The question that often comes up when discussing The Legend of Zelda is “does link need a voice?” Well, no, he doesn’t. I like the idea of keeping Link as a voice-less hero because it’s easier to imagine yourself in the world of Hyrule. That said, the game does need to take a nice big step in the right direction in terms of story telling and character development.

The first obvious change that needs to be made is the inclusion of voice acting. I know, I just said Link should keep this trap shut, but that doesn’t mean that the characters around him can’t speak. Zelda games always provide the player with an epic adventure, however reading text brings you right out of the experience. It’s time to get with the times, Nintendo.

If you’ve ever played a Mario game before then you’ve pretty much played them all. Princess Peach is kidnapped by the slightly peodophillic Bowser and it’s Mario’s job to go save her ass. It’s simple and it works because Mario doesn’t need a compelling storyline. Zelda, on the other hand, does. Sadly it follows the same simple pattern; Hyrule is taken over by evil, Ganondouche is back and princess Zelda is in trouble. In the next Zelda for Wii, I would like to see the story break the usual mold and find a more refreshing plotline. If this means ditching Ganondorf and friends, then by all means, do it!

On the subject of change, I think a harder difficulty setting is on the cards. Twilight Princess was far too easy and with the implementation of the “Super Guide” in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it’s a no brainer to put it in Zelda too. This would allow a bigger challenge for the hardcore, while allowing the novice players to still finish the game if things get too hard.

New puzzles, pretty graphics, voice acting, bigger challenges, an interesting storyline, and exciting 1:1 motion controls are a few of the things I expect from the new Zelda game. Maybe I’m asking for too much, perhaps I’m asking for too little. Either way, let us know what you want from the next big Zelda title.