Topic: 70 hr quest too long?

[Ceric]

Sad that I'll only probably make 1 run through.  I'm not the multiple run though type of person.

[Smash_Brother]

The only game I was willing to play through multiple times was Eternal Darkness.

Everything else, meh. I would have only played though this once so the fact that it'll be so long is quite welcome news.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
The only game I was willing to play through multiple times was Eternal Darkness.

Everything else, meh. I would have only played though this once so the fact that it'll be so long is quite welcome news.

Great underrated game there! That reminds me I want to play through ED again.

[Smash_Brother]

I don't know why I could play through it without being hit with the usual "Done this before" stigma, but I guess it was probably because I was watching it more than playing it.

Also, I wanted to get the final ending.

[Ceric]

PSO for me.  Kill Monter, Grab Loot, Rinse Repeat.  Though I didn't like Episode II because it felt like a reskinning of Episode 1 with new areas.

[zakkiel]

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While I believe in Nintendo and its main developers are not ones to hype their own games, I would take this 70 hour quest claim with a grain of salt.

I would go farther and say I flatly disbelieve it. OoT was maybe 20-30 hours, and TP has the same number of dungeons. I would, of course, love to find out I'm wrong.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: zakkiel

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While I believe in Nintendo and its main developers are not ones to hype their own games, I would take this 70 hour quest claim with a grain of salt.

I would go farther and say I flatly disbelieve it. OoT was maybe 20-30 hours, and TP has the same number of dungeons. I would, of course, love to find out I'm wrong.

I think you will be wrong, from what I've read the game is made up of lots of "mini"dungeons whether they be caves, sewers or other places. In addition to that Hyrule field is roughly 5 times bigger than OOT. Everyone that played it said that even at 10hrs they barely scratched the surface (no one got to dungeon 3), so that does not sound like a 20-30hr quest to me!  

[SixthAngel]

They also talked about how all the characters are very fleshed out and memorable.  I imagine this means that quests for characters may be common and character interaction is more common.  That will certainly make the game longer in good ways.

I for one am looking forward to this being extremely long.  The last couple of games I liked were too short and at times I wanted to stop playing them just because I wanted it to last.  

[Pittbboi]

Quote
Originally posted by: SixthAngel
They also talked about how all the characters are very fleshed out and memorable.  I imagine this means that quests for characters may be common and character interaction is more common.  That will certainly make the game longer in good ways.

God I hope this is the case. I love the Zelda series, but if there's one thing that has always bothered me it's how solitary everything feels. Sure, there's always a lot of NPCs around, but they only ever seem to exist for one purpose, all to meet one end. Hopefully they add more activity, more people, more going on outside of the adventure. For how many cultures dwell within hyrule, it has alwys felt too empty to me.

Hopefully they add more text, more memorable characters that have an impact. I want to feel like Link's adventure takes place within Hyrule. Not like Hyrule exists simply for Link's adventure.

Fortunately, it seems like that's what they're doing.

[blackfootsteps]

That's what I loved most about Majora's Mask, the characters seemed to be more real and alive than those in past games. The addition of interesting backstories that could be solved helped greatly. The exception was in OoT with that soldier that dies in the alleyway in Hyrule Castle Town, he was the most intriguing character ever.  

[DeadNote27]

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Originally posted by: Pittbboi
God I hope this is the case. I love the Zelda series, but if there's one thing that has always bothered me it's how solitary everything feels. Sure, there's always a lot of NPCs around, but they only ever seem to exist for one purpose, all to meet one end. Hopefully they add more activity, more people, more going on outside of the adventure. For how many cultures dwell within hyrule, it has alwys felt too empty to me.

Hopefully they add more text, more memorable characters that have an impact. I want to feel like Link's adventure takes place within Hyrule. Not like Hyrule exists simply for Link's adventure.

Fortunately, it seems like that's what they're doing.

Agreed, the Zelda series had never had this much focus on character development, it's a welcome change as far as I'm concerned.  

