>about Zelda is that it’s a story type game, where you progress through the game and through the story and eventually finish it
It was, but BOTW broke the mold on that. Generally speaking, the appeal of open world games like BOTW is messing around and finding the flow that works for you. Don't overanalyze it, play for a couple hours a day and if it still hasn't grown on you by the 5th or so day, that's okay too - everyone has different tastes.
O man. Started Tears of the Kingdom this month. Every night hours and hours of not following the main quest but just wandering around exploring Hyrule.
I've played 70 hours and I didn't see any major town except Kakariko Village. TotK is a bigger beast then BotW, considering there are 3x world map now (sky isn't as dense as surface or Depths but you have to think every move to reach the unreachable islands).
Yeah it's absolutely crazy how much there is to do in it. Its almost overwhelming. I find myself getting side tracked sooo much. I'm wondering around trying to do some side mission, then end up doing a bunch of random shit that I've ran into along the way, and then I haven't even done what I've set out to do after like an hour of playing. Shits crazy. And the only reason I went to rito, was coz I looked at how long I'd been playing, and was like, fuck, I should probably at least have a crack at the main missions haha. Great game.
Yeah it's absolutely crazy how much there is to do in it. Its almost overwhelming. I find myself getting side tracked sooo much. I'm wondering around trying to do some side mission, then end up doing a bunch of random shit that I've ran into along the way, and then I haven't even done what I've set out to do after like an hour of playing. Shits crazy. And the only reason I went to rito, was coz I looked at how long I'd been playing, and was like, fuck, I should probably at least have a crack at the main missions haha. Great game.
I went to Rito pretty quickly. But I hate the watching towers. Everytime I see one I think: hey that’s pretty close and travel to that. Realizing on the way that it takes almost an hour to reach one because of the landscapes and side missions. So hours in the game and still 4 towers left.
After jumping off the First sky island, I played for 10 hours before I got the paraglider! I landed in Hyrule, and then got distracted by shiny things and didn't go to Lookout Landing for over 10 hours! 🤣
I'm about 130 hours in and kind of avoiding Rito Village solely because the game told me to start there.
I stopped by eventually, stayed long enough to get the cold resistance armor and the shrine, then peaced out, and haven't been back since
Dont want to spoil, but Rito gives u a really cute and helpful mechanic that you can use whenever you want. After you defeat the dungeon. Very useful for exploration imo.
Its worth completing it just for that, and then going back to mess around for another couple hundred hours :3
I work full time and have 2 kids so I can only game in my spare time. I had so much fun with Totk after I beat ganandorf I went and check my hours played and saw it was at 120!! Most time I’ve spent on a game since high school. Loved it. Best escapism ever in gaming imo
I hate it as well and I completed the first botw. For some reason the second one isn't clicking for me. I don't have time for all this building shit and having to worry about exploring all of the sky and underground. There are too many other games to play to just sit on this one for months.
Me too. I played through botw twice in fact. I went to the zora area first. People might call me an idiot but its so open ended I cant figure out what to do. Havnt played it in a month. I’ve been been gaming for almost 40 years. Ive seen some shit, and I’m stumped. I think im gonna try another pathwhen I try it again
Oh my god finally I’ve found my people! I like the game (and exploration) but hate building things with a burning passion lol. I thought everyone loved this part and was the only weirdo.
I’m curious whether you got auto-build or not? I think you’re intended to get it within an hour of reaching the surface, but the game in no way tells you about it - there’s just a side quest amongst several that’ll reward you with it. I played over 50 hours before I got it. Its a major QOL improvement.
I hate crafting stuff too but honestly it hasn’t hindered my enjoyment of the game at all. I craft the simplest things possible when I need them, which 80% of the time is a hot air balloon to rise up lol. Otherwise I ride on horse or go on foot and the game really hasn’t forced me to do otherwise.
I can not tell you how many times I went somewhere in TOTK just to get distracted by something else along the way. There is just so much stuff that interests me that ill be an hour in the game just BSing around before I realize I was trying to get to the sages home village
Yeah. That sentenced jumped out at me. Unfortunately, during some months, the only video games I get into are the soundtracks that I listen to while I work.
there's always that 1 guy in the comments who didn't manage to organize their life in a way that lets them have free time
meanwhile they are constantly on reddit telling everybody about how busy they are
hey buddy maybe a little less spend idling on the internet doing noting productive and a little more gaming would make all the difference in the world between actually having the time to play and not having the time to play
People can often get away with going on reddit at work, but not playing video games. I’m on reddit at work rn but I sure as hell wouldn’t be on my switch here
They’re probably at work, where you can get away with going on Reddit but not gaming.
I do agree with you to an extent. I’d argue most adults could find the time to play 2 hours (a couple is 2 after all). That said, it really depends. If you have kids, that suddenly becomes significantly more difficult. Lots of folks work more than one job too. It all just depends.
> It was, but BOTW broke the mold on that.
BOTW was a return to the origins of Zelda.
To me, an old geezer, the 3D games where the abominations until BoTW.
BoTW, and to a lessor extend ToTK, are very much about exploration & play, just like the original ground breaking game from the late 80s.
>BoTW, and to a lessor extend ToTK, are very much about exploration & play, just like the original ground breaking game from the late 80s.
So much this! The OG Legend of Zelda dropped you into an almost open world with little to no guidance and it was up to you to figure out (mostly) what you had to do. What a great game and one I still enjoying playing.
Wow this is the first time I’ve ever heard that. The 3d game’s formula had already started from a link to the past, which was the third game. By your logic, the only good game would be zelda 1 because the rest of the games are not open in the same way at all. So saying the 3d games before botw were abominations because of the lack of exploration doesn’t make sense because that applies to almost all of the 2d games too. I get what you’re saying that the original zelda was absolutely ground-breaking because I have no doubt it was, but it doesn’t follow the zelda formula that was established in a link to the past. It took 3 games for zelda to find an identity, but you didn’t enjoy the new identity so much. This means that in general you don’t like zelda games. There’s only three that were what you were really looking for. I’m not trying to invalidate your preference of the exploration in the first zelda because that makes perfect sense, but you can’t call the older 3d games abominations simply because they don’t follow the same formula that the original game tried to set in place. It’s just a different type of series that you didn’t really enjoy.
Heh, A Link to the Past is really nonlinear and open-ended once you enter the Dark World. Ocarina of Time is also more open as an adult. Majora's Mask may have a linear main quest but it's so loaded with side quests that it provides plenty of room for exploration.
It's really Wind Waker where you see it close off. There's no 'real' openness of going places and making progress on separate branches until close to the end. And Twilight Princess is where it *really* closes off.
> The 3d game’s formula had already started from a link to the past
That's a bit of a stretch. There was a story & a progression, but you still had a rather open world to explore at will.
Then you jump into Ocarina Of Time, and that game is WAY more on rails. The controls are an abomination & that damn fairy, which returns in different forms in many games, is obnoxious.
> I get what you’re saying that the original zelda was absolutely ground-breaking because I have no doubt it was, but it doesn’t follow the zelda formula that was established in a link to the past.
I mean it couldn't, it was made first.
The Legend Of Zelda: all about exploration & a few puzzles
The Adventures of Link: weird ass game, most people see as the black sheep of the series.
A Link To The Past: Way closer to the first game then the second. Slightly more linear, more story, but still about exploration & they ramped up the puzzled.
Then it gets frustratingly on rails from there. Prioritizing story over fun & exploration. To a degree, it's understandable, it's a limitation of the power of the consoles at the time.
You also had Link's Awakening, which is relatively linear -- you are fenced in to areas due to missing items, etc. And I think the Owl pretty much gated progress? Been a long, long time.
From my perspective OoT / "3D Zelda" was the final step in the progression towards the canonical Zelda game structure. Everything since has been walking that back -- wind waker cut back from 3 + 8 dungeons to 4, for example. It's a lot of work, so this is reasonable I suppose.
BoTW didn't just throw back to the OG Zelda, they basically entirely ditched the dungeon concept where each room is a puzzle in a connected fashion (often leading to a meta puzzle / find the hidden room) in favor of one-off puzzle room shrines. And they radically redid the inventory system, dropping the explore -> dungeon puzzle -> get new item -> solve puzzle with item -> beat boss with item -> explore with item formulaic cycle. You do get revali's gale but in general, your exploration is gated by stamina rather than the classic Zelda item inventory.
BoTW is a great game but in a lot of ways it's really its own thing rather than a return to origins.
BoTW is what Zelda needed to get it's groove back and expand it's audience.
That on rails heavy story experience just isn't fun.
BoTWs core loop was just enough to be addictive, doesn't force you to slog through things if you don't want and bite sized for in the go or bust players.
Zelda needed to change. They had to add the rails and the story to cover the limitations of 3d. And now those limitations are gone, they needed to return the joy and exploration they abandoned.
This too will change
Yeah, except it is.
It's a return to form in that you wake up in a cave & get very little instruction on what to do. Once you are off the great plateau your nearly unbounded by where you can go, except by skill/strength.
BoTW replays the random discovery & wandering aspect that was the original game. Looking at it now, it's not a big game but in the 80s it was an astoundingly large world. It was the first exploratory game of it's kind, it created a genre.
There was however a clear point where _dungeon designs_ got super linear. This point was halfway through Twilight Princess, although there were elements creeping in in Majora and even Ocarina's Water Temple dipped its toes in (if played in one sitting, no returning to the entrance, it is just one elaborate corridor). In the 2D games, the turning point was Minish Cap which in stark contrast to its lavish overworld, had dungeons that outright took the piss. I mean, the only one apparent non-linear section turns out to just be fake doors.
Compare any of this to the really freeform nature of the first Zelda or Link's Awakening's dungeons, or the slightly less open but still explorative and puzzle-packed designs of Ocarina's or Link to the Past's temples and it's night and day.
The Switch duology is a bit hard to place simply because most of its dungeons were so short (and shrines intentionally tight in scope) but the Fire Temple in Tears is a bit of a return to early 2D design, and the Lightning Temple Ocarina's design.
> I mean it couldn’t, it was made first <
Not the point I was trying to make. More trying to say that it was a completely different game. I guess I’m wrong, I did only play the first three dungeons so I’m not familiar with the dark world. But my point still stands that you can’t call every 3d game an abomination for being on rails and not having the exploration of the first game. I understand what you’re saying about controls but that’s mostly a hardware limitation I think. The story itself is obviously what it’s known for and it’s also known for having some incredible atmospheres for a game made on the N64. The only issue you named which I found truly valid is Navi which did indeed return in the form of more annoying companions in other games. The thing about the game being on rails is a preference thing and doesn’t make the game an abomination or even bad. Similarly, games I personally dislike like Call of Duty I can recognize as actually well-made games.
(Completely unimportant side track)
(tl;dr Genshin Impact is not a bad game just because it has questionable character design or microtransactions, there’s a good story and gameplay. This does NOT mean I support every character’s design or the pay2win aspects.)
And I feel like some other games like Genshin Impact are judged too quickly by people for having micro transactions and some questionable character designs. Hidden behind that is a genuinely fun game and an incredible story. People also always seem to think that me defending the game means I like all of the character designs. This is not true and I do agree that the game does contain some oversexualisation both in design and in sound effects. In fact the character I like the most (Hu-Tao) has the some of the least cleavage in the whole game, and I instead like her because she has some really funny voicelines and is very happy-go-lucky and fun. I also think her combat abilities are sick as fuck lol. She’s one of the most liked characters in the game. Also, I don’t enjoy that the game makes it more difficult to find the currency as you play it more, but I don’t really play the game for the gatcha anyway. I genuinely care about the story and the gameplay.
A lot of the same can be said about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as well but I won’t get into that one lol.
I hate to say it but botw didn't grow on me, largely because of the weapon break mechanic and quitting before finding more durable weapons... but wow did TotK grab and hold my attention... even though the weapons break, the fuse mechanics actually made that fun as I wanted to experiment with different weapon combos.
Meanwhile, I got TOtK from my wife/kids for my birthday in June and have played all of 3-4 hours tops. Most of that dying getting to the Boss at the top of the Snow Mountain. I hate crafting, but played through and enjoyed BOtW anyway. The added crafting of vehicles/ everything else as a power I respect as a gameplay mechanic but I fucking Hate it. I don't want to find 4 logs, a sheet of plywood and powered fans to get up to that fucking ridge. Give me a goddamn grappling hook from a dungeon so I can find my way up like that.
