Zelda NX/Wii U is such a wasted opportunity

All these Uncharted people boasting will soon be at a short lived end.

How very naive of you to think she was a medic.

A very Attractive Lady in a Red Dress and she gives you HEARTS? come on now.

I'm really not interested in a dark looking Zelda,

but I don't want it to go too far into cartoony looks. I think this new Zelda looks about right.

Of course you never mentioned The Witcher, You didn't have to.

I was talking about a hard core open world RPG that has Blood, Sex, Gore, Adventure, I mean you get to ride on a horse and go into strange lands and such. The Witcher is that Gritty Hardcore Zelda game you want.

I don't get why many people want Dark Souls to be Zelda when it's clearly more of a Castlevania, there's not even an Open Area to get through, it's all corridors and long hallways, you're like in a constant dungeon and that's not what Zelda is, It's part of Zelda, but it's not ENTIRELY Zelda.

There's Chests and Secret areas, but that's about it. Zelda at it's core is more like something like The Elderscrolls or The Witcher, There's Towns, Farms, Villages, People to Talk to things to explore outside of the Dungeons. There's even Dungeons that aren't even Dungeons in Zelda. It's not restricted to just one area where you fall of the cliff and you die or you get a random emote and you're supposed to sit somewhere vague and then get transported to a secret area to fight the hardest boss in the game. NO That is some Castlevania 2 shit, complete with cryptic lore and item descriptions. Zelda's lore is pretty clear cut, nothing to decipher or "what's the hidden meaning?" to it, they're pretty straight forward on what you're needing in terms of story.

So yeah, if you want that Hard core gritty Zelda game I'd recommend you The Witcher series, No it is not Zelda. no It does not play like Zelda. But I bet it'll do you a better job in fulfilling that itch than whatever Nintendo will give you.

Oh and Talking about going Outside "Mr. I Go on the internet and Complain about Video Games on Gamespot". Have a good day.

Don't know about that... Kinda wanna see Link as a space marine ;-).

Well, hearts represent life points in the Zelda games, do they not? Besides, I'm pretty sure not all medics wear white and there is a trope or cliche of hot nurses.

No cel shading was the right move and it looks great. A "realistic" open world Zelda wouldn't look too hot on Wii U.

This is right on point.

As for the topic, I'm not even bothered about not having a more mature (i.e. darker) Zelda with more serious tones, that's really not Nintendo's style and I'm fine with that. My main concern more is the shots and footage I've seen so far are remarkably unimpressive in art direction and overall presentation, even with the bright aesthetic:

If that is anywhere near what the finished Zelda looks like (yes, I realize it's not done but if they're showing it at this point it's not going to look worlds apart), it's pedestrian in comparison to something like what the Witcher franchise has accomplished. I just don't care to play games in 2016 (now 2017) that look like that, or keep trying to convince myself that all the enjoyment I garner from games resides in the gameplay and none at all from the presentation as Nintendo and their fans believes. It does. That forest looks like lazy; copy and pasted, almost generic RPG-maker tier work. The environment is banal and (due to unicolor) uninteresting to the eye. I'm hoping it's only one part of the game or a lot has been added since that footage. Being an action adventure game, graphics do matter.

Unfortunate too, as Zelda could be incredible if it had the visual attention to detail of something like the Witcher or Uncharted.

@MirkoS77: Just play Witcher 4, its looks just like The Witcher 1-3. Even plays the same.

Welcome to the future of games, bow to the amazing Witcher! I still havnt figured out why they make it look so brown though. Maybe you can figure that one out. Why do so many of these big companies make their games so brown?

I would prefer a more Twilight Princess type asthetic but done with modern graphics. This cel shaded stuff doesn't do it for me.

@iandizion713: calling the witcher series brown is fucking ridiculous.

@DocSanchez: Many games do it, it gives the game a darker feel. Its been a secret in horror for a long time.

@brah4ever: Why does everything need to be all gritty and realistic looking these days? I believe there remains a market for a more stylized aesthetic, and the sales numbers for games like Ratchet & Clank support this notion.

@iandizion713: Don't start talking about "many games". You were talking specifically about The Witcher Series, and you obviously haven't played them if you write the series off as "brown".

It is on the realistic side of the scale, but as colourful as the nature it takes inspiration from.

You don't know what you are talking about.

@DocSanchez: I didnt write the series off. There is nothing wrong with being brown. I love it.

