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[MisterHero]

OoT probably sold the most because it was the first Zelda made with "cutting edge" N64 technology, then the userbase dropped a lot of people who didn't like 3D Zelda (ranging from practical issues like negotiating 3D space to the less pratical expectations of ardent 2D fans)

It might be the same for Mario 64 too

both 3D Mario and 3D Zelda seem to have developed sizable fanbases in their own right though

 

[Buckethead]

I want a "little Link" like that concept art that's been floating around.

It looks cute in a badass way.

 

[carlo6529]

So can we expect a Retro collaboration for the next portable installment of Zelda then?

 

[apana]

Twilight Princess is the best selling Zelda since Ocarina. Phantom Hourglass also sold really well worldwide. It remains to be seen how Skyward Sword will do in the long run but it is clear that at the high end a mainline console Zelda can sell from 6-8 million units.

 

[Pociask]

Here's my dream Retro Zelda:

5 minutes max cut scene to lay out the story - The evil Vizier Ganondorf seizes control of Hyrule and throws Princess Zelda in a dungeon. Link says WTF and tries to kill Ganondorf. Ganondorf is amazed at the chutzpah, and exiles Link to an abandoned ancient continent full of monsters and dungeons.

Let Retro work its all alone in a fantastic environment magic. There may be a fairy pool or two somewhere. Explore, adventure, fight, collect useful items and pieces of the triforce, which was assumed to be lost by most. Actually Ganondorf is hoping you'll find all the pieces and come back, so he can take it from you.

Last dungeon - Castletown Dungeon. Fight Ganondorf, fight Ganon. Rescue Zelda.

It prints money.

 

[Chet Rippo]

i don't feel so good.

hehehe

Oh you.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Even the Prime games had intros.

 

[Togglesworlh]

I would like this to happen because failed experiments can still be amazingly interesting.

 

[PixyJunket]

Having just beat Neutopia and being in the middle of Neutopia II, I'd have to say that retro (the style) would be a great fit for Zelda.

 

[bridegur]

I'd love to see Retro work on Zelda. The Prime series shows that they'd at least do a better job on UI and atmosphere than the Zelda team in the last few years.

 

[AniHawk]

Even the Prime games had intros.

those were actually

Spoiler

kinda good

 

[apana]

My idea for Wii U Zelda:

Gigantic overworld the size of a national park, literally! There are mountains, valleys, lakes etc. and you can get lost exploring here. It wont be like a lame typical large videogame overworld, it will feel very real because the scale will be the same as to a real national park like Yosemite or Yellowstone. The story behind the world is that the gods nuked Hyrule and decided to turn it into a mountainous unruly region in order to hide their secret treasures that can resurrect Hyrule castle. Inside Hyrule castle everything is frozen in time as it was 10,000 years ago before the calamity that resulted in the environmental/geological changes occured.

Wii U functionality:

-You can travel the overworld using a map on the Wii U controller. The map only shows the areas you have explored so far and you can draw a route to go back wherever you want. The journey will be completed in an instant from the perspective of the player, but from the perspective of Link the journey happened in normal time, meaning it took X number of days to reach to whatever destination he wanted. You also have the option of just walking back but that takes more time obviously.

-It can also be used for collecting scrolls/books and reading them. These books will contain Zelda timeline/mythology info and information about the world around you.

Please feel free to praise my ideas or add more as you see fit!

 

[Hot Coldman]

those were actually

Spoiler

kinda good

Didn't you give up your 'I hate Metroid Prime' thing

 

[King of the Potato People]

Capcom, Platinum Games, Retro Studios... but please not Nintendo EAD.

 

[Togglesworlh]

Please feel free to praise my ideas or add more as you see fit!

Am I allowed to talk shit about your idea?

Spoiler

i won't, i just found the sentence amusing for some reason

 

[AniHawk]

Didn't you give up your 'I hate Metroid Prime' thing

i never hated metroid prime. i didn't like it in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2010.

