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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (JP) (also known simply as Breath of the Wild or BotW) is the nineteenth The Legend of Zelda game, the third and final game released for the Wii U and the first and only one to not be an enhanced port from the Nintendo GameCube. It is also the final first-party Wii U game.
Like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, it was a dual release, being a Nintendo Switch launch title as well. Nintendo promised it would redefine the formula of Zelda's adventuring and return to the sense of exploration that was felt in the first game.
A prequel, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on November 20, 2020, over three years after Breath of the Wild was released.
A direct sequel, titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, was released exclusively on the Switch on May 12, 2023, therefore making Breath of the Wild one of the few Zelda games to receive a direct sequel featuring the same Link.
Plot
10,000 years before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The first battle against Calamity Ganon.
During ancient times, the ancient Sheikah tribe had developed Hyrule into an advanced civilization that was protected by animalistic machines called the Divine Beasts and armies of automations called the Guardians. When Calamity Ganon first appeared, four ancient warriors called the Champions took control of the Divine Beasts to significantly weaken Ganon while a young man with the spirit of the hero and the princess with the blood of the goddess have successfully managed to seal him away, allowing Hyrule to experience prolonged peace. The Royal Family grew wary of the threat that the Sheikah technology would pose, they exiled the Sheikah. Most of the Sheikah understood their fear and had them buried across the kingdom and lived simple lives while some of them held a powerful grudge against the Royal Family for this mistreatment, and over the course of the years they have isolated themselves and swore allegiance to Calamity Ganon and their group eventually came to be called the Yiga Clan. As the years pass, the kingdom of Hyrule has reverted to its medieval state.
100 years before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
10,000 years later, when the Royal Family learned that Calamity Ganon is prophesied to return again, they searched for ancient relics and the need of the ancient technology, so the Hylians discovered the ancient relics that the Sheikah Tribe had constructed ten thousand years prior: the Guardians and the four Divine Beasts, which were constructed to protect Hyrule. This discovery coincided with the prophecy about Ganon's return, thus King Rhoam decided to create a group of warriors to control the Divine Beasts. He called these warriors the Champions. Commanded by Princess Zelda, their ranks included Link, her royal knight, and a representative of each major race of Hyrule. Mipha of the Zora was chosen to pilot Divine Beast Vah Ruta. Of the Gorons, Daruk was to command Divine Beast Vah Rudania, while Urbosa, the chief of the Gerudo accepted the invitation to be in charge of Divine Beast Vah Naboris. Revali of the Rito was selected to control Divine Beast Vah Medoh. While the four Champions chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts began to control them, Princess Zelda went on a pilgrimage under Link’s protection, in which she prayed to the Goddess Hylia for the sacred power required to defeat Calamity Ganon often to no avail, which the repeated failure and expectations from her father and people often disheartening her and since Link accomplished in gaining the Master Sword, the princess resented him and often avoided him with every chance she got, until Link saved her from being killed by the Yiga Clan, causing her to warm up to him more and more when she realized that Link is also under pressure from the responsibilities he has to undertake.
Zelda sealing Calamity Ganon away for 100 years.
When Calamity Ganon did return, it took control of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts, with their Champion Pilots losing their lives, and Rhoam was also killed by the Guardians. When Link was gravely wounded, Zelda steps between him and the Guardians and her power activated to shut them down, protecting them both. As Link slips into a coma, an ethereal voice inside the Master Sword chimes and tells her that Link must be taken to the Shrine of Resurrection while she performs a few tasks, including having Purah, Robbie, and Impa relay a message to Link, take the Master Sword to Korok Forest to have the Great Deku Tree watch over it, before sealing Ganon and herself for a whole century.
During The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Link waking up.
