Daily Debate: Given Metroid’s Resurgence, Was Zelda’s Shift from Linearity the Right Move Long-Term?
Posted on July 16 2024 by Jared Eubanks
In the most recent Nintendo Direct, a core Nintendo franchise other than Zelda also received a showering of love resulting in elated fans. That series was Metroid and its protagonist Samus Aran. Metroid Prime 4 was confirmed to be alive and well after a long period of silence, and a meaty trailer was put on display for the upcoming first-person adventure. Its subtitle Beyond was revealed, leading to speculation on plot implications, and its release date was narrowed to the calendar year of 2025. In addition, a Game Boy Advance entry in Metroid: Zero Mission was also announced to be available on Nintendo Switch Online. This addition makes a 16-bit classic available to a new generation of fans.
Metroid and Zelda share many parallels in not just their gameplay, but also their franchise’s story. For one, both had similar bouts of low points and uncertain futures in the early to mid-2010s. Both series had a much hyped game for the Wii, Skyward Sword (2011) and Other M (2010) respectively. These two games ultimately fell far short of expectations and suffered from awkward controls with the Wii remote. Both saw reboots of classic titles on the 3DS, A Link Between Worlds (2013) reimagining the Super Nintendo’s A Link to the Past and Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) retelling the Game Boy’s Metroid II: Return of Samus. Both also had multiplayer failures, Tri Force Heroes (2015) and Metroid Prime: Federation Force (2016). Most fans weren’t asking for a multiplayer adventure at the time, and they would soon forget them.
However with the release of the Nintendo Switch, the two series saw their highest selling games in Breath of the Wild and Metroid: Dread. However, they diverged in different directions despite the critical success. Zelda had a well-worn groove set in place from A Link to the Past up through Skyward Sword. However, Zelda’s familiar format was blown to bits with Breath of the Wild, which provides a vast open world with full freedom on how to progress. This pivot in a new direction was only further reinforced in Tears of the Kingdom. The two open world games bear only limited amounts of resemblance to series classics from the 1990s and early 2000s which had varying levels of structured linearity with games like A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, or Twilight Princess. Some at Nintendo made statements that Breath of the Wild was a recovery of the spirit from the original The Legend of Zelda by dropping Link in a vast world with little bearings of what to do next. However, many fans longed for the structured linearity of dungeon items, progressively unlocking the map, and story-telling.
What’s interesting to me is that while Breath of the Wild departed from what everyone was used to, Metroid found a way to go back to what everyone was familiar with and perfect it. In many ways, Dread closely resembles and follows the same convention of its 16-bit highpoints of Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, and Zero Mission, which were all made many years before it.
Zelda has found success in departing from convention in the Nintendo Switch era. Metroid has also found success but through returning to convention. I wonder which path will be more sustainable for the fan base in the long-term. Was Zelda’s shift away from linearity the right move for the series as a whole in the years to come? Do you want the next 3D blockbuster Zelda installment and/or the upcoming Echoes of Wisdom to recover a more linear play-style? Do you hope for the return of traditional dungeons and items that progressively unlock the map? Let us know in the comments below.
Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.
