Believe it or not, people still play this on the Wii U. Honestly, I’m one of them. While the Switch version gets all the glory and the flashy OLED screenshots, there is something nostalgic and—dare I say—slightly more tactile about the original hardware. If you’re dusting off the GamePad for a breath of the wild wii u walkthrough experience, you aren't just playing a port. You're playing the version the game was actually built for before Nintendo decided to pivot and make it a Switch launch title. It’s got charm. It’s got 720p resolution. It’s got a GamePad that, sadly, doesn’t do as much as we were promised in 2014, but it’s still the definitive way to play for many collectors.
Starting out on the Great Plateau is the same across both consoles, but on the Wii U, you might notice the frame rate chug a bit when you hit the tall grass near the Temple of Time. Don't panic. That’s just the hardware sweating. To survive the first few hours, you need to ignore the urge to run straight to the yellow quest marker. Seriously. Just stop. Look around. See that mountain to the south? Go there first.
The Great Plateau and the "Wii U Tax"
The Great Plateau is a Masterclass in game design. It’s a literal sandbox. You get your four runes—Magnesis, Bombs, Stasis, and Cryonis—and the game basically says, "Good luck, kid." In this breath of the wild wii u walkthrough, the biggest tip I can give you for the Plateau is to cook everything. Since the Wii U doesn't have the "quick menu" snappy feel of the Switch's upgraded processor, you want to spend less time fumbling in menus during a fight. Cook five peppers together. It gives you cold resistance. You'll need it for Mount Hylia.
If you try to climb the snowy peaks without spicy meat and seafood fry, you’ll die. Period. Link will shiver, lose hearts, and you’ll be staring at a Game Over screen before you even find the Old Man’s cabin. Also, grab the paraglider as fast as possible. Don't linger. The world only truly opens up once you can jump off that cliff and realize just how massive Hyrule is.
Performance Tweak: Pro Controller vs. GamePad
Quick side note: if you have a Wii U Pro Controller, use it. The GamePad is cool for off-TV play, but the battery life is abysmal—usually around 3 hours. The Pro Controller lasts for 80 hours. No, that’s not a typo. Eighty. If you’re doing a long-form breath of the wild wii u walkthrough session, the Pro Controller is your best friend.
Navigating the Dueling Peaks and Kakariko
Once you leave the Plateau, the game nudges you toward Kakariko Village. Follow the road. Or don't. That’s the beauty. But for the sake of progression, meeting Impa is vital because she explains the Divine Beasts. On the Wii U, the trek through the Dueling Peaks is where you’ll start to see the draw distance limitations. It still looks gorgeous, but you might notice some "pop-in" with goats or trees.
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Kakariko is where you get the Sheikah Slate upgraded. This is non-negotiable. You need the Camera rune. Not just for selfies, but for the Compendium. In a breath of the wild wii u walkthrough, the Compendium is your database. Take photos of every mushroom, every sword, and every Bokoblin. Later, you can set your sensor to track these items. Need a Zapshroom? If you photographed it, the Slate will beep when you’re near one. It’s basically GPS for organic produce.
The Hateno Tech Lab Sprint
After Kakariko, you head to Hateno. It’s a long walk. Grab a horse. Any horse. Just sneak up behind one, jump on, and mash the 'L' button to soothe it. Don't worry about stats yet. Just get a ride. The Hateno Ancient Tech Lab is where you unlock the ability to upgrade your runes. Upgraded Bombs recharge faster. Upgraded Stasis lets you freeze enemies, not just objects. Freeze a Guardian? Yes, please. It buys you five seconds of "don't kill me" time, which is invaluable.
Solving the Divine Beast Headache
The four Divine Beasts—Vah Ruta, Vah Rudania, Vah Medoh, and Vah Naboris—are the meat of the game. Most people do Vah Ruta (the elephant) first because it's closest. It’s a solid choice. Mipha’s Grace, the reward for beating the boss there, literally brings you back to life when you die. It’s a safety net.
However, if you want to break the game’s difficulty, go for Vah Medoh (the bird) in the Northwest first. The boss, Windblight Ganon, is a total pushover if you have enough arrows. The reward is Revali’s Gale. It creates an updraft. In a game about climbing, having a literal elevator in your pocket is a cheat code. It makes every other shrine and mountain in your breath of the wild wii u walkthrough 50% easier.
- Vah Ruta (Zora's Domain): Focus on shock arrows. You need at least 20.
