Zelda Wii has been a long time coming. Actually, it is a long time coming. It's been two and a half years since Twilight Princess came out, the last real Zelda game. In those two and a half years, we've gotten Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks was announced, and there have been some vague references to Zelda Wii. Apparently, we will not be hearing the true details about Zelda Wii until E3 2010, so let's SIT TIGHT guys. This game should be pretty fucking good. Or so I'd hope. Here's what it will need to be in order to be epic.
1.Orchestrated Music
Super Mario Galaxy had orchestrated music. Twilight Princess almost did, much to Kōji Kondō's displeasure. Kōji cited two reasons why Twilight Princess did not have orchestrated music:
- Generally Kōji writes the music after the gameplay had already been finished, but by the time the trailer had come out not enough of the game had been finished and he decided there was not enough time for a fully orchestrated soundtrack. Thus, the music was sequenced instead.
- Orchestrated music, to him, has a lack of versatility (ie. it takes more work to make it flow into battles and such) so Kōji was too lazy -er, Kōji decided that sequenced music was more versatile.
2.A (somewhat) open world
This is one thing I've always felt Zelda is missing. "Oh, you see those trees over there? Yeah, the cliff under them is too high, sorry, you can't go there." I've always hated that, even when I was 10. It doesn't need to be completely open world Twilight Princess came really, really close to but there needs to be something like mountains or huge bodies of water to be keeping me from going places, not just-barely high enough cliffs that I can't see to walk through. Also, I've always disliked the lack of walkable forest in Zelda. There are plenty of fields to walk around, but forests, oh no no, can't go in them. Please, Nintendo, let us walk in the forest.3.More side stories
I think everyone can see what's coming here. Yes, I want more Majora's Mask. I want side stories where I actually care for the people I'm helping. Twilight Princess had some lame bug catching thing which I honestly never finished, because it got old really fast. It also had the Poe catching, which was fun but also was annoyingly repetitive and very little reason to do it other than saving some greedy guy who really doesn't deserve to be saved.
The side stories, while still being side stories, need some sort of relevance while still being meaningful. I'll agree that side stories are just that, on the side things that don't need to be done but I think the whole point of them is to make it feel like they should be done. That there is more to them then just the reward at the end. Really, in Majora's Mask, all I got for saving Anju and Kafei was a single mask but it was worth every bit of work because I actually cared for these two people and I was happy when I reunited them for their, perhaps, last moment. Side stories need to have these motivations and the more of them, the better because it makes the game feel more alive and immersive which I believe should be the goal of all games, Zelda or not.
4.A Darker Story
Zelda stories, with the slight exception of Majora's Mask, have always been a little on the light hearted side. While I can understand the sentiment, Nintendo needs to realize a bit that those people who once played A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time when they were younger are now a bit older and generally don't go for the "save the princess" stories anymore. That kind of story is okay in Mario, but Zelda has progressed past that point.
By darker, I certainly do not mean blood, gore, and guts. Definitely not at all. I mean it needs to have more menace and foreboding in it. Twilight Princess has two good places where it came close to this, the Twilight Realm and Zant. Both, from the beginning, were very real and big problems but they were different. The Twilight Realm was a big, in-your-face sort of problem. It was "scary" but it was also very visible and honestly, easily taken care of. Zant, on the other hand, was a very behind-your-back problem. He rarely showed his face and when he did, it was mostly when he wanted to kick your ass. But, at other times, he was just a creeping menace that did not go away, even when the Twilight was. Unfortunately, they ruined him.
They ruined him a couple ways. They basically wussied him up but making him seem less menacing and more like a child with a playtoy instead. The other way was by allying him with Ganon. As mentioned by Nate in his article, Ganon has lost his luster. Sure, he is evil, but he's just not scary anymore. Adding Ganon in there as Zant's "Master" took all the fear we might haveve held for Zant and stripped it away because if he is Ganon's puppet, then he certainly poses very little threat to us now.
All in all, Zelda Wii just needs to tackle some more mature questions. What those questions should be, I'm not sure. I don't want meaning of life stories and honestly, I'm not really sure what I want. But I just want to be playing the game, and know that one wrong step could mean my life.
5.A Shifting Story
Zelda needs to take some notes from Bioware games. I don't mean copy them exactly, but I want some options in my game. They don't even need to be huge. Take for example we walk into a dungeon perhaps at the beginning of the game. It's a fairly linear dungeon, but there is a separate section to it that is maybe a prison of sorts. I could easily go through the dungeon, ignore the prison section, go to the boss, and get my heart. Or I could go into the prison, which I would imagine could be significantly harder then the main dungeon, fight another sub-boss or even full-fledged boss and save the people in the prison. Then, later in the game, these people I saved could be in a city or in other dungeons and offer to help me in some way.Something like that would be fantastic for me. My main reason for wanting it is to give me more of a hero feeling. As much as saving the whole goddamn world does make me feel happy in the end, those little moments make you feel just that more or less heroic. I don't think Zelda should have an evil and good dichotomy at all. Mostly because Link really can't be evil; just more of a hero with a really, really heroic feel. This could certainly fit in with point number 3 as well.
