Changes must brew for Wii Zelda in 2010

June 8, 7:33 PMNY Wii ExaminerAnthony Lifrieri

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Back in 1987 the Legend of Zelda debuted on the NES and changed the world of gaming forever.  For the first time there was non linear gameplay that had more of a quest feel as opposed to the more single minded popular games of the era such as Super Mario, Pac-man, Donkey Kong, or even Frogger.  If you want to read more into the early Zelda games please look at the wikipedia page on it.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_%28series%29

Now all games have non linear elements and full freedom to do anything in video games is the norm.  Grand Theft Auto, Shenmue, Mercanaries, Bully; all these games can thank Zelda for creating their way of playing games.

Again in 1998, Shigeru Miyamoto changed gaming by making Zelda fully 3D.  Ocarina of Time was his masterpiece, the greatest game ever made that legitimized and perfected the 3D gaming method that was pioneered in Mario 64. 

At that point the series reached it's high point and since then has never surpassed that point.  Majora's Mask, Windwaker, and Twilight Princess were all good games, the latter being great but since Ocarina of Time it seems to me as though the series has been resting on its laurels.

I understand it is blasphemous to say such a thing and I was in denial about it for years as it is my favorite gaming series but it's time to face facts:  The Legend of Zelda series has fallen behind its competitors.  Even though I enjoyed playing Twilight Princess immensely, I find that I have played and replayed Oblivion and Fable II far more than Twilight Princess.  This is due to the competition offering far more side-quests, freedom, and customization to the player than Zelda has in a long time.  To put it bluntly, Nintendo and Miyamoto has been beaten at their own game.  

I reported in my last article about Nintendo's possible plan for the next game.  You can see it here:  http://www.examiner.com/x-13000-NY-Wii-Examiner~y2009m6d6-Zelda-Mario-Metroid-Beatles-announced-at-E3

The reason there was no working concept for Zelda at E3 was because Miyamoto and his team are trying to come up with a counter for said events.  Suffice it to say that this upcoming Zelda game for the Wii will be the most important, make or break game in the series since A Link to the Past.

In 2010, the series will either sink or swim.  Nintendo has tried to change the series before with Windwaker, and failed.  For this series to survive, Nintendo needs to get back to its roots of being a serious, mature, adult themed game maker; contrary to what it has been since the Gamecube era was ushered in which nearly killed the company.  They need to make Link older and more mature.  They need to change the actor who makes his cries sound like a Sumo Wrestler inhaling helium, to a man in his 20's or 30's.  They  need to make Hyrule even more open ended and incorporate a communication system like in Oblivion.  Perhaps they can come up with a microphone device that can allow the player to directly talk to the Wii for communication between Link and the other characters.  The Wii Motion Plus must be utilized to it's potential and there should be modes for both lefty and righties where it's not to awkward for players.  And for once, they should allow Link to get the Triforce.  He hasn't gotten it since the SNES because they are so obsessed about the sequel.

This was an early trailer for the follow up to Majora's Mask.  It showcased the early potential of the Gamecube, or as I still call it by it's original name, Project Dolphin.

I found a fan video that was very good that also illustrates the point I'm trying to get across.