News Article

New Wii Zelda Won't Be Radically Different, Says Miyamoto

Posted Thu, 02 Jul 2009 by Damien McFerran

The same, but different?

The same, but different?

Service as normal for Hyrule's favourite son, it would seem

So there's an all-new Wii Zelda in the works - this much we know. We also know that Shigeru Miyamoto wants the game to showcase a more 'mature' Link (although the concept art we've seen doesn't suggest as much).

Bearing on mind that Twilight Princess had its critics, you'd expect this latest instalment to tear up the rulebook and reinvent the franchise, no?

"I don't think it's going to be that radically different," said Mario's dad when he spoke to Nintendo Power recently.

Ah. That's the end of that, then.

Source: kotaku.com.

Tags: Wii, Zelda, Miyamoto, Nintendo Power.

User Comments

N64 Gamer

1. N64 Gamer Denmark 02 Jul 2009, 09:14 BST

As long as it's not like Horse Life.

That game was a serious dissapointment and didn't live up to its case-cover.

Larkin

2. Larkin Ireland 02 Jul 2009, 09:14 BST

I dont really mind im still looking forward to the new Zelda

FIRST!!(aww never mind)

SupermarketZombies

3. SupermarketZombies United States 02 Jul 2009, 09:29 BST

This generation is looking like it's going to be well over the usual 5 or so years...hmm forum post?

Croz

4. Croz United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 09:39 BST

As much as i enjoyed the last couple Zelda titles, i'd prefer if they did radically change the next game.

Will

5. Will Ireland 02 Jul 2009, 09:46 BST

So more of the same Zelda, and more of the same Mario. That dosent exactly excite me, surely the Wii motion+ will add some interesting elements though?

y2josh

6. y2josh United States 02 Jul 2009, 09:52 BST

@Will: LINK will play tennis in a mini-game with his sword supporting Wii M+ :D
Edit - LOL! 1 more hour to go at work, its 5 am and im getting loopy

Stuffgamer1

7. Stuffgamer1 United States 02 Jul 2009, 09:56 BST

@JJosh: Zelda's a "he" now? Hold the phone! :P

I'm cool with more of the same basic Zelda structure. After all, that's the structure I've loved about the series all these years, and they always manage to change enough from game to game to make it worth playing them all, imo. :)

JimLad

8. JimLad United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 10:44 BST

He probably means things like keys, maps, compass', heart pieces, bottles, usual Zelda formula will still be in place.
Miyamoto translations should always be taken with a pinch of salt, especially in regards to speculative hinting.
So long as it uses WM+ it should be revolutionary enough, a fresh art style would be nice too.

Machu

9. Machu United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 10:50 BST

Good, that's all I want. I adore the 3d Zelda's and don't want 'em changed, just make 'em bigger and better.

Twilight Princess an 8 wtf!

Bensei

10. Bensei Austria 02 Jul 2009, 11:04 BST

No need forr adical changes, just make a game like OoT and improve what you can and add wiimotion+. I know TP should have done that, but imo it didn't, mainly because not so deep characters as in OoT and close-to-zero difficulty

Sean Aaron

11. Sean Aaron United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 11:21 BST

If it's more of the same I'll pass; hopefully he just means certain elements and not story, settings, baddies, etc.

Rensch

12. Rensch Netherlands 02 Jul 2009, 11:32 BST

If it stays true to the formula but reinvents the franchise at the same time like Phantom Hourglass did, I'm happy.

If its as traditional as Twilight Princess, I'll seriously be pissed.

Zelda is one of the Nintendo series that badly needs some new twists. I hope they stray away a bit from the standard themes like fire, water, forest, desert, sky etc. or at least do something original with them. Sure, Twilight Princess was cool but it just didn't feel fresh. That's why Phantom Hourglass is much cooler if you ask me.

Phantom Hourglass was not too different from previous titles but used the hardware capabilities to create a unique experience. I hope they at least do the same with the next Zelda. The inclusion of Wii MotionPlus gameplay makes me hopeful.

And a little more difficulty couldn't hurt either. Twilight Princess was an easy game to complete even though it was a fun ride.

Turkey Brutus

13. Turkey Brutus United States 02 Jul 2009, 12:02 BST

Radically different from what? From the franchise as a whole, or from Twilight Princess?

The less like Twilight Princess the better, though I do agree that the "core" elements of the Zelda series aren't in any need of a serious shake-up.

