In terms of puzzle-solving, if Dark Souls told the world what RPG level design should be, then The Legend of Zelda redefined the meaning of "level design".
Of course, Dark Souls was the embodiment of players being tortured. Despairing conspiracies were everywhere, forcing players to suffer and search for the best solution. Occasionally, they would see a bonfire and a shortcut, and they would be moved to tears. However, the Legend of Zelda was the exact opposite. A small shrine contained many traps and various elements. The only frustration was the frustration of not being able to solve the mystery even after trying many methods. However, once the mystery was solved, the players would crazily praise themselves for being quick-witted.
The puzzle was divided into three levels: Yahaha, shrine, and mythical beast.
The puzzles in Yahaha were relatively simple. For example, if one saw a circle of duckweed in the water, they just had to jump off a cliff and land in the center of the duckweed to find one. If there was a circle of small stones on a mountain, they just had to move the stones from the side and put them in the gap to find another one. More complicated puzzles required one to fish out a piece of iron from the water and place it in a specific shape on top of a pile of iron to find another one.
The difficulty of the puzzle in the shrine was raised to another level.
There were different types of shrines. Some were directly exposed on the ground and could be challenged directly after entering. Some were surrounded by thorns and could only be entered by special means. Some were simply buried underground and could only be opened by completing side quests.
For example, players would meet a birdman who played the accordion on a certain tower. After talking to him, they would receive information about a poem. According to the poem, players had to land on the shrine buried in the ground. As time passed, when the shadow of the tower overlapped with the position of the shrine, they had to shoot a fire arrow at the tower to activate the shrine.
Some shrines were hidden in the labyrinth. The walls of these labyrinths were all taller than mountains. When Link lacked stamina, he couldn't climb them at all. At this time, players would truly experience the pain of walking through the labyrinth. However, when players were full stamina, they could skip some classes and climb to the top of the labyrinth to find a shortcut.
After entering the shrine, players had to combine their various abilities to trigger the various traps in the shrine. Sometimes, not only did they need some intelligence, but they also needed a certain degree of hand speed. For example, there were some traps that required the player to jump at a certain moment and use Link's time to shoot the trap in the distance. Players with poor skills would have to try many times before they could succeed.
As for the battle between the Four Mythical Beasts and the Final Boss, the puzzle-solving element had reached the highest level of difficulty. Players had to rely on the various experiences and knowledge they had obtained from the Shrine Trial to clear the challenge.
Before the Mythological Beast Battle, Link had to enter the village of the Mythological Beast Hero to complete the main mission and obtain the help of the NPCs.
In the first stage of the Mythical Beast Battle, Link needed to cooperate with the NPCs. After getting close to the Mythical Beast, they had to block the Mythical Beast's long-range attacks while using bows and arrows to shoot the Mythical Beast's red critical parts to make it stop.
In the second stage, Link would enter the divine beast and complete a complex puzzle. In terms of scale, the checkpoint of the Divine Beast was far larger than that of the Divine Temple, and the difficulty was also much higher. Every Mythological Beast's checkpoint was carefully designed and very much in line with the characteristics of the Mythological Beast itself. For example, the Mythological Beast of Water was an elephant. After obtaining partial control of the Mythological Beast, Link could control the elephant's trunk from low to high and climb up its head. He could also use the water that sprayed out from its trunk to flush open traps and open up areas that were previously inaccessible.
Moreover, the interior of these Mythological Beasts was completely three-dimensional. It was not as simple as just layers. Different parts of the Mythological Beast would affect each other. Players had to have good three-dimensional thinking to solve the puzzles. In order to adapt to this kind of checkpoint design, The Legend of Zelda even used a 3D perspective as the map of the maze.
The Four Mythological Beasts were the elephant in the southeast wetland, the lizard in the northeast volcano, the camel in the southwest desert, and the eagle in the northwest mountains. Each Mythological Beast corresponded to a unique area and village. The local customs and side missions were all different. For example, the race in the wetland was the mermaid, the race in the mountains was the birdman, and the village in the desert was a woman's village. Link even had to disguise himself as a man to enter.
In the third stage, Link would fight a boss battle with Cannon's avatar. Each avatar's ability, difficulty, and fighting style were different. After defeating Cannon's avatar, Link could officially tame the Mythological Beast and obtain the special Hero's Blessing effect and exclusive hero weapon.
There was something even more difficult than these things, such as the Master Sword Trial.
In the Master Sword Trial, players were not allowed to bring any weapons or equipment. Everything started from zero. In the beginning, players could only pick up twigs from the ground to fight the weakest monster, the Pokeblins. Step by step, they would obtain more advanced weapons, and the difficulty of the entire battle would rise exponentially. It was truly the ultimate challenge. If they failed halfway, they would have to start all over again. Even the most confident hardcore players might have to challenge it many times before they could pass.
If Dark Souls was the same level style that kept increasing in difficulty until it reached the extreme, then The Legend of Zelda was the show-off. From easy to difficult, from simple to complex, it was all-encompassing. Players would always get a completely different experience in the game.
In terms of the combat system, The Legend of Zelda was equally outstanding.
If Soul-type combat created a new mode for cold weapon combat games in the parallel world, then The Legend of Zelda showed everyone that besides Soul-type combat, cold weapon combat could also be done in other ways.
Other than the classic two-person rotation with a shield, shield deflection, evasion, stealth, backstab, and other elements, The Legend of Zelda also made more choices in many aspects. For example, more fluid shooting techniques and arrows with different attributes. After a perfect dodge and drawing the bow in the air, the weapon could be used normally or thrown. The shield could even be used as a skateboard …
The most controversial aspect was the setting of the weapon's durability.
In other games, after a weapon's durability ran out, it could be repaired. Once it was repaired, it would be as good as new. However, in The Legend of Zelda, when the weapon's durability ran out, it would be completely destroyed. If one wanted to get another one, they would have to continue farming — except for the Exorcist Sword (Master Sword) that was given by the plot.
When they first came into contact with it, most players felt very uncomfortable. I just got a good weapon, but it was destroyed before I could even enjoy it? And I, a hero, a knight recognized by the Exorcist Sword, could only use the Pokeblins' wooden stick to fight monsters? I can't even bear to use a good weapon!
When the players collected a bunch of cool and amazing weapons, they realized that they couldn't bear to use any of them. In the end, they still used the Exorcist Sword that didn't have much durability. They could use it to cut down trees or grass. There was no problem!
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