There Are Too Many Damn Zelda Games
Nintendo didn’t announce a new Zelda game at E3 this year, but Shigeru ‘œI Do What I Want’ Miyamoto decided to talk about one anyway. We’re not talking ‘œTwilight Princess’ style, either, as in a GameCube game being shunted along to the Wii with tacked-on waggle action. We’re talking a full-on, Motion Plus-enhanced sword-swinging extravaganza.
While the citizens of Nintendonia are thrilled at this news, I am quite underwhelmed. Lots of gamers have been irritated with Nintendo on a large scale since the success of the Wii, since Nintendo has stopped catering to them, and instead started looking to SELL SELL SELL (which they’re doing brilliantly).
It’s clear that Nintendo is prioritizing their newfound ‘œCasual’ market now, but it’s also clear that they’re struggling to put out just enough real gaming material to keep the older, reasonably-cynical hardcore market satisfied. The question is, how much can they whore out their ‘œanchor’ franchises until everybody catches on?
By my count, this will be the fourth significant (not a spin-off) Zelda game since the Wii was released. ‘œTwilight Princess,’ ‘œPhantom Hourglass,’ the upcoming ‘œSpirit Tracks’ and now whatever this will be.
Remember when it was years between Zelda games? ‘œOcarina of Time’ was hugely anticipated, because it was the first release in the series for a very long time, and because it was hugely different than any of the games that came before it. When I got my hands on it, I played it nearly straight through in one sitting. Now, new entries in the franchise are expected on an almost-annual basis, and gameplay changes are few and far-between.
I’m not saying that ‘œTwilight Princess’ and ‘œPhantom Hourglass’ were bad games (and they both contained a small amount of innovation, though not nearly on the scale of their predecessors), but I can tell you that it’s at the point where ‘“ for the first time in my life ’“ I haven’t finished a new Zelda game. I lost interest in ‘œTwilight Princess’ once I realized that it was, for the most part, just more of the same. As I grew tired of the stylus control in ‘œPhantom Hourglass,’ I stopped playing that as well.
This is a momentous occasion ‘“ the Zelda series has long been my favorite set of games, and I’ve played through the first few of them at least ten times each. Why can’t I sit through one anymore? My theory is that it’s got the Pokémon Curse*, though not quite to the extreme that Pokémon takes it. Either that, or I’m catching on to the fact that rehashes of old franchises are Nintendo’s answer to the hardcore market’s complaints against them (a few unique third-party games notwithstanding).
The argument could be made that I’m playing through the older Zelda games on an annual basis anyway, so why wouldn’t I be able to sit through the newer ones even if they are very similar? I think it may have something to do with the nostalgia factor… I’m a sucker for the old 8-bit and 16-bit classics.
Either way, Nintendo needs to slow it down with the Zelda games (the same goes for Mario, but don’t get me started on him). The Zelda franchise has been one of the most successful series in the history of gaming, and they’ve always been great games. Unfortunately, at this rate it’s only a matter of time before the world grows tired of them.
*Pokémon Curse ‘“ An affliction caused by game designers who need money, so they release a sequel to an ultra-successful game with only minor changes to the core gameplay formula. This is exacerbated, and allowed to happen, by throngs of mindless consumers who blindly purchase any sequel to a game they liked, because it must be good as well.
As far as Twilight Princess goes I know a lot of people that didn’t finish as a result of the pacing. They throw three dungeons at you almost back to back whereas in Ocarina of Time they broke up dungeons with interesting interludes. Ugh Phantom Hourglass has the damn Temple of the Sea King.
I think the best we can do at this point is hope that only showing artwork is a sign that this game is a long while off.
I always considered myself a pretty big fan of the Zelda series, and then I look back to my collection and say “Oh, the only portable release that I’ve ever played is Link’s Awakening…” and then I can’t help but think there are too many games.
I’ve been wondering how long it would take for Nintendo fanboys to wake up and go “Hey…wait a minute”
The big N has been accused of ignoring the core gamer for a long time now, and what’s their response?
Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Zel…
You get the idea. At what point do people stand up and say “STOP IT. BAD NINTENDO.”
The dog doesn’t learn unless you rub it’s nose in it. It will continue to get away with shitting in the house for as long as it can. Nintendo: stop shitting in our houses.
If you want to complain about Zelda and Mario, you need to realize how much every other game series is like them. Halo was a big offender, find a rig, fight aliens, evil virus, fight viral aliens, blow ring up. The major structural plot points are the same in all of the series and the little things are changed. Even Prototype and inFamous have similar plots with the whole “disaster game me super abilities now who dunnit” angle.
And its not to say that all the games are getting progressively wore since the original. The game quality has been steady through out the series with a few ups and downs so who cares if the story is rehashed, there still fun and some of the best designed games out there. If you’re tired of Zelda, just take a break for a few years and come back when you want, no-one is forcing anyone to play.
Also Goddamn Link is right handed again! Right handed people ruin everything for me eventually!
I agree with everything you said, P Marsh.
I never said anything about the quality of the games. They’re fantastic. It’s just that they’ve been fantastic in the same way for a long time, and Nintendo is relying too heavily on their core franchises to keep the “hardcore” gamers satisfied.
You’re right about Halo too. Microsoft is on the cusp of doing the same thing right now, with Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach looking to milk the franchise a bit more. Don’t get me started on Halo Wars.
There are plenty of franchises in the video game industry who have been bent over and milked for all they’re worth. It just saddens me to see Zelda become one of them.
@j00zt1n: Well for the sake of argument, the point of a franchises is so they can be milked, at least in the gaming industry. Where series difference themselves is how well they handle the source material and use the strengths of the series in the next installments favor. Zelda keeps a similar formula to use its nostalgia the most it can while changing what needs to be changed to qualify it for a stand alone game and not just a re-hash.
The Zelda series main strength is its nostalgia factor. Fans don’t just play it for a new title, they play it because it reminds them of their favorite and allows them to revisit those feelings and memories again. And at least Zelda has remained strong and in good hands all these years unlike Sonic. I’d hate to see what happens when Miyamoto retires and his stewardship over it falls to the wayside.
I agree with you over how Nintendo is relying too much on core I.P. too much, that itself is undeniable. A few good names came from Nintendo on the Gamecube and with the success of the Wii, we should expect as much in turn.