Game Continuity and The Legend of Zelda

Not too long ago, I got dragged into a debate on a message-board about timelines and continuity in The Legend of Zelda series. It has been a very contentious topic ever since GameTrailers.com popularized the subject by coming up with a theory in the final part of their Zelda retrospective. Now then, I am not interested in talking about how various Zelda games connect together, or whether or not these theories are correct or not. I want to talk about whether or not game designers, either those involved in making Zelda games or on other franchises, should worry about continuity within a franchise or not.

There are a few drawbacks to focusing on continuity in a series like the Zelda series, which can have an impact on a game designer's freedom. First of all, if the game designers wanted a Zelda game to fit into a continuity at some place, that choice would necessitate certain world-building choices. For example, if Nintendo made the decision to make a Zelda game take place immediately after A Link to the Past, they could not use Gorons or Kokiri, or make any non-human a sage, without having to make a lot of explanations inside the game. In order to uphold continuity, a game designer cannot make glaring contradictions to previous games in the series. Thus, the game designers are bound by the decisions made by previous directors and writers.

Furthermore, putting games in the same continuity mandates the presence of continuity nods, like what appear in Twilight Princess and Wind Waker around the stories of ancient heroes wearing green. However, relying too much on continuity nods to explain story details can cause problems if your audience hasn't played the previous games. For example, the fact that there are Triforce marks on the hands of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in Twilight Princess that represent the power of the Triforce pieces is something that only makes sense to someone who has played Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker, particularly since the word Triforce is not mentioned once in Twilight Princess. However, there are plenty of gamers who have played neither of those games. You can't count on your audience's knowledge of the series. Relying on continuity to fill in storytelling gaps can be problem. Ideally, every videogame should be self-contained enough to make sense by itself.

However, there are other story telling methods and ways of managing continuity that have very successful precedent in film and television. One example is the Mobile Suit Gundam series. Originally, all Gundam series were part of a single continuity. However, after the movie Char's Counterattack, the time jumps in the story were big enough that the entire setting had changed too much to even be recognizable. However, while the series had lost most of the advantages of continuity, it was stuck with trying to maintain some degree of consistency. This eventually resulted in Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, which was very poorly received. Afterwards, the creators of Gundam created what came to be known as Alternate Universe series. In these television series, the creators could still benefit from the name recognition built by the original continuity, but had much greater freedom to experiment. For example, the original universe had physics built around the existence of the Minovisky particle, which explained all of the fancy beam weapons and flight technology. However, later alternate universe series were free t completely ditch the Minovisky particle and its wonky effects if they wanted to. This resulted in series like Gundam Seed, which was partially an alternate retelling of the original series with the addition of genetically engineered super-humans. The creators simply had more design space.

A similar, yet somewhat different, example can be found in the Godzilla movies. There are actually at least three separate continuities of Japanese Godzilla movies. They all share one thing in common: they all assume that the original Godzilla movie took place. Other than that, they are all completely independent of each other. There isn't even a in-story explanation for this divergence either. I guess I will call this a Branching Alternate Universe approach.

Another example can be found in the James Bond series of movies. In the James Bond movies, there are certain characters that are constantly recurring: Bond himself, Moneypenny, M, Q, and sometimes villains such as Blofeld. However, it is hard to say that the movies are really in a single continuity. If they were, James Bond would be over 60 years old by the time of Die Another Day. However, he clearly isn't. And while there are some continuity nods, they are not very common. In a way, this is the closest model to The Legend of Zelda series. While the Bond movies try to generally maintain consistency of the personalities and quirks of the characters, they don't maintain consistency in the world at large. This allows the designers to rely on the familiarity of the characters while maintaining almost complete freedom in storytelling.

Keeping these kinds of continuity in mind can be a helpful thing, particularly when most videogames are designed without much forethought for sequels or overarching metaplots. So, when game developers sit down to plan out a sequel to a popular franchise, they should ask themselves what kind of continuity would best help them.

The Items of Legend of Zelda

Well, I am pretty much at the end of Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, so I guess I will write about one of the most important elements of any Legend of Zelda game: the various tools you use to do stuff. These are the treasures you get in dungeons that let you find more treasure, and thus play a central role in both gameplay and the reward mechanics. However, not all treasures are equal, and there are a too many to describe all of them in a single blog post, so I will just list some of my favorites and least favorites, in no particular order.

