The Legend of Zelda is a 
series of familiarity and, as a fan-base, we Zeldaphiles are an odd lot. As often as we find ourselves complaining that a game in the series is far too samey, we find ourselves complaining about the games that dare to be not the same enough. Adventure of Link and Majora's Mask are just two examples of titles which have come under far too much fire for deigning to be different. Instead, these masterpieces rely on a small (but very vocal and well educated) sect of the fanbase to ensure they are given their deserved place, and not shunned as 'black sheep' or 'the sequels'. Interestingly these two games are the only games in the main series to be without a boomerang. Adventure of Link didn't have any battle items bar the sword and shield, and focussed on perfecting two-dimensional sword combat to a degree which I will maintain is still unparalleled. Majora's Mask combated the series-staple's notable absence by giving us Zora Link's circling fin-blades of death as playthings.
Why do we put so much need and faith into such a benign object? A bent stick which may or may not be empowered by some variety of spirit is all well and good, but why is it we put so much longing and desire for its presence to be able to label something a 'true addition to the Zelda name'? Sure, the boomerang will always hold that place as 'the first item from the first game' for many people- but what of all the other items from this first game which have been given anywhere near as much dedication in design evolution? From Legend of Zelda to Ocarina of Time the 'rang was a simple 'aim and fire' device that most often stunned an enemy. In Oracle of Seasons it was given an upgrade that allowed the player to have some control over its trajectory. Then in The Wind Waker and continuing into Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass it has become a homing device capable of independently targeting multiple objects. The boomerang has been in (most) every game in the series in some form or another and it's getting stale.
Nevertheless, a Zelda game without a boomerang is a sad, almost blasphemous sight to many. Nintendo have focused too much on the familiar and have pushed themselves into a corner of unavoidable mediocrity; fan-service after fan-service until you end with a game such as Twilight Princess which, although ever popular and commercially successful, is far from the most original of games. Is this where we want this generation of Zelda to culminate? Twilight Princess is a masterpiece- but it is to Ocarina of Time what Ocarina itself was to A Link to the Past. Each is amazing- a masterpiece for its time- but it essentially renders the 'Link finds three things, gets sword, finds some more, defeats Ganon' game previous to it redundant in terms of gameplay and story in all but the nostalgia factor.
Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask, however, remain hitherto irreplaceable in this humble fan's mind. Now Nintendo finds itself stuck in a hole of repetition and, if Zelda Wii hype is to be believed, it is about to fire a well aimed hookshot out of there. There is talk of taking Zelda away from what we know- away from the old structure, old style. There have even been rumours floating about that sword combat will be removed, or at least radically altered. Although I am looking very much forward to this welcome change, I can't help but to feel it is a little bit of an overreaction. Taking my earlier example- the boomerang is but one tiny filament in the wiring of a Zelda game. Majora's Mask showed us that we can do more than fine without it. I can't help but to feel Nintendo have got a box of 'Ideas for Zelda' and have been polishing up on two or three of them- they have a perfectly well shined boomerang, a beautiful Hyrule Field; and in the process of having focused the last two decades on these two jewels they have left behind a box of tarnished and oxidised, but still perfectly recoverable secondary staples.
We have the canes which have cropped up in a grand total of three of the fourteen (soon to be fifteen) main series games- pitiful compared to the boomerang's near-perfect attendance. Dark Link and Gohma have had so many different forms and incarnations all based around 'same moves' and 'big weak eye', yet bosses such as Digdogger and Trinexx show up for one or two games maximum, be awesome, and then disappear without the refinement and due care given to their evil brethren. So much more could be done with these long lost aspects of Zelda that missed out on becoming series staples for the sake of a twisty piece of wood, and all without risking a huge change to the formula.
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons didn't have a bow. Did we miss it? No. Why? Because we had brand new items such as the seed shooter bringing life into the hitherto expected 'what do I do about that switch on the other side of the room' puzzle. The
y were also set in brand new lands with new creatures and new enemies. The same old Zelda gameplay, but it felt fresh to the point where even series staples like Ganon's magical appearance as a final boss were appreciated and enjoyed; there was plenty of 'new' to counter the 'old'. Twilight Princess, on the other hand, was without Octoroks, and I missed their presence any moment I wasn't revelling in the spinner. Seriously- name one person who didn't love that thing.
So I guess my conclusion is: Nintendo, you've got a wonderful barrel of unexplored possibilities there in front of you. Yes we keep complaining that your games are too samey, but this is because you choose to put the boomerang and Gohma in every game. It does not mean you need to change everything. If you leave the old formula now you will leave behind a whole realm of unfinished and unpolished elements. Never underestimate the importance of bringing back the old to search for the new.
"Perfect Attendance Award"... not any more The Wind Waker is a beautiful example of this. The gameplay is the same classic three dimensional Zelda established by Ocarina of Time, which in turn was based entirely on the two-dimension games before it. It kept so much of the old but gave us so much new and unexplored, both visually and practically.
