Why Zelda Wii will probably be the best game ever.

[Jonnas]

So... starting a level fully powered up instead of making you power up again after dying isn't making it easier on the gamer?

Is it so hard to see that their philosophy has always been the same? To make games accessible to anyone?

 

Difficulty =/= Complexity

 

Just because a game is easy,it doesn't mean it's accessible. And just because a game is accessible, it doesn't mean it's easy.

 

For example, my sister loved Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, but she hates traditional RPGs like Skies of Arcadia or Final Fantasy.

FF and SoA are arguably easier than M&L, because the battles of the former don't depend on your timing, or finger dexterity, yet a casual gamer like my sister prefers the harder game.

And before you say M&L's battles are a piece of cake, remember it's a casual gamer we're talking about. She doesn't usually play games that requires so many buttons. And she doesn't even speak English that well.

 

I can agree that TP had flaws, but I think it was much more Zelda than let's say Wind Waker. TP had a lot of good sides which many of you seem to be forgetting. Twilight Princess was, for me, the best Nintendo game for a very long time.

 

TP had good sides that were overshadowed by bigger problems, unfortunately (like Rummy said, the good, original items were diminished by a lack of use, for example). On the other hand, Wind Waker had a lot of good sides that you seem to constantly forget.

 

I guess OoT spoiled us both on one thing, though. By offering both what WW and what TP offer, your definition of "Zelda" is different from mine. I think WW was much more Zelda than TP.

[Emasher]

TBH, I don't think TP had any actual problems. It was a very well done game.

[Grazza]

I didn't want to criticise this game any more, but there have been some excellent points:

 

No compromises, no sudden changes. Their lack of foresight, or whatever it is that caused them to so goof up on planning of Wii titles that they sidetrack the developement of a would-be last great Gamecube game to get it over on Wii a few months before it´s release - is not my problem as a paying customer.

 

Foresight. I think you've hit the nail on the head there. When I first saw the 2004 trailer, I thought it would be a side-quest of some type (like Majora's Mask). I was very surprised when it turned out it would be a full "Hyrule" adventure.

 

Like I say, I think the best model for any one console is 1 main Zelda + 1 spin-off/side-quest game using the same engine. If TP had been about exploring a strange land with different villains and locations, it would have had more identity of its own. I wouldn't have minded a much shorter game if they had got the atmosphere and gameplay just right.

 

But...what atmosphere did it have! TP just WAS NOT ZELDA. TP was a generic kinda game with Zelda slapped onto it, as I said before, it was totally lacking in charm(well not totally, but alot compared to the others).

 

Indeed. One thing I thought was that it felt a bit too much like an RPG and not a fluid adventure game. Recently I played Final Fantasy XII and was surprised how similar the tone and atmosphere was to Twilight Princess. Zelda should be so good that no one can match it! I thought not being able to see the detail on the characters in Castle Town was just like FFXII (and many other RPGs).

 

One thing I felt it lacked that I don't think I mentioned was a variety of item use, the items felt very much like you use them a ton in the dungeon you get them, then never again really, and that was a shame cos it had some well cool items(the ball and chain, the spinner). If it were like older Zeldas, there'd have been plenty of oppurtunity for reusing said items in the overworld of sidequests(ball and chain minigame? spinner minigame?).

 

This is one of those odd things that I suspect might have been due to the delay/Wii version. If (and I stress if) they took out the Mirror Shield and other items it would be awkward for the Wii to do, it's easy to imagine them redesigning other items and dungeons.

 

I think a lack of magic, which I'd forgotten about, whilst seeming quite minor may have had some larger knockon, as it meant all items had to be designed magic free.

 

I'd forgotten about that too, but you're right. It's an awfully strange thing thing to take out of the game, especially so late in the development (remember, it was still in some of the promotional screenshots!)

 

People say the game lacked "magic". Well, a lot of it could literally be due to the lack of a magic bar!

 

It's just one of many things that make me suspicious about the game.

 

I remember using fire arrows/din's fire back in OoT and MM for burning webs and stuff down holes though(again, more item interaction with the world).

