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Breath of the Wild Call Me Nostalgic, but I'm Not Extremely Enthusiastic

Mask-Salesman

And now.. That imp has it
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So, I guess all of us are pretty hyped by the reveal of the new Zelda Wii U trailer. It does look pretty awesome when you look at it first. Decent graphics (for the Wii U), something that seems like a vast, open world (always wanted that in Zelda) and loads of action. I think I may have watched the trailer 10 times already now. It really makes you forget that Hyrule Warriors is also coming.

But something is really bothering me. The path that the series is going down is really disturbing to me. Zelda, to me at least, is famous for it's medieval setting. My first real experience with Zelda was OoT when I was about 7-8 years old. I loved the medieval 'knights, swords & horses' setting and the character development. From a tiny boy with a tiny sword and a wooden shield you grow up to be a badass knight with the strongest sword ever known to man and huge heavy shields. You visit castles, ranches, tiny villages with windmills and classic temples.

So, what is my point? I kinda hate the 'modern' influences in the new Zelda's. This started with TP and continued with SS. Now the new Zelda seems to follow in these footsteps. A foldable arrow made of blue electric light? Seriously? What is wrong with normal arrows or even the oldschool fire arrows? It might be just me living in the past, but what do you guys think? Is Nintendo taking it to far with these 'futuristic' influences in the game or do you like it?
 
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Well, first of all, I don't think that the implementation of technology in the Zelda series has ever felt out of place. Nintendo always did it in a way that seemed very natural to the franchise (and the Lanayru desert segments in SS were by far the best in the game, thanks to the introduction of technological aspects).

But seeing the new trailer sure was a shock. I was really stunned when I saw the trailer. The monster shooting lasers was definitely unexpected. And even more when Link put out that techy arrow!!!
Sure, there has been techy stuff in Zelda since TP, but this was in a whole new level!

At first I thought it was way too much. But now I think it is very interesting and cool. I trust Nintendo so they will use this in a way that doesn't feel weird, and also am very curious to see how they are going to play that card.
 
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Dimooshky

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I don't blame you for disliking modern/more steampunky influences into Zelda, it's a medieval setting fantasy adventure. But personally I love it, I adore steampunk, and I love the Beamos-on-legs vs a mechanical looking bow, I would actually like to see a more industrial Hyrule - not too much to ruin the traditional feel though.
 
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I dunno, a little change can be a good thing and like multimaspaeda pointed out, they make sure that technology isn't intrusive and doesn't feel outta place, from the trains to the cannons to the beamos which by the way started in ALTTP, to the robots, (scrapper had some funny lines) its always been enough to bring something fresh and never enough to seriously upset most of the fans, at least to my knowledge.
 

Azure Sage

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I like what I've seen so far. I'm not opposed to steampunk in Zelda at all and so far it doesn't seem to have been taken too far from what we've seen in the trailer. There's no reason it can't have a medieval setting and some technology. Look at Spirit Tracks; it had trains and still kept the dungeon crawling and castles we all know and love. And like others have said in this thread, Lanayru Desert in Skyward Sword had technology and still kept the usual feel Zelda has had. I doubt Zelda U will be different in that respect. Even if it is, I probably won't have a problem with it.
 
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Technology advances, just like the series. Besides, it's fantasy not medieval, it's not supposed be like real world history.
 
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Everyone seems convinced that these are technological advancements rather than fantasy elements. It's just as likely that these new pieces of "technology" are actually the result of a society much more invested in magic than ever seen before in a Zelda title.
 

Dio

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It's a fantasy series. I think that Nintendo's fear of change and sticking to the same old settings in the past has been why you feel the way you do. This kind of thing should have been done ages ago. I think Zelda is all about being a swordsman and an adventurer, fighting enemies and solving puzzles. It matters not where they set the game just as long as the core elements remain.
 
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Everyone seems convinced that these are technological advancements rather than fantasy elements. It's just as likely that these new pieces of "technology" are actually the result of a society much more invested in magic than ever seen before in a Zelda title.

