I just came from playing both demos at Nintendo NY. Here are my thoughts:
First and foremost, the game does not look good on their massive 15 foot HD monitor, but that's literally the only complaint lol. I'm certain the game will stay 720p for Wii U but it would be amazing if it's 1080p on NX, especially for those who own larger TVs (well, not 15 feet large, but y'know). The game is gorgeous regardless.
Unfortunately I have no footage because I was not allowed to film directly to the screen.
Okay, so the first thing I noticed, or well, struggled with, is the new button layout. B to run, to let go while climbing and to sheath your weapon. A is to select, talk, gather, etc. X to jump. You automatically climb after jumping onto a wall. Y is to attack. Pressing Y after X is a jump attack. Pretty different to other Zelda games already. You select and equip your weapons by pressing left and right on the D-Pad, respectively, and scrolling through your options with R stick. The closest thing I could compare it to is the quick inventory from Assassin's Creed 4. Pressing the L stick makes you crouch for stealth. Since you can find a bow from the very start of the game, ZR is specifically used to aim it and letting go. ZL is Z-targetting and brings out your shield. I forgot what exactly the L and R buttons did, but I rarely used them. I think the employee told me that you use L to detonate one of those special blue bombs after throwing it, but I failed to do so and blew myself up lol. You can ride on your shield down hills like a snowboard by pressing ZL then jump with X and press A.
Alright, so the first demo was 15 minutes long and starts you out by a camp fire and stove, equipment and food. This demo was to freely walk around, explore and kill shit. To answer your question,@benjfee, the area had tougher enemies walking around than the usual red moblins. I accidentally woke this massive rock monster miniboss and he had an impressive health bar and was able to OHKO me easily. I died 4 times, in fact. It definitely reminded me of those Xenoblade monsters or tyrants that roam around and destroy you if you get too close. However, unlike Xenoblade, this miniboss CAN be defeated from the very start of the game if you have the right tools. It's genius.
Basically, the world is scattered with goodies. Killing these moblin squads gives you access to chests with stronger equipment. Sometimes you find closed off areas with puzzles or obstacles that could be burned down or blown up and behind them are more chests. Weapons like rusted swords or axes are sometimes laying around. But what's really great about this game is that really good weapons are not exclusive to late game. Clubs, axes and rusted sword that you pick up on your way to the Temple of Time had 2-5 damage. It's definitely enough to kill enemies in 2-3 hits. With a bit of exploring, I found a bow with 14 damage and bomb arrows, which is already too much power in my hands for 10 minutes into the game but still appreciated. With these, I was able to almost kill the miniboss after learning its attack pattern and aiming for his weak spot. Unfortunately the 15 minutes were up at this point. I could have also used the bombs to cripple its legs, use that moment to climb on his back, Shadow of the Colossus style, and constantly hit his weak point before it gains back its legs. So really, no enemy is impossible to kill. They can easily kill you, but you can definitely kill them back with enough determination.
The second demo was 20 minutes long and focused on the story. I'm pretty confident it's the same introduction they'll use for the full game so I'll put this part under spoilers.
So it started me off the same exact way it did in Treehouse. You wake up on this water bed after a voice kept calling you out. You've been resurrected and you're literally naked. No clothes, no weapons, nada. You gain the shiekah plate, a worn shirt and pants, and you leave this cave. At the distance, you see this old man by the camp fire. He doesn't say much, but points out the torch stick and the ax behind him, and tells you to head to the Temple of Time. Although I started out empty handed this time, the world has not changed from the first demo where I did start out with equipment. All monsters and miniboss are where they were so I would definitely be in big trouble if I start to mindlessly wander around naked. I go inside the temple, I pray to the Goddess Hylia (same statue design as the massive one from Skyward Sword, but like much smaller so it fits inside the temple). The map marker is pointing me towards these ruins. It's one of the watchtowers, but mostly encased under a hill. I activate it and it starts to awaken. It rises up from the ground and every watchtower all over Hyrule start to emerge. New cutscene, Hyrule Castle is seen in the background. A bright light comes from its base. It calls out to Link. Tells him he as been asleep for 100 years and begs him to remember his past to defeat this new evil and save the land. As she begs Link, this black aura in the shape of Ganon starts to engulf the castle. The light begins to fade and the cutscene ends.
You can definitely visit and complete the shrines before activating the watchtowers but I would not recommend it since I'm 80% sure they are your warping points, but I could not test that out.
Thaaat's pretty much all I have to say, I think. I definitely had fun with it. Feel free to ask me questions about it, hopefully I'll be able to answer them from what I've experienced in those 35 minutes.
EDIT: Almost forgot, but you can change time of day by pressing A by the camp fire. The options were morning, afternoon and night. More enemies appear at night.
Sorry for the massive reply!
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