• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Where do you want to see Zelda go after Breath of the Wild?

MoonFrog

Member
Exactly. The next Zelda title isn't going to be a traditional, linear experience with some BotW elements thrown in. Certain people should get that out their heads right now.

I mean, they could totality add more linearity without making the game linear.

I think that is one way to build on BotW towards a better Zelda, imo. Not the only way, but surely a way.

Take the dark world/light world approach. They could have two sets of dungeons in non-linear tiers, with a second tier requiring the first but still having the game beatable without doing any, for example.

Or they could make it so you did have to beat all the dungeons to kill the boss, but they were still completely free in their ordering.

And I do think they should change up the openness of the exploration going forward. I don't think they are just going to iterate on the free-traversal mechanics; I think the natural, Zelda-esque way forward is to experiment with gadget/gear/tool traversal.

...

If they just did BotW with 8 dungeons each like a cross between Hyrule castle and shrines, I'd be pleased, but I think there is plenty of room to make the overworld fresh by hearkening back to older Zeldas.

Edit: I think the sort of changes we're discussing here are just as likely as that. Another likely Zelda-esque route would be to change the world by changing the setting drastically, like WW.
 

janoDX

Member
Better story

Better side quests

More dark stuff like Oot/MM. C'mon, I didn't find a fucking graveyard in the game.

Increase enemies variety.

Traditional dungeons

Unbreakable weapons. This game took away my pleasure of opening chests.

Shrink the world in about half of botw size.

Art style more like OOT/MM/TP.

Remove climbing mechanic or give it near the end of the game. I broke a lot of designed levels because of it. For example, I finished that forest area from last year game awards from the back and didn't experienced the cool fights.

More caves. Actually I didn't see any cave in this game for now.

Hookshot.

Traditional tunic. Fuck it's a crime to think that Link's hat is uncool.

Botw is fucking good. For sure one of my favorite games of all time.

Edit: Almost forgot.

Diving/Iron boots
Fishing







My 3d Zelda rank now.

Oot > MM > Botw > Tp > Ss > Ww

So you want a carbon copy of OoT and MM basically.

Also my ranking

BOTW > MM > WW > OOT >TP
 
I actually liked the bosses. Their designs fit the theme of the game and concept of the divine beasts.

The fight themselves I didn't care because all Zelda bosses are easy. This game made them easier with the ablilty to perfect guard and Perfect dodge.

I did enjoy the final boss tho, it obviously wasn't trying to challange rather make you feel good. I liked that.

I just want more music and variety in the designs for Bosses. Also, a more linear game, but I'm a person who doesn't enjoy open world games so there that.
 
I mean, they could totality add more linearity without making the game linear.

I think that is one way to build on BotW towards a better Zelda, imo. Not the only way, but surely a way.

Take the dark world/light world approach. They could have two sets of dungeons in non-linear tiers, with a second tier requiring the first but still having the game beatable without doing any, for example.

Or they could make it so you did have to beat all the dungeons to kill the boss, but they were still completely free in their ordering.

And I do think they should change up the openness of the exploration going forward. I don't think they are just going to iterate on the free-traversal mechanics; I think the natural, Zelda-esque way forward is to experiment with gadget/gear/tool traversal.

...

If they just did BotW with 8 dungeons each like a cross between Hyrule castle and shrines, I'd be pleased, but I think there is plenty of room to make the overworld fresh by hearkening back to older Zeldas.

This stuff sounds cool.

I'm referring more to the people who basically say "smaller world with a linear, gated story path, eight dungeons each with a unique item".

Not happening again for a long time, if ever.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Breath of the Wild 2,with fewer shrines and five traditional dungeons. Weapon system is overhauled.no VA.

Not in Hyrule,no Ganon best Zelda gamd ever.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
I don't think Nintendo ever wanted to "stick" with one art style.

The only reason why BOTW looks like this is because their consoles probably can't handle that realistic style with open world.