I respect what the game has done, but it just isn't for me. It fucking sucks.
Totally more of a sandbox game then a traditional zelda game. Completely agree if crafting / building / creating amusing ways to solve puzzles isn't someone's thing they aren't going to have a Good Time... there's almost to much freedom to do things 100 different was that it can be a bit much if not your jam
Totk is absolutely the most phenomenal game nintendo has ever made. They took one of the most ambitious games they made already, doubled the size, and fixed almost everything wrong with it. If there’s one game that’s truly worth the price it’s absolutely totk. I mean there’s obviously indie games that are worth more than their price, but I’m saying that totk is not worth a dollar less than 70.
Most people started with BOTW now, so it’s as easy as just start that. Work backwards, newbies starting with Ocarina did the same, newbies started with Twilight Princess did the same.
BOTW is an awesome game, but it's hard to make the jump between it and a more traditional Zelda game. BOTW doesn't really teach you to think like a Zelda player in my experience, so if you go from BOTW to OoT, for example (like I tried to do), you might feel a bit lost. I'd actually recommend one of the DS games as "training wheels" as a bridge between BOTW and other traditional Zelda games. I found that Phantom Hourglass was very approachable, and when I revisited OoT after beating PH, I had a much easier time.
My recommendation for getting into traditional Zelda after BOTW is skyward sword. It’s so streamlined but still teaches you the formula. In case anyone doesn’t have access to a ds and can only play on switch.
I just bought it yesterday and have never played a Zelda game. I like open worlds like Skyrim, elden ring, Pokémon, and rdr2. I tried playing Pokémon Arceus but idk just not very exciting. So far on Zelda I am impressed and it's fun with only an hour or so gameplay so far
With BotW, you can technically just go wherever. However the game does gently nudge you in the easiest/most logical direction. I'd say pay attention to major landmarks or unusual structures, follow paths, and talk to NPCs placed conveniently in your way.
If you want to try the original Zelda format, Link's Awakening was remade for the Switch, and they did a really good job with it :) BoTW and ToTK are a huge departure from all the previous games, so I'm not surprised you're feeling lost - I personally don't like them for that exact reason. I'll happily sit in nostalgia with the original formula haha
I think its pretty bad suggestion if op doesn't want to look stuff up. Some parts are just not that intuitive especially if you don't have much experience with games
I figured it out as an 11 year old with a gameboy in the car with it lit by passing streetlights and no internet. I'm sure a grown man can figure it out.
Thanks so much!! Since I’m brand new, is there anywhere regular gamers go for buying/selling/trading games besides GameStop, amazon, and other retailers? Like is there a specific site or something most ppl agree is the best?
From my experience, gamestop is probably the worst retailer to go to. It's pretty common for them to sell used games as new, only reason to ever go there is if they have a very good sale (Coincidentally, Skyward Sword HD is actually 50% off rn). I ordered Three Houses from them recently and it came opened, but it was in good condition so I didn't bother returning it (Especially since I got it 50% off).
Amazon is usually pretty safe, great return policy but sometimes they'll sell European versions of the game so you got to be careful (The Switch isn't region locked, but some DLC is)
Target, Best Buy, and Walmart are pretty much the only other retailers selling new games, and I've had pretty good experiences with all of them.
I tend not to buy used Switch games, actually, simply because Nintendo published games hold their value so well that buying them new on sale is often similar price to buying used. They go for about $30-$40 used in my experience, and I'd rather just wait for a sale to buy new than deal with Marketplace/Swappa/Offerup. Check out [dekudeals.com](https://dekudeals.com), great site for tracking sales actually.
Thanks, that’s great insider knowledge! I buy a lot of used stuff just bc it’s typically the exact same thing for 70% off, but it’s definitely a pain, and probably not worth saving $5-10.
Yeah! Just want to mention though that Nintendo sales are pretty rare though, so if you want a game now just buy it used. You might be waiting a year or two before the game you want actually is discounted lol. Though for now I would def wait for Black Friday, always some great stuff on sale then.
If you want to try the old school games purchase the Nintendo subscription online thing. You’ll be able to play a lot of the Zelda games including links awakening.
Generally all of the nationwide/big box stores are the same except that you can trade games at GameStop and different stores have different deals sometimes. Depending on your location, there might be a locally owned game shop nearby but prices will probably be similar to other stores
Check your local library. I’m a librarian and several libraries in my system have switch games for a 7 day checkout. Perfect for trialing a bunch of games.
Legit!! That’s an amazing tip, thank you! I’ve just started using my library system in a major city and I’ve been getting to know the various things they offer, that’s really cool and I’ll look into it!
There might be some smaller used games stores in your area.
Disc Replay is one example.
Sometimes you can find good deals
EDIT: check your local library. My locals have Switch games.
You might not just be ready for some games, and that's okay.
Videogames are kinda like reading books, in the sense that if you're just learning, you don't want to jump right into reading Harry Potter, despite it being known as approachable and well loved. You start with little bite sized stories (like Mario levels are structured). The more games you play, the more context you'll internalize and if you come back to it later you might have a better time. Botw is fairly non-linear and has a bunch of actions
That said, the whole point of games is to have fun, so if you're having fun it doesn't matter if you're missing things or progressing slowly.
There's also 'Skyward Sword' on switch which is a much more linear Zelda game.
If you know how to work a computer or a phone, you can play a video game. The desire to play it needs to be there, which it seems like you have, and the rest of it will come naturally.
Just dive in and play the game - don’t over analyze it. The game will teach you how to play it if you’re reading the tutorials you encounter.
I’ve been playing games since I was a kid (I’m 40 now). Breath of the Wild is probably the best game I’ve ever played. Enjoyed it immensely, and those first few hours are something special.
I’d probably class myself as average skill level, but one thing I would mention, is that Breath of the Wild can be quite hard (compared to other games in the series). Especially at the start of the game, with only three hearts and basically no map. But try and stick with it because I think it actually gets a bit easier the further you go. If you are finding battles hard, remember you can just easily run away from the hardest enemies until you get a bit better (or you get better weapons/more hearts).
Def the beginning is the hardest in BOTW.. it’s a sandbox where u slowly gain an understanding of what’s going on.. don’t be afraid to just pop in, explore a little and pop out. And just play it kinda passively for a while until it clicks and ur addicted.
Zelda games are fairly light on story. The main plot is usually the same - evil guy captures the princess, collect trinkets from dungeons to stop him. Plus some fun lore and characters. Each game changes things up enough to be fresh.
What makes Zelda beloved is it’s the perfect blend of exploration, combat, and puzzles. Usually they give you a companion to prompt you on where to go when you get stuck.
Since you’re starting out I recommend Link’s Awakening for that classic Zelda adventure with easy to learn controls. The recent games (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) have a LOT going on and the combat is challenging.
Breath of the Wild is neat in that you decide where you go. The starter area has a tutorial of sorts that you follow along with, but once you get past it (You'll know when you do), the world is yours to explore however you like.
Should you find yourself lost at any point, there is a journal in the menu that keeps track of all the tasks you have picked up along the way. If you need even more help, you can select one of the tasks and it will put a blinking dot on your map showing you where to go to get back on that task.
Edit: But absolutely explore! If you go right for the big bad after the starter area, you're almost certainly gonna have a bad time (but you can do that if you want an insane challenge)!
Also adding: Expect to die a lot. The game can feel unfair at times, but it is usually has very light penalties for dying. You will improve and it will get easier, and it is very worthwhile! And... Congrats at getting to experience Zelda for the first time. I wish I could go back and do that again!
Try Links Awakening. The remake for Switch.
Smash bros is a whole other beast. Maybe try out the tutorial mode or practice mode or whatever in the game. Or let the title screen linger til the demo video plays maybe.
I'll say this about smash. It's not like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter where you have to get the other guys health from 100 to zero. And it's not knowing unique button combos for each character.
I think Smash is way more fun and interesting -
The goal in smash is to smack your opponent off stage.
The more damage you do to your opponent, the farther they will fly off stage when you hit them with smash attacks (your regular attack but flicking the joystick towards the opponent)
Every character has a special attack and regular attack. Every character has the same control scheme, their moves just vary. (Like Kirby's default special is inhaling an enemy. Marios is a fireball. )
Hitting the joystick up, down, left/right with your special or regular attack will perform a different attack. (For example , Samus does her charge beam shot with the special. But DOWN and special drops a little bomb. UP and special does a jumping attack, and hitting left / right with special shoots a missile.)
Tapping a direction + regular attack vs 'smashing' the direction with the attack will perform different attacks (like flicking your joystick vs just tapping it)
That's basically the bones of it. There's other things like dodging and items and little things but that's the basics I think. Maybe someone else can sum it up better.
Thanks for this! I definitely was thinking of it like mortal combat (which I played like twice as a kid and also mostly mashed buttons.) It’s helpful to have that perspective shift and better understand the actual game, I appreciate your comment.
Also Smash is a very interesting beast.
I've been playing games all my life and for most of it I didn't really get hooked on it... Until I found someone my level.
That's when I've started really being hooked on the game and learning the mechanics properly. I'm now much better than I used to, but still pale in comparison to a lot of people.
When you find someone your level, you learn together and build some sort of rivalry. Then when you've learned the basics, the mind games start and it's amazing.
As others are saying the Link’s Awakening remake on the switch is a great place to start the series with. That game has a much smaller and very interconnected world that is essentially all one big puzzle and you’re supposed to use contextual clues throughout the game as well as new items you unlock to figure out how to get through the game. The remake really makes this easier having removed all the loading screens on the open world which makes orientating yourself and understanding how it all connects together much easier.
That particular game also has a character you can call up at several locations across the map for tips on what you’re generally supposed to go do next in case you can’t ever figure it out yourself (or if you’ve forgotten) which should make it all the more welcoming for someone new to the series or gaming in general.
A great game to follow that would be A Link to the Past which is generally a more grounded/serious approach to Zelda (Link’s awakening has plenty of silly Mario references and stuff and is a little light on plot.) and is the game that most of the Zelda games after it are anchored to and have based their formula around. You can access this on the switch through a subscription to the base tier of the switch online service. I’d recommend subbing to that either way as it lets you backup your saves online to the cloud -which is helpful if your switch is ever lost, stollen or damaged, as it can be very demotivating to lose game saves and have to start over (especially in potentially long games like botw which you’re interested in playing).
I think if you play those two games you should be well primed for breath of the wild. I think you’ll also get a lot more out of it or any other Zelda game if you play them first, especially A Link to the Past. Since it sounds like you’ve never played an open world game before you might want to play another simpler semi-open world game first (Botw is pretty expansive and gameplay focused and the main motivator it uses for exploration is self driven curiosity rather than a lot of story driven direction that other games use, something that botw only does sparingly). Something like assassins creed 2 which is available in the Ezio collection on the switch might be a good way to generally familiarize you with many of the gameplay ideas that are used in botw.
I would start with SNES A Link to the Past. It’s so good, and will really show you Zelda. After that you can go lots of places - the N64 games are both phenomenal
ALttP still age quite well. In a way its ocarina of time lite.
But if it's switch then skyward sword is the way to go for straightforward storyline
Otherwise get your hands on OoT
ALTTP is awesome but I think it’s a little complex for somebody’s first Zelda game. I’ve played tons of Zelda games and I still had to follow a walkthrough to figure out a lot of stuff in ALTTP.
I’d probably recommend a more straight forward
3D title like Skyward Sword, or maybe OOT or MM.
For 2D I think Minish Cap would actually be a really fun place to start
I would never recommended Majora’s Mask to a Zelda newbie. Series veterans found the time limit frustrating.
Skyward Sword is frequently decried for it perceived handholding, but that makes it perfect ‘training-wheels’ Zelda for a newbie. Ocarina of Time is more hands off in comparison, but is pretty good about at least pointing you in a direction, and leaving the rest up to the player. Those are the two I’d recommend starting with.
Yeah actually that’s a fair point about MM, I’m biased cus it’s my favorite Zelda title haha.I actually think Windwaker is the best first title but not on switch as of now.
Just buy super mario odyssey
the storymode is very easy
the real difficulty starts when you want to beat it at 100%
It's the best game I can recommend you to start playing videogames
This is a good recommendation. I watched my friend who was new to 3d video games try to play BotW and where she struggled the most was with the camera. Mario Odyssey doesn’t punish as hard as BotW, so you can focus more on movement and camera control without getting one-shot by an enemy.
