Chapter Summaries

The Switch’s scarcity and Super Mario: Odyssey’s addictive gameplay drove a surge of interest, while gaming outlets gave the game glowing reviews. Domestic players anticipated the next shipment, but overseas fans were left wondering when the console and game would reach them.

• The Switch’s second batch of 150,000 units sold out quickly, and its scarcity made players follow it more obsessively.
• Players who bought the console gravitated toward Super Mario: Odyssey and lost themselves in its varied levels, secrets, and collectibles.
• GameSpot praised Odyssey’s sandbox design, inventive level mechanics, Lighthouse effect, and fit with the Switch, giving it a high score.
• The wave of positive reviews intensified demand among players who had not managed to buy a Switch.
• Domestic players looked forward to shipments expected in late June and early July, while overseas players had no announced release date for the console or game.

Players explored Super Mario Odyssey’s extensive levels and collection challenges while Animal Crossing gradually gained popularity as players invested time in their islands and shared them with others. The chapter ended by introducing Cao Mai, an adorable pig girl whose presence was another draw toward Animal Crossing’s multiplayer.

• Players enjoyed Super Mario Odyssey’s fairy-tale story, explored its varied maps, and discovered that its hidden challenges demanded considerable skill.
• Players returned to Super Mario Odyssey to collect moons, uncover new paths, and try its increasingly difficult stages.
• Animal Crossing’s popularity grew as players spent time developing their islands, gathering creatures, and sharing island life and tips.
• Players from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres visited one another’s islands to find fish and other resources unavailable in their own regions.
• Animal Crossing players became attached to their islands and little animal neighbors, logging in each day to check on them.
• Animal Crossing’s multiplayer appeal gained another draw in the form of the pig girl Cao Mai.

Zhang Yi, Wang Han, and other Animal Crossing players suffered losses after Turnip prices crashed, prompting players to seek islands where they could sell their stock. As Turnip trading fueled online activity, overseas players celebrated the Switch and its exclusive games finally going on sale in their regions.

• Zhang Yi and Wang Han bought Turnips from Cao Mai and watched their prices fall throughout the week.
• On Friday, Zhang Yi and Wang Han found their Turnips worth far less than they had paid, while Old Song and Qiao Yi reported similarly low prices.
• Zhang Yi urged his friends to take their Turnips, rare furniture, and tickets to an island resident offering a better price.
• Animal Crossing players flooded forums with pleas to visit islands with high Turnip prices, where they queued to sell their stock.
• Overseas players celebrated as the Switch and its two exclusive games gradually went on sale in most regions.

Nebula Games reported that global Switch shipments had reached 4.1 million units, with strong sales for Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing, and games from third-party publishers. In an interview, Chen Xu discussed plans to expand the Switch library and announced a new exclusive open-world game for the second half of the year.

• Nebula Games announced global Switch shipments of 4.1 million units and reported that Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing had sold 2.11 million and 2.08 million copies, respectively.
• Third-party publishers and older games also performed well on the Switch, while Chen Xu attributed the console’s success to its design and its position as a game platform rather than a toy.
• Chen Xu told Game Time Media that the membership library would receive more mini-games, including planned ports of Minecraft and new games from third-party developers.
• Chen Xu said an exclusive open-world Switch game was planned for the second half of the year and would differ from Red Dead Redemption, leaving the reporter stunned.

Chen Xu planned to make The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the Switch’s next major exclusive, despite widespread doubts that the hardware could handle an open-world game. He explained the choice to Nebula Games and prepared to begin development on the title, which stood apart from the series’ established timelines.

• Game Time Media published Chen Xu’s plan to make an open-world game for the Switch, prompting players to question whether the console could support it.
• Zhang Yida reported that third-party developers were eager to bring games to the Switch as its sales and game performance grew.
• Chen Xu said Nebula Games would offer developers technical and financial support and confirmed that his focus for the second half of the year would be the next Switch exclusive.
• Chen Xu chose The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, citing its scale, its potential as a defining open-world game, and its separate timeline.

