Zelda Wii U is Open World, Coming 2015

[spacemutant IV]

All kinds of totally pointless speculation about his/her outfit and weapons. Could be early in the game and maybe IT doesn't have all its weapons and gear yet.

 

[Dragonbums]

Sorry, but I was under the impression that all the Zelda games were "open world."
It would be great to see Nintendo come out with a game that's as detailed and explorable as a Bethesda type experience but I'm not used to seeing them try that hard.

They are open world in the sense that you can start the game at any which way and that. Most Zelda games are basically linear for the most part with a huge world to kill things in dungeons and not much leeway after that. Also keep in mind that one of the reasons why Bethesda can get away with doing such huge open world games, is because for Bethesda Fallout and Elder Scrolls are basically their only huge bread and butters. So of course they would devote a lot of time into making the worlds fucking massive.

Granted that tends to be overshadowed when the Q and A is on par with shitty steam games.

 

[sXeth]

Michael Bay's making Zelda now? <_<. (Sorry, the giant robots and explosions, and all, had to go there)

I dunno, maybe I'll end up with a Wii-U by then.

Zelda was always open-world, as much as anything else termed "open world". A significant number of RPGs subbed in having to level-grind to beat the super-monsters to enter the new area, where Zelda used the tool stuff, but its the same principle in action. I wouldn't be surprised if this open-world Zelda still had monsters in one area you couldn't beat without a hookshot, or something, to lend some level of structure.

 

[Hutzpah Chicken]

It's nice to see that the Legend of Zelda is returning to its very single root of the series. I'll probably have a Wii U when I can get it with the new Smash Bros., so this'll be a nice addition.

 

[prpshrt]

Idk why but the artstyle's giving me a headache... Also, this looks hell of a lot different than the zelda HD stuff I saw at a previous E3.

 

[rosac]

Michael Bay's making Zelda now? <_<. (Sorry, the giant robots and explosions, and all, had to go there)

I dunno, maybe I'll end up with a Wii-U by then.

Zelda was always open-world, as much as anything else termed "open world". A significant number of RPGs subbed in having to level-grind to beat the super-monsters to enter the new area, where Zelda used the tool stuff, but its the same principle in action. I wouldn't be surprised if this open-world Zelda still had monsters in one area you couldn't beat without a hookshot, or something, to lend some level of structure.

This is what I'm thinking- New Vegas style of "Open World" Sure, you can head west from the start point in New Vegas, but you need to be able to outsmart some of the most deadliest enemies in the game. If you go EAST however, where the story intends you to, you'll be fine. I've done both, it's not actually as restrictive as you first believe. It's just challenging.

I like the look of this. I'm becoming more and more convinced that a Wii U may be a good purchase, between this, smash bros, mario kart. There may be a lack of 3rd party support at the minute, but the 1st party stuff more than makes up for it!

 

[Dragonbums]

Must....Resist....Arugment...With fanboy....Cannot...Resist....Ignorance.

Aren't we off to a good start? Already lobbing up the insults.

Because there aren't many games like Oblivion, Fallout 3/NV or Skyrim.

And? GTA, Assassins Creed, and a good chunk of other games are also open world yet nobody is pointing fingers at them about trying to compete with Bethesda. And again I'm not sure how you can say so when all we got was not even a minute worth of trailer footage of Link and Epona running away from a rock monster construct.

Would be a first time for Nintendo to actually place it's faith into experimental mechanics, mechanics which could ultimately make or break the game which an open world isn't one. Nor are motion controls for what they are, just an alliteration of previous devices.

Um... the entire Wii U is basically Nintendo experimenting with different mechanics. Not exactly sure how this is a "new one" they have delved into puzzle games, shooters, adventure games, racing games, hack and slash games, etc.

If you've been actually playing games QA is a major problem for all developers developing an expansive environment. Although Kudos to Obsidian for breaking things which Bethesda fixed.

Yet Nintendo has consistently made near flawless games. Or at the very least made the least amount of bugs in games. Bugs slip by all sorts of devs. But the bugs Bethesda has in their games are for the most part unacceptable. With the PS3 being the worst offender. When you have shit like flying Elephants in your game- "Q and A being hard" is not an excuse.

One might say it's a cheap shot to blame the poor console specs but Beth were also having problem with the 360. A laptop I that have since around the same era which out performs slightly both consoles doesn't run much better.

Because Bethesda is shit at making relatively optimized and bug free games. Not even Bethesda fans are deny this.

It's like you said, They are a nice addition. Nothing more.

Then why did you make that a point in Bethesda's favor in relation to their bare bones vanilla game?

I was merely talking about how much the game engine can actually handle and how easily they can cause problems but you went onto a cynicism rant for some reason. >.>

I did not go into a cynicism rant for no reason. As a game dev and a coder your entire fucking job is to make the best possible game optimized to the best possible quality. Using excuses like game engines and specs is poor. If it's that much of an issue for you then keep your game PC only. However don't sit there and charge $60.00 for a game that's quality is on par with trash games in the bargain bin.

 

[Arslan Aladeen]

Personally, I hope they don't go too open world. Whenever I think open world, all I can think of is generic areas that I have to spend way too long travelling in to get to the actual interesting parts. And of course, yes, the game looks gorgeous.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Sorry, but I was under the impression that all the Zelda games were "open world."
It would be great to see Nintendo come out with a game that's as detailed and explorable as a Bethesda type experience but I'm not used to seeing them try that hard.

