The Legend Of Zelda - Ranking Every Gameplay Gimmick

This most recent Zelda game was exactly what Nintendo needed. The company took a massive risk with the direction of Breath of the Wild, but thankfully it paid off. This title represented the biggest shake up the series had ever seen.

Elements previously thought of as being utterly essential to the franchise, such as dungeons and items, were unceremoniously removed, to be replaced with over a hundred single-puzzle shrines and app-like runes, all of which the player gained during the game’s tutorial section.

All of this was nothing compared to the immense changes made to the world, which turned the linear Zelda experience into a genuinely open world where the player could literally do whatever they wanted. Open world games are nothing new but Nintendo’s take on the genre was characteristically polished and was particularly notable for allowing players to climb on any surface they could find. Anyone who’s played Skyrim will be stunned by the difference this mechanic makes to exploration.

Nintendo had no real reason to reboot the franchise like this. Despite the grumblings of fans, they could easily have continued to print money by repeating the same old tired Zelda conventions. It was a genuinely brave move for the company to make Breath of the Wild, which has undoubtedly become a paradigm-shifting, must-play game which will be remembered for years to come.