Wednesday, May 25, 2016

The Side Activities in Zelda U


In less than 3 weeks we'll get our first extended look at the new Zelda game for Wii-U and NX. And even calling it my most anticipated game doesn't do it justice. Zelda is always something special for me. When Wind Waker released I saved up all my money and bought the Gamecube. It was my first self bought console and Wind Waker is still one of my all time favorite games and second most loved Zelda. Number 1 goes to Links Awakening my very first Zelda game.

But let us not dwell in the past for too long, but instead look into the future. Zelda U will be the first truly open World Zelda, where you can go wherever you want whenever you want. This will mark a strong deviation from previous titles. And it also has some dangers attached to it.

While the material we saw in December 2014 at the Game Awards looked great the World also looked pretty lifeless to me. Of course this was 2 years before the Games eventual release, but still it's something that should be addressed. So today I want to talk which side activities the new Zelda should offer.


Monster Hunter:


Source: e3 2014 Nintendo Digital Event

When Zelda U was first shown to the World at Nintendos e3 2014 Digital Event Series Producer Eiji Aonuma said that powerful Boss Monsters could also appear on the Overworld. I quite liked that idea. So with that in mind these powerful Monsters should work as one of the side activities filling the World with Life. In my mind they would work in two ways. Once as random encounters. They could attack you out of nowhere, forcing you to defend yourself. Maybe Link even has to retreat first taking some time to figure out how to beat the powerful foe.
The other way of integrating big Monsters into the World is in the form of Hunts. Maybe one of them attacked a village or a group of travelers. Links job is now to search for clues about the monster, find out it's weakpoints and finally to hunt it down.


Upgrades:


Source: The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword

One thing I quite liked about Skyward Sword and A Link between Worlds was the upgrade System. And for Zelda U something similar would be suitable. Gathering materials and maybe even the blueprints for the Update could fit well with the futuristic looking elements of the new game. If the knowledge about this ancient technology was lost, it could be Links task to recover the information. This idea could also extend so far that you don't find items in dungeons, but have to build them yourself. I once talked about a rumor I heard, which had such a feature and I quite like it. (Read it here if you're interested: http://dilliansthoughthub.blogspot.co.at/2015/07/zelda-u-ideas.html )
Upgrades would be an incentive to venture out into the huge new world and explore every nook and cranny of it.


Treasure Hunter:



In a similar vein to the idea of hunting monsters Treasure Hunts could also take place in Hyrule. Maybe Link finds an ancient chart or hears a rumor. I'm not talking about the simple chests found everywhere in Zelda Games. (Of course these should also exist) No this Treasure Hunts should lead to huge rewards. Blueprints for Upgrades, rare Materials, maybe a small dungeon. Also it would be cool if these treasure hunts featured other characters competing with Link for the Spoils.


Side Quests:


Of course traditional Side Quests need to be incorporated into a huge world. And I'm not talking about the one trade sequence that is found in nearly every Zelda game. I'm talking about full fledged side quests with stories, climaxes and rewards.


Lore Galore:



This Zelda is the perfect opportunity to expand on the Lore of the Franchise outside of Hyrule Historia. A new, huge Hyrule filled with a rich history. Make it possible to search for traces of old civilizations, gather ancient relics and unearth historical locations. Each time Link finds something noteworthy let it unlock a piece of background information about the world.


These are some ideas I have for interesting and investing side activities in the new huge world of Zelda U. Of course these are just some quick thoughts.
What would you like to see? What would keep you invested in the Game?

And as always

thanks for reading

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