IIRC at GDC they said they were inspired by Wind Waker's design but felt that the exaggerated style of Wind Waker could make it an issue for the player in determining what you can interact with. So they brought in a bit of realism to the designs so people would better understand the environment and interactions.
 

jnWake

Member
I'd like an evolution of BotW that adresses the common complaints. Particularly, bring back more classic enemies, add new overworld bosses, put some classic dungeons out there (maybe have optional gear upgrades on them). I'd also like a different region or something to have a new place to explore.
 

janoDX

Member
I'd like an evolution of BotW that adresses the common complaints. Particularly, bring back more classic enemies, add new overworld bosses, put some classic dungeons out there (maybe have optional gear upgrades on them). I'd also like a different region or something to have a new place to explore.

More like what happened with Mario Galaxy and Galaxy 2.

Where Galaxy was a revolution in platforms but Galaxy 2 took the formula and perfected it.
 

Nickle

Cool Facts: Game of War has been a hit since July 2013
The most interesting areas of the game were the areas that you couldn't easily access from every angle by climbing and gliding. The control mechanics are really interesting, but they are kind of boring when applied to the giant rectangular map.

I also hope that the devs understand that gated areas aren't a detriment to exploration. When the game tells you that you can't access an area, then you are going to want to explore the world in order to figure out the way to access the new area. This gives the game a good sense of progression, and it makes exploration more meaningful.

I don't have to worry about them not putting enough dungeons in the next game, because this time, Aonuma is going to realize that the true meaning of Zelda games is to explore large dungeons.
 
IIRC at GDC they said they were inspired by Wind Waker's design but felt that the exaggerated style of Wind Waker could make it an issue for the player in determining what you can interact with. So they brought in a bit of realism to the designs so people would better understand the environment and interactions.

I believe the general idea was, they settled on an art style that would let them lie the best. Cartoon ish enough that you wouldn't question things like infinite pockets or general fantasy stuff, but realistic enough that just by looking at the world you would know how it interacts, like you said.

The exaggerations feel natural, but grounded.
 

kunonabi

Member
They either need to find a way to incorporate dungeons into this open world framework or just take them out all together. The " dungeons" are so bad that they honestly take me out of the whole thing and honestly the shrines aren't that much better. I mean if the lead-ins to the "dungeons" were as interesting as SS I might give it a pass but even the lead-ins are painfully boring, short, and simple.
 
I think they need to reimagine the combat in the game so that it's something you want to do outside of boss or side quest situations. I kinda got to a point in the middle of the game where I was carrying around enough higher level weapons (40+ ratings) that I didn't want to waste it on some grunts where i'd most likely only end up getting some weapon that was worse than the one that most likely just broke or some items that I could just mine on my own.

I don't want an XP system built into the game. But there needs to be a combination of simply making the combat better and more dangerous as well as making more substantial rewards. Like maybe you'll get heart/stamina containers or unlock item slots for beating certain enemy groups.
 

janoDX

Member
I don't have to worry about them not putting enough dungeons in the next game, because this time, Aonuma is going to realize that the true meaning of Zelda games is to explore large dungeons.

After the reviews went so well, I wouldn't take that for granted, I think Aonuma will add the dungeons as a plus but keep everything else from botw.
 

kadotsu

Banned
I also want a companion back. The Slate was OK but I would rather have another Tatl/Midna with me at all times.
 

MoonFrog

Member
I think they need to reimagine the game so that it's something you want to do outside of boss or side quest situations. I kinda got to a point in the middle of the game where I was carrying around enough higher level weapons (40+ ratings) that I didn't want to waste it on some grunts where i'd most likely only end up getting some weapon that was worse than the one that most likely just broke or some items that I could just mine on my own.

I don't want an XP system built into the game. But there needs to be a combination of simply making the combat better and more dangerous as well as making more substantial rewards. Like maybe you'll get heart/stamina containers or unlock item slots for beating certain enemy groups.

Yeah, combat feels so off by itself in the game and after you've gotten your fill of it, it became very easy/preferable to ignore the enemy camps.

Game needs more combat setpieces tied to rewards/puzzle setpieces and rewards.

More classic Zelda cave, less enemy campsite imo.

This stuff sounds cool.

I'm referring more to the people who basically say "smaller world with a linear, gated story path, eight dungeons each with a unique item".

Not happening again for a long time, if ever.

