The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U/NX)

[OL]

Nah, he's probably right. He didn't say better than the 64, mind you, just that it could be the best since the 64. The Gamecube obviously had just about the weakest library in Nintendo's entire history, and though the Wii had a few truly great titles it was also a bit weak in terms of the overall library (though I know there are those who will disagree with me on that wither way).
The Wii-U is starting to get some great announcements, so if they keep this up, it doesn't seem too out-there that it could be their best since the 64 (barring handhelds, of course; the library on the DS was amazing).

[AnimeGamer183]

It is honestly absolutely astonishing how long nintendo has been able to keep themselves afloat with their first party games, they will even revive a fan favorite every now and then. its just amazing to me that the same characters and premises can get cycled as much as theirs and yet everyone still loves them, like some how each game is mixed up a little bit differently and is kept fresh because of that. Even though many people are actually tired of nintendo and their franchises at this point, gaming owes alot to them for innovating and pioneering alot of what has become standard.

That being said, I think times are changing once again, and someone is going to step up and do something gorund breaking and set the standard once again. I am hoping this new Zelda on Wii-U can do that. This game needs to be the Ocarina of Time of this era if Nintendo plans on making the Wii-U be successful. My only concern is that the system is so underpowered to have this zelda make history like OoT did (maybe its un realistic to ever think they could do that again honestly), but if there was a dev crazy enough to pull it off, it would definitely be nintendo. Which is why I also think there are other devs that could streal the show for setting the new industry standards with gameplay innovation. I really hope we get some fresh takes on gaming this gen.

[Kenny]

It's really easy to say things like "fresh takes" and "needs to make history like X before it" but it's not easy to execute that.

I think Nintendo dug themselves a hole when they released the 64 era games. They were amazing but the pinnacle of what those franchises can offer in terms of entertainment. For Zelda, Star Fox, Mario, ect to be huge again they need to go above and beyond the Skyward Swords, Mario Galaxies, and Star Fox...anything after the 64 one, really.

[AnimeGamer183]

The jump from Super Mario World to Mario 64, and A Link to the Past to Ocarina of Time probably is one of a kind and im really not sure anything like that could ever happen again. Not only is it a jump from 2D to 3D, but even the mechanics behind what all they were able to do with their first games in 3D is absurd and its baffling to think they were able to figure it all out and get it all to fit on a small N64 cart and come out the gates with that high of quality. But I think Nintendo did kind of shoot themselves in the foot by doing all that. Even the N64 hardware itself, why jump from 16bit to 64 the way they did? The N64 introduced a glorified analog stick, which has stuck ever since, just all these things. Maybe it was just entirely too ahead of its time?

I think the problems we have now, is technology is desperately trying to catch up with the ideas people have for games now a days, I think there are more grandiose ideas than there are technology to harness them. Like what more can really be done with controller, screen, peripherals and progressively higher resolution graphics and more realisim and artistic expression? There is way too much rehashing of game play styles in games today, but i guess its always been like that. I think peripherals are probably the key, but alot of people just think they are gimmicks, so its like as much as developers want to make some new innovative games that incorporate new game play ideas with new innovative control mechinisms like a wiimote or kinect or PS Move or touch screen, alot of people just arent ready for some of those and even want to stick with what they already know, like the balance of being able to not take the gamer completely out of what they are familiar with is key. Judging the game market and being an games analyst must be incredibly hard job, at point do you know that people want a new crazy way to control their games and can actually turn a profit with it? Sounds like walking an extremely thin line.

[Peter]

It's also part of being at this generation if gaming whilst having experienced what was generally the beginning. Jumps from 8bit, 16bit, 32bit etc... The bar always raised so much. Now we are at the stage where graphics just get marginally better and game play wise, what's being done has probably been done before in a way. The saturation of the gaming world continues. But when will it be the case where people just give up?

[elfshadowreaper]

Aonuma has said that there might be a playable demo at next year's E3, which would mean that release is still well over a year off. Plus the Starfox game isn't scheduled for another 18 months at least....

That's what disappoints me so much. Last year they said they didn't want to show it too early. But this year they only showed 45 seconds. I'm glad they seem focused on quality over quantity but it's been in development for at least two years now. I'm in no hurry to buy the Wii U until zelda comes out.

And fwiw I'm not into the cel shading. It's pretty but I think it leaves a lot to be desired. There's just a lack of texture. I liked the twilight princess graphics better. And I too wish a zelda game could explore darker stories. We need more redeads and less tingle. I'm soooo glad to see a return to having a horse. I hated how skyward sword's world was so small compared to twilight princess.

[Kenny]

I agree AG, it feels like people focus more on graphical power and peripheral gimmicks now. But the difference between then and now is we are rehashing gameplay formulas from the past. I think the jump from 2D to 3D had alot to do with that, Super Mario Bros. was basically the same game (minus the second one for obvious reasons) until it jumped to 3D.

Thing is, you can't really fuck with a solid formula. Mario's 3D mechanics are sublime as are Zelda's. My major beef with the new installments though is that they don't have the magic the 64 games had. By magic, I mean the soundtracks aren't as brilliant. The level designs don't feel as immersive. Everything is bigger and graphically superior, but it feels empty.

