• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Zelda's biggest sin/mistake

Joined
Feb 19, 2019
Gender
Feel free to use what pronouns you want. I use both sexed pronoun sets interchangeably.
But my point is it doesn't seem like they were unhappy with the series because they disliked OoT.

Majora's Mask was released towards the end of the N64's lifespan, it only had a sort of cult following, and the reason some fans disliked it was because it was a very different kind of Zelda game, and it was considered a hard game back then.

Wind Waker was disliked because of its art style, it looked cartoony and childish. What people wanted at that time was more of something like OoT. In the year 2000 a zelda tech demo was released that looked similar to OoT.



In 2001 when WW was revealed, there was outrage because it wasn't more similar to OoT. TP, which was finally the game more like OoT, was well recieved.

Fans were unhappy in the years following OoT because they wanted more of what OoT was. But again, I wasn't there, Idk how fans of Zelda kept in touch prior to the internet. But it is just hard for me to imagine the fans all gathering one friday evening to trash on OoT back in 98.


The internet was still around; just that prior to 1999 it was a nerd-business-military thing. And even then, it didn't morph into the all-consuming entity it is now until after Facebook was started. So there was some discussion on the internet back then, but it was nothing like today. Nintendo even had an official chat on their website back in the 1990s, though by today's standards it was laughably primitive. And, yeah, we were arguing about LoZ even back then.

Now, admittedly, I know about the WW cartoony arguments, but they never struck me as entirely legit. Mostly because a lot of the complaints I saw blamed it on the cel shading, which let's face it was obviously not the problem. I might have missed some legitimate comments back then; I was busy with other things.

Also, note what I said about TP being also similar to ALttP. I just can't help but think Nintendo saw that combining ALttP and OoT was the successful route, thus explaining decisions to come after the Wind Waker trilogy was finished.
 

thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
ZD Legend
Yes our ideas must differ on what spiritual successor means. But now that you know what mine is you understand why TP meets my definition and why WW wouldn't




Shallow it may bebe b judging a game by how it looks is what happens in a lot of cases. Considering the core gameplay of Zelda is largely the same with a few exceptions, the way a game looks plays a huge part in the sales.



It may be the case that views have softened towards WW's style and the TP look for Zelda does not mean everything. However at the time these games released it meant a lot. This thread is Zelda's biggest sin and its biggest sin was introducing that chibi WW style in 2002. I have pointed out that it had a great effect on sales and although the series seems to have recovered I am sure that Zelda would be even bigger to this day had it stuck with the more traditional aesthetic.



Midna's arc is not cliché as no other character in Zelda has the same characterisation or motives. Midna is at first indifferent to link and the humans and gradually grows to realise her worldview is wrong and that the humans mean just as much as her own people. When Midna is almost fatally killed and Link rescues her she returns the favour by making him human again. She feels grateful for this and finally sees Link as an equal. And in the desert she shares the backstory of her people even though she is clearly ashamed to. Then she asks for his help. Not demands anymore which shows a further change in her character. Towards the end she has clearly grown to love link and sacrifices their companionship for the greater good even though she clearly is deeply saddened by this.

Tatl does not develop like this, has no backstory she is ashamed of. She was the skull kids friend and he went bad. So she helps link in order to save her brother. link and Tatls relationship never goes though any gradual changes at all.

Fi has a sudden change at the end but is the same throughout the whole quest

Navi is the same throughout the entire game

King of Red lions is the same throughout. There is a plot twist and he is revealed to be the king but he behaves the same before and after



If anything the slightly poor sales of windwaker (despite it selling more than MM, so it was really a step up) was a good thing for the series. It weeded out the fake fans who were unwilling to give it a try just because of looks, the “fairweather fans” if you will, making the rest of the fan base more passionate about everything zelda. I would also argue that in the long run more people enjoyed the art style than not, resulting in more sales than if they didn’t use it. If it caused it to take a hit but in the future made it stronger, than it was not a mistake. Granted we have no way of knowing for sure what a world without windwaker would look like, I would still say that calling the toon style it’s biggest mistake is a stretch.

Basically all you said was that midna had more of a backstory. Both midna and tatl follow the “asshole character turned good” cliché, like it or not. The only difference is that the motives and backstory are slightly different, and while midna’s were better than tatl’s, that doesn’t stop her from being a cliché character. Other characters have the exact same amount of development as midna.

