A Zelda Era is Over?

[Myungster]

So, the last portable Zelda game was a cell-shaded PH.
I personally miss old ALttP graphics...

Does anyone think in the future the next Zelda Handheld will have "better" graphics?
Or maybe even only cell-shaded...
The reason an Era could be over is because of the graphics. Maybe Zelda is going to make more games that have graphics like Minish Cap and PH.

I wish they made advanced ALttP graphics.

 

[DvSag]

Why in the world wouldn't the next Zelda game have better graphics?

TP was a GC port, so even though the quality was good, it wasn't Wii standards (as low as they are.)

The next game should push the Wii's capabilities to its limits. If it doesn't, then I'd be hella surprised and confused. Zelda is meant to be a game to immerse you, so why wouldn't they make it the game beautiful?

If you're asking whether or not they'd make a 2D game again, then I absolutely think they will. 2D Zelda is classic, and can be made countless times and never get old. Why do you think they made FSA?

 

[Myungster]

Why in the world wouldn't the next Zelda game have better graphics?

TP was a GC port, so even though the quality was good, it wasn't Wii standards (as low as they are.)

The next game should push the Wii's capabilities to its limits. If it doesn't, then I'd be hella surprised and confused. Zelda is meant to be a game to immerse you, so why wouldn't they make it the game beautiful?

If you're asking whether or not they'd make a 2D game again, then I absolutely think they will. 2D Zelda is classic, and can be made countless times and never get old. Why do you think they made FSA?

No, I mean the graphics for a handheld Zelda.
And I'm not asking if they aren't going to make them, I'm saying that Handheld Zelda games may never have "better" graphics.

I use better in quotes because the newer graphics ARE more advanced, but I miss ALttP graphics.

 

[El Bagu]

What do the general public like? Which handhelds sold the best? I don´t have the figures but with them in my hand I could make some statements. Was PH the most sold handheld zelda yet? If that is the case we could have seen an era end (and another taking over)

 

[DvSag]

Well, you need to remember that ALttP was a SNES game ported to the GBA.

GBA graphics would technically count more along the lines of Minish Cap and Four Swords, which are actually 2D renderings of WW style graphics. Lol.
Zelda is lazy and genius at the same time.

Still, I don't know if you've played FSA, but it was technically a marriage of both the GBA game graphics and ALttP graphics. They worked so well together.

As for Nintendo using ALttP style graphics again... maybe in FSA2? You never really can tell what Nintendo will do for their next Zelda titles. I'll say yes, though, Nintendo will never abandon an old game style that worked so well. They love to take old things that made them loads of money and reuse them for nostalgia value, so why wouldn't they bring back ALttP memories? It will definitely bring in profit from older gamers who remember ALttP from their childhood.

 

[basement24]

With the popularity of retro games right now, I don't think they'll ever say never, but I think if there were to be another hand-held Zelda, it might be that pseudo-3D top-down view. I really hope they don't eliminate the ALttP style sprite graphics, because I really think they're fantastic. That was the selling point of Four Swords on the GC for me.

 

[Amelie]

I would like to see better AlttP style graphics in the next hand held Zelda. AlttP is my favorite Zelda and I prefer 2D graphics over 3D. Thats how Zelda started and that is how I remember it best.

And even if the next Zelda on Wii did take full advantage of the Wii.. it still would not look THAT good. I mean.. look at brawl? Any research on the Wii shows that its stronger then the GC but just looking at it.. it almost looks like the GC graphic engine with the Wii controls thrown in and a bigger disc for games.

But graphics are not everything... look at how good the PS3 looks.. and its hardly selling at all.. last time I checked.

 

[DvSag]

The PS3 isn't selling because it costs too much to buy one. Lol (I own one, though.)

The one thing I do know about Zelda, is that a few of the games are all about style.

TLoZ on the NES was a very basic game. It had a short, plump little guy named Link running around poking other funny looking things. Just a fun game, not much to say in the style department.

Now, the jump to the next Zelda was definitely a change to style. Instead of a quirky little game like TLoZ, Nintendo went on a much darker path with AoL. The enemies were much more monsterous and menacing looking, the color pallet was much darker and not very vibrant, and the game definitely had its dark sides. With the introduction of people, came the introduction of back stories. The back story of why Zelda was asleep was pretty sinister, and there is even a whole town that had to uproot and move because the other became infested with monsters and is now a ghost town... populated by ghost monsters.

For the SNES, Zelda went right back to their first formula. ALttP was another quirky game, and though it did have some dark story elements, it was still appealing to the eye. It had one of the widest range of colors in any SNES game to date, and the art style was definitely fit for the game.

OoT went back to the "dark" side of Zelda, while MM, on the other hand, used a "dark" style of storytelling but kept colorful and quirky visuals.

