General Zelda A "Zelda Gaiden" Series/Zelda Reboot Idea

[ProtagonistJake]

K so, I'm a pretty big fan of Majora's Mask.
A lot of people are.

Part of this is because its a damn near perfect sequel to OOT.

Take OOT as a setup/establishment to our character Link, where he saves the land he's originally from. He then leaves to go on his own adventure where he encounters this brand new land, with new and interesting people, who so happen to be in the middle of a crisis.
Same link, different adventure.

It may just be me, but I feel this is how the whole series should work.

If it ever got rebooted, it should have the first setup game be basically OOT with WW Ganon and WW Link (in terms of personality and and aesthetics), as well as fixing some of the other problems with the game (Make Hyrule Field not just padding for one).
This game would also be the setup where Link's backstory and transformation into an adventurer occurs, as he saves his homeland, Hyrule.

After that, he leaves to travel the world, and every game after that is Link going on various adventures through many different and unique worlds.
All done similar to how MM was done (as in the story stands by itself and will rarely and subtly reference past game's events), except of course with a different setting, characters, and mechanics for each game of course.

This way theres no silly unneeded timeline, no different Links or Zeldas, more variety of villains, settings, and characters, and the core of the series, adventure, is left in tack in it's purest form.
We'd be more connected to Link as well, cause every game would be a new adventure for him, just like us.

This could also save Nintendo the trouble of worrying about Link's backstory, and just going nuts with the side characters like they did in MM.

What you guys think?
You feel the series should go in this direction?

 

[Ventus]

I like it a lot, but I do aprpeciate having varying Links. There is TP Link, OoT-MM Link, SS Link, and TWW-PH Link for starters. All have distinct charcateristics as fart as aesthetics are concerned. I like that a lot. So while I agree with the gist of this idea, I still want different eras of Links. We could have a Gaiden adventure for the TWW Link, for the TP Link, etc. Don't contain it all to one Link; share the love.

 

[ProtagonistJake]

I like it a lot, but I do aprpeciate having varying Links. There is TP Link, OoT-MM Link, SS Link, and TWW-PH Link for starters. All have distinct charcateristics as fart as aesthetics are concerned. I like that a lot. So while I agree with the gist of this idea, I still want different eras of Links. We could have a Gaiden adventure for the TWW Link, for the TP Link, etc. Don't contain it all to one Link; share the love.

That would neglect my point of "Link no needing to have backstory focus, and it instead goes straight to the side characters"

The only time Link has showed any form of personality was in the Wind Waker and SS, and it wasnt something I would call "distinct". I'd call it "relatable", which is perfect considering Link is supposed to be a vessel the player steps into.
This would be even more perfect if this link also knew of and went on every adventure we have until this point.

Every new adventure is just as new for us as it is for him, and he knows of all the past adventures just as much as we do.
This creates a much stronger connection between the player and Link

This plot setup forces Nintendo to make him go to a new world instead of being able to repeat it and call off as "Next generation later".

Think the Metroid games up to Fusion for example.

It has to be one Link. One Link which we'll grow to know and love more and more than any various "different" (I quote that cause the's never really been all that significantly different, like, at all) Links could.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Idk, I like having the familiar Hyrule and Zelda. It seems an unnecessary reduction in franchise "feel" to force a change every game. Besides, I see no reason why Hyrule can't be everything as far as gameplay. It's varied so much from OoT to Alttp to LOZ to SS that it really can be whatever land you need it to be; while still maintaining the familiar characters an lore.

As for reboots, I don't like them. Either make what exists awesome or make something new. I'm tired of remakes and what not that would feel great to fans if what little that tied it to the original were removed. No reboots! And Zelda's greatest strength is its ability for the series. . . Nevermind. I'm making a thread on this.

 

[Seth]

Idk, I like having the familiar Hyrule and Zelda. It seems an unnecessary reduction in franchise "feel" to force a change every game. Besides, I see no reason why Hyrule can't be everything as far as gameplay. It's varied so much from OoT to Alttp to LOZ to SS that it really can be whatever land you need it to be; while still maintaining the familiar characters an lore.

As for reboots, I don't like them. Either make what exists awesome or make something new. I'm tired of remakes and what not that would feel great to fans if what little that tied it to the original were removed. No reboots! And Zelda's greatest strength is its ability for the series. . . Nevermind. I'm making a thread on this.

Reboot =/= remake. A reboot means a clean slate, starting over. IE, creating a new universe and disregarding the previous games continuity.

 

[ProtagonistJake]

Idk, I like having the familiar Hyrule and Zelda. It seems an unnecessary reduction in franchise "feel" to force a change every game. Besides, I see no reason why Hyrule can't be everything as far as gameplay. It's varied so much from OoT to Alttp to LOZ to SS that it really can be whatever land you need it to be; while still maintaining the familiar characters an lore.

As for reboots, I don't like them. Either make what exists awesome or make something new. I'm tired of remakes and what not that would feel great to fans if what little that tied it to the original were removed. No reboots! And Zelda's greatest strength is its ability for the series. . . Nevermind. I'm making a thread on this.

it's not forcing change, its simply coming up with a completely new and unique idea for an adventure game, and having it easily be Link's new adventure, without having to, ironically, force Ganon, Zelda, etc in the game.

They clearly went all out on Majora's Mask, making it a completely new adventure with OOT being the more traditional setup, and it worked perfectly.
They made a great villain, interesting characters, and a beyond fascinating setting.
Hell, the same could be said about Link's Awakening to a smaller extent.

Its anything but "forcing", Its a formula that allows Nintendo to go nuts with creativity in each game, without the restrictions of some dumb-timeline or traditions holding it down.

Not everything ever can be salvaged, and so sometimes you just gotta start all over. You may hate some reboots execution, but theres absolutely nothing objectively wrong with the concept of them.
A reboot doesnt negate growth. It simply restarts with all pertained growth to create something greater.

 

[Sir Quaffler]

I don't like the idea of reboots to the entire series, but I DO like the idea of taking side stories based off of previous games.

This shouldn't be how every game in the series works, but I'd like to see it happen a little more. That's what made MM so great; it took an already existing Hero and fit him into an entirely new kind of tale, one that I haven't seen anything like, ever. I want to see a game following directly from SS that tracks some side adventure Link has. (Maybe even have it co-op with Zelda or Groose? Eh? That'd be a good way to capitalize on the WiiU pad, Nintendo.) Or maybe give TP the MM treatment and have Link trying to find some way back to Midna. Or maybe have Link from ALttP go and... oh... wait....... we might actually get this one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[ihateghirahim]

What if they pulled a LA? What if every handheld title was a spin-off of the previous home console title?

Also, what is the exact meaning of Gaiden?

 

[ProtagonistJake]

Cause someplace other than Hyrule can get special console benefits and treatment...

And Gaiden means side story, and was what MM was originally called.
I used that cause MM was a "side story" after Link saved his homeland in Hyrule. And him going on more adventures after that (each adventure being its own game, just like MM).