines, and front door.

And definitely Lore points, loved Zelda's diary and the King's secret diary (go find it if you haven't!). Real good stuff.

The interconnected rooms, locked doorways, secrets, and big visual map, make this feel almost like a miniature Castlevania game, or even a Doom II level. Those are my two favorite game series, so perhaps they are a subconscious reason that this is my #1 pick, for best thing to check out in Breath of the Wild.



Thanks for enjoying =]

Here is the spreadsheet I used to extremely scientifically score each entry by the various criteria:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EzZjyAbp0pLELoqmJeehW8SBoZ_MvWz2CSl53AsFKDk/edit?usp=sharing

And lemme know if there's anything I forgot!

---

People complain about the lack of true dungeons

But Hyrule Castle is one of the best ever
---

Very cool thread. Thanks for doing it

---

Hyrule Castle music was perfect

---

A+ topic. Loved looking back at all those great BotW moments. Thanks for doing this topic!

---

Great topic, thanks. Perfect for getting me excited about Age of Calamity.

---

Thanks for the topic.

I actually didnt learn (or forgot) that you can use the leaves to travel on the rafts, so to get to Eventide, I just glided down and chugged a stamina thing. I still barely made it.

---

Yep thanks for the fun comments also!

(Yeah the rafts are pretty dumb, kinda just a novelty)

---

Great topic Epyo, it has successfully got me very hyped for BotW2 and all the things they could bring back and expand upon... Hopefully AoC can get some of that feel but I'm guessing the aesthetic is about all that will be carried over. We'll see!

---