The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwas an incredible launch for the Nintendo Switch, but even with all its re-inventing of the traditionalZeldaformula, it wasn’t without its problems. Most notably, and what became even more apparent withTears of the KingdomandEchoes of Wisdom’s releases, is how tedious the UI of Switch-eraZeldagames is.
If you’ve played any of theseNintendo SwitchZeldagames, then you know thata large part of inventory management or quest referencing involves scrolling through what often feels like several minutes of tabs and itemsto find what you are looking for. Which is, unfortunately, only made worse by how frequently you need to access these menus while playing.
Recent Zelda Menus Take Up Way Too Much Time
I Do Enough Doom Scrolling Everywhere Else, I Don’t Need It In Zelda Too
If you’re like me, then you probably already spend enough time endlessly scrolling through various social media platforms and aren’t looking to relive that experience every time you open up aZeldagame to escape those social media platforms.Among the many things Nintendo did right withBreath of the Wildand the rest of theZeldagames on the Switch, the UI just unfortunately wasn’t one of them.
Whether you’re looking to sift through weapons, find something in your inventory, or prepare a meal, it seems that you’re forced to scroll through endless rows or columns of items just to find the one specific thing you’re looking for. Oftentimes, I just assumed I didn’t have something because I couldn’t pinpoint it in my inventory, or I just decided to forgo whatever it was entirely and worry about it later because I couldn’t be bothered to stop and look for it.
There is a quick selection option while still playing that doesn’t involve having to open up the full menu, but even that can be lengthy if you have several items in your inventory, and it really doesn’t make the process feel that much quicker. Additionally, this isn’t just a problem with items, either, as even the quest menus can be exhausting to scroll through.
Of course,Tears of the Kingdomdid slightly change this UI, as well asEchoes of Wisdom, but both still contained the endless scrolling that plaguedBreath of the Wildwithout seeming to offer a solution for it. Again, I know this might sound like a bit of a surface-level issue, but just consider how many times in an hour you’re accessing that menu, especially withfusion builds inTOTK, and you might realize thatthis is a relatively simple request to improve quality-of-life in the nextZeldagame.
It’s Time For Zelda UI To Get Creative Again
Quality Of Life Changes Are Huge For Iconic Franchises
With something as big asZelda, you don’t truly need anything drastic to pull in players. Overall, eventhe worstZeldagamewill get played more than an amazing indie game with less notoriety simply because it has built up a solid reputation over the years and a committed fan base.
Unfortunately, this also means thatmainlineZeldagames infrequently take major risks and mostly stick to an overall formula players are familiar with, leaving the series with little room for experimentation. So, Nintendo is forced to experiment in other ways, such as weapon crafting, art style, world building, and even, yes, quality-of-life changes.
In a series where Nintendo is only able to risk so much in terms of actual gameplay, design is the one place to go wild, anda new UI could be a major game-changerforthe nextThe Legend of Zeldagame, especially if it keeps the open-world format where players are likely to swap weapons frequently and utilize items for quests or fusions on the go.
Overall, it’s a small change, but that’s exactly why it’s a perfectly reasonable request that would make the nextThe Legend of Zeldagame that much more enjoyable. A solid UI to top off a great game is an easy way to bump a game into Game of the Year territory and edge out something else that falls just short in that area.
