The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was and is a brilliant game. I certainly won’t deny that. But I have to admit, in the five years since its release alongside the Nintendo Switch, I think some of Breath of the Wild’s shortcomings have been magnified with age.
I know, I know. How dare I question Zelda?! But it’s like I said, I think Breath of the Wild is a great game, just not the flawless “best game of all time” that so many people decided it was before it was even released (apparently, we’ve forgotten Super Mario World exists). It’s a wonderful game, but it has plenty of room for improvement.
This point hit home for me the more I dove into Elden Ring. Like Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring took an acclaimed video game series (in this case, From Software’s “Soulsborne” formula) and takes it into an open-world setting. Although there’s plenty of differences between the two games, they do have more than a few things in common, and I think Breath of the Wild’s upcoming sequel could learn a thing or two from Elden Ring.
A lot of people were bummed that Breath of the Wild’s yet-unnamed sequel was delayed (though we shouldn’t be surprised, as such delays are commonplace for Nintendo, and Zelda specifically). But I think Nintendo would be wise to use this delay to take a few notes from Elden Ring, in order to make “Breath of the Wild 2” an even better game than its predecessor.
In particular, there are three aspects of Breath of the Wild that I feel could really be improved on, and that Elden Ring addressed. So instead of taking a full-on deep dive to compare every aspect of Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring, let’s just focus on these three issues that Breath of the Wild 2 should really adapt from Elden Ring.
1: Better Dungeons & Optional Dungeons
I guess we technically have more than three things, because we’re starting things off with a twofer. Simply put, Breath of the Wild needed better dungeons, and it needed some outside of the main plot.
Okay, I know some people would point out that technically all the dungeons in Breath of the Wild were optional except for Hyrule Castle, since you can go straight from the tutorial to the endgame if you want. But if you wanted the full story, you had to beat the other four dungeons (the “Divine Beasts”) before heading for Hyrule Castle.
It’s those four story dungeons that could really use some improvement. All four dungeons were basically built around the same puzzle, they all looked aesthetically identical, and their bosses were all incredibly similar in both appearance and in the battles themselves (I don’t care if they were all different forms of Ganon! Ganon can pull some new tricks out of his hat!).
Compared to the dungeons of previous Zelda games, Breath of the Wild’s story dungeons fell short. Even Skyward Sword – which is otherwise the weakest 3D Zelda game – had some incredible dungeons. When I played Skyward Sword HD last year, I realized how much I missed those traditional Zelda dungeons in Breath of the Wild. It almost felt like Nintendo was so proud of the open-world they created with Breath of the Wild, that they didn’t want the dungeons to outshine it, and were a little skittish when designing them.
Elden Ring has no such issue. Despite the shift to an open-world, Elden Ring makes no sacrifices when it comes to its story dungeons, which are as intricately designed as Dark Souls and Bloodborne’s best. Each story dungeon is distinct from the others, houses their own secrets and unique quirks, and ends in an epic boss encounter. Zelda should definitely take note. Just because the open-world is bigger than anything the series has seen before doesn’t mean those classic dungeons can’t be a part of it.
On top of that, Elden Ring has dozens of optional dungeons that have no bearing on the main quest. While the optional dungeons are certainly smaller and have more in common with each other than the main dungeons, it’s still great to have them. So many times I’ve been exploring in Elden Ring, only to discover a cave or doorway to a whole new dungeon to conquer. It would be so cool if Zelda had that too.
Yes, I know, Breath of the Wild did have the shrines, and I have no complaints with them. But the shrines were pretty different from dungeons, being singular puzzles more akin to a test chamber from Portal (again, a great thing). It would be great if Breath of the Wild 2 could have some dungeons outside of those in the main plot in addition to the shrines. It doesn’t even need as many of them as Elden Ring or anything. Just have some optional dungeons complete with Zelda’s classic puzzles and bosses, and I’m good.
Just imagine how cool it would be for Link to just stumble onto a full-blown dungeon not relating to the main plot. Maybe these bonus dungeons have their own story? Maybe completing them could unlock some secret weapons and items?
