My Advice for a Zelda GameM
By Christian Warrior
First off, as far as the game engine or plot, God only knows how that's going to go, but here's what the general thing should be like.
For starters things need to be more unpredictible. In Zelda 64, you knew how it was going to go on those last seven dungeons, look around, fight off little critters, find keys, the occasional new artifact, get the boss key, beat the boss, and get a pendent. If things are going to be suspenful, they need to make events vary a little from one castle to the next. Take for instance the jump from collecting the Spiritual Stones to the Pendents. That was plot developement. You didn't know if that collection series was the last one until you started collecting the Pendents. I say the story line should continue to thicken as you travel around. Maybe you wouldn't know what it was you had to defeat until the last castle. Then, instead of saying, "well, I've got two more Pendents to go before the game ends," you'd say, "what happens once this lave guy dies out?" See? Now that's suspenseful, you never know what's around the corner waiting for you at the next castle or where the plot's going until you complete it.
Secondly you should have to get everything to beat the game. Not like for getting the Triforce in Ocarine of Time, but just to defeat the last enemy. This way there aren't any of these smarty boys going around boasting how they got through the game without any extra heart pieces (trust me, they're out there), because you know it's impossible. To keep you from doing anything before you have enough hearts, maybe there should be this type of program that sends you back around the same area when you're going to a fortress if you're not ready. Then you could have something like Navi (but less annoying) telling you what you're missing. This would eliminate the week long frustration search for that one little item you didn't get.
That brings me to my next point. In the game, finding the little things should be easy and finding the big ones should be hard. Take for instance if you're at a castle and you have the boss key, the tool used for killing the bad dude you gotta kill, and you've been in the place for a week because there's a key door you can't unlock. When it comes to finding little items, there should only be minimal challenge. But if the last key is left open for you to see it, then somethings wrong. If the key is so important then there should be a mini-boss gaurding it, that way you know that if you're having trouble just getting to the final enemy, then fighting him (or her, sorry ladies..) won't be a day in the park.
For an idea on boss enemies, the fight should consist of stages. The best example of this I found in Ocarina of Time would have to be the evil Barinade in Jabu-Jabu's belly. Everytime you think you've killed this guy, he comes up with another type of attack. This oughta hold true for all the bosses, and they should correspond to their environment. Zelda 64 did a good job of this, though the Phantom Ganon was a little odd. What does a phantom have to do with a forest? Well, I suppose the ghost that stole the flames could account for him, though they didn't really make the whole thing quite come together at the end of the temple. Like in the great Deku Tree, all the time these plants and wierd animals are coming at you, and then queen Ghoma comes at you, and you think, "oh, so that's why everythings so messed up."
Of course the final castle needs some commenting. They really shouldn't do this scenario when you go through sepate levels that are just like the first original castles. That reminds me of the way a teacher would plan out a semester exam. Make them go over everything they've done so far, then give them stuff they've never seen before. If the last castle is going to be scary, then make it long and hard, but don't do anything related to the previous levels.
And now finally we come to the last enemy of the game. It's what we've played for the whole time.
How do you make it good? Here's my idea: have the battle play out for a long time. I mean a real, real long time. In fact, there should be a warning that tells you you're about to get involved in a battle that could take at least a half hour, so if mommy says it's time for school you don't have to go through the entire day wishing you couldv'e finished the fight and not turn it off. And refering to the type of battle, I thought it would be neat if the battle field was big. Take Hyrule field for example. What if Ganon chased you from the fallen castle out through the market square (which hopefully he would trample) and into the field. Maybe have a little cinema with the ranch workers fleeing for their lives while Ganon gets ready to chop you down to size with his battle axes.
Well, I suppose that all I can say for now, I'd comment on a Zelda movie, but that's another editorial all together.
