Okay, so I’m a total newbie when it comes to the deep lore of Nintendo consoles. I mean, I know Mario, obviously. And Link. But the whole Wii U thing? That’s a bit of a blur. Apparently, it was some kind of… uh… *thing*… before the Switch blew everyone’s minds. And now I’m reading about this legendary game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and how it somehow managed to be AMAZING even though it launched on the Wii U – a console that, let’s be honest, was a bit of a commercial flop. The article’s talking about how that famous quote – “A delayed game is eventually good, but a bad game is forever bad” – even though Miyamoto never actually said it, perfectly encapsulates the whole situation.
It’s fascinating. This game, Breath of the Wild, is considered one of the greatest games EVER, right? Yet it came out on the Wii U, a console many people consider a major stumble for Nintendo. It’s like serving the most incredible Michelin-star meal on a wobbly plastic table. The food’s amazing, but the presentation… well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly ideal. It’s a weird paradox, isn’t it? A masterpiece released on a machine that felt like a bit of a… disaster.
The article mentions that the game was delayed. And apparently, that delay was actually a good thing. It gave the developers more time to polish the game, making it the masterpiece it is today. But what if it hadn’t been delayed? What if it launched alongside the Wii U at its initial release date? Would it have still been lauded as a masterpiece, or would the limitations of the hardware have held it back? It makes you wonder about all the “what ifs” in game development, huh?
Thinking about this whole Wii U situation makes me think of a funny story, actually. My cousin, bless his heart, was *obsessed* with getting a Wii U. Back in the day, it was a real mission, finding one at retail prices, and everyone who managed to snag one was pretty proud. He finally tracked one down, and man, was he thrilled. He’d spend hours playing it. Mostly, he just played Nintendo Land, though. I kid you not, he’d spent so many hours trying to perfect the little mini-games. One day, he decided to show me his latest achievement – he’d finally managed to get a really high score on the Miiverse-based shooting game! He was ecstatic. I, however, had just gotten a Switch and had been playing Breath of the Wild, and was completely unfazed. The contrast was hilarious; a masterfully crafted open world versus those cute little Mii characters. The Wii U may not have lived up to its potential, but my cousin’s dedication to Nintendo Land certainly did!
Another time, my friend tried to show off his Wii U by streaming a Let’s Play of Super Mario 3D World. We were all super excited to see him playing it. Unfortunately, halfway through, the console completely froze. The silence was deafening, followed by a collective groan. It was quite the anticlimactic end to an otherwise fun night. Still, the sheer comedic value of the situation cemented the Wii U’s place in our shared history as the ‘interesting’ console that was also kinda terrible.
Anyway, back to Breath of the Wild. It’s amazing to think that such a groundbreaking game was released on a console that ultimately didn’t quite reach its potential. It really highlights the fact that a great game can overcome limitations, but equally, that even a great game needs a good platform. It makes you wonder, was the Wii U’s failure part of what made Breath of the Wild‘s success even more remarkable? It feels like a bittersweet victory for Nintendo, a triumphant game launched on a mostly-forgotten console. It’s a testament to the power of great game design, isn’t it? A story of a magnificent game overcoming the limitations of its vessel. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go fire up my Switch and lose myself in Hyrule again.
