Edit this page Battle with a Hinox in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild / Sorry, we don't have accessible text for this image :( / Image credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild North American box art / Sorry, we don't have accessible text for this image :( / Image credit: Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an open-world third-person action-adventure game for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U. The player controls Link, who has awoken from a 100-year sleep and must save the kingdom of Hyrule from Calamity Ganon. Breath of the Wild has sold over 20 million copies and has won over 180 Game of the Year awards.

Screenshots and images

Company and staff credits

Publisher
Nintendo logo 1975 / Image credit: Nintendo
Developer
Nintendo logo 1975 / Image credit: Nintendo EPD
Development support
Monolith Soft company logo / Image credit: Monolith Soft Monolith Soft, Inc.
Director
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Hidemaro Fujibayashi
Producer
Eiji Aonuma at E3 2013 / Sorry, we don't have accessible text for this image :( / Image credit: Jan Graber / This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Eiji Aonuma
Programmer
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Takuhiro Dohta
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Kenji Matsutani
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Hiroshi Umemiya
Artist
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Satoru Takizawa
Writer
This is a fallback image. No image is available. Akihito Toda

Platform comparison

Platform Released Local Interfaces Target FPS Video Sound
Wii U
Australia, Japan, North America, Europe
1 player
 Motion control, touchscreen, standard 30 720p Surround 5.1
Switch
Australia, Japan, North America, Europe
1 player
 Motion control, standard, VR 30 900p Surround 5.1

Game details

Release dates
  • 3 March 2017:
    • Wii U (Australia, Japan, North America, Europe)
    • Switch (Australia, Japan, North America, Europe)
Also known as
  • ゼルダの伝説 ブレス オブ ザ ワイルド (official, Japanese)
  • BOTW (also known as)
  • The Legend of Zelda Wii U (working title)
Genres

Development and pre-release

Breath of the Wild was originally announced for Wii U in a Nintendo Direct presentation on 23rd January 2013. Series producer Eiji Aonuma stated that the development team’s mission was to "rethink the conventions of Zelda". 1

The first footage of Breath of the Wild came in a gameplay trailer shown during Nintendo Digital Event shown during E3 2014. The trailer showed Link on horseback and battling a tentacled monster that would later be known as a Guardian. The game's open-world environment and anime-inspired visual style were also revealed. 2

Gameplay

Breath of the Wild is the first 3D Legend of Zelda game with free-roaming, open-world gameplay. Hero Link is able to jump, climb any surface, sneak up on enemies, use special abilities via runes and an accessory called the Sheikah Slate, cook and make potions with found ingredients, and collect weapons that become damaged with use. The game's world is around 12 times bigger than that of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. 3

Publishing

Breath of the Wild was the last game Nintendo produced for its unsuccessful Wii U console. 4

Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Nintendo Switch console. It had originally been planned as a Wii U exclusive, but launched on 3rd March 2017 for both systems. 5

Graphics and art design

The Switch version of Breath of the Wild renders at 900p resolution in docked/TV mode while the Wii U version renders at 720p. In handheld mode, the Switch version also renders at 720p. All versions target 30 frames per second (fps), but the Wii U can dip to 20 fps in high-action moments. 6

Sound and music

Breath of the Wild's music score breaks from the Zelda series' traditional style by having no overworld music and omitting themes that have appeared in other entries. In an interview included with the Japanese 5-disc CD release of the score, sound designer Hajime Wakai remarked: "We ended up deciding we would express the game with just with the environmental noise and the scenery, because we thought this would be better. We stopped using the phrase ‘World BGM’ and replaced it with ‘Environmental BGM’." 7

Sales and cultural impact

Breath of the Wild won over 180 "Game of the Year" awards between its launch and March 2018, including The Game Awards (USA), The Guardian (UK), Polygon (USA), Gameblog (France), Eurogamer (UK), and Famitsu (Japan). 8

References

  1. Nintendo (n.d.). Wii U Direct - Nintendo Games 1.23.2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MzG6lDA1A0.
  2. IGN (n.d.). E3 2014: The Legend of Zelda for Wii U First Details. https://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-the-legend-of-zelda-for-wii-u-first-details.
  3. IGN (n.d.). E3 2016: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Might Be The Open World Zelda We Always Wanted. https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/14/e3-2016-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-hands-on-preview.
  4. Eurogamer (n.d.). Zelda will be Nintendo's last game for the Wii U. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-01-20-zelda-will-be-nintendos-last-game-for-the-wii-u.
  5. The Verge (n.d.). The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild trailer lands before Nintendo NX reveal. https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13344300/legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-trailer-nintendo-nx.
  6. Eurogamer (n.d.). Is Zelda on Switch worth the upgrade from Wii U?. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-switch-vs-wii-u-face-off.
  7. Nintendo Everything (n.d.). Breath of the Wild composers on changing up Zelda’s music formula and much more. https://nintendoeverything.com/breath-of-the-wild-composers-on-changing-up-zeldas-music-formula-and-more/.
  8. Cat with Monocle (n.d.). Another “Game of the Year” for the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. https://catwithmonocle.com/news/2018/03/22/another-game-of-the-year-for-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/.

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