What should Zelda change?

[gigastar]

At this point anything Nintendo does on the Wii will end up being a step backwards from what they can apparently do on the 3DS.

Anyway, i think Zelda could benefit from adding an actual combat mechanic. Not saying turn it into Devil May Cry but i struggle to think of another series that still uses the One Button = One Attack system.

 

[Mr. Omega]

- Get rid of the long intro's, take a look at A Link to the Past. People are really losing patience with having to sit through an hour (or 3) of hand holding and exposition before they finally get control.

- We don't need to know what a Red Rupee is worth every time we reload a save. Tell us once, set a flag and never tell us again. This also applies to other things like certain items that give you a description every time you pick them up. Think Joy Pendants in Wind Waker.

- Text speed needs to be adjustable, instant should be an option.

I disagree with the first one, but the other two, I agree with 100%.

Also:
-While I don't think "lack of voice acting" is a real point to be had against it, I do think voice acting in the next one would be interesting. But Link needs to remain silent. And they mention that he doesn't talk much.

-I agree with the previous post that said more of an emphasis on sword fighting. The highlights of Skyward were when you were fighting enemies with swords as opposed to slimes and bats.

 

[Quaidis]

I really don't know what they should change. I loved the Zelda games I've played so far. The only thing that bugged me even remotely about SykwardSword was the sword never shutting up. That needs to be toned down a bit.

I really like secret or hidden dungeons, separate from the game story. So you wander and instantly know you've found some hole in a wall or empty well that leads to an unknown path.


I also want more challenging side-quests. I spent forever playing side quests in WindWaker, especially the sliding picture one in the remote house.



As for changing the actual formula of the game or characters, I... Just don't think they should. Make things new and interesting, sure. But keep the same general stuff. Don't add voices, but add more colorful characters. I think the way Zelda's been going, it's in a good direction.

 

[jackpackage200]

I would be down for voice acting as long as it is not the Metroid Other M voice acting.

The intro sequences of the newer ones take way to long and I start losing interest.

I hope Nintendo learns from Fi and stop giving us support characters.

Make boss fights that are not just hitting their projectiles back at them

 

[ImperialSunlight]

They shouldn't change anything. I loved Skyward Sword just as much as I loved any of the old Zelda games and I see no reason to change anything.

I hope Nintendo learns from Fi and stop giving us support characters.

Except maybe this.

It's not her existence that's the problem, though, just that she would keep telling you pointless things like "your health is low".

 

[Guffe]

Well there was a point about always when we restart the game we need to get to know the name and value of everything we pick up, it got kind of pointless / nerv wracking towards the end.
In most Zelda games you have to go to the same dungeon twice, first to get something then to find some hidden thing you missed because you weren't able to find it last time, make Huryle or where ever we are bigger and more to explore or just the dungeon longer from the start.
The boss fights are of course a classic with "hit eye that is somewhere on the enemy" but they could take it to another level and make it more combat and less "puzzle".

 

[LilithSlave]

They shouldn't change anything. I loved Skyward Sword just as much

Skyward Sword is amazing. It's like a piece of art.

 

[isometry]

I think a big reason the series got fossilized was because "The Legend of Zelda II: the Adventures of Link" had lower sales and a lot of vocal critics. It was arguably the most experimental Zelda game, and now a lot of people see it as a great classic, but at the time it was "WTF, we want a game like Legend of Zelda!".

I think Nintendo remembered that burn for a long time and it taught them to play it safe. It's the same lesson that N learned from Super Mario World 2.

 

[Syzygy23]

Outside of a major shift in plot and core gameplay, I don't see myself ever returning to the fantasmical land of Hyrule ever again.

Give me a Zelda game where you play as Ganondwarf in a post-industrial dungeonpunk far future version of Hyrule and MAYBE I'll give it another chance.

 

[Smiley Face]

- Voice acting. After seeing Kid Icarus: Uprising, Nintendo clearly has the resources to create great voice acting, even in English. Kid Icarus' writing was top notch and made me enjoy the game even more than I already was, if they added that humour to Zelda, which is generally an already funny game, it could really improve the game. However I am against the idea of Link having a voice.