The Gamecube games went in POLAR opposite directions when it came to style.
WW had bright, cartoony art style with a fun story to tell.
TP had a dark, gritty art style with a very sinister story.
Now, both of those games did have moments that went to the opposite end of their respective side of the spectrum, but it's obvious that one game (WW) generally orbitted around its art style, while the other game (TP) generally emulated off its story.

Whether the new game will be dark or light... I just don't know. I'm willing to bet it will go back to "light and quirky". With the exception of PH, which was a "light and quirky" game, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it won't matter because it wasn't a big title, and just a handheld sequel.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Well, I know that Nintendo is trying to go for something new for the next Zelda game (at least from what I've heard,) but style-wise I don't think anything's really going to change. Though I suppose that would depend on what you mean by change.

I think it depends on the game. Some games I believe will use the "toon" style (like WW and PH,) and some may use some of the other styles.

But Zelda has always been changing from game to game, and I think that will continue. I don't think things are going to be any different in the future. The games will keep changing. That's what keeps them fresh and unique.

 

[Caleb, Of Asui]

I can't say that I clearly see any more 2d Zelda games in the future, though Nintendo might surprise us.

From the way I see it, GB/C had roughly NES-level graphics, then GBA had roughly SNES-level graphic, and the DS can have roughly N64-level graphics (it still does use 2d, though). This trend will probably continue, with Nintendo's next handheld console having roughly GC-level graphics. The next handheld Zelda will have better graphics if it's on that console.

I don't really have a problem with cel-shaded graphics. It's good for the games it's used in while "realistic" style is good for the games its used in.

 

[Zemen]

i highly doubt that they will continue with PH graphics because those graphics were based on WW because its the same game and its likely thats the only reason it was cell shaded. other than that on instance, i believe they will stick with graphics like the GBA ALTTP or MC graphics. i saw nothing wrong with MC graphics but i do prefer the ALTTP graphics for the fact that it feels more like a Zelda game because MC was a mix between toon and regular and it was alright but not great.

 

[DvSag]

You realize that the MC graphics were based off of the art style of WW...

So, I don't think that style of game will EVER go out of style.

 

[MrMosley]

Personally I'm already pretty tired of the toon style Zelda. Wind Waker was an epic game, graphics and all. Phantom Hourglass...ehh...wasn't so great for me.

What I believe is that Nintendo is doing what the gamers are wanting. Maybe not the hardcore fans of each series in particular, but as a whole what the gamers want, and a bit of what they want to present as well. The DS is all about the stylus and the touch screen. So in PH, they wanted people to use it extensively. People also want to see what the DS can push out graphic wise, so they made it 2D in a 3D world. To do this, I would think that the most simple way would to go with the toon-style graphic design. But I also believe that they wanted people to still, even though it was already dead by this time, look back or play Wind Waker. Aonuma himself said that WW's reception disappointed him. So PH was a sequel, using the same graphics, both to continue for those who have played WW, and hopefully get those who haven't to go out and buy a copy.

As for the future of the hand held titles, well, I can tell you what I would like to see. I would like to see more games like ALttP, or the Oracles or LA, and I would hope that Nintendo eventually will do that. But what I would expect to see is something different. Like others say, it would depend on the system. The DS relies heavily on the touch screen, therefore Nintendo isn't going to get away with too minimal of a use of that aspect. Now if they could do something like they did with New Super Mario Bros., that would be great. But its really hard to say.

My thoughts are that the next hand held Zelda will leave the toon style behind, try to push out the most realistic looking graphics it can, yet still be touch screen oriented with the whole sword swinging and stuff. I think they may make it better, as in using the touch screen to pull back an arrow or swing a boomerang to hit enemies with a 3rd person over the shoulder view for the event, but still we will see heavy use of the touch screen.

 

[Zemen]

You realize that the MC graphics were based off of the art style of WW...

So, I don't think that style of game will EVER go out of style.

i know this, but the graphics were obviously not cell shaded. in my post i said that MC was a mix of old school with new school and i believe thats the type of graphics they will continue with but i think they should go back to ALTTP graphics which actually seemed ahead of its time.

 

[blackice_cc]

No, I highly doubt an "era" of art style is over. There are so many Zelda fans who love ALttP so much, I doubt Nintendo will just look over that.

I myself wasn't a big fan of ALttP, and I wouldn't care for rehashed ALttP visuals. I think the MC graphics style worked fine, and I would probably prefer an upgrade on that. If they came out with something completely new, I wouldn't mind either. Whatever happens, I hope that if another DS Zelda comes out, it sticks to the traditional 2D, not 2.5D. And I certainly hope they at least allow an option for using the buttons instead of the touch-screen. As much as I like PH's control, Zelda needs to get back to its roots.