Breath of the Wild, one of the Nintendo Switch’s best games — frankly, one of the best in Nintendo’s library — is inching closer to its second birthday. With a slew of announcements with what’s to come in 2019 and beyond, news of one of Nintendo’s longest running franchises is sparse; leaving us wondering what’s to come for Link and company (and when!).
With nothing concrete coming from Nintendo on any sequels (other than the sequel could potentially land on the Switch and is a long ways off), here are five things we hope to see (and five we don’t) when Link dons the green cap once more.
Five Things We Want To See In The Zelda Sequel
1. Open World
This one seems like a no-brainer considering how successful the mechanic was in Breath of the Wild. That being said, if we’re getting a 3D sequel (vs. a top-down sequel), let’s hope they keep the freedom to explore your own way.
2. Even More Post-Game Content
Breath of the Wild had two very solid DLC packs release, both for those looking for a technical challenge and those wanting more storyline. One thing that would help keep fans at bay during the increasingly long development cycles would be a promise of more content to flesh out the next year or two after the sequel’s release.
3. A Truly Engaging Storyline
I know I’ve said it before, but the storylines in the Zelda franchise could use a creative boost. Breath of the Wild suffered from a pretty cliche story with plot holes galore. It would be great to see the next game reinvent the gameplay mechanics and the storyline.
4. Zelda…As A Playable Character
In a franchise that’s named after Princess Zelda, it’s time she steps into the spotlight as a playable character. Think of how interesting it would’ve been to — rather than watch a cutscene of Zelda’s memories — step into her role and play through the flashback.
5. More Developed Secondary Characters
Don’t get me wrong, Breath of the Wild was one of the best games I’ve ever played. I just found the champions to be boring, underdeveloped and cliche. Hopefully Nintendo spends more time on creating characters we can invest in and root for.
Five Things We Don’t Want To See In The Zelda Sequel
1. Divine Beasts
Though inventive in their own ways, I felt the space and scale of the Divine Beasts to be less exciting than in previous games. Keep the shrines, but build out some interesting dungeons that feel like they are part of the world, not just placed there as a plot point.
2. Even More Technology
I appreciated how Breath of the Wild brought a good amount of technology to the series, but I want the next game to be more akin to the era of Ocarina of Time and back to its more traditional roots in terms of items and the like.
3. A Villain Other Than Ganondorf
There have been many other villains in the past (sometimes even puppets for Ganondorf), but I want the next game to be all about Link vs. Ganondorf; with more confrontations than a final battle at Hyrule Castle, too
4. Linear Location Progression
What made Breath of the Wild so fun was the absolute freedom to go wherever as soon as you left the Great Plateau. Taking away that freedom could scale down the game to too narrow a focus.
5. A Top-Down View
Top-down games in the series have been entertaining and great to play through, but it always felt like it was a handheld experience. Port the existing top-down Zelda games and save the mainline story for a 3D, immersive experience.
Is there anything you want to see in the next Zelda game? Sound off in the comments below!
Agree 100%! Nice insights. One thing I missed in Breath of the Wild was the purposeful “collection” aspect – like, the Divine Beasts weren’t required in order to defeat Calamity Ganon…which felt like the rest of Hyrule and its inhabitants really weren’t all that important. So, I’d like the next game to include the acquiring of essential items (like the Mirror of Twilight, Triforce of Courage, empowering the Master Sword, etc.), which make visiting certain areas of Hyrule and therefore befriending certain characters important to the storyline, before the big showdown against Ganondorf! IMO, if Breath of the Wild had just made it necessary for Link to free all of the Divine Beasts before going to Hyrule Castle, it would have improved the game. But, of course, that’s just my opinion – I know many people who said they liked that they didn’t have to do that if they didn’t want to. (Toss up!)