Summary
It’s impossible to deny the critical success ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildand its direct sequel,Tears of the Kingdom.Breath of the Wildwent on to win 2017’s Game of the Year andTears of the Kingdomproved to be an improvement over its predecessor in many ways. Both installments are vastly different from any other in the franchise, as they introduced survival and open-world elements the series had never seen. However, while this different era is arguably what led to each game’s success, that era may be coming to an end as Nintendo has confirmed thatTears of the Kingdomis highly unlikely to receive a sequel.
Despite the disappointing news that theBreath of the Wildsaga is coming to an end, it could mean the return of several keyZeldafeatures that the latest games passed on, as well as the loss of some divisive features they introduced. As such, if this formula does indeed go out the window, it could offer huge relief for longtime fans oftheLegend of Zeldaseries, especially for those who have struggled to welcome the new era’s mechanics and structure with open arms.
Breath of the Wild’s Weapon Durability Mechanics Could Meet Their Long-Awaited End
One of the most controversial mechanics ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomis weapon durability. Never before had the franchise implemented weapon durability mechanics, largely because there was never any need.
The primary purpose of weapon durability inBotWandTotKhas been to encourage players to continue seeking out new weapons in each game’s vast open world. The infamous feature has certainly accomplished its purpose, but also to the end of many players wishing Nintendo would retire it just as it isLink’s Ultrahand ability. Thankfully, if theBreath of the Wildera ofZeldais departing, weapon durability could potentially leave with it.
Other Benefits to Breath of the Wild’s Formula Being Retired
The Series Could Return to More Story-Focused Gameplay
While the excellently crafted open worlds ofBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomhave been a joy to explore, they have created a problem with each game’s story, as open worlds have been known to do from time to time. The open-world model first established byBreath of the Wildhas undoubtedly set a new standard for the genre, but it still encounters the same issue that other open-world games have a difficult time avoiding. Specifically, open worlds tend to distract players from the main story, as their activities and mysteries waiting to be discovered are often difficult to resist, andBotWandTotKare no different.
IfBreath of the Wild’s open-world designis going out the window, it could also bring the series back to its more narrative-driven roots.
Classic Zelda Dungeons Could Make a Comeback
Another downside ofThe Legend of Zelda’s new era is the loss of the series' classic dungeons.Tears of the Kingdomattempted to remedy this withdungeons much more akin to classicZeldathanBreath of the Wild’s were, but they were arguably far too simple in their design and required very little from players in terms of their puzzle-solving ability. BarringBreath of the Wild’s formula retiring, the franchise could see a revival in the classicZeldadungeons that fans have been missing.
There are plenty of advantages toThe Legend of Zeldaretaining itsBreath of the Wildformula, as it has consistently proven. It could be that Nintendo chooses to keep the formula, as it has indicated in the past thatBotWwill serve as the series' new precept. However, in the case that it doesn’t, longtime fans of the series could experience a big relief in the retirement of weapon durability and the return of story-focused gameplay and classicZeldadungeons.
