History YMMV / TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild

** Silver Lizalfos, especially with shields and heavily perked Lizal tri-boomerangs. They have a huge leap in hitpoints over Black lizalfos, their weapons hit hard, and are jumpy and erratic in movement.

** At one point, Urbosa mentions how one incarnation of Ganon [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime took on]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker the form]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess of a Gerudo]], which she and the other Gerudo consider to be a stain on their history, and have practically disowned Ganondorf as a Gerudo, to the point where the name "Ganondorf" has been forgotten. The trailer for the game's sequel very heavily implies that Ganondorf [[BackFromTheDead will be resurrected]] and return to wreak havoc on Hyrule and everything surrounding it.
** Zelda's hopeful words in the True Ending about rebuilding Hyrule with Link become this when the sequel's trailer shows that [[HappyEndingOverride Ganondorf isn't done terrorizing Hyrule just yet.]]

** Calamity Ganon, if you decide to free all the Divine Beasts and acquire the Master Sword like the game suggests you should. Doing so cuts his HP to half right at the start, and while he still has a large pool of HP left, you have an extremely powerful weapon that is basically unbreakable to work with. If you've mastered parrying and reflecting Guardian beams (or just bring an Ancient Shield or two that will do it automatically), most of his attacks are easily avoided and countered. This leaves out that if you ''did'' take the time to free all the Divine Beasts and get the Master Sword, you have a large health pool and all four Champion powers, and of course you can eat a stat-boosting meal before the fight as usual, plus, you don't have to deal with a BossRush which you would have to go through if you never free any of the divine beasts. You can also exploit a [[GoodBadBugs glitch]] to land a OneHitKill on him by shooting an arrow where he would be during the cutscene then triggering said cutscene. Calamity Ganon will take damage during the cutscene at absurd rates and will already be dead when the fight actually begins.

** Most of the Blight Ganons, save for [[ThatOneBoss Thunderblight Ganon]]. They don't have too much HP (on-par or below most Guardians and overworld bosses) and their fights are easily cheesed by spamming arrows, and if you have the Master Sword or Ancient Arrows, you can obliterate them. Even Thunderblight Ganon is manageable if you got the Rubber Armor set or eat something to give you shock resistance before the fight. Their "Phantom" versions in the Champion's Ballad DLC try to mitigate this by making you fight the memories of each Blight with a limited inventory.