6.Play as someone other than Link
Okay, before I get all of you gnawing on my arm in anger, I do not mean the whole time. One thing I've always thought would be very cool in Zelda is to give us an outside view of our actions. Zelda has always been a first-person game in terms of story. All we see is Link, and only his point of view. But imagine if at some point we play as someone else entirely and see our actions unfold when we were playing as Link. I'm not even exactly sure how this would work, really, but I think it would still be really, really cool.7.Give a larger sense of time
Again, this is breaking a tradition of Zelda where time really doesn't matter (other than Majora's Mask... again) but I think this is one thing Zelda has always been missing. Days go by in game, and very little happens. Everyone's sitting in the same place. People don't really change their daily plans, other than the side quests you can do on the side, but all in all, the world has hardly changed.
What would be really cool in Zelda Wii is to give us a calender of sorts. We should be able to see time passing, see seasons go by, even go so far as to see people grow older. As much as I'd like to believe it, I honestly don't see me saving the world in a week. As proved in Majora's Mask, it takes much longer then 7 game days to beat it.What I would suggest is time go by fairly quickly, like MM, where say 1 hour is a day, have Link start as a teenager and even grow older as time goes by. The towns could build bigger, set up houses, plant flowers and watch them grow. For the sake of sanity, though, they should give us a way to make time move faster or skip days. Obviously, this would take a lot of work and really, I don't see this happening. But seriously, how cool would this be.
8.Small Details
I read one time that Miyamoto was attempting to make Ocarina of Time much more interactive in terms of the world. Some examples were cutting down trees, and they'd never grow back or putting a footprint in dirt and it'd stay there for days in-game. It was cut out, unfortunately, because of the use of Cartridges instead of disks for the N64. So, these ideas were removed.
But, NO, Miyamoto, don't let those ideas die! Bring them back and use them. This sort of thing would be easy to do now that we have internal memory and disks. So, DO IT. Seriously.
9.Bring back magic
I know in Twilight Princess, they removed magic at the last minute for... whatever reason, I don't know. It was probably stupid. But no, bring it back, please. Magic was one of the coolest things about Ocarina of Time and not including it in Twilight Princess was a really, really stupid idea. Please do not do that again.10.More Toys
I want more things to play with. Not necessarily things that are required for the game, but items that are really cool and do really cool things. Sure, we can have our boomerang, our bow and arrow, etc, etc. But I want MORE. There needs to be more random stuff to play with. The whole idea behind this is that these items could be non-essential, hard to get, but could make the game easier or more interesting and interactive to play. An example of this was the wand thing given to Link in Twilight Princess that brought statues to life. This thing, in idea, was really nifty but ultimately, very bland. But, if instead they had made it a sort of side item that could be acquired to make the sky temple easier, and less of a major item, then it would've seemed cooler. Either that or they could've made it so it made all inanimate objects controllable. Either would've worked for me.
But, with Zelda's lack of cheat codes, I think items like this could make the game more fun to play, while still giving a balance of easier gameplay with more work.
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My final wish, while not something it "should have" is: PLEASE do not rush it - I want Zelda Wii. You want Zelda Wii. We all really, really want Zelda Wii. But I am willing to wait. My philosophy here is that the more we wait, the better it will be. As much as I want it now, I also want it to be good and pushing it out is a really bad idea. Twilight Princess was rushed out, and it ended up, at least to me, feeling like an unfinished game. Zelda Wii could be so much more then this.
This time, there is little rush other than the millions of fans who really want it. But who wants a shitty game? I know I don't so I am willing to give them their time to make it fantastic. Until then, I'm an anxiously waiting for some information other than "he's not holding a sword, ooooooOOoooo!"
Categories: Articles, Zelda News
>section where we can replay dungeons and bosses.
YES
I didn't like the sidequests in Majora's Mask because they all just seemed so pointless. But if they weren't so painstaking, and actually had an effect on the later gameplay and story (other than getting an extra mask at the end) then I guess they might be worth it.
About that time thing...I really can't see it happening, and I'm not sure if I want it to. These suggestions of sidequests and time remind me too much of Majora's Mask, which I found overall a quite disappointing game.
I want magic to come back just as much as you do, and I think it'd be cool to play as someone else (although I can't think of a suitable character apart from Zelda) sometimes - and maybe at some parts of the game you could choose to switch control between Zelda and Link.
I agree with Mitchell in that the one thing Zelda games really need is the option of replaying dungeons and boss fights, maybe on a higher difficulty.
Another thing that I'd like is to replay story sequences, so you don't have to play through the entire game again to find a point you might have missed.
