Video Game Tuesday: Breath of the Wild’s Durability System

Hey all I’m back with my thoughts on last year’s probably best game’s, that I only just got to play this last weekend, only flaw. It’s all about Breath of the Wild’s Durability System!

Durability System?: For those unaware the weapons in Breath of the Wild all have a set durability that prevents you from keeping any one weapon indefinitely. There is an exception though, but the base game still prevents that exception from being usable 100% of the time. This is highly annoying and causes you to constantly scrounge up weapons. For hoarders like myself we hate having to waste good weapons on trash enemies, but sometimes we are left with no choice but to do so.

What can you do?: Well thankfully there are trees everywhere so if you get really desperate you can always throw a bomb at a tree to knock it down to get a quick weapon i a tree branch. Unfortunately they last as long as you’d expect a stick to last, which is to say not long at all. They also do absolutely crap damage, so you won’t be taking down any real enemy quickly with it, only the easiest of monsters will fall before the branch breaks.

Does it get better?: Like I said there is one weapon that doesn’t break, but with just the base game you won’t ever be able to use it all the time, as it also has a durability and has to wait a few minutes before being usable again.

My hope is that in future Zelda games they never include the durability system in this form again. I’d really like to be able to at least repair some of my weapons for a few Rupees.

That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday, do you enjoy the Durability System in Breath of the Wild? Leave your thoughts below in the comments below.

Video Game Tuesday: Thoughts on the Switch

Hey all for this week’s Video Game Tuesday I’m going to cover my thoughts on Nintendo’s upcoming console/portable system. It’s all about my Thoughts on the Switch!

Price and Release Date: It releases on March 3rd, and is priced at $300. This sounds okay, although you’ll get more pure gaming and multimedia functionality out of a PS4 Slim for the same price.

Controls: The Pro Controllers sound pretty good, although it will be fairly pricey to get extras.  The Joy Con controllers though are a bit worrisome. The halves themselves can be used individually and from the way it looks they are pretty small when that happens. I know a lot of friends who have large hands, unlike a certain orange lunatic, and they won’t be super pleased to using the Joy Con in that mode. In addition they are keeping motion controls in each controller type. That piece of news was less than welcome for me, frankly I was sick of Motion controls a day after playing Wii Sports for the first time.

Games: So we got confirmation that Breath of the Wild is going to be a launch title, which is great. That being said it only running for 3 hours on the go is a bit of a bummer. New titles that were announced include, 1 2 Switch (think Wii Sports but party games), Arms which is a crazy motion controlled fighting game, Super Mario Odyssey (A new Mario game that takes place in our world) and Splatoon 2. There were others, but those were the highlights from Nintendo.

Third Party: We’ll be getting various third party games, including Skyrim (although it’ll launch in Fall 2017 for some reason) and a Bomberman game. Bandai Namco has said they’ll be bringing Tales games to the system, but frankly I’ll believe that when I see it.

Online: Probably one of the biggest shockers was that Nintendo is finally going to be charging for Online play, which is unsurprising albeit very late to the game. There will be a free game each month people will be able to try out. Unfortunately when that month is over, so is the try out period. Frankly that was a really stupid move on Nintendo’s part, but if it includes major first party titles and AAA games relatively soon after their retail launch it would be better.

Overall: Frankly I’m on the fence still, there were lots of interesting things, but I don’t know if they can interest me to pay $300 for a system that won’t run games as well as my PS4 will.

That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday!

Retro Game Friday: Spirit Tracks

Hey all I’m back with the “sequel” to The Phantom Hourglass for this week’s Retro Game Friday! It’s The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks!

Plot Synopsis:

Spirit Tracks takes place one hundred years after the events of both The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. The game is set in the land of New Hyrule, a new kingdom founded by Tetra, some point after the events of Phantom Hourglass. An incarnation of the protagonist Link, an engineering apprentice ready to become a qualified train engineer, travels to Hyrule Castle to receive his engineer’s certificate from current incarnation of Princess Zelda (Tetra’s granddaughter/descendant). Although Zelda’s adviser, Chancellor Cole, believes the ceremony is pointless, as the Spirit Tracks that make up the train systems around Hyrule are slowly disappearing, Zelda continues with the ceremony.