As it is I hope we're not at the end of Zelda as it is. I hope Zelda Wii will bring as much new to the table as it keeps the familiar. In an ideal world I'd be away with the boomerang and Gohma (may they rest in peace) and be playing about with my old friends the rods, the canes and the magic spells. It's still Zelda, but it's fresh and nostalgic at the same time. I want change, but in the same way I want every new title to be a revolution in and of itself. Every game should be an Adventure of Link, a Link's Awakening, a Majora's Mask or a Wind Waker. It would stop us getting into that bored-but-complainy attitude that seems to have caused this last resort to series overhaul being threatened. I guess I want every game to be an even-numbered title. It is only in these 'sequel games' that Nintendo seem to allow themselves freedom.
Zelda Wii will be number sixteen guys.
Categories: Articles
I absolutely hated the spinner!!! The lantern, on the other hand, was a good example of this old-made-new you're talking about.
Zelda: Twilight Princess had several unnecessary items.
The sling shot was only good for less than half of the first dungeon where it was replaced by the boomerang. Of course, the boomerang because useless outside of the dungeons because it couldn't hurt enemies (only temporarily daze some of them).
Bombs are another item that don't seem to be used outside of dungeons anymore. They've also become almost unnecessary items. The only use they had in Twilight Princess outside of the dungeon was when combined with the bow and arrow. Why not just give us a better bow (with the option to switch between bomb arrows and normal arrows) to replace the original bow and arrow and ditch the bomb item altogether ?
Another useless item in Twilight Princess was that mask that allowed you to zoom in further on long-range targets.
Nintendo needs to lower the amount of equipped items obtained in the game and give them more use in and outside of dungeons.
Another thing is with the rupees. Nintendo is way to generous with allowing the player to get so many rupees and yet there's hardly anything to spend them on when your given so many hearts that potions are practically useless and having more bomb and arrow bombs defeats the purpose of having to buy them when the bag can hold so many and enemies can drop them. Nintendo needs to find a balance like with the one they used in Link to the Past where having to find/buy potions, arrows, bombs was vital.
i feel like i can touch what this article is saying
"Another useless item in Twilight Princess was the mask..."
I actually really enjoyed the Hawk Eye, if for no other reason than to stop and marvel at the game/environment design. I'm also pretty combat-averse in Zelda, so any chance I can get to stealth shoot a Moblin from 120 yards, I'll take it.
And add me to the list of spinner opponents -- stupid, stupid item. I can see where he's going with this though. We've reached the point in the series where, after gaining an item, we can pretty much correctly predict, the next hour or so of gameplay. With new (old) items, there will at least be some sense of discovery.
Personally, I would like to see some form of property managment in the game. I know, before you shout 'No!', hear me out.
Well, take Asassins Creed 2, in that game, there is a system where you can manage and expand a small town and see it grow as more money is invested into it. Think of this being used in Zelda, and using the rupees to invest. Not only would it be a nice little diversion, but it would also break away from the norm of Zelda.
Another thing which I think is crucial to expand upon is the people themselves of Hyrule. For instance, within The Wind Waker, the Islands that you travelled to felt so alive and festering with activity. This wasn't so in Twilight Princess, where Hyrule Castle Town had little dialogue and not even any side quests offered by the townfolk. This, I feel is what is missing from the most recent games (TP and PH). Sure, I welcome an expansion on the roster of items which we can use, since some items are getting rather stale now.Also, I think Minish Cap had some of the best Ideas for items out of the past generation of Zelda games, which is something I would like to see Zelda take inspiration from.(Gust Jar and The Cape, anyone?).
Upon re-reading it does seem like I moan throughout the entirety of this little essay, but I really feel that Zelda does need to see some sort of a change....dare I say a flying Epona...no?
Okay.
I want more items like the Ball and Chain. I think it was an incredibly original, yet un-original item. It didn't fit in with Zelda at all I think, but that made it so awesome. I love seeing Link hurl a huge ball at a bat and it annihilate it. That may just be me though.
The items themselves have never bothered me, but I do agree that the formula they've been worked into has gotten stale. There should be more to do outside of the dungeons with items and more items found outside the dungeons. I think Majora's Mask is the best example. The dungeons gave you arrows, that's about it. Everything else provoked you to explore the world and it's people and rewarded you. There were items (and masks) you didn't even know existed unless you dug through twelve miniquests for them. That nagging feeling you get when you know you've almost beaten the game but you have half your item screen empty is important, because when you do get them, you know it was because you earned them - not because you picked them up on the paved road. It also makes for more convincing story, yadda yadda.
But on the whole, I'm for less dungeons, more overworld - which informs my bias.
I love games like Link to the Past, Majora's Mask, and the Oracle games because they were revolutionary. ALLTP started the Zelda formula (something that OOT is recieving credit for) and I think that it followed the formula the best since it was original at the time. I love the fact that almost a decade ago, we were forced to save the world in three days all while embracing the powers of different characters. I find it amazing that Nintendo thought of connecting two games to form a giant adventure. Imangine what would happen if we had great ideas like these pop up now. Wouldn't it be great to have a masterpiece like MM or a ALLTP game with today's graphics. I really really REALLY hope that Zelda Wii is the next masterpiece we'll still be crazy over in 10 years.
