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[Chuck Berry]

My perfect Zelda game would be a blend of BOTW and OOT. An interesting open world like BOTW's, but with a good 8 dungeons with bosses in the same vein as OOT. Where you could only access certain areas of the world once you had found new abilities.

This is what I want as well for sure

 

[MagiusNecros]

Last Zelda title was the most lazy Zelda sequel ever and it took them a lot of time to develop it. If the next one looks the same and plays the same then I'll just assume the series is dead for me.

On the topic of optional content that some posters were discussing earlier: no, you don't need a giant map filled with useless shit to have optional content. Ocarina of Time had optional content, and it was all there to serve a purpose or grant you interesting and useful rewards: the skultulas, the hidden heart pieces, the fishing pond, the poe hunt, the gerudo training grounds and, if I'm not mistaken, even getting Epona and helping the ranch is something optional.

And yeah when it comes to style (visual and overall) I'd love to go back to the days of ALTTP/OOT/MM. Those days where the best for this series, imo.

Gilded Sword and Biggoron's Sword were great side quests that gave you a sizable permanent upgrade. No such luck in the Zelda of today. Where every weapon is either throwaway or disposable. If the Champion's weapons had infinite durability I'd cry less about it. Much less the Master Sword.

And the amount of healing items and resources in Breath era Zelda actually makes you worse at managing them instead of finding/earning bottles or containers to hold Fairies and Potions. Truly not understanding the lesson of less is more.

If the Zelda series stays the same it's going to just be a Musou franchise for me since I love the crap out of Hyrule Warriors.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Gilded Sword and Biggoron's Sword were great side quests that gave you a sizable permanent upgrade. No such luck in the Zelda of today. Where every weapon is either throwaway or disposable. If the Champion's weapons had infinite durability I'd cry less about it. Much less the Master Sword.

And the amount of healing items and resources in Breath era Zelda actually makes you worse at managing them instead of finding/earning bottles or containers to hold Fairies and Potions. Truly not understanding the lesson of less is more.

Oh yeah! the Biggoron Sword quest and collecting all the bottles. I specially miss the later, felt like a stapple of the series was thrown away like nothing.

 

[Emedan]

After all Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a canonical title.

Who cares, Skyward Sword isn't the same type of gameplay as OoT since it's entirely motion controlled and yet it's still a mainline title. It's not "semantics" it's the official classification.

I dont know if you're acting stupid on purpose or just like to be argumentative but you know very well what I mean. THE last Zelda game wasn't Echoes of Wisdom, it was Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I dont know if you're acting stupid on purpose or just like to be argumentative but you know very well what I mean. THE last Zelda game wasn't Echoes of Wisdom, it was Tears of the Kingdom.

It's been long confirmed every Zelda game that starts with The Legend of Zelda is considered mainline. I don't make the rules. That is just what the rules are.

Furthermore while there is supposedly no Zelda timeline...that doesn't stop the fanbase from creating one and Nintendo/Aonuma rolling with it.

And the Echoes of Wisdom Lore is actually quite good with it's main Villain and adds quite a bit to the Pantheon of higher powers with it's final boss.

 

[Aldric]

I dont know if you're acting stupid on purpose or just like to be argumentative but you know very well what I mean. THE last Zelda game wasn't Echoes of Wisdom, it was Tears of the Kingdom.

No, it's you who created some stupid arbitrary standards that don't exist in reality. Top down/isometric Zelda games are absolutely mainline titles or else it'd mean the first true Zelda game is OoT which is pants on head retarded. Just look at the official timeline, there's no separation between 3D and 2D games they're all part of the same canon.

 

[peronmls]

Everything after TP was terrible. it was Eiji Aonuma whose creative direction is what made the games good. Dark and gloomy. Now it's all cute and cheery. Like a Kingdom Hearts game.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Everything after TP was terrible. it was Eiji Aonuma whose creative direction is what made the games good. Dark and gloomy. Now it's all cute and cheery. Like a Kingdom Hearts game.

Really does feel like it has a Walt Disney slap of paint doesn't it?

 

[tr1p1ex]

I like the various art styles. Wind Waker I liked a lot. Very whimsical. I thought TP looked like dirty tp. But I love all my kids.

 

[Dampf]

I remember.

