I've been recently working on gameplay ideas and a plot for a new Zelda game which I'm tentatively calling "The Legend of Zelda: Serenity's Edge." I'm very serious about this project and will try and pitch it to Nintendo once I have some more concrete details and a near complete storyline. In the meantime I thought I'd start a thread that I can update with story details and Ideas as the project progresses. Also I want any and all ideas that anyone would like to see in a future Zelda game, I don't care how crazy it is or how simple or how complex they are, throw them at me and I'll try and incorporate it somehow. The more we have, the more Nintendo might actually take notice of it.

I'll explain now, that this Zelda game is definitely not going to be on the Wii. This is a next generation game and is going to more or less break the Zelda mold and breathe some fresh life into the series, which is something that I think it definitely needs. The story at the moment will have a lot of links to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and also tie in with Wind Waker towards the end.

To give you a quick idea of what I envision, imagine a rough cross between Ocarina of Time, Oblivion, Assassins Creed and Lord of the Rings. It is going to be a much more mature and violent game than previous entries in the series. In the first five minutes of the game alone, Princess Zelda is killed, Gannondorf truly takes over Hyrule, Link loses his piece of the triforce, and the Master Sword is destroyed...I've got a feeling that isn't going to go down to well with some people but that's their problem.

Anyway I'll leave it at that for now and give you a "novelized" version of the opening cinematic of the game...hope you enjoy and get those ideas flowing...

Carried on the breath of the winds of time…
exists a legend…
A tale of great tragedy.
Of power, wisdom, passion…
and revenge…
The final and desperate struggles
of a once golden kingdom…
Whose very foundations crumbled from within…
Consequences, of a dying race…
a rising tyrant…
and a fallen hero…
Above all else, however, it is a tale, of courage…
And not about how courage is bestowed or tested…
but how it is earned.

Her deep purple eyes shone upwards with fear as her hands trembled…

His bright blue eyes showed desperation and he could only scream in hopelessness and anger as the glinting silver blade plunged downwards through the crushing darkness…

And his glowing red eyes, glared with triumph as a second golden triangle burned to life upon the back of his hand…

The mid-afternoon sun burned down upon Hyrule Town’s main square. A decent sized crowd had assembled around a raised stone platform, upon which a large, cloaked, dark green skinned man with deep red hair and eyes stood, looking down upon a woman clothed in a purple robe, whose body lay upon a stone bed. Small and smooth hands were clasped together gently upon her chest. Her peaceful face beautiful even in death.
“We are gathered here today,” the dark man, Gannondorf, addressed the crowd in a deep, grave tone, “to commemorate the passing, of Princess Zelda.”
Silent tears ran down many of the crowd members faces. Others wept openly, comforting arms around their shoulders.
“Her life was cut unfairly short…she was ruthlessly murdered and it grieves me to say that it was in my presence and I was not able to do anything to prevent it…or stop the murderer, who quickly escaped. But not without me seeing his face…It was the Kokiri boy…the one who disappeared long ago after he committed great treason against his country…He has returned …However, before we move on to that matter, let us bow our heads and pray to the goddess’ to deliver Princess Zelda safely to the other world.”

For a few moments there was complete and utter silence as the voiceless crowd dipped their heads in mourning, a slight breath of wind rippling through the Hylian flags atop the stone battlements surrounding the solemn square. The unmistakeable sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath toward the back of the crowd broke the almost unearthly silence. The noise echoed around the square and in one fluid motion every head turned to stare at the man dressed in green at the back of the crowd. Gasps and whispers suddenly split the air like angry locusts.
His head was bowed, straw coloured hair and a long, worn green cap fluttered in the afternoon breeze. Hands gloved by brown leather gauntlets, matching his boots, gripped the Master Sword’s engraved purple hilt firmly. A golden triangle seemed to glow on his left hand as sunlight danced transversely along the swords lengthy, radiant white blade, playing particularly around the Triforce symbol preset near the hilt. Silence once again fell over the crowd as Link’s bright blue eyes opened and he raised his head, a look of pure loathing tarnishing his usually gentle countenance.
Link lowered the sword in his left hand as he started to walk forward, his right arm swinging behind him to pull the blue and silver Hylian shield off of his. The crowd parted so as to allow a walkway up to the stone platform and throne where Gannondorf sat, his own eyes narrowed to hateful red slits as Link approached. Halfway through the crowd Link broke into a run, his eye’s never leaving the throne.
“Guards!” Gannondorf roared, not leaving his seat.

