Thinking about the Wild era of Zelda, especially Tears of the Kingdom, honestly makes me a sad because I feel like it shows how Nintendo has changed their plan for this franchise, or i don't know :')
I think Wind Waker and Majora's Mask are probably the best examples of what I'm trying to say: Majora's Mask was made after Ocarina of Time ((a game often considered one of the greatest video games of all time and gave us many new things in gaming in general)) and Miyamoto didn't want to make a sequel unless it brought something new to the franchise. So Aonuma did it, only one year to create Majora's Mask, yet he managed to make something entirely new. New game with a new world, side quests and a story that still means a lot to fans. Like story who explores themes like grief, nostalgia, loss, and the transition from childhood to adulthood, talk to people.
Wind Waker is another example because it also followed Ocarina of Time, but instead of simply repeating what had already worked, or keeping the same essense like mm, it tried to push the series forward. The art style and story reflect the changes of the timeline split while assuming itself as the continuity of the hero of time, or rather the hero of time's Hyrule. Like the beginning of the game is an echo of OOT: three pearls ((red, blue, green)), three dungeons, the green tunic, but then the story breaks away and introduce a more personal version of Ganondorf with his own regrets and motivations, the broken triforce and the kingdom being undersea.
Then we have Tears of the Kingdom 💀
It followed Breath of the Wild and took six years to develop, but it reused the same map and even brought back some horrible aspect of the game like collecting Korok Seeds ???
The story is good i suppose, but not extraordinary. To me, it just set aside franchise's lore, what the older games ((and also the fan's theories)) had created, so it bring a lot of informations that doesn't even fit with what came before. Even exploration, which is supposed to be one of the game's biggest strengths feels less rewarding because it's the same, and often just give you clothes or consumable. Worst is how some story contents are locked behind a pay wall ((the memories on Nintendo mobile app with the online)) ???
Nintendo created WW to ensure that Zelda became more than just OOT ans now they have spent 10 years to focus on the wild era, with too much games that are tied to the same formula ((two hyrule warriors, two mainline game)). MM hve the whole masks transformations, but the wild era is only powers given by objects ((Sheikah Slate/Rauru's arm.)) Personally, i think they're horrible to use😭
I think this is why I've never been able to fully connect with BOTW or TOTK tbhhh
Maybe they don't feel as deep to me as previous games, or maybe they're simply not the kind of Zelda games I enjoy ?? But it only make me hope they don't try to make another one like this. What piss me of the woest is how they already shown that they knows how to make sequels 😭 but we keeps returning to the wild era and i'm so tired of how it has ((will keep on ???)) influencing newer games like Link's cape in Echoes of Wisdom, who has the patterns of clothing from BOTW, even if i know it's only visual, i find it sad and tiring
I'm so so so so excited about the OOT remake ! The new style and redesign look already amazing, but at the same time, I hope Nintendo doesn't become stuck with it after, like how they did with the wild era. 😭 or worst, to make the OOT remake have the same gameplay as BOTW or somthing just to be appealing to newer fans.
I'd love to see another mainline Zelda game too.... we need more things that are actually new, and with a striking story like WW's take on Hyrule and all
Anyways i will stop rambling sorry x)