- Vah Medoh (Rito Village): Bring cold-weather gear. The Snowquill armor set is expensive but worth every rupee.
- Vah Rudania (Goron City): You need fireproof lizards or the Flamebreaker armor. You will literally catch fire otherwise.
- Vah Naboris (Gerudo Desert): This is the hardest one. Thunderblight Ganon moves fast. Real fast. Bring a wooden shield because metal shields conduct electricity and you’ll drop your gear when hit by lightning.
Combat Secrets Nobody Tells You
Combat in Breath of the Wild isn't about button mashing. It’s about the "Flurry Rush." If you dodge an attack at the perfect moment, time slows down and you can wail on the enemy. On the Wii U, there is a tiny bit of input lag compared to a wired Switch controller, so you have to time your backflips just a fraction of a second earlier than you think.
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Parrying is also huge. You can parry a Guardian’s laser beam back at its face. It takes three hits to kill a stationary Guardian and one hit to kill a decayed one. Just wait for the "beep" and the blue flash. Hit 'A' the moment you see the light. It’s terrifying the first time, but once you nail the rhythm, Guardians go from being nightmare fuel to being loot pinatas for ancient gears and springs.
Weapons Break. Get Over It.
This is the number one complaint. "My sword broke!" Yeah, it did. It’s okay. Hyrule is littered with weapons. Use the environment. Drop a metal sword near an enemy during a thunderstorm and watch them get struck by lightning. Use Magnesis to whacked a Moblin with a metal crate. The most "pro" move in any breath of the wild wii u walkthrough is realizing that your weapons are disposable tools, not precious heirlooms. Except the Master Sword. That one just "naps" for 10 minutes when it runs out of energy.
The Master Sword and Lost Woods
You need 13 red hearts to pull the Master Sword. Temporary "yellow" hearts from hearty radishes don't count. Nintendo was smart about that. To get 13 hearts, you need to complete roughly 40 shrines.
The Lost Woods is a puzzle in itself. Most players get frustrated and look up a map. Don't. Just look at the embers on your torch. The wind blows the embers in the direction you need to walk. If the embers blow left, you go left. It’s a simple, elegant solution that most people overthink because they’re looking for complex patterns in the trees.
Making Money (Rupee Farming)
You're going to be broke. Armor is expensive. Great Fairies want thousands of rupees to open their buds. The fastest way to make cash isn't selling monster parts; it’s hunting. Go to the Hebra Tundra in the northwest. Kill the rhinos and moose. They drop Gourmet Meat. Cook five of those together to make a Meat Skewer. Sell that skewer to any shop for 490 rupees. Do this for an hour and you’ll have 10,000 rupees. You’re welcome.
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Final Preparations for Hyrule Castle
You don't actually have to finish the Divine Beasts to go to the final boss, but if you don't, you have to fight all the bosses you missed in a row inside the castle. It’s a nightmare. Finish the Beasts. It cuts Calamity Ganon's health in half before the fight even starts.
Hyrule Castle is the best dungeon in the game because it’s non-linear. You can swim up waterfalls using the Zora Armor, or you can sneak through the docks. There’s a shrine hidden in the docks—light the big brazier there. It creates a fast travel point right inside the lion’s den. This is crucial for your breath of the wild wii u walkthrough because it allows you to leave, restock on food, and warp back in.
The Wii U Experience in 2026
Looking back, the Wii U version is a miracle of optimization. It’s the same 100+ hour epic on a console that most people wrote off. If you're experiencing "stutter" in the Korok Forest—which, let's be honest, everyone does—just look at the ground. It reduces the rendering load and smooths out the frame rate. It’s a weird "speedrunner" trick that actually helps on older hardware.
Next Steps for Your Journey
- Farm Ancient Parts: Head to the Central Plain and hunt decayed Guardians. You need these parts to buy Ancient Arrows from the Akkala Tech Lab. These arrows one-shot almost anything.
- Find the Hylian Shield: It’s in the Lockup section of Hyrule Castle. It’s the best shield in the game and has massive durability. You’ll need to kill a Stalnox (skeleton giant) to get it.
- Upgrade the Sheikah Sensor: Use three Ancient Screws at the Hateno Lab. This lets you track specific items like Hearty Durians, which are the best healing items in the game (cook one for full recovery plus four extra hearts).
- Complete the "Captured Memories" Quest: This is how you get the true ending. Talk to Pikango the painter in various stables; he will tell you exactly where those photos were taken.