Breath of the Wild was a masterpiece, but what is next for The Legend of Zelda?

The bar has been set incredibly high, so what improvements can be made for the next Zelda title?

Breath of the Wild is one of the best, if not the best, Zelda game of all time. The developers adapted so many of the franchise’s beloved conventions, and crafted something completely new and unique. But where does The Legend of Zelda go from here? Aonuma, the franchise’s producer, stated in a Japanese interview that “I think that, in the future, open air games will be the standard for Zelda.” This clearly indicates that Breath of the Wild’s style should now be seen as the norm, but what will the next game in the series look like?

There have been previous games in the franchise’s history which set a new template for the series, and some that merely adapted a few gameplay features to make a great game. Ocarina of Time was a big jump, in many ways, for Nintendo. It wasn’t just the first 3D Zelda, but it introduced so many new features which Zelda fans have come to expect from games in the franchise. Majora’s Mask, however, tweaked a few conventions and added the three day dynamic, but apart from that it was very similar to Ocarina of Time.

So, the question is, do we get a completely new style of game, or one similar to Breath of the Wild, with one or two new additions? Considering the huge success of Breath of the Wild it would be strange to completely re-write the new template for Zelda games, so these are some of the additions that we’d like to see:

“Look Link…you’ve grown up!”

The series has consistently presented two main forms of Link: child or adult. In Ocarina of Time players got to combine both versions, which blended perfectly into the style of the game. But, what’s never been done, is a Bildungsroman style - following a character from their formative years through their learning and journey to adulthood. Imagine that instead of traveling forward seven years, Link gradually aged realistically in the game. Obviously there would have to be a cut-off point as no-one wants an elderly Link (right?), but that could be explained through the storyline.

Look at how Majora’s Mask used the three day cycle to advance certain stories, change some areas, and open up new possibilities. Imagine if some areas were only available to adult Link, and some to child Link. Fujibayashi, one of the main directors for The Legend of Zelda, has stated that one of the most appealing aspects in Breath of the Wild was to “discover a new sense of adventure over and over again while playing.” This could be achieved by being able to interact with an area differently depending on Link’s age, allowing great settings to be explored from a different perspective.

"Hoy! Hold it right there, small fry! I don't know where you got your mitts on that Sea Chart you got there..."

The landscape was the true star in Breath of the Wild. As Aonuma stated, “there is always something to discover whenever you see something suspicious”, and that linked perfectly with the sense of adventure created. This was a technique also used in The Wind Waker, where a silhouette of new lands could be seen on the horizon, which compelled the player to explore the area. Just like how the Assassin’s Creed series reinvented itself with Black Flag, perhaps the next Zelda game could be set at sea?

Instead of making the map much bigger, why not separate some of the land masses with a huge sea? Sailing was one of the most enjoyable methods of exploration in the Zelda franchise, and it could tie-in brilliantly with the sense of exploration created in Breath of the Wild.

Your actions will have consequences

The majority of modern games include dialogue choices which determine how the game plays out. Breath of the Wild gave the player choice in how they went about defeating Calamity Ganon, but perhaps this could be expanded on? Fujibayashi claimed that he “wanted to build a game where the user can decide where they want to go and what they want to do.” He certainly achieved that, to some extent, but it’s debatable whether the player’s choices had huge consequences or not.

Geralt of Rivia was constantly bombarded with tough choices, some with huge consequences. The witcher is a slightly different protagonist though; he lives in the shade-of-grey area, whereas Link is the archetypal hero. But what if other characters, such as Princess Zelda, were also playable? Imagine a scenario where, in a dynamic and alive Hyrule, the people of Castle Town are in a dispute with the Zora, and Princess Zelda has the deciding say on the decision to be made. This could impact Link and which side quests are available to him, or which way the main quest will go. Or perhaps a young Ganondorf infiltrates the Royal Family, and manipulates them to better himself, and it’s down to Princess Zelda to spy on him and ask the right questions, to pass information onto Link. This could allow for a scenario where the player plans out ideas based on what they saw and did when playing as Princess Zelda.

“We can defeat any enemy as long as we work together as one!”

Minor characters have always been important in The Legend of Zelda, but they could be better. Take The Witcher 3 for example, which adapted on many of the great characters from Andrzej Sapkowski’s brilliant Witcher series. Each of those characters felt real, with understandable back-stories and motives. As engaging as the Champions are in Breath of the Wild, they fall short in comparison.

If minor characters could be more rounded and less one-dimensional then new stories could be formed outside of the main quest. Side quests are given extra meaning; with more reason to complete them. Some of the side quests in Breath of the Wild were really fun, but none had the sense of importance that The Witcher 3 provided. Minor characters have always been really engaging and likeable in the Zelda franchise, but making them more well-rounded would take them to the next level.

Recently we’ve argued that The Witcher 3 is the greatest game of all time, with Breath of the Wild in second, and Horizon Zero Dawn in third. As Zelda fans we’ve come to have complete confidence in all that Nintendo do, in terms of The Legend of Zelda, and with a few tweaks and changes the next game in the series could well be the new greatest game of all time…

Let us know what you think about these ideas, and keep tuned to TriForce Reviews for all the latest news and reviews!