After a 100-year sleep, Link awakes inside the Shrine of Resurrection. Then, guided by a mysterious female voice, and using a new gadget that he finds inside the shrine dubbed the Sheikah Slate, Link explores the Great Plateau. During his exploration, he encounters an Old Man. The Old Man tells Link that a monstrous being called Calamity Ganon had appeared one hundred years prior to Link’s awakening and destroyed much of Hyrule before being sealed away in Hyrule Castle by Princess Zelda. After Link finds the treasure hidden inside the four Shrines on the Great Plateau, the Old Man later reveals that he is in fact King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, the former King of Hyrule, in spirit. Link also learns that although Calamity Ganon is trapped, his power continues to grow and it will be a matter of time until Princess Zelda cannot contain him anymore, which implies that Link must defeat him before he breaks free and destroys Hyrule. The Old Man tells Link that he should head over to Kakariko Village and talk to Impa. He explains that she will tell him more before giving him the paraglider and fading away.
Impa's introduction.
Once Link reaches Kakariko Village, Impa tells Link of the legend of the first battle against Calamity Ganon who was successfully sealed away and after 10,000 years have passed, Hyrule prepared for the battle ahead of them when they learned that Ganon would return, but they were taken by surprise when Ganon took control of the Guardians and Divine Beasts that led to the deaths of several people including the king and the Champions while Link was sent to the Shrine of Resurrection and Zelda sealing both Ganon and herself to allow Hyrule plenty of time to recover. When Link is ready to receive Impa's message, she tells him that he must free the Divine Beasts and also meet with Purah at Hateno Village to repair the damage on the Sheikah Slate's memory system. After reaching Hateno Village, he meets Purah, who had been reverted to a childlike state after an experiment went horribly wrong. She has Link light the Ancient Furnace with blue fire so she can finally repair the Sheikah Slate and upgrade its runes.
Link then journeys to several areas to recover his lost memories of his being Zelda's appointed knight where Zelda is noted to be interested in science and technology while trying to awaken her power needed to seal Ganon and the memory photos are split into sixteen segments that hold his memories in specific locations. Once Link recovers all sixteen pieces of his memory, he heads to Impa's house to show him the final location and which is located at Fort Hateno. After doing so, the voice of Zelda tells him that he should now know what he must do next.
Link and Riju having disabled the rampaging Divine Beast Vah Naboris.
Link then goes to the four regions where the Divine Beasts reside, but they were each causing their respective tribes' so much grief; Vah Ruta was creating endless rainfall that not only made climbing more difficult, but the fact that the Rutela Dam can only hold so much before it breaks and the fact that electricity is lethal for Zoras and it was required to shut it down, forcing the Zora Prince, Sidon to seek outside help regardless of what some of his people think. Link teams up with Sidon to shut down Ruta's water pumps with Shock Arrows in order to board it and activate the five terminals and the Main Control Unit. He destroys Waterblight Ganon, the monster that ended Mipha's life, allowing her spirit to take back control and take aim at Hyrule Castle. Vah Rudania often caused eruptions that increased the lava levels and caused the Northern Mines to be abandoned and forced Bludo to raise the bridge to keep it from crossing over and teaming up with his assistant Yunobo to keep it away, only for it to return. Link partners with Yunobo by sneaking their way up to avoid the spotlights from the Guardian Sentries and fires the young Goron at Vah Rudania until it's forced into the crator where Link hops on and activates five terminals and the Main Control Unit, and manages to kill Fireblight Ganon, which Daruk's spirit takes it to the top of the mountain to take aim at the castle. Vah Medoh often caused unstable winds around it and should any Rito approach it, it would open fire at them forcing them to walk as a means of travel, which results in Teba and Harth trying to fight back only for the latter to be injured while the former readied for another assault. With the use of his paraglider, Link then teams up with Teba to shoot Bomb Arrows at the cannons to disable its barrier while Teba distracts them in order to get on it and activates five terminals and the Main Control Unit, and obliterates Windblight Ganon, permitting Revali's soul to take back control and set sights on the castle. Vah Naboris roamed the desert sands, causing lightning sandstorms that would strike anyone who isn't protected by the Thunder Helm owned by Riju, which is stolen by the Yiga Clan. Link sneaks to the Yiga Clan Hideout and defeats Master Kohga who is then killed by his own attack as he falls to his death and gets back the the Thunder Helm for Riju. He then teams up with her to chase Vah Naboris and shoots Bomb Arrows at its four hooves while staying within Riju's range to avoid being struck by lightning and he manages to board it and activate its five terminals and the Main Control Unit. He manages to slay Thunderblight Ganon and Urbosa's soul assumes control to set sights for the castle. From a distance, Zelda thanks Link for his efforts and Link returns to Impa's house and she learns that the Champions have never given up hope and are still willing to do their part, even after their deaths.
