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I love Zelda, but I've never played Link to the Past. I realize now that I must. Should I try to track down a copy for SNES, or is the GBA version any good? I think I'd rather play it on my Micro if it's a well done port, and it'd be a lot easier to find.
I got the GBA version and it is a pretty good port but they did change quite a few things like giving Link some voice-work (as in the grunt noises from his child-form in OOT) and expanded the menu to be less confusing. You could also try getting the VC version, it's a perfect port imo.
Back on topic, voicework: will it happen?
Just as long as Link himself doesn't talk, I don't care.
Just how you interact with it.
Stylus controls on the DS, and Remote Controls on the Wii.
Whats interesting (to me) is that this may mean a change to First Person for Wii Zelda 2....
Scholar and a Gentleman? Critical of bad science and religion? Skeptobot - Is for you!!
These two statements are in direct conflict with one another. Revise your argument for non-insanity.
Also, hunting for the bugs just wasn't that great of an idea in TP. Couldn't they have just had a boss that stole the tears, or an area full of those Twilight creatures, that appear from the portals? Also, repeating the forest sequence twice for the Master Sword and then a dungeon was annoying. If a Zelda game clocks in at 15 hours, I'm not going to care. Too many parts in TP seemed thrown in to extend the game. The other thing I think needs change in Zelda is the story. It always ties the game together sort of well, but there's never a payoff. Link never gets Zelda, Ganon is beaten, and everything works out. That's pretty much every Zelda game, right there, and they always play it safe. TP hinted that the Fused Shadows could corrupt Link, but they never went in that direction.
The only Zelda games where the stories were great and didn't play it safe are Link's Awakening and Majora's Mask. Other than that, I can't really fault Zelda. It's still amazing, but they really need a game that surprises old fans. Getting the Master Sword, and watching the treasure chest cinema, just isn't exciting anymore. The next game needs to be crazy. And just one more thing, Z-targeting and Epona's controls must find their way into another Nintendo game. How sweet would a Western shoot-em up be with a horse that controls a well as in TP?
Edit: Sorry just one more idea to attach to this giant post. My friend and I always talked about how cool-and sad- a Zelda game would be where you played as a false Link. There would be this giant battle, and everyone expects Link to beat Ganon, but it turns the Link is not really the chosen hero, and he and Hyrule lose, setting up the events of Wind Waker.
What I play it for (and have been satisfied by since OoT) is the narrative. I don't just mean all the text and cutscenes, I mean the sense of adventure, of going to new places and seeing new things, and experiencing things. For example, the part in Wind Waker
Short of a whole new Zelda paradigm (and I know some people are going to crucify me for this), I'd like to play a game with the concepts of Majora's Mask and enjoy it. The NPC's, the three days, the amazing atmosphere conveyed by several locales, and so forth, but transplanted into a game that I find fun. For whatever reason, I didn't find most of Majora's Mask fun. Exploring the towns and meeting and learning about NPC's was fantastic, something that I haven't been able to wholly appreciate for a long time, until now when I see how few games actually implement something of the sort. There were a number of locations (Woodfall temple comes to mind) and events (love the scene that played after every dungeon) that were beyond awesome. I didn't really care about the mask mechanic though; I got sick of having to juggle the mask items, and found the controls annoying, but I don't think transformation is an inherently bad mechanic.
Without trashing the rest of the game more than necessary (and really I can't put my finger on the problem, but I just found most of it except for the aforementioned things to be a tiresome eyesore for which I had to frequently refer to a walkthrough due to a scarcity of clues, and assumptions that I knew things about NPC's that I would only know if I'd been in the exact right place at the exact right time on the exact right day), I would say that a future Zelda should have that kind of detailed NPC interaction.
They called you the "Hero of Time" in Ocarina, but Majora's Mask was the game where you really got to be the motherfucking hero of time, and I don't think the NPC mechanics are played out yet. It doesn't need to be in three days (in fact I'd prefer not, not only because such a blatant rehash is out of the question, but because it made MM far too stressful and claustrophobic for my liking, as cool as the idea seems in my head), but give NPC's detailed schedules, behaviors, problems, and interactions and you will have something very new to every Zelda except Majora's Mask. The rest of the game doesn't matter to me, as long as I can fully engross myself in the adventure and have fun.
Ever.
I don't see how it could possibly add to the experience. And I really liked how Twilight Princess removed the few lingering first-person elements from the game.
When you think about it, Link has usually stood in as an avatar for the person playing as him; hence, he doesn't speak, and you're allowed to put your own name in at the beginning of the game.
So why not start adding elements where you can shape the way Link responds to certain things? Quick example: notice how, in a lot of recent Zelda games, there seems to be an oddly long list of female NPC's who are attracted to Link on some level? Well, how about introducing a sort of Harvest Moon-like mechanic, where, depending on your choices and actions, you can chose to attempt winning over one of the girls? Maybe one girl runs a certain shop that has an item that she'll give you if you chose her, maybe one is the leader of a tribe who'll help you on your quest, hell, maybe one girl is Zelda, end of story.
Extend it; how about you have to make proper choices to get certain NPC's to do something for you, or the order in which you do dungeons have an effect on the world at large, etc. etc. etc.
The result? Different branching plot-lines (while still revolving around the main plot line), side-quests (maybe some involving lands besides Hyrule?), a few alternate endings, etc.
