Closing out its Nintendo Direct broadcast for E3 2019, the Big N had a final ace up its digital sleeve with the revelation that a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was in the works. In the cryptic and surprisingly dark trailer we get to see both Link and Zelda discover a new evil.



No additional info was given other than the above teaser and information that it's currently in development - but as it is being built using the same engine as Breath of the Wild and take place in Hyrule, odds are we won't have to wait several years before this is out.

In the meantime it serves as a reminder of just how brilliant Breath of the Wild is.

Of course, this is via the Wii U emulator Cemu. Which was able to get a workable version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to run on PC back when the game originally launched. Since that time the emulator has evolved and modders have been able to enable and disable certain high-end features to change the look.

And we say change because we think that the game does look better with cel-shading enabled - as turning it off gives it a much flatter look. But, seeing Breath of the Wild run at 4K in an UltraWide aspect ratio at 60 frames-per-second (via an NVIDIA RTX 2080 Ti) is impressive.



The video was put together by YouTuber Arkh Longstride to showcase the latest version of Cemu - 1.15.3.b, and the modding potential it provides. The draw distance is remarkable though.

And it features a horde-like mode called Trial of the Sword where you take on waves of enemies -- with a sword. Or, if you're game, a Korok Leaf. Entering the trial with no items if Link makes it all the way through each of the 45 rooms the Master Sword will be in its glowing powered-up state whenever usable. Also coming with the DLC pack is a new Hard Mode, some armour, and other items.

Now, when it comes to the new Hard Mode, unfortunately it sounds kind of boring. In its current state The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is just about a survival game, so the idea of tough enemies whilst battling the elements and stuff like hunger and fatigue would be an interesting spin. Instead the new Hard Mode has enemies that gradually regain health and are powered up by one level. Meaning red becomes blue, and so forth.

The DLC pack also comes with a new feature called Hero's Path Mode that displays Link's journey in a GPS-style fashion on the map, covering his last 200 hours of travel across Hyrule. On the item front the new Travel Medallion will allow you to create a single fast-travel point anywhere on the map, plus a Korok Mask that will start shaking whenever a Korok seed is nearby. And with 900 to collect this will probably be a must for all the completionistas out there.

Plus, some new armour and a Tingle outfit that no one asked for.







DLC Pack 1 is part of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass available for $30. Pack 2 will come sometime in the future and is touted to include new story content.

We’re out of the blocks with our review a bit later than we’d have liked, but Nintendo has put AusGamers seemingly on the back-burner a bit, but that’s neither here nor there. Because we went ahead and bought the damn Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild anyway and if you're one of those peeps who was unsure about whether or not the investment in the package was worth it, well we hope our in-depth review gives you the answers you need.

From our review:

That “difference” I mentioned in my OP is set around what this series actually is, because games have moved beyond Zelda -- nay, Nintendo-style -- game-development, and it could be argued it’s for the worse. While this is an open-world game, it still plays by traditional Zelda rules: Link is the only person capable of gathering the strength to defeat an ancient evil called Ganon. The strength he gathers is derived from four unique parts of the world, and includes different races. And all of this has happened before, again and again. It also includes a Princess named Zelda, though in this iteration of the long running series, she’s not nearly as strongly represented, which is a real shame because she’s always been an equal to our main hero throughout, and often the reason we manage to get the job done in the end anyway.

Click here for our full Breath of the Wild review

As few weeks ago we reported that the developers behind the CEMU emulator were able to get The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild up and running on PC. In that the game loaded, but was far from playable thanks to the constant freezes and glitches. Plus, a lot of Link's abilities just didn't work at all. Well fast forward to today and Team Cemu have gotten the game running apart from a rather sluggish frame-rate.

What's most impressive is that all the physics and visual effects seem to be in place, hinting that the full game is entirely playable in this state.



When we originally reported on this back on the 8th of this month, we stated that "Team Cemu (are) currently being funded via Pateron to the tune of just over $8,000 USD per month". That figure now sits at $22,834 per month. A huge increase no doubt due to their efforts in attempting to emulate Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo's stance on emulation has been clear, and any argument relating to the preservation of hardware and software from a bygone era long lost to time is surely moot here. And with Team Cemu's funding growing by the day, it probably won't be long before some form of legal action is taken on behalf of Nintendo.

Via the CEMU emulator, which was built to emulate the Wii U. Of course, running an illegal copy of the game this isn't exactly legal, but impressive in that the developers behind the CEMU emulator have stated that it didn't take much effort to get Zelda running. And by running that's barely playable with frequent freezes, stuttering, and visual glitches. But still, running. And most interestingly, even with a specific Zelda build of the emulator, it's expected that a fully playable version could still be months or years away.

As with any emulation of this sort, fixing issues takes a while. Hence the uncertainty. And it was only recently that the GameCube emulator Dolphin received its own substantial update that made previously unplayable games like Metroid Prime silky smooth -- and in full 1080p too.

Like Dolphin before it CEMU isn't a backyard effort, with Team Cemu currently being funded via Pateron to the tune of just over $8,000 USD per month going towards their efforts. And with a high profile release like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild you can be sure that their efforts will be put towards trying to emulate the game as best as possible. And even, providing people the option to run it in 4K. Maybe.

You see how it runs so far on PC (with an i7-4790K and a GTX 780), via emulation, in the video below. Note that the lack of audio is because, well, currently there isn't any.



Nintendo's stance on emulation over the years have been consistent, it sees the practice as not only illegal but a major threat to intellectual property and its franchise.

