Over ten years ago, Nintendo released the very first trailer for a new era of The Legend of Zelda. Before the trailer, Eiji Aonuma, one of the lead designers behind the Zelda franchise, spoke about how this new era would harken back to the experimentation and sandbox of the very first entry in the franchise. The game, which featured a drastically new Link design, a mechanical spider, and a new type of arrow in its first trailer, would go on to be called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

It has been 8 years since Breath of the Wild initially released on both the Nintendo Switch and Wii U, and its legacy has still persevered throughout those years. The aforementioned sandbox, the brilliant story, thrilling gameplay, incredible music, and everything in between have made it a game that is arguably one of the best games of the 21st century so far. In the years since, Breath of the Wild has inspired numerous titles and even led to a sequel in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. 

When the Nintendo Switch 2 was first announced, it perhaps wasn’t a surprise to see that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom would be ported to the system. It would’ve been a missed opportunity not to re-release both games on a platform that supported better graphics and performance, and not take advantage of those new features. However, this left me with an interesting challenge: going back to Breath of the Wild and seeing if the game has aged well with the new features. 

After almost 100 hours of playtime and six months since release, I’ve decided to do a full-blown review of everything The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has to offer. From the story and presentation, to the gameplay, to the DLC, to the new additions in the Switch 2 version. Needless to say, though, this game is still a masterpiece and deserves to be treated as such. 

“Link…Wake Up, Link….”

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild immediately separates itself from other entries in the franchise with its opening. Instead of starting with a slow prologue and a chance to name your character, you wake up in a pod as a mysterious voice asks “Link” to wake up. Link wakes up with no memory of his past, no weapons, and wearing nothing but a simple undergarment. The voice asks Link to pick up a Sheikah Slate and step outside. Along the way, he finds some clothes and is briefly instructed on his mission: save Hyrule.

This leads to one of the most iconic gaming moments of recent memory: Link steps outside and sees the entirety of Hyrule laid out before him. It’s a world where nature has run wild, where there are very few people, and monsters roam wild. Yet, beneath all the danger, it is unquestionably beautiful. Best of all, every single location you see, you can visit and explore. In this moment, you realize that Hyrule is just as much of a character as Link and Zelda, who turns out to be the voice speaking to you. 

From there, the rest of the story and premise become clear as you progress further. You are given three essential tasks: free the divine beasts belonging to the fallen champions of Hyrule. Afterwards, defeat Calamity Ganon, who destroyed Hyrule and its heroes 100 years ago. Last, but not least, save Zelda, who has spent those 100 years keeping Calamity Ganon from doing anymore harm. 

Make no mistake, though, even if Calamity Ganon is contained for now, there are still plenty of monsters in your way. Along the way, you’ll encounter the series’ trademark Bokoblins, Moblins, Chuchus, and Lizalfos. There are also some stronger enemies you’ll encounter in the wild, such as Lynels and Hinoxes. Not to mention the challenges presented by the Divine Beasts and other Sheikah technology, which are all being controlled by Ganon’s power. The odds are against you, and not just in combat. 

Link has limitations that are exclusive to Breath of the Wild. For one, he has a visible stamina meter that depletes whenever he climbs, charges up his weapon, swims, or runs. Additionally, all weapons have durability. Doesn’t matter if it’s a sword, a bow, or even a shield: anything can and will be destroyed if used too much. It’s worth noting that the weapon durability is one of the more controversial features of the game.

Personally, I think it fits perfectly within the themes of Breath of the Wild, and as I’ll mention later, it’s a fun puzzle that makes each battle feel uniquely thrilling. The themes at the heart of Breath of the Wild focus on isolation and all of the odds being against Link. He’s alone on this journey, yet even still, he manages to find hope and courage in the aftermath of Hyrule’s cataclysm. That said, he does still find allies along his journey from both the past and present. 

There are four major areas you can discover throughout Breath of the Wild: Gerudo Town, Rito Village, Zora’s Domain, and Goron City. What’s great about the structure of Breath of the Wild is that you can approach each area of Hyrule in any order. Personally, I went to Zora’s Domain first, then Gerudo Town, then Rito Village, then Goron City. Each zone has its own cast of supporting characters that help guide you on your journey. 

Let’s take Zora’s Domain, for instance: you enter the area with the goal of calming Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Vah Ruta (whose name is pulled from Princess Ruto in Ocarina of Time) is a giant mechanical elephant who was formerly piloted by one of six champions tasked with destroying Calamity Ganon: Mipha. Sadly, she was defeated by the Calamity long ago, leaving her brother, Sidon, as the sole defender of Zora’s Domain. 

