This is an email from my absence:
Dear Malstrom
You mentioned a lot about how Zelda has become all about the puzzles and not about the overworld or the combat. Well, I found something interesting while looking though the internet
http://www.nindb.net/game/marvelous.html
Marvelous on Super Famicom was produced by Nintendo’s R&D2 studio. Heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda games, it features three boys, Dion, Max and Jack, as they become embroiled in an adventure on a treasure island against a crew of pirates. While the game wasn’t a huge success, the director, Eiji Aonuma, has since gone on to become lead director on many of the recent Zelda games.
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Marvellous is a combination of text adventure and action game. You control the three boys simultaneously, each with their own skills. By assigning a leader by passing the leader hat, you can position them to perform individual moves, or to work together as a team.
When you examine a scene, you will call up a menu. Using a range of options, you can investigate in more detail, talk to characters, use teamwork and use items. Many of the puzzles will also require you to time button presses or remember information from earlier in the area.
The game is modern Zelda. Watch some videos and you’ll see why Zelda is boring.
So it should be no surprise why the games became puzzle city. That’s all Aonuma knows. Needless to say, this game was not a success. Also, it should be noted that the earlier Zelda were directed by Takashi Tezuka (and Miyamoto for the first game). Both of them are now producers, which is more of a management role. So it’s no surprise that Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess are moving farther and farther away from the original formula. A new director is what Zelda needs.
Hope you found this interesting. Take care and enjoy the new year.
This is more fantastic investigation by the readers.
Aonuma’s old games definitely shows why his Zelda games tilt toward a certain direction. You can really recognize Wind Waker in those videos.
What I do not understand is why Aonuma was given the keys to the Zelda franchise if his own software he made bombed out. I know about the story with Aonuma and Majora’s Mask, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they put someone in charge of Zelda who consistently made games no one liked.
And why is Aonuma putting the ideas of his former games into Zelda anyway? It is like mixing bad food with good food. Who wins? The bad food.