theprof00 said:
Except for the mask use, ocarina use, switching through time, time based interactions, all the masks were just substitutes for items from ocarina, like zora mask for steel boots etc. they are very similar, but tone and story I think, are better. Read my responses just above to maxwell and final fan about what I think of spirit tracks. |
Are you shitting me? The core game design is fundamentally different, the 3 day-cycle totally upends the traditional Zelda formula of slow exploratory dungeoning and world change. Hell the game even shifts the onus away from dungeons (there's only 4 full ones, plus the 2 Skullta mini-dungeons) and squarely on to NPC interactions and side questing (with the Bomber's notebook and mask collection). Structurally, the game has as much in common with Shenmue as it does OOT. This is why a sizable amount of OOT fans don't like MM, because the core game design is so different they can't readjust to MM's "groundhog day" implementation.
And more, this structural difference is echoed throughout the game. The feeling of futility is key as you approach armageddon, as is the realization that you literally can't save everyone as you follow them around, learning their patterns and problems (and worse have to escape yourself before the end of the 3rd day, to do everything again). This structural change not only effects the game design, it's actually key to the much darker, bolder narrative as well. It's literally using game design to illicit an emotional response, something rarely ever done in games.
I think you're also doing a disservice to the mask transformations, they change basic controls, attacks, item use and even transportation options almost completely for Link. That's hardly like an item sub, nevermind that most usable items from OOT are again in the game anyway (what exactly is being "substituted"?).
As far as the DS Zeldae, I have to admit I'm not a big fan either, mainly due to how they handle the overworld (which is really just a glorified map, and takes away one of Zelda's traditional stengths of exploratory overworld trawl). I do love the new interface and Wind Waker aesthetic though.