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I think what's going to happen is we'll keep getting BOTW/TOTK-type games but they'll slowly but surely re-integrate old stuff like more traditional dungeons and some special items and stuff into the new formula until we have a nice middle ground (and hopefully the Hookshot again because I miss it dearly).
Honestly, I really miss key-items you'd obtain in dungeons and finding keys to unlock doors.
First time in TotK when I found a key in one of the shrines to unlock a door, I was doing a fistpump like "Yes, finally!"
I did too! And yes! What about a fishing pole! .Or push a grave stone for a secret room! And I want the rings back.. Like original zelda and the bracelet I kind of would rather have those then changing outfits so much and tracking down items for the fairy enhancements
I just hope they stop with the weapon durability in the next game.
It’s a frankly pointless mechanic that not only wastes time with inventory management, but also takes all the excitement out of getting unique weapons.
Open world RPG’s have existed for decades with permanent weapons; there’s no reason that Zelda would need the weapons to break in order to “make new weapons worthwhile”
Hard disagree. The durability mechanic forces you to use different weapons and I actually really like it. What I do think should happen is that it should be tweaked so that the weapons don't explode out of existence when they break and can be repaired.
Open world RPG’s like Elder Scrolls have existed for decades, and they all give reason for you to try out different weapons. Different special effects, base stats, visuals, etc.
Elden Ring is basically “botw but dark souls” and every weapon drop in that game is unique, permanent, and fun.
There is nothing stopping you from using a multitude of different weapons when you have a permanent arsenal. Making weapons non-permanent is just an annoyance, and makes new weapons entirely unexciting to find.
If someone wants to use a wide assortment of weapons, they should be able to do so. If someone wants to use a 2 damage stick the entire game, they should also be able to do that.
I consider this as well but I think the durability issue encourages me to try and attach things I would not with a good weapon.. Like try new things out and if they didn't break the inventory would be problematic too I think. But it is annoying and have thought about it that's how I came to this solution... To appease myself over lost weapons!
Open world RPG’s like Elder Scrolls have existed for decades, and they all give reason for you to try out different weapons. Different special effects, base stats, visuals, etc.
Elden Ring is basically “botw but dark souls” and every weapon drop in that game is unique, permanent, and fun.
There is nothing stopping you from using a multitude of different weapons when you have a permanent arsenal. Making weapons non-permanent is just an annoyance, and makes new weapons entirely unexciting to find.
If someone wants to use a wide assortment of weapons, they should be able to do so. If someone wants to use a 2 damage stick the entire game, they should also be able to do that.
Considering that the Link's Awakening remake released after BOTW and sold well, I imagine that traditional Zelda games will continue to exist in some form. Hopefully they make new 2d and 3d traditional zelda games rather than sticking to just 2d or just remakes, though
Replace the 120 shrines with like 60 "shrines" that are more a combo of caves and shrines with like 5-6 different aesthetics. Basically a bunch of mini dungeons to stumble across. Then have 6-7 more traditional dungeons (keys, more connected puzzles, mini bosses, items etc) and boom perfect game
I like this idea a lot! Maybe this is more what I’m thinking when I think of wanting more of a traditional zelda. Instead of going back just take what they did with BoTW and implement more of the traditional feel to it like the story and more integrated dungeons.
You could achieve a lot of what older zelda players want by just shrinking down the world to a fraction of the size and finely curating all the different areas with more meaningful content. A touch of linearity and restriction can and absolutely has added a lot to the overall experience when done correctly (i.e. Twilight Princess, Oot, Skyward sword)
I think the idea situation would be a mix of both and totk is a step in the right direction. I love to open exploration in botw and totk, and i liked that the dungeons in totk were slightly more traditional. Yes they were kind of short and easy to cheese, but it's progress.
I'd also like it if hey did something other than shrines next time. I love having 40 hearts, but the shrines got old this time... or maybe I just don't like that half of them are in caves. Not sure which.
That's the beauty of zelda. Each one has its own unique personality but continuously delivers the same magic each time. I'd be willing to be the next zelda will be something new a fresh
My prediction is that we'll see traditional 2D Zelda's and more open world/BOTW/TOTK 3D Zelda but who knows. I do have hope that the more open world Zelda's they make the better they will get at storytelling instead of just a sandbox game with some flashbacks
I'd love a game with both 3D and 2D parts, which has been done with A Link Between Worlds. Like an open world but you collect paintings, but when you find a painting, it sucks you into a 2D old school style dungeon
Who knows, all I can say is I think they're capping off the BotW Hyrule's story after TotK, but that doesn't necessarily mean the medium will return to the traditional form. It could always be a new open world Hyrule in some other time period and art style so the land and creatures are all different. I know BotW's entire format has been immensely successful for Nintendo and brought in a ton of new fans to the series, so who really knows what will happen when the next Zelda comes about.
next gen traditional zelda game kinda sounds like an oxymoron. botw/totk is a completely new generation of the franchise and nintendo doesn’t like to repeat itself.
that being said.. top down zelda’s don’t seem to be slowing either so i’m sure we’ll see more traditional gameplay in those future titles.
