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What to Expect
in Zelda 2008/2009 Written by: The King of Hyrule A little while ago, in
an interview, Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator and the mastermind of
the Zelda series, stated that Phantom Hourglass was not the last Zelda
game. He guaranteed us that the great series that we all know and
love will be continuing. So with all of the new
hardware and technology available, what kinds of things can you look
forward to in the new Zelda? Graphics are the first thing I’ll
speak on. Zelda has dabbled in most every graphic type known to man,
including everything from 8-bit to cell-shaded to realistic. However,
Miyamoto did state after the release of Twilight Princess that it
was going to be the last game of it’s kind. Is Nintendo going
to try a cell-shaded Zelda game again? I doubt it. When Nintendo revealed
the graphics style of The Wind Waker, people were mortified. But when
The Wind Waker hit shelves, people loved it. The Wind Waker was followed
by Phantom Hourglass, which also featured the same cell-shaded graphic
style. Two games of the same exact style are only featured in sequels,
and I personally don’t think that a sequel is coming. I think a more realistic
graphic style is what we should be expecting. Nintendo really needs
a game that hardcore fans of the series will love. Nintendo needs
to do some catching up to games like Halo and Call of Duty in terms
of graphics and overall gameplay. Nintendo needs to prove that its
hardware can produce and maintain stunning games, and they know it. I once said that graphics
cannot be measured in terms of how realistic they look. Instead, the
graphics must be measured in relation to how they make the game feel.
When making The Wind Waker, Nintendo did not try to make realistic
graphics and fail miserably, they chose cell-shaded graphics because
they knew it would fit the emotion of the game better than anything
else. Nintendo has already created a game dealing with dark and light
(Twilight Princess), and the realistic style was perfect for it. But
this time around, if Nintendo chooses realistic graphics, it will
be because they knew they would compliment the game. Nintendo is actually
very good at choosing graphic styles, so I don’t think anyone
has to worry here. If Nintendo does choose
a realistic graphic style, it will in no way be the same as Twilight
Princess (I hope). The graphic style worked for Twilight Princess,
and Twilight Princess only, which is exactly what Nintendo aimed for
it to do. However, new game: new aim. The realistic graphics will
either be stunning beyond belief, or will take the form of a more
artistic realism. Either way, Nintendo will make it work; despite
their flaws and their inability to listen to the fans, Nintendo has
always chosen right, even when the fans say they are wrong (as evidenced
by The Wind Waker). So what console will it
be on? At the time of writing this article, Nintendo has still not
announced any details on the new Zelda, but most people assume it
will be on the Wii. It’s pretty obvious that Phantom Hourglass
was not specifically for the hardcore fan; its goal was to draw in
new fans, younger ones. As seen by games such as Nintendogs, Nintendo’s
plan for the DS game system is to appeal to children: new gamers.
However, Nintendo accomplished that, so it is safe to say that the
new Zelda game will be for the Wii console. Storyline-wise, I think
we can expect something totally new and different. I’m betting
money on new magical relics, new items, and definitely the Triforce.
I don’t want to go too deep into this topic though, because
nothing has been revealed yet, and so everything is nothing but speculation. I want to touch briefly
on the possible new items and the direction Zelda is taking subconsciously
through its items. In the past few games, more and more advanced items
have been showing up, many mirroring common day items. Take the cannon
for example. Though not a common item now-a-days, if Nintendo had
announced cannons in a sequel to the original game, people may have
rioted, claiming that cannons destroyed the magical aspect of Zelda.
However, no one protested cannons in the latest games. This topic
is a deep one, and I’ll rant if I go on longer, so I may just
write a separate article about it later. But, somehow, I think Nintendo
may have realized that the magical and mystical aspects of Zelda are
no longer the same. I’m pretty sure we can expect the return
of a magic meter, and maybe even spells, in the next Zelda, especially
because it was so close to being a part of Twilight Princess. I think
the items may stay realistic, only because Nintendo would lose its
new, younger, gamers if it transferred the series in a new direction
so rapidly. Next on the list is difficulty.
If anyone played through the original Legend of Zelda, and then played
Phantom Hourglass, you would have to be really dumb not to notice
the difference in difficulty. Zelda has progressively gotten easier
and easier. This is because, as I said earlier, Nintendo is starting
to appeal to a younger audience. Games cannot be too difficult or
the six year old with a Wii will not play, and that doesn’t
fit into Nintendo’s plan. Despite this, I would be surprised
if Nintendo now produced a game that was as easy as Phantom Hourglass.
I see a challenge in Zelda fans’ future, though not a great
one. This also ties in with hours of gameplay. Twilight Princess was
somewhat lengthy, but only took me 23 hours to beat my very first
time through. Ocarina of Time, on the other hand, took me probably
close to 50 hours my very first time, just because there was so much
to do. However, that was the past. Present Zelda games? Five hours.
That’s right; I beat Phantom Hourglass in just over five hours.
It was just that easy. Although there has been a drop in overall gameplay
time, I expect at least a solid 20 hours out of the new game, if not
more. What I hope and pray Nintendo
does not do is included tons of side-quests that total, with the main
quest, 20 hours. Side-quests are great as long as they are in addition
to the 20-hour main quest. Majora’s Mask is a perfect example
of this: quality side-quests that are optional but enhance the already
long main quest. My final rant will be about
controls. Twilight Princess was a rare case in which a game was released
for two systems (the GameCube and the Wii), therefore requiring two
different control setups. This allowed for people to choose the most
comfortable control style. Recent Nintendo games, such as Brawl and
Mario Kart Wii, have taken this need into account and provided gamers
the option to use other controllers beside the normal Wiimote. Although
there is genius behind this movement, I’m pretty sure that this
will not be the case with Zelda 2008/2009. The control style will
most likely resemble, if not mirror, the Twilight Princess controls.
The controls in the Wii version of Twilight Princess were adequate
and comfortable. The only problem was the swinging of the Wiimote
to swing Link’s sword. While this was fun at first, it quickly
grew boring and rather tiring. I know I’m not the only one to
make this complaint, so I think the A button may be changed to allow
to you swing your sword, among other things. Overall, the controls
should remain about the same. So all of that is what
I feel is in store for the new Zelda game. Of course, most of it is
just opinion and speculation, but much of it is logical and reasonable.
I’m sure I will be wrong on some accounts, but I do feel like
I have hit the nail right on the head as to what I, and the majority
of the Zelda community, would like to see, and as to what Nintendo
may, and hopefully will, do. |
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