Zelda News

[hennethannun]

http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/12/27/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-director-producer-discuss-speedruns-shrine-skips

"With so much freedom and so many potential solutions, we asked Aonuma if his experiences watching Breath of the Wild videos have impacted his thinking for future Zelda games, or if he’d rather return to a more linear design.

'You know, I can't speak to what other people, other companies will do in their own games, but I think for me, especially just in terms of the Zelda series, the incredible freedom that this game offers you and how well that's been received … to me, it means that freedom, that level of freedom is something that needs to be maintained in Zelda games going forward. My eyes have been opened to how important that is,' Aonuma said."

What are people's preferences, in terms of open-world v. linear games? I know quite a number of people felt as though Breath of the Wild failed to strike the appropriate balance between the two (myself included), but now it seems that it is the intention of the development team to continue with an open-world design scheme for the future. I'm pretty skeptical of the whole enterprise, but, of course, there are many other game factors that mix into the equation.

Is there a proper balance, and, if so, what is it?

[ExquisiteGlinting]

I don't want the following to seem like I didn't enjoy BotW. It was one of the best games I've ever played. The design, colors, detail; all a culmination of very-near perfection. Yada yada. But the following is only criticism.

Although the potentiality embedded in the fabric of BotW is exhilarating, I found myself missing the typical "explore your small village, get to know your friends, pick up one trusty sword, and be on your way" formula. This left the rest of the game feeling a bit empty, as if Link didn't properly belong. Tying into this, I was not a fan of the ransacked Hyrule. I was was wordlessly upset that Castle Town was in the state it was, not the gorgeous metropolis presented in one of the trailers. I disliked the immense absence of towns, something I was on the edge of my seat for during those 3 or so years. At least throw in some farmer cabins here and there, like in the very first intro trailer, ya know? I've got my fingers crossed for a thriving, even larger open-world Hyrule in the future. It would make the game so, so much more enjoyable for me.

[hennethannun]

I'm more or less of the same mind as you, concerning BotW; I enjoyed it in most aspects, but for a few, glaring areas. You're right to speak of the potentiality inherent in the game, but it isn't the relational potentiality that has been the mainstay of past Zelda titles. As you so rightly say, there is no home village, there are no small-town friends, and there is no Home to which Link can return. (There are many good elements to this new formula, which makes it more reminiscent of Metroid Prime than Skyward Sword, but there are attendant losses.) I think it is very fair to say that Link doesn't belong to the world of BotW; he is a remnant of a different age. This isn't his "time", so to speak, and therefore we feel odd acting in the world through him. Again, this is both beautiful and melancholic.

We're fully agreed that more mountain-top cabins, more wayward farms, and more land-placed residents would have been a welcome addition to Hyrule. One of my favorite places in the game is the Old Man's cabin on the Great Plateau; it is so rustic, charming, and warm, and it is set so beautifully against the wilderness of Hyrule. And there is not enough of *that* in the game.