Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom – there’s no going back now (pic: Nintendo)
A reader is upset that the popularity of Tears Of The Kingdom and its predecessor means Nintendo will never make the old style of Zelda again.
I feel very awkward writing this, as I know that many of you reading will have already started playing Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom and are no doubt enjoying it as we speak. I will not be, as I played Breath Of The Wild and… I did not like it. I won’t say I hate it, but it stripped out almost everything I like about the series and replaced it with many of the things I dislike most about modern gaming, namely open worlds and unstructured, aimless exploration.
And yet I have to admit that in terms of the majority opinion I am wrong. Most seem to consider Breath Of The Wild to be an all-time classic and potentially one of the best games ever. It’s obviously very well made – it is a Nintendo game after all – but I have tried and failed to enjoy it and now there is a sequel which seems to be broadly the same and looks set to be even more successful.
If that happens then it goes without saying that they will make more in a similar manner and indeed I found this quote from producer Eiji Aonuma that says: ‘I think it’s correct to say that it has created a new kind of format for the series to proceed from.’ That’s exactly what you’d expect and basically means that the earlier, pre-Breath Of The Wild formula is never coming back, at least for a mainline entry.
As well as remasters and remakes I imagine there’s a chance we’ll get some kind of lower budget spin-off that is purposefully retro, perhaps a 2D game or something that is distinct enough from the new style that Nintendo won’t worry that people will get confused between the two or that people will be upset that it’s not the new style. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t make business sense for Nintendo to continue the old style and that makes me profoundly sad.
The worst thing is that, by adding back dungeons and more distinctive bosses, Nintendo has tried to add reintroduce some of the magic of the old games into Tears Of The Kingdom but from everything I’ve read they’re actually the worst parts of the game. According to GC’s review they don’t really mesh with the new gameplay mechanics, which makes sense as them being so different is precisely why I don’t like them.
It’s not just about the dungeons though, it’s the whole approach that I don’t like. Zelda has always had exploration but within relatively constrained areas. This was a technical limitation at first but as the series went on it was clear that things had to be that way to enable the puzzles and Metroidvania style elements to work. But those are largely missing from Breath Of The Wild, simply because it’s too big, and it gives you too many options, for you to be boxed in and need a way to puzzle your way out.
I also don’t like how the game is much more action-oriented than it used to be. Sure, there’s always been combat in Zelda games, but it was never the primary thing you were doing. In older games you could go hours without getting into a serious fight but in Breath Of The Wild, and I assume Tears Of The Kingdom, you can’t seem to go five minutes without a bust-up.
I know what people will say, I can just go back and play the old games. That’s true, of course, but I want Nintendo to make new ones as well. I don’t always want to be stuck with the same finite number of Zelda games that I like. But as long as Tears Of The Kingdom, and whatever games it spawns, are popular then I don’t see there is ever going to be any road back for the older style.
I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that the Zelda that I know and love is doomed to be nothing but a footnote in the history of a franchise that is now much more successful and popular than it used to be.
By reader Westley
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A reader is upset that the popularity of Tears Of The Kingdom and its predecessor means Nintendo will never make the old style of Zelda again.