The Legend of Zelda: Across Generations

The Legend of Zelda: Across Generations, known in Japan as 世代を超えたゼルダの伝説 Zeruda no Densetsu: Sedai o koeta, is an open-world action-adventure game in the Legend of Zelda series developed by Ghostrealm Studios and published by Nintendo. A follow-up to 2017's The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Across Generations takes place eighty years after the conclusion of the game (which is further described in the story Aftermath of the Calamity), and is notable for being the first main-series Zelda title in which the character Link isn't the protagonist. The game also introduces dating sim elements and a unique generations-based time progression system that expand upon the open-world design of Breath of the Wild.
==Story==
===Background===
Across Generations takes place eighty years after the defeat of Calamity Ganon, in a newly rebuilt Hyrule. Sheikah technology has become a more prominent factor in the lives of the people, with many settlements, including Hyrule Castle and Castle Town themselves, utilizing it in all its glory. Hyrule as a whole has experienced relative peace for these eighty years, as well as some governmental changes. When Princess Zelda first set out on rebuilding the kingdom, she sought to bring about a more democratic form of government, blaming the indecisiveness of the Hylian government being a major factor in Ganon's ability to destroy the kingdom so easily.
As the years passed, the Divine Beasts were decommissioned due to a lack of use for them, and more or less became ruins. The Yiga Clan grew in prominence. The land of Hyrule changed, for better or for worse.
===Out on a Journey===
On the Great Plateau, now more civilized than before, a young adult named by the player (referred to as the hero from now on) wakes up on their eighteenth birthday within their cabin. The hero lives with their uncle in this home, living a peaceful life. Yet today, they're presented with an old family heirloom: a Sheikah Slate, one that survived the Calamity. He also tells them that their parents wished for them to see the world once he inherited this item.
As the hero explores the plateau, they find four shrines that reawaken Runes on it, as if it had lost functionality over the years due to a lack of use, and even gets into fights with the local Bokoblins, gathering equipment and food as they progress. After all four shrines are cleared, they return home to their uncle, who gives them a paraglider to help leave the Plateau, and encourages them to see Castle Town in all its splendor.
As the hero begins to travel throughout Hyrule and potentially transcends multiple generations, they eventually begin stumbling upon areas covered in an energy known as Malice. Upon taking out one of the large Malice Orbs in these areas for the first time, it begins to converge into a piglike skull, which tells them that this is merely the beginning for the next part of Hyrule's history. The Main Quest "Malice Across Hyrule" is then assigned, which requires you to take out five Malice Orbs across Hyrule.
===An Age-Old Threat===
After completing Malice Across Hyrule, the hero's Sheikah Slate begins acting up, placing a marker at a spot in the Gerudo Highlands and starting the "Highlands Presence" Main Quest. Upon arriving there, the hero finds themselves in a dungeon known as the Calamity Ruins, infested with Malice. Upon reaching the bottom of the ruins, the hero finds themselves cornered by a giant, four-armed entity known as Phantom Nogan. The monster speaks to the hero in the same voice as the piglike skull from before, calling themselves Nogan and telling the hero that they intend to cover Hyrule in darkness just as the Calamity once did. Nogan's voice dissipates however as Phantom Nogan takes on the hero.
Once Phantom Nogan is defeated, the hero enters the final room of the ruins, one that contains three glowing golden spirits. The spirits identify themselves as the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore, informing the hero of their true heritage: that they are the descendant of the hero and the princess that stopped the Calamity eighty years ago. The trio of goddesses warn the hero of Nogan seeking to bring about a new Calamity, and that only they are destined to stop them. To that extent, they urge them to prepare for the coming battle by seeking out places of power. The Main Quest "Testing Your Strength" is then assigned, which requires the completion of three main dungeons.
===Medoh Reawakens===
Once the Testing Your Strength Main Quest is completed, a giant bird-shaped shadow begins flying around Hyrule. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be a restored Divine Beast Vah Medoh, albeit one infused with Malice. At that point, the Goddesses speak to the hero via a vision, beckoning them to seek out the Rito in Rito Village in order to find out what happened to Medoh.
