Ways the NEXT ZELDA needs to EVOLVE if it wants to be a hit! Long read!

As I have noticed there was a big jump from A Link to the Past to Ocarina. It is time for the series to make a similar evolution. Miyamoto even stated the next Zelda will be very different. I agree, it should be. When Twilight Princess was released many were left disappointed (I loved it however, but I can see their points against the game.) The main issue was that it followed the zelda formula of: collect three items (usually red, blue, and green), big story twist and the ability to transform freely (kid to adult, human to wolf, light to dark world), collect more items and then Ganon battle. The gameplay needs to take a step towards Fable/Oblivion. Heres what I think should be done:

1) New visual style- Okay, fans wanted Realisitic. They got it. Lets move on. In Twilight Princess the graphics were 1) To muddy (greasy, blurry) 2) To dark. For the next Zelda I don't think they should go for Ultra Realism. I think that a style more like the Spaceworld demo would suit the Wii. Less detail but a smoother, crisper look. Also, in Ocarina the world was always bright and vibrant. In TP everything always looked like it was Late Afternoon- nothing was really bright, especially the sky.

2) Explore the story/backstory more- There is so much backstory in Zelda that is ripe to be used. In the game there should be a larger emphasis on story. Story should progress in between dungeons (as opposed to after every group of dungeons). Flesh out the different races of Hyrule: the Gerudo, the Sheikah and how they died out as a result of greed for the triforce.

3) Choose a different setting/Theme- Do something different witht he game. Instead of setting it in "dark times where a evil king obtains the triforce..." how about the game take place during: The Civil Wars for the triforce, or have the game lead up to The Flood (from Wind Waker). I really would like to play during the Civil Wars.

4) Connect the Zelda games- Again, the Flood would be a great way to do this. At least make hints to the connection of the games. I will probably mention the flood a few more times during this post....I really like that concept.

5) Involve Zelda more- She is so underused these days. I liek what they did with Tetra and Sheik. Zelda played an active role. In Twilight's early screens we saw Zelda with a sword so everybody loved th efact that she may fight....in reality it was only a 3 minute boss fight. And in Ocarina, you make a conspiracy with Zelda to reach the triforce first. That was pretty cool

6) Secret Items/More compelling sidequests/Secret dungeons or temple- Instead of doing a lenghty sidequest only to receive a rupee, how about receiving a Goron Flame Hammer? The item would not be required to progress in the game but special items liek this (like in oblivion or fable) would be more of a reason to explore the game world. Also, there should be secret/hidden/optional dungeons and temples scattered around the land. they could contain story info, weapons, or armor. A good exampel fo the optional items would be Ice Arrows in Ocarina

7) Deeper Combat/Customization- There should be a huge pool of combat moves and combos. Experience points could be used to "buy" moves. Link should also be able to outfitted with various armor or weapons that can be bought or found.

8) Do something different with the dungeons- The Sky Temple was awesome because it was fresh and new. Mix up the dungeons. Maybe a crazy Dream Dungeon, or a dungeon on top of a Giant. Or what about the Temple of The Gods?

9) Open up the game world- TP's world only looked open. There were tons of places to see but not many to go. They were all blocked off. Make those areas accesible. Vary the landscape...caverns, oceans, mountains, forests, cave.

10) Bring back magic and magic arrows- I just really liked them.

11) End the game with a bang- Maybe a Flood? That would be the best Zelda ending ever.

Zelda doesn't need help from someone who thinks LttP sucks.

Zelda doesn't need help from someone who thinks LttP sucks.

the_leet_kid

Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.radnasty

[QUOTE="radnasty"]Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.sk8ter33157

Says who? You? The reviews were great. You know what makes a game legendary? Time. In a couple of years people will talk about Twilight Princess like they talk about Ocarina and A Link To The Past.....oh, I forgot, you don't like that game.

didn't Miyamoto say that TP would be the last Zelda of its kind?c0mplex

yep.

[QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="radnasty"]Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.radnasty

Says who? You? The reviews were great. You know what makes a game legendary? Time. In a couple of years people will talk about Twilight Princess like they talk about Ocarina and A Link To The Past.....oh, I forgot, you don't like that game.

i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).nintendo-4life

[QUOTE="radnasty"]Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.sk8ter33157

[QUOTE="nintendo-4life"]i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).sk8ter33157

That would suck

[QUOTE="nintendo-4life"]i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).sk8ter33157

[QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="nintendo-4life"]i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).nintendo-4life

the reason it was so dark was becaus e it was intended to be a darker game. I think that contributed to the T instead of the E.jsrock_on54

[QUOTE="nintendo-4life"][QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="nintendo-4life"]i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).sk8ter33157

