Does Zelda need to change its face to keep up with the times?

This one's for you Aziel

Instead of 5 long winded paragraphs like my last thread, I'll get straight to the point. Zelda is not as appealing to the average gamer when compared to the next generation games coming out soon. I'm not saying that other games (Assassins Creed, God of War, Fable) are better than Zelda, but if you take a teenage kid and show him the cover of God of War and Twilight Princess, what do you think he will choose?




Surely if this teenager is the average gamer (and by average gamer they only plays games that are appealing) he would choose GoW. Even the name beats sounds more badass than the seemingly nancy 'Twilight Princess". But pretend he doesn't get to see the covers, and he is shown the trailers.

YouTube - God of War II Trailer

YouTube - Legend Of Zelda:Twilight Princess Trailer November 1st 2006

Okay no contest. I know some people will think that TP's trailer is still better, but that's because only a Zelda fan could appreciate a pointy eared elf with a green skirt and tights. And if the had a chance to play the games they would almost 100% of the time take GoW because of it's action packed badass gameplay. Nowadays usually only a Zelda fan would want to play a Zelda game over the other games because they can actually appreciate it.

Zelda needs a new face to appeal to new fans or else the ancient fans that have banned together for so long to upkeep the fanbase to Zelda will dwindle off without heirs.

Like I've said in other threads the creators of Zelda need to stop babying the old fans by releasing the same kind of game that we love so much all the time, but they need to now start trying to attract new fans. Here are my opinions on what needs to go:

More intense combat battles, longer battles, and battles with more than 5 enemies (with allies of course) to make things interesting.

I know this is a bit blasphemous, but Links old getup has got to go. Sure we can keep the green, but nowadays most kids don't have a clue what a 'tunic' is. Don't believe me? Go to the nearest middle school and you'll see what I mean. So now we get kids thinking Link is a girl with his 'skirt' and what makes matters worse is his disturbingly feminine face:



And here are some widely accepted things that I'll just put on the table. Voice acting, difficulty settings, and maybe even futuristic settings.



I'm ready, flame on

1.Link's tunic DOES NOT need change. Its a Zelda trademark. End of story.

2.I'm against most parts of a futuristic Zelda. Do you really want Link walking around giant skyscrapers with grenades around his waist and a gun slung over his shoulder? The whole deku musket was okay, but going FULL steampunk is not the change Zelda needs.

Voice acting: I'd actually like it if they kept Zelda characters quiet. The reason they don't have voiceacting is because they want you to imagine the characters mood and voice.

Dif. Levels: Agreed.

Futuristic settings: No, I already explained why.

Better Battles: Yes, I agree.

There should be change, but some things should never be changed.

No "teenager" born in today's world can escape Zelda.

Even old folks are aware of it.

Try comparing two games in the same genre, otherwise vanish.


Only a complete imbecile would think Link was wearing a skirt, or was female.

We don't need anymore imbeciles in the fanbase. Seriously.

What about moar polygons?

Originally Posted by Aziel Satori

Try comparing two games in the same genre, otherwise vanish.

Last I checked God of War II and Twilight Princess were both action adventure...

If I'm wrong, proove me wrong.

. . . .

TP, 2nd best selling 3D LoZ and it did VERY well with today's western fans.
Theres nothing to "worry" about on Nintendo's part.

Now that thats out the way. . .

LoZ:TP- Fantasy advanture/ puzzle title.

GoW- Greek mythology hack-and-slash action title. . . .

They are 2 completely different things. . . like comparing it to Halo.
(Lol, the funny thing is. . . LoZ is soo good at what it does that you simply don't see LoZ rip offs. I don't know of any non-clover made game that has that LoZ advanture like feel. . . and that clover game didn't sell too well)

They are simply 2 different things. . . it's like looking at this IGN Video: MadWorld Nintendo Wii Trailer - GC 2008: Blood Hungry and thinking "Ya know, Star Fox could use a pick me up!".

hmmm..

It says here at IGN that God of War II's genre is third person action adventure.

And here at IGN aswell, it says that Twilight Princess' genre is action adventre.