Chen Xu presented the team with the design for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, outlining its combat, puzzles, environmental interactions, and animated art style. He assigned teams to build the interaction framework and develop the visuals, leaving them with the challenge of implementing the systems on the Switch.

• Chen Xu introduced Link’s Breath of the Wild design and explained how shrines, combat techniques, and special abilities would shape the game.
• Chen Xu assigned Qin Yi’s team to develop environmental interactions involving elements such as water, wind, fire, electricity, temperature, and weather.
• Meng Zuo, Qin Yi, and the others understood that players would solve puzzles by creatively combining the environment and Link’s special abilities to defeat monsters.
• Chen Xu instructed Yang Xin and Ruan Ningxue to use an animated art style, broad color blocks, and frame-by-frame textures to suit the game and conserve Switch resources.

As Switch sales growth slowed and players debated the lack of major games, Chen Xu revealed the Switch-exclusive open-world game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Its concept art sparked speculation about its protagonist, combat, art style, and release timing.

• Third-party developers released remasters and ports for the Switch as its global sales reached 7.2 million units.
• Players discussed the Switch's limited game lineup and questioned whether it could support the promised open-world game.
• As major companies promoted open-world titles in September, Chen Xu announced that the Switch-exclusive game was making encouraging progress.
• Chen Xu shared concept art for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, showing a Blonde Youth in Blue Coat facing a distant castle beneath a crimson aura.
• Players speculated that Zelda was the protagonist, that the game would include combat, and that its cel-shaded art style meant its story would not be too heavy.

Chen Xu defended The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s art style and reassured his team that development was on schedule. Qin Yi’s team completed the Physics Engine’s Environmental Feedback Framework, and its demonstrations revealed extensive interactions between weather, fire, objects, and Link, leaving the staff impressed.

• Chen Xu reasoned that Breath of the Wild’s animated art style suited its story and gameplay, and that players would appreciate it once they experienced the game.
• After the game’s reveal boosted Switch sales, Chen Xu told Meng Zuo that players would be able to play it before the end of the year.
• Qin Yi reported that his team had completed the Environmental Feedback Framework, and Chen Xu went with him to the Project Room to see it demonstrated.
• The team showed how lightning, wind, fire, and rain affected Link and the grassland, including trees, apples, and monsters.
• Further demonstrations showed ice melting in a desert, Link using fire to warm himself on a snowy mountain, electricity shocking fish, wildfire spreading, and a time-frozen boulder smashing through trees.
• Meng Zuo marveled at how the Physics Engine could enhance Red Dead Redemption 2, while Chen Xu noted that such realism would demand enormous resources and powerful hardware.

As The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild neared completion, Chen Xu revealed a promotional video instead of the release date players had guessed. The trailer introduced Hyrule, its threats, and Link’s awakening before announcing the game’s worldwide launch on Switch for November 25.

• Chen Xu decided to keep several useful bugs and tricks, including Wind Bombs and electric ChuChu Jelly, in the game.
• Players speculated that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would launch during the National Day holiday, but Chen Xu announced a promotional video instead.
• The trailer showed Hyrule’s varied landscapes and Link traveling across them as an aged voice described Calamity Ganon and Hyrule’s history.
• The video revealed monsters and Guardians corrupted by dark power, along with Zelda and the other heroes from a hundred years earlier.
• Princess Zelda called to Link as he awoke after a hundred years, and the trailer announced a worldwide Switch launch on November 25.

Players discussed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after its promotional video revealed its art style, abilities, and protagonist, Link. As other open-world releases drew mixed reviews, players and industry designers looked to the upcoming game to see how it would perform on the Switch.

• Players praised the trailer’s colorful cel-shaded visuals and became excited by Link’s bombs, time stop, Magnet, and ice-block abilities.
• Players debated the game’s story and open-world gameplay, and many realized that the protagonist was Link rather than Zelda.
• NetDragon’s Shadow Operations: Wasteland and Tenghua’s Warlords of Chaos launched and received increasingly mixed reviews as players encountered repetitive quests and difficult level design.
• Players and game industry designers turned their attention to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and wondered how its open world would work on the Switch.

