General Zelda Being Able to Play After Completion

[Justac00lguy]

One thing that sort of annoys me is not being able to play after completion, I mean I know it's important for story's sake and I respect that, but for once I would love to be able to play after we have completed the game.

I know one can simply complete all of the side quests or miscellaneous tasks beforehand etc. but it there's just something that doesn't feel right about going back to that point. It's a nice feeling when you complete a Zelda game, not just for the sake of completing it, but for the sake that you have just saved Hyrule.

Now we get to see some extent of our actions in a positive light, but not enough in my opinion, just a short cutscene, nothing else. Then after the credits we're placed back to the menu screen, we start our file and realise that what we did never happened. I know that's not the way we should think but I feel a lot of us do -- it just doesn't feel like we truly accomplished anything. What I would like, is if we got to play after, maybe see Hyrule in a more progressive and happier state, we could see characters change their general attitude and maybe some new things open up afterwards etc.

So how do you feel about this?

 

[Terminus]

I think it could be like the Pokemon games in this regard, with all-new areas cropping up and new, exciting puzzles, but still allowing you to refight the Big Bad whenever you wished.

inb4 Ventus asks for DLC

 

[DarkLink17]

I agree with this completely, as we don't even get to see how the land has improved after vanquishing the evil. The feeling of accomplishment is also very short-lived, lasting as long as the ending cutscene and credits.

If they did allow us to do this, I could imagine an impeccable version of Hyrule with no enemies in the overworld, but leaving some foes in caves and dungeons so the combat aspect is not removed completely. This would enable us to do whatever we pleased, such as various sidequests, Pieces of Heart, Golden Bugs, and other collections in a peaceful environment. As you said too, this "new" overworld could allow for more quests to open up, extending gameplay even further.

I've always wanted to play after completion, really after it, not just being sent back prior to the final boss. It would be awesome if this feature would be implemented into a future game.

 

[Dimooshky]

I think that would be awesome, it would have been great in Majora's Mask, seeing everyone go from scared on the final day back to their happy selves from the first day. However, I do like being able to repeat the final boss, perhaps coming back at it with more heart containers or different strategies etc. e.g. in Phantom Hourglass you can beat Bellum once, and then come back with more spirit gems.

 

[Johnny Sooshi]

I like the idea but the problem lies in what zelda is. In most zelda games the darkness or evil in the games are minions of some upper level enemy in the game. Take TP for example. In Twilight Princess after you beat King Bulblin and he finally says that he's done fighting you and all (4th and final battle) he leaves. So if the game continued that would have to take out Bulblins, one of the most common enemies in the game. In addition, beating Zant means no more twilight baddies. So that knocks everything down to low level enemies for the most part, meaning that fighting continues with less of an impact.

Next we have the puzzles. If there are side quests and such after the game, the rewards would only serve to add to a collection that ultimately has little or no use. Increasing your wallet size or quiver capacity after the game is done, while a nice accomplishment, really doesn't do much for you other than give you the ability to say, "Hey, I upgraded all my stuff". In the end I don't see a purpose to that either.

Then of course there is the element of being able to see Hyrule in a new light. I think that would be interesting, but what do you do after you've talked with everyone after saving the world. To a certain extent the people in Zelda games are clueless to the fact that you're both the hero of legend and a savior for all. I do think that the addition with new areas is cool, but you would need something to do. The reason Pokemon has replay value after it's been beaten is because there are new opponents to beat and you usually don't have a team of level 100s by the time you face off against the champion on the first round. That's why there's a post game. But Legend of Zelda, as I see it just doesn't need one. I'd like one, but I don't think there is a reasonable way to implement it unfortunately.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Well, Mr Sooshi, I think it's safe to say that any game featuring this features wouldn't have all the villains wear they would stop fighting, i mean this features could only be implemented in future games.


Anyway, I like the idea. My thoughts are basically what Ventus said.

 

[Hoff123]

YES! I remember when I finished TP(yes, TP was my first Zelda), and I thought that something had happened to the game. Like if I hadn't saved or something. I really thought I would get to play after. I wanted to see how things had changed in Hyrule, but no... . I went back to the main menu and started my file... and there I saw Link and Midna in the rain in the Hyrule Castle Courtyard .

