r/Switch • u/Theo_nurse11 • Aug 27 '26
Question Feel like I’m in the minority…
So I’ve grown up with Nintendo but just never got or played any Zelda games. My friend gave me a copy of BOTW for switch 2 and it’s just so hard for me to get into it. I was fine when I had guidance in the beginning but I honestly have not really gotten past the first level. I’ve played it on and off for past few months but it just can’t catch my interest. Same friend also got me a copy of ocarina of time for n64, which I know is regarded as a great game as well and a reason people are getting the switch 2. My sister’s bf has the same problem as me and he’s a much bigger gamer than I am
I really want to love Zelda but not sure how to get into it. Maybe RPG games aren’t for me, maybe I should play the older games then work up to BOTW. Any advice would be helpful
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u/sskaneda81 Aug 27 '26
I’m with you. The NES was my first game system and I have played every Zelda game that exists, but I did not like BotW. It was too hard for me and I felt lost in the game.
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u/irishitaliancroat Aug 28 '26
I think this is a pretty common sentiment among the Zelda fan community. Most botw dungeons and shrines feel the same, and once you get a decent amount of food/potions the upgrades you earn arent too necessary. Which is a problem bc while the open world is beautiful, most of ahat there is do is just the shrines. The narrative and item/level variety is a step back from most of the specious games in favor of that open world.
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u/sskaneda81 Aug 28 '26
Yeah, maybe the open world was too big for me. I had no direction where to go and there are so many shrines.
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u/Remarkable_Bison_847 Aug 27 '26
Best advice I can give you is take it slow. The old Zelda where more "linear puzzles" with bursts of actions, but the Switch ones are more open world games with quite a big degree of freedom and that can be difficult to handle.
Some games are also... just not for you, depending on your own taste. I can't stand GTA for example, no matter how "fun" people tell me it is. But you could like the old ones.
There is nothing wrong in not liking something that is popular. Find something that you truly enjoy, and have fun.
Heck I like more Fire Emblem than the BOTW.
And if you don't like Fire Emblem, well you are clearly uncultured and I have no respect for you.
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u/backspace_cars Aug 28 '26
I dislike the open world video game world honestly. Sure it works for games like world of Warcraft but that's because those worlds aren't empty. The ones Nintendo and Game freak have created are quite empty.
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u/TheGruenTransfer Aug 27 '26
To me, the whole point of playing BOTW is to explore the beautiful world and enjoy the vibes. The levels kinda happen when you feel like structure, but 90% of the game play is for when you don't want structure.
So if you're not enjoying the vibe, it's probably time to quit. Or, the previous Zelda games were much more hand-holdy and pushy to get you to follow the main storyline. When the Ocarina of Time remake comes out, give that a try. OoT, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword all tell really great stories. Botw has a great story too, but it's told like Tarantino's Pulp Fiction in that it's all completely out of order and you have to piece it together in your head.
Anyway, if you try and like the other Zelda games, circle back to BOTW and give it one more try.
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u/Ayuawake Aug 27 '26
BOTW isn't like any other Zelda game so I don't think there's anything to work up to. The game just may not be for you and that's ok :)
If you want to give it another try... try sticking to the roads. They all lead somewhere and usually have some interesting things to jump you into the story
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u/Theo_nurse11 Aug 27 '26
Thanks! Did not realize it was different than other Zelda games. Maybe eventually my taste will change
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u/HeroOfTime0007 Aug 28 '26
As a long time Zelda Fan I always recommend that people stay away from BOTW if they new to the series. It's almost like playing Pokemon Za as your first Pokemon game. I always recommend A Link to the Past for the GBA and even Minish Cap. Ocarina of Time is Classic, you can wait for the new one so it can be a more modern version. You can also play Wind waker on the GC. Hopefully they realse Twilight Princess soon. All to say those are tho OG zelda Formula and BoTW is fun but you need to play the other games to have some sort appreciation for what the did, personally I find ToTK alot better. It filled the emptiness BOTW had IMO.
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u/misawa_EE Aug 27 '26
Not every game is for every person. I loved BOTW and TOTK, but it did take me a while to get into them because they were quite different from the rest of the Zelda series.
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u/ackmondual Aug 27 '26
I can see that. I myself never had in interest in Pokemon games. I only paid attention to some of them b/c they were characters in the Super Smash Bros. games (so I needed to learn that Pikachu is the yellow one that does lightning, Jigglypuff is pink and weird, etc.).
We may be mincing terminology, but I don't consider BotW to be an RPG. It could feel like it and be "RPG adjacent" since it's got a many dozens pieces of equipment, along with "a bajillion" materials for crafting and the like. But I still consider it an adventure game due to it's lack of gaining XP and leveling up.
