GenGAME: Raise the Difficulty in Zelda Games

One thing the Zelda series has become over the last 26 years is less difficult, especially with fighting enemies. Some fans would consider the easier enemies a terrible thing to have befallen the Zelda series, and there’s no doubt Alex at GenGAME is one of those people. Whilst taking a look at Skyward Sword’s enemy hoard at the end of the game, the GenGAME article evaluates the Zelda franchise’s overall difficulty, and calls for more challenging adventures in the future. Hit the jump for more!

The article primarily references Skyward Sword’s final dungeon, which has massive amount of enemies that the player has to defeat to beat the game. It’s akin to the original NES title, The Legend of Zelda in that the gameplay is exhausting, but the feeling of accomplishment is that much sweeter.

He also mentions Twilight Princess’ Cave of Ordeals, but states that this kind of combat difficulty should not be only in an optional dungeon and it should be mixed with the intricate puzzles the 3D Zelda games offer. If you’re interested, check out the original article on GenGAME for a more in-depth analysis.

Firstly, I need to say that I don’t entirely agree with everything Alex said. Yes, the older Zelda games were more difficult and that does bring with it some sense of achievement, but I don’t think that difficulty is entirely necessary. Perhaps some games were a bit too easy, and for a developer there’s always a balance of challenge and frustration for a player, but Zelda doesn’t need to be hard to be fun.

Though the exhausting last dungeon in Skyward Sword was a reflection of Zelda’s roots, I cannot imagine what the game would be like if the enemies were like that throughout the entire game. I also think that many would accuse Nintendo of adding “filler time” to gameplay, and large amounts of enemies might be considered an easy and not creative way to lengthen the play time.

Further, I think fewer people would enjoy the Legend of Zelda. I certainly don’t believe I’m missing out on a great experience because Skyward Sword was “easier” than The Legend of Zelda or Zelda II, but I might be in the minority. Maybe we should see a more difficult Zelda game in the future, where the standards are rethought and a fresh experience is reborn.

What do you think Zelda’s difficulty should be like? Tell us in the comments below?

Source: GenGAME