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KnockBack, Episode 42 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Patreon)

Published:
2018-11-29 17:00:03
Edited:
2022-07-19 21:53:19
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It's not terribly uncommon for Nintendo fans to feel that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game ever released. The third title launched in the series -- coming to stores in 1991 in Japan and 1992 elsewhere -- A Link to the Past marks the fledgling franchise's first jump to new hardware, and represents a serious retooling of the original's winning formula. Of course, it's also impossible not to connect it to today's games, too, both in and outside of Zelda's continuity. We do just that on this episode of KnockBack, delving deep not only into a classic, but discussing at length the newest spin on our Hyrulian Hero, and which style we prefer: The "Old," the "New," or somewhere very much in between.

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Comments

Brian Borlaug

So excited for this episode!

Kc Wright

The best Zelda game

Brian Dewire

A Link to the Past isn't just the best Zelda game, I personally think it's the best video game every made. If Breath of the Wild is the least "Zelda" game (I also think BotW the most overrated game in history), then Link to the Past is THE definitive Zelda game. Awesome dungeons, great map layout, unique enemies and the fantastic light world/dark world mechanic that is fully developed. Can't wait to listen to this one!

Justin Marxer

LttP was the first game to make me realize that games could be dark. Not that Castlevania or Contra didn't have implied violence or horror elements, but early NES games while aesthetically beautiful in retrospect, kinda looked like visual vomit when we were growing up, unless if it was a Capcom release since they didn't vie for overtly complex color palettes, for instance, every Mega Man game looked extremely clean in presentation, bright colors, and didn't opt for too much if any realistic shading. Now digging into the inquiry you had about religion in early NES games; I believe NoA's target was two-fold. I believe that they felt that religion was a controversial topic for anyone in the US, if you were religious, one of their games may offend you depending on the depiction of it in the game. Similarly, if you identified as an atheist or agnostic, I don't think you wanted religion presented to you in something considered entertainment, so this angle gave NoA an edge of profitability with their games. Growing up in Catholic school, I was one of the latter since video games were my way to escape. Religion was barely ever heavy handed (not counting the Dragon's Quest franchise and it's use of churches), so I do find the aesthetic censorship silly in retrospect. Fun fact about video game censorship, Capcom/NoA censored Hitler out of Bionic Commando and replaced him with "Master-D", yet didn't remove his gruesome death scene at the end where his head explodes. Anyways, sorry for the long comment, keep up the great work.

David Kramme

P.S. my younger bro, another lifelong Zelda fan, totally agrees with you 2 about botw so I get it, Zelda made me a gamer but Past made me realize what games at that time were capable of, total classic of course

Cory Hahn

As a lifelong Zelda fan and one who holds ALTTP near and dear to my heart, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. You and Dagan touched upon many of the systems and mechanics that make this game a timeless classic. The only thing I would like to contribute to the conversation is how phenomenal the soundtrack is. In most, if not all of the tracks, they totally nailed the feeling of an adventuresome and dangerous quest to save the land of Hyrule. From meandering in the overworld looking for heart containers to searching for the boss key 6 floors deep into a dungeon, the use of music tremendously enhanced the atmosphere created. For that reason along with many others, I hold ALTTP atop my best games list. Thanks again for this wonderful episode Colin!

QlvrFox

Great podcast as always. LttP is great, but OoT will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first Zelda game I finished. (technically I DID play LttP before OoT but I never finished it nor understood it)

Will Hahn

I played BoTW extensively when I got my switch, After hearing what you said about it, it made me realize how empty and boring the game could really be lol. I’m never going back to it and I definitely agree with your points about the game. I fount it absurd that IGN gave that game and Mario Odyssey a 10 (especially Mario Odyssey). I love Nintendo because I grew up playing their games, but they definitely get a free pass nowadays. No idea why so many people have such a soft spot for them or are so apologetic towards them.

LastStandMedia
>>17568031

Dude, the rain... so atmospheric. Unlike anything we had ever experienced up to that point! Thank you for listening. =)

QlvrFox
>>17570936

Anytime! Glad to be a patron. The diversity of content you provide is awesome. <3

Craig Carter

This and Symphony of the Night trade places as my favorite game of all time depending on my mood. Used to watch my dad play when I was a kid though he never beat the game while I went on to beat it like 50 times give or take... hell another replay is in on deck in celebration of this episode.