Basically just give us a good game, and don't concentrate so much on bucking the system, or responding to fan criticism. (I truly believe that TP was a panicked response to the "vocal minority" who hated Wind Waker. And that did TP no favors.)

Tony

14. Tony United States 02 Jul 2009, 12:18 BST

Keep it like Twilight Princess. Don't listen to haters, the Zelda series is just fine as it is. 10/10

"Twilight Princess an 8 wtf!" I agree it's nonsense

chunky_droid

15. chunky_droid Australia 02 Jul 2009, 12:38 BST

Good :)

Jockolantern

16. Jockolantern United States 02 Jul 2009, 12:42 BST

Fine by me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I like my Zelda adventures just the way they've always been. Good on Miyamoto.

maka

17. maka Spain 02 Jul 2009, 13:09 BST

Well... if they reinvent the franchise (remember Windwaker on the GC) everyone complains. If they keep with the same formula, everyone complains... I guess they'd better do whatever they want because it won't really matter...

I enjoyed all the recently released Zelda games, and I'm looking forward to this new one (and the one on DS). I'm sure they'll be great games...

Turbo Genesis 64

18. Turbo Genesis 64 United States 02 Jul 2009, 14:28 BST

Hey .... I'm thankful it's not using the Wii Balance Board.

theblackdragon

19. theblackdragon United States 02 Jul 2009, 14:57 BST

@Turbo Genesis 64: lol, i'm thankful for that too. :3

Rapadash6

20. Rapadash6 United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:10 BST

I think all he's saying here is that this new game will still contain all the things that had made previous Zeldas... well, Zelda games. I just hope it doesn't follow the Ocarina of Time formula again, although the only Zelda that has done so is Twilight Princess when you really think about it. Still a better game then most out there though.

LEGEND MARIOID

21. LEGEND MARIOID United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 15:11 BST

That's fine by me...bring it on...

aaronsullivan

22. aaronsullivan United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:16 BST

Personally, I was hoping for something a little radical. It's time to shake the franchise up a bit.

Wind Waker looked different (more timeless) and added a bit more story, but it was VERY similar to Ocarina. Twilight was just a realistic/muddy version of Wind Waker and Ocarina with the further progession of a deeper story (which I quite liked) and very evolutionary changes.

The actual gameplay changes from Ocarina on have been very minor. It's been refining and adding/tweaking a couple items. I enjoyed them all, but... really? Again?

I hope to feel some things about the game are radically different. I want to be excited about gameplay elements, not just a new look or story. At least sword fighting and archery will be a pretty big change. I hope so anyway.

deshadow52

23. deshadow52 Canada 02 Jul 2009, 15:16 BST

I don't see what everyones problem is towards twilight princess it was a great game. Sure it was more of the same and sure it was easy(and its not like playing the previous 3d zelda games that are quite similar had anything to do with it at all :D ).

Call me a simpleton but the only that are the most importand thing in zelda games are dungeons, bosses, collectibles, and items (deep characters?).
And it had those and more and the dungeons were amazing in my opinion, I would go through them and say wow to every one of them.

@maka: You are absolutely right its hard to satisfy nintendo fans these days

aaronsullivan

24. aaronsullivan United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:21 BST

You know what I'd like to see? I'd like to see a bit more bravery on the part of exploration and the order that you do things.

The Zelda games are feeling very... funneled, aren't they? I've been playing through Twilight Princess again and it's in these very contained sections for most of the game.

I'm a little torn on this because my favorite thing about Zelda is the tight problem solving exploration (rather than endless wandering), but it could still be tight, but just have different solutions based on what you've discovered first. I guess I just want to feel less funneled through it all.

That makes story problematic sometimes, but it doesn't HAVE to.

I guess it's a little late to make a request, though. lol.

mushroomer

25. mushroomer United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:22 BST

Has any of you Zelda enthusiasts tried ICO or Shadow of the Colossus for ps2? Those 2 games are Zelda realistic... Has puzzles and adventure that makes Zelda look like something for pre-schoolers. just look up some vids on youtube and you'll know exactly what i mean.

