Did Breath Of the Wild's Story Live Up To Its Potential?

[Super_Boom]

SvennoJ said:

I saw all the memories completely out of order with lots of time in between each one (avoided fast travel the whole game). I only remember Zelda as being rather whiny. I never got to watching them in the right order after collecting them all, didn't feel like it as my own / Links story can never be topped in his epic journey!

My favorite part of the story was crossing the Hebra mountains, running low on frost resistance food, trying to survive and fight a way off the mountain on the other side to glide down in a completely different territory. I was only looking for some plants, didn't find them, couldn't go back, luckily I found the Rito. Other epic moments include beating the first Lynel after many failures, finding and taming the black stallion, exploring the coast and drifting onto Eventide island. So many great stories to be told, who is this Zelda anyway :)

(I never watched the story trailer so had nothing to tie the story elements to, they just seemed very random memories to me)

I watched the memories mostly in one sitting (I loved the picture puzzles), so that's probably part of why it was more memorable, but to fair, you also have the option to watch them at any point, not just when they're first unlocked.

The Zelda memories are all connected for the most part, so once you piece them all together, you'll understand the heavy burdens she's forced to deal with from both her father and her citizens, and her frustrations as she continously fails at achieving her divine powers, all the while growing closer to Link. This is amplified further by the various diaries you find, particularly the one in Zelda's bedroom. This all culminates nicely in the 13th memory, where Zelda finally releases her sealing power in an act of desperation to save Link. I just loved the way it all came together.  

Of course, the game focuses first and foremost on exploration, so the survival, traversal, and combat like you stated are also key to how memorable the game is. At the same time though, I definitely found the narrative to be well done, and while I can see why it might dissapoint people who prefer a more linear approach, I definitely loved the way the narrative was handled here. This is definitely my favorite incarnation of Zelda (and Zelink) so far.