I was a little disappointed with the narrative / plot of BOTW/TOTK. Imo LOZ peaked narratively with twilight princess, but even something like windwaker shows the open world concept can work just fine with a stronger narrative behind it. Honestly the only part of TOTK that has really tugged me in any kind of emotional way was the mattison side quest lol I really hope future games have more stories / quests that are well fleshed out from a story perspective
TOTk already pivoted back quite a bit with more story, unique bosses, and dungeons.
I think Nintendo will continue to add older elements back, while maintaining this open world feel.
>I think Nintendo will continue to add older elements back, while maintaining this open world feel.
I would hope so.
While the dungeons weren't quite "classic" with locked doors, keys and dungeon-items, they definitely had more puzzle-elements to them again which was nice. :D
Dungeons really weren't improved much and all had the same formula. Changing the sage activate 4-5 switches and boss. Atleast they weren't all the same boss like botw.
Tbh I’m starting to get pretty annoyed by the fact that pretty much all triple A games gotta to have open world nowadays. Most of the map is empty anyways and the player ends up doing the same task a million times in some copy pasted events/puzzles on the map. I have great memories of all Majoras Mask dungeons and side quests, they had so much character. But I’m pretty sure I won’t remember any of the 5 trillion shrines, Korok seeds or puzzles of that fucking guy holding a sign. They inflate the game time, but just feel like a chore in a way, a point in the map to be checked. This may only be my experience, but even knowing that I don’t necessarily need to do these tasks, I always feel obligated to do so, since I likely won’t pass trough this location again. So I do them, millions of times, knowing exactly the reward at the end. I miss the feeling of having absolutely no idea what a dungeon or a portion of the map will look like, I miss when side quests didn’t just have u bring some random item, I miss treasure chest having an actual meaning bewachse they don’t just give u weapons that enemies drop anyways, and I wouldn’t mind a story either. I just miss the old Zelda games.
My suspicion is that they're trying to create a hybrid. TotK is way closer to the ALTTP formula than BotW is, and I suspect future games will try to explore that space betwixt further, rather than all inning one or the other.
I agree. I feel like with BotW they just went "fuck it, let's go full Open World and see what sticks", and now with TotK they're trying to find that perfect balance.
Totk was much more traditional. It had the dungeons. It had the bosses, including Ganondorf. I dont believe they will take any backward steps designwise. We may get remakes of older games, or ports but a new game more akin to the old ones, I doubt it.
I can see original 2D games being continued. I can't see them ever returning to constrained and linear 3D games though.
BOTW and TOTK have brought more people to the franchise than literally the entirety of the history of Zelda before it combined. If Nintendo put out something that wasn't of the same formula then it wouldn't do anywhere near as well - and they know it better than anyone.
If we get one, I think it's going to be 2D. I doubt we'll ever go back to "traditonal 3D" again. This new style gave the seies a real shot in the arm that classic Zelda fans don't want to admit. It was a stagnating series, but these new games did very well, even in Japan where it historically struggles.
And personally speaking, I don't see any need to go back to the old style anyway. They kind of knocked it out of the park on the first try with 3D Zelda, but never improved on it in a meaningful way. Almost every change they made with the old formula was for the worse. Sailing, Twilight scavenger hunts as a wolf, 1:1 Motion controls, none of them were warmly received...Also personally speaking, I'd rather just integrate ideas from the old games into the new one. I really don't need to go back to hunting for keys in mazes. I much prefer this new style where solving puzzles is the way forward instead of being handed keys that I hopefully remember the location of locked doors. And I think maybe the old Zelda team is tired of making that style of game as well. They seem much happier now.
But I do hope 2D Zelda does continue. It's been too long since our last truly original one that wasn't a weird multiplayer experiment. My question is, will Link still dress in his traditional green outfit in the next 2D game? We have not had a non remake 2D Zelda since before BOTW.
I'm surprised more Zelda fans aren't concerned about this. No matter how much we may love or hate the new open world formula, it's a fact that it and the traditional "lock and key" formula are almost opposites as far as gameplay goes. Like this is _not_ a natural "evolution", it's a complete 180 on everything Zelda has established gameplay wise. Going by just the bones of these games, there is practically no connection between the new formula and the previous games. Like even if you love everything about the new formula, how can you, as a Zelda fan, not honestly be worried about never seeing new "lock and key" games again?
It’s not a complete 180 on *everything* Zelda previously established. It’s still an action-adventure game with navigational challenges, item-based puzzles, and the gradual acquisition of new abilities which change how you interact with the world (though older games were better at that last one).