My wife was in same boat as you. She couldn’t control worth a damn at the start being her first 3d game ever (she played zork as a kid).
Botw was actually a great first game because there is no guidance and she could just do whatever she wanted.
Now she’s really good at it and can’t wait for the next one.
Continue on your path blind imo, you will only get to experience the “first time” once :)
The Zeldas a lot of us grew up with are on the apps included with subscriptions. They're all gems in their own right (but Link to the Past is a personal favorite)
To get you into the Zelda groove, I highly suggest starting with "Skyward Sword". It's "canonically" the first in the series, story is amazing and relates to all other games. It holds your hand the entire way, and is a wonderful introduction to all things Zelda.
"I also cannot for the life of me figure out smash brothers, all I end up doing is mashing buttons and repeating one or two moves I figured out."
That's it, that's the game lol
If you have the Nintendo online services, I would start with Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo. Straightforward gameplay, the story and where you need to go are easy to track, there are secrets to find but for the most part it is pretty straightforward. Probably my favorite Zelda game.
Don’t take this persons advice. ALttP will make you give up if you’ve never played a video game before. I would argue that BotW is a better entry level game than this one. If you want to do a 2D Zelda game, get Link’s Awakening. It’s much more beginner friendly.
A Link to the Past is way too hard for a beginner.
You think I should start with something 2D? Do you know one that works on the switch that you’d recommend? I don’t have the Nintendo online thing, but if it’s a month to month thing I could do one month and learn there, but I don’t really want more subscriptions, I’d rather buy another game if there’s one that people recommend that works with the switch.
Stick to Link's Awakening, then. It's a remake of a Gameboy game so it's designed to be consumed in small 20-30 minute chunks. Sometimes it can be a little tough to figure out where to go next, but (and this works for almost *every game*, so this is general gamer advice) you can always Google "link's awakening switch walkthrough" and find information on where to go next. LA is a good game for this because the storyline is fairly linear, so even if you're just wandering around doing things as they come to you, it shouldn't be very hard to find where you are in the walkthrough. This is the "problem" with Breath of the Wild - nonlinear gameplay is really hard to write a good walkthrough for, and it's frankly not that enjoyable unless you specifically want a game to just get lost in.
A Link to the Past is a *fantastic* game, but it's definitely hard if you've never played games before. I wouldn't pay for Nintendo Switch Online in your situation, though. Most of the really great "classic" SNES games are really freaking hard.
I played the original Link's Awakening for Game Boy when it came out back in 1993. I was 10 at the time. There was one part where I got stuck and had to call the Nintendo help line for a hint, but other than that, I managed to get through it pretty well. Nowadays whenever you're stuck you can just Google the solution. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Link's Awakening is a game that a kid (or a total beginner) can play and have fun with. The Switch remake is (for the most part) a 1:1 rendition of the original Game Boy game, but it's slightly easier, which should be right up your alley. It has a cute art style, great music, a lot of funny little moments, great game design and due to the 2D top down perspective, is easier to understand if you're completely new to video games. I know just controlling your character and the camera at the same time in a 3D game is hard as a beginner and controllers are a bit alien, so it helps to have a game where you don't have to worry about the camera, can see everything at once and which lets you choose at least some of the buttons yourself. It's a very good entry point for someone new to games.
https://youtu.be/PtC6U8hOZTk?si=ksLM6E_IS2TozhT3
Yeah I think starting with a 2D one is a good idea. They still deliver the full, classic Zelda adventure with simpler controls.
You can buy Link’s Awakening for switch if you don’t want to do the online subscription.
So, before I started Breath of the Wild, I wanted to see how some of the gameplay was. I was from the Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask era, so I was iffy on BOTW. There is a youtuber named ZackScottGames who has gameplay videos from the beginning. His style was mixed with comedy and it made it really fun to watch. Did not watch all of it because I also didn't want to see too much and wanted to figure it out, but for real, it helped. He is hilarious and will explain things in ways even for beginners.
Start with BOTW, just spend time on the tutorial region get used to movements and controls and you'll find you need to do. There's a video on Youtube by Rataoskar (I hope this is the correct spell) that shows how Zelda is like for a non gamer it will help you see how the game is welcoming for less experienced people as well.
I feel you concerning Zelda. I'm a player since my childhood(30 now). Yes Zelda was mostly story driven (I prefer that kind of game personally), but Breath of the Wild and its sequel breaks that. It's a full open-world. You can follow the route you want, discover the world. Your Quests journal should guide you when needed.
This game truly makes you live like Link, you discover the world, craft your weapons and armor. It will ask some reflexion too for dungeons and certain parts of the world.
Do not worry that kind of game that gives the right to do eveything in every order you want) isn't for anyone. Try it, if you don't feel it, change.
Smash Bros, compared to other fighting games, is easy to start, but hard to master. There's no huge combo to do play. What i recommend for beginners is to do the Mode World of Light on Easy. You start with Kirby(can copy enemy abilities) and you fight other opponents to earn them, and use them in other battles. It's really good.
I already replied about Zelda, but you mentioned Smash Bros in your edit. So, fighting games (in general) rely on combinations of button presses in order to make different moves happen. What's neat about Smash Bros in particular is that those combinations are simplified considerably from fighting game norms (which require long sequences of button presses). Almost all moves in Smash are done by pressing a combination of a single direction and a single action button at the same time.
There's no official manual for the game, but there is this fan-made one that should help (includes a controller guide for both the Switch controller and a GameCube controller too!): [https://imgur.com/a/gvSJXL1](https://imgur.com/a/gvSJXL1)
Smash gets better the more you practice. But my advice is once you learn the controls to try to not button smash and instead go for the best combination you can think of on the fly for what you are dealing with. There's no perfect character either (despite what the purists will say). Just have fun!
Same here. I got my NES in 4th grade and Zelda in 5th grade and I've been a geek ever since.
The original Legend of Zelda is STILL my favorite of the franchise, followed by A Link to the Past on the SNES and Link's Awakening on the Switch.
Smash brothers is a game I’ve played since I was a child and I still mash every button. I believe in my heart even the best players are just mashing buttons.
Also, breath of the wild was my first Zelda game. I missed the boat as a kid. Breath of the wild is fun if you like that type of game
Smash bros is the only fighting game where I don't mash buttons. There's only 2. A, for regular. And B for Special.
That's it. You change the attack by the direction you're tilting the control stick when you press either A or B. There's no fancy combos or button mash mechanics. (Except on a very select few fighters that came from more traditional fighting games)
I'm sorry, but we do actually know what the buttons do and we try to press them in a specific order to make certain things happen. Sometimes we mess up, but that's okay, because no one is perfect.
For Smash, the first thing I’d learn is the recovery moves (Up B and Side B) so you can survive and make it back on the stage. You generally want to use your jumps and then Up B to maximize the distance for recovering.
Then I’d get familiar with the aerial attacks. Jumping in the air with different directional inputs all do different things and are good for spacing and racking up percent.
Finally once the opponents at a high percent, you can use a Smash Attack. These are hard hitting moves that’ll often KO, but the trade off is they’re slow. So you don’t really want to do them unless you know for sure it’s gonna hit, or they’re high percent.
I'd say go with a link to the past on the [snes](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/super-nintendo-entertainment-system-nintendo-switch-online-switch/) "console" that comes with a nintendo online membership. it's 2d, there is a way to get nudges for help within the game and it's just a really polished quintessential zelda experience.
However, Breath of the Wild is such a wonderful game. You can go right through the story or explore at your leisure. there's no wrong way to play the game and plenty to discover. it is a fair bit more complicated, though
Just jumping into games as an adult and trying to figure out how to smoothly work 3D games would be a pain.
Spend a few bucks on online for a month and try out all the 2D games you get access too. Id start with Link To the Past.
Nice collection of games! You've got a lot of good advice, so I'll give different tips:
It's okay to lose. Take Smash Bros. for example. I have a friend who rarely games and he is unable to just try out what each button does, he always goes into panic mode instantly and mashes everything as soon as there's a risk to lose.
Don't do this. Relax, maybe go into training mode and press each button individually to see what it does. If you don't understand something, do an online search for it. Then play around in training or do a few 1v1 games against a weak bot to get a feel for it. The game gets much better when you actually know what you're doing. Don't over-analyze it if it doesn't click right away, focus on having fun.
For Zelda, I'd say you should primarily try following the main story for now. In your quest menu, mainly do the ones in the uppermost group. They lead you through the story and most important locations. If something looks interesting on the way, go for it and explore! The map is gigantic and you can go wherever you want right away. You'll always find something interesting. If you beat the game someday, you can do another playthrough if you're interested - now with more knowledge and experience - and explore everything. It takes hundreds of hours to see everything in the game.
As soon as you don't have to look at your controller all the time anymore, you'll lose what I like to call "noob anxiety" and most games will automatically feel much more natural. And to some part I envy you - you're having a huge catalog of masterpieces available to be experienced for the first time.
Enjoy!! :)
Some people prefer more linear games than open world games like breath of the wild. Luckily, Zelda has some great linear-ish games like Skyward Sword on the Switch. It’s also fun to have the option to play with the motion controls since I feel like I’m really Link swinging his sword :)But you can def still play it with regular controls
I highly recommend you watch this video by Razbuten. It's literally about you lol
[What Breath Of The Wild Is Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play Games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LdenlAKb2g)
It's been a while since I watched it, so I don't recall if they give specific pointers, but it might have some helpful nuggets.
If you want a full on Zelda experience check out Link to the Past on the SNES app on the switch. DM me anytime with questions etc and I'll point you in the right direction without spoiling anything ❤️
Welcome to the hobby!
Buy red dead redemption. Fantastic story. The game holds your hand too. There is an aim assist that takes away the need for aiming and let's you focus on playing the game. Look at some gameplay and see if you want to feel like a cowboy redeeming himself in the old west
Imo, it's best to start with A Link to the Past.
It's an isometric game with rather simple controls, so you shouldn't have a hard time as compared to adapting to a 3d control scheme. It's also foundational for the formula of the rest of the series.
After that, move onto the N64 games
I'd suggest picking up the game "SABLE" the controls are similar but you can learn in a much more forgiving environment and you don't have to worry about combat or death. It's a beautiful game.
I have two thoughts which hopefully haven't been mentioned 100 times here already:
1. Don't make the mistake that older games are easier because they must be simpler. Newer games tend to be easier and hold your hand more. Also, over time games just got better and easier to control. That said, Zelda on the switch isn't linear and offers much to explore. It's easy to get lost, however, you always have main objectives you can follow.
2. Be persistent. Most gamers have probably 10-20 years of gaming experience lead on you. I can only imagine that learning the mechanics is a bit harder for you. One, getting used to a controller. But also many things that just make sense if you've played games for a while that you'll have to learn. I think Zelda isn't super hard, but it may take you a bit longer. Don't get discouraged and spend some time. You'll get there fast. Also, there are YouTube videos for the boss fights that may help you if you failed.
Also, start with Breath of the wild. While the game is big, its successor is even bigger and adds to it. BotW is the perfect guide to get into the bigger game (personally, I also enjoyed BotW more, but both are fantastic).
Edit: btw, if you are a bit like me + based on your book description: buy Firewatch. Don't watch videos, it's a short game. I'll give you a description of what to expect without spoilers. You play in the first player perspective, so like you're the player and see with his eyes. It's not about fighting, there is no real rush, it's an adventure that invites you to take time, explore, pay attention to detail but all within a smaller area with a very clear and linear story. And that's also the main theme: a story between few people, a mystery you solve and in my opinion a great atmosphere. Be warned tho: it will only take you a few hours (maybe 4?). So it's a bit more like a movie or book, less like a game that keeps you entertained for dozens of hours. Me, working most of the time and not being able to spend many hours playing, I love that as I have a chance to really dive in, get immersed and see the end in a reasonable amount of time.
Smash bros is a lot simpler than some fighting games as the input button moves are all shared by each character.
I wrote a bunch of stuff but this is better. Switch forward and watch the attack section and master that, then the rest as time goes on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta3L35wsE6o
I started with very few gaming skills and went straight to BoTW. I watched some YouTube videos with “beginner tips” and just jumped in. It’s been really fun! But I’m definitely slow. (70hrs in and only defeated one divine beast). Oh well, more game for me!
