As covered in the recent IGN article, IGN Advertisement , its time to look at what needs to be done to the Zelda franchise to keep it fresh and on the cutting edge instead of just the same old game we've played before. The article touches on one great point in particular. Nintendo Japan has a disconnect with gamers on this side of the Pacific. Nintendo Japan doesn't make games for westerners, it makes games for Japanese audiences and then translates them for us. The problem is that Nintendo Japan always handles development of new Zelda games with few exceptions. Back when Wind Waker was first unveiled as an untitled Zelda in a teaser trailer, Shigeru Miyamoto was astonished to its reception from westerners. Out here in the west, fans didn't want a 'cartoon' zelda, they wanted a 'real' Zelda. Miyamoto still couldn't grasp this concept, but then again, he probably is unaware that Japan has an anime culture while the U.S. has a live-action culture. Right? Well, let's discuss how the next Zelda should be made to adhere to western standards. Miyamoto-san himself confirmed the development of a new Zelda title at E3 08. Well, let's get it done right. Current topics: Voice Acting To have a truly epic story driven title in this day and age, Zelda needs to hold its breath and jump off. Final Fantasy did it and Zelda needs to follow suit or else it will never catch up. The most important voice has to be LINK. Who should be the voice of Link? (Which voice actor?) Tingle I want Tingle to be in this game... so we can kill him off for good. Have a very short cameo where he has a fitting death. Death to the koo-plah.
The whole point of Zelda is you ARE Link, to give him a voice would detach the player too much from the experience. He's the original silent hero, one of the few remaining in a classic game-storytelling technique, and Zelda has never had a problem telling a great story without Link uttering more than a few yells when he swings his sword. I really think Zelda only needs to go back to it's roots a bit more. The Dark World concept from Link to the Past, for instance, could be done great in a modern console, changing one world to affect the other, crossing worlds to find new paths, it would be great. And stop being so LINEAR! Zelda 1 and 3 were fantastic because you weren't dragged in certain directions all the time, sure they're easier to do in a certain order but part of being an adventure is discovering the dungeon in the first place instead of being lead like sheep. Point me in the direction but don't light up the path with neon signs for me.
I've been saying this for years. I've always thought time travel game play would be cool if used right. Like there is a dungeon across a large chasm. Go back in time and get a bridge to start being built so it's there when you get back. Also, while staying with the realistic style, bring back some of the Wind Walker humor and characters. Many of the Twilight Princess NPCs seemed so one dimensional. I am against the idea of Link talking. Just like how Gordon Freeman in the Half-life series is the silent hero to keep you feeling like you are actually the hero of the story.
Personally, I say let Miyamoto and his team make the game how they feel is right. They have made dozens of excellent titles already, so I think they know what they are doing. I've no complaint about any of the previous titles, and personally, I loved the cartoony feel of Wind Waker. No to voice acting, by the way. Link is a silent protagonist and I feel he should stay that way. His personality is influenced by what the player does in game. True you're guided along a noble path. But there's choices you can make. You can choose to help people or not, you can beat up chickens and in Link's Awakening you can steal from the shops. Voice acting takes away that aspect of playing the role. Suddenly, the character does not act like you, but according to a script. Besides, Zelda has never been dialog heavy or particularly epic in scope, so I don't see why it needs to be now. Zelda has always been about more than anything else having fun in a fantasy world. Why change what works? Also, I don't really feel that Zelda has to "keep up" with Final Fantasy, not when they are two different genres to begin with (more or less) and in any event they are different play styles - one focuses on a lone hero with a range of skills, the other a wide cast of varied personalities.
Pretty much exactly how I feel. Heck, Wind Waker is probably my favorite Zelda game of all time, and I've been playing since the NES. It's just funny how it looks so cartoony (although the actual animation is fluid and looks great), but by the end had a pretty dark and tragic story to it. I was a little disappointed ni Twilight Princess, but that was mostly due to the fact that it ended much sooner and more abruptly than I expected. And I agree, Link at the least should never talk. I might accept the other characters talking, but Link should remain silent. Unless someone REALLY wants to relive the cartoon.
