What's Next For Zelda?

I want a darker theme like Zelda MM. I also want it to be more linear, but with a bunch of paths to explore. That's pretty much it.

Wish they reworked its outdated combat system already. Its so basic and spammy.
 
Neff said:
Fire dungeon that has its own distinct look, layout, mechanics, enemies, music, and takes hours to finish.

Water dungeon that has its own distinct look etc.

You get the idea.
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Amazing that they could pull this off in 1998 but games nowadays have issues having so much variety and unique assets. Amazing and sad.
 
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TintoConCasera said:
Amazing that they could pull this off in 1998 but games nowadays have issues having so much variety and unique assets. Amazing and sad.
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They could do it now, they just like to change the recipe with each game.

SS went all-in on the dungeon experience by implementing dungeon design in the overworld itself. BotW and TotK switched gears by going in the other direction entirely, minimising dungeon exploration and maximising overworld exploration.

As much as I like BotW and TotK, I really do want to experience that feeling of stepping into OoT's Water Temple or Forest Temple for the first time in a modern game. The change in geography, lighting and mood- knowing you're going to spend a signifcant chunk of time committing to a unique environment, Zelda does it better than any other series.
 
TintoConCasera said:
Amazing that they could pull this off in 1998 but games nowadays have issues having so much variety and unique assets. Amazing and sad.
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It's a case of when tech was not as advanced they needed to use art direction and pushing things to their limits to get the level design we got at the time and fast forward to now to where tech is so advanced they have no idea what to do with it...when it should be easier to pump out 1998 era designs left and right.

George Lucas said it best. Art is technology. You come up with an artistic problem and invent the technology to illustrate what you want to show to your audience. Instead they are inventing technology before they know what to with it. It's similar to painting. You can have all the colors but if you don't know what to paint then it really doesn't matter.

So we run into this issue where when tech was bad...love, passion and creativity led to better games. Now that tech is good you get bad games that are worse in comparison.

Today we have so many options that you don't know what to choose. When back then you did "more with less" and sometimes "less is more".

I can tell you the dungeons and worlds in OoT/MM/TP/WW are more memorable then BotW/TotK and a part of that is the dungeons and world were connected in a way that made sense.

With TotK I think the only memorable thing I really remember is the journey to the Wind Temple which was really just a derelict airship.

To compare it to say OoT or TP Water Temple? Can't even compare.

OoT Water Temple map design btw

Water_Temple_map.jpg


dj01kp0-e485e898-2109-4b21-b297-56ea8b70ab84.png
 
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They just need to remake or do somthing with the OoT series. That or Eiji Aonuma needs to direct another doom and gloom Zelda and not these sugar and rainbow style Zelda games were he just oversees slop.
 
Expecting Zelda to go back to the old style is genuinely baffling to me, will Resident Evil go back to tank controls and fixed camera? Will God Of War go back to fixed camera and Kamiya-esq combat? No, these games stood the test of time for a reason they evolve and grow and I expect the same level of growth from the next Zelda game as they did when they went 3D with OoT and when they went open world with BotW, 2027.
 
gtabro said:
LOL, waste of server memory thread. Because:

Nobody knows

(what it's like
to be the saaaad man(
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I'm genuinely surprised that there isn't more of this kind of speculation on Gaf. Half of the fun is dreaming about what kind of game you want and speculating based on previous entries. And then when you get a breadcrumb of new information you spin out a whole speculative game based on it.

But maybe it's a question of whether someone has imagination or not.
 
L*][*N*K said:
Expecting Zelda to go back to the old style is genuinely baffling to me, will Resident Evil go back to tank controls and fixed camera? Will God Of War go back to fixed camera and Kamiya-esq combat? No, these games stood the test of time for a reason they evolve and grow and I expect the same level of growth from the next Zelda game as they did when they went 3D with OoT and when they went open world with BotW, 2027.
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Steps they can take towards evolution of the franchise is getting rid of Weapon Durability and making gear acquisition and upgrades to HP more meaningful then do the 300+ shrine puzzles that aren't connected to the game world in any way.

Players have been wanting some degree of choice in character customization so I think at this point for Zelda to grow they should let you choose and create your own Character from all of Hyrules races whether it is a Hylian, Goron, Zora, Rito, Gerudo.