Hyper Luigi

26. Hyper Luigi United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:23 BST

While I'm ok with them keeping the basic Zelda elements,this Zelda needs something fresh.
What I like about Majora's Mask is that it kept the basic elements,but added something different and fresh. That's what I want in this Zelda. I want something different they haven't tried before. I also want an original storyline,not one where it involes Ganondorf.
I'll buy it regardless,but come on Nintendo! Which reminds me,I need to finish Majora's Mask when I get home. :D

Hyper Luigi

27. Hyper Luigi United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:25 BST

@N64 Gamer-I told you not to buy the game just because the girl is hot. You might want to sell Horse Life.

aaronsullivan

28. aaronsullivan United States 02 Jul 2009, 15:28 BST

deshadow52. I've loved every main console Zelda game including Twilight Princess. I'm not sure why people call it easy or whatever. I just played through Ocarina and that required about the same skill level, a tad harder. (Water Temple still wins against every dungeon in every other game, though) Wind Waker is also about the same. Maybe people are just accustomed to the gameplay that has barely changed at all since Ocarina? So Twilight, which they've essentially already played most parts of, feels easier? I don't know.

Truth is, I'll be temporarily happy if this next one is basically just a remix like all the others have been, but... how often will I go back to it? You know?

deshadow52

29. deshadow52 Canada 02 Jul 2009, 15:38 BST

@aaronsullivan: Thats exactly what I think the games and the puzzles are so similar that every puzzle just clicks because we have done something like that in the other game(not that there was'nt any original puzzles in twilight princess but theres still a lot of puzzles we have seen before). And besides easy or not i thought it was a great game

MarkyVigoroth

30. MarkyVigoroth Puerto Rico 02 Jul 2009, 15:51 BST

I read that Twilight Princess would be the last time we see the Zelda franchise in its present form, so this surprised me. (Then again, Agito, once slated for a mobile-only release, turned into PSP-only, a deal that I support.)

NESGamepro

31. NESGamepro United States 02 Jul 2009, 16:12 BST

Here's my theory:
At E3 it was pretty clear to me (and most people) that Nintendo's showing was the least impressive of the big three. After they realized it they whipped out some Zelda concept art they just had laying around (UPS overnight?) and decided to show it to up their game a bit. I don't think they even started the game at that point. Now they will reuse old code to make it look like they had something going the whole time.

Just a theory.

Objection_Blaster

32. Objection_Blaster United States 02 Jul 2009, 16:14 BST

Here's the revolution I want: real voice-acting.

Aenaida

33. Aenaida Canada 02 Jul 2009, 16:21 BST

As long as the story isn't the same ol' "rescue Zelda" plot-line, I'm happy.

Zenman

34. Zenman United States 02 Jul 2009, 16:31 BST

32. Objection_Blaster 02 Jul 2009, 16:14 GMT

Here's the revolution I want: real voice-acting.

YES!... the new character, with speculation of a physical rep. of the master sword is cool, but she will probably be another advisor buddy
@ Aenaida i agree, ganondorf can stay, but i dont wanna rescue anyone, maybe they can take a page from MP3: corruption and have like a full out war with Ganondorf or somethin.., or even a newer cooler villian
(with no letdown like Zant was)

hylianhalcyon

35. hylianhalcyon United States 02 Jul 2009, 16:48 BST

I do want some changes to zelda, but still want the classic formula. What Miyamoto said is a little vague, he could be talking about story or graphics, or gameplay when he says it won't be radically different. But I don't think he's talking about gameplay because I remember reading an interview with him not that long back saying that currently they are strictly working on the gameplay, trying to get it just right. Which would suggest they are trying something new because they are taking so much time on it, but then again that could just be implementing Wii M+

toby bob1

36. toby bob1 United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 16:58 BST

he did say he would do motion plus wiht it though

stretfihter2010

37. stretfihter2010 United States 02 Jul 2009, 17:31 BST

i don't see how people are complaining about "same ol mario and same ol zelda games". i thought playing zelda with the motion controls made it feel like a different experience. and we had a break from the art style with windwaker which wasn't really over due since there were only 2 3d zeldas before that (holy smokes, 2. that's a sht ton). the motion + should be enough by itself to and a new level of difficulty if the game is designed right. and how the hell is mario the same? mario galaxy was, well, almost anything but the same we've seen out of mario. as a matter of fact i've never played a game like it and i've an avid for the last 20 years.

Darknyht

38. Darknyht United States 02 Jul 2009, 17:36 BST

Zelda, Link and Ganon are the three parts of the triforce. Hard to have a Legend of Zelda game without them. I think it would be interesting to switch up who is playing what role however. Zelda as the corrupted villian and Ganondorf as a anti-hero.

I know power corrupts and all, but being the wisest in the land doesn't always mean you make the best decisions. Solomon sort of proved that.