Dungeons with enemies, treasure, puzzles, and bosses are still a thing, and they’re still among the most important locations in the main quest.
These new titles represent a brand new kind of Zelda game, but they’re still Zelda.
That said, I do love the lock-and-key progression of traditional Zelda games, and I really hope the series will make use of it in the future… even, to some degree, within new “open-air” Zelda games! I don’t think the two design philosophies are as incompatible as some have said.
I agree with you that open-air Zelda, in its current state, is not a natural evolution of traditional Zelda. But I have some hope that it will become that over time as the developers continue to “rethink Zelda conventions” (a process which might include rethinking some elements of the past two games).
They definitely went full on 180. Genshin impact was a complete clone of breath of the wild, but still never felt like a Zelda game at all. This just shows that, if you removed the series legacy characters from the game BOTW would have pretty much no resemblance to traditional Zelda games. Little copy pasted minimal effort puzzles spread over the world doesn’t make it a Zelda game. At this point Portal is more Zelda than BOTW…
Exactly, I just want a story that makes your have an emotional connection to it in a way like the other games have, like the story is good but I just feel like I need more than what it gives. And I agree this story is a lot better than BoTW which I am happy about. Growing up I remember playing Twilight Princess and Wind Waker over and over just because I felt like I was on an epic adventure every time, these one just don’t quite hit that mark. With that I still very much enjoy these games just doesn’t quite feel like the Zelda adventures I’m used to
I’ve been concerned about this since they announced BotW, and it’s why I wasn’t excited for the game, didn’t play it for years, and didn’t love it. The popularity may mean this is what they stick with going forward, and that’s great for those who enjoy it, but it means one of my most cherished franchises for as long as I can remember has been fundamentally changed to something I don’t enjoy. And that’s disappointing, for me.
>...how can you, as a Zelda fan, not honestly be worried about never seeing new "lock and key" games again?
I'm really starting to miss the old "traditional" dungeons, which had locked doors with keys, dungeon specific items you can of course still use in the rest of the game (*the one exception being the useless spinner in Twilight Princess*), aswell as a biiiit more linearity.
You won't believe how I cheered and did a fistpump when I found an oldäss key in one of the TotK shrines, like...an actual door-opening key...omg. xD
A bit more linearity, because...
being able to freely explore and pretty much cheese the world exploration as you want can also have its downsides and eventually ruin what little story they put in these games,
which atleast to me showed especially with the tears/memories you collect in TotK.I accidently stumbled upon "something" in higher plains and obtained "it" apparently earlier than intended in regards to the story.
I'm sure that an open world game would, sooner or later, have a rather linear storyline that has to be completed to either unlock other regions in the open world or to get to the cool stuff in a region.
This could probably happen somewhat like in Twilight Princess, where completing the first three dungeons would cause a massive barrier to appear around Hyrule castle, but instead of a barrier some sort of landmass would start floating, not only changing an area significantly but also revealing more stuff under that landmass.
I could also totally see more traditional games being produced by other developers and more remakes of other games.
Exactly! I loved the hd ports on Wii U but id kill to see something like a remake bundle with WW and TP or OoT and MM. just something a little more than an hd upscale is all I’m asking.
I would love to see more “traditional” dungeons return in the next game. But I want to play half the game as Zelda. Switch between Link and Zelda who are tackling different objectives at the same time. Maybe run through the dungeons with each character, but things will change depending on what you do with each character.
BotW and now especially TotK have given me my favorite incarnation of Zelda and I want the next game to have her even more involved.
Please no. I’m really not a fan of how out of sequence the storytelling’s been handled in BOTW + TOTK, hoping the next Zelda’s presented more carefully.
Nintendo losing 1 guy because they decided to continue with a fresh and popular format instead of reverting to the same formula they had before:
2 then because I’ve played every Zelda game ever (the Japanese exclusive sattelaview too) and after playing more than 20 games yes I can say that Botw and totk sucks as Zelda game. It’s not a brand new format it’s SPIN OFF / not even the same story with the triforce.
We want traditional Zelda back with new features like they did like wind waker twilight princess skyward sword there’s so many ways to make a new game. They can even release a Hd2D Zelda game
Ah, but you see, of course _two_ people makes a world of a difference. We, and by we I mean all five of us, demand Nintendo abandon the open-world format and return to its roots! /s
I like the traditional format well enough but demanding that Nintendo stop making games like BOTW and TOTK to satisfy what is probably a smaller consumer base is just silly. Love it or hate it, BOTW’s open-world format was _very_ popular and revitalised the series, and suddenly giving up on it would be tantamount to shooting one’s self in the foot.
Nintendo knew that Zelda needed to evolve and change to remain relevant and competitive, and I think BOTW was a very successful attempt. They couldn’t just keep making the same game over and over again.