Only one I don't agree with is 6, that's basically what Wolf Link was and I hated every minute of it.
Yes we need Magic back, TP felt incredibly linear because of the stuff it didn't have most Zelda's are known for.
I'm willing to wait for this game as well, I don't care how long it takes, Zelda hasn't been enjoyable for me for awhile. The Wind Waker was the last Zelda game I really enjoyed, everything else was just noise, TP included.
I agree 100% with Numbers from 1 to 6 and Numbers 9 and 10. And I really though TP would have Number 10, when they said the player would be unable to see how many itens you can have (because of the ring-like menu), and was kind of disapointed with the lack of optional itens...
Number 7 is almost impossible to be done... I mean, if time passes to the whole world, it would require a large amount of disc space to contain all the data on the game world (which means, multiple discs, and you would be prompted to change discs out of the blue, as you're always advancing). Also, there would be the problem of not being able to go back... Imagine a side-quest old man has a decease, and is going to die if you don't get him medicine. It wouldn't make sense that, 10 years later, the old man was still alive and the side-quest availabe to you...
Number 8 would need a HUGE memory card space, and we all know how little is Wii's internal memory (the SD is irrelevant, as the videogame doesn't read directly from it)... It could work fine in a PC game, but I don't think a console game could do it... yet. The whole idea was conceived because of the 64DD, tha would allow this kind of stuff.
I don't think replaying dungeons would be so nice (unless they get harder on the second playthrough), but fighting the bosses again is cool.
I think TP was a pretty dark game but I guess it would be cool to go a litle more darker and the magic would be cool to have again I preety much agree with all of these :P I have no patience but I'll try and wait because it should be the awesomest game yet
OSM: Playing as Wolf Link is not playing as "someone else". You're still Link. Just like in Majora's Mask when you turn into a Goron, Deku Srub, and Zora - You're still Link just in a different form. I think with #6, he's referring to playing as a different character NOT named Link. Wolf Link was simply another form of Link, just like in MM.
Bananaman: The side quests weren't pointless in MM. If all you felt you got out of them was a mask then you really missed the point of the quests. You were reuniting lost mothers, helping people, and it effected the world around you immensely. Sure, in the end, it doesn't effect the storyline of the game but it effects the rest of the people in the game. Say I am extremely polite to people in the real world, or buy some koolaid from a kids koolaid stand - give to charity, whatever. In the end, that is not going to make a difference in my own personal life... but it very well could in someone else's.
Thats what makes the sidequests in MM better then every other Zelda game to date. You're actually effecting people in the game's lives. Not only that, you can actually witness the effect you have. Tell me how that is pointless? This isn't Fable where your choices change the outcome: This is Zelda. The outcome is Link defeats the evil. Nothing you do will change that outcome. Doesn't mean I can't care about the people around you and helping their lives improve.
Bomber's Notebook is one of the best things ever used in the series.
"I didn't like the sidequests in Majora's Mask because they all just seemed so pointless." - Bananaman
You are a cold shell of a human. :(
I agree with you all except point 5. Shifting stories would cause more hell in theorizing than we need with the already ever tangled timeline.
I agree with 1,2, and 8. Hell, the TP trailer from 2004 was the game I wanted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpHHwS_CA-0) but someone (coughMiyamotocough) killed that dream.
I very much disagree with #10. One of TP's problems was that it had many items and not enough use of them, but I don't think it's really easy to devise puzzles with all the items that feels natural within the game. What I think they need to do is cut down the # of items and come up with as many interesting things they could do with the small # of items they have (PH did this).
#3 and 4 could work, but only if they don't interfere with the gameplay. I am so tired of going through 3 minute cutscenes for something that doesn't really matter. There is far too much said in the past few games. I like a good story, but less is more. These guys need to remember that Zelda is a game firstmost, and a story second. Get the first part right and I'll care about the second (especially if it's good).
I don't really care about magic (#9). I thought I would notice it missing in TP. I didn't.
shadowlink's got it right on #7. I don't think it can be done and it probably wouldn't be that interesting anyhow.
Finally, I don't really have something to say on playing as someone other than Link. If you mean like a partner thing (like Makar and Medli) then I think that would work. But if you mean for a significant time of the gameplay I disagree. Link has all everything we want out of playing a character. The problem is that the series has progressively been giving us less to do with that character.
This point has already been addressed a couple of times, but I feel compelled to put in my two-cents (in response to Bananaman's comments on Majora's Mask). You see, MM is one of my absolute favorite Zelda games to date, and it would feel wrong for me to sit back and let bad comments about it go without a good discussion. :D There are so many reasons why I enjoyed MM so much. It broke out of the usual Zelda mold with a darker storyline, sidequests to keep you occupied, and a general feeling that you were actually saving the world in the end. All of these aspects make me want more of that; not too much, but a little taste of what MM was like would be nice in a new Zelda title.
