Last year, Nintendo released the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild as a Switch launch title and on Wii U. It was so different from the rest of the series, being far more non linear and open world in nature. The game won over fans and critics alike and received numerous game of the year awards. That being said, my own personal experience with the game was different from the majority. I tried my best to get into the game and enjoy it, but found I just couldn’t. After spending hours playing the game and trying to have fun, I decided the game just wasn’t for me. It was too different from what I had experienced before.
Recently I began asking other fans of the Zelda series what they thought of the game, and if anyone else just couldn’t really get into the experience. The answers I received gave me a lot of insight into the situation. While the vast departure from the series nom was a welcome change for many gamers, just as many others found the changes to be a bit too much, To these games Breath Of The Wild was so different that some even stated it felt empty and like less of a Zelda game.
I want to be very clear here that I am not hating on Breath of the Wild. The game earned the praise it got, and people had complained the series had gotten stale in the time prior to its release. What this is, is a matter of opinion and telling the people who didn’t like Breath of the Wild that their opinion is also a valid one. Changing the conventions of The Legend of Zelda is fine, but for some it just went too far.
This change is the game design can be contrasted with another game in the series that also tried to shake up the formula. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was released for 3DS and was another attempt at returning the series to the nonlinear roots. The difference between the games however, is that A Link Between Worlds felt more like a compromise than a complete shift. It gave the option for non linear play, while also retaining enough of the series’ conventions to give a sense of familiarity to players.
In the end, if you didn’t like Breath of the Wild you weren’t hating on it to be contrarian. You likely just didn’t enjoy the changes that were done. Ideally, Nintendo should realize that this divide exists in the fanbase. The best way to go about fixing it isn’t to walk back the changes, but continue the paths they started in both A Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild. Have a game that offers a compromise, and have a game that offers the full open world experience. They do not necessarily need to be of the same scope and size, but the audience is there for both distinct styles.
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Disclaimer: The above is the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of Real Otaku Gamer or its staff.