Tatl did go through development, at the beginning all she cared about was keeping her brother safe, no matter who she hurt, even blaming link for something that was clearly her fault. Towards the end of the game she sees how skull kid is tormenting temina and decides that she needs to hurt her friend in order to do the right thing.

Fi’s change might have been sudden at the very end, but that was a huge amount of development for such a short period of time.

I agree with you with Navi and KoRL, which is why I never used them as examples.

Groose and linebeck both go through the same general change, making them just as cliché as midna. The biggest 2 differences here are that they had different backstories, and they did their clichés in a more comedic way.

This cliché isn’t just overused in zelda, but overused in media in general. Megamind, Despicable Me, and Wreck-it-Ralph all contained these, and that’s just animated children’s movies. Saying that she doesn’t follow a cliché is just being blind.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
If anything the slightly poor sales of windwaker (despite it selling more than MM, so it was really a step up) was a good thing for the series. It weeded out the fake fans who were unwilling to give it a try just because of looks, the “fairweather fans” if you will, making the rest of the fan base more passionate about everything zelda. I would also argue that in the long run more people enjoyed the art style than not, resulting in more sales than if they didn’t use it. If it caused it to take a hit but in the future made it stronger, than it was not a mistake. Granted we have no way of knowing for sure what a world without windwaker would look like, I would still say that calling the toon style it’s biggest mistake is a stretch.

I wouldn't describe them as slightly poor. They were about half those of OOT. Which is very bad and a lot of money they missed out on. Majora's mask was literally a side game which took only a year to make. It selling 4 million wasn't so much of a bad thing as it would basically be DLC in the modern era. From a business perspective Wind Waker was a bad move because they lost another potential 4 million sales at least. Had they released a game looking like TP instead it would have likely had the OOT fans all return. All these loyal fans now would still be a part of the fanbase but the series would have been even more popular because of the greater casual turnout. I would say this would be better for all. More sales mean more games usually and more money for such games.

Basically all you said was that midna had more of a backstory. Both midna and tatl follow the “asshole character turned good” cliché, like it or not. The only difference is that the motives and backstory are slightly different, and while midna’s were better than tatl’s, that doesn’t stop her from being a cliché character. Other characters have the exact same amount of development as midna.

It's not a cliché. Cliché is by definition overuse and unoriginality to the point of being irritating. As I have said. No other character in Zelda had the level of development that Midna did as her character evolved naturally over the course of the entire game. She didn't feel like any other character. There is a trope of an asshole character going bad but she is an example of well written character that fits this trope. Not a tired rehash of the idea.


Groose and linebeck both go through the same general change, making them just as cliché as midna. The biggest 2 differences here are that they had different backstories, and they did their clichés in a more comedic way.

Neither of those felt cliché either as they had their own very different backstories and groose was hilarious. The only cliché character in Zelda I can think of right now is the evil for the sake of evil villain Malladus and Demise who seemed to simply serve the role of Ganon without being as cool as Ganon. It was unoriginal and irritating both times.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
TP added in a NEW DIMENSION, one that was not only integral to the plot, but made as if it had always been a thing, which is well and good when it’s referenced elsewhere in the series, like skyloft. But the twilight realm isnt.

No, Midna was not well written in the slightest. Like I said, she’s just an incredibly cliché character. I think YOU are letting nostalgia cloud your vision of other characters, as you have yet to list an example of non-cliché character development.


Replay Four Swords Adventures. It talks about an ancient tribe and a dark mirror.
Midna has more to her then her anime cliche. She develops as a character and grows bonds with other characters. If you wanna see a mindless anime cliche, replay BotW and see Mipha.
But you’re welcome to your opinion.
 
Last edited:

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
If anything the slightly poor sales of windwaker (despite it selling more than MM, so it was really a step up) was a good thing for the series. It weeded out the fake fans who were unwilling to give it a try just because of looks,

Perhaps because they felt it betrayed the tone of the series (it did) and had other reasons for disliking it (including sailing) instead of just blindly accepting anything Nintendo gave them? Your toughest critic is your biggest fan.

the “fairweather fans” if you will, making the rest of the fan base more passionate about everything zelda.

That isn't a good thing...

I would also argue that in the long run more people enjoyed the art style than not, resulting in more sales than if they didn’t use it.