Two guards at the front of the crowd quickly moved into formation between Link and Gannondorf, raising their spears to cross over each other, blocking the way as another guard moved in behind them as backup. Link showed no sign of hesitation as he approached the guards. In one fluid and seamless motion his sword flew up and he stabbed left before spinning around in the opposite direction, screaming and slashing diagonally. In slow motion the two guards fell to their knees and then fell face first, armour clanging onto the hard ground, scarlet blood spraying the stone. The crowd screamed and cried out as Link continued on his maniacal rampage. He clobbered the third guard heavily over the head with his shield and the man fell to the ground, scrambling quickly to try and get up. The Master Sword rose up into the air, Link’s horrifying scream ringing through the square as he brought the sword crashing down. The guard moved no more.
The horrified crowd continued to scream as Link, ripped the blood-covered sword out of the man’s body. He leapt up onto the stone platform and charged towards Gannondorf, Zelda’s stone bed the only thing between them. The sound of the crowd distorted in his ears, as though it was far away. Before he could reach his target a dozen other guards had surrounded him, their spears pointed inwards at him, forcing him to come to a halt. He stretched his fingers around the swords hilt as Gannondorf rose from his throne, raising his arms into the air.
“He is mad!” Gannondorf called to the crowd, who suddenly went very quiet, “Delusional! Insecure! Dangerous! And you thought he was a hero…This man…this boy, this child…is evil!”
“I AM NOT!” Link roared at Gannondorf’s last word.
“You see!” Gannondorf sneered, looking right at Link as the word played over his lips, “evil.”
Link roared in anger and raised his sword, quickly becoming a blur of green and silver as he pushed away the guards’ spears and parrying, stabbing and slashing his way through the guards that surrounded him. The crowd, again cried out in shock and fear, but Link wasn’t aware of them. He almost wasn’t aware of what he was doing.

With each guard that Link killed, the golden Triforce on his hand quivered and began to crack and fade. He stabbed another guard, pushing the blood-soaked blade all the way into the hilt. The Triforce on his hand flickered one last time and then disappeared, unbeknown to Link in his fit of rage. In slow motion he pulled the Master Sword around, dropping his shield to clutch the hilt in both hands. The blade was covered in so much blood that Link failed to notice that its silver-white glow had also faded away like his piece of the Triforce. He brought the sword down upon a guards raised spear as he span around. On contact, the Master Sword…the Sword of Evil’s Bane…shattered into a thousand pieces…
The force of the shattering impact flung Link backwards onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him as fragments of the shattered sword rained down around him. Everything still seemed to be moving in slow motion. Link felt as though his will to live had been destroyed along with the sword.
He had failed.
He had failed himself.
He had failed Hyrule…
And he had failed Zelda…
Darkness loomed over him and he was faintly aware of Gannondorf standing triumphantly over his body and calling out to the crowd of innocent Hylians. As the darkness came crashing down around him Link’s hand closed tightly around a shard of the broken sword. It was a piece off of the edge of the blade…an engraved piece of the Triforce just visible on the shards broken edge as everything faded away to blackness…

This post was last modified: 11-10-2007 03:39 PM by Kindrik.

Wow that's really good concept. A blend of past zelda games will add a lot of depth and familiarity to this new story. I think if your were to pitch this idea to Nintendo they would seriously give it some thought.

We all know how ignorant Nintendo can be, and whilst I love this idea and everything it stands for I think it will be no different.

dude u just raped my mind ........that plot was awesome
i love that it has some assassins creed in it and if not the wii then what system ?

Good idea or not, does Nintendo accept unsolicited ideas for new games?

probably Nintendo's next system...

While you do have a good plot there I believe you're just deluding yourself. Pitch this idea to Nintendo? What makes you think they'll care? You seriously think that you're the only person who ever tried to pitch a video game idea to them? They'll completely ignore it. Believe me, all companies do.

It's pretty awesome though. If I could I would argue for Nintendo to listen to it but they would just ignore me too...

Yeah I understand what you guys are saying but hey, it's worth a try isn't it?
And when I say it won't be on the Wii I just mean that I don't really think the Wii would be able to handle a game like this, so it would best be left to the next generation of consoles.
I'm not going to even try to pitch it until it's a fairly solid product and if there's one thing that Galaxy Quest has taught me it’s that you can "Never give up...never surrender!" You've got to love that movie!