Song Ren began playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and guided Link through the opening tutorial, discovering the Sheikah Slate and emerging into the vast world of Hyrule. He left Link overlooking the landscape, eager to explore the places he could see.

• Song Ren started a new game and heard Princess Zelda call Link to wake up inside a strange chamber.
• Link took the Sheikah Slate, which Song Ren recognized as resembling Nebula Games’ limited-edition Zelda Switch design.
• Song Ren guided Link through the cave, collected clothes from two chests, and used the Sheikah Slate to open the exit.
• Link emerged from the cave and learned to sprint and climb as the game revealed the sprawling landscape of Hyrule.
• Song Ren admired the scenery and wondered whether every visible place was accessible before deciding to keep playing.

Song Ren explored the Great Plateau in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, discovering how its systems let him interact with fire, wildlife, and objects. He found a Kolog and a Rusty Sword while postponing the Mysterious Old Man’s suggestion to investigate the shrine.

• Song Ren examined the game’s menus and learned that running and climbing consumed stamina, then climbed trees to collect apples and picked up a branch.
• Song Ren spoke with the Mysterious Old Man by the campfire and learned about the Great Plateau, Hyrule’s destruction by Calamity Ganon, and the abandoned shrine.
• Song Ren accidentally set a branch on fire, roasted apples, and discovered that wooden weapons burned up and all weapons had limited durability.
• Song Ren tested fire on the grass and used an axe to cut grass and catch Grasshoppers, exploring the hillside instead of heading to the shrine.
• Song Ren found a Kolog in the lake, received a Kolog’s Fruit for Hestu, and pulled a low-durability Rusty Sword from a stone platform.

Song Ren explored the area around the shrine, learned how to use the Sheikah Slate, and fought Bokoblins with a mix of combat and underhanded tactics. He reached the marked ruin and activated the Sheikah Tower, triggering a story cutscene.

• Song Ren opened the Sheikah Slate and saw the vast, mostly unexplored map, then tested its map pins and other functions.
• Song Ren explored near the shrine, found a bow and mechanical parts, and spoke to a Goddess Statue without learning anything useful.
• Song Ren fought Bokoblins, picked up their dropped clubs, and discovered dodge-based Link Time and charged attacks.
• Song Ren used boulders, nighttime weapon theft, and healing items to defeat Bokoblins, joking that Link was acting like a rogue rather than a Brave.
• Song Ren reached a ruin and placed the Sheikah Slate on a circular platform, activating the Sheikah Tower and starting a cutscene.

Song Ren activated the Initial Tower in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, learned about Link’s mission to stop Ganon, and began searching shrines for the Paraglider. He cleared the first shrine and learned that its Trial Certificates could be exchanged for health or stamina upgrades.

• Song Ren activated the Sheikah Slate at the tower, revealed part of the map, and heard Princess Zelda warn Link that he had slept for one hundred years and must hurry before Ganon regained his power.
• The Mysterious Old Man explained that Ganon had destroyed Hyrule a century earlier and promised Link a Paraglider if he retrieved the treasure in the shrines on the Great Plateau.
• Song Ren entered the first shrine and learned to use Magnetism Power to move metal objects and solve puzzles.
• Song Ren cleared the shrine, earned a Trial Certificate, and learned that four certificates could be exchanged at a goddess statue for a health or stamina upgrade.
• The Mysterious Old Man promised Link the Paraglider after he reached the other three shrines, and Song Ren grumbled about having to keep treasure hunting.

Song Ren explored the Great Plateau in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, discovering its many activities and losing track of time. Meanwhile, Zhang Yi wore down a Guardian with bombs before Wang Han told him that a Shield Parry could defeat it in one hit.

• Song Ren found treasure chests, collected elemental arrows and a Kolog fruit, learned hunting techniques from the old man, and died to a Stone Golem before defeating it with a Big Iron Hammer.
• Song Ren encountered Guardians that killed him repeatedly, then avoided them and used his newly unlocked Power of Destruction to bomb fish.
• Song Ren realized he had played for over two hours, while other players also noticed that hours had passed as they explored the Great Plateau.
• Zhang Yi told Wang Han he had spent nearly an hour bombing a Guardian, hoping to obtain a powerful weapon, and had received only springs and gears.
• Wang Han explained that players had learned to reflect a Guardian's laser with Shield Parry, leaving Zhang Yi exhausted and regretful.