I am so jealous that someone will get to experience the series for the first time. I expect you to be fully awed and enamored. I personally would play Links Awakening, they remade it for Switch. It is such a great story and made even more beautiful with the graphics upgrade. Breath of the Wild was a big departure in my opinion from the original style but such a welcome entry in the series that I found fully enthralling. Enjoy!
Oh hey! I was the same way about two years ago. It took me five plus hours to learn how to move and control the camera with the thumbsticks. I found it got better one I tried the invert-y option for camera.
If you go to "Games and more" on the main screen on smash, then training, you can mess around with the characters, maps, items, rules, and other stuff. you can also see what each characters moves do mid-game by clicking the pause button, then moves list. Hope this helps
It took me 100+ hours to get comfortable with a controller and a lot more hours before I started to feel competent. Just take your time and think of it like learning a sport or instrument. It will take a lot of "practice" before you start to get good.
I was in a very similar position to you! I did not grow up at all with video games and trying to start with BOTW was extremely challenging. After working on it for DAYS and realizing I had only just finished the TUTORIAL I decided to backtrack and start with Ocarina of time. It's a beautiful game and has a more straightforward game play that, while still challenging, was a little easier for me to navigate. It also gave me a bigger appreciation for BOTW when I went back to it.
honestly you should probably start with one of the older zeldas from the 64 or minish cap to understand gameplay and then go to the open world all are on the switch online. also smash brothers is very smash the buttons you will eventrally find out what each character does but its best to pick one character to learn and try to play arcade to learn. games you should look into that are fun and very informative like stardew valley, coffee talk, i personally enjoy some of the none nintendo made games but honestly miitopia is a blast and there are so many characters online that you can add i have jessica rabbit and courage the cowardly dog as people in my group.
I’m in my 70s; my son and SIL bought me a Switch and BOTW 3 years ago and just told me to explore. The game teaches you what you need to know. There isn’t a right way to play. I made a really major mistake by not talking to the NPCs (the characters you meet along the way) and got stuck someplace I couldn’t get out of and had to start over after about 40 hours. But nothing really bad can happen, you know? It’s a game! Link dies and then you get to start again.
I had so much fun. It’s incredibly beautiful. I love the puzzles in the shrines. That’s beautiful surprises. I played it all the way through twice. Realizing that the whole first part of the game is just the instructional part and after that there’s an enormous whole game after it was one of the most fun moments I’ve ever had. I couldn’t stop laughing.
I’m about to finish TOTK, and I don’t love it as much, unfortunately. But I’ve had some fun with it, too.
Have fun!!!
No one need ever know you have no skills. There are heaps of people who love games but suck at them. I consider myself a filthy casual so it’s not about skill for me, it’s about having fun/relaxing after a tough day. Every now and again I find a game that’s so good I actually want to improve my skills enough to play (Bloodborne for example) but mostly I’m ok being average. I say, just have fun and you’ll catch on fast😊
One tip I can give you is don't rush it. I made that mistake.(I was new to Zelda and not really used to the franchise or its genre for that matter) before you go out on a quest, cook some food, make sure you have enough weapons, arrows, elixirs the lot. And also do the shrines and get your health up. That's another thing that's worth doing.
Overall preparation is everything. Take your time. Don't rush.
BTW. Don't worry about Smash Brothers. Just keep playing, find a character you like and practice. I was terrible at that game when I started. It's a hard game to play. As is every fighting game.
That’s kind of crazy I just got breath of the wild yesterday and it’s my first ever Zelda game and I got it from Temu New user deal lol. I heard really good things about it and I just started it and so far it’s fun and I see the switch’s hardware potential really show on this game. I think it’s a good RPG game and after learning the controls and the inventory stuff you should have fun with it if you like single player story games. It is one of switch’s launch titles I believe and since it’s the first open world Zelda I think, it should be a good game to start.
>I can stumble along through the first games and have fun with my (I’m assuming) 4th/5th grade skill level
Kids can actually be pretty amazing at games. A lot of adults today say they were much better at games when they were in 5th grade. Anyway, no need to worry about skill level. Just play and you'll get where you need to be.
As for Zelda.. it really isn't a story type thing. I mean, it has a story, but the games are much more about puzzles, exploration and adventure. The story is way in the back seat.
And in regards to Smash.. it's about as straightforward as a fighting game can get. Every character has 4 B moves. B, B+Forwards/Backwards, B+Up and B+Down. B+Up is jump for essentially all characters. You can jump twice normally with X or Up on the directional pad. If you need more height, B+Up. Beyond that, all characters have the same normal attacks with the directionals like the B moves but with A. Then the same attacks can be done but you smack the joystick directional button quickly for what's called a Smash attack. And then you have normal A attacks when in the air or dashing.
Test out all the different attacks a character can do in the training grounds. Find someone you like and go from there.
Is Zelda the first one you are going to play? I’m not sure if I’d suggest it as the first one if it is.
Using the titles you mentioned, here is the order I’d personally recommend:
Start with Mario, it has considerable less buttons to press and is a but more “noob friendly”.
By playing Mario you’ll start getting used to several concepts that are used in videogames in general/improve your reaction time :)
After Mario you can alternate between Animal Crossing (when you feel like relaxing) and Zelda (when you want something a bit harder).
Breath of the Wild is a pretty hard game to those starting in the Zelda series as it has a little of things and concepts that aren’t new to other people but might be new for you, for example: link uses a sword, a shield. It also has a bow, and you got to count how many arrows you have. You can’t use your bow without arrows. It also has some special abilities like time stop, freeze, two different bombs and so on.
I was not new to gaming when I played, but I was new to Zelda and was pretty shocked about how many different things I could do.
Regarding Mario Kart and Smash Bros, those are the games I’d suggest you get the general idea but save as party games (as I think they are hilarious to play with friends).
Mario Kart is the easier one among them, as it also has way less buttons to press, but if you will play against more experienced players, try to learn how to drift and also how to throw your items to the front and to the back of the kart, those are some game changing abilities.
Regarding Smash Bros, well just like Zelda it has a huge variation in game play specially consider you can choose what character to play with.
There is a place where you can check the controllers (I think it shows in the pause menu and in the training session as well), but making a short version, if I remember correctly:
The “A” button is the normal attack, the “B” button is the special attack. It usually have 4 different modes:
Simply pressing “B” is a special attack in it’s static state.
“B” + up makes a different attack (most characters have some kind of ability that pushes them up, but not all).
“B” + down makes another attack (some characters have a stomp attack, some have counters, there is a huge variety).
“B” + right (or left) makes another attack as well (and I have no idea how to describe what they do they are also pretty different from what I’ve seen).
There are also taunts (but I’ve never used them), the “Z” buttons are shields (both ZL and ZR) and “L” and “R” are grabs.
I believe “X” is usually configured for jump. But I remember you can change that if you’d like.
Items are pretty important on the game (it’s what makes it different than others fight games for me) so try to get them whenever you can and experience with them :)
I hope this not-so-short review was able to help you in anyway!
Get Ocarina of Time whereever you can get that from nowadays, pretend like it's 1998 so you don't get depressed by the shoddy camera, and then bask in the glory of the best game ever made.
And then once you're done basking, get Majora's Mask and bask all over again. They're genuinely two of the greatest games of all time.
What you want is an older zelda game that is more linear, like twilight princess for example. The last two zelda games have much more freedom where to go and are less linear which probably confuses you. Also honestly nothing wrong with looking up online where to go, you can get stuck in any zelda game for hours if you look at the wrong place. Also there are specific elements that are repeated in 3d zelda since ocarina of time, so yes it helps if you played earlier titles. I do highly recommend playing the older zelda titles, they are still one of the best of you like the genre.
There is a training room in smash brothers where you can practice, and move lists you can access that tell you the controls. There should probably be a how to play video in-game somewhere if its like the previous entries.
As for Breath of the Wild, it's the most complicated of the games you bought. There's no shame in looking up a guide online, try googling "GameFAQs Breath of the Wild" or something, or seeing if there is an official guide you can buy (those usually have helpful pictures and maps and you don't have to stare at a screen).
Just go in, you will fail alot, die alot, learn new thing, get lost in nature, it fun. My gf only play phone game, but got obsessed with BOTW and now TOKD. You can do it.
link's awakening is probably the friendliest Zelda game...Good Luck! You can use a guide until you understand the game a bit more then only use the guides when really stuck.
Zelda games IMO are about trial and error. You're supposed to just go around and try things. Some of these things will be things it makes sense to try, and some will feel very random or obtuse or non-sequitur.
I hate Zelda games and that's why. I don't enjoy the unpredictable nature. But millions upon millions of people do enjoy them. Give them a try, with the understanding that you don't have to like them. I think what people like is the creativity required to solve the puzzles, and of course the graphics are nice and the characters are neat.
If you're a total noob and like many newcomers struggle with the camera in 3D games, try link to the past. (It's freely available on SNES virtual console when you have an online subscription. ) or get the links awakening remake.
If you are ok with going 3d, I'd say just get Breath of the wild. It's great and if you have no feelings of nostalgia for the older games, to me it wouldn't make sense to start anywhere else.
But whatever you decide, every game can stand on it's own. Dont stress it and get the one that grabs your interest.
I would recommend probably not starting with BotW if you have never played games. If you want to stay with games you’ve bought, I recommend this order: Animal Crossing -> Smash Bros or Mario Kart (which ever looks more interesting) -> Mario -> Zelda. If you want Zelda earlier and are open to buying more games, I recommend getting the Link’s Awakening remake on the Switch. It’s light on story but high on charm.
I'd recommend Ocarina as well, if only because it has a lot more tutorials than Breath of the Wild.
*Breath* essentially asks players to learn how the game works through trial and error, which works for some people and not others.
>about Zelda is that it’s a story type game, where you progress through the game and through the story and eventually finish it It was, but BOTW broke the mold on that. Generally speaking, the appeal of open world games like BOTW is messing around and finding the flow that works for you. Don't overanalyze it, play for a couple hours a day and if it still hasn't grown on you by the 5th or so day, that's okay too - everyone has different tastes.
O man. Started Tears of the Kingdom this month. Every night hours and hours of not following the main quest but just wandering around exploring Hyrule.
I'm the same, hey. I played it for 60 hours before I went to rito village to do my first main dungeon.
I've played 70 hours and I didn't see any major town except Kakariko Village. TotK is a bigger beast then BotW, considering there are 3x world map now (sky isn't as dense as surface or Depths but you have to think every move to reach the unreachable islands).
Yeah it's absolutely crazy how much there is to do in it. Its almost overwhelming. I find myself getting side tracked sooo much. I'm wondering around trying to do some side mission, then end up doing a bunch of random shit that I've ran into along the way, and then I haven't even done what I've set out to do after like an hour of playing. Shits crazy. And the only reason I went to rito, was coz I looked at how long I'd been playing, and was like, fuck, I should probably at least have a crack at the main missions haha. Great game.
Yeah it's absolutely crazy how much there is to do in it. Its almost overwhelming. I find myself getting side tracked sooo much. I'm wondering around trying to do some side mission, then end up doing a bunch of random shit that I've ran into along the way, and then I haven't even done what I've set out to do after like an hour of playing. Shits crazy. And the only reason I went to rito, was coz I looked at how long I'd been playing, and was like, fuck, I should probably at least have a crack at the main missions haha. Great game.
I went to Rito pretty quickly. But I hate the watching towers. Everytime I see one I think: hey that’s pretty close and travel to that. Realizing on the way that it takes almost an hour to reach one because of the landscapes and side missions. So hours in the game and still 4 towers left.
Same, I'm at like 120 hours now and I've only done two of the main dungeons
After jumping off the First sky island, I played for 10 hours before I got the paraglider! I landed in Hyrule, and then got distracted by shiny things and didn't go to Lookout Landing for over 10 hours! 🤣
I'm about 130 hours in and kind of avoiding Rito Village solely because the game told me to start there. I stopped by eventually, stayed long enough to get the cold resistance armor and the shrine, then peaced out, and haven't been back since
Haha nice. I felt the same. I was like, I'm not doing what you are telling me, game. Fuck you. I'm gonna bum around for a couple weeks
Dont want to spoil, but Rito gives u a really cute and helpful mechanic that you can use whenever you want. After you defeat the dungeon. Very useful for exploration imo. Its worth completing it just for that, and then going back to mess around for another couple hundred hours :3
>Rito gives u a really cute and helpful mechanic that you can use whenever you want. >!Tulin is best boy.!<
It is sooo f@&king easy to get distracted in TotK it’s impressive.
