Can't go back to the older Zeldas? I sure can

This has been a small topic on the past few Nintendo Voice Chat podcasts: a reader wondered whether he, she, or we as a collective gaming-collective could go back to the older, more-linear Zeldas. I sure can.

Even at its most linear, as in Skyward Sword, Zelda has always offered freedom and sidequests. Also, why is linear game-design so looked-down-upon? There is nothing wrong with linearity, when done right. I appreciate linear game-design when done right. In fact, linear game-progression mixed with exploration is one of my favorite types of game-design. A lot of new games are like this, like the two newest Tomb Raiders, or The Last of Us. There is a point you must reach as a gamer to trigger the next event, but in the meantime, you have immense freedom in how you want to get there, and along the way you can explore the environment to find collectibles or things that will help you with the game.

When a game is very open-ended in nature, and when a game just plops you in the middle of nowhere, and basically says, "Good luck; have fun," that strikes me more as lazy game-design and lazy level-design.

Again, this is just my taste, but it seems to be an insidious predilection for the vociferous masses out there to praise open-world game-design and belittle more-linear game-design, and this is unjust.

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