The Legend of Zelda Debuts Snowboarding Gameplay
By Boston Blake 19 December 2016
Gamer shares a new video showing Link using his shield as a snowboard as he shreds down a snowy mountainside in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Arguably the most highly-anticipated title for 2017 is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is set to release on both Wii U and the new Nintendo Switch. The newest addition to The Legend of Zelda franchise has been in development for a long time, but looks to offer players a vast open world to explore and enjoy.
Traveling across that open world is turning out to be just as fun as the game’s combat and characters. Along with Link’s horse and simply running around the map on foot, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild players will be able to use Link’s shield as a snowboard to quickly descend snowy mountains in the game.
While this isn’t a new revelation, since this was first revealed during a Nintendo livestream during E3 2016, gamers now have a better visual of how Link will use his sword to traverse the mountains, and a glimpse at the amount of control players will have while snowboarding as Link.
In a new video, shown above, Link stands atop a large mountain that overlooks the beautiful landscape of Breath of the Wild. Link leaps onto his shield and easily rides it down the snow-covered slopes, dodging back and forth, even catching a little air along the way. He reaches the bottom quickly, where he tosses the shield on his back, ready to carry on his work of chasing chickens and saving princess Zelda.
We’ll note that this isn’t the first time Link has snowboarded in a Legend of Zelda game. He shredded some slopes pretty proficiently in Twilight Princess, though he didn’t use the shield off his back that time around.
In addition to snowboarding on his shield, it looks like Link will also have quick access to a hang glider of some kind, at least according to the footage revealed this summer. In that case, Link glided for a ways down the mountain, then pulled out his shield for snowboarding once he got close enough to the snow.
Hopefully Nintendo is hard at work building in ways for Link to catch air while snowboarding in Breath of the Wild, and maybe even incorporate ways for Link to throw out some sick tricks. Granted, it may not be SSX quality, but it sure would add a fun additional element into the already impressive game.
What do you think about the Breath of the Wild snowboarding footage?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is set to release in 2017 on Wii U and Nintendo Switch.