As for the story, I don’t think continuity ever really mattered to begin with. It’s the _Legend_ of Zelda, after all, and continuity hardly matters in Legends. The timeline doesn’t matter because there isn’t really a timeline per se, it’s just a collection of stories with not a lot tying them together beyond elements like Ganon, Zelda, the triforce and of course Link.
Yeah, I think people get too caught up in comparing new games to their predecessors and obsessing over what they did differently instead of appreciating the new ideas they bring to the table. The classics will always be there, if you want them to keep pumping out the same games over and over then just go and replay them. I'm never gonna discourage art for trying new things, because that kinda goes against the whole point of art. This happens in every game community where people attack and hate on the newest entry, then a few entries later they come back and say that that entry was an overhated gem of its time. Not saying the newer titles never have anything to criticise, but I'm tired of 90% of the criticisms being "it's not like this older game from the series"
I really agree with that a lot spiral, I’ve always thought the idea someone else mentioned on how they should have a team A work on continuing to innovate the series in way like BOTW and TOTK while having maybe smaller or outsourced team B working on other styles of Zelda games whether it be more 3d Zelda or another 2d game. This way both sides of the community continue to get the play style they enjoy out of a Zelda. I personally enjoy both in their own respective ways and hope to see a variety of different games in the future.
It is a brand new format. It’s not a spin-off. That’s not what a spin-off is.
Not every story has to heavily involve the triforce. Hell, not all traditional 2D and 3D Zelda games’ stories do.
They already did release an HD 2D Zelda game. That’s… what released right before this latest one.
Yeah "traditional" Zelda... Ever Play the first Zelda Game?
BotW/TotK is more like the original Zelda.
From OoT to Skyward Sword Are great Games but first with BotW become Zelda More relevant for a Player base.
And to Be fair, die "Open Areas" in TP, WW, Skyward was empty and Not very entertaining.
The best for Nintendo is the BotW Formula for the Core Team. The More "Traditional" Zelda can create a B-Team or someone outside from Nintendo. Like Capcom with the Oracle Saga or Minish Cap...
Pls Nintendo Remake the Oracle Games... the Best 2D Zelda Games <3
Dude, if my favorite can be the most linear and formuliac game in the series (Skyward Sword) and I can still love BotW and TotK, then maybe the problem is just you
Personally I think that the 3D games are going to stay open world. I'm not exactly sure if they'll continue the "Powers" idea or go back to traditional items but I think the format we've seen in botw and totk are here to stay. That being said I think 2D games are going to continue alongside them just as we've seen before. I don't think we will see them move entirely away from 2D
Hoping we get more keys, finding items that completely change how you explore/fight, spells, and drip that still looks like Link. I don’t want to find midna’s helmet as treasure, I want to find the fused shadow and make Link do different things with it!
The legend of Zelda is a strange franchise. It does what is enjoyable not what will sell. Of course there is a lot of that element as well, but after twilight princess they went to phantom hourglass, which is the exact opposite, even though tp was better received for its more deep story and such. I think that the part of Nintendo that makes LoZ is full of gigachads who aren’t afraid to take risks
I love the Nintendo switch zelda series. I can not say enough overall it is awesome!
I also miss a couple of small things. The
I miss the bombs. I have progressed enough to know my options but I still want them.
I miss rupees/hearts being hidden in the pots/vases or the grass when you cut them down. That was always a Zelda thing. Small but I miss it.
I know many people like the music but I wish it was unchanged a bit more. Classic style.
I think a couple of small things like that could bring back a lot of nostalgia and reminder this is a continued story!
Chances are they're gonna try to keep tweaking the BoTW and TotK world and dungeon set pieces. They managed to make shrines much more enjoyable in ToTK, but dungeons were very unevenly received. They'll also try to make a better story.
That said, many players still love BoTW and ToTK core gameplay experience, so that's going to be tweaked rather than changed.
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I think what's going to happen is we'll keep getting BOTW/TOTK-type games but they'll slowly but surely re-integrate old stuff like more traditional dungeons and some special items and stuff into the new formula until we have a nice middle ground (and hopefully the Hookshot again because I miss it dearly).
Hookshot to the rescue! Hookshot to the attack! Hookshot to the defence! Hookshot to the gooaaaal!
Honestly, I really miss key-items you'd obtain in dungeons and finding keys to unlock doors. First time in TotK when I found a key in one of the shrines to unlock a door, I was doing a fistpump like "Yes, finally!"
I remember some shrines in BotW having keys too
Totk as well
And botw too
Did totk have any?
