Nintendo Narratives
I was checking out my Club Nintendo account a few days ago, and while I was there I filled out a post-play survey for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I haven’t actually played the game end to end yet, but I had some spare time so I figured, why not? Takes like five minutes, and I’d get some coins for buying Club Nintendo-exclusive merchandise. But like most things I do, in the course of filling it out I had a few thoughts about Zelda that went beyond the scope of the survey, and I wanted to share them here to have some room to think and see what you think as well.
One of the reasons Nintendo is and always has been my favorite video game company (as well as many people’s favorite company altogether) is their relentless drive to push the boundaries of gameplay and consistently produce the world’s best entertainment software. You heard me right. Not video games; entertainment software. Especially in light of their recent consoles, with the DS’s touch screen and the Wii’s motion controller, and the resulting less-than-traditional gameplay experiences these interfaces afford, like Wii Fit and Brain Age, I think Nintendo is less a video game company and more an entertainment company that specializes in video game hardware and software. Especially in light of Wii Fit’s Balance Board and personal training-oriented gameplay, the Wii is as much a “living room entertainment appliance” as it is a game console.
The distinction is important because as I was writing up a few words about Zelda for the survey, I kept thinking and wondering why Nintendo hasn’t capitalized on the rich universe of characters and lore that a place like Hyrule naturally provides. Look at Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or even WarCraft: these properties have histories, folklore, mythos—they have their own cohesive narrative world.
The question sticking in my mind was, why doesn’t Nintendo have this? Why not imbue their franchises with lore?
Now let me get something straight: I do not think all their franchises should have a narrative. The Mario series, for example, wouldn’t really benefit from a story because Mario is yet another example of entertainment software. It gives you a world to interact with for the sole purpose of solving interactive puzzles. The Zelda series, as well as Metroid and Star Fox, however, are three off the top of my head that have characters with personalities, or at the very least, an intriguing narrative world.
In those cases, we are teased with the evidence of a rich narrative universe, but all we have to go on are the surroundings and a mysterious central figure whose personality consists mostly of grunts and gasps. Where’s the story? Where’s the motivation? The history? The narrative?
So, I’m coining a term: Nintendo narratives. A Nintendo narrative offers little in the way of story development outside of the game’s self-contained setting. I’ll grant Nintendo narratives one thing: they allow Nintendo to make games without concern for how they fit into storylines. But, how much more enjoyable would these experiences be if we felt we were participating in a world wholly conceived, that we were somehow enriched by our adventures within them, and likewise enriching them in our explorations?
Finally, lest anyone think it would somehow alienate gamers to incorporate a story, consider Disney. Their films are loved the world over. Simple, rich stories that are beautifully expressed with the most innovative technology they could create at the time. I think there’s immeasurable untapped potential for games to tell stories, and it’s something I’d love to see Nintendo pursue.