 

The older Zeldas were less linear, maybe even comparable in ways to Metroid in that when you got an item, it wouldn't JUST get you through your dungeon, it'd open up a few optional possibilities for you on the overworld(LttP - new gloves new rocks, hammer can get you to new places, longshot/hookshot, goron bracelet in OoT etc).

 

Exactly. It's all this physics-based improvisation that sets Zelda apart from an RPG.

 

The marketforces are tricky, and like the shallow loyalty of shareholders consumer trends can shift from one year to the next.

 

Shareholders. You've hit the nail on the head again. It seems to me that shareholders are lessening many forms of entertainment, because they only want a quick return and don't actually understand what makes a product good or why the fans like them.

 

I honestly would have taken TP as it came, but all this delay/Wii version business certainly made me suspicious about the whole thing.

 

Anyway, onto difficulty...

 

I'm all in favour of Nintendo making games easier and more accessible, as long as there is enough challenge for other gamers. Besides, Twilight Princess may have had easy combat, but the puzzles were as difficult as ever, don't you think?

 

The Mario games have it just right: moderately easy to complete the game, but you need superhuman reflexes to get all the stars! Super Mario World is my favourite and it's one of the easiest.

 

Now, quite honestly, I thought Mario 64 and Sunshine were too difficult for the average "casual" gamer to get through. Not me, but I don't see why little kids should get frustrated trying to play them. I know people who gave Mario Sunshine a good go, but just couldn't get very far at all. I'd be in favour of all Mario and Zelda games being easy to complete, with optional medium and difficult challenges.

 

Mario has the hub world, but this could be applied to Zelda by having an easy main adventure, but optional bosses and "100 levels" challenges. I thought the desert challenge in TP was not bad at all. At the end of the day, it's never going to be Metroid Prime (thankfully!)

[Falcon_BlizZACK]

TBH, I don't think TP had any actual problems. It was a very well done game.

 

It had many flaws... But I still love the game and it's music (which i constantly listen to, as I am now). The wolf form was one of the flaws. It just felt tacked on, you only really needed to be a wolf to catch those bugs and everything else was just minor like the howling and little things like squeezing into tight places.

 

Compare the wolf transformation to that of the Deku, Goron and Zora in MM. There were mini games based on EACH respect form (flying, rolling and swimming) and the dialogue changed when you were in different forms. Remember that scene in the Romani Milk Bar in Clock Town? Where you had to change forms and play their respective instrument to form a band and make a tune? That was unforgettable and I still remeber the tune.

 

TP was just a generic adventure game, nothing in it was really new or intuitive, and we expect that from Nintendo - a great, groundbreaking idea. OOT was, MM was, and I would vouche that WW was with the open seas and style. TP just really rests on the loins of OOT a little too much.

[Emasher]

It had many flaws... But I still love the game and it's music (which i constantly listen to, as I am now). The wolf form was one of the flaws. It just felt tacked on, you only really needed to be a wolf to catch those bugs and everything else was just minor like the howling and little things like squeezing into tight places.

 

Compare the wolf transformation to that of the Deku, Goron and Zora in MM. There were mini games based on EACH respect form (flying, rolling and swimming) and the dialogue changed when you were in different forms. Remember that scene in the Romani Milk Bar in Clock Town? Where you had to change forms and play their respective instrument to form a band and make a tune? That was unforgettable and I still remeber the tune.

 

TP was just a generic adventure game, nothing in it was really new or intuitive, and we expect that from Nintendo - a great, groundbreaking idea. OOT was, MM was, and I would vouche that WW was with the open seas and style. TP just really rests on the loins of OOT a little too much.

 

I said it was a very well done game. It wasn't as good as OoT but it was still an amazing game. Sure, it needed more charm, but it was more than just a generic adventure game.

[RPGfan]

Grazza wrote:

 

The Mario games have it just right: moderately easy to complete the game, but you need superhuman reflexes to get all the stars! Super Mario World is my favourite and it's one of the easiest.

 

Now, quite honestly, I thought Mario 64 and Sunshine were too difficult for the average "casual" gamer to get through. Not me, but I don't see why little kids should get frustrated trying to play them. I know people who gave Mario Sunshine a good go, but just couldn't get very far at all. I'd be in favour of all Mario and Zelda games being easy to complete, with optional medium and difficult challenges.

