How casual will this "casual Zelda" be?

Currently on ZU's homepage, there's an article that says that there will be a casual Zelda game in the future. How far do you think Nintendo will go on this? Should they just call it Wii Sports 3: Hyrule? Will we get a sequel to PH? Maybe they'll make a game with enemies and puzzles that are so easy that you'd have to be paying attention to get killed.

In my opinion, if Nintendo really wants to make a Zelda game that more people could enjoy, then they should put in a difficulty setting. It couldn't do any harm and I don't think it would be that hard to put in. They'll get more sales from both casual and hardcore crowds too. Although I don't see Nintendo doing that unfortunately. Did I just get off topic? Darn.

So anyway, I believe that this casual Zelda will be too easy and will come with WW graphics (which can look cool but I still want realistic graphics). Got any thoughts on this?

Miyamoto never used the word "casual" in the article they're referring to. He used "accessible controls". Two very different things.

Originally Posted by LightForestSage

Miyamoto never used the word "casual" in the article they're referring to. He used "accessible controls". Two very different things.

Exactly. They want the game to introduce more fans so they're making the controls accesible to everyone, so it's easy to use.

It's a Wii game, so that makes it casual from the get-go.

If they have difficulty settings, then I won't care, though...

It'll actually be Wii Adventure with Zelda character models instead of the Mii's.

Jeez, everyone's making a fuss.

Zelda isn't Devil May Cry or Gradius. Sure, challenge is preferable but it has always been more about the charm of the world and the refined gameplay that makes us play Zelda. Come on; be honest here, who has actually been challenged by a Zelda game in recent years?

However, that's not the point. Casual dosn't nessicary mean making it easier, and making it more accesable for other players is always going to be a good thing. And, come on, it's not like they are going to turn it into a mini-game collection, is it?

Originally Posted by Sam250

Come on; be honest here, who has actually been challenged by a Zelda game in recent years?

Majora's Mask didn't come out THAT long ago.

Casual dosn't nessicary mean making it easier, and making it more accesable for other players is always going to be a good thing.

mm, do you know what Miyamoto means by "more accessible"?

He says he wants games to be "easier" for non-gamers to play.
"Difficult" controls and "complicated" storylines go against this philosophy.

Yet this is exactly what the hardcore gamer wants; difficulty and a real story.

The way I understood it is that he just wants to create easier (=easy to learn/natural/similar to the Wii-sports controls I guess) controls for the next Zelda, which is only logical -it's a Wii game after all.
He wouldn't even dare to make it easier then PH, even casuals felt that it had no "challange factor". And I doubt that they somehow did not notice that.

Originally Posted by Mr. Lexxi Aileron

Majora's Mask didn't come out THAT long ago.

By recent years, I actually meant Not When You Were Three Years Old. In truth, no Zelda game is challenging.

mm, do you know what Miyamoto means by "more accessible"?

Well, yes. To increase accessibilty. Duh. No hidden meanings there.

He says he wants games to be "easier" for non-gamers to play.

I think that this is a fair aim. For one, one of the main reasons that video games aren't as universally played then movies are watched is because it requires interaction and, in most cases, skill. Of course some gamers want to be challenged, in the same way that some people want movies to make them laugh or to cry, but some people just like to turn off their brains and watch Samuel L. Jackson kill snakes (on a plane). Making a game easier would make people more interested. As soon as they pick up the controller and find that they can actualy play it, it keeps them interested rather then alienating them from the medium. I understand and appriciate Miyamoto's vision here.

But, like you say, some people like to be challenged. I understand that too. There isn't really and easy solution around that, but I would suggest diffuculty levels.

Of course, I don't think that the main prblem when it comes to alienating new plays is actually so much the difficulty, but leaning the controls. In fact, the enture begining of an epic game is a big kick in the balls to casual gamers. Learning the controls, story ect immidiatly pushes them away. If they could get straight into a game and pick up the controls almost immidiatly, that would certainly help.

And that is what I think (and hope) Miyamoto means by more accesable games. Games like Wii Fit and Wii Sports (not always that easy, actually), but with their princables applied to adventure/fighting/action titles.

"Difficult" controls and "complicated" storylines go against this philosophy.

Excuse me, but "difficult" controls and "complicated" are bad things. Not just for causal gamers, but in general. Okay, so convolted storylines attract some people (my self included), but making it purposly complicated is a bad thing. It's almost like saying that "Bad graphics" go against his philosophy, and that is a bad thing.

^^Agreed. I was over at my cousin's house the other day playing GTA4 for the first time. It was cool, but it kind of bored me trying to learn the controls. Each button does something different every time your in a different situation (in a car, on a mission, on the phone, etc.). It came to be a chore, and understand how experienced GTA players find these controls awesome, but when it comes to GTA, I'm casual.

That's what I think Miyamoto is trying to prevent. If there were more Zelda fans than Halo or GTA fans, this problem wouldn't have risen, however, since that's not the case, Nintendo has to do something like this for them to survive in the gaming world, given their position. I said this on another thread, and I'll say it again: if anyone can bridge the gap between casual and hardcore, its Nintendo.

Originally Posted by erokk121

^^Agreed. I was over at my cousin's house the other day playing GTA4 for the first time. It was cool, but it kind of bored me trying to learn the controls. Each button does something different every time your in a different situation (in a car, on a mission, on the phone, etc.). It came to be a chore, and understand how experienced GTA players find these controls awesome, but when it comes to GTA, I'm casual.

Just to quickly give another game; Metal Gear Solid. Quite possibly the worst series for inaccessable controls. I know MGS isn't exactly aimed towards the casual auidiance, but my God, if my Mum tried to play that she would have an aneurysm.

That's what I think Miyamoto is trying to prevent. If there were more Zelda fans than Halo or GTA fans, this problem wouldn't have risen, however, since that's not the case, Nintendo has to do something like this for them to survive in the gaming world, given their position. I said this on another thread, and I'll say it again: if anyone can bridge the gap between casual and hardcore, its Nintendo.

Yes, absolutly.

Hold it. What if Nintendo makes the controls easy to pick up at the beginning, but make the game evolve to a level of mind-bending difficulty as the game goes. Some games like GTA have all the hard stuff at the beginning and leave little room for gradual evolution of difficulty later in the game (at least that's the way I felt playing it for the first time). This would be great to see in a Zelda game. I may be wrong or whatever, but that's just how any form of entertainment works nowadays: gradual intensity. Dark Knight's themes(instant classic. Anyone who didn't watch it sometime this weekend lives under a rock) evolved beautifully during the whole movie. Games should be like that. Zelda should be like that.

By the way, this also means that the next Zelda will not be a sequel of any kind, since Nintendo is trying to pick up more casual gamers. Going on from TP or something else will leave them confused and all that, so if Nintendo has a brain of any shape or form, they would create a fresh, original story.

Why is it so necessary to equate accessible controls/more casual to easier? I don't really get it. If Miyamoto wants to make the controls smoother than they have been, why is this a problem? Or couldn't they just add in a difficulty setting? Or add the uber-bosses and extra dungeons that only a hardcore gamer would even think of attempting? Even were they to dumb down the difficulty of Zelda for the casual gamer, there's a number of solutions so that the hardcore gamer can still have an enjoyable experience. I don't think Miyamoto wants to exclude the hardcore gamer in any way. He just wants to include the casual gamer. Is it really so bad that both types of gamers would be able to get a good experience from a Zelda game?

as long as they dont ease up on the difficulty, im fine

.........I´m starting to wish the Valley of The Flood rumor was real....

Making controls easier? This isn't rocket science. Any person with an IQ above 80 and the attention span slightly above a goldfish can figure out the controls of the 3D Zelda games. How much simpler can Miyamoto make it? Or do you all want something like in Wind Waker: Press "A" to win? I don't mind simpler controls or interface (but if you ask me, it's already pretty damn simple to begin with), but don't mess with my difficultly. Nintendo has already fleshed out practically all their series for the casual gamer. They don't need to "officially" degrade the Zelda series as well (they've already made Zelda games easier in general, it's just that they haven't "officially" done so with series yet).