Daily Debate: Do You Want Pieces of Heart to be Included in the Next 3D Zelda Game?
Posted on January 16 2024 by Sean Gadus
Pieces of Heart have been a staple of the Zelda series since they debuted in 1992’s A Link To The Past (full Heart Containers were available in the first Zelda game). Outside of Heart Containers, Pieces of Heart were the only way for the player to increase Link’s health. For the majority of the Zelda series’ history, players have been required to collect 4 Pieces of Heart to upgrade their health; Twilight Princess deviated from this format by requiring 5 Pieces of Heart. In Breath of the Wild, the developers got rid of Pieces of Heart in favor of Spirit Orbs, which can be redeemed four at a time for either Stamina Vessels or Heart Containers. Tears of the Kingdom continued many of the new conventions established in Breath of the Wild, and this means that it has been more than ten years since Pieces of Heart have appeared in a 3D Zelda title!
With this in mind, do you want Pieces of Heart to be included in the next 3D Zelda game? If so, how do you want the developers to implement or incorporate these treasures?
First, given the immense success of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I expect the next 3D Zelda title to be an open world game, though I anticipate the Zelda team will make some tweaks to the gameplay, story structure, and world design. With that in mind, I think that Pieces of Heart could fit well in an upcoming open world Zelda title. There are a variety of different activities and quests in the open world Zelda games, so there also need to be a variety of rewards as well. Pieces of Heart could be a reward for a whole set of quests like Side Adventures. I feel like it would be too difficult to distribute Pieces of Heart across the world like in the previous Zelda games, but having them as a reward for an established set of 20-25 Side Adventures would be a great way to incorporate the iconic treasures. Perhaps there would be one character who keeps a list of all the Side Adventure available or active at any given time, and that character would reward Link with a Pieces of Heart whenever the player completes a Side Adventure!
What do you think? Do you want Pieces of Heart to be a part of the next 3D Zelda game? If so, how should the developers implement Pieces of Heart? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
