Putting all of the emotional analysis aside for a second, Link is also fabulous as hell, and pretty fly for a Hero of Time. Breath of the Wild provided a selection of outfits and accessories for our protagonist to slip into after his century-long nap. His classical green garb was nowhere to be seen, and players were expected to search for distinct pieces of clothing, armour, and items to use that were relevant to exploring certain environments, or provided essential protection against larger boss encount
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but Zelda has always been a wonderfully diverse series. Not to the extent of Mario which has crossed all manner of genres in its years, but it is diverse all the same. It has shaped the RPG genre numerous times since the ‘80s, inspiring the likes of Dark Souls, Secret of Mana, Shadow of the Colossus, and now, the aforementioned Genshin Impact. You can see how much the RPG genre varies with Zelda’s inspirations alone and that’s telling. After Breath of the Wild 2, it needs to do something different again. Going back to the classics might not scream new. In fact, it sounds like a step back, aye? Well, that’s the thing. The triple-A space seems to be scared of its own history, desperate to move past it and become more cinematic, more graphically domineering. It’s all about tech and visual prowess. But art style is just as import
There are a few things that always come up when you talk to someone about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . Weapon degradation is one of the defining discourses around the game, with fans either despising the fact your equipment bursts into nothing after a handful of strikes or adoring how it forces you to think outside the box and constantly adapt your strategy to a changing inventory.
If anything, its sequel is likely the primary candidate to accomplish such a feat, with the recent reveal trailer unveiling an experience that isn’t afraid to be vastly different, while also remaining true to the masterful foundations it was built upon. While the Divine Beasts were grandiose monoliths and the various civilizations of Hyrule were saturated in fascinating glimpses of a wider culture, much of the real beauty was found in Link hims
However, neither of these Star Wars games innovation encourage experimentation like Breath of the Wild does, so it’s much easier to provide us with an easier mode of traversal instead of artificially increasing the time required to reach our destination. However you slice it, these games viewed climbing in the rain and weapon degradation as negatives, choosing to build upon Nintendo’s vision by removing them entirely. I understand why games that adopt so many of the ideas pioneered by Breath of the Wild opt to change them, because every game is different and it’s unfair to tar them all with the same brush. That being said, I don’t want the upcoming sequel to follow in their footsteps. Nintendo needs to stick to its guns, favouring clumsy wet traversal and obscenely delicate weapons over an adventure that simplifies things to the point of triviality.
It could be that I’m worrying over nothing, and Capcom plans to do Resident Evil 4 all the justice in the world, but many of the habits it has formed and repeated over the last generation have me thinking otherwise. I hope I’m proven wrong, since I’m still so excited for such a reboot, but not if it does a disservice to what came before
This didn’t feel the same in Resident Evil 3 or Village, due to a forgiving focus on action and campaigns that were so short that you never had enough time to feel overwhelmed. You’re on a relatively linear track of varying locations and setpieces, meaning Ethan Winters and Jill Valentine never feel lost or alone amidst foreign circumstances. They’re also armed to the teeth, so zombies and werewolves that would feel like the end of the world to a normal civilian are little more than pesky obstacles to our unstoppable her
With Resident Evil Village opting to retread this sacred ground and falling short in the process, I’m worried that a full remake might fall to the same fate, but considering the trend of Resident Evil remakes, I imagine it’s going to happen whether we like it or not. Now don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to see what it does with Leon’s journey on the new, more powerful consoles, but I also don’t want to come away from it feeling underwhelmed, to feel that perhaps the past should have been left exactly where it belongs. Only time will tell, but right now, I remain unconvin
