Tutorials Need to Be Removed from Zelda

[Awesome]

So I (and probably many of you) complain about Zelda's length and pointless tutorials. Longtime Zelda fans know how the controls are going to work for the most part. Honestly what Nintendo should do is either give the option to do the tutorial in game, or better yet have the tutorials outside of the game. By this I mean when you load up the disk into your console, have the option to start your quest or to do tutorials. This will let newcomers to the series understand the controls while at the same time not forcing those who already know what they're doing to redo the tutorials.

This will also make replaying games that much more fun. Instead of having to spend a couple of hours "learning" the controls again, you can get straight into the action like some of the older games. I don't think anyone would mind this. Honestly I think I have more fun replaying the older games, not because they are necessarily better, but because they don't have tutorials. Yes sometimes Nintendo tries to add story elements to the tutorial sections, but they could just as easily show you the story without having the pointless tutorials throughout.

At most the tutorials should be one sentence like, "You got the bombs! Use B to throw them!" simple stuff like that. Also don't feel the need to remind me what an item is when I start the game again. I'm looking at you Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. Just because I turned off my Wii and came back doesn't mean that I know longer know the value of a blue rupee or know what a collectible item is.

 

[Djinn]

I am a little mixed on the tutorials. They are incredibly useful for that first time playing but they do become a chore on any other playthrough after that. It is annoying to have to go through all those menial tasks with the NPCs holding your hands when you already know exactly what to be doing but it is technically the first mission so you have to.

Honestly I think it is the forced nature of the tutorials that make them such a pain for players on any other playthrough than their first. I think I prefer the Final Fantasy method. In which the player is normally set into a very easy first mission/dungeon sometimes with a little godmode help but after that there is normally some kind of newbie area you can visit on your own that makes up the tutorial part of the game. Often times it is a room or a building filled with various NPCs that would each teach you about some aspect of the game when spoken to. However the option is that you have to go to them and speak to them for the tutorials. No one ever comes to you and makes you do anything. It is purely optional. And that might be much more useful in a Zelda game. When something is optional and not forced then it is a bit more fun for the player. here is the risk that they may not find it on their first try but I think that is still a little nicer than always having to do the tutorial steps every time no matter what.

 

[octorok74]

I do find the tutorials pointless, but they still need to be in there for newcomers. Now if you could skip the tutorial or have it to where there is no tutorial but Link has like a journal where he can go over how to play, then that would make it a lot smoother in my opinion.

 

[Dio]

Well, back in the good Ol' days we had these wondrous things called instruction manuals which would tell players the controls, give some info on characters and items and offer tips. In OOT there was the optional training area. I would not want tutorials removed from Zelda completely, that would be mean to newer players, but something like in OOT would be the way I would have it. You were straight into the action in that game, and in the first dungeon in minutes.

In SS, I thought the beginning of the game was good, it got you to know some of the characters around skyloft and really helped the player to get to like Zelda. Without all that the game would not have been as good as it was, because you would be searching for someone you don't particularly care for. I did not like Illia and could not care less whether she was eaten by monsters or not, that was because she was not given the characterisation like SS zelda.

Now what I did hate about SS is the reminder of what items are when you pick them up. An amber relic is going to be exactly the same thing as when I last picked one up and if I'm still unsure I can look in my inventory for a description. I do not need an on-screen reminder stopping the action. In TP it was the same with rupees. I think that that was one of the only things I can genuinely say I hate about those games. WW did not do it and that was a 7+, if 7 year old's can work stuff out a 12 year old certainly can.

 

[Dragoncat]

I do find the tutorials pointless, but they still need to be in there for newcomers. Now if you could skip the tutorial or have it to where there is no tutorial but Link has like a journal where he can go over how to play, then that would make it a lot smoother in my opinion.

This. I like the journal idea.

 

[EternalNocturne]

I wouldn't want tutorials to be out of the game entirely. I agree with the idea of having the option of going through a tutorial instead of forcing you into one. I'm really not sure why this hasn't been implemented yet; maybe it's because Nintendo has their way of mixing the tutorial at the beginning of the game with story elements. For example, in Skyward Sword, the initial relationship between Link and Zelda wouldn't have been built on if the tutorial portion was removed.

In future games, I really hope they'll have a story-less optional tutorial. That way, we won't be missing any story elements and won't be forced to do the tutorial.

 

[Dragoncat]

Yeah, SS had its tutorial and story stuck together like glue. I think if the companion character(the Midna/Fi/Navi)was tied into the tutorial though it might work. There would be an option for whether or not you wanted tutorials, and if you say no, that would solve the problem of the companion being annoying too!

 

[misskitten]

I agree, the tutorial thing has gone overboard, there should be an option to turn them off so that you don't end up wasting a lot of time on stuff you already know. And it really is annoying that the minute you turn your console off and come back later you have to be re-told a lot of things by the game...

 

[JuicieJ]

No. Tutorials should be OPTIONAL (like a good chunk of SS's were), not removed. That would be unfair to the newcomers to the series who don't know the control scheme (and want a tutorial to help them learn it).

That said, too many fans are *****ing about the tutorial thing in Zelda these days, especially with SS. TP's was dragged out to unnecessary points, but SS had a new control scheme, as well as skippable tutorials at the beginning (save the bird's controls, but that was, like, 30 seconds, big whoop). The spiral charge lesson was unnecessary in Hero Mode, but it makes perfect sense to not be optional in normal mode. People need to realize that just because tutorials exist doesn't mean they HAVE to do them (if they're skippable, and they need to suck up ones like the Spiral Charge, as well). Take a step back and realize that tutorials aren't flaws. They're there so new pepole can learn. Sit back and enjoy the games instead of whining over nothing, for Christ's sake.

