"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is the best Zelda game yet but also the saddest...this time it’s personal.

For more information about the game see The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.   

Spoiler Warning: Don't read this if you haven't played the game and plan to.

Mipha and Link share a private moment together in Zora's Domain

I recently "completed" this fabulous Nintendo game, originally released on March 3, 2017, including the two downloadable content (DLC) expansion packs released on June 30 and December 7, 2017, respectively. I solved all 120 shrines, recovered all of Link’s memories, completed all three Trial of the Sword levels, finished the Champions' Ballad Quest, obtained Master Cycle Zero, and defeated Calamity Ganon, all in both regular and master mode. I haven’t tried to find all 900 Korok seeds, but I do have over 800 of them.

In summary, this game was an absolute delight to play and the best video game I have ever played by far. The game play is flawless, the puzzles challenging but solvable (often in multiple ways), and the battles exciting, challenging and fair. The open world approach allows the player to explore things at their own pace and lends variety and creativity to the game play. Thorough exploration often reveals unexpected treasure or discoveries.  I enjoyed the many hours it took to explore the world and complete the game's many side quests. But players sufficiently accomplished in the mechanics of the game can "complete" it in under an hour (where completing the game means destroying the primary villain, Ganon). These speed runner exploits are quite impressive, and several are available to watch on YouTube. But delving into the game's story and characters adds much more depth to the play.

In case you are unfamiliar with the series, the player assumes the role of Link, the hero of the story. Your journey takes you to snow-covered mountains, a desert that challenges you with daytime heat and nighttime cold, lush forests, a volcanic mountain area, and a beautiful seacoast. There are villages and stables along the way, where you can stay overnight and purchase supplies as well as stable your horse. You can also interact with people there and learn more about the area or help them with problems. But for the most part, you wander Hyrule alone, and Hyrule is vast. You can sit by your campfire and watch the moon rise and the stars circle overhead. Or watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset from a mountain top or seashore as the wind blows, and maybe some rain or snow falls around you. Taking time to enjoy the beauty of the world was for me one of the game's pleasures. And when you're not battling monsters of various types and strengths, you can have some fun snowboarding on your shield, perfecting your paragliding skills gliding through a series of rings, and upgrading your armor by gathering needed items. You also need to eat, and you learn to cook various recipes from things gathered along the way. Your weapons eventually break as well, so it's wise to have replacements handy in your pack.

The game won several 2017 "game of the year" awards, so you know it's outstanding: see for example https://www.gamespot.com/articles/players-choice-game-of-the-year-winner-2017-is-leg/1100-6455789/ and http://www.ign.com/wikis/best-of-2017-awards/Game_of_the_Year.

Personally I think games like this keep me a bit young at heart. Or maybe it's immature at heart. I am certainly chronologically too old to be doing this. But happily, I still enjoy it and am still dexterous enough to do it, so what the heck. I'm glad I'm still around to play through this latest Zelda game. I've completed every console Zelda game since the original, and hope I make it to the next one! But either way, thank you Nintendo for many hundreds of hours of enjoyment over the last 30 years.

Now having said how great the game is, I have to add that if you let yourself become immersed in the characters and their lives, the game will tug at your emotions. And that's especially true after all the memories and dialog from the second DLC expansion pack.

The base story is sad enough. One hundred years before the game begins, much of Hyrule is almost completely destroyed by Calamity Ganon and the autonomous robot Guardians he took control of. Most of its towns are demolished and inhabitants killed, as is everyone in Hyrule castle. The plan to destroy Ganon has failed.

Shortly before this, in a flashback, we see Zelda returning from the Spring of Wisdom, having unsuccessfully tried once again to awaken her power, which is needed to help defeat Ganon. She is standing by Lanayru Road-East Gate, together with Link and the four Champions (Revali, Urbosa, Mipha, and Daruk), heroes of their respective races, and expressing her frustration. Mipha, the Zora Champion, is about to tell Zelda that Mipha awakens her own power of healing by thinking of the person she cares for (Link by the way). But Mipha is unable to finish the sentence. From a distance they see Ganon emerge and begin to destroy Hyrule castle.