Nuh-uh. As voice acting becomes more and more mainstream, something that doesn't have it, pulls it off well, and manages to make it part of its charm, should not update itself to conform to current gaming norms. Not having voice acting and still managing to bring across all that humour with the odd vocalization is one of the things that really sets the tone for Zelda, and I don't feel that adding voice acting would really lead to any substantial improvements.

 

[Risingblade]

Get rid of Link, have Zelda be the the green tunic wearing hero with the master sword. Make enemies look threatening at least. Add some speed to fighting, just a tad of DMCness.

 

[Vern]

I just finished Link's Awakening and I say they should do more of whatever it had.

Fucking amazing game.

I would have to second. Or third, depending on how many people have responded. I got that for Christmas the year it came out, my mother explained how difficult it was to get a copy, but it was just plain awesome-sauce. After Link to the Past it's my second favorite Zelda game. I guess third would be Wind Waker. I'm playing through Twilight Princess finally, but it just feels like Ocarina of Time with a Furry slant. And I was never really a fan of Ocarina of Time, much more was promised than it could deliver, and it ended up feeling extremely clunky. But they really got it right with Link to the Past and Link's Awakening. They were fun, and it didn't feel like I was trying to steer a Bobcat with my feet when I was playing them.

Oddly enough, I didn't have that problem in Wind Waker either. The controls almost always felt pretty tight and intuitive. There's just something about the controls in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess that make me feel like I'm trying to push a rhinoceros up a spiral staircase.

 

[Smithburg]

- More villages and characters, Skyward Sword felt pretty lifeless to me

-More options, text speed and such

-Give link a voice maybe? Or at least end the silent hero crap, you can tell he responds in Skyward sword from how characters react to what he says, you just don't hear his side of the talking.

-Maybe break up the formula somewhat? even if it's just changing up the temples/dungeons, make new ones and put them in a different order or something.

 

[Charli]

Steam-punk theme. Lets do it. A little pseudo-scifi won't hurt the series. And they need to get out of the 'run down castle and cave' cycle for abit.

There's lots of things they can change but I think maybe it's time for a breather of the pure fantasy setting. Mesh in some more grit (not in the terrible way you're thinking) but some social disharmony would make the game world a little more interesting to move around in...

Or maybe I just miss Jak 2. I dunno that combined fantasy and scifi fairly well but I think Zelda's characters could polish it and make it with that Nintendo charm. No voice acting required.

 

[Mettking]

Here's my quick list:

1. Option to turn off tutorials. I think that one speaks for itself.

2. More areas/enviornments. OoT locations included a forest, busy town, an active volcano, a river area, massive lake, the desert, a tome crawling with the undead, even the inside of a fish. SS locations are basically all shoved into the sky, a forest, volcano, and desert. You never really associated any locations with anything other then these 3. And the shear amount of backtracking was insulting at times. Even WW had the Great Ocean, I spent hours just filling in the map and exploring all the islands.

3. Fast travel to all locations. After unlocking the ground areas, I know you can chose where to land after finding the places. The problem is it takes too long to go between these places and nothing happens between them, it's just dead time.

4. Better instrument. One of the fun things about the Ocarina was the fact you could just pull it out when you got bored and play. I have heard some impressive songs played with the game, and I admit I can't do anything on that level, but it was fun to play with.

5. Don't waste my time with busy work. Song of the Hero, Water Dragon. That is all.

6. More use out of existing equipment. This is one of the whole series' biggest problems, you get a weapon and only use it where you first get it. I would rather have a new, more interesting use for an existing item then just replace it in a few hours with something better. How many people used the slingshot after getting the bow, forced instances like the Fire Dragon in SS and the time travel in OoT. One thing I loved about Okami was the fact I never stoped using my powers ever. Even the first abilities I learned were being used during the final areas.

7. More customization. The adventurer's pouch was a step in the right direction with this. I liked the fact I could prepare myself by getting items for expanding my ammo with weapons, or bring items that increased drop rates of materials and money. While I understand that swords are the iconic weapon of the series, why not let me grab an axe or a spear?

