 We have to talk about the future of the Zelda series because in the midst of all the tears of the kingdom chaos and all the time I've spent playing the game, there's been a bunch of interviews published featuring, well, Fuji Bayashi, the director of the game and the director of Breath of the Wild and the director of Skyward Sword and yes, series producer Aji Aonuma and through them there's two particular things that were said that really impact the future of where Zelda is going and no, I can't even speculate on if we're going to get a third game, The Tears of the Kingdom because I'm not at the end of the game yet but before we dive into these quotes because they're quite interesting, I want to remind all of you guys that we have a giveaway going on right now for a replica Hylian Shield, two Zelda Switch OLEDs and two Tears of the Kingdom Collector's additions. To enter, head down to the pinned comment or the description, click on that link. Winners are going to be chosen during Prime Gaming Fest next month. More information on Prime Gaming Fest to come by the end of the week. We are finalizing all of the plans right now. Alright, so first let's dive into this a bit and this comes from an interview from Game Informer by journalist Brian Shea but I'm reading a summary here from SVG. I wouldn't read the original interview but I'm actually preferring the summaries because the interviews are quite lengthy and you got to kind of dig through it. So it says in the interview that Game Informer journalist Brian Shea asked Aonuma and Fuji Bayashi if they thought that Breath of the Wild would serve as the new blueprint or foundation of the next several Zelda games for years to come in the same way that Ocarina of Time for the N64 and Gamecube generations of games, technically also the Wii generation of games. Aonuma explained that the two are a little different because the technology available back when Ocarina of Time was released was a lot more restrictive. The developers can only create a single path for players to navigate or a single solution to a given puzzle. He said that the Zelda team enjoys giving players freedom that simply weren't available in the previous game structures but that the structures used to create these newer games have that capability. Yeah, Aonuma said, I think it is correct to say that it has created a new kind of format for the series to proceed from. Of course we have no idea what this means for the future of Zelda beyond the fact that open world I don't think is going anywhere. Multiple ways to solve puzzles I don't think is going anywhere. I don't know if we're gonna get a direct sequel to Tears of the Kingdom and make this a true trilogy. I don't know what is happening. What I do know is Nintendo would be foolish to go away from what they set up with Breath of the Wild. Now we're not done. We actually have one more quote we need to get to that makes some of you guys are probably going to smile at this quote. We'll see what happens. But I just want to note here that I think they would be foolish to not follow Breath of the Wild and make that the new formula. Whether you like this formula or not, whether you want them to go back to the traditional route or not, here's one thing we have to remember. The sales are incredible. The sales are beyond anything Zelda's ever done. Nintendo would just be foolish to not make this the new standard going forward. And I think after playing Tears of the Kingdom as much as I've played it and as little progress as I've actually made, I think they're making the right decision because this is now going to be basically a goatee level game almost every time if they keep going down this formula and keep improving upon it and doing newer, bigger and crazier things with it. Now that being said there was another interview conducted by Vanity Fair with series producer A. G. Aonuma. And here's what he said about the possibility of Zelda, Princess Zelda herself being playable. We feel like what takes most priority is the idea of gameplay. If it turns out that the particular gameplay we're trying to bring to fruition would best be served by having Zelda take that role, then it's possible that could be a direction we take in the time what Zelda possibly being in the lead role for the game. With that said, of course, because we are not sure what the next gameplay experience is going to be, we can't say what Zelda's next step is going to be. So in other words, if they feel like whatever direction the next Zelda games going to go in, that having Zelda be playable or even be the main protagonist is, you know, viable in the direction they want to go due to the gameplay they're thinking of. Cool. Also, there's no real guarantee that that will ever happen. And chances are they probably just stick with Link. And if anything, Zelda could become playable in a small role somehow. Remember, Zelda was technically playable in spirit tracks as your companion to take control of the phantoms. But again, that was obviously a one-off game that did that. Zelda hasn't really been controllable by the player outside of that unique situation in that game. But it is, you know, it does lend some credence to possibly having Zelda be playable at some point in the future, if not starring in her own game. Now, some people will obviously like to see a middle ground there where you get to play as both. Some thought we might get to do this in Tears of the Kingdom, where they're in like different timelines or something. And you play Zelda in one time and Link in the other that obviously doesn't, at least as far as I'm aware, I haven't beat the game, but pretty sure that's not something that happens in this game, because if it did, it would be making headlines everywhere. So I'm just going to say that I'm kind of good with where Zelda is, and I don't know how I couldn't be. Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time. Tears of the Kingdom is already fighting to dethrone Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time. Now I'm being told my two favorite games of all time are now the future direction of Zelda. That's really exciting. And now I'm being told, Hey, you know what, if the situation arises where it actually would be better to play as Zelda than Link, we're not opposed to doing it. Awesome. Like, I don't again, I don't think Zelda is going to be playable anytime soon. I won't expect it in the next game. But it's sort of one of those who knows maybe Fuji by actually comes up with an idea, a section of a game that Zelda would be fun to play in. And hey, that won't be completely out of left field. You guys remember Majora's Mask, we had a side quest where we got to play as some other characters. Hello, Andrew and Kathy side quest one of the greatest side quests in Zelda history. I'm even saying that after all the amazing side quests I've already done in Tears of the Kingdom, it's still one of the best side quests in Zelda history. So hey, guys, anything is possible. And if you want to keep shipping the idea of playing as Zelda, maybe having to save Link even who knows what could happen in the future. All I know is what is happening in the here and now to give you a little progress update on Tears of the Kingdom. I am a couple of dungeons in I have gone to the Zora area and the Hebrew region not going to spoil what happens or what those dungeons are like. But I got to say that the boss fights in them are pretty fun, pretty entertaining and extremely unique. I'm very pleased with that. I'm also just pleased in general with the story lines happening and gameplay. I just recently did a whole video on the gameplay so I'm going to dive too deep into the gameplay and I don't want to give a lot of story spoilers, but I'm just very, very pleased with the way things are going. I have done some of the dragon tier stuff and if you don't know what that is, that's okay. You can find that out on your own. I'm just I'm really, really excited about some things. I also find it ironic that we have some people wondering if Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have retconned the entire Zelda series. I think that's going to be a super fun conversation. I don't think we're going to be having that conversation tomorrow on our podcast because I got to remind you, we have an awesome podcast happening tomorrow at noon central time, featuring Kit and Krista from the Kit and Krista show, former Nintendo Treehouse employees and host of Nintendo Minute. We also have Monster Maze coming on. We have Commonwealth Realm coming on, Andres Restart and good old Darren, if you guys haven't watched our episodes lately, you'll remember who Darren is, used to working me at Zelda Informer. We'll be having an all Zelda, all the time episode. You guys are awesome and amazing. I'll probably catch you on a live stream tonight. Otherwise, see you guys in the next video.