Upon arriving, the hero speaks with the village elder, who mentions that the last time Medoh was like this, a hero worked with his now-deceased father to liberate Vah Medoh. Suddenly, the duo look from Rito Village to see Vah Medoh firing a massive laser at the mountains near the village, causing a rockslide. At that point, the elder suggests that the hero find a way to storm the Divine Beast, fearing that sending the Rito people's warriors against it will lead to unnecessary casualties.
After this short cinematic scene, Vah Medoh's location is now shown on the map at all times. When the Divine Beast is approached, it will attempt to fire a laser at you, albeit one that produces a massive updraft which can be paraglided onto to reach the Divine Beast. The beast itself is a dungeon, albeit one that is vastly different from its original depiction as such. When the boss room of the dungeon is reached, a Yiga Clan commander can be seen speaking with a piglike skull in what appears to be a magical hologram of some sort, with the piglike skull, sharing a voice with Nogan, ordering them to murder the hero who just entered. The Yiga commander nods before floating in the air, identifying herself as Yiga Commander Dokra. While a formidable foe, she is defeated by the hero, at a cost: with her last words, her body disappears in an explosion of pure Malice as it takes down Vah Medoh.
While the hero paraglides out of the falling Vah Medoh, the Divine Beast itself crashes in the mountains near Rito Village, letting loose a massive explosion that can be seen from all across Hyrule. The hero's Sheikah Slate then beckons them onwards to investigate the crash site. From this point on, Yiga Clan members will now actively attempt to ambush and kill you, with their appearance being unpredictable.
===The True Enemy===
Upon arriving at Vah Medoh's crash site, the hero finds nothing but what appears to be a male Gerudo meditating, drawing forth the remaining Malice into his body. He then turns around to look at the hero, grinning slightly. In a voice one might recognize as belonging to Nogan, he identifies himself as Ganondorf, telling the hero that he's watched their battles across Hyrule. He then informs the hero that he chose to reincarnate and hide his identity in order to secretively "lure out" the one he sought to face, that being the one who inherited the Sheikah Slate. Ganondorf then says that the Sheikah Slate the hero bears gave away their identity as the descendant of the hero and the princess who stopped the Calamity eighty years ago, and that he seeks to eliminate what threat they pose before it grows in power.
Ganondorf, out of anger, lets loose a ferocious punch covered in Malice at the hero, knocking them into a nearby cliff wall. He then manifests a sword made of pure Malice as he attempts to slash at the hero, but then something extraordinary happens: on the hero's right hand, what appears to be the Triforce begins to glow, though unlike the past, two of the triangles, both of which rest on the bottom of the Triforce itself. Ganondorf lets loose a shout of anger as the Triforce on the hero's hand emits a wave of light, knocking the king of evil back. He then makes the connection that the hero bears both the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage, whereas he possesses the Triforce of Power. He then teleports away in an explosion of Malice, telling the hero to meet him within his fortress.
At that point, the hero looks onwards to see a massive tower emerging in the center of the ocean, albeit one surrounded by Malice. The skies above it churn with the stuff, and the insignia of the Yiga appears high above the tower. The Goddesses speak to the hero in a vision once again, telling them that while they can storm Ganondorf's tower at any point, it would be best to prepare and deal with other dungeons throughout Hyrule. At this point in the game, the only Main Quest is "Confronting Ganondorf", which has you storming Ganondorf's Tower. However, like the Goddesses said, it'd be best to take out other dungeons prior to doing so.
===The Broken Cycle===
The hero eventually storms Ganondorf's tower, taking on the Malice-infested chambers, Yiga soldiers, and corrupted Guardians. Eventually however, as the hero nears Ganondorf's chambers, they're stopped by three Yiga Clan members, one of which is an apparently alive Yiga Commander Dokra. The trio, identifying themselves as the Yiga Council, battle the hero, but are defeated.
When the hero enters Ganondorf's chambers, they find him looking at Hyrule's mainland. They tell the hero of how he endured a cycle of countless resurrections, reincarnations, and defeats. How all he wanted was to bring about a greater Hyrule, one that he believed would be beneficial under his rule. At that point, Ganondorf turns towards the hero, unleashing his axe. Grinning, he leaps towards them as the final battle begins. The clouds over the tower continue to darken with the pinkish red tone, and the Triforces glow on each fighter's hand.
