While Breath of the wild AND Kingdom tears they are very loved, there are some Legend of Zelda fans who miss the leaner, non-open world approach of games like Ocarina of time. To those of you who fall into that category, I’m sorry to tell you that it doesn’t look like the series is returning to its roots anytime soon.
In an interview with Game informeradmits director Eiji Aonuma Ocarina of time was pivotal when it launched on the Nintendo 64, but Nintendo found its enclosed format “limiting” from a design perspective. While there were some open areas like Hyrule Field, much of the game was spent in carefully crafted temples that had specific puzzle solutions. Breath of the wild it had no temples, although there were temple-like structures in Divine Beasts, and the lack of this series staple was, and remains controversial years later. Despite pushback from some longtime fans, it seems Breath of the wildThe open-world structure and experimental game design it is the project that goes on.
“With Ocarina of timeI think it’s fair to say that it kind of created a format for a number of titles in the franchise that came after it,” says Aonuma Game informer. “But in a way, that was a bit restrictive for us. While we always aim to give the player freedom of a certain kind, there were a few things that the format didn’t really allow for to give people freedom. Naturally, the series continued to evolve after that Ocarina of timebut I think it’s also fair to say now that we’ve come to Breath of the wild and the new type of game more open and freedom it offers. Yes, I think it’s fair to say that he’s created a new kind of format from which to build the series.
To know more: 15 things I wish I knew before I started Zelda: Kingdom Tears
So here you go, folks. If you were hoping for a Zelda on a smaller scale, it doesn’t appear to be in the works. Don’t sound too sad and gloomy (heh) about it. In all honesty, I really enjoyed it Kingdom tears much more than Breath of the wild. So I’m a little warmer on the format these days, and if you loved both of these games then it sounds like you have a lot more to look forward to in the future.
Whatever the next game looks like, it already sounds like Nintendo has some ideas in mind about how to iterate Kingdom tearsranging from how he’s going to implement older characters and why he’s so attached to the experimentation that newer entries allow.