Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are both fantastic games - and Tears of the Kingdom really does feel (to me) like they just took Breath of the Wild, and added a few more years of dev time to it.
Where do you think Nintendo will take Zelda from here though? Can they keep with the same new formula? Should they? Will a more traditional game feel disappointing after this?
I don’t really know what I want myself. I think they should try something different though. At the same time, I can’t help but think I’d be disappointed if the next game was more similar to something like Twilight Princess. Have they boxed themselves in?
If nintendo keep the exact same formula, a Botw3, then that would be very out of pace for Nintendo and very disappointing. One of the most disappointing parts about Totk is that it’s very much botw again, fixed in many ways, with some new ideas. But Nintendo usually like to change things up much more than that.
I very much hope that the creative spark for something different is still there
OoT, considered one of the greatest games of all time, is literally Link to the Past 3d. Majora’s mask is like a mod of OoT. WW was a huge deviation, but same dungeon structure. Twilight Princess is OoT, but edgier and with a weird platformer mix that was common in the latter stages of N64 and early Wii.
I’m general, Nintendo iterates on Zelda. I’d love for a Wind Waker 2 a la totk.
ahh i don’t know about that, I could probably write a giant nerd rant about how OoT is anything but Link to the Past 3D. From it’s combat to world design, story, vibe, pacing, mechanics and yeah dungeon layout, it’s all wildly different than what is executed in LttP.
It’s one of the things I really loved about the gameboy games and eventually the sequel to LttP, whilst the 3D games happened, there was this direct linage from LttP that kept everything the same, in pocket form.
I mean, clearly it was an evolution on all fronts, but the inheritance is clear across the board. Light world, 3 dungeons, dark world, 7. In each dungeon you find the same compass, boss key, core item (I forget if map was in both).
Undeniably, both games were utter masterclasses. I still maintain OoT holds the GOAT title screen, just scraping by Halo due to the animation.
I would love to read an essay on Zelda games if you write it, I might even change my opinion :)
Also, since you seem to have lived through the times (did you?), what are your thoughts on totk-esque dungeons vs everyone clamouring for an “old school” Zelda game? I’m thinking totk combined with old school items, instead of attaching to weapons and arrows, but keeping totk exploration, would be sublime.
If the want to keep on the “freedom” route they could add mechanics to destroy/build the scenario. Destroying rocks in some TOTK caves gave me Minecraft vibes. They could allow players to dig anywhere. Also they could generate the world procedurally so we’ll move from the current each player experience Hyrule in a different way to each player actually getting a different Hyrule.
I personally don’t like much the Zeldas on the Switch. I’d rather get a more classic Zelda that follows the item-dungeon-item-dungeon pattern.
I don’t really have an answer for that, I was thinking that myself, where can they take the series from here, but one thing I don’t want is another game on same map and continuity. I am loving TotK, but I want to see a new world, and see what the devs can do with it.
As for games like older designs, I haven’t played too many older games, so I won’t mind those either, but if they do that, they should make that a separate series, like we have different Mario series. Keep one for BotW style games, and one for older styled games, but I don’t think they will go that way. I think this is the kind of game they will keep making.
I would like it if their next game would be more traditional 2d style, something akin to Links Awakening. Personally I like both the 2d and 3d style games, so alternating between the two would be great.
For the 3d games I’m not sure for the direction they should take, but I think a blend of the open world style combined with the more traditional dungeons would be great.
I agree that I hope it’s different. I have loved playing so many of the Zelda games up until now, but botw wasn’t for me. No problem, I figured, I’ll just wait a couple years and the next one will be for me! Now I’m nervous that this is what Zelda is now, and I’m stuck going back to old content and replaying if I ever want Zelda again which is a huge bummer. Part of what I love about Zelda is that each game is different according to the gimmicks of the system. These huge open worlds with so many menus and so much storage are a bit overwhelming to me.
I agree that I hope it’s different. I have loved playing so many of the Zelda games up until now, but botw wasn’t for me. No problem, I figured, I’ll just wait a couple years and the next one will be for me! Now I’m nervous that this is what Zelda is now, and I’m stuck going back to old content and replaying if I ever want Zelda again which is a huge bummer. Part of what I love about Zelda is that each game is different according to the gimmicks of the system. These huge open worlds with so many menus and so much storage are a bit overwhelming to me.
If Nintendo makes a third game based off the BOTW map, I would love to see an expansion of towns/villages. One thing I was slightly disappointed by in TOTK was the lack of new villages. I’d love to see a revitalized castle town as well as repaired villages that were once in ruins. Maybe in that way the third game could have more focus on the different npcs and side quests like Majora’s Mask. I think in that way it would help the world feel more alive and we could see progress on the return to Hyrule at its heyday.
