Dear Nintendo, THIS is How You FIX Zelda

Some people love the current state of the Legend of Zelda, and others... don't. No matter how you felt about Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, here's my list of 20+ things Nintendo could implement in the next Zelda game to fix it, once and for all, for everyone.
The perfect Zelda game.
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P.S. I'm very grateful for you. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time.
Video Footage Credits:
Shirrako
ZeldaMaster
ZorZelda
Yours Truly
00:00 - 1. Weapons
04:14 - 2. Food
06:47 - 3. Map
09:25 - 4. Hearts
11:15 - 5. Dungeons
14:00 - 6. Events
15:15 - 7. Companions
16:33 - 8. LORE
17:38 - 9. Villain
19:05 - 10. UNDERWATER
19:45 - 11. Items
21:47 - 12. Bottles
22:31 - 13. Story
23:45 - 14. Linearity
24:57 - 15. Choice
25:53 - 16. Enemies
27:54 - 17. Save Files
29:21 - 18. Setting
30:45 - 19. Mounts
31:39 - ?? + 20. Crafting
#nintendo #zelda #legendofzelda #botw #totk #breathofthewild #tearsofthekingdom #nintendodirect #nintendoswitch

[@Zeltik]

Thanks Big Bandit for fixing all this

[@ACW-dn9wb]

For real Bandit, these are all things I've been saying for a while now. Zelda needs to be like Zelda again. Glad you're here to voice out what changes need ot happen to bring it back to what made the franchise great. In fact a BOTW few mods I know of, like "Dangerous to Go Alone" and "Second Wind", adds a lot of what you've said in the vid (old Zelda gadgets, new enemies, new weapons, dungeons, magic spells, companions, masks, new story beats, crafting, and much more). And even recent OOT romhacks like Indigo aim to do the same. If you crave what Zelda's been missing, you should definitely check those out bro. TOTK/BOTW modders are giving what Nintendon't.

[@ninkstheultimate3376]

Yas, Zeltik! You guys are the best! Maybe you Zeldudes and Bandit could collaborate one day? Here's hoping!

[@megarotom1590]

@@ACW-dn9wb I agree w/ this whole heartedly. Imo they should either merge the two halves together well so it feels like both... or rebrand BotW/TotK style games under a new IP, cause they ain't really Zelda, least not imo

[@elloisefarrow7769]

so the term you were looking for was Rogue LITE - likes involve turn placed gameplay. Roguelites on the other hand take a lot of the elements of a roguelike and modify it. i think TOTK could have really benefited from some kind of this element though.. Also to expand upon the companions thing: Paper Mario the thousand year door did this kind of thing really well - where certain companions had different dialogue, abilities and etc which could/would unlock new and different things.

[@joppejaapbusscher2851]

please guys can u direct the new game please

[@MageJiro]

Heck, if we get seasons, it's a GREAT reason to bring back a magical instrument to change what season it is.

[@claud77714]

I wouldn't imagine what you're rod-ing about

[@MageJiro]

@@claud77714 was it a rod in oracle of seasons? I never played that one

[@Heinz_Egbert]

​@@MageJiro bringing back the Rod of Seasons is a cool idea, though i wonder, how would that tie into the lore? It's from the temple of seasons faar away in holodrum, and it seems Seasons are a holodrum exclusive (somehow??? Zelda is so weird sometimes) Ps: nice Marcille pfp!!! I fucking love Dungeon meshi

[@Vivigreeny25]

PLEASE I WANT MORE ZELDA INSTRUMENTS!!!!!

[@javiervasquez625]

If such a magical instrument returns then i don't see any reason why the _character_ related to said instrument shouldn't return either (i'm talking about Din).

[@ShallBePurified]

I want more towns like Windfall Island or Clock Town where NPCs have vibrant personalities and they have interactions with each other outside of just doing quests. I think Gerudo Town in BotW was the closest we got to it, like hearing about the secret shop or learning about how to talk to men.

[@xinpingdonohoe3978]

Gerudo Town was pretty lively. Seeing Nali and Pritana meet in the central square to gossip felt real. Watching the children congregate too was fun. There was a good level of interactivity.

[@firenze6478]

Yeah, gerudo town was one of the closest moments I had to the game actually feeling zelda, though I hate that in botw you can’t eventually earn their trust. In oot they weren’t sexist elites, but outcasted because of their evil king’s brainwashing and accept link when he proves his usefulness.

[@mbii7667]

​@@firenze6478they accept him in TOTK

[@Faceplay2]

Just do weapons like ever other rpg handles it weapon durability sucks and it makes it not Worth it unlocking a new item. With unbreakable weapons, they could’ve had quest lines that you do to earn a cool sword just like Skyrim, the Witcher cyberpunk Falwell have done for decades

[@firenze6478]

@@Faceplay2 exactly. It adds nothing but late game grinding to maintain your playstyle and discourage combat.

[@Draezeth]

I've never heard someone articulate the need for an Oracle of Seasons remake so well before!

[@theoaremevano3227]

Also yes, multiple save files should always be a thing. It's not just about convenience, it's extremely valuable to be able to keep your files backed up in case something ever goes wrong. I've seen games bet on 'oh nothing will go wrong with ONE auto-saving file' before. Trust me. It didn't work. XD

[@justa9560]

multiple save files just for "i want to replay this game but don't want to overwrite my 100% save file" alone is amazing

[@spookypanda5730]

@@justa9560 You technically can by creating a new profile on your account, that's how I was able to lend my switch to my brother so he could play tears of the kingdom without losing my save file, but yeah it's not intuitive at all.

[@justa9560]

@@spookypanda5730 the amount of times my little brother overwrote my saves because of that...

[@orange_turtle3412]

Nintendo doesnt even benefit from the “more sales” thing mentioned in the video. Even if you buy a switch game digitally, its available for everyone on the console regardless of who made the purchase. They aren’t making any extra profits from the one save limit.

[@theoaremevano3227]

@@orange_turtle3412 : Some games have you select a profile when loading them up, too. They might've been able to curtail that myth if more games had done that from the start. Still, having come from an era that used multiple files, I find it pointless to NOT have multiple save slots. I can't think of any actual benefit to that.

[@Grandwigg]

I think my biggest problem with ToTK is the assumption that open world gameplay must mean the story can't progress in a linear(ish) manner . The memories/sage monologue left much to be desired. (And I'm one of the folks that took screenshots of the walls in the map room to get things in order.)

[@ninkstheultimate3376]

That is true

[@theoaremevano3227]

Yeah, any kind of main objective that can be counted incrementally can be used to trigger story events that do happen in sequence.

[@MB26535]

Instead of the story taking place solely in cutscenes, Link can get sent back in time during the fallen timeline and experience it first hand, kind of like PLA but come a future where Hyrule is a distant memory and isolated villages are all that are left. There can be some cool temples that deal with time switching.

[@NapaCat]

I wish each Sage had their own memory explaining their past and giving a piece of the puzzle. Have the Lightning Sage show why she defected and Ganondorf's rise. The Water Sage could show the Zora's reaction to the war/the chaos it caused for them. The Wind Sage could show the Rito, being more militaristic (at least slighty so) than the others and how they took the Moldgua horde, potentially advising Rauru about what could've happened, the Fire Sage could've shown the effects, etc.

[@pemanilnoob]

Honestly I think the story was better because I didn’t look at the memories in order Still not the greatest. But the last one made my jaw drop and apparently everyone who saw it in order expected it

[@Victor-dm4qv]

Pieces of hearts encouraged you to explore and overcome challenges that were in the world. With shrines, it was just a grind that felt removed from the world.

[@tsuki3752]

hard agree. they felt more integrated in botw maybe because of all the other sheikah tech (literally) running around. plus the fact that some people have had the artifacts of them become heirlooms or were integral parts of cultures. maybe it’s just rose tinted glasses but the shrines were just a lot of fun, they weren’t difficult to find (unlike the shrines of light where i think they intentionally made them difficult to find due to the stupid crystal finding challenges…) and their purpose (to train the hero) felt novel and interesting. but yes they certainly feel like a grind. in the future i think it would be better if they were bigger mini-dungeon style, where instead of 150 there was maybe like… 50 😂 so they can put focus on those if they REALLY wanna keep it up. and then do what genshin impact/majora’s mask did where they made small warp structures.

[@legacy404]

Not only that, with shrines you have to skip all these sequences/cutscenes... touch green hand watch door open walk through --loading screen-- Skip intro text Solve shrine Touch green hand again Skip through text Acknowledge new light blessing pop up --loading screen again-- X 100. Like seriously nintendo, you didnt think this would be annoying after the first 10 times?? And this all has absolutely 0 to do with the story. If next zelda has shrines, no thanks!!

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@legacy404 Also ALL of these stupid shrine quests should have just been missions given to you by NPCs like in older games. Even the spin-off game Age of Calamity did it! Each mission rewards you with more hearts, an extended moveset, costumes and rare items. Even though you don't see the people, at least there's dialogue involved that isn't just the same stuff muttered by the same old faceless statues.

[@amandaslough125]

​@@YujiUedaFanThe tutorial shrines in TotK could've _all_ been in the realm of "Hey Link, you got a minute? Come show the new troops how drills are done".

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@amandaslough125 Yeah, Link lived through two Apocalypses so who else would be better at teaching people how to survive?

