![Managing stamina to climb mountains makes the end goal feel that much more rewarding. - [Image Credit: tofoli.douglas/Flickr]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/12/4/660x290/b_502x220x82/managing-stamina-to-climb-mountains-makes-the-end-goal-feel-that-much-more-rewarding-image-credit-tofolidouglasflickr_1731235.jpg "Managing stamina to climb mountains makes the end goal feel that much more rewarding. - [Image Credit: tofoli.douglas/Flickr]")
"The Game Awards" aired on Thursday night (Dec. 7) and it was arguably the best one to date. It was a great night for gaming, but particularly a big win for Nintendo. "The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild" shined with a trailer early in the show for The Champion's Ballad DLC. If that, coupled with winning a few awards, was not enough, the game would take home the coveted "Game of the Year" award over some stiff competition.
The game was reinvigorated in one night, the excitement surrounding it in its first few months after launch was back. Along with gamers feeling the need to pick the game back up came a boost in media coverage over the weekend.
Discussions and reports of the game's new features and stories of its development made their rounds, one of them revealing dual hookshots almost being included in the game.
Not much to grapple in the wilderness
"Breath of the Wild" is very different from the rest of the "Zelda" series, but still contains items gamers are accustomed to seeing in previous installments. The hookshot that Link once used to grapple and shoot himself up to high platforms is not featured in this game. While its absence was felt at first, the game's direction quickly convinces that it's no longer needed once it teaches how climbing the side of any mountain in sight is possible. After accepting this new style of platforming for nearly a year, IGN reports series producer Eiji Aunoma divulged initial plans featuring not one, but two hookshots, in "Breath of the Wild."
Keeping dual hookshots out of the game this time around was the right decision.
According to an interview conducted via IGN on December 9, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi compared Link's use of the dual hookshots in early game tests to Spider-Man's web-slinging. Sounds fun but hardly practical since the game is set out in the wild where there are no structural patterns. We've seen how that works out for Spider-Man in video games and was even referenced in the latest movie "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Without buildings, it's difficult if not impossible to get a good constant swing.
Knowing Nintendo, they could probably make it work smoothly but it still seems a bit too complex to enjoy.
Climbing the side of a mountain and parasailing off of it is one of the coolest things to do in "Breath of the Wild." Using hookshots, as Fujibayashi said in the same interview, "kind of completely breaks the climbing mechanic." Having a shortcut to reach high ground leaves no room for curiosity and exploration.
Furthermore, it negates the purpose of the most fun puzzles in the game. The orbs earned from solving shrine puzzles are used to upgrade health and stamina. Evading enemies and avoiding extreme rock climbs with hookshots defeats the purpose of entering shrines for upgrades, which is half the fun.
After nine months of playing without hookshots, it's safe to say the once popular item is not missed, not in the slightest. "The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild" is perfectly fine the way it is and did not need dual hookshots to become "Game of the Year."
