Zelda's Future Deserves Better

I'm sure whatever comes after Tears of the Kingdom will be great, but Aonuma's stance on the future of the Zelda series is disappointing.

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This video was edited by the wondrous Kane!

Additional footage credits:

Tears of the Kingdom:
@MrZebraGamer
@KrowsGraveyard
@Yoshiller

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@LongplaysHD
@ZeldaMaster
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"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.

[szechuon]

I resent that this Aunoma fellow would say Ocarina of Time is restricted. by no means! just because you can't parry in that game or climb anything with a vertical axis, doesn't mean it was restrictive. It had the perfect progression (and I would say the same for Twilight Princess). You start off in a limited space where you can run around, talk to Kokiri, get your sword and your shield, and then bam. First dungeon. After you beat the dungeon, you get an item that allows you to hit enemies from a little farther away, but then you're also given access to Hyrule field. as the game progresses and you gain more items from dungeons, all of sudden an area that was once blocked behind rocks can now be opened up to you with a bomb. You can now get to new places with the hookshot, and after you free your horse, you've unlocked a couple of new sections on the map.

Ocarina of Time had such a perfect progression of opening the world up to you in stages and after each dungeon, you always left feeling like you've accomplished something. Also, Ocarina of Time's dungeon design, while sure might have been limited in how you solved puzzles, but was at least tricky enough to where you couldn't game the dungeon by, i dunno, climbing the wall of the building to get to where you needed to be. Literally in TOTK, it felt like I cheesed the game because I could just climb the walls of the fire temple to unlock those gates instead of doing the actual dungeon.

[Kriskirby]

I don't know why we need to pick between one or the other, let's have future open AND linear Zeldas

[MachFiveFalcon]

One of the advantages of linear/classic Zelda to me is how much weight is given to new items & weapons. When you get the Hookshot in Ocarina of Time, your freedom of movement & range in combat are permanently improved. When you get the Gilded Sword in Majora's Mask, you feel a permanent, significant power increase. I could write another paragraph on the transformation masks alone. They're all meaningful moments for the player.

[josueamericanistarv]

It's not only nostalgia Eiji, limitations are good for having fun, they challenge you to improve your skills, your creativity, your critical thinking, and a lot more things. It's kind of a myth that a game where you can do whatever you want is better just because of that.

[JaredClaunch]

An open map with several dungeons or quests tied to linear progression could absolutely work. They could even integrate dungeon items into progression, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

[synysterdawn]

Open ended design can be extremely limiting in and of itself. There's a reason why the Divine Beasts/Temples and Shrines in BotW and TotK all look, feel, and play the same. If at any point any player can just waltz their way into any scenario from any direction at any point in a game's progression, then that scenario has to be designed in a way that's simple to understand and isn't building off of anything that was previously taught unless it was part of the mandatory tutorial. Your first beast/temple and/or shrine could be somebody else's last, so they all have to play like they're the first and never expand beyond a single concept. That freedom of being able to go wherever, whenever tends to just come at the cost of meaningful discovery, challenge, and reward. Having some level of barriers of entry and sequence of events that need to be experienced in a certain order would go a long way in mending those issues while still preserving an open-ended design philosophy, just not so open-ended that it's almost impossible to meaningfully test players beyond the scope of the tutorial.

[Navii_]

What’s kept ringing in my mind is how Aonuma phrased the desire to return to the linear format as just “nostalgia” just really misses everything on why people liked classic Zelda. Breath of the Wild was my first game in the series back when I played it in 2020 and as the years went by I dived into the older games and with that I found Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to be my favourite games in the series as I played the both of them a year ago. In my case, nostalgia oppositely applies to why I love the linear format. Linearity just allows for the story to be better paced without interference and the dungeons feel empowering to finish since you solved this huge series of trials that had one fixed solution.

Aonuma I feel at this point just misinterpreted everything on what people would like, it’s honestly disappointing and I slightly worry what could come later on for the series.