Revali, Urbosa, Mipha, Link, Zelda and Daruk watch Ganon's return

Ganon thus returns triumphant, and the four Champions are each shortly afterward killed by one of Ganon’s creations. Link is also dying, having been mortally wounded protecting Princess Zelda from Guardian Stalkers at Ash Swamp. But Zelda now suddenly attains her power through her feelings for Link and his selfless defense of her. Jumping between Link and a Guardian Stalker closing in for the kill, she unleashes her power and destroys all the nearby Guardians. Link is lifeless, but if they hurry there is a way to save him through the device of a resurrection shrine. And Link with the Master Sword is their last hope to save Hyrule.

We learn all of this later through flashbacks. The game itself begins with Link awakening in the resurrection shrine after 100 years, his wounds finally healed, but also with total amnesia. Link has no idea who he is, where he is, or what he should do. He soon meets a mysterious old man who guides him for a short while and then, after Link completes four small quests, reveals who he really is and what has happened. Then gradually, during gameplay, Link recovers one memory at a time as he visits places throughout Hyrule that trigger his recollection. Princess Zelda, who we learn lost her mother at the age of 6, and then her father at the age of 17 when Ganon returned, has also survived unchanged for 100 years by using her power to seal herself and Ganon together inside Hyrule castle. But Ganon's monsters and mechanical soldiers still roam Hyrule, and Zelda cannot contain Ganon forever. Link’s mission is to save Hyrule by weakening Ganon and thus allowing Princess Zelda to finish destroying him.

After immersing yourself in the game for many hours, you feel empathy for the characters and their lives. The game is fun to play, but there is an underlying sadness throughout. Many parts of Hyrule are completely destroyed, including locations you may recognize fondly from earlier games. Places where villages once stood are now desolate ruins. You wander alone in a vast and hostile world, with almost everyone you knew dead, including someone you eventually learn was deeply in love with you and expected you to become her husband. Aside from some Zoras and three long-lived members of the Sheikah tribe, no one else in Hyrule knows you. And the older Zoras who do remember you hold you in contempt for your failure of one hundred years ago and the resulting death of their beloved Princess Mipha. 

There is a sad story surrounding the death of each of the four Champions. Descendants mourn for them, and each people in their own way try to cope with their loss, all of which we learn about as we explore the places in Hyrule where they live. But to me, the saddest story of all is that of the Zora Champion and Princess, Mipha.

Zora Princess Mipha

We learn in one of Link's early memories that Mipha and Link were childhood friends and Mipha often used her power to heal Link’s wounds. But further interaction with Zoras and the expansion pack carry this theme much further: Mipha was fully expecting Link and her to marry. Mipha's father, King Dorephan, and younger brother, Prince Sidon, were aware of Mipha's feelings for Link. Mipha's father tells Link when he first arrives in Zora's Domain that he and Link "have met numerous times." This is a clear indication Link has visited Zora's Domain numerous times, and it can only have been to spend time with Mipha. In a later conversation with Mipha's father, we learn that he was very supportive of the marriage. He outright tells Link that Mipha loved him and asks Link to promise he will never forget her. In the expansion pack there is a poignant flashback where Mipha is saddened to learn from Zelda that Link has been appointed one of the Champions, and by implication what that means for their relationship.

We learn more when we come upon Mipha’s diary, where her growing love for Link is made even clearer. Mipha had already crafted a set of Zora armor for Link, which is a wedding gift a Zora princess gives to her fiancé. Sadly, she never gets the chance. Mipha is killed by one of Ganon's creatures shortly after Ganon returns. Link eventually receives the armor from Mipha’s father 100 years later. And afterward Link is the one to bring Mipha's father the sad news that she is indeed dead. Her father had held out hope all this time that his daughter was still alive but trapped inside one of the ancient devices, Vah Ruta.