Eventually however, the hero knocks Ganondorf to the ground with one of their sword strikes, causing him to relinquish the Triforce of Power. With all three Triforces in their possession, the hero calls for the completed Triforce as Ganondorf lies on the ground in worry. He talks about how if he is sealed away via the Triforce, he'll merely return to defile Hyrule again and again. As Ganondorf rambles, the Goddesses speak to the hero in a vision, telling them that Ganondorf is right, but there is a way to stop it. The hero merely closes their eyes as they tap on the Triforce and point at Ganondorf. Obeying, the complete Triforce fires a laser at Ganondorf, but it doesn't seem to kill him or seal him away. Rather, the beam of energy seems to be sucking out pure Malice, which then forms into a humanoid entity with flaming hair. Announcing his name to be Demise, the clouds above the tower turn to a more orangey tone as Demise mentions that the guise of Ganondorf had never proven to be useful and that he intends to destroy Hyrule rather than conquer it, as if the world is worthless to him without the Triforce.
The hero takes on Demise as the Triforce attempts to weaken his power in what is arguably the most important fight in the history of Hyrule. Yet, after some time, Demise is weakened enough to allow the hero to land a lethal blow to the head as he lets loose a deafening roar. As Demise howls in pain, the Triforce expels the last of its power as it lets loose a final laser beam at Demise, destroying both him and itself. The hero, exhausted, then looks towards Ganondorf, who seems to be free of Malice within his body and looks to be a normal male Gerudo. While unconscious, he wakes up and peers towards the hero with what appears to be a nervous face. Ganondorf merely thanks the hero for liberating them, mentioning that Demise's presence had made him a monster he regretted becoming. He then asks the hero if they can return to the mainland together, hoping to find a place in the world now that the threat of evil is no longer present. As the hero nods, the two of them look to the ground to notice a few shards of light. Ganondorf realizes that the Triforce was destroyed in the process of trying to kill Demise, and that it's a decision for the better, seeing as how the Triforce caused countless conflicts in the past.
After the credits roll, the hero finds themselves on the Great Plateau again, before hearing a beeping noise from their Sheikah Slate. Looking at it, it shows that a new "Time Travel" Rune has been added. As the hero peers at it curiously, they begin to hear the words of the Goddesses again, who inform them that there's adventures their lineage missed in the past that they can go after. With that in mind, the game's story ends, albeit the player is free to go after any dungeons and sidequests they missed, and rematch bosses via the Time Travel Rune.
==Gameplay==
The Legend of Zelda: Across Generations is an open-world action-adventure game in which the player explores the land of Hyrule, taking on dungeons, battling enemies, and solving puzzles. Much like its predecessor, the game encourages nonlinear gameplay and allows the player to explore Hyrule as they see fit, with the same map and engine being used as Breath of the Wild, albeit modified for the latter, and heavily expanded and modified for the former. The map as a whole is about twice the size of Breath of the Wild's, with both land and sea areas added.
===Changes from Breath of the Wild===
Across Generations, while a successor to Breath of the Wild, does make several notable changes, most of which are there for quality of life.
*The Hero's Path mode, Travel Medallion, and Trial of the Sword are now built into the base game along with all existing DLC armor and items. The Master Cycle Zero however is obtained as the final reward for completing every dungeon in the game instead.
*When a dungeon is completed, you can now choose between a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel.
*Fishing rods now exist, and while they can be used as weapons, they're better-suited to catching fish.
*Non-horse animals can now be stabled.
*The game's difficulty has been adjusted slightly from Breath of the Wild in several ways:
**Monsters now respawn after some time instead of staying dead.
**Blood Moons now happen more frequently as objectives are completed and new generations are started. In addition, Blood Moons themselves now triple monster respawn rates and increase their damage dealt by 30%, making these nights quite intimidating to go through.
**More minibosses like Talus, Hinoxes, Lynels, and Moldugas are present.
**Enemies now actively roam the world as part of the new Hierarchy system.
*You can now pet dogs.
*The amiibo-exclusive armor and equipment can now be purchased in an antique shop in Castle Town, with a rotating stock.
*Master Mode is now part of the base game, with the following additions:
**An age meter is now present, fills up as time goes on, and resets whenever a new generation is started, forcing you to rely on the romance system in order to keep going.