** This game's Link isn't the first to sport a SailorsPonytail; the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime manga adaption]] of ''Ocarina of Time'' gave Adult Link one as well. Also, many fan artist gave him one too back in the day, making this an AscendedFanon of sorts.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** The ViewerGenderConfusion that some fans had towards Link becomes ironic now given how [[DisguisedInDrag Link has to disguise himself as a woman]] to get into Gerudo Town. Even better, after the first trailer showed Link wearing Gerudo bracers, there was rampant speculation about Link being raised by the Gerudo.
** The various comments about Link looking more androgynous than usual, and the debates on whether or not making a female Link would be a good thing for the franchise, became particularly funny when the ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' developers drew up concept art for a female Link called "Linkle" and eventually developed her into an actual playable character for the ''Legends'' port (though part of that development made her into just a girl who shares some similarities with Link rather than being a female incarnation of Link himself).
** Comparing this game with the Franchise/TheElderScrolls was made even funnier in that ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' is one of the game lineups for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, along with ''Breath of the Wild''.
** Promotional artwork for ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' featured the titular character torturing a centaur-like angel called Acceptance by [[https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/bayonetta/images/5/57/Bayonetta_and_Acceptance_by_Eiji_Funahashi.png/revision/latest?cb=20150603012708 riding it like a horse and wearing Link's clothes while doing so]], imitating ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' artwork of Link riding Epona. In this game, Link can attempt to ride Lynels to get some free hits on them.
** ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' [[https://youtu.be/CXWbUJXAVE0?t=11m was compared to the Zelda series]]. That said, ''Witcher 3'' was apparently used as research material for this game. And then things came full circle at Nintendo E3 2019 Direct, with a Switch port of ''Witcher 3'' and ''Breath of the Wild'''s sequel both being announced in that same direct.
** "I'm so hungry I could eat an Octorok," -- one of many memetic lines from the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames CD-i games]], is even more hilarious now that Link can cook the body parts of dead Octoroks to use in elixirs. However, attempting to cook only Octorok parts together to make a whole Octorok will get you [[CensoredForComedy Dubious Food]], which can double as an accidental TakeThat. And one of the weapons in the game is a mop, meaning that Link can "scrub all the floors in Hyrule."
** The sidequest "What's for Dinner?" is ambiguous: Some people who are familiar with ''Wand of Gamelon'', where the King says "I wonder what's for dinner?", say that the sidequest is an official nod to the CD-i Zelda games while others say that it's only a coincidence.
** Joel of WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} joked during his stream of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' being run through a super fast emulator that he hoped Link's "chainsaw sword" (he set the attack button to turbo, which when combined with the super fast thing made it look like a chainsaw) would pop up in ''Breath of the Wild''. Turns out ''Breath of the Wild'' really does have an Ancient Bladesaw that is almost exactly that.
** The Ancient Sheikah technology's design aesthetic, and particularly the design of the Guardian Stalkers, comes from [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jōmon_pottery Jōmon Pottery]], an ancient form of pottery from Japan dating back about 3000 years, which becomes absolutely gut-busting in light of the rest of the series' treatment of pottery. Not only is the pottery fighting back, but it's culled the most ancient and powerful form of itself that it can just to make this Link's life a living hell.
** Website/{{YouTube}}r [=iDubbbz=] infamously had a vine in which he jumped off a ledge while donning a Tingle outfit and announced that he was gay. Tingle's outfit is now DLC in this game, and since sneaking and jumping are mechanics here, players can have a field day recreating this scene.
** WebAnimation/TheReturnOfGanondorf features a scene where Link is shown wearing a ninja outfit while clinging to the ceiling. This game has a similar mechanic with climbing on any rigid surface (albeit not the ceiling) and an actual ninja outfit patterned after the Sheikah.
** [[https://youtu.be/l-qeZ0MPf8c Broiler Boiler Galaxy]] is a fan-composed music track for a hypothetical ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' galaxy, featuring a VariableMix where a full orchestra plays when Mario is outside the cathedral and an organ solo plays when Mario is inside the cathedral. While the music itself is obviously very different in melody, time signature, etc., this VariableMix concept matches that of Hyrule Castle in ''Breath of the Wild'': [[https://youtu.be/MgK_OfW7nl4 full orchestra]] when Link is outside the castle, [[https://youtu.be/pZaqDYrvoMA organ solo]] when Link is inside the castle.
** The fact that the Zora have an innate weakness to electricity, considering that Zora Link in ''Majora's Mask'' had an electric barrier ability.
** You know how Link was a character in ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', and his signature vehicle was a motorcycle? Now in this game, he actually CAN ride a motorcycle! [[note]]And just like Link himself in the Wii U version of that game, the motorcycle is DLC too![[/note]] It also makes the fake "A Link to the Future" leak prior to the release of ''Skyward Sword'' even more hilarious [[note]]It was already hilarious thanks to the aforementioned ''Mario Kart 8'' DLC[[/note]] now that Link can ride a motorcycle in an official, mainline, canon Zelda game.
** Several pieces of fan art made after the initial release of the base game depicted Kass wearing the Gerudo garb. "The Champions Ballad" actually has him do that off-screen so he could collect anecdotes about Urbosa from Riju and Buliara.
** Not long after "The Master Trials" DLC was released, an [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1278476-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild image]] started circulating that used a CatDogDichotomy to group the major [=NPC=]s into two equivalent columns based on their personalities and how they interact with Link. In "The Champions' Ballad" DLC, [[spoiler:Daruk, who had been put in the "Dog Friends" column, is revealed to have cynophobia.]]
** [[https://scarletify.deviantart.com/art/Believe-In-Link-668879209 This fan-made comic]] depicts a flashback with Mipha and a young Prince Sidon, wherein Mipha tells Sidon the importance of believing in Link, and Prince Sidon replies, "I believe in you, Link!" Later, in "The Champions' Ballad" DLC, a new flashback scene depicts Mipha and a young Prince Sidon, wherein Mipha tells Sidon, "I believe in you," giving some backstory to adult Prince Sidon saying the same phrase to Link.
** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' fans frequently joke about musical tracks being replaced by "Environmental Noises" from ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}''. This became hilarious with ''Breath of the Wild'', where the most background music you get in the overworld is typically minimalist piano music because the developers wanted to make the environmental noises more prominent.
** The inclusion of Rex's salvaging suit as a promotional costume for ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' (plus [[Creator/MonolithSoft Monolith Soft's]] involvement with ''Breath of the Wild'') is more hilarious now that the ''Torna: The Golden Country'' expansion has a RunningGag of Mythra being such a LethalChef that her food is CensoredForComedy, much like the Dubious Food, and even moreso with Pyra and Mythra being added to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' where ''this game's very version of Link'' was shown as one of their opponents in their reveal trailer.
** Revali doesn't have much of a high opinion of Link, saying that he doesn't particularly care for "blonde-haired holy knights with sacred blades." His English voice actor, Creator/SeanChiplock, would end up voicing a character that fits that exact same mold: Ky Kiske in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear -Strive-''.