Zack E

I agree completely with your complaints on BoTW, but not in the sense that it’s not a “Zelda game”, but in the sense that it’s just an incredibly boring open world game. I had no relationship with Zelda games going into BoTW. I do have plenty of relationships with fun open world games. Why is my equipment constantly breaking? In Fallout 3, your armor and weapons degrade as you use them. But the game makes it abundantly clear how to respond to this through the repair skill and mechanics. If there is such a system like this in BoTW, it’s certainly hidden away from the player. Climbing becomes a boring and frustrating mini game of guessing how far you can go with your stamina wheel. Cooking is boring and I always feel as though I’m not doing the perfect recipe. The combat is awkward and cumbersome. The game looks nice, and some of the physics is interesting, but it is such an overrated game.

Brian Dewire

Is anyone else bothered that for BotW they made Link right-handed for no reason at all? Link has always been a southpaw (two exceptions are both motion-control related for Skyward Sword and the Wii version of Twilight Princess).

Anonymous

Spent 1/3rd of my BoTW gameplay literally staring at the side of a mountain &amp; watching a "stamina wheel" slowly deplete, but supposedly it's genius.

Phillip Guglielmo

I honestly consider BOTW a masterpiece and an absolute masterclass in open world video game design, but I can understand your complaints about the game. To me it's the Zelda game I always wanted as it prioritised what I love most about this series (exploration, sense of wonder, atmosphere). I think if they can combine the amazing, dynamic world with more robust dungeon design they can move ahead with something that caters to most fans. I love the Zelda formula old and new! Absolutely my favourite video game series, bar none. Thanks for taking the time to discuss one of the all-time greats! Also, one thing to remember: 2D Zelda still exists and you're likely to still get a traditional Zelda on Switch. You just won't get another game like Ocarina of Time in 3D. Also, I know I reeeeeaaaaally pushing this post and I apologise, but last year you did a video about how the Switch won your heart. I'm just curious as to why you've soured on it so quickly? Between Octopath, Pokemon, Smash (soon) and some great ports/indies I'm still loving the shit out of it. The PS4 is still my main console obviously but the Switch is quickly becoming my favourite handheld.

Brian Borlaug

I do also want to say thank you, 1. For reading my comments on some shows and 2. Pronouncing my last name right, it's appreciated. Keep up the great work good sir

Michael Miller

While I don’t think they’ll ever return to the “OoT” 3D style, I think Nintendo could still make 2D Zelda games in between the 3D releases.

Jimmy Champane

This was a fun listen! I disagree with the idea that Breath of the Wild isn’t Zelda having played most of the series over the course of my life. To me these games boil down to the ultimate sense of adventure. Opening up the gameplay into a world where you can do pretty much anything that pops into your mind, use your wits to overcome a fairly brutal post-apocalyptic Hyrule and uncover the downfall that caused the whole mess to begin with lines right up with the feeling playing a Zelda game has always given me. I think you made a solid defense for your stance though and that’s why I like Knockback. You tend to fully explain the statements that make me go “Wait, what!?” And rewind the last 15 seconds in Sacred Symbols, hah. Thanks for another great week of podcasts!

Matt H

Botw is in my top five games hands down. I feel like it elevated what an open world game can be to an entirely new echelon. While most open world games have worlds that act mostly as a way to get you from mission to mission, Botw has a deliberately laid out landscape with only five objectives that can be completed in any order (including fighting Ganon and beating the game right off the bat). It takes advantage of the open world medium in a way that few games (MGSV comes to mind) even attempt. While it might be light on traditional Zelda dungeon design, I’d argue that a lot of the satisfying moments of figuring things out come from simply traversing the world and figuring out how to navigate it. How can I get Link to bear the cold? Maybe I could find some warmer clothes! Or cook some spicy food! Or light a torch and carry it with me! I think the way that the game makes the player experiment with its systems is one of its greatest triumphs. I can understand why you wouldn’t be a fan of weapons breaking but I think that can be attributed to the developers wanting to make sure that you are experimenting with different approaches to combat. While traditional Zelda games (which I love) present the player with challenges that generally only have one solution, Botw drops you into its world in which any problem can be solved in a myriad of ways. What makes a game a Zelda game to me is the sense of exploration and wonder that I get when I play it. Breath of the Wild gave me this feeling more than any other game, making it, dare I say, the most Zelda of all of the Zelda games.

Matt H
>>17585072

Anyways, thanks for the great discussion on lttp!