Favorites:

1) The Boomerang (original and Phantom Hourglass versions)
This item has been in pretty much every Legend of Zelda game, as part of the omnipresent Bomb, Bow, and Boomerang trinity. However, in most of them it is completely useless outside of a limited number of situations. It tends to be limited by its role as a stunning weapon, which is of minimal effectiveness in many Zelda games (only being essential in the difficult battles of the NES games), and by the fact that other weapons tend to kill or stun more easily than the boomerang does. However, the ability to guide this weapon's trajectory in Phantom Hourglass, not to mention its quiet impact sound, makes it a useful tool throughout the game, for both puzzles and battle against multiple opponents or opponents you need to hit around corners or from behind, so it never gets replaced by the more lethal Bow.

2) Bombs (Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass)
If any Legend of Zelda tool was perfected on its initial introduction, it is would be the Bomb. It is simple and effective, is essential in puzzles, and can be useful in combat throughout the game. The way Twilight Princess lets you choose special types of bomb for each Bomb Bag is a nice addition to the classic tool, and Phantom Hourglass is the first game where using a bomb as a weapon is very easy (a side effect of making it very easy to hit anything with a thrown object). This is pretty much the benchmark for a good Legend of Zelda item.

3) The Grappling Hook (Phantom Hourglass)
The Hookshot and its many variants have been in many games, but they are outclassed by this new item. Beyond the simple gimmick of pulling Link towards something, the Grappling Hook can also be used to create bridges, launch Link like a slingshot, and pull two connected objects towards each other. What is more, it does not rely on just set targets, but can be used in combination with mundane objects like rocks, stone tablets, and torches. Like the best of the hookshots, it doesn't just open up obvious paths, it makes you look at the terrain in a completely different way.

4) The Ocarina of Wind (Link to the Past and Minish Cap)
Yes, the Ocarina of Wind, not the Ocarina of Time. Teleportation between different places in the game is not important for puzzles or battle, but it is important for avoiding tedium. Of all the methods of teleportation in the series, this one is my favorite simply because it is quick and easy to use.

5) Empty Bottles
The simple usefulness of just being able to carry various liquids (such as healing potions!) and small items, and especially various odd things that are just floating around or laying on the ground, makes these simple glass containers a great item. I guess I should have said Bomb, Bow, Boomerang, and Bottle earlier.

6) Wolf Senses (Twilight Princess)
The various "truth" items that reveal hidden things are all god items, but the Wolf Senses manage to surpass them by just being much more cool and fun, and by letting you follow scent trails.

Mixed Opinion

1) The Bow
Amazingly, the bow is not on my list of favorite items, despite being essential to every Legend of Zelda game. I guess the problem with the bow is that it tends to either be difficult to use and underpowered (in the 2D games) or overpowered to the point of pushing aside other items (in the 3D games). The Bow also tends to have a less consistent niche in puzzle-solving (other than the relatively boring role of target shooting) and no outstanding examples from any game. I want to rate it highly, but I don't think I can.

2) Ice and Fire Rods/Arrows
I do like these special arrows, and they are useful, but their combat role overlaps with the role of the Bow (direct liner attack) far too much, and few games actually use these two items to their full potential in puzzles. The Ice Arrow/Rod in particular has had a history of poor showings, and few good puzzles, despite having a solid concept. I guess they just need a slight re-imagining like the Boomerang received.

Least Favorites:

1) Roc's Cape, Zora's Flippers, and Power Bracelets
In the end, these two items just enable Link to do things he should be able to do normally and is able to do freely in other games. I am glad these have been appearing less and less as the series progresses, though they still turn up.

2) Iron Boots (Ocarina of Time)
Twilight Princess showed that these boots can be fun in some situations, but in the end they are wildly implausible and any situation in which they make sense would be better served by another item (like proper swimming gear or some other way of anchoring to the ground).

3) The Spinner and the Rod of Domination (Twilight Princess)
These two items are very fun and useful, but are completely useless outside of the dungeon they are found in. What few places they are useful are few in number and blatantly obvious. I think they are just poorly thought out items for a Legend of Zelda game. Both would be better off as unusual terrain features of particular dungeons, rather than as items.