 

Mario has the hub world, but this could be applied to Zelda by having an easy main adventure, but optional bosses and "100 levels" challenges. I thought the desert challenge in TP was not bad at all. At the end of the day, it's never going to be Metroid Prime (thankfully!)

 

Zelda should always have a balanced difficulty, which is accessible to all. Not like Super Mario Sunshine which was so difficult few ever completed it. And then they could tuck on sidequests and extra puzzles for those who want more to play after the mainquest. They just have to remember to make it exceptional to play. And that is where I always encourage Nintendo to avoid taking the innovation too far. It could jeopardise the whole feeling people get when playing through it, if the game strays too far from it´s roots!!

 

Zelda is about Link who travels through beautifull lands to save Hyrule and Princess Zelda each time. Done slightly different from one game to the next. And now they have perfected the weapons control, and the camera. So what more do they want? How much more could they innovate Zelda where we get the traditional great feeling out of playing it, that feeling of being part of something awesome. An epic journey - almost the videogame equivalent of the world dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien himself.

 

And how many gamers could they wind up losing, who wouldn´t like the new feel of any new environment they put Link into? Link on a motorcycle, I once read someone in here suggesting in a post. Link in a modern world? No way ever. They would instantly ruin it, as people´s sense of identification with the theme of the series would be lost. It would be ludicrous if they did that or even something like it. That´s my firm conviction. Zelda is Zelda for the reason of it having always been set where it has been and only there. Or then it wouldn´t be Zelda anymore, and they might as well give it a new name. A lethal metamorphosis. Zelda has always had an old fairytale-like forest theme (even in the 16 bit days), and there is no Zelda without it.

 

That is the magic of it all. That it is like a book which you open, and you are sucked into that book to become part of it´s story. That is how Miyamoto put it anyway in one interview after the release of OOT in 1998. And when you embark on an innovation-spree, you can wind up getting so absorbed into your new ideas that you forget what made the old ones such a succes.

 

And I want more of that, to be once more with that book in my hand and where I open it up on the first page. Knowing in my heart that I have started on a great journey of exploration, discovery and wonder wrapped in the unbeatable feeling all Nintendo games somehow have which will keep me spellbound for tens of hours until I am almost playing it in my sleep too for being so damn good. And it is only Nintendo who know how to make games that way. Still.

[Grazza]

Sure, it needed more charm, but it was more than just a generic adventure game.

 

Very true. It wasn't generic, just dangerously close to generic in one or two parts. It's definitely better than rival adventure games last generation like Beyond Good & Evil, Starfox Adventures and Okami. I mean, just riding on fields fighting the boar-riders is above most games!

 

It had many flaws... But I still love the game and it's music (which i constantly listen to, as I am now).

 

That's true. I think the music is one of the underrated things about the game. I'm always humming it!

 

Remember that scene in the Romani Milk Bar in Clock Town? Where you had to change forms and play their respective instrument to form a band and make a tune? That was unforgettable and I still remeber the tune.

 

Ballad of the Wind Fish from Link's Awakening. Beautiful.

 

Zelda should always have a balanced difficulty, which is accessible to all.

 

Actually, you're right, it should be medium. I just don't mind personally if they're on the easy side in combat (like WW or TP).

 

Not like Super Mario Sunshine which was so difficult few ever completed it.

 

I've got all 120 Shines. Whee!

 

And that is where I always encourage Nintendo to avoid taking the innovation too far. It could jeopardise the whole feeling people get when playing through it, if the game strays too far from it´s roots!!

 

You've got a very good point there. Take Phantom Hourglass. I thought the touchscreen controls worked well for the weapons, but not movement. I completed it twice, so I was fine with it, but it wasn't an actual improvement. It worked in terms of fitting the game to the DS, but it didn't actually improve the series.

 

Zelda is about Link who travels through beautifull lands to save Hyrule and Princess Zelda each time. Done slightly different from one game to the next.

