Lets Talk Zelda: Making Old Zelda Free on the 3DS, Evidence Ganon isn’t Needed, and Why Zelda is so

Three great topics, one epic news post. We’ve really dropped the ball this weekend, but more importantly is that we’ve really dropped our Zelda coverage the last week in Alex Plant’s noted absence due to real life issues. It’s unacceptable behavior and I do not blame anyone who has ventured elsewhere to find the Zelda coverage they crave.

Of course, we have thousands of loyal fans who aren’t even aware there was coverage out there. After all, if ZI didn’t post it than likely there was nothing to discuss. This isn’t exactly true, as I bring 2 missed topics and 1 new one to light.

For starters, conversations among top gaming journalists has broken out in regards to making The Legend of Zelda for the NES a free download for all 3DS owners. The arguments are extremely solid as well. The game has been rereleased a few times now and each time the price has dropped. The next rerelease of it is creeping very close to the 5$ mark, and in 4 years it will likely be available for one dollar.

Instead, Nintendo could just offer the game as a free download to help show that even though the mobile market is littered with 99 cent gems, nothing compares to The Legend of Zelda’s quality, and none of them are at it’s price point: Free. It’s a great marketing manuever, and something I think Nintendo should seriously consider doing more of.

Now, they don’t need to make the entire NES library free, but they could definitely offer a good 10 to 15 games for free over the course of the next two years just to build more budding interest in buying the console. Especially when there may not be the right selection of games available that people want on store shelves. It simply adds value to a 170$ machine. Incentive to buy, if you will.

IGN wrote a piece discussing bosses that aren’t Ganon in Zelda, explaining why Ganon isn’t necessarily needed to make a great Zelda game. Of course, this is in the wake of being told Ganon wont be the big bad guy in Skyward Sword.

I took a different angle to this discussion back in 2009 with Ganondorf – Goodnight Sweet Prince. I clamored for Ganon/dorf to simply vanish from the series… at least for awhile. That he was actually a soar point in Twilight Princess, making the game worse, and that he has overstayed his welcome as no one truly fears him anymore. While true (at least for me it is), IGN takes a more practical route. A lot of other bosses have been the guy, and have done so in ways that make us all smile.

We know about Maladus (who many just call a Ganondorf knockoff), and Vaati is among the most respected Zelda characters out there. The one that never gets enough pub is Nightmare. He is the epic final boss in Link’s Awakening that takes on several different forms to bring up feared aspects of Link’s past. It’s a cross between some of the forms Ganondorf has taken and the repeated scenarios presented from Zant. Of course, this existed long before that sort of stuff occurred, sort of making Nightmare the pioneer of the multi tiered fights and the changing of forms.

So, do you think Ganon/dorf is a truly required aspect to great Zelda bliss? If you go back and read my piece on the subject, you all know my answer.

The last topic for this post deals with Zelda being revered. Why is it so revered? There are surely adventure titles, if not adventure RPG titles, that are both technically and logically superior right? Sure, there are. However, one thing Zelda does that many despise yet misconstrue is that Zelda is simply accessible.

Many times, a game being accessible is seen as a casual move. I mean, if it’s easy to pick up and play, than why would the hardcore fan want it? Spirit Tracks was easy to pick up and play, but it really did well to entertain the veteran Zelda player (actually, you could argue it was a bit disconnected from the bigger fan base, due to lower than expected sales). Still, I truly think it’s the accessibility of the game that not only gives it the mass appeal, but really does entertain the veteran Zelda fan.

The first time you here the new item tune in a new game? It just tickles me, even though it’s the same tune I have heard a thousand times. A block puzzle that goes out of the way to be slightly different? I chuckle, not because it’s hard, but because Nintendo is still finding new ways to give me the same puzzles we have dealt with since 1986. Every now and then Nintendo throws a surprise into the story as well, or adds some extra charm to the world to get us to think. Zelda is a game that, above all else, finds great balance.

Sure, the game is rarely perfect for any one specific person, but they make it such an enjoyable ride that rarely can we say we simply didn’t have a fun time playing. We’ll admit some things scared us, and we came close to tears. We looked in shear awe at some bosses and sort of *sighed* when we beat them in under a minute. We’ve breezed through many puzzles early only to be stumped by a game stopping puzzle late.

Zelda finds a way to appeal to the mass audience while still giving everyone else fun. No one is quite sure how Nintendo does it, but we do know that Nintendo does it well. Here is hoping they some day find a way to make a second complimentary adventure game to help build off of what Zelda has built up. There is no other game out there that can really compare to Zelda, and eventually Nintendo should be the ones to add that comparable series to the mix. Zelda is great, and it’s that “Zelda charm” that truly makes it one of the best series around.