Do you remember the first Legend Of Zelda game you played? Mine was the Gamecube version of The Wind Waker, and its one of about five gaming experiences that will stay with me until the day I die, assuming my mental faculties hold out. Wind Waker's mix of stunning visuals, playful gameplay, compelling storytelling and curiosity fuelled adventuring kickstarted a love affair with the franchise thats lasted 13 years and seen me buy almost every title and some inadvisably expensive merch. The Wii Us first, and probably only, original Zelda entry is due to land sometime in 2016, barring any further delays or a sudden shift to the NX console that's in development. As always, there's a lot of speculation about just what the game will entail in terms of story and dungeons, but we can safely assume that some of the series' most well-recognisable elements will return in some form or another. Still, no Zelda game is perfect, no matter how great it is, and there are a lot of elements and missteps from previous titles that this newest iteration would do well to avoid...
8. Stop Giving Us One-Off Weapons
Picture the scene, you've explored roughly half of the dungeon, deciphering fiendishly tricksy practical puzzles and breaking as many pots and vases as you can find. Finally, you stumble into a room with a treasure chest containing the exact item you need to make your way to vanquish the boss. You approach it with anticipation, an eerie green light washing over the screen as the music builds to a soaring, triumphant climax. It's exciting, it's what you've been waiting for, it's... it's a second clawshot. Brilliant. The dual clawshots of Twilight Princess aren't the only disappointing item of recent times, in fact TP also had the woeful Spinner (the steam-punk stairlift) whilst Skyward Sword gave us Gust Bellows (farts in a bag) and the whip, an item so pathetically superfluous that I can't be bothered to make up a gag. Far too often these items have been used purely to complete the dungeon that they're located in, and maybe one challenge in a later level. The best weapons in Zelda though, are the ones that can be used in top-world play, such as the bow and arrow and bombs. Wind Waker had a good grasp on this when it gave us the versatile Deku Leaf, and with a huge open world to explore, hopefully Nintendo will give us the tools to really explore it.
Stereotypically awkward writer, gamer and general nerd. Dislikes writing in the third person, likes tea as much as the next man but not as much as a typical blogger and has breath as fresh as a summer ham.