Ok. I think you are probably right. Although I could see a smaller, more traditional "handheld" 2D title as next, but still probably playing with openness concepts like BotW and aLbW. Also could see another stab at multiplayer Zelda as being next.
 

Babyshams

Member
Weapon fragility is annoying.

I never felt like I was encouraged to use different weapons, more like forced to.

Durability needs to be upped and more weapons need recharge like the master sword.
 
I want BoTW 2.

- Fix some of the QoL issues with this game.
- Make enemies scale in difficulty with hearts earned.
- Traditional dungeons, and lots of them. Keep the pre dungeon awesomeness as well.
- Let me pet the damn dogs
- Let me have more creature mount options that I can board. I want my Mononoke moment!
- 2-3x the villages
- 2-3x the side quests
- A longer main quest with more cutscenes
- Keep weapon fragility. I loved it.
 

ChrisD

Member
They could definitely cut the world size down a fair margin. Saw some posts in the OT a few hours ago on how the East part of the map is so much more developed than the West, and boy is that the truth. Some compacting would go far.

Make less Shrines, fill them to be more than what we got. Would have preferred, say, forty of them. Just compact three of BotW's one-room deals into one, and you've already got a more rewarding, fulfilling thing going -- despite using the same content.

Then a lot of little nitpicks, but the OP covers the biggest ones.



Also I'd like a "traditional" Zelda before another open-world. Just so it doesn't feel too been there, done that.
 
I also want a companion back. The Slate was OK but I would rather have another Tatl/Midna with me at all times.

My god, I am in Bizarro World.

Ok. I think you are probably right. Although I could see a smaller, more traditional "handheld" 2D title as next, but still probably playing with openness concepts like BotW and aLbW. Also could see another stab at multiplayer Zelda as being next.

I absolutely see this happening. I think traditional Zelda will live on in future 2D entries.
 

Jintor

Member
I need them to nail the story next time around.

And for God's sake nail the VA next time. Give it to Nintendo eu for the love of God
 

ckaneo

Member
They either need to find a way to incorporate dungeons into this open world framework or just take them out all together. The " dungeons" are so bad that they honestly take me out of the whole thing and honestly the shrines aren't that much better. I mean if the lead-ins to the "dungeons" were as interesting as SS I might give it a pass but even the lead-ins are painfully boring, short, and simple.

There's nothing to figure out lol. I dont get why people think there is somehow a contradiction of open world and dungeons. There's not.

They can just add them if they really wanted to. I liked the divine beast idea, but they should have been longer harder to do. Like the Camel one, that one is amazing.
 

chozen

Member
IIRC at GDC they said they were inspired by Wind Waker's design but felt that the exaggerated style of Wind Waker could make it an issue for the player in determining what you can interact with. So they brought in a bit of realism to the designs so people would better understand the environment and interactions.

They went somewhat realistic but not all out realistic?

I would still say that the second they decided the game was open world, they knew in an instant that realistic would be a bad idea on their own hardware.

Which is why they went the way they did.

I was never a fan of the cartoony artstyle. If the next game is also cartoony, I'm not buying a Switch for it lol.
 

Cerium

Member
My god, I am in Bizarro World.



I absolutely see this happening. I think traditional Zelda will live on in future 2D entries.

That GDC demo with the 2D Zelda running the BOTW chemistry systems? I think that's where we're going for the next top down entry.
 
An MM-like sequel should definitely be a thing.

-A smaller world, but more dense.
-Experimental setting and storyline.
-A twist to the established gameplay to keep things fresh.

This game's mechanics are too robust to be contained to just one entry.
 
I'd like to see a game that's similar enough to be made quickly, but taken back a few notches towards the Zelda norm. BotW is great, they did it, redefined the series, placated the west, gave open-world-infatuated critics exactly what they wanted, that's all great. Now let's take that experience and make an actual Zelda game.

Overall, I think the dev team has earned some flexibility before people demand the series be overhauled again in a couple generations.
 
All those ruins are graveyards though when you think about it. There is a graveyard in Kakariko though and one of the kids in the village goes there every morning to cry because her mom died. That girl wants to be a chef when she grows up because she loved her mom's food.