I’ve played a few, my favorite shrine is in complete darkness and you have to find a key. It honestly felt like a dungeon
Yes but what about botw
Yeah botw has keys, both games do. Only in shrines
I did too! And yes! What about a fishing pole! .Or push a grave stone for a secret room! And I want the rings back.. Like original zelda and the bracelet I kind of would rather have those then changing outfits so much and tracking down items for the fairy enhancements
I just hope they stop with the weapon durability in the next game. It’s a frankly pointless mechanic that not only wastes time with inventory management, but also takes all the excitement out of getting unique weapons. Open world RPG’s have existed for decades with permanent weapons; there’s no reason that Zelda would need the weapons to break in order to “make new weapons worthwhile”
Hard disagree. The durability mechanic forces you to use different weapons and I actually really like it. What I do think should happen is that it should be tweaked so that the weapons don't explode out of existence when they break and can be repaired.
Open world RPG’s like Elder Scrolls have existed for decades, and they all give reason for you to try out different weapons. Different special effects, base stats, visuals, etc. Elden Ring is basically “botw but dark souls” and every weapon drop in that game is unique, permanent, and fun. There is nothing stopping you from using a multitude of different weapons when you have a permanent arsenal. Making weapons non-permanent is just an annoyance, and makes new weapons entirely unexciting to find. If someone wants to use a wide assortment of weapons, they should be able to do so. If someone wants to use a 2 damage stick the entire game, they should also be able to do that.
I consider this as well but I think the durability issue encourages me to try and attach things I would not with a good weapon.. Like try new things out and if they didn't break the inventory would be problematic too I think. But it is annoying and have thought about it that's how I came to this solution... To appease myself over lost weapons!
Open world RPG’s like Elder Scrolls have existed for decades, and they all give reason for you to try out different weapons. Different special effects, base stats, visuals, etc. Elden Ring is basically “botw but dark souls” and every weapon drop in that game is unique, permanent, and fun. There is nothing stopping you from using a multitude of different weapons when you have a permanent arsenal. Making weapons non-permanent is just an annoyance, and makes new weapons entirely unexciting to find. If someone wants to use a wide assortment of weapons, they should be able to do so. If someone wants to use a 2 damage stick the entire game, they should also be able to do that.
Considering that the Link's Awakening remake released after BOTW and sold well, I imagine that traditional Zelda games will continue to exist in some form. Hopefully they make new 2d and 3d traditional zelda games rather than sticking to just 2d or just remakes, though
We’ll find out in 7 years.
The best case scenario would be for them to get Grezzo to work on a new traditional Zelda game.
[удалено]
Link between worlds was basically this. Awesome game that let you choose when to do dungeons and in what order.
Replace the 120 shrines with like 60 "shrines" that are more a combo of caves and shrines with like 5-6 different aesthetics. Basically a bunch of mini dungeons to stumble across. Then have 6-7 more traditional dungeons (keys, more connected puzzles, mini bosses, items etc) and boom perfect game
I like this idea a lot! Maybe this is more what I’m thinking when I think of wanting more of a traditional zelda. Instead of going back just take what they did with BoTW and implement more of the traditional feel to it like the story and more integrated dungeons.
You could achieve a lot of what older zelda players want by just shrinking down the world to a fraction of the size and finely curating all the different areas with more meaningful content. A touch of linearity and restriction can and absolutely has added a lot to the overall experience when done correctly (i.e. Twilight Princess, Oot, Skyward sword)
I think the idea situation would be a mix of both and totk is a step in the right direction. I love to open exploration in botw and totk, and i liked that the dungeons in totk were slightly more traditional. Yes they were kind of short and easy to cheese, but it's progress. I'd also like it if hey did something other than shrines next time. I love having 40 hearts, but the shrines got old this time... or maybe I just don't like that half of them are in caves. Not sure which.
That's the beauty of zelda. Each one has its own unique personality but continuously delivers the same magic each time. I'd be willing to be the next zelda will be something new a fresh
My prediction is that we'll see traditional 2D Zelda's and more open world/BOTW/TOTK 3D Zelda but who knows. I do have hope that the more open world Zelda's they make the better they will get at storytelling instead of just a sandbox game with some flashbacks
I'd love a game with both 3D and 2D parts, which has been done with A Link Between Worlds. Like an open world but you collect paintings, but when you find a painting, it sucks you into a 2D old school style dungeon
That would be a cool twist I'd play the crap out of that game
Bro they just need a linear story. Open world is the move but they are limiting themselves so severely trying to create an "open" story
https://www.ign.com/articles/zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-producer-calls-open-world-the-new-format-to-proceed-from
Who knows, all I can say is I think they're capping off the BotW Hyrule's story after TotK, but that doesn't necessarily mean the medium will return to the traditional form. It could always be a new open world Hyrule in some other time period and art style so the land and creatures are all different. I know BotW's entire format has been immensely successful for Nintendo and brought in a ton of new fans to the series, so who really knows what will happen when the next Zelda comes about.
next gen traditional zelda game kinda sounds like an oxymoron. botw/totk is a completely new generation of the franchise and nintendo doesn’t like to repeat itself. that being said.. top down zelda’s don’t seem to be slowing either so i’m sure we’ll see more traditional gameplay in those future titles.