 

[Buckethead]

My idea for Wii U Zelda:

Gigantic overworld the size of a national park, literally! There are mountains, valleys, lakes etc. and you can get lost exploring here. It wont be like a lame typical large videogame overworld, it will feel very real because the scale will be the same as to a real national park like Yosemite or Yellowstone. The story behind the world is that the gods nuked Hyrule and decided to turn it into a mountainous unruly region in order to hide their secret treasures that can resurrect Hyrule castle. Inside Hyrule castle everything is frozen in time as it was 10,000 years ago before the calamity that resulted in the environmental/geological changes occured.

I like this idea.

My idea is Red Dead Redemption's non-desert areas mixed with old Hyrule.
Kind of like the Argonath in Gondor from LOTR. Lots of busted statues, old relics, etc.

Most of the game is just wilderness with the exception of a few trader villages and then a big "city" or two.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

I would like this to happen because failed experiments can still be amazingly interesting.

fail with every other game, not with Zelda

 

[Hot Coldman]

i never hated metroid prime. i didn't like it in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2010.

That's... oddly specific, but OK

Capcom, Platinum Games, Retro Studios... but please not Nintendo EAD.

You'd rather have Capcom over EAD.

Actually, no, no you don't. I disagree that that's your opinion. For me to accept that would be too much to bear.

 

[apana]

Am I allowed to talk shit about your idea?

Spoiler

i won't, i just found the sentence amusing for some reason

No

Spoiler

No.

 

[Togglesworlh]

fail with every other game, not with Zelda

Nope.

In fact, a failed Zelda experiment is more interesting than most.

 

[MisterHero]

How about we remove the books and just make those stories worth writing into the actual gameplay

Of course NOT EVERYTHING has to be playable (like when

Spoiler

Hylia banished the Titans to Tartarus kicked Demise's ass

)

There's one example in Zelda SS that I'd like to have seen in the gameplay

Spoiler

when the Crimson Loftwing picked little kid Link

 

[Levyne]

Ugh, I don't really want Zelda to be too sandboxy. Compartmentalize the areas ala OOT, MM, TP, but just make them have little npcs, shops, minigames, little hole in the wall dungeons...but not too open where it's easy to get bored (I get bored a lot in sandbox games, coupled with choice paralysis just makes them not fun at all at times.)

But SS, while I really liked, did feel a bit constrained and Galaxy-i-fied.

It's a fine line..

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

Nope.

In fact, a failed Zelda experiment is more interesting than most.

a failed Zelda experiment will end with definitive hate a la PH or ST

which I adored and haters are so incredibly dumb

 

[Togglesworlh]

a failed Zelda experiment will end with definitive hate a la PH or ST

which I adored and haters are so incredibly dumb

Who cares if people hate it?

 

[Frankenstrat]

INTO MY VEEEEINS

 

[royalan]

Who cares if people hate it?

A-fucking-men.

I'd rather they took more risks with the Zelda series and risked falling flat on their asses and learning something, than for them to keep the Zelda series in the same stagnant place with a few minor changes here and there.

Nintendo taking risks with Zelda was how we got Wind Waker's glorious art style. Now I just want them to go even further and apply that same hail-mary mentality to all of Zelda as we currently know it.

 

[DR2K]

Where is DKCR-hate GAF coming from?! I had no idea this existed.

It was inferior to DKC2 in every way.

 

[Karsticles]

Come oooon 2D Zelda...

 

[Togglesworlh]

It was inferior to DKC2 in every way.

Dixie. That fucking abomination. I just threw up a little bit thinking about her. Ugh.

 

[herzogzwei1989]

Zelda developed by EAD and Retro together seems like the best course to me.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

The "Neverending Intro", as I call it, in Skyward Sword has contributed to my balding!

Yeah, I'm totally blaming Skyward Sword for that.

 

[The Xtortionist]

It was inferior to DKC2 in every way.

I thought DKCR's levels were far more dynamic with constant moving/tilting/crumbling platforms and background/foreground stuff. And coop at the same time.