4) The Clawshot and some Hookshots
While I praised the Hookshot and its variants above, there is a darker side to those items, Namely, any variant in which you can only target very specific and obvious targets. One of the greatest strengths of the good versions is their ability to open up routes for creative players, but these versions don't have that potential for creative use of terrain, and become boring as a result.

I think that is it for now... I might talk some more about the other items that I did not list here at a later date.

Phantom Hourglass: Temple of the Ocean King

On various message boards I frequent, I have been hearing multiple people complaining about the Temple of the Ocean King, the central dungeon of Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. I briefly mentioned it before in my post about the map feature of the game, but I think I should talk about it a bit more since I have gone quite a bit deeper into it over the last week.

Despite some of the complaints I have heard, I think that the dungeon is actually a lot of fun. It presents a very different experience than the typical Zelda dungeon. First, the Temple is filled with a curse, so the player is forced to play through the dungeon on a time limit. Furthermore, it is populated with the Phantoms, nigh-invincible sentries who can kill Link in a single hit, draining away his precious time. In order to balance out these challenges, the dungeon has numerous safe zones where the Phantoms can't reach Link and the timer doesn't drain. So, Phantom Hourglass plays like a tense stealth game like Metal Gear inside the Temple. However, another dungeon in the game uses the same curse/safe zone set up, and plays much more like a regular dungeon. It is something else that sets the Temple apart.

In a normal dungeon, once the player clears a puzzle or challenge, he usually never has to clear it again. However, the Temple resets itself every time Link leaves, and thus the player has to go through the entire dungeon over again every time he enters. To many players, this is apparently the most frustrating aspect of the dungeon. However, it is also the greatest strength of the dungeon in my opinion. Even though the dungeon resets every time Link enters, the experience is never the same twice. Ever floor has multiple ways to clear it, depending on what tools Link has at his disposal. Furthermore, there are numerous hidden treasures scattered throughout the Temple to be found by a dedicated player. No other dungeon in the history of the Zelda series has had this many short-cuts, mysteries, and hidden treasures. With the right short-cuts and fore-knowledge, it is possible to clear through the entire Temple in a matter of a few minutes.

However, while I find the dungeon fun, I can't ignore the fact that there are other people who find the dungeon frustrating and annoying. Why is this the case? I have to admit, I always feel a little hesitant to start a Temple expedition. Part of the problem is that the Temple is very large. A dive into the deeper parts of the Temple can take half an hour or more if the player isn't making good time. In a console game, this aspect isn't very uncommon. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has a 100 floor Cave of Trials after all. However, Phantom Hourglass is a portable game. Portable games should be easy to pick up and play for a few minutes before stopping suddenly. A super-dungeon like the Temple of the Ocean King is too big for that kind of play. Nintendo should have added a better save feature to let players keep their progress between game sessions (or at least a suspend option). More than one mid-point return warp at the very least.

I think that increasing the number of paths, and varying the challenges presented to the player more, would have helped. The strength of the Temple is that it is a dungeon that the player will play through multiple times across the length of the game. Often, floors are limited to the "original hard route" and the "later easy route". Increasing the number of routes, particularly on the most-commonly seen first several floors might have helped.

I am hoping that Nintendo revisits this kind of dungeon in future Zelda games. Preferable console ones.

LoZ Phantom Hourglass Treasure

One of the best things about the Legend of Zelda series (or a lot of games in similar genres) is going around with recently acquired powers to open up new paths in old places and collect stuff. Unfortunately, this fun activity can easily be marred by the problem of Fake Rewards, which I mentioned in an older post. A good example of this is seen in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, where you often received large numbers of rupees as a reward, despite the fact that rupees were easy to acquire, there were not many things to spend them on, and all to often your wallet could not hold enough (which sent the rupees into the void). However, more than any previous entry in the Legend of Zelda series, Phantom Hourglass avoids this problem.

Most notably, Phantom Hourglass avoids Fake Rewards by having a wide variety of fun things to collect from treasure chests. Treasures are essentially rupees, but balancing the different ways they can be converted to rupees is a nice change of pace. Treasure maps are essentially just a delay on getting a real treasure, but the quest to salvage such treasure is fun in of itself. Ship Parts are fun to collect, and match the game well. Even just finding rupees is fine enough, since LInk's wallet is huge in this game and he has a lot of things to spend money on at various stores. But my favorite new form of treasure is the Spirit Gem.

