Changing the Formula: Zelda As An RPG

For almost 30 years, the

Zelda franchise has stood out as a truly unique experience. Very few games have even been remotely comparable. In my time working at GameStop, the only game I can remember anyone using Zelda as a comparison for how the game plays was Darksiders. So why would we want to take that away? Why would we want to make the next game in the series like everything else? Would that not take away from just how special it is? These are all valid questions that I plan on answering, but they can be summed up by asking, “Who said that we had to take that away to reach the next level?”.

There are few games in this world that I have beaten then quickly decided that I wanted to play it again. Many of the

Zelda games fall into this list alongside the Arkham series and other massive RPG’s like Skyrim and Dragon Age. However, I do have a confession to make, and I’m pretty sure I can smell the hate already: I have a hard time replaying the Zelda games to completion time and time again.

“How can you call yourself a

Zelda fan if you won’t even beat the game a second time?” Give me time to explain myself and I promise that while you may not agree with me, you will see my point. All I ask is that you bear with me and hear me out as I try to explain where I believe that Zelda becoming a “typical” RPG could be the best thing for the future of the series. Some of this may sound like hate, but I assure you that I have loved every game in this series. They are all incredibly special to me and have few, if any, flaws in my opinion. These are just steps that I believe Nintendo could take to make the games even better.

One Sword to Rule Them All?

There is very little to gripe about when it comes to

Zelda games, but I feel that the lack of choice has held the series back in the long run. Let me first clear the air of fuming fanboys by stating that A Link Between Worlds did a lot to fix this. Call me stingy if you want; I still think that it wasn’t really enough. While you did get to choose the order in which you did things, everything that you did remained the same. I could choose to rent the bow first one playthrough and last in another, but the fact was that when i got to the dungeon that used the bow as its required item, it still had the same puzzles, enemies, and bosses. There were no changes based on how I really wanted to play the game.

Is that to say that

Zelda doesn’t give any freedoms? Not at all. Sure, the looming shadow of evil encompasses more and more of Hyrule every second, but take as many days as you want to attempt to catch the Hylian Loach. Go ahead and spend the next hour running all around Hyrule doing that chain trade quest. Now, what did that do to change how you play the rest of the game? Probably not a whole lot.

The game pushes you to use the Master Sword by limiting the effectiveness of other weapons in the game. A large number of the weapons are more like tools that happen to be slightly more effective against a small handful of enemy types. While this may be good for giving the many items the games promise a reason to exist, too many times have I felt that I picked up something cool, used it for the next 20 minutes, and let it gather dust in my inventory, not by choice, but because it was now, for lack of a better term, useless.

I get it; the series is about puzzles and the current structure allows (almost) every enemy to be a “combat puzzle”. But why must there be only one solution? When I play games with a bow and arrow, that’s my weapon of choice. However, I can’t use that weapon freely in

Zelda because, unless specifically built to be taken out by an arrow, most enemies auto-block unless you have stunned them with a deku nut. Using those items together just doesn’t make sense. Maybe you like heavier weapons like the Biggoron Sword or a hammer. You will probably find that many enemies will auto-counter it and leave you open for an attack. And don’t even get me started on using magic.

So why the limitation? Are they trying to maintain an emphasis on the Master Sword as an item of legend? If so, why have they incorporated so many other weapons that can damage pure evil like Zelda’s Bow? Even if you wanted to maintain the Master Sword as the pure “bane of evil”, that concept is really only vital for sealing away what is usually the final boss. In few instances are the earlier bosses (I’m looking at you

Agahnim) supposedly only weakened by the Master Sword specifically…or the bug net, apparently.

Combat Vs. Experience

Please don’t take what I say out of context. I am well aware that the combat in the

Zelda series has never really been the focus. If it was, it would be just like every other sword-slinging RPG out there. While I used the weapons of the game as an example for the weaker combat portion of the gameplay, I’m really trying to hone in on the experiences that are created by those items and your freedoms in using them. Let’s play around with a few examples.

