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How important should Story/Cutscenes be?

Sheikah_Witch

I just really like botw
Joined
Apr 8, 2019
Location
Sweden
One of the more common complaints one find against the first BotW is the lack of, in a general and traditional sense, story.

It's a very common thing to wish for in a sequel. More story!

But is it that simple? Would 'more story' really improve the experience that much? More cutscenes and voice acting, more lore and an epic payoff, would those things drastically improve BotW2 over the original for you? Or do you already think that BotW did such a poor job with the story so you'd rather them keep the story stuff in the backseat for the sequel? Or are you somewhere in between? Feel free to discuss.
 

Azure Sage

March onward forever...
Staff member
ZD Legend
Comm. Coordinator
I really enjoyed the story that BotW offered us, as well as the interesting way it was presented. However, BotW2's premise is different. We aren't waking up in a beautiful world full of intrigue and wonder to explore, we are delving into mysterious caverns to investigate something. There is clearly a more specific narrative going on here. I think a stronger story focus is only natural for progressing that concept. I just hope that doesn't reduce the freedom we have to explore these caverns and whatever else the world throws at us.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Honestly I'm hoping the Dungeon aspect comes back. I'd like them to keep the over-world and find say a new entrance to the forgotten temple (has to be a reason all the Guardians were there), or something at the Arbiter's Grounds that goes deeper. Perhaps even a passage way under the Great Plateau that formally revels it as the original Hyrule Castle.

There are plenty of places that they can explore below this Hyrule so we can find out more about the 10,000 years, and years that pre-date that.

I think you'll have to setup story given where the 1st game ends but after that you can go open world to a large degree. This Zelda likes her history and definetly wants to search for knowledge. It makes sense that she would keep trying to uncover it and learn from it. Also makes sense that as they re-build a lot would be uncovered.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
Zelda games have always featured story at the forefront, the reason that drives the gameplay. Without story most of the gameplay would just be chore without reward.

BoTW's story was poor even by Zelda standards which usually tells simple stories but in an effective and compelling way. It was the lack of decent story which made BoTW feel like a meaningless sandbox a lot of the time and I would like for them to change this in the sequel to a story focussed adventure like in the other Zelda games.
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2018
In terms of story, I don't care how it's portrayed or given to you, but if it doesn't make sense like (For example: In the Gen 4 Pokémon games the only reason why you're stopping Team Galactic is because they're evil, it wasn't until Platinum that the leader of Team Galactic got any sort of motivation to his cause.), and that is what really killed Gen 4 for me, but everything else in terms of gameplay mechanics is the best Gen in the series. The story or lack thereof ruined it for me. What I think is that there should be a balance between gameplay and story in order for game to succeed.
 
BotW did such a meh job with the story and lore that BotW2 needs to push everything further.

BotW's story was fine, I liked all of the elements and ideas at play but none of it was fleshed out enough, the lore wasn't satisfying either and the world didn't reflect the plight that was supposed to be going on.

BotW2 needs more lore and more of a reason to exist. Deeper lore reaching into the past and before Botw1 would make me happy. I want to know more of this blank slate world we have since the last 30 years are now locked in an 'Era of Myth'.

Ganondorf coming back is already very interesting and with the majority of the characters from BotW1 dead, BotW2 has a chance to give us new and deeper characters with some cool cutscenes and an overall reason to exist.

To do this through story and cutscenes as well as world building during gameplay is a must for me in BotW2, with many more cutscenes than BotW1 had that are hopefully more entertaining.
 
Joined
May 7, 2018
One of the more common complaints one find against the first BotW is the lack of, in a general and traditional sense, story.
Less is better though, botw had too much as it were, thankfully you can skip most of the crap...

Would 'more story' really improve the experience that much?
Of course not, I cant imagine how it would, many delude themselves into thinking a "better" or "more" story improves the gameplay (somehow) but even these people would not sit through the same boring cut scenes on subsequent playthroughs if they honestly enjoyed the actual game

would those things drastically improve BotW2 over the original for you?
Nope.

BotW2 needs more lore and more of a reason to exist.
Such nonsense lol.
 
Joined
Jul 16, 2018
My biggest complaint is most are unwilling to try something new but instead they will find fault within the game. Also I like that you can skip the cutscenes not everyone wants to watch them so nintendo is trying to keep everyone happy. Unfortunately there is always one in the bunch that will find fault no matter what is done.
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Location
Ohio
Gender
tree
More would not be the solution, because that would make an already bad story even worse.

Do what MM did and give us something unique, that's the key.
 
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
I believe the simple but effective use of storytelling in Zelda is very important to the overall experience. That said, I don't think the story needs to be told primarily through cutscenes or linear progression necessarily. I think the next game should take a page from MM and emphasize "region narratives" and better sidequests. I feel that MM was so successful because it made you care about the plight of the Deku's, the Goron's, the Zora's, the Fallen Ikana kingdom, and all the cast of side character's you meet along the way. You could tangibly feel the distress in the world, which gave emotional weight to your actions as the hero protagonist who is righting the various wrongs of the world.

I still fondly remember the feeling of ending the eternal winter of the Goron region, and unlocking new sidequests that weren't possible before restoring the region. This is what drove the gameplay forward, feeling that your actions had an impact on the world. And this kind of world building, or storytelling can be done effectively in a non-linear style, which works well with the open air nature of BotW. This is what I'd like to see going forward.
 

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