Is it Time for a Zelda MMORPG?

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Oh hi all! Now, before I get started with my super special awesome article, I just wanted to give a shout out to our former admin, Hannah! I want to thank her for her hard work to make the Hidden Triforce the amazing Zelda community it is today. She has offered me the opportunity to carry on the mantle of responsibility, and I only hope I can do as good of a job as Hannah has done. Thank you, Hannah for your dedication to the site, and for trusting me to keep it going!

Now, onward to the article at hand! I’ve been quite occupied for most of the month, so this won’t be a terribly long piece. Have no fear, for there will be no vein busting theories here! No ridiculous conspiracies like Cuccos being more of a threat to Hyrule than Ganon. Today, I would like to discuss something that has been on my mind ever since Breath of the Wild was released. Is it time for a Zelda mmorpg? I mean why not? The Legend of Zelda has been around for thirty years with an established world filled with colorful and unique races and characters. Now, this isn’t to say that the mmorpg should be canon to the series. That could be an entirely separate conversation altogether. Games like Four Sword Adventures and Tri Force Heroes show the potential of a LoZ multiplayer on a much larger scale. Personally, I would love to explore the realm of Hyrule with a group of friends, work together to solve challenging puzzles, and battle epic beasts! It would also be a good opportunity for the lore to have more presence in the game outside of books and wiki pages.

Of course, an mmorpg can’t be without character creation! To have the chance to play as either a Hylian, Sheikah, Zora, Goron, Gerudo, or Rito with their own unique abilities would be an exciting route for the series to take. Each race starts out within their own faction along with respective characters to meet and interact with. Customization could include cultural aesthetics of each faction like tribal tattoos for Gorons or multiple fin designs for the Zora. Whatever character you create, you would be able to make that character your own.

The abilities especially are what should separate the races to avoid their functions feeling exactly the same. As Hylians typically come off as adventurous and headstrong, I see them being well rounded characters, and expert tacticians with a balance of strength, stamina, and speed. They would be effective both on the offense and defense, but not as resilient as a Goron or quick as a Sheikah warrior. I see Hylians as Trackers being able to spot enemies from a further distance, identifying the number, and the threat level. Such an advantage can leave the group with options to calculate odds of success, strategize, or avoid fighting entirely… or you could just Leeroy Jenkins your way into the hoard and leave your team to slaughter. Whatever floats your boat! Or sinks it in that case.

On to the Gorons! With their raw strength and resilience, they’d make excellent tanks. Whether it’d be striking dozens of enemies at once or clearing huge debris of rubble, nothing would be too difficult for a Goron to handle… well, perhaps running, but they’d make up for it by rolling into a ball gaining speed downhill. They may be SOL when it comes to swimming. Not only fire resistant, but also these Defenders’ ability would be giving their teammates a major defense boost against physical and flame damage.

As an aquatic race living as one with natural surroundings, I see the Zoras at their best as Medics. With the ability to scale waterfalls and breathe underwater, they’d have a knack for solving water themed puzzles, and reaching areas where the other races may not. Zoras could grant their allies a temporary health boost or revive fallen teammates. In battle, their best weapon would either be a spear, halberd, or other long ranged melee weapon. Another skill could even allow allies to breathe underwater for a short amount of time. How handy would it be to play as a Zora in the Water Temple!?

The Rito would make the best Archers, hands down. With their power of flight they could unleash a rain of arrows down on an unsuspecting group of bokoblins. They’d be best at long-ranged attacks and able to avoid most ground attacks. Rito characters would be resistant against the bitter cold and in a team, can offer allies a timed cold resist as well as a temporary speed boost. Plus, being able to fly through Hyrule’s skies would be simply euphoric!

At this point in late hours I write this, I feel the Sheikah and Gerudo may come off as too similar, as both factions have cunning and swift warriors. I would probably place a Sheikah character almost like a Rogue. Nah, Rogue is too obvious and cliché. Why not call them Shifters? Shifting from frontal assaults to more devious and stealth tactics. They would be smart, silent, and quick, but incredibly vulnerable against physical attacks. Sheikah characters excel solo, but in a group could give their team critical damage boosts to attacks from behind. They would be able to find and exploit enemy weaknesses and devise decoys and traps to catch them off guard. Due to their culture once being a technologically and magically advanced race, I think it’d safe to assume such characters would be resistant to magical attacks. As for the Gerudo, I would dub them as Aggressors because of their strength and skill with the sword. Not only resistant to thunder attacks, but Gerudo characters can offer attack boosts and could even have a chance for a one hit kill or barrage of strong attacks at low health.

There are so many possibilities for a Zelda mmorpg, but the one thing that remains is the story. Of course the Legend of Zelda is about the Hero rising up to seal away Ganon once again, but there are so many years in between events where anything could have taken place. The story could simply be a spin off that doesn’t revolve around sealing Ganon. Perhaps it could revolve around a war between Hyrule and another kingdom. Or better yet, we could get a deeper story of the Imprisoning War! I’d buy that game in a heartbeat. Thank you once again for taking the time to read my thoughts! If you have thoughts to expand on this idea, or if you think there simply should or should not be a Zelda mmorpg, please leave a comment below!

 

Cheers, my friends!

 

 

    

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About Author

Oh hi! I am Zach Wojtowicz, but of course you already knew that. I am a post-college student with a masters in card games... ok, a BA in Writing, but that is why I'm here! Aside from being an avid gamer, I compose music and write stories of fantasy and adventure. I have been playing the Legend of Zelda since childhood, and nothing has influenced my art more than Zelda. My only wish is to share my voice to the community of fans, both old and new, that the LoZ series has made possible and continues to grow.