[@aeon3valefore]

Here's something. Bring back the open field music like in Twilight Princess. I loved how it was a booming heroic song in day and a melancholy song at night. The current music isn't bad, but for a franchise that had a lot of the most iconic tracks, Wild and Tears didn't have much I can recall fondly. It had great pieces, but I don't find myself humming those a lot as old ones.

[@shrimpchris6580]

@therealgirl3295 It can work, you just have to commit to making a few songs, especially if you make songs for each region. I know budget is a concern, but the ratio of price to quality improvement has to be a really good deal for that kind of thing. It doesn't have to even be bombastic and in your face, just something. I'd rather just have silence than a really annoying set of piano chords chime in randomly, at least then I can play my own music if I want and there's nothing that's going to interrupt it. Elden Ring and the Souls series were great for this since they just completely didn't have music outside of bosses and really important areas as a strong contrast to the usual ambient environmental sound effects.

[@tsuki3752]

@@shrimpchris6580 agree with this completely! i’ve always disagreed with the “we need old zelda music back” due to how botw is structured. the music is helpful when used properly since it warns you of enemies you can’t see or stables/towns. and it would get really annoying hearing the same damn song for like 40 hours due to how much you spend in the field. but i think doing it regionally would make sense, they do that as it is already with cold areas. if they made it more interesting but variable then i think it would be fun and not as boring after a while. and could still warn you if nearby things and let you know when you’re entering a region. and budget shouldn’t be a problem when these two games have made nintendo billions of dollars alone. you can make a few more songs lol the composers of zelda are already geniuses as it is.

[@YujiUedaFan]

I don't like all the weird orchestra/atmosphere music, since it's so forgettable. I do like some of the echoes of music from past locations, though why did they skip out the OOT castle town music?

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@tsuki3752 That's not an excuse though. You wind up hearing Hyrule Field over and over again in OOT, yet it never gets boring. It doesn't matter if a game has 100 tracks or only 10, just as long as they're memorable and not in the bad way. Heck, Zelda 1 had two tracks you'd hear over and over again and no-one ever complained. In fact I'd say that OOT separated songs per region well enough. Central Hyrule has Hyrule Field music Faron has Kokiri Forest and Lost Woods music Lanaryu has Zora's Domain music Eldin has Goron City music Necluda has Kakariko Town music Gerudo has Gerudo Vally music Hebra has Dragon Roost Island music I'm not sure what the music for Akkala could be, since it's not an area in any other Zelda games before BotW.

[@grandsome1]

​@@tsuki3752It's always the same battle song, the battle song should be at least region dependant. There should be more music in the game, doesn't have to be bombastic orchestra.

[@Big_Man_W]

The biggest one for me is the events of an interesting story unfolding around the player instead of it having happened already

[@KingExalted]

Like every thing that happens already happened and you feel out of it cause the events played out in a different realm beyond yours and you’re just wandering around the aftermath and that sucks

[@notsans9995]

Exactly, they literally repeated the main flaw of botw by having all the interesting stuff happen in the past while you just do random fetch quests and 5 minutes of dialogue with NPCs you only talk to like twice in the whole 80 hour campaign lol

[@OnlyTwoShoes]

That's why I skip the main story and go for the slice of life side quests. Terry Town for instance.

[@Draezeth]

​@@OnlyTwoShoes Quest*

[@OnlyTwoShoes]

@@Draezeth?

[@Ninjaananas]

Heart pieces would would make discovery much more fun again. And the world simply does not have to be this big so that finding a sizable amount would be hard. Quests can also be more rewarding this way. I just hope they would not make them like the Moons in Odyssey.

[@jaydenc367]

Aren`t spirit orbs or light or whatever basically heart pieces?

[@TheGeatTryhard]

as long as you don't need 5 of them like in twilight princess, i'm fine with that

[@ilbroducciore]

@@jaydenc367yes they are. I really don’t see why changing the “what” you’re trying to find (shrines or heart pieces, either way) would significantly alter the exploration experience.

[@Ninjaananas]

@@ilbroducciore Finding shrines is just zooming across the overworld. You roughly see whether there is a shrine around ang go away if there is none. Shrines are mostly seen miles ahead, which is not really a discovery.

[@natesamadhi33]

@@jaydenc367 Yea, but I think what OP is saying is the WAY you find the pieces should be different. For example, instead of heart-pieces only being locked away in tedious shrines, make it so that we can discover pieces out in the wild again (hence why OP mentioned "discovery"). maybe there's a piece of heart in a chest in an enemy-camp in the woods, or there could be a heart-piece sitting in a lynel nest; different things like that.

[@elijah9878]

Something I suggest they should do more in Zelda games is make mini bosses drop the dungeon item after fights like how you get the gale boomerang as well as the ball and chain in Twilight Princess. It felt more natural than the item just appearing in a chest afterward.

[@tsuki3752]

that would be cool! with the fuse drops i think this would make a lot of sense.

[@antonionatalvenancio6131]

I honestly think they should stop with the chests, like they literally magically appear out of nowhere, this was a issue for me back in Twilight princess because the dungeons in this game are a lot more meaningful, snowpeak mountains gotta have a cool backstorie and is the mansion of a couple of yetis, you can even interact with them in this dungeon, arbiter grounds also has a cool back storie, them why does these puzzle just feel like they shouldn't be just there for the gameplay? Why does a chest appear out of nowhere after you defeat some enemies? you so many random chests in random places in snowpeak ruins? I think it's not that hard to appeal more the artistic choice of the game to a more realistic sense without messing up with the gameplay

[@cherubin7th]

I liked that so much in Metroid Prime 2, the enemies used the weapon to fight you and after killing them it was your weapon.

[@hollowspawn9675]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but can they please bring back title sequences. Ocarina, Twilight Princess, Wind Waker are some of my favorite intros into a Zelda Game. Imagine if Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom playing their main themes as you booted them up

[@orlando5789]

Both games have title sequences. In BOTW, it’s during The Great Plateau opening. In TOTK, It’s during the first fall on the Great Sky Island

[@hollowspawn9675]

I guess I meant when you boot up the game intros like twilight princess and Ocarina where link rides Epona across hyrule field. Boot up BOTW or TOTK and its quiet BOTW art and the stone murals of TOTK

[@WJCTechyman]

@@hollowspawn9675 I actually like the way Breath and Tears brings up the title. Also, the game does have a title card on bootup. Granted, it's part of the menu but Nintendo's way of bringing it up during gameplay was pretty novel, like a movie. I mean, starting with, "Nintendo Presents" then those words fade away, fading to "The Legend of Zelda" and those fade away then the game's specific or episodic title. Then starting with the beginning sequences of the game and then when it comes time, title music with the animation of Link running out of the Shrine of Resurrection showing the title artwork down in the corner or the large sky diving scene of Link on Tears.

[@normal6483]

7:07 A Zelda game about seasons would be amazing, I can't believe we've never done that! But what would we call it? Oracle of Seasons, maybe?

[@yowza9638]

Went looking for this comment, I haven't played the Oracle games so I was like, "Maybe the seasonal changes were heavily localized?"

[@drmcv]

I can’t believe I had to scroll so long to find this comment either lol. I do like the idea of dungeon accessibility being constrained by seasonality. But it is just taking the idea of restricting areas and pathways by seasonality to a really specific degree…. Odd for Bandit to miss this one!! And I love the Oracle games 🥺

[@mbii7667]

Seriously, this video had a lot of dumb moments like that

[@yowza9638]

I will add that after I said this, I scrolled even farther than this comment and found that Bandit did leave a correction in the comments. But it's not pinned because Zeltik is pinned instead 😂, so it got buried. Perhaps the description would have been a better spot for a correction haha, but it is there

[@sohopedeco]

One thing. Multiple members of the family can definitely play on different save files as of today. My brother and I are doing just that with TOTK as is. You just need to create two users on your switch.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Yeah, I don't know where he got that from. You can already play the same game on each profile for years!

[@aekibunnie9746]

if the primary account of the switch didnt buy it, then only the account that bought the game can play it, but yeah more than one person can play the game on one switch

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@aekibunnie9746 I swear I've bought games using a separate account before and I could still play them on all of them.

[@The_dandy_zombie]

I'll never forget my disappointment when I found out the pirates occupying Lurilin were just regular Bokoblin's on a boat. Like When I came across that quest for the first time I got so bad excited. I thought "omg its gonna be some of the evil Zora taking advantage of Zelda being missing and Ganondorf being back!" or maybe it was gonna be some Gerudo or regular hylians, or some people from a whole other place! I really really thought it was gonna be something new and unique to TOTK.

[@dillis2188]

Yeah, I found that area when I was somewhat bored of the game - that was a real letdown.

[@Tortaleaney]

4:14 A neat idea for a repairing mechanic could be instead of weapons exploding they go into a damaged state and become useless but not gone and if you repair it enough times it becomes a trusty weapon which has a damage boost and far higher durability or maybe even infinite if we're pushing it. If infinite there should a trusty weapons section in the inventory to reduce clutter.

[@QnjtGWonQNqVsbYyzjx4]

How about if weapon have spirit and have to wait for a while before being repaired. Or weapons breaks but trying to slay monster with that broken weapon(which is harder) will replace the weapon drop to a new weapon of the same kind. At the same time, slaying a monster using a broken weapon is just as difficult as with a stick

[@jiographic]

i really like the idea of dungeons that are only accessible/traversable under certain circumstances. whether it’s season changes or manipulating time (lanayru in skyward sword, temple of time in twilight princess) or moments where the mechanic doesn’t match the dungeon element. for example, sidon’s ability to get through that section with flames in the water temple felt like a much more useful way to solve puzzles in my opinion, rather than the way it’s used for the rest of the temple.