Agreed 100% Link is one of the very few characters that I think would be damaged by having a voice. He doesn't need one and he sure doesn't need lines and lines of spoken dialog to be interesting. Once you start giving a character lines you begin defining the character for the player. Zelda is first and foremost about the gameplay and while I think story development within a new Zelda game could be enhanced (let the other characters talk if they must) I hope that it's done without a chatty Link. The sounds he makes now are just enough. Link should stay silent. (I feel the same about Samus too, but that's for another time). Also I disagree about the whole "more western" idea. I'm a "western" gamer that honestly doesn't like most western games. Now while I get that some people didn't dig the Wind Waker style, it was the most cohesive visual style of all the games. Everything in that world looked like it was part of that world. Plus looking back now that style holds up well since it was a style and not just the run of the mill polygon look. Don't get me wrong Twilight Princess is (graphically) a lovely game. However I think gameplay wise it was lacking and remains my least favorite 3D Zelda title. To put it another way, if you took Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wink Waker, and Twilight Princess and gave them all OoT N64 polygons I think people would see where TP is lacking compared to the other three. My hopes for the next Zelda. Use the Wii-motion+ for better control AND (if I still don't like that) give me a GameCube controller option. Also, I hope they don't play things so safe in the next game. TP sort of felt like they were trying to recapture OoT again. Granted that's a noble goal, but by the end of TP I felt for the first time a sense of "Been there done that". Maybe Ganon needs a rest or they have to work him from a different angle. I'd also agree with a less overall linear approach to the game again. I don't want to be able to see what's around the corner (so to speak) as much as I was in TP. I've said it before (and will keep on saying it) one of the best "Zelda" games is Okami. There you had fans of Zelda apply their own ideas to the Zelda template and in the end I think they made an outstanding game. Certainly for me it was far better then TP. Also true
Link should be able to find more stuff that just dosent need to be used to clear a dungeon. I want an Axe for Link for example or something like that. The OoT Goron Sword was a nice ring and the diffrent tunics. and bring back Links Magic dammit. and he should be keept silent..
I echo most of the opinions here. Link should never talk. It also gives the game a special feel without voice overs. Maybe it's just me, but I seem to get more engrossed in a game/story if I'm reading the screen rather than just listening. It seems I only half pay attention when it's voice over stuff.
All I want in a new Zelda is the option to not use Dildo controls. Played Twighlight on Cube and it didn't need a mouse pointer.
If Link or any of the other characters are given a voice, then that is what their identity will be. Right now, Link is defined by the gamer not the character. So if he got a voice, then that would be the voice forever more, however since there are several different Links, each Link could have his own voice that could be different from the others. The voice defines the character, so David Hayter (Solid Snake) as Ganondorf and Michael Jackson as Tingle (because isn't that voice of all Peter Pan-wannabe pedophiles).
I would honestly want a link to the past in 3d.....same elements same idea just 3d like! is that too much to ask ? lol -cute and fluffy bunny you trasnsform in the dark world not witstanding.
I loved Twilight princess. The only problem for me, and it was a big one, was there was no real incentive to explore because all there was was to really find was rupees. I would search the countryside for hours, and come away with 5 chests full of rupees, only I didn't give a crap because my rupees were already full, because the last 5 chests in hidden caves I found also contained....rupees. In A Link to the Past, there were multiple hidden items that were completely optional: the Cape, and one of the Canes. One of the coolest things to me in Zelda games is exploration using your new items, and lately for me there has been no payoff, which is a little disappointing.
Sorry, I guess I have to play Devils Advocate and say that I felt Twilight Princess felt dull and dated to me. I don't want a complete reinvention, and I don't particularly care about voice overs, but I think the controls are too stale. I would like to see real time ring menus that enable you to switch between all your items on the fly, I would like to see less things mapped to one button and actually add a jump button. I would also like to see, instead of the heart system, a system that rewards you for each enemy you killed either through experience points or something like Devil May Cry that lets you earn points to purchase stat upgrades. I think that would work wonders on giving players motivation to fight enemies, even on the world map. I also think that it should start being a little less formulaic. I would like to see dungeons slightly less puzzle oriented for just getting through, and maybe have some more heavy duty puzzle for more secret items that you don't need but would help you out. I could think of some more things, but those are just a few things that went through my mind while playing Twilight Princess earlier this year.
I would like a zelda game that would take longer to get through i finished twighlight princess pretty quick.
That is pretty true of any game where you can roam about and find stuff. There needs to be an incentive to do it. Hidden heart tanks, items to trade in for better swords, new abilities, things like that really go a long way to making it worth while. A trick other games (mostly the Wild Arms series) use is having a reward for finding all the chests. Giving out awards for finding all the items, or even just one for opening all the chests in a few key areas, would give you some reason to hunt those chests other than just finding what is inside.
I want a game with no silly item-trading quests, a GIGANTIC over-world to explore (primarily on land, please), hours and hours worth of questing through a minimum of 8 dungeons, and no dialog voice acting. Apart from that, they can do more or less whatever they flipping want.
I echo what most people said in this thread, but I'll add this: Bring us another game like Majora's Mask, but without the time pressure to make it feel less restrictive (even if it did work for that game). I do NOT want voice acting for Link, but I wouldn't mind gibberish VA-ing for all characters, like what Midna had in Twilight Princess. Finally, maybe it's time to change the settings a bit (fantasy with a side dish of steampunk perhaps?).
