Do Zelda Titles Need to Be Fresh or Not?

[Flagpole]

I've asked myself this question a few days ago, thinking about a strange fact:
Most people complain about the same old theme in Zelda games, but when a fresh title comes out, they hate it.

Adventure of Link is considered as the 'black sheep' of the series, Majora Mask is a very underrated game in many cases, Wind Waker's sailing is mostly complained about.

I think the best way to balance Zelda games would be one fresh game, one game with the same old theme, one fresh game, one game with the same old theme, or, if not, the combination fresh, same old theme, same old theme, fresh, ssame old theme, same old theme...

What do you people really want? Do you awant the same old theme, or a fresh Zelda title? In the last case, would you complain too much the fresh Zelda game, being the game you have just admitted you desire?

 

[Aero_Dynamic]

Well, Skyward Sword is gonna be fresh, I mean, they are changing the dungeon field thing to dungeon-field (combined kinda) of some sorts. I think Skyward Sword will be good and fresh in some ways. One example is the controls, they look great!

 

[athenian200]

Well, I would like new themes, new items, and new features, but I want the core of the game to stay the same. I want the same old theme, but with little incremental changes and enhancements over time.

 

[Valexi]

Well, I've said this before, but in some places of the internet there's a saying: "Zelda fans will fight about anything."
People are always weary of change. They get comfortable with certain things, so when those things get changed or taken away and turned into something else they panic.
This happens a lot with the Zelda series because there's no consistency among the games.
Each Zelda game is different in some way. Each Zelda game seems to take on a different artistic style and looks different (unless it's in the Toon series).
Because of this inconsistency some people like certain aspects of the series and dislike others.
For example I remember the extreme whiplash that Wind Waker received when it was first unveiled. Some people really enjoyed the art styles shown in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, so when they changed everything and introduced a new version of Link there was an uproar. Even to this day some people hate Wind Waker and refuse to play it due to it's style, while others love Toon Link more than regular Link.
Same thing with Twilight Princess. Some people loved it because of it's "realism" and different art direction, while others hate it for being too muddy and straying from the path of previous Zelda games.
In short, the series shows a lot of different art directions and some people like certain art directions better than others; all the while the games still follow the same layout (overworld, villages, dungeons, weapons).
Anyway, because of this jumble of directions people get into disagreements and complain every time something new is introduced that is unfamiliar, which happens a lot in the series.
I think that's the reason everyone finds a way to complain about every new game in the series.
Another thing I noticed is that people appreciate the games more with age.
As I mentioned before, there was an extreme whiplash that happened with Wind Waker, everyone saying that it was being directed too much towards kids and how it was too childish and ugly. But, after the game was out for a while and people got more used to the idea, the more they came to appreciate it and accept Toon Link. Now Wind Waker tops some peoples favorite games list (mine included).
To summarize, there's a lot of different styles shown in the Zelda series, some people like some things and other people like other things so you get some people wanting the series to be like a certain game and some people wanting the series to be like another game.
I think that's why they choose the style that they did for Skyward Sword; it's like a pleasant mixture of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, with some new elements being mixed in. But now we're getting a case of; "YOU GOT WIND WAKER IN MY TWILIGHT PRINCESS!" "YOU GOT TWILIGHT PRINCESS IN MY WIND WAKER!"

tl;dr: PEOPLE DONTU KNOW WHATTU YOU RIKE

Everything is so varied that it's become impossible to please EVERYONE.


But, yeah, personally I'm just happy that the series is continuing and I trust Nintendo to bring us a fresh Zelda with a mixture of the formula we all love mixed in with new weapons, storylines, and elements.

 

[PhantomTriforce]

I think that is one aspect of Zelda, but it shouldn't be totally fresh, and should have some elements of other games to make connections.

 

[Link-182]

HAHAHA, well put Valexi.
I personally love change, and I know Zelda is the same at it's core all of the time. If they did the same thing every time, it would be so boring. I think they get rid of elements they successfully created in future titles, such as side quests in MM, and then in those future titles they successfully do something else, like graphics, or story. I think they should just take the best element from each game and throw it into a new one.

 

[TreeHuggerPanda]

Well, pretty much, when it comes down to this, it's either you love or hate the recent Legend of Zelda titles. I think that Nintendo is trying new ideas and new things to start within the game, and people hate that, but other people just hate it when it's the "Go save the princess" type of thing. It's all a matter of opinion and pleasing the majority. It's actually pretty healthy if a crowd of people don't like a game, but the majority loves it, since only the majority matters