[@jesusantonio6740]

so being oracle of seasons/ages

[@jiographic]

@@jesusantonio6740 yess i’d love to see it again

[@padraigconordenisbrazilcar4973]

For the point of "multiple endings", a great system is the 1 in majoras mask in which all major sidequests being completed effects the credits by adding new cutscenes refferinging each quest. Its a perfect middleground of encouraging u to do quests, without forcing you to. (Maybe they could expand on this by having more quests woth optional endings, and the games credits reffer to the way you ended the quest)

[@hanburgundy4317]

As someone who's always done every side quest before beating Majora, I've only ever seen the full end credits sequence and only VERY recently learned about the changes lol

[@Mr.Slinky]

another examples is in Links Awakening, where beating the game without dying slightly changes the ending

[@tsuki3752]

@@hanburgundy4317 same lol. think majora not only makes it worth it for item/optional endings but also because you feel bad NOT helping these people out of their anguish… me redoing the entire anju and kafei quest when i finished the game just so they can greet the morning together. while a functional item or nice reward would be great for a quest, i loved majora’s mask because they would have an emotional pay off for every quest, even if the item you got was useless (like the gorman/musical instrument quest).

[@ChrisLeeW00]

I think the obvious choice for an underwater mount is giant seahorses.

[@lasercraft32]

I really hate the sentiment that games shouldn't have stories... Not every game needs to be Minecraft. A lot of the most impactful stories I've ever seen were from video games. The most memorable Mario games have more in-depth stories (y'know... relatively speaking), same goes for Legend of Zelda.

[@highdefinition450]

yea that argument comes from people who don't care about the media they consume, it's like they're still in the 80's and think fun is the only criteria a game should be judged by. video games are an amazing medium for storytelling, and the best games take advantage of the interactivity video games allow to make really poignant stories, all while also having great gameplay. it's so stupid to be criticized for wishing for more from a company that you know is able to provide..

[@scrappy2082]

anyone who says that games shouldn't have stories are just outing themselves as people who barely experiment with games. story rich games have existed since forever, especially in the pc & rpg department

[@dreamimgflowerd976]

totally agree. That's why Totk didn't leave much of an impact to me. Because it lacked that story telling to pull me into the world and car.e for the characters. Totk didn't feel like it was Link's journey, or mine, I felt more like an outsider being dragged into the mess of someone else. OoT was such a hit because it had a great story, people were emerged, they were curious and got to know the characters. MM even improved on it with their mini quests. I want that back

[@BraydonAttoe-xs4yg]

Twilight princess story line is immaculate

[@blakebennett3987]

I think story focused games can be great. Zeldas just never been that. With the sol exception of maybe Majora’s Mask. The stories have always been very basic. Zelda has always been a gameplay focused game. OoT is your basic evil wizard, Zelda 1 and 2 don’t really have stories, Wind waker is simple. The puzzle solving and duneoneering have always been the star of the show.

[@DonutSwordsman]

It is weird there are only 3 move sets. Also you can makes whips kinda with Liz tails. And there are 2 ways to repair in totk with the octorocks and unfusing with the little Goron. I know what you mean tho

[@hanburgundy4317]

Adding in a Smithy system would be the simplest and most ideal way to implement weapon repair (if they're deadset on weapons degrading and breaking). They could have smithies at stables and in towns, with some smiths giving you better quality work than others depending on location, price, or reputation, and then have portable forge kits so Link can repair his own weapons on the go (with worse results than at a professional smithy). It'd make more sense than something like Repair Powder from Dark Cloud from an in-world standpoint, but could function the same. It'd also be nice for each weapon to have a hit counter displayed in the menu so that you know EXACTLY how many hits you can deliver before breaking. And then, of course, they should bring back indestructible weapons and cool gadgets (especially the Hookshot, ffs), and the Master Sword should be both indestructible and the strongest weapon in the game BY FAR.

[@saintfayde4438]

As far as dungeons go, I think there's a huge disconnect on what everybody perceives a Zelda dungeon to be. When we said we wanted dungeons to come back, Nintendo looked at that and went ok well what is different between Divine Beasts and Dungeons? TotK comes out and we saw what 2 answers they came up with for that. 1): Unique Environments. Good job, Nintendo, you got one. Unique environments are indeed a core aspect of Zelda dungeons. We were no longer stuck in the Divine Beast Backrooms staring at the same piss yellow walls, floors and ceilings. Each location was different. Visually anyways. So now we come to answer number 2): Proper puzzles. And this is where they got it right, but also got it horribly wrong. Puzzles are crucial to a Zelda dungeon. But how they chose to execute the idea is what was wrong with it. They gave us puzzles, but in that same lazy cookie cutter Divine Beast format. Every single dungeon was "go here, fix exactly 5 devices, kill the boss, leave." Every time I got to a dungeon I knew what I was going to be doing. Fixing 5 of the exact same thing, no more, no less, killing the boss, and leaving. Previous Zelda dungeons did not have this monotony. Every dungeon was a fresh experience where you didn't know what to expect the moment you walked in the door. Or even well before that. But while we're on the topic of puzzles I'd like to mention something somewhat related that I think was missing that drastically alters the feel of what a "dungeon" is in Zelda. And that is, they need to bring back the Small and Boss Keys. Why? Because finding them and figuring out the "puzzle" of navigating the dungeons were also, in my opinion, a core aspect of dungeons. Many previous dungeons had multiple doors you could use keys on. Were you about to open the door to a loot room? A small combat arena? A puzzle necessary to progress? A sub-boss guarding a unique piece of equipment? For that matter, where even WAS the boss room? We didn't know. We had to explore to find it. It wasn't staring us in the face as soon as we walked in. Of course, this isn't the ONLY thing that's missing. But I do think that it's a large part that goes underestimated. But of course, the "go anywhere in any way" format of TotK is very antithetical to this style of dungeon to begin with, so I don't know if they could have ever pulled it off. In the end I guess what I have to say is...I'm in agreeance of Link losing his spider climbing abilities. It was cool once. But ultimately it defeats the need to figure out how to get where you want to go.

[@lankyboy90]

When I saw the Temples were returning I was so happy! But you're right in that they weren't really temples at all! I found some of the shrines more challenging than the Water Temple. For the Wind Temple, the ascent to get there was more challenging and took longer than the Temple itself! Skyward Sword, initially I was very disappointed by because the first Temples seemed soooo easy! But, the difficulty scaled quite quickly as you went through. But, given the non-linear nature of TotK, they couldn't really do that. They made each Temple as easy as the others just in case you decided to go and help the Zora before helping the Rito or whatever. I'd say Linear storytelling is essential to making a game.....a game! It keeps you invested and changes the level of challenge! The only thing that scales difficulty wise is the colour variant of certain mobs in TotK

[@jeffeezy]

The dungeons were to easy, I agree with the keys and finding the dungeon map idea. I loved the air and desert temple lay outs in TotK but with all the items of ultra hand combos you could blow through each “temple”. There was also very little magic to them and everything else in the game. If this gets thrown out again in the next game I think I am done with Zelda

[@lightandsalt7612]

Okay, so ideas for the horses: saddle bags. Since horses can not travel everywhere, it would be interesting to pack provisions and dungeon delve with limited items on your person and the remaining items on your horse. A bird has no carry capacity besides yourself. If anything, this will make for a perfect horse/ bird duo. After completing certain tasks, bridges can be built, and other barriers can be removed for your horse to delve deeper into an area. Kind like Dark souls.

[@perseusgaming365]

For bringing back items, I'm even okay with them keeping it as Link abilities, just as long as they introduce each one per dungeon, not per first four shrines in the tutorial. That's what made the old dungeons fun. You have an area you can't access because it's locked by a specific ability that you don't have yet, which makes you think about where you need to go and what you need to do to get there.

[@Applemangh]

My number one thing is dungeons. I still love BotW and TotK, but I've been playing Link's Awakening remake lately and it really highlights just how much I've been missing those complex, labyrinthine, but still self contained challenges. Number 2 would be meaningful new items/abilities/spells/etc. Even in an open world game where all of your core powers have to be available from the beginning, there could still be useful but not mandatory upgrades to discover. Imagine BotW but at the end of a dungeon you get the Pegasus Boots, letting you run extremely fast but only in a perfectly straight line, or magic boots to walk on the surface of water or lava, or a cape of (limited) invisibility. Limit them with a magic meter, or cool downs, or whatever. The possibilities are basically infinite, and they would make exploring and finishing dungeons a lot more rewarding.

[@christophergarcia2055]

Stamina = Magic Meter

[@GoProGamer447]

Amen to everything you said 1000% agreed

[@Ophmar4]

I think to accompany bottles, an interesting add on could be things such as bags for food (nut bag/fruit bag/mushroom bag/meat bag) with a limited inventory that can be increased in small increments. A cooked meal would be like a bottle and limited to the number of meal containers Link has. The inventory can't be so limitless, but it would be cool if it could be adaptable and if you could store things in chests. I'd also like Link to be a smithy that works at an anvil as a weaponsmith where during the adventure he refines select weapons in workshop locations throughout the lands

[@hanburgundy4317]

Skyward Sword had a really neat mechanic for storage where you'd aquire more pouches to gain more inventory slots.

[@Ophmar4]

@@hanburgundy4317 Yeah! It was one the aspects of Skyward Sword I really enjoyed! Adding containers/bags/pouches that could be upgraded would add added progression. I love all the things you can find in BotW/TotK, but it feels really cheap to have 999 of everything for over 100 different variations of material. The blacksmith aspect would also allow Link to work on certain weapons to fortify durability (sorta like Skyward Sword with sheilds). He might be able to increase the damage of the weapon as well, and eventually craft a weapon (sheild/bow/armor) from scratch. It would also be really cool if you could keep your broken parts to reforge a certain weapon too. This would be a good way to reduce weapon slots (example: maximum of 5 rather than 20). Finally, a whetstone item of sorts could fix a bit of weapon damage.

[@Draezeth]

I'd just eat bottles back, personally. Link downing a potion/soup makes much more sense than scarfing down an entire meal.

[@Ophmar4]

@@Draezeth Make's sense, but I was picturing Link with these little lunch boxes... but then they may tie it up to some ancient Tupperware technology, and I'd be happier without that. So long as the inventory is limited, I'd be happy

[@tsuki3752]

i’m not sure if i agree with this since i hate this in video games, and the weapon inventory absolutely infuriates me… but i understand the idea behind it.

[@lighthouseraven]

Haven't watched through the full video yet, but one thing I definitely think should be changed is that like in the older games, you should: 1) have to wait until a certain point in the game/unlock the ability to teleport around the map and/or 2) have less/farther spaced out teleport options. One of the most fun parts of Wind Waker for me was having to sail across the Great Sea to get places even after unlocking fast travel and fast travel points. Following a map and maneuvering around the world manually is one of the things that makes this kind of game fun. Another (however non-Zelda) example of a game that does this Hollow Knight. Having one stag station in each area and needing to walk from there adds more of a thinking element to the game. When I have a specific area I want to get to, I think of: which station to travel to, what's the shortest route to take, what enemies will I have to fight to get there, etc. I think being able to teleport at any time can make Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom too easy for two main reasons: 1) In battle. Since you can just bail, there's no real risk in deciding to fight something. 2) Making exploration too easy (mentioned before).

[@wesnohathas1993]

On the point of items, I think Zelda would benefit much more from being approached as a metroidvania style of "open world" rather than a sandbox type. They can get the exploration elements they want while sticking closer to the series' old identity of its gameplay style. Heck, the fanbase has essentially already made that through randomizers.

[@Ryan-is-me]

Yes! The two godfathers of the Metroidvania genre (Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night) were both inspired by A Link to the Past's game design. There's a reason why the Zelda series has inspired so many games over the years. I loved the feeling of finding a new item and realizing that it's the missing key that gets you to a new area. Their obsession with having a fully open world means they're losing out on too many of the things that made Zelda great. A gradually expanding world, with items and dungeons, would be much better than an open world, imo

[@mercianthane2503]

God of War for PS4 and God of War Ragnarok are like that, right?

[@mercianthane2503]

God of War for PS4 and God of War Ragnarok are like that, right?

[@mercianthane2503]

God of War for PS4 and God of War Ragnarok are like that, right?

[@mercianthane2503]

God of War for PS4 and God of War Ragnarok are like that, right?

[@BanditGames]

EDIT: Ok so I forgot to mention Oracle of Seasons has the season-changing mechanic I was talking about in the video 😅 What do YOU want to see most in the next Zelda game? Also, HAPPY 2024! WE MADE IT!

[@TroyWishonTalks]

Yo

[@saraeebs]

a better way to show the story, not just memories that don't actually involve link. keep the open world tho somehow, maybe a little less open for a better shown story

[@BetterThanDoomWithAZ]

Breath of the Wild quality overworld that includes proper dungeons which include dungeon items.

[@Maigus224]

A multi world game where you can pass through them, and some worlds are super light and colorful while others are dark dreary and spooky. You spend your time trying to untangle the worlds so that by the end of it you have distinct worlds to travel to and have multiple quest lines but at first it’s a jumbled mess were you have to find a dungeon but now instead there’s a dark spooky mansion there and you need to talk to the ghosts to figure out where they used to be in there world and that’s where the dungeon is now. Maiby at first the world would be normal but there would be rifts that aper and monster from these other worlds show up that are nothing like Hyrule monsters and you must investigate them because your link is captain of the royal guard and queen Zelda (its time she got a promotion) orders you to investigate. Maybe link will be a Shika in the game and be more prone to Shika like tendencies.

[@DrDolan2000]

Real dungeons. Like A Link to the Past, Majora's Mask, and Skyward Sword

[@thajocoth]

On the topic of Link playing as a villain... What if we got to play as Link, Zelda, or Ganondorf for three different kinds of playthroughs? Link would be the courageous sword-wielding master of items. Zelda would have the wisdom to learn and use a wide variety of spells and maybe rely on some stealth when her mana is low. Ganondorf would have a powerful balance of sword combat & warlock magic with subterfuge, maybe some minions, and a goal to rule Hyrule. They could all be opposing a new villain from different angles, starting in different regions, and having different endings if they win.

[@Ivaknight]

“No Zelda game has ever had SEASONS before” Oracle of seasons: “yeah… never before”

[@mbii7667]

This was a dumb video for many reasons including that

[@Bsdel]

Personally, I’d like to see them drop most of the “free movement” from the open world concept. Like, if they got rid of the glider, climbing, and fast travel systems and spent more time building a map that takes thought to traverse it would require the player to carefully think about how they are going to navigate the open world. This would allow them to retain the ability of the player to choose their own path through hyrule, allow them to reintroduce traditional dungeons, reintroduce dungeon items that make navigation easier (like a clawshot to get to the top of ledges, etc.), and bring back warping via instruments and songs. Then it would be cool if they made the game somewhat linear…like have a linear section (for story purposes), an open world section where you can choose which of the eight dungeons you want to do, then after four dungeons you get mandatory story progression, then you can do two more dungeons and then more story, and finally after the last two dungeons you get the climax of the story. A game that kind of does this is Knights of the Old Republic-and I don’t think a lot of people complain about that style of storytelling.

[@athorem]

Great ideas. The ability to just fly over all of the potentially interesting content with a glider of hoverbike doesn't improve the game experience

[@Bsdel]

@@athorem 100% -one of the most incredible experiences I had in TOTK was trying to reach the end of the spiral peninsula area of the depths. No warping out without losing progress, no flying over everything (unless you brought the materials with you), and very few resources available within the path. It felt like I was making progress little by little and constantly reevaluating whether I had the resources to continue. I think the the next game should take a similar approach to regions when exploring. You can take any path you want, but once you choose you have to commit until the end or you’ll lose all of the progress in the region (not story-wise, but physical progress into the region.) then warp points should be unlocked once you complete the temple/dungeon

[@joffa99m44]

Point 7: Each companion could be necessary for a respective event. Like the key to a dungeon, an important interaction with npcs and each time you go back to the hub to switch there would be a scene like a campfire scen in which they discuss your adventures and choices.

[@firenze6478]

This was what I was hoping totk would do, like xenoblades events. I was so bummed out when we got silent creepy ghosts instead.

[@Zebra2015]

​@@firenze6478thought they would follow you too 😂

[@lnsflare1]

7:08 Oracle of Seasons: "Hey, what the f-" Also, I'm surprised that you brought up Genshin Impact for the food and partner, but not for the recently added underwater regions/mechanics, which are just amazing.

[@BanditGames]

Oh nice, if it's post-mid-Sumeru, I haven't gotten there quite yet but that sounds really exciting!

[@lnsflare1]

​​​@@BanditGames Yeah, it's in the region of Fontaine which comes after Sumeru (though you can access it without needing to finish Sumeru first), and it's excellent. It's huge, gorgeous, and varied, the controls are perfect, and it's chocked to the eyeballs with lore, worldbuilding, minor and major sidequests, themed mini-dungeons, and puzzles in there. There's even a village of adorable pseudo-eldritch-abominations that is half understand because they (and any Vision Bearer/the Traveler and Paimon) can breathe underwater in that region. Like, if TotK had replaced half of the Depths and Sky Islands with Fontaine's underwater region, a lot of people would be a lot happier with it.

[@lnsflare1]

Also, if you haven't logged in recently, they've also added a bunch of great QOL features, like underground/underwater layers (that would help finish up Sumeru) to the map and the ability to call in and send out all of your expeditions with one button press each.

[@mbii7667]

​@@BanditGamesit's Fontaine dude... you know, the Hydro nation?

[@Multipurpose_Bagel]

I played TP next-to-new on GC. Been saying this on and off for years anytime anyone mentions the Spinner from TP: The Spinner should have been / return as a shield type. Still can solve gear puzzles, obstacle courses, etc, but also be used as an attack, or negate certain types of oncoming damage or statuses. Random idea I've had before too. Young Link meets young Ganondorf instead of young Zelda.

[@TwilightWolf032]

I want Zelda to find a balance between BOTW and TP/SS. Make it an open world where each area has its own story independent from the other, but requires items to unlock the dungeons that you can find in the overworld. Then, you get items inside the dungeons that unlock the next set of dungeons, and now the story connects between the separate areas (like a Mega Man game, where you can beat 4 bosses in any order you want, and that unlocks harder levels that require all the items you got that you also can beat at any order).