Spoiler: Water Temple OoT

Spoiler: Goron Mines TP

Spoiler: Snowhead Temple MM

Spoiler: Tower of the Gods WW

God I miss these tightly designed instances. TOTK tried to replicate dungeons in the formular but it was far from successful.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

I remember.

Spoiler: Water Temple OoT

Spoiler: Goron Mines TP

Spoiler: Snowhead Temple MM

Spoiler: Tower of the Gods WW

Just seeing the dungeon maps laid out like that takes me back, dude. Such detail and consistency and awareness of each neighboring room or area. That's why I think games like ALTTP, OOT, and MM felt like massive, lived in worlds, despite the "overworld," consisting of like...areas a quarter as large as the Great Ocean at it's largest points. I used to think it was primarily applicable to the fact that open world wasn't a genre back then, so anything organized in a grander way than "Level 1 - Level 2 - Level 3," seem alive, but now I'm thinking it's a bit of column A and B.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Breath of the wild was weird. The initial 10 hours were masterful but you quickly realise how shallow the game is. The shrines sucked. The main quest line was underwhelming. The side quests boring. The base for open world zelda is there but it needs more meat! Less building shit and more adventure. Where's the dungeons? Where's the classic zelda like music? I was baffled exploring the world with no background music! Breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom don't feel like zelda to me.

Exactly this.

They felt like an attempt to copy the Western open world gaming format, rather than play to the strengths of what makes Zelda...Zelda.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Last Zelda title was the most lazy Zelda sequel ever and it took them a lot of time to develop it. If the next one looks the same and plays the same then I'll just assume the series is dead for me.

On the topic of optional content that some posters were discussing earlier: no, you don't need a giant map filled with useless shit to have optional content. Ocarina of Time had optional content, and it was all there to serve a purpose or grant you interesting and useful rewards: the skultulas, the hidden heart pieces, the fishing pond, the poe hunt, the gerudo training grounds and, if I'm not mistaken, even getting Epona and helping the ranch is something optional.

And yeah when it comes to style (visual and overall) I'd love to go back to the days of ALTTP/OOT/MM. Those days where the best for this series, imo.

So much this!

 

[Instant_Classic]

Everything after TP was terrible. it was Eiji Aonuma whose creative direction is what made the games good. Dark and gloomy. Now it's all cute and cheery. Like a Kingdom Hearts game.

With today's technology, and it being nearly 20 years since the realistic style was attempted.

The time has come to give it another shot, if the next Zelda has the art style of BoTW I will rage.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Gilded Sword and Biggoron's Sword were great side quests that gave you a sizable permanent upgrade. No such luck in the Zelda of today. Where every weapon is either throwaway or disposable. If the Champion's weapons had infinite durability I'd cry less about it. Much less the Master Sword.

And the amount of healing items and resources in Breath era Zelda actually makes you worse at managing them instead of finding/earning bottles or containers to hold Fairies and Potions. Truly not understanding the lesson of less is more.

If the Zelda series stays the same it's going to just be a Musou franchise for me since I love the crap out of Hyrule Warriors.

There's such a thing as "growing with a weapon".

Seeing it evolve over time.

Weapon degradation as seen in modern Zelda games, destroys this whole concept.

 

[Robb]

what makes Zelda...Zelda.

I think you're going to have to re-evaluate the meaning of that statement. BotW/TotK has sold 56M units. That's more than all other 3D Zelda games combined, even when including all the remasters over the years.

There are more people out there today that recognize 'Zelda' as being BotW/TotK than there are recognizing it as something like OOT.

At this point we can probably assume that having stuff like psychic powers and breakable weapons is what makes Zelda… Zelda, for most people.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Just seeing the dungeon maps laid out like that takes me back, dude. Such detail and consistency and awareness of each neighboring room or area. That's why I think games like ALTTP, OOT, and MM felt like massive, lived in worlds, despite the "overworld," consisting of like...areas a quarter as large as the Great Ocean at it's largest points. I used to think it was primarily applicable to the fact that open world wasn't a genre back then, so anything organized in a grander way than "Level 1 - Level 2 - Level 3," seem alive, but now I'm thinking it's a bit of column A and B.

A big portion IMO of what has made Zelda what it is has always been the Dungeons and Dungeon design all the way back to Zelda NES. You are thrown into a world that has these old ruins that you explore and acquire items that aid in your progression towards becoming a hero and usually defeating the big bad guy. While simplistic at first things got more complex.

