Breath of the Wild Will BOTW kill traditional 3D Zelda design?

[nudgenudge]

Look, I'm not trying to call out BOTW as some abomination or terrible piece of trash. I had quite a lot of fun with the title, and would even say that it has the best exploration based gameplay ever, in any game. But it didn't really feel like it was a zelda game in any way. The soundtrack, while relaxing, was so sparse that it left zero impact on me. The dungeons are all either so short they barely count, or so bland they don't stand out. The story had its moments but was forgettable for me. SO much time is spent traversing the overworld and so little time is spent in traditional 3D zelda dungeons with unique and creepy atmospheres, like the forest temple (OOT) or the snowpeak mansion (TP).

The game was pretty great, but it seems like nintendo is sending the message that this is zelda's direction heading into the future. The shift from green clothes to blue without a hat seems minor, but it says so much to me. This is the new zelda, and is totally different than anything you've ever seen before. Do you think that nintendo will maintain two types of zelda games, (let's call them green and blue) or do you think they will abandon dungeons and a lot of what made the series so good in pursuit of innovation and exploration? Or, do you think they will combine them and make a game with the best of both worlds? I'm hoping for the latter.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

I try not to think about scary things

 

[Fraxinus]

On one hand, I do think there is a possibility that BotW will redefine at least some of what the standard for the series could be going forward. But I'd also say each Zelda game is experimental in a different way. Most of our 3D Zelda games in particular have something "controversial" about their design, that stays as a one-off type of thing with those games. So it's possible that BotW will be given this same treatment and maybe certain qualities that worked well from the game be assimilated into the series' standards, while the rest be left confined to BotW and its sequel. So best of both worlds, as you proposed would be a good possibility too.

I do sort of have a hunch that BotW2 won't be nearly as extreme as BotW in some ways, but I don't have a way to be sure until the game is out. But I sort of take BotW as like, an extreme, to test the waters and see how these ideas work. Now they can tweak them. But I don't know.

Would I be okay if this became the standard though? I... mean, I guess, if they kept experimenting and trying new stuff along with it, so it's not just BotW six thousand times. But yeah, it's a valid concern, since BotW was quite a departure compared to past titles.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

doesn't seem like we'll truly know until botw2's successor, b/c I wouldn't put it past nintendo to do the same forumla w/ botw2

or who knows, botw2 might be more like traditional zelda than we realize, I certainly hope at least

 

[Uwu_Oocoo2]

Considering that the team making BotW's main slogan during production was "Revising Expectations" it's to be expected. With the insane popularity of the game it's always worried me that almost every future Zelda game will just be "Breath of the Wild" and not "The Legend of Zelda". As much as I love the game it just isn't the same. With the recent re release of SS, I'm hopeful that Nintendo is trying to appease fans of other entries in the series, to test whether the old formula still works.

 

[nudgenudge]

Considering that the team making BotW's main slogan during production was "Revising Expectations" it's to be expected. With the insane popularity of the game it's always worried me that almost every future Zelda game will just be "Breath of the Wild" and not "The Legend of Zelda". As much as I love the game it just isn't the same. With the recent re release of SS, I'm hopeful that Nintendo is trying to appease fans of other entries in the series, to test whether the old formula still works.

yes, i definitely see what theyre doing with SS. I didnt know about that development slogan, that explains a lot. And yeah the high sales scare me too.

 

[MW7]

Two things that I think about are the observation that BotW seems to be a response to criticism of the series losing its roots in nonlinear exploration, and the observation that BotW is by far the best selling game in the series. The first observation makes me hopeful that they respond to the criticisms of BotW, and the second observation makes me think that Nintendo won't venture too far from the gameplay of BotW in order to repeat its commercial success. I think we'll end up somewhere in between. I hope we'll see far more expansive dungeons again and classic items, but the game will remain mostly a sandbox. Going from the dungeon formula in Skyward Sword to the shrine/divine beast formula in BotW was very jarring. I also think about A Link Between Worlds as an example as it came between the games and had traditional dungeons with some story structure and a relatively open world for the series due to the item rental mechanic. I think BotW 2 could end up somewhere in between ALBW and BotW 1 as I think Nintendo may realize that they went a little too far in shaking up the Zelda formula. I think Nintendo does listen to criticism, and at the very least they better fix climbing in the rain.

 

[Chevywolf30]

You can't really say traditional for something that's only existed for 20 years and 5 games.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

God I hope so.

Zelda has been doing the same thing for thirty years at this point. Deviations like Breath of the Wild and Majora's Mask are treated like pitstops on the ever lengthening journey of doing the same exact thing over and over. Any series that has been doing the same thing over and over to the point where it's "tradition" should have its entire structure tossed out the window.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

maybe I should clarify that it's more so that I wamt a linear narrative to come back and not traditional zelda per say

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

You can't really say traditional for something that's only existed for 20 years and 5 games.

...35?

 

[Chevywolf30]

...35?

3D Zelda game

 

[twilitfalchion]

I doubt it. The Link's Awakening remake and SSHD point towards Nintendo still valuing both styles of Zelda in the same way that the revival of 2D Metroid with Samus Returns (and now Dread) coexisted with the announcement of Prime 4.

That said, I don't want the gameplay to go back to what it was pre-BotW. If they take the story in a more structured direction, by all means, do so. BotW's narrative was painfully lacking. No direction to parallel the lack of structure in the open world.

But as far as gameplay is concerned, I don't want to be restricted in the same way that I was in playing Zelda games before BotW. Keep that style of gameplay going so long as effort goes into the writing.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

But as far as gameplay is concerned, I don't want to be restricted in the same way that I was in playing Zelda games before BotW. Keep that style of gameplay going so long as effort goes into the writing.

Do you have any recommendations for the rest of us who actually like zelda gameplay?

 

[twilitfalchion]

Do you have any recommendations for the rest of us who actually like zelda gameplay?

?

Where are you getting that I don't like Zelda gameplay? I just like the open-world format more.