As we all know, 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.
Since the day of SNES, or more specifically, since A Link to the Past, the series has become one of Nintendo's leading franchise and a gold standard for action games. Zelda Magnum opus- Ocarina of Time, is considered the greatest game ever made and Majora's Mask was a dark masterpiece.
But a long time has passed since the happy simple days of the SNES and N64, the gaming industry has moved forward at a neakbreaking paced. Wind Waker still managed to be an amazing game, at the top of it's system and maybe evan it's generation, but it just wasn't the same. with Twilight Princess it had seemed that Zelda was running out of creativity, and the game desperately trying to recreate moments from Zelda's past. with the release of the WII the generational gap between Nintendo's games and the rest of the industry. while other game franchise like Metal Gear and Final Fantasy where advancing froward in therms of content and modernism, Zelda was left behind. the DS games are arguably the worst in the series. Again, they where good, but they defiantly weren't as great as the rest. the formula wasn't as amazing and effective as before, and many people thought it needed to change
And now with the arrival of Skyward Sword, many critic and fans are stating that the game feels old. Skyward is currently the lowest rated Zelda games. It desperately trying to get the attention of the gaming community( other then Nintendo fans) and left at the dust of games Like Skyrim and Arkham City. 2011 is most likely the first year since the release of Ocarina of Time that a major consul Zelda game is not the game of the year, or evan the hight scoring game. Skyward is an underdog amongst modern giant franchises like The Elder Scrolls. Zelda defiantly doesn't have the impact it used to have on the industry.
So all of this bring to question: Is Zelda not as important is it used to be? Is it not not the golden standard for action games anymore? does the gaming masses evan care abut Zelda?(non- Nintendo fans), Is Zelda irrelevant?
Is it true that after 25 years, Zelda is finally getting old?
When i first asked myself these questions, my inside fanboy screamed:"hell no!!" but then i started to think not as a Zelda fan, but as a gamer in general, and sadly, it seemed that there since Wind Waker, the franchise is in a slow down hill. That's not to say the games aren't great, they are, but they are less important to the industry, and the series is not the golden standard it used to be.
So I beg you, don't ask yourself this question as a Zelda fan, ask it as a gamer in general.
What do you think?
Since the day of SNES, or more specifically, since A Link to the Past, the series has become one of Nintendo's leading franchise and a gold standard for action games. Zelda Magnum opus- Ocarina of Time, is considered the greatest game ever made and Majora's Mask was a dark masterpiece.
But a long time has passed since the happy simple days of the SNES and N64, the gaming industry has moved forward at a neakbreaking paced. Wind Waker still managed to be an amazing game, at the top of it's system and maybe evan it's generation, but it just wasn't the same. with Twilight Princess it had seemed that Zelda was running out of creativity, and the game desperately trying to recreate moments from Zelda's past. with the release of the WII the generational gap between Nintendo's games and the rest of the industry. while other game franchise like Metal Gear and Final Fantasy where advancing froward in therms of content and modernism, Zelda was left behind. the DS games are arguably the worst in the series. Again, they where good, but they defiantly weren't as great as the rest. the formula wasn't as amazing and effective as before, and many people thought it needed to change
And now with the arrival of Skyward Sword, many critic and fans are stating that the game feels old. Skyward is currently the lowest rated Zelda games. It desperately trying to get the attention of the gaming community( other then Nintendo fans) and left at the dust of games Like Skyrim and Arkham City. 2011 is most likely the first year since the release of Ocarina of Time that a major consul Zelda game is not the game of the year, or evan the hight scoring game. Skyward is an underdog amongst modern giant franchises like The Elder Scrolls. Zelda defiantly doesn't have the impact it used to have on the industry.
So all of this bring to question: Is Zelda not as important is it used to be? Is it not not the golden standard for action games anymore? does the gaming masses evan care abut Zelda?(non- Nintendo fans), Is Zelda irrelevant?
Is it true that after 25 years, Zelda is finally getting old?
When i first asked myself these questions, my inside fanboy screamed:"hell no!!" but then i started to think not as a Zelda fan, but as a gamer in general, and sadly, it seemed that there since Wind Waker, the franchise is in a slow down hill. That's not to say the games aren't great, they are, but they are less important to the industry, and the series is not the golden standard it used to be.
So I beg you, don't ask yourself this question as a Zelda fan, ask it as a gamer in general.
What do you think?