@iandizion713: oh shut up you tart. Stop avoiding the fact that you were wrong. Youve never played it and dont know what youre on about.

There are some people that will be happy with whatever art style Zelda uses and some of those people may even prefer the cartoony art style, but there can be no doubt that the realistic art style for Zelda games has a far wider appeal and is therefore a smarter choice for Nintendo to use especially when the last couple of Zelda games have been cartoony.

In my experience talking with casual gamers, they are far more enthused and interested in realistic Zelda than they are cartoony Zelda. And evidence of this can clearly be seen in the sales as the best selling Zelda games are the more realistic ones. The more realistic Twilight Princess even sold about twice as much as the cartoony Skyward Sword did and they were both on the same console. And thus far, Twilight Princess HD on the Wii U is selling significantly more in it's first 9 weeks than Wind Waker HD on the Wii U sold during it's first 9 weeks.

And go watch the fan reaction at E3 2004 when Nintendo revealed that they were finally giving the fans the more realistic Zelda that they had been asking for; it's the biggest standing ovation that Nintendo has ever received; people were even crying with joy. It then went on to launch with Nintendo's next console which also just happened to be the console that made Nintendo #1 in the market again. Twilight Princess wasn't the only reason for that, but it definitely played a big role.

And that's what Nintendo desperately needs again right now; they need something that will get people as excited as they were for Twilight Princess again, not just the hardcore Zelda fans that will buy any Zelda game no matter what, but the more casual fans as well. A cartoony Zelda game isn't going to do that, but a realistic Zelda game could.

If you want dark souls buy dark souls. There's 3 of them out.

Also the masses don't want Zelda to be Dark Souls 2.0.

It would be realistic if all the fans hadn't complained about how TP was bad, and WW was the superior art style.

Edit: When TP was released, not revealed.

The entire Wii U is a wasted opportunity.

Either way, the new Zelda looks fantastic. I love the art style. Not everything needs to be dark and grunge.

@DocSanchez: he's never played half the games he writes off. He hates them simply because nintendo didn't make them

The base PS4 can't even run Deep Down like that. We'll see how the Neo version turns out.

Nintendo gave up on graphics a long time ago.

Because of Zelda....LOL. You do realize the Horizon Zero Dawn will be best looking open-world game on console when it releases and that God Of War IV will probably take the crown as the best looking game on console period. This is a lock if the PS4K rumors are true. Hell on the base PS4 that will be true if NX really is slightly weaker than the Xbox One!!

Uncharted is a glorified walking simulator with microtransactions; Zelda is an ongoing series of masterpieces that actively benefits humanity.

Visuals have never been an issue with me for a a Zelda game. Zelda Wii U looks nice from the little we've seen of it as well.

I'm just waiting to find out if the gameplay looks nice as well.

The 93 next to Uncharted 4 qualifies it is as a masterpiece. It's one of the best games I have played in years right there with Bloodborne, TLOU and The Witcher 3. I'm sure Zelda will score high too, but it's not some special snowflake.

@StrongBlackVine: Modern media are essentially PR. people rather than real gamers.

Regardless - Zelda has 99 metacritic indicating "best"; at this point nothing can change that.

@uninspiredcup: your comments hurt my brain...

Reviews are harsher this generation and there are a lot more critics. Not sure what 99 you are talking about, but it definitely would not score a 99 today.

@StrongBlackVine: Most people agree Ocarina Of Time is the best game ever made; many people have already forgotten about Uncharted 2.

Obviously you did not forget, nor did any one else. Sure as Hell didn't forget about The Last Of Us. It must really chap your ass that Naughty Dog's "walking simulators" have become the crown jewels of the gaming industry. The Last Of Us sequel will be the biggest exclusive of the generation for any console. Uncharted 4 will be the biggest until then...

@uninspiredcup: maybe they forgot about uncharted 2 when 3 and 4 came out and topped them, people still remember ocarina of time so vividly because it was a perfect game and nintendo has yet to make a Zelda as good as OoT

@MirkoS77 said:

@DocSanchez said:

Nintendo fanboy logic:

1. All go crazy when they see a tech demo of a realistic Zelda for the wii u, demanding for it's release and salivating over it.

2. Get a cel shaded zelda, and pretend they wanted that instead.

3. Whinge about someone who suggests a realistic zelda would be a good idea because Nintendo didn't go with it.

This is right on point.