Post-OoT sales have been waning terribly for years. Ocarina of Time was released in the late 90s on a poor selling console and, while a good game, had a lot of room for improvement. OoT's sales should have been the benchmark, not the goal. In the last 20 years, only two games have outsold it, one of which doesn't even use Zelda gameplay, and the fifth best selling game in the series is a port of OoT. The series has gotten to the point where people would rather just play OoT again for the umpteenth time than post-OoT titles. That's not evolution for the series, it's regression.
 

thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
ZD Legend
Replay Four Swords Adventures. It talks about an ancient tribe and a dark mirror.
Midna has more to her then her anime cliche. She develops as a character and grows bonds with other characters. If you wanna see a mindless anime cliche, replay BotW and see Mipha.
But you’re welcome to your opinion.

Fair enough.
As for midna, I would argue that other characters had just as much if not more development than Midna, and even then that doesn’t stop her from being a cliché.
But you are also welcome to your own opinion.

Perhaps because they felt it betrayed the tone of the series (it did) and had other reasons for disliking it (including sailing) instead of just blindly accepting anything Nintendo gave them? Your toughest critic is your biggest fan.



That isn't a good thing...



Post-OoT sales have been waning terribly for years. Ocarina of Time was released in the late 90s on a poor selling console and, while a good game, had a lot of room for improvement. OoT's sales should have been the benchmark, not the goal. In the last 20 years, only two games have outsold it, one of which doesn't even use Zelda gameplay, and the fifth best selling game in the series is a port of OoT. The series has gotten to the point where people would rather just play OoT again for the umpteenth time than post-OoT titles. That's not evolution for the series, it's regression.


Yes but that is still judging a game just by its looks, if they were true zelda fans they would have at least given it a try.

I honestly don’t understand how that’s a bad thing. Maybe from a sales perspective, but from a fandom perspective (which is what I think Nintendo goes for) that’s a much better thing.

That’s just a product of the fact that it’s a sequel. Look at any gaming franchise and it does the same thing. Even Mario does it! The 3D games (which, at least as of recently have been far superior to the 2D ones) have all sold quite less than the 2D ones. Yet 64 and galaxy are often regarded as the best in the series. It just shows that if a game looks and plays like an old game, no matter how mediocre, it’s going to sell better than a newer looking game, no matter how good that game may be.

That being said, I do think that you have convinced me that TP is not the biggest sin, at least for the zelda series in general.

I wouldn't describe them as slightly poor. They were about half those of OOT. Which is very bad and a lot of money they missed out on. Majora's mask was literally a side game which took only a year to make. It selling 4 million wasn't so much of a bad thing as it would basically be DLC in the modern era. From a business perspective Wind Waker was a bad move because they lost another potential 4 million sales at least. Had they released a game looking like TP instead it would have likely had the OOT fans all return. All these loyal fans now would still be a part of the fanbase but the series would have been even more popular because of the greater casual turnout. I would say this would be better for all. More sales mean more games usually and more money for such games.



It's not a cliché. Cliché is by definition overuse and unoriginality to the point of being irritating. As I have said. No other character in Zelda had the level of development that Midna did as her character evolved naturally over the course of the entire game. She didn't feel like any other character. There is a trope of an asshole character going bad but she is an example of well written character that fits this trope. Not a tired rehash of the idea.




Neither of those felt cliché either as they had their own very different backstories and groose was hilarious. The only cliché character in Zelda I can think of right now is the evil for the sake of evil villain Malladus and Demise who seemed to simply serve the role of Ganon without being as cool as Ganon. It was unoriginal and irritating both times.


MM was never advertised as a side game, therefore it should have sold just as much if not more than OoT. The fact that is was made in a year makes no difference to sales. I’m pretty sure that if TP was released instead of WW it wouldn’t have done nearly as well, as it wouldn’t have appealed to those who wanted the more lighthearted style. Remember that at this point that Zelda was no stranger to a cute style, as LA (or more accurately LADX) had a very similar style and that game sold amazingly. I think there were 2 main reasons why TP sold so well:
1: It was a launch title for the Wii, or one of the best selling consoles ever.
2: It’s tone was dark and edgy. I don’t think this is what the general zelda community wanted before the space world demo, but the demo is what caused people to expect it. I guarantee that without that, windwaker would have sold much better. The reason TP sold better was because it appealed to both people who wanted the dark style along with the people who just loved zelda and the people who gained an affection for zelda from windwaker. Like I said, in the long run windwaker was better for the series. Just look at all of the people on this site who say WW and TP is his or her favorite games in the series.