**The entire world is mirrored, akin to the Master Quest version of Ocarina of Time and the Wii version of Twilight Princess.
**Dungeon layouts are modified, once again akin to the Master Quest version of Ocarina of Time.
*Korok Seeds are no longer necessary for bigger bags, with the following adjustments made to the inventory:
**The default inventory size is as big as it would be with the maximum number of Korok Seeds for weapons, bows, and shields.
**Food can now be stored in four pages, up from three.
**A Family Vault exists which can be accessed from any stable and has infinite storage space for weapons, bows, shields, materials, and food. This allows for anything to be stored away, but it cannot be accessed on the go.
===Controls===
The following control scheme is the default one, but can be fully adjusted.
Action 	Button Input
Move 	
Hop 	+ in the direction of choice
Crouch 	
Camera 	
Scope 	
Interact 	
Sprint/Cancel/Put Away 	
Jump 	
Attack 	
Center Camera/Lock-On/Use Shield	
Parry 	+
Use Bow 	
Use Rune 	
Throw Weapon 	
Select Rune 	+
Select Shield/Select Arrow 	+
Select Weapon/Select Bow 	+
Call Mount 	
Pause Menu 	
Sheikah Slate 	
===Romancing===
Unique to Across Generations is its dating system, which allows players to romance specific characters regardless of gender and eventually have children with them, who will then take up the role of the playable character and essentially fast-forwarding time to when they're eighteen years old. This passage of time will change the world, and in some cases open up and close off dungeons.
Traits are also inherited by children depending on who you choose to be with, which can either improve or hinder your abilities. In particular, the first set of romanceable characters provide one of four unique abilities, making it a game of choices as well as deciding on what traits are most important for your playthrough.
===Hierarchy System===
Inspired by the Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor, the Hierarchy system allows for specific enemies to rise in status and power.
Essentially, every enemy in the game (save for Guardian-class enemies due to them being machines) has a specific ranking that goes up and down depending on their actions. For example, if a Bokoblin manages to kill you, their rank will go up. If they kill you a bunch of times, they'll be "promoted" eventually. Promotion benefits range from stronger equipment, to gaining allies, to even attempting to actively track you down. If an enemy ranks up high enough, they might even establish their own fortress and command a whole hierarchy of lesser monsters. Some enemies might also become rivals within the system, and either duel each other or even attempt to sabotage the other's operations. Followers of a prominent enemy might even try backstabbing their leader, and could be executed should they fail! Every enemy in the game has a specific set of traits that will grow in power as they rank up, with these traits being more prominent once they reach higher promotion levels.
The Hierarchy system can be manipulated by the player in several ways. For one, they could "supply" specific enemies with powerful weapons and items, making them a more prominent threat, or even letting themselves die to the enemy. You could also lure specific enemies and possibly their followers to each other and essentially incite a battle between the groups, though enemies might even do this themselves! Because of this mechanic, the enemy masks from the previous game play a larger role and essentially allow you to take part in this system yourself, potentially rallying enemies to your side.
===Linked Game===
The Linked Game is a unique mechanic that ties into having save data of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on your GhostDrive, and mostly serves as the "Second Quest" of Across Generations. When the save data is linked to a new playthrough, the following additions are made:
*The house in Hateno Village now contains any weapons, bows, and shields you left behind upon linking the save, and also contains the photo from the Champion's Ballad DLC should it have been obtained.
*Depending on your progress in the questline, Tarrey Town has more NPCs and is bigger as a whole.
*All data from the Hyrule Compendium obtained in Breath of the Wild, as well as any unlocked Memories and pictures taken via the Camera Rune, can now be accessed from the Sheikah Slate.
*The Champion's Tunic, when obtained, retains the upgrade level it had in the Breath of the Wild save file.
*Malyana, the Horse God, can now revive any Horses you obtained in Breath of the Wild.
*The Great Fairies no longer require a Rupee payment, provided that they had been paid already.
*Any areas revealed via Sheikah Towers in the Breath of the Wild save file are now visible, though any warp points unlocked in the save file must now be rediscovered.