Wind Waker was another Zelda title that I really enjoyed and that broke out of the usual mold and went for things that had never before been attempted in past Zeldas. It had all kinds of cool side-things to do, plus all of the cool islands with stuff to explore all over the place! Awesome!!!!!
All-in-all, I really like this article and agree that for Zelda Wii to be really impressive, it needs to have new (and better) features that really give us Zelda Lovers a good smack in the face. XD
" Orchestrated music, to him, has a lack of versatility (ie. it takes more work to make it flow into battles and such) so Kōji was too lazy -er, Kōji decided that sequenced music was more versatile."
While i think Orchestrated music is awesome, i think "midi's" or here named sequenced music has a great place in video games.
If you havn't noticed, many games on the N64 had music that fluidly changed into another, or a theme changing into a different variation. Its an awesome tool, and brought different experiences. Same was done to Zelda TP.
If Nintendo does not decide to go Orchestra, they could at least use high quality patches. Even though the overworld theme from TP sounds pretty good already considering it used a "sequence" interface.
I wouldn't be surprised if at one point developers are able to load huge patches of quality, to manipulate the music to add on to the experience.
Urgh... I hate it when people bash Zelda for not having orchestrated music. Kondo is right.
What worked for Galaxy probably would not work as well for Zelda. If all Nintendo wants to do for the next Zelda music is continuously loop recorded music, then yeah it will work just as well as Galaxy. But if they want to do anything more complicated than that, it would take a serious amount of effort into compression and audio manipulation technology that I really can't see them including on a Wii disc.
As much as I would love to see live music in the next game, I just don't feel it is possible yet for it to be done 100% in that way. I expect there to be some recorded music for maybe the intro songs, and a couple cutscenes that are aligned with the music, but not full in-depth live recorded music.
People dislike Twilight Princess's soundtrack mostly because it wasn't recorded, and it lacked a lot of variety. However, if TP's soundtrack were recorded I'd betcha that most of those same people would have TP's music come to be their most beloved favorite.
Music sampling technology still has a long way to go.. Seriously, it's gotten to the point where most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Once that is able to make it's way into games, sequenced music is going to be one helluva lifesaver. It's not too far off, really.
I'm gonna stop for now
I just want to throw in a few thoughts, here. Majora's Mask OWNS, and the new Zelda NEEDS to take a page from its book. When was the last time you ever felt like you could lose a Zelda game? I don't mean feel like you could die, but like you are the only thing standing between the world and death. In every game except MM, the game waits for you. All evil plans are put on hold until you get to a point. It's scripted and the player knows it. Contrast that with the feeling of urgency and importance in MM. If you don't do something, you WATCH EVERYBODY DIE. If you don't help people, you watch their lives end in misery. The world depends on you in a very real way. You, the player, really do save the world. It ends without you. No other Zelda game has done that and, as a result, I think no other Zelda game has been anywhere near as engaging.
As far as orchestrated music in Zelda games goes, I think it would be really cool. Amazingly awesomely cool, actually, I would really like to see it happen! However, I still think that what we've been getting so far has worked pretty well. I remember the first time I played WW, I was amazed at the quality of the sound and, at my young age, kinda thought that it was an actual orchestra (not my smartest assumption, to say the least). And, personally, I really like TP's soundtrack; I thought it was good quality, fit in with the gameplay really well, and overall, just rocked my socks. XD Especially the "world map" music. One of the things I most look forward to in Zelda games is the music and the way they change up the original theme. Hats off to Koji Kondo, I say, as he has done a superb job so far. :D
Nathanial: A fair argument, but Wolf Link really didn't feel like I was playing at Link. I understand where you're coming from/trying to explain, but I think the idea of playing as anyone else other than the protagonist would be a dumb idea, unless it was just for a short sequence like Kafei in Sakon's Hideout.
hey dude you forgot one thing... the musical instruments i really miss those and no, playing the grass doesnt count as and instrument like in TP
WAS twilight princess rushed? I seem to remember it taking forever to come out, and then when it did, it was an extremely polished near-masterpiece in the Zelda series.
Great List, although you forgot one thing...
MAKE ZELDA HARDER!!!
Honestly TP was a joke, I don't think I ever lost more than two hearts in that games. I remember playing OoT and MM with only three hearts and no continues and even that wasn't so bad once you got enough bottles. Enemies need to be stronger, dungeon puzzles should be a tad harder, and bosses must have much more varied patterns, not just do this 3 times and it dies. MM seemed to do this a little better for certain bosses. Also, about the item thing, that is one of the reasons I loved MM so much. The sheer variety of masks and their different uses was staggering for the time.
@Cody
Not sure what you mean but, yes, TP was rushed. It was originally a fairly complex game. They rushed it out unfinished with tacked on Wii controls for the Wii release. Main example of this is the lack of magic, which (magic) can be found when digging through the game data.
