From Iwata Asks:
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Iwata: You were making the game as if putting together a puzzle.
Is it just my imagination, or is Iwata trolling me? I’m laughing either way.
The cat is out of the bag. Osawa revealed Ocarina of Time began with him trying to do Zelda II type combat in 3d. The move to 3d was very cumbersome on all levels, of course. The ‘one person only combat’ solution was only a band-aid as was many things done for Ocarina. That was fine for that time. But why is Nintendo still using the band-aid solution thirteen years later? There were mazes, but there were no puzzles in the earlier Zelda games. The constant denial of this is making Iwata and Miyamoto look like fools.
The TGS 2006 Revolution controller video showed sword fighting at the very end. Every Nintendo fan squealed, “OMG! That has to be Zelda! Zelda with motion controls! I get to slash, slash! Woot!” Motion controls are a 3d control scheme which would fit well with certain 3d games. Motion controls are the solution to the ‘band-aid’ of theater style combat that Ocarina had to use. Nintendo themselves even demonstrated this with Wii Sports Resort swordplay against many enemies. It can be done. And it must be done or it isn’t Zelda, it is just a recycled formula.
Everyone has been waiting for a Zelda game to be built from the ground up to use motion controls. Skyward Sword, then untitled, was first shown as a picture of Link without a sword (the girl was the sword). The logo had no sword in it. Then, the sword gets put in and the subtitle actually has ‘sword’ in it.
Does Link get to go ‘slash slash’ in Skyward Sword? No. Everything is designed as a ‘puzzle’. It is beyond ridiculous.
Yawn. I feel sleepy just watching that. Is this a game or the cure to insomnia? Puzzles… puzzles… puzzles.
I remember when 40 year old men would play the Legend of Zelda on the NES. Today, the only people I find playing Zelda are kids. It is a reason why so much stigma has risen up against Zelda these days.
“The game is like a giant dungeon!” “The game is like a giant puzzle!” Actual quotes. And Nintendo wonders why there is so little excitement for this game.
Anyway, I’d love for Iwata to explain why HAL’s The Adventure of Lolo is not a Zelda game. It, too, is all about puzzles. Bizarrely, Lolo has more action than the ‘stare at walls’ snail-pace of ‘Puzzelda’.