Breath of the Wild - A Hearty Retrospective

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been one of the most influential, impactful video games released in recent years. A Breath of the Wild review or retrospective like this can be a bit of a delicate subject considering the passionate reception it's received, in communities ranging from casual Nintendo fans to the speedrunning world, but fair warning: this video isn't very delicate. It unflinchingly breaks the game apart to see where Nintendo succeeds, as well as fails, with hopes that some of its (numerous) issues can be addressed in Breath of the Wild 2. The original intention behind this video was to be released back in February, alongside the Zelda news we were undoubtedly going to be getting for the series' 35th anniversary...right? Welp, unless you really love Skyward Sword HD for $60, I think it's fair to say the lack of a Breath of the Wild sequel announcement took the wind out of a lot of peoples' sails anyways, so in retrospect, the date of this video panned out just fine. "Breath of the Wild - A Hearty Retrospective" marks my first step into the long form game review format, so please let me know your thoughts on what went right and wrong, and enjoy!

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Music used:

Misc. Tracks - Breath of the Wild OST

"MockRock is Here" - MockRock

"Hyrule Field" - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST

"The Great Sea" - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker OST

"The Sky" - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword OST

"Termina Field" - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask OST

"Hyrule Field" - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST

"Here Come the Squeaks!" - Kirby Squeak Squad OST

All original music, as well as its stems, are available for download to patrons, YouTube members, and Twitch subscribers
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0:00:00 Intro
0:02:51 Graphics, Audio, and Performance
0:16:30 The Great Plateau
0:32:45 Movement
1:02:49 Map, Towers, and Shrines
1:33:14 More Side Content
2:08:43 Combat
2:59:57 The Main Quest
3:39:53 The Story
4:04:25 The DLC
4:34:15 Closing Thoughts

Thanks for watching!

#Zelda​ #BreathOfTheWild​ #Nintendo

[MrMockRock]

Thanks for watching everyone! This video was originally meant to release in February; its behind the scenes ended up being much more of an ordeal than expected and the release date, while unplanned, feels very appropriate. I'll be using this comment to address any needed corrections, etc. that I see pop up, so by all means let me know if you notice something. Your thoughts in general are appreciated on this one, long form game videos are some of my favourite content on YouTube and I've been wanting to give the format a try for awhile now, but it's still ultimately an area I have little experience in. The channel isn't becoming a channel of 4+ hour videos (there will be another shorter one this month), but I will likely be making more Hearty Retrospectives, so feel free to let me know what worked and didn't work about this one for you, as well as any games you think would make good candidates.



*Corrections and Observations from Comments:*

*-I referred to Zelda's voice actress as American, but she's actually Canadian-American according to IMDB.*

*-There's an NPC who sells fireproof elixirs without requiring you to collect lizards. This one slipped through the cracks, it doesn't fundamentally change my commentary on that section but should have been mentioned.*

*-"I wasn't sure if this was an April Fool's joke."* Nope!

*-"You beat Arlo!"* I definitely saw this one coming haha, but just for the record, my goal was never to beat anyone else, and I didn't have a set target for this video's length. I'm a fan of a lot of long form video game content, and while I tried to make sure this video maintained a distinct voice, it was obviously inspired by those channels (although I avoided them while writing the script). I wanted to make a long video about a game, chose Breath of the Wild because it's my favourite, and was never good at sticking to word counts.

*-"This video is too long/should have been split into parts."* Gonna have to disagree on this one, I made a video that I myself would have been thrilled to discover. I like long form content.

*-"This video is overly critical/negative."* Again, gonna have to disagree. My approach for these talking points was entirely neutral, I didn't slant the video to be more positive/negative than I actually felt, and what I felt was what I wrote. You may find it too critical for your enjoyment, which is reasonable, but I wouldn't change it.