Link regains the Master Sword.
When Link enters Korok Forest and comes into the clearing, the Great Deku Tree greets him and advises him that he should recover his lost strength since his revival before trying to pull the Master Sword as doing it too soon would cost him his life. Link then gains over 13 hearts in his life gauge and recovers the Master Sword, which glows shortly after, and the Great Deku Tree congratulates him. With everything in place, Link must now face the monster that brought Hyrule to ruin.
The Divine Beasts attacking Ganon inside Hyrule Castle.
After fighting through Guardians, Link reaches the Sanctum, where Zelda's hold on Calamity Ganon finally breaks. The Champions spot Ganon and they immediately open fire with blue lasers, causing Ganon to be seriously damaged. Link managed to destroy Ganon's form and is warped into Hyrule Field, and Ganon draws all the malice to himself to become Dark Beast Ganon. Zelda notes that he has given up on reincarnation and is now bent on killing Lind and destroying the world as the last resort and bestows the Bow of Light upon him and takes the battle on horseback with the princess revealing various weak points and eventually reveals the one on his forehead and Link must shoot a Light Arrow from the air. After that, Zelda breaks free and uses her power to finally destroy Ganon. After the skies clear, she is then reunited with Link and asks if she still remembers him. In the epilogue, King Rhoam and the Champions float above Hyrule Castle bidding farewell to Link and Princess Zelda, before they move on to the next life, finally at peace.
Princess Zelda in the secret epilogue.
The secret epilogue can only be unlocked if all four Divine Beasts are liberated, all memory scenes are recovered, and the player gains the Master Sword. In this epilogue Link and Zelda are at the outskirts of Hyrule Castle where the latter states that they should head to Zora's Domain to investigate Divine Beast Vah Ruta's recent malfunction and hopes to give King Dorephan closure about Mipha. She sets her sights on Hyrule's reconstruction and heads out as Link follows, she soon stops and states that she couldn't hear the voice inside the sword anymore and suspects that her power had dwindled over time. She then smiles and surprisingly admits that she accepts this fact with a grin before they take their leave as the Silent Princess flowers, which were endangered before, have now started to flourish across the land.
Characters
- Link
- Princess Zelda
- Impa
- Mipha
- Daruk
- Revali
- Urbosa
- Hestu
- King Rhoam
- Prince Sidon
- Yunobo
- Teba
- Riju
- Kass
- Kilton
Gameplay
Link soars on a paraglider.
The gameplay has been refined to help fit the open-world aspect of the game. The game is focused on exploration with most of the key items unlocked in the beginning area and weapons and food available across the world. In place of the main story is a quest system which guides the player to the various regions of the world to help the survivors. There are also shrines scattered across the world replacing most of the dungeons which are built around certain concepts. The game does not require the completion of any quests or shrines past the Great Plateau to reach Hyrule Castle and face Ganon.
Weapons & Gear
Link has no base gear when he starts the game. Instead, he gathers weapons and gear from the environment and chests, the first two being clothes for Link to start with.
Link can use various weapons, though there are a few distinct styles such as swords, axes, bows, and spears. He can also obtain shields which he can use in conjunction with the sword or board on like a skateboard for mobility.
