Zelda difficulty

Difficulty options are unimaginative and a very unsatisfying way to adapt the gaming experience to the player, IMO. Instead, I propose a more intuitive system which allows the game to raise the bar when it senses that the player is very skilled. It should also be able to lower the difficulty level slightly if it turns out that the player wasn't that skilled. This means, of course, that it must tell the difference between a lower skill level and temporary bad luck/clumsiness.
Today's technology should make this possible.

EDIT: I agree with The Doctor, though.

Originally Posted by Kasuto

Instead, I propose a more intuitive system which allows the game to raise the bar when it senses that the player is very skilled. It should also be able to lower the difficulty level slightly if it turns out that the player wasn't that skilled. This means, of course, that it must tell the difference between a lower skill level and temporary bad luck/clumsiness.
Today's technology should make this possible.

I liked how Shadow of the Colossus handled things. You're told at the beginning that you used your sword to find the colossi locations, and they never tell you that again. They also tell you that the sword can find weak points once. Other than that, all you're given is a vague little poem about the colossus you're supposed to find ["Thy next foe is... It casts a colossal shadow over a misty lake... as it soars through the sky... Reaching it is no easy task..."]

You don't get another hint (other than your sword's light), until you find the monster. And even then, if you're making progress, you don't get more hints. However, if you go a certain amount of time without making progress, you get another vague hint.

I also agree that simply adding a difficulty selection is unimaginative. It'd really ruin the mood for me if there was a difficulty option. Zelda's never had a difficulty option... it wouldn't feel the same if it did.

I really think it depends on the game. MM and SS - Hero Mode - were as perfect (to me) as they could be. And Ocarina of Time Master Quest was also pretty good too. But, Zelda isn't just for older people, right? It's for younger kids and it can't be too hard, but it also can't be too easy. I think Zelda games are right in the middle. But it's agreeable that there should be something like SS Hero Mode or OoT Master Quest in almost every game, hopefully in all the games that will be released in the near future.

The problem with increasing the penalty for a death is that the game makers would also be more inclined to reduce the overall difficulty in order to make dying harder to come by. I think they should stick with increasing the actually gameplay difficulty, rather than the penalties, which is, as someone other kid said already, "fake difficulty." However, I do agree that there should be some sort of penalty after dying, though nothing too far greater than why we already have. After a death, they should reive the character with the initial amount of hearts given at the beginning of the game and the magic meter completely empty, which is already done in most of the games. If in a dungeon, the player restarts at the beginning, with all enemies respawned (excluding mini-bosses), and with the reversible puzzles reset. However, the player's progress in the dungeon would be saved. This is almost exactly like Ocarina of Time.

Enemies need to be harder to fight and hit, but not necessarily have more health. Dungeons could be more expansive and have a better mix of enemies an puzzles (more enemies). The 3D Zelda's are for the most part lacking in difficulty when it comes to killing enemies and getting through dungeons (Ocarina of Time is an exception). Skyward Sword's Hero Mode fixed nothing at all. Enemies had more health, but if you know how to play the game this is no problem. Just more tedious. Majora's Mask tried to be difficult by adding the 3-Day Cycle, but the dungeons, enemies, and bosses were piss easy, far more so than in Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess.

For the most part, enemies need to be far harder to fight, handholding needs to go (Fi and Tatl), and Heart Pieces need to be FAR more difficult to collect.

Tatl was less handholding than Navi and MM did have difficult enemies. Otherwise, you're right on the money.