Rumor: New Zelda is Open World

[Treblaine]

I wish "open world" games like GTA would implement more "dungeon" components, it's great having and over-world and a lot should happen in the over-world but having it all happen in the over-world is too much.

Imagine if GTA had "dungeons" or specific areas that act as set pieces to work your way through.

this is SUPER rumour, and I hope it's wrogn as removing dungeon element... it's hard to see how it is an improvement.

 

[Tharticus]

I would imagine that they took from Wind Waker and replace that with massive amount of land.

 

[ItsAPaul]

Badass, they're actually making new games now. I'm tired of retards buying the same game over and over bitching when I call the N64 Zeldas terrible.

 

[hansari]

I have to be honest; my skepticism meter is in the red, and I'm taking this with a sizable pinch of salt.

Yea, a Zelda game without dungeons is like a linear final fantasy game...

Oh wait...

(Pass the salt)

 

[DaMan1500]

I always considered the Zelda games to be open world, so this isn't as big a shock to me as it probably should be.

 

[Akalistos]

Rumor: New Zelda is Open World

Are Zelda's dungeons a thing of the past? Well, according to the rumors, yes, they are.

Legend of Zelda fan site Zelda Informer [http://www.zeldainformer.com/2010/06/breaking-news-latest-zelda-wii-rumors-confirmed.php], has posted a bunch of rumors about the upcoming Zelda game for the Wii, that it says it is "99.99%" sure are genuine.

The biggest rumor is that the game's dungeons will no longer necessarily be separate from the open world, with a much smoother gradation between the two. There will apparently be some dungeons that won't have bosses at the end of them, as well as boss monsters in the open world. Other rumors say that the game will have no subtitle, and will just be called The Legend of Zelda. The game is also rumored to be set hundreds of years before Ocarina of Time and will show the creation of the Master Sword.

The rumors apparently originate from a German translator working in Kyoto who was helping Eiji Aonuma with his E3 speech. The details are supposedly lifted from the first page, and made their way on to a German fan site, then to another German fan site and then, finally, to Zelda Informer.

I have to be honest; my skepticism meter is in the red, and I'm taking this with a sizable pinch of salt. Nintendo's E3 press conference takes place tomorrow morning, so keep reading to find out if there's any truth to these rumors.

Source: Zelda Informer [http://www.zeldainformer.com/2010/06/breaking-news-latest-zelda-wii-rumors-confirmed.php] via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2010/06/14/rumor-zelda-wii-details-out-of-germany/]


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Zelda was always Open World. Even on the NES... You could tackle the dungeon in any order (as long as you didn't need a tool.) I always did the water dungeon last. So, that's far from being news.

 

[dududf]

This game is sounding more shitastic by the minute.

How are they frigging it up so badly?

 

[Macgyvercas]

"Set hundreds of years before Ocarina of Time"????

NINTENDO ALREADY SAID THERE WASN'T A TIMELINE! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE!?!

I'm highly confused. Must hear more. This sounds interesting.

I actually like this idea, and I'm a diehard Zelda fan (by diehard, I mean I've played through and beaten every one in existence except for the Tingle/CDi games). The formula change will obviously upset some people, but if they pull it off well, it could turn out really interesting.

What CD-i games? They don't exist, remember?

they did? becuase I am sure their is the adult and child storylines?

I wrote Nintendo about the timeline. They shot me a form letter, but I called them out on that, and then they gave me a straight answer. Essentially, all the Zelda games (barring direct sequels) are the same story told by different people (much like oral tradition) and therefore have differences ranging from minor to major.

It's true OoT did have a child timeline and an adult timeline, but what I said above is Nintendo's official stance. I think that they leave disscussing the timeline up to the fans.

 

[BabySinclair]

I would imagine that they took from Wind Waker and replace that with massive amount of land.

This is what I would probably go with. Wind Waker was very much open world and that added to the gameplay as it showed you Hyrule after the flood and it added bosses that weren't in dungeons (ie the super octoroc) and multiple challenge areas that were optional. They better give you Epona early though with at-will summon item not blades of grass this time though.

 

[C117]

I dunno. While I see how it could all work perfectly well, the formula for all of the previous Zelda games has worked so far.

 

[Paddin]

Nintendo? Trying new things with the Zelda franchise?.. BAHAHA!

I myself am skeptical to this, Nintendo wouldnt try to change the genre that has worked so well, and earned them so much.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

Umm, aren't all the Zelda titles, sans Four Swords and the CD-I junk, open-world? I mean, sure the dungeons are their own seperate locales, but they are located in an open world and don't even have any loading times.

 

[Xanadeas]

Real shame I don't have a wii, if this is true that is... Hm, oh well I could probably find one.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Interesting, very interesting. I doubt these wild rumors are true but I'm sure the next Zelda game will be a defining moment for the series.