Unless you're being technical, about "fantasy adventure puzzle" and "greek mythology hack-and-slash" then I won't argue that.

But just the scheme of things, they both fall under the same video game genre.

That is like saying Devil May Cry and Zelda are of the same type of game.

And they simply aren't. Drastically different styles of play.

I thought TP did well to bring new fans into the series as well as attract the old ones. Many people, even on this site, got into Zelda from TP or PH. They are the 'new generation'. I think Nintendo has nothing to worry about in terms of it's fan base for the game. It's not losing players, there are just more games out there for people to chose from.
And even then, I'd say that TP still looks quite appealing when it goes up against AC or GoW.

Why does it need to change exactly? Yes there can be changes, but major ones would very much destroy the franchise, like making it futuristic. Zelda: Twilight Princess was different enough, but not so different it spoiled the series, was perfect. New content will always improve the games.

i think the fanbase is clearly fine
other things need to change
but i definately dont want it just dumbed down and turned into GoW like you d

Just looking at the trailers, GoW seems like a much more sinister game. Kratos does it all for himself. It's not the noble hero type game. Sure he's got that whole revenge stuff but whatever.

The Zelda trailer on the other hand, it looks like Link has some sort of social network. You see that there are people you like. It's a noble hero type game, where you're off to save the world.

It depends on the type of game you're interested in.

YouTube - Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess E3 2004

Also, if you want to compare trailers, I have to post this. It is really the best TP trailer there is.

Originally Posted by Tally-chan

Just looking at the trailers, GoW seems like a much more sinister game. Kratos does it all for himself. It's not the noble hero type game. Sure he's got that whole revenge stuff but whatever

But kids today really could care less about "noble heroes"

I think you underestimate the average casual gamer. Also, your entire comparison to god of war II argument doesn't really hold up when you compare sales. TP has sold massively, and that means a huge amount of the casual market are taking an interest.
GOWII has not been as successful through sales, not that it has done badly, but it is just no where near as successful. Part of the reason for this is that it sells itself to the mainstream market as a super awesome flaming action monster killing warrior game, which is great, but there are many of them out there. If you compare TP to the numerous games in a similar vein to God of War II it begins to stand out more and that is why it does well.

Yes Zelda needs change, but it is a franchise that has always continued to successfully evolve itself. perhaps it needs a bigger change in the next installment, but it needs to branch out on it's own path to keep it's own brand of originality that makes it such a successful series rather than trying to conform to trends.

Other game franchises WISH they had the sort of name Zelda had.

The only ways Zelda needs to change to keep up with the times are in presentation. Voice acting, orchestrated music, better graphics, etc.

Other than that, it should change just because that's the nature of Zelda. It changes art styles, characters, story, gameplay, etc. just to make it stay interesting, not to keep up with the times.

By the way, it's "couldn't care less". Think about it.

Originally Posted by Pie_Dictator

But kids today really could care less about "noble heroes"

You act as if there are no people who still care about Zelda anymore. If that's true, why is this popular fansite here? And why did TP and PH sell so well?
Some people today are noobs who just like killing things in their games. If they want to do that, then they should go play some other game. The reason zelda stands today is that Link is actually a true hero, unlike some of the so-called "heroes" today, who go around buying drugs and shooting people. If people don't want to save the world while being a good person, then they should go play another game.

yep, it does, its kinda getting old.

Zelda is doing pretty well as a franchise, and it's fanbase is pretty strong; this site being a testament of that. Anything that doesn't evolve dies, and Zelda has evolved and, hopefully, will keep evolving to stay at the top of the gaming world as an awesome game.

I can see better graphics, voice acting, orchestrated music, greater storyline, and tougher gameplay as changes that would do well for Zelda.

Originally Posted by erokk121

Zelda is doing pretty well as a franchise, and it's fanbase is pretty strong; this site being a testament of that. Anything that doesn't evolve dies, and Zelda has evolved and, hopefully, will keep evolving to stay at the top of the gaming world as an awesome game.

I can see better graphics, voice acting, orchestrated music, greater storyline, and tougher gameplay as changes that would do well for Zelda.

I agree with you, but I still am against voiceacting.