General Zelda Your Thoughts on Scarier Settings?

[xkillinuguyx]

I got in to the legend of zelda as a very young kid playing OoT (I'm sure many of you are the same way) If the game was for a mature audience i would have never got into it. I love the creepiness of some dungeons. The wallmasters in the shadow temple freaked me out as a kid, and climbing up that rope with the zombies chasing you in the ancient cistern was the scariest thing in any zelda game in my opinion, and those were fine because they were just moments of intensity. The theme of zelda is a young boy venturing out and exploring a new world, not scaring the pants off of you around every corner, I'm 100% against turning the legend of zelda into a mature only horror game series.

 

[Random Person]

Scarier is not the only way to aim for adult audiences. If the games became more serious, then you'd have it. Twilight Princess was on the right track to attracting the audience being discussed here and the reason being is that it had an atmosphere of seriousness about it. Sure there were jokes along the way and ultimately the game ends in a happy ending, but it seems like something that would seriously happen in a realm of fantasy. Zelda games tend to be a bit quirky, and while I as a Zelda fan do highly enjoy this most of the time, it can repel more serious and unfamiliar gamers. If you take MM for example. Many Zelda fans feel that it is considered "dark" but I disagree because despite all the dark things that happen, MM still takes a lighthearted feeling to most of its situations, even making death feel much lighter than it is usually portrayed.

Making Zelda more mature does not mean making it more creepy or scary. It simply means things in the game need to start appearing more serious and perhaps realistic.

 

[Dio]

Now I know generally Zelda is aimed at quite a lot of audiences, including a younger audience and even though Nintendo has generally looking to make Nintendo games a more family experience I don't think this should apply to Zelda games. I mean Nintendo has enough games that are aimed at younger audiences and I think Zelda could be the game to attract more gamers that like a more mature game. The Wii U is definitely looking to attract newer audiences, particularly the so called "hardcore gamer" and in a way I feel a more mature Zelda game could be the perfect way.

The hardcore gamer is who'd buy a game like Zelda. Making a colourful light game that looks more like it should be appealing to children rather than adults is not going to attract anyone but existing Zelda series fans because the hardcore want a more mature looking game and well the children want to play violent bloodfests like gears of war and call of duty.

So I want to know your opinion on this idea... Do you think it could work or would it go against what a Zelda a game essentially is?

It's the gameplay and characters that make Zelda what it is. The tone's, stories and settings vary with each title and are not necessarily making the Zelda games Zelda games. Take Majora's Mask, which is not even in Hyrule. That's a Zelda game, it feels like a Zelda game, but it has some very different features to say OOT, which I would say is THE Zelda game all others are judged against. I personally like your idea of having a scarier setting, lets have a proper horror area with creepy monsters. It could be a temple or a ravaged hyrule after some disaster that happens in game or before the game begins.

 

[Ventus]

It wouldn't meld with fans' impression of Zelda, so I unfortunately have to say no. If I were to say yes, it'd just attract alot of negative attention.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

Yes, it's part of why I like the series. When it's done right, the scarier or at least creepier moments really get under my skin. I played OoT at a young age, and it deliciously twisted my mind, and I don't want that to go away.

As for what to put in future Zelda games...
View attachment 32701
Make it happen, Nintendo.