Very interesting discussion going on here. I want to try to help. It seems what curl is explaining as groundbreaking would not make much sense if you do not have a good understanding of how games are put together. The reasons given for why BotW is ground-breaking sound fairly mediocre if you don't understand the concept of a physics-driven interaction versus a scripted event.
In the example of the apple, the apple in this case is an object with mass that interacts with the environment when it falls off of the tree. When the apple reaches a certain temperature, it becomes a cooked apple. Temperature is another physical element of the game world, and changes with the time of day, elevation, and area of the game world, in a non-scripted way. The fire gives off heat, as do other objects in the game world, which can also cause the apple to become cooked (lightning, a flame sword, burning grass, or the campfire).
But it is these physical elements of the game world and their interactions which can be considered the technical achievement.
To choose it over Mario 64 is a tough decision, however. I would lean towards Mario 64, just because of how much influence it had within the industry, and how many countless games tried doing the same thing afterwards.
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