The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [Spoiler Free] Review - "Hello, beastie..."

So I've been playing quite a bit of Zelda: Breath of the Wild lately. I enjoy taking my time with these games, and doing non-essential stuff as I progress through the main game, which takes a longer time to progress story-wise.

There are 4 Divine Beasts, each of which is...influenced by a scourge, called a blight. You have a Waterblight, a Fireblight, a Thunderblight, and a Windblight. Those serve as your 'dungeon boss'. I have conquered 2 of the 4 blights thus far. 2 more remain before I even consider myself ready at the earliest to take on the darkness itself. Oh - and yes my blog post title is a Pirates 2 quote.

Once you're off the Plateau, which is where I left my previous 'progress review', the world is literally your oyster. You can head in any direction you wish. Storywise, you're to head to Kakariko Village next. I did that, while using my amiibo for the first time. At the very worst, I do 'daily' scans if I can't "play" the game to earn materials. The best way to describe earning materials from amiibo is....imagine if you're playing Skyrim, and you get Orc gear sooner than you normally would in-game.

So I headed to Kakariko, as well as activating the Tower along the way. I forget the name of the Tower, but you it's the closest one to you upon leaving the Plateau...Dueling Peaks? I can't recall. I progressed the story while exploring and completing some shrines along the way. Oh, shrines! My upgrade pattern is as follows: heart, heart, stamina. Repeat until finished. This way, I'll get my life points up, as well as my stamina which will make it possible to explore more of the world.

Upon my exploring, I decided that I wanted to uncover the entire map. So, I went tower hunting. Some of them were tricky. Just a heads up to be ready for Ridgeland, Akala, and Central. You'll see.... Also, keep an eye out for anything unusual as they may yield Korok Seeds. Get enough of these and you can 'expand-a-band' the ammount of items [weapons, bows and shields] you can carry.

Once I felt it was time, I decided to head to Zora's Domain for the first Divine Beast. This happened by a 3-way coinincidence:

- it was the first of the 4 that I happened upon,I met an NPC that advanced that questline first.

- [this may count as one] both guides that I use for reference (the official one as well as Zelda Dungeon] recommended I tackle that one first.

And thus, the hero vanquished the Waterblight.

But this post isn't quite over yet.

I got my guide late. I believe it came in early into 3rd week of the game's release, maybe the end of the 2nd. So I knew I was missing stuff. I used it as reference and as a checklist before moving on from one area onto the next. So I went back and did some more 'side stuff'\, as well as continue to explore and follow it mostly for Shrines, recommended areas to visit, and side quests.

Then a I discovered The Great Fairies. I mentioned I was at Kakariko. It was there I freed the first of four without quite seeking her out. Saving up your rupees for specific things does help. I wanted to 'activate' all 4 Great fairies shortly after revealing the entire world map. The 4th one was the hardest to save for, due to the amount. And after that, it gets even better! The materials you need to upgrade the defensive level of your clothes. Fully upgrading a 'set' to the max [4 levels] after you've gotten all 4 fairies enables a special effect. Flamebreaker armor, for instance, makes you completely fireproof. I wanted to ensure THAT was possible before taking on the Fireblight. And I'll do so with the Thunderblight, as well. [not sure which element the Windblight uses....my guess would be ice?] Anyway, upgrading certain clothes requires certain materials. Call me a hoarder, but I like to hold onto materials and items in-game. To an extent, though. The lowest of something I'll hold onto [except for ore gems] would be 20 at the very lowest, and 50 at the very highest. Depending on the item, though. So that's my advice for you - hold onto at least 20 of everything, and 50 at the very most, though it depends. 

So, just last night I vanquished the Fireblight.

I should also add that thus far, each cinematic that occurs afterwards, are quite touching. Heck, I even had a tear or two during the Zora one. Some of the memories are quite moving, as well. That's my next, main goal, as well - to find more of memories scattered throughout Hyrule. There are some, based on their location, that will have to wait until The Final Showdown. Or, when I'm quite close to it. Which will be well after the fourth and final blight is vanquished. I'll also grab as many of those Koroks as I can. Also, I want to collect as many armor sets [and max them out] as I can, as well.

I could keep writing and writing, but I won't. This is turning into an exhaustive post, so I'll end here but I'll 'sum up' some emotions, accomplishments etc in bullet point.

Accomplishments:

- all towers activated, thus revealing the map
- all 4 great fairies restored
- I got "that" Sword once I got my 13th heart. And no, I did not change stamina into a heart. I waited until I got 13 hearts total in regards to my cycle system.
- vanquished 2 blights, in this order: Waterblight and Fireblight.
-  My Slate is upgraded [Sensor+, Bomb+ and Stasis+]
- I have a house, fully completed.
- Tarrey Town is completed.

A Look to the Future:

- fully upgrade my current clothes sets
- obtain the rest of the Ancient Armor [and upgrade it once I own all 3 pieces.]. I currently just have the chest piece.
- Obtain all armor 'sets'
- Explore, Shrine, and Quest until I feel I'm ready to tackle......The Windblight.
- [same as above but relating to The Thunderblight.]
- ~once the final Blight has been bested, tie up any and all loose ends, and prepare for The Final Showdown.~
- This: [see image]

Some Advice:

- 'hoard' as much stuff as you can, maxing out at approx 50, and having no less than 20. Depending on the items, of course.
- Check out the Dye Shop in Hateno. It really lets you customize and roleplay your Link. Some of my clothes I've left the exact same default colours. For some of my wardrobe [assuming it looks good] I 'inverted' the default colours. Let's look at the Hylian Hood, Hylian Tunic, and Hylian Trousers. The Hood is navy, the tunic, crimson, and the pants, light brown. MINE is: crimson hood, navy tunic, and grey pants. It also looks pretty sharp, and some of them look good with other clothes, as well. Anyway, something worth looking into if you enjoy roleplay and wanting your Link to be more yours.
- activate the map (towers) and fairies as early as you can. This will also allow you to explore as you do so.
= after defeating a Blight and "all is well." again [in the area, I mean] speak to the locals. Usually, this opens up more side quests and shrine quests.
- don't forget to use pins and stamps. I use pins to mark shrines, myself.
- check out anything unusual that you may see....
- upgrade and get elemental protection clothes before you head into a region in which you will fight a Blight. For instance, if you're planning on heading to Death Mountain for the Fireblight, I suggest you get the Flamebreaker gear as before / during then, all 3 pieces, and then fully upgrade them to make yourself fireproof. Definitely helps. It doesn't make it to the extent of being "easy" though its more.... 'convenient.' Also, try and save any elemental weapons to use against Blights. Ice weapons and arrows also work well against the Fireblight, for instance.  
- Part of the game is weapon swapping. However, try and have a 'backup' or two handy as well.
- Try and follow a 'leveling' pattern. For every 4 Spirit Orbs, you can get a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel. As I mentioned, I do mine in the order of heart, heart, stamina.
- Use Stasis and Magnesis every so often, just because they may detect something hidden. Also great for 'scanning.' By a body of water? give Magnesis a scan to see if there's anything in it.....
- have fun, try to plan, and explore!

Until next time.....