I’m not gonna argue with you on this any more, as neither of us are really getting anywhere with our points. I think she follows some taboo religiously, and is one of the more cliché characters in the series, but that’s just me.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
MM was never advertised as a side game, therefore it should have sold just as much if not more than OoT. The fact that is was made in a year makes no difference to sales. I’m pretty sure that if TP was released instead of WW it wouldn’t have done nearly as well, as it wouldn’t have appealed to those who wanted the more lighthearted style. Remember that at this point that Zelda was no stranger to a cute style, as LA (or more accurately LADX) had a very similar style and that game sold amazingly. I think there were 2 main reasons why TP sold so well:
1: It was a launch title for the Wii, or one of the best selling consoles ever.
2: It’s tone was dark and edgy. I don’t think this is what the general zelda community wanted before the space world demo, but the demo is what caused people to expect it. I guarantee that without that, windwaker would have sold much better. The reason TP sold better was because it appealed to both people who wanted the dark style along with the people who just loved zelda and the people who gained an affection for zelda from windwaker. Like I said, in the long run windwaker was better for the series. Just look at all of the people on this site who say WW and TP is his or her favorite games in the series.


I’m not gonna argue with you on this any more, as neither of us are really getting anywhere with our points. I think she follows some taboo religiously, and is one of the more cliché characters in the series, but that’s just me.

MM was called Zelda Gaiden which means side story.

It being made in a year and reusing OOT's assets means it was made cheaply therefore made more money in relation to the time it took to produce and what was put in.

Ocarina of time sold 9 million copies. A spiritual successor in the way I describe it would sell just as many if not more because OOT was the most critically acclaimed game of all time. Fans were ready for an OOT.2 and they were dissapointed with the look of WW therefore only half the original OOT crowd returned and half were turned off.

This would not have happened if WW did not have a cute style.

They also released that tech demo which got fans expecting a certain look. They were then let down.

How is losing another potential 4 million sales and dividing the fanbase in the long run, better?
 

thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
ZD Legend
MM was called Zelda Gaiden which means side story.

It being made in a year and reusing OOT's assets means it was made cheaply therefore made more money in relation to the time it took to produce and what was put in.

Ocarina of time sold 9 million copies. A spiritual successor in the way I describe it would sell just as many if not more because OOT was the most critically acclaimed game of all time. Fans were ready for an OOT.2 and they were dissapointed with the look of WW therefore only half the original OOT crowd returned and half were turned off.

This would not have happened if WW did not have a cute style.

They also released that tech demo which got fans expecting a certain look. They were then let down.

How is losing another potential 4 million sales and dividing the fanbase in the long run, better?

the Majority of the people who left got over themselves, came back, and tried windwaker, and the majority liked it, at least from what I’ve seen.

My point is that with both WW and TP we got something for everybody, making the series more diverse and stronger, as well as making each game recognisable, so the toon style was definitely not a mistake. Sure sales went down at first, but it ultimately led to more sales overall. If anything the tech demo was the biggest mistake considering that they even said that they weren’t planning on making a game in that style and it was purely made to show off the power of the GameCube. If we hadn’t had that demo, we wouldn’t have had all of these people expecting edgy things.

I also feel like since I’m new to the site, I’m giving off the first impression that I’m being a complete asshole who doesn’t listen others opinions. If I am, I’m sorry, I don’t mean too. I just get real passionate. If im not, then I just look like an idiot right now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
the Majority of the people who left got over themselves, came back, and tried windwaker, and the majority liked it, at least from what I’ve seen.

My point is that with both WW and TP we got something for everybody, making the series more diverse and stronger, as well as making each game recognisable, so the toon style was definitely not a mistake. Sure sales went down at first, but it ultimately led to more sales overall. If anything the tech demo was the biggest mistake considering that they even said that they weren’t planning on making a game in that style and it was purely made to show off the power of the GameCube. If we hadn’t had that demo, we wouldn’t have had all of these people expecting edgy things.

We didn't need something for everybody. Zelda was a mainstream product to begin with. Making an art style for a niche market is bad business when you have an existing fanbase. And the sales showed this.

Zelda had a certain look to it. And they changed that look which annoyed a lot of people. The tech demo thing made it worse I agree because there is nothing like betraying expectations to get people upset and angry.

