Gossip Stone: What Is The Future of Zelda’s Transportation?

Past Zelda games have given us several ways of moving about each respective kingdom. From simply walking around the world, to using large vehicles, Link has had no shortages of transportation methods, but what’s next? What should be the way that Link primarily gets around in Zelda Wii U, and subsequent games? Join the discussion after the jump!

There have been, in more recent series titles, some interesting methods of travel, but they do not seem like ones that will stick. they seem more like single-game gimmicks. Spirit Tracks had trains, obviously, and that was the biggest gimmick of the game, but people really felt that they were restrictive, taking you out of the explorable overworld that fans were used to. Perhaps trains can be slightly less-used ways of moving between certain locations every now and then in a new game.

Air travel seems to have been used more in the series. There have been multiple games that let you fly from point A to point B via bird. Most of the time, a single flute song, ocarina tune or bell ring would bring the bird down to carry you off immediately, but Skyward Sword used extended, albeit rather boring, flight as a primary gimmick. It worked, and being one person on one bird made it swift and free-feeling, but the world you were in above the clouds was unimpressive. If flying was reused, either the world should be improved for the use of a faast, small “vehicle”, or a new thing to fly on should be used, like, perhaps, a plane.

Then there is ocean travel. The Wind Waker and Phantome Hourglass were quite different in use of boats, but they covered everything that you might expect when sailing. There is not much to say that has not already been said by fans. The Wind Waker portrayed the Sea in thew most realistic way possible for its context, with wide expanses between detailed islands, and Phantom Hourglass did not add much that was new or interesting to that, so it makes me wonder what might be done were Link to return to the seas. I enjoyed the Great Sea, but you cannot just reuse the same exact mechanic for a brand new game.

So what does that leave. Link and Epona have traversed the lands on foot, trains have crossed the kingdom, boats have sailed the seas and birds have soared through the skies. There are not many other avenues for interesting travel. Really, that’s where you come in. Should any of these mechanics be revisited, or does something new need to hit the Zelda world? What could this new method be? Leave a response below!