==Characters==
===Playable===
Characters	Characters
The Hero 	An individual whose name and gender are picked prior to the start of the game, the Hero is the main playable character of the game. The descendant of the knight and the princess who stopped the Calamity, they now set out on their own journey. However, with the blessing of the goddess Hylia herself, the hero will transcend multiple generations via their children, who become playable as time passes on, replacing their parent.
===Romanceable===
Throughout the game, you'll come across multiple characters who can be romanced, most of which can only be found within a single generation. While almost every NPC in the game can be romanced, the ones listed here are the more notable characters.
Potential Partners	Potential Partners
===Other Characters===
Antagonists 	Antagonists
Nogan/ 	The enigmatic Nogan, while a mystery, is the entity behind the reemergence of Malice throughout Hyrule. Rumors speak of his ties to the Calamity long ago, and none have seen his physical form. Yet, the Yiga Clan seem to mention him as a prominent leader. Perhaps there's more to Nogan than most of Hyrule knows.
Din, Farore, Nayru	The three Golden Goddesses who created Hyrule, Din, Farore, and Nayru have returned in the form of simple spirits due to recent events. They seek to assist the hero in the coming conflict and bring peace to the land they created.
==Sheikah Slate Runes==
The Sheikah Slate item is among the most useful objects in the game, with a wide myriad of runes at your disposal. While the amiibo and Camera Runes are built into the Sheikah Slate, and the Magnesis, Remote Bomb, Stasis, and Cryonis runes are unlocked from Shrines on the Great Plateau, the four new Runes must be unlocked via Sheikah Labs found throughout Hyrule, where the existing runes can also be upgraded.
Runes 	Runes
Magnesis 	The Magnesis Rune allows for metallic objects to be moved around.
Remote Bomb	The Remote Bomb Rune allows for both spherical and cuboid bombs to be created and thrown, before being detonated remotely via a button press.
Stasis 	The Stasis Rune allows for you to stop the flow of time for an object for a brief period of time, and it will even retain its kinetic energy, which will be forced upon it when it is unfrozen. This can be done to move objects and hit enemies long distances.
Cryonis 	The Cryonis Rune allows for a pillar of ice to be created from a surface of water. These pillars can be used as stepping stones or obstacles, and can be broken by using the rune again. Up to three pillars can be up at once.
Camera 	The Camera Rune allows for you to take pictures, including selfies. Objects you've taken pictures of are saved into the Hyrule Compendium on your Sheikah Slate.
Gravitize 	The Gravitize Rune instantly applies heavy weight to your body, which slows your movement speed while also allowing you to walk underwater and resist being pulled upwards by wind.
Spike Ball 	The Spike Ball Rune creates a giant spiked ball which can be swung around as a weapon, and even thrown. It controls similarly to the Magnesis Rune.
Storage 	The Storage Rune allows for specific objects like fairies, bees, and even liquids like water to be bottled up, which can then be released at any point.
Scan 	The Scan Rune allows for specific enemies to be analyzed as part of the Hierarchy system. Once scanned, you'll have access to a myriad of information on them as well as being able to track their location on the map.
Time Travel	The Time Travel Rune allows for you to travel back to previous generations, allowing access to boss rematches and even the ability to take on dungeons that were rendered inaccessible.
amiibo 	The amiibo rune allows for an amiibo to be scanned, before dropping items and in some cases a treasure chest with valuable items. Each amiibo can only be scanned once a day.
==Enemies==
Across Generations has a myriad of enemies, each divided into various types.
===Monsters===
Monster enemies are the most prevalent, and generally rank low within the Hierarchy system. However, they make up for their lack of authority through their tendency to group together. Most of them follow a color ranking system that goes in the order of Red, Blue, Black, Silver, and Gold, with Red being the weakest and Gold being the strongest. As Monster enemies rank up within the Hierarchy system, so too will their color.
Monsters 	Monsters
Bokoblin 	Bokoblins are the most common enemies found throughout Hyrule, generally found within small camps and occasionally on horseback during the day. They generally attempt to attack you with their weapons, but if unarmed, they'll hurl rocks at you or even barrels! Bokoblins are also smart enough to light their weapons on fire if they're wooden.
Stalkoblin 	At nighttime, Stalkoblins might pop out of the ground to attack you. They retain the same behaviors as their living cousins, but are extremely fragile. However, if their head isn't destroyed in time, it'll allow the Stalkoblin to reform! Their arms will drop after death to use as weapons too.
