Topic: What would your perfect Zelda game be like?

I've been thinking for awhile what I would like to see in my "perfect" Legend of Zelda game. Note that I've pretty much ripped out my favorite parts from the various Zelda games and mashed them together along with some neat ideas from other games that I've played.

Game premise/overall story:
Link must travel across time to recruit the heroes and assemble the armies needed to defeat Ganon once and for all. I envision this being similar to Chrono Trigger, where's there's several distinct eras Link can travel to using time portals, and later on at will using a mobile time machine (something like a divine beast like from BoTW).

Some ideas for eras would be the New Hyrule Kingdom (where Link starts, roughly equivalent to the kingdom in Twilight Princess or OoT), the Bleak Future (think post-apocalyptic OoT, BoTW or Chrono Trigger future), the Ancient Sheikah Kingdom (era that built all the tech for BoTW, the floating city in Twilight Princess, ancient mines in Skyward Sword, etc), the Dark Ages (era between the old and new kingdoms, also roughly where Skyward Sword takes place) and the Distant Past (a primeval world where Ganon first arrived and before the first kingdoms had risen).

Game starts out with a beast from the post-apocalyptic future coming through a time portal near the starting village which kicks off Link on his adventure when he goes to save the village and stumbles through the time portal after defeating the beast (which is the first boss). Link sees the ultimate fate of the world as long as Ganon exists and gets the quest to defeat Ganon once and for all.

From here, Link has a couple of leads and can tackle them in any order (similar to BoTW, but with a bit more direction and a proper fairy) before unlocking the next group of quests.

World style: Hybrid open world
I like some of the aspects of the open world in BoTW, but I also don't like what it does in terms of limiting storytelling and the pacing/gameplay issues it causes resulting in an early game difficulty wall and things like weapon durability as a check for players who know exactly where to go to get awesome weapons right off the bat. Same thing with the magical climbing mechanic, it makes gating much more difficult and is the reason Nintendo removed the hookshots from the game. Maybe have climbing gear the player can get later in the game, but I didn't like the game progression implications of having it from the very beginning.

My proposed solution would be a gated open world. Most of the world map is accessible right away, but some of the areas are gated either by items or story progress so those areas can contain later game items and more difficult enemies without worrying about the player getting into those areas too early. Also, with time travel and multiple eras, each era would effectively be its own open world which would provide additional gating options. There should still be a way for speedrunners (and impatient players) to quickly hop through the correct portals to face down the final boss early on in the game if they so desire.

Gameplay: Unique items and companions
Although I appreciate some of the new combat mechanics in BoTW, I also really miss all the neat items we had in previous Zelda games, especially the hookshot. I would want to see all these back, along the removal of weapon durability. Maybe in combat there's some monsters who can be disarmed and Link can pick up their weapons and these temporary weapons would have durability and do more damage or have special moves (like impaling an enemy on a looted spear which does a ton of damage but breaks the spear), but Link's normal weapons would be indestructible.

Another feature I would like to see Zelda games bring back is multiple playable characters like we had in Majora's Mask and to a lesser degree Twilight Princess. Additionally, allow some of these character to follow Link around in the open world and assist with combat and puzzles, and even allow the player to switch between playable characters at will (like in Majora's Mask). Some examples of other characters would be Zelda with magic-based abilities and the ability to disguise as Sheik for stealth and agility, a Goron warrior with a giant hammer, a Zora warrior with a spear and water-based abilities, a Rito warrior which can fly, a Gerudo warrior with dual scimitars and abilities to help in the desert, and a Sheikah warrior with a two-handed sword, power armor and ancient tech that could function as a battlemage (lighting and lasers FTW). Link should also get the ability to do something like Fierce Deity. Later in the game, the player could also recruit a sentient time-travelling divine beast which isn't a traditional companion, but functions as a flying mobile base and can participate in open-world battles.

Dungeons and bosses: Bring the epic dungeons back and add some Hyrule Warriors to the action.
I was really disappointed in BoTW to see that the epic dungeons had been replaced by all the largely underwhelming shrines. Beyond bringing them back, I do want to see the open world boss fights from BoTW retained, and at least for the final showdown with Ganon make it more like Hyrule warriors where it's an epic army vs army battle.