Zhang Yi completed the four shrines on the Great Plateau, learning the game’s powers and discovering how thoroughly its tutorial was woven into exploration. After exchanging his Spirit Orbs for a small stamina upgrade, he met the Mysterious Old Man on the roof to hear the truth.

• Wang Han warned Zhang Yi that he needed cold resistance for the snowy mountain, but Zhang Yi relied on food to keep Link alive in the freezing cold.
• Zhang Yi completed the final shrine, gained the Ice Pillar Power, and finished exploring all four shrines.
• Zhang Yi reflected on how the Great Plateau had taught him the game’s mechanics through its world and challenges.
• The Mysterious Old Man told Zhang Yi to visit the place where the four shrines converged to learn the truth.
• Zhang Yi exchanged his four Spirit Orbs for a stamina upgrade, then climbed onto the roof and spoke with the Mysterious Old Man, who revealed the truth to Link.

The King of Hyrule explained how Calamity Ganon destroyed the kingdom a hundred years ago and asked Link to save Princess Zelda and Hyrule. After receiving the Paraglider, Zhang Yi chose to keep exploring the Great Plateau, while players and game designers marveled at the game's interactivity and level design.

• The King of Hyrule revealed that Princess Zelda had sealed Ganon for a hundred years after Link fell protecting her, and asked Link to defeat Ganon and save Hyrule.
• The King gave Link the Paraglider and told him to seek Impa in a village for guidance.
• Zhang Yi tried gliding, marked a spot on the Great Plateau, and decided to explore further and return to fight a Guardian.
• Other players continued exploring the Great Plateau, discovering interactive details and enjoying the climbing and gliding systems.
• Game industry designers were astonished by the early game's design and praised the Great Plateau's level design.

Game designers and players marveled at how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduced its complex systems through the Great Plateau’s gradual, discovery-driven level design. As players shared their excitement online, even skeptics who doubted the Switch could support a compelling open world began watching videos and livestreams in amazement.

• Designers praised the Great Plateau for teaching Breath of the Wild’s systems through guided exploration and player discovery rather than lengthy tutorials.
• Players pointed out that the game’s open-world approach differed from Red Dead Redemption’s and offered even greater freedom.
• Players who had tried Breath of the Wild shared excited reactions online and compared it favorably to Red Dead Redemption.
• Skeptical players questioned whether the Switch could deliver such a rich open world, but began looking up videos and livestreams.
• Viewers watching Breath of the Wild gameplay were stunned by what the Switch could run and how the game could be played.

Players shared videos revealing the many tricks and environmental details in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, drawing more people toward the game. Song Ren kept extending his late-night session, telling himself he would sleep after clearing one more shrine.

• Players posted videos showing stunts and tricks such as shield-surfing, sneaking weapons from Bokoblins, using chickens to glide, and launching Link with a tree.
• Players discovered new Great Plateau secrets and marveled at the game's detailed weather, monster behavior, and environmental interactions.
• Song Ren reviewed his progress, recalled learning combat techniques from Old Zhang, and complained that he kept hoarding weapons and food.
• Song Ren headed toward a nearby regional tower, then spotted another shrine and decided to clear it before going to bed.

Players discovered the freedom and environmental mechanics of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" through videos of unconventional gameplay, turning many from focused questers into enthusiastic fans. Gaming outlets then began awarding the game perfect scores, with GameSpot praising its vast world, inventive interactions, and redefinition of the open-world genre.

• Players watched gameplay videos and learned about techniques and mechanics they had not yet discovered themselves.
• Players who had focused on rescuing Princess Zelda began exploring, climbing, hunting, cooking, and experimenting with unconventional tactics.
• Players praised "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" as major gaming media outlets began publishing nearly universal perfect scores.
• GameSpot gave the game 10/10 and lauded its freedom, environmental interactions, puzzles, and expansive world.