As the flagship launch title for the Nintendo Switch, and one of the best reviewed games this century, you could say that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is every bit a system seller. Or, killer app. That one bit of content that justifies the purchase of new hardware. But, as the game has also been released for Nintendo's last home console, the Wii U, there have been many questions raised recently about the difference between the two versions.

Prior to release Nintendo made no attempt to hide the fact that Breath of the Wild was also a Wii U game. And the first real hands-on time with it was with that version. They also went on to state that both versions would basically be the same game.

So then, are there any noticeable differences between the Switch and Wii U versions of Breath of the Wild? Well, according to a new report over at Digital Foundry, the differences are minor. And in the end they basically look and play the same. The only major difference noted were that the Switch version outputs at 900p when docked, with the Wii U version locked to 720p. As the Switch's screen is 720p, it naturally runs at this resolution when played in handheld mode. And notably, runs smoother in this mode too.

As for everything else they're pretty much the same. Content-wise it's the same game on both consoles, both have frame-rates of 30fps, and stuff like draw-distances and shadows and effects are just about like for like. The Switch version however does feature improved audio quality and a slight bump in texture filtering. Both versions though, experience similar performance drops (to 20fps) every now and then when played on a TV.

So then, if you still own a Wii U then playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on it is a great way to experience the game. And if you don't, then the Switch version would definitely be the way to go. And worth the price of admission. Because buying a Wii U for the latest Zelda game would be doing it wrong.

Well, well. It sounds like Nintendo is fully embracing the AAA potential of the next The Legend of Zelda game by offering up its first Season Pass for a console release. Or, as it's being called, an Expansion Pass. And hey, Breath of the Wild looks and plays amazingly well so we're totally down for this. For an additional $30 AUD you get two DLC packs that will be released this year, plus treasure chests containing exclusive items and clothing that can be found in-game on day one.

Here's a clip of Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma introducing the additional content.

"The world of Hyrule, which we created for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is so large and vibrant that we wanted to offer more for players to experience within it," said Nintendo developer Eiji Aonuma, the long-time producer of the series. "With this new Expansion Pass, we hope that fans will play, explore and enjoy the game even more."

As highlighted in the video, the first DLC pack will introduce a new Cave of Trials challenge and a new Hard mode, and the second DLC pack will feature new story content and a new dungeon.

And it sold out in less than a day over at EB Games, with JB Hi-Fi still taking pre-orders. The Limited Edition comes with a copy of the game, a Master Sword of Resurrection Figurine, Sheikah Eye Collectible Coin, Soundtrack CD, and a weather-worn map. At $189 it ain't cheap, but it certainly looks like quite the collectors edition.


Available March 3, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of five game launching alongside the release of Nintendo's latest console the Nintendo Switch. The non-limited edition will retail for roughly $89, which includes the game, and, well, that's it.

We had a chance to go hand-on with the latest Zelda over the weekend, on the Switch too, and came away impressed. In a way it feels like the result of a steamy night roughly nine months ago between Wind Waker and Skyrim. And we can't wait to play more.

Closing off its Nintendo Switch reveal presentation earlier today, Nintendo showcased a new trailer for the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. And in process confirming it as a Nintendo Switch launch title available day one, March 3 2017. Which caused many of us, especially after hearing rumours that it would miss the Switch launch window, to comically wipe away sweat from our brow and exclaim "Phew!" As for the new trailer, well, it's simply amazing. And hints at a fully voiced soundtrack too!

This looks incredible.

Even though they've got a new console coming out early next year, for the past year or so now pretty much Nintendo's only console presence has been the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which undoubtedly looks fantastic, but we're kind of wondering what else they've got cooking. Because at this point every new trailer and bit of gameplay footage just reminds us that we can't play it yet. And we want it now.

In fact, our anticipation has probably entered unhealthy levels, as this looks like it could quite possibly be the greatest open-world game ever created. Yeah, we're totally hype.

Here's the new trailer.



And here's game director Eiji Aounuma introducing a slice of gameplay.

Okay, so according to a number of sources including the reliable folks over at Eurogamer, it sounds like the brilliant-looking The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won't be ready in time for the launch of the Nintendo Switch. As per the accounts, localisation work is still being completed on the title and then a further four to six months of testing and fine-tuning is expected to take place.

Which would put the title's release somewhere in the June region of 2017, a few months after the launch of Nintendo's next console the Switch. Now, any delays at this point are probably a good thing, as Nintendo are probably the only developer left in the world that release a game when it's done, and without a further month or two of hefty patches in order to get it into a proper release state.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also marks Nintendo's most ambitious open-world endeavor yet, with early signs pointing to an experience unlike any other title currently in release or development.

So what does this mean for the Nintendo Switch launch? Well, we're not entirely sure, but Nintendo has stated in the past that they won't be releasing a new console without the right software to back it up. Which means rumours that the next Mario game will be ready in time for the launch.

As one of the only titles confirmed so far to be coming to the Nintendo Switch, and probably the swan song for the Wii U, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks to be Nintendo's most impressive game in quite a while. And ahead of the Switch debut, Nintendo of Japan posted a few new clips that showcase just how gorgeous the game looks in motion.

From a cool time-lapse video showcasing the dynamic weather effects to the impressive animation and scope of the combat and exploration, we simply cannot wait to play this.

Here's a look at the weather.



And here's combat.



And finally, some exploration.



The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is currently slated for release March 2017 for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch.