gamingeek said:

Doesn't it have more to do with how you've expanded your heart containers or upgraded your armour etc? I found white boboklins appeared when I got more powerful and some had really powerful swords that could halve your life in one hit. I have reached something of a plateau in terms of strength and defence. I can take out most Hinox and Guardians fairly easily (barring interference - like other enemies joining in). Lynels are harder, but I've avoided most. I recentely bought the stealth gear, loving how easy it is to sneak up on things, not enjoying Yiga assholes though.

No, I don't think so.  It happens regardless of what gear I'm in or how many 'extra' hearts I have.  It's like the game has decided that one hit kills aren't fun, so it stopped them altogether.  Hinox's never really posed a problem for me, but I still steer away from Guardians.  Might be I can easily take them on, I just haven't tried yet unless I've got ancient arrows on me, or if it's an immobilised guardian.

I think I'm too unimaginative of a player for this game.  I'll hardly ever try anything out just to see if it works.  I'll wait for the game to spell it out for me (or just show me a case where it's laughably clear it'll work).

SupremeAC said:

No, I don't think so.  It happens regardless of what gear I'm in or how many 'extra' hearts I have.  It's like the game has decided that one hit kills aren't fun, so it stopped them altogether.  

But haven't you been naturally finding new stronger armour or updating it at the fairy fountains for better defence stats?

I do remember being one hit killed very early on in the game, but I had like 3 hearts and a lousy clothing set.

gamingeek said:

But haven't you been naturally finding new stronger armour or updating it at the fairy fountains for better defence stats?

I do remember being one hit killed very early on in the game, but I had like 3 hearts and a lousy clothing set.

True.  But being knocked down to only survive with less than one heart has happened to me so often it can't be coincidence.

travo said:

Has Vader quit?  Surprised that there are no more impressions from him?

Same with Final Fantasy XV. What happened there?

travo said:

Has Vader quit?  Surprised that there are no more impressions from him?

I have tons of impressions on gaf. Sorry about ignoring this place. I am mostly complaining on gaf. There's a thread asking fans who don't like BOTW the best why they don't like it the best and I am in there on the third page on.

This weekend I set out to beat the game but I keep finding new things to do, new shrines and mini games. I finally breached hyrule castle last night and was blown away, this is what I wanted the game to be more like. Tonight I should beat it, I am at 109 shrines and 430 seeds. 140 hours in, a month of straight playing and I have never once gotten sick of playing this game, it's an absolute joy to play.

Miami Whiskey said: No need to cover what everyone else covered with the dungeons, progress and more focus. I think the better question is for those who favored BOTW why is it better than past Zelda games? Why is it ok to not have traditional dungeons? Why is it ok to have tons of repetition instead of well designed areas that have progress?

This games reaction has been a reflection on the changing preferences of gamers. Great level design was what I grew up on. These days the sandbox more create your own experience is what most people are growing up on. This zelda absolutely embraces that minecraft kind of do your own thing mentality that is very popular. Now don't get me wrong it does so while providing far more well designed moments than most any open world game, it's still excellent. But it's not as well designed as past zelda games. Nothing in BOTW is as well designed as the better than average dungeons of past zelda games.

So it becomes a question of preference, do you want openness at the cost of well designed moments. But it doesn't have to be one or the other and that's what bugs me the most about this game. It can do all the new great things it does to the forrumula and still have amazingly designed dungeons, still have great enemy variety, better bosses, new items and so on. These two things can coexist and I feel it would make this game much better. But to so many this game is already close to perfection, I don't get why, do none of those other things matter to you anymore or did they ever matter?

Ok, on the question of would I want more dungeons?  Yes!  Absolutely!  The dungeons we get are a little too easy but  I guess the shrines scratch that itch enough where it's not overly concerning.  There's enough mini bosses and mini boss variety to sort of fill the dungeon boss void.

The reason I hold this game higher than most other 3D Zeldas, especially over WW and SS, is because the hand holding is gone.  Nintendo's handholding has almost become a trademark quality of theirs.  It's insulting and tiring.  I almost quit Paper Mario because of it.    Thank God it's absent here.

Its has also given me something I've wanted from a Zelda game for years and never expected to see it again:  freedom!  This game allows so much freedom to tackle areas however, whenever you please.  I don't really feel the repetition that you're feeling.  I love the exploration and feel it's chock full of great areas full of mystery and puzzle solving.  At 110 hours, I'm still discovering new places.  As a matter of fact, I did just the other day in an area  that I've frequented a lot, totally shocked that I never noticed it before.  The side quests are fun as well as the hunt for shrines.  

This may sound silly, but the map is great.  I love the little areas that are a nod to Zeldas of the past.  This game just feels so complete.  I remember talking about how with SS, the Zelda formula felt stale and I would love to have a Zelda/Skyrim mix where you focus on discovery.  Something like Zelda 1, where exploration and discovery are a focus. That is pretty much exactly what we received.

So, in summary, I miss the heck out of the dungeons too but I love the changes.

gamingeek said:

SupremeAC said:

True.  But being knocked down to only survive with less than one heart has happened to me so often it can't be coincidence.

Uhhh.... that doesn't sound right. What's your defence ratings for the armour you're using?

I had it happen to me a couple of times again yesterday.  What armour I'm in at the moment doesn't matter.

SupremeAC said:

Killed a Molduga yesterday.  Those things look like they belong in MH.  Had a rough time with them at first, and then I discovered an easy way to lure them and it was a peace of cake.  The Yiga boss was surprisingly out of tone as well.  I kind of miss that typical Zelda weirdness in most of the NPC's.  Most are way too normal.

Yeah, I enjoyed both of those bosses.  Figuring out the Yiga one was a cool, aha moment.  Not difficult to figure out but cool.  Btw how did you guys get by the guards?  I used ancient arrows but I've heard someone used stasis.

travo said:

Yeah, I enjoyed both of those bosses.  Figuring out the Yiga one was a cool, aha moment.  Not difficult to figure out but cool.  Btw how did you guys get by the guards?  I used ancient arrows but I've heard someone used stasis.

I distracted them with Mighty Banana's.  I thought it was made pretty clear that that would work.  Just lob one nearby and they'd hop towards it like giddy children.    One of the funnier moments of the game.  If you missed it, definitely worth going back for to try out.  The animation is superb, and they even make funny sounds when they spot the banana's.