Mipha is now a spirit, expressing gratitude to Link for freeing her after Link defeats the creature in Vah Ruta that had killed her 100 years earlier and trapped her spirit all this time. She then bestows upon Link her healing power, Mipha’s Grace. Mipha's spirit is able to speak to Link from Vah Ruta a few more times in the expansion pack, which makes the story even sadder. At one point she asks if Link remembers the time they fought a Lynel together on Ploymus mountain. Later she asks him if he knows why the Zora armor he's wearing fits him so perfectly. Eventually, she accepts that Link does not remember most of their time together and that it can't be helped. As for herself, she says, she will never forget.

Mipha's Statue in Zora's Domain

In her memory and honor, the Zoras have erected a statue of Mipha in the center of their home, Zora's Domain. Every evening Mipha's younger brother, Sidon, walks over to gaze at the statue and reminisce about his older sister and how much he misses her. Zoras have a long lifespan: Mipha's father is still alive and Sidon is considered a young man at this point. Sidon goes on to share his memories of when he was a young child and Link used to visit his sister and spend so much time with her to the point he thought Link was stealing his sister away from him. But now he understands things better. He comments that had things turned out differently they could have been brothers in law. And in the background, you hear the sad haunting nighttime music of Zora's Domain (https://tinyurl.com/yaerbaeh). Mipha was sweet and caring: someone you wish Nintendo had given a happier ending to.

At the completion of the Champions' Ballad Quest, there is a flashback to a scene 100 years earlier where, at Mipha's request after glancing at Link, a picture is taken of Link, Zelda and the four Champions standing together outside Hyrule Castle just after the Champions Inauguration Ceremony with the King of Hyrule. Mipha shyly sidles closer to Link while posing for the picture, then takes some deep breaths and composes herself, trying to look her best. Finally, Daruk lightens the stiffness of the pose by squeezing them all together just as the picture is taken. Now, a hundred years later, Link is given the picture by a traveling bard, Kass, who had found it among his late teacher's belongings. Link hangs the picture on the wall inside his Hateno Village house to remember his departed friends from long ago. Tell me all this doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, even though it’s just a game.

Champions Inauguration group picture

You do eventually triumph over Ganon, and Zelda returns to human form, the only other person like yourself, unchanged from 100 years earlier. But as you both gaze over a ruined Hyrule landscape from your high vantage point west of Kakariko Village, and reflect on all those you knew and cared for who were lost, the victory seems bittersweet.

In a "Nintendo Minute" video in January shortly before the game was released (https://tinyurl.com/y7g8mdjz), Nintendo representatives said that the ending of this game would definitely make you cry. I think they succeeded at that as well.

For an excellent 55 minute summary of the game and its events, see this YouTube video by the individual named NintendoBlackCrisis. Story Summary

Is the game perfect?

Obviously not. Different people will find different flaws. The game broke the traditional Zelda mold of a sequence of dungeons with boss fights, and that aspect is a common complaint. That didn't really bother me, though.

My biggest complaint is that the story is too sad, particularly with respect to Mipha. Nintendo goes out of their way to stress her long relationship since childhood and deep love for Link through conversations with her family, passages from her diary, and poignant dialog with Link by her spirit, only for you to face the fact that her character is dead. I think the game would have been happier and more satisfying if the Champions had been revived upon freeing each of their Divine Beast, and then leave the rest of the story the same. Then the player can imagine multiple outcomes post game.

Death and loss have always been a part of the Zelda series of games, and particularly the loss of youth and transition to adulthood. And I have read that it is a not uncommon theme in some Japanese stories to have a childhood friend who falls in love with the protagonist, but then a love triangle ensues and the childhood sweetheart loses out to someone (I believe it is called "osananajimi"). So, perhaps the Mipha story plays differently to a Japanese audience, and is an expected part of growing up. But I found it quite sad and thought it detracted from the game's enjoyment.

From a gameplay perspective, my main criticism is the lack of significant rewards for serious accomplishments.