And speaking of weapons…
2: Permanent Weapons
As great as Breath of the Wild was, it was a pain in the ass how often your weapons broke. You’d find some legendary weapon one minute, only for it to break after fighting a small group of Bokoblins the next. Yeah, after you got a particular weapon you could then remake it with the right materials, but the fact that you can just remake some legendary weapon you discovered kind of takes away from the weapon itself. Point being, I shouldn’t have to remake it!
It baffles me that some people defend this mechanic to the death: “It makes it more immersive!” “It’s more realistic if the weapons break!” “It encourages you to make more of those weapons!” I’ve heard it all.
I’m going to say something that’s going to annoy a lot of people, but if “immersion” gets in the way of gameplay, it’s a problem. That’s why I get annoyed in Red Dead Redemption 2 (also a great game) when Arthur Morgan has to take the time to personally inspect a fallen foe for loot or skin an animal when acquiring materials (something else Elden Ring improved. You want a material? Press the button and you get it!). It may be more realistic to see Arthur Morgan collecting the materials himself, but after a while, you just want to get on with things.
Anyway, back to Zelda…
The whole weapon breaking thing makes sense with the early game stuff. If you have some rinky-dink sword or you decide to start fighting with a stick you found on the ground, I get it. It isn’t durable. My issue is that none of the weapons in Breath of the Wild were durable. They all broke so quickly you could barely enjoy them after all you went through to get them. I felt like I spent more time obsessively repairing and replacing things I already had than I did exploring new things in Hyrule.
Elden Ring avoids this issue in the simplest of ways: you find a weapon, you have that weapon; unless you sell or discard it, you keep that weapon. Beautiful.
A lot of video games do the whole “breakable weapons” thing these days. Even past Soulsborne games did it. But you know what? It’s more of an annoyance that creates tedium than it is a fun dose of reality in your games. It’s a modern gaming trend that really needs to go away. Thankfully, Elden Ring agreed. Hopefully, Breath of the Wild 2 will as well.
3: Worthwhile Steeds
While I said most of my complaints with Breath of the Wild became more apparent in hindsight, this is one complaint I’ve had with Breath of the Wild since day one: taming horses was pointless!
Yes, it sounded cool that Link could now find wild horses, train them, and eventually turn them into a noble steed. But in the end, it felt like a waste of time for one simple reason: Link was a far more versatile traveler on foot than any of the horses in the game!
Oh sure, the horses were technically faster than Link while running. But they would also stop dead in their tracks and throw Link from his saddle if so much as a pebble stood in their path. This made traversing the often rocky and bumpy terrain of Hyrule a start-and-stop affair when riding a horse. Meanwhile, Link could just climb a mountain with his bare hands, and then glide from its peak to cover far more distance in a much shorter time. So why’d I take the time to train that horse?
Although the player character in Elden Ring is a more versatile traveler than they were in previous Soulsborne games (good lord, they finally added a proper jump!), when you mount your trusted “spirit steed” Torrent, you can traverse the world all the better. Not only is Torrent noticeably faster than the player is on foot, but it also gets a double jump! In other words, riding your horse (or horse equivalent) in Elden Ring feels like an improvement in regard to travel. And you don’t even have to tame him!
I’m fine with the idea of Link taming horses in Breath of the Wild 2, but they really need to make it worth the effort. Give the horses strengths and abilities that Link can’t already better on foot.
Admittedly, I’m a bit skeptical that Breath of the Wild 2 will address this particular issue, seeing as we already know the sequel will allow Link to traverse the skies of Hyrule. If he can already go to the sky, I don’t see horse situation improving. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Maybe just give me Epona from the get-go and make her ‘Super Horse’ or something.
I suppose I’ll leave it there, for now. I know it sounds like I’m ragging on one of the most beloved Zelda games of all time. But hey, people ragged on Wind Waker years before it was even released! And in retrospect that’s still probably the best 3D Zelda all-around.
This doesn’t take anything away from my love of Breath of the Wild. I’m merely sharing my criticisms of it that I hope the sequel will address. Seeing as Elden Ring has already improved on those areas, I see no reason why Breath of the Wild 2 can’t do the same. I guess only time will tell.
Wizard Dojo 