Daily Debate: Did You Like How Nintendo Revealed Zelda U?

I want to note right away that this discussion isn’t about if you enjoyed what we saw from Zelda U. Talking about the art style, character models, and all that stuff has been overdone by us and everyone else on the internet. What I really want to know is if you enjoyed how Nintendo revealed Zelda U—the premise behind the reveal—in comparison to prior Zelda reveals.

Personally, I am indifferent. What we saw and heard really excited me, but that excitement could be blinding me on how good the reveal really was. I loved the art style, the open world, and everything Eiji Aonuma has said—but that doesn’t mean the reveal was good, that just means that the game itself looks and feels really good to me. Most agree that Twilight Princess in 2004 was the best reveal—not just due to the crowd reaction, but because of the way it was presented and the hype it generated off of it.

It wasn’t just the art style, it was the promise. Wide open forests, a giant open field battle with hundreds of enemies, a massive fire boss (Fyrus), horseback combat… It all showed a ton of things we had previously never gotten in the series. Sure, most of it ended up not being in the final game, but the reveal is fondly remembered for the culmination of everything. The Zelda U reveal didn’t really have any of that—the first time we see the game was with Eiji Aonuma overlaid on top, talking in a language we don’t understand.

Sure, what we saw was nice, but it lacked the feeling of a reveal trailer. I’m not saying we needed a CGI trailer (god knows they are gorgeous, but mean very little), but showing parts of the game spliced together would have been far more exciting, and then ending with Link riding into Hyrule field showing the vastness of the world as the camera pans back, with some words talking about how open the world was (even just saying “welcome to a true Open World Hyrule”) would have been better in my mind.

That being said, I love everything about the game so far, but if I had to nitpick, I am not sold that the actual reveal was spectacular. What do you think?