As for the topic, I'm not even bothered about not having a more mature (i.e. darker) Zelda with more serious tones, that's really not Nintendo's style and I'm fine with that. My main concern more is the shots and footage I've seen so far are remarkably unimpressive in art direction and overall presentation, even with the bright aesthetic:

If that is anywhere near what the finished Zelda looks like (yes, I realize it's not done but if they're showing it at this point it's not going to look worlds apart), it's pedestrian in comparison to something like what the Witcher franchise has accomplished. I just don't care to play games in 2016 (now 2017) that look like that, or keep trying to convince myself that all the enjoyment I garner from games resides in the gameplay and none at all from the presentation as Nintendo and their fans believes. It does. That forest looks like lazy; copy and pasted, almost generic RPG-maker tier work. The environment is banal and (due to unicolor) uninteresting to the eye. I'm hoping it's only one part of the game or a lot has been added since that footage. Being an action adventure game, graphics do matter.

Unfortunate too, as Zelda could be incredible if it had the visual attention to detail of something like the Witcher or Uncharted.

Damn Zelda looks like an early Xbox 360 game in comparison. That is not a flattering comparison AT ALL. I'm sure it will be a good game, but would it kill Nintendo to try to stay on par with their competitors?

The Zelda screenshot above is vibrant, clean and beautiful while the Witcher 3 screenshot looks like a generic "any forest".

The Witcher 3 is a fairy ugly game.

I'd prefer to die than see a "The Legend of Zelda: God of War" with all its "adult" glory in this lifetime.

This, if you actually communicate with people outside of this forum or gaming ones in general, they WANT a more realistic badass rendition of the Zelda series.

The last Zelda game was cel-shaded, why do we need another?

Zelda could definitely flop, Skyward Sword is the perfect example of this happening.

One thing that might happen with Zelda U is that it may feel to bloated with meaningless filler.

Twilight Princess >>> OoT

It plays better and is overall designed better, way larger world too.

OoT was an important step but games like Twilight Princess blow it away.

Good so the series can further push itself into irrelevancy.

Nintendo's failure to change their IPs is going to be the death of them.

Seeing Link bleed or decapitating enemies would be huge and garner a lot of attention for the franchise. Nintendo needs something like this get them back in the minds of the consumer of today. They pretty much don't exist for a lot of people out there. It's MS, Sony, Samsung, or Apple in terms of tech giants who consumers yap about. Nintendo? Not anymore.

Metroid Prime (this is their most mature franchise), Zelda (Twilight Princess was a step in the right direction), and Fire Emblem could easily be Nintendo's more mature franchises, and yeah they"ll appeal to more people if they go the more gritty badass look.

Gtfo, God of War is the antithesis of badassness.

Link being an angry little bitch that wants to decapitate gods sounds dreadful and goes against the spirit of the franchise. Zelda is best at being a fairy tale; classical good vs. evil, regardless of the artstyle being realistic or not.

I never said Link has to be whiny.

He can be the same Link you know and love.

What I'am saying is that the game would benefit from a more mature theme, this theme does not have to Dark Souls or God of War either. Just something relating more to the concept of life/death/sorrow, etc. Just a very gritty and unique badass f'ing Zelda game.

Cel-shaded Zelda games historically sell less than the realistic visual ones, but you are going to ignore this point.

You are crazy if you think the masses are going to care about this game, the Nintendo fans yeah but most of everyone else...nope

Before you tell me how the f*ck do I know? Skyward Sword sold horribly for a console of over a 100m+ install base.

I thought I was arguing Zelda being God of War, not the realistic artstyle. Which you then proceeded to defend.

God of War was used an example of the type of potentially gory combat that would be interesting to see in a Zelda game.

Not the entire game as a whole.

Keep Zelda, Zelda, but venture out and explore different avenues in the series even if it means going the rated M route and experimenting.

@brah4ever: The latest Xenoblade is chock full of MMO-grade side trash. Hopefully Zelda has an open world with quality content.

Right after seeing that all the side quest were MMO-grade fetch questing I just pushed through the main story and said whatever.

If that's the kind of side content we can expect in Zelda U....may this series rest in pieces.

What do you think of the more mature themed Zelda game concept?

Yea, Witcher 3 and that brownness.

