Breath of the Wild ~ a Log / CONTENTS [[+Artwork]]

Breath of the Wild

a Log

Evening of Wednesday, April 5, 2017 (plus several finicky editings through April 16 because I couldn’t leave it alone)

It’s dangerous to go alone! Read this.

What is this? This is the log of a casual gamer, regarding Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda ~ Breath of the Wild, as played by Contraltissimo.

Played by who? “Contraltissimo” is my screenname. It’s Archaic Fake Italian for “She Whose Voice Shaketh The Walls”. But please, you can just call me Connie. <3

Why is it here? Well that’s an interesting story. Come step inside the mind of a mad journaler and find out....

On the evening of Thursday, March 2, 2017, near the midnight hour, I was loitering around my local GameStop in the company of several dozen others all waiting to pick up some soon-to-be-newly released items, among which, for me, was a copy of The Legend of Zelda ~ Breath of the Wild for WiiU.

It was a chilly but excited atmosphere, full of anticipation at the closure of long-arranged preordering business, as well as the dogged hopefulness of those who kept vigil for hours in camp chairs and blankets, waiting for the first-come-first-served grab at one of eight spare Switch units. I had known that feeling before. Brave souls.

The clock struck twelve, I picked up my game (and some amiibos), and I took it home and played it for several glorious hours, caring nothing for the next day, for I’d taken it off work. (I always find myself with extra vacation days at fiscal year’s end, so I’d figured.... what the hey!)

Oh the game was delightful to be sure, and striking. And, being an avid journaler, I felt moved just to write down one of the moments that struck me early on. I had dropped little snapshots of exciting video games into my journals before; it pleased me to do it again.

And that was the snowflake that started the avalanche.

As long as I was recording that one moment, I thought it might be nice just to write up the preceding context. The game had barely begun; it wouldn’t take that long. And setting up a cradle of details and nuances would give the entry a much more distinct flavor.

I would have had it all sewn up after that, but.... as I continued playing, those striking moments that left me in awe, or puzzlement, or fear, or invigoration—they kept mounting up. They weren’t necessarily the earth-shattering twists which tend to come few and far between in a good story (though there were some of those, too); they were just.... little things: a turn, a sound, a stumbling failure, the sun on the water or a slipshod reason to smile. And they were much, much more numerous.

Great and terrible gears started turning in my head. This game was looking to turn out just stellar.... and I was playing it through for the very first time.... and initial playthroughs are always special, because the secrets and surprises are all fresh, the twists and turns jarring....

All those striking, moving, jolting moments weren’t too numerous, I thought.... I could just record them all! Each one as it came along. Just glimpses of the game, really. Highlights. That wouldn’t be too hard, would it? And with an extensive collection of first impressions of this most glorious new iteration of Hyrule, why, I could very well capture the feeling, the essence, the magic of a first-time playthrough in type! What an archival treasure that would be....

But I still wasn’t done heaping it onto my already full plate, because I considered further still.... So many moments, all disjointed.... Could they really retain their depth, their tone and timbre, so isolated? Could a mere excerpt still bear the emotional weight of its entire native milieu? They needed better connecting. They needed the bits in between. And the wild thought of the challenge rose in my mind: I’d recorded a lot of experiences in my life, but I had never yet attempted to journal my way through an entire video game.

What an intriguing notion!

What an exciting project!

What a gargantuan undertaking! I knew I should’ve set all my affairs in order before I started playing the game.

But hey, anything worth doing.... is worth overdoing.

And so I kept on playing, and kept on writing.

So that’s how the log came to be, but why is it on the internet? Well, that part’s kind of a deviation from my typical writing habits. Most of my material ends up either in convoluted folder hierarchies on my hard drives, or in the thirty-pound box of journals under my bed. Unless it’s fanfiction but, oh boy, let’s not go there; I’m trying to quit, I swear—it’s been years since my last incident.

My log on Breath of the Wild had grown and evolved from an interesting remark, to a detailed anecdote, to a sketch series, to a fantastical epic. But at some point, as I played through the beautiful game.... part of my writing just wanted to be a love letter.

Breath of the Wild is a work of art, created by amazing and talented artists.

I too am an artist. As such, I know that artists tend to enjoy seeing the effects their work has had on those around them. They like to see people’s reactions.

That’s how it is for me anyway. I love to know what goes through people’s heads and hearts when they look at my paintings or read my stories or listen to my songs.

And I just had a feeling that.... maybe the same went for the creators of video games.

That was why I brought this log to the internet; it was in the hopes that somehow, someway, maybe someone who was involved in the game’s creation or localization might see it, and know all the flavors of astonishment his fine work has wrought on the soul of the common consumer.

