Gamers, You Ruined Zelda!

Joined Oct 2004
9K Posts | 1+
Los Angeles, CA
While many anticipate playing the game, now delayed until 2011, I found myself feeling un-inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's demonstration of the game during Nintendo's press conference. The revered game designer's technical difficulties didn't exactly inspire my confidence in the game. But more importantly, I thought the game looked ugly -- like a mishmash of the last three or four games with no cohesive aesthetic. See the screenshot above to see what the game looks like filtered through a PR firm, touched up in Photoshop and shrunk down to fit into a blog post. On a big, HD monitor the game doesn't look nearly that good.

The crime is that we need not be here. It's all your fault that the new Zelda game looks like crap. And I'll tell you why.

I kind of think he has a point.

[Gamers, You Ruined Zelda]
 
So, this guy is saying that everyone ruined Zelda for him because he liked the Windwaker style...

Tough.

Good gameplay can be enhanced by graphics, but, underneath, a game still needs good gameplay. That is pretty much what the Zelda series has delivered since the NES original.
 
Grindspine said:
Good gameplay can be enhanced by graphics, but, underneith, a game still needs good gameplay. That is pretty much what the Zelda series has delivered since the NES original.

I think there lies the problem. Gameplay was awesome back when the series was still fresh, but now the games are just "good." Twilight Princess was not fun, in my opinion, and would much rather play Wind Waker. I think the strength of Zelda is the creative freedom they have with the stylization. The game is based on fantasy and when you try to make it realistic, it loses something.
 
Oh and make sure you read the fine print. :p

Pretension +1 is a weekly column by Gus Mastrapa that trolls fanboys, speaks truth to power and generates a crap-load of angry comments.
 
though spirit tracks was a great game in my opinion, one of the best titles out there. So to me the series keeps going in a improving slope since spirit tracks was so much better than phantom hourglass, I never had any complaints when it comes to gameplay.

everyone is talking about Twilight princess like it was the last game in the series... when it was not Phantom Hourglass and Spirit tracks were both in my opinion more fun than twilight princess yet a lot of people just jump over them.

not to mention, i do like the style in skyward sword... the only thing i don't like about it is Link himself.. he looks odd.
 
who gives a crap about how it looks? I've never been too caught up on graphics, if it's a good game, then it's a good game, regardless of how it looks.
 
ThravRande said:
who gives a crap about how it looks? I've never been too caught up on graphics, if it's a good game, then it's a good game, regardless of how it looks.

But Zelda has always been a game that was just as much about the aesthetics as the gameplay. Miyamoto, and the game directors afterwards, helped create one of the most memorable gaming worlds, Hyrule. So yes, when it comes to Zelda it does matter.
 
CreepinDeth said:
But Zelda has always been a game that was just as much about the aesthetics as the gameplay. Miyamoto, and the game directors afterwards, helped create one of the most memorable gaming worlds, Hyrule. So yes, when it comes to Zelda it does matter.
Does it? Perhaps it does to hardcore gamers, but perhaps Nintendo is looking at gamers as a whole.
 
CreepinDeth said:
But Zelda has always been a game that was just as much about the aesthetics as the gameplay. Miyamoto, and the game directors afterwards, helped create one of the most memorable gaming worlds, Hyrule. So yes, when it comes to Zelda it does matter.

Aesthetics.. bah!

Even with limited graphical ability, The Legend of Zelda was memorable and had great atmosphere.

zelda.jpg


That area gave a different sense than the green, lush areas to the east. The boulders gave a clue that a secret was between them.

Windwaker, I still don't like the visual style, but it doesn't make it less of a great game. Games like the Halo series, for example, have always wowed me with graphics. If a Zelda game can pull of being aesthetically pleasing and having great gameplay, it's a double bonus.
 
ThravRande said:
Does it? Perhaps it does to hardcore gamers, but perhaps Nintendo is looking at gamers as a whole.