No, the Witcher franchise has some of the best art direction, texture usage, and implementation of color I've yet to see in a game. Maybe you can figure out why all of Nintendo's games use all the same tired aesthetic, as I could show by posting shots of mostly all of their exclusives. Or you could show me a Zelda U screenshot that looks anywhere even remotely as good as the above ones.

I'll do Zelda a favor here and use the best shot of it we've seen yet: the variance of color in the grass is there, you have flowers, the rocks add contrast, the trees don't look like generic placeholders. This look MUCH better, but the aesthetic remains the same: it's all too green (with what looks to be a desert in the far off distance). At least in the Witcher 3, you had dank swamps, green grasslands, dark forests, white orchid fields, stormy seas and decrepit abandoned towns contrasted against immaculately detailed castles (all complimented by weather cycling that could change the tone). The Witcher 3 is unparalleled in its environments and dynamic range for an open world game, and sorry, Nintendo is appearing amateurish in comparison if the footage is anything to judge by. The bar has been raised.

@MirkoS77 said:

@iandizion713 said:

@MirkoS77: Just play Witcher 4, its looks just like The Witcher 1-3. Even plays the same.

Welcome to the future of games, bow to the amazing Witcher! I still havnt figured out why they make it look so brown though. Maybe you can figure that one out. Why do so many of these big companies make their games so brown?

Yea, Witcher 3 and that brownness.

No, the Witcher franchise has some of the best art direction, texture usage, and implementation of color I've yet to see in a game. Maybe you can figure out why all of Nintendo's games use all the same tired aesthetic, as I could show by posting shots of mostly all of their exclusives. Or you could show me a Zelda U screenshot that looks anywhere even remotely as good as the above ones.

I'll do Zelda a favor here and use the best shot of it we've seen yet: the variance of color in the grass is there, you have flowers, the rocks add contrast, the trees don't look like generic placeholders. This look MUCH better, but the aesthetic remains the same: it's all too green (with what looks to be a desert in the far off distance). At least in the Witcher 3, you had dank swamps, green grasslands, dark forests, white orchid fields, stormy seas and decrepit abandoned towns contrasted against immaculately detailed castles (all complimented by weather cycling that could change the tone). The Witcher 3 is unparalleled in its environments and dynamic range for an open world game, and sorry, Nintendo is appearing amateurish in comparison if the footage is anything to judge by. The bar has been raised.

Zelda U has had very little footage so far. Also it's not like past Zelda games haven't had diverse areas. I'm guessing there will more than just grasslands in Zelda U.

Also I have to admit I don't really get what you mean by Nintendo games having the same "tired aesthetic." Splatoon didn't really look similar to Super mario 3D world, nor did either of these games look similar to Skyward Sword. If we are including games outside of EAD, then Xenoblade Chronicles X has incredibly detailed and diverse areas, and Yoshi's Woolly World, which never got tiring due to all the cool things it did with its craft aesthetic and how they even tied it in to the gameplay.

Wind Waker, A link to the past, and a link between worlds are amonst the most cartoony yet are my 4 favorites. Ocarina was a great game but it's aged very bad visually.

@brah4ever: everything about TP was a step backward, but especially the combat system. It was awful compared to Wind Wakers, which in my opinion was the epitome of the franchise. Parries for life!

@DJ-Lafleur: I'm sure Zelda will have diverse areas, but even so, the footage we've been shown so far is not going to undergo a massive change I suspect. It was unimpressive, at least in comparison to the above shot of its reveal trailer. Watch the footage again and compare it to something like the Witcher 3. It's not just new areas, W3 walks all over it in respect to general detail.

This is what I mean about tired aesthetics:

See a common theme here? This is what I mean by tiring. Sure, people could post a bunch of different PS4 or Xbone pics that look all brown, but the difference is, Nintendo is the only one developing for their platforms. Sony and MS have third parties to afford more aesthetic variety to their libraries. And yes, Nintendo has a few exceptions here and there, but they are the rare exception. This is what their in-house produces. People love to complain about how Sony and MS are always brown, yet they fail to even acknowledge that the company they defend does the exact same thing on the opposite end of the spectrum, act as if it's somehow intrinsically superior and worse yet as I've said, there's no outside companies to bring balance. Brown serves its purposes, as does colorful.

There's nothing wrong with any particular style, but when it's in over abundance it hurts and limits. It's no wonder at all why they're growing more and more niche.