Zelda's Empty Adventures

Why do 3D Zelda games feel so empty?

This has been on my mind for years. Aside from the insular game design, the games feeling empty has been a wasted opportunity. I mean, 2D Zelda entries were never guilty of this! Sure, they were limited to an overhead viewpoint, but they were teeming with life! Why couldn’t the 3D entries be that way?

Let’s start with the most-beloved entry: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Released for the N64, the game was revolutionary. Not only did it bring the franchise into the 3rd-dimension, it brought the action-adventure RPG sub-genre into a new realm too. It also had stunning visual aesthetics, with pre-rendered cutscenes and some semblance of a story. Even as an 8 year-old, this was mind-blowing!

So…why’s the overworld hub barren? It looks cool, and is streamlined, but there’s little life. The overworld, once known for its creative monsters and traps, was now a ghost town. It might have had an annoying owl, or the odd zombie at night, but it was a field. A long, tedious field. And that you kept traversing back and forth to get to your destination was boring.

I get it. The game was on a cartridge. It had limitations, making it impossible to shove enemies into. That said, couldn’t Nintendo have tried? Maybe the odd enemy? Yes, there was the giant flower monster that was difficult to beat, but that was a one-off. It was like Nintendo forgot about enemies, stripping the overworld of life.

Whatever, the N64’s limitations made that difficult. But why’s this still a problem with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker? This is a GameCube game on a disc! Even for such a small format, The Great Sea feels empty and disconnected because there are stretches without any enemies. You can come up with an in-game explanation for the N64 classics, but this?! It’s an ocean, but that’s not an excuse. Real oceans are filled with life!

I can’t begin to tell you how monotonous sailing through The Great Sea was. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker isn’t a long game. I beat it in a week. But even with that, travelling to the remote islands felt dull and tedious. Even with the item that speeds up sailing, or the Wind Waker allowing you to change the wind’s path, traversing The Great Sea felt slow. It was needless padding, not helped by the lack of enemies.

It's unfortunate because the next 3D entry, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, fixed this problem. And yes, the game has received its fair share of criticism, some legit (collecting Tears of Light was annoying) and some silly (complaining about Link’s “feminine” design is absurd). However, its overworld hub ruled. Perhaps it was the Tolkien/Jackson influence, but the overworld was vibrant! Its aesthetic was washed out, but it was never short on enemies or action. Which is great, as you’re forced to traverse it constantly, both with Epona and by foot! The massiveness is complimented by the variety of hostile forces, making it lived-in and epic.

Perhaps that’s why I’m most-fond of it of all the 3D entries. Is it overly-challenging? No. Is it a game I’d return to in an instant? Again, no. But it has a lively overworld, and that gives it an edge. It’s even more-lively than that of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a game that, for all its strengths, feels stripped down comparatively.

I know I’m being overly-critical of the Zelda games. They have a fanbase that loves them, and my critiques might be sacrilegious. But they hold weight anyway. For a franchise priding itself on immersion, it’s a missed opportunity to have overworlds that feel…barren. It’s disappointing.

I’m also spoiled by Okami and its approach to the overworld experience. I’ve written a piece before calling it the “best Zelda game”, but my general feelings remain the same. Because the game, particularly its overworld, is livelier than most Zelda games because there’s so much to do. When you’re not battling enemies, you’re restoring nature. When you’re not restoring nature, you’re interacting with and feeding animals, all of whom help you level up. When you’re not interacting with and feeding animals, you’re looking for hidden chests. And when you’re not looking for hidden chests, you’re interacting with locals or looking for side-quests.

Okami’s overworld does everything the Zelda overworlds do, but better. Considering it was designed as a Zelda clone, I’m unsure if that’s insulting, or flattering. Nevertheless, it’s a step-up for the overworld experience. It not only beats the competition, it raises the bar for overworlds. And that’s why I love it.

So yes, why do 3D Zelda games feel so empty? It’s primarily because their overworlds are devoid of life. And by “life”, I mean other lifeforms, be they friend or foe. Perhaps you can attribute it to limitations, but that becomes less-satisfactory over time. Especially when later entries retain this problem.

May your 2025 be full of joy and wonder, something the overworlds in 3D Zelda games struggle with.