As you embark on your journey to free the Divine Beast, you learn that Link and Mipha actually knew each other quite well 100 years ago. This is discovered through Memories, which players can discover throughout the world, and how the champions fought and failed against the Calamity. It’s even implied that Mipha even had romantic feelings for Link. This adds to the stakes even further, as Link resolves to free the Divine Beast and put Mipha’s wayward spirit to rest, which lies dormant in the metallic tomb of Vah Ruta. 

This structure applies to every single region in the game, whether you’re going to the Gerudo Desert to meet Riju and learn about her ancestor Urbosa, Rito Valley with Revali’s descendant Teba, or Goron City with Yunobo and his ancestor, Daruk. There are the champions of the past that Link slowly begins to remember, and then the modern champions that he must team up with in order to eventually defeat Ganon once and for all. 

Each character, whether they’re a champion or Zelda herself, has a unique personality and arc. This is where Breath of the Wild introduces one of its biggest innovations for both the franchise and Nintendo games as a whole: voice acting. Every major character (except for Link himself) is fully voiced, whether it’s the champions, Zelda, her father King Rhoam, or the aging Sheikah Chief Impa. It may take some getting used to at first, but each voice actor knocks it out of the park with their respective characters.

In particular, Patricia Summersett adds so much life to the role of Zelda, who, we learn through collectable memories, resented Link for a long time. As time passed, she began to appreciate him more as her bodyguard, before their relationship seemed to evolve into something fond. While Nintendo has never outright confirmed a romance between the two characters, considering that Zelda is one of the few to hear Link’s true voice, I can’t help but imagine that the two are closer to each other than the game portrays. 

You learn more about each of the game’s characters and Link’s history through the aforementioned memories, which provide greater insight into what Hyrule was like 100 years ago. Some of these can be found just by visiting the four main regions, while others have to be found by exploring the world around you. These focus on the story of Zelda and her struggle to awaken the power that will eventually contain Ganon.

The pressure of her sacred mission conflicts with her desire to understand the Sheikah technology more closely. This is where the personalities of each character truly shine. We see more of Revali’s persona as a braggart who resents Link and everything he represents: Daruk’s compassion, Mipha’s care, and Urbosa’s motherly relationship with Zelda. It even shows Zelda’s innate curiosity that develops as she begins to drop her barriers around Link. 

Speaking of Link, despite him never saying a line, he has a personality of his own. We see that in little moments, like his repulsion to Zelda, prompting him to eat a frog. Further, it even displays in the main exploration, as Link has unspoken lines with NPCs that range from serious responses to ones more comedic. One of my favorites is early on, when a character asks Link if he really is the hero of legend, and Link responds with “I am he.” 

Don’t be misunderstood, though: the game can get dark very quickly. Eventually, you learn that all of the champions died in one fell swoop when the Calamity took over. It trapped them in each of their Divine Beasts and left them to fight an impossible battle. Remnants of their battle are found in the music when you visit the Beasts, as each background track has hidden Morse code that spells out S.O.S. and S.A.D. (search and destroy). 

There’s a beautifully heartwrenching cutscene you find from one of the memories, which focuses on Link and Zelda running for their lives after Zelda’s father was also killed by Ganon. Zelda breaks down in Link’s arms as she laments everything they’ve lost. Soon enough, even Link himself is killed, leading him to be placed in the location from the beginning of the game, fittingly named the Shrine of Resurrection.

While the process of acquiring memories can sometimes be frustrating, as all you have to go off of are vague pictures provided by Impa, the reward is more than worth it. Not only does it add an extra ending, but it also adds a lot of depth to the overall narrative. Even replaying the game after seven years, I found myself falling in love with Link, Zelda, and all the characters around them all over again. 

Part of the reason that hunting down memories in Breath of the Wild feels so satisfying is because of just how beautiful the game looks. Even before the Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade, the game used its cel-shaded style to its fullest. Admittedly, though, there were a few frame drops if you played the game on the handheld version (and even on the docked release). Thankfully, as I’ll mention later, these issues are mostly fixed in the Switch 2 release. 

Additionally, the soundtrack is brilliant. Even the songs in the initial trailers were fantastic, and that’s not to mention the game itself. Some of my favorite tracks were Mipha’s Theme, the Battle With Divine Beast Vah Ruta, and the Battle With Divine Beast Vah Medoh. Even now, I can hum the tune to most of the game’s songs, especially the main theme. 

Then, of course, there’s the final act of the game. Without getting too far into spoilers, I can safely say it sticks the ending after all these years, and has the perfect balance between being climactic and fulfilling. In particular, the final battle with Ganon and the actual ending gave me goosebumps and had me on the verge of tears at the same time. It was absolutely beautiful, even eight years later. 

In general, I can honestly say that the story of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is pretty much perfect. Whether it’s through the dialogue spoken in cutscenes or the tone of a dark yet hopeful world of a post-apocalyptic Hyrule, it all shines in so many ways. To me, it still stands as one of the best narratives in Nintendo’s history, in my opinion. So how does the gameplay hold up? This is one of the more divisive aspects of the game and, personally, I think it’s mostly filled with brilliant concepts with a few blemishes here and there.

Fight Through Hyrule 

Much like the narrative, Breath of the Wild‘s gameplay also innovates in various ways. Rather than the more traditional small open zones with various dungeons scattered around, this game opts instead for a massive open world. Hyrule is ridiculously large, and it’s possible that you may not be able to explore all of it in one playthrough alone. Thankfully, numerous activities populate the world to keep you busy. 

For starters, when it comes to navigation, one of the most essential things you’ll need to find are the various Sheikah Towers scattered across Hyrule. Similar to the much-criticized towers in most Ubisoft games, activating these towers provides map data for whichever section of the world you find them in. As time goes on, what starts as a blank map will quickly progress into a complete cartography of Hyrule. Despite how cliched these mechanics are, I really like how Breath of the Wild executes them. Each tower presents a mini-puzzle and requires you to put your stamina meter to the test as you climb your way to the top. 

Creating a map of Hyrule helps you to easily locate some of the other key areas of the map. Immediately, you’ll notice an abundance of the other major structures you’ll find throughout Breath of the Wild: shrines. Shrines essentially function as mini-dungeons, each with its own puzzle to solve that rewards you with a Spirit Orb. Spirit Orbs can then be used to increase your health and stamina. 

The shrines are easily my biggest issue with Breath of the Wild. While some of them are fun to play through, such as the mini-battles against guardians and a few that require you to use the abilities of the Sheikah Slate to your advantage, most are extremely frustrating. By far the worst are the ones that ask you to use motion controls in movements that feel quite unnatural. It wouldn’t be so bad if there were a few of these scattered around the map, but instead, there are 120 shrines, not counting the ones added in the DLC. 

Similar to the shrines, you can also find Korok seeds by finding Koroks scattered around the environment. A lot of them hide beneath rocks, near tree stumps, and in other hidden locations around Hyrule. However, there aren’t 120 korok seeds. Instead, there are a staggering 900 seeds you can find around the map. While completing all the shrines grants you with Link’s classic outfit, you get Hetsu’s Gift, which has absolutely no uses. The collectibles in Breath of the Wild, whether it’s the shrines, korok seeds, or memories, are exhausting to get and make the process of completion so much more daunting than necessary. 

This brings us to the actual moment-to-moment combat. While previous Zelda games relied primarily on Z-targeting, Breath of the Wild emphasizes a more freeform approach to gameplay. While targeting is encouraged, it won’t help you when you’re fighting multiple opponents at once. That freeform approach applies to the weapons you can use as well.

Anything you can pick up in the environment, whether it’s a stick, an old bow, a rusty spear, or a polished Hyrule shield, can be used as a weapon. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, you can find plenty of tree branches in the environment, but that comes at a cost of easily the most controversial aspect of Breath of the Wild’s gameplay: the durable weapon system. 

Every single weapon in the game has an invisible durability meter. The sticks, for instance, can break after just a few hits. Other, stronger weapons can last far longer, though. The same principle applies to both the shields and bows: the more you use them, the sooner they run out of durability. Once the durability runs out, that weapon is destroyed, and you have to find another one as quickly as possible before your opponents attack you again. 

Even after all these years, there are people out there who despise this feature. Certainly, when I played the game for the first time, it took me a while to get used to the feature. However, after years of getting used to it and replaying both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom (which also uses the same mechanic), I actually find the addition of durability to be an interesting challenge. 

There’s a great sense of improvisation that it adds to each encounter. You may run in with nothing but a stick, quickly get the drop on a bokoblin, and in the chaos, pick up their weapon and use it against them. It forced me to not rely on any one weapon, think on my feet at all times, scout out what weapons my enemies had, and adapt quickly. It was a fun way for the game to immerse me in Link’s struggle, and it almost reminded me of the immersive sim genre. Plus, if you run out of weapons, you can always use the bombs, magnesis, stasis, and freeze abilities within the Sheikah Slate. 