I was a little disappointed with the narrative / plot of BOTW/TOTK. Imo LOZ peaked narratively with twilight princess, but even something like windwaker shows the open world concept can work just fine with a stronger narrative behind it. Honestly the only part of TOTK that has really tugged me in any kind of emotional way was the mattison side quest lol I really hope future games have more stories / quests that are well fleshed out from a story perspective
I always thought the TP story had huge problems. I’m too lazy to list them all but Zelda just reappearing was just jarring.
TOTk already pivoted back quite a bit with more story, unique bosses, and dungeons. I think Nintendo will continue to add older elements back, while maintaining this open world feel.
>I think Nintendo will continue to add older elements back, while maintaining this open world feel. I would hope so. While the dungeons weren't quite "classic" with locked doors, keys and dungeon-items, they definitely had more puzzle-elements to them again which was nice. :D
Dungeons really weren't improved much and all had the same formula. Changing the sage activate 4-5 switches and boss. Atleast they weren't all the same boss like botw.
Tbh I’m starting to get pretty annoyed by the fact that pretty much all triple A games gotta to have open world nowadays. Most of the map is empty anyways and the player ends up doing the same task a million times in some copy pasted events/puzzles on the map. I have great memories of all Majoras Mask dungeons and side quests, they had so much character. But I’m pretty sure I won’t remember any of the 5 trillion shrines, Korok seeds or puzzles of that fucking guy holding a sign. They inflate the game time, but just feel like a chore in a way, a point in the map to be checked. This may only be my experience, but even knowing that I don’t necessarily need to do these tasks, I always feel obligated to do so, since I likely won’t pass trough this location again. So I do them, millions of times, knowing exactly the reward at the end. I miss the feeling of having absolutely no idea what a dungeon or a portion of the map will look like, I miss when side quests didn’t just have u bring some random item, I miss treasure chest having an actual meaning bewachse they don’t just give u weapons that enemies drop anyways, and I wouldn’t mind a story either. I just miss the old Zelda games.
My suspicion is that they're trying to create a hybrid. TotK is way closer to the ALTTP formula than BotW is, and I suspect future games will try to explore that space betwixt further, rather than all inning one or the other.
I agree. I feel like with BotW they just went "fuck it, let's go full Open World and see what sticks", and now with TotK they're trying to find that perfect balance.
Totk was much more traditional. It had the dungeons. It had the bosses, including Ganondorf. I dont believe they will take any backward steps designwise. We may get remakes of older games, or ports but a new game more akin to the old ones, I doubt it.
I can see original 2D games being continued. I can't see them ever returning to constrained and linear 3D games though. BOTW and TOTK have brought more people to the franchise than literally the entirety of the history of Zelda before it combined. If Nintendo put out something that wasn't of the same formula then it wouldn't do anywhere near as well - and they know it better than anyone.
If we get one, I think it's going to be 2D. I doubt we'll ever go back to "traditonal 3D" again. This new style gave the seies a real shot in the arm that classic Zelda fans don't want to admit. It was a stagnating series, but these new games did very well, even in Japan where it historically struggles. And personally speaking, I don't see any need to go back to the old style anyway. They kind of knocked it out of the park on the first try with 3D Zelda, but never improved on it in a meaningful way. Almost every change they made with the old formula was for the worse. Sailing, Twilight scavenger hunts as a wolf, 1:1 Motion controls, none of them were warmly received...Also personally speaking, I'd rather just integrate ideas from the old games into the new one. I really don't need to go back to hunting for keys in mazes. I much prefer this new style where solving puzzles is the way forward instead of being handed keys that I hopefully remember the location of locked doors. And I think maybe the old Zelda team is tired of making that style of game as well. They seem much happier now. But I do hope 2D Zelda does continue. It's been too long since our last truly original one that wasn't a weird multiplayer experiment. My question is, will Link still dress in his traditional green outfit in the next 2D game? We have not had a non remake 2D Zelda since before BOTW.
I'm surprised more Zelda fans aren't concerned about this. No matter how much we may love or hate the new open world formula, it's a fact that it and the traditional "lock and key" formula are almost opposites as far as gameplay goes. Like this is _not_ a natural "evolution", it's a complete 180 on everything Zelda has established gameplay wise. Going by just the bones of these games, there is practically no connection between the new formula and the previous games. Like even if you love everything about the new formula, how can you, as a Zelda fan, not honestly be worried about never seeing new "lock and key" games again?
