Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom brought a lot of new features to the Zelda series, but the next game should skip one key feature.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom built on the formula that made its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, a resounding success. It kept the core features of BOTW and added new elements like Link's arm and its abilities. With the Sky, Surface, and Depths, the open-world design felt even bigger in TOTK. However, there might be one key feature that worked for both BOTW and TOTK that the next Zelda game could do without.
Tears of the Kingdom picks up a few years after the end of Breath of the Wild. Hyrule was starting to recover, but naturally, that meant it was time for a new threat to show up and threaten the peace. While the next game is unlikely to make these games into a trilogy, it'll probably follow their footsteps in terms of design and development choices. But there are a few details that the next Zelda game should refine to improve the overall experience, especially in one particular aspect. And in addition, it gives Nintendo the chance to fully return to the classic dungeon style that BOTW and TOTK lack.
The Next Zelda Game Should Limit The Map Size
The map is big enough that horse taming is required in Zelda: TOTK if Link wants to travel between places that aren't close to Skyview Towers without the journey taking too long. Using an open-world style lends itself to a sense of adventure and exploration, but it also results in sections of the map being little more than empty space. Yes, Link can find items and supplies in those spaces or use them to kill enemies and farm their materials for Fusing. But that empty space doesn't add to the overall narrative.
At most, for story elements, Link might run into side quests. The Zelda: TOTK Hudson Construction sign quests are spread throughout the Surface, making them the most likely quest that Link will stumble upon when roaming the map. While Link can stock up on Rupees and meals by helping Addison with his sign problems, the space used for exploration could be better off if it's given a different purpose in the next game.
The Next Zelda Games Dungeons Need More Map Area
One criticism of BOTW was the lack of classic Zelda dungeons. TOTK ended up having an in-between style of dungeons to address the criticism, but they were still far from the classic style. The areas were much more contained and relatively quick to complete, with the dungeons having one main puzzle that was solved with a handful of smaller puzzles, and one final boss fight to finish the area. However, there's another opportunity for Nintendo to reallocate map size from the overworld to make dungeons larger and more labyrinthine, like the dungeons from the series' past.
While the feeling of exploration in BOTW and TOTK gave the games a unique and open world for Hyrule that was unlike any of their predecessors, that doesn't mean that the feeling can be repeated indefinitely with every new Zelda game moving forward. Instead, the novelty is likely to wear off, even if the games aren't explicitly connected like TOTK and BOTW are, with the former being a sequel of the latter.
But the solution could be to shift the focus to give dungeons larger maps, and with more of a semi-open-world design through this; the space can instead strengthen the puzzles and survival elements of TOTK, assuming those elements would be part of the next game.
The Benefit Of Using More Space For Temples In Zelda
Temples in Zelda tend to be a focal point for the story and for Link's growth in power as he builds up to fighting the game's antagonist, typically Ganondorf. In TOTK, Link solves the primary issue plaguing the regions by completing the dungeon located there, and he receives help in return from the Sages, who awaken after the boss fight and send an avatar of themselves with him to help by giving him access to their unique abilities. Other games in the series use temples to give Link items that are useful in solving future puzzles and are usually needed for the boss fight of that temple.
In Zelda, temples and dungeons are historically important and felt rather bare in BOTW and TOTK. A shift in map styles to give more space and attention to temples can bring back a classic feeling that was missing in the latest games, and having to find a map and a compass to navigate a sprawling area often made it easy to run in circles.
Yet, it makes sense for temples to be giant, confusing, and difficult in design, given the fact that they generally hide items or information that carry a lot of power, which could be disastrous in the wrong hands. To fit that tone, they need more space than BOTW and TOTK gave them.
TOTK Went Too Big With Map Size
Tears of the Kingdom was bold with its features, and the physics system was an amazing feat. But the map didn't need three levels or layers. The Depths, in particular, were lackluster compared to the Surface and Sky. They were initially interesting but ended up feeling repetitive after Link's initial forays into them. While it could be unlikely that the next game has several layers since they were part of TOTK's story, using that chance to make the map smaller with the Surface as well to give development time and resources to more in-depth temples could maintain the feeling of exploration without a completely open-world main map.
Tears of the Kingdom received a lot of well-earned praise, but it also comes with lessons that can be used to continually improve the series moving forward. Nintendo confirmed that open-world will be the style of future games, but pulling back to go for a more semi open-world approach that allows for the exploration and wonder that can be added through sprawling temples, finding their secrets, and solving puzzles. Without DLC being made, Nintendo's Zelda team can put their full focus on improving and refining the features that will be included in Link's next adventure in Hyrule after The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment