I think I've spent more time than necessary being critical of the newer games of the series with regards to linearity so now I want to question some of the design decisions in OOT. While it's true that OOT was more open than most of its predecessors with regards to choices in dungeon progression, there was so much more that could have been done to increase replayability by eliminating pointless boundaries. In the second half of the game alone the 5 temples could only be completed in 7 orders if you limited yourself to only entering a temple when you were equipped to beat it, and you were limited to 18 orders if you allowed yourself to enter a dungeon for an item and leaving before completing it (discussion and explanation of possible orders without glitches is here http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/showthread.php?27937-Dungeon-Orders). Now this amount of choice is very appreciated from me especially in light of the last few console Zelda titles only allowing for a single dungeon progression (and pointlessly so in some cases with no impact on the plot), but if you compare OOT's freedom to LOZ or ALTTP then OOT falls way short. So I have a couple of suggestions that would have made the game more open, and in doing so I believe these changes wouldn't have negatively affected the experience of the game in any way.
1. Remove the boulders blocking Zora's River- This one is the simplest change, and the least controversial I think. There is absolutely no reason as to why you should have to help the Gorons before the Zoras. Impa suggests you do it first, but that seems to be just to give players direction. There aren't even any required uses of bombs anywhere in completing Inside Jabu Jabu. Finally if you decide to get the bombs from Dodongo's Cavern and leave to complete Inside Jabu Jabu first, then the dialogue even makes sense upon getting the Zora's Sapphire before the Goron's Ruby. The boulders serve no purpose other than limiting freedom so therefore I think they are completely pointless and should have never been there in the first place.
2. Change the requirements to enter the Shadow Temple- The cutscene to obtain the Nocturne of Shadow will only play once you have the Forest, Fire, and Water Medallions. The cutscene fits fine where it is, but I think it's placement is somewhat arbitrary because there's no particular reason why Kakariko has to be in trouble at that particular point in the story. I think the game would have been better if only the Forest Medallion was required to get the cutscene to start. The reason I say that one is because it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to open up access to the Shadow Temple before the player is able to go back in time (which requires the Forest Medallion) to get the Lens of Truth. There also isn't anything in the Shadow Temple that requires the Megaton Hammer or the Longshot (as shown by people that reach the Temple with glitches- actually it might even be possible that the bow is skippable but I'm not sure). Another possibility is requiring the Forest and Fire Medallions or any combination of two medallions because it would make sense for there to be a period of time during which you can freely pass through Kakariko before the cutscene triggers. The real treat of this idea is that you could use the Hover Boots in the Water Temple which opens up lots of opportunities for replayability.
3. Remove both (or one) of the eye switches in the Water Temple- All these do is prevent you from getting the boss key in the Water Temple without the bow. I don't see the point of allowing a person to easily complete two thirds of the Water Temple and obtain the longshot without the bow only to prevent you from finishing the temple until you have the bow. I think they should have either made it clear from the start of the Temple that you need the bow, or else leave out the eye switches entirely. Another interesting possibility would be if they removed only one of the switches. If this was the case, then 99.9% of people who played the game would have never known that they could have finished the temple without the bow because one of the locked doors is bypassable (so you only need five of the six keys to finish the dungeon). People that really like to test things out would have had another cool quirk about the dungeon to play around with.
1. Remove the boulders blocking Zora's River- This one is the simplest change, and the least controversial I think. There is absolutely no reason as to why you should have to help the Gorons before the Zoras. Impa suggests you do it first, but that seems to be just to give players direction. There aren't even any required uses of bombs anywhere in completing Inside Jabu Jabu. Finally if you decide to get the bombs from Dodongo's Cavern and leave to complete Inside Jabu Jabu first, then the dialogue even makes sense upon getting the Zora's Sapphire before the Goron's Ruby. The boulders serve no purpose other than limiting freedom so therefore I think they are completely pointless and should have never been there in the first place.
2. Change the requirements to enter the Shadow Temple- The cutscene to obtain the Nocturne of Shadow will only play once you have the Forest, Fire, and Water Medallions. The cutscene fits fine where it is, but I think it's placement is somewhat arbitrary because there's no particular reason why Kakariko has to be in trouble at that particular point in the story. I think the game would have been better if only the Forest Medallion was required to get the cutscene to start. The reason I say that one is because it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to open up access to the Shadow Temple before the player is able to go back in time (which requires the Forest Medallion) to get the Lens of Truth. There also isn't anything in the Shadow Temple that requires the Megaton Hammer or the Longshot (as shown by people that reach the Temple with glitches- actually it might even be possible that the bow is skippable but I'm not sure). Another possibility is requiring the Forest and Fire Medallions or any combination of two medallions because it would make sense for there to be a period of time during which you can freely pass through Kakariko before the cutscene triggers. The real treat of this idea is that you could use the Hover Boots in the Water Temple which opens up lots of opportunities for replayability.
3. Remove both (or one) of the eye switches in the Water Temple- All these do is prevent you from getting the boss key in the Water Temple without the bow. I don't see the point of allowing a person to easily complete two thirds of the Water Temple and obtain the longshot without the bow only to prevent you from finishing the temple until you have the bow. I think they should have either made it clear from the start of the Temple that you need the bow, or else leave out the eye switches entirely. Another interesting possibility would be if they removed only one of the switches. If this was the case, then 99.9% of people who played the game would have never known that they could have finished the temple without the bow because one of the locked doors is bypassable (so you only need five of the six keys to finish the dungeon). People that really like to test things out would have had another cool quirk about the dungeon to play around with.
Last edited:
