This video was included as a promotion with Super Mario All-Stars.

Nintendo describes Zelda as…

-sword-play.

-mazes with the dungeons.

-jumping into water to escape.

-picking up boulders to throw at your enemies.

-getting new weapons and artifacts.

What is more interesting is what is NOT mentioned.

No mention of NPCs. The reason why is because they don’t matter.

No mention of ‘puzzles’. In describing Zelda, Nintendo did not use the word ‘puzzles’.

The reason why the Zelda franchise is in serious stagnation and decline isn’t because of 3d or because people are tired of Hyrule. The problem is that Nintendo allowed Aonuma to totally re-define Zelda to the type of video games he preferred to play: text-based puzzle games. Aonuma hated the early Zelda games.

Until Zelda is restored to its arcade action / RPG gameplay with the obtuse puzzle / NPC stories removed (and wrapped in a traditional fantasy universe we are all comfortable with), Zelda will continue to disappoint and sell less and less.

I don’t see why it is so hard for Nintendo to realize it was a mistake to have a non-Zelda fan, Aonuma, totally redefine the franchise to what he prefers to play. Seriously, who hired Aonuma anyway? I, too, can make a video game bomb in the market just as badly as Majestic. Does that mean that I am qualified to run the Zelda franchise as well?