Moblin 	Moblins are large, lanky enemies that hit quite hard. If unarmed, they might throw nearby Bokoblins at you!
Stalmoblin 	Stalmoblins are the "Stal" variant of Moblins, popping out of the ground at night and being quite fragile. Their arms will drop after death to use as weapons too.
Lizalfos 	Lizalfos are sneaky enemies that will often camoflauge to their environment to ambush you. They attack with both their weapons and via spitting projectiles, with special variants capable of spitting fireballs or ice blasts! Another variant has an electric horn that will create a blast of electricity when hit.
Stalizalfos	Stalizalfos are the "Stal" variants of Lizalfos, emerging from the ground at night and being fragile enemies.
Octorok 	Octoroks are enemies that often hide beneath something, before popping out of their location to spit a rock at you. Their covering can be destroyed however to force them to reveal themselves.
Sky Octorok	Sky Octoroks are only found in Master Mode, appearing in groups and holding up wooden planks containing Treasure Chests and enemies.
ChuChu 	ChuChus are gelatinous creatures that can be infused with various elements, letting out an explosion of said element when defeated and changing color and behavior to match it. These variants can also appear on their own.
Keese 	Keese are batlike enemies that often attack in swarms, but are weak enough to be eliminated in a single strike.
Pebblit 	Miniature versions of the Talus minibosses, Pebblits are rocklike enemies that come in stone, fire, and frost variants. They're extremely durable however and best taken out via an explosive attack.
Wizzrobe 	Wizzrobes are imp-like wizards that float through the air, using their Rod weapons to fire blasts of magical energy at you.
Dodongo 	Dodongos are reptilian enemies that tend to crawl on walls and ceilings before ambushing you. They're also capable of unleashing ferocious fire breath, so stay on your toes!
Gibdo 	Gibdos are mummy-like enemies that usually only appear in graveyards and the like. However, they are VERY vulnerable to fire.
===Warriors===
Warriors are more humanoid enemies that are much more intelligent than Monsters. They tend to take greater advantage of the Hierarchy system and are more likely to be found in fortified areas.
Warriors 	Warriors
Yiga Footsoldier	Yiga Footsoldiers are agile enemies that will teleport around, using either a Duplex Bow, Vicious Sickle, or Demon Carver to attack you. They're also fond of Mighty Bananas and will often be distracted by them.
Yiga Blademaster	Yiga Blademasters are more resilient Yiga enemies that wield giant Windcleavers capable of firing blasts of wind at long distance, as well as creating fissures that expel wind before unleashing a stone pillar. Like the footsoldiers, Yiga Blademasters are also easily distracted by Mighty Bananas.
Yiga Mage 	Yiga Mages are spellcasting Yiga Clan members that will shoot blasts of Malice while teleporting around. However, their Malice blasts can be parried back in what's known as Dead Man's Volley.
Yiga Juggernaut 	Yiga Juggernauts are Yiga Clan warriors equipped with modified Sheikah technology, capable of shooting lasers and utilizing Guardian-esque weaponry in combat.
Darknut 	Darknuts are heavily armored knights that wield a giant sword and shield. Frequently found as minibosses in dungeons, they're quite resilient to attack and hit hard.
===Guardians===
Guardian enemies are pieces of Sheikah technology that have gone rogue. They tend to hit quite hard and are best dealt with via specific Guardian-resistant equipment. Guardian enemies are also unique in that they aren't part of the Hierarchy system.
Guardian 	Guardian
Decayed Guardian 	Decayed Guardians are Guardian Stalkers that have lost their mobility. They attempt to fire a laser at you, but cannot move. Their laser can be deflected via parrying it with a shield to instantly defeat it however.
Guardian Stalker 	Guardian Stalkers are among the deadliest of Guardians, being mobile variants of the Decayed Guardians that are also much more durable. It'll take multiple shield deflections to kill this one!
Guardian Scout 	Guardian Scouts are often found in Shrines, and have four different classes. While the weakest variant can only fire lasers, stronger ones are armed with weapons and are more intelligent.