[Shecky]

Why should I believe the PR department, ever  I'm sure it's "long", especially in the face of how much time I have to play it ("short").  However if history has indication, I will end up "making" time to play this, much to the chagrin of work and other life type things.

Matt's played a few dungeons and in most RPG's that doesn't attest to the pace of the whole game.  I'd consider the 1st temple (forest) in OoT to be long in comparison of the others.  It takes time to get acquainted with the game (remember where things are, can get there quickly, etc).  Play testers are taking their time to try and find faults... and so on.

Really, if your short up on time to play a game is the difference between 50 and 70 hours a big deal?  I mean it's still long either way.  If you have time to burn then it's a moot point.

[mantidor]

The bad thing about long games is that they have to be extremely well put together to keep your attention, the Zelda team is talented and theres no doubt about that, but its still a huge challenge for them to get you interested during a 70 hour game, the game not only should have dozens of dungeons, each dungeon should look more inviting and intriguing that the one before, doing medallion collection or stones won't be enough, you have to feel a far more compelling motive to go there and don't feel like its a chore.

[KDR_11k]

I don't like hearing that Hyrule Field got even bigger. It took minutes of rolling to pass that huge blob of emptyness in OOT. Hyrule field should be trimmed down, not expanded. The 2d games could afford having you travel longer distances because every bit of it was filled with interesting stuff.

[Kairon]

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Originally posted by: Pittbboi

Quote
Originally posted by: SixthAngel
They also talked about how all the characters are very fleshed out and memorable.  I imagine this means that quests for characters may be common and character interaction is more common.  That will certainly make the game longer in good ways.

God I hope this is the case. I love the Zelda series, but if there's one thing that has always bothered me it's how solitary everything feels. Sure, there's always a lot of NPCs around, but they only ever seem to exist for one purpose, all to meet one end. Hopefully they add more activity, more people, more going on outside of the adventure. For how many cultures dwell within hyrule, it has alwys felt too empty to me.

Hopefully they add more text, more memorable characters that have an impact. I want to feel like Link's adventure takes place within Hyrule. Not like Hyrule exists simply for Link's adventure.

Fortunately, it seems like that's what they're doing.

I'm fine with that too. As long as they don't add voice-acting.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Hostile Creation]

As long as it is, that's how long I'll play it.  And not just the main quest, but every side quest that's something more than just a collectathon (ie, no gold skulltulas, but trade sequences and secret locations and all that I love).  So nearly all of the game.  I'll enjoy every hot, wet Zelda-y minute of it.  I want to save most of it for over the Christmas break, so I can dedicate lots of time to just being absorbed in the game.

[GoldenPhoenix]

You know, I was thinking, there are some benefits to Miyamoto not working on Zelda. Like others have stated Majora's Mask had interesting characters (one of the few aspects I really enjoyed), and Wind Waker probaly had one of the most emotionally packed story out of the Zeldas in addition to the well thought out characters. Miyamoto focuses more on gameplay, while Aonuma seems to integrate more character interaction which I find to be a welcome addition to the Zelda franchise.

[Bill Aurion]

That's absolutely not true...In fact, Miyamoto probably concentrates more on the "interaction" of characters than anyone in the gaming industry...

In that recent Iwata interview, members of the Zelda team talked about how Miyamoto sent them e-mails all the time that had subjects like "When I do this, I don't get a reaction from the other characters!"...Miyamoto is primarily gameplay, but he's also the King of Details...

[KDR_11k]

Wind Waker probaly had one of the most emotionally packed story out of the Zeldas in addition to the well thought out characters

Didn't Miyamoto say he already vetoed an even more evolved story because he found it too complicated?

[MaryJane]

is 50-70 hours too long? that depends, is 15-20 hours too short?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I want a 100 hour long RPG, that stays involved, and the way I play games, (never using a strategy guide, and intentionally backtracking to make sure I found every last item possible, fighting every enemy I come across, talking to every person after every event in the game (their responses often change just by the time of day), and constantly dying) Zelda: TP has the potential to be that 100hour game I've been looking for.

I hate nothing more than playing a game for 4 or 5 days and then it's over, that is not worth $50.

