Nintendo’s E3 presentations were some of the most exciting of the event and one of the main draws was their reveal of a brand new Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U. In the trailer Eiji Aonuma, a director and producer of many of the games in the Zelda series, explains how Nintendo had been struggling to recreate the feeling of a vast world that was felt in the first game. The repeated use of the word ‘vast’ and the fact you supposedly could ‘enter any area from any direction’ set the gaming world alight with talk of a new open world Zelda with boundless exploration.
However in Nintendo’s recent 74th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Shigeru Miyamoto was asked about the upcoming Zelda game. In his answer he explains that he does not like using the term ‘open world’ in development. This instantly conjures worries that Nintendo are failing to deliver on their lofty promises about the new game and suggests that the new game may not be ‘open world’ after all. He says they used this term to ‘ make it easier for consumers to understand’.
Having said this Miyamoto is extremely keen to assert that Nintendo are looking into changing the formula of the Zelda franchises away from the traditional linear dungeon style. This would suggest that perhaps an ‘open world’ style Zelda is what is in the works for Nintendo. This is further supported by the explanation that ‘Nintendo are aiming to develop a game style in which you can enjoy “The Legend of Zelda” freely in a vast world’. Hopefully Nintendo are able to deliver on their promises and the new Wii U Zelda game will be a fresh new installation to the beloved series.