 

Zelda is Zelda for the reason of it having always been set where it has been and only there. Or then it wouldn´t be Zelda anymore, and they might as well give it a new name. A lethal metamorphosis. Zelda has always had an old fairytale-like forest theme (even in the 16 bit days), and there is no Zelda without it.

 

See, as much as I like your posts, I do actually disagree with that somewhat. Neither Majora's Mask nor Wind Waker were the traditional "Hyrule adventure", but I thought they got the feeling just right. For me, Zelda is about a feeling of magic, and when the designers are on form, they can pull it off in different settings.

 

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I wouldn't mind a sci-fi Zelda. Think "Space Ace" (yes, I know it's a terrible game!) more than "Metroid". I think it would be a great achievement for the designers to prove they can recreate the same atmosphere and gameplay in space (a bit like Mario Galaxy).

[Mike]

I didn't really like the pirate theme of The Wind Waker, but I wouldn't actually mind seeing what a sci fi Zelda would be like, as long as they kept the same sort of atmosphere. It could still have magic in as well, which I certainly missed in Twilight Princess.

 

I didn't always think a sci fo Zelda would work, but this scene in Brawl changed my mind:

[Emasher]

I didn't really like the pirate theme of The Wind Waker, but I wouldn't actually mind seeing what a sci fi Zelda would be like, as long as they kept the same sort of atmosphere. It could still have magic in as well, which I certainly missed in Twilight Princess.

 

I didn't always think a sci fo Zelda would work, but this scene in Brawl changed my mind:

 

TBH, I think steam punk would work better for the series.

[Grazza]

I would like to see Gannondorf (and especially Ganon) rendered much more boldly than that, with stronger colours and stronger lines/contrast. Basically, really cartoony like Space Ace or Mario Galaxy.

 

For some reason, I think a giant pig-man would suit it more than a humanoid! Imagine a really simple, bold opening where Ganon swoops down and kidnaps Zelda, then flies off in his flying saucer! That's it, game begins!

 

But hey, it's purely personal taste.

[RPGfan]

Grazza wrote:

 

Quote:

Zelda is Zelda for the reason of it having always been set where it has been and only there. Or then it wouldn´t be Zelda anymore, and they might as well give it a new name. A lethal metamorphosis. Zelda has always had an old fairytale-like forest theme (even in the 16 bit days), and there is no Zelda without it.

 

See, as much as I like your posts, I do actually disagree with that somewhat. Neither Majora's Mask nor Wind Waker were the traditional "Hyrule adventure", but I thought they got the feeling just right. For me, Zelda is about a feeling of magic, and when the designers are on form, they can pull it off in different settings.

 

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I wouldn't mind a sci-fi Zelda. Think "Space Ace" (yes, I know it's a terrible game!) more than "Metroid". I think it would be a great achievement for the designers to prove they can recreate the same atmosphere and gameplay in space (a bit like Mario Galaxy).

 

No, MM and WW weren´t like the Hyrule we saw in OOT. But both still had the forest theme there, and while Termina Field in MM wasn´t the same as Hyrule Field it was still green and pretty. That world would be comparable to the Dark world created in Metroid Prime 2 thanks to the rift in the dimensional field caused by that meteor. Hyrule´s dark twin. So, in a way they didn´take us that far away from Hyrule. They just reversed the mirror so to speak, and let us experience the other side of it. So yes the designers did create the magic again in MM, but to me not at all in WW. Sure the graphics were a spectacle to watch for the first time, although I hated them very quickly because I want realistic graphics and characters and things and worlds, so there was no magic in that game for me. Only tedious sailing, confusion as to what to do and where to go, and one annoying lack of feeling for the gameworld overall. It wasn´t epic at all, and that is what Nintendo has been able to do with almost every Zelda from the start and up to OOT and MM.