Spirit Gems are a great addition. All combined, you need to collect 60 of them in order to unlock all of the Spirits powers. This is a lot, but you get them at a fast pace, so collecting them doesn't feel too slow, and the powerful rewards of equipping powered-up Spirits is a benefit worth the trouble. Having so many items to collect, with a powerful reward as the goal, is a great way to motivate and reward exploration.

As a whole, Phantom Hourglass is a big improvement in this regard over many of the classic games in the Legend of Zelda series. Too often in older games, the only real reward for exploration were Heart Pieces. Having to collect four items for each incremental increase to health somewhat cheapens each increase in health. Getting a health boost did not feel like a great improvement in of itself, but at the same time it does not feel like great reward for hard work. This is only made worse in Twilight Princess, where you need five Heart Pieces to get an increase in life. In Phantom Hourglass you just receive full Heart Containers, but only rarely. It turns it from being a generic reward into a rare but powerful reward, which suits a life increase better.

Rather than the old approach of treating all optional treasures and rewards the same, Phantom Hourglass separates rewards into different tiers of rarity and power, and creates a much more interesting game of puzzle-solving and exploration because of that change.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass Maps

I have been playing quite a bit of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass recently. One of the features of the game that I am most fond of is the mapping feature which takes great advantage of the DS's touch-screen functionality. Being able to bring up a map and take notes on it with a single press of a button, and the ability to look at said map on a constant basis can be very helpful. The game does a good job of making the feature useful.

Part of making a game feature interesting is making sure that there are a sufficient number of places and situations where the game feature is useful and/or necessary. In the example of the Map in Phantom Hourglass, this means creating puzzles that require the use of the note-taking feature. If done poorly, this could make challenges seem artificial, which can hurt the game experience. However, the map feature in Phantom Hourglass rarely seems artificial in its use. The designers didn't really need to create too many unusual challenges to make use of it. Part of this is that most Zelda games and RPGs in general already present the kinds of challenges that require note-taking.

Common examples so far of puzzles that require note-taking in Phantom Hourglass include puzzles where the order you hit switches is important, puzzles where you need to walk specific paths through areas, puzzles where you need to connect lines between geographic objects, and puzzles where you track the number or placement of objects in an area. However, these puzzles don't feel unnatural, mostly because they are similar to puzzles in other RPGs. Since the player usually has to memorize these things or take notes on pieces of real paper anyways, the addition of a note-taking feature directly into the game is very positive.

Since Zelda games are an open-world exploration games that require a lot of back-tracking, being able to make notes of chest locations and spots where you need new tools saves a lot of time and energy re-exploring old areas. One way Phantom Hourglass takes advantage of that is by keeping many things non-random in their locations. For example, whirlwinds, pirates, sea monsters, and such are all consistent in their locations on the ocean. This gives a definite advantage to mapping out their locations. If the locations of these things were random, the map would be useless.

One of my favorite examples of a puzzle that takes advantage of the Phantom Hourglass map is the Uncharted Island, where the player has to map out the outline of the island to solve the island's central riddle. It was fun exploring the island, charting it out, and slowly watching the island's distinctive shape become clear.

The place where the map is certainly the most useful is in the much reviled Ocean King's Temple. Because the payer has to go through the Temple many times with a time limit, mapping out efficient routes and taking notes on hazards helps a lot with subsequent go-throughs. Taking notes on the locations of the Phantoms and their routes, red pots, gold pots, crystals, force gems, bomb-able paths, and switches can save a lot of effort later in the game. However, the game designers may have gone overboard in stuffing all of this into one mega-dungeon. Creating multiple, somewhat smaller dungeons that the player has to return to multiple times may have been better. However, the dungeon does demonstrate that these notes are most useful during stealth gameplay. I would love to see this kind of map feature in a Metal Gear game.

My one critique of the map is that it can be very hard to make legible notes with the DS stylus that are reasonably small. I usually use lots of small symbols, and even those can be hard to read if I try to pack too many into a small space (which is often necessary in the Temple of the Ocean King). It would have been nice to be able to drag and drop pre-made symbols onto the map for such purposes, or even to be able to make customized map symbols.