Breath of the Wild Will this game have levelling?

[Dio]

I did have the misfortune of watching the latest Nintendo direct. As a Zelda fan there was nothing for me there, not that I was really expecting anything.

Something that interested me at the time is the new Kirby game. Not because I have a 3DS and can go out and play it, but because it is the first Kirby to feature a levelling up system. Kirby is a reasonably popular franchise for Nintendo and if they are putting levelling up in it I wondered if they would finally do the same for Zelda which is a bigger franchise.

Zelda is pretty much an RPG without levelling at the moment. It shares many features with traditional RPG's, one thing it is missing is a levelling up system.

I for one would welcome this system if it were to be implemented. It would be good to have foes you actually have to level up to beat. At present there might be a few foes you have to figure out a strategy for but once you work it out, actually dispatching the foes becomes easy and nothing really has a huge amount of health apart from bosses or minibosses so having higher level foes appearing in a game would ensure that there is challenging combat to be had.

Do you think there is a good chance of a levelling system being implemented and do you want one?

 

[ectoBiologist]

I doubt they'd add it, but I'd really enjoy leveling. RPG's are always better when they have initiatives (Other than completing the game) to play a lot. Leveling would add another level to the game that would be awesome.

 

[Lozjam]

I would love to see more things dependent on how powerful you are, however I don't want a strict level up system.

For example, in the original LoZ, in order to get the White Sword, you needed to talk to an old man, but only once you were strong enough and had enough heart containers. Things like that would really set Zelda U away from other open world games and of other games in general. Being rewarded and more powerful should be do to getting more experience in the game, not some numbers that tell you how strong you are.

 

[ZeldafreakCJM]

I don't really see how Zelda is an RPG, minus the leveling. It still lacks a lot of what makes a rpg a rpg, and what it does have sets it more in the action adventure group, so I'd say no.

I don't doubt that there will be weapon upgrades, possibly even optional weapons similar to the optional shields in SS though.

 

[Lozjam]

I don't really see how Zelda is an RPG, minus the leveling. It still lacks a lot of what makes a rpg a rpg, and what it does have sets it more in the action adventure group, so I'd say no.

I don't doubt that there will be weapon upgrades, possibly even optional weapons similar to the optional shields in SS though.

The original Zelda was actually the grandfather of RPG's believe it or not. It was one of the first games ever made to have any sense of long term progression at all, due to its various upgrades, sense of getting stronger, and sense of exploration. Hell, LoZ was one of the first games period that had any concept of "saving". It's suffice to say, that RPGs derived from these concepts. These were concepts Zelda 2 even took it as far to literally be an RPG with a level up system. However it was very poorly excecuted in Zelda 2's case.

 

[Polychrome]

I don't think they will, but I'd be open to the idea. I can see it giving a bit of depth to the exploration other than "you don't have this metroidvania gadget". And even so, the recent Tomb Raider games were able to mix the two playstyles in a good way.

 

[the8thark]

No.

No one liked it when Zelda 2 did it. Over the decades people are still against it. Also I do believe Zelda is what it is because there is no XP grinding or any other type of grinding. SS had some loot/materials grinding which was terrible, toxic and should have never been in the game.

 

[Doc]

I don't think so, and I wouldn't want them to. Leveling up just means grinding, and I don't think grinding has a place in the Zelda franchise. Difficulty should not be because we are too weak to defeat something, because you know what's going to happen? The player is gonna grind until it's easy, essentially halting the flow of the game. An enemy should be difficult because it's actually difficult. Because it is hard to hit, can take a ton of damage, and do the player some serious harm. Not because some numbers say so.

 

[Guest_1]

I already do enough grinding in Warframe as it is. I really wouldn't want it in my Zelda. Grinding is boring, unless you're online and you're playing with other people to make the grind a little more bearable. However, I doubt Zelda U/NX will have online multiplayer, so suffice to say that I wouldn't touch levels in Zelda with a thirty nine and a half foot pole.

 

[Dio]

I already do enough grinding in Warframe as it is. I really wouldn't want it in my Zelda. Grinding is boring, unless you're online and you're playing with other people to make the grind a little more bearable. However, I doubt Zelda U/NX will have online multiplayer, so suffice to say that I wouldn't touch levels in Zelda with a thirty nine and a half foot pole.

Witcher 3 had levelling but no real grinding. The two don't have to go hand in hand.

 

[Guest_1]

Witcher 3 had levelling but no real grinding. The two don't have to go hand in hand.

Oh, I agree. When done right, it can be a fun mechanic, but having played a lot of MMOs, I know that to accomplish any sort of leveling involves hours of grinding. While I'm sure Nintendo would strike a nice balance, I just think such a mechanic doesn't have a place in Zelda. However, Nintendo could also prove me wrong, but until they do, those are my feelings on the matter.

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

Personally, I love RPG's, but The Legend of Zelda isn't what I would call an RPG, it's close, but it's a different genre. I wouldn't want a leveling system in a Zelda game. I love the upgrade system though, such as in Ocarina of Time, or Skyward Sword. Something like that would be nice.

 

[thane98]

I think that we'll see the Skyward Sword upgrade system return, and we might see some additional RPG elements included as well. But I doubt that we'll see a leveling system in the next Zelda game. I'm not against the idea, but I feel like a leveling system would have to be executed near perfectly to fit in a Zelda game at all.