End of an Era For Zelda

Twilight Princess will represent the end of an era for Zelda games, according to Shigeru Miyamoto.From the Eurogamer article: "'This will be, without a doubt, the last Zelda game as you know it in its present form,' Miyamoto is quoted as saying. He declined to reveal any more details as to how the series will be reborn, but did go on to assure fans that Twilight Princess will be absolutely aces: 'Our goal was to make the best Zelda game ever. The most rich, satisfying and [melancholic]. I worked on it personally, moreso than Wind Waker. I haven't invested as much into any game as I have this one,' Miyamoto said."

Comments

Superman is Dead!

[kannibal_klown]

In other news, DC Comics has decided to kill Superman. In a grand move by DC, they will a world faced with real loss and grief as their greatest hero falls.

"This isn't a ploy." He will be dead and buried, never to return. Superman has been with DC comics for decades, and his death will be a major turning point.

**Skip a month or 2 later**

Superman is back! Which one is he? Cyborg, young clone, black guy in a power suit, or energy-throwing guy with big glasses?

**Skip another month or 2 later **

FACE! The real superman has revealed himself. He never died, but was in stasis! Now he's fighting against the Cyborg to save the Earth.

I don't doubt that in a few years time we'll see another real Zelda game.

Re:Superman is Dead!

[kannibal_klown]

There will be another Zelda game. But as he says, not in the same form as past Zelda games. You missed that part, I think.

No I didn't. DC tried different things with Superman that ultimately failed. Eventually they gave up and went with regular Superman. That's what I foresee with Zelda. They'll try a couple of new "formulas" but in the end they'll go back the "young green-suit wearing guy has a destiny involving using a magical sword to save a youngh princess."

As with Superman, they decided to do away with him. Then they brought back "alternatives." When that didn't fly, they went back to Superman "classic." Then again, it may have been their idea all along to bring him back.

But...
They tried "upgrading" Superman around 1997. They changed him from his usual red-yellow-blue super strength hero to a blue energy being. He now controlled electricity and gravity, could phase shift, and travelled via lightning bolts. That's a far cry from "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a speeding locomotive..."

While he "hip" and modern, they quickly learned that people just wanted their good ol' Superman back. After a while, certain things become a part of culture, and changing them is met with hostility.

Possible Alternatives

[alvinrod]

I know you're just joking around and that it would be possible for Legend of Zelda characters to appear in games like this. After all, Link, Zelda, and a few others are already in the Smash Bros. games. I could see cameos from the characters of the series in Nintendo made games based around popular sports.

However, I don't think we'd outright see any games like that ever, even if there is a Mario Kart and Mario Golf. Instead I think there are a few different angles that Nintendo might be thinking of taking.

First up is the traditional RPG. Nintendo really hasn't had many of these on their console in the last few generations. The GameCube was an improvement over the N64, but considering the massive amounts of RPGs on the SNES and other current generation consoles like the PS2, Nintendo has fallen quite short of the mark in providing a plethora of worthwhile RPGs.

The Legend of Zelda universe would translate pretty well into an RPG. Turn based battles could be considered a real drag after the live action we're used to, but there are always the real time battles as found in the Star Ocean series and Tales of Symphonia. If anyone could make those feel perfect, I think it is Nintendo.

Another possibility is that the series really isn't undergoing a radical gameplay change or redesign but is instead changing other things around. The themes and characters may become more mature and feature voice acting that the other games in the series have lacked. I'm sure there are a lot of gamers out there who would appreciate a more mature based Legend of Zelda game with all the elements that other modern games have in them.

This could be conceived as radical and revolutionary because it's a complete departure from the "kiddy" style that Nintendo is often tagged with. Maybe it's just me but I don't think the main Zelda demographic is young children anymore. I think the game mechanics make it a little too complicated for anyone that young. The top down games of the past were pretty easy, but the 3D worlds of today require slightly more mastery.

Then again this could be a lot of talk to get the community stirred up about Nintendo and Zelda. Drop a line that a game a lot of people have grown up with and loved and the masses will go ballistic. This does seem a lot like a Nintendo PR grab. They tend to come out and talk about how they're going to revolutionize something or how radically different something is going to be instead of tossing out numbers on their console or how it will be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

There're a lot of other possibilities, but my money is that the games will take on a much more mature (or at least a lot less childish) nature, transition into more of an RPG, or that this is just a PR media attention grab from Nintendo while they work out the details of what they're going to do later.

Online???

[alan_dershowitz]

I'm wondering if the big change he is referring to is an MMORPG version of Zelda. Let me be the first to say KICKASS, and I will probably live in there if they make it.

Somone already did something like this. Back around 1998, some guy made a multiplayer online version of Legend of Zelda-a Link to the Past by reusing all the SNES game sprites and tiles. It was pretty cool. After a while, Nintendo caught on and sent them a cease-and-desist, and they changed the name to GRAAL, and slowly changed all the graphics. I guess that people still play Graal to this day. It was a good idea. I hope Nintendo does this.

Re:Zelda FPS.

[FidelCatsro]

They still have not made a crap game in the series(Zelda 2 and Wind waker are arguably the worst in the series and they are amazing) .. I would be rather annoyed if they totally ended the timeline though since Twilight princes is to be set before wind waker .. I would like one last game after it to be set after the original Zelda game to tie up all the loose ends and finally have the triforce of power taken from Gannondorf.
Though when Miyamoto San says that there will not be another Zelda game in its classic form it will most likely be far better.
He is the only game designer who always delivers a game that lives up to the hype .
It's rare in the industry to retain such a record , the only other designer who even comes close in my mind is Warren Spector.
I don't want to seem like a brainless fan-boy and if he ever does mess up i would have no hesitation saying so , but the fact remains he has not yet .

speculating on marios new sidekick .. I am expecting a bird of some type or perhaps something to do with digging .. but we will have to wait and see.

Re:Zelda FPS.

[FidelCatsro]

there was a Zelda subscription service in japan .. well the modem add-on (Satellaview) for the SNES had two games .. BS Zelda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_Zelda and BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BS_Zelda:_Kodai_no_Se kiban.
not exactly what you meant ;) but still bloody interesting .. The emulation is not perfect so there is no real way to enjoy them right now IIRC .*If your listening nintendo .. how about including an emulated version of these with Twilight princess *

Wind waker was great .. unfortunately it was rushed and half the triforce hunt had me reaching for a bottle .
All together it was a great game ,... just a tad on the short side(if you remove the bloody triforce hunt).

Link is defiantly a romantic character ( Sentimental romantic , not amorous) and a good iconic hero .
Though he is not the one to shift consoles to the masses .. that's Mario's job .
The Zelda games are there for the slightly more dedicated players

Honestly though , I don't mind waiting 6 years for a Zelda game (well i do moan about it .. but they are always worth the wait )

Wind Waker

[Phantasmo]

Boy, I steered clear of Wind Waker because of all the bad things I heard about it. However, I hit a bit of a slow period and a friend of mine loaned it to me. I really regret my decision to pass it up. It's seriously one of the best games I've ever played.
In fact, I think if it hadn't been a Zelda game, the industry would be raving about its innovative gameplay and terrific graphics. Unfortunately it seems like the community really wanted OoT on steroids. Well, that's what it's getting with Twilight Princess. I'm sorry to read that Miyamoto wasn't happy with WW, but I certainly got a lot of fun out of it.