That’s not to say there aren’t problems with this setup. Admittedly, it is a little frustrating that, when you eventually unlock the Master Sword, it too has a durability meter. Thankfully, the Master Sword can’t be destroyed; Nintendo rather makes it so that the legendary blade can be used for a certain amount of time. While it makes sense that the Master Sword wouldn’t just make any future encounters trivial, it still takes away from some of the magic of the iconic weapon. 

You also need to keep Link’s stamina in mind. The stamina bar is yet another new mechanic that limits how quickly you can climb, swim, or charge up your sword for a spin attack. This is yet another way to balance Link and keep him from being too strong. While the stamina meter can be raised, it’s another element of strategy you need to take into consideration as you traverse the map and fight enemies. 

Speaking of traversal, as Hyrule’s map is bigger than ever, there are multiple ways to navigate the world. For starters, you can try to get everywhere on foot, but you’re quickly going to run out of stamina (and patience). Certain locations will require you to walk and especially climb, as every single mountain you see in the distance is climbable. I personally loved this mechanic, and I found myself trying to challenge every mountain I could find, even if I clearly didn’t have enough stamina. 

If you need something a little faster, you can always catch a horse and ride it across Hyrule. These horses you can find in the wild, and then register them at a stable. It’s a great way to bring back one of the series’ staples with Epona, but like with the rest of the game, there is a lot of variety in the horses you can catch and the names you can give them. Certain areas also have unique methods of traversal, such as the Gerudo Desert with the sand seals. 

There’s also the glider, which can be used while in mid-air. If you’re jumping up from the top of a mountain or a Sheikah Tower as you’re trying to get to your next destination, the glider is a great way to get there as quickly and efficiently as possible. Be careful, though, as the glider also requires stamina, and if you run out mid-air, you’re going to be in for quite the nasty fall. 

A sealiously great way to travel! (I’m so not sorry)

You’ll need to use all of these methods of traversal in tandem to get to the most important locations in the game: the Divine Beasts, which function as Breath of the Wild‘s dungeons. They’re nowhere near as elaborate as the dungeons you’d find in other Zelda games. Specifically, they’re a lot smaller and ask you to manipulate certain areas within the structure so you can activate five nodes. 

While I do wish the dungeons had a bit more to them, similarly to other games in the franchise, I still had a good time with them. I especially liked the Vah Medoh dungeon, which allows you to turn the winged beast around so you can get to the five terminals. Once you complete those terminals, you’re then forced to fight the boss that defeated the original champions 100 years ago. 

Admittedly, I did find a few of these bosses quite tedious. A lot of them are variations of the same design, specifically Ganon’s. Each of them has different mechanics based on their respective element, such as Waterblight Ganon, who forces you to wade through water, and Thunderblight Ganon, who can shock you and force you to drop your weapons. However, once you understand their element and figure out how to beat them, the bosses become very predictable and easy to defeat. 

That said, I did enjoy how the game forces you to understand parrying as soon as possible. The Thunderblight Ganon boss, in particular, was a great challenge that constantly had me dodging attacks, which made me feel like a combat expert. At the end of the day, the bosses were fun in spite of the monotony. It also helps that the final boss was absolutely fantastic and served as the perfect capstone to the entire experience. 

That idea applies to the rest of the gameplay: despite its flaws, I had a ton of fun with Breath of the Wild’s combat, exploration, and dungeons. While I was occasionally frustrated by the bizarre approach to collectibles, plus some mediocre bosses, these were usually negligible compared to how exciting it was to understand and master each of the innovative concepts that the game introduces. 

Speaking of mastery, once the game was released and people beat it for the first time, I don’t believe anyone was thinking of “more content.” After all, most players’ runtimes went into the 100+ hour range, even without doing some of the extra side quests that you can find around the world. As such, no one really thought that Breath of the Wild needed DLC.

However, Nintendo clearly disagreed, as barely a few months later, two new DLC packs were released for the game, adding new quests and story material for players to chew on. Unsurprisingly, the two DLC released for Breath of the Wild, while also flawed, were just as great as the rest of the game. 

The Master Trials and The Champion’s Ballad

The first DLC released for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was The Master Trials, on June 30, 2017. A few of the features it added were somewhat negligible, such as the addition of a Hero’s Path, which shows you the steps you’ve taken along the journey. It also included a hard mode, which, perhaps unsurprisingly, made the game harder for repeat playthroughs. 