My vision for the final battle would be an epic showdown with Ganon in the distant past. Link and his companions, and all the armies of light from the various eras come through time portals to confront Ganon and his minions when they first enter the world. The boss fight itself would be a massive, multi-stage open-world battle that's the length and challenge of a dungeon in its own right (with save points throughout for players who can't play through the entire battle in one sitting) that uses all the heroes and armies the player has at their disposal. Most of the heroes and armies would be optional to bring to the battle, so speedrunners could get to the final battle relatively quickly like in BoTW if they want to.

Anyways, that's some of my thoughts on what the ultimate Zelda game for me would be like. What is your ultimate Zelda game?

To me the most charming LOZ ever made is the Wind Waker, followed up closely by the Majora's Mask.

well my faves are oot. majora & link to the past. oot is perfect in my eyes. I hope they return zelda to that formula or combine botw with oot somehow into this perfect love child that infuses the best of the past n the present..

BOTW openess/world with classic LTTP style dungeons/item progression. Imagine humongous sprawling dungeons that took hours to complete with multiple ways to play thru them with BOTW type physics and such. Would be amazing I think!

In a nutshell, BotW with proper dungeons. You can do the dungeons in any order,and in these dungeons, you'll find unbreakable weapons. Maybe there would be a dungeon or two where you get gear instead like the hover boots. I'd keep the destructible weapons, but make it so you can need up the durability.

To the person who started this topic, your ideas for a hypothetical Zelda game sound pretty awesome. I would definitely play something like that. Let's see...
Gameplay wise, utmost priority is a return to form for the dungeons. Long, complex structures with engaging sequences of puzzles and combat. Yeah, unique items that would be utilized for solving dungeon puzzles as well as maybe some combat scenarios would be a welcome return. Perhaps include the dynamic, intricate combat of BOTW. A slightly more linear, sectioned world I think would aid progression, without sacrificing openess and opportunities for exploration. Heck, I would even be ok with a Metroid style world with corridors and rooms. In terms of items and equipment... I think a BOTW approach would be plausible. You know, by your own clothes and find resources scattered throughout the world to make food. But in order to provide the game with a decent balance, perhaps limit the items and how they can be utilized. I'm not so certain about the whole multiple playstyles though. With respect to the initial opinion stated on this topic, I would be ok with a single playstyle that being Link. Perhaps a "companion" could be like the Sheikah Slate, a singular tool that acts as a hub of sorts for information and maps, etc. Combat and action would involve the dynamic nature of BOTW as well as different attacks you could perform. I think that there could be enemies specific to particular dungeons in which you could utilize items to exploit their weakness. In terms of storytelling and overall presentation, I would kill to have an atmospheric and more "introverted" plot in the same vein of Metroid. The world would be mysterious and quiet. I would also do anything to get a realistic artistic direction likewise to Twilight Princess. I think a post apocalyptic setting would be a neat fit too. Perhaps there was a time in which Hyrule went into a war with Ganondorf and his army. This war scourged Hyrule and thus people were forced to craft a labyrinth beneath the environmentally hostile surface of Hyrule. However, a mysterious cataclysm has struck the underground Hyrule, forcing the citizens to escape to some other region. Link volunteers to investigate this cataclysm... Idk, just some ideas for my hypothetical Zelda game.

BOTW with the regions broken up into continents allowing for sea and air exploration and battle. More islands. Caves with subterranean exploration. Maybe a couple big dungeons/temples, but I honestly didn’t miss them in BOTW. That’s all I need. Oh, and a separate, top down, sprawling 2D title as well.

I'd like a game where Hyrule faces a new, extreme threat. Throughout the game it becomes apparent that child and adolescent Link is not strong enough to overcome the threat. At the same time, Link is continuously trying to avoid the seductions of the Great Fairy. She tells him she can make him a man, if only he gives her what she wants. Link finds it harder and harder to resist her, until Zelda is captured, and Link has no choice but to submit to the Great Fairy.

