New The Legend of Zelda Will be a "Clean Break From the Conventions of Previous Games"

[Lizzy Finnegan]

New The Legend of Zelda Will be a "Clean Break From the Conventions of Previous Games"

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1316/1316852.jpg

We don't know much about the next The Legend of Zelda game, but that's all going to change next month at E3.

The Legend of Zelda will be the highlight - and the lowlight, and the midlight - of Nintendo's E3 plans. According to Nintendo, the company's Tuesday, June 14, 9am timeslot will not be a traditional Nintendo Direct, but rather Nintendo will host a Nintendo Treehouse: Live event providing the "world's first in-depth look at the game." There will also be developer interviews, behind the scenes information, and "plenty of fun" that will be aired across Nintendo's Twitch and YouTube channels in addition to the E3 site.

The Legend of Zelda will be "the only playable game in Nintendo's booth via extended demos" in order to "ensure attendees are able to truly experience the freedom of exploration the game offers."

"At E3 this year, we're treating people to an immersive Zelda experience," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. "By giving attendees extended hands-on time with this remarkable game, they'll be able to get a much deeper understanding of something new for the franchise."

Series Producer Eiji Aonuma said that the newest Zelda will be "a clean break from the conventions of previous games," introducing new gameplay and removing boundaries "that forced players to follow a set path."

The Legend of Zelda will be released on both Wii U and Nintendo's new NX system in 2017 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/167276-Nintendo-NX-Launches-March-2017-Legend-of-Zelda-Delayed].

Permalink

 

[Quiet Stranger]

Isn't that what they said for the last game?

 

[Ukomba]

IMO, when ever they open up the path they also seem to neuter the story. Here's to hoping they either found a way around that or a happy medium. I wasn't thrilled with the 'rent an item' thing they did for the 3ds.

 

[Blazing Hero]

"introducing new gameplay"
I really hope that isn't along the same lines as what they did to Star Fox. Nintendo please don't make the next Zelda a gimmicky mess... Improve the gameplay but don't fix what isn't broken.

 

[WeepingAngels]

The Legend of Zelda: Elder Scrolls Edition.

People asking for an open world Zelda sort of got their way with the 3DS game A Link Between Worlds, I thought it was pretty boring. What was the motivation to go to the next dungeon if you knew the treasure chests would contain only crafting materials. Any new item you would normally get was already available to you. If I wanted an open world game, there are already plenty to choose from but now if I want a new Zelda game, it's not available.

 

[Covarr]

I first read the headline as "New The Legend of Zelda" and I was about ready to blow a fuse. If they actually call it that, I absolutely will.

P.S. Thanks

 

[EndlessSporadic]

If that 'clean break from conventions' doesn't involve releasing the game on other consoles (preferably PC) I'm not interested. Nothing better than hype for a game you can't play.

 

[thewatergamer]

Yeah because that worked so well for star fox zero right?

 

[circularlogic88]

I don't think Zelda's problem has ever been that its too linear in more recent entries, more emphasis on unskippable cut scenes and tutorials were my biggest problems after replaying the WWHD, TWPHD, and SS. I don't need to be told the value of a blue rupee every time I turn on the game. I personally never really saw much incentive to go back and explore places once I was finished with a given area.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I feel like we've heard this before. The big things Skyward Sword brought to the table were bad controls (well, difficult controls) and a story that felt like it would have played better as an anime. From what we've seen in the past, it looks like what could happen for this Zelda is Nintendo finally taking the original Zelda formula (IE: This is Link, you are here, figure out the rest on your own) and transferring that to a 3D environment. I'm hoping that's what winds up happening anyway...Link Between Worlds did something like that really well after all and it'll be nice to wander around Hyrule for 6 hours before finding your first dungeon...then finding out the dungeon you're in is actually meant to be the 6th dungeon.

Another thing I'm hoping they bring in the new Zelda: Control options. I get that people liked the Skyward Sword control scheme. I understand that statistically, somebody MUST have liked the Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks control scheme. That's fine and dandy, I just don't want to be stuck using a single control scheme that ultimately doesn't work for me. I want options.

 

[WeepingAngels]

From what we've seen in the past, it looks like what could happen for this Zelda is Nintendo finally taking the original Zelda formula (IE: This is Link, you are here, figure out the rest on your own) and transferring that to a 3D environment. I'm hoping that's what winds up happening anyway...

I think most people consider A Link to the Past to be superior to the first game on the NES and it's because it was more linear. A Link between Worlds was a mess. I think I had rented almost all the items before the second dungeon, I had most of the heart pieces by then too. This was great until I realized I still had most of the game in front of me and no motivation to continue. I did beat it but it was a struggle going into dungeons to find crafting materials.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Can I play as Zelda yet? Please? That would be a clean break for sure.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

A clean break would be not having the "get 3 key items, get Master Sword/Equivalent, get medallions, kill Ganon/Equivalent" formula. I'd like to see a different structure.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

So maybe by forgoing past conventions they might actually do something new instead of pooping out yet another version of Ocarina of Time and its various tropes over and over.

They do some new and interesting things on the handhelds, and Capcom does as well. Not so much Triforce Heroes, as its just Four Sword Adventures minus one player and with a fashion fetish.

The mentioning of removing walls that impeded you from going anywhere you wanted isn't a new idea. Its actually the oldest idea, straight from the original Zelda. The first 4 actually, though 2 admittedly had a giant boulder in your way.

 

[MCerberus]

After Nintendo talks about clean breaks a lot of gamers' minds replaces everything else with "other M other M other M"

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I'm excited and worried at the same time about that. It's something new for a Zelda game, but at the same time I love most of the Zelda conventions. That's the reason I love the franchise, I know it will be a style of game I love. I always wanted a bigger more open Zelda game, but with how modern open worlds are, I'm worried it will be boring and easy. When I thought about open Zelda games, I always thought about the original LoZ on the NES. But now when I think about open world, I think of Skyrim which is pretty boring, empty and same-ish. Also dungeons in any order, while not inherently, will makes all the dungeons have pretty much the same difficulty, which is easy instead of getting harder as you progress through the game, as A Link between Worlds has shown us.

Part of the Zelda charm is that the world isn't completely open at the start, but as you progress you find new items which unlock previously locked areas. That made going back to previous parts really enjoyable and exciting. I would always try to memorize all the parts that I couldn't access and then run back as soon as I got the item I thought would unlock it. That didn't really happen in A Link between Worlds. Same as it doesn't happen in other modern open world games. Once I'm done with an area, there really is nothing else to find there and no future progress will change that.

I hope for the best but I'm genuinely worried. There are many open world games I can chose from. But there is no other Zelda-like game I can pick up if Zelda doesn't deliver.

 

[Fox12]

Open world games are already on the way out as the flavor of the month. Nintendo is already way, way behind if this is what they're aiming for. This could be an amazing game, but it makes me nervous how they keep touting how open the game is.

IMO, when ever they open up the path they also seem to neuter the story. Here's to hoping they either found a way around that or a happy medium. I wasn't thrilled with the 'rent an item' thing they did for the 3ds.

Which is why Majora's Mask had one of the smallest, most interesting worlds. Everything was so tightly paced, it was great.

 

[You Can't Take the Sky From Me]

I hope for the best but I'm genuinely worried. There are many open world games I can chose from. But there is no other Zelda-like game I can pick up if Zelda doesn't deliver.

I'm hoping that they can make it "open" in the same way Dark Souls is open. I think that a big, highly interconnected, world with various short-cuts and seemingly impassible traps could suit a Zelda game quite well. Items could then be used to access previously unreachable areas or short-cuts giving you a good reason to explore areas multiple times.