[@samueltitone5683]

Big Link Between Worlds. That’s all I want. A linear story with well written characters, and well-designed dungeons I can complete in any order I please. AND FOR THE LOVE OF HYLIA! BRING BACK THE DUNGEON ITEMS! You can’t convince me something like the hookshot wouldn’t be an absolute delight to use in an open world game.

[@jacobsims8307]

It would look sooo good with modern link.

[@Leonkennedy19992]

As a huge fan of zelda music and one that has finished sonic frontiers, they should add a music box. They can keep their ambient music but lets say you are exploring and hidden in the world there is tiny music boxes that link can collect. One of them contains the song of storms. Another one lost woods. Another one the main theme. And you can play the songs in the background while you explore. Would be amazing to collect all of them

[@Iffondrel]

That would be delightful! I miss having dynamic music so much. Which is weird because I love the totk soundtrack and I enjoy the ambient music.... but very rarely do I hum along to the music or chase those sounds like I do in past games.

[@hanburgundy4317]

The classic soundtracks are sorely missed by me and countless others - I get what they were going for with the ambient nature sounds, but it doesn't lend to the air of adventure that the old games had. At least the villages like Kakariko, Hateno, and Lurelin have kept the theme aspect going, but the main cities don't have the classic songs they should - give me the OG Goron City theme, ffs; the new one is weird. Give me the classic Zora's Domain theme instead of the odd arrangement. Bring back the old Kakariko theme. Bring back the epic Hyrule Field theme. I miss the old Zelda games.

[@RoxarHuntley]

OMG THAT'S AN AMAZING IDEA WHAAAT

[@brys.3131]

Great video! I really want to experience some more horror elements like the Well from OOT and the Royal Family's Tomb. Man that was especially effective on me as a teenager playing kid Link discovering those types of places.

[@Count_XD]

A real bunch of good ideas, Bandit. Man I miss the items so much, it was so fun to use the hookshot to access new areas. I loved to play both botw as totk, but as you said, 10 years since A Link Between Worlds. Please, Aonuma San, give us some of old Zelda again and please less mining next time xD. Sometimes I replay the old ones, but if we could get something that have half of the map of the two lasts, and get some wonderful mechanics back, it would be pure gold. Excellent and necessary video!

[@indigoiozzi]

Truer opinions had never been said. It's kinda frustrating to see Aonuma not understanding why we love older Zelda games.

[@whymethough2701]

You guys dont seem to understand that he DOES understand why yall love the older games. He's just not in the buisness of making those older games anymore.

[@indigoiozzi]

@@whymethough2701 he literally said that he doesn't know why people want the old Zelda back. He even blamed nostalgia

[@Rwebs]

I am over the shrines as they are so excessive at this point but I’d settle for a shrine/heart piece combo...I dearly miss the heart pieces.

[@cobracommander6522]

Same here I agree.

[@ninkstheultimate3376]

Same

[@natesamadhi33]

They could be good, depending on how they're done. Like you said, they're excessive, so if I were to implement shrines, I would do this: 1. **Cut down the amount of shrines by 75%** . This should go without saying; there are way too many damn shrines, like you said. instead of 160 shrines, i'd cut it to roughly 40-something shrines depending on the map-size. 2. **Make each shrine unique** . I'd craft each shrine to be themed after the area it's in; shrines in the woods would look more "foresty", shrines in the desert would look sandy and "stoney", etc. Let every shrine actually have an environmental impact & a history to it, instead of just randomly & awkwardly sitting in places with no rhyme or reason. 3. **Make each shrine immediately rewarding** . Since shrines would be more rare [in my ideal Zelda], then it's only right that the shrine-rewards would be more "special." I think having to go through **four** tedious shrines to get just ONE heart or stamina-vial is what makes the shrines such a chore, so I think each shrine should leave you with something that's immediately useful & special; maybe you could get a **full** heart immediately after completing a shrine, or, at the more hidden, difficult shrines, you could get a special permanent item (that's NOT recycled Amiibo armor), or a new special ability of your choice. This, IMO, would make each shrine actually feel fresh and exciting to go to; shrines should make you say: "oooh, I cant WAIT to see what's there!", not say: "I did all that JUST for another shrine???...ugh, whatever.." So with this in mind, if FULL hearts will be in shrines and boss-battles, then **quarter** heart-pieces would go back to being scattered out across the overworld like they were in the old games; maybe in places like enemy-camps or secret grottos.

[@Preston241]

@@natesamadhi33nailed it.

[@Tomn_n]

But the orbs are kind of heart pieces tho...

[@lasercraft32]

Roaming bosses could easily be implemented in a similar way to the Dragons... They have a set path that they move on, and just loop through it. Could work effectively to have large boss mobs just wandering like a nomad or something.

[@_eggers]

Agreed with pretty much everything. My biggest thing is the amount of copy pasting. If you have to repeat the same boss 50 times you either need to shrink your open world or create more unique content.

[@116yony]

I like the idea of introducing a new antagonist. Like you said it's been done before. It would be cool that over a few games they built up Gannon as a last boss. You would have to fight a few final bosses that work under Gannon and you had to defeat to reach him.

[@jacky9575]

Maybe even bring back some other antagonists or make a new main antagonists different that ganondorf. There's Vaati, Yuga, Majora's Mask, etc...

[@elettramelodia8990]

Or they could have Ganon reincarnate again, but this time he's a Zora. Or a Goron. Or a great fairy. Or whatever. And the Gerudo women are still around, and getting destroyed by Ganondorf...but they get to be just a bit smug that the Gerudo aren't responsible for the world ending threat this time around. Maybe the Gerudo discovered some ancient wrong they did and learned how to make amends for it(Something with the eighth Gerudo warrior, perhaps?). Maybe a different faction turns on the royal family, and Demise chooses them as the best chance to attack Hyrule. Imagine an evil Korok empire, trying to fight back and keep the forest alive and wild, against a human empire trying to expand its cities. Or Ganon gets the triforce of power, but also gets the mantle of a sage, and he's sort of an ally, sort of an enemy while the two ancestral roles war within him. Maybe that's the basis for multiple endings to the game. So many fun possibilities.

[@hanburgundy4317]

​@@elettramelodia8990 Hot take, probably, but I prefer the thief/pirate Gerudo of normal height and musculature to the WNBA giants with huge abs that we have now that are just so friendly as they travel the world 😂

[@drakenstoc4885]

My take on the durability system: I believe that permanent weapons should return, while significantly increasing the utility of temporary weapons. For example, they could make it so that temporary weapons hit harder (than they do in BotW and TotK) or have more exaggerated effects on enemies/the environment than permanent ones do, while still breaking after a few uses. When a weapon breaks, an item drops that can be used to grant a (weaker) temporary buff/effect to the permanent weapons that are based on the whatever specific effect the broken weapon had. And they could make it so that you can stack different effects too (example: you break an ice-rod and a fire-rod, pick up the items that drop from them, and apply one or both of the ice/fire effects on your permanent sword/bow/whatever weapon you prefer to use at the same time). Thereby encouraging the usage (and breakage) of the different temporary weapons you find in the environment.

[@SeAn-jd9cl]

Feels like Ninty missed a trick by having weapons break but then not giving you a way to repair the weapon. Like you have a weapon, you get told its brittle, and then you have the option to throw it and permanently destroy it, or to pocket the broken weapon and repair it at a blacksmith. Then have different level blacksmiths for different level weapons.

[@DanSutherland]

Items and story is the key to enjoying every 3D Legend of Zelda and why I kinda found BotW to feel like it was a pretty mid game. One of the biggest annoyances I had with BotW was the focus on the Champions. They're supposed to be the character's Link is closest to and all of these moments they had together, but I really didn't care about them. The tragedy of their deaths wasn't all that strong because they were only 2 minute cutscenes of a 160 hour journey whereas I was way more interested in Sidon, Rita, and the other descendants as they at least reacted to my agency and role in the story.

[@moy9948]

for the weapons' durability one idea of mine was the use of "hilts," since every fusion uses the hilt of the weapon and replaces the blade with the item the hilt could be a permanent item and all you have to worry about is finding other resources (which happens as you play the game anyway). that's my idea at least for the melee weapons, bows a i haven't thought of anything yet

[@TroyWishonTalks]

Imo the best ways to fix Zelda is bring back items, heart containers and HAVING HEARTS BE FULL! I DON'T WANT 38 HEARTS NINTENDO, I WANT 40!!

[@mbii7667]

I feel this

[@homerman76]

Definitely a good list of things I'd love to see adjusted and changed for the next game, though I'm still a bit worried about getting another masive open world game. I get why people like the genre, but I'm honestly pretty burnt out after TotK and really just need some a bit more traditional 😅

[@bluegreen196]

Ive been replaying a link between worlds and its honestly so nice haha

[@madmoomoo12]

Completely understand this sentiment, open world with so much tech and possibility can be so overwhelming... I also loved working out how to solve a puzzle with the limited tools that you're given in old games too, or getting a weird item that you have to work out what it's for

[@hichaelhighers]

@@bluegreen196ALBW rules, I'm currently playing this too. We need another game like this, no matter what way.