8. New blood in the villians side. I know Ganon is the mainstay of the series, but I liked when Vaiti took over for a bit. When I first saw the final boss of SS, I just rolled my eyes at him. While I liked how he tried to sound a bit more honorable then your average villan, the fact he looked exactly like Ganon just pissed me off. How about a fallen knight of Hyrule working against them for something he believes in?

9. Real difficulty. Unlocking a mode where I take double damage and can't find healing on the go is not challenging, it's just annoying. How about some new attack patterns to learn? Or new enemy placement?

Okay, maybe not that short of a list.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Let see-
Expand more on the shield and clothing crafting upgrade. One of the few things I like about Skyward Sword was that shild craft feature but it was basic at most (I mean you knew which shield was the best to use and it was somewhat easy to gather the material).

More dungeons. While I'm saying they are force to make more dungeon for the sake of it but maybe some dungeon crawling side quest would be a nice optional feature. As for the rewards maybe you will be rewarded with rare materials depending how fase you complete it.

Bigger boss. It would be cool if a few of the bosses were GAINT size. No I don't mean Shadow of the Colossus type of bosses but it will require you to use the enivornment to defeat it. I mean the sense of defeating a boss that huge will give you a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Fight horde of enemies. Another cool thing about Skyward Sword was the enemies you face near the end. If any of you played it you know what I mean. You didn't face 2 or 4 enemies, there was like over 20 (I think it was higher than that) enemies charging right toward you and the game didn't slow down at all (well my Wii was ok)!!! No I don't turning it into a Dynasty Warriors type of game but at least it feel the villain isn't underestimating you.

New Weapons must still be useful all the time. Hey remember that spinning top weapon in Twilight Princess? I don't blame you if you can't remember at it was only use into one and a half dungeon and a few sidequest to reach somewhere. The should either make that item/ weapon more useful when you finish that dungeon where you found it or the rest of the future dungon have many secret room which can only be reach by using those unquie item/ weapons.

Stop making most of the bosses weakness is their eye!

 

[GmonXyZ]

Zelda can remain as the indecisive trap.
Link should realize there are more fish in the ocean.

So in the next Zelda MMO game everyone plays as a woman trying to conquer Links heart, by collecting pieces of his broken heart.
Damn, im so clever it hurts my brain.

 

[MaxiP62]

After seeing some of these replies, just wanna say a few things:

- Skyward Sword did a lot of things right, and quite a few things wrong. For example the combat was MUCH improved over previous games, as some of you have been asking. I don't know if those who mentioned that have played Skyward Sword but you really should at some point, it's a big step forward. However Skyward Sword also included A LOT of backtracking and a VERYYYYY long intro sequence. Possibly one of the longest, I think it was around an hour to 2 hours depending on what you did; But also I think the story, which a couple of others have mentioned, is much better than some previous Zelda games.

- Just for comparisions sake, I'll mention Wind Waker because I'm playing them both at the moment. In Wind Waker, the story really does feel rushed and I love how Nintendo showed emotion through the character's faces and bodies, however the text dialogue really wasn't as good as Skyward Sword, where you got a feel for the characters much better.

- Another point is the overworld in Skyward Sword, which is, without a doubt; the WORST overworld in any of the Zelda games since... Zelda 2.

- Basically what I'm saying is that I think they should really take the best of Skyward Sword and Wind Waker, put them together, and I think it would be the best Zelda game of all time. Improved combat, massive overworld which really felt like you were exploring it, a fast intro, an amazing narrative, great character design, and so on.

- Also, I would quite like another game similar to Majora's Mask, because that is one of my favourite Zelda games. It really is great.

 

[TorqueConverter]

I'm very much an outsider to these new Nintendo games. I don't get it. They're like NES zombies arising the the grave each Nintendo console generation.

What do you want from them? Nostalgia? What did they ever do to you?

I need a good argument for why we need to keep conjuring up these poor fellows. Can they not rest in peace?

Shit, I love Willow, even the damn video game but I wouldn't dare ask for anymore Willow.

 

[paislyabmj]

in space.they have had Mario in space already and zelda games are at there best when set in weird places.planet hyrule with each individual planet in the solar system being a dungeon.the princess is a space pirate who kidnaps link to hold him for ransom.after discovering no one is likely to pay it she decides to recruit him to her operation.then gannon kidnaps her and you know the rest.