I loved their storyline. It started innocently enough and it got more and more bittersweet as it progressed. I wish them the best ;_;
 
Half the shrines (the puzzle ones) and greatly expand their complexity. There are some really nice ones but overwhelmingly they're pretty weak. At this point I'm not even enthused to see one, just in it for the spirit orb and if still got 50 to go. I like the flavour of the shrine side quests but they way overdid it on volume. I'm not sure anyone had their craving for dungeons assisted satiated by the damn things.

Also durability needs to be improved significantly or thrown out entirely. I mean seriously. I've gotta take a whole armory if I wanna go and fight a Lynel for example. It just feels rubbish
 

javadoze

Member
Basically, I want them to scale back the world while also shifting the focus onto a completely different setting (essentially what Majora's Mask was to Ocarina of TIme).
 

balgajo

Member
Zelda team has to remember that dungeon's atmosphere is more important than the puzzles. I think that's why oot dungeons are so memorable.
 

traveler

Not Wario
I'd like to see the same general game as BotW, but a little smaller with a Majora's like spin. Take out some of the shrines in favor of beefier more traditional dungeons. Introduce a time mechanic again, with the world itself having a schedule across several days- natural disasters- certain areas becoming flooded/new land opening up/etc- individual storylines like the MM sidequests. I'm fine with they're being side elements of the world that cannot be accessed without dungeon specific tools; I did miss the introduction of those specific mechanics, as nice as it is to have all the tools up front.
 

Shaanyboi

Banned
I'd want them to increase enemy variety, and reinsert some traditional Zelda elements (something closer to original dungeon design without forcing linear progression). But ultimately, they found a framework I love and if they just wanna build on this, I'm all for it.

Some more involved narrative sidequests would be welcome, Majora-style.
 

watershed

Banned
I want real fishing to be back. Aside from that, the devs can do whatever they want. It seems the Zelda team generally responds to whatever the major criticisms of each Zelda game are, so when we can see more clearly what those criticisms for BOTW are, we can also predict what areas the devs will address.

Right now that seems like more traditional dungeons with diverse settings and different bosses.

What I don't want to see return are item specific dungeons and bosses though.
 

Malus

Member
I'd be fine with a "better" BotW sequel, but more than anything I want a game that surprises (hopefully in a good way). Something that feels distinct and inspired. Obviously that's a really vague and difficult standard to live up to, but that's the kind of hope/expectation I have for the series.

I like the Majora's Mask ideas, not because I want a game that's like MM but I want something with that sort of individuality.

It seems the Zelda team generally responds to whatever the major criticisms of each Zelda game are, so when we can see more clearly what those criticisms for BOTW are, we can also predict what areas the devs will address.

Next Zelda to run at 60fps confirmed. Rejoice!

I would love a sort of mini motion-controlled sequel to Skyward Sword.

Have it be half a classical Zelda length with only 3-4 dungeons.

Have it be like five years after the end and explore a more adult Link and Zelda's relationship as out of all the games they're the closest here. Have them explore the surface together.

Have it be very like Skyward Sword with a compressed world and puzzle elements in the environment but tame away all of the backtracking. Make it more linear with predetermined enemy encounters.

Have all the dungeons be based on the time mechanic as with that you can involve stuff like water appearing and not.

A lot of major elements in BOTW, resource gathering, potions, crafting and upgrading, durability, map marking, more mobility, stamina, etc. Where first introduced in Skyward Sword by the same director I would love to see what he's learn backed to a more compressed experience.

What I'd do for another motion controlled Zelda...

Too bad I'd have to use the joycons instead of the Wiimote/nunchuk tho.
 
I would love a sort of mini motion-controlled sequel to Skyward Sword.

Have it be half a classical Zelda length with only 3-4 dungeons.

Have it be like five years after the end and explore a more adult Link and Zelda's relationship as out of all the games they're the closest here. Have them explore the surface together.

Have it be very like Skyward Sword with a compressed world and puzzle elements in the environment but tame away all of the backtracking. Make it more linear with predetermined enemy encounters.

Have all the dungeons be based on the time mechanic as with that you can involve stuff like water appearing and not.

