Next Editorial
Editorial List
Got any comments? You can tell me by using...
The form
Message Board
The opinions on this page are those of the Mariner. Do not use any of this unless you get permission from him.
Remember, you can write your own editorials on pretty much anything video game related. Just write to me
9 - 1 - 01
I must admit that my first (and second, and third...) thoughts were severe disappointment. This was what I was waiting for? A bloody cartoon? Where's my lush and detailed Hyrule? Where's my perfectly rendered Hero of Time weilding an equally perfectly rendered Master Sword facing off against a perfectly rendered Ironknuckle? Where's the awe inspiring game, the true sequel to the 1998 Game of the Year that made us all sit back, jaws dropped to the floor, with only a Keanu Reeves-ish "whoa" escaping from our mouths? It just is not there. This is not an awe inspiring game, even if we don't know what it's like. This is a cartoon. It is not the epic we were looking for, it is a Nickelodean juvenile comedy game that, at best, makes us say "that's cute."
Many people say gameplay is the only thing that matters. Those people have no idea what they are talking about. Why are RPGs, which are incredibly boring if one thinks about it, so popular? It is because the artistry, including visual, audio, and literary (the storyline and characterization) is so wonderful. This used to be true for Zelda. Although I don't have a problem with cartoonish graphics (personally, I would be quite happy if Link looked like, say, the Oracle artwork), the entire style of this game is off. Link's cartoonish body is overexagerrated, his antics are despicable, and the entire scene just looks kiddy. Although we don't know about sound or story, we can guess that they will be equally juvenile. Will a completely orchestrated Overworld theme fit in with this and serve to draw us into the game even more, just like it has since the NES days? Outlandish and cliche sound effects fit the scene perfectly, which hurts. And can one imagine a deep and involved storyline with this? I get the feeling that we will be getting a bare boned rehashed plot that will not advance as the game goes by. Ouch. Considering how much the story means to me, you can see why this hurts.
Miyamato (creator of Zelda, among many others) said he wanted to see Link get back to his roots. Apparently, OoT is too mature, and he wanted to bring it back to a fairytale simplicity. Many people agreed with him on this. Am I the only one who NEVER saw Zelda like this? Take, for instance, Nintendo's artwork. OoT was the first game that had pictures of Link smiling. In the artwork from every other game, Link was always a solemn, serious, valiant lad working to overcome evil. The storylines always seem to reflect on this as well. They always had an epic feel to them, and Link was never portrayed as a little mischevious kid like he was in this video. So where does this harkening back to the old days idea come from? OoT was not the deviation that Miyamato apparently thinks it is. Of all the 3d games based off of 2d games, OoT stayed closest to its true format. LoZ, LttP, and OoT are all natural progressions. This is not. The sad thing is, Miyamato's vision of Zelda was never lost. If one wants to envision OoT as a fairy tale between good and evil, there's nothing stopping you. The elements are all there. But if one wants to envision Zelda as something more, something truly awe-inspiring, the elements are there as well. But now Miyamato is forcing us into his view. The compromise and the beauty of Zelda that made it accessible to almost everyone is now gone. Thanks a lot Nintendo.
So, in case you haven't noticed, I am not happy. I feel betrayed, but also a bit stupid for expecting too much from Nintendo. I always knew that Nintendo's gaming philosophy and mine aren't the same, but somehow Zelda had always slipped through the cracks. I shouldn't have expected it to stay that way. For the first time in my life, or at least the first time since OoT, I am not looking forward to the next Zelda game. I really don't care about it. Thus, my only hope is that it bombs horribly. Maybe then Nintendo will go back to the original style Zelda, and give me the epic masterpiece I've been hoping for. But as for Zelda 9, how the mighty have fallen.