Not by straight feedback; I’m not writing to produce critiques. I am simply recording my adventures, my misadventures, and my reflections, as I inhabit the avatar of a young man named Link, in his trekking across the ruggedly beautiful land of Hyrule.

Maybe that’s the most honest feedback I can give.

Hhhh, now if only I spoke Japanese.

In the meantime, dear denizens of the internet, I bid you welcome to my log.

To those who may be traveling the same roads, I hope these accounts may be as much a source of reminiscence for you as they are for me, of the happenstance and hardship, and the wild things we see, the terrors we strive against, and the delights we discover.

To those who have never set foot in Hyrule before, may this writing do it some kind of justice, and give you a taste of the land loved by Goddesses, menaced by dark Power, and protected by the Spirit of a Hero.

Let’s breathe the wild air together.

CONTENTS

The Sheikah Slate

The Old Man

The Goddess in the Ruins
First Blood
The Tower
The Shrine(s)
Bitter Cold
New Heights
Bad Things
The Old Man Again
The Moblin
Human Life!
A Long Road
Blood Moon
The Second Tower
A New Hat!
A Drop on the Bokoblins
The Stables
Brown
Fearful Nights
Mr. Hestu
Travelers Like Me
Kakariko Village
Impa's Message
A New Quest
Encounter at Kakariko Bridge
Safety in Numbers
This is why all Heroes are called Fools
Shrouded
Hateno Village
The Third Tower
Concussive Logging
A Proper Exploration
A Rocky Path
Ears Burning
A Friendly Forest
By the Fire
An Encounter with SATAN
Oh Snap
Rocky Road
Fort Hateno Again
WE GOT A LIVE ONE
The Storm
Ledo
Rompered
Grumblers
Zoras, Zoras Everywhere
The Man with the Winning Smile
Blood Rain
Cheer Squad Prince Sidon
Rivan
Unsaved
The Deviated Hero
Zora's Domain
Lord of the Zoras
Hundred-Year-Old Memory
Mystical Shishkabob
DEEPLY MOVED
What is Courage?
The Tale of the Dread Octorok
Dance with the Devil
Shatterback Point
TWO HEROIC MEN TOO AWESOME FOR WORDS
Divine Beast Vah Ruta
ALL MY SKILL
AND THEN SOME
Mipha's Grace
Zora's Domain Again
Adventures in Zorana
Sirens of West Necluda
The Fool Remiss
Mind the Daisies
Regarding THE WORLD
Errand Boy
Without a Paddle
The Fool Cautious
A Familiar Face
Madman Joseph
With a Fine-Toothed Comb
Free Enterprise
The Last River
Bad Blood
Higher Than Thou
Full Circle
The Silent Treatment
Right Under My Nose
Oasis in the Water
The Fool Reckless
Fight For Your Honey!
Not So Simple
Grace of Life
What I Came For
The Forest
AN UNEXPECTED AND IMMEDIATELY URGENT DETOUR
Sweaty Palms
RETURN OF THE FOOL
The Maddest Dash
Dead End at Digdogg
KAAM YA'TAK
Dead End with Dai
The Entry With No Name
Off-White Memory
At Jeddo Bridge
Heavenly Apex . . . Rock Bottom
One Last Look
The Long Way Back
More Bad Things
The Erhu Sublime
Water's End
Old Friends
Calling it Quits
All Heroes
Family Ties
Riding the Dragon
Beyond Whistling Hill
Taking Care of Business
FEVER
Chills
Thing Under The Mountain
One Last Hitch
Rockin' Robbie
There's Something About Cherry
The Forest of Killing Time
Hylian Barbecue
THE WAYS
The Lynels' Corridor
Hylian Sauté
The Tallest Tower
Ant Lions
Another Storm
Loose Ends
Revisiting the Dragon
Korok Guides
Close to Home
GUT CHECK
The Badlands
Afraid of the Dark
Good Friends
Procrastination
Even More Bad Things
To See What I Could See
The Trouble with Boomers
Bird-Man
At Tabantha Bridge
The Worst of Bad Ideas
Bird-Man Returns
HOTFOOTING IT
Big Boss Bludo
GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!
Girl Stuff
Mon and Masks
The Most Dangerous Game
Fiery Portents
Hylian Charbroil
Divine Beast Vah Rudania
Ja Baij Triumphant
Daruk's Protection
A Walk with Yunobo
Volcano Wanderings
The Ultimate Game
The Big Dang Horse
Blue Bedlam
A Ride into the Desert
