Zelda 3DS: 2D or 3D?

It seems to me that most Zelda fans are more anxiously awaiting Zelda Wii U than Zelda 3DS. I can understand this. The home consoles are more powerful, have unique controls, and are ultimately capable of much more. But c’mon, Zelda 3DS needs some lovin’ too! The 3DS is the most powerful handheld Nintendo system we’ve seen to date, and look what it did for Ocarina of Time. Think about it: another game with essentially the same graphics and gameplay, but with a brand new world, enemies, dungeons, and story? I would bet that such a game would please Zelda fans everywhere. It would utilize new 3D capabilities while taking us back to the glory days of Zelda when the Control Stick/D-Pad and buttons were the standard. As much as I loved Skyward Sword, I have to admit, I miss playing games on the SNES, N64, and GameCube controllers.

But I seem to be getting way ahead of myself here. We don’t even know the style in which this game will be presented. In case anyone is confused by what I mean by 2D and 3D, allow me to clarify: Like many other Zelda fans, I use the term 2D to refer to the top down, overhead view style of gameplay, which we’ve seen in titles such as The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and The Minish Cap. This style seems to be the standard with the older home console games (pre-Ocarina of Time), and every original handheld title. While this game will no doubt utilize 3D to create depth and layers, I use the term 3D to refer to the camera-controllable style games that have a 3D world. Examples include Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. This seems to be the standard with almost every home console title since Ocarina of Time. Honestly, I don’t really care which style the game is presented in, as long as it’s a great game. Let’s discuss the merits of each style and how they could possibly utilize the 3DS’ capabiities.

First up: the 2D, overhead style. I think this more traditional style could really benefit from 3D in a number of ways. My first thought revolves around multi-floored dungeons, which has been a standard almost since the beginning of the series. In many of these dungeons you have to fall through a hole in a higher floor to land in the floor below, and sometimes that’s the only way to reach that particular area and complete the dungeon. I think it’d be cool to use the 3D effect to get a more detailed view of the floors below, and maybe instead of falling through to progress, you have to, for example, throw a bomb down there to hit a switch that will effect a path ahead of you on the higher floor. If you get a more detailed look of the floor below, I think that could make for some very interesting puzzle design that we’ve never seen before, and it may become a common staple in future games.

I also like the idea of the 3D having to be turned on to see a more realistic angle to solve puzzles. Here’s a perfect example for anyone who’s played Super Mario 3D Land: There are several pipes you need to go down to grab star coins. And sometimes in these rooms, what looks like just a pyramid of blocks in 2D is revealed to be more or less the same structure in 3D, but you see that one or two of the blocks pops out a little more, and isn’t actually part of the pyramid, and you need to get to that block to get the star coin. Unless you use the optional “change the camera angle” button in that room, it can be hard to figure out without the 3D. Now you could argue that this would work in either a 3D or 2D style Zelda game, but I think it would work better in a Zelda game where you CAN’T change the camera angle, and you’d need to rely on the 3D effect to solve the puzzle, whatever it may be. In the 3D style games, the camera is free roaming and totally controllable. In the 2D style games, it isn’t.

Now, on to the camera-controllable style of gameplay. This seems to be the standard with most home console Zelda games over the past 15 years, and the overhead view seems to be mostly associated with handheld consoles. This is partially why I want to see a 3D style world on the 3DS. We’ve yet to see it on a handheld console. Yes, I know we have Ocarina of Time 3D, and it’s absolutely beautiful, but the game doesn’t change at all if you turn off the 3D. It doesn’t make it easier or harder. The 3D is there purely or aesthetic appeal, not gameplay mechanics. An Ocarina of Time-style game built around the use of 3D to solve puzzles would enhance not only the game’s ultimate fun factor, but also show off the 3DS’s capabilities in new and exciting ways. Imagine you’re playing Ocarina of Time, and you’re using the bow. Think about how cool and realistic that shot would look if you needed to rely on depth of field and determine the exact location of, say, an eye you need to shoot to unlock a door or reveal a treasure chest. It would also be exciting to use that same mechanic to light faraway torches by lining up shots to light a distant torch with a closer, already lit one. Essentially, I think the game would look approximately the same as Ocarina of Time 3D, but the game’s creators should enhance the visuals to their capacity (that is if Ocarina of Time 3D DIDN’T do that) and create more puzzles that require depth of field to solve.

Lastly, and this could work for either style, I like the idea of somehow incorporating the 3D to find a boss’ weak point. We’re all so used to obvious weak points on Zelda bosses. Eighty percent of the time, it’s the eye. What if you couldn’t see a boss’ weak point without a 3D effect? It makes me think that this game, regardless of style, would be cool to base on a story and theme of illusion. Like the villain has somehow altered reality or disrupted the order of nature. Imagine that playing the game without the 3D effect shows the world in what seems to be a normal, “world-we-know” kind of way, and turning the 3D on is like looking through the Lens of Truth: Things are not what they seem.

While I would certainly love and prefer one of each style to two games with just one style, I think for the time being we should just assume we’re only going to get one. Personally, I’d rather see the free camera, 3D style. Like I said, we’ve yet to see an original game with this particular style on a handheld system, and the 3DS is powerful enough to make an impressive, immersive game like this. Overall, I think the very concept of 3D is more intriguing with a style that feels more “real-life,” and in the end, isn’t that what the concept of 3D is all about? Making you feel like you’re there?

But let me know what you guys think! Which style do you want to see and why? Post your comments below and let’s talk about it!