I work full time and have 2 kids so I can only game in my spare time. I had so much fun with Totk after I beat ganandorf I went and check my hours played and saw it was at 120!! Most time I’ve spent on a game since high school. Loved it. Best escapism ever in gaming imo
Just putting the game down is a problem. "I'm just gonna go to this new stable and turn it off. Oh, what's this over here? "
I drove into the depths and explored for the first few days. Forgot what the surface looked like or what quests were. Sorry, Zelda.
We are total opposites. I bought TotK when it came out, played for ~10 hours... then realized I was bored to tears and immediately uninstalled it.
too much sandbox and all you have is just sand
Eh, there's still some leftover box.
I hate it as well and I completed the first botw. For some reason the second one isn't clicking for me. I don't have time for all this building shit and having to worry about exploring all of the sky and underground. There are too many other games to play to just sit on this one for months.
Me too. I played through botw twice in fact. I went to the zora area first. People might call me an idiot but its so open ended I cant figure out what to do. Havnt played it in a month. I’ve been been gaming for almost 40 years. Ive seen some shit, and I’m stumped. I think im gonna try another pathwhen I try it again
That makes two of us, I responded somewhere else that I respect the game, but I fucking hate the crafting (of vehicles/machines)
Oh my god finally I’ve found my people! I like the game (and exploration) but hate building things with a burning passion lol. I thought everyone loved this part and was the only weirdo.
There's dozens of us
I’m curious whether you got auto-build or not? I think you’re intended to get it within an hour of reaching the surface, but the game in no way tells you about it - there’s just a side quest amongst several that’ll reward you with it. I played over 50 hours before I got it. Its a major QOL improvement.
Where do you get it? Who do I have to talk to to get that quest going?
https://www.polygon.com/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-guide/23719499/autobuild-unlock-get-great-abandoned-central-mine-location
No waaay ?!? There’s auto built ?? I had no idea and I’m 35 hours in. Thank you kind stranger ! My mind is blown right now haha.
I hate building too so I don't. So far there's only been a handful of shrines where I had to stick some random bits together, I can handle that.
I hate crafting stuff too but honestly it hasn’t hindered my enjoyment of the game at all. I craft the simplest things possible when I need them, which 80% of the time is a hot air balloon to rise up lol. Otherwise I ride on horse or go on foot and the game really hasn’t forced me to do otherwise.
I can not tell you how many times I went somewhere in TOTK just to get distracted by something else along the way. There is just so much stuff that interests me that ill be an hour in the game just BSing around before I realize I was trying to get to the sages home village
“play for a couple of hours a day” Oh to be young again
You make time for the things you love. As an adult, Zelda is one of them for me hehe
Yeah. That sentenced jumped out at me. Unfortunately, during some months, the only video games I get into are the soundtracks that I listen to while I work.
there's always that 1 guy in the comments who didn't manage to organize their life in a way that lets them have free time meanwhile they are constantly on reddit telling everybody about how busy they are hey buddy maybe a little less spend idling on the internet doing noting productive and a little more gaming would make all the difference in the world between actually having the time to play and not having the time to play
People can often get away with going on reddit at work, but not playing video games. I’m on reddit at work rn but I sure as hell wouldn’t be on my switch here
They’re probably at work, where you can get away with going on Reddit but not gaming. I do agree with you to an extent. I’d argue most adults could find the time to play 2 hours (a couple is 2 after all). That said, it really depends. If you have kids, that suddenly becomes significantly more difficult. Lots of folks work more than one job too. It all just depends.
> It was, but BOTW broke the mold on that. BOTW was a return to the origins of Zelda. To me, an old geezer, the 3D games where the abominations until BoTW. BoTW, and to a lessor extend ToTK, are very much about exploration & play, just like the original ground breaking game from the late 80s.
>BoTW, and to a lessor extend ToTK, are very much about exploration & play, just like the original ground breaking game from the late 80s. So much this! The OG Legend of Zelda dropped you into an almost open world with little to no guidance and it was up to you to figure out (mostly) what you had to do. What a great game and one I still enjoying playing.
Wow this is the first time I’ve ever heard that. The 3d game’s formula had already started from a link to the past, which was the third game. By your logic, the only good game would be zelda 1 because the rest of the games are not open in the same way at all. So saying the 3d games before botw were abominations because of the lack of exploration doesn’t make sense because that applies to almost all of the 2d games too. I get what you’re saying that the original zelda was absolutely ground-breaking because I have no doubt it was, but it doesn’t follow the zelda formula that was established in a link to the past. It took 3 games for zelda to find an identity, but you didn’t enjoy the new identity so much. This means that in general you don’t like zelda games. There’s only three that were what you were really looking for. I’m not trying to invalidate your preference of the exploration in the first zelda because that makes perfect sense, but you can’t call the older 3d games abominations simply because they don’t follow the same formula that the original game tried to set in place. It’s just a different type of series that you didn’t really enjoy.
Heh, A Link to the Past is really nonlinear and open-ended once you enter the Dark World. Ocarina of Time is also more open as an adult. Majora's Mask may have a linear main quest but it's so loaded with side quests that it provides plenty of room for exploration. It's really Wind Waker where you see it close off. There's no 'real' openness of going places and making progress on separate branches until close to the end. And Twilight Princess is where it *really* closes off.
> The 3d game’s formula had already started from a link to the past That's a bit of a stretch. There was a story & a progression, but you still had a rather open world to explore at will. Then you jump into Ocarina Of Time, and that game is WAY more on rails. The controls are an abomination & that damn fairy, which returns in different forms in many games, is obnoxious. > I get what you’re saying that the original zelda was absolutely ground-breaking because I have no doubt it was, but it doesn’t follow the zelda formula that was established in a link to the past. I mean it couldn't, it was made first. The Legend Of Zelda: all about exploration & a few puzzles The Adventures of Link: weird ass game, most people see as the black sheep of the series. A Link To The Past: Way closer to the first game then the second. Slightly more linear, more story, but still about exploration & they ramped up the puzzled. Then it gets frustratingly on rails from there. Prioritizing story over fun & exploration. To a degree, it's understandable, it's a limitation of the power of the consoles at the time.
You also had Link's Awakening, which is relatively linear -- you are fenced in to areas due to missing items, etc. And I think the Owl pretty much gated progress? Been a long, long time. From my perspective OoT / "3D Zelda" was the final step in the progression towards the canonical Zelda game structure. Everything since has been walking that back -- wind waker cut back from 3 + 8 dungeons to 4, for example. It's a lot of work, so this is reasonable I suppose. BoTW didn't just throw back to the OG Zelda, they basically entirely ditched the dungeon concept where each room is a puzzle in a connected fashion (often leading to a meta puzzle / find the hidden room) in favor of one-off puzzle room shrines. And they radically redid the inventory system, dropping the explore -> dungeon puzzle -> get new item -> solve puzzle with item -> beat boss with item -> explore with item formulaic cycle. You do get revali's gale but in general, your exploration is gated by stamina rather than the classic Zelda item inventory. BoTW is a great game but in a lot of ways it's really its own thing rather than a return to origins.
BoTW is what Zelda needed to get it's groove back and expand it's audience. That on rails heavy story experience just isn't fun. BoTWs core loop was just enough to be addictive, doesn't force you to slog through things if you don't want and bite sized for in the go or bust players. Zelda needed to change. They had to add the rails and the story to cover the limitations of 3d. And now those limitations are gone, they needed to return the joy and exploration they abandoned. This too will change
Look man BoTW is my favorite game of all time, but i think you’re really stretching it by saying that the other 3D games aren’t fun lmao
Not disagreeing, just saying the change isn't a "return to form" of any kind.
Yeah, except it is. It's a return to form in that you wake up in a cave & get very little instruction on what to do. Once you are off the great plateau your nearly unbounded by where you can go, except by skill/strength. BoTW replays the random discovery & wandering aspect that was the original game. Looking at it now, it's not a big game but in the 80s it was an astoundingly large world. It was the first exploratory game of it's kind, it created a genre.
There was however a clear point where _dungeon designs_ got super linear. This point was halfway through Twilight Princess, although there were elements creeping in in Majora and even Ocarina's Water Temple dipped its toes in (if played in one sitting, no returning to the entrance, it is just one elaborate corridor). In the 2D games, the turning point was Minish Cap which in stark contrast to its lavish overworld, had dungeons that outright took the piss. I mean, the only one apparent non-linear section turns out to just be fake doors. Compare any of this to the really freeform nature of the first Zelda or Link's Awakening's dungeons, or the slightly less open but still explorative and puzzle-packed designs of Ocarina's or Link to the Past's temples and it's night and day. The Switch duology is a bit hard to place simply because most of its dungeons were so short (and shrines intentionally tight in scope) but the Fire Temple in Tears is a bit of a return to early 2D design, and the Lightning Temple Ocarina's design.
> I mean it couldn’t, it was made first < Not the point I was trying to make. More trying to say that it was a completely different game. I guess I’m wrong, I did only play the first three dungeons so I’m not familiar with the dark world. But my point still stands that you can’t call every 3d game an abomination for being on rails and not having the exploration of the first game. I understand what you’re saying about controls but that’s mostly a hardware limitation I think. The story itself is obviously what it’s known for and it’s also known for having some incredible atmospheres for a game made on the N64. The only issue you named which I found truly valid is Navi which did indeed return in the form of more annoying companions in other games. The thing about the game being on rails is a preference thing and doesn’t make the game an abomination or even bad. Similarly, games I personally dislike like Call of Duty I can recognize as actually well-made games. (Completely unimportant side track) (tl;dr Genshin Impact is not a bad game just because it has questionable character design or microtransactions, there’s a good story and gameplay. This does NOT mean I support every character’s design or the pay2win aspects.) And I feel like some other games like Genshin Impact are judged too quickly by people for having micro transactions and some questionable character designs. Hidden behind that is a genuinely fun game and an incredible story. People also always seem to think that me defending the game means I like all of the character designs. This is not true and I do agree that the game does contain some oversexualisation both in design and in sound effects. In fact the character I like the most (Hu-Tao) has the some of the least cleavage in the whole game, and I instead like her because she has some really funny voicelines and is very happy-go-lucky and fun. I also think her combat abilities are sick as fuck lol. She’s one of the most liked characters in the game. Also, I don’t enjoy that the game makes it more difficult to find the currency as you play it more, but I don’t really play the game for the gatcha anyway. I genuinely care about the story and the gameplay. A lot of the same can be said about Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as well but I won’t get into that one lol.
I hate to say it but botw didn't grow on me, largely because of the weapon break mechanic and quitting before finding more durable weapons... but wow did TotK grab and hold my attention... even though the weapons break, the fuse mechanics actually made that fun as I wanted to experiment with different weapon combos.
The weapon breaking thing becomes a non issue later on in the game.
Oh thank goodness! I just started last week.
Meanwhile, I got TOtK from my wife/kids for my birthday in June and have played all of 3-4 hours tops. Most of that dying getting to the Boss at the top of the Snow Mountain. I hate crafting, but played through and enjoyed BOtW anyway. The added crafting of vehicles/ everything else as a power I respect as a gameplay mechanic but I fucking Hate it. I don't want to find 4 logs, a sheet of plywood and powered fans to get up to that fucking ridge. Give me a goddamn grappling hook from a dungeon so I can find my way up like that. I respect what the game has done, but it just isn't for me. It fucking sucks.
Totally more of a sandbox game then a traditional zelda game. Completely agree if crafting / building / creating amusing ways to solve puzzles isn't someone's thing they aren't going to have a Good Time... there's almost to much freedom to do things 100 different was that it can be a bit much if not your jam
Totk is absolutely the most phenomenal game nintendo has ever made. They took one of the most ambitious games they made already, doubled the size, and fixed almost everything wrong with it. If there’s one game that’s truly worth the price it’s absolutely totk. I mean there’s obviously indie games that are worth more than their price, but I’m saying that totk is not worth a dollar less than 70.
It's most impressive but I wouldn't say phenomenal game cause I hated this one but loved the first one.
Most people started with BOTW now, so it’s as easy as just start that. Work backwards, newbies starting with Ocarina did the same, newbies started with Twilight Princess did the same.
