You also can’t climb in the rain, with Link being encouraged to find another route up a mountain the moment a drop of water falls from the sky. These are all polarising mechanics, and for good reason, but they also help define Breath of the Wild as a special experience that always changes things up, seldom having you repeat the same tasks in order to complete your objective. If it wasn’t different, it wouldn’t be Zelda.

The classic approaches weren’t bad or archaic. It’s a common misconception. They often had janky controls, poor accessibility, or even overly difficult game design - but the aesthetic was never to blame. The industry has ironed out a lot of these creases over the years to create much smoother experiences, and the indie space is proof enough that 2D doesn’t mean old and obtuse. The Binding of Isaac takes the original Zelda and makes it a roguelike, even sharing its UI, dungeon format, and item pickup animation - the inspirations ooze. Undertale is a 2D RPG that has combat expressed through a small box that has you avoiding the bullet-hell barrage - it doesn’t rely on fancy graphics. Little Dew is a more comedic Zelda that feels like an HD rendition of the classics with a quaint, cartoony art style. These are all iconic titles, despite not being 3D triple-A blockbusters. Meanwhile, when Nintendo wants to revive its classic library, it does so by modifying its 2D approach, 3Dizing them instead. Look no further than the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Pokemon gam

The removal of design decisions previously viewed as irksome would undermine so much of what Breath of the Wild managed to achieve, and the last thing I want to see is Nintendo steering its formula in a direction that abides by more traditional genre conventions. Assassin’s Creed and Nightreign Sales similar games of this ilk are arguably more akin to content mill, built to draw you in for hundreds of hours even if much of that time is filled with uninspired busywork. The time you spend with the game is what matters, and Breath of the Wild managed to challenge a system that has become increasingly tired in the eyes of players. Its sequel needs to continue chasing that ambition, and not compromise on its own design ethos.

It’s not unlike animation’s seemingly unanimous move toward CGI, leaving 2D behind as a relic of the medium. Disney likely won’t ever make something in the style of The Jungle Book or The Lion King again when Tangled, Moana, and Frozen have such a wide appeal. Anime is huge in its own right but it doesn’t have the same pull in the West as Pixar, Disney, or DreamWorks - all of which have moved toward CGI animation. Indies in gaming hanging onto the old approach is like anime retaining its 2D style. Nintendo taking Zelda back in time would be akin to Disney releasing a new animated film in 2D. It would show that the approach still has a place and it would pave the way for others to do the same in whatever shape or form that might take. I wasn’t particularly optimistic about this ever being a possibility but now, with Metroid Dread , there’s a glimmer of hope on the hori

The last 2D Zelda was released in 2004 - The Minish Cap . It was followed by Twilight Princess , Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword , A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, and Breath of the Wild. Now, we have a sequel to the latter on the way. 2D Zelda seems to have died out, but that’s because 2D as a whole has seemingly been tossed to the wayside. Even now, remakes of 2D games opt to 3Dize them (if that isn’t a term, it is now). When I say that Nintendo should release another 2D game, I’m not talking about a remaster or remake or even the style of the 2D games but in 3D a la Link’s Awakening for the Switch. I’m talking flat, 2-dimensional sprites - the whole kaboo

It would be interesting to have a sort of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes type of release for the remake in order to get players excited for it and to also set up Leon better. Maybe they could even include cut content like the ghost house or the Hook

Breath of the Wild followed the evolution of RPGs across the industry - open-world, 3D, and filled with side objectives and little tidbits to do besides the main story. The difference was that it revolutionized open-world games, as evidenced by the titles it has since inspired like Genshin Impact, Immortals Fenyx Rising, and Horizon Forbidden West, but Nintendo’s been there and done that… twice now. Whatever comes after Breath of the Wild 2 will determine Zelda’s future trajectory in a rather significant way. For current generations, BOTW is what put the series on the map. I had friends that played the DS and Game Boy ones at school but it was never a part of my childhood. What really drew my eye to the series was BOTW. Granted, I’m 21 so in my age group, I’m no doubt an anomaly. I imagine that for those much younger, however, Zelda is known as that open-world jaunt on the Swi