WalkinTalkinStephenHawkin

Knock it off with the BotW bullshit. You’re being a contrarian for contrarian sake.

Everyday Patrick

Always a joy to hear Zelda talk. It is also always fun to hear Colin complain about Nintendo bias in the media. Love it all : ]

Tom Mack
>>17573849

I too have no affintity for Zelda, or any of Nintendo's franchises. But dont you think a lot of the criticism you've aimed at BotW could also be leveled at RDR2. Or is RDR2 more acceptable due to the graphics and a more lively world. Havent played BotW accept for the opening 1 hour but have completed RDR2. Genuinely interested in your thoughts.

Jason Stafford

I guess I'm an outlier, but I loved BotW. It was exactly the game I wanted at the time. It felt very "Zelda" to me, but I may just be dumb. I had a blast with every minute of my 120 hours with it. A sense of childlike wonder the whole time. (A Link to the Past is still the BEST Zelda game though.)

Zack E
>>17573849

I’ve yet to play RDR2, (waiting until a have a good chunk of free time to dedicate to it) but yes that very well may be the case from the few things I’ve heard in passing on the game. That’d be unfortunate, because RDR 1 is probably my favorite game of all. I will say from the few things I’ve seen/heard about RDR2, it’s world seems to be way more believable and lived in than possible BoTWs. But that’s not necessarily required for an open world game. BoTW is certainly not a poor game, or even an average game. I just don’t think it’s even close to the standard of open world games in the past decade. I know it’s a running joke, but seriously I think Mad Max has way a more interesting world and gameplay loop than BotW.

Ryan B.

Enjoyed the episode guys. While I liked A Link to the Past when I originally played it in the early nineties as a 10 year old, I was, and continue to be, a bit disappointed that it continued the aesthetic of Zelda I rather than II. I will never forget receiving The Adventure of Link for my 7th birthday and all that game meant to me then. To this day, I strongly feel that it’s the best version of Zelda- the gameplay, the dungeons, the music, the pseudo rpg elements etc... I still play it annually though I am now 36. Appreciate you guys so much. I was just telling my girlfriend about how I’ve been listening to this guy talk about everything for 10 years haha. It’s such a pleasure adding Daghain to the mix as well! I enjoy all the podcasts (I’ve been a Colin fan for a decade after all) but Knockback is my favorite.

Chris B

Amazing discussion about this game. I cannot add anything that has not already been said about it. Link to the Past is easily one of the best games of all time, but it will always be second for me to the original. Which leads me to botw. Yes, it is only an 8-8.5; however, it is the sequel I’ve been asking about for decades, a sequel to the original. Here’s a tool, no story to worry about, no real hint system, now go figure it out for yourself. Keep in mind, I never though ocarina or twilight were good, just ok.

Mitch G

Loved this episode guys! Gotta disagree with you about Breath of the Wild though! Phenomenal game, it felt different from classic Zelda but still kept everything about Zelda that I cared about. Not a perfect game, but surely a masterpiece.

strawhatninja

I definitely agree that Breath of the Wild is overrated, but I still thought it was a very good game. I loved the breakable weapons because it made you use all the different weapons and try different things.

LastStandMedia
>>17571138

I understand why people have such a soft spot for them; I just don't think it should be playing out in review scores and criticism of their games, which it clearly is.

LastStandMedia
>>17574578

I didn't notice that, no, but I know that he's traditionally a lefty. So that is peculiar.

Craig Carter
>>17572224

Play through has been cut short due to the Earthquake up here in Anchorage 😅

LastStandMedia
>>17577492

I like Switch; I don't have anything bad to say about it. I just don't think they're delivering games that I want to play.

LastStandMedia
>>17584262

Well, as long as my defense seems rational, I suppose that's all I can hope for. Thank you for listening!

LastStandMedia
>>17585072

Well, as I (think) I said on the show, I'd never, ever deny the design genius of the game. I really think it's a finely-made game, there's no doubt. It's just not a Zelda game to me.

LastStandMedia
>>17585199

Well first of all, it was my brother that wanted to discuss the game. And second of all: No. I'm not going to censor my opinions. Sorry.

LastStandMedia
>>17591484

I'm a huge fan of Zelda II. It's totally underrated. Thank you for your support! For Dagan, too.