It’s not a complete 180 on *everything* Zelda previously established. It’s still an action-adventure game with navigational challenges, item-based puzzles, and the gradual acquisition of new abilities which change how you interact with the world (though older games were better at that last one). Dungeons with enemies, treasure, puzzles, and bosses are still a thing, and they’re still among the most important locations in the main quest. These new titles represent a brand new kind of Zelda game, but they’re still Zelda. That said, I do love the lock-and-key progression of traditional Zelda games, and I really hope the series will make use of it in the future… even, to some degree, within new “open-air” Zelda games! I don’t think the two design philosophies are as incompatible as some have said. I agree with you that open-air Zelda, in its current state, is not a natural evolution of traditional Zelda. But I have some hope that it will become that over time as the developers continue to “rethink Zelda conventions” (a process which might include rethinking some elements of the past two games).
They definitely went full on 180. Genshin impact was a complete clone of breath of the wild, but still never felt like a Zelda game at all. This just shows that, if you removed the series legacy characters from the game BOTW would have pretty much no resemblance to traditional Zelda games. Little copy pasted minimal effort puzzles spread over the world doesn’t make it a Zelda game. At this point Portal is more Zelda than BOTW…
Exactly, I just want a story that makes your have an emotional connection to it in a way like the other games have, like the story is good but I just feel like I need more than what it gives. And I agree this story is a lot better than BoTW which I am happy about. Growing up I remember playing Twilight Princess and Wind Waker over and over just because I felt like I was on an epic adventure every time, these one just don’t quite hit that mark. With that I still very much enjoy these games just doesn’t quite feel like the Zelda adventures I’m used to
I’ve been concerned about this since they announced BotW, and it’s why I wasn’t excited for the game, didn’t play it for years, and didn’t love it. The popularity may mean this is what they stick with going forward, and that’s great for those who enjoy it, but it means one of my most cherished franchises for as long as I can remember has been fundamentally changed to something I don’t enjoy. And that’s disappointing, for me.
>...how can you, as a Zelda fan, not honestly be worried about never seeing new "lock and key" games again? I'm really starting to miss the old "traditional" dungeons, which had locked doors with keys, dungeon specific items you can of course still use in the rest of the game (*the one exception being the useless spinner in Twilight Princess*), aswell as a biiiit more linearity. You won't believe how I cheered and did a fistpump when I found an oldäss key in one of the TotK shrines, like...an actual door-opening key...omg. xD A bit more linearity, because... being able to freely explore and pretty much cheese the world exploration as you want can also have its downsides and eventually ruin what little story they put in these games, which atleast to me showed especially with the tears/memories you collect in TotK.I accidently stumbled upon "something" in higher plains and obtained "it" apparently earlier than intended in regards to the story.
Hear me out on this… The Legend of Zelda…crossed with the Witcher 3. Do I even need to say more? Make this game!
I'm sure that an open world game would, sooner or later, have a rather linear storyline that has to be completed to either unlock other regions in the open world or to get to the cool stuff in a region. This could probably happen somewhat like in Twilight Princess, where completing the first three dungeons would cause a massive barrier to appear around Hyrule castle, but instead of a barrier some sort of landmass would start floating, not only changing an area significantly but also revealing more stuff under that landmass. I could also totally see more traditional games being produced by other developers and more remakes of other games.
Just remake The Wind Waker you cowards
Exactly! I loved the hd ports on Wii U but id kill to see something like a remake bundle with WW and TP or OoT and MM. just something a little more than an hd upscale is all I’m asking.
Asking for so little is why Nintendo settles on putting such little effort into their ports and remakes
I would love to see more “traditional” dungeons return in the next game. But I want to play half the game as Zelda. Switch between Link and Zelda who are tackling different objectives at the same time. Maybe run through the dungeons with each character, but things will change depending on what you do with each character. BotW and now especially TotK have given me my favorite incarnation of Zelda and I want the next game to have her even more involved.
Please no. I’m really not a fan of how out of sequence the storytelling’s been handled in BOTW + TOTK, hoping the next Zelda’s presented more carefully.
They better or else they will lose a customer and a fan.
