Gossip Stone: Should Zelda Keep the Same Combat Style Forever?

Zelda has evolved in several ways over the years, but something that remained rather similar throughout the series is the primary system of combat. The standard “run up, stab monster, move on” method has been a staple since day one, and only really went through a big change in the transition to 3D. The simple and seamless style of Zelda’s combat has been thoroughly enjoyed for decades, but could a change to it go over well? Could we see a new game in the series with a new battle system? Join the discussion after the jump!

Messing with the staple elements of Zelda is kind of like messing with the laws of physics; very, very hard to do without violent consequences. Fans could be very displeased with any sort of change that comes along, so were Nintendo to change something like the combat, it needs to become something that matches the dynamic and open-ended nature of the current style.

I can imagine a select few people saying that Final Fantasy-style battle system, with transitions to turn-based battles, but so many games have done that, and Zelda, again, need to feel more dynamic. What I would imagine Nintendo would do, if anything, is to still transition into battles, ultimately dividing the combat and the overworld gameplay, but doing it in a new and unique way. The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles are good examples of how to get it right. They both feature battles that are immediate, very dynamic, and that keep the player in control of what actions are taken. Xenoblade has you choose three of seven available characters for each battle, each with radically different fighting styles, and let you choose attacks in a very smooth and fast way, while The Last Story lets the player either check the layout of thew battlefield and enemies before fighting, or kill of monsters in secrecy and not fight at all, at least sometimes. Zelda has actually had some interesting battle styles like this, but only in short busts, like the stealthy combat in Ocarina of Time‘s Gerudo Fortress, or the cooperative battle with The Wind Waker‘s Ganondorf. Were a new Zelda to adopt one of these techniques, or something entirely new, for the whole game’s base fighting style, perhaps it would not hurt the series as a whole.

What do you guys think? Were an alternate battle system used in a new Zelda game, could it be done well without pulling you out of the adventure? Leave a comment below!