I doubt they’d trust another company with a “mainline” Zelda game. The IP is too valuable to them. I could see more Hyrule Warriors type games but I reckon Nintendo will keep most of their main development in house, and I’m not sure they want to make that kind of game anymore from what they say, so I wouldn’t hold your breath. One thing I wonder about is what’s next? They made two great open world games now and maybe they’ll move on from that formula too. But to what? Who knows.
Link’s awakening was great on Switch. I’d love Minish Cap remade for switch, it’s my fav GBA game by far.
That would be great. Don’t get me wrong: BOTW and TOTK are awesome and easily some of the best games I ever played. Yet, I’d love some games from other developers. Minish Cap is an exellent example. It was flawless and so much fun.
Eh, other developers are already basically making Zelda games minus the name, and you can play them without giving nintendo money. Unsighted, Death’s Door, and Crosscode are all great and take strong inspiration from Zelda, just to name a few.
Crosscode is such a great game. I really should get back to that once I’m caught up on a few other titles.
Keep your eyes open for Mina the Hollower hopefully later this year, it wears its Link’s Awakening inspiration on its sleeve. Adorable mouse character and healthy dose of Castlevania mashup from the developers of Shovel Knight, I’ll be surprised if it turns out anything other than a slam dunk.
Backed the kickstarter and eagerly awaiting it!
I would loooove if we could get top down Zelda games occasionally between BotW-style games. Like how we get 2D and 3D Mario games. I definitely don’t need an Ocarina of Time type of Zelda anymore though. That version aged and doesn’t hold up very well anymore IMO.
Interesting. OOT is the only one I’ve continued to return to.
Give me OOT with the systems created with BotW /TotK. There is so much potential here for freedom here the way you could complete dungeons in different orders, while still adhering to a classic dungeon-with-items Zelda formula. Lighting fires with bombs vs arrows vs thrown torches. Reflecting light with mirrors or a mirror shield. Even using enemies’ attacks or weapons to do so. If this was part of the core design of the game, it could be treated like how sequence breaking is now sanctioned in Metroid games and part of its design.
I think a 3rd party might be able to do this while Nintendo charges forth with their new vision, and this would probably be my favorite style of Zelda game.
What exactly from OoT are you missing in those two games, though? I’m honestly curious, because there’s very little that is objectively ‘missing’ compared to OoT
Not OP but personally I’d love to see OoT done in the style of BotW/TotK on Switch.
I would love another game similar to minish cap (one of my favorite) but I doubt it
Have you played thru Link’s Awakening on the Switch already?
As someone who thinks BOTW and TOTK have a TON of glaring flaws that modern game journalism refuses to critique, this is disapointing to hear. I fear they’re just gonna keep making BOTW clones with different powers and I’m never gonna get a traditional zelda game that isn’t a remake again.
What flaws are you referring to (I’ve not played them myself)?
- The worlds are largely empty and boring to explore even compared to some much older open world titles
- movement/controls are clunky
- the combat system is incredibly simplistic especially compared to other games and makes combat largely uninteresting and unchallenging
- the weapon durability system is terrible and not only discourages exploration (to save your good weapons), but also prevents more complex combat mechanics from existing at all
- the plots really aren’t good at all
- the shrines are repetitive
- the side quests have no good rewards and often aren’t worth bothering with. This is due to any substansial rewards (health and stamina) being locked to shrines, main tools being given to you at the start, a lack of proper progression, and other tools like weapons being disposible.
- Because they give you all the tools at the start of the game, there’s really no sense of progression making the game feel stale a lot more quickly then it otherwise should
TOTK doesn’t really address any of these problems from BOTW. It does address things like enemy variety, and dungeons/bosses (barely), but both games share so many of the same issues I struggled to get through TOTK.
I disagree with all and every single point you made, to the point that I think the complete opposite about most of them. So I guess those are subjective, not objective issues, and the game is not for everyone. I don’t think every game has to be for everyone, but it’s clear looking at popularity, sells, and cultural impact, that both BotW and TotK are liked by a huge amount of people just as they are. And I for one would definitely like to have a third installment.
The final point really gets to me. New items and abilities were such a great part of pre-BotW era Zelda games. I get why they did it. The open world being so large means you aren’t likely to want to re-explore the same location again once you get the requisite item. It’s a sacrifice they made to avoid gating content off and allowing you to go anywhere and do anything at any time. I just don’t really think that sacrifice is worth it.
2d zelda is my absolute favorite and I do hope we haven’t seen the last of them. I’d even settle for a Seasons/Ages reboot. 😩
Someone in another post suggested Blossom Tales, I’m 2 hours into the first game (which is $4 CAD on sale on Steam) and while it is an obvious Zelda clone, they made some interesting changes and the game is fun.
Seconding this, blossom tales is super fun of you’re looking for a 2d Zelda experience, and if you’re alright with diverging a lot more but keeping the same vibe, both Tunic and Crosscode are fantastic games as well.
I think I have seen Crosscode before but never really looked into it. Looks like a great game. Currently 70% off and there’s a demo on Steam. Will give it a try tonight!
I’d love to see more stuff like Triforce Heroes, side games that are a little quirky but have their own charm to them and can be played multiplayer.
I really enjoy the new games but I had concerns with the company’s direction back when A Link Between Worlds came out. They were so excited to break the linear formula and that started the “destruction” of the metroidvania aspect of Zelda. For me, that is a core aspect of the IP.
I loved BotW enough to buy it twice, but it definitely lost a lot of the Zelda “feel” so it only deepened my concerns. I will admit that TotK feels more like a proper Zelda title than BotW. But I still miss the item gating puzzle style progression.
Anyways, I just hope their takeaway is not hyper focused on open world sandboxes forever.
I have long given up on guessing Nintendo’s next move. One thing I’d bet on is they’ll shake things up sooner or later. Zelda isn’t stuck in this precise genre forever. It’s always been in their DNA to surprise us.