Well, I hate the Spinner. It's so useless! The bomb-arrow doesn't has any sense, and I definitely prefer ice/fire arrows (the ice arrows hasn't any sense either, but at least it's magic!). T think the ball and chain you get at Snow Peak it's somewhat useless too, it's good for breaking ice walls, but I prefer melting ice with a fire arrow.
Yes, I know the ball chain thing is "new" and the ice/fie arrows are getting repetitive, but they are cool! Or at least they could have invented something different than the ice/fire arrows but better than the ball.
But whatever, I'm waiting for Zelda Wii with open arms, hoping that the surprise Nintendo have for us will be a change for the better. As long as it is an epic open-world with fun gameplay, I'll love it.
YET ANOTHER USELESS ZELDA ARTICLE... WHAT A SHAME...
I KNOW WE ALL ARE A LOT HYPE ABOUT THE NEW ZELDA, BUT THERE ARE BETTER THINGS TO DISCUSS ABOUT THAN THIS.. PLEASE...
@ Chardan: I agree. I usually hate that type of gameplay, but the way they handled management in Assassin's Creed II would be a surprisingly good fit for a Zelda game. Plus, it kind of goes back to the Windfall island 'Joy' sidequest. Only not horribly lame.
Like Like's have been missing since Majora's Mask.
Something I personally find disappointing. Like Like's are very menacing... there's something about big blob like things that make them threatening. They hold a similar threat to the ReDeads and Gibdo's as well... that you are held down and can't escape to a certain degree.
This is a frightening aspect that I hope to see return in Zelda Wii. Like Like's were there in the beginning and they've been missing in both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Now will be there time to shine.
Octoroks need to return in the next Zelda and even more so, why limit them to water... in the original games they were land walkers, they didn't live in water at all. Moblins need to return as well... the orc like Bokoblins, although obviously connected with the war pig like Moblins, are not quite the same. Some creatures feel like cheap substitutes to creatures and monsters that existed in the past that had more character.
Actually I to this day don't understand the reason why Bad Bats were placed in Majora's Mask. I mean keese exist in the Zelda world as the Zelda mainstay... and Majora's Mask did in fact have Keese, but they only appeared in certain places. Just an oddity to me I wanted to mention.
@Alex: rage more?
@article: I too didn't like the spinner. But it was more a disappointment for what could have been to me (I was hoping for the third suit in that dungeon (and was later disappointed by that cash swallowing suit :_>). Trinox I'd love to see more of, but I enjoy seeing new bosses more (Eox from PH is a good example).
Message swallowed @@
I just went on about how Digdogger was good in OoS but how I enjoy new bosses even more, like Eox from PH.
NOOOOOO!!!!! Why did Nintendo not put octorocks in TP, WHY!!! Besides a flappy green hat, they were the only constant in Zelda, they NEED to be there!
Y U hatin' on the boomerang, yo? ;)
Although I wouldn't count Trinexx out out a series staple. I mean, while HE hasn't appeared in several games, there is often a fire-ice boss. I am usually fond of these fire-ice bosses, and it looks like this will continue with ST, though this iteration doesn't look that exciting.
Well, I like the new ideas for the boomerang (TWW, PH) because it adds a little mix up. TP failed in item lineups (Best item: slingshot; kill bulblin snipers with fire arrows in one shot as if they,ve been pierced, so funny!). The drama with the revolutionary changes is probably exaggerated, it'll be like MM in a way, watch. I would simply like to see more magic and continuously useful and deadly items. Imagine ALTTP's weapon diversity and magic combined with puzzles for all those weapons. Heaven in the Dark World.
Not so long ago, when book promotion campaigns were static, we didn' time to provable results and benchmarks. Scm
How will mixing up items and enemies bring a revolutionary change to Zelda? The staleness of zelda isn't in these superficial things.
Over-world - zelda needs a much more diverse, expansive and interactive over-world. And I don't mean running around helping people who are unhappy as in MM.
The answer to zelda's problems lie in Zelda I and Zelda II. Nintendo, go back to the series's roots while incorporating the more interesting parts of the newer titles. We need to better integrate exploration and action. Zelda has lost both of these since after ALttP
I also disliked the spinner, on the ground it travelled to slow. And the idea of 'chardan' isn't bad. In Tales of SYmphonia you could revive a town by making donations.And it became beatifull, with powerfull weapons. They could do that in zelda. Just like in TP you invested in the shop and could buy....the magic armor (which also sucked). Why not make it that you can buy some weapons in your own fonded town. After a 1000 rupies the... would be available at 10000 rupies the invisible cape etc. And NO BOMBS OR ARROWS to buy. And upgrade items.
This will lead to MORE items, maybe all previous and some new ones. And just liek in Link to teh PAst the are not needed, but provide some optional fun.
I think this article is looking at things too literally. Items are a means to an end, not an end unto themselves. The sameyness lies with the gameplay, not the items on what it's based. All we really need is new ways to USE the items. Perhaps aiming the boomerang with a reticule, or god forbid, a jump button. Those are the things I'd like to see in Zelda Wii. (Prepares anti-flame shield.)