[richardhambel]

Something I was hoping that you would mention but you didn't, and I rarely see anyone else mention, is how the older dungeons in previous Zelda games usually had a story unfold within that dungeon itself. The dungeon told a story of its own. For example, in Twilight Princess the first dungeon was about you rescuing the monkeys and freeing their leader from a curse. The Fire Temple in Ocarina of Tme was about you freeing the goron prisoners and their leader is going after the dragon himself whom you encounter at the beginning of the dungeon. The Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time you learn about that Gerudo lady who is killed by the two witches before you fight them. Skyward Sword dungeons often unfolded the story with Ghirahim and Zelda and Impa, usually near the end of the dungeons before the boss battle.

another thing is how the dungeons usually introduced their own unique quality or gimmick to make them stand out from the other dungeons from a gameplay perspective. For example working with the sages in Wind Waker in the latter dungeons. Or, how one of the dungeons in Majora's Mask turns upside down. or how the Geat Bay Temple in Majora's Mask was mostly traversed via swimming, and I actually really love this dungeon. Another great one is the timeshift stones in the Sandship. None of the dungeons in BOTW or TOTK do this. They are all just a static, still, non-dynamic maps that just have 3 to 5 buttons and you simply press the buttons within the exact same gameplay mechanics that you have encountered throughout the rest of the game with no unique twist whatsoever.

[EmperorsNewWardrobe]

Why might we prefer more linearity? Linearity allows for PROGRESSIONS in items and plot! Item progressions allow for recontextualised puzzles and plot progressions allow for an interesting story

[vianabdullah]

A Link Between Worlds already managed to balance linear progression and open world exploration 10 years ago. It's definitely possible to get sprawling dungeons and a present story in an open world game.

[lordmango]

Zelda has always been very much like a Metroidvania. I miss using newly gained items and abilities to solve puzzles and the feeling of progression that comes with that

[dashjustice]

It seems like Aonuma views the transition from linear zelda to open world zelda like how people viewed the transition from 2d to 3d. Once Mario 64 came out, "why would anyone go back to a 2d game it would be a step backwards technologically." Now we know the advantages of 2d and 3d games, they're different genres not a linear progression of technology.

[Nutsacc]

I don't even want it to be 'linear' necessarily, just return to some of the core elements to the series like key items/equipment and traditional dungeons.

[darknight]

I would love to have a Zelda with a smaller open world that includes some large, linear dungeons. It would literally be the best of both worlds.

[vegancarnotaurus]

Portal is a great example of meticulously planned, supposedly linear puzzles that sometimes can be solved in unique ways by thinking outside of the box, and when you do so you don't feel like cheesing

[reddragonlaser]

Another issue with designs this open is that it removes all mystery. Take Wind Waker for example. Once you learn how to control the wind, the world opens up heavily. You start to wander around and see all sorts of cool islands. Small islands where you play golf with a Deku Nut, coral reefs designed like dice blocks, a sunken submarine, an aquatic landing pad. But, as your going along admiring the world, you see some other things, a volcanic island you can't interact with, a giant glacial reef that freezes you on touch, what looks to be a giant plateau where the queen of fairies resides. All of these thing prevent you from seeing whats inside them, so you can only wonder for now. As you continue on with the game, these inaccessible areas are always in the back of your mind. As a player, you keep thinking about them and wondering what they are like on the inside. Then later when you finally gain a power that allows you access to the plateau, you get really exited, because now you can finally see that place you could only dream about for so long. You go back to the plateau, use the power, and become shocked to learn that it isn't a plateau at all, it's a water filled valley where fairy's reside. It brings new contextualization to not only that location, but the world it inhabits.

If Wind Waker had Breath of the Wild physics, link would grab a nearby tree and catapult himself right into the fairies house. There is no build up or wonder about the area, and as such the area becomes forgettable.

[milldew]

The unique dungeon items felt like true treasure, unlocking new areas and abilities

[lykanaslupus]

I miss going into a dungeon, finding the map and the compass, defeating a mini boss, receiving the dungeon specific item, finding the boss key and finally clobbering that boss with my new found item. I miss it so much you guys have no idea.

[GhostMitch]

An open world Zelda game (with a smaller world than BOTW/TOTK) that also has a good story and traditional dungeons (with dungeon items like the old games) would be the perfect hybrid for the future of Zelda.

[sunnydraws]

I know for a fact that nostalgia is not the only reason because Breath of the Wild was my *first* Zelda game, and yet I still absolutely adore the older games I went back and played afterward, like Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask. I have zero nostalgia for any of those titles, but they were all an absolute joy to play.