If they want to stick to the preset character formula they could opt to give a Link or Linkle option.

And if Princess Zelda is an option many would rather see her use magic as a Mage instead of what we got in Echoes of Wisdom which is summon things to do stuff for you and play as Link sometimes.

I wager half of my playtime in BotW and TotK amounts to

Breath Of The Wild Link GIF
 
a zelda BOTW style gacha game to act as genshin killer 😂😂😂, I don't want to imagine the fans rage

saving my tri force for that 5 star zelda summer outfit
 
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MagiusNecros said:
Steps they can take towards evolution of the franchise is getting rid of Weapon Durability and making gear acquisition and upgrades to HP more meaningful then do the 300+ shrine puzzles that aren't connected to the game world in any way.

Players have been wanting some degree of choice in character customization so I think at this point for Zelda to grow they should let you choose and create your own Character from all of Hyrules races whether it is a Hylian, Goron, Zora, Rito, Gerudo.

If they want to stick to the preset character formula they could opt to give a Link or Linkle option.

And if Princess Zelda is an option many would rather see her use magic as a Mage instead of what we got in Echoes of Wisdom which is summon things to do stuff for you and play as Link sometimes.

I wager half of my playtime in BotW and TotK amounts to

Breath Of The Wild Link GIF
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%100 on board with the weapon durability thing, it totally hindered the experience for me with both games I would love to build my weapon and make it stronger and develop my character around it, Idk about the thing to be honest I think we should still play as Link.
 
gtabro said:
waste of server memory thread
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I would argue it's actually a "real" thread for once. The real memory wasters are console war threads. E.g. whenever Xbox does or doesn't do something, whenever Shuhei Yoshida says something, whenever Switch 2 sales come up, etc.
 
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peronmls said:
That or Eiji Aonuma needs to direct another doom and gloom Zelda
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Something that doesn't get commented on often is the obvious influence that the rise of mainstream horror games at the time (Alone in the Dark and RE1) had on Ocarina- the moody dark lighting, the torture dungeon under the well, the screaming zombies under the graveyard, that fucking horrific blood-streaked albino THING with the long arms coming out of the ground, and so on. Zelda is no stranger to eerie or unsettling vibes, but they never really went in as hard with such propensity for the macabre again. Would be cool if they did.
 
Neff said:
As much as I like BotW and TotK, I really do want to experience that feeling of stepping into OoT's Water Temple or Forest Temple for the first time in a modern game. The change in geography, lighting and mood- knowing you're going to spend a signifcant chunk of time committing to a unique environment, Zelda does it better than any other series.
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Felt that way in TotK where I spent a ton of time in the desert then had to prepare to spend time in the winter mountains then spent time in the fire mountains then in the jungle and in the rainy lightning areas?

Fairly unique qualities in each.
 
I think I might be in the minority on this, but I'm kind of hoping they continue with the giant open world Zelda mainline games, while keeping the standard formula games as smaller installments.

I've been replaying BotW recently and it really is just such a damn masterpiece. I would love another game in that exploration style, but with a brand new map, and completely reworked weapons/combat/dungeons.

Actually, I guess I'm saying I'd like something of a hybrid between OoT and BotW.

And yes, I want a darker, grittier story. Give me those MM vibes.
 
Dacvak said:
I think I might be in the minority on this, but I'm kind of hoping they continue with the giant open world Zelda mainline games, while keeping the standard formula games as smaller installments.

I've been replaying BotW recently and it really is just such a damn masterpiece. I would love another game in that exploration style, but with a brand new map, and completely reworked weapons/combat/dungeons.

Actually, I guess I'm saying I'd like something of a hybrid between OoT and BotW.

And yes, I want a darker, grittier story. Give me those MM vibes.
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Honestly most Zelda games are pretty dark. If they want to push LoZ Fallout then what they need to do is get rid of Weapon Durability. Making gear meaningful by making it limited duration and throwaway is NOT what we want.

You could argue that BotW/TotK in terms of the world and it's uh story is one of the darkest yet.

Though I think they better not try and do the Memories/Tears thing again. It was interesting the first time but it only works once.