You can see the magic bar here: http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/732/732722/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-20060914082134302.jpg
I like the calender idea. My addition to this idea is: perhaps Zelda Wii could play sort of like Majora's Mask, only without the small time limit. Every year has different events in it, but you may use the Song of Time to return to certain dates. Of course, if Link ages with the game, there would be a limit. I suppose it would have to be game over after a certain amount of years, unless you return to an earlier date with the Song of Time.
I know that this would take up a massive amount of memory, so perhaps three game years would be the most time without compromising too much time for a small world with less dungeons, let alone items.
A true second quest.
Via WiiWare.
A little off-topic, but one thing that surprises me since participating in the Zelda fandom a bit again, is the love for Majora's Mask. Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of the game aswell and it's tied with Ocarina of Time for my favourite Zelda game, but a few years back, no one seemed to care much about it at all. Just found that interesting.
Anyway - I liked this article and I do agree with many of the comments here. The next Zelda should take a look at Majora's Mask or try something entirely different. I sincerely hope that Twilight Princess was the very last of the 'classic Zelda' - meaning, no more three temples before you get the Master Sword, then stuff happens and you need to go through a couple more dungeons, Princess Zelda is kidnapped and you defeat Ganon(dorf). This formula originated with ALttP and been used in OoT, TWW and TP since. While I feel it works very well, it's starting to get stale now and I think it should end on a high note rather than let it drag on for another couple games.
Instead, I'd love to see Link in a new land, for starters. Not an alternate dimension, but perhaps a neighboring country to Hyrule, and have Link deal with an entirely new threat. No Triforce, no Master Sword and no Ganondorf for the time being, making it that much more satisfactory once we finally do return to Hyrule in a next game and have a game that deals with those elements.
Things that would improve the game in my opinion:
- More varied dungeons: not just the typical fire, water temples, etc.
- More dynamic use of the overworld: rather than just a big empty field stretching from one place to another, have small villages or mini-dungeons or even main dungeons right in the middle
- Harder bosses: I felt like that as far back as OoT, so this is long-overdue in my opinion
- Seasons: I love the time-passing idea; it doesn't have to go through years (or perhaps time passes with how you progress through the game), but relating the time of the game with your own calendar would be awesome
- A bigger role for exploration: don't just travel through one land, but go from region to region; travel up rivers, long journeys through forests and valleys, to get to the next part of the world for the next part of the adventure. TP already improved the scale, but this could be amazing
- Darker story: this doesn't have to be the case for all future Zelda games, but Majora's Mask showed just how well this could be done. It was seriously eery at times and I still get goosebumps once the Moon starts to crash and you only have a few minutes left. It's one of the most mysterious, creepiest and saddest stories of Zelda and if this could be emulated or even improved upon, then the next Zelda could be great.
- Side-quests: have Link play more the part of a hero by helping others, but don't make it forced; rather, if you help others, you can make the game easier for yourself. Take the Stone's Mask in Majora's Mask as an example: if you helped the guard and got the Stone's Mask from him before you went to the Pirates's Fortress, it would make sneaking around there a whole lot easier. This leads me to my next point...
- Not too linear: Don't let the game progress from one dungeon to another, but have it depend upon items that you can find all over the world (hidden in mini-dungeons, for example, or as rewards for side-quests). This will let everyone explore the game in their own ways
- And finally, a kick-ass villain: personally, I love Ganondorf but he has overstayed his time as a villain. He's just not that impressive as a villain anymore. He'd be more suited as sort of an anti-hero and have the next villain be something entirely different and creepier
You forgot: "11.- Fanboys stfu and stop over analyzing everything."
Awesome! About playing as someone other that Link. Zelda, maybe? Or even a kid in the middle of a village raid or something like that as Link saves him. And we definitely need a bigger sense of fear and foreboding. Players want to feel the grimness of the situation. That kind of goes with orchestrated music. Much more feeling. These games need to be as realistic as possible (no blood and gore!) so that the gamer feels the game. But let none of us forget, Zelda is the very best Nintendo game on the market by far. I also think the bosses need to be a little harder to defeat, not a lot, though. I beat most of the bosses on my first try and Ganondorf on my second. I agree with the sidestories too. Little details like that make a game. I don't enjoy games that I beat and never want to play again because I know how it ends. These games need to be epic (not that they aren't already).
The time thing probably wouldn't work, though. That would be pretty hard work and it might mess with the stories of other Zelda games if Link grows from young to old.
I'm surprised there's nothing in this article about controls. Zelda Wii is screaming for Motion Plus, where's the mention? It should be right there at the nr. 1 spot. Zelda can live without orchestrated music but missing out on the motion controls is blowing the biggest chance at glory that they have. Screw side-stories - if this game doesn't support Motion Plus I guarantee you it's a big chance missed, and there'll be uproar unlike no other.