Yeah...How do we know these aren't actually some kind of magic devices?
Also, I don't see what's the problem with having this kind of technological devices, I mean, it's not the first time they use lasers in Zelda http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/Beamos.
 
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Its weird how you say that you loved Zelda for its Medieval setting, while I always loved Zelda for the opposite reason-it never was 100% medieval.

For instance, in OoT you have Royalty, you have knights, and a few other elements that made it medieval, but it never really stuck to that. The clothes design on the characters are varied in style throughout the game, the hook shot is very technologically advanced, Beamo's are basically robots with laser beams, and there was a side quest where a giant Goron gives you a prescription for eye drops? That doesn't sound very medieval to me. The Zelda universe is very magical, but it never was exclusively medieval.

Also, nothing in the teaser contradicted the medieval era. Link is traveling on horse back, the contraption he uses on the arrow isn't nearly as advanced as something like the hook shot, and the arrow looked more magical then anything else. The only thing that really contradicted the medieval era was the enemy Link fought, but it was so freaking awesome that I don't care what time period it came from.
 

Mask-Salesman

And now.. That imp has it
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I guess you all are kinda right. I don't know, I guess it's just me. Maybe to much of a fan boy for the N64 Zelda games or something like that. I'm very curious about the new Zelda though, can't wait 'till we learn more
 
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Feb 23, 2011
Hmm. I don't know how many games you've played, but the series has been doing this for a while. Majora's Mask was the first game in which I found vast technological elements (Great Bay Temple with its fully-functioning sewage system), and it's the second game I've played in the series overall. Anyway... It's not like the franchise creators made a promise to maintain the general medieval theme throughout the series. In fact, only a handful of titles have held firm to the somewhat-medieval theme—most of the others contain trace elements of such. Also keep in mind that most light-themed dungeons appear to boast highly technological influences, the first of which can be seen in Ocarina of Time: e.g. 'Light Temple', Temple of Time, and certain sections of Ganon's Tower. All The Wind Waker (Tower of the Gods), Twilight Princess (Temple of Time, Palace of Twilight, etc.), and perhaps the next title (trailer) did was emphasize said influences. And if you take a look at the timeline, it only makes sense that there would be at the very least some degree of technological advancement at some point in the series, or else it runs the risk of going stale after 17 games. Hell, I'm actually surprised at how slowly the series' technological advancement is going (lol). (Although, I'd probably never in a million years fully accept an all-out dystopian future-style Zelda title.)

What I personally find most interesting is the implementation of such 'steampunk' elements in SS. It's the earliest game in the series, and yet it's the most technologically advanced. For instance, Lanayru Desert appears to have been drawn from real-world influences such as Egypt, Machu Picchu, and the quimerical Atlantis (etc.), all of which are alleged to be highly advanced ancient civilizations.

At any rate, it's still too early to judge whether or not the next main installment will showcase anything remotely 'steampunk' as the elements shown in the one-or-so-minute trailer. After all, [E3] trailers are known and confirmed to be subject to change. For all we know, the mechanized Octorok and the Mecha Arrow (called it!) are probably the only steampunk-esque features in the game, or even a part of some plot element, such as this game's light-dungeon. We'll just have to wait and see.
 

Megamannt125

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In Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask there were neon lights and robots.
The series has always been pseudo-medieval, and all technology is magic fueled.
Your point is moot.
 

Jamie

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I wish people would stop comparing Zelda games to earlier titles. As much as I love OoT and am waiting patiently for a Zelda game that is as good as it, I try to push my bias aside with new Zelda games and look at them in isolation.
 
As long as it fits, it doesn't really bother me, no. I like environmental differences from time-to-time. It keeps things fresh. As long as it's not blatantly stupid, I'll have no problem with it. By the way, this isn't anything new. These so-called boundaries are not being pushed as far as you're making them out to be. Or, at least, lots of series have pushed them further. Futuristic technology embedded into a "medieval" style is relatively common, actually. The Legend of Zelda has seen bits and pieces of things of the sort, but... maybe this will hepl.
 

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