Zelda's reviews impacting ME:A?

That's correct. I was skeptical and wanted to learn more about the Switch before I pulled the trigger. Now I'll have to wait since Nintendo likes to create false shortages to try and build up consumer interest. The only thing it does is give scalpers money Nintendo should have! I've already seen quite a few Switches on Amazon and Ebay being sold by folks who pre-ordered multiple Switches just to resell them for a profit.

I'll probably just end up waiting it out. MEA is around the corner, and while I'd love to play Breath of the Wild, there really isn't any actual rush other than excitement. Ocarina of Time will always likely be my favorite Zelda, but perhaps Breath of the Wild will be a worthy contender! Perhaps Breath of the Wild will be terrible! You can never tell with gaming reviews!

This mentality of sticking a game in a category or assuming it's always going to stay that way is terrible.  If ME:A is just a storybook RPG where you shoot shit then traverse then shoot again and no other diverse gameplay then it will fail IMO.  That's so shallow and boring in today's standards.  That's like saying you enjoy The Order: 1886, and people really expect something more in terms of mechanics.  

If you reread my post, I was saying that it doesn't matter if people compare Mass Effect Andromeda to Zelda or Horizon, because there is already a higher standard already when reviewing games and considering them great.  If Mass Effect Andromeda wants to be great, It can't be as you say which is exactly like the old games. They were great for their time, but subpar in terms of mechanics for gaming standards today. 

Bethseda spent 5 months polishing fallout 4? Yet I still get random CTD if the game has been running too long, or I transition between two areas. Or there's the fact that the entrance to Diamond City can often just be a flat gray texture wall. Or the cutscene conversations just show the sky or the back of my character. Or on the loading screens I can often get incredibly low res textures on the bobbleheads. Or the fact that on occasion I've had to use noclip to shoot enemies who have fallen through the floor.

And people are complaining about a few animations in ME:A potentially being a little bit rubbish.

And yet, that's still an expansion on shooting, RPG mechanics, and dialog trees. Doesn't matter if you stick it in a corridor, multiple hallways, or on a plot of land with nothing but a destination, and telling people to go nuts.

In terms of the package as a whole, it makes far more sense to compare MGS5 to MGS4 than it does GTA, even though both games involve driving vehicles and running around shooting people. The principle experience is still stealth based action versus the open mayhem of GTA. Regardless of mechanical elaboration, Mass Effect is still an action RPG with heavy focus on third person shooting as the basis of its combat and dialog trees as a means of traversing the story.

Gears 4 suffered because it was Gears 3 with weaker level and encounter design; it has nothing to do with sticking to a formula. Grand Theft Auto has stuck to the same formula it and Saints Row paved over multiple iterations and will likely continue to do so when GTA6 comes out.

Breath of the wild is being reviewed not just as a great rpg, but also one of the best games of all time.

It's inevitable it may cast a shadow on other exploration focused rpgs releasing so close to it in the eyes of reviewers, but ultimately it won't matter too much for the target audience. BotW is on the Switch and the WiiU, likewise ME:A is on PS4/XB1/PC but not the Switch or the WiiU.

Regardless they haven't learnt anything from those games either. MGSV was a great example of how to set an open world game in a modern environment.

Who the fuck is Zelda?

Why does Zelda have to rescue Link so often? There's like 2 dozen of Zelda games?

I think it wont have much impact. Zelda is totally its own thing. Mass Effect and Zelda really have nothing to base any comparisions on. Theyre like chalk and cheese.

With regards to Breath of the Wild getting such crazy high praise and GOAT talk etc... You have to remember that Zelda receives the same treatment from most gaming sites... ie. A total lack of objectivity due to just being Zelda/Nintendo. Also at the same time i remember all the same gaming critics and journos gushed over Dragon Age:Inquisition in a similiar fashion with glowing reviews as well... So yeeeaah im a gonna take these overly positive reviews of Zelda BOTW with a large grain of salt. From what ive read and seen its not doing anything that other games havent done better before it, but because its Zelda im meant to think its the best thing since sliced bred. No thank you.

That guy was messing with you, Its the other way around. Link is the hero and Zelda is the princess. And you dont have to save her in EVERY game.