The biggest new inclusion in The Master Trials is the Trial of the Sword, a way to strengthen the Master Sword once you unlock it. The process of unlocking the Master Sword requires you to traverse the Korok Forest and have a certain number of hearts before pulling the sword from its resting place. Once you do, however, the work isn’t done. It starts at a 30 base power, but when around certain enemies, it goes up to 60. However, with the Trial of the Sword, you can permanently raise it to 60 no matter what situation you’re in. 

There are three trials, each a gauntlet through many of the game’s weakest and most dangerous enemies. In the first and second trials, you’ll mostly be fighting Bokoblins, Lizalfos, Hinoxes, and a few stray guardians. In the third and final trial, though, you’ll fight skeletal monsters, moblins, and even lynels across a staggering 24 floors, with every six highlighting a different element. 

If you can believe it, these trials are extremely difficult. You go into trial completely naked, having to pick up any and all weapons you can find and making them last. You also don’t regain health between floors, so you need to collect food and use it sparingly as well. The final trial, in particular, had me struggling for hours.

Sometimes, it does feel a bit unfairly difficult, especially when you’re presented with Lynels. That said, the difficulty makes outsmarting the many enemies feel far more satisfying, especially when you get to bust out the instakill ancient arrow. Though I do wish there was an added reward beyond just powering up your master sword. Maybe an extra cosmetic or something? It is worth noting that the DLC also adds armor based on previous entries in the series, such as a Majora’s Mask helmet and Spirit Tracks armor, though. 

Later in 2017, the second and final DLC for Breath of the Wild was released: The Champion’s Ballad. While The Master Trials mostly focused on gameplay, The Champion’s Ballad was a story-focused update that added more layers to the world of Hyrule. It focuses on a new and final Divine Beast being discovered, which presumably is meant for Link himself. To access it, Link must revisit each of the four Divine Beasts and learn more about their respective champions. 

Along the way, Link interacts more with Kass, a musician knowledgeable about the history of the land. He also uncovers further memories of the champions, which provide greater insight into their personalities and motivations from Zelda’s perspective. It culminates in a beautiful cutscene that shows just how close the six champions were with each other before everything went wrong. 

Don’t get me wrong, though: there are still some major new gameplay additions featured in The Champion’s Ballad. The DLC opens with a new challenge, where you have to traverse multiple shrines using a limited-time weapon that kills all enemies in one hit, but makes it so that you yourself will also die if attacked even once. Afterwards, you’ll be doing extra challenges near the original Divine Beasts that require you to replay each of the Blight Ganon boss fights with new modifications. 

While these parts were slightly lacking, the new Divine Beast dungeon was actually really fun to play through. It’s similar to the others, but is far more elaborate in its design and requires you to use every single ability in your repertoire to your advantage. It leads to a fascinating battle against one of the Sheikah Monks who have been guarding the shrines since your journey began. This is arguably one of, if not the best, battles in the game, as it truly expects you to have mastered every single tool in your arsenal, whether it’s dodging, magnesis, or archery. 

Unlike The Master Trials, however, your reward for beating The Champion’s Ballad is far more worth it. Not only do you get a final cutscene, but you also get Link’s Divine Beast, which isn’t a giant bird, lizard, camel, or elephant, but is instead a motorcycle. The Master Cycle Zero is yet another way to traverse Hyrule.

It was easily my favorite, though, as it requires you to fuel it with Guardian parts and goes drives at a more consistent high speed compared to your horse. The Master Cycle Zero is a great addition to The Legend of Zelda formula, and I had a blast getting to use it to drive through Hyrule. I even got to bust it out in the climactic final battle with Ganon, which was a hilariously thrilling visual. 

Overall, the DLC additions to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild aren’t really as exciting as other post-launch releases, even by Nintendo’s standards (remember Splatoon 2‘s Octo Expansion?). That said, it still offers more content to an already great game, which is always a plus. At the end of the day, I had a fun time with both The Master Trials and The Champion’s Ballad, even if both sometimes made me want to tear my hair out with the difficulty. 

In theory, that should be it. The sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, released in 2023, and with it, Breath of the Wild had no further major updates. That is, until 2025, when Nintendo released new Nintendo Switch 2 Editions for both games. If you own Breath of the Wild, the upgrade pack costs $10. If you never bought the game, though, you may need to pay $70 (and this doesn’t include the DLC). So, is it worth it? For the most part, yes. 

