Zelda series producer surprised fans want more linear games after Tears of the Kingdom

In an interview with IGN, Eiji Aonuma, series producer on The Legend of Zelda, touched upon a certain subset of the fanbase that yearns for the more linear structure of the classic games; something he seems to attribute mostly to nostalgia.

The last couple of Zelda games—Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom—featured a new open ended structure for the series. Given how very successful both games have been, it’s no wonder that Nintendo would wish to keep this going for future games. Aonuma even implied as such in a May Game Informer interview: “I think it’s correct to say that [Breath of the Wild] has created a new kind of format for the series to proceed from.”