Imagine COD doing a toon game next. It would just be wierd and divisive as WW was even if it played exactly the same as regular COD. The reason is because COD fans expect a certain look and if you didn't give it to them a lot of them wouldn't like it.

If you hang around Zelda fans I'd understand you might get the impression that the series did better because of the different styles but that's because the hardcore Zelda fans that are left even after the big divide, buy the games regardless. I bought Wind Waker I like the game apart from the Tingle quest but I still don't like the chibi art style. I tolerate it but that's it.

What Nintendo lost out on is the casual market who do judge a game based mainly on looks. You might think we didn't need these people, that they don't have the right attitude but they have numbers and money. They are the people that could have made Zelda into a mega mainstream series back then instead of it having to play catch-up.

It's impossible to tell what could have been but if you judge a game based on sales, had every 3D entry up until BoTW had a similar art style (e.g if WW and SS had the OOT/TP look) I believe the sales of those games would have been higher. Therefore the total number of sales for the entire series would have been higher, the exposure of the series would have been greater and the money Nintendo made would have been more. In the long run this is better. There would also have been less arguing in the fanbase over the looks of the games. Which is also better for everyone's blood pressure.



I also feel like since I’m new to the site, I’m giving off the first impression that I’m being a complete asshole who doesn’t listen others opinions. If I am, I’m sorry, I don’t mean too. I just get real passionate. If im not, then I just look like an idiot right now.

Just start typing in red and capitals. That's the way to show passion here :pug:
 

thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
ZD Legend
We didn't need something for everybody. Zelda was a mainstream product to begin with. Making an art style for a niche market is bad business when you have an existing fanbase. And the sales showed this.

Zelda had a certain look to it. And they changed that look which annoyed a lot of people. The tech demo thing made it worse I agree because there is nothing like betraying expectations to get people upset and angry.

Imagine COD doing a toon game next. It would just be wierd and divisive as WW was even if it played exactly the same as regular COD. The reason is because COD fans expect a certain look and if you didn't give it to them a lot of them wouldn't like it.

If you hang around Zelda fans I'd understand you might get the impression that the series did better because of the different styles but that's because the hardcore Zelda fans that are left even after the big divide, buy the games regardless. I bought Wind Waker I like the game apart from the Tingle quest but I still don't like the chibi art style. I tolerate it but that's it.

What Nintendo lost out on is the casual market who do judge a game based mainly on looks. You might think we didn't need these people, that they don't have the right attitude but they have numbers and money. They are the people that could have made Zelda into a mega mainstream series back then instead of it having to play catch-up.

It's impossible to tell what could have been but if you judge a game based on sales, had every 3D entry up until BoTW had a similar art style (e.g if WW and SS had the OOT/TP look) I believe the sales of those games would have been higher. Therefore the total number of sales for the entire series would have been higher, the exposure of the series would have been greater and the money Nintendo made would have been more. In the long run this is better. There would also have been less arguing in the fanbase over the looks of the games. Which is also better for everyone's blood pressure.





Just start typing in red and capitals. That's the way to show passion here :pug:





I’m kinda glad zelda isn’t like CoD. Zelda is better than that, I actually like my games unique and with their own personalities. If you don’t like different styles, play a different series. Zelda has always had diverse art styles, ever since LA.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
I’m kinda glad zelda isn’t like CoD. Zelda is better than that, I actually like my games unique and with their own personalities. If you don’t like different styles, play a different series. Zelda has always had diverse art styles, ever since LA.

It doesn't matter so much when it's sprites and pixels. It's when you have a dramatic change in your major 3D titles which tends to upset people the most.

I think that Zelda has some entries which are a lot better than COD. But both series have mediocre games in them. Not that it makes a difference to the look anyway. All I am saying is that changing an established or expected element annoys fans.

I'm jumping in mid-discussion here, and haven't followed it at large, so some of my points may have been covered already but I'm giving my two cents on the matter.

Going by sales numbers along is a bit of a minefield when it comes to how well a game was received. Yes, WW sold worse than OoT, and yes, there was outcry regarding the artstyle. However, it's a bit reductionist to say the artstyle change was responsible for that drop in numbers.

What about the fact that the GameCube didn't sell as well as the N64? What about the fact that the PS2 released almost a year earlier and was much more established than the PS1? What about simple gamer fatigue? Sales numbers don't remain steady, even if you do create the same game each time. Sticking with COD, their numbers fluctuate all the time and that's practically the same game each iteration.

