Aonuma: Topping Ocarina of Time will be "quite complicated"

Producer Eiji Aonuma talks about the challenges of creating a Zelda game better than Ocarina of Time.

[Valay]

Making a game better than Ocarina of Time will be difficult, especially since there is sentimental value attached to the game. However, hopefully the developers will mix up the formula in Zelda Wii like Aonuma said they would be a few days ago - That'll help the game stand out more than previous titles in the series.

[Madusha]

Definitely will be “quite complicated”. Ocarina is a legend.

[Battlefield]

"Topping Ocarina of Time" get real?

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

The problem with newer Zeldas is that Nintendo's adding too many silly things.

For example the art style of Zelda wind waker. It was nice but not what people really wanted. Majora's Mask was too confusing and the moon or whatever had a really stupid face. Then Twilight Princess came and many people thought that it was going to be the first Zelda game to top Ocarina of Time but then Nintendo ruined it with the wolf, midna, the stupid story and the usual silly looking characters.

Watch 0:17 http://www.youtube.com/watc...

When I saw that teaser for the first time I almost faint. It was like: OMG! Nintendo finally nailed it! Am I dreaming?! A fuking Zelda game with such dark/serious atmosphere, no silly looking characters around and very focused in the action? No way! *on top of that, Nintendo finally using CGI? OMG! (remember that back in the day CGI was huge thanks to FFVII)

All that anticipation and excitement to then get our dreams shattered with the announcement of Wind Waker... At least we got Metroid Prime! It is practically impossible to make a kiddy version of a Metroid game without completely ruin the series.

=======================

Just by seeing this: http://fc00.deviantart.net/...

I can already smell the failure. Just look at the art. What do you see? I see some leftovers of art from Twilight Princes... And a new silly character of course.

Seriously, this is so depressing... http://i69.photobucket.com/... Imagine that stupid sword following you around like Yorda in ICO...

This is why I jumped ship to Sony. Zelda was the only game that made me like Nintendo when everything changed after the Super Nintendo, and if they can't give me what I want then "F" it. I'm still in the fence, looking what will be next, I still have faith that someday Nintendo will craft the Zelda game I want to play. But with this newer Zelda they already started with the wrong foot.

[ChickeyCantor]

" Nintendo finally using CGI? OMG! (remember that back in the day CGI was huge thanks to FFVII) "

Actually that wasn't CGI, it was a tech demo of what the GCN could render.

O and Wind waker rules, it has by far the best vibe a zelda game could have.( and yes the nobody really loved all that sailing).

" and if they can't give me what I want then "F" it"

Entitled much?
xD

[PirateThom]

It's worse for me.

People drooling over Ocarina?

I never got it, that series never made the transition to 3D for me as well as it did for most people. Link to the Past will always be my favourite Zelda game with Ocarina being a good game that never reached the top down, 2D Zelda games on the NES and SNES.

I'm always very interested in the handheld Zelda games more than the console games, due entirely to the style.

PS. I hated the WindWaker style at first, but in retrospect, I quite like it now... I just hated all the sailing in the game, everything else was fine.

[whothedog]

The SNES zelda and OOT are my favorite and its really a toss up between the two for me on which one comes out on top. I liked Wind Waker a lot but it was just way to easy, but I loved the art style of that and wish they would do another one like that for the Wii.

[Alex_Mexico]

I aggree 100%

TP was for me the most hyped I had ever been for a single game since Super Mario 64 but, unlike SM64, TP was a big letdown.

The Zelda formula finally started to seem stale in my head, something I wouldnt dare to think about before, the game was easy as pie and predictable and I couldnt believe my ears they used midi for the soundtrack. It was almost like the music from TP could've been reproduced on an N64.

Hopefully Nintendo can deliver next time, somehow I doubt it though.
I'd love to be wrong and surprised if they really do something NEW and geared towards the hardcore fan. Casuals have their Wii Fits and NSMBs... make Zelda challenging again PLEASE!

[Tony P]

"When I saw that teaser for the first time I almost faint. It was like: OMG! Nintendo finally nailed it! Am I dreaming?! A fuking Zelda game with such dark/serious atmosphere, no silly looking characters around and very focused in the action?"

There's your problem. Zelda was *never* dark or incredibly serious like a Shakespearian tragedy or something. Now that you're older and know the power of darker stories, you expect Macbeth from a series that's maintained its fame on a series of family consoles. It's unrealistic.

[Redempteur]

IMO Oot is one of the games that managed to made a splendid transition between 2d to 3d. That alone is worthy of praise .