Many weapons can be taken from enemies, but higher quality weapons and gear have to be obtained from chests across the land.
Items
The main item is the Sheikah Slate, obtained at the start of game. With the Sheikah Slate, Link gains numerous runes that give several powers, including the following.
- Magnesis: Allows Link to manipulate certain metal objects.
- Remote Bomb: Comes in two forms; Cube and Round. Round bombs roll with the environment, whereas Cube bombs are usually stationary. They can be exploded from any given distance by simply pressing the L trigger. Once upgraded, it increases its damage output and impact radius.
- Stasis: Freezes certain objects in time, allowing you to apply as much damage as possible. When it unfreezes, all the force applied while it was frozen is unleashed all at once, usually sending the object flying. Once upgraded, it can freeze enemies, and even Calamity Ganon.
- Cryonis: Summons a pillar of ice from bodies of water and mud.
- Camera: Allows Link to take pictures and save them to the album or upload them to the Hyrule Compendium. Up to 48 pictures can be saved in the album at any given time.
There is also an optional rune for amiibo functionality. The runes can be upgraded as well once the player acquires parts from various ruins or merchants.
During his adventure, Link also obtains other items, including:
- Paraglider
- Spirit Orbs (From Shrines)
- Korok Seeds (From Koroks)
- Horse Armor
Shrines & Dungeons
The Shrine of Trials.
There are four dungeons in Hyrule plus Hyrule Castle. Each one is closely tied to a Zelda race and their champion from 100 years ago. Aside from the initial shrines found in the Great Plateau, none are required to go to Hyrule Castle and face Calamity Ganon, however, they do provide helpful improvements and abilities to better face the challenges. The dungeons are:
- Divine Beast Vah Medoh
- Divine Beast Vah Naboris
- Divine Beast Vah Rudania
- Divine Beast Vah Ruta
- Hyrule Castle
- Divine Trial - DLC
In addition to the main dungeons, there are 120 shrines in total, not accounting for DLC. They are like puzzle-focused mini-dungeons. Each shrine rewards a Spirit Orb upon completion. Players can exchange four of them for either a Heart Container or a Stamina Vessel.
Korok Seeds
Korok Seed Icon.
There are 900 Koroks to encounter in the game. They can be found all over the world but require a small-scale puzzle to be solved in order to appear and give Link a seed. Link can then trade these seeds with Hestu in order to expand his inventory. 441 seeds are required to fully expand the inventory, but if you find all 900, then you will be rewarded by Hestu, with Hestu's Gift. Though not specified, this is a piece of poop.
Cooking
Cooking in this game increases the health for the player. The cooking systems come in 2 variations. You can cook on a fire, or a cooking pot. A cooking pot increases the amount of health you get from eating food, while also allowing you to make recipes with up to 5 ingredients. There are also different types of food. An example would be adding a hearty durian to get you extra hearts. On the opposite side, if you decided to cook something like a gem you will get hard rock food, this will always get you only quarter a heart. Dubious food is made when you cook monster parts. If you cook monster parts with a frog, insect or lizard, you will get an elixir. Elixirs can be used for traveling hot or cold weather, but most notably is used to first get into the Eldin Region. (A fire-proof elixir is used here.)
Memories
Thorough the game, Link can visit certain places that causes him to recover parts of his memory which centers on his companionship with Princess Zelda and her struggles with accessing her power. There are a total of 18 memory locations. Four locations involve Link's interactions with each of the Champions and one location is inaccessible until you finish all the other memories. This memory is the final place when all of Hyrule is defeated, Zelda awakening her power, and Link has to go to the Shrine of Resurrection.
amiibo
The game is known to support the following amiibo:
- Wolf Link
- Link (Archer, Rider, Super Smash Bros., Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker)
- Guardian
- Zelda (Super Smash Bros., Breath of the Wild, The Wind Waker)
- Bokoblin
- Toon Link (Super Smash Bros., The Wind Waker)
- Sheik
- Ganondorf
- Daruk
- Princess Mipha
- Revali
- Urbosa
Tapping certain amiibo will; summon a companion character to help defeat enemies, summon a random amount of food, summon a random number of barrels containing food or rupees, summon a random number of fish, summon a random number of plants and herbs.
