/chuckle   I really got a kick out of that.  and there's a lot of truth in it actually, being older and looking back.

Case in point:  i remember the excitement and wonder of turning on Zelda for the first time and unfolding the world map and pouring over it, not sure of where to go or what was coming next.  It was like christmas as a kid wasn't it?  Staying up all night with my buddy and taking turns playing and then coaching with map in hand.  It was a first, and made a huge impression and is something I will never forget.  However, dl'ing that same game a few months ago onto my 3DS felt all together different.  It has been so many years that yeah, I had to relearn some things all over than I had forgotten and there were indeed some wonderful nostalgic moments there.  But, ultimitely, the magic that I found all those years ago...is gone.   It could only be gotten once, and gaming has changed enough that the original game doesn't hold up as well, albeit still being a great game.  And yet, with every new zelda, I get that magic again...learning the new...finding out that the story intertwines with or prequels a story I've already played and enjoyed.  I think that is why oot is heralded so highly, is because it was the first in a 3d world and just felt so fresh and new and epic.  It caught the imaginations of the players in wonder of what could be seen, found, explored.  I felt the same thing again in Windwaker, starting on an island, in a world that wasn't Hyrule...and yet was tied to it through history and a tomb of water.

I will agree with the author on a couple points.  Those being the hand holding and tutorial sections of the game.  I've been gaming and enjoying zelda since the original.  At first my vibe was, it's so annoying, I'd be happy to be rid of it....but then someone made a great point.  This could be someone elses first Zelda...and for those people, they need that teaching/learning process.  So a great way to go about it would be to make it an option in game setup before you start.  To be able to toggle the tutorial (or the navis and fis of zelda games) on or off at someone's desired skill level.  Doing this by just having the choice of a difficulty lvl when you start the game would be nice, as I also agree the difficulty of the game could be ramped up.  more fighting and with more difficulty.  But thats for me, and I would choose that while someone newer to the series may not.

To the kid who called him out as a loser and posted his pic...take a look at your own profile pic, kinda like the pot calling the kettle black, no?  And to all the people that feel the need to comment on articles and other people's opinions and then be stupid enough to admit they didn't even take the time to read it???  don't even bother, your post is meaningless and isn't worth the space it takes up.

I may not agree with the extent to which the author is condemning the series' progress, as I have gotten so much enjoyment out of all the games up to and including SS.  But I will not be so blinded as to say he's blatantly wrong or some loser full of bs, lost in the 80's.   There are some valid points that, if heeded by the devs, could make the next games have that same new magical experience for both the new player and the veteran alike.

Allow me to take up my sword and shield within the first few minutes of the game, and let me make my own mistakes.

Let me explore a reasonable portion of the game's world and make me curious as to what I will need to find to explore the rest.

Present several paths through dungeons - and contextual requirements for defeating their guardians - based on what order I decide to enter them.

I don't know what is the problem with the new zelda ? to me, all the zelda games are pretty cools since the begining. Sure there is no revolution like the first one or OOT but when you take a look at the 2 games on wii, they are absolutly incredeble. The guy seem's to have a nostalgic attack. There is no need to analyse things like this...

One has to accept that value sets are not necessarily going to line up, and developers are not necessarily obligated to appeal to a single value set over time.

There are some things I would make different about Zelda, but there's a big reason that I avoid saying that certain Zelda games are inherently better than others, and that is because the idea is preposterous.

I fully understand when you say that it would look like an experiment since originally that is all 3DDGH was, which was a concept made by one guy in a short period of time and overall was no more than a 9-10 month project. I just wanted to point out that it is something I would love personally, although the original point was that I think that even if it were 3D, I think a 3/4 top down adventure title could work in today's day and age.

I for one have been a big supporter of having a Zelda game similar to that of the NES.

Your last paragraph by the way is 100% spot on. Most games that people beg for release are based entirely on nostalgia. Smartphones for example, one of the big sellers in terms of adventure titles is Zenonia and that games plays like Zelda and Secret of Mana. So come on Nintendo, bring on New Legend of Zelda 3DS!

Lol most of the posters didn't read all of that. The title is enough for me to go by and post a one sentence response. your response to my comment added less to this thread than my initial post.

Sounds like he wants a truly open world Zelda. Maybe he would like a sandbox type deal?? He should probably check out Skyrim.

see i just cant get behind thinking like this and whta mr khan said before

i grew up on the nes and snes and bought every console that came out since

I loved the original and i loved skyward sword

why is it that there is now such a hate between 2d and 3d fans (with 2d fans feeling like second class citizens or something)

and as you say the wii mario's prove there is quite a following that dont buy the 3d games and i ask why? why is there such a devide between 2d and 3d that some fans few them as different series

I am not against a new 2d zelda by any stretch of the imagination but i am also not against a new 3d game same with mario, they are the same series to me

[panting] Well, I read the entire article and I wanted to prepare a thoughful response, but after that am just too tired. That's one exhausting article. Three things that, undoubtedly to me at least, come through in his reasoning are: that he cares deeply 'bout Zelda (the franchise), that he somehow relates the merit of overcoming a challenge, and the satisfaction it inherently brings, with the difficulty of a game, and that the story should be sidelined from the game experience. He got 1 out of 3 right, if you ask me.

if its selling why change it! this is the mistake everyone seams to like making

lets look at james bond 007

it changed hands and went down hill in a hurry its best title was the remake of goldeneye and nightfire before that so
you know what, leave it the heck alone !

the minute you change formula alot of people will still complain , look at windwaker. -- people complained it was to kiddish
they wanted the oot look back and they got it with tp and sws so no i dont agree here.

you start fiddling with somthing already successful your bound to bomb just look at perfect dark zero --- they took the original plans and tossed them into the trash as a result zero ended up worst

then the original in fact i think it was worst then goldeneye 007 on the n64 

if only detstar.com was still up man . they revealed that the pd0 we have now was not the same we were going to get . the original plan was to toss every single weapon from goldeneye and perfect dark in there

. and have all if not most of the custom options avaiilable and they also canned a 3rd update that was supposed to occur


so you know what . just by the fact rare messed somthing up , dont give nintendo any good ideas like that , i swear . i hate when developers have somthing good then take that somthing and destroy it

and no i happen to like 3 different zelda games for 3 different reasons 

zelda 3 -for being so much easier and fun to play

 ocarina of time 3d- for giving what i thought was a hard to understand title , a better upgrade so i can enjoy it more

and skyward sward gets tied with windwaker for being just plain action packed 

the worst zelda i have ever touched had to be majoras mask ,.