BUt Oot is not that ...it has the best concentration of things to do by level.
The most sidequests and a level design that hasn't made any mistake.

So yeah Topping such a raw perfect game is quite complicated because they need to implement things ( AND Innovate ) while keeping a perfect balance ..It's almost impossible

And i also disagree TP was a very good game ... the only flaw was that it was too easy and too short IMO

When i play Oot i'm ready to spend at least 40 hours in it from start to finish and i know the game like the back of my hand ...

[EvilTwin]

Trashing MM or TP isn't too constructive, IMO. They both have the best stories of any games in the LoZ series (and yes, they're both the darkest).

TP gets a lot of hate, but I don't quite understand why. It WAS a bit overrated with the scores it got, but it was still a good game. And Midna was the LEAST annoying sidekick in any 3D LoZ so far.

Just my $0.02.

[Nac]

What about that video makes you think it would be "dark"? Nintendo did make a darker more mature Zelda, it was called Majora's Mask.

[Marceles]

Problem with the newer Zelda games is not much has changed other than making it 3D, but every game follows the LttP formula. Go collect some pendants/crystals...go to a dark world and collect more crystals, go collect something that'll break a barrier or unlock a passage into Ganon's hideout.

I liked OoT, but I wasn't into it as much as the hype for the game was. I mostly liked when I first used the boomerang, Epona, and when Link grows up. I really liked Wind Waker, that's the last Zelda that exceeded my expectations...mostly for the common reason of the art design since most people were expecting the more mature look after those screenshots, but they did a really good job on it. All of the other games had my expectations high but never really came up to it.

[ChickeyCantor]

OOT is already topped by Wind Waker, and all those who disagree, bite me >=D.

[ReservoirDog316]

I wouldn't say topped. Though I will say that WW might have matched OoT's ending battle. Both were just about perfect. After a straightforward fight with Ganondorf you race down a collapsing caste only to find beast-like Ganon waiting for you. Sick.

Then WW's famous long final fight and the stab through the head. But WW had those (at times) boring sailing pieces. I'd say it's about one notch down from OoT though.

Bubbles for loving one of the controversial Zeldas though.

[ChickeyCantor]

Sailing was indeed boring but also magical at the same time. Islands popping up and stuff...Therefor you used one of the themes to call a cyclone =D.

But just the whole feel of it, the characters, the movement, the sound.
If they do anothe Windwaker for consoles i think i will orgasm.
To this day Windwaker still looks awesomely great.

[EvilTwin]

Windwaker definitely looks timeless. I think it would be unfortunate if we never see that art style on a console Zelda again, but at least we have the handheld games (PH was awesome sauce in my book).

Personally, I'm more of a TP fan. I think the game gets way more hell than it deserves. But that's the great thing about LoZ -- everyone has their own personal favorite. And every single console Zelda has been damn good.

What would really rock is if they find a middle ground between the "realistic" TP-esque look, and the WW-type cel shading. Prince of Persia did that "in between" ground wonderfully.

[FreeWillow15]

I dont know what Eiji Aonuma is talking about! ive been recently playing Ocarina of time on the virtual console and its still AMAZING. plus the game plays in 480p with widescreen ans looks awesome! but ya...it will be interesting to see how they are going to top it (if twilight princess already didnt?!)

[Alex_Mexico]

By doing another Twilight Princess they'll never accomplish it.
For me TP was one of the biggest dissapointments I have ever experienced from a Nintendo game ever (just because I was so overly hyped by it).

Having an orquestrated soundtrack and voice acting (Link can stay mute), as opposed to outdated boring midi music and voiceless characters, would be a good place to start.

Also, make the game challenging for pete's sake! I hate when a big boulder crushed me and I get damaged for 1/4 of a heart!

[The Great Melon]

Twilight Princess was a let down also in my book. The problem wasn't so much that the game was bad or anything like that. It is easily better than most games that come out nowdays. It just didn't shine in the ways that Wind Waker or Majora's Mask did for me.

[FreeWillow15]

i have to agree that twilight princess was easy...really easy especially the bosses (of course they were amazing) but i simply couldnt play a zelda game with *GASP* voice acting D:

[Smacktard]

I just did not enjoy Twilight Princess at all, and I'm of the opinion that it was even just a mediocre game.

[Lucreto]

I played Ocarina of Time recently. It was good but not as good to be revered. I think you have to of played it when it first came out to get the most out of it. I just finished Chrono Trigger and I didn't get the wow factor others got.

[Swiftfox]

You see I disagree.

