Tears Of The Kingdom – the future of Zelda (pic: Nintendo)



A reader offers a rebuttal to the idea that Breath Of The Wild has killed traditional Zelda games and suggests fans embrace its innovations.



I wanted to create an alternative viewpoint to The Zelda games I love are dead and Tears Of The Kingdom killed them Reader’s Feature.



My first Zelda was A Link To The Past. What an introduction to the series. I had previously been a Commodore 64 user. I’ve played them all (still not beaten The Minish Cap though!). Aside from the Zelda fundamentals – exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat – the series has been about evolution.



I disagree wholeheartedly that the Zelda formula therefore is gone forever. The darkest times of the series were when the formula was used a bit too rigidly and the innovation was kept at a minimum (I’m looking at you there, Twilight Princess).



Being upset at innovation and evolution in a video game series suggests a staggering level of entitlement. Being upset that the weapons are breakable, so what? The previous entries only gave us one constantly used weapon and that one isn’t breakable in Breath Of The Wild , and there’s nothing to suggest it will break in Tears Of The Kingdom.



You said you don’t want to be picking up resources and cooking meals and making arrows. Is it really that troubling? Previously you had to visit a shop to buy potions and you could only carry a handful. Now Nintendo has given us the opportunity to make meals (potions) on the fly, with an abundance of recipes and resources.



I don’t think it makes the game easier, but it encourages experimentation, which correct me if I’m wrong was the name of the game with the first one? Making arrows? What’s really the difference between making arrows and cutting down grass to discover a top up to your arrows in previous games?



‘Combat isn’t very different from the norm’. What ‘norm’ are you referring to? It’s different to previous Zelda encounters but also similar enough that if you want to just play with a sword and a shield, you can. Z-targeting remains in all it’s beautiful simple. However, the combat can also be pretty deep. Counters and flourishes, slow motion aiming, different weapons to make harder enemies easier (Guardian weapons to cut the legs of Guardians is a gift!).



You mentioned ‘aimless exploration’. What an oxymoron if ever there was one. All exploration is aimless as you’re exploring. But to suggest that there is no reward is madness, the exploration is the reward. The game world is beautifully designed with secrets around every corner, a shrine puzzle to be solved before the shrine itself, a huge swathe of new enemies to encounter and overcome. All hallmarks of classic Zelda may I add. Just innovated to suit this new game style.



I think you’ll have to just get over this obsession with the ‘proper’ Zelda series and accept the fact that it is the proper series and not only that, it has reached new levels of innovation and evolution. Played Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link recently? It’s horrendous. Bring on Tears Of The Kingdom, I can’t wait to get lost in that world again.



By reader Marty Naan









The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.



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