One of the coolest aspects of dungeons in

Zelda is that they are themed. While you are still doing similar tasks in each one, they feel vastly different because everything surrounding it is different; It’s part of the beauty of level design that this series captures really well. However, too many times have I felt that the item or weapon just becomes a tool – A tool that you use for a dungeon gimmick which quickly falls flat, unless you are in its proper dungeon.

Having most of the main items and weapons available outside of the dungeons proved to be a successful idea in

A Link Between Worlds. Use that freedom to construct dungeons that can still remain themed, but can be explored almost to its entirety with what you have available based on your play style. Imagine how different the same exact Fire Temple could feel if you played through it once as a rogue and once as a mage. In the same room, you could essentially cross a lava pit with an arrow/rope combo item if you were playing rogue or by using your connection with the magic of the goddess Din, you could bend the earth to create a stepping stone to cross.

Here’s another one. Link traverses down a staircase into a large open room with two platforms on either side, separated by a wide crevice, and joined by a wooden bridge. A typical

Zelda-style interaction could have a number of Lizalfos either drop from out of nowhere or stand at spawn points, ready to attack. Now, you are in a standard “wait for an opening” battle situation: block, dodge, swing, repeat. But, what if you could change how you handle the situation based on the environment instead of simply the pattern of the enemy?

Imagine throwing a pot to draw the enemies in a specific direction so you can sneak up for a stealthy approach or blow up a barrel once they are within range of the explosion? Maybe you like heavy weapons and would like to see your strike break their block and stagger them for an opening. What if you liked magic and decided that you wanted to get them on the bridge so that you could burn it out from underneath their feet. Not only would this be a fun and strategic win, but it also opens up the possibilities of penalties for your specific method of play. Now that the bridge is gone, you must find another way across, adding to the “puzzle” aspect of exploring dungeons.

Another example would be an improvement to the way that we interact with bosses. While a number of bosses in the series are memorable, I feel that most fall prey to a stale execution that has been a Nintendo trope for decades: use the single specific way to damage the enemy and hit them a specific number of times. It’s okay to allow some methods and weapons to be more effective on certain bosses than others, but simply taking away the idea that it is a necessity could be the key to adding interest to every boss fight. This time, I’ll use Volvagia to explain. This is a general example and I am ignoring the obvious technical limitations at the time to prove a point.

To defeat Volvagia (spoilers, I guess?), you must wait for his head to pop out of one of the many holes in the pillar you fight on. For a very short time, he will kind of just…sit there. Hit him with the

Megaton Hammer to “paralyze” him then slash him a couple of times with your sword. Avoid his attacks, then do it again. Throughout this fight, there are other combat opportunities which were made impossible because of a necessary pattern. Why?

He could have been a much more interesting oppenent if while he was flying above, I could have have pulled out my bow and attacked him in the air, ignoring the attacks he made from the ground. For heavy hitters, an epic approach would have been wait until he drops low enough and glides across the ground towards you so you can side-step him and hit him with a smooth counter. Those who prefer magic could have a great time casting water powers gifted by Nayru to deal elemental damage. The boss wouldn’t have to be changed at all, but the alternate methods of damaging him would allow for versatility that everyone could enjoy on a personal level.

Getting More Personal

Another important aspect of RPG games are the character interactions. For nearly thirty years, Link has remained silent; as long as you don’t count the “Hyet”s and “Hyah”s. Why would Nintendo do that? Why would they render our character completely voiceless? We know he does actually talk, because when he’s asked a question, following his trail of dots of speech is usually the other character reaffirming what he secretly said. Sort of like:

Zelda: “What’s your name?”

Link: “……..”

Zelda: “Link, huh? That’s a funny name.”

