What Zelda and Metroid for the 3DS should be

[acdcste]

RolStoppable said:

The 3DS is a capable system, it just needs to be used correctly. How to not use a system properly, that we have seen when it came to Zelda and Metroid on the DS. Two touchscreen controlled Zelda titles which undermined the combat aspect of the game along with other idiotic design decisions and Metroid being turned into a brainless FPS with a halfassed solo campaign that ends with seven energy tanks and just a little over 100 missiles. It's time that Nintendo restores the glory of these two series with 3DS entries and here are my ideas.

The Legend of Zelda

1. Story/setting: Only the bare minimum is necessary, it's time to get rid of the bloated junk. Hyrule and Princess Zelda are in need of a hero to defeat the evil Ganon. Yeah, that's nothing new, but who the hell cares.

2. Gameplay: Strict topdown perspective, strong focus on challenging combat with only few puzzles added to the mix (no more than ALttP had). Items that prove themselves useful in many situations with plenty of upgrades to be found (many more than ALttP had). Slide pad allows you to move into more than just eight directions.

3. 3D: Not going to be essential (it never is), but adds more depth to the topdown perspective.

Metroid

1. Story/setting: Only the bare minimum is necessary, it's time to get rid of the bloated junk. It's probably better to fit this game somewhere inbetween Metroid 2 and 3 or Metroid 3 and 4, rather than making it Metroid 5 which could be troublesome due to the whole Fusion Suit incident. One gigantic planet to explore with several areas on the surface and several below the surface (I am thinking 15-20 in total).

2. Gameplay: Strict sidescrolling view, emulating what made Super Metroid great, but with a higher level of difficulty. It is okay to die. Item count bumped up to 200, missile expansions only add two missiles to your total. The bigger game world has to be filled with goodies, after all. Holding down one shoulder button allows you to shoot in all directions while standing still, holding down the other one allows you to "lock" Samus' arm and move pretty much however you want (sort of an advanced moon walk from Super Metroid).

3. 3D: Not going to be essential (it never is), but adds more depth to the polygon environments.

The Legend of Zelda & Metroid

Now here's the big thing for both games: the bottom screen.

Remember the NES days when you basically had to draw maps to not get lost in Zelda and Metroid? Remember how the SNES iterations added convenient in-game maps? Do you know the Etrian Odyssey series? If yes, you already know what's coming now.

Both games won't offer an automap, but will force you to draw your own maps for the overworld and dungeons in Zelda and all the different areas in Metroid. The only thing the game will do for you is mark the tiles you've visited on your map screen (1 tile = 1 screen on the topscreen), but walls, doors, hints and all the other stuff you have to add by yourself, because drawing a map of your surroundings greatly adds to the feel of exploration.

Due to the amount of data the maps take, only two save files per game card will be available. Map data will carry over to a new game, if the player wishes to do so, for convenience's sake. During the game, maps can be drawn without having to pause the game.

 

At this stage, seen as though we already have Ocarina of time I would prefer a new Metroid game. Maybe that will be announced next year at E3?