On the latest episode of Bitmob’s podcast, The Mobcast, the guests discussed gaming franchises they felt had become stagnate. The first series mentioned was The Legend of Zelda. Bitmob editor, Jason Wilson, was the first to admit that he felt the series needed to be retired “or at least get such a retuning and reconfiguring that it’s something new.” The host, Dan Hsu, echoed his comments saying that, despite being ”a huge Zelda fan” during the NES, SNES, and Nintendo 64 eras, the Legend of Zelda had become “one of those series that [he's] kind of over with now.” Podcast guest Raychul Moore felt the franchise had turned into “the same game over and over again.” These comments are not without merit. Essentially, as Wilson put it, in every release “you’re getting the keys, you’re getting the better weapons, and you’re getting the little grappling hooks, etc.” which makes many gamers feel as though they’re “doing the same thing” they did in previous games. Since its 8-bit beginnings, the series has carried on standards such as weapons, story elements, enemies, characters, and puzzles which have made it feel unequivocally “Zelda”.

While I played the most recent entry in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, I was constantly struck by a nagging sensation of deja vu. As I rode the rails across the Kingdom of Hyrule, I felt as if I’d played the game before. I conquered a series of elemental-themed temples, obtained a boomerang, bow, amongst other weapons. The sights, sounds, gameplay, items, and characters were all long-standing staples of the series. It was the third game to follow the visual style introduced in The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker. This “been-there done-that” feeling often made me lose the drive to continue. There is, however, an upside to this pattern.

By importing many of the same assets from Spirit Tracks’ DS-predecessor, Phantom Hourglass, it allowed Nintendo to release a sequel in less time. It would be worse if Spirit Tracks were a bad game. However, the game is good despite feeling so familiar which is a testament to the quality of the core design. There’s a level of refinement that’s occurred as Nintendo has found a set of crucial elements needed to make a game feel like The Legend of Zelda. Puzzles have a style all their own while the combat and controls feel much tighter. The end result is a polished game full of classic Nintendo tropes. While I feel Spirit Tracks is a good game, I’m disappointed it doesn’t do much to move the series forward. While the puzzles are fun, they’re easily bested by series veterans who are wise to their trickery. Change is a difficult thing for any series, especially one as venerable and beloved as The Legend of Zelda. However, Nintendo has done it before.

When Nintendo made the bold choice to create the cartoonish visual style of Windwaker, many fans cried foul, pleading for a more adult design. It’s a fine line Nintendo must walk between sticking to its own conventions and propelling the franchise into uncharted territory. Majora’s Mask made a similarly daring shift in the creation of the game when it departed from Ocarina of Time’s design by introducing the mask mechanics as well as the three-day cycle. Like Spirit Tracks, Majora’s Mask borrowed many assets from the game that came directly before it. However, it introduced enough new elements to feel fresh. During the NES days, Zelda II: The Aventure of Link defied expectations and followed up Link’s first adventure with a side-scrolling perspective for combat and exploration. The touch-centric controls of Phantom Hourglass took the series’ classic top-down design and introduced a new way to play. While the series has seen some changes over its twenty-year lifespan, the most obvious being the jump into three dimensions, it has since begun to feel stale. Recently, President of Nintendo Saturo Iwata mentioned the upcoming 2010 release for the series’ next Wii entry. With the release approaching it’s given rise to some concerns.

Nintendo needs to mix things up and Wii Motion Plus is not enough. While Nintendo has confirmed the next Zelda will utilize the company’s Wii Motion Plus peripheral, there will hopefully be more to the experience than what we’ve seen from the last few entries in the series. Nintendo will hopefully make more bold choices and give the franchise a much-needed push in the right direction. As I said before, it’s a difficult task for Nintendo. If they change too much, some fans will be upset that they’ve muddled with the series they love so much. Others will see it as another missed opportunity to reinvigorate the franchise. When it comes to Wii sequels, Nintendo has had a mixed track-record this generation. Animal Crossing: City Folk was, for many fans, a disappointment as it felt too much like the previous games. While Nintendo added voice chat support and some minor online features, the potential had clearly not been met. While 2010 is already shaping up to be another great year for Nintendo with the next Metroid title, amongst others, for Link’s next Wii incarnation, fans can only hope Nintendo will push the boundaries of what it means to play a Legend of Zelda game.