Presentation
The game runs at 30fps. It has a maximum resolution of 900p on the Switch version (docked), and 720p on the Wii U version (same applies to the Switch's handheld mode).[2]
Development
Early screenshot of Link from the trailer.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was first shown at E3 2014's Digital Direct. In it was hinted at being in production in 2013. In the January 2013 Wii U direct, Eiji Aonuma hinted that the game would break the conventions of the Zelda series including elements like completing dungeons in an order and multiplayer.
It was originally planned to come out in 2015, however, in March of that year, Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma announced that the release date would be delayed until 2016, as he stated that 'our priority is to make it the ultimate and most complete Zelda game'.
In April 2016, Nintendo formally announced that the game would be delayed to 2017, as well as releasing on the NX (Now known as Nintendo Switch). On top of that, it would be the sole playable game at E3 2016 from Nintendo. During the January 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation, it was revealed that the game would launch on March 3rd, 2017, alongside the Nintendo Switch, as well as for Wii U.
Between both versions, some features have been cut as Nintendo planned to make the game "more or less identical". One example is the Switch's HD Rumble, according to producer Eiji Aonuma, whom he expressed regret on its removal due to the Wii U version's limitations. [3]
Details about the content of the fist DLC of the game were communicated on May 2nd. During the E3 2017, a recap of the content of the first DLC was made as well as a first look at the second DLC and the announcement of amiibo for Daruk, Revali, Urbosa, and Princess Mipha.
The second DLC was released on December 7, 2017, just after its presentation at the 2017 Game Awards ceremony. The DLC contains new trials and a new dungeon with an exclusive reward. On April 25, 2019 the game was updated to be compatible with the VR Toy-Con kit.
Voice Acting
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the first canon game in the Zelda series (not counting the infamous non-canon Philips CD-i games) to feature voice acting. Credits for voice actors are as follows.
Japanese
- Kengo Takanashi : Link (worldwide)
- Yu Shimamura : Princess Zelda
- Hiroshi Naka : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Kouji Takeda : Daruk
- Mayu Isshiki : Princess Mipha
- Noboru Yamaguchi : Revali
- Rei Shimoda : Urbosa
- Shoko Tsuda: Impa
- Kumiko Watanabe : Yunobo
- Arisa Sakuraba : Riju
- Takuya Masumoto : Teba
- Kousuke Oonishi : Sidon
- Hideaki Nonaka : Great Deku Tree
- Ayano Shibuya : Purah (worldwide)
- Atsuyoshi Miyazaki : Master Kohga (worldwide)
English
- Patricia Summersett : Princess Zelda
- Bill Rogers : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Jamie Mortellaro : Sidon
- Sean Chiplock : Great Deku Tree/Revali/Teba
- Joe Hernandez : Daruk/Yunobo
- Amelia Gotham : Princess Mipha
- Elizabeth Maxwell : Urbosa/Riju
- Andi Gibson : Impa
- Kate Higgins : Purah (DLC only)
French
- Adeline Chetail : Princess Zelda
- Gérard Dessalles : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Sylvain Lemarié : Great Deku Tree
- Jérémie Covillault : Daruk
- Donald Reignoux : Yunobo
- Bruno Méyère : Prince Sidon
- Caroline Mozzone : Princess Mipha
- Hervé Grull : Revali
- Benoît DuPac : Teba
- Laëtitia Lefebvre : Urbosa
