Larger Supernatural Threats in Future Zelda Games?

[Spirit]

Zelda has always had characters that can be defined as 'supernatural' by supernatural, i mean popular folklore, vampire, zombies, ghosts etc.

In numerous Zelda games we have Redeads/zombies, Poes+Dampe/ghosts and Wolfos (granted the Wolfos' resembles more of a wolf than something of a werewolf but i've never seen an actual wolf stand on two legs to ***** slap you. so the point that i'll get to will stand stand). there have been other characters of the supernatural such as witches (in the guise of Twinrova etc), the mayor's son in OoT who sits at the tree in Kakariko village at night can bring the idea of a vampire (because i thought he was one) as can the Zora transformation sequence in MM, MM even had aliens to boot.

So my proposition is; what if Zelda were to bring these supernatural elements further into the foreground. Perhaps a region/portion of an overworld or city of redeads, perhaps during night fall a new breed of roaming enemies could be a threat in the guise of vampires or creatures resembling them. Perhaps some enemies could take on a transformation at night depending on the moon cycle (the moon cycle which WW introduced is what i'm thinking here). And heck why not include some aliens as a game length side quest, spot so many ufo's in hyrule by game's end for goodies?

Or are you all happy with the status of the supernatural in Zelda, do you feel as if the re-deads, wolfos, aliens, poes etc are where they belong or would you like to see more of them in larger roles of future Zelda games?

 

[Dragoncat]

I think they're where they belong. Too much of this type of thing, and the series would become a sci fi instead of a fantasy. Not that sci fi is inferior by any means. Its just that it would be weird for Zelda to all of a sudden change genre like that.

 

[MikauIncarnate]

I wouldn't mind some vampires or more were-wolf like enemies, but I think aliens definitely should stay out of it.

 

[Seth]

Aliens HAVE been in a Zelda game ("Them" in MM). While it wasn't explicitly stated it was obviously based on real-life UFO incidents.

 

[JuicieJ]

I don't mind the supernatural in Zelda, but I wouldn't like them to be all over the place. I think Zelda works best when each specific area has its own vibe, and one area having the supernatural stuff -- an all-out onslaught of it -- would work better than having it sprinkled across the world everywhere. In other words, keep doing what you've been doing, Nintendo.

 

[Wolf Sage]

[...](granted the Wolfos' resembles more of a wolf than something of a werewolf but i've never seen an actual wolf stand on two legs to ***** slap you.

So anyways, Twilight Princess seems to have featured the largest array of supernatural occurrences and such. In said game, your run-of-the-mill creatures took on the appearance of supernatural alien beings - reminiscent of the titular characters from the Alien vs. Predator series - when exposed to the otherworldly effects of the twilight veil. Moreover, I'd say the entire atmosphere of the game seems to blend science fiction and symbolism in a variety of ways, giving off an eerie, supernatural feel the likes of Twilight Zone or The X-Files. Overall, every facet of the game - its setting, characters, and plot - was built heavily around the supernatural...

I'd like to see more of this in future installments in the series; nothing as excessive as TP, but a little bit can go a long way...

 

[masterSword2]

I personally would enjoy seeing an increase in the supernatural in Zelda. The idea you had about using the moon cycle NEEDS to be used. It would create a very tense atmosphere if you knew that in a few in-game days, stronger, scarier monsters would appear.

 

[Ventus]

I would love for more supernatural threats to appear in future Zelda games. I don't know how they would be implemented, but I would just love for more of them to populate the world. Ghosts, ghost towns, graveyards, parasitic enemies et cetera. Just to bring in a more eerie, creepy factor to Zelda games. :yes:

 

[rock]

I'm actually really thrilled you mentioned this, because (for those of you who know my Cardinal Kingdom idea) I've actually done just that.

The story starts off with what appears to be an obvious villain, but the mystery behind its origin becomes the foreground of the game. This is essentially the first question that starts off the journey and a few levels in, Link and Zelda (being a co-op optional game design) reach a distant kingdom called the Land of Fiends. I based the design off of a Transylvania-esque place where the enemies you had been accustomed to fighting are actually more accepted in the region.

Bulblins, Bokoblins, and Moblins are all citizens in this region as well as Hadians (a new race of Twili/Gerudo descent- ala Cardinal Kingdom civilization expansion). Locations within the region are Hadian Village Port, Hadian Village, Groy's Castle Town, Groy's Castle, Morpho King's Castle, Karuna's Campground, Bulblin Country, as well as Sarpin Mountain.