But it seems to be pretty common with "big" games. All Zelda games are like that, Xenoblade, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, and probably some more I can't remember right now. Most "big" games, are like that because they want you to be able to finish the game even after playing the final boss. Imagine how angry a completionist would be if he noticed that he couldn't do all those side quests and stuff, just because he chose the fight the boss first? Especially in RPG games .

But yes, I would definitely want that in a Zelda game. Maybe the game could warn you before facing Ganon(or whoever the final boss is) that all the side quests and stuff will be unavailable? And you could probably just save on another save file if you wanted to. And maybe there could even be new side quests, and new things to do?

 

[Beauts]

I agree- I would love to see what a difference we've made when we defeat the final boss. I always thought that Ocarina of Time lacked in this respect, and they could have maybe added extra's in the 3DS version so that we could explore after we've completed the game.

 

[Ventus]

inb4 Ventus asks for DLC

There's nothing wrong with DLC. If someone cba to put post game content in the game, the next bet is DLC - free or paid. Since we're talking in the sense of Zelda, where every game is a complete game through and through, having DLC would not be a cop-out for extra cash. It would be expanding the game where it couldn't be expanded. In this respect, would you rather have an empty post-game like Johnny Sooshi pointed out? Or would you rather have a whole different layer of rewarding fun and challenge after being done with the main quest?

 

[hylianordonlink]

I have always wanted this. Even thought the enemies might not be there, maybe you could somehow enter Link's memories from before the final battle and play from there, and when you leave his memories, you are in a peaceful new Hyrule with no monsters. I would have liked that. It would have truly given me the feeling that I (with Link) saved Hyrule and I could see that my efforts were not wasted. But because the Zelda games do not do this, it just feels....different. At least we can play the final battle as much as we want.

 

[DarkestLink]

Not really for or against it. I don't see any benefits to this...but nor do I see any downsides either.

 

[Johnny Sooshi]

Well, Mr Sooshi, I think it's safe to say that any game featuring this features wouldn't have all the villains wear they would stop fighting, i mean this features could only be implemented in future games.

There's nothing wrong with DLC. If someone cba to put post game content in the game, the next bet is DLC - free or paid. Since we're talking in the sense of Zelda, where every game is a complete game through and through, having DLC would not be a cop-out for extra cash. It would be expanding the game where it couldn't be expanded. In this respect, would you rather have an empty post-game like Johnny Sooshi pointed out? Or would you rather have a whole different layer of rewarding fun and challenge after being done with the main quest?

I'm not against the implementation of DLC or something where we have a post-game with new challenges. My only statement is that Zelda is not the type of series where this has been done before and new territory is always edgy. Yes, I think it's a great idea, but the new content would have to be enough to keep players playing for a goal. A new villain is a nice touch or perhaps making areas where you have to collect certain collectables to continue through them. I'm not quite sure, but my point is simply that Zelda is not the type of series where this sort of thing is normally conducive, and as such it would have to be implemented in a way that keeps the player in it.

 

[Mangachick14]

I've always wanted to play after I've saved Hyrule too. It kind of bothers me that if you want to continue screwing around in Hyrule and finishing up sidequests, you have to live with the fact that Zelda's still captured by the main villian, possibly getting her soul violently sucked out, or being used as a human puppet, or stuck in a floating crystal or something like that.

 

[hylianordonlink]

I've always wanted to play after I've saved Hyrule too. It kind of bothers me that if you want to continue screwing around in Hyrule and finishing up sidequests, you have to live with the fact that Zelda's still captured by the main villian, possibly getting her soul violently sucked out, or being used as a human puppet, or stuck in a floating crystal or something like that.

That thought was never fun....but I always get rid of it with thoughts like "BOMBS AWAY!*Blows something up* HOORAY!"

 

[Tetra's Wink]

I suppose the closest thing I can think to that is Zant being dead for good in TP after you save, and Ghirahim being dead for good in SS... Not quite saved Hyrule yet, but they had mega-large roles and are finally dead.