However, I think the first game was a stark indicator that this isn’t a company playing by the rules anymore. Knowing this, I’m hopeful Breath of the Wild 2 will be the most narrative-heavy Zelda game we’ve ever seen, perhaps even superseding Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess with the amount of dialogue it’s willing to subject us to. As long as it’s in service of a wonderful story, I’m more than happy to sit back and sink in.
The real wildcard is the new landmass that floats in the sky, a location that could throw everything we know out the window and incorporate a playstyle that is completely different from anything we’ve seen before. Link ( or could it be Ganon or Zelda? ) is capable of morphing through solid objects and flying through the air, so perhaps the need for climbing is obsolete in these circumstances. There are so many questions, but even now it seems Nintendo is acknowledging some of the previous game’s flaws and instead of removing them, is introducing diverse new gameplay ideas that provide other avenues of movement and traversal. Don’t just ditch the encumbrance of climbing in the rain or fragile weapons – instead, provide alternate ways of movement and combat that force you to rethink previously frustrating moments in a new way. Blatant removal feels like cowardice.
Nintendo has built up a cast of beloved supporting characters, so expand upon them and make them matter. Age of Calamity did a solid job of this, although I wasn’t a fan of its more eccentric approach to storytelling – still, it’s a good blueprint to follow if the overall tone is given a few much-needed adjustments. Breath of the Wild was so compelling because of the mystery that defined it, each hesitant step into its sprawling world rewarding us with riches and a freeform experimentation in gameplay that nothing in the open world genre has been able to match since. It’s a marvel, and something the sequel should build upon as opposed to replicating with only a few key changes.
As we learn more about Resident Evil 8: Village , a significant portion of the original rumors have proved accurate, and while that’s exciting news for the next-generation sequel, it gives far more credence to another project rumored to be in the works at Capcom. The success of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 immediately led to speculation that a remake of the genre-defining Resident Evil 4 would be the next game in line after Resident Evil 8 . Based on the Resident Evil 8 announcement, let’s take a look at how the rumors stacked up in the end and what that could mean for Resident Evil 4 Rema
Aside from this, the storytelling in Breath of the Wild is very much what you make of it. If you’ve played the game before, you’ll know that Link has access to a number of cryptic photographs on his Sheikah Slate that represent locations spread across the open world. You are given no map icons or hints as to where these places are, you simply need to look at the images and work things out for yourself. It’s a wondrous journey of discovery, and providing us with nuggets of narrative as opposed to temporary rewards makes seeking them out all the more satisfying. I love this approach, but mostly for what it represents as opposed to how it contributes to the game’s overall pacing.
This didn’t feel the same in Resident Evil 3 or Village, due to a forgiving focus on action and campaigns that were so short that you never had enough time to feel overwhelmed. You’re on a relatively linear track of varying locations and setpieces, meaning Ethan Winters and Jill Valentine never feel lost or alone amidst foreign circumstances. They’re also armed to the teeth, so zombies and werewolves that would feel like the end of the world to a normal civilian are little more than pesky obstacles to our unstoppable her
However, neither of these games encourage experimentation like Breath of the Wild does, so it’s much easier to provide us with an easier mode of traversal instead of artificially increasing the time required to reach our destination. However you slice it, these games viewed climbing in the rain and weapon degradation as negatives, choosing to build upon Nintendo’s vision by removing them entirely. I understand why games that adopt so many of the ideas pioneered by Breath of the Wild opt to change them, because every game is different and it’s unfair to tar them all with the same brush. That being said, I don’t want the upcoming sequel to follow in their footsteps. Nintendo needs to stick to its guns, favouring clumsy wet traversal and obscenely delicate weapons over an adventure that simplifies things to the point of triviality.
If the remake of Resident Evil 4 decides to trim the fat in a similar way to 2 and 3, it will lose moments like this. The original is the longest game in the franchise by a significant margin, and this is for good reason. Each major location is like a game in itself, taking time to introduce you to their threats, puzzles, and further intricacies before things inevitably descend into an avalanche of action. You hurl grenades around like other modern entries, but here it feels earned, like you’ve triumphed over unstoppable horrors and can finally take your revenge. The campaign being cut short would rob these moments of their brilliance, and this isn’t how newcomers should experience one of the Best Nintendo Characters survival horror games ever concei
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