** The Yiga Clan. They are a clan of ninjas and they are frighteningly efficient at it. Their [=MO=] is to disguise themselves as ordinary travelers and attempt to sell Link something or strike up a mundane conversation with him to lower his guard only to reveal their true selves and attack, not helped by the fact that they're some of the toughest enemies in the game. By the time you're done playing, you'll never trust a traveling [=NPC=] again, even if it means skipping out on valuable supplies and items. Sometimes they don't even wait for Link to approach, calling to him from a distance before attacking, meaning that simply not talking to strangers won't save you. And if you think that defeating Master Kohga will end the ParanoiaFuel, you're oh so wrong, as this will only embolden the Yiga Clan to throw '''everything''' at you: Assassins, Footsoldiers, and even '''Blademasters'''. They will forgo stealth and just attack you upfront. And they can show up '''''anywhere'''''. As Master Kohga puts it:

** Thanks to complaints over the lack of dual audio options, Nintendo eventually released a multi-language option for free that enables players to choose any combination out of the game's 9 different dubs (including Japanese) and 10 languages for menus and subtitles. (Wii U players must download a separate but free Voice Pack from the [=eShop=] to use this option.)

** In the "Special Delivery" sidequest, you're supposed to help a young Zora named Finley to find out who's been replying to her letters sent floating down the Zora river. In the end, Finley's correspondent is revealed [[spoiler: to be an adult Hylian named Sasan]], and the quest ends with [[spoiler:with the two of them starting a romantic relationship]]. The squicky part comes from the fact that Finley looks like a child, and even though some dialogue of hers implies she's actually a teenager (as Zoras age differently and more slowly than humans), it's still rather unsettling to [[spoiler:the childish-looking Finley together with an adult-looking human twice her size.]]

** Done intentionally with Master Kohga, the leader of the Yiga clan who are the EvilCounterpart of the Sheikah. Despite all the hype and praise he receives from the members of the clan the player will run into occasionally, Master Kohga himself is actually a complete joke. He's a surprisingly chubby, hyperactive ManChild who is even less of a threat than the regular Yiga clan mooks you fought to get to him. His boss fight is also suitably simplistic, being the standard ''Zelda'' style of "find [[TacticalSuicideBoss the weakness in the attack pattern]] and exploit it". Even his death is played for laughs.

** The ease and extent to which the game in general can be exploited and skipped due to its open nature (there were so many entries under GameBreaker that the game now has its [[GameBreaker/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild own page]] just to list them all) is another area people are split on. Those who love it say that it gives players multiple options through which to traverse the game's environment, solve puzzles and overcome obstacles in general, and is better than being led around by the hand or forced to do things a certain way. Others say that it is a sign of poor balance and implementation of gameplay mechanics, devalues much of the game's content due to how easily it is bypassed or gamed, and gives a constant feeling of not being sure if you're missing something, since there's a fine line between "saving time and effort" and "sabotaging the experience by unknowingly doing things in an unintended manner".

** Revali is often referred to as "Ravioli". On other occasions, he's referred to as "Chicken Man" or "Cucco Man".

** Magda, the lady who planted an extensive flowerbed around one of the shrines and who will beat Link to within an inch of his life if he steps on them, is sometimes referred to as "Flowerblight Ganon".

** "I'm so hungry I could eat an Octorok," -- one of many memetic lines from the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames CD-i games]], is even more hilarious now that Link can cook the body parts of dead Octoroks to use in elixirs. However, attempting to cook only Octorok parts together to make a whole Octorok will get you [[CensoredForComedy Dubious Food]], which can double as an accidental TakeThat. And one of the weapons in the game is a mop, meaning that Link can "scrub all the floors in Hyrule".

** Revali doesn't have much of a high opinion of Link, saying that he doesn't particularly care for "blonde-haired holy knights with sacred blades". His English voice actor, Creator/SeanChiplock, would end up voicing a character that fits that exact same mold: Ky Kiske in ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear -Strive-''.

** [[https://youtu.be/cPWBG6_jn4Y The beginning of the track that plays in the trailer]] sounds a lot like "In the Bleak Midwinter".

