Daily Debate: Could a Zelda Game Work With an Exclusively Urban Setting?
Posted on August 28 2019 by Rod Lloyd
It’s no secret that The Legend of Zelda was inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood memories of exploring the wilderness around Kyoto. The fields, forests, and caves of the region informed the kingdom of Hyrule that we all know today. But allow me to propose a hypothetical situation: what if… Miyamoto grew up in a primarily urban area that lacked the wilderness characteristics that initially inspired the world of Zelda? Would a game with the familiar Zelda formula but a strictly urban setting have been made instead?
These hypotheticals are probably too out there for a proper discussion, but they do lead us to the true topic of this debate: Could a Zelda game work with an exclusively urban setting, a game world made up only of city? I personally believe that, though it will certainly be a huge change, the Zelda formula we’re all familiar with could work in a large city environment. I can imagine a setting with the liveliness of Majora’s Mask‘s Clock Town, just on a larger scale. Players can explore a sprawling metropolis based on, as Zelda is still a fantasy game, something like Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings or even a historical city like Constantinople.
Such an urban setting could even present a fresh twist on some of the long-standing Zelda conventions. Dungeons could exist beneath the city within sewers, ruins, or hidden crypts. And progression of the game would take the players to diverse segments of the city that familiar Zelda races occupy. Even the aspect of exploration would be fresh with a dense labyrinth of buildings and alleys; think of the secrets!
Obviously, this would be drastic departure from what we’re familiar with in the Zelda series. Do you think the possibility is too different to work? Do you think too many things would be sacrificed to be a good Zelda game? Or do you think a Zelda game set in an urban environment could work? Join the debate in the comments below!
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
