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WiiU

Miyamoto Explains Upcoming Wii U Zelda's 'Open World'

by Aaron R. Brown - July 12, 2014, 3:31 pm EDT
Total comments: 11 Source: Nintendo 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

The series is evolving to let you enjoy it "freely in a vast world."

Shigeru Miyamoto further explained the "open world" of the upcoming Legend of Zelda game for Wii U in the 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders when asked when more information would be announced for the game.

Though he could not give any information that has not already been officially announced, he did recap that it was announced at E3 that it will have an "open world," though Miyamoto himself prefers not to use that term. However, "open world" was used at E3 to make it easier for consumers to understand:

"This term means that there is a large world in which players can do numerous things daily. In the traditional “The Legend of Zelda” series, the player would play one dungeon at a time. For example, if there are eight dungeons, at the fourth dungeon, some players may think, “I’m already halfway through the game,” while other players may think, “I still have half of the game to play.” We are trying to gradually break down such mechanism and develop a game style in which you can enjoy “The Legend of Zelda” freely in a vast world, whenever you find the time to do so."

Miyamoto then made it clear that A Link Between Worlds was a checkpoint for them to evolve the series' structure:

"We created the games in the traditional “The Legend of Zelda” series in steps that players could easily understand and follow; the player would obtain a new item in each dungeon, use the item to clear that dungeon and be able to enjoy applying the items in different ways after acquiring about eight items. However, in “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds,” we broke that down and let the player rent different items from the beginning, so the player could use different combinations of items. In this way, we are gradually changing the structure of “The Legend of Zelda” series, and we are preparing to newly evolve the series for Wii U."

Talkback

AdrockJuly 12, 2014

I really liked A Link Between Worlds and I appreciate Nintendo's efforts in changing the structure and evolving the Zelda series.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterJuly 12, 2014

I don't really think he explained anything besides how the items work.

Item use in A Link Between Worlds was a new low for the series. Each item got between 10 - 30 uses, and you never really had to evolve your thinking on how to use them. This meant tons of switch and button-under-the-pot puzzles. If this was their waypoint to where they want to be then this is a big problem for me.

ShyGuyJuly 13, 2014

Do I sense a new article from Crimm?

EiksirfJuly 13, 2014

I think this i great. I loved how they changed it up for the 3DS and thought it'd be a different team working on Wii U. That the one game will lead into changes for the other is great news to me, and gives me hope that the new Zelda U will stand out.

Quote from: Crimm

Item use in A Link Between Worlds was a new low for the series. Each item got between 10 - 30 uses, and you never really had to evolve your thinking on how to use them. This meant tons of switch and button-under-the-pot puzzles. If this was their waypoint to where they want to be then this is a big problem for me.

For as much as I dislike the man whom I'm about to link you to for one wild ride, James... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOC3vixnj_0Ick, blergh, nngh! okay, got my hands wiped of all the Egoraptor. In case you don't want a half hour of a moron yelling at you in wacky voices with a bunch of half-animation, I'll give you the sort of it;The puzzles in the Legend of Zelda games are a formality at best and pace breaking garbage at worst. The items that are the most memorable in the Legend of Zelda games are the ones that aren't confined to being context sensitive puzzle tools. I'm talking about garbage like the Cane of Pacci, the Dominion Rod, the Spinner, the Gust Bellows, etc. Heck, that's the reason the hookshot is a lot cooler in 2D Zelda than 3D; Because it latched to things like generic blocks that you'd find all about rather than context sensitive posts, it felt a lot more organic... like you got this tool to zip around and take shortcuts and stab annoying pricks from a distance rather than just OH ! YOU CAME INTO A ROOM WITH PLATFORMING BETTER FIND THE WOODEN BULLSEYE TO LATCH TO!It's tedious to come into a room and have to look around for the stupid crystal or eyeball to shoot with your thingie you found in this dungeon to open up the door, not puzzling!This is where I feel a Link Between Worlds shines, as it provides you with items that are all helpful and different at combat, and at doing things that aren't so context sensitive. yeah, there are bummers like the sand Rod that's only non sand patch application is to stun enemies in a line, but you also get things like the Tornado rod working as an awesome crowd control tool that also happens to let you dodge attacks for a few scant seconds...! Not to mention you're playing total disservice to the most organically implemented thing in the whole of a Link Between Worlds, which is the wall merging mechanic, which shocked me at how well and natural it felt and how it changed my perspective on how traversal and some combat occurs.Long Story Short, I'd take the brevity and streamlined dungeon crawls where I'm legitimatley surprised to find things like the stamina scroll that don't factor into the rest of the dungeon's design rather than the convoluted and boring messes of games like say... Phantom Hourglass.

EiksirfJuly 14, 2014

Quote from: ClexYoshi

Quote from: Crimm

IThis is where I feel a Link Between Worlds shines, as it provides you with items that are all helpful and different at combat, and at doing things that aren't so context sensitive. yeah, there are bummers like the sand Rod that's only non sand patch application is to stun enemies in a line, but you also get things like the Tornado rod working as an awesome crowd control tool that also happens to let you dodge attacks for a few scant seconds...! Not to mention you're playing total disservice to the most organically implemented thing in the whole of a Link Between Worlds, which is the wall merging mechanic, which shocked me at how well and natural it felt and how it changed my perspective on how traversal and some combat occurs.

Wow, I agree with that completely, even the part about the Sand Rod. Pretty well thought out. Nice post.

Ian SaneJuly 14, 2014

Sadly this description of the "open world" concept doesn't sound as exciting to me.  It sounds more like A Link Between Worlds applied to a console game rather than a Nintendo's unique take on Elder Scrolls or GTA.  Miyamoto's description just sounds so much more subdued than the more vague E3 description.

A Link Between Worlds is a bizarre game.  On one hand they wanted to do something different with the item rental but then they reused the world from A Link to the Past.  One element is incredibly original and the other is incredibly derivative.

Luigi DudeJuly 14, 2014

Quote from: Ian

Sadly this description of the "open world" concept doesn't sound as exciting to me.  It sounds more like A Link Between Worlds applied to a console game rather than a Nintendo's unique take on Elder Scrolls or GTA.  Miyamoto's description just sounds so much more subdued than the more vague E3 description.

Yeah that was never going to happen.  That's basically asking for a Zelda in name only if you turn it into one of those games.  At the end of the day, this game was always going to be a Zelda game because that's why people buy these games in the first place.  Doesn't mean they can't still do a a lot of unique things with the open world design to really change up the structure which Miyamoto is talking about.

EiksirfJuly 15, 2014

Quote from: Ian

Sadly this description of the "open world" concept doesn't sound as exciting to me.  It sounds more like A Link Between Worlds applied to a console game rather than a Nintendo's unique take on Elder Scrolls or GTA.  Miyamoto's description just sounds so much more subdued than the more vague E3 description.

A Link Between Worlds is a bizarre game.  On one hand they wanted to do something different with the item rental but then they reused the world from A Link to the Past.  One element is incredibly original and the other is incredibly derivative.

If you think about what really makes a modern, open world game, Link Between Worlds is close, right? E3 talked about having multiple entrances to different locations, Miyamoto talks about exploring levels out of order, but Link Between Worlds also had collect-a-thons, minigames, a few fetch quests and lots of hidden items/locations.

Ramp up on these, add a few more minigames and side quest varieties and maybe some that get you out in the world, say, delivering between villages on horseback or whatever, and we'd really be getting somewhere with just a few additions.

Mop it upJuly 15, 2014

I interpreted their use of "open world" as being like the original Zelda on NES, but now, I'm not so sure...

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