Not that DKC2 could even pull that stuff off, but this is one of those extremely rare cases where better tech makes for a better game, imo.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

Kerwrong! You forget that Retro also did roughly half of the character modelling and animations, submitted concepts for the new tracks (many of which were used in the final versions, though they didn't mention which ones) and they designed the DKCR track. EAD may have written the base engine, but Retro did far more than "just" the 16 classic tracks.

What are you the comic book guy from The Simpsons now? I gave the simplified Hideki Konno response. If you want a detailed summation:

+ EAD developed the technology inhouse (game engine, physics, online infrastructure)
+ EAD did the music
+ EAD responsible for all the course design (new and classic) (Read Below)
+ Retro mainly used for environment design and animation and some character models
+ Their biggest independent role was redesigning the environments of the classic tracks which already had the track layout done. They added extra routes (air, water right?) Which was the only track design they did but then it was edited again by EAD according to part 2.

Does Retro's role sound familiar? Iwata's Ask part 1 highlights their role which is not so different than how Monolith Soft assisted in Zelda. Retro handled the animations with EAD's character designer. Retro recreated the backgrounds of the classic EAD tracks. Suggested some concept designs for the EAD art team on the original courses. The only creative gameplay design I am reading, was that Retro got to design the courses of the shortcuts added to the classic stages. Which was still edited by EAD's director and course design team according to Iwata's Ask Part 2. Also follows what Miyamoto said in the interview.

The point is even in the co-developed games like Ocarina of Time (Grezzo) or Star Fox 64 3D (Q-Games). Or "assisted" games like Skyward Sword (Monolith) and Mario Kart 3D (Retro Studios). No one designs the courses / levels but EAD! NO ONE. They are either recreating the map EAD already made while EAD cooperates, or they are assisting around the confines of the EAD designed map. (Creating characters, objects, animating).

Correct me if my postulation is wrong. But this is currently how games at EAD are co-developed or collaborated on. If it was anything different, than it would probably fall under the SPD division more likely.

Confirmation that Miyamoto will be working with multiple small teams. Perhaps that means that he's heading to SPD, rather than setting up a new studio?

There is no way Miyamoto is working for SPD. It would be sacrilege. Iwata nor Miyamoto would allow him to work for Takahashi. It is against Japanese business culture entirely. It is either a new division entirely, or a new EAD group. I think it is the first one.

 

[EricDiesel]

I'd rather they took more risks with the Zelda series and risked falling flat on their asses and learning something, than for them to keep the Zelda series in the same stagnant place with a few minor changes here and there.

This is how I feel. I'm enjoying SS's story and characters a lot, but man, the handholding and other annoyances get in the way of my enjoyment. If Nintendo needs to fall on their ass to get them out of that, I'm fine with it. Taking risks is a GOOD thing.

 

[Retro]

Oh hell - I liked that.

Someone with enough HP to withstand my Wall-o-Text's crit? Gasp.

I see a shitload of text about plot, but no details about actual gameplay or game design. This approach to Zelda is hence rejected.

Just spitballin' ideas;

• A large, open world to explore. I've been wanting a Zelda game with that scope since I played Smuggler's Run on the PS2 and realized the stuff off in the background were places I could actually go. If you're riding around and spot a glimmer on a distant mountainside, you can ride right up and find a whole cave network. Materials for new equipment, modified equipment, etc. would encourage exploration.
  
  

  

• Dungeons would be integrated into the landscape, possibly even more so than Skyward Sword. That distant glimmer on the mountainside could be a side entrance into a dungeon that doesn't require a specific tool, allowing for alternative routes into and through dungeons if you're exploring carefully.
  
  
• A very large underworld beneath Hyrule to explore, so there's not just the open world above, but also a labyrinth below. Very dark, very dangerous, and home to the rarest materials and most difficult dungeons.
  
  

  

• Shield Gauge is merged into the Stamina gauge which also fills the role of the classic Magic meter. Shields aren't destroyed when the gauge is depleted, they just get sent flying (you have to go pick them up). Stamina is also used for Magic, special attacks (Spin attack, roll, dash), etc.
  