 

I don´t know what you mean by sci-fi Zelda. But if they take it even further into unknown territory theme-wise I may be done with the series. They have to nail first what gives us that special feeling from playing Zelda-games, and then they can design it as they like from there. That is of paramount importance - what gives us the gamers that special feeling of magic playing the Zelda-series. I just still do not think it wise for them to ever put Link in a sci-fi world. I think a lot of kids would lose their attachment and identification with the series. Kids love fairytales, they always have, and I think I can safely say that that is the very reason why so many have bought the Zelda games over the years. It could be that they have run out of ideas, though, with Link in the forest-theme. I could give them several ideas, though, and I hope they have decided to make one more OOT-like Zelda which this time fully lives up to the expectations for such a next-gen OOT which TLP couldn´t be regrettably for the reasons stated by various posts in this thread including my own.

[Emasher]

No, MM and WW weren´t like the Hyrule we saw in OOT. But both still had the forest theme there, and while Termina Field in MM wasn´t the same as Hyrule Field it was still green and pretty. That world would be comparable to the Dark world created in Metroid Prime 2 thanks to the rift in the dimensional field caused by that meteor. Hyrule´s dark twin. So, in a way they didn´take us that far away from Hyrule. They just reversed the mirror so to speak, and let us experience the other side of it. So yes the designers did create the magic again in MM, but to me not at all in WW. Sure the graphics were a spectacle to watch for the first time, although I hated them very quickly because I want realistic graphics and characters and things and worlds, so there was no magic in that game for me. Only tedious sailing, confusion as to what to do and where to go, and one annoying lack of feeling for the gameworld overall. It wasn´t epic at all, and that is what Nintendo has been able to do with almost every Zelda from the start and up to OOT and MM.

 

I don´t know what you mean by sci-fi Zelda. But if they take it even further into unknown territory theme-wise I may be done with the series. THey have to nail what gives us that special feeling from playing Zelda-games and then they can design it as they like from there. That is of paramount importance - what gives us the gamers that special feeling of magic playing the Zelda-series.

 

TBH, I think realistic graphics take away from the series. Zelda needs to do something different to be good. A Sifi or steam punk game could do just that. Zelda games need to do something fresh to be good. Every great Zelda has.

[RPGfan]

It depends on how many people agree with you in that. To change the series each time will be annoying to many because you don´t know what it turns out to be like for being so much into unknown territory, when many just want more of the same good old stuff. But perhaps Nintendo just love to take that risk each time. Their call, then. I will just see what it amounts to and wander off to other games if I keep on being dissapointed. I believe many might think the same as me. People who even grew up with the series.

 

We the kids of the past bought Nintendo´s Zelda games because they always were a tantalizing fairytale full of magic to live through. I really believe that was the determining factor which lead so many to buy the Zelda games over the years. And now that Zelda is one of the biggest name in the business, almost as big as Mario, we still see a lot of people buying the Zelda games even though they aren´t the same as in the past. It takes time for people to gradually or entirely abandon a world renowned game series. But, like has been the case with Sonic, if Nintendo doesn´t watch out they might enter the same zone of dissatisfaction with Zelda as Sonic Team has raked up for themselves with Sonic where people now aren´t far from becoming indifferent in their attitude to the series for being bad some many times even in the handheld games. I recall IGN remarking in the headline to their review of the last Sonic game on the mainconsoles that "maybe someone should put this animal down". I pray that it will never be "Link" that will be inserted into that phrase.

 

True, it takes an awefull amount of discipline to be able to constantly deliver one hit after another in games. But I think Nintendo has been blinded to the roots of the Zelda series by their innovation-spree. Just like Sonic Team did with Sonic. It is the same situation. The maker of the series forgets how he did it in the beginning. And people feel the dissapointment each time. Heck, Nintendo can still reverse the situation to a better one. Which I hope they will. Because they can do that if they want to.

 

Every serious manufacturer ever kept a keen eye fixed on consumer trends, before they change anything about a product. For they know it is dangerous or even lethal to tamper with peoples preferences with their respective line of products. Nintendo has a kind of arrogance, where they don´t care about that in the same meticulous way. They are more reckless, so to speak. They have even said they are willing to take a big risk, which would be the essence of the Blue Ocean market strategy. THe thing about that strategy is that there may in the end, for Nintendo, be no new territories to conquer because people have tired of them and have shifted their attention and love to the competition.

