Breath of the Wild Is It Time for the Zelda Story to Go to the Next Level?

[Justac00lguy]

We have all come to expect that each Zelda game will feature a new Link, a new time and a new story....
This is all well and good but we havent seen a Zelda story really mean something to the entire series

This is the thing there are 3 separate timelines now in my opinion this gives the series a big opportunity, maybe they could end one of the timelines with an epic final story. Of course this won't be the end as they have 2 other timelines plus the beginning and they can always add prequels etc. The timeline were link fails could be a popular choice as there are many games and stories there and it seems suitable to end the the story of the original 2 games.

Let me know what you think abt this idea and how infact they would go about with the story

 

[Zorth]

I don't agree, Nintendo shouldn't write the story for it to fit the timeline, they should write story to fit the Zelda series, for me doesn't matter if the game doesn't fit anywhere in the timeline as long as the story makes me really feel like I'm playing a Zelda game.

 

[Vaati101]

A new Link, a new time and a new story is something I expect out of a Zelda game most of the time. If they just went with the timelines Nintendo will be restricted to what they can and can't do, which is something I don't see Nintendo doing at all. Zelda should move away from the timelines and focus on a completely new Zelda, otherwise the story is gonna be a bit lacking.

 

[Ventus]

A story for the series? Skyward Sword tried to do that and largely failed, so I'm gonna leave a "no". Look at Ocarina of Time. Presumably, the story wasn't written for the series, but it was written as a standalone tale that later they chose to build upon with other games following/preceding it. I'd much rather have Zelda Wii U's story be written for itself and NOT the series, so that Nintendo could build on it should they so choose instead of fixing it to one concrete position at the very beginning.
:yes:

 

[A Link In Time]

Every Legend of Zelda game thus far is its own continuity. Although Nintendo claims a vague relationship between installments exists, there are few direct sequels allowing for greater freedom in narrative. Stories like Ocarina of Time's and Majora's Mask are so successful because they don't conform to a rigid structure. Ocarina of Time is a classic coming of age tale where Majora's Mask is the world in peril scenario. While both are overly cliche, they were well executed and in the case of Majora's Mask very refreshing. By striving to create an enjoyable standalone experience without artificial limits, Nintendo is able to craft complex sentimental relations with characters which observed individually are relatively simple.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Nearly every Zelda game has its own unique story but for once I think they should try and Mir the story forward on that timeline.....Imagine the epic final war and battle with Ganondorf!

 

[SinkingBadges]

Nope, I like the self-contained format. Would be interesting to see how they could try to break from that if they did though. It's never really looked like Nintendo wanted to make actually interconnected storylines between older/newer games. Majora's Mask and Adventure of Link are about as close as they could've gotten to that and the stories just took the same character and dug a new spot on the canon rather than actually connecting the events in a previous game.

Nearly every Zelda game has its own unique story but for once I think they should try and Mir the story forward on that timeline.....Imagine the epic final war and battle with Ganondorf!

Didn't that happen in 2 of the timelines timelines already? xD (or was it just in the one Wind Waker took place? I don't remember very well)

 

[Blu Ray]

Sincerely, I don't think is about story but gameplay. I highly believe the only reason Nintendo confirmed the timelines was to please the fans but there isn't actually one, the games justs lacks enough connections between them to say Nintendo actually spent some time to develop a better story, oddly enough, I'm happy with that and I'd like Nintendo to keep It that way. In a way, both highly developed story and very realistic graphics can get in the way of gameplay, I don't play Zelda for It's story (It can be entertaining, but nothing amazing), I don't play Zelda for some superb realistic graphics, I play It for It's unique gameplay.

 

[JuicieJ]

In terms of continuity, it doesn't really matter. It's honestly better for Zelda to just have stories that stand don't clash with the timeline but still stand on their own. However, the storytelling could benefit from being stepped up. It was really nice to see Skyward Sword attempt this, and it did in a number of ways -- presentation, character development, and dialogue -- but the detail spectrum was still pretty vague. I'd really like to see that get caught up to speed in the future. I'm not necessarily asking for Metal Gear Solid's kind of storytelling (although that would be insanely epic), but a more detailed plot with fleshed-out backstories would be a huge leap forward for the series. It'll probably happen eventually, but I'd like for "eventually" to be soon.

 

[Spirit]

This is all well and good but we havent seen a Zelda story really mean something to the entire series

I'd argue that the Wind Waker was pretty important to the whole Zelda mythos as far as story goes. It clearly began a new era in the timeline and history of Hyrule and was the beginning of the quest to find New Hyrule. Pretty important from where I'm standing.

As far as ending a timeline, like many other people on this thread, I don't think Nintendo will end one because that isn't Nintendo's way of thinking. They will just keep going as they are now and in another 25 years we'll have three more branches pulling off in different directions for obscure non-canon reasons like the downfall timeline. Like others have said any new Zelda story will be fitted into the timeline in retrospect, Nintendo aren't Capcom with Resident Evil, they won't go back and fill in gaps or do anything particularly drastic to the series, Nintendo are afraid of breaking Zelda, they know how well it sells, they won't upset the apple cart for fear of alienating the fanbase.

We won't be seeing anything drastic from Nintendo as far as Zelda is concerned for some time to come in my eyes.

 

[Kirino]

I don't think Zelda should try to connect all of the Zelda games and make a good story for the entire series. I would honestly much rather have them just focus on a great story for each individual game. All of the Zelda games are very loosely connected, and the timeline released by Nintendo was pretty weak, and failed to tie everything together. That being said, I don't want Nintendo to completely abandon continuity in Zelda games. I at least want to have an idea about what is going on, and where that specific game falls into the timeline, but I don't want them to put too much focus on the whole series timeline. I would rather have a great individual story. Strictly adhering to the timeline and focusing on how the game fits on to the timeline stifles creativity, imo. Instead of focusing on the games story and making new ideas, they'll be forced to go with a specific route so it fits in the timeline. I want to have an idea of where it's at, but I don't want too large of a focus.

 

[RegalBryant]

They should put no limitations on the game based off the timeline. They can just come up with a bunch of bull**** explanations later on and put them in a so called "Historia".

 

[Phantom Roxas]

I think the timelines should be merged eventually, but I'd rather wait a long time before that happens. I'm okay with them trying to make games to fit the story. I actually rather like how Skyward Sword works with the story of the series as a whole, primarily because Demise cancels out Vaati predating Ganondorf. What I would like to see them do is explore concepts established in one timeline and show how they work in a different timeline. The Imprisoning and Interloper Wars sound like interest things to explore, but I think they're better off as backstories since it would be odd to incorporate Link into those stories. As much as I love A Link to the Past, I don't like that the Hyrule Historia practically made it a What If story. If there was something in the unified timeline that would doom a future Link, that would be cool, otherwise we get people talking about what happens in the timelines where Link dies in every single game at any given point.