Revisiting A Classic On A New Console

To be honest, a lot of the new features added to Breath of the Wild on Switch 2 are fairly unremarkable. For starters, there’s the inclusion of one extra save file. While this is a nice addition, it’s not really one that necessarily feels like one that could only have been possible on the new hardware. That also applies to the addition of compatibility with the new Nintendo Switch App. 

The new mini-app, titled Zelda Notes, allows you to have a GPS voiced by Zelda that will guide you to a location that you set on the map. It also features new memories from Zelda, which can only be found in certain areas on the map and listened to on the phone. The GPS feature feels unnecessary, and I can’t really imagine why I’d need Zelda herself to tell me to turn right before going to Korok Forest. Further, while the new Zelda memories are great, it would be better if I could listen to them in-game, rather than forcing me to use my phone. 

Quite frankly, however, the new and improved visuals are enough to justify the upgrade alone. Previously, the game had an inconsistent framerate and lower quality on both handheld and docked modes. It now runs at a consistent 1080p 60 FPS on handheld, and supports both 4K and HDR in docked mode. As such, it makes a game that already looked gorgeous look even better. 

Not only that, but the load times are near instantaneous. Further, Korok Forest, infamous for its constant frame drops, has now been completely fixed. I mostly played the game on handheld, and while there were still a few instances of textures looking slightly off, Breath of the Wild on Switch 2 quickly became the definitive way to play the game for me. That being said, the choice not to release the new edition with the DLC sort of detracts from its overall value. 

Thankfully, I already owned the DLC, and I got the upgrade packs at no additional cost thanks to my Nintendo Switch Online membership. If you’re someone whose never played Breath of the Wild before, it may be a hard ask to pay $70 for a game that came out nearly a decade ago. Additionally, if you don’t own the DLC, you’ll be paying $90 to get everything the game has to offer. 

It’s certainly a strange choice, and puts a slight dampener on the overall value of the experience. Even still, after all these years, I can’t help but recommend this game wholeheartedly, regardless of whether you’ve played it before or not. While the price of admission may be a hard ask, and while the game certainly has its flaws that have become more clear with time, Breath of the Wild is still a masterpiece even after eight years. 

An Unforgettable Legacy

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a massive game. Even now, there are still so many details that I neglected to mention. Whether it’s the absurd amount of cosmetic options you can choose, the role of the Yiga Clan, how the Blood Moon functions, or key details pertaining to the final act of the game. The reason for this is that, quite frankly, I believe some details should be discovered in person if you haven’t yet played the game. If that does apply to you, then know this: Breath of the Wild is still a masterpiece. 

Is it perfect? Not exactly. You’ll encounter major problems that have only become more obvious as time has gone on. Some of the gameplay mechanics, such as the shrines, the lack of proper dungeons, lackluster bosses, frustrating DLCs, and odd decisions with the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, slightly detract from the game’s quality. In the grand scheme of things, though, these problems do not take away from Breath of the Wild‘s legacy. 

The narrative is beautiful, thanks to the combination of great voice acting, characters, and moments. The gameplay provides the right amount of innovation, with most of the new mechanics being extremely fun to master and utilize in the Divine Beasts and other challenges. While The Master Trials lack any meaningful rewards, The Champion’s Ballad DLC adds some great depth to the world of Hyrule and new challenges. Finally, the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition provides a great overhaul to the visuals, making an already beautiful game even prettier. 

This is my third time replaying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in eight years, and I still love it. While I will always appreciate the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, a little bit more, I can’t deny the impact this game had on many. It served as the beginning of a new era and the entry point for many into The Legend of Zelda franchise. After all this time, as the story and world that Breath of the Wild winds to a close, the game still has staying power. After all, the design for Zelda in the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie seems to be inspired by Breath of the Wild. 

Speaking only for myself, though, Breath of the Wild was my first real entry into the series. While I had played a few other games in the franchise beforehand, it was this game that made me a fan. Yet, when returning to this experience after eight years, I feared that it wouldn’t quite feel the same and the initial magic would be gone. I’m glad to say that I was wrong. 

At this very moment in time, I am actively thinking about replaying the game once again. I wanted to re-explore Hyrule, meet the new champions again, and go back and do some of the side quests I missed. If you have never even played the game before, I invite you to give it a shot. While the price may be a bit much, I promise you that you will come away with an unforgettable experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may not be the best game ever made, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a contender. 

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch 2.