I never had a chance to play OoT when it was released and ended up playing it well into the lifespan of the GameCube and PS2 era. I still felt the magic and charm of the title. There are few games to this day on my list that can compare to what a wonderful adventure the game took me on(topped almost exclusively by Shadow of the Colossus)

All the towns, the characters, the dungeons the game just had a splendid personality to it.

Games today care to much about what they are doing rather than where they are and why they are doing it. This title is a wonderful example of taking great care in making sure where you are is just as enjoyable as what you are doing.

[EvilTwin]

It's hard to top the game that sent the series into 3D. That one will always hold a special place for long-time fans. Mario 64, OoT, GTA3, Metroid Prime...you can only make the leap to 3D once.*

But Nintendo can do it. They just did it two years ago with Galaxy, which IMO is the best 3D Mario yet.

(*With Metroid, it's a bit different. We ARE going to get a proper third-person view in the next one, so in a way, it's the first "traditional" 3D Metroid.)

[condorstrike]

Nintendo finally using CGI? OMG!

that tech demo has a longer uncut version of the Ganon fight which for a long time was thought to be incorporated into Soul Calibur or Smash.

and I'm sorry but I'm I the only person who thinks Majoras Mask is a good as Ocarina, what's so complicated? actually if you think about it, it had more puzzle elements to it but a bit less direction.

and stop it with Twilight Princess, it's was a really good (great) more hardcore-GameCube Zelda, and you'll just rank on it because it was a port to the Wii.

[hatchimatchi]

sometimes i feel like i'm one of the few who actually enjoys twilight princess.

My only complaint with the game is that the soundtrack isn't orchestrated. TP always gets the short end of the stick but it's an awesome game. I played the hell out of it when the wii first launched.

[EvilTwin]

I sunk 70 hours into the game and loved every second.

The temple/dungeon designs were/are unparalleled, IMO. Could it use voice acting and an orchestrated soundtrack? Sure. Do those things alone make a great game? No.

Count me as one of the people who just doesn't understand the hate LoZ:TP gets. At this point, maybe some of it is frustration with Nintendo. But show me another game that rocked as hard with the Goron Mines and Lakebed Temple back-to-back. That's win material, even if it the ideas for the dungeons aren't new and aren't as pretty as newer games.

Maybe opinions will change in another few years. People hated on Windwaker for a long time.

[Yoshiii]

Just make it a good game. twlight princess did not do that good for me.

[Quadrix]

They already topped Ocarina of Time. It's called "Majora's Mask".

[FreeWillow15]

I really dont get why nobody likes twilight princess....it had the soul of ocarina of time, the levels were gorgeous, the gameplay was perfect! i easily spent more than 50hours playing it...but..i can still say it wasnt better than ocarina of time..

[TheDesperadoKING]

Maybe Nintendo should start paying attention and copy Sony properly instead of half-assedly like they did with LittlebigMario-I mean NSMB Wii.

[Zackstorm]

Seriously?

Saying Mario copied LBP is just funny. Yeah, they're both 2D Platformers. A little secret though: Mario created the platforming genre. lolol.

On topic:

OoT is/was/will always be an amazing game. I think it's good to set for themselves high goals, instead of just resting on the success of OoT. I don't know if they'll be able to top it, but it'll be interesting to see what comes out of trying!

[Picnic]

The first time that I played Ocarina of Time is when it was included on a second disc with The Wind Waker. Although the music seemed good and there was a sense that an epic adventure was before me, I couldn't get in to it. The graphics and the pacing have aged quite a lot. It requires you overlooking the limited textures of the N64 (something that Rare seem to have improved on). It also doesn't hold your hand anywhere near as much as The Wind Waker. For a newcomer like me to the series, the art style and difficulty level (to start with) of The Wind Waker is more welcoming, even though I felt that The Wind Waker was still not quite as polished a game overall, especially in level design, as Metroid Prime or the Resident Evil remake.

Ocarina of Time is only a perfect game to people who like that kind of game and who are willing to overlook the graphics due to nostalgia or being a big Zelda fan. If you prefer platform games like me, it will never satisfy those elements enough to seem perfect, even if I'd played it in 1998. And if silky smooth graphics are important to you then the N64 may often seem imperfect.

[Kwertie]

I just hope they dont try surpassing Ocarina on the Wii. The Wii does not deserve an Ocarina beating game. Give us some proper hardware and an Ocarina beater, and my faith in Nintendo will be restored. I just feel that any games of any quality are wasted on the Wii because the graphics always let them down.

I know Twilight Princess was a GC game to begin with, but how good would it have been on hardware like the Xbox 360?

Yeah, back in the days Ocarina was released on the most powerful console, and that's how a AAA Zelda game should be done, so it remains as timeless as possible.