Breath of the Wild fighting a losing battle?

[Spirit]

Every game has the potential to be great, from 8-bit style e-shop games to next gen triple A titles.

Zelda U is no exception, but is most of the gaming community expecting too much from Zelda?

If Zelda U isn't bigger than Witcher 3 will people criticise it, good game design be damned?

If OoT were to be released now ot wouldnt have much of an impact, it'd be deemed a good game but it wouldn't have the status it has now.

Do you think Zelda U is going to go the same way, that it wont be the next step the franchise or the gaming medium needs?

Or do you think it'll be something truly special?

Or is Zelda's time over, has it become an 'also ran' franchise when compared to Witcher and Fallout?

 

[Dio]

I genuinely believe Zelda U was delayed because of the Witcher 3. Had it released in the promised year, it would have been absolutely underwhelming. It was going to be a smaller game and everyone was in awe at how big Witcher 3 was going to be. Witcher almost undoubtedly utilised mechanics and ideas that would make Zelda U seem outdated, as the best Aounuma had is the horse doesn't run into trees. Nintendo are no longer the pioneers in gaming preferring to rehash and update a little on their past exploits rather than improve significantly and set the trend. Of course the graphics in the Witcher 3 are next gen whilst the Wii U can give us something like you'd get on the PS3 or 360. The majority of gamers prefer the Witchers look and since Aounuma wants to appeal to a wide audience, I think he probably believed he wouldn't get that and nobody would be interested after the Witcher 3 and those that were would have been disappointed.

Now with the extra time I think they will at least have a game that matches the Witcher 3 in gameplay whilst having its own unique aspects however minor. If they have gone against current trends and been smart, story will have been prioritised and storytelling, which was very good in the Witcher 3.

I doubt it will be the next step in gaming but I imagine it will hold up at the very least now that Aounuma has gone and copied all the good bits from the Witcher 3. Though lets keep it real, even if it is great and the next step in the open world genre hardly anybody will buy it and play it because its on the Wii Poo. There is of course also the fact that Skyward Sword lost Zelda half its fanbase so really it doesn't matter how good it is, it's not going to reach a large number of players.

 

[Lozjam]

It really depends.
The thing that Fallout 4, and Witcher 3 doesn't have is good, well thought out game mechanics. It really depends. however, on how Zelda U is going to change up Zelda.
Really, this is a good spot to be in as well, as Fallout 4 took a bit of a Skyward Sword approach with the "One large step ahead, two steps back" approach. Witcher 3 is absolutely amazing... However, there are great opportunities for improvement. We are also forgetting the fact that Xenoblade X has toppled these two games in the many opinions of the reviewers of the game(and released as previews). If Xenoblade X can topple these games, despite coming a lot later than intended, than Zelda U has a chance of that within itself.

Really, at the end of the generation when we look back at the generation, we will really only remember Witcher 3, Final Fantasy XV, Xenoblade Chronicles X. Zelda Wii U needs to compete with these games. I hope that they cannot only match, but outdo these games.

I genuinely believe Zelda U was delayed because of the Witcher 3. Had it released in the promised year, it would have been absolutely underwhelming. It was going to be a smaller game, Witcher almost undoubtedly utilised mechanics and ideas that would make Zelda U seem outdated, Nintendo are no longer the pioneers in gaming preferring to rehash and update a little on their past exploits rather than improve significantly and set the trend. Of course the graphics in the Witcher 3 are next gen whilst the Wii U can give us something like you'd get on the PS3 or 360. The majority of gamers prefer the Witchers look and since Aounuma wants to appeal to a wide audience, I think he probably believed he wouldn't get that and nobody would be interested after the Witcher 3 and those that were would have been disappointed.

Now with the extra time I think they will at least have a game that matches the Witcher 3 in gameplay whilst having its own unique aspects however minor. If they have gone against current trends and been smart, story will have been prioritised and storytelling, which was very good in the Witcher 3.

I agree that this was probably the reason of the delay, and that is very smart. I think that Zelda Wii U would have gotten TP syndrome, where there was a huge world, but not much to do with it. I am glad that the game was delayed for this reason. I am also excited to see the gameplay possibilities, however, we have seen so little that it is impossible to say.
However, regarding "rehashes". Nintendo does not only rehash, these "rehashes" were only because of the Wii U's struggle, and them wanting to pump out a game quickly. However, games such as Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Super Mario Maker, and Pikmin 3 are no mere rehashes. They are either something completely new worthy sequels, or new games/ip's altogether. You also fail to mention that these "rehashes" are not Nintendo exclusive... I mean, this has been a huge problem this entire generation. Yet the fact that Aonuma is willing to take his time with Zelda U means that he wants to make it something different.

