The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Development History

With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Nintendo Switch out, we look at the development (2011-2017) of this gamechanger! + We reveal the Giveaway winners!
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Music:
"Trailer Theme" by Cleffernotes
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Big shoutout goes to Music Proposition:
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[@keisimmons]

Why is everyone salty they didn't win a switch? Did you actually rely on getting the switch from a giveaway with tens of thousands of people lmao

[@niceguy6833]

OMG! OMG! THAT'S MY NAME! DID COMMONWEALTH JUST SEND ME AN E-MAIL?! Seriously though, thank you so much! It's so hard to express in words how flabbergasted I am right now. This is just unbelievable. I'm kind of a Zelda freak, so it's not hard to realise how I found your channel! I simply love Commonwealth Realm, and when I need my daily dose of Zelda, I usually turn to this channel. Once more, thank you...

[@commonwealthrealm]

So glad that a true Zelda fan won the 1st Prize! :D Hope you will have great enjoyment in the years to come! And hey Season 2 of Inside Breath of the Wild is coming soon! PS: Reply to the e-mail so I can send it over.

[@niceguy6833]

Commonwealth Realm Done and done!

[@PabloSanchez-mo8ui]

@@niceguy6833 and u still play botw?

[@commonwealthrealm]

It took much time, but here it finally is. The complete Zelda: Breath of the Wild Documentary! Also thank you so much for entering the giveaway. This has been an incredible journey. But as we all know this is just the beginning of a new chapter!

[@QuinSkew]

Commonwealth Realm So who won?

[@desolationrow8079]

Good work as always guys! Welcome back Nintendo!!!!

[@commonwealthrealm]

Watch the video.

[@Thrillowatt]

Commonwealth Realm so won the giveaway

[@MrCleman1]

Hey Commonwealth Realm, how is the Anime movie you used a scene from at 8:55 called?

[@ryanfuentes3785]

4 years later this game is still considered one of the best games ever made

[@andree_gomes]

7 years later, and still is

[@StuartRedman]

2:21 Was that a pun? "Hylian-ticipated title"

[@xsnippy1451]

Literally one concept is what makes this game so great. Options. Options. Options is what this series needed. Hey, you wanna go to that mountain or that lake? Lake? Cool! Do it.

[@ethanhaggart6495]

Awwww... my 0.004% chance didn't work...

[@sh4dy832]

same here...

[@brandonluong2494]

You forget. There are people who have bots for giveaways, sadly it's just chance.

[@theRitemis]

atleast u know ur chances, some people are too stupid to get that...

[@clbl8706]

This game was worth EVERY SINGLE delay. Barely a single uncookable bug in sight :)

[@amphicyon4359]

J's be dominating the giveaway

[@commonwealthrealm]

Remember the winners were selected fully random (we had no impact on the selection which was done automatically through Gleam). Both I and Joseph were surprised when we saw that all of them had names beginning with J. But in return the winners are from three different continents and entered the giveaway at vastly different times.

[@amphicyon4359]

I know, didn't doubt that but its still amazing that all of the winners started with J.

[@commonwealthrealm]

We were shocked in an unpleasant way since we were afraid of the reaction. But changing it from the random selection, that would be rigging.

[@amphicyon4359]

I am very glad you did that. Never rig something or do something unfairly for fear of reaction. Keep doing what you are doing guys. Great Work

[@omegawolflight9739]

Js well i guess its pointless for me to watch

[@Vigor.y]

Personally I didn't like Skyrim as much as the rest of the internet does. But I've been a huge Zelda fan for years and I can say that Zelda: Breath of the wild is probably the best game I've ever played!

[@raymondgrasso1004]

Just wait for botw2

[@kaneo1]

Understandable. I love both. BOTW is awesome. Skyrim is awesome. Skyrim's 'killer app' is dev-supported modding, turning Elder Scrolls almost into a game platform rather than a single game. Zelda is far more constrained.

