8 Simple Rules 08.10.10: For Great Zelda Games

Posted by Aaron Hubbard on 08.10.2010

From the silent hero and dungeon design to the both old traditions and the innovations, 411's Aaron Hubbard presents 8 Simple Rules for a great Legend of Zelda game! Check out the full article to see which rules made the list!

Welcome to the debut edition of 8 Simple Rules, a new 411 Games Column that will provide, as the title suggests, eight simple rules for a variety of topics related to gaming. Almost anything will do, from specific topics such as this one, or a broader topic. Reader submissions are more than encouraged.

Rule #1: The Silent Hero

In this day and age, where action games have complex, well-written lead characters and RPG's give you the option to pick every single line of dialogue, Link can be considered a weak character. With no real dialogue, Link doesn't really grow as a character. But that isn't what Link is supposed to be. Link was initially designed to be nothing more than a set of pixels, a virtual representation of the player. Even his name is a representation of this; he is a "Link" between the real life player and the fantastic, imaginary world of Hyrule (or Terminia or what have you).

This is why he was portrayed as an adventurous youth, the unexpected boy who went on a quest that ends up being bigger than he imagines. Link had traits that a typical video gamer would have; young, male, simple beginnings, and a willingness to go on an adventure. As those gamers grew, so did Link; in later games, he was portrayed, no longer as a small child, but a young man, like the typical gamer. Link experiences things with the player. Past the first hour or so, you aren't learning things about Link as a character, but you are learning his destiny. Or, more accurately, your destiny as a player.

This was Link's purpose, and it should always be Link's purpose. If the next Zelda game were to give Link a personality and dialogue, it would ruin this purpose. If Legend of Zelda ever does go in that direction, they only have one option: giving the player the choice to pick every bit of dialogue, like a BioWare game. To an extent, I could see it working, but I also see it as a distraction for what Zelda really is about; the adventure. Personally, I hope Link never really speaks. I prefer to have him be my eyes, ears, and hands in his world. In this case, silence truly is golden.

Rule #2: An Interesting Supporting Cast

Now, as much as I support the silence and lack of interaction of Link, this is a counterpoint. While game play will always be the main draw of any game, most players want to be told a story. The earliest games didn't really need much besides "Save the Princess", but after Ocarina of Time expanded the universe to include different races (Zoras, Gorons, Gerudo, Sheikah) and different cultures, and gave us a multitude of unique characters (Let's face it; the seven maidens weren't cutting it), story became something that Zelda games had to have. And fortunately, few Zelda games have disappointed in this area.

Because Link is supposed to be you, all of his actions should be reactionary in nature. But in order to react, you have to have something to react to. The above clip showcases two of the most fleshed out characters in Zelda lore; Midna, who actually has a character arc and grows as the story plays out, and Ganondorf, who showcases his pure, unbridled evil in awesome fashion. Zelda also shows up in that clip, and while Twilight Princess doesn't exactly have the best Zelda, she is worth mentioning. Starting in Ocarina and peaking in Wind Waker, Zelda became more than just the princess you save at the end of the game, but a character who helps Link throughout the game, and gives us more of a reason to help her when the tide turns. These are characters who can move a plot, and make the game seem like more than a game. When properly executed, a story will get you to care about the characters, and Zelda has delivered on more than one occasion. At this point, I shudder for the day when a Zelda game gives us a lackluster story.

Rule #3: Dungeon Design



Dungeons are the meat and potatoes of Zelda games, and if the game doesn't have great dungeon design, it will fail. This is why, in my opinion, the original Legend of Zelda does not hold up. In that day and age, it was fine for dungeons to consist of "enter room, kill enemies, solve puzzle, get key, go next room, kill enemies, solve new puzzle, get map, next room, etc". And yes, those dungeons are difficult and challenging, and some of the puzzles are ingenious. The dungeon I showed off there is the final dungeon of A Link To The Past, and showcases just how good that kind of dungeon can be. It is a perfect final dungeon, with puzzles that force you to use almost every trick you've learned in the other dungeons.

But not every dungeon should be that way. Aside from Midna as a character, my favorite thing about Twilight Princess is that each and every dungeon has it's own unique flavor to it. Each one has it's own atmosphere and each one has it's own unique puzzle set that is entirely different from the other dungeons. Compare this to a game like Oracle of Ages or A Link to the Past, where I can hardly remember the differences between any of the dungeons. Conversely, one of my big problems with Twilight Princess was that some of the great ideas never showed up again. I see an idea like the magnetic iron boots or the cannon ball puzzles, which were amazing, and wonder how much MORE they could have done with it if they used the final dungeon design from A Link to the Past.

Zelda dungeons are composed of many things that make them great; difficulty, puzzles, atmosphere, and the built in learning curve. In the truly great dungeons, each puzzle builds off the last, teaching you mechanics that you will be using throughout the dungeon, but presenting more complex puzzles as it gets through. Some games have great puzzles and atmosphere (Twilight Princess, Majora's Mask) while others have extreme difficulty (A Link to the Past, Majora's Mask). However, I don't feel that a Zelda game has truly delivered us the perfect batch of dungeons yet. I don't want to have a game where one or two dungeons stand out as all-time classics. I want a Zelda game where every dungeon is a classic.