[@bluegreen196]

@@hichaelhighers exactly, just something that doesn't take another 6 years smh

[@TrueKoalaKnight]

Well, technically you can repair weapons and shields through the use of Rock Octorocks, but I'd much prefer something less contrived. They already have NPC that can make new champion weapons, it's not that much of a stretch to have weapon smiths who can repair weapons at the cost of resources and some rupees. Not to mention the idea of letting Link make his own repairs at specific locations or on the go using a rare resource like a "zonai forge".

[@firenze6478]

Zelda 1 was also linear and non linear. Unlike what a lot of people say. It far more closely follows alltp than botw and still has everything us older fans liked about the series

[@spustatu]

Edit: I'm writing bits of comment as I watch because ADHD. 1) I actually quite like that Link can eat endless amounts of food. It's very Goku and I like that. However, I think maybe instead of a hard cap saying you can't eat anymore, appetite could maybe scale how many hearts you get from eating in some way. For instance, if he's eaten a ton, then that meal that would normally fill your hearts completely would only replenish a single heart while an apple would do nothing at all. Maybe something like that. 2) I also really like being able to climb and go to literally any point you can see. I really struggle with games designed in the "old way" with weird invisible barriers and no ability to climb up a very climbable slope. But what if there's no stamina vessels for improving how long you can climb. You're required to either make and have stamina-granting potions or food with you OR you need to find the hookshot and they could make any natural surface hookshot-able, but some surfaces, like hewn stone not hookshot-able. Maybe to wrap everything up in a little more logic across the board as far as what is and isn't climbable/hookshot-able, hewn stone surfaces shouldn't be climbable either. I think that gives designers enough to work with to create good navigation puzzles. Just give me my hookshot back!

[@wackswavy4k]

2:59 something id like to add is age of calamity actually added a new weapon type in the flail they totally should've kept and expanded flails for totk a spinning weapon and the fuse mechanic would've been so Chaotic

[@Adeams]

I like all of your ideas ! Especially the return of the companion. One example of a game that put this improvement : Dragon Quest Builders 2. I really liked the first game, but one thing that kept on bothering me was that terrible feeling of loneliness I experienced throughout the whole game. You go from world to world all alone, you make friends with the NPCs, you save them, then you leave them all behind for the next world and you never see them again. In the sequel, in addition to a hub where you can bring some NPCs once you're done with a world, you have Malroth at your side, your companion who is gradually becoming your best friend (and personnally I really liked his character). He follows you everywhere, experiences the same events as you, and has his special role in the story. Thanks to that and gameplay improvements, this became one of my favorite games. In BOTW, I had kind of the same feeling of loneliness, stumbling upon ruins after ruins and monsters with no one by my side. I liked the champions : they were all dead. I liked the descendants : once I was done with their stories, they became completely useless, boring NPCs repeating one line of dialog. In TOTK, it wasn't much better. At the beginning of the game, I thought Zelda would be our companion as in Spirit Tracks, and I was looking forward to see her relationship with Link evolve over the events of the game. When the first sage lended me their power, I thought they would accompany me. But no, I was always alone with some kind of ghosts. The only comfort I took was in knowing that even if she couldn't talk, Fi was technically with me (once I got the Master Sword back). Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game for a lot of reasons, but I can say for sure that Midna is a huge reason, and I really hope they bring back actual companions you care about in the next game. It could even make me swallow the non-linear story pill better.

[@StudioWulf]

I'm still under the opinion that you can totally have the story structure and dungeons of old Zelda while still having the gameplay and open world of modern Zelda

[@mbii7667]

Agreed

[@user-ep5pf4hb3q]

I just really miss old dungeons man. The water/sky temple in TotK especially felt so lazy, just different random unconnected puzzles on different floating platforms.

[@Sussylizzy92]

With regards to the companions idea, and the seasons idea, you could really just bundle them together. Have each season have its own companion, or have each companion trigger/have seasonal effects to encourage players to swap out companions.

[@metalfaceirl]

your point about changing seasons is why i personally think that a great idea would be to remake the oracle games (rod of seasons mechanic, and you cant have seasons without ages released too) in something similar to the links awakening remake style, then take what we learned from the interesting and honestly kind of forgotten mechanics of those two games and apply it to another new game

[@theo3728]

About the companions: I really didn't understand why they didn't make Mineru one. She was always inside the Purah Pad, and she herself said that the initial plan was to guide Link to the constructs' factory from the moment he woke up.

[@ClarenceJBoddicker]

I think it was fine until TOTK. I thought BOTW was great... But instead of expanding on that, they went in the completely wrong direction and did a retread.

[@Leonkennedy19992]

My thoughts exactly. In my opinion totk was a better game than botw but yet it was my most dissapointing zelda game

[@homerman76]

​@@Leonkennedy19992 Yeah, it's a super weird feeling of knowing TotK is better, but also not liking it nearly as much 🤔

[@Beans-do6wc]

I just want good dungeons

[@ketto2034]

what do you mean retread? If story wise kinda but because they expanded the world three times over and used it with the water temple being in the sky and the Goron temple underground (though that was expected)

[@twitchywitchx]

This is 100% facts. Totk is my least played Zelda game ever.

[@chrispysaid]

When I say I want Zelda dungeons back, I'm talking about a large space with linear but Metroidvania-esque progression that requires me to find the route through trial and error, to come upon a key door and remember its location for the next time I find a key, to walk into a room with a puzzle that doesn't make any sense whatsoever because I haven't discovered that dungeon's item yet (which, incidentally, also allows me to access other parts of the overworld now that I have it). It doesn't need to be longer, per se, just more intentional and built smarter. The Fire Temple in the depths, for instance. Perfect example of what NOT to do. I just rode Bichael (that's what I named my fan bike) around from open room to open room solving mini puzzles. There was no progression, it was just a treasure hunt. There was no working out which rooms I could access and which I had to save for later, each room was a self-contained Korok puzzle, more or less. Bringing back Zelda dungeons would go 70% of the way to making it feel more like a Zelda game again.

[@cherubin7th]

Fishing rod, and no pause the game for healing. You can place a limited number of healing items in a quick menu to access them in a fight, but healing in the endless menu would get you killed because it is too slow and doesn't pause. Infinite healing just ruins the fights, either you are unbeatable or the enemy must be able to one shot you and this is not good too.

[@shlop1904]

I would like for a massive hyrule castle town similar to twlight princess, with a crap ton of npcs and vendors that you can interact with and buy/sell different and specific items with

[@UltimateTobi]

Agreed on everything except the lore-thing. I want it connected. As for save files: you don't need a new copy for every save file, all you need to do is create a new profile on your account. Save files are tied to profiles, not accounts! Granted, it's still bothersome to switch profiles and I'd rather have save files or a more common manual save system with which you can create infinite save files. Good video. Cheers.

[@mbii7667]

Yeah those were some strange points he was making

[@nworder4life]

He's given up on Nintendo connecting lore, and rightfully so.

[@mbii7667]

@@nworder4life there's nothing right about that

[@nworder4life]

@@mbii7667 Gotta accept the truth, they don't care anymore.

[@nickywampole3306]

I’m glad to know I’m not the only one that misses heart pieces they were one of my fav things to collect in the old Zelda games

[@Schmanton]

Because you fell smart, lucky or talented when you get one. In the casual shrines u know you will get it no matter what, its just a matter of time.

[@lissyvale629]

A Zelda game featuring SEASONS as a mechanic? I've been waiting for that for AGES! ^-^

[@feebleking21]

One super easy way to balance healing it to bring back the pouch from Skyward Sword. You can only heal with the pouch while in combat, and it will only be able to hold a limited amount of meals and bottles. Increasing pouch slots through exploration and doing side quests would add a meaningful reward in the open world too.

[@j.r.r.tolkee7000]

Dude, your commentaries since your initial Tears of the Kingdom rant have been off the charts good. Keep it going.

[@Zebra2015]

Ikr he forgot to point out that arrows kill all enemies tho 😅 he pointed almost ALL the huge flaws modern zelda has but he still forgot to mention that monster trucks should probably not be in zelda 😅

[@hanburgundy4317]

​@@Zebra2015 This. A little technology here and there - in a dungeon dedicated to it from a story standpoint, for example - can stay, but the new games have far too much tech for my liking. The Zelda series has traditionally been a medieval fantasy setting - heavily Germanic and European in design - with technology being included on a VERY seldom basis: torches, not spotlights; horses, not motorcycles; magic, not technology. I'd love a return to form with the Zelda series, but they could keep in some of the sandbox aspects of the new games; I just don't want the full sandbox, open world, limited and blasé story video games they've given us recently. I want a sweeping, epic journey with impetuous to keep going - not a short story chopped up and hidden behind a dumb memory system that ultimately doesn't matter to the game play; hell, most of my time in the Wild games is spent just riding my horse and looking at nature or doing pointless, countless side quests as the game and its limited story doesn't impress on me any limitations or reasons to do the main quest. I have no one to save, no one spurring me on in any given direction - I can do anything I want, but that just leads to me doing nothing; what I really want is a plot that keeps me trying my best to continue my adventure.

[@Zebra2015]

@@hanburgundy4317 dont forget the music , oh god the soundtrack zelda used to have especially oot and wind waker I LOVE the soundtracks and now what ? They throw some silent notes at you every 7 seconds 🤣 , and people praise it for it... Its disappointing because they overuse a lot of music and remix them (for the worse) wheras most older zeldas if not all have an original soundtrack , of course botw and totk do have ost but it has way too much reused music again for the worse.