[@Nyxael5845]

JUST A FEW HOURS AWAY!!!

[@Harold749]

Do you guys know if the NX will play breath of the wild? All the rumours said it would...

[@marbyyy7810]

BlandyGuy NOT SURE IF YOURE JOKING BUT THE NX IS THE SWITCH

[@kellymcdermott6637]

BlandyGuy It will, BOTW is a launch title

[@M_______._]

BlandyGuy did you all not get the joke 😂

[@Harold749]

FierceLink Me?

[@gelbert12]

Joke?

[@Billybo10K]

And this video has given me chills. Honestly, going through the timeline I can remember where I was as each of these events happened, I can vividly remember watching this game go through it's development with me thinking, "This is the first Zelda game I'm going to buy with my own money, let's hope it's a good one," and damn, it's a good one! Amazing video!

[@kainhighwind978]

Well done, that summary was put together beautifully! Can't wait to hear more from you guys!

[@everythingnintendo]

Great job on on development history vid from great folks at the commonwealth realm. Another like and fave video for the ages. And congrats to those who won in the giveaway as well.

[@mmelgoza1983]

Great Job guys! This whole wait and journey has been been so much more exciting, memorable and invigorating with your channel as a companion! Thank you guys so much!

[@medgazzeh9884]

actually loz skyward sword is one of my favorites from the serie along with ocarina of time I don't know why a lot of people consider it a fail , also motion controls are perfect for this game and it have an awesome story.

[@richardbaracat826]

I couldn't agree more! Skyward Sword for me is the best alongside BotW

[@NootNoot.]

Anyone here from BOTW 2 Teaser?

[@chosentoaster6626]

this is exactly what I needed, I (and many others I'm sure) have been waiting years for this game. this was the longest game I've been keeping track of from the second of its announcement. and now finally we are a few hours away from the midnight launch and I got my energy drinks and snacks ready, got all errands done, and even got a day off work.(kids don't use me for an example) and nobody is going to interrupt this play session I've waited years for. thanks you commonwealth, you guys where with me when I thought I couldn't bear this terribly long wait.

[@MrInternetMan]

Great job on the video, guys. Very detailed and informative.

[@bpwutube]

It's been a long road guys, and it's finally here

[@thoyo]

great video, awesome production value!

[@DetonaHard]

Awesome material, awesome video!

[@bloodydoll5897]

WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR LITERAL YEARS FOR THIS GAME I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT COMES OUT TOMORROW! I was so curious about Zelda U, I found you guys. I watched your Inside Breath of the Wild news updates before the actual trailers on Nintendo's channel. Also, you guys have to be one of if not the best KZbinrs I've ever watched. Keep making awesome videos and LET'S PLAY SOME ZELDA! Also for the record I loved Skyward Sword and I've been playing the Hero Mode throughout February and January waiting for BotW.

[@ItsPallasAthena]

HELL YEAH, SO HYPED

[@cryptedanbu5611]

Congrats to everyone :( Why the J's got to win

[@commonwealthrealm]

Remember the winners were selected fully random (we had no impact on the selection which was done automatically through Gleam). Both I and Joseph were surprised when we saw that all of them had names beginning with J. But in return the winners are from three different continents and entered the giveaway at vastly different times.

[@sandervanberkel4587]

tnx for all those nice videos!!

[@kaneo1]

The Switch introductory commercial was crucial for showing what/how/where/why in a short time. They never did this with the Wii U.

[@70fu]

Congrats to all the winners! Awesome video

[@TrueG7O7D7]

Congrats guys:) I flinched all 3 times cause my name starts with a J

[@theaveragegamingman]

joel hierro me too man lol

[@jeffzzzz1955]

Mine too man

[@jeremyhalla1757]

joel hierro Same

[@jetpacksheep]

Is this the J club over here? reporting in for duty.