  
• Because the setting starts off in the Sacred Realm (where everyone has some degree of Magic), there'd be quite a bit more Magic, along the lines of Zelda II's spells but with more global use. Being able to turn into a Fairy and squeeze through holes, levitate over pits, create magical lanterns to see with... stuff like that.
  
  
• The Alchemist, Blacksmith and Mage companions save you from having to head back to town to get potions or craft items. The Alchemist can make lots of potions with additives you bring him, while the blacksmith can craft new second weapon sets (see below) or upgrade the gear you have. The Mage can craft new spell abilities for you with the right magic components.
  
  
• Link can carry two pairs of weapons; the Master Sword / shield combo and one 'extra' set that the Blacksmith can craft and upgrade for you. Some are two-handed, with a longer reach and wider swing, but no shield (instead you would parry, which chews up more stamina and can't block ranged attacks).
  
  Others are single-handed and come with their own unique shield. This secondary weapon set can be quickly swapped in combat and allows for many more options. For example, you can use a whip to trip defending enemies, or a staff to utilize magical attacks. This ties heavily into the Multiplayer mode where the different characters would need to have their own unique weapons.
  
  
• The Blacksmith can also modify your equipment with special effects that take your normal abilities and add something new to them. For example, pressing defend while jump-attacking would cause you to down-thrust (finishing attack); a modification could cause a burst of magic when you hit the ground, knocking enemies away.
  
  
• Ranged weapons like the Bow, Slingshot, and rudimentary firearms from Hyrule are utilized in combat more and share a single universal ammo type. Link can also carry one at a time, though they are identical to use when solving puzzles. In combat, however, they have different pros and cons that would allow players to pick a style that suits them. This kind of streamlines the tool set without throwing out series staples.
  
  
• Smaller pool of tools + multiple dungeon routes = non-linear progression through the world. All the trimmings of the new Zelda, all the untamed wilderness and exploration of the old.

Dunno. Just taking the threads Skyward Sword had (unified world/dungeon, equipment upgrades) and tossing in a splash of Open World-ness that everyone wants.

 

[Cwarrior]

Zelda SS gave me what I wanted from zelda(challenge and better boss) but took away what I already had (overworld and enemy variety), I’ve lost hope in the ead Zelda team.

I would be happy to see Zelda handed ro Koizum’s ead Tokyo team or Retro.

 

[King of the Potato People]

Here's my dream Retro Zelda:

5 minutes max cut scene to lay out the story - The evil Vizier Ganondorf seizes control of Hyrule and throws Princess Zelda in a dungeon. Link says WTF and tries to kill Ganondorf. Ganondorf is amazed at the chutzpah, and exiles Link to an abandoned ancient continent full of monsters and dungeons.

Let Retro work its all alone in a fantastic environment magic. There may be a fairy pool or two somewhere. Explore, adventure, fight, collect useful items and pieces of the triforce, which was assumed to be lost by most. Actually Ganondorf is hoping you'll find all the pieces and come back, so he can take it from you.

Last dungeon - Castletown Dungeon. Fight Ganondorf, fight Ganon. Rescue Zelda.

It prints money.

But what about collect-a-thons, isolated levels, a gimmicky vehicle, a partner that doesn't know when to shut up? They're necessary apparently.

The Legend of Zelda: Ghost Karts, that's more like it. The partner is Chalky, the phantom chick who lives inside Link's mine kart.

 

[The Boat]

By the way is there any article or interview talking about Monolith's involvement in Skyward Sword? I only knew they did it when I saw the credits.

 

[BurntPork]

We saw absolutely nothing that made us think they could make a 2D platformer, and then look what happened.

I don't think that means that they can make any game shine, especially since a lot of Metroid fans feel that Prime 1 was the only good one, and DKCR hasn't received quite as much praise as 2D Mario.

