Resource Management as a Gameplay Device

One of the core gameplay elements — and possibly the core gameplay element — associated with Zelda games is item collection. It’s repeatedly emphasized in previews, trailers, and even in-game. The world is shaped by the items Link finds on his quest, and gameplay is, ideally, radically affected by each new acquisition. Items are the key to advancement even in newer games, where plot-driven advancement dictates when Link can find his items.

This is all well and good, and there’s no question it’s pivotal to the success and character of the series. What is often ignored however is an equally important element of gameplay which was emphasized in both The Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past; gameplay is all about limitations — assessing them, overcoming them, sometimes being defeated by them — and a limitation on item use helped lend the series its addictive quality. It’s also something that’s been noticeably missing since at least the first 3D installment of the franchise. It hasn’t disappeared entirely, but with few exceptions, it’s been so downplayed that it may as well not exist. It’s also been restored, in full force, by Skyward Sword.

First, a bit of history. Zelda II and the handheld titles will be excluded from this discussion because, while they signify trends in other areas of both gameplay and story, the way items were used in those games was not indicative of larger trends. The major isometric and 3D console games do signify trends and demonstrate the changes in resource management.

The Legend of Zelda is, as might be expected, fairly basic compared to all of its successors. Heart Containers, not Pieces of Heart, are scattered throughout the world, and it’s almost entirely lacking in sidequests. There are not very many items, there’s no magic meter, and the bow draws from rupee totals and not arrows that you have to collect. Furthermore, you’re only allowed to carry 255 rupees at a time, severely limiting your options for both ammunition and item acquisition. Visiting shops is both optional and necessary. It can make your quest easier if you, for example, snag a small key from a shop or get a better piece of armor, but good luck making it through the game without a lantern or food. You also have to budget Bombs, which can be a bit difficult when you are only allowed to carry a few at a time and most bombable walls aren’t even marked in-game.

It rarely escapes notice that The Legend of Zelda is the single most open Zelda game. It’s also, however, one of the most limiting, in all of the best ways. You can grind for rupees, but it can be a tedious process; rupees are hidden away and hardly in abundance in the overworld. Thus, you’re forced to budget them, which affects not only what items you acquire, but also how you battle with enemies. For almost every option you have to improve Link’s arsenal, there is some kind of cost, and it’s centralized enough to keep the game simple but malleable. In short, it’s seamless, and leads to the sort of well-balanced gameplay most titles simply don’t achieve.

A Link to the Past offers more options to the player, at least insofar as how they interact with the overworld. It’s more complex than the original, but also arguably lends itself more freely to different player experiences. It’s also brutally difficult for some first-time gamers, certainly one of the harder Zelda titles, which makes it all the more important to equip Link properly and maintain a strong arsenal.

While it features more items, there are also several changes from the original. Hyrule’s economy is bustling by comparison, so you’re able to carry far more rupees and the arrows don’t sap them. More importantly magic items draw from a magic meter, a development on Zelda 2’s magic meter which, while limiting, was geared more towards a straightforward action game than an adventure game encouraging resource management. Because magic items exponentially improve Link’s performance and, unless you’re seasoned, knowing where to find magic can be difficult, you want to keep your magic meter full whenever possible. The rewards increase throughout the game, culminating in the medallions, which can wipe enemies from the screen. Eventually, Link can become powerful enough that navigating the overworld is a piece of cake, but it takes intelligent resource management to do so, unless you want to play for double the amount of time you otherwise would. Incentive for exploration is increased as virtually all items have liberal upgrades, so by the end of the game you’ll rarely find yourself budgeting Bombs.

Zelda games aren’t survival horror games, but The Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past, with their broken worlds chock-full of vicious enemies, almost operated like them; it was a constant struggle for survival, and while player skill came first, difficulty could be reduced by playing intelligently. It was always worth taking a second or two to look over your inventory, and it made you think twice before, say, freezing that particularly difficult enemy, lest you be faced with an even more trying challenge.