[@alwayssleepy2476]

12:16 this whole dungeon section about how the weather can effect them is really reminding me of Banjo Kazooie’s final level “Click-Clock woods.” That level has a similar concept where certain sections of the levels are blocked off and is only available in winter, fall, or summer. Like how in the summer, everything is super hot and the entire lake in one part of the stage is completely dried out. It’s a really cool concept that you pitch and I feel like it can work in a Zelda dungeon system

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

" Zelda games never had seasons" Legend of Zelda Oracle of SEASONS (GBC): " Am I a f-ing joke to you>!"

[@ThatAnArchyDude]

Zelda Weapon Crafting Concept: Use ChuChu Jelly as a stand-in for the "Zonai Glue" to "Fuse" items/weapons at a crafting station at each stable. Different coloured ChuChu Jelly will also add different elemental procs, and also enhance any other elemental procs you're "Fusing" to the weapon. This could even allow us to use different effects together, such as a Scimitar which freezes enemies upon contact while also firing electric bolts using the Throw button. Or the other way around ... Shock enemies on contact, and emit a freezing breeze 360° around when you use the Throw button.

[@megarotom1590]

I SO AGREE ON THE CLIMBING THING. I feel like it doesn't really add much of value aside from just tedium and makes it harder to design mechanics that allow you height. I mean the hookshot is practically a zelda staple but it can't exist in TotK & BotW for the most part cause... you can just climb the walls anyways

[@michaellane5381]

It could still work... They just need to add a unique fuse slot like the MS.

[@megarotom1590]

@@michaellane5381 the issue is just that there's no reason for it... like I mean it'd be convenient which I suppose would be helpful in of itself but it'd still not have the same world opening ability if the world is... already open which I think highlights the issue of open world zelda games to begin with. Part of the appeal of Zelda is the world opening up the more you play with all the dungeon items. How do you make the world open up more as you progress if there's no progress and the world is already open

[@michaellane5381]

@@megarotom1590 I feel like that is pretending Zelda is a Metroidvania series though... It operated similarly for a long time, but there are ways around that. The real problem lies in incentivising the final boss be possible from the jump. Just look at Mineru, you can start her quest anytime but you cannot just enter the Spirit temple interior, the upper rift, ECT. Until you find her mask, which is really hard to find if you haven't opened the storm, and still impossible if you don't have the hearts. "Open world" is not the problem, the problem is "empty objectives" we don't have reasons to go everywhere, just find the princess and defeat Ganon. Realistically we could have defended or retaken far more villages than just our favorite vacation spot and Gerudo town, we never even get a chance to rebuild Castletown fortifications or the mysterious noises heard there we can assume to be the monsters in the wells. We rebuild 1 town and the same cart 4 or 5 times but generally don't have any actual goals other than 2 you can't check off and the 4 optional regionals, we need a few hard objectives between in future titles that make it obvious that we don't have just 1 problem to solve in our open world. They can do it, it isn't hard to code multiple "endings" into the game, just another cutscene, or actual event triggers.

[@megarotom1590]

@@michaellane5381 yah I kinda agree. I do think Zelda's identity is SOMEWHAT linked to metroidvania style progression but yah I also agree that the issue is definitely in the hollow objectives. The main objectives feel like side objectives cause they aren't mandatory and the side objectives feel like time wasters cause they have no substance to them, it's usually just hand them resources or do some menial task and get some minimal reward. long past are the days where you can do a long quest chain to get a better sword or collecting every mask to get the ultimate boss killer. Majora's Mask My Beloved

[@michaellane5381]

@@megarotom1590 there is a reason I mentioned the Metroidvania similarities... Super Metroid is one of the highest rated amongst fans and yet the upgrades are often unnecessary and the game is closest to the "Open world" formula... Which tells me both properties can make the jump they just need to keep the objective on game design and not strictly making an open world for the hell of it or letting story slide.

[@ketto2034]

Maybe for food make it a situation thing where you can't hoarde food as well maybe it has a set time period before it "expires" or make it you have to eat the food immediately so you can't store food at all

[@mbii7667]

I would hate that

[@TommySkywalker11]

For traversal they should repeat what they did in XCX The game starts out with you unable to scale everything, having to use only ground paths, but as you progress you unlock means of climbing and flying, it would be easy to implement that with the clawshot being usable on any surface outside of dungeons, and then double clawshot for unlimited climbing For food the current system of finding ingredients functions the same as finding hearts, but they should limit it to only a few meal slots that can increase

[@replicamodel2942]

For the seasons that you mentioned there is a Zelda game that has everything you mentioned and its Oracle of Seasons for the GBC. It has four seasons, you know, winter, spring, summer, fall, and each season changes the layout of the world map. For example, you want to progress to a certain area a hidden cave? But there's a tree blocking the way, its currently spring and the tree is in full bloom so you can't progress because the tree is in the way. But! Change it to fall and the tree withers and dies, now you can progress! Or another example is trrying to enter a new dungeon like dungeon 3 and 5 to where in dungeon 3 in order to enter you need to climb up some vines but its not springtime so the vine is dead, you need to be able to get the power of spring to be able to climb up the vine to enter the dungeon. Or the 5 dungeon to where its secluded on an island and you need to change the season to winter because then and only then can you walk on ice. People keep forgetting about the Oracle games or just never played them, but in my opinion they are the best in the series because of their creativity. Also, bring back Vaati! Whatever happened to him?

[@Explanda1]

2 ideas 1 just put a durability bar under each weapon and have a item that spaws around the world like a mushroom that adds durability to whatever weapon and have rarer versions of these 'mushrooms' that increase the durability more, stronger wepons maybe gain less durability per 'mushroom'. That way your wepons still break and you know when but you can make sure your favorites one dont break. 2 for food mabe make it so your food menu isnt accessible during combat. So picture it, gardian music starts playing you cant open your food inventory.

[@homerman76]

It's funny since they had a lot of this with Skyward Sword's durability mechanics, and yet they ignored all of that for BotW and TotK 🤔

[@witch_painting_memory]

I agree that Spiderman climbing shouldn't return, but I don't think there should be nothing to replace it. If Link had something like a grappling hook which he could use to help him scale mountains, that would be pretty cool. Or they could bring the hookshot back (which sounds like the best idea, imo). I honestly just think the BotW/ToTK climbing mechanic is boring and slow. (Which is why Ascend was so much better in literally every way) Climbing was kinda cool for like 5 minutes, but it got boring real fast. It felt like just a necessary evil in order to get to the actual fun parts of the game. I understand that it was meant to be the main motivation for the player to increase their stamina, but... it's still not fun. I think gliding/running/horse taming/etc are sufficient enough reasons to build up stamina, I don't think climbing is necessary. They should make traversal of the map more fun. A grappling hook at bare minimum, but a modern version of the hookshot mechanic sounds like it could make for a really really fun time. They could also limit what the hookshot can cling onto (like maybe only rock or wood surfaces) to ensure that in certain puzzle areas the players can't use that as a crutch. Side note: Getting a new villain sounds like a great idea to me. I still love The Descending Scary Face Moon/Majora as the main villains in Majora's Mask. Also agree about pieces of heart/musical instruments/magic/empty bottles. I forgot how much I've been missing those till now...

[@madmoomoo12]

Yeah I think unlocking tools/finding items that help you further explore previously inaccessible parts of the map could work in non-linear settings, maybe find secret locations or dungeons to crazy big treasure you wouldn't necessarily get otherwise

[@LowPoly64Gaming]

16:20 choice of companions (and unique dialog for situations) reminds me of paper mario's partners how they have very different tones and attitudes to the dialog

[@ericaubrey9960]

I found out about you fron totk prediction videos… but fell in love with you actually(you) being a Zelda fan… I’ve subscribed and have a very similar view/opinion on the franchise… Now that there’s not a handheld system, I hope we can still get 2D games every-so-often in between mainline AAA games. Keep up the good work🎉

[@coleydotmp4]

i think adding back some linearity to the zelda gameplay will really help the developers center their focus on tighter gameplay/story while also giving them room for polish. it just seems like their older, more structured games came out of the oven more focused, where totk and botw feel lacking, despite their expansiveness and innovation.

[@benjaminchi1989]

If they bring back underwater traversal, I hope they bring back Zora swimming from Majora's Mask in some way

[@GreenOfFields]

If they bring back the weapon system I’d like to see more, if not all of them, have some kind of exploration function. Axes can chop down trees, hammers can bust ore deposits, boomerangs come back… Take whips and spears for example. If whips make a return then instead of being throwable I’d like to give them the ability to grab things from a distance like in Skyward. As for spears, maybe the ability to polevault with them. If dungeon items aren’t coming back then I feel like this would be a good compromise and truly encourage carrying multiple different kinds of weapons on you person much better than the durability system.

[@TaiWanWaf]

When you started naming off the active companions I crossed my arms waiting for the Fi/Fi pronunciation. It still gives me brain tingles that you say both pronunciations 😂💜

[@mangodango1733]

I want both styles to meet in the middle so badly

[@jolterusx239]

One thing I miss and loved were the multi player zelda games like the Four swords games, the Tingle Tuner in Windwaker, or the Battle and Trade modes in Phantom hourglass and Spirit tracks. The new character aspect could fit well with a Hyrule themed party and race system. A campaign where you fight the evil, but also need friends or NPCs of a variety to help progression or add to quality of life.

