Topic: Zelda Wii U Update: Will Be Like Going From Japanese To Western Food

[Shaymin]

In terms of their game development focus

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/42261/zelda-wii-u-update-will-be-like-going-from-japanese-to-western-food

Nearly a year after the game's delay to 2016 was announced, Eiji Aonuma has provided a tease as to what awaits in the new land.

In a Famitsu interview (translated by Kotaku), Aonuma stated that the theme of the game was to be "something new", stating that the "secret sauce" was Ocarina of Time. This time, the food base is a little different: "But this time, the change in flavor will be like going from Japanese food to Western style food. Perhaps, players will be surprised."

We hope to learn more about the Zelda Wii U title soon.

[caffeine]

A line removed from the interview transcript: "One unintended consequence of the game's design is that Link has gained about 30 pounds."

[NWR_insanolord]

I think this could be great for the series if done right. It could use a bit of a shake up after a stretch of high quality but largely very similar games. I'm really excited to see more of it.

[Ian Sane]

It took me a few minutes to realize that Ocarina of Time WAS the secret sauce and now is not.  Or am I still reading that wrong?

When Nintendo decides to go in a new direction it can be very exciting... and also very scary since I'm now always afraid their idea of shaking the series up will revolve around some weird controller gimmick.  Zelda could use a shake up but I would have trusted Nintendo on it a lot more ten years ago than I do today.  Though Skyward Sword actually was a fair bit different, I just didn't really like a lot of the new ideas.  But there is a difference between disliking change and disliking a specific change.  I say Nintendo should go for broke and set out to make a grand Zelda and maybe it will work and maybe it won't.  Better than sticking too strictly to a formula.  The proper "formula" is actually pretty broad.  The world is one area instead of separate levels, power-ups are permanent and you interact with the world in realtime.  That is more or less the only rules that need to be followed.  It's Nintendo's own insistence that it has to involve the Triforce and you have to get the boomerang and ride a horse and all these other details that for some reason need to return again and again.  They need to separate the details from the broad formula and then they'll be able to try new things with the series.

[Adrock]

Considering this game is still being designed for Wii U, "some weird controller gimmick" basically amounts to "It's Zelda with a map on a second screen and gyro-aiming." It's nice to see you again, 2011.

Nintendo made the proper adjustments to the Zelda formula in A Link Between Worlds. It sits the middle of the original Zelda's zero hints on what to do and where to go and modern Zelda's excessive and at times, oppressive handholding. You get the sword within 10 minutes then the game loosens the reigns. With a new open world, that's a pretty good place to start. Gives players the sword and horse within 10 minutes and if they feel like cutting grass for the next 20, let them.

I'm more worried about Nintendo's weird attachment to filler content. My hope is that Nintendo doesn't pad the world with things just to have something there. If the game is only 20 hours long, make it the best 20 hours it can be. An open world is wasted if it's empty, but being full of chores is just as bad. "Collect 77 of these things." Is that fun; or is it just there?

[Enner]

I'm more worried about Nintendo's weird attachment to filler content. My hope is that Nintendo doesn't pad the world with things just to have something there. If the game is only 20 hours long, make it the best 20 hours it can be. An open world is wasted if it's empty, but being full of chores is just as bad. "Collect 77 of these things." Is that fun; or is it just there?

It depends on where they are learning how to make a "Western style food" from. The closest, public, and known experience they have would be Monolith Soft's and Tetsuya Takahashi's Xenoblade Chronicles games. If that's the case, we can expect a lot of side quests and picking up randomized material crystals off the ground!


Kidding aside, I'm excited and anxious for Zelda Wii U. How ever good or bad it turns out, it at least seems to be shaping up to be a big impact for the series and Nintendo.

[sudoshuff]

I'm more worried about Nintendo's weird attachment to filler content. My hope is that Nintendo doesn't pad the world with things just to have something there. If the game is only 20 hours long, make it the best 20 hours it can be. An open world is wasted if it's empty, but being full of chores is just as bad. "Collect 77 of these things." Is that fun; or is it just there?

I would prefer for the side quests in this Zelda to be more along the lines of Majora's Mask...less about collecting a bunch of things and more about completing tasks for people in the world that add to their story and character development.  That's one way Nintendo could make this "open world" game feel more alive to me.  Also, collecting tons of items has the potential to be really abused in a huge overworld.

[tyto_alba]

Western food is what killed Iwata. Had he stuck to a diet of Japanese food, he'd be alive today. 

[azeke]

Link will have guns and gameplay will  be dumed down me-too affair like all western AAA games are.

[Shaymin]

And it'll end up with a 98 on OpenCritic and win every GOTY award + sell 40 million copies?

[broodwars]

Link will have guns and gameplay will  be dumed down me-too affair like all western AAA games are.

That point of view is hilarious coming from a fan of a company (Platinum) who's made primarily one type of character action game in their entire history, with minor tweaks to fit whatever license they've conned companies into giving them at the time.

I have my concerns about Nintendo possibly adapting the "Ubisoft game" model for Zelda, but generalizing "all western AAA games" that way is quite willfully ignorant.

As for the article itself, I just hope that this "Open World" actually has interesting things to do (which has been a major issue in every Zelda after Wind Waker, including the handheld games) and isn't just icon barf. I'd hope that after all the time Nintendo's wasted on this game that every area is hand-crafted & interesting, rather than copy & paste like most open world games feel to me.

[azeke]

I might be generalizing (but having spent hundreds of hours in Ubisoft games i speak from some experience having seen both splendors and miseries of it) but you're just blatantly wrong. You didn't even need to dig deeper into wikipedia article on studio you claim to know to see the mistake:


These are four games done in three completely different genres.

[Lemonade]

Im really looking forward to seeing what is new. I would say the series was getting a bit stale.
Some people will disagree with this, but I hope the game has voices this time (similar to Xenoblade X). We had fully voiced games 10 years ago, I think its time for Zelda to catch up with current games.