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aubergionLast time we left off, I was atop Mount Drena, waiting to launch myself into the darkness....
Despite Parcy's advice, it turns out climbing to the actual mountain north of Hyrule Castle is way too far. I crashed straight into the side of a hill and was immediately attacked by a handful of Chuchus and two skeletons. Not the most auspicious of beginnings. After a little bit of reorientation, I climbed to the top of Elma Knolls and made my second daring leap into the abyss. And I slammed into the base of one of the glowing pillars surrounding Hyrule Castle. FFS, Parcy! You told me to go up a mountain, not "stand slightly north of the castle".
This went better. I landed near a waterfall, where a Korok seed was, and Zelda called out to me. I also got a new map. Yay! But it didn't really get me any closer to figuring out where this last memory was. There were no structures I could recognize, and everything here was broken down and coated in a thick layer of Malice besides. And there wasn't a single bit that was labeled "Hyrule Castle Cloisters". I decided to head in a direction approximating "up" and "away from any Guardians".
So, after all my preparation... I changed out of my hard-won Champion's tunic and climbing pants and changed into my old 2-star Zora outfit, then swam up a waterfall and swung around to the left, dodging the Guardian Skywatchers and swimming up waterfalls until I came to the back of the castle. I did see a couple turrets, but I just walked away from them.
And then I was standing in front of a large, ominous, gate. Also, there was a Skywatcher. I shot an Ancient Arrow at it, and it went down. Two more went into the Guardian Turret near me so it couldn't shoot me as I walked in. I stepped into the hall - and a cutscene started? A giant Malice cocoon, and inside it... Zelda? I had just enough time to process that there wasn't a dungeon, that the boss battle was happening now, before I fell face to face with the creature within.
Calamity Ganon.
The art in Impa's recollection and Kass's song had made me envision like, a dragon sort of thing. The Elemental Blight Ganons had sort of been limp puppet eyeball things with too much hair? This is a robot spider with a skull for a face and I HATE it SO much -
But what I do not hate is my friends coming to my aid.
Fifty percent of his health bar vanished in the space of a cutscene. Now that's what I call the power of teamwork. Time to party. I took out my Master Sword and Urbosa's shield and began absolutely wailing on this guy. When he leapt up on the wall, Revali's bow and an Ancient Arrow knocked him right down to earth again, where I could heavy attack with Urbosa's fury behind me. When he shielded up and began to shoot lasers at me, I deflected them back at him with Daruk's protection (once I stopped trying to shoot him in the eyes with Revali's bow). And when Daruk's strength ran out, I deflected his blasts with Daybreaker instead until it shattered between my hands.
A couple breathless minutes later, Ganon slumped, lifeless, at my feet. And, as before, in each Divine Beast, I was embraced by a spark of light carrying me to safety.... only to be deposited in front of a glowing cloud of malice. There's a SECOND Ganon inside the Ganon, like a matryoshka doll of evil black goo, and this one is a huge angry pig. Zelda gave me her Bow of Light (and where has that been hiding in all our memories?) and my second-best horse, abandoned upon Mount Drena, had magically appeared at my side. And then we were off, in what turned out to be a HUGE Vah Ruta call back. The targets on its side, riding in circles around my foe, even the certain form factor similarity between a boar and an elephant.
Along the right side, then the left, under the belly, and then the final strike, as the winds blew about me just as if a dragon was flying past. But there was no dragon, only Ganon before me, its back open wide to show a horrible yellow eye. One final shot. And then it was over. Zelda was free, and beautifully free of the ghostly blue flame that had marked the death of so many of my other companions, alight with the power of Goddess Hylia.
Ganon was swallowed in light, and then... it was over. And I am
She asked if I remembered her. But I did not respond. I guess I never found the last memory, so I don't remember her, not entirely. Not as much as she wants. And so Breath of the Wild is over. I've been binging this game for a solid month now. This is the first open world game I've ever liked, and it's consumed my thoughts and screwed with my ability to play any other game. I massively overprepared for the boss fight and I don't regret a single moment of it because the preparation itself was so fun - and this from a person who hates grinding more than anything. I have religiously avoided spoilers, something I've never cared about before, because I enjoyed the process of discovery so much. This is probably the best video game I've played in my entire life. It has changed my perception of what video games can be.
Just one complaint: there's no endgame? I wanted to ride around Hyrule restored, and see the people at the stables react. I wanted to see the castle in the distance, free of Malice. I wanted to explore the castle and find the last memory I am missing without the fear of malice every few steps. I wanted to give Zelda some flowers, and a frog or two. And instead, the credits take me back to the loading screen, and the loading screen takes me back to the mouth of the Sanctum, in the instant before I know what's about to happen to me.
Just like in the tale, it seems, we are trapped in this cycle for eternity.
