Change in Classic Games: Blessing or Curse?

Ever since Zelda came out, it has been churning out game after game that followed the same formula (with one exception). Dungeons, Master Swords, Heart Containers, Fairies, bombs, boomerangs… all these are things we’ve come to expect from Zelda. Sure, the graphics, style, and story are different every time, but the game mechanics are generally the same. Zelda 2 is the only game that tried something different, throwing Link into a Mario-like side scrolling platformer… and nobody liked that game.

So when Nintendo announced that the upcoming Zelda for Wii will be different and use the Wiimote in a new way, some people might have been intrigued… but the rest of us let out a unanimous groan.

But… that doesn’t make any sense! Why would we buy the same game over and over? Don’t we want each game to have changes, to be a whole new, different game? Oh wait, that’s right… Pokemon. No one is better at selling the same thing under a different name than the Pokemon series. We’ve gone through a rainbow of Pokemon games, and still the game remains exactly the same. Some new features and pokemon might be added, Team Rocket replaced by a new troupe of useless villains, but the mechanics are still exactly the same. And every time a new game is announced, people are excited! Wouldn’t change be a good thing?

Thing is, game developers believe in the saying “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” If people like the game, why change it? This would mean risking the chance that players won’t like the change and not buy the game. So instead, developers add things to the games without changing the fundamental gameplay.

The Mario series has learned to change while still remaining true to the gameplay by adding dimensions. From the original 2D platformer, to the 3D Super Mario 64, to the… whatever-th dimension of Mario Galaxy. Nintendo doesn’t even bother changing the story - adding a new dimension adds a different layer to a classic game.

But on the other end of the spectrum, you have Final Fantasy, who creates every game to be different, building on ideas and gameplay, adding features… and FF is, obviously, a success. So change does not necessarily mean losing your fan base.

Would change in other classic game series, if done well, really be such a bad thing? Some series create side games (like Pokemon Stadium or Super Mario RPG) that stray from the typical, and try out different things. And some of these games do well!

So should developers gather up some courage and make significant changes in classic games? Or should they stay true to their origins?