Nintendo not thinking about older Zelda games, "difficult to say" if classic style will return

The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has again commented on the possibility of revisiting the style of past entries in the series – but there are no plans as of now. Speaking with RTL Nieuws, Aonuma said that games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were possible because of what came before them.

[GoodGuy09]

Which is very sad. I still wish we could get a zelda like twilight princess, the dark tone and theme in the traditional style. But times have changed and the masses prefer open world sandbox. Smh. Perhaps we can get a proper hd remake of ocarina of time some day.

[mjchitown]

no its not sad

[CDbiggen]

I played 100 hours of Tears of the Kingdom, enjoyed it, but ready for a game like that next.

[kythlyn]

If they can bounce between 2D and 3D Mario games, they can bounce between classic and modern Zelda games too. I thought this was a given when the Switch combined a handheld with a primary console.

[Inverno]

Then this is where I part ways. I won't disagree with anyone who says that the old formula was getting stale. And I do think BoTW in a few ways was a step in the right direction, but there's way too much good that was left with the old formula in the transition.

[CrimsonWing69]

I want it to. I’m sorry, but these new Zelda games I just can’t get into.

[Duke19]

Well that sucks. I still love the classic formula WAY more than the Hyrule Engineering Simulator

[XiNatsuDragnel]

I would love a new classic formula Zelda, (2D or 3D), doesn't have to be made by the Nintendo team, (3rd party dev).

[MrNinosan]

If this is what it is, TotK was my last Zelda.
I can see why some loves BotW and TotK, but even thou I put over 100 hours into both of them, it was solely due to me loving Zelda through and through. However I didn't enjoy my time in any of them.

In my opinion, it lost all that Zelda ever was.
I'm sure they'll milk out some more remasters and shit for the future, and hopefully some good "spin-offs" like Between Worlds.

[NotoriousWhiz]

I have no clue how people spend 100 hours on a game they don't enjoy. There are just too many good games out there. If the 1st 5 hours don't capture me, I stop playing. Plenty of games I've started and then decided I'd rather do something else. Breath of the wild included.

I really love reading those steam reviews that are like:
"1000 hours played. This game sucks. Don't waste your time."

[lellkay]

Sad for those who like the older styles, personally for me I always struggled with engagement in the older games, but BOTW and TOTK really call out to me.

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

I'm fine with it I suppose. I love BOTW and TOTK. I never really got into the old style of Zelda games with the exception of Ocarina Of Time And Majoras Mask.

Maybe I should give Twilight Princess and Skyword Sword a try.

[Chocoburger]

For those missing the older style games, look into fan hacks and mods, as well as randomizers for some of the games, which will give you something 'new' to play while Nintendo is focused on "open air" Zelda games going forward.

[M0chit0]

The first The Legend of Zelda is a prototype of what Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is. For me, they are the best adventures off all time. I any media format ever.

[FIELDMARSHALL_P]

I can see that because I know the first time I played LOZ on the NES I was lost af, I was only 8 and no internet. BOTW gave me that feeling I can just look up some mess if I get too frustrated now. I play all zelda games some I like some I don't but I will always check out Zelda I grew up on it.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I really like both, but I would love to play classic style Zelda games again, another issue I have is, where do we go from here? How do you build upon/improve on BoTW/ToTK? They're fun games, but Nintendo will need to come up with new gimmicks/ideas to make it worth playing another open-world Zelda that's very story light compared to previous entries.

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

Hot take but I’m not of the opinion that either is quite the apex of open world design, though they do adequately carry over elements of the Zelda formula to that type of design. Still, I do absolutely think they could be better, though you may be correct that these games are the apex of what Nintendo is capable of with open worlds.

I’d love to see the return of the older formula too. Here’s hoping we don’t have to rely solely on the indie scene for new games they give us our classic Zelda-style fix going forward.

[Kosic]

I'd love to see a link to the past done in a modern style. That was for me the best Zelda game. I always have fond memories of it.

Or a HD remake that isn't a laggy mess.

[MadLad]

They're obviously doing amazingly well with the current formula, but games like Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess are still my favorite in the series.
Would be a little disappointing if they're no longer interested in adhering to the classic way of things as well.

BoTW and Tears are great games, but I feel like it's time to return to the old ways next round.

[Demetrius]

I enjoy the way they do Zelda now but I will always cherish the previous titles, windwaker aged so well 🙂

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

Both recent games are great, though far from my favourite open world games, and I just prefer the more streamlined gameplay of the older titles. Sometimes more doesn’t mean better IMHO, and I just feel as though the series has moved too far towards trying to replicate the increasingly stale open world formula, and away from the older style, which to me struck the perfect balance between simplicity and complexity, and having a more than large enough world, while being more streamlined where it counts.

If this is the new direction for the series, I’ll still likely keep playing it, but it’s not going to be the series where I get super excited for new entries like I used to.

[El_GuapoTron]

I have not played TotK but i think BotW is one of the greatest RPGs of all time, but i would still want a classic styled zelda game. One without special powers, and with dungeons and great combat and weapons or items you have to defeat boses that can unlock new areas in the world. I would love a more focused zelda game like that. It does not need to be dark. Wind Waker was one of my favorite Zeldas.

[anast]

I never got over the disappointment of The Adventure of Link.

[Armyofdarkness]

Zelda is awesome and I love both botw and totk. You never know with Nintendo and a more traditional Zelda would be cool, maybe in another art style