I'd prefer an artstyle similar to Twilight Princess. It had that dreary grimdark look I prefer. BotW/TotK is cartoony and despite dark and heinous stuff going on you can't really take it seriously.
 
MagiusNecros said:
I'll take new games...but so far they are very keen on their Zelda soft reboot.

Unfortunately the best we will have of classic 3D Zelda on Switch 2 hardware is HW Definitive with that nice 60 FPS enhancement.
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They seem to have those small sude games before the big ones. I did hope we would get another Chibi experience with the Oracle GBA version as thought that would fit well, and I wouldn't say no to another Four Swords. Loved them.
 
Majora's Mask wasn't even THAT dark. It was mostly subtext and atmosphere, not just going edgy and grisly. I'm tired of people overselling this game's occasional creepy moments as this nonstop nightmare. It's infrequently slightly more unnerving than your average Zelda or Dragon Quest game, but nothing that'd push it to M or even T.

Besides, I'm not sure if I agree with the darker/grittier thing. The tone is fine in the series, the latest games just need better plots. They have their moments--the emotional twist in TotK was a great one--but lately they're largely are kind of soured by other storytelling problems. Lack of flow, lack of proper buildup. TotK had that twist but then dropped the ball with an easy overly-pat ending.

They're also somehow pretty light on crucial story dialogue while paradoxically also being too talky and repetitive. Echoes of Wisdom was ESPECIALLY bad at this. Geez Louise, what a ton of jabbering about a remarkably simple plot. A monster is making evil spots pop up like I just experienced in Splatoon, Bowser's Fury, Color Splash, Origami King, and the last two Zeldas I GOT IT

That said I still love TotK and especially BotW. I'd like to see those game's large worlds and interactive elements mixed in with some more traditional dungeons and progression. Sounds contradictory but I think they can pull it off.
 
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Hopefully not another huge map filled with the same thing copy pasted 200 times.

I want a semi-open world where you get to unlock proper items like before.
 
Doom85 said:
Jason Sudeikis Yes GIF by Apple TV+


Weapon durability killed my enjoyment of BOTW. If Nintendo's argument is, "well, we just want the players to try all out the weapons", well, my counter argument is to make sure all the weapons are fun to use so that's less of an issue, not having a player enjoy a weapon style and then slap it out of their hand after two dozen swings.
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I don't disagree and ToTK did some things to help in this regard.

I don't think trying out all the weapons was the reason though.

For proper exploration there needs to be a proper reward. In Lies of P for example there is always a Quartz or a new weapon in the latest DLC. Every secret you find feels valuable.

In BotW there is nothing of value without the weapons. Hearts, gems, ect are not exciting. The MOST exciting discovery during exploration is something that changes how you play immediately and so they picked weapons as a major discovery item.

I too think this was a mistake. It was disappointing not to be able to build a permanent arsenal like in other games(especially since the master sword was such a big part of all previous games and the way it was implemented here was mildly disappointing). I think rather they should have implemented a weapon upgrade system instead and had us find the currency instead of new copies of the same weapons it would have been less of a buzz kill. The weapon system as is works very well for the first 5 hours or so(when the game is the hardest) but after that it definitely isn't as exciting and is more of a groan thing to me.
 
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tr1p1ex said:
Felt that way in TotK where I spent a ton of time in the desert then had to prepare to spend time in the winter mountains then spent time in the fire mountains then in the jungle and in the rainy lightning areas?

Fairly unique qualities in each.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about a contained, substantial task as opposed to the bite-sized hurdles found in BotW and TotK, or overworld environs bleeding into one another.

The personality of a dungeon, the investment it demands from a player, and the lasting impression it leaves is something missing from modern Zelda.

Dacvak said:
Actually, I guess I'm saying I'd like something of a hybrid between OoT and BotW.
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This is the dream. I've said since the beginning that, while BotW is a masterpiece, there was still room for improvement, and TotK, good as it was, didn't fulfil it.

It's maybe asking a lot, but BotW + dungeons + shrines + underwater exploration would be hard to top.
 
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Neff said:
I'm talking about a contained, substantial task as opposed to the bite-sized hurdles found in BotW and TotK, or overworld environs bleeding into one another.