I still think they need to go much bigger than what they're doing now, and by bigger I mean add more detail. Like with Star Fox, make it more free roaming and highly encourage exploration in between major missions (destroy X starbase). Have more conversations between more characters. That's what made the N64 game feel bigger, the inclusion of Kat and Bill as side characters that only pop up when you go past certain areas. Same with Star Wolf. If you have characters that only pop up when you go through certain areas, it'll feel much bigger.

Not sure what you could do with Mario or Zelda. Maybe with Mario, take him back down from the Galaxy to his own World again. With Zelda, I still want the anti-Link thing but that aside make Hyrule have more side missions like in Skyrim or those MMORPGs (keep it offline, obviously). I'm sure Skyward and Twilight had lots of side missions, but in Windwaker and Ocarina they were littered with them. With each character offering those missions having their own story to tell. It made the world of Hyrule feel bigger.

I'm not sure if they did this already, but did any of the Zeldas open with Link running away from his village burning from the ground? Monsters or Ganon's goons are attacking and Link has to fight back and save his fellow Kokiris? Maybe it's going more into the dark territory which is what Nintendo is straying away from in this installment, but i'm not sure how you can make whimsical exciting especially since Windwaker did it pretty well already.

Those are my thoughts. I have more to say with Star Fox though, that franchise is much more personal to me than the other Nintendo franchises. It sparked my imagination like no other and I feel it has the most potential to grow.

[elfshadowreaper]

I've always maintained that zelda oot and mario 64 were so great because Nintendo did so well with their first foray into a 3d environment. They were perfect games. So everything else couldn't compare. And then you had so many other games in 3d worlds. So much was done in those first few years of 3d world games that everything after that was old hat.

So we're not expecting this game until late 2015? That's unbelievable. There's so much riding on the wii u Nintendo needs to get all hands on deck for Zelda and star fox, make sure they're great games and get them out. I've always lamented the fact that after OOT and majoras mask it's been at least 3 years between 3d zelda games. And usually one per system. That's insane and just makes me more irritated for buying a system for just a few games.

And I'm still waiting on a mario successor to galaxy. I don't like the "new super mario X" games. They're trying to make it multiplayer. My last favorite mario game was sunshine. Galaxys were fun but I missed the bigger worlds.

[MiTT3NZ]

What "leap" from Super Mario World to Mario 64? I can't think of a single Nintendo game that had a better 64 version than SNES, bar Zelda (seriously, the 2D Zelda games are mind numbingly overrated)

I'll admit, I never played Perfect Dark or GoldenEye, but other than the Zelda games, every single 64 entry I played was a pile of shit on par with the Triceratops turd in Jurassic Park. Fair enough, it probably had a lot to do with the idiotically designed controller, but either way, I'm still baffled to this day why people hold it up on sub a huge pedestal. It was just awful. I even despise playing on the "classic 64 tracks" on later Mario Kart entries. The console was just plain wank.

[Kenny]

^You totally don't get it, we understand.

Though some games like Goldeneye didn't really age very well, I find the other games are just as playable as games like Pacman, Tetris, and classic Mario. I've beaten OOT and Mario 64 so many times on emulation, it's ridiculous.

[Henry Spencer]

Yeah, I've played Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, Goemon's Great Adventure (Mystical Ninja 2), Sin & Punishment, Star Fox 64/LylatWars and Mischief Makers a lot over the years. They're all-time favourites of mine, that stood up to the test of time for me.

The likes of GoldenEye on the other hand, has aged not too well unfortunately though, agreed on that. As has Mission Impossible, Banjo Kazooie and Mario Kart. The only game left on the N64 that I still want to see how it's aged is the original Smash Bros, but it's so expensive nowadays.

I'm getting a rather strange sense of déjà vu at the moment, by the way...(I'm not trying to be insulting saying that, it's honestly just a vibe I'm getting. Weird...)

[Kenny]

I think Banjo Kazooie aged very well. I beat that one alot of times as well. Tooie not so much but then again I was never a big fan of it when it first came out anyway.

I think the original Smash Bros. might be okay still, mostly because it hasn't deviated at ALL since then:

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The appeal to that game though is the roster of characters you can play, like some fighting games that are virtually the same with every installment. Which is why I'm excited for the new one, playing Megaman especially.

[Giorgio]

[elfshadowreaper]

Now that looks amazing! If they do indeed keep such a bright world during the day I hope they make the nights dark dark. Make it a place you wouldn't want to leave the safety of your home unless you were a warrior.

[Thief]

I think the N64 does deserve the praise it gets but honestly... the best system since the N64 was the Nintendo Gamecube. There are so many wonderfully amazing games on the Nintendo Gamecube -- I'd even be as bold as to say it's my favorite (best) 6th generation console... although the PS2 is a wonderful contender. I am absolutely shocked at how often the Gamecube gets shoved under the rug.

The Wii, however, is the most disappointing system that Nintendo has put out. I've heard people tell me time on time again that the Wii library is great and I'm just not looking hard enough. Wrong. I know everything.