 

[A Link In Time]

Nintendo is a company which wishes to cater to the broadest spectrum of gamers possible. These tutorial segments are clearly intended for newer players, not seasoned veterans. Personally, I believe they should optional. There is nothing like a quick 10 minute adrenaline filled intro along the lines of Ocarina of Time to get you straight into the action and first dungeon-That's precisely what i would like to see more of in the franchise's future.

That said, too many fans are *****ing about the tutorial thing in Zelda these days, especially with SS. TP's was dragged out to unnecessary points, but SS had a new control scheme, as well as skippable tutorials at the beginning (save the bird's controls, but that was, like, 30 seconds, big whoop). The spiral charge lesson was unnecessary in Hero Mode, but it makes perfect sense to not be optional in normal mode. People need to realize that just because tutorials exist doesn't mean they HAVE to do them (if they're skippable, and they need to suck up ones like the Spiral Charge, as well). Take a step back and realize that tutorials aren't flaws. They're there so new pepole can learn. Sit back and enjoy the games instead of whining over nothing, for Christ's sake.

I agree with you regarding Skyward Sword's tutorial. It took me and I'm sure many other gamers to get used to the new precise motion control via the motion plus attachment. Also, the emotional connection between Link and Zelda at the start of the game helped lessen the dragging on of explanations especially since it was much better handled than those messy love affairs in Twilight Princess (and let's not forget Locke's favorite-Ilia x Epona-while we're at it).

 

[JuicieJ]

Also, the emotional connection between Link and Zelda at the start of the game helped lessen the dragging on of explanations especially since it was much better handled than those messy love affairs in Twilight Princess (and let's not forget Locke's favorite-Ilia x Epona-while we're at it).

To be fair, the thing between Link abd Ilia was pretty good, as it was a case of them clearly liking each other but not fully knowing it yet. Ilia's character wad just handled poorly (i.e. barely used at all) in the second half of the game.

Honestly I think it is the forced nature of the tutorials that make them such a pain for players on any other playthrough than their first. I think I prefer the Final Fantasy method. In which the player is normally set into a very easy first mission/dungeon sometimes with a little godmode help but after that there is normally some kind of newbie area you can visit on your own that makes up the tutorial part of the game. Often times it is a room or a building filled with various NPCs that would each teach you about some aspect of the game when spoken to. However the option is that you have to go to them and speak to them for the tutorials. No one ever comes to you and makes you do anything. It is purely optional. And that might be much more useful in a Zelda game. When something is optional and not forced then it is a bit more fun for the player. here is the risk that they may not find it on their first try but I think that is still a little nicer than always having to do the tutorial steps every time no matter what.

Zelda used to do this sort of thing with its opening dungeons, but it severely limited what could be done with them. Instead of feeling like an actual dungeon, it felt like a giant tutorial. And it was. Zelda has since switched over to the opening moments of the game, which allowed the first dungeon to feel like a dungeon, as well as set up the story more efficiently. However, until ST and SS, it felt tedious and dragged out. Using the same method, but making the tutorials optional is what Zelda's latest two titles have tried their hand at, and, while it needs to be improved on, it's enhanced Zelda's intros effectively, doing more than putting them on the right track. If future titles have just a little less guidance, they'll be right where they should be.

 

[Ventus]

Well, back in the good Ol' days we had these wondrous things called instruction manuals which would tell players the controls, give some info on characters and items and offer tips

This so much. People actually read those things back in the day.

Anywho, I agree that tutorials should be axed completely or barred off from the actual quest. Or, Zelda could do it like the Kingdom Hearts series does and give you primer pages that, if you ever feel the need to, you can just hit that menu button and review over things you may have forgotten or just wanna see again. We do not need the pointlessly longwinded tutorials from NPCs that we just don't care about. Quick page that we can hit A to skip should we know the information already.

You know what, never mind. Give us the instruction manual with how to do several things and remove tutorials from the game completely move the tutorials to tutorial island, rather than presenting us with the option among the ridiculously long introductory phase. You know, make it like Ocarina of Time where everything that is meant for beginners is in one section that you do NOT have to go over.

 

[Garo]

It's not the tutorials themselves that bother me, but rather the excessively long introductions that usually contain them. Ocarina of Time handled it best - you were given a task that essentially pushed you into tutorials. There was the platforming course with the signs in the small maze that led up to the path to the Kokiri Sword, the targeting lesson from the girl atop the shop, and the basics of equipping items on the Equipment screen. Then, within 10 minutes, you're in the first dungeon. That's how it should be.

More recently, however, Zelda games feel content to drag out their introductions, drowning you in seemingly endless exposition with very little gameplay. It takes a couple of hours for Skyward Sword to really get going. Twilight Princess did this as well. It's something that has really irked me for a while now - while Zelda isn't as bad about it as some games are (I'M LOOKING AT YOU ROXAS), they could do better to stick to OoT's model.

 

[Majora]

I think the tutorials are fine, but there really should be like... an abridged, "I've done this before just tell me what's new and let me do this" thing. Having to do full tutorials is sort of silly after enough games, but I think if there is noteworthy enough new things there should be something for everyone.

 

[Ventus]

while Zelda isn't as bad about it as some games are (I'M LOOKING AT YOU ROXAS), they could do better to stick to OoT's model.

Roxas wasn't bad at all. Sure, he didn't know much about anything, but that's simply because he's a brand new character with amnesia to boot. KH2's introduction takes about 30 minutes to complete, give or take a few minutes. All you had to do was hit X or triangle a few times, you didn't have to sit through endless bore like in Skyward Sword. Also, it's not like you couldn't put the following command in in a majority of his tutorials: Start + Down on D-Pad/Analog Stick + X.