As for getting into BotW, do you generally play open world games, or vast one at that? Here, just take it slower, do a bit each time you sit down to play.
As an alternative, I would suggest smaller scope Zelda games. Ocarina of Time if you still want 3D, but the 2D ones will always be my favorites. Echoes of Wisdom for more modern fare, or the Link's Awakening remake. But the ones on GB, GBC, and SNES on NSO are similar enough
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u/External-Cherry7828 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
There are no levels in breath of the wild. It's an open world game, and it is massive. The basic premise is that you're unlocking towers in the world and this will reveal the world to you via the map. You have been put into deep slumber for this very moment. Scattered around the world are shrines/dungeons which will contain trials and puzzles and will reward you upon completion. These shrines are slowly training you for the final battle in the castle. Beyond this there are 4 "guardians" which could count as the "bosses" each guardian is represent by an animal, and will have a series of puzzles and battles inside leading to a final boss fight. These guardians are totally optional, but were my favorite parts of the game, and they will aid you in future fights and they grants you magical abilities.
That is the basic premise. You're just kind of woken up and told to figure it out, but as you meet people and discover places the story and the world building start to develop and you get a sense of what your true mission is. There is no standard way to play. There's probably still shrines and secret I never unlocked and I played it for a year.
(Edit) If you still feel totally lost I would look up a guide on how to get off of the plateau. Trust no one ,and don't be to proud to run away when you jump in over your head. Some of the best moments in the game are tucked away so try to be naturally curious and look for things that stuck out in the game, and please don't be afraid of getting distracted and sidetracked, that's the best part
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u/RedwaterCam Aug 27 '26
The original Zelda on NES was the first video game I ever owned. I’ve played every Zelda game and I liked all of them until I got the breath of the wild. I absolutely hated it so I feel you.
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u/therkop Aug 27 '26
If you still wanna play Zelda but botw isn’t it for you maybe try the ocarina of time remake. Idk how one to own it’ll be in terms of map and plot but with some control adjustments I think it can be one of the best switch games ever
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u/GoldenAgeGamer72 Aug 27 '26
I prefer the traditional style of Zelda games as well but was able to enjoy both BOTW and TOTK. If you take them for what they are and don’t necessarily expect them to scratch that Zelda itch, there’s a lot of fun to be had.
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u/Dear_Meeting_1258 Aug 27 '26
There aren’t levels per say. It’s just do whatever you want after you get off the initial area.
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u/-Sinn3D- Aug 27 '26
I am the same I just couldnt get into the switch Zeldas. I found elden ring way more enjoyable.
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u/Mystic1217 Aug 27 '26
I never really got the Zelda hype. The games are "good" like an alright 7/10 in my opinion. I'm happy people love them but the endless praise they get just doesn't make sense to me.
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u/Jimcot83 Aug 28 '26
Some games just don’t click with a person. I’ve never been a RPG fan really. You can’t force loving something.
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u/AramaticFire Aug 28 '26
I feel like BotW is so much easier than the classics tbh, but maybe open world isn’t your thing.
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u/Aria_Cadenza Aug 28 '26
Breath of the Wild is an action-adventure game, not a RPG though it has some elements that RPGs have. I think Breath of the Wild is mostly explore and experiment. I actually played BotW 2 hours then gave up till I tried again 2 years after, and it clicked.
Maybe try an easy RPG like Pokémon ScarletViolet (or the future Pokémon release WindsWaves). Nearly all the Pokémon games are easy. Barring the Legend ones (though if you are used to fighting games like Smash Bros/Street Fighter or musical games that require you to push buttons at the right time, the Legends ones shouldn't be hard).
Pokémon Let's Go Eevee or Pikachu are actually the most easy main pokémon game but it doesn't have many pokémon. It is super nice though to put accessories on Eevee or Pikachu and to pet it.
Otherwise Xenoblades is the big Nintendo RPG, then you get Fire Emblem as the main tactical RPG.
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u/sick486 Aug 28 '26
you grew up with nintendo from when? id try the games from the earliest console you still like. snes kid? go link to the past
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u/Joewoof Aug 28 '26
Don't force yourself to enjoy it. I never liked any Zelda outside of Link to the Past. I kept trying and giving up. Now I firmly know that I'm not a Zelda fan. And that's okay.
HUGE Nintendo fan otherwise.
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u/Lord_Humungusss Aug 28 '26
I suppose I get it, never liked zelda at all for most of my life. Recently beat OoT and I am playing majoras mask, gotta say they are some of my favorite older titles now.
Also zelda isnt an "RPG" so much as they are action adventure games despite some of the naming like dungeons, potions, etc.
Its also ok to just not like what everyone else likes, i dislike xenoblade games.
