Why we're thrilled and terrified of Zelda DLC

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Eiji Aonuma has us realizing the potential for great evil

The Good


Nintendo doesn't tend to half-ass a good thing. Even while watching Miyamoto make Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword look like a buggy tech demo at E3 2010, most of us knew deep down that Nintendo would never let this beloved franchise end up as an uncontrollable mess. And behold, hands on time with the gameproved we were right. So while Nintendo may not have us entirely convinced that online downloads are the way to go, it's hard to deny that if someone is going to add some polished content to their games via DLC, it's Nintendo.


Above: This is actually possible. We checked

So what kind of Zelda DLC might we see from Nintendo? How about entire temples? A completely new area to explore, perhaps? Some new weapons or items would be nice too. Maybe make this the first Zelda game where money actually matters, and then give us some sweet loot in the form of a puzzle filled dungeon. We don't really know how Skyward Sword will be structured at this point, but it's safe to conclude that pretty much all of these things could fit in, and there's no denying that adding life to what's sure to be a great game is good for everyone.

Not to be forgotten is the possibility of multiplayer. While not entirely endorsed, Aonuma did bring up the prospect in his interview with Game Informer:

"Having people play together is a theme that's always stuck in my mind but it's about trying to create what would work best for Legend of Zelda, we haven't really found the perfect vehicle for that, but it's a theme that I'm thinking about all the time."


Above: Players one, two, three and four?

So while it may not seem like Nintendo's too keen on adding multiplayer to its next Zelda game right out of the gate, perhaps we could see some post release DLC that enables us to explore the world of Skyward sword with our buddies. It could be the spiritual successor to The Four Swords Adventures, which so many of us have wanted for so long. Or we could just get some team deathmatch with beetles. You never know.

What we do know is that people hated when Resident Evil 5 patched in its multiplayer with a super-tiny download almost immediately after the game shipped – because it was obvious that the mode was already on the disc and the download just unlocked it. Which leads us right into the other side of the DLC coin…