Did Breath of the Wild Manage To Break The Zelda Cycle?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received staggering universal acclaim from critics and fans alike upon release, single-handedly representing the Switch’s first party launch lineup and securing a coveted 97 Metascore. Meanwhile, it placed behind only three other titles (all Nintendo, notably) on GameRankings all-time best aggregation. Surely an awesome, monumental, universally loved and seldom disdained juggernaut of a release could not possibly fall victim to the notorious Zelda Cycle… could it? Well, the symptoms aren’t as potent as usual, but there may not be such a thing as avoiding it entirely.
For those unfamiliar, the Zelda Cycle is a continuing phenomenon amongst the series’ wide and varied fanbase, wherein certain games become fashionable and widely loved, while others are rendered “black sheep” or “overrated” in a continuous, predictable cycle. TVTropes describes the process effectively as a part of the “Hype Backlash” trope.
Due to the series' and its characters' widespread Sacred Cow treatment, some people are quick to label popular Zelda games and characters as "overrated". On many sites, most infamously GameFAQs and Dorkly, Zelda games and characters frequently dominate gaming- or Nintendo-related popularity polls and consequently bring up this trope. Even one-shot characters such as Midna or Skull Kid, or games that aren't near-universally praised such as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, can end up outperforming more famous/iconic characters and more lauded games, respectively. Zelda Informer even has an article on the alleged "overratedness" of the franchise, acknowledging that the excessive hype is unhealthy for the franchise and that it is "simply praised for its name's sake".
This seems to be a driving factor behind the fan-defined "Zelda Cycle", where a game that was once universally acclaimed and considered the best game in the series suddenly falls out of favor and is deemed "overrated", while a game that was once criticized and deemed as "underrated" takes its place and is Vindicated by History. The Zelda Cycle, according to some, as of Skyward Sword's release (full size here).
Generally speaking, the way the aforementioned Cycle operates often follows Zelda release patterns. Traditionally, the newest game is regarded as poor or not as good as classic entries, while titles previously treated as such become the new classics, and are thus “vindicated by history,” as TVTropes so eloquently puts it. Because mainline Zelda games are released so infrequently, the effect is magnified, as children who adore the latest, supposedly lesser titles grow up, join message boards, and express their appreciation for said titles to save their reputation.
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to see how Breath of the Wild attempts to break the cycle: it is near universally loved (at least so far), with the total number of disgruntled critics countable on one hand, and little if any fan dissent to speak of. Still, some players do feel the same as new-Zelda players traditionally have, as evidenced by a NeoGAF thread posted earlier today. The original poster “EhoaVash” expressed the following.
While I enjoyed botw, after beating it, and with how unsatisfying the ending of botw was imo, it made me realize how brilliant of a game Skyward Sword really is even though i criticized the game a lot after i beat it back in 2011 :|
This individual’s experience is Zelda Cycle incarnate, and though it appears to not be the prevailing wisdom at the moment, I’ll admit I do agree on certain points. Personally, I’ve always considered the best thing about Zelda to be its affecting story moments; though a generally plot-simple series, it has also rendered me misty-eyed more often than any other franchise in gaming. Despite Breath of the Wild’s clear strengths in open-world design and a multitude of other areas (essentially modernizing Zelda across the spectrum), I agree with EhoaVash in that Breath of the Wild never moved me emotionally, not even once. Sure I had a blast, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something missing. Read more on GameRevolution.com
For those unfamiliar, the Zelda Cycle is a continuing phenomenon amongst the series’ wide and varied fanbase, wherein certain games become fashionable and widely loved, while others are rendered “black sheep” or “overrated” in a continuous, predictable cycle. TVTropes describes the process effectively as a part of the “Hype Backlash” trope.
Due to the series' and its characters' widespread Sacred Cow treatment, some people are quick to label popular Zelda games and characters as "overrated". On many sites, most infamously GameFAQs and Dorkly, Zelda games and characters frequently dominate gaming- or Nintendo-related popularity polls and consequently bring up this trope. Even one-shot characters such as Midna or Skull Kid, or games that aren't near-universally praised such as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, can end up outperforming more famous/iconic characters and more lauded games, respectively. Zelda Informer even has an article on the alleged "overratedness" of the franchise, acknowledging that the excessive hype is unhealthy for the franchise and that it is "simply praised for its name's sake".
This seems to be a driving factor behind the fan-defined "Zelda Cycle", where a game that was once universally acclaimed and considered the best game in the series suddenly falls out of favor and is deemed "overrated", while a game that was once criticized and deemed as "underrated" takes its place and is Vindicated by History. The Zelda Cycle, according to some, as of Skyward Sword's release (full size here).
Generally speaking, the way the aforementioned Cycle operates often follows Zelda release patterns. Traditionally, the newest game is regarded as poor or not as good as classic entries, while titles previously treated as such become the new classics, and are thus “vindicated by history,” as TVTropes so eloquently puts it. Because mainline Zelda games are released so infrequently, the effect is magnified, as children who adore the latest, supposedly lesser titles grow up, join message boards, and express their appreciation for said titles to save their reputation.
With all of this in mind, it’s easy to see how Breath of the Wild attempts to break the cycle: it is near universally loved (at least so far), with the total number of disgruntled critics countable on one hand, and little if any fan dissent to speak of. Still, some players do feel the same as new-Zelda players traditionally have, as evidenced by a NeoGAF thread posted earlier today. The original poster “EhoaVash” expressed the following.
While I enjoyed botw, after beating it, and with how unsatisfying the ending of botw was imo, it made me realize how brilliant of a game Skyward Sword really is even though i criticized the game a lot after i beat it back in 2011 :|
This individual’s experience is Zelda Cycle incarnate, and though it appears to not be the prevailing wisdom at the moment, I’ll admit I do agree on certain points. Personally, I’ve always considered the best thing about Zelda to be its affecting story moments; though a generally plot-simple series, it has also rendered me misty-eyed more often than any other franchise in gaming. Despite Breath of the Wild’s clear strengths in open-world design and a multitude of other areas (essentially modernizing Zelda across the spectrum), I agree with EhoaVash in that Breath of the Wild never moved me emotionally, not even once. Sure I had a blast, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something missing. Read more on GameRevolution.com