The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is easily one of the biggest games in recent memory, having sold nearly 18 million copies at this point. It also holds a Metacritic score of 97 and several game of the year awards from 2017, so one can imagine that Nintendo doesn’t really need to be taking any advice from other developers on game development. Still, as is natural with any art form, it does draw inspiration from somewhere.
When The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 was officially unveiled at E3 2019, Nintendo producer and Legend of Zelda veteran Eiji Aonuma revealed in an interview that the development team behind the sequel to Breath of the Wild has been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 along with some other games.
Game developers play each other’s games all the time (they’re gamers, of course) which results in people inspiring others through their work, so it wouldn’t be too shocking to see minor elements of Red Dead Redemption 2 pop up throughout the sequel to Breath of the Wild, whenever that comes out. In any case, here are a few things from Red Dead Redemption 2 that Nintendo should keep an eye on for the next Legend of Zelda game.
Base Camp for Link and Zelda
Even though The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild is considered by many to be a near perfect game, there are still a few things in the game's open world that either need to be removed or fixed for it to be better. One thing that could be added to the game is any sort of base camp that the player, as Link, can utilize.
One of the main systems of Red Dead Redemption 2 is the base camp that the player, as Arthur, regularly interacts with. The player can do all sorts of things to contribute to Arthur’s base camp, which houses Dutch’s gang. Arthur can contribute financially by donating money and goods found on quests and the like. He can also tidy up around the place, help with food, and can generally interact with everyone in the camp. The camp also serves as a restocking point for Arthur to replenish ammunition and such.
In The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, Link is ostensibly a nomad. There is a home that Link can acquire through a quest which he can then perform some upkeep on, but it’s only real purpose is to act as a trophy house for Link’s best weapons via wall mounts (technically, the player can put whatever they want on the wall mounts, not just Link’s best weapons). There is no sense of a home for Link to return to throughout the game, unlike Arthur.
Otherwise, Link is only allowed to set up small campfires in order to rest. In the sequel to Breath of the Wild, Nintendo could design it so that Link can build up a camp or outpost similar to that of Red Dead Redemption 2. With rumors claiming that Zelda is a playable character, the camp can even be somewhat populated, assuming Link and Zelda make some friends along the way.
Horses in Breath of the Wild
First, horseback riding is an important feature in both games,but riding a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2 is vastly superior by comparison, though one should expect no less from a game about horses. Nintendo could take a good look at what makes riding a horse feel so natural in Rockstar’s 2018 game. Besides fixing the feel of horseback riding, Nintendo should try to make Link have the same horse caring abilities that Arthur has. Arthur can interact with his horse in plenty of ways whereas Link can only yell and soothe.
Nintendo could actually improve on Rockstar’s formula because there are flaws with Red Dead Redemption 2’s horses too. The only two main downsides to horses in that game are the facts that players have to repeatedly push a button to move their horse along and that it’s generally unpredictable as to when the horse will follow the road that Arthur is on. If Nintendo can make the riding feel as good as it is in Rockstar’s game, while improving on these two less than ideal aspects, then it would just continue to improve on a game that many already consider perfect.
Strangers in Breath of the Wild
The final element that Nintendo could borrow is a feature that Rockstar seems to have perfected - the random encounters/stranger quests. Breath of the Wild is clearly a lonely game. Most of the player’s time is spent with Link as he traverses the wilderness all by his lonesome, as isolation and, more importantly, desolation are two huge themes of the game. Nintendo did an amazing job of building a world that embodies those feelings but it should change it up for the sequel, even though it'll use the same map from Breath of the Wild.
In the sequel to Breath of the Wild, Nintendo would create such a contrast (in the best way) with the first game if, in some places that Link and Zelda travel to, the player encounters a series of humorous (and scary) characters that give them quests. In the first game, the only random encounters that occurred were ones between Link and Yiga clan members in disguise trying to kill him.
Things to Avoid from Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is an enormous game with so many different mechanics and systems that blend together, it makes one wonder just how these kinds of games can even exist. But that isn’t always a good thing. In the hit 2018 Rockstar game, there is a meter for health, a meter for stamina, one for dead eye, and all three have a core meter that must be maintained or else they don’t regenerate properly. Arthur’s horse also has its own health and stamina meters (and cores that must be maintained).
In total, players have to keep an eye on over 10 different things that affect the way Arthur is handled. It may get some points for a sense of realism, but all of these confusingly intertwined systems make for something that just isn’t fun to take care of. Learning from this, Nintendo should strive for what made Breath of the Wild so successful in the first place - a great adventure with an emphasis on fun.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is currently in development for the Switch.