They are open world in the sense that you can start the game at any which way and that. Most Zelda games are basically linear for the most part with a huge world to kill things in dungeons and not much leeway after that. Also keep in mind that one of the reasons why Bethesda can get away with doing such huge open world games, is because for Bethesda Fallout and Elder Scrolls are basically their only huge bread and butters. So of course they would devote a lot of time into making the worlds fucking massive.

Granted that tends to be overshadowed when the Q and A is on par with shitty steam games.

Yea, I'm not saying they should use Bethesda's crappy engine or their testing department, which I imagine to look like this:

But you have to admit, Nintendo games could stand to be a little deeper. Yea, they may need to hire some more or take some more time but it would probably be worth it if it got some more WiiUs into people's homes wouldn't it.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

Well... there goes $60
also I CANT FREAKING WAIT OHMAHGERD


also also i want to see yahtzee review this

 

[Hero of Lime]

Obviously I am excited to the 10th power at least. Love the environment and art style. Link looks a little odd, but Link always looks a little odd when he is first shown off. Remember when we first saw Skyward Sword Link? He looked like some kind of Ken doll or something.

Spoiler

He looks very different in the actual game.

Here is my main concern about Zelda U, I like the idea of open worldness for Zelda, but I hope this does not take anything away from the dungeons. Having a big world to explore is exciting, but I wouldn't want the quality of dungeons to fall because of it.

Also, I am a bit sad it looks like he may be right-handed again. Just doesn't look right, if you want to change some Zelda conventions that is fine, but don't kill the left-handed tradition. Which admittedly seems all over the place, he is left handed in A Link Between Worlds, Hyrule Warriors, and Smash Bros. U/3DS. With a game using more traditional controls(which Zelda U is implied to have), why make him right-handed again?

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

is it a he, is it a she, is it a both? i dont care, it looks like a good game.

 

[lord canti]

It's called bishonen. Male characters tend to have very feminine figures in that kind of style.

 

[Ferisar]

This new Link appearance is seriously making me question my sexual preferences.

I guess I'll keep an eye out for this (and make sure one of my damn friends gets the system for it)

 

[Madame_Lawliet]

People seem to be at something of an impass in regards to Link's gender this time 'round, personally I'd love to have Link be a lady but I'm not really getting that from these screenshots, I guess we'll have to wait and see for more information.

Anyway, looks like a good bit of fun, one more reason that if I buy another console this generation it'll likely be a WiiU, between this, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 2, and the new Kirby/Yoshi games it's shaping up to have a decently solid library.

 

[major_chaos]

Well I'm gonna be the odd one out and say mehhhhhhhh. Open world Zelda sounds awful, the last attempt to open up the formula was that 3DS game and that was the worst 2D Zelda I have ever played. Also the dungeons have always been the only good part of Zelda, so the less time you spend exploring and solving puzzles in a temple or something the worse the game is going to be. And is it just me or do Zelda games look worse with every installment? I guess I'm just not seeing what the rest of you see, because this looks awful to me.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Sounds interesting, but I'm going to maintain a healthy amount of skepticism. Having an open world sounds great in theory, but a lot of structure is when a game goes open world.

it looks lovely but... the open world is what I was afraid of. The reason I like Zelda is the tight, deliberate design and a very clear sense of progression. It's the way everything seems to click together. I didn't get that from Link Between the Worlds. I hope they know what they're doing but evidence of last years suggests otherwise.

Also this. I enjoyed A Link Between Worlds for the most part, but I don't think the item rental/do the dungeons in any order idea was a very good one. It wasn't helped by the fact that Ravio (or whatever) was the now standard annoying Zelda character.

 

[verdant monkai]

I hate the look of the new Link.

To my knowledge Zelda has always been open worldish! you go around a big world freely, yeah you unlock new areas as you progress but they they are still open world. You just add to the world as you go along.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Open world as in non-linear = good. Open world as in their turning it into a true RPG = not what I really wanted in a Zelda game but I'd still check it out. When I heard Skyward Sword's over world would have the dungeons more integrated into it, I thought that sounded neat. Then I played it and found out they meant you ride around in a bland sky overworld, then drop into one of 3 separate areas where virtually all of the outside-dungeon action and cut scenes take place(including a forced stealth mission because another character had to go Lerroy Jenkins on your ass because he wanted to show off in front of your sword's spirit). It was a big let down. I hope they aren't over hyping this one, but they probably are somewhat. I just really hope they don't have stupid motion/touch crap forced on you like the last few.

It's called bishonen. Male characters tend to have very feminine figures in that kind of style.

^People read this.^ Pretty boys are popular in Japanese media. Why do you think Final Fantasy 12 had some androgynous chump on the cover and following around all the plot important characters? The execs didn't want the suave pirate or the grizzled war hero to be the only male party members because they thought it wouldn't be received well by their home market. Hell, Squenix remade the bishonen lead for Nier into a war torn old warrior to cater to western audiences. That's the same reason why Link is always a kid or at most a teenager. They don't know how the market will react. Plus, I'm sure girls (and some guys) don't want their male lead in a fantasy story to be a scarred, older man. I, though, wouldn't mind if at least one Link was a veteran of some horrifying war and/or looked like a young Conan. It might give the series some extra character range.

 

[xaszatm]

Actually, it might not be Link at all. I'm not sure about this news source but:

http://venturebeat.com/2014/06/10/zelda-creator-teases-that-we-didnt-see-link-in-wii-u-trailer/

Apparently Eiji Aonuma said "No on explicitly said that that was Link." So...girl character confirmed?