Apart from that, I liked Majora's Mask but I wouldn't want to see Zelda Wii become that game. Sure a more open and flowing overworld would be pretty sweet, and side-stories would also be great, but I draw the limit somewhere. Rather do something unique than try to get ideas from other titles, says I. Thinking fresh was what got us Majora's Mask. Drawing influence from past titles was what got us Twilight Princess. I feel a mix of the two would definitely be great.
this is a great article i think you make alot of great points. Did i read it correctly that they are going to remake OoT!? Anyway i think the game could use more realism in it. as i said before FANTASTIC ARTICLE!!! if you could send this to Zelda game makers than DO IT!!!!!
In the pic at the top, is it just me or does Link look like OoT Link?
While I agree Ganon is losing some of his luster, a game without him would seem wrong in a way. It'll be hard to do.
I think Zant being Ganon's puppet ruined it some. May seem like it's more 'tacked-on' but I would have preferred Ganon as just having been opportunistic. Instead of using Zant or controlling him, Zant could have been completely his own entity and upon his defeat Ganon decides to show up to wreck stuff cause he sees how weak Hyrule has become.
All I'm saying is you can have Ganon as the big bad guy, but he's not necessarily the only bad guy.
i would really like to play as other character,but only like in dungeons,you could switch between link and his companion,i liked about majora's mask that link could refight bosses and redo sidequests and temples,also they need dungeons to be more than just "temples"like temple of this,temple of that,i would like something more like,"cursed cave" or "tomb of the sage"also i dont like this:clear 3 temples,get the master sword then do 4 mor temples and kill the bad guy.also like an army,like in the last part of the game there is a war of monsters vs soldiers and link is leading the army and the soldiers ACTUALLY kill monsters and monsters actually kill soldiers,i would like link to be of the royal family,this classic farmer-boy-who-rescues-the-princess-and-becomes-a-hero- thing doesnt work out anymore,what if link was prince of hyrule,make him talk would be nice too,and i would like link to buy more things,not just items,like buy a house in kakariko,and "dungeons" shouldnt always be set on buildings,how about a level called The Lost Woods and theyre in the forest.also,u think faron woods is a forest???u must be kidding,please let us have more forests!!!also all the races of hyrule should appear,like picori meets goron meets zora meets deku meets kokiri meets zuna mets twii meets gerudo meets skull kids meets garo meets stalchildren meets stalfos mets stalkin meets hylian meets cobble meets human meets subrosians meets tokay meets poe meets korok meets watarara meets rito meets lizalfos meets keaton meets gibdo meets fairies meets oocaa meets yeti meets river zoras meets sheikah,in other words.....all the races of hyrule!!!!,magic should totally be included and twisted story is a must be!!!more theories.....yeahhhhhhh!!!!! bosses should be more realistic battles,not just do this 3 times and u win,something i really liked about oot that u could change clothes,but also boots,swords,and shields,that would be awsm like 4 pairs of boots,6 sields,4 swords,5 clothes.well thats all hoped yall liked my comment
I think the time thing don't need to be so large. Yes, it would need more data memory, but It could be somethng like 15 days each season, each season with its singularities like events and characteristics, it could be reeally awesome, and some song that could make you travel in time.
e.g.:winter song, makes you travel to the beggining of the Winter(or something like that)
It would be awesome!!! and yes, I want the game harder, TP was a children game...and the darker stuff, it could be great.
I just don't thinkk it would be so fantastic to make orchestra music, I think it was great to Mario Galaxy because the game was divided in phases, and courses(galaxies) and zelda is a game that has a linear(almost) story, and the orchestra could mess up with the "rithym" of the game, I'm only theorysing, I can be wrong...
is right
Great article! I have to agree with him on most of the stuff.one thing i'd like to bring back is the ocarina because i loved playing some of the music to get stuff
Hmmm... Great Article...
I want the same things too... lol
But... I have two main requests:
See Good and Old characters in new design: Happy Mask Salesman, Guru guru... Dampé lol....
Song of Storms!!! Oh my! I need to hear (and play) Song of Storms again!! I love this music that goes around... lol
Playing someone other than Link? Nice... pretty nice... It isn't really necessary... But I would like to play as Sheik :D
Sense of Time? Yeeah! This would be great! This sense of Time is what made MM a great game.... BUUT... It's a complicated thing, I think. It would be really nice, but I can survive without this...
Anyway... Great Article ;)
Most of these things YOU HAVE NOT THOUGHT THROUGH!
seriously. you want basically all this stuf just cause you think it would be cool. You don't seem to even TRY and think of HOW it could be done.
Trailers like Twilight Princess' are just that, TRAILERS. Trailers are just to show what kinda stuff they can do, so they don't seem to fall behind their competitors. That doesn't mean we will get that though. I wanted that epic horseback fight shown in the trailer. I wanted that area that seemed like the forbiddon forest from Harry Potter. I wanted to know what the heck that GAINT thing in the forest was. Did I get any of that? NOPE. And yet I STILL enjoyed TP.