WalkinTalkinStephenHawkin
>>17585199

I wouldn't expect you to change your opinion on anything, that's why I give you $5 every month - because I love your content. But I don't believe that's your actual opinion. I think it's a front to help you maintain your status as the "bad boy of games media." It's obvious that BotW stands out in a sea of samey open world games, and I think you know that deep down.

Brady Bosuego

Broke out my older brothers SNES just to play this amazing game again! Thanks for the great episode.

MrMilk

It's interesting because I find Breath of the Wild to be far and away my favorite Zelda in the franchise. I think to counter your notion of everything in it being done better in other open world games, I would point to the physics engine. The sheer levels of creativity possible with the modules is crazy. With the stasis module you can shoot yourself across the map if you hit objects enough times and hop onto them right before the timer runs out, just as an example. You can even take thrown weapons and hold them spinning in place with magnesis to damage enemies. There's seemingly endless possibilities and in recent memory only Portal has given the player such a robust physics engine. That's not to say it doesn't have places to improve. I think if we got a Majora's Mask style follow up (same assets, smaller more realized world, and a more emotionally resonant story) we would have the ideal situation in my eyes. That and the sameness of the dungeons could be improved as well. Regardless, I respect your take on this one and loved the episode!

Haydyn

Spot on about Breath of The Wild. I refuse to believe that BOTW is a better open world rpg than something like The Witcher 3. Aside from the physics which you highlighted, everything else about it is flat. A sparsely populated open world that's not very interesting, voice acted cast except for Link, making for awkward cutscenes, a weapon system that constantly interrupts combat. If BOTW took the place of Horizon Zero Dawn on PS4 it would've been 75 on Metacritic and swept under the rug.

Christian Doolan

Hi guyyyys! My Snes came packed with Super Mario World and I just couldn’t get enough. It was the 1st game I 100% completed. Having started my 1st job I picked up quite a few games such as SF2, Mario Kart, Castlevania, and of course Link to the Past. I wasn’t used to playing this type of game and it didn’t grab me initially. The closest I experienced to a Zelda-like was Golvellius for the Master System which was good but was no Legend of Zelda. Link to the Past is a masterpiece as are some other Zelda’s. I played over 100 hrs of BotW but to ask for more of the same would be wrong imo. This franchise has more to offer and has proven this over the years. Great work again mate!

Tyson Williams

It’s funny I suck at older difficult games that you guys play with ease but I’m like really good at games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls

Justin Matkowski (edited)

Comment edits

2022-01-24 12:12:38 Colin Moriarty: Droppin Mic's like Hyrulean Rain lol ;) EXCELLENT episode! Love the passionate &amp; insightful nature in which you guys discuss ALTTP. In terms of when you were discussing a hypothetical sequel, I think this may be my approach: Top down view, 16-bit graphics (as Dagan had said), but with a twist - the Overworld is more exploration/densely-populated towns and cities, while the combat is reserved for the dark forests and the "dungeons" that this Link stumbles upon (a little nod to The Adventures of Link, there). Basically, the end of the game is you think you've solved this old legend, but what you actually wind up doing is waking Ganon up, starting the whole mess in the first place. Also, to Colin's points on BotW - though I haven't played it myself, there is kind of a sad irony in the industry's praising of Nintendo for embracing an industry trend (in this case, open-world games) just because you can now finally have that kind of experience on a Nintendo console. You, myself, and Dagan are all old enough to remember when Nintendo was the one who would SET industry trends and standards.
2018-12-03 18:36:48 Colin Moriarty: Droppin Mic's like Hyrulean Rain lol ;) EXCELLENT episode! Love the passionate & insightful nature in which you guys discuss ALTTP. In terms of when you were discussing a hypothetical sequel, I think this may be my approach: Top down view, 16-bit graphics (as Dagan had said), but with a twist - the Overworld is more exploration/densely-populated towns and cities, while the combat is reserved for the dark forests and the "dungeons" that this Link stumbles upon (a little nod to The Adventures of Link, there). Basically, the end of the game is you think you've solved this old legend, but what you actually wind up doing is waking Ganon up, starting the whole mess in the first place. Also, to Colin's points on BotW - though I haven't played it myself, there is kind of a sad irony in the industry's praising of Nintendo for embracing an industry trend (in this case, open-world games) just because you can now finally have that kind of experience on a Nintendo console. You, myself, and Dagan are all old enough to remember when Nintendo was the one who would SET industry trends and standards.

