My wish list for the next console Zelda.

Submitted by Stephen Munn on May 13, 2007 – 12:15 am6 Comments

As I near the end of Twilight Princess, the time has come for me to start thinking about what the next Zelda, the one we’ll be playing on our Wii somewhere around three years from now, will be like. Messing with Zelda is a dangerous concept; as I understand it, Nintendo actually has a kind of Zelda “steering committee” that decides what is right or wrong for a Zelda game. It’s that important a franchise to them. Now that they seem to have “given” the franchise to the west, it might be time for the committee to evaluate right and wrong again. Let’s just say I have some ideas.

Take a chance.

Taking a chance in Zelda would seem anathema for a company that can somehow manage to make the same story a dozen times and have it seem new. Something significant needs to be done to change the formula. Nintendo showed an early demo of a first-person Zelda at GDC 2007, and while I think that’s not the right direction for the series, it shows they’re thinking hard about big changes.

A new enemy.

Something new was done when the Four Swords games appeared in the franchise. These centered around a new power, the Four Sword, that was being kept from a new enemy, the magician Vaati. Vaati appeared in three games: Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, and The Minish Cap. Vaati came across as a much more mysterious and dangerous character than Ganon, Agahnim, or the somewhat disappointing Zant, who I never found particularly menacing. I wouldn’t mind taking on Vaati in a first-class console presentation, but a new enemy would be nice, not a magician this time, maybe a skilled former military commander, something like that, someone with an organized army.

A new treasure.

I’m sick of the triforce. Call me blasphemer, but the dragon scales symbol, what with their whole Wisdom/Power/Courage and the analog to Link/Zelda/Ganon thing, was never strong enough to carry more than a couple of games, and I’m tired of protecting them. I like that Twilight Princess doesn’t seem wrapped around the triforce, instead I’m just kind of saving the world. I liked that about Majora’s Mask, too, in fact.

A new hero.

Either Link needs to grow a pair or Zelda does. Let’s see Zelda in the driver’s seat for the next Legend, or let’s see a female Link. If the idea of a woman with a sword is too rough, give her something else, like a staff. Think Beyond Good and Evil. Keep in mind that Link is not a person, Link is a title, or a role, as is Zelda. Most Zelda games do not star the same Link, they’re different people performing the same task of protecting Zelda from Ganon, and keeping the triforce out of his hands. The advantage of a female Link is that Link already looks female. It also would be a big enough change to draw lots of new attention to the franchise.

Let’s hear your ideas for the next console Zelda. What would knock the green sock off your head?

http://my.opera.com/-Lithium-/blog/ Lithium

I think that the wii.tv april fools joke (a link to the future) would actually make a good zelda game (minus the guns and cars). I agree with your points as well, except for changing the hero I think that link being reincarnated is fine with me.
http://www.routermall.com used cisco

A red tunic.

No seriously, how do you mess with zelda. There are so many elements people expect. Maybe they could pull a final fantasy and have the entire epic jump into a futuristic universe, one that still uses cool swords for in close fighting (so we can get the Master Sword) and medieval constumes but uses cool futuristic projectile weapons as well, (in place of the sling shot). It could be a technological society but one that harkens back to the “old days”.
This might be too dramatic a shift but I think it could be done. I love zelda too but it’s getting a bit played. Also, they need to figure out a way to get rid of clay pots. I don’t ever want to have to pickup and throw another clay pot.
TheBrain

I say keep Link, Zelda, the Master Sword, the Triforce, and Ganon.

Everything else needs to change. We need a new game here. I want to have more than one way to solve puzzles. I want to have more freedom in how I play the game. I’ve had enough “talk to this person, find this item, give this item to this person to progress” and “push this block into this particular place to open this door to flip this switch to step on this pressure switch to open this door.”

I want something new and open. Think Zelda the Sandbox version.
XAQ

… a new hero? thats stupid. i was supportive of everything you said until then. thats just stupid.
John H.

Actually, Nintendo regularly does almost all of these things with Zelda:

Take a chance: like cel-shading the whole game despite risking epic fanboy wrath, or building the game around an endlessly-repeating three-day cycle?

New enemy: Like the Nightmare, or Skull Kid?

New treasure: Like Siren’s Instruments, masks or Kilnstones? Come to think of it, I don’t think the word “Triforce” was ever mentioned in Twilight Princess, nor were the triangles seen in person (the closest we saw were those hand patterns).

New hero: This could be interesting, except that “Link” doesn’t make a good girl’s name. And who would she rescue, Prince Zeke?
http://www.aeropause.com Stephen Munn

You’re right, John H. Four years later, I seemed to forget how cel-shading Zelda made some people upset and was seen as risky. That’s a result of me actually liking it. You’re also right about the nightmares (Link’s Awakening) and Skull Kid (Majora’s Mask) being new enemies, but what I’m saying is I want them to do that in the next Zelda. I’m worried that the success of TP will make them stamp out more Ocarina-style games out of fear of backlash. I like your other points too. As to Prince Zeke, Nintendo never creates any kind of romantic energy between Link and Zelda. He’s not saving her out of love, but out of duty. They don’t have to be opposite genders. Would be something if they made them both female and then finally hooked the two of them up. That’s too risky for a company like Nintendo IMHO.

I don’t remember the Siren’s instruments, were those the names of the instruments in Link’s Awakening? When I mentioned new treasure I meant the goal. And I admit that I was under the impression that the triforce was present at the end of TP, but not having finished it yet (still collecting bugs before taking on end boss!) I was going on word of mouth.