Former employees say Zelda series was in serious development troubles before Breath of the Wild

Abstract:

It is easy to forget that not long ago, the fixed gameplay of the Zelda series made fans feel boring: "Twilight Princess" was often criticized for excessively copying the routines of "Ocarina of Time". Although "Sword of the Sky" received praise from the media, it was also criticized for its design that excessively guides players. These works are now regarded as classics by players, but at the time, the entire series was in desperate need of an innovation.

"Breath of the Wild" and "Tears of the Kingdom" seem to be facing similar controversies now. Many active players have called on Nintendo to completely abandon the open world model and return to a more traditional Zelda experience. But it was the audacious attempt to get Link into the vast expanse of Hyrule that saved the series. Former Nintendo employee Krista Young bluntly said that the Zelda game at the time "sold poorly and could hardly be sold."

"I remember going to player focus groups, and it was a really dark moment, and the feedback was that the core fan base was losing ground," added showrunner Kit Ellis, also a former Nintendo employee. "The series was not attracting new players. We had detailed data on each game, sales were lower than the last, and interest among the player base continued to dwindle. They had to do something drastic."

Kit believes that the so-called Zelda team started over and created an experimental open world work at the "peak of popularity" is a "narrative revised after the fact" - at that time, fans had already lost interest in the series. Just comparing the sales gap can confirm this: the total sales of "Breath of the Wild" on the Wii U and Switch platforms exceeded 36 million copies, while the original Wii "Sword of the Sky" only sold 3.5 million copies. "Tears of the Kingdom" has also sold nearly 23 million copies. It is the open world work that makes Zelda return to the ranks of top IPs.

Of course, the revelation brought by this success is that the open-world Zelda is by no means better. Nintendo should always produce Breath of the Wild-style works. It was precisely the solidification of the gameplay that led to the initial decline of the series. The real experience is: Only by boldly innovating the core gameplay and making breakthroughs can you reap rewards. The development team must not limit itself to a single style, otherwise it will only cause players to experience aesthetic fatigue again.