** Intentionally with Link's design [[spoiler:because he needs to disguise himself in drag to enter the Gerudo village during his quest]]. A lot of people got the impression that Link was a woman in this game because of the game's first trailer. Especially during a brief period when Aonuma said "Nobody said explicitly that that is Link". The next day, he admitted that [[TrollingCreator he was just joking]], and that the character was indeed (male) Link.

** Link always has to [[WholesomeCrossdresser dress up like a Gerudo]] anytime he wants to enter the Gerudo Town. While the plot point makes sense, and is even found incredibly amusing at first, there are players who felt that after Link has successfully saved the town, he should have been given special permission to enter the city as a male (similar to how Link earned the Gerudo License in ''Ocarina of Time'' after proving himself). Instead, even if Link just wants to visit the Jewelry Shop or the best arrow shop in the game, he always need to pause, enter his gear, and find the one set of armor (among many) that will allow him entry into the town.

** It's entirely possible to challenge Ganon immediately after leaving the Great Plateau.

** An unintentional case, strangely, Hyrule Castle can end up as this with the right equipment. [[spoiler:Despite being full of [[DemonicSpiders various types of Guardians]] and [[BossInMookClothing siccing Lynels on you at the gatehouses]], the second being a white-maned Lynel, the area is easily cheeseable with the right gear. With the Zora armor being the GameBreaker that it is, you can swim up the conveniently placed waterfalls and skip large chunks of the dungeon. And even without the Zora armor, unlike inside the Divine Beasts, it's possible to climb the walls of the area, so with enough persistence and strategy, you can skip areas anyway. With the divine beast ability to launch you high into the air, you can make it to Ganon easily since he's at the ''top'' of the castle.]]

** Fans often depicts Zelda as a LethalChef, making meals so terrible that [[ExtremeOmnivore Link himself]] is horrified of eating them (and he couldn't say no to her offer). This characteristic is mostly based around Recovery Memory #9, where she discovers a Hot-Footed Frog and tries to make Link eat it raw without cooking it into an elixer like you would normally do. While she does try to get closer to Link by making him food according to her diary, nothing indicates that she's a terrible cook. The trait eventually cements itself with the fandom when ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' features a cutscene where Zelda is happily cooking a meal with a Monster Extract, and [[BackingAwaySlowly Link is seen taking a step back from the pot]] along with the other knights.

** Once the player gets access to stronger weapons and the powerful Ancient Arrows, fighting Guardians can be very cathartic. These enemies can strike fear and terror into the player, especially early on when they can easily one-shot Link. But later on, once Link has more hearts, more defense, and stronger means of attack, Guardians can be defeated with ease. It's an immensely satisfying feeling being able to demolish these Guardians with a well-timed Ancient Arrow shot or wailing away with the Master Sword (which doubles in power when fighting them).

* [[AwesomeBosses/VideoGames Awesome Bosses]]: The Divine Beasts. Have Zelda bosses ever been this action-packed and fun to fight? Take your pick:
** Vah Medoh has you fly high into the sky with a Rito partner making an assault on an enormous bird-shaped airship, whose cannons also function as its barrier nodes, meaning a) you have to be flying the entire time and b) you have to get right in the line of fire to take it down.
** Vah Rudania seems insurmountable, but you actually drive it back up the mountain it's been crawling over by loading a Goron into a giant cannon and using him as high-impact ammunition even a Divine Beast can't brush off.
** Vah Ruta sees you riding the back of a motorboat, [=AKA=] your friend Prince Sidon, taking on a gargantuan elephant construct that tosses giant blocks of ice at you, before you get in close, ascend the side of it at high speed, and shoot it with lightning arrows at the zenith of your jump.
** Vah Naboris sees you assisting Riju by speeding alongside the mecha as it moves through its sandstorm, having to dodge its lightning strikes while bombing its feet out from under it. You can barely see, you're an inch away from getting blasted if you slide out of the Thunder Helm's shield, and you have to balance surfing and aiming arrows.

* LoveToHate: The [[RogueSplinterFaction Yiga Clan]] are a terrorist cult who wage war on innocent people and seek revenge against Hyrule [[EvilIsPetty for something that happened thousands of years ago]]. Nevertheless, their UndyingLoyalty to Master Kohga, general incompetence, and [[TrademarkFavoriteFood bizarre obsession with bananas]] make them surprisingly entertaining.