I didn't think the triforce hunting was that bad, by the time I HAD to do it to progress in the game I already had 4 pieces, and most of the triforce maps, so it really wasn't too difficult.

Said before but, This is Nintendo, and this is Zelda, there has never been a better parent child relationship in the history of videogames. Nintendo and Mario come close but Zelda is becoming Nintendo's namesake, while Mario is it's mascot. Don't get me wrong, I love Mario, but if we ever have Zelda(or Link) party, I might have to kill someone.

[couchmonkey]

Yes, it's too long.  But that's partly a matter of taste.  As MaryJane straight above me says, he's been dreaming of this game.

Personally, it took me 4 months to beat Majora's Mask and that  only added up to about 40 hours of play (yes I'm pretty slow).  I can easily see this one taking me 80 hours and I don't have that kind of time any more.  My biggest fear is that it'll be 40 hours of fun and 40 hours of travelling and collecting and crap - but even if it isn't, I still simply don't have 80 hours.

Of course I'm still going to get it and love it, and if it doesn't contain too much "filler" I might consider it the best in the series, but my point is just that I don't feel more=better anymore.  I'm not hardcore!  

Edit: Wind Waker took me about 50 hours on my first play and almost exactly 30 hours my second time, did anyone else keep track?

[ginx619]

I spent around 105-110 hours playing Oblivion where almost every quest is basically the same so 50-70 hours doesn't seem too long to me.

As long as the world is big enough and enjoyable to travel around and the story and characters are intriguing then the length of the game doesn't really matter to me.

I'm personally happy that Zelda is reported to be this long because other than Trauma Center the other games don't interest me much.Between Zelda, Trauma Center, and Wii sports I should be set until long after the new year. This will make both my wallet and my wife happy.

[Hostile Creation]

The more we talk about how long it'll be, the more I get excited about it.  I've been waiting for something like this since Metroid Prime 2 came out.  A big adventure game.  RPGs and platformers and such can be good fun, but I need my Zelda or Metroid fix to satiate that adventurous spirit of mine.

[Ian Sane]

To me a long game is a boring game.  But to me "long" is just a feeling.  A great game doesn't feel long even if in terms of hours it is.  A game only becomes long in my mind when it becomes a chore.  If the game is just clicking with me the time just flies by.

I don't want to see tedious game design elements to lengthen the game and I always am afraid of that.  Yeah Wind Waker is the only Zelda to have it but it isn't the only Nintendo game to have it.  Metroid Prime 1 & 2 have it as well so you never know.  Hopefully it will be okay.

One problem I often have with games through is that once all I have left to do is beat the last boss my motivation dimishes.  That's because there is usually nothing new to see.  If the story isn't really grabbing me there is often no reason to continue if the boss is kicking my ass and it's going to take a lot of tries to finish him off.  But this hasn't happened to me in Zelda yet so that should be okay too.

If any of you are concerned that you won't have time don't be.  The Wii is a brand new console.  All brand new consoles have a dead zone after launch.  Hopefully because you're playing Zelda you won't notice it but there isn't just going to be games flying at you from everywhere unless you want to play THQ crap.  And if you get it on the Cube you're never getting another Cube game again so you've got all the time you need.

[JonLeung]

There's no such thing as "too long".  Unless of course you're going to die at a predetermined time or you have to soon go somewhere where you can't play video games (I know someone who's partway through some kind of religious retreat for two years, for example).

50-70 hours just means you'll be playing Zelda instead of two to four games in the same amount of time.

The "I have less time for gaming" argument should only really mean that you'll take longer to finish it.  Boohoo, so you can't play games for 10-15 hours a day like some people.  So it's in seventy one-hour instalments instead of seven ten-hour runs.  So it takes you half a year instead of a week.  This is Zelda we're talking about, known as the greatest game series ever made by a lot of people, so even if this game only lives halfway up to the promise of being the best Zelda ever made, it should be worth your time - you're less likely to lose interest before your half-year journey is done, than with any other 50-70 hour game or activity.

Games are expensive and you're complaining that you're getting more gameplay for your hard-earned dollar?