I pondered the use of a race that was more akin to Werewolves and Vampires, but thought Wolfos did that justice (although I did create an Alpha Wolfos and Omega Wolfos to pay respect to the thought). Still Vampires served as the basis for the invention of the Morpho race which are essentially Redeads mixed with Twili characteristics. Their main ability is to disguise themselves among the population (any population) and surprise attack you, much like a zombies with vampiric fangs. Sarpins, by the way, are like the Greek Sirens, having wings and claws, causing way more damage than any Kargrarok would. There are also Troyles, which are guardians made of stone who kind of resemble the cross between a turtle and an elephant (it has tusks).

This gets at a whole supernatural side to Zelda that hasn't been really explored, giving a new use for items such as the Lens of Truth as well as an equivalent item called the Lens of Purity (for Zelda).

 

[Dragoncat]

Dude...that Cardinal Kingdom thing sounds epic. Twili/Gerudo though? Meh...might be possible, but remember that gerudos only have one male every 100 years, and nothing says twilis arent the typical 50% male 50% female. So you'd have to explain that. Tell me more about the alpha and omega wolfos, are these different social ranks or something?

Also, the op mentioned redead cities. I dont think redeads are smart enough to have their own society...

 

[rock]

Dude...that Cardinal Kingdom thing sounds epic. Twili/Gerudo though? Meh...might be possible, but remember that gerudos only have one male every 100 years, and nothing says twilis arent the typical 50% male 50% female. So you'd have to explain that. Tell me more about the alpha and omega wolfos, are these different social ranks or something?

Also, the op mentioned redead cities. I dont think redeads are smart enough to have their own society...

There's obviously some inconsistencies with the vagueness in my description, but essentially what I'm getting at is the time for the game's setting is many years after the last Hyrule-explicit adventure where the different kingdoms in Hyrule have branched out across the world (giving the player an entire world map to explore). And I figured that races wouldn't stay segregated in this rendition. So I guess the only feasible way would be to explain that these ancient races (Twili, Gerudo, Sheikah) are a very proud set of races. So there would be different sects (one opposed to the other- traditional vs. modern) and so you have the traditional Gerudo who stick to the code and consider themselves to be the only real Gerudo race. But then you have the "outcasted" group if you will where they either engage in different practices (resulting in such breeding) or maintain the traditions outside of the traditional kingdom's territory. Basically, Twilis migrated from the Twilight Realm and were raised by Gerudo outlaws, growing up with such customs and adopting certain looks/behaviors. Anyway, the races alone (given that it's a huge world) are a lot of detail I have yet to really flesh out.

But yeah, The Cardinal Kingdom has been an on-going project of mine as a lot of my earlier work can be found elsewhere. I appreciate the critique though. It really helps me hone the focus of the story.

As far as the Wolfos go, so far in my story Link and Zelda have only encountered the Omega Wolfos. I was inspired to work on the idea after watching The Grey. In the Omega Wolfos battle, he is an outcast of the Prime Wolfos pack. So you've got typical Wolfos who are menacing enough, but are fairly easy to slay (similar to past games), and then you've got the Prime Wolfos pack which are a group of Wolfos that travel from the Leo Kingdom to the Mystic Kingdom to the Land of Fiends, and eventually flee into the Great Goron Mountain Range. They're an ongoing battle, and probably one of my most intriguing "mini-boss" designs.

The Omega is permanently separated from the group, and having to trek through the mountains to find the Morpho King's Castle, you would have travelled through their territory. The Alpha would have sent the Omega to measure your skill and so the battle would only be a test. The Omega wouldn't die after and appears later, leading the Prime Wolfos to your location in the Leo Kingdom. But after ridding yourselves of the Omega, the Alpha would "mark" you and signal this with a curdling howl in the night. That's pretty much the only way you determine if you're being tracked later in the game. Writing the sequences is kind of blood-pumping. Anyway, the pack of Primes (after you take out the Omega) ends up fleeing into the mountains and that's just one big battle.

The main difference between the Primes and the Wolfos is the size. Wolfos are about the same size as Wolf Link, and Primes are three times the size of that. The Alpha is the only one that can stand on its hind legs indefinitely, but the Omega can do this momentarily.

I also agree that Redeads aren't intelligent enough to operate their own functioning location. Thankfully we have my Morphos!

 

[Dragoncat]

*nods* I see I see I see.

So these morphos, they're probably NOT redeads, since redeads are mindless zombies. They just resemble them, correct?

 

[Awesome]

I've always found the supernatural creatures to be the most interesting enemies in Zelda. I certainly would like to see more of them as they seem to fit the quirkiness that is Zelda so much better. But holy **** holy ****....a city of redeads...genius right there Spirit....pure genius.\

Zelda games certainly need some scarier areas and I believe that an increase in supernatural creatures is just the touch it needs.

 

[Seth]

Has a Zelda game even had an entire 'scary' region since Ikana?

 

[Dragoncat]

....a city of redeads...genius right there Spirit....pure genius.

Except redeads are mindless stupid zombies who would rather eat brains and hump people to death than have a city...