- Charlyne Pestel : Riju
- Brigitte Aubry : Impa
- Valérie Bachère : Purah (DLC only)
German
- Julia Casper : Princess Zelda
- Reinhard Scheunemann : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Helmut Krauss : Great Deku Tree
- Thomas Schmuckert : Daruk
- Christian Zeiger : Yunobo
- Nic Romm : Prince Sidon
- Nora Jokhosha : Princess Mipha
- Dirk Petrick : Revali
- René Dawn-Claude : Teba
- Cornelia Waibel : Urbosa
- Magdalena Turba : Riju
- Silke Matthias : Impa
- Jennifer Weiss : Purah (DLC only)
Spanish (Spain)
- Nerea Alfonso : Princess Zelda
- Domenech Farell : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Pepe Antequera : Great Deku Tree
- Ramón Canals : Daruk
- Carlos Lladó : Yunobo
- Sergio Mesa : Prince Sidon
- Laura Monedero : Princess Mipha
- Marcel Navarro : Revali
- Manuel Gimeno : Teba
- Marta Barbará : Urbosa
- Joël Mulachs : Riju
- María Luisa Magaña : Impa
- Maribel Pomar : Purah (DLC only)
Spanish (Latin America)
- Jessica Ángeles : Princess Zelda
- Octavio Rojas : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Rubén Moya : Great Deku Tree
- Ricardo Tejedo : Daruk
- Alan Velázquez : Yunobo
- Pepe Toño Macías : Prince Sidon
- Alondra Hidalgo : Princess Mipha
- Enzo Fortuny : Revali
- Edson Matus : Teba/Sheikahs
- Kerygma Flores : Urbosa
- Monserrat Mendoza González : Riju
- Yolanda Vidal : Impa
- Lupita Leal : Purah (DLC only)
Italian
- Martina Felli : Princess Zelda
- Natale Ciravolo : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Marco Balbi : Great Deku Tree
- Pietro Ubaldi : Daruk
- Alessandro Germano : Yunobo
- Paolo De Santis : Prince Sidon
- Sabrina Bonfitto : Princess Mipha
- Massimo Di Benedetto : Revali
- Massimiliano Lotti : Teba
- Tania De Domenico : Urbosa
- Tiziana Martello : Riju
- Elisabetta Cesone : Impa
- Deborah Morese : Purah (DLC only)
Russian
- Maria Ivaschenko : Princess Zelda
- Nikita Prozorovsky : King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule
- Sergey Chikhachyov : Great Deku Tree
- Alexander Gruzdev: Daruk
- Prokhor Chekhovskoy : Yunobo
- Maxim Onischenko : Prince Sidon
- Polina Tarasova : Princess Mipha
- Nikolay Bystrov : Revali
- Stanislav Tikunov : Teba
- Natalya Gracheva : Urbosa
- Anastasiya Shestovskaya : Riju
- Elena Shulman : Impa
Videos
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Reception
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was very well-received and highly acclaimed. It currently has a 97/100 on Metacritic, making it the highest scoring game this decade, and the fourth highest scoring game of all time. The game also holds the record for having the most perfect review scores. It was later crowned "Best Action/Adventure Game 2017" and "Game of the Year 2017" during the Game Awards ceremony.
Sales
During its first month, 2,76 million copies of the Switch version of Breath of the Wild were sold while "only" 2.74 million Nintendo Switch were sold, meaning that Nintendo had an attach rate above 1 for Breath of the Wild. Nintendo also said that in the U.S., Breath of the Wild is Nintendo's fastest-selling launch title of all time and the fastest-selling game in the history of the Zelda series.
As of June 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 3,92 million copies making it the best-selling Nintendo Switch game before Mario Kart 8 Deluxe And 1-2-Switch. As of September 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 4,70 million copies. As of the end of December 2017, Breath of the Wild sold 6.70 million copies.