Gamer1030

39. Gamer1030 United States 02 Jul 2009, 18:26 BST

Bah, I dont think I can play another game situated in Hyrule unless it's exceptionally good.

GabeGreens

40. GabeGreens United States 02 Jul 2009, 18:29 BST

No wolf, please no wolf! I hated the wolf! Just keep guy with sword but please oh please no wolf!

motang

41. motang United States 02 Jul 2009, 18:48 BST

I loved Twilight Princess, it was one of my favorite Wii games. Glad to see the new one is going to be similar. :D

PhoenixSage

42. PhoenixSage United States 02 Jul 2009, 19:23 BST

If he means that the core gameplay is going to be the same, then I'm fine with that. But if he means it's going to be another formulaic journey into Hyrule, then I don't know if it's worth paying another $50 to play a game I already have several times over.

All right, I'm kidding. I'll still buy it, but I'll be dissapointed once again.

madgear

43. madgear United Kingdom 02 Jul 2009, 19:49 BST

I'm glad they're keeping it the same - I loved Twilight Princess. Though, maybe this time, could they possibly record voices? We can't keep it without speech forever. I mean you can keep Link mute - he never has any dialogue anyway, but may as well record voices for all the other characters.

Toon Link

44. Toon Link United States 02 Jul 2009, 20:17 BST

Don't change Zelda!
I know I'm just bein' a fanboy here but, why change something if it's already good?! You don't bite the hand that feeds ya! Ya just don't do it!

Edit: Although it would be cool if they made a game where Link turns bad and Ganondorf turns good! lol

HEMIII

45. HEMIII United States 02 Jul 2009, 22:09 BST

I would like to see a mix of all the Zelda's together in one massive game. Have a boat, an ocarina of time, and some shape shifting. Now that and add something else crazy would be pretty cool. The world should be super huge with a shit ton of new enemies and items with a story line that changes depending on what you chose to do in certain situations. The game I'm thinking about will probably be made for and released on the Wii 2. I just hope this game doesn't make the dungeons like Wind Waker being exactly the same. I'm a hardcore fan and will buy and beat any Zelda game released, so bring it on.

DaDun

46. DaDun Canada 02 Jul 2009, 23:17 BST

Im all for it

Kid_A

47. Kid_A United States 02 Jul 2009, 23:33 BST

Hmmm. I thought he said earlier that it WOULD be radically different. Well, as long as it's kind of different and brings new gameplay innovations, I'll be cool with it.

Also, I hope they do something about the callibration issue I've heard about with the Motion+. That would really hurt swordplay if you constantly had to recallibrate. Then again, maybe they could do it so everytime you target an enemy it automatically recalibrates.
Just thinking out loud here. It's Zelda. I'll buy it.

maka

48. maka Spain 02 Jul 2009, 23:43 BST

One of the aspects I like the most of Zelda is the openness and exploration. Windwaker did this very well, even though the dungeons are always encountered linearly...

Mickeymac

49. Mickeymac United States 02 Jul 2009, 23:50 BST

That's too bad. I guess now all we can hope for is that this next one will be good.:P

ZBomber

50. ZBomber United States 03 Jul 2009, 00:17 BST

Personally, I'm glad they aren't changing things up too much. I don't like the whole concept of boats and trains and what not in Zelda games. I think THAT was changing it too much.

briunj04

51. briunj04 United States 03 Jul 2009, 00:40 BST

i didnt like twlight princess as much as some of the other zelda games. the ones with toon link always seem to offer more balance of puzzle, action, and adventure whereas twlight princess was just you running around the map trying to find stuff.

Ricardo91

52. Ricardo91 United States 03 Jul 2009, 01:52 BST

There goes my hopes for things like RPG elements and alternate weapons. :(

Oh well. As long as they make the atmosphere less dull and boring than TP, I'll be happy. But even if they don't I'll probably still buy it anyway. :P

Qwikman

53. Qwikman United States 03 Jul 2009, 07:07 BST

I'm fine with whatever Mr. Nintendo decides. Zelda will always be an awesome franchise. And I thot TP was an excellent game, mebbe almost perfect, btw.

davegorack

54. davegorack United Kingdom 05 Jul 2009, 17:01 BST

If there gonna change Zelda change it to a 18 rating
I love Zelda games but they could do whith some vilence.

bram070

55. bram070 Netherlands 08 Jul 2009, 15:52 BST

zelda is perfect for what it is, they could make it a little bit more difficult.
But still it's good.

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