• Completing all 120 shrines gets you a nice armor set, but so late in the game as to be somewhat useless.
• Killing all Hinox, Talus or Molduga monsters gets you a medal from Kilton which gives you bragging rights and nothing more.
• Collecting pictures of everything in the Hyrule Compendium (of which there are hundreds) supposedly gives you an envelope with a picture of a beautiful young woman member of the Sheikah tribe. However you cannot see the picture, only the icon of an envelope.
• Though I didn't try to do it, painstakingly searching all of Hyrule for all 900 Korok seeds gives you a golden pile of dung. Seriously.

I think Nintendo could have been a bit more generous in these areas.

All in all, though, I think it's a great game.

Were Mipha and Link in love?

You can find arguments for opposing viewpoints on this question by searching the internet. Since Link is the avatar of the player, the game designers leave his responses to many situations ambiguous, leaving room for the player to fill in his or her own wishes. Link never speaks the entire game and in the flashback scenes he seldom displays any emotions.

Did Mipha love Link? Unquestionably. Her father and brother both say so outright. Her diary makes it clear. And she created the Zora Armor for him as a wedding gift.

But did Link love Mipha? There are only clues here and there. That Mipha and Link were friends is clearly stated. Mipha's father mentions to Link that they met "numerous times".  So that implies Link visited Zora's Domain quite often. We are also told that Link spent "much time" with Mipha when he visited Zora's Domain, to the point her very young brother at the time thought Link was stealing his sister from him. To me, that indicated they got to know each other quite well. And I think that progressed from friendship to a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. My reasons are below:

• At one point in the game, we meet another female Zora named Kodah who indicates that she and Link were close, she used to call him "Linny", and she finally asked him to choose between her and Mipha, and Link chose Mipha. Choose her as what? I assume as his girlfriend. If everyone were only friends, why is there a need to choose between them? This situation strikes me as much more understandable if there was a boyfriend/girlfriend aspect to the Link/Kodah and Link/Mipha relationships.  And Hylian/Zora romances do occur. We also meet Kodah's daughter, Finley, who has a Hylian boyfriend.

• It strikes me as difficult to believe Mipha would have gone to the significant effort of making the Zora Armor if she had no reason to believe Link would accept it. Mipha is not portrayed as a flighty character like the weapon check woman in Skyward Sword. I would give her more credit for understanding the emotional connection between her and Link. Of course, she does seem uncertain that Link will accept the armor and in her diary asks for the courage to offer it to him. But I interpret this as Mipha being nervous about Link's willingness to commit to marriage at this stage of their relationship. I think it unrealistic to believe she would go so far as to propose to him with no evidence of his romantic interest in her at all.

• In one of the dialog's after a battle with Virtual Waterblight Ganon, Mipha's spirit asks Link how much he remembers of what took place between them 100 years ago. Does he know why the Zora Armor fits him so perfectly? Then she goes on to say there are many things she hopes Link will remember and that, in any case, she will never forget them. This statement is made while the player's view pans over Zora's Domain. I take the "what took place between them" and "the many things she hopes he will remember" to mean romantic times they spent together. To me, the emotional content of her statements makes no sense if she is talking only of friendly meetings. There are other dialogs that take place, but in the final one Mipha's spirit seems to have accepted that Link does not remember her. Her spirit goes through a list of the people to whom she would like Link to convey a message for her: her father, her brother, Zelda, and finally gets to Link himself. But instead of a message for him, she says sadly to Link "As for you, Link ... well, never mind." The tone and context indicate to me this is her way of letting Link move on without guilt. Expressing her feelings for him at this point would serve no purpose in his life: they can no longer be together now. It just doesn't feel to me these dialogs would make sense in a one-sided relationship.

In the end, maybe it is just the romantic in me who would like to believe that Link returned Mipha's feelings because she was such a kind and caring person and deserved as much.

Of course, after reviving from his hundred year sleep, Link has lost his memory and feelings, and he has lost Mipha and the other Champions. He and Zelda are the only ones of that group left. So presumably Link moves on with his life, perhaps never recovering his memory. I think that is the tragedy of the Mipha/Link relationship.