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It’s update time, yay! Genchu gives his best “we’re not threatening” look amidst an epic ground battle.

E3 happened and it was a good time! Aside from the embarrassingly awkward and disappointing EA press conference. “You wanna play some Star Wars games? Well, get ready, because we’ll totally have more to say about them in the FUTURE!! Also, SOCCER!!” But there’s so much I want to geek out about over E3, and I think the biggest game of the expo is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s such a weird thing for Nintendo to decide to have literally only one game to show, and it’s a game that has no release date, but that Zelda name alone is such a crazy buzz word. I mean, does the game look good? Yeah, it looks great! My brain is itching to explore that vast, open world!

Everything about BotW looks like a direct response to the criticisms of Skyward Sword (a game I loved for the music, art style, and storytelling, not so much the linearity, disconnected world locations, exhausting motion controls, and extreme hand holding). Finally in BotW you start the game immediately, with very little in terms of opening cutscenes or long tutorials. The motion control are gone, and in their place a more standard button layout with the ability to actually JUMP. What’s strange to me is that even though BotW FEELS revolutionary, objectively it’s just doing ‘the open world thing’ that so many other franchises have done. I don’t really know if it’s breaking new ground outside of its own franchise. But I guess that’s the point!

Fans who remember playing the original Legend of Zelda on NES in their childhood have been enthusiastically commenting that BotW captures the essence of that first game in the series. It feels open and lawless. It’s just Link and whatever weapons he can scrounge up versus a massive, unknown wilderness filled with deadly monsters. You can go any direction and encounter dungeons and temples in any order. I mean it’s basically Skyrim, except with Dark Souls’ combat system and Skyward Sword’s vibrant art direction (oh, and VOICE ACTING). So good job, Nintendo, for finally making a sequel that people have actually been asking for to one of your major properties! Next on the list, Metroid, maybe, please?

Published on June 20, 2016 by Alex Kolesar

jwkovell

I knew everyone was wondering what his name was. Now you know!

Don’t ask me what all the other farmers’ names are, or I’ll name them all Hyakushou!
- Cortillaen
  
  Now I’m imagining other farmers looking at him funny every time he gives his trademark battle-cry. “Is he trying to announce himself or something?”
  - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
    
    It’s how he builds himself up before combat!
- Kid Chaos
  
  What about “Satoru Fujinuma”? (I’ve just watched “Erased” on Hulu; good stuff!) 😎
Madison Link

Is his first name Nesshin’na? 😉
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  Let’s say yes.
Flaming Squirrel

*Whispers into his ear*
“faaaaaarmers.”
*does “I’m watching you” motion*

Man, that just doesn’t work without pictures, does it?
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  The visuals play our nicely in my mind’s eye.
Turul

Hyakushou’s face in the last panel somehow reminds me of traditional Japanese art.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  His look is of the traditional variety.
EternalLurker

“Everything about BotW looks like a direct response to the criticisms of Skyward Sword”

I’m pretty sure one of my rants about the awfulness of SS was right here under one of these comic pages, so I’m definitely looking forward to BotW now. ^_^
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  I couldn’t be more excited for it! The question is, since it’s for both the NX and WiiU, will it compel me to purchase a new Nintendo console or just get the WiiU version?
  - leavescat
    
    That’s the question. Twilight princess was actually a little better for the Gamecube because they didn’t have motion controls down yet. If they attempt to force an extra gimmick in the NX version, it may be worth simply getting the WiiU version. I’ll personally be waiting for more details on the NX itself, and what changes will be in its version of the game before deciding.
    
    That said, it’s highly likely I’ll get an NX. So long as Nintendo doesn’t release their games for PC, I’ll continue getting their systems. Unless their quality goes down the drain that is, but so far they appear to be holding strong.
    - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
      
      I also agree that I’ll almost certainly get an NX because I’m a sucker, and because I’ve never been disappointed in a Nintendo console’s game releases, limited though they may be in comparison to other consoles.
      
      Nintendo games for the PC, that would be a dream (aside from PC emulators, of course). I just want Nintendo to step into the modern era and give us a cross-platform Nintendo account that keeps track of our purchases. But then they wouldn’t be able to re-sell us all their old games each time they release a new console, so infuriating.
Xinef

And now Rrricarrrdo will just shoot one of these guys, because they’re speaking Japanese, so he doesn’t understand anything they’re saying.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  I like to think Ricardo’s reading the body language and assuming he doesn’t have to shoot anyone yet.
  - Xinef
    
    I like to think he’s assuming Genchu is buing him time to reload.
- Kid Chaos
  
  Ricky can’t shoot anybody without a gun…unless he’s just shooting them dirty looks, which come with the Infinite Ammo cheat already unlocked. 😎
SKy

It was “let him go”, not “drop your weapon so the potential threat you were just holding down can pick it up and use it against you”. Sure, they just established that they’re not enemies. Still bad discipline…
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  If only they’d had the chance to complete their training with Ken!
  - Kid Chaos
    
    “You there! You’re not kicking enough ass!” 😎
Falling Star

Just caught up.
Don’t regret a bit.
- http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
  
  Did you just read the whole comic in one day?? If you’re hungry for more content, feel free to check out the NN4B Remix pages and Bonus Pages in the Extra section!
  - Flaming Squirrel
    
    Birdfish, anyone?
  - Falling Star
    
    Three hours, to be specific.
Da’Zlein

I just realized this is the first time Daisuke has seen results from Yori’s questing…
Sam DunKley

Is Hyakusho this serIous about everything? Or does he tone it down when he’s actually farming?
- Madison Link
  
  Now I have this image in my head of Hyakusho hoeing the fields with an intense look on his face and shouting “FAAAARRMERRRS!”
  - http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai
    
    When we introduced him, he was very timid. Ken toughened him up, taught him how to tap into his inner mob mentality.
    - Turul
      
      He could make up a mob all alone I’m sure.
leavescat

It’s odd how there are other games that do Zelda stuff, but they don’t feel quite the same. It’s hard to pin down what exactly Zelda does differently to make it a Zelda game. Sure some of it is simply the title, but I think it’s mostly an excessive attention to detail. Darksiders feels like they made a puzzle, then filled in some decorations, while Zelda feels like every slope, every rock, is there because someone looked at the game and said “there has to be a rock there.” Which of course, explains why a huge world like the one in Breath of the Wild took them 4 years to make. They spend more time on the little things you don’t even notice, yet without them a game feels incomplete.
Nos Rin aka CTCO

oh gawd he has a name!
Insane Disciple

Hyakusho…I’ll remember that

Features these Characters

Belongs to these Storylines

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