Games like Link to the Past and Super Metroid were loved for this and the impeccable level design in games like OoT/MM/TP/WW, OG Tomb Raider, Golden Sun among others were and sometimes still are top tier both in design but also in atmosphere. Dragon's Dogma 1 kind of has this too in it's select dungeon like zones.

And for MMOs you easily have Everquest and Final Fantasy XI. Man dungeons in Vana'diel are so good. Just yes.

But it's also traversing that world and getting to those dungeons. I think Zelda Fallout Edition can achieve this but they really got to make dungeons with level design akin to the classics. The sandbox structure is fine but add meaningful exploration to it. You have to make a world with stuff you want in it. You don't make a map and then decide what to do with it. Or make a map and have 100+ shrines that instance you to another room you load into...completely disconnecting you from the world you took the time to create.

I also think the game cheapens itself by essentially giving a majority of your gear to you through shops or just stuff you pick up. Or for endgame stuff...farm Dragons for materials to upgrade gear. No real associated quest. Mind you there are quests for this sort of thing to get some base gear regarding the dragons in BotW...but in TotK not really.

Because a lot of my time with TotK I really enjoyed traveling to or making the "dungeons" accessible(Lightning Temple triangulation beacons was cool stuff) but when it comes to doing them it falls flat on it's face. Especially with the options available to you. They really messed up with how much you trivialize things with Rocket Shield or Ultrahand.

Right now for that proper dungeon experience given Zelda Fallout's MASSIVE SALES I can only really see them continuing with the current formula or altering it slightly.

For that classic Zelda experience for new games you will be relying on Indie Devs to provide. Crosscode and Unsighted as great examples. And Alabaster Dawn and Abyss X Zero look promising in that regard as well.

For the big studios I only really see Metroid Prime 4 being the kind of traditional Zelda that old Zelda fans are looking for.

-----------

Last thing. Regarding optional content. To me the side quests in older games were meaningful, contributed to lore or rewarded you with upgrades or a unique item or piece of gear and was always worth doing and never felt like a chore. In newer games...there is plenty of activities to do....but you either don't want to do them or the rewards for investment are so insignificant they aren't worth the hassle. Now I don't know about you but a quest chain to acquire a sword is always more interesting then collecting 500 poops for 1 megapoop.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

for whatever reason, just kinda lost interest after wind waker
really enjoyed it though
really enjoyed OoT too
enjoyed link to the past remake too

something about the newer games dont appeal to me

 

[TintoConCasera]

for whatever reason, just kinda lost interest after wind waker
really enjoyed it though
really enjoyed OoT too
enjoyed link to the past remake too

something about the newer games dont appeal to me

Don't sleep on A Link to the Past nor Link's Awakening, they are amazing games

 

[tr1p1ex]

By Skyward Sword I was definitely tired of the "formula." And yearned for a big new world to explore and they delivered.

 

[Instant_Classic]

A big portion IMO of what has made Zelda what it is has always been the Dungeons and Dungeon design all the way back to Zelda NES. You are thrown into a world that has these old ruins that you explore and acquire items that aid in your progression towards becoming a hero and usually defeating the big bad guy. While simplistic at first things got more complex.

Games like Link to the Past and Super Metroid were loved for this and the impeccable level design in games like OoT/MM/TP/WW, OG Tomb Raider, Golden Sun among others were and sometimes still are top tier both in design but also in atmosphere. Dragon's Dogma 1 kind of has this too in it's select dungeon like zones.

And for MMOs you easily have Everquest and Final Fantasy XI. Man dungeons in Vana'diel are so good. Just yes.

But it's also traversing that world and getting to those dungeons. I think Zelda Fallout Edition can achieve this but they really got to make dungeons with level design akin to the classics. The sandbox structure is fine but add meaningful exploration to it. You have to make a world with stuff you want in it. You don't make a map and then decide what to do with it. Or make a map and have 100+ shrines that instance you to another room you load into...completely disconnecting you from the world you took the time to create.

I also think the game cheapens itself by essentially giving a majority of your gear to you through shops or just stuff you pick up. Or for endgame stuff...farm Dragons for materials to upgrade gear. No real associated quest. Mind you there are quests for this sort of thing to get some base gear regarding the dragons in BotW...but in TotK not really.

Because a lot of my time with TotK I really enjoyed traveling to or making the "dungeons" accessible(Lightning Temple triangulation beacons was cool stuff) but when it comes to doing them it falls flat on it's face. Especially with the options available to you. They really messed up with how much you trivialize things with Rocket Shield or Ultrahand.

Right now for that proper dungeon experience given Zelda Fallout's MASSIVE SALES I can only really see them continuing with the current formula or altering it slightly.

For that classic Zelda experience for new games you will be relying on Indie Devs to provide. Crosscode and Unsighted as great examples. And Alabaster Dawn and Abyss X Zero look promising in that regard as well.

For the big studios I only really see Metroid Prime 4 being the kind of traditional Zelda that old Zelda fans are looking for.

-----------

Last thing. Regarding optional content. To me the side quests in older games were meaningful, contributed to lore or rewarded you with upgrades or a unique item or piece of gear and was always worth doing and never felt like a chore. In newer games...there is plenty of activities to do....but you either don't want to do them or the rewards for investment are so insignificant they aren't worth the hassle. Now I don't know about you but a quest chain to acquire a sword is always more interesting then collecting 500 poops for 1 megapoop.

Hit the nail right on the head.

 

[RomanceDawn]

Breath of the Wild finally hit a style that seemed to be generally loved all around. I personally loved the art style of the last two games.
However, with that said I would like something new or a return to something more OoT'ish. What ever that means.

I say that because Twilight Princess did not feel like a continued art style of Ocarina or Majora. When it was first shown that's what it felt like but the actual game itself left me with a very negative impression of its art style. I'm not even talking the questionable character models, the colors, lighting and such just did not do it for me.

I think I could I really dig that Wii U Demo's style. Whatever they do I hope when it's supposed to be dark and gritty it's dark and gritty. Then when I'm somewhere bright and whimsical I want all the sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Breath and Tears did that for me for the most part. However for the dark and gritty stuff, there wasn't enough like opening to Tears, the bottom of the well or the Shadow Temple. Twilight Princess's visuals were just depressing and not in a cool Resident Evil way.

 

[Instant_Classic]

By Skyward Sword I was definitely tired of the "formula." And yearned for a big new world to explore and they delivered.

Delivered with a world as wide as an ocean, and as deep as a puddle.

 

[Robb]

Whatever they do I hope when it's supposed to be dark and gritty it's dark and gritty.

I'd love to see them realize some of the unused monster designs/concepts from BotW if they're going for a darker theme next time.

 

[Instant_Classic]

I'd love to see them realize some of the unused monster designs/concepts from BotW if they're going for a darker theme next time.

These look

 

[LakeOf9]

You're a goddamn fucking moron

 

[tr1p1ex]

Delivered with a world as wide as an ocean, and as deep as a puddle.

Except the inventory/physics/weapons/etc systems were 100 miles deeper in TotK.

 

[Chuck Berry]

You're a goddamn fucking moron

Please. You yearn for strong narratives in fucking Mario games. Slow your roll.

 

[LakeOf9]

Delivered with a world as wide as an ocean, and as deep as a puddle.

You're a goddamn fucking moron

 

[TintoConCasera]

You're a goddamn fucking moron

Please, don't reschedule your therapy sessions ever again.

 

[LakeOf9]

Please, don't reschedule your therapy sessions ever again.

I promise not to

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

I just want dungeons back man...

 

[BlackTron]

My perfect Zelda game would be a blend of BOTW and OOT. An interesting open world like BOTW's, but with a good 8 dungeons with bosses in the same vein as OOT. Where you could only access certain areas of the world once you had found new abilities.

I agree and I've thought this for some time, but I'm skeptical that they're even comfortable releasing this game, nevermind making it, despite how obvious it is. Any successor would have to be as good or better, in other words, dooming themselves to an absurdly high level of quality. Right now they're getting a lot of acclaim for applying impressive new gimmicks to 100 shrines that all have the same tileset, so why argue with customers? Gotta admit I might wanna see how many dozens of millions of those games I could sell before they make me change.

 

[Stratostar]

Agreed. Wild to think it's been damn near 20 years since TP. A more realistic art style would inarguably be a change of pace from the norm, and a welcome one. Personally can't stand the art styles of any of the recent games.
The Funko Pop art style of the Link's Awakening remake and Echoes of Wisdom straight-up sucks, and the BOTW art style, beyond looking washed out and having "needed to ship on a console with 2GB/4GB of RAM" written all over it, is stale as hell at this point. I'll be sorely disappointed if they don't drop it entirely with the next mainline game.
Even the oft-clamored-for Wind Waker HD always looked kind of ugly to me with its comically excessive bloom lighting.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Agreed. Wild to think it's been damn near 20 years since TP. A more realistic art style would inarguably be a change of pace from the norm, and a welcome one. Personally can't stand the art styles of any of the recent games.
The Funko Pop art style of the Link's Awakening remake and Echoes of Wisdom straight-up sucks, and the BOTW art style, beyond looking washed out and having "needed to ship on a console with 2GB/4GB of RAM" written all over it, is stale as hell at this point. I'll be sorely disappointed if they don't drop it entirely with the next mainline game.
Even the oft-clamored-for Wind Waker HD always looked kind of ugly to me with its comically excessive bloom lighting.

Wind Waker HD looked okay, some prefer the original look.

I liked it personally, .

However, yes, the series needs to return to the realistic look.

Spinoffs and whatever else can use the cel shaded look, main games should be realistic looking and serve as Nintendo's graphical showcase.

 

[Instant_Classic]

You're a goddamn fucking moron

Says the fucking moron who can't get through a SINGLE traditional dungeon.

Go back to CoD.

 

[LakeOf9]

Says the fucking moron who can't get through a SINGLE traditional dungeon.

Go back to Minecraft.

 

[Instant_Classic]

How do you guys think a Zelda game inspired by some of the elements (art/level design) such as the caves and catacombs from Elden Ring sounds?

Obviously the game doesn't have to be as difficult, but yeah.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Gritty Zelda collab between Fromsoft and Nintendo would be hype.

I think Zelda would benefit from Dark Souls level design of the game being stacked on top of each other. People love how everything is all interconnected.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Gritty Zelda collab between Fromsoft and Nintendo would be hype.

Nintendo X From Software collab for a AAA Zelda could be a Game of All Time contender.

Imagine From's vision of a ruined Hyrule.

OoT and TP already played around with the idea, but this can be taken further.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Nintendo X From Software collab for a AAA Zelda could be a Game of All Time contender.

Imagine From's vision of a ruined Hyrule.

OoT and TP already played around with the idea, but this can be taken further.

Choose a race. Hylian, Goron, Zora, Gerudo, Kokiri/Korok etc. Develop your own character. Reclaim Triforce. Save what's left of Hyrule...or destroy it.

Could be fun. Zelda gameplay with Fromsoft art direction sounds like a winner to me.

Dreams will be dreams.

 

[tomato shrub]

Maybe it's time for the Fromsoft x Nintendo collab and let Fromsoft make a Zelda game.

Elden Ring is already closer to "modern Zelda 1" than BotW tbh. How did this series turn into building cars and physic engine gimmicks like it was Portal? Give me underground dungeons with a boss and a unique treasure at the end.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Choose a race. Hylian, Goron, Zora, Gerudo, Kokiri/Korok etc. Develop your own character. Reclaim Triforce. Save what's left of Hyrule...or destroy it.

Could be fun. Zelda gameplay with Fromsoft art direction sounds like a winner to me.

Dreams will be dreams.

This would be incredible.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Elden Ring is already closer to "modern Zelda 1" than BotW tbh. How did this series turn into building cars and physic engine gimmicks like it was Portal?

Probably when Nintendo started getting into the toy sets and other trash and decided everyone wants to play with Legos.

 

[KungFucius]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

C'mon the ugly baby is the best. I was so fucking pissed we didn't get a version of that in BotW/TotK

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Honestly, it should look like Nintendos artists doing their best Elden Ring inspired work. Make the world nearly as dark with a bit more light to it.

 

[Instant_Classic]

Honestly, it should look like Nintendos artists doing their best Elden Ring inspired work. Make the world nearly as dark with a bit more light to it.

This could work as well.

 

[K' Dash]

Well, I for one I'm glad the last two games sold a gazillion and Nintendo just do their own thing.

 

[MagiusNecros]

C'mon the ugly baby is the best. I was so fucking pissed we didn't get a version of that in BotW/TotK

You bought it! You are smart! You bought it at Malo Mart!