 

I even think Nintendo is somehow aware of this probable nightmare, and therefore has suddenly out of the blue assured us that they haven´t forgotten the hardcore gamers!! I am actually worried about them these days. They are a giant, and giants are always slow to turn around.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Wind Waker had a lot of good sides that you seem to constantly forget.

Might've been because I got so damn bored doing the main quest.

[DCK]

A Sifi or steam punk game could do just that. Zelda games need to do something fresh to be good.

Compared to other games out there, Zelda is much more fresh than steam punk or sci-fi stuff.

 

I'm not totally against a new direction, but Twilight Princess already felt to generic - we hardly need any more clichéd ideas.

[Chris the great]

well, if i think about what really felt bad about tp, when playing it, id say that there were obviosuly too few side quests, when i saw 5 peices to the heart peice, i was thrilled that id have more mini games to do, more little errends to win and more excentric residents of hyrule to talk to. the fact that they stuck heart peice chests in the dungeons was a huge dissapointment for me.

 

the malo mart side quest was poor. i hated malo, i do NOT like being spoken to like that by a baby. more then that, the quest boiled down to raising money, and i belive one excursion with a barrel of water. the reward was actualy decent, though the fact you emptied your wallet to get it sucked.

 

the bug side quest was pretty good in fairness, though id have liked a better system (bug net?).

 

the wolf was a bit crap. yeah, the scents were good once or twice, but outher then that, it felt like a taced on idea, a gimmic, make it the wolf zelda so people remeber.

 

outher then that, its hard to criticise. the main game was good, i liked the stort, found midna annoying but who cares, i usualy find alot of real people annoying, why should she be exempt. the gannondorf bit was great, remeber discovering his presence and loving it.

 

the game gets such shit, and i dont think its right, the game itself had everything iod have asked for, more horse riding, bigger world, epic bosses, new weapons, kittys to pick up and hug, only thing id have liked to see would be a little more violence, more death to add drama, but i understand that nintendo arnt keep to go down that rout.

[Choze]

Yeah i enjoyed Wind Waker alot more. People hated Wind Waker for the wrong reasons (minus the wind thing). Even Tingle was good.

[The-chosen-one]

what i want to see in the next zelda that you have to cook your own meal or mix potions and if you mix them the wrong way it turns into a poisoned potion , or have to work for rupees and that the villages feel more alive doing small missions for the people as a side quest ( mini games ) that maybe a child is lost so you can help him / her to find his parents , or maybe someones house is haunted by poes ( ghosts ) and he needs your help and link is the only one with the courage to do it and i want the minigames back like racing with your horse and they can use a part from Disaster :P like the volcanic eruption that link has to warn everyone and save that village from a total disaster

 

and i want ganondorf to obtain a new power that makes him more powerfull that even link doesnt know what to do and that he loses his courage for just a moment then the goddesses speaks to him that he should not lose hope and show him a vision of what will happen if he loses his courage and does not stop ganondorf

 

i also want the Fierce deity power back Dins fire and the ocarina flute back those where the coolest things in zelda

 

that link uses the power of the fiercedeity to fight against ganondorf with his newly obtained powers

they also have to use Dark link he is a must in the new zelda

[Deathborn]

what i want to see in the next zelda that you have to cook your own meal or mix potions and if you mix them the wrong way it turns into a poisoned potion , or have to work for rupees and that the villages feel more alive doing small missions for the people as a side quest ( mini games ) that maybe a child is lost so you can help him / her to find his parents

 

Here's for you:

[Goron_3]

They should let you play as Ganon at one point during the next zelda. That would be awesome. You could play through his story in the game (to try and gain the triforce/take over the world) and see how he gets corrupted etc). Would be so awesome especially because in the fact you only ever see him in cutscenes..would be great to see him featured in the game more.

[Grazza]

Yeah i enjoyed Wind Waker alot more. People hated Wind Waker for the wrong reasons (minus the wind thing). Even Tingle was good.

 

Tingle was fantastic! For me, the moment Tingle appeared in Wind Waker was one of the best moments in gaming. Sounds odd, I know, but not long after I'd completed Majora's Mask, I thought "That's it, I'm bored with gaming" and sold my Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast.

