General Zelda How Would You Like to Play a More 'adult' Zelda Game?

[Mask-Salesman]

What do I mean with the word adult? Pretty much every Zelda game is really awesome, we all know that. Everyone here has his or her favorites in the series because of various reasons. But overall the series is considered to be 'kiddy', just like many other Zelda games. The games aren't really violent, have a 'kiddy' look to it in some games (Skyward Sword, The Wind Waker) and generally are made to be enjoyed by all ages.

But if you lay aside the argument that 'it wouldn't fit in with the series', how would you like to see a Zelda game that is made for adults only (don't know how they would rate this in your country )? What if Nintendo would keep the main concept of a hero trying to save a princess, but add a nice amount of killing, blood and gore? Link being able to cut those annoying Moblins into tiny bloody pieces? Link that doesn't just lose a heart when he takes damages, but actually starts bleeding? Being able to finish of that Boss in an epic, bloody God of War kind of way? Killing enemies from a distance by piercing their heart with a well placed arrow? Maybe you have a good idea yourself about this?

....

Or do you think it wouldn't fit in with the series and Link should stay the brave hero who never uses excessive violence like he is now?

Don't get me wrong, I love the series either way . I'm just curious!

 

[Ayn Stein]

Why does 'adult' have to always equate to gore, sex, or profanity while everything else is 'kiddy'?

 

[Mask-Salesman]

Why does 'adult' have to always equate to gore, sex, or profanity while everything else is 'kiddy'?

It doesn't, that's why I put 'adult' in the title. But you can't exactly call gore, sex and profanity kiddy.

 

[Dragoncat]

But you can't exactly call gore, sex and profanity kiddy.

Note that he said "everything else"...

Idk, if they could pull it off right, I'd say sure. But if it's rated that way just for the sake of having a more "mature" game, then no...some games that do that seem to sacrifice gameplay and story, like Call of Duty for example. Granted I only played the multiplayer and zombie modes of Black Ops....but still. Also there's plenty of fan material that's darker and stuff like that.

 

[dreamcrash]

I consider lots of blood, gore, and sex for the sake of it to be the exact opposite of mature. It's really immature to be easily won over by blood gushing everywhere and boobs bouncing all over the place. It's what every immature teenage boy wants to see. Meaningful romance and sex, and realistically portrayed violence with lasting repurcussions, is an entirely different story, though.

For a mature Zelda, I would want to see one that tackles mature themes in its plot, and addresses more adult parts of the lore (like Hyrule's "bloody history of hatred and greed" as alluded to in the Shadow Temple). I would not want to see characters that curse like a sailor for no reason and blood splattered all over the screen with a pallet of brown and gray. That's not mature, that's just edgy.

 

[Mangachick14]

I consider lots of blood, gore, and sex for the sake of it to be the exact opposite of mature. It's really immature to be easily won over by blood gushing everywhere and boobs bouncing all over the place. It's what every immature teenage boy wants to see. Meaningful romance and sex, and realistically portrayed violence with lasting repurcussions, is an entirely different story, though.

For a mature Zelda, I would want to see one that tackles mature themes in its plot, and addresses more adult parts of the lore (like Hyrule's "bloody history of hatred and greed" as alluded to in the Shadow Temple). I would not want to see characters that curse like a sailor for no reason and blood splattered all over the screen with a pallet of brown and gray. That's not mature, that's just edgy.

This actually sums up my thoughts perfectly.

If maturity is to be tackled in Zelda, it has to be done right. None of that immature stuff mentioned by the individual I've quoted. If a Zelda game is released where everybody looks like a hooker, swears profusely and blood sprays like a jet stream out of enemies, I'll lose faith in Nintendo (Although I'm pretty positive they'd NEVER release something like that). They want to tackle a mature, developed romance? Sure. Want to take on the themes of permanent death and war? Go for it. But for all that is good and well in the world please recognize that these things need to be done correctly in order not to look like the developers are screaming "Look! Look how dark and mature it is! See how that blood squirted ten feet from that person's body? So dark! See how that woman has breasts larger than her head? So mature!" Trying too hard to show how 'mature' a game is by making a game this way is a sure-fire method to demonstrate how childish it really is.

 

[Ocarina_Player]

It really wouldn't be Zelda if they made it violent and bloody. Zelda games have a certain feel to it, it's a very classic "adventurer rescues the princess" that I like very much. If I wanted to play a violent adventure video game, I would just pick up Assasin's Creed or Prince of Persia or the like.

