Zelda: Leaks of the kingdom thread

[Zanzoken]

Honestly after watching all of the trailers and gameplay videos, I feel the same about this as I did about BOTW.

With this series Nintendo absolutely nailed it in terms of making a game world that is beautiful and fun to explore and play around in. From the big stuff like climbing and gliding, to all the little details they thought of like smacking a piece of flint with your sword to start a campfire, or rolling a boulder down a hill to crush bad guys. As a player traversing this world you think "can I...?" and not only is the answer yes, but it is flawlessly implemented and works exactly like you would expect.

In a culture where janky, bug-riddled messes like Skyrim and Cyberpunk are the norm, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Nintendo's commitment to quality and technical mastery.

Where this series falls short, unfortunately, is content. The Zelda approach to storytelling and characters feels tired and dated to me. The enemies and encounters are (mostly) underwhelming. The shrines, dungeons, and sidequests are not that interesting (with a few notable exceptions). Some of the systems design is questionable (weapon durability is a big one, and the new abilities like Fuse don't excite me at all).

So while I can enjoy these games for what they are, I think the bigger feeling I end up with is a kind of wistfulness. It's a shame that we can't get western RPGs that are built with Nintendo's level of mechanics, artistry, and polish. The BOTW engine would be incredible for a proper open-world cRPG in the vein of Gothic or Morrowind.

 

[Bigg Boss]

Honestly after watching all of the trailers and gameplay videos, I feel the same about this as I did about BOTW.

With this series Nintendo absolutely nailed it in terms of making a game world that is beautiful and fun to explore and play around in. From the big stuff like climbing and gliding, to all the little details they thought of like smacking a piece of flint with your sword to start a campfire, or rolling a boulder down a hill to crush bad guys. As a player traversing this world you think "can I...?" and not only is the answer yes, but it is flawlessly implemented and works exactly like you would expect.

In a culture where janky, bug-riddled messes like Skyrim and Cyberpunk are the norm, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Nintendo's commitment to quality and technical mastery.

Where this series falls short, unfortunately, is content. The Zelda approach to storytelling and characters feels tired and dated to me. The enemies and encounters are (mostly) underwhelming. The shrines, dungeons, and sidequests are not that interesting (with a few notable exceptions). Some of the systems design is questionable (weapon durability is a big one, and the new abilities like Fuse don't excite me at all).

So while I can enjoy these games for what they are, I think the bigger feeling I end up with is a kind of wistfulness. It's a shame that we can't get western RPGs that are built with Nintendo's level of mechanics, artistry, and polish. The BOTW engine would be incredible for a proper open-world cRPG in the vein of Gothic or Morrowind.

Which all goes back to that tired dead fuck Miyamoto not caring about story in games which is what Zelda needs to move forward.

 

[Talby]

I just want a real Zelda game again, but it looks like those days are over.

 

[Jenkem]

*a real zelda game being defined by the one game I played in my youth for an hour*

 

[qwertyuiop666]

I can't believe they put Rehydrated Ganondorf in the game...
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1646524951959330817

 

[perfectslumbers]

"Real Zelda games" are linear children's games filled with long clunky animations and simple puzzles

 

[Bigg Boss]

I mean a real Zelda game is Adventure of Link on the NES. Suck my cock purist.

 

[Maxie]

"Real Zelda games" are linear children's games filled with long clunky animations and simple puzzles

guy wants adult entertainment from Nintendo exclusives dude just admit you're too cool for school and leave us childish children alone

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I just want a real Zelda game again, but it looks like those days are over.

As discussed to death in the BotW thread, this premise is can only be true had "A Link to the Past" been the first Zelda game
But since there were already 2 Zelda games released before ALttP and both didn't feature it's "formula", it's safe to declare that the cited premise is false

 

[Jaedar]

I appreciate that nintendo is accidentally rediscovering immerse sim elements to put in their zelda. I just wish it wasn't open world.

Realistically I will still play this at some point, but I hope they fixed the issues with the first one.

 

[Zariusz]

Its funny how modern Zelda is advertised by showing rocksticks and shields glued to sword while the same company once revealed Twilight Princess by showing trailer with music by MOTHERFUCKING BASIL POLEUDORIS

 

[Bigg Boss]

Twilight Princess sucked and Windwaker was better.

 

[S.torch]

The only thing that makes Twilight Princess memorable is its aesthetics, while Windwaker is even worse, an absolute step backwards from its predecessors in every possible aspect. Majora Mask being the best game in the series, to this day it still has the best story of any Zelda game.

 

[Jenkem]

Twilight Princess has a big tittied goth waifu

 

[Clockwork Knight]

She spends most of the time as a big hipped flat tsundere goblinoid though, therefore pleasing a multitude of player tastes. Aonuma-san...so this is the power of a master of his craft...

 

[gamerguy]

Twilight Princess sucked and Windwaker was better.

WW and MM were god damn works of art

 

[Wunderbar]

Windwaker was better.

 

[Talby]

I just want a real Zelda game again, but it looks like those days are over.

As discussed to death in the BotW thread, this premise is can only be true had "A Link to the Past" been the first Zelda game
But since there were already 2 Zelda games released before ALttP and both didn't feature it's "formula", it's safe to declare that the cited premise is false

If you're an autistic retard, sure. The original game established the formula, Zelda II was just a weird deviation that didn't completely work out. Everyone who's actually played Zelda games older than BotW knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say a "real" Zelda game.

 

[Jenkem]

I just want a real Zelda game again, but it looks like those days are over.

As discussed to death in the BotW thread, this premise is can only be true had "A Link to the Past" been the first Zelda game
But since there were already 2 Zelda games released before ALttP and both didn't feature it's "formula", it's safe to declare that the cited premise is false

If you're an autistic retard, sure. The original game established the formula, Zelda II was just a weird deviation that didn't completely work out. Everyone who's actually played Zelda games older than BotW knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say a "real" Zelda game.