Rule #4: The "This Is Bigger Than I Expected" Moment


Back before the internet gave spoilers away and back before I had money to spend on strategy guides, I was able to experience a game as it happened. I will never forget playing A Link to the Past for the first time, getting the three pendants, pulling out the master sword, beating Agahnim, and thinking that the game was over. I mean, obviously, the fact that I wound up in the Dark World at one point should have been a hint, but I was young and stupid. Then I found out I had to go save Seven Maidens and there's MORE dungeons. At this point I was wondering, "What did I get myself into?'

This is of course, simply a convention of the series. Ocarina of Time had it. Wind Waker had it, Twilight Princess had it. But for me, it's one of those things that just puts a Zelda game over the top. It's the moment where the quest no longer feels like "oh, the world will be okay, it's so peaceful" and starts feeling like "crap, I've got to save the world or we're screwed". Games that didn't have it, such as the original Legend of Zelda or Majora's Mask, simply didn't resonate with me as much. So it is my opinion that every Legend of Zelda game should have one of these moments.

Rule #5: Worthwhile Distractions


The relevant part cuts out about five minutes into the second video.

Ahh, the Biggoron's sword quest. Bane of my childhood, joy of my repeat playthroughs. Still gets me nervous every time. Zelda isn't all dungeon crawling; there has always been other stuff to do in the games, ranging from fairly simplistic exploration in Legend of Zelda to the bonaza of mini-games and side quests in Ocarina of Time. But not every Zelda game is equal on this front. Sometimes games don't give you enough to do outside of the dungeons (A Link to the Past) while others focus TOO much on the side quests (Majora's Mask) and become tedious and, sadly, boring.

For me, the formula for worthwhile distractions is: Cool Reward + Fun Getting There = Worthwhile Distraction. Ocarina of Time was a master at this: completely optional items like the Biggoron's sword, the bottles (two of them anyway), Ice Arrows, and of course Epona had challenging quests to get them, which could be nerve-wracking at times, but always made you feel like you accomplished something. And you got something fun for your efforts.

But then, there are also the quests that make you wonder why you bother. Gold Skulltula's were almost impossible to find unless you used a walkthrough, and your prize for it was a freaking Gold Rupee. Yeah, because I didn't collect thousands of rupees throughout the rest of the game. Ditto for the Poe Quest in Twilight Princess. Majora's Mask had a long, drawn out quest to get two lovers together, and your reward was a stupid looking bridal mask that did NOTHING! And don't even get me started on the picture taking quest in Wind Waker or fishing in every game.

The bottom line is that when Zelda gets the minigames and side quests right, they are an excellent addition to the game and give you more to do. But when they get them wrong, either by lack of sufficient rewards or by just being plain tedious, it makes the completest in every gamer cringe. This is one of those things that separates the great Zelda games (almost every one of them) from the true classics (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess).

Rule #6: Always Something New



Zelda games have constantly shown to be masters of new mediums. The original was innovative in that it broke the level system and just gave one big world, a revolutionary concept at the time. Ocarina showed the capabilities of a 3D Zelda game. Phantom Hourglass made the often awkward stylus of the DS feel completely natural and seamlessly integrated it into the traditional Zelda gameplay. Skyward Sword looks to do the same with motion controls. This ability to adapt to the capabilities of each new system is one of the reasons that Zelda has continued to be a successful franchise.

Beyond that, each game introduced new items and gimmicks. A Link to the Past had the hookshot, the mirror shield, spell medallions and an alternate world. Ocarina added music, horse riding, Z-targeting, and the ability to play as an older Link with a different skill set. Majora's Mask had masks that transformed you into different races with new abilities. Wind Waker added sailing and changed the uses of many conventional items (I was ecstatic when I found out I could shoot bombs out of a cannon in my boat). Twilight Princess added amazingly fun items like the ball and chain, bomb arrows, the spinner and the double clawshots. Spirit Tracks has trains. And Zelda has rarely had new ideas just for the sake of new ideas; each new concept adds another layer to puzzles that makes it different from previous games.

Rule #7: Excellent Score






And that is a mere sample of the great music to appear in Zelda games over the years. The score has provided everything from loud anthems that any Zelda fan can imitate almost on cue to quiet ambience in the dungeons that, outside of those dungeons, feel downright creepy at times. These beautiful songs rank as perhaps the peak of Nintendo's vast library of classic music, and it is difficult to imagine a Zelda game would be without the great music. The mix of classic Zelda themes and the new ones make the music a highlight of the games.

Rule #8: Traditions, Traditions, Traditions

But for all of the new things, there are certain things about Zelda that have been there practically since the beginning and should always be there. The spin attack. The boomerang, bombs, and bow & arrow. The green tunic. The magic meter. I still haven't quite accepted that Twilight Princess got rid of the magic meter. Hopefully, it makes a return in subsequent games. As much as we want the innovation, we still want it to be Zelda. Give us a comfort zone before you screw with the formula.

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And those are my eight simple rules for a great Zelda game. Any others you would add?

Go ahead and make requests for any other topics for this column. If you want to almost guarantee that your topic will show up, send it to me in e-mail at [e-mail].