Plot: The plot is okay, pretty decent, but frankly the gameplay wasn’t quite as good as the previous game.

Characters: The characters were good for the most part. Not super duper amazing though.

Gameplay: It played a lot like Phantom Hourglass, but the Train system wasn’t as good as the sailing system used in Phantom Hourglass. Frankly the dungeon design was also fairly frustrating as well, with the puzzles in the Tower being frustratingly difficult at times.  At least that’s how it was for me, granted that I hate touch screen controls, I just didn’t like using them all that much. Give me a standard control scheme over gimmicky ones and I’d be fine with the level of difficulty.

Art: It’s aged poorly. But that’s 3D artwork for you.

Music: Classic Zelda, nothing more need be said.

Overall: If given the ability to play with a normal control scheme this game would’ve been much better, but otherwise this wasn’t the best Zelda game I’ve ever played.

For those who like: Trains, Action, Adventure, Zelda Games, Decent Plot, Okay Gameplay, Good Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Minish Cap

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with another game in the Zelda series! It’s The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap!

Plot Synopsis: The quest begins when Link is chosen by the king of Hyrule to seek the help of the Picori after Vaati had destroyed the Picori Blade and petrified Princess Zelda. With the blade shattered, evil monsters were released into Hyrule and Vaati was able to create chaos in his search for the Light Force. Link was chosen because only children can see the Picori.

Plot: The plot was pretty decent for a Zelda game, and since this was another entry in the Four Swords series it was incredibly fun. It wasn’t as serious as games like Final Fantasy or Tales of, but it was still a fun story.

Gameplay: This played like any of the 2D Zelda games, which is to say it was an excellent game.

Art: Thankfully for this game it used 2D graphics only and thus has stood the test of time much better than 3D counterparts.

Music: Pure Zelda, that’s all that need be said.

Overall: If you’ve never played Minish Cap you ought to, it’s a fun adventure that can last you a good 30 hours if you take your time.

For those who like: Zelda Games, Action, Adventure, Excellent Gameplay, Awesome Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Phantom Hourglass

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering one of the better DS games to utilize the touch controls. It’s The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass!

Plot Synopsis: Picking up immediately after The Wind Waker, in which Link defeats Ganon who turns to stone and remains at the bottom of a now sealed away Hyrule, Link and Tetra travel over the flooded Hyrule called the Great Sea on board Tetra’s pirate ship. Along the way, the pair discover the Ghost Ship and Tetra enters it; however, immediately after entering the Ghost Ship, she screams for help. While Link attempts to follow her, he slips and falls into the ocean.

Plot: The plot is pretty great and is the direct sequel to one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, Wind Waker. That being said if you are expecting epic and intricate plots worthy of something like Final Fantasy, you’re looking at the wrong series.

Characters: Linebeck and Ciela are the two new additions that make the most impact in this Zelda entry. I have to say that I actually did like Linebeck, this was as much a journey for him as it was for Link. Ciela was a fairy, but she didn’t reach Navi levels of annoying thankfully.

Gameplay: This is one of the few Nintendo DS games that properly used the stylus and touchscreen features of the system. It also wasn’t super annoying to play even for someone like me who has trouble with handwriting and drawing. That being said it did have it’s moments where it was more frustrating than not to be playing a game that only allowed the player to use the stylus.

Art: The art was pretty good at the time, but it’s aged poorly since it was first released.

Music: Classic Zelda music. That’s all I really need to say.

Overall: An excellent Zelda game that had a few flaws, mainly the requirement to use the stylus to play.

For those who like: Action, Adventure, Puzzles, Zelda Games, Touch Controls, Good Plot and Gameplay, Interesting Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.