Email: What ‘New’ Zelda Fans Are Like

I’ll admit to be amongst the group of suckers who bought “new school” Nintendo systems such as the Gamecube.  I will even go as far as admitting that I bought games such as windwaker and twilight princess, both which I regard as being “ok.”  There is a certain demand for me to have a new game.  Certainly inferior to the classics.  I’ll certainly take my blacksheep Zelda 2 over the new school.  In fact my most meaningful memory of the gamecube was begging my parents for Zelda the Collector’s Edition.  There were a few offers that could be done to get it.  I got it through a subscription of Nintendo Power.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Collector’s_Edition

It is probably a testimony how good the classic series is.  The fact that I had effectively bought these games twice!  Maybe I will soon get them on the virtual console (I am getting tired of swapping out discs all the time).  And the fact I can’t count the amount of game playthroughs I had with classic zelda where as the new school zelda certainly has enough fingers on my hand (Just to be noted, I define a playthrough for everytime I make a new record).

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However, Let me get on topic in regard to zelda fans.  I was on a forum and found some of the comments.  Feel free to take a read for yourself.

http://www.giantbomb.com/the-legend-of-zelda/62-9/why-zelda-shouldnt-change-even-though-i-would-like-for-it-to/35-494264/?

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I’ll just pull out some quotes to shorten the time.

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“If you’re like me, then you were born somewhere around 1989 and you love video games. Your first Zelda game was probably Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, and you still love that game to this day. You were so excited, and maybe even a little scared the first time you went into the Dark World. You were blown away the first time you stepped onto Hyrule Field when you played OoT (I can’t spell Occorania. See?) and your favorite Zelda game is probably either OoT, Majora’s Mask, or Wind Waker.”

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“I would like the Zelda games to have a story besides ‘guy in green saves princess from Gannon.’ It could even be that, but make me care about Link. I’ve never felt so detached from a character. “

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“Each Zelda game has its own story. But they are rarely about Link himself. When the gods slips up and things get out of control, Link enter the scene and makes thing right. The reason for this might be that Nintendo want you to think you’re Link himself. ”
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“Zelda isn’t made for the story, it’s made for that experience of going around to different set pieces and figuring out puzzles.”

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“I completely agree. I was going back through Wind Waker recently, and that confirmed to me that I don’t want a gritty adult Zelda, because the point of Zelda is solving puzzles and exploring a large, interesting world.”

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“I look at Zelda games and a lot of Nintendo games the same way I do sports games… As for story and Zelda, I just like exploring and the challenge of beating the game. The characters aren’t bad either. Except for Tingle, who likes Tingle?”

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“I don’t want a deep rich story in almost any game I play because games that try to have them usually fail…. Zelda games have decent video game stories already. Seriously, the story in Wind Waker was pretty damn good… for a video game.”

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“I never understood the need for a “mature” Zelda.  It’s almost like asking for a mature Mario game.  What do most people clamoring for a mature Zelda want out of the game anyway?  These games are meant to be adventures for all ages, not gorehounds that think the depiction of severed limbs and fountains of blood are the only real sign of mature content …I want a Zelda with full voice acting, orchestral music, and revamped game mechanics that don’t feel trapped in the N64 era or earlier.  And I think that improving on at least the presentational aspects could heighten the game’s mature appeal if done right.”

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“My first Zelda game was the original (Legend of Zelda NES). My favorite is Windwaker,  partially because it reminded me of my original Zelda experience and partially because of the art style and game mechanics. You can change it up quite a bit but it must still feel like a Zelda game. For instance you couldn’t make it like assassin’s creed and slap a Zelda title on the box. It still needs to have the Zelda elements in it to make it Zelda.

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With that said, I don’t want another Twilight Princess. If you want me to purchase a new Zelda it has to be as fresh and innovative with the art style as Windwaker.”

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“I would actually like less story in Zelda games. Less hand-holding, too. More exploration is what the series needs. I remember in A Link to the Past when I found the ice rod, the flippers, the fairy behind the waterfall et cetera just by being curious and exploring, and when simply gaining access to a dungeon’s entrance could be tricky. In Zelda games these days you’re guided to every item and dungeon by unnecessary cutscenes and companions and whatnot, and you have to do all the dungeons in a certain order.  Improved combat and increased item variation would be nice, too.”

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“I’m not at all for a more mature Zelda… that’s why Darksiders exists. But Zelda needs at least one game in the near future that shakes things up and not just adding more modern touches like voice acting, but throwing a wrench into the typical “Ganon kidnaps Zelda, Link saves the day” story. Make Zelda a playable character for a while, maybe just ignore Ganon altogether, or something else different to spice things up. What the series needs is another Zelda Gaiden.”