[@AljojoX]

J club here too

[@shadoweric1376]

Awesome video as always, the time has finally come :DDD

[@Yoopsen213]

Absolutely amazing video

[@sh4dy832]

21:03 our personal favourite: -shieldsurfing- *fucking rocks!*

[@tba77]

Your videos are really great and enjoyable so well done it's a really pleasure to watch and to get informed about Zelda franchies keep going you are great

[@patrickb1439]

dude.....you did an AMAZING job with this! my hats off to you!

[@meep7895]

HOLY MOLY BREATH OF THE WILD COMES OUT TOMORROW

[@kyleriley9786]

congrats to the winners! Thanks for doing the giveaway, even if I didn't win.

[@fiendnewsnetwork9639]

Quality video as usual! Us here at Fiend News Network are big fans of yours!

[@kintin3853]

3:13 I don’t know why but the image on the right is just so aethsetically pleasing to me

[@missdaisynukes2495]

Congrats to the winners!

[@michaelg7784]

Ok I need to calm down...........THERE IS LESS THAN 3 HOURS TILL ITS OUT WAAAAAAAAAAAAT

[@olafurcesarsson1237]

Great video, honestly, very detailed and informative :-))

[@Matter_Of_Fact]

you guys literally make me cry with joy...like right now.. thank you guys lol

[@enrique5850]

Awesome video, congrats to the winners.

[@Thetopnoobpro]

Thank you for making this video for letting us know how arguably the greatest game of all time came to form.

[@ginospina6747]

Thank you commonwealth. You have been keeping us updated on everything botw and now we are FINALLY here.

[@Linkje]

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you guys for containing my hype during the wait. I wish you a lot of fun during the game! See ya guys and gal's soon

[@NaikoArt]

Well done video, really good.

[@HarmonicWave]

I got this game with my Switch on launch day but didn't see this video until almost 4 years later. I remember waiting so long for Twilight Princess to come out, watching for every trailer and tidbit of info, being disappointed with delays, then finally getting to play it. With Breath of the Wild it was totally different because I got married in 2011 and didn't have much time for video games for a while. We didn't have an HDTV at first so I didn't bother getting a Wii U and just occasionally saw bits of gameplay for the next Zelda game. I hadn't even played Skyward Sword yet, so I didn't really focus on the new game still being developed. It wasn't until I saw the announcement for the Switch that I got really excited and finally got a Wii U (since I didn't want to get them out of order). It was amazing to experience Breath of the Wild on a new handheld system, and now it's hard to go back and actually play through Skyward Sword, I keep wanting to play more Breath of the Wild.

[@PunchinBag01]

So if ur name starts with a J u win, wow

[@commonwealthrealm]

Remember the winners were selected fully random (we had no impact on the selection which was done automatically through Gleam). Both I and Joseph were surprised when we saw that all of them had names beginning with J. But in return the winners are from three different continents and entered the giveaway at vastly different times.

[@PunchinBag01]

Commonwealth Realm huh I guess it's fair then

[@juliano89]

Julian Hentges Aye. I got so hopeful. Guess I'll be waiting for August.

[@michaelg7784]

Congratulations winners hope you enjoy playing! It's gonna be amazing

[@324fletch]

Congratulations to all of the winners!

[@cristianm5465]

Well, it has been a plesure to share all the Botw and Switch with you guys.Sice I subscribed to your channe, everytime I watched one of your video you made me feel happier and less stressed.But unfortunatley, now I have to enter to the Antispoilers bunker, so I have go to an aaccount in which I am not subscribed to you.Again, thanks for all of the amazing moments you gave me.Thank you so much.See ya until,probably, decmeber. And again thank you

[@kimh1717]

I'm literally playing Twilight Princess HD right now because I can't contain my excitement for BOTW

[@jorgealonzo8535]

Very informative video, was late to the BOTW party and now I’m obsessed!

[@gelbert12]

Congratulations to the winners!