I'll try and get some more ideas and things up tonight, I have my last HSC exam today then I'm finished school forever YAY, so I'll have a bit more time to work on it and post some stuff (In between playing Corruption of course) xD

And well even if Nintendo doesn’t want to take any notice of it, it could be one hell of a fan fiction if everyone pitches in some ideas!

still why start now when the next system is only coming in in like 7-15 years
but i know were you're coming from cause ninty will NOT accept a M rated game

GREAT idea thow

I think we'll see a new system in three or four years and the way I look at it, Nintendo's got the casual crowd in their pocket, all they need now is to win back the hardcore crowd, which they could very easily do if they put a bit more effort into their key franchises.

I must read more! That is so professionally prepared. I loved it, but i would suggest excluding blood. Although it adds a nice touch to the story, it won't be good in a game.

How's this for an idea: A new character that you customize awakens in a distant part of the land, drenched in sweat. That dream seemed so real... as if you were actually there. This character journeys through Hyrule, to save Link, and with his help, defeat Gandolf. In the end, this character ultimately sacrifices himself to bring Zelda back from the dead. In this way, the storyline can continue in future games.

This post was last modified: 11-08-2007 07:37 PM by Toon324.

Yeah it is really awesome, dont pitch it to Nintendo. waste of your time, how about instead, make it into a fan fic? For all of us to enjoy *idea explodes*

Unless you put "I never played a videogame until I played a Wii..." or "I love Wii Play thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much" as the subject line, Nintendo will delete it before they even open it. They probably get millions of emails full of "great" ideas for the next Zelda or Metroid game.

As for your anecdote here it is well written but doesn't have much substance. This would amount to a (very cool) 5-minute cutscene in a 50 hour game. It is one thing to have a great idea but it is something entirely different to translate it into an epic story and revolutionary gameplay that can sustain itself over a huge period of time. That is why most "epic" games tend to have cheesy stories.

I admit though that a mature Zelda game with Link going (temporarily) mad is a plot I have wondered about before and would like to see implemented. But at the same time I can almost guarantee it will never happen.

This post was last modified: 11-08-2007 10:52 PM by GlueGun18.

I thought this was pretty cool, but it's unlike Nintendo to bring new and original ideas to the Zelda series. I would love to see your ideas actually put into a Zelda game though. Not to mention Miyamoto would have a heart attack at the amount of violence put into a game he originally thought of as a boy. Regardless of the fact that we'd all love to see something like this.
And I put this up on digg. If you liked this go back to the first post and digg it. Too cool to pass up.

This post was last modified: 11-10-2007 04:41 PM by Kindrik.

Wow... just wow!

I agree with Juniormints.

I don't think Nintendo will ever use this idea. Not in a million years.

But at the same time I think its absolutely amazing! You could write a hole book on this! You really should. Haha you could even end up with fans.

I really appretiate your work.

Better yet, let's all raise money and put it on WiiWare for all to enjoy And i dugg it

Put the game on WiiWare, or just that opening? Because a full game like that would never work on there.

Hey thanks for all the feedback guys, I'll post some more stuff in a couple of days to discuss.

I love the work you've done, not exactly the first part of the storyline (I'd rather have a gravely injured Zelda, for the sake of more Zelda games to come), but otherwise, I love the name and ideas!

Although now that I read through it again... Wow, just wow. I love the ideas.  I'd just like to see Zelda live for a sequel though, since this is so awesome (Continue the namesake).    Keep it up though, I'd love to hear more!

Edit again:  I've now read it 3 times.  This is the business.  I really hope it gets implemented.  Send it in, seriously!

This post was last modified: 11-10-2007 10:34 PM by Wiiwillrockyou.

This is exactly the problem.  I'm almost positive that Nintendo (and virtually all major companies) will not accept unsolicited ideas for legal reasons.

EDIT: However, this work shouldn't go to waste. Perhaps we should pick ideas to create a fan made Zelda story, without a game.

This post was last modified: 11-10-2007 10:37 PM by z6joker9.

Gah.. I posted on my bros account and now I copied over what I copied...

anyway in short I said, a game is like a sandbox. The idea you currently have is nothing but a single grain of sand. This openign isn't even close to being considered a game idea. Its way to small. You'll need plot twists, sub-plots, game mechanics, etc. You can't expect Nintendo to fill the holes of your idea.

(And I think the opening poem-thing is super special awesome)

The "mad" link makes me think "feral", and "feral" makes me think of Wolf Link. "Wolf" make sme think "instincts"... Link loses his humanity, and has nothing left but his instincts, he's a killing machine!
I'd add ideas, but wouldn't that just conflict with other ideas?
You can only have so much fit together...