 

[epsilon246]

What CD-i games? They don't exist, remember?

I made sure of that! "Lights blowtorch"

I'll help. *loads minigun*

now that's overkill *preps nuke*

 

[Brad Shepard]

Nothing is ever EVER going to compare to the 64 Zelda games, or even Wind Waker (I loved wind waker ok?) But Zelda is getting a little old, so there probley doing this to make things fresh, and hell, if it sucks, they can just say its an alternate time line thing, like what happen after Ocarina of Time

Spoiler: For those who don't know.

There are two different time line now in Legend of Zelda, thanks to Ocarina of Time, One time line has gone to the Wind Waker games, I.E. Link defeating and the like (thus the hero of time thing) and the other being, sense Link returned to the past, he exposed Ganondorf's plot, which went into the Twilight Princess game.

 

[DustyDrB]

Uhh...yea I don't believe this at all.

 

[Firia]

Other rumors say that the game will have no subtitle, and will just be called The Legend of Zelda. The game is also rumored to be set hundreds of years before Ocarina of Time and will show the creation of the Master Sword.

There's a few problems here. Lets assume this rumor is true. With a few exceptions, Zelda games as a whole don't give much consideration to continuity. To say they are set before a certain event would mean that event had a marker in a time line. That's something that Zelda designers haven't built into their games. (I'm sure there are players a-plenty that have made up their own time line maps.)

Again, assuming the rumor is 100% true and genuine; calling the game simply "The Legend of Zelda" sounds a little like a remake of the original. Hmm.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

I'm not sure how to take this. Because to an extent every Zelda had plugged the open world format for awhile. If they are talking about dungeons being somewhat coterminous to Hyrule then it's it's going to be about having a specific gadget to traverse it .... which is ... you know ... what Zelda does anyways.

But if they mean that it will give you the ability to go wherever the hell you please, anywhere anytime (kinda like Morrowind/Oblivion) ... then the primary use of items has been largely dashed aside because it's a bit of a dick move to have ultimate freedom... but also a boss you run into that you can't kill because you haven't picked up a specific item before trying to kill it.

I have mixed feelings about this.

I wouldn't mind Zelda being a bit more 'open' friendly ... a little less 'railroading' and a little more 'open' in the same way Morrowind was. But I would hate for it to lose that quintessential 'Zelda' formula.

All Zelda's are afflicted with the ageless feeling 'you know, Hyrule should be a bigger place with possibly more people in it'-sensation.

I would like it if they managed to encapsulate the feel of a living, breathing place that does operate regardless if you're there to see it or not. Majora's Mask had a 'schedule' that made it feel a little more 'alive'. You *knew* the clock was ticking, and you *knew* that the world was changing around you ... whether due to your actions or inactions.

 

[Seneschal]

I'm not sure how to take this. Because to an extent every Zelda had plugged the open world format for awhile. If they are talking about dungeons being somewhat coterminous to Hyrule then it's it's going to be about having a specific gadget to traverse it .... which is ... you know ... what Zelda does anyways.

But if they mean that it will give you the ability to go wherever the hell you please, anywhere anytime (kinda like Morrowind/Oblivion) ... then the primary use of items has been largely dashed aside because it's a bit of a dick move to have ultimate freedom... but also a boss you run into that you can't kill because you haven't picked up a specific item before trying to kill it.

I have mixed feelings about this.

I wouldn't mind Zelda being a bit more 'open' friendly ... a little less 'railroading' and a little more 'open' in the same way Morrowind was. But I would hate for it to lose that quintessential 'Zelda' formula.

All Zelda's are afflicted with the ageless feeling 'you know, Hyrule should be a bigger place with possibly more people in it'-sensation.

I would like it if they managed to encapsulate the feel of a living, breathing place that does operate regardless if you're there to see it or not. Majora's Mask had a 'schedule' that made it feel a little more 'alive'. You *knew* the clock was ticking, and you *knew* that the world was changing around you ... whether due to your actions or inactions.

I'm not sure the Zelda fanbase wants an Elder-Scrolls-like title. I mean, I don't know, after years of asking "what's the big deal?" I've only started playing Zelda games a few months ago, but I understand how well-designed and thought out the game and the world are.

Unlike Morrowind, they do have a greater emphasis on the story, so railroading is a bit inevitable. Perhaps they could do it like Shadow of the Colossus - open world, scenery-porn galore, "dungeons" which you can enter without loading screens, but some parts aren't accessible until you progress further in the story. So you'd be able to enter a fortress or a palace, look through the window while you're slaughtering monsters and you would see the world outside. I'm not sure if this can be done, since Bethesda has been avoiding it for ages.