Chapter 886: Official Encouragement to Skip Class
Zhao Lei couldn't help but be surprised, because *Assassin's Creed: Origins* was a game on the VR gaming pod, and it was already one of the largest games in terms of capacity. But *The Legend of Zelda* was a game on the Switch, and it was also an open-world game?
To cram such a massive open world into a tiny Switch was practically black technology!
Moreover, the packaging of the Sheikah Slate was pretty impressive. Many games try to incorporate the in-game map into the game's packaging itself—for example, the map in the *Assassin's Creed* series can be seen as a built-in function of the Animus system. In *The Legend of Zelda*, all the map, photo, and related functions are integrated into the Sheikah Slate. This thing is like a tablet computer carried by the protagonist, Link, and can be used to take photos and mark locations on the map—it's incredibly cool.
Another feature that made Zhao Lei feel like it was extreme black technology was the Sheikah Slate's positioning function.
When using this function, a small red dot appears in the center of the lens. By aiming this red dot at a distant mountain peak, shrine, or other landmark you want to mark, you can place a light pillar. When you open the map again, you can see the exact location of that mountain peak on the map.
Why is this function important? Because shrines in *The Legend of Zelda* don't appear on the map until they are activated, and the entire game's map is enormous. Sometimes, a player spots a shrine halfway up a mountain, but after a grueling trek to reach it, they can't find exactly where it is...
What's more, all locations in the game only unlock the map of the current area after activating a tower. Many times, players are exploring in complete darkness, making this function even more crucial.
On one hand, it maintains the players' sense of mystery about the entire open world, allowing them to enjoy the thrill of exploration and discovery. On the other hand, it provides maximum convenience, preventing them from losing their way in boundless exploration.
Zhao Lei ran toward the quest-marked location. Along the way, he encountered some wild monsters. After killing a few, he really wanted to complain: too little health!
He only had three hearts in total, and each apple only restored half a heart. After being hit by a monster twice, he felt like he was about to die.
Zhao Lei had a bit of experience from *Dark Souls*, so he was already a little worried. For players with no experience in similar games, it was even worse.
*The Legend of Zelda*'s combat system was also very rich.
You could sneak up and backstab like in *Assassin's Creed*, you could raise your shield and circle-strafe like in *Dark Souls*, or you could use a bow. Basically, all the popular combat elements were present in *The Legend of Zelda*, and they were all very well implemented.
Zhao Lei's favorite tactic was to sneak up and take out one enemy first, then rush at another monster, smashing its weapon until it dropped, and quickly pick it up. That way, the monster would have to fight Link barehanded, and he could basically clear the area without taking damage.
After taking out a few groups of small monsters, Zhao Lei cleverly noticed some patterns.
If it was a single monster or two or three, he could usually take out one with a sneak attack first, then fight the other.
Monsters in camps were much trickier. These camps often had explosive barrels, and the monsters used weapons with higher damage.
The monsters in these camps gathered around a fire, with no blind spots, making it impossible to sneak up and ambush them. When they spotted Link, they would throw explosive barrels at him or light their weapons on the campfire before charging. Going head-on was basically hopeless. With only three hearts, if Link got hit by an explosive barrel, it was pretty much game over.
However, it seemed that all these monster camps could be cleared in other ways.
For example, some monster camps had large spherical boulders on a nearby high mountain. If Link pushed them at the right angle, the boulder would roll down the mountain like a bowling ball, crushing all the monsters.
Or, in some caves where monsters hid, there were hanging lanterns for light. If Link shot the rope with an arrow, the lantern would fall and ignite the explosive barrels hidden in the cave, blowing all the monsters away.
"Wow, this game lets you skip class like crazy! Thumbs up!"
After using a boulder to bowl over a camp of monsters, Zhao Lei immediately fell in love with this playstyle and couldn't help but give himself a mental pat on the back.
From this, you could see the difference between *The Legend of Zelda* and *Dark Souls*. *Dark Souls* requires players to constantly hone themselves; any shortcut is considered "skipping class." That is, you save time and suffer less now, but you're actually missing out on knowledge points, and you'll definitely pay for it later during the "exam."
But *The Legend of Zelda* is different. This game not only encourages players to "skip class," but it also deliberately adds many mechanics that allow "skipping class." However, these mechanics require players to discover them on their own. Once discovered, players can defeat enemies in various ways without necessarily having to rely on their own skills for direct melee combat.
So, *The Legend of Zelda* offers more combat mechanics. Players no longer have to stick to traditional combat elements like assassination, archery, or melee; they can fully utilize the environment to defeat enemies.
...
After a long journey, he finally arrived at the quest location.
This was the ruins of some ancient building, with a style similar to the place where Link woke up. In front of him was a circular platform emitting a red glow.
Link walked up to the platform and placed his Sheikah Slate on it.
The first time he placed the Sheikah Slate on the platform, Link carefully examined it for a while, as if making sure it was safe. And when the platform changed color, he even got startled.
This was a small detail in the game. The first time Link activated a tower or entered a shrine, he would hesitate, but later on, he wouldn't have these special animations because he had gotten used to it.
"Rumble, rumble..."
The moment the Sheikah Slate entered the platform, the ground suddenly shook violently, and Link involuntarily fell to the ground.
The entire screen shook violently. Flocks of birds were startled from the forest, and even the monsters in the camp looked around uneasily.
Amid the trembling of the earth, the cave where Link was standing suddenly collapsed, and a tower slowly rose up.
It rose above the ruins, above the hills, above everything around it.
It wasn't just this one tower. On the vast snowy peaks, near the volcano, in the desert, many towers all rose simultaneously, becoming the most important landmarks.
The tower glowed blue, indicating it had been successfully activated.
Link got up from the ground and looked around in surprise.
He was now at the highest point of the Great Plateau.
Looking around, the beautiful scenery was laid out before him.
A drop of blue liquid dripped from a stalactite-like stone on the platform, startling Link, who involuntarily took half a step back, as if afraid the blue liquid would splash on him.
The tower's data was written into the Sheikah Slate, and he successfully obtained the regional map.