I think that not only is Ganon overused, but sorry, Link is overused. There are only really 3 consistent main characters. A protaganist, an antagonist, and the damsel in distress.
While i agree with most of your ideas, I think that Ganon should actually help the player for once, you know, to get rid of a scarier, more chaotic foe. Also I would like to see Link get captured for once, and/or be the spirit of the Hero like in TP to help a new character. Be the mentor, if you will, because, even though he's a seasoned warrior, he ends up learning the same things every game. It's time to train a new hero, like a companion who doesn't just sit there and give you useless information(i'm looking at you, fairies). If they were to add a new character, he should have a darker story so Link's heroic image will not be shattered, and (this is my opinion) he should have something like a sword and dagger combo instead of the staple sword and sheild. Just my opinion. One of my opinions.
@Anonymous
Ummm.... Damsel in distress?
I'd hate to break it to you, and mostly everyone, but Zelda is only being held captive in about 4 or 5 of the 15 Zelda games. Other than that she's fine, excluding the two games where she's a rock.
Seriously, why do people bring the Mario sterotype into Zelda saying "Oh boy, gotta save Zelda from Ganondork again." You don't.
Also on the subject of Link being overused, think of it this way: he isn't. They're all completely different people aside from sequels. You just don't see him as different.
What I think you mean is the whole character. Mainly the looks. If he had brown short hair, and wore some different clothes, he'd seem like a different person, though he already is.
Anyway, great article. I'm gonna have to seriously agree with everything you've said in it.
MAGIC MUST RETURN.
I DEMAND IT!
Well, it should! That, and a lot more sword fights. The biggest rush I had when it comes to Zelda games and sword fights is with Ganondorf in Wind Waker. That was fun! Now combine that with the skills in TP instead of pressing the A button, and you've got actual fighting that even non-zelda fans will have to admire. I really hope this Wii Motion+ will support this.
Also,
Does Wii Motion Plus allow us to really "shoot the arrow" or are still going to aim and press a button?
I want the Lens of Truth back, no matter what!!
I think it would be cooooool!!
I would like it if you could posses certain paople in the game and get information as them sort of like a spy in diguise
and for the other playable character thing, i think Sheik from Ocarnia of Time would be a good one. And don't leave out Epona like in Windwaker
The behind-your-back aspect of Zant sounds almost exactly like Dark Samus, most notably in Echoes. They should make the plot more like that, like the key antagonist showing up for brief moments to either gather their power, or cause havoc. Also, they should switch the sword motion controls to the Nunchuck and make Link left-handed again. And no one say that it would interfere with movement! If you can shoot webs, use the Grapple Beam, or force push a stormtrooper into a wall while moving, then by God, you can swing a sword while moving as well! Lastly, they should return the Ocarina of Time, with Link always wearing the Horse Call around his neck no matter what tunic/armor he wears as part of the outfit. He wouldn't need it if he has the ocarina, and it would be indicative of his friendship with Ilia.
They should make the fairy pointer customizable with an ability to change its color on the options menu.
Also, Link should use the (Majora's Mask version) Hero's Shield instead of the Hylian Shield
Completely agree with 2. I'd like to see a world map in the line of Zelda II:AoL. I don't mean a top-down type thing but there were lots of forests, deserts, lakes, graveyards, continents, islands, rivers, streams. I want to see something varied and large. I don't want a body of water that acts as a barrier. I want bodies of water that can be sailed across and later run across with the Pegasus boots. Maybe you can't scale mountains but having some mountaineering items/elements would be cool but in general travel through mountains would be done through passes and caves.
I think it would be cool to add in some 2.5D/3D perspectives when traveling through caves and indoor-sections. Only when it can compliment gameplay though - only certain sections of indoors would do this. Bosses could have an open arena and branching sections of castles and caves could be open as well but the paths linking them could be done in an isometric 2.5/3D like we are seeing with Metroid: Other M.
Link should have a set of cloaks. The first cloak would be the Hero's Cloak, a brown cloak just like the one he's seen wearing in that Dark Sage video that would be the default cloak. This could also bring back the Magic Cape (they might call it the Invisibility Cloak), and Roc's Cape (Roc's Cloak in this case), which could allow you to jump instead of roll when you press the A Button. Of corse you would be able to unequip them completely.
Also, they should return the boots to the Equipment Screen with the Hero's Boots, Iron Boots, and a new set of Snow Shoes to help Link walk around in deep snow since he probably can't go wolf again. Oh, and the cloaks I mentioned would also be on the Equipment Screen. If they do return the Magic Meter, they should also bring back Chateau Romani. Think about it, unlimited magic for a week.
Nicktheslayer is right, 'cause Link would really need the lens now more than ever since he can't go wolf and hone his senses anymore.
