Walking into Breath of the Wild: The Definitive Look at Nintendo’s Booth at E3 2016

After Nintendo first announced it would only showcase a single game on the E3 show floor this year, many fans expressed an initial doubt over the company’s decision. Despite promises of “complete immersion” within the hotly anticipated title known then as

Zelda U, these fans weren’t sure if Nintendo could sustain attention with only one game in the spotlight. Luckily, as those show floor doors opened and hungry fans rushed to play the freshly announced Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s booth exceeded all expectations.

The company did not merely show off a brand new game for the first time, it provided a fully realized experience that placed attendees directly into the expansive world of this new Zelda title. Nintendo’s booth offered fans a kingdom’s worth of sights, sounds, and surprises, extending far beyond the game itself. So, join us as we take you on a comprehensive tour of Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild booth at E3 2016.

The week of E3 saw thousands of attendees

stampeding straight to the Nintendo booth as soon as the show floor doors were opened, hoping to get their hands on Breath of the Wild. I don’t think even Nintendo anticipated the explosive fervor around this new Zelda game, as they spent the week organizing and reorganizing the four-hour-plus line. Nintendo reps explained that the company intended to have an appointment system in place to keep the line from getting out of hand, but after the sheer popularity of BotW reached critical mass, these plans were discarded and the line left tapering throughout the convention hall.

Luckily for those poor souls forced to wait in the slow-moving assembly of bodies, the line offered a bit of entertainment along the way, especially toward the front. Those waiting could enjoy a Nintendo stream live on the Treehouse stage, which for the better part of Tuesday focused primarily on Breath of the Wild. The Treehouse served as a great primer for the Zelda demo ahead, offering ideas of places to visit, items to experiment with, and perhaps even secrets to uncover.

How else do you think I knew to expect a

fight with the Steppe Talus?

Directly before the official entrance to the booth lay two amiibo displays, one showcasing a collection of

Super Mario amiibo and the other showing off the newly announced Breath of the Wild amiibo. In addition to the three new Zelda figures (the Guardian is massive by the way), the Zelda display contained five separate Wolf Link amiibo, each one from a different stage in the manufacturing process. I think we can all agree an prototype Wolf Link amiibo would fetch a high price.

From there, eager fans that had thus far proved their patience and determination were ushered into a dimly lit theater. Only faint red glyphs and a

Zelda logo revealed the room ahead, a series of ultra-soft cushioned seats placed across the floor. Adventurers weren’t given the opportunity to lollygag for too long though, as a soft voice insisted that they come in quickly and sit down.

With the hysteria-stricken Zelda fans seated and ready, a large screen on the wall played an extended version of Breath of the Wild‘s trailer. Seeing the picturesque landscape of the Great Plateau unfold before their eyes in gorgeous high definition — as ducks paddled through the water and a giant Stalfos lumbered over a distant canyon — did little to curb the audience’s enthusiasm. And watching Link cut down an apple tree or shiver helplessly in the cold produced a series of cheers, cries, and giggles. I found the collective Zelda glee around me to be utterly sublime.

The trailer finished and excitement reached its absolute highest. The screen faded to the image of a closed doorway with a blue Sheikah symbol overhead. The stones of the door lifted one by one to reveal a dim hallway beyond it. This reveal illustrated the genius of Nintendo’s booth planning, as the screen projecting the image itself lifted to match the stones of the doorway. The spectators could barely notice that the display they were watching had disappeared and their path to the booth now lay before them. “Now go,” said the voice of

BotW‘s mysterious female character, instructing the attendees to make their way to the adventure awaiting them.

The booth itself acted as a living slice of

Breath of the Wild‘s Great Plateau. Aside from the 100 or so game stations placed around, the room featured a mosaic of foliage, ruins, columns, landmarks, and art. In a similar way that the demo we played gave us a “breath” of the “wild” landscape to be found in the full game, the booth itself offered a small but potent taste of BotW‘s world. Like Link looking over the expanse of Hyrule for the first time, attendees could look up and beyond their place in the booth to see the many intrigues of the kingdom’s horizon overhead.

In that moment, the booth was Hyrule. And guests were invited to immerse themselves there.

But like Breath of the Wild itself, the magic of the booth’s beautiful layout lay in exploration and discovery. And I hope to take you through each booth area one by one to share the finer details found within them.

The entire booth could be described in two areas: the larger “outdoor” area and the smaller “indoor” area. Now, I don’t mean any part of the booth was literally outside, but rather these two areas were meant to resemble an indoor and outdoor locale from

Breath of the Wild.

The outdoor area, resembling the forested wilds of the Great Plateau, made up a majority of the booth. Trees, bushes, rocks, grass-textured carpet, and a wide open view of Hyrule’s horizon helped sustain the outdoor feel. Most of the Wii U play stations were present in this area, as well as multiple landmarks and interest points ripped straight from the game.

The first of these interest points — located directly outside the theater doors — was a statue of Link firing an arrow at a statue of a Guardian, taken from

BotW‘s initial announcement trailer. The detail of Link alone was impressive; the blue tunic, the Traveler’s Shield, and the new spearhead arrows were all represented. And I might be mistaken, but I thought I saw a Clawshot hanging from our hero’s belt also.

The imposing Guardian statue was an absolute marvel. The mechanical beast stood with its clawed tentacles raised high, as if

ready to strike at any moment. Nervous attendees could hide behind Link and watch the Guardian’s glowing trim and eye change colors periodically.

This Link and Guardian battle scene proved to be a popular spot for photos among booth goers. On the final day of the show, the line to strike a hero pose with Link extended pretty far into the booth. Our team was actually told that every statue and object in the booth was built to scale, so fans could actually measure themselves up to the Hylian hero, or perhaps gauge their legitimate chances against the monstrous Guardian.