A lot of major elements in BOTW, resource gathering, potions, crafting and upgrading, durability, map marking, more mobility, stamina, etc. Where first introduced in Skyward Sword by the same director I would love to see what he's learn backed to a more compressed experience.
 

ST2K

Member
A Majora's Mask spiritual successor: weirdass morbid Zelda is my favorite Zelda.

Yup.

Ocarina of Time -> Majora's Mask
Breath of the Wild -> Next Switch Zelda.

I want that type of iteration, tonal shift, and relatively short production cycle.
 
More music
Dungeons though they could be optional
More items or runes
Increased enemy variety
And make sure the framerate is stable
 
I would love a sort of mini motion-controlled sequel to Skyward Sword.

Have it be half a classical Zelda length with only 3-4 dungeons.

Have it be like five years after the end and explore a more adult Link and Zelda's relationship as out of all the games they're the closest here. Have them explore the surface together.

Have it be very like Skyward Sword with a compressed world and puzzle elements in the environment but tame away all of the backtracking. Make it more linear with predetermined enemy encounters.

Have all the dungeons be based on the time mechanic as with that you can involve stuff like water appearing and not.

A lot of major elements in BOTW, resource gathering, potions, crafting and upgrading, durability, map marking, more mobility, stamina, etc. Where first introduced in Skyward Sword by the same director I would love to see what he's learn backed to a more compressed experience.

Although there is no way in hell this will ever be a thing, I'd play it, because I thought Skyward Sword was freakin' great. It's the anti-BotW and I find a weird charm in that.
 
No, because the attack button is on the right hand and shield button is on the left.

The enemies do scale.

Really? I never noticed any difficulty scaling.

And the control scheme shouldnt make a difference whether or not Link is left or right handed. It was fine on the old games for example.

I would love a sort of mini motion-controlled sequel to Skyward Sword.

Have it be half a classical Zelda length with only 3-4 dungeons.

Have it be like five years after the end and explore a more adult Link and Zelda's relationship as out of all the games they're the closest here. Have them explore the surface together.

Have it be very like Skyward Sword with a compressed world and puzzle elements in the environment but tame away all of the backtracking. Make it more linear with predetermined enemy encounters.

Have all the dungeons be based on the time mechanic as with that you can involve stuff like water appearing and not.

A lot of major elements in BOTW, resource gathering, potions, crafting and upgrading, durability, map marking, more mobility, stamina, etc. Where first introduced in Skyward Sword by the same director I would love to see what he's learn backed to a more compressed experience.

I would love a sequel to SS. Give me that motion control combat.
 

Not Spaceghost

Spaceghost
If they stick with the BotW formula I'd like some NG+ bonuses / a reason to replay the game.

As the game is now it's biggest flaw is that you can't replay the game without wiping your save file (unless you make a new profile on the console but that's weak).
 

ckaneo

Member
Really? I never noticed any difficulty scaling.

And the control scheme shouldnt make a difference whether or not Link is left or right handed. It was fine on the old games for example.

Yeah, the more enemies you kill the more color variants you will see of that type. Silver Bokoblins can be found on the plateau for example.

It was fine, but not nearly as good. It just makes more sense for link to be right handed and that's literally the reason Aonuma gave.
 

jb1234

Member
We've seen an open-world Hyrule. It's pretty much definitive. If they're going to stick with open-world (which doesn't especially thrill me), I'd like to see a different world altogether, like what Majora did. Or maybe bring back a gimmick that transforms it in some way.

Other than that, the usual. Better, longer dungeons. I loved what they did with Hyrule Castle, for instance and would like to see more of that type of area design. A much better story (and voice acting, for the love of god) would be a bonus. The one told in BotW felt perfunctory.

(As far as music goes, the full BotW music rip is six and a half hours, the longest in the series. It's just that like with FFXV, the way the music is implemented feels lacking. Better overworld themes would have made all the difference here.)
 
If they stick with the BotW formula I'd like some NG+ bonuses / a reason to replay the game.

As the game is now it's biggest flaw is that you can't replay the game without wiping your save file (unless you make a new profile on the console but that's weak).

Yeah, this is really odd. I hope they patch in the ability to start a new game without needing to delete your previous file or use an entirely different profile.
 
Top Bottom