I love the Zelda franchise. It is responsible for more of my gaming memories than any other game and Ocarina of Time stands to this day as my favorite game ever. So being only 2 short (excruciating) months away from the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct in April, naturally, I’m looking forward to any possible mention of a new Zelda. It feels like Nintendo is going to come out swinging with this one and what better way than to just hint at a new adventure in Hyrule?
Nintendo has been pretty willing to tease a Zelda with some time to go before release. Probably because it’s the only one of The Big 3 that we all accept takes their time with everything. You get the trailer and you just accept the wait that comes with it. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see even just a brief 20-30 second trailer for it. Either way, it’s a pretty safe bet it’s coming. So Nintendo, I have one thing to ask of you with this new one: Go back to the old formula for the next game.
I miss the old ‘zelda’ dungeon structure
One of the things that made Ocarina of Time my favorite game of all time was the dungeons. Every single one felt like a significant part of the world. They helped make the world feel lived in and gave a sense of history. Even the most boring of them (Fire Temple), was a great example of pulling from the lore of the world around Link. But visiting these areas that were legitimate connections to the land and the story provided a greater level of immersion than an open world.
I loved Tears of the Kingdom, I even believe it to be the best Zelda game ever. Ocarina holds a special place for me because I was immersed in being Link far more in that game than Tears. I want more open world adventures, but something about the linear structure of the other games just feels better when we talk about a Link story. Tears feels like what Nintendo had been getting at for years when they decided to make Link silent. He’s truly an avatar for the player. Which is enhanced by the exploration of the world. But the other games feel like Link is a character and that is my favorite version of the series, especially given the lore that goes into the timeline.
I miss being able to go to an area and experience the characters and their world. Kicking it with the Zora in Tears of the Kingdom is great, but the post-apocalyptic version of Hyrule is so specific to an open-world format that it takes me out of what makes the Zora unique. But remember what it was like to walk into Ocarina‘s Zora’s Domain? Hearing that music and seeing how the Domain was structured felt specific to the Zora.
THIS IS NOT A TEAR DOWN OF the OPEN WORLD format
It’s important to note that I know what Nintendo was going for with Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild. Of course there would be segmented groups of people spread out over the entirety of the world. Storytelling-wise, I get it. I do think the weirdness of the timeline creates some of this feeling too. But just from a straight up gaming and world-building perspective though? I loved what Ocarina, Majora’s Mask, and Twilight Princess gave us in 3D form. So Nintendo, that’s what I need from you guys. The next 3D Zelda in the old format. Show us what you learned from the open-world games and how you can apply it to the classic look.
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