Nintendo: New Zelda Out This Year

[Strike911]

I don't necessarily know that more background information necessarily means the game will be better though. Shadow of the Colossus and Ico did a great job giving us minimal information with a game that actually worked, with plenty of travel and puzzles like Zelda, except the game emphasized solitude and the overall lonesome ambiance rather than dialogue. What makes Zelda frustrating is the fact that they give us A LOT of info in the game through NPCs that is veiled as story information, but in the big scheme of things, all that information did was point us in a direction for the next dungeon... which is okay. Each game hints at previous history... that's okay. It's after playing a franchise for 15-20 years and realizing that a lot of the dialogue and story elements generally lack meaning, that gets frustrating. Nothing really affects anything, outside of each game... which still is minimal.

And that in itself is okay, I guess; we're all alive, but the storytelling is just really getting formulaic. All story elements generally occur 4 times in a typical Zelda game. Right at the start of the game, after the first 3 dungeons, before the last boss, and at the end of the game. Every time. I mean, mixing up the storyline isn't hard in comparison to actually hiring programmers to code the game.

... I mean, Twilight Princess, after the first 3 dungeons were complete, and you get into the meat of what's going on, I was on the edge of my seat... "Oh shiii-" you know? Then right after that, it went back into the same old Zelda formula... with the bare minimum of story information being conveyed until you get near the end of the game. Nothing really changes in the Zelda series, honestly.

The gameplay has always been great and a few choice characters are interesting, but the story always lags behind. I think the fans get frustrated after finishing a Zelda title since the gameplay and the story doesn't function in tandem, feeding off each other so the player feels as if they're accomplishing something real in the world, rather than mission hunting. I hate to say it, because I'm such a fan, but the stories in each game (with a few choice exceptions) largely feel tacked on to allot for the spaces between dungeons instead of actually having real meaning.

I don't want to say that the dialogue is meaningless, but practically speaking, it might as well be.

I would love to see Ganon respond to Link's dungeon crawling in the context of the story, rather than just waiting around for Link to show up and kill him at the end... because that's what Zelda's starting to feel like now. Nintendo has been adding new bad guys to take Ganon's place in a few games, but the structure is always the same. Just give me Ganon with some foresight to prepare against Link, rather than waiting around for him.

Don't get me wrong, I love the games, but I'm very anxious to see what Nintendo will do on this new title... hearing that they're going to mix it up does make me feel good. So here's hoping. There were some great things accomplished in TP, and OoT in its day was amazing. I want to see a new Zelda wow me the way LttP and OoT did. I know its asking a lot, but that's the price Nintendo pays for setting the bar.

[EC2151]

Though this is kinda pedantic (that the right word?), in MM it really did feel like the things you did affected the whole game world. In this way was it enjoyably unique.

[Gollgagh]

i love reading zelda threads

I don't

there's much too much text

[The Damned]

And not enough rule 34 pics.

[Calpis]

This.

I would love to see Ganon respond to Link's dungeon crawling in the context of the story, rather than just waiting around for Link to show up and kill him at the end... because that's what Zelda's starting to feel like now. Nintendo has been adding new bad guys to take Ganon's place in a few games, but the structure is always the same. Just give me Ganon with some foresight to prepare against Link, rather than waiting around for him.

IMO I think both timeline viewpoints and "retelling" viewpoints are interesting takes on the Zelda universe. In some ways, they both work, but I think I'll agree that the timeline as a whole doesn't seem to be as thought out as it should if Nintendo truly wanted to tie every game together. I think it works out well in my head to focus in on the "Legend" part of the Legend of Zelda. Sometimes it feels like some details aren't there because you're actually just playing through a myth (or legend) instead of a full on story, similar to greek mythology. The story just keeps getting passed down so many times that it may only resemble what happened.

I don't think Nintendo planned it that way, but it feels like it sometimes. Actually, I think I read on Kotaku that Miyamoto went on record saying that they (Nintendo) have a master copy of the Zelda stories and how they interlink but who knows if that's really true.

Edit:

I forgot to ask, am I the only one excited for motion plus gameplay? I hope they re-did the fighting engine from scratch though. I don't want to waggle through a whole game again.

[Strike911]

Actually, I think I read on Kotaku that Miyamoto went on record saying that they (Nintendo) have a master copy of the Zelda stories and how they interlink but who knows if that's really true.

Yeah, I vaguely remember reading that also back in the day.

Still, if they're never going to actually give us real timeline information in the games, I wish they'd just come out and say it officially that each game is a reboot with nods to the old games.

[Thalzon]

I forgot to ask, am I the only one excited for motion plus gameplay? I hope they re-did the fighting engine from scratch though. I don't want to waggle through a whole game again.

The whole idea of motionplus is to eliminate waggle. You'll be outright swinging the remote. If you played Wii Sports Resort's sword fighting you'd see what it will probably be and feel like.

[Ab56 v2 aka Ash]

The only Zelda game that's been a disappointment since the N64 is Twilight Princess. Minish Cap was so-so. Looks like an exception more than a rule.

