Gossip Stone: Would Real Life Limitations Make Zelda Games More Engaging?

Link has been seen sleeping, resting and eating in several games across the Zelda timeline. Let’s take a moment to think about how life would be like for our Hero if he had real life limitations to overcome on a daily basis. Hit the jump to read more.

In some Zelda games Link is depicted sleeping during the opening cut scene and subsequently would not sleep for the rest of the game. The sleeping to save concept was made popular in games like Grand Theft Auto and could have been adopted in time sensitive games in the Zelda series such as Majora’s Mask in lieu of the owl statue save method. The time of day was also a minor factor in the gameplay of The Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker, which could have been controlled by having link save by sleeping, but instead was controlled by songs. Sleeping is a convenient way for developers to incorporate saving and explain lapses in continuity in games but I believe it could be used to represent a real life limitation without hindering the story and gameplay in the right circumstances. It would be a clever way to advance the story by forcing the player to explore a certain area for shelter or revisit a town to search for an inn.

Link was also able to rest on tree stumps in Skyward Sword, but aside from filling hearts it did not provide much of a change to the game mechanics. I found that the use of the stamina gauge in that game provided a slightly more realistic representation of fatigue which was greatly appreciated on my end. Many games like Assassin’s Creed have been wildly successful without managing fatigue realistically. As a rock climber myself, I know first hand that scaling buildings and jumping rooftops is not a viable mode of transportation,

The apple tree and Grandma’s soup are two items introduced in A Link Between Worlds and The Wind Waker that simply replenish hearts and the magic meter. Link is never hungry and the player is never prompted by the game to eat in any way. Games like Grand Theft Auto implemented eating as a way of health replenishment, although it was never the most realistic method when vendors would still serve food to the player after committing various crimes on the street in front of the store.

Health management goes hand in hand with battle; what would link do if he got injured on the battle field? Hopefully, Link could just go in the woods when he needs to pee. What real life limitations would you like to see Link endure in future Zelda games and which ones would absolutely not work? How would they affect the dynamic of the game?