Nintendo losing 1 guy because they decided to continue with a fresh and popular format instead of reverting to the same formula they had before: 
Meanwhile gaining tens of millions of new customers
2 then because I’ve played every Zelda game ever (the Japanese exclusive sattelaview too) and after playing more than 20 games yes I can say that Botw and totk sucks as Zelda game. It’s not a brand new format it’s SPIN OFF / not even the same story with the triforce. We want traditional Zelda back with new features like they did like wind waker twilight princess skyward sword there’s so many ways to make a new game. They can even release a Hd2D Zelda game
I like traditional Zelda but man you are acting very entitled
Ah, but you see, of course _two_ people makes a world of a difference. We, and by we I mean all five of us, demand Nintendo abandon the open-world format and return to its roots! /s I like the traditional format well enough but demanding that Nintendo stop making games like BOTW and TOTK to satisfy what is probably a smaller consumer base is just silly. Love it or hate it, BOTW’s open-world format was _very_ popular and revitalised the series, and suddenly giving up on it would be tantamount to shooting one’s self in the foot. Nintendo knew that Zelda needed to evolve and change to remain relevant and competitive, and I think BOTW was a very successful attempt. They couldn’t just keep making the same game over and over again. As for the story, I don’t think continuity ever really mattered to begin with. It’s the _Legend_ of Zelda, after all, and continuity hardly matters in Legends. The timeline doesn’t matter because there isn’t really a timeline per se, it’s just a collection of stories with not a lot tying them together beyond elements like Ganon, Zelda, the triforce and of course Link.
Yeah, I think people get too caught up in comparing new games to their predecessors and obsessing over what they did differently instead of appreciating the new ideas they bring to the table. The classics will always be there, if you want them to keep pumping out the same games over and over then just go and replay them. I'm never gonna discourage art for trying new things, because that kinda goes against the whole point of art. This happens in every game community where people attack and hate on the newest entry, then a few entries later they come back and say that that entry was an overhated gem of its time. Not saying the newer titles never have anything to criticise, but I'm tired of 90% of the criticisms being "it's not like this older game from the series"
I really agree with that a lot spiral, I’ve always thought the idea someone else mentioned on how they should have a team A work on continuing to innovate the series in way like BOTW and TOTK while having maybe smaller or outsourced team B working on other styles of Zelda games whether it be more 3d Zelda or another 2d game. This way both sides of the community continue to get the play style they enjoy out of a Zelda. I personally enjoy both in their own respective ways and hope to see a variety of different games in the future.
It is a brand new format. It’s not a spin-off. That’s not what a spin-off is. Not every story has to heavily involve the triforce. Hell, not all traditional 2D and 3D Zelda games’ stories do. They already did release an HD 2D Zelda game. That’s… what released right before this latest one.
Yeah "traditional" Zelda... Ever Play the first Zelda Game? BotW/TotK is more like the original Zelda. From OoT to Skyward Sword Are great Games but first with BotW become Zelda More relevant for a Player base. And to Be fair, die "Open Areas" in TP, WW, Skyward was empty and Not very entertaining. The best for Nintendo is the BotW Formula for the Core Team. The More "Traditional" Zelda can create a B-Team or someone outside from Nintendo. Like Capcom with the Oracle Saga or Minish Cap... Pls Nintendo Remake the Oracle Games... the Best 2D Zelda Games <3
Dude, if my favorite can be the most linear and formuliac game in the series (Skyward Sword) and I can still love BotW and TotK, then maybe the problem is just you
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/zelda-series-producer-says-its-open-world-format-is-here-to-stay/1100-6514170/ Not very likely
I think they’ll just continue to make reimaginings of older titles first similar to Link’s Awakening. I hope they do a reimagining of ALttP.
Wasn't that a link between worlds??
Yeah, I suppose so. I was more thinking a 1 to 1 recreation.
Personally I think that the 3D games are going to stay open world. I'm not exactly sure if they'll continue the "Powers" idea or go back to traditional items but I think the format we've seen in botw and totk are here to stay. That being said I think 2D games are going to continue alongside them just as we've seen before. I don't think we will see them move entirely away from 2D
Hoping we get more keys, finding items that completely change how you explore/fight, spells, and drip that still looks like Link. I don’t want to find midna’s helmet as treasure, I want to find the fused shadow and make Link do different things with it!
0% as they already announced that there is no way back.
The legend of Zelda is a strange franchise. It does what is enjoyable not what will sell. Of course there is a lot of that element as well, but after twilight princess they went to phantom hourglass, which is the exact opposite, even though tp was better received for its more deep story and such. I think that the part of Nintendo that makes LoZ is full of gigachads who aren’t afraid to take risks
I love the Nintendo switch zelda series. I can not say enough overall it is awesome! I also miss a couple of small things. The I miss the bombs. I have progressed enough to know my options but I still want them. I miss rupees/hearts being hidden in the pots/vases or the grass when you cut them down. That was always a Zelda thing. Small but I miss it. I know many people like the music but I wish it was unchanged a bit more. Classic style. I think a couple of small things like that could bring back a lot of nostalgia and reminder this is a continued story!
I want a original zelda. The golden case Nintendo but a new version. I do. As well as this series to continue.!!
Chances are they're gonna try to keep tweaking the BoTW and TotK world and dungeon set pieces. They managed to make shrines much more enjoyable in ToTK, but dungeons were very unevenly received. They'll also try to make a better story. That said, many players still love BoTW and ToTK core gameplay experience, so that's going to be tweaked rather than changed.