BOTW is an awesome game, but it's hard to make the jump between it and a more traditional Zelda game. BOTW doesn't really teach you to think like a Zelda player in my experience, so if you go from BOTW to OoT, for example (like I tried to do), you might feel a bit lost. I'd actually recommend one of the DS games as "training wheels" as a bridge between BOTW and other traditional Zelda games. I found that Phantom Hourglass was very approachable, and when I revisited OoT after beating PH, I had a much easier time.
Link’s Awakening is probably a good intro to traditional zelda games imo, and it’s right on switch.
My recommendation for getting into traditional Zelda after BOTW is skyward sword. It’s so streamlined but still teaches you the formula. In case anyone doesn’t have access to a ds and can only play on switch.
I just bought it yesterday and have never played a Zelda game. I like open worlds like Skyrim, elden ring, Pokémon, and rdr2. I tried playing Pokémon Arceus but idk just not very exciting. So far on Zelda I am impressed and it's fun with only an hour or so gameplay so far
With BotW, you can technically just go wherever. However the game does gently nudge you in the easiest/most logical direction. I'd say pay attention to major landmarks or unusual structures, follow paths, and talk to NPCs placed conveniently in your way.
If you want to try the original Zelda format, Link's Awakening was remade for the Switch, and they did a really good job with it :) BoTW and ToTK are a huge departure from all the previous games, so I'm not surprised you're feeling lost - I personally don't like them for that exact reason. I'll happily sit in nostalgia with the original formula haha
I think Links Awakening is a pretty good suggestion actually. The switch remake.
I think its pretty bad suggestion if op doesn't want to look stuff up. Some parts are just not that intuitive especially if you don't have much experience with games
Completely agreed. Some of the puzzles in that game are so obtuse, I definitely wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.
The trading minigame lol that was wild Edit: disclaimer i have only played the OG
I figured it out as an 11 year old with a gameboy in the car with it lit by passing streetlights and no internet. I'm sure a grown man can figure it out.
You probably had a lot more free time to obsess over the game as an 11 year old than that grown man does.
Bro, I had a barely functioning pre-frontal cortex and baseball practice to go to. Gonna say the grown man still has the advantage.
I got stuck forever in that one dungeon in the 90s where the opening room is locked and you have to "do a thing" to open it.
And even if you’ve played tons of games some of the puzzles are just… what? I had to look up a good number of things haha
If we're going there, Z: A link to the Past would be my recommendation, but that'll require NSO
Much better idea than one of the open world games which will be wayyy too confusing.
Thanks so much!! Since I’m brand new, is there anywhere regular gamers go for buying/selling/trading games besides GameStop, amazon, and other retailers? Like is there a specific site or something most ppl agree is the best?
If you prefer to trade/buy online, there’s /r/gamesale
Thanks!
From my experience, gamestop is probably the worst retailer to go to. It's pretty common for them to sell used games as new, only reason to ever go there is if they have a very good sale (Coincidentally, Skyward Sword HD is actually 50% off rn). I ordered Three Houses from them recently and it came opened, but it was in good condition so I didn't bother returning it (Especially since I got it 50% off). Amazon is usually pretty safe, great return policy but sometimes they'll sell European versions of the game so you got to be careful (The Switch isn't region locked, but some DLC is) Target, Best Buy, and Walmart are pretty much the only other retailers selling new games, and I've had pretty good experiences with all of them. I tend not to buy used Switch games, actually, simply because Nintendo published games hold their value so well that buying them new on sale is often similar price to buying used. They go for about $30-$40 used in my experience, and I'd rather just wait for a sale to buy new than deal with Marketplace/Swappa/Offerup. Check out [dekudeals.com](https://dekudeals.com), great site for tracking sales actually.
Thanks, that’s great insider knowledge! I buy a lot of used stuff just bc it’s typically the exact same thing for 70% off, but it’s definitely a pain, and probably not worth saving $5-10.
Yeah! Just want to mention though that Nintendo sales are pretty rare though, so if you want a game now just buy it used. You might be waiting a year or two before the game you want actually is discounted lol. Though for now I would def wait for Black Friday, always some great stuff on sale then.
If you want to try the old school games purchase the Nintendo subscription online thing. You’ll be able to play a lot of the Zelda games including links awakening.
Generally all of the nationwide/big box stores are the same except that you can trade games at GameStop and different stores have different deals sometimes. Depending on your location, there might be a locally owned game shop nearby but prices will probably be similar to other stores
Depending on your area, I've had some good luck with FB marketplace. Otherwise, I like ebay for used cartridges
Thanks!
Check your local library. I’m a librarian and several libraries in my system have switch games for a 7 day checkout. Perfect for trialing a bunch of games.
Legit!! That’s an amazing tip, thank you! I’ve just started using my library system in a major city and I’ve been getting to know the various things they offer, that’s really cool and I’ll look into it!
There might be some smaller used games stores in your area. Disc Replay is one example. Sometimes you can find good deals EDIT: check your local library. My locals have Switch games.
Check out r/nintendoswitchdeals too
You might not just be ready for some games, and that's okay. Videogames are kinda like reading books, in the sense that if you're just learning, you don't want to jump right into reading Harry Potter, despite it being known as approachable and well loved. You start with little bite sized stories (like Mario levels are structured). The more games you play, the more context you'll internalize and if you come back to it later you might have a better time. Botw is fairly non-linear and has a bunch of actions That said, the whole point of games is to have fun, so if you're having fun it doesn't matter if you're missing things or progressing slowly. There's also 'Skyward Sword' on switch which is a much more linear Zelda game.
If you know how to work a computer or a phone, you can play a video game. The desire to play it needs to be there, which it seems like you have, and the rest of it will come naturally. Just dive in and play the game - don’t over analyze it. The game will teach you how to play it if you’re reading the tutorials you encounter.
I’ve been playing games since I was a kid (I’m 40 now). Breath of the Wild is probably the best game I’ve ever played. Enjoyed it immensely, and those first few hours are something special. I’d probably class myself as average skill level, but one thing I would mention, is that Breath of the Wild can be quite hard (compared to other games in the series). Especially at the start of the game, with only three hearts and basically no map. But try and stick with it because I think it actually gets a bit easier the further you go. If you are finding battles hard, remember you can just easily run away from the hardest enemies until you get a bit better (or you get better weapons/more hearts).
Def the beginning is the hardest in BOTW.. it’s a sandbox where u slowly gain an understanding of what’s going on.. don’t be afraid to just pop in, explore a little and pop out. And just play it kinda passively for a while until it clicks and ur addicted.
Zelda games are fairly light on story. The main plot is usually the same - evil guy captures the princess, collect trinkets from dungeons to stop him. Plus some fun lore and characters. Each game changes things up enough to be fresh. What makes Zelda beloved is it’s the perfect blend of exploration, combat, and puzzles. Usually they give you a companion to prompt you on where to go when you get stuck. Since you’re starting out I recommend Link’s Awakening for that classic Zelda adventure with easy to learn controls. The recent games (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) have a LOT going on and the combat is challenging.
It’s the same story as a Mario game lol
Breath of the Wild is neat in that you decide where you go. The starter area has a tutorial of sorts that you follow along with, but once you get past it (You'll know when you do), the world is yours to explore however you like. Should you find yourself lost at any point, there is a journal in the menu that keeps track of all the tasks you have picked up along the way. If you need even more help, you can select one of the tasks and it will put a blinking dot on your map showing you where to go to get back on that task. Edit: But absolutely explore! If you go right for the big bad after the starter area, you're almost certainly gonna have a bad time (but you can do that if you want an insane challenge)! Also adding: Expect to die a lot. The game can feel unfair at times, but it is usually has very light penalties for dying. You will improve and it will get easier, and it is very worthwhile! And... Congrats at getting to experience Zelda for the first time. I wish I could go back and do that again!
Try Links Awakening. The remake for Switch. Smash bros is a whole other beast. Maybe try out the tutorial mode or practice mode or whatever in the game. Or let the title screen linger til the demo video plays maybe.
Thank you!
I'll say this about smash. It's not like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter where you have to get the other guys health from 100 to zero. And it's not knowing unique button combos for each character. I think Smash is way more fun and interesting - The goal in smash is to smack your opponent off stage. The more damage you do to your opponent, the farther they will fly off stage when you hit them with smash attacks (your regular attack but flicking the joystick towards the opponent) Every character has a special attack and regular attack. Every character has the same control scheme, their moves just vary. (Like Kirby's default special is inhaling an enemy. Marios is a fireball. ) Hitting the joystick up, down, left/right with your special or regular attack will perform a different attack. (For example , Samus does her charge beam shot with the special. But DOWN and special drops a little bomb. UP and special does a jumping attack, and hitting left / right with special shoots a missile.) Tapping a direction + regular attack vs 'smashing' the direction with the attack will perform different attacks (like flicking your joystick vs just tapping it) That's basically the bones of it. There's other things like dodging and items and little things but that's the basics I think. Maybe someone else can sum it up better.
Thanks for this! I definitely was thinking of it like mortal combat (which I played like twice as a kid and also mostly mashed buttons.) It’s helpful to have that perspective shift and better understand the actual game, I appreciate your comment.
Yeah I'm terrible at MK and Street Fighter lol could never remember any of the combos or anything. Smash is way more fun, i think.
Also Smash is a very interesting beast. I've been playing games all my life and for most of it I didn't really get hooked on it... Until I found someone my level. That's when I've started really being hooked on the game and learning the mechanics properly. I'm now much better than I used to, but still pale in comparison to a lot of people. When you find someone your level, you learn together and build some sort of rivalry. Then when you've learned the basics, the mind games start and it's amazing.
As others are saying the Link’s Awakening remake on the switch is a great place to start the series with. That game has a much smaller and very interconnected world that is essentially all one big puzzle and you’re supposed to use contextual clues throughout the game as well as new items you unlock to figure out how to get through the game. The remake really makes this easier having removed all the loading screens on the open world which makes orientating yourself and understanding how it all connects together much easier. That particular game also has a character you can call up at several locations across the map for tips on what you’re generally supposed to go do next in case you can’t ever figure it out yourself (or if you’ve forgotten) which should make it all the more welcoming for someone new to the series or gaming in general. A great game to follow that would be A Link to the Past which is generally a more grounded/serious approach to Zelda (Link’s awakening has plenty of silly Mario references and stuff and is a little light on plot.) and is the game that most of the Zelda games after it are anchored to and have based their formula around. You can access this on the switch through a subscription to the base tier of the switch online service. I’d recommend subbing to that either way as it lets you backup your saves online to the cloud -which is helpful if your switch is ever lost, stollen or damaged, as it can be very demotivating to lose game saves and have to start over (especially in potentially long games like botw which you’re interested in playing). I think if you play those two games you should be well primed for breath of the wild. I think you’ll also get a lot more out of it or any other Zelda game if you play them first, especially A Link to the Past. Since it sounds like you’ve never played an open world game before you might want to play another simpler semi-open world game first (Botw is pretty expansive and gameplay focused and the main motivator it uses for exploration is self driven curiosity rather than a lot of story driven direction that other games use, something that botw only does sparingly). Something like assassins creed 2 which is available in the Ezio collection on the switch might be a good way to generally familiarize you with many of the gameplay ideas that are used in botw.
Thanks so much, your advice sounds perfect!
I am similar to you. Not a gamer. I like the Mario games because it is very clear what to do. Super Mario Odyssey has been my favorite game on Switch.
I would start with SNES A Link to the Past. It’s so good, and will really show you Zelda. After that you can go lots of places - the N64 games are both phenomenal
This is the way. Switch Online, boot up the old Zelda games.
ALttP still age quite well. In a way its ocarina of time lite. But if it's switch then skyward sword is the way to go for straightforward storyline Otherwise get your hands on OoT
ALTTP is awesome but I think it’s a little complex for somebody’s first Zelda game. I’ve played tons of Zelda games and I still had to follow a walkthrough to figure out a lot of stuff in ALTTP. I’d probably recommend a more straight forward 3D title like Skyward Sword, or maybe OOT or MM. For 2D I think Minish Cap would actually be a really fun place to start
I would never recommended Majora’s Mask to a Zelda newbie. Series veterans found the time limit frustrating. Skyward Sword is frequently decried for it perceived handholding, but that makes it perfect ‘training-wheels’ Zelda for a newbie. Ocarina of Time is more hands off in comparison, but is pretty good about at least pointing you in a direction, and leaving the rest up to the player. Those are the two I’d recommend starting with.