[@joellaurie8410]

WoW you did an amazing job of this. I'm a little disappointed I didn't win, but I was happy to watch all the way through great vid!

[@nope2670]

"I struggle with.... Bipolar depression..... And it's tough. It makes me feel sad inside."

[@2bdivalol]

dude, found you looking foe switch accessory, and gotta say I love your videos

[@vic2_o]

Congratulations to you three J's!

[@Gaskinmoo79]

Delays to improve quality is never a bad thing.

[@70fu]

Yay it's up! Not much longer now and it's out!

[@M_______._]

5 seconds into the video and I already have to give you a like!

[@mrfuzzyibrows]

great vid and congrats to the winners. got me a little more excited to buy zelda since im not a die hard fan but appreciate the franchise

[@nadejzparrish]

I'm so hypedddd.!! Going to the midnight release after work tonight (I get off at 11pm) This is going to be the longest shift ever 😭

[@TonyKanameKuran]

Excellent job on the Chronology of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Although it's already launched in Japan and Europe, we'll be waiting for the next 4.5 hours here in North America. Our bodies will be ready for this game and the Switch.

[@makenziefoster8679]

It's so beautiful and there's so much nostalgia and excitement I actually cried

[@carljohansson3512]

congratulations to the winners

[@ejhaysantos]

thankyou for the zelda excitement and updates.. congratulations to the winner 👏 👏 👏 now lets play Zelda!!!!!

[@elongatedmusketeer4676]

6 years to make one of the best videogames ever

[@rafaelmoura2103]

11:50 i believe thats when tears of the kingdom was born, i think they were making one game and decided to split it into two, so that the first would focus on exploring the surface and the second on exploring the underground, despite the fact that they sold totk as a sky island hopping game and said that it was originally dlc, i believe they always knew they were going to make a sequel, one of the biggest evidences is the chasm inside the yiga hideout, indicating they already knew about the depths concept, and that npc kid who mentions sky islands

[@MrKamshamnida]

That's a great video! Congrats to the winners! I wished to win a Switch but still I'll enjoy my Wii U version tomorrow!

[@Cosmic-Bear.]

I think I'm going to cry. What a ride this has been.

[@34Vilend]

This guy knows how to build hype. The last few minutes got me even more hyped for this.

[@FerrisWheelPro]

Hello everyone, Joseph here. I was with Konrad via Skype when he drew the names and I can confirm it was all randomized. I was the first to point out that they all begin with the letter J and Konrad was wondering if we should draw the names again. I said no because that would be unfair to them, these gentlemen have won fair and square and we hope they enjoy their prizes! 😄

[@greggeskridge2955]

Ferris Wheel Productions you guys did a great job everyone should just thank you for the chance to win you don't owe anyone anything great vids guys have you ever done a podcast I could see you guys doing a great one

[@TheStevedie]

I never finished Skyward Sword because I couldn't stand the controls. The concept? Brilliant, innovative and enjoyed it....when it god damn worked! 90% of the time I kept flailing my hands and trying to get it to work. Maybe if a HD remake was done on the Switch they could remedy that, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[@tikii6858]

Lol my name is jesse and my heat stopped when Jesse Straat was called out........ -.-

[@jesperfrost3694]

All 3 names starting with J, man, had me hyped up xD thought there was just a tiny chance of me actually winning something for once. Turns out, today was not that day. Great video as always! I'd say "See you in Hyrule", but, you know, there ain't no "multi" in "singleplayer rpg" ;)

[@kearns.212]

A few more hours until the midnight release everybody!

[@switchprocontrollersplatoo7240]

Man... I just realized... I'm playing this game... tomorrow! It's... surreal! I mean... I think you get it, this almost a mystical game, and we're all going to be able to play, indulge in it... tomorrow!

[@decoyround]

Everyone here complaining about the giveaway winners all having names starting with J, and I'm just in a corner thinking about how two of them begin with "Jo"... That's one bizarre adventure.