[QUOTE="nintendo-4life"][QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="nintendo-4life"]i can see 6, 8, 9,10 ALREADY being addressed, i honestly do NOT like the idea of buying combat moves, it's jst not zelda anymore, everything else is good, i would like to say however, they should make more boss fights and also make them more than just "dungeon endings", i want a boss fight that's actually IN the hyrule field (TP started it well but it was too few).sk8ter33157

As I have noticed there was a big jump from A Link to the Past to Ocarina.[...]sk8ter33157

I am going to mostly agree.  I love Zelda and still own every Zelda game (for consoles...one for Gameboy).  I think Link to the Past is the best of the series and I think Twighlight Princess was one of the best in a long time.  I loved Wind Waker at the time for its vibrant colours and animation and for offering something new, but it is also the only zelda I couldn't go back to after beating it.   Twilight Princess has me hooked and absorbed.  Being a big fan of the past/future concept of LTTP, I love the day/shadow concept.  However, its not as in depth.  I miss how the worlds were similar but different and to get to certain areas or solve puzzles, you had to navigate the differences.

But the one thing that I think is holding Twilight back is precisely what you hit on.  The series has always been the same.  I'm a little tired of visiting the fire/water dungeon and talking to the rock and water people.  The reason Ocarina was such a hit was that it introduced a new world and characters.  Now we are playing the same thing over and over, at heart if not exactly the same.  And while the gameplay definitely holds up, as does the fun, the story starts to feel old.

I would like the next zelds to totally reinvent itself.  A new world, a new story, all new characters.  Hell, I would go so far as to say to change link and zeldas appearance so they are people as opposed to modified elves.  Why not make ganon a giant demon or even a robot or something different from what we keep seeing.  Even if you stick with the medievel type setting you could have a storyline like Final Fantasy 12 with a revolution led by Zelda to regain her throne.  Why not have link fighting other people instead of just monsters.

I love Zelda and think the style of gameplay could go on for a long long time.  The only thing that will cause people to lose interest is the never-changing plot.  I think Nintendo can do it if they aren't too afraid. 

I agree, for sure.  As long as they don't turn Zelda into an RPG I am fine with all of those changes, especially the art style.  TP was a bit too dark, it never felt like things were lighthearted or bright in TP.

I have a bad feeling though that when Miyamoto says the next Zelda will be very different, he means it will be something completely opposite of what fans want, like a first person Zelda or.... gasp.... a minigame Zelda. :cry:

Zelda doesn't need help from someone who thinks LttP sucks.

the_leet_kid

I agree, for sure. As long as they don't turn Zelda into an RPG I am fine with all of those changes, especially the art style. TP was a bit too dark, it never felt like things were lighthearted or bright in TP.

I have a bad feeling though that when Miyamoto says the next Zelda will be very different, he means it will be something completely opposite of what fans want, like a first person Zelda or.... gasp.... a minigame Zelda. :cry:

REVOLUTIONfreak

I think the reason most fans were dissappointed (Yeah, I'm here) was that TP focused all its attention on dungeons and expected everyone to see a much more world, more densely populated, more open, and more alive than previous Zeldas.  But TP simply made the entire first act a single dungeon, it was too linear:

Start in Ordon Village, stay in Ordon for the next 10 hours as the game shuffles you through the story at a snail's pace.  Following this linear progression, your forced to head to kakariko as all other areas are closed to you, and are then FORCED back as a wolf and have to collect another set of tears of light while being unable to speak with the inhabitants of the town.

The Dungeons are short, half hour obstacle courses in TP, no "puzzles" to speak of.  You enter a room, look for the switch, then just look around until its clear how to get up there.  In 25 hours I never got stuck once save for the Master Sword jumping puzzle.

Bosses were fairly poor in TP.  Stallord had potential, he was fast paced and giant, but it didn't matter because he was poorly animated, unthreatening in his actions, attacked very infrequently and it wasn't exciting hitting his spine at 2 miles an hour when you've just spent all your momentum dodging his knights.  Ghoma just sucked.  And Amorok doesn't hold a candle to Volvagia, nor Twinmold, nor Moldaga, all the previous flying enemies.

In essence, when I play TP, I feel like it could have been so much more.  When I play Wind Waker, it feels right, well paced, just the right level of difficulty, and it packs more to do into one island than TP packs in its entirety.

I like #2, 5, 6, 8, and 9. Although I'm sure 8 is already happening. I liked the Minish Cap because you could get so many special weapons like the light arrows and timer bombs. Although none of these ideas are actually changing Zelda, just evolving it. TP evolved OoT, but it didn't necessarily revolutionize anything. If Zelda is going to change, there needs to be something different about it. Something like playing as Zelda from time to time. Maybe even have allies that follow you around. I don't particularly want either of those to happen but I figured I would put those out there.
 nintendofreak_2

You mean like Wind Waker? 

[QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="radnasty"]Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.radnasty

Says who? You? The reviews were great. You know what makes a game legendary? Time. In a couple of years people will talk about Twilight Princess like they talk about Ocarina and A Link To The Past.....oh, I forgot, you don't like that game.

[QUOTE="c0mplex"]didn't Miyamoto say that TP would be the last Zelda of its kind?the_leet_kid

yep.

what? i dont understand, you mean they are going to change LoZ completely?

[QUOTE="radnasty"]

[QUOTE="sk8ter33157"][QUOTE="radnasty"]Man, you really think you know your stuff, don't you? Do you honestly think that a Zelda game would come out and not be a hit? Sure, some ideas of yours are interesting, but by no means is the series in trouble of not selling.hellzhitman

Says who? You? The reviews were great. You know what makes a game legendary? Time. In a couple of years people will talk about Twilight Princess like they talk about Ocarina and A Link To The Past.....oh, I forgot, you don't like that game.

That's true, there's lots of people dissappointed, lots satisfied, but after Ocarina came out, we were all unanimous that it rocked.

I think the reason most fans were dissappointed (Yeah, I'm here) was that TP focused all its attention on dungeons and expected everyone to see a much more world, more densely populated, more open, and more alive than previous Zeldas. But TP simply made the entire first act a single dungeon, it was too linear:

Start in Ordon Village, stay in Ordon for the next 10 hours as the game shuffles you through the story at a snail's pace. Following this linear progression, your forced to head to kakariko as all other areas are closed to you, and are then FORCED back as a wolf and have to collect another set of tears of light while being unable to speak with the inhabitants of the town.

The Dungeons are short, half hour obstacle courses in TP, no "puzzles" to speak of. You enter a room, look for the switch, then just look around until its clear how to get up there. In 25 hours I never got stuck once save for the Master Sword jumping puzzle.

Bosses were fairly poor in TP. Stallord had potential, he was fast paced and giant, but it didn't matter because he was poorly animated, unthreatening in his actions, attacked very infrequently and it wasn't exciting hitting his spine at 2 miles an hour when you've just spent all your momentum dodging his knights. Ghoma just sucked. And Amorok doesn't hold a candle to Volvagia, nor Twinmold, nor Moldaga, all the previous flying enemies.

In essence, when I play TP, I feel like it could have been so much more. When I play Wind Waker, it feels right, well paced, just the right level of difficulty, and it packs more to do into one island than TP packs in its entirety.

Shirley_Temple

Someone who dislikes A Link To The Past is not worthy of makin opinions to make Zelda "better" on the next installment...- _-

Anyway idk why u people don't really like TP. I been playin zelda since the NES days and up until now I have not been dissapointed not once in the series. To me, I seen perfection in every game they released.

its funny also how so many people a couple of years ago want a more OOT forbidden thats its "too much" like OOT. Sounds kinda stupid to me coming from those people.

Some of you're ideas may seem pretty good, but some of them are missleading. For example, saying that it should go to a more oblivion/fable forbidden moves... That would make the game too RPG-ish so thats cut off the list quickly. Let the game end with a flood? This one quote puts this post down completly...

[QUOTE="the_leet_kid"]

Zelda doesn't need help from someone who thinks LttP sucks.

WR_Platinum

I really think that the next Zelda needs to be much more difficult. Like the Dark Nuts were should have been regular enemies, although not in large groups. ALso, there should be actual human enemies. Personally, I liked the Secret Village in TP and then it turned out there was only one person there in the whole place other than the animals. Pointless place actually. Maybe there can be a Hyrule Town and Clock Town and even Windfall (Windfall would have to be on a mountain of course though) in one game (I mean just add more towns with more significance, instead of just re-using towns). You could get a boat and sail to another continent. This would make for a massive world instead of just a field with some extra places to go to.
nintendofreak_2

What I would be hoping for in the next Zelda game is as follows:

- Less linearity
What I'm saying is enough with having to play the game in one path. Beat dungeon 1, than move onto dungeon 2, move on to dungeon 3 etc.

Allow the player to battle the dungeons in their own way. Am I saying to open up EVERY dungeon? No. What I would suggest is allow the first 2 or 3 dungeons to be open to the player, allow them to choose whichever one they want to go through first, and allow the game to adjust the difficult for the other dungeons. Repeat for the next 2 or 3 dungeons.

This would open up the game in so many ways and would increase the replay value of the game tremendously.
DarkMagik9