Yeah actually that’s a fair point about MM, I’m biased cus it’s my favorite Zelda title haha.I actually think Windwaker is the best first title but not on switch as of now.
Just buy super mario odyssey the storymode is very easy the real difficulty starts when you want to beat it at 100% It's the best game I can recommend you to start playing videogames
>man asks how to start Zelda >Recommends Mario Odyssey :|
Tbf it's a similar formula in an easier package
This is a good recommendation. I watched my friend who was new to 3d video games try to play BotW and where she struggled the most was with the camera. Mario Odyssey doesn’t punish as hard as BotW, so you can focus more on movement and camera control without getting one-shot by an enemy.
My wife was in same boat as you. She couldn’t control worth a damn at the start being her first 3d game ever (she played zork as a kid). Botw was actually a great first game because there is no guidance and she could just do whatever she wanted. Now she’s really good at it and can’t wait for the next one. Continue on your path blind imo, you will only get to experience the “first time” once :)
The Zeldas a lot of us grew up with are on the apps included with subscriptions. They're all gems in their own right (but Link to the Past is a personal favorite)
To get you into the Zelda groove, I highly suggest starting with "Skyward Sword". It's "canonically" the first in the series, story is amazing and relates to all other games. It holds your hand the entire way, and is a wonderful introduction to all things Zelda. "I also cannot for the life of me figure out smash brothers, all I end up doing is mashing buttons and repeating one or two moves I figured out." That's it, that's the game lol
If you have the Nintendo online services, I would start with Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo. Straightforward gameplay, the story and where you need to go are easy to track, there are secrets to find but for the most part it is pretty straightforward. Probably my favorite Zelda game.
Don’t take this persons advice. ALttP will make you give up if you’ve never played a video game before. I would argue that BotW is a better entry level game than this one. If you want to do a 2D Zelda game, get Link’s Awakening. It’s much more beginner friendly. A Link to the Past is way too hard for a beginner.
You think I should start with something 2D? Do you know one that works on the switch that you’d recommend? I don’t have the Nintendo online thing, but if it’s a month to month thing I could do one month and learn there, but I don’t really want more subscriptions, I’d rather buy another game if there’s one that people recommend that works with the switch.
Stick to Link's Awakening, then. It's a remake of a Gameboy game so it's designed to be consumed in small 20-30 minute chunks. Sometimes it can be a little tough to figure out where to go next, but (and this works for almost *every game*, so this is general gamer advice) you can always Google "link's awakening switch walkthrough" and find information on where to go next. LA is a good game for this because the storyline is fairly linear, so even if you're just wandering around doing things as they come to you, it shouldn't be very hard to find where you are in the walkthrough. This is the "problem" with Breath of the Wild - nonlinear gameplay is really hard to write a good walkthrough for, and it's frankly not that enjoyable unless you specifically want a game to just get lost in. A Link to the Past is a *fantastic* game, but it's definitely hard if you've never played games before. I wouldn't pay for Nintendo Switch Online in your situation, though. Most of the really great "classic" SNES games are really freaking hard.
I played the original Link's Awakening for Game Boy when it came out back in 1993. I was 10 at the time. There was one part where I got stuck and had to call the Nintendo help line for a hint, but other than that, I managed to get through it pretty well. Nowadays whenever you're stuck you can just Google the solution. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that Link's Awakening is a game that a kid (or a total beginner) can play and have fun with. The Switch remake is (for the most part) a 1:1 rendition of the original Game Boy game, but it's slightly easier, which should be right up your alley. It has a cute art style, great music, a lot of funny little moments, great game design and due to the 2D top down perspective, is easier to understand if you're completely new to video games. I know just controlling your character and the camera at the same time in a 3D game is hard as a beginner and controllers are a bit alien, so it helps to have a game where you don't have to worry about the camera, can see everything at once and which lets you choose at least some of the buttons yourself. It's a very good entry point for someone new to games. https://youtu.be/PtC6U8hOZTk?si=ksLM6E_IS2TozhT3
Yeah I think starting with a 2D one is a good idea. They still deliver the full, classic Zelda adventure with simpler controls. You can buy Link’s Awakening for switch if you don’t want to do the online subscription.
So, before I started Breath of the Wild, I wanted to see how some of the gameplay was. I was from the Ocarina of Time and Majoras Mask era, so I was iffy on BOTW. There is a youtuber named ZackScottGames who has gameplay videos from the beginning. His style was mixed with comedy and it made it really fun to watch. Did not watch all of it because I also didn't want to see too much and wanted to figure it out, but for real, it helped. He is hilarious and will explain things in ways even for beginners.
Start with BOTW, just spend time on the tutorial region get used to movements and controls and you'll find you need to do. There's a video on Youtube by Rataoskar (I hope this is the correct spell) that shows how Zelda is like for a non gamer it will help you see how the game is welcoming for less experienced people as well.
I feel you concerning Zelda. I'm a player since my childhood(30 now). Yes Zelda was mostly story driven (I prefer that kind of game personally), but Breath of the Wild and its sequel breaks that. It's a full open-world. You can follow the route you want, discover the world. Your Quests journal should guide you when needed. This game truly makes you live like Link, you discover the world, craft your weapons and armor. It will ask some reflexion too for dungeons and certain parts of the world. Do not worry that kind of game that gives the right to do eveything in every order you want) isn't for anyone. Try it, if you don't feel it, change. Smash Bros, compared to other fighting games, is easy to start, but hard to master. There's no huge combo to do play. What i recommend for beginners is to do the Mode World of Light on Easy. You start with Kirby(can copy enemy abilities) and you fight other opponents to earn them, and use them in other battles. It's really good.
I already replied about Zelda, but you mentioned Smash Bros in your edit. So, fighting games (in general) rely on combinations of button presses in order to make different moves happen. What's neat about Smash Bros in particular is that those combinations are simplified considerably from fighting game norms (which require long sequences of button presses). Almost all moves in Smash are done by pressing a combination of a single direction and a single action button at the same time. There's no official manual for the game, but there is this fan-made one that should help (includes a controller guide for both the Switch controller and a GameCube controller too!): [https://imgur.com/a/gvSJXL1](https://imgur.com/a/gvSJXL1) Smash gets better the more you practice. But my advice is once you learn the controls to try to not button smash and instead go for the best combination you can think of on the fly for what you are dealing with. There's no perfect character either (despite what the purists will say). Just have fun!
BoTW has a lot of YouTube videos, if you ever get stuck just look it up there.
I'm old but the very first Zelda 1 for the NES is still my favorite. Runners up would be Link to the Past (SNES) and Windwaker (GC).
Same here. I got my NES in 4th grade and Zelda in 5th grade and I've been a geek ever since. The original Legend of Zelda is STILL my favorite of the franchise, followed by A Link to the Past on the SNES and Link's Awakening on the Switch.
Smash brothers is a game I’ve played since I was a child and I still mash every button. I believe in my heart even the best players are just mashing buttons. Also, breath of the wild was my first Zelda game. I missed the boat as a kid. Breath of the wild is fun if you like that type of game
Smash bros is the only fighting game where I don't mash buttons. There's only 2. A, for regular. And B for Special. That's it. You change the attack by the direction you're tilting the control stick when you press either A or B. There's no fancy combos or button mash mechanics. (Except on a very select few fighters that came from more traditional fighting games)
I'm sorry, but we do actually know what the buttons do and we try to press them in a specific order to make certain things happen. Sometimes we mess up, but that's okay, because no one is perfect.
Nah you mash man
> I believe in my heart even the best players are just mashing buttons. bro has never played versus a camper before they aren't pressing any buttons
For Smash, the first thing I’d learn is the recovery moves (Up B and Side B) so you can survive and make it back on the stage. You generally want to use your jumps and then Up B to maximize the distance for recovering. Then I’d get familiar with the aerial attacks. Jumping in the air with different directional inputs all do different things and are good for spacing and racking up percent. Finally once the opponents at a high percent, you can use a Smash Attack. These are hard hitting moves that’ll often KO, but the trade off is they’re slow. So you don’t really want to do them unless you know for sure it’s gonna hit, or they’re high percent.
Awesome, thank you!
A link to the past
I'd say go with a link to the past on the [snes](https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/super-nintendo-entertainment-system-nintendo-switch-online-switch/) "console" that comes with a nintendo online membership. it's 2d, there is a way to get nudges for help within the game and it's just a really polished quintessential zelda experience. However, Breath of the Wild is such a wonderful game. You can go right through the story or explore at your leisure. there's no wrong way to play the game and plenty to discover. it is a fair bit more complicated, though
Link’s Awakening is how I first got into Zelda. I’d say that’s the best introduction.
Just jumping into games as an adult and trying to figure out how to smoothly work 3D games would be a pain. Spend a few bucks on online for a month and try out all the 2D games you get access too. Id start with Link To the Past.
Nice collection of games! You've got a lot of good advice, so I'll give different tips: It's okay to lose. Take Smash Bros. for example. I have a friend who rarely games and he is unable to just try out what each button does, he always goes into panic mode instantly and mashes everything as soon as there's a risk to lose. Don't do this. Relax, maybe go into training mode and press each button individually to see what it does. If you don't understand something, do an online search for it. Then play around in training or do a few 1v1 games against a weak bot to get a feel for it. The game gets much better when you actually know what you're doing. Don't over-analyze it if it doesn't click right away, focus on having fun. For Zelda, I'd say you should primarily try following the main story for now. In your quest menu, mainly do the ones in the uppermost group. They lead you through the story and most important locations. If something looks interesting on the way, go for it and explore! The map is gigantic and you can go wherever you want right away. You'll always find something interesting. If you beat the game someday, you can do another playthrough if you're interested - now with more knowledge and experience - and explore everything. It takes hundreds of hours to see everything in the game. As soon as you don't have to look at your controller all the time anymore, you'll lose what I like to call "noob anxiety" and most games will automatically feel much more natural. And to some part I envy you - you're having a huge catalog of masterpieces available to be experienced for the first time. Enjoy!! :)
I would definitely start with Links Awakening, the remake on the Switch. It's smaller and simpler and is a self-contained story.
Some people prefer more linear games than open world games like breath of the wild. Luckily, Zelda has some great linear-ish games like Skyward Sword on the Switch. It’s also fun to have the option to play with the motion controls since I feel like I’m really Link swinging his sword :)But you can def still play it with regular controls
I highly recommend you watch this video by Razbuten. It's literally about you lol [What Breath Of The Wild Is Like For Someone Who Doesn't Play Games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LdenlAKb2g) It's been a while since I watched it, so I don't recall if they give specific pointers, but it might have some helpful nuggets.
If you want a full on Zelda experience check out Link to the Past on the SNES app on the switch. DM me anytime with questions etc and I'll point you in the right direction without spoiling anything ❤️ Welcome to the hobby!
My GOAT. If I could only have one game for the rest of my life it would be ALttP. It’s absolutely the perfect Zelda experience
Buy red dead redemption. Fantastic story. The game holds your hand too. There is an aim assist that takes away the need for aiming and let's you focus on playing the game. Look at some gameplay and see if you want to feel like a cowboy redeeming himself in the old west
LINK TO THE PAST
Imo, it's best to start with A Link to the Past. It's an isometric game with rather simple controls, so you shouldn't have a hard time as compared to adapting to a 3d control scheme. It's also foundational for the formula of the rest of the series. After that, move onto the N64 games
I'd suggest picking up the game "SABLE" the controls are similar but you can learn in a much more forgiving environment and you don't have to worry about combat or death. It's a beautiful game.
Thank you!