As of the end of April 2018, Breath of the Wild sold 8.48 million copies, making it the third most successful game on the Nintendo Switch, as well as the best-selling Zelda game of all time if we add the 1.5 million copies sold on Wii U. As of the end of June 2018, Breath of the Wild is the third most successful game on the Nintendo Switch with 9.32 million copies sold. At the beginning of September 2018, Breath of the Wild became the 3rd best-selling Zelda game in Japan with 1.258 million copies sold, now only behind the original The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link which both sold over 1.6 million. As of the end of September 2018, Breath of the Wild is still the third best-selling Nintendo Switch game, now with 10.28 copies sold on the system alone. As of the end of December 2018, Breath of the Wild sold over 11.68 million copies, now the fourth most successful Nintendo Switch game.
As of March 2019, the game sold 12.77 million copies, maintaining its place as the fourth most successful Nintendo game on the platform. It reached 13.61 million copies sold worldwide (more than how much the Wii U console itself sold) by July 2019. As of the end of September 2019, it managed to sell 14.54 million units. As of the end of December 2019, it reached 16.34 million units sold worldwide on the Nintendo Switch alone. As of the end of March 2020, it reached 17.41 million units sold and climbed back to the spot of third best-selling Nintendo Switch game by outselling Super Mario Odyssey by less than 10,000 units. As of June 30th, 2020, the game sold 18.60 million units, but fell back to the 4th place of best-selling Nintendo Switch game due to Animal Crossing: New Horizons taking over the 2nd place. The game reached 19.74 units sold worldwide by the end of September 2020. The game passed the 20 million units sold milestone at the end of 2020. It became the fourth game to achieve this after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with 21.45 million units sold. The game reached 22.28 million units sold at the end of March 2021. The game reached 23.20 million units sold worldwide by the end of June 2021. It reached 24.13 million units by the end of September 2021. As of the end of 2021 it reached 25.80 million units sold worldwide. The game surpassed 26.55 million units by the end of March 2022.
The game reached 27.14 million units sold by the end of June 2022.
Trivia
- It is Nintendo's first and only game to release simultaneously on the Wii U and the Nintendo Switch systems since its launch on March 3, 2017.
- Originally planned to be a Wii U exclusive, it is also Nintendo's very last game produced for the system after its discontinuation in January 2017.
- This is the first mainline Zelda game to utilize full voice acting.
- The art style is very similar to The Wind Waker, featuring heavy usage of cel shading.
- Bill Rogers, the English voice of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, has also voiced Brock from Pokémon the Series.
- Kate Higgins, the English voice of Purah, had also voiced Pauline in Super Mario Odyssey, that was released seven months after Breath of the Wild.
- With the combined global sales of 20.27 million copies, Breath of the Wild is the best-selling Zelda game in the series, to date, and also the first to surpass 10 million in sales. It has also been the Switch's best-selling game until January 2018 when Super Mario Odyssey has taken over the record at the time.
- Masafumi Kawamura, one of the game's sound programmers, has previously worked on The Wind Waker and Super Mario Galaxy.
- It has been reported that the game has helped in preventing suicides, namely a journalist at Games Radar.[4][5]
References
- ↑ 2021CESAゲーム白書 (2021 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2021. ISBN 978-4-902346-43-5.
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild runs at 900p docked and 720p undocked and performs really well (VG247) Date: January 16, 2017. Author: Brenna Hillier.
- ↑ Wii U Games Facts - Did You Know Gaming? extra Feat. Greg (Nintendo) - YouTube - (0:45-1:45)
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
External links
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- zelda.com/breath-of-the-wild
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at Zelda Wiki, the Fandom wiki on The Legend of Zelda.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at GameFAQs
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at MobyGames
| Nintendo Switch launch titles | |
|---|---|
| Worldwide | 1-2-Switch • Just Dance 2017 • Skylanders: Imaginators • Super Bomberman R • The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |
| Japan | 1-2-Switch • Disgaea 5 Complete • Dragon Quest Heroes I + II • I am Setsuna • Nobunaga no Yabou: Souzou with Power-Up Kit • Puyo Puyo Tetris • Super Bomberman R • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild |