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Why does Nintendo insist on retelling the same story over and over with Zelda?

Because it’s always made for the current generation of 10 year olds.
If that story isn’t working for you anymore, it’s you who should be moving on other games. Instead of insisting that they change.

Because you know what that would mean? A generation of kids who never get to experience the Zelda story.
This is what happened to the comic industry, they kept chasing the maturing audience instead and now it’s a dead industry.
 

Matsuchezz

Member
That is why I left Nintendo so many years ago, the stories are not that good and they are regurgitated to death. And the way they tell stories is old AF. No performance capture with Voice over. Are they still using midi audio files on their OSTs?
 

StueyDuck

Member
The game is called the legend of Zelda and that is the legend.

There is nothing wrong with it in my opinion, except every time Gannon ending up being the big bad, so like why try pretend he isn't.

The games that put him front and center (aside from the spinoff/sequels) tend to be the best. Ie OoT and WindWaker.

The fun part (use to be) of Zelda games is how they would wrap and create new worlds around the same premise, a game flooded by ocean, a game based around floating islands above clouds and so on.

There is nothing different from the FF franchise, Square had just done a much better job at making the stories unique while still technically being the same, there's always crystals , summons, evil and evils true form, Cid, airships, chocobos etc
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
I dont know man. I havent finished any 3d zelda games but i have played through most of them, and TOTK is leagues ahead in terms of storytelling and character development. I loved watching all the flashback scenes with Zelda. I loved the time travel aspect of the story. I loved her sacrifice. Blew me away. The acting and voice acting were on point. The cutscene direction reminded me of the last guardian's cutscenes. Very otherwordly compared to what we get in games nowadays.

The ending is an aweinspiring spectacle. When Link dove and grabbed Zelda, I was like fuck yes!

Now i never finished BOTW, only got to the 4th divine beast before quitting, but i dont remember it being like this. dont remember much of anything in wind waker and twilight princess. Link between worlds was basic as fuck. This story and by story i mostly mean zelda's cutscenes were just amazing.
 
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daclynk

Member
Because its a "legend" being retold over the ages

I like the stories in these games. They follow the same template but they do some very different things each time, whether its OOT's time traveling or Wind Waker basically wiping out Ganon, Hyrule, the Master Sword, and the Triforce. BOTW's story was cool for its focus on trying to uncover the lore, and TOTK's story is probably the second best in the series.
The Office Thank You GIF
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Legends are the same stories retold many time. Such as King Arthur, or Robin Hood. Many version of the same legend.
 

mrcroket

Member
Because it’s always made for the current generation of 10 year olds.
If that story isn’t working for you anymore, it’s you who should be moving on other games. Instead of insisting that they change.

Because you know what that would mean? A generation of kids who never get to experience the Zelda story.
This is what happened to the comic industry, they kept chasing the maturing audience instead and now it’s a dead industry.
No, it's because nintendo makes video games, the stories in video games serve to hook a public that is not so interested in video games, and they need a story as an incentive to play.

In fact many modern games have a difficulty called "story mode" precisely for that.

What makes a video game good is to be fun and satisfying to play, the rest is secondary.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Some fans need to understand something

'The Legend of Zelda' is a videogame series first and foremost,its not an epic saga with a definitive ending, only to make something completely different next time, with the Zelda brand on it, its about selling games,its meant to be closer to Super Mario Bros in storytelling with a main villain that keeps coming back,heroes ,familiar tropes and locations

Yes Zelda also has very rich lore,beloved characters, an amazing fantasy world and
some narrative quirks for the old time fans to enjoy learning, games like The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword are pretty clever in playing with familiar elements, Link's Awakening,the Minish Cap and Majora's Mask went outside the common formula and are beloved by fans because of it

But Ganon will always be the villain,the master sword is the only weapon that can seal Ganon, Link needs to find plot tickets in dungeons, its a classic tale of good versus evil no matter the age,if this is your first Zelda or your 20th


Nintendo sticks with the ideas that work well and made Zelda the beloved series that it is,for 30 years,while changing enough to keep each game fresh
 
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AGRacing

Member
If they were to alter the story who do you think would show up to hijack it?

Nintendo keeps telling the same story in multiple franchises because people like it and in 2023 we don't want the inevitable terrible new version.

Go ask Indiana Jones how it's going for him.
 

Synless

Member
Honestly you could ask why do almost all games follow the same formats they do? almost all follow a formula repeatedly.
 

Shut0wen

Banned
Skyward sword pretty much made it lore that a here risee ro defeat evil though zelda doesnt beedee captured in every gane though
 

mrcroket

Member
i would rather play a good story than watch one, this is why i havent had a nintendo machine since the gameboy advance
You don't play the story, you see it, you only play the playable part. Maybe your real hobby is cinema, not videogames.
 

ZoukGalaxy

Member
first time GIF


Well like the others said, it's called "The Legend Of Zelda", so, we got every time a retold version of this legend with a kind of official timeline for obsessed people. There is nothing wrong.
 
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Mr.Phoenix

Member
Is there a Nintendo game with a story with more depth than what you would find in a children's book for 7yr olds?

The closest they have come is Metroid... and even that is someone trying to get back what the pirates stole.

That is not a coincidence.
 

MarkMe2525

Gold Member
The familiar framework, that they base most of their games on, is just there to facilitate the gameplay (to provide motive). In my limited experience with the Zelda franchise, The majority of the storytelling is done through world exploration.
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
I wouldn't say that BOTW/TOTK are the same story as the other games at all, or even the same as each other.

If you reduce it to "Princess needs help, there is some kind of Ganon" then okay, but the actual storytelling process and series of discoveries by the player is very different from past games.

This criticism would apply to something like Twilight Princess, sure, but after BOTW/TOTK it seems like a strange time to suggest Zelda is in the old rut. Far from it.
 

Don illMatiX

Neo Member
Alot of the most popular games do the opposite, too much story and taking control out of the gamers hands. This same type of consumer is most likely the ones complaining about Zelda. They want Zelda to be like FF16.
 

Solidus_T

Banned
I never really played Zelda games for the story. It's just a nice little bonus if it happens to be somewhat interesting. The stories are all gonna be very similar but the games systems themselves offer differing complexity and exploration that feels great to play.
 

nial

Gold Member
And yet there are more children play Fortnite or COD and there are more adults play Zelda.
I mean, popular teen/YA media like that will always be appealing to some kids due to its content. Weapons, explosions? You name it.
There is literally nothing wrong with playing Zelda as an adult, but it being a game for children is simply a fact that some people overlook. This post explains it well:
Because it’s always made for the current generation of 10 year olds.
If that story isn’t working for you anymore, it’s you who should be moving on other games. Instead of insisting that they change.

Because you know what that would mean? A generation of kids who never get to experience the Zelda story.
This is what happened to the comic industry, they kept chasing the maturing audience instead and now it’s a dead industry.
 

Crayon

Member
Rescue princess is solid for any games. Assemble the magical pieces of thing. Pilot the last ship to stop a whole alien invasion.

In some games, the story is de-emphasized and kept simple or even minimal. If the story got more complex or evolving in zelda, it might change the game more than you think.
 

Noxxera

Banned
True that. They need zelda tho cause of the title, and link too I feel personally. But they can give us other villains. Ganon is the big bad ofc but still, would be neat with other endgame villains

But yeah obviously they keep the 3 characters the same cause each 3d zelda aaa game are released so far apart and each one is so different to one another the villain change isnt needed. Hell its part of the lore now and always been. I think the gamers return each time cause the gameplay is solid.

But yeah the big downside some could find being ganon being the endgame villain each time. Ive kinda grown to like it so I dont mind aslong the story behind it isnt ass. Which isnt the case in totk for me
 
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At this point, it looks like a self-imposed limitation. How many variations of the hero, the Master Sword, Ganondorf, saving the princess, and all that jazz that we need?
There's certainly a blueprint, but while I do agree with you that it's more interesting when they ignore it, it's also not a bad blueprint to follow.

Or rather, it's worse when they make a new villain only to reveal near the end of the game that, you guessed it, Ganon is back.
They are also bad about this with Pikmin. The same old shit over and over.
Pikmin is worse. As is Mario and most Nintendo franchises. With Zelda at least they try a little.

Zelda can be different through nuances. Link is different across entries, I wouldn't say he has a different personality but he has different predicaments, and that gives different weight to his position at times.

Zelda and ganon are the most different. Albeit tragically they kinda flatlined in recent years. I haven't played ToTK to the end yet, so I don't know if there's anything surprising about this ganon.
 
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Pop

Member
Because they know the fan base will buy whatever exclusive they put out with minimal effort.

Easy money for Nintendo
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
Why does Santa Monica insist that Kratos needs to kill Gods?
Why does Gamefreak insist that you need to get 8 Badges and fill the Pokedex?
Why does Microsoft insist that Masterchief needs to fight Aliens on giant rings?
Why does Ubisoft insist that Assassins need to assassinate Templars?
 
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JimboJones

Member
Story is the last thing on my mind when buying Zelda games.
I enjoy what story is there but it's way waaaay down the list, in fact I really like how most of the time it just gets out of the way.
 
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