| the_dengle said:
Bolded: Wait, what?? Where did you get that from? What about TP makes it inherently more appealing to girls, and what did I say that would offend lady gamers? Underlined: Compromising on gameplay isn't what I meant. I think I should take a moment here to etch out a definition of some kind for the word "fan," so bear with me. What makes someone a "fan" of a series, or of a specific game? Do you have to self-identify as a "fan," and is that all it takes? If I have never played a Zelda game before but say I am a fan, is my opinion of the series and my desire for its future to lean a certain way as relevant as those of someone who has played every game? What if they played every game but didn't like any of them? The heart of the question is -- what about those people who have played two or three Zelda games, but skipped the others for one reason or another? Their praise and criticisms of elements of the series are no less valid than a long-time fan who knows every title inside and out. But of course, they can have no praise or criticisms for a game they haven't played. They may offer some, anyway, or they may pretend that game doesn't exist. Should the criticisms of someone who has not played Wind Waker be taken into account, considering they are unable to praise the parts of the game that would deserve it? How about games like Link's Awakening or Majora's Mask, praised by a few but unplayed by many? If we focus on the preferences of the many, they will drown out the voices of the few who have interesting thoughts on experiences the many never had. This is a series with a long and extremely complex history. The series has many fans, each with a unique opinion of the many different games and elements of which the franchise is comprised. Some only like the 2D games; some have only played the 3D games; some only want realistic graphics; some want vivid, animated characters. It is impossible to appease all fans from every era at once. I would even say it is a futile effort to go out of your way to try to appease all of The Legend of Zelda's fans. The simplest suggestion I can make is that there's a good reason the series has so many fans with such a diverse variety of tastes; that EAD 3 must be doing something right, and that I have the utmost faith in them to deliver more outstanding experiences in the years to come. What I meant by my comments about the gameplay is that if you consider yourself a fan of Zelda, whether you've played one game or fifteen, you most likely appreciate something about the series other than the graphics. You most likely enjoy the gameplay as well -- if you didn't like the gameplay, I doubt you would call yourself a fan of the series or the game(s) you played. And from that note, I would say that if you enjoy the gameplay of the one Zelda game you have theoretically played, you owe it to yourself to give other games in the series a chance, regardless of how you feel about their visual style. You should find yourself enjoying them just as much. I'm always disappointed when someone says they can't get past the art style to play a game, whether it's the bright and cartoony Wind Waker or the muted and reserved Twilight Princess, and I have definitely seen people on both ends of that spectrum. I've played and enjoyed both for what they are, and wouldn't skip any Zelda game simply because I don't favor the way it's presented, regardless of my personal preferences. The things I love about the series are deeper than its coat of paint. |
Again, some very interesting points. I think Zelda's appeal to a vaste and diverse audience is both signs of good and bad management. Good, because it shows that Nintendo is not keeping Zelda stale. Bad because Nintendo haven't found a way to appease all the needs at once.
What if I told you that art, color, story and music was highly important to the way people connect with the game, to the point of them saying "Oh, that was a classic", or "that was so-so"? Personally, I am a very visual and musical person. The cacophony of the dark-world sounds in TP really turned me off. But at the same time, the glory of the hyrule field music and the vastness and color of the land really touched me profoundly, much like it did when I played SotC. So you see, I remember those moments more than the gameplay when I think back to myself and say "what Zelda did I prefer"?
I'll remember moments in OoT such as when Link became an adult, waking up in the Chamber of Sages, or growing up in the kokiri forest, the first time I lit a web on fire (gameplay, true), the echoes, the first time battling dark link in a serene room. That's how it works for me. I would say that Zelda is one of my most cherished franchises and I've played all of them, but I think I could have skipped a few despite some interesting gameplay, because the games didn't captivate me (Spirit Tracks, Minish Cap).
With that in mind, how can Nintendo cater to the cornucopia of Zelda fans it has created? Should the voice of the fans who have played every game be more valued? Possibly, for gameplay yes, for traditional aspects yes. But if they remain regardless of the quality of the immersion, can their opinion be as valued as those who've migrated to or from depending on the quality of the immersion? Wouldn't their opinion be less potent due to the fact that they stick regardless, so anything works for them?
Also, is there a way for Nintendo to cater to all in parallel rather than one game catering to one crowd while another catering to another crowd? What about new IPs, what about spinoffs, what about different flavors of Zelda releasing in parallel? Nintendo have the money, why are they not doing it?
All very interesting questions.
@Female gamers. hehe I didn't say you offended them, it was hypothetical. Also, I'm assuming a greater female population because I associate mainstream with a more balanced ratio of female to male, and well Twilight was a very big name back then, and the Wii craze attracted many non-traditional demographics (elderly, female, etc).
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