I understand what you mean by "real" Zelda as in a "Traditional" one that follows a certain formula, but that formula was established by LTTP and not the first game. Please explain your meaning when you say a "real" Zelda game, because I'm guessing by your definition there's more deviations ("fake" zelda games to use your parlance) than "real" ones.

 

[v1rus]

I don't have that much experience with Zelda series, having fully beat only the first one, the second one, LTTP, TP and BotW. And while, it seems sorta obvious that LTTP is closer to the rest of the series than the original one, how come would one consider that LTTP is anything but an upgrade/refinement of the originals formula? Genuinely curious, since I have no doubt that all of us can agree that the second one was more of a weird oddity than something that correlates with the rest of the series.

 

[Nutmeg]

The first two games are part of the same zeitgeist - Zelda 1 is to Hydlide, Dragon Slayer and Tower of Druaga as Zelda 2 is to Xanadu and Vampire Killer (MSX). Not to mention all the similar games that came out in the same year or the year after like Faxanadu, Battle for Olympus, Maze of Galious, Sorcerian and so forth.

OTOH, there's just shy of 5 years between Zelda 2 and Zelda 3, 5 years back then being like 20 now in terms of game design sensibilities and trends.

3D Zeldas are their own thing, IMO.

 

[Bigg Boss]

The only thing that makes Twilight Princess memorable is its aesthetics, while Windwaker is even worse, an absolute step backwards from its predecessors in every possible aspect. Majora Mask being the best game in the series, to this day it still has the best story of any Zelda game.

Lol no. It was a game where you actually explore and have a sense of adventure. Twilight princess was a game where you are stopped from entering areas and then turn into a stupid wolf for a minigame until the game ends. Twilight Princess can be enjoyed by just watching the story online. Windwaker is fun to play. Different strokes. I like boats and Twilight added nothing new.

Majora Mask is another game that I need to play since I missed it at the time but when I try to play it now I cannot enjoy it since Ocarina plays like shit in 2023. I just watched the story on it since that is what people love mainly aside from the non linear nature of the moon crashing every 3 days or whatever it is.

 

[Nutmeg]

Windwaker brings back the grid of interest world design from the 2D Zeldas, which is still unique among the 3D entries?

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Twilight Princess sucked and Windwaker was better.

> games whose dungeon crawling is supposed to be the high point
> "the game with almost brain-dead dungeons is better than the one with actually engaging dungeons, because I prefer the former's chibi aesthetics to the latter's "grim" dated 6th gen visuals"

Windwaker is fun to play.

z z z z z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

I just watched the story on it since that is what people love mainly aside from the non linear nature of the moon crashing every 3 days or whatever it is.

People like MM because it's undeniably the best Zelda campaign

She spends most of the time as a big hipped flat tsundere goblinoid though, therefore pleasing a multitude of player tastes. Aonuma-san...so this is the power of a master of his craft...

old /v/ meme

Everyone who's actually played Zelda games older than BotW knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say a "real" Zelda game.

Nigga don't me that shit
I've been playing these games since I was 9
OoT is the entire reason I care too much about this stupid ass medium
Your "real" Zelda games have been in constant decline since 2000
This game design formula has been thoroughly milked
Skyward Sword proved beyond a doubt that it's incapable of inovating and excite without recurse to controller gimmicks
Had BotW also followed the formula you'd be moaning about how the series is stale garbage and that it should be buried

And while, it seems sorta obvious that LTTP is closer to the rest of the series than the original one, how come would one consider that LTTP is anything but an upgrade/refinement of the originals formula?

The original games intent, has stated by the series creator, was capture the feeling of adventure and discovery he felt has kid exploring the landscape surrounding his home
Exploration is the core of these games
And in the originals both the overworld and the dungeons had similiar importance towards that end
What ALttP did was shift the focus primarly to the dungeons and make the campgain more "linear" as to better control the players progression and increase the dungeons difficulty

IMO this is not so much as an "upgrade", it is primarly a shift in design philosophy
And it's not a bad one, as it genuinely produced great games

Really the problem is the fact Nintendo, in more than 20 years, never deviated even slightly from this formula and as a consequence the games have degenerated into absolute mediocrity

 

[S.torch]

Lol no. It was a game where you actually explore and have a sense of adventure. Twilight princess was a game where you are stopped from entering areas and then turn into a stupid wolf for a minigame until the game ends. Twilight Princess can be enjoyed by just watching the story online. Windwaker is fun to play. Different strokes. I like boats and Twilight added nothing new.

Majora Mask is another game that I need to play since I missed it at the time but when I try to play it now I cannot enjoy it since Ocarina plays like shit in 2023. I just watched the story on it since that is what people love mainly aside from the non linear nature of the moon crashing every 3 days or whatever it is.

Ocarina and Majora's play like crap in 2023 if you play the remasters that were made for 3DS, especially if we're talking about Majora's Mask, which kills the dark atmosphere and several important mechanics, while Ocarina was made more tedious by adding pure popamole.

The N64 version of both games with some filters is superior, I've recently played both and they've aged better than most games coming out in the next few years will.

Majora's Mask, it's good even in its mechanics, the whole concept of the masks is very interesting, you even get different interactions with the characters depending on which one you wear. The city feels really alive, the quests and stories are endearing and the art is great, we're talking about a game that was made in just a year and already showed a very substantial advance in the series, unlike BOTW 2 which took 6 years to give you what is essentially a glorified DLC with huge expanses of empty space and characters that send you looking for potatoes, all framed in an art that makes the characters look stupid and increasingly moves away from fantasy.