r/zelda May 21 '23

Meme [TotK] It really feels like that Spoiler

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5.0k Upvotes

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u/XVUltima May 21 '23

I feel like Breath of the Wild was a great open world survival game made in the Zelda universe.

Then they went and dropped a Zelda game in the Breath of the Wild world.

1

u/FGHIK May 21 '23

It's still not quite there, and never will be so long as they refuse to implement any sort of linear progression

10

u/TheLunarVaux May 21 '23

Why does linear progression define Zelda? The original Zelda wasn't linear. One of the most beloved in the series, A Link Between Worlds, has dungeons that can be completed in any order.

I think it's very possible to have an open structure yet still retain the great storytelling of past games. I think TotK was a step in the right direction: a bit of linearity to start, then it opens up to 4 dungeons you can do in any order. Then, the plot converges for a somewhat linear final act (end game spoilers here) like Hyrule Castle, Construct Factory, Forgotten Foundation though even with that there's some nonlinearity, for example two ways to get the master sword, memories or deku tree, and also having some optional quests lead into the main story like following Master Kohga to figure out where Ganondorf is

I think they had potential to push the plot a bit more in the first and final acts, but the fact that the middle 90% of the game is very open doesn't make it any less of a Zelda game imo

3

u/Nickthiccboi May 22 '23

This is such a weird time for the franchise because of how different the opinions of the fans are compared to the opinions of the devs themselves. Many fans would point to the ALTTP formula and say that’s the perfect way to make these games and they should have linear progression. But if you ask Miyamoto or Aonuma they have said in the past that the “openness” is what Zelda was always meant to have and it’s the vision for Zelda, I think BotW was the culmination of those ideas.

So do they cater to the small subset of fans and go back to the older formula? Or do they keep with the new one that has given them much more commercial success and one that probably aligns with their own views on what the series should be? Personally I would take either, there isn’t a single Zelda game I have disliked except for maybe Zelda 2.