Guardian Skywatcher	Guardian Skywatchers are flying Guardians that utilize a searchlight in an attempt to catch you. While their place in the air makes them difficult to hit, their propellers can be attacked to send them to the ground.
Guardian Turret 	Guardian Turrets are similar to Decayed Guardians, but are much more durable and can spot you from further away than any other Guardian enemy.
===Overworld Bosses===
Overworld Bosses are enemies that are just as strong as bosses, but show up in Hyrule itself instead of dungeons.
Overworld Bosses	Overworld Bosses
Lynel 	Lynels are minotaur-esque foes that wield both melee weapons and a bow. They're extremely fast, powerful, and versatile with their attacks, requiring incredible patience and skill to defeat.
Talus 	Talus are powerful foes with rock, fire, and frost variants. While slow, they pack a punch and can even be climbed on to hit the ore deposit on its back for damage.
Molduga 	Moldugas are sand monsters that patrol the Gerudo Desert. When you encounter them, they'll attempt to dive through the sand to attack, but are very sensitive to loud noises, which will stun them.
Hinox 	Hinoxes are giant Bokoblin-esque enemies with a single eye that are often found sleeping. In battle, they'll attempt to use nearby objects as weapons as well as punching and swiping at you. Their eye can be attacked for double damage as well!
Stalnox 	Stalnoxes are the "Stal" variant of Hinxoes that are only found at night. However, they moreso function as stronger Hinoxes than anything.
Blight 	Blights are manifestations of 's power that appear throughout Hyrule once the Ganondorf's Tower dungeon can be accessed. They're powerful foes that will create pools of Malice on the nearby ground via their projectiles, and can teleport around in an attempt to deceive you.
==Dungeons==
Dungeons remain a prominent part of Across Generations, and work alongside the time progression system in that dungeon puzzles are altered depending on how much time has passed, and in some cases entire dungeons are blocked off or opened up.
===Ancient Shrines===
Ancient Shrines are mini-dungeons scattered throughout Hyrule that contain some sort of challenge for the player to overcome, whether it be solving puzzles, fighting some sort of powerful enemy within, or even tackling a puzzle outside of the shrine itself! Unlike Breath of the Wild, Across Generations employs more Shrine Quest-based Shrines that actually use the world as the puzzle rather than containing the puzzle within the Shrine itself. Shrines reward Spirit Orbs, and four of them can be brought to a Goddess Statue to receive an additional Heart Container or Stamina Vessel.
===Main Dungeons===
The game's actual dungeons are larger in size than Shrines, and feature both combat and puzzles. Unlike Breath of the Wild, they're closer to traditional Zelda dungeons instead of being terminal-based, designed around having rooms to navigate, maps to secure, and keys to unlock doors, culminating in a boss fight at the end. Uniquely, most dungeons don't tie into the main story, mostly being scattered around the world and not really having any major buildup to being accessed, and in some cases their existence is hidden much like Shrines! Dungeons now also employ "Optional Objectives", which feature rooms that require specific items to be brought in from outside the dungeon to be accessed, and hold rewards.
Dungeons	Dungeons
==Bosses==
Bosses	Bosses
==Downloadable Content==
Much like Breath of the Wild, Across Generations features a season pass that allows access to two DLC packs. Purchasers of the season pass also receive a GhostDrive shirt and some free items upon purchase, and these don't need to be searched for unlike Breath of the Wild, being granted to you upon loading an existing save, and showing up in chests outside your house on the Great Plateau upon starting a new save.
===DLC Pack 1: The Seas Await===
The Seas Await consists of the following content:
*A new storyline involving the oceans outside of mainland Hyrule, adding randomly-generated islands that can be explored in a similar vein to The Wind Waker. These islands hold treasure and monsters, and add to the open-world nature of the game.
*DLC armor consisting of:
**Tetra's outfit.
**Ganondorf's armor in Twilight Princess.
**Zant's outfit.
**A hat resembling that of the hood of Wizzro from Hyrule Warriors.
*The Four Sword can now be obtained, which allows for mirror images of your character to fight alongside you for as long as it's wielded. However, they use the equipment of other players via the Internet. The Four Sword can be broken, but recharges much like the Master Sword.
*The Hyrule Fight Club is opened up in Castle Town, providing a multiplayer battle mode allowing you to duel other players utilizing set equipment alongside Sheikah Slate runes. You can either play against people locally, or online.
