Breath of the Wild Ministories?

[Ventus]

Nintendo are

Zelda is known for its typical plot of good guy defeats badguy etc., however, the shinier bits are always the plots of the NPCs, the smaller scale things yadig. So, how would you like ZeldaU to delve into its NPCs? Would you like itt to be minimalist a la Skyward Sword, or heavily focused like in Majora's Mask?

 

[JuicieJ]

I loved the side-stories found in MM and SS, especially the Anju and Kafei quest, so I'd definitely like to see more in the future. It adds more depth to the game's world.

 

[Sheik]

I don't really think anybody here would choose for them to be left in the shadows...

 

[Salem]

It will be find, since they're optional, they won't bother those who only play the main game.

 

[the8thark]

It will be find, since they're optional, they won't bother those who only play the main game.

So? Some people like to do everything in a game first playthrough. Others just rush it (speed run) and miss out on all the fun things and enjoyment in the game on their first playthrough. Having or not having optional side quests in a game wont ever change this.

**********************

I think WW did this very well. I really felt for all of the NPCs. One of the best features of WW. But most of them were main story related.
MM sure had lots of non main story NPCs. The mask system is really what solidified it all. People like collecting things. And while earning all the masks you learnt all the back stories of all the NPCs.
SS I think was a little weak here. Apart from a few main NPCs like Groose, Granny/Impa, Zelda, Fi and the headmaster, every other NPC felt flat. You really learnt nothing about them while on the gratitude quests.

With 25GB on offer for the game, Nintendo can easily have in many side quests for items. And preferably not just gratitude crystal or skulltula collecting. As their rewards felt boring, and there's no emotional attachment to those items. The MM masks on the other hand, the item itself related to the quest you did for it. So I propose ZeldaU goes the MM route. Have the subquests/side stuff to do. But have the reward from each miniquest to relate to the people you just helped. Also you could have all the different items you earnt from the people add up to something large at the end of the game (the carrot to go out and collect them all). The carrot in MM was more heart pieces and the fierce deity mask. Not a great final reward (due to it's limited use) but much better then (at the time) useless money (cause you already bought everything) in Ocarina and SS.

In short:
Have mini stories that involve sub quests. Have the back stories of all the NPCs be told in these mini quests. Have the rewards from these mini quests directly relate to the people you just helped. Have all these rewards add up to something big near the end of the game. And lastly make this something big a worthy reward and not just more (useless at end game) rupees.

 

[Deku-Jack]

I really hope they go for the Majora's Mask type, only deeper. I mean, with the power of the Wii U and also what is now 13 years since that game, imagine what kind of side stories they could make. The possibilities are endless.

 

[the8thark]

I really hope they go for the Majora's Mask type, only deeper. I mean, with the power of the Wii U and also what is now 13 years since that game, imagine what kind of side stories they could make. The possibilities are endless.

It's not only power and 13 years. It's GB's available to do it. Nintendo might have had a game content limit cause of the size of the discs/carts. 1.3GB for GC and 4GB roughly for the Wii is a heck of a lot less than 25GB for the WiiU. A good dev can to a ton with 25GB. The not so good devs fill up 25GB with uncompressed sound files and other silly things. But if all of the space was used for content and other smart things, you could (in theory) have enough disc space for a really expansive game.

 

[Ventus]

But if all of the space was used for content and other smart things, you could (in theory) have enough disc space for a really expansive game.

I'll tell you what: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were both 32MB games, well MM had like an extra 4 (8?) memory thanks to the expansion pak that was required. Anyway, those games are huge - they aren't graphically impressive, but they're huge. Nintendo should not be questioning whether we get larger game worlds and better side quests; it should be automatic. With more space comes even better developer creativity, right?

 

[the8thark]

I'll tell you what: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were both 32MB games, well MM had like an extra 4 (8?) memory thanks to the expansion pak that was required. Anyway, those games are huge - they aren't graphically impressive, but they're huge. Nintendo should not be questioning whether we get larger game worlds and better side quests; it should be automatic. With more space comes even better developer creativity, right?

I agree 100%. Just don't confuse more console memory (memory pack) with physical space on the game cartridge for the game.
"Cartridge size varies from 4 MB to 64 MB" - according to wikipedia.

 

[Salem]

So? Some people like to do everything in a game first playthrough. Others just rush it (speed run) and miss out on all the fun things and enjoyment in the game on their first playthrough. Having or not having optional side quests in a game wont ever change this.

I don't get it, did I say something wrong? I actually kinda agree with you, you just repeated what I said in a different way....

 

[Deku-Jack]

I'll tell you what: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were both 32MB games, well MM had like an extra 4 (8?) memory thanks to the expansion pak that was required. Anyway, those games are huge - they aren't graphically impressive, but they're huge. Nintendo should not be questioning whether we get larger game worlds and better side quests; it should be automatic. With more space comes even better developer creativity, right?

I agree completely. I'm playing through Majora's Mask right now, and I'm still consistently surprised with how expansive and how much variety there is to the game's world. Imagine that, only done with the Wii U hardware. That would be my ideal Zelda world.