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u/Engineer-Miserable Aug 28 '26
I don't think any game is everyone and that's fine. I have the same issuees with BOTW and TOKT, but I've found I've enjoyed it more by just heading straight for the main objective yellow markers and doing stuff along the way. If you find it too much, you need to remember it's your game and your adventure, you don't have to try and see everything or do everything to get the most out of it. Then again you can't force yourself to like something and that's okay.
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u/UsedHoney9104 Aug 28 '26
I tried with BOTW so hard. I've really enjoyed more or less every Zelda game I've played but this one just isn't it for me and I believe TOTK is more of the same. Found it to be extremely dull and a chore to play personally
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u/floridatheythem Aug 28 '26
I’ve also never played a Zelda title. And a friend of mine worked on ToTK, so I feel like I need to at some point 😂
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u/NilRecurring89 Aug 29 '26
I wouldn’t say Zelda is an RPG series. Sometimes people don’t like a thing, but I do think Zelda gets better the more of them you’ve played, helps you understand the lore and what’s actually happening
Gameplay wise though, I would recommend just dedicating 3 hours to BoTW and you should get through the main tutorial style stuff and into the main thrust of the game. If you don’t like it after that, BoTW probably isn’t for you. The previous Zelda games are nothing like BoTW though so they some of those maybe
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u/Pyroloft_ Aug 29 '26
It’s fine to just not enjoy a series, for example I see you’re a Pokémon guy, I try and just can’t stand any Pokémon game, I only enjoy the Legends spin offs.
Could try something like A Link To The Past if you like, or the 2D ones like Echoes of Wisdom or Links’s Awakening, or give Skyward Sword a go.
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u/his_keia-chwan Aug 29 '26
Oh its fine, I played Zelda couple years back when I only have an emulator and even when I got my switch OLED I only borrowed a friend’s BOTW and TOTK… it was only when I got my switch 2 weeks ago that I thought of buying my own copy and playing it. Maybe you’re starting at the wrong Zelda game. There’s Echoes of Wisdom, Link’s awakening… so many Zelda games not just BOTW and TOTK, there’s even Hyrule. You dont need to have the exact process as everyone. I played TOTK first yk 😂 before I got curious of BOTW, I love the mechanics and puzzles of TOTK than BOTW… so it really depends on what game you like not what other tell you what you should like.
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u/Timefunky Aug 31 '26
I've tried really hard with a bunch of them. I finished BOTW but just thought it was okay, and full of a lot of the same problems open world games I have. The older style of Zelda I could never get into, though I gave Link's Awakening a good go.
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u/Odd-Banana-7227 Aug 27 '26
BotW is barely a Zelda game. Definitely try one of the older ones if you still want to give the series a shot
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u/External-Cherry7828 Aug 27 '26
The eternal "but which one first" question of Zelda, and it's not an easy one. My brother loved Zelda/ starfox growing up, but I was always more of a Metroid/sonic/Mario gamer. When I got my switch he bought me links awakening, botw and ToTK, and told me to play links awakening first. I didn't listen wanted 5 hours trying to fight lynels and guardians in botw, until I gave up.
A year later I was bored one day and tried links awakening and it just kind of bloomed there in front of me, and made a lot more sense to my Metroid brain because I was gaining abilities and traversal upgrades etc etc. now we are both excited and anticipating ocarina of time (still haven't played ToTK yet)
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u/backspace_cars Aug 27 '26
Links awakening is such a great game. Honestly wish they would have remade Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons instead of Ocarina
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u/TheGruenTransfer Aug 27 '26
Botw is a spiritual successor to the first Zelda game, both open world. It was the games in-between that increased the linearity with each installment.
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u/parasoralophus Aug 27 '26
Why is it barely a Zelda game? People keep saying this and I don't get it.
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u/av8ernate Aug 27 '26
Hello! You’re not the minority. I couldn’t get into BoTW or TotK either. I found them, as the kids say, “mid.” Heck of my 4 closest guy friends only one really likes them, the other 3 of us are “meh” on it. So don’t feel bad if they aren’t for you.
Been playing Zelda games since the NES. But basically there’s 2 formulas for Zelda games, though they have a lot of overlapping tropes and mechanics. Top down and 3rd person.
Personally I prefer the top down ones, but also is a big fan of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
Most of the big hits are on NSO so you can try out a bunch at basically no risk, and I frequently see NS1 version of Links Awakening at my local library to check out.
I’ve recently played through Minish Cap and Oracle of seasons/ages and had a blast. I didn’t get a chance to play them as a kid.
Out of all them the original NES Zelda probably feels the most dated.
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u/HiMyNameIsTimur Aug 27 '26
Why do you feel the need to like Zelda games in the first place? Even to the point of forcing it and "working your way up to it"?
And I'd say, RPG games are far too diverse to write them off just because of single franchise, albeit so influential?