===DLC Pack 2: The Dark World===
The Dark World consists of the following content:
*After defeating Ganondorf, the Dark World can be accessed via a portal on the Great Plateau. In the Dark World, the layout of Hyrule is altered drastically, along with multiple new Shrines. Special "Dark Variants" of existing bosses roam the Dark World and can be taken down for rewards along with new purple variants of enemies that are stronger than gold ones, making it a fun way to interact with a new iteration of Hyrule.
*DLC armor consisting of:
**A mask resembling the King of Red Lions.
**A Wizzrobe's outfit.
**A "Satori Warrior" armor set that resembles the Lord of the Mountain.
**A body suit that resembles Wolf Link.
*An item known as the Bracelet can be obtained, which allows you to wall-merge in a similar vein to A Link Between Worlds, abeit wall-merging costs stamina.
*Loftwings now appear all around Hyrule and can be tamed, allowing you to actually fly across it, with controls akin to the Star Fox series.
==Development==
After the completion of Hour of Reckoning and the start of the development of the GhostDrive console, it was decided that the system would feature new mainline titles in both the Super Mario and Zelda franchises. While the Mario game would eventually come to be with the release of Super Mario Expedition, the Zelda game faced a troubled development cycle.
The game initially featured an alien invasion, inspired by the scrapped content from Breath of the Wild, and would involve Link going to space. Titled "Beyond Hyrule", it was scrapped due to it seeming too outlandish for the series. From that point on, countless ideas were brainstormed and scrapped, until the discovery of dating sim mechanics scrapped from Ocarina of Time came to light. With that in mind , the lead developer, spearheaded this new title, seeking to also turn it into a spiritual successor of the prior Zelda game the company had done that was inspired by Breath of the Wild, War of the Triforce, which was generally regarded to be a bit too ambitious.
One major focus of development was dealing with many problems Breath of the Wild faced, namely how it handled dungeons as well as the story as a whole. The philosophy used here was akin to that of the very first Zelda game on the Nintendo Entertainment System, in which dungeons were merely "stumbled" upon with little to no buildup, which added to the sense of adventure. Despite this, a few dungeons were required to progress in the "main" storyline, which was a linear one that could be ignored should the player choose. The story outline was also inspired by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in terms of how it could be freely postponed and ignored, and the story as a whole was of greater importance than it was in Breath of the Wild, using a three-act structure consisting of the discovery of the return of Malice, the fight to liberate Vah Medoh, and the showdown with Ganondorf. The dating sim elements allowed for the story to keep a more open approach while satisfying those who seek out something more linear, though eventually the plot reaches an open-world point akin to Hyrule Castle in Breath of the Wild.
Many other ideas were discussed and scrapped, such as a multiplayer feature akin to that of the Dark Souls series, Ganondorf undergoing the same generations-based time system as the player, and even a split in the Zelda timeline again. More specifically, the ending was going to originally split in two depending on whether the player chooses to spare or kill Ganondorf at the climax of the game, but was changed due to complexity issues. The idea of the Triforce being destroyed in the ending was also heavily discussed, due to the events of A Link Between Worlds showing what could happen if it was destroyed. However, through research, the development team actually found that other Zelda timelines had turned out fine without the presence of the Triforce, more specifically the events of The Wind Waker.
==Trivia==
*This is the first Zelda title to:
**Not feature Link in any role whatsoever, though the incarnation of Link from Breath of the Wild is alluded to.
**Acknowledge Ganondorf's fighting style in the Super Smash Bros. series.
*Unlike Breath of the Wild, Across Generations references past Zelda titles more often.
*The Ganondorf artwork is from Marcos Lopez.
*Across Generations actually takes place in a merged Zelda timeline where all three timelines fused together after the events of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. In fact, it's heavily implied that Hyrule Warriors was the catalyst for this due to a set of ruins near Death Mountain mentioning an evil sorceress who tore apart space and time with her magic.
*Shokusha was inspired by the krexxon, a species created by .
Category:The Legend of Zelda (series)
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Category:Open World Games
Category:Ghostrealm Games
Category:GhostDrive Games
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Category:Rated 12 Games
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Category:Rated PG Games