I just had a very stupid thought, what if there was a metroidvania That was not a metroidvania?
So let me explain, Big open world map, lots of orthogonal items and abilities to collect, lots of areas and enemies. But no locks And multiple ways tickets at the same locations.
Am I crazy, or does it seem like spoon feeding areas is unnecessary?
Like I guess if you want a story locks makes it easier.
Or maybe if you want to not overwhelm the player.
But nes Zelda threw players into a vast open world and it was a smash hit.
The original Zelda has plenty of locks, and I don’t just mean the literal ones in the dungeons. You can’t access Dungeon 4 without the raft, you can’t reach Dungeon 7 without the flute, you can’t beat Ganon without the silver arrows, you can’t beat the game without getting the meat.
Locks aren’t about story or spoon feeding, they’re about setting the pace and rhythm to a game. Also, the original Legend of Zelda came out in 1986.