Retro needs to finds thier true strengths and make a new IP different from anything we've ever seen from Nintendo. Anything else is a waste of their talent.

 

[Berordn]

and DKCR hasn't received quite as much praise as 2D Mario..

This is like saying your diamonds aren't as pretty as my rubies. Retro's proven they can be trusted, and I'm sure any spin they put on Zelda won't be a complete and utter wreck.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

I don't think that means that they can make any game shine, especially since a lot of Metroid fans feel that Prime 1 was the only good one, and DKCR hasn't received quite as much praise as 2D Mario.

Retro needs to finds thier true strengths and make a new IP different from anything we've ever seen from Nintendo. Anything else is a waste of their talent.

Now you're kind of skewing things. A lot of Metroid fans didn't think Prime was the only good one just that Prime 2 and 3 were worse. DKCR while it has more of a mixed reception it is still higly regarded.

 

[BurntPork]

This is like saying your diamonds aren't as pretty as my rubies. Retro's proven they can be trusted, and I'm sure any spin they put on Zelda won't be a complete and utter wreck.

I'm not saying it will be bad, but that it can be. Look at Metriod Prime 3. Who's to say they wouldn't repeat the mistakes they made with that game? (bad voice acting, unnecessary motion controls in some parts, super linear and almost mission-based)

In fact, looking at their games, it's almost hilarious that people would expect a big overworld from them.

Now you're kind of skewing things. A lot of Metroid fans didn't think Prime was the only good one just that Prime 2 and 3 were worse. DKCR while it has more of a mixed reception it is still higly regarded.

They think 2 & 3 are bad Metriod games. That's somewhat true of 2, and factually correct about 3, which plays nothing like a Metroid game.

 

[watershed]

I'd be down for some Retro work on Zelda especially if they are given the kind of freedom they had with Metroid and not just assisting like they were for MK7. But I'm more excited for the next handheld Zelda game which is already being worked on and I assume without Retro's contribution.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

I'm not saying it will be bad, but that it can be. Look at Metriod Prime 3. Who's to say they wouldn't repeat the mistakes they made with that game? (bad voice acting, unnecessary motion controls in some parts, super linear and almost mission-based)

In fact, looking at their games, it's almost hilarious that people would expect a big overworld from them.

Depends entirely on Nintendo, if they let go of the reins I have no doubt it would be a more complex overworld than SS. Not to mention atmosphere and maybe environment story, which merely comparing SS to any of the three Prime's or DKCR is a complete joke.

 

[TedNindo]

If Retro makes a Zelda game it HAS to be somewhat realistic considering the art work en level design in the Metroid. I love zelda games. They are my favourite series. But imo Metroid has even better enviroment design. Retro are possibly the best in the industry when it comes to this. I'm sure that they would make amazing dungeons.

On the plus side aswell is that Metroid and Zelda share some gameplay designs.

 

[radios shipping overview]

famous last words

 

[Berordn]

I'm not saying it will be bad, but that it can be. Look at Metriod Prime 3. Who's to say they wouldn't repeat the mistakes they made with that game? (bad voice acting, unnecessary motion controls in some parts, super linear and almost mission-based)

In fact, looking at their games, it's almost hilarious that people would expect a big overworld from them.

I liked 3. The voice acting was minimal and sparingly used, the motion control was fairly simple and I never had an issue with it. It was linear, but still had plenty of Metroid style exploration, and I thought it was good for what it was. If they made a mainline Zelda there's no reason to think they wouldn't have any sort of overworld, given that they included Tallon Overworld and the Temple Grounds in Prime 1 and 2.

When they shifted gears and made DKCR, they did excellently and put a ton of atmosphere and solid platforming in the game. I don't see why they couldn't give Zelda the same treatment.

 

[chaosblade]

I think a modern top down Zelda could be really cool, and would love to see Retro try that.

I'm thinking something similar to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, but still very Zelda.

 

[bill.cosby]

I think Retro would be a good fit for pretty much any franchise. I would love to see what they could bring to Zelda.