The community still argues on whether or not Link should talk, but the fact is that he does; we just don’t hear it. How many of us played through games when we were kids, or even now for that matter, and when someone asked us a question in game, we answered out loud? That

is Link’s voice. Yours is. That’s why they designed him that way is so that you could become the hero and have your own thoughts interpreted by the NPCs. So if they want to give us that level of personal connection, why can’t we customize our appearance?

The series has sat pretty hard on the concept of Link being a blonde haired, blue eyed Hylian, just as Zelda will always be a princess of the Royal Family. The green tunic is symbolic of the Hero and is traditionally worn by the following rebirths of the Hero. But, that’s pretty much it. I’m not even going to ask for much here, but why can’t I select things like faces, complexion, or even gender? It can seriously be very minimal, but give me a chance to create my hero in my own manner and suddenly Link becomes more of a personification of my inner “Hero” than ever before. Look at

Fire Emblem: Awakening. The customizable character only had a few editable traits, and even those had a measly number of choices. But, when I was done, that character was my own. I immediately felt connected and the series could only benefit from that concept.

Okay, let’s take a step back to our connections with the characters of the world. Outside of the clear bad guys, you are rarely met with opposition. I find it strange that most people are not only bothered by the fact that you just walk into their house, but they are often quite open about their opinion of others. After they spout for a second, they simply go back to their day. What is their purpose? Why are they there? What do they do with their lives? Why aren’t they asking for help? Why are they not furious that I barged into their house and broke their pottery? Why are so many people except for main characters completely oblivious to the fact that I look exactly like the hero of legend and not put two and two together?

In fact, I think that is one of the reasons I love Twilight Princess so much. People were legitimately disgusted or scared by you in your wolf form. They interacted with not only what you did around them, but who you were as well. I want NPCs that recognize me as the Hero, either being supportive of me or banishing me because my return means the coming of great evil as told by the prophecy that they all know. Make them all feel like they’re a part of the world instead of mentioning that if they aren’t careful, they will burn the stew that they have been cooking for the last seventeen days. The overall stories are usually fantastic in Zelda games, but adding personalization to more NPCs and allowing for the capabilities to help the ones in need by completing a large variety of quests can add small details of depth that will make the adventure a true epic.

To Sum It All Up

I may be in the minority when it comes to these ideas, but I truly believe that in a world where more games are evolving to incorporate puzzle solving, the

Zelda series not using their new hardware to evolve the franchise into something bigger could be detrimental. Zelda U is on the horizon, and it’s possible that the delay of the game could be to expand on ideas like these after hearing what the fans want to see. I’m not asking for a lot, honestly. The puzzles that have made the Zelda franchise so famous will remain intact, and will surely be as great as ever. But, taking that level of thought and strategy used to solve puzzles and incorporating it into every aspect of the game would put it back on top of the fantasy adventure genre. A leveling system with hundreds of equip-able items is not the direction for the Zelda series to take. However, the ability to focus on a specific play-style and improve on it with skill and weapon upgrades would be a welcome change to the standard formula.

I wholly anticipate many of you to come up with reasons to hate on me, argue my points, or even shut down some of my views on the series – this is the Internet, after all. As I said before, you may disagree with me, and that’s okay. I just wanted to stress how I think the franchise could flourish and where I want to see it go. That could be very different for you, and if it is, express yourself below…tactfully. I’ll take it all with a grain of salt and accept it because this is how I feel about the franchise. Not in the “My way is right and I’m going to stick by it” kind of way, but in the confirmation that you are expressing how

you want to experience the game and only reaffirming my point. I believe that the road you travel should not only be your own, but that you should also be able to choose how you travel down it.

Fan Art:

Link in Forest by Kettleblack
Link’s Weapons on Pinterest
Desert Temple on Pinterest
Lava Bridge by MrBlackCap
Volvagia vs Link by RokenshiDragon
Rogue Link on Pinterest
Link Custom Armor by AnimeTayl
Forest At Night on 4ever.eu