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Potential of expanding ranch life in Zelda

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Thinking back on OoT, Lon Lon Ranch should have had more NPCs. I would assume this ranch was somewhat under control of the royal family and raised horses for the royal army... it's never specified though Ganon does favor Ingo in the future timeline...

So it doesn't really make sense that only 2 men and one small girl (later a young woman) run the ranch. That seems like a lot of work for only two people and you never see any soldiers or visitors to the ranch.

This is of course because of hardware and design time limits of past Zelda games from nearly 25 years ago but still..

We get another ranch in Twilight Princess and a small minigame tutorial segment there.. and it's never returned to in game as far as I can remember... You have no reason to ever go back there once out in the world..

We've had Link on the high seas (Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass), Link on the rails (Spirit Tracks), and Link always on horseback it seems in many games

but I'd really like a cattle drive or ranch themed Zelda game...

One where Link visits many ranches filled with NPCs and quests and things to do...

and out in the open world you drive cattle or goats or some strange Hylian creature across the plains from one ranch or location or grazing field to another...

there's the opportunity here to fend off predators, monsters, bandits, etc. and even large world bosses and unique wild western themed villain enemies

We could finally get some kind of range weapon as the primary weapon in the series (I doubt it would be a gun but maybe a mini crossbow of some kind)
hey, we could even get a whip

Link could run around saloons smashing bottles... to the anger of milk bartenders..

there's a lot of horse things to do in BOTW I guess but the stables seem like boring gas stations in a samey way and the encounters and quests there are so fleeting in my mind that I don't really find any of them memorable to be honest.

It doesn't have to have the ambition or prowess of Red Dead Redemption 2. I don't expect that. Even saying this I doubt we'll ever go back to the smaller scope quirky atmosphere of Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess where a theme like this would be possible. I feel like they feel they need to make AAA open world games now of the highest Nintendo quality which is almost a shame which is strange to think or say... Because I'd be perfectly happy for a Red Dead Revolver (Yes, I mean the original Rockstar wild west concept quite comedic Revolver not the AAA much more serious Redemption series) goofier quality themed Zelda game in a ranch or wild western setting like this that doesn't have to win game of the year awards and might not be every Zelda fans cup of tea.

Just a brainstorm. Feel free to think it's terrible. Thanks.
 
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Chevywolf30

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This is the best thread I've ever seen on this site.

This is part of the reason I love Twilight Princess, it has a lot of good ranch stuff and could really afford to play off that more.

I love the farm opening to TP, such a great slice of life and you really get connected to the characters. I also adore how the goat herding mechanic is brought back in the final boss fight, because even tho you and Midna have come such a long way, you still need the same old grab 'em by the horns and throw 'em down approach, even tho this time it's a giant evil beast that's been threatening all of Hyrule.

There's also the infamous wagon escort, it's a bit of what you'd expect a cattle driving experience to be like.
 
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You're right, Chevy. Horseback seemed even more ingrained here in TP than BOTW. There's some bokoblins on horseback and you hear about them stealing from Lurelin village like raiding bandits, but the Bulbins in TP really lived that almost Mongolian invader ethos in my mind canon of TP's lore.

Another thing I'd like to see would be taking the Master Cycle Zero type tech and setting an entire game in the desert and having an almost Mad Max style Zelda game with vehicles ripping up the sand almost a throwback to the old Jack & Daxter games mixed with the Mad Max game from a few years back.
 

Link&Midna

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This is the best thread I've ever seen on this site.
When I clicked on this thread, I was suprised you weren't the OP- of course you would say this lmao

As for the idea, I think a western themed Zelda would work better than one that focuses on ranches alone, but having more ranch related quests would be legit. Ive always liked Lonlon and Ordon so itd be cool to see more.
 

Uwu_Oocoo2

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We've had Link on the high seas (Windwaker and Phantom Hourglass), Link on the rails (Spirit Tracks), and Link always on horseback it seems in many games

but I'd really like a cattle drive or ranch themed Zelda game...

One where Link visits many ranches filled with NPCs and quests and things to do...

and out in the open world you drive cattle or goats or some strange Hylian creature across the plains from one ranch or location or grazing field to another...

there's the opportunity here to fend off predators, monsters, bandits, etc. and even large world bosses and unique wild western themed villain enemies
I think the only potential problem I could think of with this is running the risk of it becoming a massive, constant escort mission. All I can picture is me sitting on the couch, shaking my fist and cussing out whatever stupid ordon goat decided to run off into a field of peahats. But on the idea of a ranch theme in general, it's not bad. I've said before that I'd love to see steampunk Zelda, western or farm Zelda might be fun too. Idk about anyone but I've always wondered if a harvest moon style spin-off would work for the Zelda series, I can kinda picture it. Going to different areas to find new plants ore and animals, trading with different species (goron spice, kokiri herbs), and obviously warding off enemy attacks. I personally would enjoy that, it'd be something unique for sure.
 

Hyrulian Hero

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Definitely as a spinoff game, never as a replacement for a game about a legend of Zelda. This reminds me of a role play I did way back in the mid thousands on an MSN Zelda group. A lot of people on that group participated in role-plays and they were all about Grand Adventures except for one that was simply about daily life in Hyrule. I remember a character that I had in there spending most of his time fishing with people in the market. It's not much of a premise for a game unless you're really into something like harvest moon or star do valley but that doesn't mean it's not fun every once in a while. It seems like if you had a zelda-themed ranching game, it might turn into something like farm simulator with a Zelda theme. Not that that's a bad thing, but it definitely wouldn't be a "Zelda" game. Tingle's Rose-Colored Ruppee Land status.
 

Requiem Of Spirit

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I think it's a good idea and could work in a Zelda game with a setting like Botw (for example, you could tame dogs/wolves to help you hunt or help you find secrets or rare cooking ingredients and keep tamed cows in a ranch to get milk to fill up hearts). But that said, it should be more like an optional side-quest or a minor mechanic rather than the main focus of the games.
 

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