Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that! facepalm

WHAT IS IT!?

I say it's a spaceship, and I stand by my theory that the Shiekah are aliens with alien technology. Also, Link is an android.

It just struck me: Breath of the Wild Link doesn't play like Link, he plays like Villager:

It'll be interesting to see if they decide to use this Link's design in future Smash Bros games, as I actually somewhat prefer this new look.

Although, maybe, this time, they'll actually make Link a good fighter.

Not a fan of futuristic stuff in Zelda. I know I'm the minority, but I don't really understand why high tech stuff is seen as such a good thing in Zelda.

The Zelda series used to be medieval fantasy. The whole premise of the Zelda series is about a princess in a fantasy kingdom called Hyrule being rescued by a young elf boy/adolescent in a green tunic (sometimes with chainmail underneath). Hyrule is a kingdom filled with armored knights (Castle Guards, Soldiers and Darknuts), magical wizards (Wizzrobes), wood elves (Korkiri), elves (Hylians), dragons (Argorok, Volvagia), castles (Hyrule Castle, Lorule Castle), kings and princesses (Daltus, Daphness, Tuft, Zelda), blacksmiths (Link's Uncle, Link's Grandfather, The Smith family), horseback riding with jousting (Epona, the Eldin Bridge fight against King Bulblin),fairies (Navi, Great fairies), and orcs/goblins (Bulblins, Moblins). The gameplay itself is centered around medieval combat. Link uses a sword and shield (medieval weapons) to fight against enemies, he also uses a bow and arrow (medieval weapon) against enemies as well. He comes across items such as the ball and chain (medieval weapon) and magical wands and staffs (dominion rod, cane of pacci, ice rod, fire rod). It can be argued that Link carries gadgets that are outside of the medieval era such as the spinner, or hookshot, but those are still gear operated. Windmills are gear operated, and given the magic in the universe, it’s not too much of a stretch.

With that out of the way, the reason this is an issue is because it changes the series identity. Genre and setting is a huge part of what defines a series. If for example, Halo all of the sudden stopped being sci fi, and became a completely different genre, like a 1940s cop drama or something, fans would be pissed. The series would no longer be what it was anymore. I kinda feel the same way about technology in Zelda. Robots and space ships in Zelda are unfitting. How far is too far anymore?

Nintendo can put all their great creative sci fi ideas into Metroid, or create a brand new series. They can call it The Legend of Technology or something. To me, a large part of Zelda is it's medieval fantasy setting. The day Zelda becomes science fiction, is the day Zelda stops being Zelda to me.

In my opinion, I don't think it's a big issue. Despite Zelda commonly taking place in medieval times, I don't see Zelda's identity being entirely linked to its setting. Mostly because Zelda at its core is fantasy and enjoys to experiment with several aspects. I also find that the identity of Zelda is linked more so to the characters, themes and overall charm of the franchise.

I believe that most people have no issue with high-tech stuff being in Zelda, because Zelda has slowly, over time, been adding more and more sci-fi (ish) elements into the series. There were small traces of it since WW and it really started becoming center stage in SS. So in actuality, it was a pretty slow transition, and I think most fans of the series are happy that these elements are being given more attention than they previously were. Especially hardcore fans, who constantly took note of them.

The transition has been gradual I suppose. Where as final fantasy was a sudden jump from fantasy to sci fi, it happened early on in the series life time. Zelda has been medieval fantasy for the majority of it's lifetime, and the change in genre to sci fi seems as warranted as it would be in Elder Scrolls or Lord of the Rings.

I guess my question becomes, how far is too far? Cars replacing Epona? Laser guns replacing the Bow and Arrow? A modern/futuristic city replacing Hyrule Kingdom?

There is a certain anachronism (unfittingness/out of place) to robots and futuristic stuff in Zelda's setting that really bothers me. I wish I could turn off the way I feel about it with the press of a button, so I could conform and enjoy Zelda's evolution like other fans, but I can't.

The least I can do is be happy for those who do indeed enjoy Zelda's genre changing. I am curious as to how the demand for it's genre changing began in the first place though.

I'd say it depends on several factors. Such as how significant the overall setting is to that franchise, how well the transition is handled, and how well the identity, charm and appeal of that franchise is kept afterwards.

TBH, some of the tech stuff has been in Zelda for a long time.

The Guardians are pretty much just mobile Beamos, which have been in the series since at least ALttP.

There were telephones in Link's Awakening, as well as character who had a camera and photograph you several times throughout the adventure (heck, there was even a camera as an item in Majora's Mask).

Even the original Zelda was supposed to be an adventure that spanned past & future, with Link being the "link" between the two eras, with the Triforce pieces being computer chips, though the idea had to be scrapped.

Yeah, there's been some technology here and there in the past. It never really caught my attention in the past since it was in the background. But this game seems to make technology to be a prominent theme. If it was balanced out with more medieval fantasy elements I might be able to stomach it more. Like, based on what we've seen thus far, there is more technology than magic.

If Zelda had gone with the original computer chip story from day one, this wouldn't bother me at all. But because the series had established its setting as medieval fantasy, now that it's going futuristic, I fear that it's losing a large part of it's essence in the processes. Places like the magical forests or the castle town won't be the same with robots running around.

If that thing really is a spaceship as some speculate, where do we draw the line? How far is too far? Link driving a car instead of riding a horse? Link using a laser gun instead of a bow and arrow? That's not Zelda to me :/

Technology doesn't really rob Zelda of its essence I think. Zelda is more about exploration, adventure and puzzle solving. There are other games with the same essence but different themes like Okami or Darksiders. I think that's the word you're looking for: theme. You still do all the same things that make the game fun, it just has a bit of a different setting. I can understand how tech in Zelda might break your immersion, but for me if it's fun then bring on the cars and lasers.

Zelda has always had magitek all around.

At least starting with ALttP.

Even if that city in the sky ended up being a futuristic spaceship from another planet, the series has had aliens before.

I'm not denying that there has been tech in the past, but it's always been in the background while the traditional fantasy elements (castles, knights, magic) remained in the foreground... until now perhaps.

Would you not think that Link driving a car or shooting a laser gun would be out of place or unfitting? I think that technology should have it's limits in Zelda.

The tech in botw feels more magically than technology. It still has an high-fantasy theme.

Edit: star wars sci-fi? Sci-fi is rooted in technology, star wars isn't. Star wars is actually a classic fantasy tale which happens to take place in space. The young farm boy discovers he has magical powers and travels far away trying to free the land from an evil wizard.

Bad example I used. Let's say Halo instead or something.

We haven't seen cars or any of the sort in this game. So I don't see a reason to worry about it.

Trains already happened though... And that's a bit closer to a car than a spaceship.

Lol, that's the worse spaceship I've ever seen. It isn't aerodynamic at all.

I think you're making mountains out of molehills here. Zelda is still set in medieval or pre-industrial times, just with some, individual SciFi elements in it. For example, the steampunk Dwemer ruins in Skyrim enhance that world, not detract from it. They can do this because the Dwemer (like the Shiekah) are extinct and their ruins are spread out in the medieval world. Just take a look:

So I don't think it's a problem. Link's not going to get a gun or a jetpack, and he's always had grenades (bombs). The copy-paste towers and shrines are a bit of an eyesore, though.

Alright, perhaps I can chew on that with the perspective of ancient technology.

@Haru17 spaceships don't have to be aerodynamic, since they are traveling in vacuum.