Colin Moriarty: Droppin Mic's like Hyrulean Rain lol ;) EXCELLENT episode! Love the passionate & insightful nature in which you guys discuss ALTTP. In terms of when you were discussing a hypothetical sequel, I think this may be my approach: Top down view, 16-bit graphics (as Dagan had said), but with a twist - the Overworld is more exploration/densely-populated towns and cities, while the combat is reserved for the dark forests and the "dungeons" that this Link stumbles upon (a little nod to The Adventures of Link, there). Basically, the end of the game is you think you've solved this old legend, but what you actually wind up doing is waking Ganon up, starting the whole mess in the first place. Also, to Colin's points on BotW - though I haven't played it myself, there is kind of a sad irony in the industry's praising of Nintendo for embracing an industry trend (in this case, open-world games) just because you can now finally have that kind of experience on a Nintendo console. You, myself, and Dagan are all old enough to remember when Nintendo was the one who would SET industry trends and standards.

LastStandMedia
>>17608245

There's no doubt that it's impressive from a mechanical standpoint, and that it's very finely made. I don't think anyone would deny that. But where's its soul? Its structure? It just felt empty, but not in a good way. Like, Mad Max's emptiness and destitute nature added to the experience, but not in Zelda. At least, not for me.

LastStandMedia
>>17636497

Dude, 100%'ing Super Mario World was so cool. Trying to learn the intricacies of the Star World and how to get around it and whatnot was so cool. It was the first game I ever played so laden with secrets. Thank you for listening!

LastStandMedia
>>17689538

Your last point is an important one. Nintendo today is all about fun and accessibility. That's awesome. I think that's great, and that's their bread and butter. But what about real, true innovation? They're being lapped by many other developers.

Barry M. Johnson

Really enjoyed this. Colin I don't think I've heard you talk about Reverie before. Have you tried the game? It plays like a 2D zelda game and has an art style that is similar to Earthbound. I really like it, curious if you've played it and if so what you thought. Its on Vita/PS4 and has a platinum.

LastStandMedia
>>17726090

I have a physical Vita version, and I'm afraid to open it. LOL. I'm probably just gonna buy it digitally.

Jason Kelley

1:38:22 Colin: "When they went to Uranus, everyone was kinda bummed." So disappointed no one else has pointed out this golden nugget. C'mon, people! Also, can we get more of the Angry Modern Gamer voice? "WUDDA FUCK IZZIS SHIT????"

Riley Smith

I am going to admit that I'm one of the links awakening is better people that you don't understand 😅

Luke Tucker
>>17779254

Uranus has to stay as a planet simply for all the bad jokes that can be made from saying it the juvenile way. I swear Kornheiser does a Uranus joke on PTI minimum 3 times a year 😄

Michael Candelaria

I do not regret my time with Breath of the Wild, I feel it's an awesome game but a terrible Zelda game. It made me sad (justike Colin) knowing that they can never go back. They took the worst parts of skyrim and the souls games but didn't play enough of either game to realize what makes them special. I think that of it wasn't a Nintendo's game it would have got 7's at best. On the topic of Mario Odyssey, it was a revelation for me because I haven't played real Mario game since sunshine. I really love odyssey probably because I didn't play galaxy or galaxy 2.