Subsequent games changed that. Link’s Awakening was simplified in both rewards and consequences for careless item usage, which is totally understandable because it was a handheld game. But the sea change came with Ocarina of Time, which, for better or worse, presented an entirely different type of world than its predecessors: one emphasizing freedom of movement, but not necessarily freedom of interaction.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Ocarina of Time, as the first 3D Zelda game, was often at its best when it allowed the player to relax and take in the world around them. It was about dramatic vistas, a living world, and a rich story far more than A Link to the Past. But something had to give, and with fewer enemies populating the overworld (most of them easily avoidable), resource management took a backseat. It offered the player some fantastic tools for dealing with enemies, but they would often be more functional in dungeons than the overworld, and there was always a fairy, magic jar, or set of Bombs or arrows close by. There was, for the most part, no real reason to buy bottled items, either. While the last fight against Ganon might necessitate a magic potion for those who rely on Light Arrows, for the most part you could get by on the items the game handed to you. With few exceptions, Majora’s Mask operated in a similar way, and while the magic upgrade is almost a must for that game, once you attain it you’ll rarely feel pressed for magic.

By The Wind Waker, the magic meter had become entirely superfluous, more of a nuisance than anything else. The Deku Leaf made use of it, but magic jars were just a few steps away because, one could surmise, the developers knew how obnoxious it would be to run entirely out of magic while using it. Twilight Princess finally did away with the magic meter, but substituted the laughable rupee-shedding magic armor, which had few practical combat advantages outside of the Cave of Ordeals. The magic meter died a slow and painful death. I did not miss it. But in its absence, it seemed the developers were searching for a way to place limits on item usage, even superficial limits. All the while, Bombs, arrows, and other items were easier to use and budget, with the game more clearly directing you about where and how to use items

Which brings us to Skyward Sword.

One of the most important things about the game is how the developers found a new way to emphasize resource management. It’s not new to gaming, with RPGs (mostly Western RPGs) often allowing for limited space. As previously noted, items like Bombs have become less scarce in recent Zelda games, starting with Ocarina of Time. In some cases, it’s necessitated by the game’s structure. However, Skyward Sword chose to make limitations on the number of items the driving component behind resource management.

For example, specific shields have specific benefits and drawbacks. Like Bombs, all shields had limitations on usage for most of the game. Potions can be used to restore shields, but must be placed in bottles, and bottles take up one of eight spaces in your adventure pouch, spaces which may be better served with other potions or other items (including extra Heart Containers). This is a consistent theme, with each new area offering new opportunities and challenges. Add to that the fact that extra Quivers, Bomb Bags, and Seed Satchels are no longer permanent additions, but swappable items which force the player to make choices, and you have an as yet untapped gameplay element brought to the fore. It’s a hallmark of brilliant, tight game design; make everything have a purpose, and make everything an active part of gameplay. Attaining the maximum number of expansions no longer guarantees the maximum number of items. In this way, Skyward Sword actually encourages more active participation than many RPG’s, as Link’s stats, barring most of his health, are bound to items, and items are swappable.

Prioritization, in short, is the name of the game, much as it was in the original Legend of Zelda. Now it’s done by giving the gamer the option to juggle more items. What makes this uniquely Zelda is that, like many of the classic games, it lets you tackle challenges in multiple ways. Once again, opportunity is bred from limitations, and it’s what allows the player to customize their game, to make it their own. This is both figuratively and literally true: at any point in the game, it’s possible and quite likely, to have a totally different set of items on Link on a second playthrough than on the first.

It seems as though it’s taken Nintendo a long time to come up with this solution, but now that they have, it would be a shame to see it disappear. Resource management is as fundamental to the Zelda series as exploration, and while exploration has taken a backseat recently — notably in Skyward Sword — this is one way to recapture the magic of the original and still keep things fresh.

Author: Hanyou

Hanyou has worked for the article staff, both as a writer and as an editor, for over a year. He has also been an active member of the Zelda Dungeon forums since 2008 and an avid fan of the Zelda franchise since 1998. He has degrees in writing.