[@neocrama6696]

I got into Zelda because of Breath of the Wild and the open nature, but now that I have seen more of what the series has to offer, the more I want to see the blend of the two styles of new and old Zelda

[@OmoiSenpai]

I don't like having too much customization (on and off variety type of gear) in these Zelda games. I'd rather the simple, 3 tunics do this, 3 boots do that, 3(4) Masks change you to into these. All the other linear Zelda Games were repayable. But for BOTW and TOTK, there's so much overwhelming gear and weapons (and combinations + upgrades) that it makes me not wanna replay it again from the start.

[@Zeppathy]

7:14 LOZ: Oracle of Seasons for Gameboy enters the chat.

[@MrAjking808]

Just say it , everything doesn’t have to be a meme comment

[@Zeppathy]

@MrAjking808 OR! And hear me out here. I can both say it, AND have it be in meme format!

[@foxto100]

Point 14 : What he's kinda referring to is you should start with gameplay and not with story. One thing that studios like Team Ico and fromsoft do is start with a experience or game play systems and build it up form there then they form a story around that, that go with the theme's that the gameplay represents. But trying to down play the story/lore in an open-world adventure is kinda silly.

[@TheToni9234]

On the enemies: I honestly can't understand why they did a complete underworld in totk without skultullas. It's really beyond me.

[@hanburgundy4317]

But don't you love fighting five differently colored versions of the same few enemies, instead? 😂

[@michaellane5381]

Honestly the biggest problem is lacking vertical challenges, the only airspace with any challenges are Gleokk zones and surface level elevated hazards like gloom vines, it just doesn't elevate exploration over air drop mechanics and high flying.

[@erik3004]

Absolute love those ideas and I really like how thoughtful and carefully every new idea has been considered. I really love this channel and this is my favorite theory channel. Keep up the good work bandit, I think I'm not alone when I say that I really enjoy your content a lot!

[@erik3004]

One of my favorite ideas here would be the heart system tho, I really do miss it 🥹

[@jegend9884]

I think seasons would be a great addition to the Zelda series. I think it would be great in a Pokémon Black and White style. In those games there were some areas where during certain seasons some places were either hard to get into or completely inaccessible until you came back during a certain season. It would just add so many more ways to get into places and diversity in the environment.

[@Cherodar]

Ever played Oracle of Seasons?

[@Yukielia]

I loved all you said and agreed with everything as well. Just not really into roguelight dungeons, but otherwise, everything you said I hope they implement.

[@idiotsplayinggames4752]

I agree a lot with what you said, but there are some changes I'd make. For example, weapons. Scrap the whole find new weapons that break thing. Instead, give Link (over the course of the game) a limited arsenal of weapons, such as a great sword, a spear, a whip, a straight sword with a shield. But give them something that makes them special, like in Blasphemous 2, each weapon can do something different. Give them secret techniques that you can learn, like in Twilight princess, so that Link's moveset isn't the exact same four swings, and instead make him more of that master warrior that we expect him to be. Give it an upgrade system like in Skyward sword, so that the weapons do extra damage, look cooler, and maybe gain an extra ability, so that it incentives exploration, since now you find materials instead of weapons. At the end you still find the master sword and it replaces the Straight sword you had previously, but make it unique like the other weapons, without making them obsolete either. For example, the Master sword is the legendary blade of Evils Bane, make it so that if there's any malice or gloom or whatever that makes an area impassable, the mastersword can destroy the evil. Make it so that when there's a storm, the mastersword attracts lightning and reflects it! Like in Skyward Sword! But also allow for the mastersword to be upgraded, like in A link between worlds. Don't be afraid of restricting where a player can go! Make it so that certain areas can only be reached or fully explored when the player gains a certain item/spell/weapon, so that they have to be like "shit I can't go there, guess I'll have to come back later". Companions! Maybe give a choice or make it be only one, Zelda. Zelda is possibly the most important character in the series, yet we barely get to do much with her. The best version of Zelda is Spirit Tracks Zelda (fight me!) Because she's a companion and actually has a personality! Maybe give her an actual purpose outside of what companions usually do (exposition or hints) maybe she fights? Uses a rapier or a bow or both? Maybe that Triforce of wisdom comes in handy and she's the one to use magic? She can heal Link, set enemies aflame, or create a protective barrier, or give short range teleportation, Maybe even summon? (Basically Atreus from God of War, and the Zelda from a Hero's dream fanfiction, which is really good by the way, would recommend). Finally, since exploration now no longer rewards with weapons but materials, maybe do something more as well? Like as mentioned in the video heart pieces or stamina pieces, but also the aforementioned special techniques, but also different equipment like mount equipment or clothes, or expansion to inventory space, along with bottles or maybe optional dungeons. More side quests, maybe items that grant perks like rings similar to Blasphemous 2's statuettes (what, it's a good game!) More spells to find, items/abilities that are optional but can be helpful. And finally, if you're going to tie it to the old games, respect the lore that has been established. Totk pissed me off when Ganon broke the Mastersword because he had a special stone. You're kidding me right? A full triforce Ganon couldn't break it, and this stone allows him to? You're telling me that this stone is stronger than the full triforce? Right whatever. And none of that Rauru, goat with abs was the first king of Hyrule shit, what the fuck happened to the events of Skyward Sword? Also, no shit like finding the goddess sword, or the dusk bow unless it's an amiibo, seriously that breaks the lore so bad, Zelda games have never been lore masterpieces like souls games, but there's still stuff there that should be respected. Anyway, that's just my two cents on this video, and the improvements to the next Zelda game.

[@BlackStarSymphony]

I love all of these! I especially would've loved underwater exploration instead of the depths.

[@jupitersky]

Yup, agree to all of this. This is a fantastic presentation of the issues and some fantastic, measured solutions that are likely please everyone.

[@ThrowingCrunchy]

I'm with you on every point in this vid, but #19 especially! I play a lot of Guild Wars 2 and my absolute favorite thing about exploring the world is the variety of mounts. Each type of mount moves and handles differently with different navigational specialties. It would be very fitting to see that kind of expansion in the mount options in future LoZ games. I'd also like to see more emphasis on cooking food for your mounts! It was neat that you can feed your horse to bond faster and increase endurance. But why not any of the other buffs that link can get? What if different mounts have taste preferences to give them more character? What if over filling your mount's apatite makes them more lethargic and less responsive, like they've got the itis?

[@stachu5049]

1. Weapons: My main problem with the weapon system is that no weapons feel special. Stuff like a sword that's been passed down in your family for generations, or an ancient weapon of a legendary hero, or a big blade slowly forged by a Biggoron that you had to wirk gard to get, but is one of the most powerful weapons in the game (with some drawbacks). Now it's all pretty much "some stick dropped by a boko" or "a sword you found laying in some cavern" and even if you were to establish an emotional connection, it's gonna break anyway, like the Champions' weapons from BOTW. We really need some more legendary weapons that can grow to be considered iconic over the years. Maybe those weapons could lose some attack-damage if you don't repair them, but they shouldn't completely shatter. 2. Food: man, when I first saw the material quick-menu icon (an apple) in the gameplay showcase, I immediately thought that it's gonna be the combat-healing menu. I theoritized that maybe you could "prepare" a limited amount of food and potions that you can use during a battle and you can't use any more once you use those ones. It's such a simple thing but it would greatly rebalance the game if you could have like, 5 healing items per battle. 4. Hearts: I miss those little guys... Back in the day quests were very unique and they only sometimes had a piece of heart as a reward. You always had to complete some puzzle for them or complete a quest-line. Now you just get a shrine for most side-quests and they're really repetetive. Hearts could have many different contexts: you could find one after a parkour section, hidden in some sunken ship or recieve it from an old lady after helping her. 7. Companions: Having multiple companions to choose from would make them feel less special, don't you think? For example, in Skyward Sword Fi (Fai) is crucial to the story, but if she was just one of a bunch of companions to choose from, that would only undermine it. Also, can I just say that when I first saw Rauru's spirit I was SURE he was gonna be our companion through the whole game? I even had a dream where that happened, along with a cool traditional dungeon called The Sky Tomb where you unlock Ascend. 10. Underwater: I was SURE that Sidon's sage power was gonna be letting you swim underwater. Sure, he would have to be introduced early which would make the game more linear (apparently it's a problem to some people) but come on, that would've been great. Let's just say that the bubble was quite disapointing. 11. Items/Spells: I miss the old items. They felt legendary, they were parts of your arsenal, of your powers. They could let you unlock locations, fight in different ways and just generally be COOL. Taking away Link's items would be like taking away Mario's ability to jump! And the instruments... Man, I wanted Link to have Kass' Archordeon so much... Imagine also being able to play music for NPCs to earn some rupees! 15. Adapting story: the timeline theorists would go crazy with this one lmao. But just imagine that once the villain touches the Triforce and it splits, everyone actually gets a different piece depending on your choices and some hidden stats! Just imagine Link with the Triforce of Power, that would've been really subversive. You could maybe also have some cool powers depending on the piece! Usually the Triforce is just a McGuffin but I'd love if it could be tied in with some cool mechanic

[@FatPaps]

I love the shrine system in Totk/botw. If I could direct the next Zelda game I would have a red/green and blue shrine system where red shrines give you heart pieces/ green stamina and blue shrines would be magic meter 😎