Though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a critical and commercial success, much of its gameplay was simply a refinement of familiar, established, open-world adventure game precedents interpreted through a Zelda lens. BOTW embraced the conventions of games like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and the Assassin’s Creed franchise, with its climbable towers that serve as fast travel hubs while unlocking areas of the world map, along with numerous other elements of the familiar open-world formula. While its rotating dungeons were novel, much of the game blends in with other similar genre titles. The time limit of Capcom’s 2006 zombie game Dead Rising would have made Breath of the Wild more memorable while giving its quests a bigger sense of urgency and adding more gravity to its story.
The team that created Dead Rising had previously worked on Breath of Fire 5: Dragon Quarter, the last console release of a JRPG series that ended too soon. Dragon Quarter shared some structural elements with Dead Rising, including a format that encouraged multiple playthroughs to see the true ending. The 72-hour in-game time limit of Dead Rising made a full playthrough tense and difficult to achieve on a first attempt, though both player and character experiences would make subsequent playthroughs more efficient. There was a lot to explore in Dead Rising, but the time limit added to the tension when players might otherwise simply explore the mall, take photographs, and battle Psychopaths at their leisure, without any sense of high stakes.
With Breath of the Wild, much of the story and gameplay is technically optional, as players can confront Calamity Ganon very early if they wish, though they will be severely underpowered. This structure appealed to speedrunners, but skipping out on the game’s dungeons would leave Link vulnerable, and it also would cause players to miss out on the bulk of the game’s story and gameplay. Implementing the time limit of Dead Rising, applied to saving Hyrule from a cataclysm instead of an escape from a zombie-infested mall, could have transformed Breath of the Wild into an even more inspired game and increased its stakes.
A Time Limit Would Benefit BOTW's Stakes More Than Weapons Breaking
Some players were critical of the weapon breakage system of Breath of the Wild, which did force players to try a variety of weapons but added what many felt was an unneeded complication. The same argument could apply regarding a Dead Rising-style time limit. Any design choice that adds to the difficultly of the experience risks becoming too much of an inconvenience. Though a time-sensitive game could cause frustration for some, Calamity Ganon laying waste to Hyrule would have a legitimate dramatic impact. The end of the world could feel like less of a setback to players than their favorite sword breaking in the middle of a boss fight if sufficient progress were carried over to the next attempt. This could include elements like added hearts, key items recovered from dungeons, and even armor.
BOTW still offered polished gameplay, even if it ultimately borrowed much of it from other genre titles. Its excellent presentation served as an adequate farewell game for the Wii U console, and its Switch port was an early opportunity to showcase the capabilities of Nintendo’s new hybrid system. While the open-world approach was a new experience for the Zelda franchise, it was very familiar ground for gamers already familiar with the Mordor series, Bethesda games like The Elder Scrolls, and other similar open-world titles.
With most of Breath Of The Wild's story optional, and very minimalist in nature, even for players who did complete each of the main dungeons prior to battling Ganon, a mechanical quirk like the Dead Rising time limit could have made for a more impactful story. It would reframe Calamity Ganon as a clear and present threat, not a boss patiently waiting at the end of a dungeon for players to approach whenever they are confident enough to do so.
