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A case for From Software’s The Legend of Zelda

It’s no secret that I’ve developed somewhat of an obsession with Bloodborne. Not having played any From Software games prior, there’s a temptation to attribute my newfound love to my rampant Sony fanboyism, but that would be unfair.

Bloodborne is the first real masterpiece of this generation. It’s a work of art from a studio and auteur that have reinvented a genre. In doing so, From Software has tapped into something many gamers had either forgotten about, ignored or simply never experienced; a good old fashioned challenge. If we go back a few years, it was Nintendo who was on the forefront of creating games that posed a real challenge.

Super Mario Bros. 2, released in the west as Lost Levels, was replaced by the reskinned Doki Doki Panic outside of Japan because it was considered too hard. Metroid is notoriously difficult, as is Kid Icarus and famously, the first two Legend of Zelda games.

Bloodborne-Boss

I’m not talking about a straight up hard game; there are plenty of those. Set Call of Duty to Veteran and I guarantee you’ll be challenged. The same can be said of Mario Kart on 150cc, Uncharted on Crushing and so on. What these games (and so many more) have in common is a selectable difficulty. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being able to exert some control over your experience, but to create a customisable experience in this way means only changing a few variables.

How much damage can enemies absorb? How fast does the AI race and how close to the perfect racing line does it stay? How many enemies appear? You get the gist.

It’s inorganic, and often —  if not always — feels cheap. We know that when we set a shooter to its harder difficulties we’re going to see more enemies spawn, we’re going to be able to take many less hits and our opponents will be able to take many more That’s just a given. What makes Bloodborne — and Souls —  unique is a singular design and vision. There are no difficulty options. It simply is what it is.

skyward-sword

No Legend of Zelda has ever included a difficulty option, but over the years they’ve grown progressively easier. Be it due to player skill, familiarity or a willingness by Nintendo to make the series more accessible, not since A Link to the Past has a Zelda posed a true challenge. In that heady era of 16-bit gaming, A Link to the Past demanded a level of dedication and skill from its players. Its cartoony visuals belied its true nature, but what a delight that nature was. This was Nintendo before it became watered down by the ‘Blue Ocean.’

Part of Bloodborne’s popularity lies with its refusal to be watered down. It doesn’t patronise the player, f*ck, it barely offers any assistance, which is why when you succeed you truly feel a sense of accomplishment. There’s weight attached to your achievement and you haven’t finished by default because the game decided you were too sh*t to continue or super-guided you through to the next section.

This isn’t new, of course. There are plenty of games without difficulty settings, but they’re becoming rarer. As offerings try to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, developers and publishers need to cater for varying tastes and skill levels. What often results is a game that, while enjoyable, doesn’t really target any specific group. It’s either too easy or too hard or a combination of both.

super-guide

Tutorials, guidance and some gentle assistance by a game aren’t bad things, but in recent years it’s taken on an insidious new form. The aforementioned super-guide.

Thanks to the insane popularly of the Wii, those who were previously video game virgins were now taking part in this great past time and Nintendo – in its infinite wisdom – decided these newbies needed as much help as they could get. Enter the super-guide. It can be found in a range of Nintendo games from the past few years and basically involves the game playing itself for you because you’ve failed one too many times. Nintendo isn’t the only offender, but they are by far the worst. But, now, with Nintendo’s willingness to farm out their IP to third party studios, I say the time is ripe for a From Sofware developed Legend of Zelda based on the Bloodborne formula.

Before you all decide to lynch me, hear me out. I’m not saying take the Souls template and slap Link in the middle of it, but there’s certainly room for a dark, difficult interpretation of Nintendo’s fantasy Action-RPG. Zelda has gone dark before in Majora’s Mask and the tone suits the franchise well. Hell, a From Software developed title wouldn’t even need to star Link. It could be – to borrow comic terminology – an elseworlds story.

din

The protagonist could be Fierce Deity and it could be set in Termina, or we could play as Zelda or Sheik. There’s really no limitations. It could even be a starring vehicle for Ganondorf. The bosses could be re-imagined monstrosities from all of Zelda’s collected history and there could be mounted horseback combat. Everything from across the franchise could be repurposed. Spells? Why not Din’s Fire and Farore’s Wind? The Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker could be key items that grant special abilities.  Players could choose from the Master Sword, Biggoron’s Sword, Fierce Deity sword and so on. There’s even the Megaton Hammer for those that love a big blunt weapon.

The world and all the elements are already there and a compelling, grown-up, and most of all difficult Zelda game could be the result. I for one would love to see how Hidetaki Miyazaki and his team re-imagine Hyrule or Termina or Lorule or any number of the other settings that have come before. Why not all of them?

Zelda was already repurposed for the Hyrule Warriors release, which is frankly, a lazy use of the IP. Zelda fans undoubtedly got a kick out of it, but it’s not a must play. And neither would a Souls inspired Zelda be, but it would appeal to a large cross-section of gamers and certainly help promote one of Nintendo’s most loved brands. If nothing else it would show a willingness by Nintendo to embrace hardcore gaming and bring another exclusive title to the Wii U. With Sony recently announcing Bloodborne selling over one million copies worldwide, what is there to lose?

Featured image: KurkoBoltsi on Deviant Art.


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DeltaPhoenix08