A Climb about the Canyon
Wasted in the Wasteland
Search and Rescue
Words of Wisdom
The Entry Not To Be Acknowledged
Distraction
Further Distraction
Horse Abuse
Gone Fishin'
THE MOUNTAIN'S CURSE
Goodbye, Memories
The Entry With No Point
In the face of my vexations
Kara Kara Bazaar
Under The Sentinel Sun
SAND SEALS
The Point With No Entry
The Prettiest Voe
Treasured in the Desert
Forbidden City, Take One
Forbidden City, Take Two
That Patience Which Holds Motionless for Endless Hours the Spider in its Web
The City Again
Ascent
Colossal
The Cyborg and the Madman
QUEST FOR PANTS
Fooling Myself
Into The Dragon's Maw
Deepest Woods
The Blade Of Evil's Bane
Sometimes
The Basement
Turning the Tables
The Piano's Rival
Link The Physical
Necluda's Backyard
Return to Hateno
Firefooted Flight
The Young Chief
Patience
Bane of Grace
The Value of Not Being Seen
The Devil Sympathetic
Ice and Fire
Marked
Unsaved Again
Unwarranted Reserve
Snail's Race
Spirit Orb Shenanigans
In The Breezy Shades Of Night
The Bravest
Divine Beast Vah Naboris
The Collected Hero
Urbosa's Fury
Friendly Neighborhood Hylian
Sand Seal Rally!
You Get The Thing
Another Deal in Contraband
Frozen Goods
Beyond Cotera's Forest
The Measure of Creation
Journey to Toruma
The Other Side of Limbo
All The World's a Pawn Shop
The Eldest Fairy
Another Hat!
Big Sticks
Lunacy at Washa's Bluff
Campout with Kass
BLOODY UNWATCHED POT
Errands in Zorana
A Game More Dangerous
Only those who have walked through the desert
The Missing Moldugas
POCKY QUEST
Like Prayer Flags in the Wind
Another Maze
The Desert Colossi
Lanayru Road
The Erhu Profane
The Lamb
On The Joys Of Mountaineering
The Least Dangerous Game
The Rigours of Horsemanship
When Lightning Strikes
The Entry For Which I Do Not Apologize
Beachfront Shenanigans
Deep Smit
The Mysterious Palmorae Disc
Faron's Five-Cent Tour
Return to Serenne
Huppenwoop
A Matter of Presence
TO HEBRA!
The Fleeting Career of Mr. Jingles
It's Barbaric Out There
SNOW DAY
SNOW DAY 2: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES
SNOW DAY 3: WRESTING THE BEST ERE THE QUEST TO THE WEST
Clean Up Your Room and Go To Bed, Hero
Ruins and Remnants
Definitely Not Girl Stuff
To The Glistening Eastern Sea
BIG BOYS
Shrine for a Rainy Day
High Hopes . . . Bogged
In The Rain
Korok Trials
The Black Stallion
The Princess Irate
The Last Frontier
Rito Village
Wise Old Owl
Brazen Peacock
The Hunt for Red Lizalfos
Basecamp
WHERE THE MEN ARE FINE ARCHERS
Divine Beast Vah Medoh
Owa Daim Elusive
Revali's Gale
Safe Roost
And the Women Better Singers
The Mirror in the Music
The Windy Canyon
Seven Prayers
Aquas and LousySpy and the Monster Born Of Darkness
But I Like The Red Rocks
No Tarryin' for Tarrey!
A Monstrous Interlude
In Accordance with Guidelines
Kass' Promise
The Weapon Connoisseur
The Princess is a Nerd
On the Devil's Doorstep
Castle Goods, COD
More Loose Ends
Just Ends
Return To The Castle
Privy Thoughts
The Princess and the King
Dark Ascent
Exhale
The Entry With No Shrines
Impa's Final Message
What Garill Knew
The Day The Hero Fell
Before The Storm
Running
Clean Up The City
WEST SIDE
Shouldn't It Stand To Reason?
Maybe the Front Porch
Last Corners
Rhoam's Gift
Demons, and Nightmares, Endai In Between
Fire and Flurry
Pictures of the Past
Journal Of Two Very Specific Worries In Particular
Sleepwalker
Corruption and Innocence
Shrine Out Of Time 1 - Relent
Shrine Out Of Time 1.2 - One Day In Kakariko
Gear Out Of Time - The Knight Proper
Shrine Out Of Time 2 - Grace Under Pressure
Shrine Out Of Time 2.2 - The Last Shrine
Shrine Out Of Time 2.3 - Gifts
Privy Thoughts Again
The Abomination
CALAMITY
The Promise Of Ages
Never The End
And that has made all the difference.

And that has made all the difference....