Dunno why these Zelda: Breath of the Wild making of videos went offline, but they're back and still great
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may be one of the most ambitious games Nintendo has ever produced, and a look behind the scenes will not dispel the magic.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a very different kind of Zelda game, but at the same time, its roots are obvious enough to make you reach for a packet of hair dye.
Zelda fans waited a long time for Breath of the Wild, and although that patience seems to have paid off, it seems fair enough that they might have questions. Questions like, what took so long? What goes into making one of the best-reviewed games of all time? How did Nintendo hit on this apparently magical formula?
The answers to some of these questions and more can be found in a fascinating three-part video series from Nintendo on the making of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
There are no story spoilers in the videos, but they do detail a number of gameplay systems and mechanics, and you could argue that discovering these on your own is part of the fun, so you may want to hold off if you haven't yet played The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and intend to. If you have started playing and you're struggling with combat, though, you'll discover a heck of a lot of cool new ideas here.
As well as exploring gameplay the video goes into some of Nintendo's inspirations, like Japan's Jomon period, which influenced the visual design. There's also some footage of the NES-like 2D prototype of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, among other prototypes and concepts. It's super interesting.
Nintendo took a couple of these Zelda: Breath of the Wild behind the scenes videos down for a few hours, but they're back up on official channels now for you to enjoy. And oh look, they're all embedded here. How convenient.