What a phenomenal day it’s been for Zelda fans. For years since Skyward Sword‘s release, we’ve been aching for news on the series’ next console instalment. We’ve suffered long droughts of silence from Nintendo, only to be teased with the smallest scraps of vague details on rare occasions. Today, that changed: we learned a heck of lot of information on the game. The title, Breath of the Wild, for one!
There was so much during the six-hour stream, in fact, that I thought it best to compile it all in one place for you guys. Check out the list, in case you missed anything! The news team and I are still hard at work uncovering more information to report on during those hours of footage and we will be updating this accordingly, so you may want to bookmark this page.
Day one
- First, we were introduced to the game by an incredible trailer.
- We witnessed voice acting in the game, a first for the series (the CD-i classics aside).
- We saw a range of different regions to explore.
- There’s some beautiful wildlife in this Hyrule.
- Koroks make their triumphant return!
- There are some huge enemies roaming the land.
- Nintendo announced a Breath of the Wild Amiibo line, and Wolf Link can be summoned in the game.
- Ganon returns as the villain, because of course he does.
- We saw the beginning of the game, as well as Link jumping, weapons degrading, and tunics with different abilities.
- The new items and weapons at Link’s disposal are nuts.
- Aonuma confirmed there is not a female Link in the game, though it was considered.
- We saw those beautiful Amiibo figures in more detail.
- The weather affects the gameplay in exciting ways.
- Link replenishes health this time around with his culinary skills.
- The many shrines will reward Link as he overcomes their trials.
- The new Sheikah Slate is a technological marvel, providing Link with lots of new exciting abilities.
- Another trailer showcased gameplay of Wolf Link in action.
- You can start your adventure by heading straight to the final boss. Wow.
- Spoiler warning: Some of the skipped text in the livestream footage reveals some story details.
- That demo only showed off less than 2% of the entire game!
- Breath of the Wild is the “same experience” on the NX, and supports the Pro Controller on the Wii U.
- Huge bosses and gifts from outer space? Sure, why not?
- There is more voice acting in the game to come!
- Miyamoto explains the connection to the original NES Legend of Zelda.
- Hidemaro Fujibayashi has been confirmed as the director of the game.
- Aonuma explained why Link is right-handed again.
- If you missed anything from the livestream or want to watch it again, you can find it all available here.
Some other cool stuff happened, too:
- We saw box art of the game.
- Those lucky folks at E3 get this sweet commemorative coin for playing the demo.
- Nintendo honours the Orlando tragedies with a moment of silence. Good man, Reggie.
- The Zelda items in Miitomo are now available.
Don’t forget to also check out:
Day two
Breath of the Wild:
- Translations of the Hylian text found in Breath of the Wild‘s world show some of Nintendo’s hidden easter eggs.
- Aonuma teases that achieving 100% completion of the game “will be difficult”.
Other cool stuff:
- Nintendo has been considering the idea of a Sheik spin-off game.
- The game is destroying the competition on social media. Nice!
- Zelda merchandise from E3 is popping up on eBay. Collectors, get bidding!
On Zelda Universe TV:
Day three
Breath of the Wild:
- Monolith Soft (developer of the amazing Xenoblade series) is working with Nintendo on Breath of the Wild.
- Reggie says that the game is the “best of both worlds” in terms of new and traditional Zelda elements.
- He also noted that while you can take on the final boss from the get-go, it may not “go so well” for you.
- Aonuma and Miyamoto explained why Breath of the Wild is launching on both the Wii and NX.
- Eiji Aonuma’s Mii is now available in StreetPass.
Other cool stuff:
On Zelda Universe TV:
It’s absolutely crazy to think that we learned all of this, and yet these demos allegedly showcased just two percent of the entire game. It’s a good time to be a Zelda fan.