[@steambrigade8290]

There's always next time to win 😄 Still watching your videos. Keep it up!

[@Blackfilmguild]

you guys have amazing storytelling. You ever thought about making a film? :)

[@magdiel6709]

Could you please post a link to that review score collage from the beginning of the video? I want to use it as a quick, to-the-point explanation of why all my friends _need this game now_.

[@SMABSYSTEMS]

And yesterday... The second BOTW2 trailer came out :D

[@aemo6996]

Yay can't wait

[@florentchif4551]

Please keep posting video so I can watch while my joycon are charging LOL

[@thoyo]

30:33 the Sisyphus challenge achievement confirmed

[@humbertotorres8355]

Congratulations to the winners, can't believe I didn't write my first name (begins with J.) on gleam but at least I know next time I'll win, 100% sure jajaja Amazing video, BTW.

[@Phi792]

So you needed a 'J' in your name to win something in your giveaway? 🤔🤔

[@commonwealthrealm]

We were surprised as well. But then again the selection was automatic by Gleam. We did not impact the selection. Specifically since one of the winners is from the Phillipines.

[@MrRara2000]

Das Spargel this contest is rigged its letterist 😡😡😤😤 jk lol 😂 congrats to the winners

[@Wolfrsmv]

Agreed. Gleam is oppressive

[@johngardiner2294]

I have a J as well

[@Phi792]

Commonwealth Realm By no means was this meant to be a negative reaction! (I just read another of your comments.) I just wanted to point out a really funny coincidence :D (Especially because you work with 'J'oseph xD) Congrats to the winners!

[@RhythmGrizz]

One of the best comeback stories of all time

[@Lester_Houston]

I like Aonuma’s little Majora Pin 12:08

[@TheChrisanity]

Congrats Jessie for winning the contest!

[@rGGdom]

Regarding the faiulre of skyward sword and the decision of going open world, it's kinda of a shame that up to this day still the only way companies get to listen to their fan bases is by weak sales of their product vs good sales of their competitors. While this is obvious, a lot of times in practice companies just don't listen, and in today's web connected and social media based world, there should be way more channels for companies to listen to us. I say this because, as an old school Zelda fan, I was waiting for an open world Zelda waaay before Skyward Sword... and to think that, if Skyward would have sold well, maybe Nintendo would have never gotten the message and we wouldn't have Botw today...

[@xintruder3853]

Your opinion is true...

[@brickstrike4926]

An interesting thought to consider for this game is that the original game made for release WAS different from how it turned out. I feel as though the beta version of BotW was akin to Link and Zelda fighting Calmity Ganon prior to the events in BotW. 10,000 years prior to be exact. I came upon this idea because the Guardians are an interesting concept and it felt as if that the developers were originally going to have the game be about using the Guardians for the first time against Ganon. All those times Kass tells stories of the past 10,000 years ago, was really the developers giving an omage to the never-to-be released version that they had created and then changed to introduce better concepts and gameplay.

[@n_ielseni25]

Oh man... I was having a tiny bit of hope. But now, I'll never get a Switch...😢😞

[@MrRara2000]

FluffyPuffys MiniMalteser me too man me too

[@bluejay4829]

FluffyPuffys MiniMalteser I'm sorry 😢

[@MoonaLoona]

FluffyPuffys MiniMalteser no money? Oh, thats too bad...

[@fatcunt6765]

FluffyPuffys MiniMalteser get a job

[@sickedgar]

I don't even know why you had such high hopes for something that included tens of thousand of people but ok

[@andresmarrero8666]

I never liked Skyrum. I don't do well without boundaries. One can be open and still have boundaries.

[@MrHamtroll]

My name starts with J that was a rollercoaster

[@MajorPhilGraves]

It's so cool that the second piece of Zelda DLC actually lets Link become a biker!

[@mythikbeast6404]

hmmmm oddd, all v3 winners names started with J, i call shennanigans