How "dark" Can Nintendo Make a New Zelda Game and Still Get Away with It?

[Kylo Ken]

Now, when I say " dark" I mean mature but not in the sense of sex and cursing and gore.Like in the Shadow Temple of Ocarina of Time, there's blood on the ground and torture chambers and stuff. And I'm sure you all know about Majora's Mask, and all it's darkness.
And when I say "get away with it" I mean still be successful and please all ( or most) of the fans.

Me, I'll like a little more dark feeling in the game. Or in the dungeons at least. To have every dungeon creep me out. They need to test Links courage, right? Somebody, please, back me up.

 

[Spirit]

I think Zelda WiiU will do the 'darker' tone that we've been waiting for to return since MM and OoT. The WiiU is HD so I know that Nintendo will be glorifying the graphics for Zelda WiiU as much as they can with lighting, textures, weather, etc etc and I'm sure the best way for them to do that is go down the creepy and intense path.

Majora's Mask was surreal and intense and some people would argue dark but it was just the sense of impending doom that made the game so powerful. Its overall tone really help made it 'feel' like a dark game rather than looking it at, to look at it i'd say it was more surreal than dark, the graphics weren't that different from OoT either, it was more so the fact that the locations were twisted and almost non-sensical.

With WiiU i agree with you that more temples may be akin to something like the shadow and spirit temples of OoT, dungeons with themes like that will really show off the lighting and HD prowess of the console, but then again, so would glades shining through trees in an open topped forest temple, or the light of magma reflecting on dull metal in a fire/mine dungeon. Whatever the case the WiiU installment of Zelda in terms of art style and graphics is going to look wonderful but if the demo is anything to go by (which it probably isn't but never mind) I think that the WiiU Zelda is going be dark and brooding much like TP, Nintendo know they need to sell a lot of consoles and know that the majority of the gaming public are fickle, those who are not loyal to Zelda or nintendo don't give a toss about story etc, they'll only pick it up if it looks good, and in that I think that nintendo are going to appeal across the board with graphics just from a selling point of view, we've also seen toon/WW Link and the cel-shading style, far too much as of late so its time for a change.

It doesn't matter how dark nintendo go, they'll get away with it, is Zelda, its a new console, voice acting, going darker than black are all things that would sell the new game, just out of fan curiosity.

 

[Ventus]

I'm not sure how dark a game get and still please most fans. Most of the "Zelda fans" of today only accept things that are pretty, things that are lighthearted. That's why SS appealed to many people. The dark graphical tone of TP initially appealed to many, but soon after it got quite a bit of backlash. So, I don't know. Maybe the surrealism of MM coupled with TP dark graphics could appeal to a lot of people, but I'm not entirely sure.

For me, though, I'll accept as much as hardcore gore a la Dead Space. It just needs that Zelda core, is all.

 

[tlozoot]

I think would get away with almost anything. because Hey! there Nintendo right?
The Über mighty hyruleans!

 

[Terminus]

Something around MM or TP is most certainly the most Nintendo can do without alienating fans.

 

[Dio]

Well pleasing the fans is very difficult as most of us now realise. There are always those who love games at one end of the spectrum or the other, such as the: bright, light-hearted and cell shaded Wind Waker. Or they love the Dark, serious and more realistic looking Twilight princess. Most fans accept and enjoy both, however there are some who will only play Zelda games that look or are a certain way. To be honest whatever Nintendo next brings out there will be those who love it and of course those who really do not. I'm sure many of the main Zelda fanbase would accept a Zelda game whether it was 'Dark' or not. You will get some whiney people out there who will outright refuse to play but, it' their loss really, it's Zelda and it will sell.

I actually think a darker title would sell much better than a lighter one on Wii U. It would attract more buyers. Darker toned games with darker visuals such as Skyrim sell incredibly well because they appeal to the 'Hardcore' gamers who Nintendo have neglected with the Wii. Miyamoto himself was dissapointed with the sales of Twilight Princess (It's sold 8 million units now, how tragic) but said how the people who enjoy that kind of deep experience are not people who the wii is for and therefore do not necessarily own one. I actually agree with him on this one. I love Zelda. The only reason I bought a Wii is to play Twilight Princess. I went into a different county to buy one of the last Wii's in England because they were all sold out everywhere. I paid £170 to play a game, knowing full well that I would enjoy very little else on the Wii console. Most do not have the money or dedication to do this kind of things. Now these 'Hardcore' gamers that I mentioned are NOT Zelda fans, these are people who enjoy games who hope to get a deep and meaningful experience with them. When other experiences are offered, on the 360 for example then they are not going to buy a Wii to play Zelda, because allthough it may be a great experience, it is not a £170 experience + having a useless console collecting dust.

The Wii U is going to attract the 'Hardcore' again. Having a darker looking title will increase sales. To the 'Hardcore' a lighter looking game looks childish and therefore the gamer will be thinking to themselves 'If this is for kids then it will not be a deep experience'. A darker theme and graphics look more mature, not gore and sex mature, but something more for a gamer who wants something a bit more from their game.

Me, I'll like a little more dark feeling in the game. Or in the dungeons at least. To have every dungeon creep me out. They need to test Links courage, right? Somebody, please, back me up.

I'm gonna back you up. I absolutely want a game with a creepy dungeon. I want the story and atmosphere to deep dark and engaging.
If Nintendo make a Wii U Zelda game like that and convey that tone in their trailer they will have another Twilight princess E3 2004 reaction as well as a huge increase in sales over past titles.

 

[Fig]

If Nintendo could create another game that is similar to Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess, I'd would actually love to play that game. Although I do wish that they do make everything more "darker" than normal. If they could make the dungeons as creepy as Skyview Temple from Skyward Sword, that would make the happiest person in the world! :love:

 

[Mangachick14]

Really, I actually liked that games like Oot and MM were darker, but not all gory and graphic like a horror game. I really think they need to add that element into new Zelda games, but of course not going too over board. I think they should similar to what they did for MM, where It wasn't dark on the surface (Meaning it was still brightly coloured) but the darkness was all in the story and when you started to progress and understand the dire situation and the urgency of Link's quest. I personally enjoyed TP's graphics and would like to see similar ones in the future Zeldas, except with maybe brighter colours. So i think a game that is the best of MM and TP would be about as "dark" as nintendo could go with the series

 

[Sydney]

I wouldn't mind a Zelda game with a relatively dark theme to it. When I hear "dark" when talking about Zelda, I immediately think of a series of unfortunate events that will occur around Link. This is includes; death, disease, disaster, war, ect. I don't expect a Zelda game where everything looks dark, I want it to feel dark. The Shadow Temple was a mix between creepy, and dark. It had a "scary" feel to it, with death lingering around it. Which was very interesting, yet terrifying to experience. In addition, I really don't care what theme it surrounds itself with, as long as it makes sense, and it somehow fits in with the timeline. Would I mind another dark game? Nah. Do I care? Nah.