The Great Fairy then puts Link through three tests, of strength, stamina and bravery. All night long.

@FireMario887
Thanks for the feedback. My thought for the companions was to have them work like the masks in Majora's Mask where in gameplay terms they're effectively item sets. Instead of Link having a huge mountain of gear and outfits, the weapons, items and other equipment/abilities would be spread among all the playable characters. I would want there to be a very easy way to swap between characters at any time like we had with the masks (maybe a teleport crystal or something).

The new mechanic I was alluding to is that you could always have one of your companions follow you around (if you want, you can dismiss them as well) and they would be necessary for some puzzles. They could help you in combat and fight alongside you as well. Most of the time they would be AI controlled, but maybe have an option for local coop where another player can control the companion as well.

People have already said it...BotW was fun, but it got boring really quickly. I still did the four dungeons, but after that, I stopped caring for the game, and eventually traded it in. Now that I have a Switch, I'm considering giving it another chance, but right now it hasn't happened.

I can't really rank the games, but BotW with traditional dungeons and how items worked would be great. I honestly would love to see A Link to the Past remade like this.

BOTW with amazing storytelling with a large main quest and dungeons and Majora's Mask-level interesting sidequests. While also adding logically to what BOTW already does in terms of gameplay and content. Include Japanese voice acting at the start instead of an update or y'know, actually have great English voice acting.

...that's about it. Oh, and at least give the player a way to listen to a wider variety of music while traveling the overworld.

BOTW level of exploration, but oh gee idk, ACTUAL FREAKING DUNGEONS would be neat.

@gcunit did you really think that up in your head and tell yourself, "yeah thats funny" and felt the need to share it with us?

@gcunit this a thread for your ultimate zelda game not a thread for what you want in a porno movie

@subpopz botw was too bloated n wanted to fit into skyrims big open world shoes but didnt have the interesting lore/npcs/dungeons to compete with bathesdas king of the open world genre. botw just didnt have that zelda magic it was trying too hard to incorporate other games that it lost alot of its own identity in the process which is sad cause zelda used to lead the way for other games to follow not follow in the shadows of others..

Link and Zelda finally getting married.

@subpopz what zelda was missing in lore in past games it made up for with a sense of atmosphere n mystery hinting at a world that had alot of hidden meaning so you filled the blanks in with the endless well of your own imagination. I got really bored with exploring in botw cause it felt abit pointless after awhile. like I would spend all this time climbing a mountain with the only pay off being a nice view. I need more. climbing a mountain in skyrim always rewarded me with an interesting npc or a nice little cave full of loot. Skyrim was cool cause every location felt old n part of some big whole with some snippets of lore found in a book to open up my imagination. not only that but geography just felt real n ancient n there was always some npc full of conflicting human behaviour that I could relate to it would draw me deeper into its spell. the npcs in botw were paper thin in comparison like some kids story. anyway everyone has a different playing experience n expectations. but I found how the old games slowly hand fed me new items that opened up the map gave me a sense of achievement n discovery. while with botw by giving us a whole open world pretty much from the start that new sense of freedom killed that old sense of discovery through hard work n journey. Im not all doom n gloom towards botw I do think its open world mechanics like its dynamic weather system is second to none but it left me feeling like Im playing a simulator not a game. maybe Im just conditioned to like what I grew up playing I know botw has its merits. but I was happy to sell my copy. nintendo needed zelda botw to be good it was critical for the switches success so Im happy it sold well..

BoTW, but make everything like the lore, story, side quests, characters, world, enemy variety, music, and dungeons actually interesting and not super shallow like they currently are.

The gameplay and visuals are great, but the rest has been done so much better in other games IMO.

Breath of the Wild, but with more involved dungeons and the enormous number of meaningful side-quests found in Majora's Mask.

The side-quests and dungeons are the only things I didn't absolutely love about BotW.

@subpopz yeah I realize that my ramble went beyond the topic but what better place then a video games forum n one topic leads to another so be the nature of rambling. so just let me gripe ok?