OoT did a lot to shame up the Zelda formula, even graphically.

WW's artstyle was a risk, and one that didn't pay off for some fans. And yes, it may have alienated a portion of gamers, but it also opened up the series to others. I was 11 when it was released, and didn't like OoT, but gave WW a chance because it looked more fun and less gloomy.

Games such as Borderlands, Journey and even BotW have show that you don't need a realistic artstyle to make sales happen. Yes, Zelda's figured have fluctuated, but that would have happened regardless of WW by very nature of the market.

The N64 didn't sell as well as the NES or SNES yet it had a Zelda game that sold better than any Zelda than either of those. People buy consoles for this series so if it didn't sell well on the GC then I'd say it was more down to it not being as desirable to the masses as Ocarina was. Looking at it the art style is the only major factor change in WW from OOT as well as the sailing I suppose. The core Zelda mechanics and formula were all there so it's pretty clear to me what factors were in play. I'm just stating the obvious as to why people were put off. And you must be aware of the divide it caused in the fanbase as you have been a part of it for a while and these are just the people that actually stuck with the series. You might not get to hear from the ones that left Zelda behind.

Anyone new to Zelda wouldn't have those ideas about what Zelda should look like. People like yourself when you were 11 for instance. But it doesn't make sense to me from a business perspective to alienate half your existing player base when they are all waiting and ready to be milked again.


Borderlands came out looking the way it did. It didn't change anything from previous entries because it was the first one. I'm saying unwanted change is bad for an established series. If they went to a COD look for their next games a lot of fans would be pissed off. They expect Borderlands to look like Borderlands. I like the look but it doesn't mean I'd want the next Witcher game to do it. That series has its own look.
 

thePlinko

What’s the character limit on this? Aksnfiskwjfjsk
ZD Legend
It doesn't matter so much when it's sprites and pixels. It's when you have a dramatic change in your major 3D titles which tends to upset people the most.

I think that Zelda has some entries which are a lot better than COD. But both series have mediocre games in them. Not that it makes a difference to the look anyway. All I am saying is that changing an established or expected element annoys fans.

It annoys some fans, but pleases others. I’d say it’s about 50/50. Sure the sales were down at first, but I have read plenty of posts, blogs, etc. talking about how they were put off by the style, didn’t buy it at first, waited, finally tried it, and (most often) loved it. From what I’ve seen on this thread, it seems to me that in the long run it didn’t hurt the sales, just delayed them. Just look at the sales of the Wii U remakes, WWHD sold
2.28 million, while TPHD only sold 1.11 million.
 

Dio

~ It's me, Dio!~
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Location
England
Gender
Absolute unit
Simple, gaming was getting bigger. OoT had a lot of fans, but there were a lot of new gamers fresh for the taking that were not invested in the artstyle, and WW's style was much more hospitable than something such as TP would have been.

TP has proven that a more real tone to graphics doesn't age well. Nintendo have demosntrated that, despite being a company and of course being in it for the money, they do have a level of artistic integrity in their willingness to delay games if needed and the fact that a main Zelda game usually comes out every 5 or 6 years rather than the now industry standard 1 or 2 for big IPs. The problem is, the fans whined enough that Nintendo caved, and TP's horrendous graphics resulted. Any fan willing to push the series back into the mud for the sake of familiarity is not a fan I want behind the voice of any series.

You're talking from a westerners perspective here anyway. I suspect the Japanese audience would have lapped up the new artstyle. I can't confirm that, so I won't hold it again y your arguments here, it's just a hunch.

I'm sure the Japanese loved the cutesy style. WW sold better in Japan than TP I believe.

In the western world though the more realistic styles were not unpalatable as you say. COD always topped the charts and sold more than any Zelda has ever done. It appealed to the mainstream market which is what I think Zelda should have tried to do to gain a bigger following.

Older attempts at more realistic styles don't hold up as well today but that's what remakes are for. Though TPHD still looks like an 08 game.
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2019
TP has proven that a more real tone to graphics doesn't age well.
Imo, TP aged better than OoT. I actually think TP, WW, and SS’s graphics aged a lot better then OoT. But once again I also think MM aged better then OoT because of tone, and it’s probably the same as the three other main games. Although you should take everything I say with a grain of salt, because I’m biased towards the things I like and dislike.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom