Gossip Stone: Does Stealth Belong in Zelda Games?

A decent amount of stealth has been featured in the Zelda series. It has always been used in very short instances, but the sneaky moments have remained memorable. Most games that use this style have done it differently, so which way is good enough to use again, if any? Should future Zelda games have elements of stealth? Join the discussion after the jump!

The most basic use of stealth was shown off in Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, and Oracle of Seasons, with nothing more than avoiding direct sights of guards, pirates, and Subrosians, respectively. It is not the most amazing use of the concept, but it shows the base possibilities of stealth tactics for Link. What was missing was what the future of the series would bring.

Later games added to this with the most important part of stealth games: atmosphere. When you are being stealthy, you need to feel like you are that way for good reason; like you need to be sneaky, or bad things will happen. The Wind Waker introduced the idea of being powerless and sought after by strong enemies and spotlights, and having to sneak your way through a very large, impending area. Link even had more ways of hiding, via sidling against walls, and hiding under barrels. You had a real sense of weakness, and that made the moments when moblins would unknowingly pass right by you quite nerve-wracking.

Four Swords Adventures would go on to simply minimize the kind of stealth that The Wind Waker had, for the sake of 2D gameplay, but Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword would go back to what made The Wind Waker‘s stealth great, and add an extra layer of fear to it. Phantoms and, more so, Gaurdians, when they see you, are terrifying. They share the element of having to be very nearby when you sneak around their respective areas, and when you are caught, it is very difficult to evade and hide from them again, as there is little to no way of defending against them. Music and local atmosphere make these stealth segments very memorable, and personally, I think that more series games could make good use of them. This seems to be the style of stealth that the series would stick with, so whether it should stay is up to you.

Should stealth be a mainstay for the Zelda series’ future installments, or should it not be revisited at all? Leave your thoughts on the matter below!