*-"So this is why you haven't uploaded in so long!"* Yes, and believe me, that wasn't the intention. If I were to remake this video knowing what I've learned since starting, I could, no exaggeration, reduce its production time by at least a month. I did a lot wrong, largely with the audio, and hopefully can carry those lessons forward into future series entries.

[ArchetypeGotoh]

Revali’s Gale is the fancy word for “climb while raining”

[gwenpolo]

"It's MY sleepover and I get to choose the movie!"

[blokvader]

I remember when I first played, I tried to go straight from Hateno Village to the Akkala region because of Purah's quest to find Robbie, and obviously, Zora's Domain is in the way, but I didn't know that.

I made it to an outside mountain of Zora's Domain, and waited for so long for the rain to end so I could climb... and the rain in the Domain doesn't end because of Vah Ruta.

Eventually, after waiting for so long, I experienced my first blood moon! I genuinely thought I failed the game and Ganon was destroying the world because I was wasting my time.

[LM-nrrx]

You really had to hit that 10 minute mark didn't you?

[Mr_Mimestamp]

Can’t believe MockRock spent 4 and a half hours just on how you couldn’t pet dogs

[Czah]

It is a shame that the bed in Link's house didn't provide the same boosts as premium beds as a reward for completion.

[yacobo]

I love these "this is one of my favorite video games, here's a million things wrong with it" types of videos.

[hydrotatsumaster]

"I have no amiibos and will not cover them. Sorry for lack of content." This mad lad be spitting fire 4 hours into the video. Made me laugh.

[theproperpikachu]

If this is his review of his favourite game ever then I can’t imagine what his review would be like for a game he doesn’t like

[kingofnamek]

"It's a long video."

IT'S 26 MINUTES LONGER THAN THE RETURN OF THE KING EXTENDED!

[starkeeper_youtube]

congratulations you beat Arlo for longest BotW reviewnalysis by a full hour

[doubloons]

I feel like my lack of skill in video games really improved my overall gameplay experience for once. I honestly didn’t know many of the exploits you talked about in game existed except for the molduga one with the bombs and I felt like billy badass when I figured out that it worked that way

[Nightcaat]

MockRock’s April Fools’ Day video is… four and a half hours of content.

Ooookay!

[mateorodriguez]

The 30 minute long scene of you drinking tomato soup was kind of odd, but over all, good video.

[RealRaven]

I was surprised people were so upset about the horses. Even in the base game, I used them all the time. I loved acting like one of the travelling NPCs, travelling along roads from stable to stable looking for shelter, then straying when I saw something interesting.

[Magic_Ice]

Arlo: Makes a 3 hour video about Breath of the Wild.

MockRock: *Watch this*

[angrypepe]

I don't know what's crazier about this video, the fact that it's over 4 and a half hours long, or that I actually watched it all without getting bored

[nathaneskin]

I think the purpose of the various earrings is just so you can get the benefits of various headgear without actually visually having to wear a hat. It’s just for cosmetic preferences I think.

[DesignDoc]

Welp, I just listened to another 3+ hours critique on BoTW. Great job!

In regards to the Rito quest. I am convinced there's cut content there. It has the least going on and given what you can learn about Teba from talking to him both after the main quest and during the Champion's Ballad DLC, there's a lot of emphases placed on his relationship with his son, a character who you never have to encounter during the main quest. Teba often talks about training with him so I wouldn't be surprised if there were at least plans for a lead-up quest involving his son, maybe having to find and rescue him in the Hebra Mountains kinda like finding Yunobo in Death Mountain or getting shock arrows on Ploymus mountain? The Hebra mountains are entirely skippable as is so it would've given the player a better introduction to the region.

I can't imagine why something like that would get cut if all they really had to do was place that NPC somewhere in the mountains, write a few lines of dialogue, and make that a prerequisite for starting the Divine Beast boarding sequence instead of just the basic shooting gallery. As is, the Rito questline feels straight-up unfinished. Every other region has some lead-up where you have to trek through part of the region so why did the Rito quest get shafted?