As Abyss Master reported yesterday, Eiji Aonuma told us that things would be different for the Legend of Zelda series with the release of the Zelda Wii. Just to refresh everyone, here’s what he said: “[...] we have been trying something new in terms of the structure of the Wii version of the new Zelda game this time.” In other words, we potentially have a lot more in store for us than trains and new evil masterminds.

Now, we all know that Spirit Tracks opens up quite a number of doors as far as transportation goes for the Zelda Wii, and perhaps even this quote from Aonuma goes hand in hand with that notion. Certainly trains could certainly have more of an impact on Zelda than simply a change from the fields to the rails, and as such, perhaps when fans say, “If there are to be trains in the Zelda Wii, it better be done right” they will get their wish? A train in the game would undoubtedly provide ample opportunity for our coveted “three then seven” scheme to be mutated and possibly even destroyed altogether. Wouldn’t that be nice?

To be fair, not every Zelda game has followed the threes and sevens, but the ones we consider “great” all favor the number three, and then another number on a distinctly separate journey: A Link to the Past (three pendants in the Light World, seven maidens in the Dark World), Ocarina of Time (three spiritual stones as a child, seven sages and five medallions as an adult), Majora’s Mask (three days, and seven dungeons with five masks) Wind Waker (three pearls before the Tower of the Gods, and eight fragments of the Triforce after), and Twilight Princess (three fused shadows, four mirror shards for a total of seven). The Triforce itself is a three piece triangle (all having to do with the number three, as indicated by the root tri). This all culminates to the fact that though not perfectly formulaic, Zelda does tend to follow a loose pattern: three of this in one instance, and either four, five, seven, or eight of that in another. The point of saying all of that? All the games that seem to really follow this pattern are console games, and Aonuma gives us hope that one of the “new” things with Zelda will be a departure from the conventional and a step into the distinctly fresh.

Now, would this necessarily be good? In my research for this article, I was asked, “Why does Zelda have to follow a formula?” Now, the quote is slightly out of context, but it’s still a decent question. Does Zelda follow a formula, and if it does, why doesn’t it stop following a formula? I mean we all love the good ol’ Triforce; it is the cheese to our macaroni, the ranch to our salad, the gravy to our turkey, and so on and so forth. The problem, though, is how it is utilized in each game, and how the number three in particular is tossed around like an overused cliché to the point that it leaves many of us groaning for the first half of a Zelda game. Perhaps this is why Twilight Princess felt stale. Not for any reasons like lack of great game play, or shoddy porting to the Wii, but simply for the fact that we’ve already played Twilight Princess before it was even released, back when we played A Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time, and all the other games I already listed. It is time for a change.

Finally, it seems, Nintendo has gotten that message. The trains are just the beginning. Hopefully there won’t be some new numerological fate for Zelda, by which I mean I hope that Nintendo doesn’t just create a new formula for us to watch repeated four thousand more times.

Now this isn’t to say that the number three in and of itself is necessarily bad. Quite the contrary, three is a great number: three branches of government, three second rule, “on the count of three”, three basic verb tenses, three months in one quarter, the holy trinity, three steps in a waltz, third time’s the charm, and I could just go on forever. Three is a number that it seems is unavoidable in the world, and especially in Zelda. The number three is not the problem, it is Nintendo’s unoriginal utilization of it that is the problem. Aonuma has potentially stated that this problem will be rectified at least once, and hopefully for all.

What does this have to do with trains, though? Potentially nothing. Hopefully something, because to see such a promising facet go to waste would be disappointing. My faith in the Big N will not be disappointed though.

After all, when has Zelda ever truly disappointed?