As usual, this article will keep on the focus of things that Nintendo could add to the Legend of Zelda games which would make them more in depth and interactive. Today’s focus is the addition of skill sets on which the gamer could level up and customize.
Now this is not a brand new concept by any means. In fact this concept has been used in many best sellers. And not to overkill the entire Fallout 3 idea, but this concept was very well done in the latest Fallout installment. And in a more close to home example, we can all recall The Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link. Though a very primitive game compared to the massive games of today, The Adventure of Link was the first Zelda game to introduce the concept of skill leveling. However, since its release Nintendo has veered away from this idea and generally has avoided the entire concept of skills.
In The Adventure of Link, there were 3 areas in which gamers could level up and develop. These three were: Attack, Magic, and Stamina. Attack would increase the damage Link deals to enemies, Magic increases the amount of spells Link can cast with his MP, and his Stamina will decrease the amount of damage Link takes from enemies. At the time this was a fairly deep level of gameplay and development. However since then, as I previously mentioned, Nintendo has stopped dealing with all concepts of leveling up attributes or skills for the Legend of Zelda series.
So it is now about time for them to bring back attributes that can be raised based upon player’s actions. Doing so will include game quality and allow for a much deeper gaming experience. Afterall, gamers like being able to customize things and what better way than to customize their playable character?
Now, some of you may be asking how this could successfully be implemented in a future Zelda game. There are 2 possible solutions to this question. The first of which is a character level up system which I do not see as being accepted by most Zelda fans who are used to the usual Zelda formula. So this leaves another option that I find would be a much better option. Instead of having Link level up in a numerical kind of system it could be done through tasks that the gamer performs and interactions within the game.
To further explain things, In Fallout 3, the playable character increases his skill sets by gaining experience and can get up to level 30. At each level he has the option of applying points to a variety of skills such as lock-picking, bartering, sneaking, and explosive weapons. Then the character is able to increase the skill level of more indirect traits such as Strength, Luck, Charisma, Intelligance, and so on. The latter of which are set at the beginning of the game and can be raised on a few occasions within the game. What I propose is a combination of these two ideas.
At the beginning of the game I propose that Link should start off with all of his traits at level 0. He should then be given 10-15 points to assign to skills of the gamer’s choice. Some trait ideas that I suggest are
- Strength – damage Link deals
- Endurance – get more life from his hearts
- Magic – magical strength
- Charisma – ability to get along with people and persuade them
- Intelligence – puzzle solving skills.
Now instead of leveling up these traits in the normal Final Fantasy level kind of system I suggest having these traits get raised through in-game options and actions performed by the gamer. Let’s say that Link is presented with a challenge. He could try to convince a foe to move out of the way or he could challenge the same enemy to a fight for the prize. One would obviously effect Charisma and the other Strength. At the same time, it would be great if certain actions could only be completed if Link had a minimum skill requirement in a certain trait. For instance, maybe Link would need a level 7 of Intelligence to solve a puzzle and acquire a bonus item.
Of course these traits could not just be raised through decision making events. Nintendo would need to find another way to gradually increase these traits throughout the course of the game. The best possible solution for this is to have specific traits be raised based upon how the gamer chooses to progress. No not like above when there are specific events, but in terms of just general gameplay. Does the gamer use his sword more then usual? Increase his strength. Does he lend a hand to everybody who needs help? Increase his Charisma. Does the gamer cast spells on enemies before attacking? Increase magic level. Does the gamer solve puzzles quickly? Increase Intelligence level. And so on and so on.
Ok, now that we have a general idea of how this could be implemented we can now discuss why this would make gameplay better. As it has already been made clear, the addition of traits could allow gamers to complete tasks with different outcomes. This would make the Zelda games less linear and allow for greater variety.
And non-playable characters would obviously interact with you differently if you had different skills. If you have a high charisma you would be able to barter down the price of a Shield from 500 to 300. Or you would be able to convince a guard to provide you with some inside information on what is going on inside the castle. If you have a high Intelligence level then perhaps you would be able to get an in-game clue to various puzzles inside of the dungeons.
There are just so many different possibilities that go along with this idea. Zelda Wii is supposed to be shown at next years E3 event. Will there be the inclusion of skills? I doubt it very much. However, maybe we will get lucky and they will read this and surprise us all. I for one would be very happy if Nintendo were to allow me, as the gamer, to customize Link and let the quest change accordingly.
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