I've been out of circuit with upcoming games lately so I only know bits n pieces of Zelda U.
Tbh the open world thing + map scares me a bit that Nintendo may go the " Mission Sandbox " route with just one big overworld and everything visible off the bat filled with very random feeling content.
I actually liked that in the past there were places dedicated to themes for Gorons/Zoras/etc. with some nice closed off areas that surprised you at times ( Gerudo stealth segments in the N64 era for instance ).
What's your opinion @
Lozjam
? am I being too worried ? :u
I know Aonuma really well(Despite not knowing him in person, or even seeing the man), I have read almost every interview he has ever posted, and I have read, and even created many Zelda Wii U analyses myself that some turned out to be true. While it is "open world" it is definitely not going to be like Skyrim, nor is there going to any shortage of sidequests either. When it comes to an open world, I think it is going to be exactly what the series set out to do. With the original Legend of Zelda, you could go anywhere you wanted, yet some things were "blocked off". I think it will be the same with Zelda Wii U. Aonuma has been revisiting that with ALBW, HW, WWHD, and MM3D. He has stated many times he wanted to revisit what made Zelda games good. and put all of those things culminated into a single Zelda game.
If you are worried about a story too, do not. Aonuma has stated
Looking at the comments on Miiverse regarding Hyrule Warriors, it’s been great to see a lot of positive feedback. But one of the things that leaves me with rather complicated feelings is that people are saying, “Oh wow, I really love the cutscenes in this game! This is better than the stuff Nintendo does!” Of course, that leaves me a little conflicted, and gives me a mission now to make sure that the new Zelda game that I’m working on can hold its own in that aspect against Hyrule Warriors!
So the cutscenes will be good, meaning there will be a story.
Not only that, but Miyamoto has stated that the world will change depending on what you do. What this says to me, is a story and gameplay that is unique to each playthrough. I predict that the overworld will change, and become more troubled with each dungeon you complete. This would provide an excellent contrast to the initial beauty of Zelda Wii U, and into a darker, malevolent world. I believe this is going to happen because of Majoras Mask 3D as well. I suspect that if you can complete dungeons in any order, then they will also get more difficult, the more dungeons.
For the places with dedicated themes. Do not worry. Miyamoto stated in the iJustine interview that the a single area, is as big as the world in Twilight Princess. Now this was very interesting to me, as the mention of TP caught my eye. So I did an analysis. You can see many of the areas withing Zelda Wii U's map that are from, or inspired by TP, more like it. It is right here, I also apologize for the shoddy workmanship, I am no artist.
There is going to be a lot of content however. Miyamoto also stated that you could get distracted and do as much as 50 things while completing one objective. But I am sure, everything will have more reason to it, unlike Skyrim. ALBW pulled that off marvelously.
All in all, I do not think you have reason to worry. Let us keep our eyes and ears open for new information, and hope for the best. I think they will deliver though, as the whole premise of Zelda Wii U was very well thought out. I think Zelda Wii U has the opportunity to be the best Zelda game we have ever seen.