The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has provided more insight on the significance that rupees will have in Breath of the Wild. Rupees will still act as some form of currency but no longer appear in abundance as they did in previous installments.
“Rupees do exist,” Aonuma assured IGN, “but the reason for their existence is a little different this time around. As you saw it’s not about going to cut down grass and collect rupees or find them in treasure chests but it’s about collecting things and going to sell them and then using the rupees you get to buy new things. The rupees are there but they serve a different purpose.”
Aonuma also shared details on how towns will be important in the game. “I can’t share too much about villages because the way they work is interconnected to the story and overall world,” Aonuma said. “I think that in adventure games the idea of meeting people and saying farewell to them is an important aspect. So that’s definitely in there.”
In order to avoid spoilers, villages were intentionally cut from the game’s demo build, shown at this year’s E3.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will release simultaneously on Wii U and NX in 2017.