The recent titles of the Zelda series have fallen into a cycle of sorts. Each game presented a new gameplay aspect but brought several problems along with it. To fix these, the next game would attempt to fix the problems of the previous title. Most of them succeeded, but they brought along their own set of problems and letdowns. Nintendo’s hype of Zelda Wii is giving the fans high hopes for the new game.

The slow descent began with The Wind Waker, as it offered a brand new look at the series but caused dissent among the more hardcore series fans. The cel-shaded graphics came as a shock to the fans, but most people were able to get through this. However, one of the most important setbacks of the game was the reduced difficulty level. Hardcore gamers noticed that the game was simplistic, easy to pick up, and unfulfilling. This had been present in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, as well. The difficulty had been tuned down to appeal to the casual gamer, most likely in an attempt to build the fan base. However, the Wind Waker offered little to no challenge for the hardcore fans. The main problem with it was that the puzzles were innovative but not challenging. They required players to think in new ways, but the game made sure to give an endless supply of hints and assistance to the player so that he or she always knew exactly what to do next. This, coupled with the reduced difficulty of the enemies caused a loss of fans.

This is Zelda?! How old does Nintendo think we are?!

The next entry, Phantom Hourglass, was ambitious in that it was the first title to be released on the Nintendo DS. Nintendo wanted to take full advantage of the touch screen by streamlining gameplay for the players, but they unfortunately continued to sacrifice the challenge of the game. It once again presented innovative but easy puzzles. Players were quite dissatisfied with the overall presentation of the game and began to lose faith in the series. Everything seemed dark for the franchise until Nintendo at last released the groundbreaking Twilight Princess.

Oh, joy. Lots of sailing with more kiddie graphics.

Twilight Princess gave players something to enjoy with a large graphics makeover, larger game structure, more exploration, playability, and a decent challenge. Nearly everything was perfect…except for two problems. Nintendo had promised it as a Gamecube release. However, after delaying and delaying the game’s release, Nintendo released the game for the Wii. This move caused a lot of damage to the game’s release, as people were expecting a Gamecube release. Nintendo also opted to release the Gamecube version, but the dual-release caused some of the hype to die out. In addition, all the delays Nintendo made had raised the hopes of the fans to astronomical levels. While Twilight Princess was a formidable game and a great title, it was simply not able to fulfill the expectations of the fans. This letdown was a large blow to the franchise.

The graphical style of Twilight Princess was a step up, but the gameplay could not live up to the hype.

After Twilight Princess, Nintendo realized that they couldn’t overhype the next game. Spirit Tracks was released as scheduled and began to circulate. Nintendo thought they had a groundbreaking game that would reel in the fans who had been discouraged by the recent titles. Unfortunately, the game received mixed reviews. The fans were split between love and hate, with some crediting the innovative and challenging puzzles and others saying that it was too mediocre. The train travel was new, but it caused more dissent. Nintendo, on their last legs, tried to create something new to change it up with Spirit Tracks. However, it still created more problems.

Spirit Tracks gave us new puzzles and new complications.

Now that the Zelda series has taken such large blows, it will take a powerful entry to bring it back. The upcoming title, Zelda Wii, has this burden. Nintendo says it’s going to be revolutionary, and we can only hope that it will be, because the series can’t take more letdowns. If Zelda Wii fails to deliver, the Zelda series may lose a decent amount of its fan base. This would be devastating, and it could even lead to the end of the series. This is why Nintendo has to truly buckle down and give the fans the next Ocarina of Time. If they can succeed, the series will be strengthened. It will return full force and win back the fans. If they fail, the series will be destroyed. It all hinges on this one entry in the series. Hopefully, we’ll find it to be the salvation we needed and not the destruction we feared.