Jessica Gutiérrez

I have not finished the episode yet, I'm about 10 minutes in, and I pressed pause before hearing the last section about Breath of the Wild, since you and your brother are going to talk about it, I figured I would drop my feelings before listening as I'm sure I'm in a minority. I didn't play it until this year, I owned it last year around Octoberish, and I never had any interest in playing it, in fact, I didn't play it until I was getting kind of bored with Monster Hunter World so I gave it a try. I'm really not into the Switch thus far as it really has very few games that appeal to me personally so it kind of just sits on the dock almost 24/7. **Spoilers ahead*** When I started BoTW, I was hooked, instantly, it was freaking gorgeous, I loved how easy it was to pick up and play, I loved the enemy Ai, I found the first interaction with the hunter that ended up being the king very interesting, and once I found out that he was the king, I kept going back to the starting area every once in awhile hoping he would be there and maybe explain some more of the story. I loved almost all of the character, including the annoying character that was a 100 - 300 year old character in an adolescent child's body. I very much enjoyed the sword play, the ranged play, the physics, the mini games, I thought hunting was fun, the little shield surfing minigame, the boss fights, etc, I liked how there was TONS of outfits with different abilities, endless crafting, I loved the futuristic robot enemies, the music that let you know you were about to die. I enjoyed how big the world was, how you could literally go anywhere you wanted as soon as you finished the intro. Then I beat the game, and my first thought was, "wait...that's it?", the princess was now saved, the game was finished, I waited through the credits, I was hoping it would have some sort of closure with the rest of the game world, it didn't, it literally just ended..During my play through I was wondering "can't wait til i finish the story so I can come back and talk to this character and see how they react", but I couldn't even do that, because it was over, the story was done, or lack there of..I wanted to go back and get the Hyrulian Shield, I wanted to finish collecting the seeds, I wanted to finish all of the Great Fairy quests, but I couldn't, because the game was literally OVER... After I beat it my first thought was, so they talked about you could finish this game in the first hour of playing it, which is nice, only the game is over once you do, so what in the blue hell would be the point of that? Its not like you get an achievement for it, its not like you can continue the game and finish the rest later, you have to restart the game again, play through the intro again, do everything you just completed, just to play through the main story quest. Then I wondered, what was the point of the champions? I went through all of that just to see some mini story, and they all hate me except the Zora, they didn't think I could do it, but I did, and I don't get any closure with them either, I didn't get to find out what happened to Zelda, the King, Link, the villages, all of those ancient machines, nothing.. I felt after beating it that I had just wasted a week of my time to find out that there is no story in the game, that the champions were all rather lame, that there's giant flying dragons that look really awesome but have no point, that your weapons break in two hits, that even the Master Sword sort of "breaks", that all of the mini bosses you fight OVER and OVER, that you quite literally never have to use heat resistant and cold resistant clothing outside of story specific limitations, that you can just use potions to give yourself 500 hearts. The biggest let down was there was NO dungeons, you would do these silly little temple things, you go in, finish some boring physics puzzle, they average anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes, and they're ALL the same for the most part, you either push a block, or fight some easy machine enemy, and that's it...I would have taken a dungeon over that crap any day of the week. Then the bosses were all incredibly easy, I saw so many people struggle with them on Youtube videos, and I can only imagine that the game was intended to be played by adolescent children, or gamers that are new to dual sticks..... Not only is there no story, the game is easy, there's no point to hunt, no point to craft, but there's also no point to finish the game, the ending doesn't exist, so why should I care about Zelda? When you play the other Zelda games, the point is to rescue Hyrule, which I thought I did, but all I saw was some short cutscene that let me to credits. In the end, I see the game as a ripoff of Witcher 3, and Dark Souls, having weapon degradation is fine, but hitting something 1 or 2 times is idiotic, the game doesn't ever explain to you that weapons break easier on specific surfaces or enemies, that hitting wood crates with with metal destroys the weapon faster, you find it through losing your best items on accidentally hitting a tree and losing it for good. And the game is too big, there's too many characters that serve no purpose, that's how its copying Witcher, it is trying to put all of this irrelevant garbage into a game that plays better with a linear story. I was so disappointed once I finished it, I have no reason to ever play it again, after I beat Ocarina of time, I played through it 4 more times in the same month, I broke several Madcatz controllers playing it because I loved it so much, however BoTW, without any Trophy equivalent, there's no reason to ever touch it again for myself. It is not the "master piece" people claim it is, these same exact people said Metal Gear Solid 5 couldn't be a masterpiece because it had no story, well guess what? BoTW has no story either.

Theis Jensen

Never played A Link to the Past before last year, and what a game. It still holds up extremely well, and might I even say that it holds up better then Ocarina of Time?? Hearing you guys talking about it made me boot up my SNES Classic and I played through the game, and I can se why many people regards this as one of the best games of all time.

Dylan Neves

Sorry this is old, but how in this conversation of all conversations can you say that Zelda isn't supposed to be open world? Zelda 1 and a link to the past are open world! They wanted to reinvent the Zelda wheel with the absolute Zelda basics with botw (adventure, secrets, exploration). They missed some marks, and went too far with revolutionizing Zelda, but it is not a bad foundation for the future whatsoever. So many people including me have gotten fatigued by the OoT formula and wanted an open world Zelda. They tried with wind Waker and the only reason they waited so long to do open world Zelda is technological constraints. The influence for BotW besides Skyrim is the original Zelda. They even made a 2D version of botw in their development cycle. But I will agree in that Zelda is more than just its roots. The 3d games have helped shape its identity.