Also, playing Metroid Prime Hunters & Corruption made me think: the next zelda game should be more like that, like instead of traveling through one big confusing kingdom, you should be able to go to multiple ones. Traveling through not only Hyrule, but Termina, Labrynna, and Holodrum as well. You could hitch a ride on a pirate ship from Termina to Holodrum, Holodrum to Labrynna, etc. and then use the ocarina & owl statues to bridge the distances. Plus, this could allow you to ask Snowhead's master blacksmiths to reforge the Master Sword into the Tempered Sword, (but without all those scratches or whatever 'cause they're better than the blacksmiths of hyrule) which personally I think looks way cooler with the orange blade, sky blue crossguard, silver hilt, and the brown leather wrapped around the hilt.
I've gotta tell ya, I like the enthusiasm, but most of these points are not very thought out.
#1 While a live orchestra would be awesome, there's also 180 tracks in Twilight Princess. Mario Galaxy uses a real orchestra because there's significantly less music in it. No game comparable to Zelda uses a live orchestra for its soundtrack, even if it SOUNDS like it's real to you. What you really should be telling Koji is to use better instrument libraries and sequencing software.
#2 What does this even mean? Like, I seriously do not even understand what you are trying to say. Are you suggesting that you should be able to explore the whole world at the beginning of the game? That seriously can't be it, because that's really stupid. Why am I exploring dungeons and getting new items then that allow me to get to new areas? Why not just go straight to the last boss right away! Or are you trying to say the world should be infinitely big? Did you even think about what you were saying?
#3 fine
#4 yeah, but again not fully thought out. We have indeed all grown up and our minds are now more complex than when we were little and wanted to save a princess from a pig. But you seem to synonymize complexity and darkness, and you're cutting your ideas short that way. What we, the grown up Zelda fans, really want is complexity in the world of Zelda. How 'bout if there were other kingdoms surrounding Hyrule? What if some were at war and others shared strong bonds? What if they were at war because there were different viewpoints of the goddesses and the triforce, different religions, if you will? What if some people didn't believe in the triforce or the goddesses at all? Darkness is only one portion of complexity. By making the world more complex, it is automatically darker.
5. Fine and I can understand that you might want that. Don't agree, but fine.
6. No.
7. Ok, wow. For your first point, if you mean a couple dozen more notable NPCs? Sure. Good idea. I hope you don't mean everyone though. That would just about set the development time for a Zelda game to about 12 years. Your second idea, about slowly aging Link and having everything in the game change multiple times throughout... Are you serious? Do you REALLY know how games are produced? What's the cost of this game when it comes out, $200? You say it's probably too much work, but you should KNOW it's too much work. That just makes no sense whatsoever. If they create all those new assets they make as well just make another full game with it, lol.
8. That'd be neat, and if they talked about it, I'm sure the level programmer is trying to incorporate it into future titles.
9. TP simply didn't have a reason for magic. The lantern used oil and actually gave you a use for a bottle other than to store 4 potions (you'll never need that much). What? Would you have preferred to constantly have to power your Dominion Rod or be unable to execute a spin attack simply because Nintendo wanted to force a magic meter in there? I'm not saying I'm opposed to a magic meter, but I need a good reason for it, like actual magic.
10. Fine. I admit, I was sick of getting rupees in TP. How 'bout more swords and shields, too?
I've gotta say, you seemed to focus on a lot of unimportant details while missing a few major improvements that should really be considered. Multiple Endings being one. Reward the people who play your game more fully by giving them an ending just for them. See Castlevania if you need a reference. This would have been a perfect way to conceal Ganondorf appropriately in TP while allowing Zant to feel like the main villain, which I fully believe they intended. How about the need to return to dungeons, not like the DS games, but dungeons you return to once because you have a new item and can explore deeper into it? How about the exit of the new dungeon segment connects to a new area of the map?
But perhaps the biggest fix that needs to take place is predictability. You are usually the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, which means you're supposed to overcome fear. It's a little tough to instill uncertainty and thus fear, actually, it's tough to even HOLD SOMEONE'S ATTENTION when you apply the same formula in every dungeon. Bosses shouldn't ALWAYS occur at the end of the dungeon in a big locked room where I obviously know the boss resides. You shouldn't always get one item per dungeon, how about sometimes two? and how about not always after a miniboss? If I don't know what to expect in a dungeon, I won't be able to predict what's going to happen all the time, and maybe, just maybe I'll be a bit more hesitant to turn the corner. The fear aspect is ZERO in Zelda, and that's uhhh kind of the point of the game and your character.
I've also got to say that most of the comments on here truly baffle me. Anonymous, are you retarded? Link is overused? Well I should hope so... he's sorta the main character... I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that if you don't like Link, Zelda may not be for you.
Great article, and I think that you are right. But what we also should have is a section where we can replay dungeons and bosses.