Furthermore, regarding graphics. The system doesn't matter, the effort, time, and artstyle matter as well. Xenoblade X, for example, is yet another example from this. Polygon states that

The Wii U may traditionally be thought of as underpowered hardware compared to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but you wouldn't know it when looking at Xenoblade Chronicles X. This upcoming role-playing game from Nintendo and Monolith Soft is massive in scope and utterly gorgeous.

whilst Gamesradar states

Xenoblade Chronicles X may be a Wii U game, but it has an identity, a look to it, that is unlike even the most beautiful high-resolution next-gen games. You'll wander across an impossibly large steel ring half-buried in the desert continent of Oblivia and wonder who built it, how it got there, where it came from. You'll climb to the tallest mountain and take a running leap into the lake below just because you can. You'll gaze into the night sky and marvel at the half-dozen or so moons hovering above. You'll wonder about the history of this planet - who was here before we arrived? Who created these structures, and for what purpose?

This is downright proof that the Zelda team could make something look amazing that could match Next Generation Games, and that anything below that would be pretty disappointing. Aonuma should be trying to make, downright the best looking game this generation, and I hope he holds himself to that standard.

 

[Deleted member 14134]

It seems like every open world game is going to have a standard to live up to. For years everything was, and still is being compared to Skyrim and now and in the near future, all open world games will be compared to the Witcher 3 until something else as good, or better comes along.

I feel like Zelda U has the potential to be a fantastic game, that will probably split the fanbase in half no matter how good it is, but I don't think it'll be the nexy Skyrim. Partly because the Wuu hasn't sold enough units and partly because Nintendo always has to force a stupid gimmick into everything they make.

 

[Linkmaster30000]

I think people will be upset no matter what this game becomes. Maybe I'm just cynical. It seems that the only recent Zelda game that came with near-universal praise was A Link Between Worlds. Every other game since Ocarina of Time was either too different, too similar, or too "kiddish". Sure, I'd say that most fans of the series either liked them all or eventually grew to like them, but there are people who will always find something to complain about.

That said, I'm anticipating that it will be a nice, fresh concept that sticks to the relative "Zelda Formula". I think people with high expectations will be disappointed, people with low expectations will be pleasantly surprised, and eventually it will be seen as a great moment in the franchise, whether it does anything really crazy or not. There's no way it'll kill LoZ, as I believe there will always be faithful fans who are itching to see the next adventure.

In general, I think too many people these days seem to predict the demise of franchises and systems way too early.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I don't know if it's a losing battle necessarily, but there's no question that Zelda U finds it in the precarious situation of having to follow-up a game that is among the best examples of being behind with the times - Skyward Sword.

SS was so strange in the way that it was outdated on release, something no other 3D Zelda game had been before it. OoT and MM go without saying, as 3D open-world games, or even just games with semi-big overworlds, were few and far between and weren't exactly mainstream. WW and TP followed them up nicely, with large environments that were still impressive for the time. It's no coincidence that the high definition era marked the end of Nintendo's ability to truly innovate when it came to impressive new ways to explore and experience a world around you. The Wii's inability to keep up with PC/360/PS3 meant that the competition was suddenly and quite easily able to surpass what made 3D Zelda spectacular in the first place.

SS was a game that reeked of deception when it came to the world and how the player traversed it. Cramped and limited environments were crammed full of puzzles to make the player feel like it was taking a long amount of time to explore an area, "new" areas were tacked on to existing maps to make them feel more expansive, and dungeons were confusingly blended into a given level to again make it seem more complete. These tricks are not only easily seen through, but actually take steps backwards when it came to what many feel like is the 3D Zelda experience.

The saddest part is that Xenoblade, a game which was released less than a year apart from SS, trumped SS in just about every possible way. I get the feeling this was because Aonuma had his little vision for what SS was going to be, and refused to compromise with the standards of the time. What we were left with was a dated game that was not only embarrassingly short and bare-bones when compared to the competition on other consoles, but also paled in comparison to a game on the exact same system.

Zelda U's delay makes me feel like Aonuma finally realizes that he can't just do what he wants willy-nilly and have the franchise continue at the high caliber everyone expects it to be. Yes, any 3D game with "Zelda" in the title will currently be met with near universal critical acclaim, but this isn't sustainable - we saw it already with Gamespot's review of SS, and how they dared to point out to the world that maybe 3D Zelda isn't this immortal deity that no one can negatively question. This is in addition to the sales numbers which speak for themselves - the fact that the Wii version of TP alone sold double of what SS did despite it being a whopping 4 years older with a fraction of the Wii's overall install base is truth enough.

Zelda U's fight is not a losing battle. The Wii U is a high-definition console, and is able to produce vast and expansive environments. It just all comes down to Aonuma swallowing his pride, acknowledging that his "vision" might not be the best for the series, and putting out a product that will meet the standards and expectations of a market that currently loves open-world games. I really feel like it's that simple.

 

[Kingwobbly]

It really depends.
The thing that Fallout 4, and Witcher 3 doesn't have is good, well thought out game mechanics. It really depends. however, on how Zelda U is going to change up Zelda.

I disagree with the comment about Fallout 4. I haven't played the Witcher so I don't know, but Fallout's crafting and base building system are incredible, and I love the change power armour makes to game play.
As for Zelda, I think it'll be fine. I don't think it'll be the ground breaking game of the year that some people think it will be, but I'm sure it'll be a great game. The problem with delaying it to next year because of the Witcher 3 is that 2016 might bring us an even more ambitious game that Zelda Wu has to compete with. If even half of the things people have theorised from the trailers are actually in the game then it'll be really good, and that's good enough for me.

 

[Dio]

I disagree with the comment about Fallout 4. I haven't played the Witcher so I don't know, but Fallout's crafting and base building system are incredible, and I love the change power armour makes to game play.
As for Zelda, I think it'll be fine. I don't think it'll be the ground breaking game of the year that some people think it will be, but I'm sure it'll be a great game. The problem with delaying it to next year because of the Witcher 3 is that 2016 might bring us an even more ambitious game that Zelda Wu has to compete with. If even half of the things people have theorised from the trailers are actually in the game then it'll be really good, and that's good enough for me.

Witcher 3's game mechanics were solid as well. There is FF15 next year which is the major huge worlded game for Zelda U to compete with. Though I think that going against the Witcher 3 would have been a far worse scenario since they are similar games in terms of the setting.

 

[Kingwobbly]

Witcher 3's game mechanics were solid as well. There is FF15 next year which is the major huge worlded game for Zelda U to compete with. Though I think that going against the Witcher 3 would have been a far worse scenario since they are similar games in terms of the setting.

Isn't there also that PS4 game with the robot dinosaurs? Maybe No Man's Sky too. Not sure how big contenders they are but still.

 

[Dio]

Isn't there also that PS4 game with the robot dinosaurs? Maybe No Man's Sky too. Not sure how big contenders they are but still.

They are not very similar games so I'd say they would have little impact on Zelda. Comparisons would be less likely to be drawn between them and Zelda than FF or Witcher and Zelda.

 

[Link87]

Zelda Wii U will be amazing. I think the world will be a major upgrade from skyward sword. skyward swords world was amazing but there were way too few towns and boss battle recycling. There was also an ice world missing. Other than that everything was fine. In Zelda Wii U you should could purchase outfits or colour your own tunic or shield. Voice acting should be optional as should be motion controls. Bring back really good towns people quests and the dungeons should be bigger and really devastating. Zelda should have a bigger role too and your companion(which you should choose) should be really funny and helpful and no robot clone. The world should be as big as xenoblade's but i am sure that will be the case with the dungeons included. I want rain and snow too and storm. A really could weathersystem in particular. Ride your horse, drive in a carriage or use a boat or later fly with a bird. Zelda should have a major role and the castle should have furniture and really big majestic. Enemies should be like the old ones but improved and nice soundtrack. Bring also a COOP mode with Linkle or Tingle, a master quest and a new major enemy endboss or dimise and more backstory with the gods. I have more ideas but that should be enough for now.

As for Witcher 3 the game is amazing but lacks content. You should could dye your hair, colour your clothes, colour your swords, better story with triss, yennefer personal story, drink with zoltan, better se* scenes, have more villages, run in the elven realm but the game was good overall.

I must say xenoblade chronicles x world is better and much more alive for me. Witcher 3 is amazing but way overrated. Zelda games are more better. Bethesdas fallout 4 is a good third and metal gear fith place. Batman game is a 4th place for me.

 

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

skyward swords world was amazing

Those are words I don't hear often. I like it, but I still prefer the worlds of Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and A Link to the Past/A Link Between Worlds.