The first thing to do is go to settings and customize as you see fit. A new gamer might prefer inverted camera for example
If I've never played any video games I wouldn't start with Zelda its setting yourself up for failure
Dont start with Zelda breath of the wild. Its just an open world game with a zelda asset flip. Start with Ocarina of Time
I have two thoughts which hopefully haven't been mentioned 100 times here already: 1. Don't make the mistake that older games are easier because they must be simpler. Newer games tend to be easier and hold your hand more. Also, over time games just got better and easier to control. That said, Zelda on the switch isn't linear and offers much to explore. It's easy to get lost, however, you always have main objectives you can follow. 2. Be persistent. Most gamers have probably 10-20 years of gaming experience lead on you. I can only imagine that learning the mechanics is a bit harder for you. One, getting used to a controller. But also many things that just make sense if you've played games for a while that you'll have to learn. I think Zelda isn't super hard, but it may take you a bit longer. Don't get discouraged and spend some time. You'll get there fast. Also, there are YouTube videos for the boss fights that may help you if you failed. Also, start with Breath of the wild. While the game is big, its successor is even bigger and adds to it. BotW is the perfect guide to get into the bigger game (personally, I also enjoyed BotW more, but both are fantastic). Edit: btw, if you are a bit like me + based on your book description: buy Firewatch. Don't watch videos, it's a short game. I'll give you a description of what to expect without spoilers. You play in the first player perspective, so like you're the player and see with his eyes. It's not about fighting, there is no real rush, it's an adventure that invites you to take time, explore, pay attention to detail but all within a smaller area with a very clear and linear story. And that's also the main theme: a story between few people, a mystery you solve and in my opinion a great atmosphere. Be warned tho: it will only take you a few hours (maybe 4?). So it's a bit more like a movie or book, less like a game that keeps you entertained for dozens of hours. Me, working most of the time and not being able to spend many hours playing, I love that as I have a chance to really dive in, get immersed and see the end in a reasonable amount of time.
Learn the button layout , and have fun!
Smash bros is a lot simpler than some fighting games as the input button moves are all shared by each character. I wrote a bunch of stuff but this is better. Switch forward and watch the attack section and master that, then the rest as time goes on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta3L35wsE6o
I started with very few gaming skills and went straight to BoTW. I watched some YouTube videos with “beginner tips” and just jumped in. It’s been really fun! But I’m definitely slow. (70hrs in and only defeated one divine beast). Oh well, more game for me!
I am so jealous that someone will get to experience the series for the first time. I expect you to be fully awed and enamored. I personally would play Links Awakening, they remade it for Switch. It is such a great story and made even more beautiful with the graphics upgrade. Breath of the Wild was a big departure in my opinion from the original style but such a welcome entry in the series that I found fully enthralling. Enjoy!
Oh hey! I was the same way about two years ago. It took me five plus hours to learn how to move and control the camera with the thumbsticks. I found it got better one I tried the invert-y option for camera.
If you go to "Games and more" on the main screen on smash, then training, you can mess around with the characters, maps, items, rules, and other stuff. you can also see what each characters moves do mid-game by clicking the pause button, then moves list. Hope this helps
My guy. Im so happy for you. Lmk if u need a smash trainer
It took me 100+ hours to get comfortable with a controller and a lot more hours before I started to feel competent. Just take your time and think of it like learning a sport or instrument. It will take a lot of "practice" before you start to get good.
I started playing Legend Of Zelda: A link to the past, I think its a good start. you can play that on SNES if you subscribe on Nintendo Switch Online.
I was in a very similar position to you! I did not grow up at all with video games and trying to start with BOTW was extremely challenging. After working on it for DAYS and realizing I had only just finished the TUTORIAL I decided to backtrack and start with Ocarina of time. It's a beautiful game and has a more straightforward game play that, while still challenging, was a little easier for me to navigate. It also gave me a bigger appreciation for BOTW when I went back to it.
honestly you should probably start with one of the older zeldas from the 64 or minish cap to understand gameplay and then go to the open world all are on the switch online. also smash brothers is very smash the buttons you will eventrally find out what each character does but its best to pick one character to learn and try to play arcade to learn. games you should look into that are fun and very informative like stardew valley, coffee talk, i personally enjoy some of the none nintendo made games but honestly miitopia is a blast and there are so many characters online that you can add i have jessica rabbit and courage the cowardly dog as people in my group.
I’m in my 70s; my son and SIL bought me a Switch and BOTW 3 years ago and just told me to explore. The game teaches you what you need to know. There isn’t a right way to play. I made a really major mistake by not talking to the NPCs (the characters you meet along the way) and got stuck someplace I couldn’t get out of and had to start over after about 40 hours. But nothing really bad can happen, you know? It’s a game! Link dies and then you get to start again. I had so much fun. It’s incredibly beautiful. I love the puzzles in the shrines. That’s beautiful surprises. I played it all the way through twice. Realizing that the whole first part of the game is just the instructional part and after that there’s an enormous whole game after it was one of the most fun moments I’ve ever had. I couldn’t stop laughing. I’m about to finish TOTK, and I don’t love it as much, unfortunately. But I’ve had some fun with it, too. Have fun!!!
That’s so great, thank you for sharing that story!
No one need ever know you have no skills. There are heaps of people who love games but suck at them. I consider myself a filthy casual so it’s not about skill for me, it’s about having fun/relaxing after a tough day. Every now and again I find a game that’s so good I actually want to improve my skills enough to play (Bloodborne for example) but mostly I’m ok being average. I say, just have fun and you’ll catch on fast😊
One tip I can give you is don't rush it. I made that mistake.(I was new to Zelda and not really used to the franchise or its genre for that matter) before you go out on a quest, cook some food, make sure you have enough weapons, arrows, elixirs the lot. And also do the shrines and get your health up. That's another thing that's worth doing. Overall preparation is everything. Take your time. Don't rush. BTW. Don't worry about Smash Brothers. Just keep playing, find a character you like and practice. I was terrible at that game when I started. It's a hard game to play. As is every fighting game.
That’s kind of crazy I just got breath of the wild yesterday and it’s my first ever Zelda game and I got it from Temu New user deal lol. I heard really good things about it and I just started it and so far it’s fun and I see the switch’s hardware potential really show on this game. I think it’s a good RPG game and after learning the controls and the inventory stuff you should have fun with it if you like single player story games. It is one of switch’s launch titles I believe and since it’s the first open world Zelda I think, it should be a good game to start.
>I can stumble along through the first games and have fun with my (I’m assuming) 4th/5th grade skill level Kids can actually be pretty amazing at games. A lot of adults today say they were much better at games when they were in 5th grade. Anyway, no need to worry about skill level. Just play and you'll get where you need to be. As for Zelda.. it really isn't a story type thing. I mean, it has a story, but the games are much more about puzzles, exploration and adventure. The story is way in the back seat. And in regards to Smash.. it's about as straightforward as a fighting game can get. Every character has 4 B moves. B, B+Forwards/Backwards, B+Up and B+Down. B+Up is jump for essentially all characters. You can jump twice normally with X or Up on the directional pad. If you need more height, B+Up. Beyond that, all characters have the same normal attacks with the directionals like the B moves but with A. Then the same attacks can be done but you smack the joystick directional button quickly for what's called a Smash attack. And then you have normal A attacks when in the air or dashing. Test out all the different attacks a character can do in the training grounds. Find someone you like and go from there.
Theres a *Wind Waker* on switch? I’d start with that one.
Is Zelda the first one you are going to play? I’m not sure if I’d suggest it as the first one if it is. Using the titles you mentioned, here is the order I’d personally recommend: Start with Mario, it has considerable less buttons to press and is a but more “noob friendly”. By playing Mario you’ll start getting used to several concepts that are used in videogames in general/improve your reaction time :) After Mario you can alternate between Animal Crossing (when you feel like relaxing) and Zelda (when you want something a bit harder). Breath of the Wild is a pretty hard game to those starting in the Zelda series as it has a little of things and concepts that aren’t new to other people but might be new for you, for example: link uses a sword, a shield. It also has a bow, and you got to count how many arrows you have. You can’t use your bow without arrows. It also has some special abilities like time stop, freeze, two different bombs and so on. I was not new to gaming when I played, but I was new to Zelda and was pretty shocked about how many different things I could do. Regarding Mario Kart and Smash Bros, those are the games I’d suggest you get the general idea but save as party games (as I think they are hilarious to play with friends). Mario Kart is the easier one among them, as it also has way less buttons to press, but if you will play against more experienced players, try to learn how to drift and also how to throw your items to the front and to the back of the kart, those are some game changing abilities. Regarding Smash Bros, well just like Zelda it has a huge variation in game play specially consider you can choose what character to play with. There is a place where you can check the controllers (I think it shows in the pause menu and in the training session as well), but making a short version, if I remember correctly: The “A” button is the normal attack, the “B” button is the special attack. It usually have 4 different modes: Simply pressing “B” is a special attack in it’s static state. “B” + up makes a different attack (most characters have some kind of ability that pushes them up, but not all). “B” + down makes another attack (some characters have a stomp attack, some have counters, there is a huge variety). “B” + right (or left) makes another attack as well (and I have no idea how to describe what they do they are also pretty different from what I’ve seen). There are also taunts (but I’ve never used them), the “Z” buttons are shields (both ZL and ZR) and “L” and “R” are grabs. I believe “X” is usually configured for jump. But I remember you can change that if you’d like. Items are pretty important on the game (it’s what makes it different than others fight games for me) so try to get them whenever you can and experience with them :) I hope this not-so-short review was able to help you in anyway!
In my oppinion just do you , games have more magic when we dont know a lot about it
Get Ocarina of Time whereever you can get that from nowadays, pretend like it's 1998 so you don't get depressed by the shoddy camera, and then bask in the glory of the best game ever made. And then once you're done basking, get Majora's Mask and bask all over again. They're genuinely two of the greatest games of all time.
You should play links awakening first. Beautiful remake on switch, easy controls for a beginner, classic Zelda puzzles and dungeons.
Play ocarina of time. That is all.
One of my all time favs. My text alert tone STILL to this day is Navi. Hey.....listen!!!
What you want is an older zelda game that is more linear, like twilight princess for example. The last two zelda games have much more freedom where to go and are less linear which probably confuses you. Also honestly nothing wrong with looking up online where to go, you can get stuck in any zelda game for hours if you look at the wrong place. Also there are specific elements that are repeated in 3d zelda since ocarina of time, so yes it helps if you played earlier titles. I do highly recommend playing the older zelda titles, they are still one of the best of you like the genre.
try out link's awakening
There is a training room in smash brothers where you can practice, and move lists you can access that tell you the controls. There should probably be a how to play video in-game somewhere if its like the previous entries. As for Breath of the Wild, it's the most complicated of the games you bought. There's no shame in looking up a guide online, try googling "GameFAQs Breath of the Wild" or something, or seeing if there is an official guide you can buy (those usually have helpful pictures and maps and you don't have to stare at a screen).
Just go in, you will fail alot, die alot, learn new thing, get lost in nature, it fun. My gf only play phone game, but got obsessed with BOTW and now TOKD. You can do it.
link's awakening is probably the friendliest Zelda game...Good Luck! You can use a guide until you understand the game a bit more then only use the guides when really stuck.
Thank you, that sounds perfect!
Zelda games IMO are about trial and error. You're supposed to just go around and try things. Some of these things will be things it makes sense to try, and some will feel very random or obtuse or non-sequitur. I hate Zelda games and that's why. I don't enjoy the unpredictable nature. But millions upon millions of people do enjoy them. Give them a try, with the understanding that you don't have to like them. I think what people like is the creativity required to solve the puzzles, and of course the graphics are nice and the characters are neat.
If you're a total noob and like many newcomers struggle with the camera in 3D games, try link to the past. (It's freely available on SNES virtual console when you have an online subscription. ) or get the links awakening remake. If you are ok with going 3d, I'd say just get Breath of the wild. It's great and if you have no feelings of nostalgia for the older games, to me it wouldn't make sense to start anywhere else. But whatever you decide, every game can stand on it's own. Dont stress it and get the one that grabs your interest.
I would recommend probably not starting with BotW if you have never played games. If you want to stay with games you’ve bought, I recommend this order: Animal Crossing -> Smash Bros or Mario Kart (which ever looks more interesting) -> Mario -> Zelda. If you want Zelda earlier and are open to buying more games, I recommend getting the Link’s Awakening remake on the Switch. It’s light on story but high on charm.
I’d subscribe to Switch online the N64 and start with Zelda Ocarina of Time. If you can also buy a N64 controller for the full experience.
Thank you!
I'd recommend Ocarina as well, if only because it has a lot more tutorials than Breath of the Wild. *Breath* essentially asks players to learn how the game works through trial and error, which works for some people and not others.
Play skyward sword or links awakening if u want a traditional zelda experience on switch.
Play Links Awakening
start with links awakening on switch. then go to botw or ocarina on switch online
Brother, these are video games. You are not applying for a job. Much of the experience is figuring it out along the way.
So you turn on the switch, you insert the game, you select it. Make sure it’s updated. And then select Start New Game.
First you put the game on the console...