In a way, attendees were even given the opportunity to help Link fire a devastating blow to the Guardian. Thanks to a strategically placed pressure button under the carpet, most fans that approached the Link statue for a picture (or a stealthy Nintendo rep with the know how) could activate a sound effect of Link firing one of

Breath of the Wild‘s new high-tech arrows. There was no better way to look genuinely triumphant in your photo.

This arrow shot wasn’t the only sound effect heard in the booth. Something I and many other attendees heard again and again was the sound of a Bokoblin Horn, which instantly drew our attention to the sentry platform high above the center of the booth. In

Breath of the Wild, Bokoblin sentries sound a horn whenever they spot Link lurking about. So, attendees were forced to take heed of this watchful foe as they walked the busy aisles of the booth, especially because the pressure button activating the horn was located right in the middle of the walkway.

Sounds weren’t the only cool features activated by these hidden buttons; parts of the booth would move when triggered as well. The most prominent moving landmark was the cooking stand, representing one of

BotW‘s most interesting new features. Like Link roasting a collection of ingredients over a fire, fans could watch some tasty steak and mushrooms bounce around on the stove, with delightful cooking sounds accompanying the spectacle. We were informed that Nintendo initially planned to have smoky scents released from the stand as well, but apparently those plans were never implemented. Instead, fans that knelt below the stove could only smell the scent of the freshly cut firewood beneath.

The only other hidden pressure button that we found in the booth released a gust of air any time someone walked over it. To attendees unaware, the sensation of feeling wind against their faces and seeing a tree’s leaves rustle overhead helped to capture the outdoor freedom of

Breath of the Wild.

That may be all of the hidden pressure buttons we found (and there may have been even more we couldn’t find), but the booth’s outdoor area still contained more interesting sights to see. Fans could walk the edge of the booth to find various crates and explosive barrels, and for those looking for more photo ops, a Bokoblin Chest. The chest’s ominous appearance and dynamic lights inside made us really want to open that baby up; it’s too bad that it was completely sealed shut though.

If this real chest worked like it does

Breath of the Wild (it doesn’t unfortunately), the Bokoblin camp further into the booth would have been the best place to investigate. One of those ferocious beasts was skulking around next to a roasting piece of meat. Brave fans could approach the monster for a photo, but there was no guarantee that you’d get out of there alive.

Even friend of ZI MatPat had some trouble getting away.

The remaining landmarks to explore in the outdoor section of the booth were a series of stone ruins and columns, obviously drawing from the ruins of Hyrule seen in

Breath of the Wild. As much as we hoped we’d find a hidden labyrinth behind one of these stone walls, we could only pose for some photos.

These ruins easily transitioned into the indoor area of the booth, where the grass carpet gave way to stone textured carpet and a sprawling Hyrulian vista gave way to stained glass windows. Resembling temple-like structures native to

Zelda titles, this area gave us hope for more big indoor structures in BotW. There wasn’t much to see in this booth area aside from demo stations, but I noted a sense of tranquility as I walked through. Perhaps this peacefulness was due to the calm piano music being easier to hear in this area; regardless, I found myself strolling through more leisurely to take in the view.

That wraps up the landmarks to find while walking the booth, but there were still some cool things to spot on the massive mural of Hyrule’s horizon painted along the booth’s walls. Fans could easily spot some of the major points of interest seen in

BotW‘s demo, such as a Resurrection Tower, ice-capped mountains, the shrouded castle, and so much more.

But what really caught our eye were the moving projection effects applied to these faraway places. For example, we were rather excited to see a flock of birds fly across the sky every so often.

The castle that served as Link’s immediate goal in our

BotW demo featured an ominous shroud of energy swirling around it. Just as Calamity Ganon’s dark powers surrounds the castle in-game, so too did the castle appear in peril within the booth.

Finally, the smoldering peak of what could be

Death Mountain let forth streams of molten lava. I have a feeling that the mountain will be as dangerous to scale as it was in Ocarina of Time.

The final element of the booth to note was how it reflected the

dynamic time and weather systems we will see in Breath of the Wild. The entire booth ran on a roughly 40 minute timer, shifting back and forth between bright day and tranquil night. We actually stayed in the booth for about an hour to see all the booth’s phases, but we weren’t even certain if we’d actually experienced them all.

By a stroke of luck, we even got caught in a surprise storm within the booth. The lights dimmed to their absolute lowest, thunder roared loud, and flashes of lightning were spotted in the sky. We spoke to several Nintendo reps that had worked in the booth all three days, but none of them could offer a definite answer as to how frequent these storms occurred. I guess

Breath of the Wild‘s weather could be just as unpredictable.

With everything experienced and all secrets found in the booth, fans could make their way to the merch table near the exit. For finishing both parts of

BotW‘s demo, attendees received a sweet Zelda T-shirt and a nifty Zelda coin. We may not have found the Master Sword hidden with those E3 walls, but at least we have a few keepsakes to remember our adventure.

Nintendo’s booth not only provided a great venue to play such a highly anticipated game, but it gave those lucky enough to step inside the chance to fully immerse themselves in that game’s world. Every sight, every sound, every exciting new secret gave us a better idea of the things to come in

Breath of the Wild. Nintendo may not have had a big line-up of games to play this year, but I can say that the company was absolutely effective in letting fans experience the exciting world Aonuma and his team have created. If only for a few fleeting moments, every Zelda fan at E3 could live the Hyrule Fantasy they’ve always seen on screen.

What did you think of the booth? Let us know in the comments and tell us what you see in our photo gallery below.

• Photos and video by Zion Grassl