Then why would Nintendo even bother creating Wind Waker or Majora's Mask? Because they're thinking about the franchise, not gamers of any kind. Which is why graphics matter, at least for Zelda. It's only piece of what makes Zelda great, but still an important piece.

Grindspine said:
Aesthetics.. bah!

Even with limited graphical ability, The Legend of Zelda was memorable and had great atmosphere.

zelda.jpg


That area gave a different sense than the green, lush areas to the east. The boulders gave a clue that a secret was between them.

Of course it did. The aesthetics, along with the music and enemies, gave it the atmosphere. From the boulders and rocks of Hyrule, to Link's green elf attire. It all plays a role in making Zelda, Zelda.

Grindspine said:
If a Zelda game can pull of being aesthetically pleasing and having great gameplay, it's a double bonus.

No, then it would finally be a Zelda game.
 
Well, in any case, I like this art style, and who knows? This isnt even near completion. It could look very different by the time it's released.
 
ThravRande said:
Well, in any case, I like this art style, and who knows? This isnt even near completion. It could look very different by the time it's released.

Yeah, it's not near completion. I was mostly just speaking about the Zelda franchise as a whole.
 
Every time I see the original Zelda, now I think of "3D Dot Game Heroes" on PS3 :lol It is such a dead-on clone!
 
but I honestly disagree because to me all Zelda games i have played up until now have had great style for the consoles they were on. I still love the style of TP and again i still like the style of Skyward sword... i just don't like its link (it's like ALTTP i hate the link there)
 
MegaDrive20XX said:
Every time I see the original Zelda, now I think of "3D Dot Game Heroes" on PS3 :lol It is such a dead-on clone!

Spot on! If you're gonna rip something off, at least do it well! It appears Atlus is paying a nice homage to the original Zelda with some tinges of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy I graphics thrown into the mix.
 
Graphics in Zelda games never mattered until OoT, when Zelda went 3D. I don't think anyone looked at LTTP and said the graphics sucked. Or at least I don't remember that. But after showing what Zelda could be in 3D, that's all that anyone wanted.

IMO, though, the reason that TP wasn't as popular is not just because of the graphics, but the gameplay. It tried too hard to be OoT. The problem is that OoT is fine how it is, so trying to one-up it is just a lost cause.

To me, part of the charm of Wind Waker was that it was so dissimilar to OoT.

And honestly while the HD Zelda for the Wii U looks amazing, I'd love to see them make it anime-style again (maybe similar to something like Persona or Catherine) and see how beautiful that is in HD.
 
I kind of like the style they are going for with Skyward sword. A mixture of both for good measure... but honestly Wind Waker graphics are still good by today standards so I feel they succeeded in making that a timeless game
 
Mai Valentine said:
Graphics in Zelda games never mattered until OoT, when Zelda went 3D. I don't think anyone looked at LTTP and said the graphics sucked. Or at least I don't remember that. But after showing what Zelda could be in 3D, that's all that anyone wanted.

IMO, though, the reason that TP wasn't as popular is not just because of the graphics, but the gameplay. It tried too hard to be OoT. The problem is that OoT is fine how it is, so trying to one-up it is just a lost cause.

To me, part of the charm of Wind Waker was that it was so dissimilar to OoT.

And honestly while the HD Zelda for the Wii U looks amazing, I'd love to see them make it anime-style again (maybe similar to something like Persona or Catherine) and see how beautiful that is in HD.
At first I sort-of avoided Wind Walker because it was so different. But I finally tried it and found myself loving the game and was a bit amazed at how it felt like I was playing a cartoon. I mentally did not find myself trying to compare it to OoT. Which is a good thing and showed that they succeeded in creating a unique Zelda game that stands on its own two legs. I agree with you on, that they need to try an anime-style like you are suggesting. They would be so great.
I am just getting into TP. I have no opinion of it yet, but I do see and immedately feel the similarities with OoT.