I hate to sound like I'm biting off Fable, but I'm not looking for it to go THAT far. I'm just going with what a lot of us have said already: Hyrule, since Zelda jumped to 3-D, has become to many gamers a big, living world, and with each new title, Nintendo should strive to make it feel even more alive, more epic in scope (in one way or another). Adding in an element where the player's character choices have an effect on how the game plays out adds replay value, and an incredible level of immersion.
So, in summary: not Fable, but you SHOULD be able to have a deeper level of interaction with the world and characters around you, plot/storyline/etc. wise.
Wii Code: 5700 4466 3616 6981 (PM if y'all add me)
The problem with First Person is that it removes the possibility for all the acrobatic combat developed in Wind Waker and (more heavily) in Twilight Princess. I though the Hidden Skills were fantastic, and it seems like Nintendo is just on the cusp of nailing down the perfect and most unique combat system for the franchise. I'd hate to have it thrown away in order to develope in First Person.
LoneIgadzra:
I agree with you that the puzzles in Zelda have become somewhat worn out, which is a shock coming from TP, which had a plethora of incredibly unique items, and even some new uses for old items. The Iron Boots, for instance, got a lot more uses than just letting Link walk on the bottom of lakes. The Magnetic Paths in the Goron Mines alone validated the entire dungeon, but we never saw them again. The Spinner could have given us a lot more than it did, although it had some applications (there's an area in Hyrule field with a Spinner Track that leads to a Piece of Heart with is fantastically cool). But what disappointed me the most was the Dominion Rod, which could have been given a plethora of additional uses. Why not let it give you control over certain enemies? How about turning it into the Zelda equivalent to the Gravity Gun? That would have created some mind bending puzzles. Instead, they copped out.
It seems like TP was full of cop outs, daring moves that had somewhat weak follow throughs.
What I want to see the next game as is a bridge between WW and the games that come after it (LoZ, LttP, ect). How was the Kingdom of Hyrule rebuilt and the royal line restored after being completely wiped clean by the flood? That would be a fascinating story, which would help to better link together the games.
And screw TP's placement in the Chronology. It doesn't fit either of the current theories. Miyamoto has said that there is indeed a grand primer for the Zelda chronology, but I doubt we'll ever see it.
(As a final note, I am nit picking here. Twilight Princess is one of the best games I've played in a few years)
The bit you edited out made it clearer. But ok. In simplo-language.
The comments about playing as Ganon etc, aren't viable, the core of the game will still be Link + Overworld + Dungeons, as has it has been for twenty years.
But, nintendo doesn't have a platform where they wish to use a joypad anymore. They want to focus on remote and stylus controls. That is the revolution they were talking about,.
Scholar and a Gentleman? Critical of bad science and religion? Skeptobot - Is for you!!
I want to talk about Zelda. I've been looking at some of the Zelda sites forums but it's just not the same.
There was a few posts I missed before this thread sunk. I like the suggestion for altering the eco system of the area of the dungeon you complete. Also making the world more alive is definately something I'd like to see; NPCs with schedules and routines just not in a MM three day manner. Something else that I remembered that seems out of place but might work is the gang meters in GTA2. I liked them because you could fall in and out of favour with the gangs. A more sophisticated version in Zelda might be cool, as you can become liked or disliked based on your decisions. Like getting thrown out of Goron City because you helped the Zoras first and having to make amends with the Gorons before you can tackle the dungeon on Death Mountain.
Also I came across this piece of music, does anyone know if this was an actual possible overworld theme for OoT or just fan work? I wasn't sure at first but I think it would have been quite good.
http://www.zelda-infinite.com/files/music/oot/overworld.mid
Of course, this might require MASSIVE amounts of fucking with the traditional characters (imagine the hero being an older, strong soldier type and the bad guy being a princess), but hey, I like dramatic change.
I don't know, I quite like Link being the holder of the Triforce of Courage as it doesn't hold any inherent power. He's the underdog hero. Also power corrupts, that's why Ganon has that piece.
There was a LoZ comic I read back in the day where Link managed to gank the Triforce of Power from Gannon, and he started being all assholish and eventually started turning Pig-like as Gannon did. The Triforce of Courage passed to Zelda who had to save him from the corruption of the Triforce of Power.
Of course, this is prior to the current Zelda mythology where the triforce was created where the goddesses left the material plane.
So the division of the Triforce into Courage, Wisdom, and Power actually preceded OoT?
Yeah I believe that its mentioned that the piece that you are assembling in the first game is the Triforce of Wisdom.
Or a more refined zelda 2 style, like the "find the triforce" levels from smash bros melee.
Hell, even a more single-player focused 4 swords type game, I just dont want to play another OoT expansion pack.
Most likely OoT is the first time it was broken, since Ganondorf didn't know it was going to do that, and if it had happened before, he would have known about it, since the Triforce is his sole obsession.
Besides, where did the comic come from? Chances are it isn't canonical.
And for the record, in an unofficial timeline way, OoT is the first Zelda story to happen. I don't think it does any good to say the Triforce was divided BEFORE this game.
Maybe the above idea of altering the ecosystem, and you have multiple paths.
Get the Hookshot first, but the bow is required? Use the Hookshot to be the Ranged weapon.
Maybe the only reason the item of the dungeon is useful is because of the boss. And lock you in the dungeon, but only to keep people from getting every item and then saying the games "too easy". It'll also keep some of the challenge if you start a dungeon and you can't just hop outside, grab some milk and faeries, and pop back in.