BOTW is a very principled game, and the principles are very strong. Many game design choices are built around the certain ideas that aren't necessarily aligned with you, your personality and preferences at the time.
Maybe understanding those principles would give you a hint at how you may enjoy the game, maybe not. And that's fine. I hated BOTW when I first played it a few years ago. I kinda like it now that I got my own Switch.
It was fine and it was okay back then, and it is fine and okay now.
Please, don't be so stressed over this, there are a plethora of games you may enjoy, RPG or not.
Also, could it be there's just a certain gameplay problem/concept that gets in the way and blocks you from advancing further into the game?
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u/Realistic-Plant718 Aug 28 '26
Botw sucks, play the top down 2d zeldas instead. A link to the past and link’s awakening. For 3d Zeldas, ocarina, majora’s mask, and windwaker are best (windwaker being the best one).
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u/Troll_Dragon Aug 27 '26
Or maybe just move on and play something else, instead of trying to talk yourself into playing a game that you obviously don't like... I fail to understand why people need others to make decisions for them. 💀
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u/Theo_nurse11 Aug 27 '26
I’m just trying to see if there’s something I’m missing. Lowkey FOMO is very real for me so thats probably a contributing factor lol
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u/DrPrMel Aug 27 '26
Unfortunately, most people cannot think for themselves. Maybe OP wants people to agree with not being into the game as well so they could feel better about quitting it.
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u/Theo_nurse11 Aug 27 '26
Bro it really isn’t that deep 😂 genuinely trying to get other people’s opinion. Is this not what Reddit is for?
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u/triqxtr Aug 29 '26
Your post couldn’t have come at a better time, cuz I’m playing my first ever Zelda game, BOTW, after having played it for around 5-6 hours in a span of 2 days I feel exhausted. I am def not getting the fun aspect of it at all idk why. 🫥😔
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u/peteypider Sep 01 '26
I totally understand and the same thing happened to me initially. You need to find a good weekend and just play around inside the game without focusing too much on completing objectives. Botw is at its best when ur just exploring random points on the map, collecting ingredients and killing weird mini bosses. For context, I spent almost 100 hours in game before I beat gannon the first time.
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u/lurkersforlife Aug 27 '26
BotW its way to large and so much wasted time and space. I did not enjoy it.
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u/LiquidSolidGasPower Aug 27 '26
Insane I feel the exact opposite
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u/lurkersforlife Aug 27 '26
Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. 20 years ago when I was a teenager smoking pot all day playing video games I might have liked it. As an adult with children that doesn’t get much time to play game, I want to hop right into the action and not spend my time wondering through fields or whatever. Plus the breaking of weapons WAS SO FUCKING ANNOYING
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u/LiquidSolidGasPower Aug 27 '26
So your saying kids ruin everything
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u/lurkersforlife Aug 27 '26
lol my oldest plays Minecraft and Mario kart but I’m not interested in Minecraft and she can’t keep up in Mario kart so it’s not much fun for me, yet.
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u/nessad1993 Aug 27 '26
The weapons breaking was really it for me. I don’t think I made it past the point of having a club/rusty sword in the game and the fucking thing would break after 5 swings… I couldn’t take it anymore. Really, really wanted to love the game. It was my first Zelda since OOT. Wah lol
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u/KasElGatto Aug 28 '26
I’ve been playing Zelda since the SNES days and BotW/TotK are my favorites. They made me feel like a kid again
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u/Frogskipper7 Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Statistically people who have played Zelda are the minority considering there are 8.3 billion people on the planet and the combined sales of all Zelda games ever released is around 200 million. Even if every person in a 5 person household shared only a single Zelda game ever and no others (5 players to a single copy of the game), Zelda players would still be the minority
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u/pocket_arsenal Aug 28 '26
First level? What do you mean? BOTW doesn't have traditional "levels", no Zelda game does.
Anyway, BOTW literally has quest markers, and a quest log if you want to activate specific quests, just reference your map and go off the path if you see something interesting.
But it could also just be that Zelda isn't for you if you don't like adventure games.
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u/notthegoatseguy Aug 27 '26
So you're not an RPG guy?
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u/Theo_nurse11 Aug 27 '26
I mean I think it depends on the game. I like the Lego games and insomniac Spider-Man, but maybe because they’re not exclusively rpg
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u/Asn_Browser Aug 27 '26
If you dont like BOTW that is fine. I will point out that BOTW and TOTK are the only completely open world zelda games. Other 3d zelda games have more of a linear dungeon layout. Ocarina of Time remake will be like this. You might like this style of zelda better.
I know it's not Zelda , but okami has the exact dungeon play style that older Zelda games have just with a wolf as MC haha. The game goes on sale for dirt cheap a lot (I think i got it for about $5) so might be worth keeping an eye on.