In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomplayers weren't just playing another story set in Hyrule. The sequel to Breath of the wild took the previous game's sandbox elements several steps further, allowing players to use a new set of powers to build machines, weapons, and tools using items from the world. By introducing this, Tears of the kingdom encouraged players to be truly creative and push the boundaries of building in the game.
Fans responded to this new level of freedom by coming up with awe-inspiring creations and sharing them online. In the time since Nintendo released the game, fans have created useful items like skateboards and complicated machines like a mechanized kaiju that resembles Godzilla. Given the game's emphasis on creativity, Polygon asked Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi about the possibility of fans one day getting a Zelda game focused purely on building their own creations, such as Super Mario Maker. Judging from their answers, it seems unlikely that Nintendo will release a Zelda game purely about creating levels or dungeons.
“When we make games like Tears of the kingdomI think it is important that we do not make creativity a requirement. Instead, we put things in the game that encourage people to be creative, and give them the opportunity to be creative, without forcing them to be creative,” Aonuma told Polygon through an interpreter in a personal interview.
Image: Nintendo/Nintendo EDP
In Super Mario Maker And Super Mario Maker 2players can design their own Mario levels from scratch using an in-game editor. This allowed players to create all kinds of custom levels in Mario. Players can create extremely difficult levels that challenge the most seasoned Mario players, or crazy creations that turn a Mario level into a tribute to Splatoon. Regardless of the approach, that's a huge aspect of the Super Mario Maker games they rely on players' creativity.
It's no secret that the developers of Tears of the kingdom were inspired by fan responses to Breath of the wild. Developers saw players pushing the creative boundaries of Breath of the wild, and later they created a game that doubled down on these sandbox elements. That's why Zelda fans have long wondered whether a version of Zelda that works like Mario Maker might one day emerge – allowing players to create or design dungeons or worlds. But when asked directly about a Mario Maker-style game for Zelda, Aonuma had an interesting answer about the nature of Zelda games and what they have to offer players.
Image: Nintendo
“There are people who want the ability to create from scratch, but that's not everyone,” Aonuma said. “I think everyone enjoys discovering how to find their own way through a game, and that's something we tried to make sure was included in Tears of the kingdom; There is no one right way to play. If you are a creative person, you have the ability to walk that path. But that's not what you have to do; you can also continue the game in many other ways. And so I don't think it would be good for The Legend of Zelda to necessarily require people to build things from scratch and force them to be creative.
Given Aonuma's reaction, it seems unlikely that Zelda will ever get the Mario Maker equivalent. If we were to get more creative elements, it seems like they would have to be nested within a larger game where players can progress in multiple ways. So those hoping for a Zelda builder would be better off looking for other games that currently offer similar options – which luckily for us already exist.