 

[Sheik]

You know, it wouldn't be all that bad of a change for Zelda to be a bit darker. And no, I don't mean like TP dark, which is literally dark. I just think some more mature story elements would be great. Perhaps some character deaths, really evil villains... really evil villains, war, characters that turn from good to bad, murderers, etc. Not like a load of dark themes, where Ganon brutally murders every Hylian in his bloody torture chamber, no. Just some darker elements would be nice to spice up the plot. Also, while I would never want blood and gore to gush out of my enemies... I think a tad bit more realistic violence would be okay. So, if Nintendo can balance mature themes with the family-friendly image of Zelda, then I'm all for it.

 

[Seth]

I always thought Majora's Mask kind of was the "Adult Zelda". It dealt with a lot of mature themes, including death and romance, though it put them in such a way it was accessible to all ages. It is quite a dark game. I would love for them to delve back into something like that again. But just throwing in nudity and gore for no real reason wouldn't make any sense.

 

[Dimooshky]

What, colourful enemies bursting into purple clouds leaving also brightly coloured rupees behind isn't gory?
I need to rethink things...

 

[Mask-Salesman]

You know, it wouldn't be all that bad of a change for Zelda to be a bit darker. And no, I don't mean like TP dark, which is literally dark. I just think some more mature story elements would be great. Perhaps some character deaths, really evil villains... really evil villains, war, characters that turn from good to bad, murderers, etc. Not like a load of dark themes, where Ganon brutally murders every Hylian in his bloody torture chamber, no. Just some darker elements would be nice to spice up the plot. Also, while I would never want blood and gore to gush out of my enemies... I think a tad bit more realistic violence would be okay. So, if Nintendo can balance mature themes with the family-friendly image of Zelda, then I'm all for it.

This is exactly what I meant. I wouldn't like to see blood or gore in the game just for the sake of making the game more edgy. I would like to see some more adult themes and a lot of the things you mentioned as well. A war in Hyrule were the people actually suffer and really need Link to save them. Choices that screw up your moral compass.

 

[Salem]

No.
A huge departure like that for the series tends not give good results.... just look at Bomberman: Act Zero and compare it to old Bomberman games.

Just have a new IP for those sort of things.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

As others have stated, having "mature" themes in Zelda games, what with the over-the-top violence & gore & sex, is uncalled for in the series.

What I WOULD like for the games to tackle, though, are more themes that are ACTUALLY more mature in nature. You've got the usual suspects: the repercussions behind war, a truly dark villain, more weight behind your decisions & the consequences that accompany them, and as dreamcrash pointed out, the darker parts of Hyrule's own past & mythology.

One theme I have not seen in the series or, really, just about ANYWHERE in gaming, is what happens when the protagonist isn't in perfect fighting condition. What if Link suffered through a house fire as a kid and is severely burned because of it? What if he was born with a condition that hampers his ability to fight for long periods of time? Something like that, since that theme is hard even for actual adults to cope with.

Another theme I haven't really seen done right in gaming is the question of faith. Surely the Golden Goddesses wanted more than just to create Hyrule and leave, surely they care for their creations and wish to know them & for them to know the Golden Goddesses, with Hylia as the chosen divine emissary between the two. (Yes I'm well aware this is strikingly similar to Jehovah of the Christian faith, but there are remarkable parallels between the two so it would work quite well.) Do the people of Hyrule merely view the Goddesses as some part of their mythology, or do they actively worship them? Do they simply go about their business, or are they in their thoughts throughout the day? And when push comes to shove and evil threatens the land, just how much faith do the people have that the Goddesses will intervene in some fashion and save them, whether it be through the hero Link or with more direct intervention like the flooding of the land? These are the questions about the mythology of Hyrule that interest me most, and indeed the question of faith is among the most difficult and mature themes one can handle in life, and I think it'd be awesome if the Zelda series tackles that question at some point. (SS started to go in this direction in regards to how the people felt about Hylia, and I'd like to springboard from that and go deeper.)

 

[RedLink]

Didn't Twilight Princess have blood? It's what boosted it to a T rating.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I want it. I also made a thread, like years ago, about this. It could happen, and without going over-the-top with it, too. I mean, what better way to prove your courage than to go through scary dungeons with scary monsters and *gasp* blood. It worked for the shadow temple, just amp it up a little, slap a T or M on the box and boom! The triforce of courage actually means something.