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Notice what everyone seems gear their focus on what Zelda is as it stands; a story, puzzles, exploration, characters, adventures, and maturity/anti-maturity.  For whatever reason, the new zelda fans are in love with Wind Waker.  Nearly all of them are batting heads on some of the issues of story, maturity, characters and maturity.
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Now I want you to look at the paragraph that I highlighted in blue.  Notice the person mentions the items in the game.  Today, items tend to carry their weight only in the dungeons where they are found.  With the classic Zelda’s items could change the rules of the game and reshape the way we explored the game.  He also states how little freedom the player does have when comparing new zelda to old zelda.
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What I find funny is that Zelda 3 is far more restrictive than the original Zelda.  In Zelda 3, you actually had to rescue princess Zelda before you could do ANY exploration.  In addition, certain areas were still cut off due to the restrictions of items a player had access to.  In Zelda 1, a player could virtually explore any part of the map.  Hell, players were able to go by their own rules.
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Do you remember the White Sword trick?
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That is a testimony of the kind of liberty Zelda 1 provided to players.
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Video Game Message Forums are of no indication of what the gaming market is like. If you used Video Game Message Forums as indicators of the gaming market, you would assume…

-The 3DS would be very popular.

-The Wii would not be popular. The PS3 would be very popular instead!

-Metroid: Other M would be THE SEQUEL to Super Metroid! In fact, Other M would DESTROY Super Metroid in its awesomeness!

-Why is Nintendo making Super Mario Brothers 5? No one wants that game. Oh well, it will give us something to play while we wait for the game EVERYONE wants to play: Super Mario Galaxy 2!

The most expensive information is free information. Anything you read or hear on the Internet is often expensive information because it is often wrong or non-indicative of reality.

What ‘New’ Zelda fans are like doesn’t matter because they do not exist in any number. They are just a bunch of kids with so much time on their hands they can post diatribes on the Internet all day (which I suppose I do as well! haha).

Perhaps one of the problems with Nintendo is that they are using the Internet as a source of feedback to their products. People who post on the Internet, such as gaming websites, are nothing like the actual market.

I would be satisfied with even a glacial change in Zelda toward the right direction. But every Zelda game feels like it is getting worse. It feels like the Overworld is becoming less of a world, and the dungeons might as well become themed obstacle courses.

Every time I look at Zelda I videos, I think of Aonuma playing the game. I imagine him being extremely frustrated and screaming at the TV, “Why are the octorocks reappearing!? Oh! My! God! They don’t stop! This is too hard! No!” And then when Aonuma plays Link to the Past, he says, “Ahh, this is more like it. Picking up chickens and cutting bushes with my sword. This is how gaming should be done.” Everytime I have that picture in my head, I just break out laughing.

For a fun exercise for the reader, imagine every recent ‘bomba’ game made as a success the Nintendo developer imagined. For example, what were they thinking when they made Wii Music? “Hey everyone! Come down to my house where we can play some music together! Then, we will record it, and I will send it to Grandma!” And you see everyone making motions with their controller in the living room, making anything but music. “It is so wonderful!” a woman proclaims! “Wow, we are artists!” screams another.

One of my favorites is Metroid: Other M. What did Sakamoto think would happen? “Hey Billy Bob, do you play that Metroid game? OMG! It was so intense! Dude, those maternal instincts really got me going!” Did he think doors would open and streams of people would be running out to get Metroid: Other M so we can find out how Samus Aran feels? In the Iwata Asks, you hear Iwata saying how excited he was to find out how the market would respond to the game (hahahahaha), I just can’t but laugh at imagining what they imagined how the market would react.

The 3DS is another example. They thought everyone would rush for the 3DS because of ‘omg, 3d!’ They thought it would be like the Wii all over again (or the DS Lite). “Oh boy, face raiders!” the masses would scream as they rushed the stores in mobs to get the 3DS.

It is curious to wonder what was going on in Miyamoto’s head when he would say, “But don’t anyone worry about New Super Mario Brothers Wii! We have Super Mario Galaxy 2 coming right up! Please! No one worry!” As if there would be this massive outrage from the masses that a 2d game was appearing on the home console.

If I was ever a fly on the walls of Nintendo, it would not be when the Wii launched or when the 3DS launched. I would wish to be a fly on the wall when Super Mario Brothers 5 launched. Everywhere, from Miyamoto to Iwata to Reggie, had to be a huge ‘What the Hell?’ reaction to the market going bonkers over it. A ‘New! Legend of Zelda’ game would probably create a similar phenomenon, and Nintendo would still be scratching their heads over it.