Are zelda games too short?

[Spirit]

Are Zelda games too short?

There are some Zelda games that i can knock down in mere hours but a lot of that is familiarity.

In general though do you find Zelda games to be too short (especially given their development cycles) or are they the right length for you?

 

[Dio]

You can spend hundreds of hours obtaining useless collectables in Zelda. But the only length of content that really matters to me is the main stories.

Twilight Princess is my favourite and it has a decent length and quality main story. Usually takes a good 20 hours.

Ocarina of time took me years to finish the first time but it isn't that long when you know what to do. Still I don't find it to be a game which is too short especially considering the year it first came out.

Majoras Mask is pretty short but as it only took a year to make it is impressive.

Wind Waker is too short for my liking and they should never have cut stovepipe island. We know the game was rushed and for a two year game the short length is understandable though still would have liked more.

Skyward Sword takes me about 19 hours but for a game which took 5 years to make I'd expect more. Skyrim came out the same year had loads more story content and took less time if I remember correctly.

BoTW has hardly any story and took over 5 years. So for me it is way too short and devoid of meaningful content.

 

[YIGAhim]

Some of them are short but I wouldn't say too short.

I mean, as you play each game more you get faster and faster, and that becomes a new fun challenge after a while. Speedrunning (if you are into that)

 

[Ninja]

The games are pretty decent in length speaking from a story perspective, other than that the best length you'll get out of them is doing every side quest, or doing a new play through with a set of "rules" to make the game more challenging.

If we had a story driven Zelda with the content and length of FFX, I'd be so happy.

 

[Skip]

This has been said by others before and I will say it again here:
I would love a Zelda game where you can enjoy the world after you save it. Explore undeterred, farm, marry, rebuild, whatever.

As for length, the only game that I ever got the inklings of it feeling too short was A Link Between World's. I think because it was a handheld and it was a very easy game overall. I still love it, though.

 

[Castle]

Stop me if you've heard this before: Twilight Princess is half the game it should have been. Even the end game of TP seems truncated as though there was more intended for it but development wrapped up in a hurry. Even the glaring absence of the Gerudo and Sheik that were being planned for development and the omission of areas shown in the trailer hint at more content in the works that was scrapped or never implemented.

The end game of Wind Waker is woefully padded out by that insufferable triforce collect-a-thon. Some of the dungeons feel too long and drawn out, others not long enough.

Majora's Mask is unique because of the repetitious nature of its gameplay and the reuse of content. This was a deliberate design choice to draw out the length of the game to work within its limited development budget and time frame, and it works because it allows players to explore new dimensions to the Zelda experience: time and social interactions and branching narratives. All considered, MM has plenty of playtime and content.

For modern Zelda games, Ocarina of Time is pacing perfection. Everything about Ocarina of Time's structure is perfectly paced, from its prologue to its reveal and the build up to the turning point, to the bulk of the game that takes place in the adult portion to its ending and credits. Perfectly paced. Loads of content. Imminently satisfying.

The older games and the hand held games have to be considered separately from modern Zelda games because their content is limited by the hardware, but for their time they still offered up some of the most expansive experiences to be had in such small packages. ALttP is perhaps the largest Zelda game in terms of size, meaningful content, and length of playtime.

Breath of the Wild is packed full of useless fluff and Suckwart is insufferable from within the first ten minutes.

 

[Dio]

This has been said by others before and I will say it again here:
I would love a Zelda game where you can enjoy the world after you save it. Explore undeterred, farm, marry, rebuild, whatever.

As for length, the only game that I ever got the inklings of it feeling too short was A Link Between World's. I think because it was a handheld and it was a very easy game overall. I still love it, though.

Now the problem with this any any game that has post game is that you don't stop playing because the story is over and the credits roll. You stop because you are bored.

It is better to be hungry for more after you complete a game than to stop out of boredom.

 

[Lilith2]

The actual length itself is not the issue belying many installments in the series... length is contingent upon the plot and its resolution. Rather, the issue is that there is a lack of mytharc fulfillment in the games. Indeed, whilst many of the games are based around grand archetypes of the Hero and his journey, often involving a descent and then resurfacing after having slain a mythological "dragon", in Zelda this part is often cut short and not played out in a properly fulfilling manner. The Hero's journey is the bulk of the game, involving a departure (that is often traumatic) and entering a hostile world, on a quest to defeat a grand evil and restore a [cosmic] balance.

Longer games would likely be a byproduct, certainly, but of most import is a storyline in which not only is the full mythic drama expanded upon, but a zodiacal conclusion is put forth, replete with a celebration of the return of the dead godhead/Hero, who now having completed his cycle and restored the balance can live out the promise of Spring.

 

[YIGAhim]

The actual length itself is not the issue belying many installments in the series... length is contingent upon the plot and its resolution. Rather, the issue is that there is a lack of mytharc fulfillment in the games. Indeed, whilst many of the games are based around grand archetypes of the Hero and his journey, often involving a descent and then resurfacing after having slain a mythological "dragon", in Zelda this part is often cut short and not played out in a properly fulfilling manner. The Hero's journey is the bulk of the game, involving a departure (that is often traumatic) and entering a hostile world, on a quest to defeat a grand evil and restore a [cosmic] balance.

Longer games would likely be a byproduct, certainly, but of most import is a storyline in which not only is the full mythic drama expanded upon, but a zodiacal conclusion is put forth, replete with a celebration of the return of the dead godhead/Hero, who now having completed his cycle and restored the balance can live out the promise of Spring.

You know, I thought about this from time to time but never really cared much about it until just recently. THe Hero's journey is a tried and true narrative and is incomplete in each game

 

[Mirron]

I think it's at least partially related to what we're viewing the games as. A lot of Zelda games have more time in them once you start looking at sidequests and such. Most Zelda games have a fairly short main game, but fairly expansive sidequest stuff tacked on.

There also is the aspect of difficulty, which impacts how long a game is. Like ALBW is very short at least in part because of how simple it is to get through all the puzzles and such. It's part of why I like BotW, because it feels like a step in the right direction for making puzzles, by having a very different approach to them.

 

[Caramel H]

I think Twilight Princess has the longest gameplay (in terms of the main storyline), it still doesn't feel long enough, even after I beat it and collected all items/bottles/bugs/wallets/etc.