 

Eventually I became aware that there was a new Nintendo console and a new Zelda game, so I knew I had to get them. Wind Waker was so fresh and new, and I'd forgotten the details of the older Zelda games anyway. I'd certainly completely forgotten about Tingle.

 

Anyway, the moment I saw Tingle I remembered him from Majora's Mask, and realised that the design team had recreated all the magic in a completely different setting. I metaphorically tipped my hat to them for achieving something I'd never seen in gaming before.

 

I'm indifferent to the character outside of Zelda, but he works really well in the context of a Zelda adventure. He grounds it; sets the right tone...

[darkjak]

TBH, I think realistic graphics take away from the series. Zelda needs to do something different to be good. A Sifi or steam punk game could do just that. Zelda games need to do something fresh to be good. Every great Zelda has.

 

Scifi/steampunk really doesent contradict "realistic" graphics. But however, many people, including myself think that the cel-shading doesent feel very Zelda. I think that Nintendo should make Wind Waker a seperate franchise altogether, with a new hero, new land and so on.

 

But yes, make the next Zelda set centuries after OOT, in an age when Hyrule is becoming more technically advanced. To be honest, Dante from Devil May Cry is somewhat what Link should look like:

 

Big sword, more modern clothes (of course still green), maybe a pistol in the inventory...

 

One thing I think was good in Twilight Princess was that the Master Sword was the best one in the entire game. And that's the way it's supposed to be, if you listen to what is said about it in the games.

[Grazza]

I think that Nintendo should make Wind Waker a seperate franchise altogether, with a new hero, new land and so on.

 

I prefer that idea to banishing the cel-shaded games to handheld, as I think the Wind Waker style deserves the full power of a console.

 

Of course, it'd need a new development team dedicated to the "Wind Waker" games. I don't think it should have a new hero though. He could just get older and not need his "Hero of Time" abilities.

 

I would certainly be in favour of shortening the dungeons in this theoretical series, as they actually took me out of my immersion a little bit (in Wind Waker) and reminded me it was a game. Maybe it's just me, but full-length dungeons seem a bit old-fashioned now when you could have much more action in the overworld.

 

But, hand on heart, I think Nintendo should make all their games like playable cartoons, whether that means cel-shading or something newer and better. We could have much better colours and contrast in future, and with an adult Link too. I think it'd be the best of both worlds.

 

One thing I think was good in Twilight Princess was that the Master Sword was the best one in the entire game. And that's the way it's supposed to be, if you listen to what is said about it in the games.

 

Yes, I know what you mean. It's the main sword, yet not always the strongest! It does have more "evil banishing" power than the others, but still... I thought Twilight Princess got it right, as did Wind Waker the way you powered it up in stages.

 

I also like the way the shield goes: Wooden, Hylian, Mirror Shield in most games. If they ever put MotionPlus in the Nunchuk (maybe for Wii 2), we could control the shield again with a gyroscope.

[Emasher]

Scifi/steampunk really doesent contradict "realistic" graphics. But however, many people, including myself think that the cel-shading doesent feel very Zelda. I think that Nintendo should make Wind Waker a seperate franchise altogether, with a new hero, new land and so on.

 

But yes, make the next Zelda set centuries after OOT, in an age when Hyrule is becoming more technically advanced. To be honest, Dante from Devil May Cry is somewhat what Link should look like:

 

 

Big sword, more modern clothes (of course still green), maybe a pistol in the inventory...

 

One thing I think was good in Twilight Princess was that the Master Sword was the best one in the entire game. And that's the way it's supposed to be, if you listen to what is said about it in the games.

 

 

I should have put those in separate paragraphs, they were different points.

 

Anyway. I think WW was very much Zelda. it fit very well with the world it was in. A more realistic art style just wouldn't have worked well for the ocean setting. WW is a huge part of the Zelda timeline and its not just going to leave the series.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Very true. It wasn't generic, just dangerously close to generic in one or two parts. It's definitely better than rival adventure games last generation like Beyond Good & Evil, Starfox Adventures and Okami. I mean, just riding on fields fighting the boar-riders is above most games!

 

How can you put those two together?