** This game's Link isn't the first to sport a SailorsPonytail; the [[Manga/TheLegendOfZelda manga adaption]] of ''Ocarina of Time'' gave Adult Link one as well. Also, many fan artist gave him one too back in the day, making this an AscendedFanon of sorts.

** Calamity Ganon, if you decide to free all the Divine Beasts and acquire the Master Sword like the game suggests you should. Doing so cuts his HP to half right at the start, and while he still has a large pool of HP left, you have an extremely powerful weapon that is basically unbreakable to work with. If you've mastered parrying and reflecting Guardian beams (or just bring an Ancient Shield or two that will do it automatically), most of his attacks are easily avoided and countered. This leaves out that if you ''did'' take the time to free all the Divine Beasts and get the Master Sword, you have a large health pool and all four Champion powers, and of course you can eat a stat-boosting meal before the fight as usual, plus, you don't have to deal with a BossRush which you would have to go through if you never free any of the divine beasts.
*** You can exploit a [[GoodBadBugs glitch]] to land a OneHitKill on him by shooting an arrow where he would be during the cutscene then triggering said cutscene. Calamity Ganon will take damage during the cutscene at absurd rates and will already be dead when the fight actually begins.

** Calamity Ganon, if you decide to free all the Divine Beasts and acquire the Master Sword like the game suggests you should. Doing so cuts his HP to half right at the start, and while he still has a large pool of HP left, you have an extremely powerful weapon that is basically unbreakable to work with. If you've mastered parrying and reflecting Guardian beams (or just bring an Ancient Shield or two that will do it automatically), most of his attacks are easily avoided and countered. This leaves out that if you ''did'' take the time to free all the Divine Beasts and get the Master Sword, you have a large health pool and all four Champion powers, and of course you can eat a stat-boosting meal before the fight as usual.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Thanks to complaints over the lack of dual audio options, Nintendo eventually released a multi-language option for free that enables players to choose any combination out of the game's 9 different dubs (including Japanese) and 10 languages for menus and subtitles. (Wii U players must download a separate but free Voice Pack from the [=eShop=] to use this option.)
** Many players were let down by the fact that the Champions' backstories had so little attention given to them. "The Champions' Ballad" DLC is designed to give the Champions ADayInTheLimelight.
** Blessing shrines and combat trials are generally disliked due to being [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks the same]]. Of the sixteen shrines added in "The Champions' Ballad" DLC, none are blessing shrines and only one is a combat trial, and the latter shakes things up by being much larger and more involved than any other combat trial, as well as playing completely differently due to the [[OneHitKill unique]] [[OneHitPointWonder conditions]] you're under at the time. The rest are unique puzzle shrines.
** In the vanilla game, once a Divine Beast has been appeased, you can [[PermanentlyMissableContent never see that Blight again]] in that save file, which makes HundredPercentCompletion of the Hyrule Compendium more difficult than it should be. With "The Champions' Ballad" DLC, you have the opportunity to have a rematch with each one as a "Phantom Ganon", giving you more opportunities to take a picture for the compendium.

** Every single time a Blood Moon happens, Zelda phones in to tell you that "The blood moon rises once again..." and play a lengthy cutscene, just in case you didn't notice the scary music and brimstone particle effects floating around you just before this. Once you've seen a couple of Blood Moons and know what's going to happen, this just becomes irritating. You can skip the cutscene, although [[GuideDangIt the game doesn't tell you how]] (press X, then +), but it still has to load the cutscene and reload the main game afterward.

* EightPointEight:
** While many critics consider ''Breath of the Wild'' to be the best of the Zelda series, [[WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}} James Stephanie Sterling]] gave the game a 7/10 (a good score on their scale, which goes out of its way to avert the FourPointScale) and, despite still being a fairly positive review, criticized the [[ScrappyMechanic weapon degradation system]], the flow of puzzles, and voice acting. It was just enough to knock the game's Metacritic score down from a 98 to 97. Readers across different gaming communities tore the review apart, and [[https://twitter.com/JimSterling/status/841054860921491456 the site even experienced DDOS attacks]]. It becomes all the more baffling when you consider that they have received far more backlash over a not-positive-enough review of a ''Zelda'' title than they did for outright negative reviews of other high-profile AAA titles like ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''.
** Slant Magazine's Jed Pressgrove gave the game three stars out of five, which corresponds to a 6/10. This also attracted quite a bit of anger (with Slant's previous 4.5/5 for the similarly open world but less well-received overall ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' being frequently brought up), though, perhaps because of Slant Magazine's relatively lower profile, not as much as Sterling's review.