The Legend of Zelda is one of the most well known franchises among gamers and has been a series of powerful flagships for Nintendo. Since the first game on the NES, the series has caught the imaginations of players as they impersonate the silent hero Link to save Hyrule. Ocarina of Time has remained as the best game of all time in many lists and Twilight Princess has become a huge icon in America. The theme is one of the most well known across the world and has inspires developers into game development.
Yes, many things can be said for this franchise from fans like myself. However, I am going to get off the fan shoes and look at the series from the outside. With an open mind and an analytical perspective to how the series has evolved, starting from the overall game and then dissecting it piece by piece for a closer look.... And I found that the series, even though it has released consistently good games, is starting to become stagnant and very soon it will require a re imagining or it will slowly wither and die as the fans' eyes and jaws are wide open in disbelief.
Before the pikes and torches are risen against me, I suggest to just look at the console games starting with A Link to the Past to Twilight Princess. BE more objective and you see that while things has been improved in some fronts. Others have remain still and are beginning to hurt the overall value and are desperate for a change. I am going to post my analysis on the series and show what I believe it's wrong with the series and needs focus from the developers
Huge, but Rather Empty, Overworld
It started with Ocarina of Time, but it has become more and more apparent as they reached Twilight Princess. The overworld is big, giving you a strong feeling on how huge Hyrule is, with Lake Hylia, Death Mountain, Zora's Domain, among others... But...
WHERE IS EVERYBODY?The problem here is in two fronts. The first one is the enemy encounters. In most cases it's very little or almost non existent. Of course, many of you will mention places with a number of enemies indicating that is populated.... yeah right. But don't you notice something out of place? You are clearing dungeons, getting stronger, with more hearts and items... but the enemies in these places are the same, the number remains the same, the type of enemies are the same or just change once. I mean, is the evil one so dumb to underestimate the hero's deeds, come on!.
Also, there was one thing I liked in Wind waker that was not present In twilight princess, there there NPC's traveling the world and I was expecting something similar in Twilight princess, but there was no such thing. Even in dark times, there should be caravans the transport goods or something, this could add some side quest and stuff to keep people playing.
The series has shown small glimpses of this, but it has not been exploited properly to add more realism to the game and it does not require a graphical overhaul.
Also, there was one thing I liked in Wind waker that was not present In twilight princess, there there NPC's traveling the world and I was expecting something similar in Twilight princess, but there was no such thing. Even in dark times, there should be caravans the transport goods or something, this could add some side quest and stuff to keep people playing.
The series has shown small glimpses of this, but it has not been exploited properly to add more realism to the game and it does not require a graphical overhaul.
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Kirbykid has commented on the combat in 2D Zeldas and what makes it interesting. A lot of it has to do with variation in moving, attacking, and vulnerability. Octoroks shoot horizontally / vertically only. Their shots are stopped by terrain.
ReplyDeleteZoras shoot only from the water, in any direction and their shots are not stopped by terrain. I think you could reflect the shots with your sword.
Some enemies could only be destroyed with carefully placed bombs.
In the 2d games, you are often fighting multiple enemies at once. To do this, you use obstacles in the terrain to manage space between you and the enemies.
In the 3d games, you might have multiple enemies in an area, but you only have to worry about 1 at a time. Projectiles are rare. This makes a big difference.
It's true that you get much more benefits on 2D, but it needs to be translated in 3D properly. It was acceptable in Ocarina of Time, but as the series and the console evolve, it needs to be addressed
ReplyDeleteThe Legend of Zelda is stuck in a Catch-22 where any radical change from the norm could hurt interest in the franchise.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as Wind Waker has shown us, the aesthetic isn't the most important factor, but rather the execution. A Zelda in space sounds terrible, but could become the best in the series if playable like the past entries.
The open world, although here since 1997, is still young and underdeveloped as part of the Zelda franchise. There hasn't been any specific demand to change that aspect or enhance it. Using that open world as a map, ALONGSIDE an avenue for mission hubs,guild-type things, battle 'tournaments', mini-games, and info-searching could open the game up immensely.
Great article; I'll look out for more.