[EC2151]

Yeah, I vaguely remember reading that also back in the day.

Still, if they're never going to actually give us real timeline information in the games, I wish they'd just come out and say it officially that each game is a reboot with nods to the old games.

The only thing I'd say to that is that ever since OoT, most of the 'main' Zelda games clearly show and reference events that transpired in previous games... WW is obviously the biggest case of this... It HAS to be sometime after Ocarina, that much is certain... And then you have the direct sequels and whatnot... but that's getting off topic.

I hope they fire 96% of the folks who designed the dungeon bosses (keep the ones that programmed Blizzeta, that one fossil, and Ganon)... Eh... In fact, just remove the people who thought Armogohma and Argorok where in any way a good idea. Those people should not be let making Zelda games.

[atmuh]

I don't

there's much too much text

but people are such huge nerds

[Dunther]

The only Zelda game that's been a disappointment since the N64 is Twilight Princess. Minish Cap was so-so. Looks like an exception more than a rule.

Nah, I think that "disappointment" for a masterpiece like TP is a bit too much

[Overflow]

IIIIIIIIIII am really late to the party. Can I play?

I actually made up a list of ideas for the next Zelda before I read this thread. I found a few other people who had similar ideas as me in here. Check it out:

1) I have a feeling the new game will be voice acted. Charles Martinet asked Miyamoto if he could be the voice of Link. Miyamoto answered "No, Link will remain the way he is." But it seems odd that a voice actor would request that, unless he heard that the game had voice actors, doesn't it? N is also pretty good about voice actors. MP3 had competant voice acting, and the Starfox games have good stuff too. Also, watch the Metroid Other M trailer again. N is getting good at cinematics.

2) Judging from the artwork, Link looks a little older than TP. I'd guess around 20 years old or so. That being the case, I really hope for more exploration into Link's character. We got a little bit of this in TP, where we see Link being tempted by darkness, and his obvious affection for Illia and Midna. However, the game doesn't really go anywhere with these things. The next game should have Link confront his demons head on (Return of Dark Link, maybe?) and explore his romantic life. No sex scenes, please, but maybe have someone who can return the affection to Link, rather than just bopping her on the head and giving her amnesia. What a cop out!

3) As for Zelda, I don't think she needs a huge change. We got a great character exposé in Spirit tracks, and I think it would be too redundant to give her another huge role. I like how she was handled in TP: Kind of mythical. She was rarely seen, and didn't even know Link very much. I'd like to see a bit more of her royal power, though. Why not have an epic battle against an army of goblins (which you're losing), when Zelda comes in to your aid with a full army of her own. Imagine a "Return of the King" scale battle.

4) Ganondorf also needs a bigger role. I liked how he was presented in OoT, as a constant threat; always just ahead of you. Constant run ins, but never being able to stop him. In the next Zelda, I'd like to see a bit more of him in a up-front and personal way. Lets learn a little more about his Gerudo history. What exactly happened once he entered the Sacred Realm? What was it like before he twisted it? There should also be multiple battles against him throughout the game, similar to the Dark Samus battles in MP2. Imagine this: In the middle of a dungeon, he suddenly transports into the room and begins hunting you down. This is way before you're strong enough to fight him, so you run. He could even patrol the dungeon after you lose him, searching for you. Imagine: You head into the main lobby of the dungeon, see Ganondorf patrolling down there, think "Oh crap" and try and sneak back the way you came.

5) The village members and kakariko villagers of TP were great, but again, they didn't do much outside of their 2 cutscenes. I'd like to see a more personal side of Link where, rather than take on a temple for the treasure and to rid the world of the evil boss or to find a medallion, he conquers the dungeon to save a friend. He did this in TP, but it felt like once you left Ordon and Kakariko, you were out for yourself and Midna, no one else. We need more characters to interact with. What they really should do is re-introduce the mechanic in Majora's Mask, where everyone you meet has a story, a routine and some way you can help them. We really need Castle town to have more than plastic models walking around aimlessly.

6) Along with what I said earlier about the characters, I'd really like a story similar to what we got with Link's Awakening, which is my favourite Zelda game of all time. In that game, the characters you meet, especially Maron and Taron have such huge roles that you become emotionally attached to them and the other characters sense of humor. The story in that game was simple, yet personal: Link wasn't working to save the world or to stop an ancient evil. He just wanted to get home. SPOIER The revelation at the end that the entire island was a dream really hit me hard when I was a kid and I first saw the characters I had come to know vanish in the morning sun. /SPOILER we need a more involving story, but not a convoluted one. I feel TP's story was quite hard to follow, and there were points when I played where I had no idea what just happened.

7) finally, I STILL think a futuristic Zelda would be awesome. It doesn't have to be like star trek, but if you look at the star wars concept art they used in the fake trailer( ). Moments like 1:33 and 2:52 are really neat. Now, it doesn't have to have aliens and spaceships, but just more technology. Spirit tracks is a step in the right direction. Outside of that, Hyrule is an awfully stagnated society, with hardly any advancements in centuries. I actually heard that Miyamoto had actually considered putting Link in a WW2 type of situation.