Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are both fantastic games - and Tears of the Kingdom really does feel (to me) like they just took Breath of the Wild, and added a few more years of dev time to it.
Where do you think Nintendo will take Zelda from here though? Can they keep with the same new formula? Should they? Will a more traditional game feel disappointing after this?
I don’t really know what I want myself. I think they should try something different though. At the same time, I can’t help but think I’d be disappointed if the next game was more similar to something like Twilight Princess. Have they boxed themselves in?
They would need two different studios at that point: one developing the nostalgic style and the other continuing the BotW style.
As someone else mentioned BotW style with same map but different time is a similar formula which will work while they finish it their elements theme, but I’d l love to explore a whole new map too!
Yeah, I’m not sure how they’d even handle it or if it would be at all doable. The thing I disliked most about BotW is that there are no dungeons as there usually were, and you get all your “gadgets” from the get go. If Nintendo could perhaps work on those two aspects while keeping the open world, I might be more of a fan of the game.
TotK has temples.
They didn’t have the gatekeepy “you need the hook shot to proceed here” thing but they do have a “you don’t have a device you need for this bit yet, go figure out what dispenser has them and come back” instead. So it might be more your style.
As someone who has played every legend of Zelda (except the cdi ones), I never understood the desire for a set formula aside from nostalgia. Needing the double hookshot from a temple to complete a specific mini game and get a heart doesn’t really add a ton of value to a game for me (though having your rewards for random nonsense be materials instead of something as meaningful as a heart DID make the mini games and quests feel a little less special).
Still. If Miyamoto said that he wanted Legend of Zelda to capture the feeling of being a kid and exploring the world and making up games for yourself, then BotW is the most true of the games to that vision. That said, I’ve loved every LoZ game so far… I guess I just have trouble understanding the fan boy desire for a set formula we’ve done a billion times.