Zelda Wii U, or Zelda NX, or whatever it may be now, is going to be the best The Legend of Zelda game ever made. Well, that’s what Nintendo tells us, but then, they would. Our own Phil Martinez got Nintendo’s marketing guy Scott Moffitt to say as much. This is going to be the best Zelda, if all goes according to plan. And let’s pretend for a second that it is. In fact, I think it’s quite possible. But I also think that even the greatest Zelda game ever just isn’t enough.

Zelda Wii U: Being The Best Zelda Game Ever Is The Low Bar

The Zelda series was a seminal video game landmark for two decades, from the mid-‘80s to the mid-aughts. The Legend of Zelda, Link to the Past, and Ocarina of Time were all, respectively, the defining games of their eras. Wind Waker was the first major game to throw the middle finger to increasing realism, and it unleashed the diversity of art styles we see in games today. It was the beginning of the era where design rather than better graphics could be a key selling point.

Since then, the Zelda series has remained a huge selling point for Nintendo’s systems, but I would argue that the series hasn’t been revolutionary in a long time. It doesn’t feel fresh; it does more of the same, but better, with a different art style and a different scope. And that’s okay! Lots of series do such things, and Zelda reinvents itself gameplay-wise more than many of its competitors. Just look at the controls in Skyward Sword, which I happen to hate with a burning passion.

But as Zelda advanced in incremental steps in the days since Wind Waker (minus the incredible Link Between Worlds, a throwback if ever there was one), other series leapfrogged it as they advanced by leaps and bounds. I’ll admit it, I’m basically thinking of The Elder Scrolls, especially Skyrim, which singlehandedly made Skyward Sword unplayable for me. The Witcher 3 falls into this category as well.

I realize these games are open-world RPGs, not strictly adventure games. But I think that’s what Zelda Wii U should be at this point. Those games do everything Zelda does, and they do a lot more besides. Zelda games have one big town and a few scattered shops. Skyrim has half a dozen cities and tons of villages; Witcher has a tremendous metropolis and a few smaller cities. Zelda games have secrets, and hidden items, but nothing on the scale of modern-day open world RPGs.

Call it a false comparison if you want, but I think the modern-day open world RPGs are the true heirs to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The trueborn line, which will include Zelda Wii U, is still eminent, prestigious, majestic and much coveted. I will play Zelda Wii U and love it. And it’s an open world game inspired by the likes of Skyrim, so I can dare to hope. But just being the greatest Zelda game ever won’t be enough to reclaim Zelda’s throne at the pinnacle of gaming. It needs to surpass its own heirs, and—open world or not—that’s a tall order. Let’s hope Nintendo is up to the challenge.