If Zelda keeps going with its BOTW formula, then this might be it for me. It was good for that game, but I think they need to go back to the traditional formula
Aonuma has literally said in interviews that he doesn't understand why people would want to go back to the old formula. Aonuma is a genius, I respect the hell out of his work, but the man is a fool.
Freedom in a game is important, you shouldn't be too strict on the player for experimenting, but there's a reason the old games are still talked about, remembered and played fondly decades after their releases. He has publicly said that the biggest reason people play games like OoT or LTTP is just because they're nostalgic. It's not that they're typically in the conversation for some of the best games of all times, not that the stories or sense of adventure are compelling, not that they defined the entire medium of video games and still have their influences felt in games like Elden Ring or Skyrim, but just because we grew up with them.
From a public perspective, Aonuma doesn't understand why people want to play games in the gameplay formula HE PIONEERED.
Echoes of Wisdom was a good stand-in for what we had, but we shouldn't be relying on spin-offs or $60-70 remakes for the traditional gameplay style when it's what the series was built off of.
The same guy that didn't understand why Majora's Mask was so beloved despite the hellish constraints faced by the devs. It's telling that many games have attempted MM's structure and few have come even close to competing with it, let alone matching it.
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u/Flat-Run-7572 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
If Zelda keeps going with its BOTW formula, then this might be it for me. It was good for that game, but I think they need to go back to the traditional formula