Despite Parcy's advice, it turns out climbing to the actual mountain north of Hyrule Castle is way too far. I crashed straight into the side of a hill and was immediately attacked by a handful of Chuchus and two skeletons. Not the most auspicious of beginnings. After a little bit of reorientation, I climbed to the top of Elma Knolls and made my second daring leap into the abyss. And I slammed into the base of one of the glowing pillars surrounding Hyrule Castle. FFS, Parcy! You told me to go up a mountain, not "stand slightly north of the castle".
This went better. I landed near a waterfall, where a Korok seed was, and Zelda called out to me. I also got a new map. Yay! But it didn't really get me any closer to figuring out where this last memory was. There were no structures I could recognize, and everything here was broken down and coated in a thick layer of Malice besides. And there wasn't a single bit that was labeled "Hyrule Castle Cloisters". I decided to head in a direction approximating "up" and "away from any Guardians".
So, after all my preparation... I changed out of my hard-won Champion's tunic and climbing pants and changed into my old 2-star Zora outfit, then swam up a waterfall and swung around to the left, dodging the Guardian Skywatchers and swimming up waterfalls until I came to the back of the castle. I did see a couple turrets, but I just walked away from them.
And then I was standing in front of a large, ominous, gate. Also, there was a Skywatcher. I shot an Ancient Arrow at it, and it went down. Two more went into the Guardian Turret near me so it couldn't shoot me as I walked in. I stepped into the hall - and a cutscene started? A giant Malice cocoon, and inside it... Zelda? I had just enough time to process that there wasn't a dungeon, that the boss battle was happening now, before I fell face to face with the creature within.
Calamity Ganon.
The art in Impa's recollection and Kass's song had made me envision like, a dragon sort of thing. The Elemental Blight Ganons had sort of been limp puppet eyeball things with too much hair? This is a robot spider with a skull for a face and I HATE it SO much -
But what I do not hate is my friends coming to my aid.
Fifty percent of his health bar vanished in the space of a cutscene. Now that's what I call the power of teamwork. Time to party. I took out my Master Sword and Urbosa's shield and began absolutely wailing on this guy. When he leapt up on the wall, Revali's bow and an Ancient Arrow knocked him right down to earth again, where I could heavy attack with Urbosa's fury behind me. When he shielded up and began to shoot lasers at me, I deflected them back at him with Daruk's protection (once I stopped trying to shoot him in the eyes with Revali's bow). And when Daruk's strength ran out, I deflected his blasts with Daybreaker instead until it shattered between my hands.
A couple breathless minutes later, Ganon slumped, lifeless, at my feet. And, as before, in each Divine Beast, I was embraced by a spark of light carrying me to safety.... only to be deposited in front of a glowing cloud of malice. There's a SECOND Ganon inside the Ganon, like a matryoshka doll of evil black goo, and this one is a huge angry pig. Zelda gave me her Bow of Light (and where has that been hiding in all our memories?) and my second-best horse, abandoned upon Mount Drena, had magically appeared at my side. And then we were off, in what turned out to be a HUGE Vah Ruta call back. The targets on its side, riding in circles around my foe, even the certain form factor similarity between a boar and an elephant.
Along the right side, then the left, under the belly, and then the final strike, as the winds blew about me just as if a dragon was flying past. But there was no dragon, only Ganon before me, its back open wide to show a horrible yellow eye. One final shot. And then it was over. Zelda was free, and beautifully free of the ghostly blue flame that had marked the death of so many of my other companions, alight with the power of Goddess Hylia.
Ganon was swallowed in light, and then... it was over. And I am
She asked if I remembered her. But I did not respond. I guess I never found the last memory, so I don't remember her, not entirely. Not as much as she wants. And so Breath of the Wild is over. I've been binging this game for a solid month now. This is the first open world game I've ever liked, and it's consumed my thoughts and screwed with my ability to play any other game. I massively overprepared for the boss fight and I don't regret a single moment of it because the preparation itself was so fun - and this from a person who hates grinding more than anything. I have religiously avoided spoilers, something I've never cared about before, because I enjoyed the process of discovery so much. This is probably the best video game I've played in my entire life. It has changed my perception of what video games can be.
Just one complaint: there's no endgame? I wanted to ride around Hyrule restored, and see the people at the stables react. I wanted to see the castle in the distance, free of Malice. I wanted to explore the castle and find the last memory I am missing without the fear of malice every few steps. I wanted to give Zelda some flowers, and a frog or two. And instead, the credits take me back to the loading screen, and the loading screen takes me back to the mouth of the Sanctum, in the instant before I know what's about to happen to me.
Just like in the tale, it seems, we are trapped in this cycle for eternity.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-08-27 01:45 (UTC)The final line on this post is *so true* tho :(
This game really does deserve every bit of praise it gets, even when it (rarely, but heartbreakingly) disappoints.