The personality of a dungeon, the investment it demands from a player, and the lasting impression it leaves is something missing from modern Zelda.
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Yeah and I disagreeing that there isn't memorable unique environs in the new Zeldas. And that those environs aren't contained and substantial.

I know you want the old Zelda design that consisted mostly of 4-5 big linear dungeons usually focused on using the new weapon/gadget just obtained.
 
Call me crazy, but I believe that if Nintendo IS paying attention, they're going to pull an Elden Ring: Nightreign on us.

Next Zelda will have Fortnite and roguelike elements, set in a new world/map. Less focus on the building. More on puzzles and Fortnite gameplay loop (circle closing type of stuff).

I'm honestly excited for something like that.
 
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When it comes to exploration, BotW and TotK are absolutely fantastic. I would agree though that the rewards could be more meaningful. For my tastes, finding a treasure chest at all always gives me a decent feeling of accomplishment. However when there is nothing but another piece of Opal inside, that feeling of accomplishment is diminished. I'm looking at DK Bananza and wondering if that team looked at any criticism from Odyssey and Breath of the Wild and tried to make each of Bananza's collectables feel more meaningful to actual gameplay. This is assuming all that random stuff you find is used to upgrade the clothing or skill trees in meaningful ways that feel tangible.

I propose that some classic tools have upgradable pieces littered throughout the world. Not only that but they also have more use in battle.

1- Hook Shot - Initially found in a dungeon where it's specific puzzles are plentiful. Throughout the world you can find individual chain links that slowly extend the reach of the Hook Shoot thus opening the world a little further. Maybe with just one extra link you don't quite notice the difference but with five links you start to feel how much more useful it becomes.
  1. 5 extra links - longer reach
  2. 10 extra links - longer reach + bind smaller enemies
  3. 15 extra links - longer reach + bind larger enemies
Add in classic hook shot abilities that will pull Link toward an enemy or pull the enemy towards Link and now we've got another element to fight with. I don't want to hear how the Hook Shot breaks the climbing mechanic or anything of the sort. There are a million and one ways to make sure climbing and the hook shot can co-exist. Case in point, Ascend. What is Ascend but a different type of Hook Shot taken to the extreme? It's reach is only limited by the air above the soil. Too bad we can only fight with Ascend in very specific situations.

Now granted, random gems, salt, ore and whatever else can be used to upgrade the various armor sets or add elemental damage to weapons but that personally never gave me a ton of satisfaction beyond defensive upgrades.

2 - Gliding Via Rito Wings - Initially stolen from some dungeon or over world boss. This gives the now standard gliding ability and once again it's attached to stamina. Exactly as you remember it. But here is how we make it more fun! Throughout the world treasure chests or enemies might be holding a single magical feather! Each feather you obtain gives Link more mobility in the air. Far more than TotK's Wing Suit. Not full on Loftwing flight but similar mobility to that of a bird. More like Tulin's father in BotW minus the full on lift at will. Always on the descent but with plenty of options. The more feathers you get the larger and more brilliant the wings become and the more mobile you are in the air. Because Link flaps, enemies can hear this so it's not always safe to just glide in on enemies. Throw in special Owl feathers that allow for mid air stealth. Could be fun.

  1. 5 magic feathers - banking speed +1
  2. 10 magic feathers - banking speed +2
  3. 15 magic feathers - do a barrel roll.
You get the idea. Fighting mid air becomes a little more fun with the sword or bow. If you choose you can use these wings on the ground to enhance side stepping and back flip dodging. Give it the ability to blow gusts of wind at objects and enemies for some reason.

BotW and TotK allowed it's core tools to be upgraded over time but we never really got anything beyond more power or lasting longer. I feel like elements like this could give the mechanics a fresh feeling even 20+ hours after you initially obtained these items. Then allow significant portions of the map to be gated off without these things and they will feel very important.

A permanent boomerang, maybe a bow, ball & chain or whatever new spinning top weirdness they can come up with could be fun again. Less magical iPad apps and more of these ancient tools spread out throughout the adventure to make traversal and/or combat more fun and engaging. Keep the big open world, just doesn't have to be as open as BotW and throw in more of those classic style dungeons with a mix of the newer kind.
 
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