PixlBit

Story, control, and gameplay ideas for a Zelda reboot.

After 25 years and 13 games, Zelda is certainly no spring chicken. We've heard more about Link, the Triforce, Ganon, and a plot hole-ridden timeline than you can shake a Deku stick at. It looks like Skyward Sword will shake things up, but for me it's not enough. The world of Hyrule needs a new hero to rise. That hero is the cucco.

These noble skybeasts have appeared in every game since A Link to the Past, and have played a central role in several of them [click here for Cucco Guide]. Don't let their beady eyes and country animal sensibilities fool you though; they are not always friendly. The cuccos are one of the Zelda series' most versatile characters, at various times alternating between friend and foe. Link can grab one and gracefully glide after a jump; other times they can pick him up and carry him to a warp point; but if you swipe at them with your sword enough, a vengeful flock of cuccos appear out of nowhere to divebomb Link to death.

They're heroic, they're fiesty, and they deserve their own game. Here's how it could play on Wii U.

Looking For A Few Good Hens – The Story

Cucco Quest, EpiCucco, or... whatever you want to call it, would take place sometime before Wind Waker, when the hero was supposed to rise up and defeat Ganon (but didn't) and before the great flood. Tired of waiting, a lone chicken decides to take matters into his own hands (feathers) and stop the winds of evil from blowing in on Hyrule.

Cucco Controls

I could go on forever about control scheme possibilities but I'll just give a few. Simply tap the A button to get those wings flapping and take to the skies. If this sounds familiar, it's because the groundwork was already laid with the “remote control” seagull segments of Wind Waker:

After porting over this flight physics engine, the controls can be reworked for Wii U with some modifications. Left circle pad controls flight direction. Directional combinations on the right circle pad can perform barrel rolls, dodges, and bombing attacks. L trigger to glide.

The B button can be the context sensitive button for opening doors, chatting with other farmvillagers, or tearing open a bag of delicious chicken scratch. The right trigger is our trusty Z-targetting and Y is for rapid-fire peck-attacks. Shouting into the tablet microphone activates a rooster crow that changes night into day and vice versa. Sure this could get annoying after awhile, but let's be honest: I sincerely doubt a chicken could play the Ocarina of Time. You gotta make do with what ya got.

As mentioned before, cuccos are deadly in groups; in a game like this, they can be summoned at will with the X button. Unlike past Zelda games with wildly unbalanced cucco-based gameplay, there are no more “infinite cucco attacks” this time around. The magic meter slowly depletes over time, limiting the potential for abuse. The touch screen will show scattered bits of chicken feed on the ground which can be tapped to slowly refill the meter.

 

In flight, the tablet screen can be used to scan the scenery, like the E3 Zen Garden demo:

Hatching New Gameplay Ideas

Thanks to the Wii U's robust control options, a cucco game could achieve everything Skyward Sword dreamed of and more. But what can a chicken actually do?

The answer is, well, pretty much everything Link can, but without the sword and shield. The cucco is a much more vulnerable protagonist and a far weaker fighting machine -- that much is certain. He would need to rely on his animal friends for help, moving the Zelda formula to an even greater emphasis on mini-games, side quests, and NPCs (Non-Playable Cuccos).

Mini-games would be significantly altered, emphasizing cooperation over the use of brute force:

 

Egg-hatching mini-games are made possible with next-gen gyroscopic technology.

 

There could be side quests involving slaughterhouse liberation...

 

...or mail delivery:

 

The overworld map and dungeons would need to revamped. Cock fights would take the place of boss battles.

 

As for the puzzles, pushing crates and pulling levers would need to be left out -- chickens can't do that stuff (at least, I haven't seen one try). There would be a lot more stepping on switches:

and...poking switches:

Even after making it through the adventure alive, our poultry protagonist would probably fall short in defeating Gannondorf. It's a tall order that is hard enough for Link -- and he has the advantage of opposable thumbs! More than likely, the self-determined cucco would end up getting cooked in the final battle. Did you really think a barnyard animal would win the game?