Games
With Eiji Aonuma confirming that a new Zelda game is in production, we dive into the features we’d like to see in a sequel to 2017’s Breath Of The Wild.
The Nintendo Switch is getting ready to one-up itself with a 2019 line-up that includes Bayonetta 3, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Yoshi’s Crafted World and a new Animal Crossing title that’s destined to lock us away in Tom Nook’s basement for good. But here’s the kicker: a new Legend Of Zelda game is already in production.
There’s no telling whether or not it will be a direct sequel or a full spin-off of a previous entry, even if rumours abound that Aonuma's teased a remake of Skyword Sword, but Nintendo are hiring creative types that have experience with designing terrain such as fields and dungeons. The need for topographical production could be a misdirection and the gateway for a Linkle pinball RPG that nobody asked for, but it (sort of) guarantees that we might see a teaser for a ‘Zelda’ adventure in 2019. Having spent 600-plus days with ‘Breath Of The Wild’, we decided to take a dip into our theories bucket and share a few ideas that actually make sense.
1. A (much) deeper narrative
Spoiler: Breath Of The Wild didn’t really have a story. Like, at all. Its near four-minute Nintendo Switch Presentation trailer was a cinematic work of art, but its ‘big anime energy’ never made its way to the narrative itself. There were optional Captured Memories that answered a few plot holes, but it was more or less shaped by the choose your own adventure at hand, which used interactions and encounters to illustrate a much more personal arrangement of anecdotes.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Aonuma could Ghibli up a snippet of human emotion in the vein of Celeste and Old Man’s Journey, and tether it to environmental storytelling and NPCs that run their own course in the world. It’s a tough ask, but having them intertwined with other instances like Eventide Island would help to establish an entry that’s not just RPG-lite.
2. The return of dungeons
And lots of them. Breath Of The Wild had its Divine Beasts and 120 shrines, but bringing back more traditional designs will appeal to anyone who's invested millions of hours in exploring the multi-floor mayhem of Hyrule Castle. Dungeons like Stone Tower Temple (Majora’s Mask) and Snowpeak Ruins (Twilight Princess) used secrets, art direction and enemy design to establish their own tone and place in the world, and they rarely felt like PvE events that were designed to cough up a new sword or two. Just for the love of all things Mothula, please do a modern reimagining of Skull Woods. The Zelda series deserves another shot at being goth.
3. More BOTW-style RPG mechanics
A modern Breath Of The Wild-style Zelda game with levelling, skill trees, armour upgrades, and branching NPC quests would be interesting for the most part, but only if Aonuma gets weird with it. The series’s ability to transform crafting into a pen and paper experience and attach systems like weapon upgrades and horse reanimation to Great Fairies put BOTW in an RPG class of its own, and tying new combat skills to menu unlocks would cheapen the experience. Especially when you can solve the internet’s love for weapon degradation by reimagining the Poe Sisters or introducing a friendly Stone Talus who's just trying to make it as a blacksmith in Rito Village.
4. Zelda, but as a playable character
It’s about time; The Princess deserves her due. For what it’s worth, Breath Of The Wild was more about Zelda than it was about Link and while it’s highly unlikely for her to be the lead of a direct sequel, she deserves a few sprawling questlines that characterise her as more of a proficient combatant than royalty that’s tumbling through anxieties. One idea: bring back Sheik. Zelda’s alter ego hasn’t been canon since Ocarina Of Time (sorry Smash fans), but ditching the stereotypical ‘save the princess’ arc for one that messes around with teleportation songs and Ganon’s love for fossilising humans would give her the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. she deserves.
5. A new companion system
Adding Bethesda-esque companions to a Legend Of Zelda game isn’t exactly a renaissance of the role-playing genre, but it’s an avenue that would give players the opportunity to roam around Hyrule Field with a good doggo of their choosing. BOTW was full of noteworthy characters and introducing a new companion system that lets you party up with NPCs to take on side quests, labyrinths, and larger dungeon sections would add an entirely new layer of exploration. It could also toy with the idea of romance options and provide more context to characters like Kakariko Village’s Lonely Arrow Girl and whoever’s teaching Gerudo women how to smooch boys.
6. More bosses and enemy types
BOTW managed to twist 13 different mobs into 80-plus enemies but for a franchise that turned ‘flurry rushes’ into a Chuchu’s worst nightmare, there needs to be more variation. Reintroducing Helmasaurs, Darknuts, Skulltulas, Gibdos, Wolfos, Miniblins and Bombchus would give each region a compendium that’s actually worth researching – especially since 1v1s with Lynels still feel like exhilarating set pieces that are designed to make you hyperventilate a little. Throw in bosses like Skull Kids and Phantom Ganons or DeviantArt mods like a Stalnox archer that uses Fire Keese instead of arrows, and you have a sequel that’s as challenging as it is crazy.
7. More nods to the top-down era
One of the most lovable aspects of 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey was its ability to snap into a 2D platforming section within a matter of seconds. It would likely be a bit tedious to pull off in an open-world Zelda game, but intertwining visual nods to the likes of Four Swords, The Minish Cap and A Link To The Past would allow a 50-hour adventure to change gears when it needs to. It would also introduce players to the idea of a modern top-down game and propositions like completing a ‘main story’ only to be teleported to a 16-bit Dark World inhabited by pink rabbits.
8. An Ocarina Of Time remake
Just do it already Nintendo. Give me Saria or give me death.
