Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Open your Eyes, Samus


Now we know, why there hasn't been a new Metroid game in six years. It's because Zelda is doing the Sci-Fi Action Adventure now.

They are not only going back to the roots of The Legend of Zelda, they are digging them up. Originally for the first Zelda game they had a technology vs. fantasy setting in the mind, with a dual world of past and future. The Triforce even was supposed to be electronic chips... And it seems like they actually went back to this concept.

Enter the Sheikah Slate. It really is a "slate" and not a book. I personally held on to the book, because I kept thinking in the realm of magic and fantasy, while this game enters fantasy tech into the world of Zelda. The slate really is a technological device, which probably represents the Wii U GamePad in your game as your main item. It even lets you scan things like in Metroid Prime.

But it's all very well done. The entry to the game gives me the chills. The Resurrection Chamber is eerie and that the Hero is actually recreated by technology feels thrilling. I love, how the Sheikah are responsible for the modern technology and guiding you, even without being present in person. They always have been a mysterious race and they are the perfect representatives for such an idea. It's better than introducing yet another new race just for this game, especially since we already have so many different races in Zelda (excited to see the Koroks again).

Also, the idea of the Resurrection actually would allow for different player avatars, including a female one, like Linkle. Or Samus Aran. You basically get created (or kept in stasis) by Sheikah technology for the whole purpose of being the Hero.

Anyway, after you leave the Resurrection Chamber, you enter the world of the new Zelda game in a perfect way: on a ledge with the whole world in front of you. The classic Zelda artwork finally came to life! And it does so right in the beginning of the game. Perfect. You even have an old man there.


And instead of annoying you with tons of cutscenes and tutorials, they just drop you in the world and let you explore the story yourself. How you're entering this ancient Hyrule in ruins near the decayed Temple of Time surrounded by the petrified Octobots is very interesting. It feels all so mysterious and you get to explore all of this.

This is the way, I always wanted Zelda to be! Explore the story by exploring the world. Very exciting times! This game really might introduce a new era for Zelda, one where all the previous Zelda games lie in the distant past, while also reusing tons of gameplay elements from them. More about that later on...

1 comment:

Eduardo Jencarelli said...

Nintendo said the game's world is 12 times the size of Twilight Princess.

This has me wondering. I assume the Great Sea in Wind Waker is still larger than at least Twilight's overworld. This would still make Breath of the Wild much, much larger than Wind Waker, especially since Bill Trinen hinted at the possibility of the new game even having an ocean of its own.