Zelda

Jarvio

Didn't know whether to put this in off-topic or the gaming forum. It's not james bond games, so it might belong in off-topic...

But is anyone else madly obsessed with the legend of zelda game series? I myself love it, and have completed all 16 zelda games. Ocarina Of Time is my favourite, followed by Skyward Sword (I'm currently replaying through SS at the moment, and having a blast).

What's everyone's opinions on this brilliant game franchise? Share your thoughts!

Mr Beech

The Wind Waker is in my top 3 favorite games. The series is great.

I loved the lonesome adventuring on the see at night and arriving at a small island of odd creatures, but it all was still so quiet and beautiful. Really great memories with that one. I hope Nintendo considers doing HD updates of Gamecube titles the same way Xbox and Playstation do. I'd by an HD version of any Zelda game, and even a Wii U to play them.

And all gaming posts go here these days, so this is the right spot.

Jarvio

I agree with all you've said about the wind waker. The relaxing feel of the sailing at night was just brilliant. It's right up there as my third favourite zelda game.

007yler

I agree completely Jarvio, Ocarina of Time is definitely one of the best video games of all time!

I grew up on N64, and that game along with Goldeneye, were incredibly well used, I can't believe the cartridges still work after all these years.

I don't have any older consoles so I haven't played the NES one, but to me, Zelda is really something special and unique, it strikes me as one of the earliest fantasy/quest games out there that is so "original".

If you like the series, have you played "Final Fantasy" for NES? The very first one was made about 1990, I played it when a friend lent me his NES for awhile, and I was really impressed, especially for the technology at the time.

Do you know if the older Zelda games can be played on an emulator on the computer?

yoyoyojo

For Zelda I prefer when the use more realistic graphics compared to the cartoony stuff. I am a bit disappointed that the next release for Wii U will be a re-issue of Zelda Wind Waker which uses the cartoony models.

I know they are working on an HD "realistic" graphics type Zelda game but have been pretty quiet about it. I've seen some screen shots but can not tell if those are real or not. Either way from what I hear the next next Zelda game should be pretty epic.

However for the Wii U I think they are in dire need of a killer game, which this future Zelda release could be, but they really need this now. So why waste time on a goofy low res re-issue of a game cube game?

GoldenEye85

I absolutely love the Zelda franchise. Every game has something new in it that was made so well that it feels like it has always been in the series. Ocarina of Time is EASILY my favorite in the series. Everything just works so well together, the story, the characters, the music, the environment.

My list of Zelda games goes like this:

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda (NES)


By the way, the re-release of Wind Waker is much, much more than just a Gamecube game on a Wii U disc. Nintendo is going great lengths to improve various things from the GC version. However, yes the original Zelda for the Wii U, should be very good.

Absolutely_Cart

I think Zelda and James Bond are a lot alike. Both are popular long established series with a lot of entries that stick to motifs but also re-invent themselves at the same time.

Here's my ranking of all the Zelda games. I've played them all.

17. Four Swords - way too short
16. Four Sword Adventures - multiplayer just isn't feasible
15. Phantom Hourglass - bland dungeons/music/atmosphere/puzzles
14. Spirit Tracks - improves over PH, but weak overworld
13. Zelda II: Adventure of Link - fun but brutally difficult
12. Twilight Princess - superb dungeons but weak story and exploration
11. Oracle of Seasons - not in the top 10 but still really good
10. The Minish Cap - amazing visuals, sound and atmosphere for GBA
9. Oracle of Ages - lots of clever mind-bending puzzles
8. Skyward Sword - flaws aside, it's a totally singular experience
7. Legend of Zelda - classic. accessible, replayable. so much freedom.
6. Link's Awakening - love the mystery-like story among other things.
5. The Wind Waker - characters, story, setting, unique overworld are excellent.
4. Ocarina of Time - the Goldfinger of Zelda. standard, high quality and well-rounded
3. A Link Between Worlds - a great return to form for the series. non-linearity!
2. A Link to the Past - a masterfully made game. best dungeons and exploration of all the 2d games.
1. Majora's Mask - subverted the formula, has emotional storytelling and the stone tower temple is humbling.

TheWorldIsEnough

1- Ocarina of Time
2- Adventure of Link
3- Link to the Past
4- Wind Waker
5- Twilight Princess
6- Majora's Mask
7- Legend of Zelda
8- Link Between Worlds

Haven't played the others, except for '4 swords' which is so disappointing it doesn't even make the list. Just don't have time to commit to Skyward Sword (not a fan of the Wii remote). Currently playing Ocarina of Time again on the 3DS.

Misc. Zelda facts:
Link is a code name
Timothy Dalton was the best actor who played Link.
Link to the Past had the best pre-title sequence.
The actress who played Zelda in the original Legend of Zelda was pregnant during production which is why she is only seen at the end and cleverly placed behind fire.
Link orders his milk stirred, not shaken.
Ganon was written out of Majora's Mask due to contractual obligations.
Rejected titles for Ocarina of time were 'The Harmonica of Time' and 'The Accordion of Infinite Sorrow'.
The side-scrolling Adventure of Link is the George Lazenby of the series, some people hated it so much, they had to return to top down play for Link to the Past.

Oddjoblofeldraxorin

Yes, Zelda is great! While we're on the subject; I've noticed that the music in Link's house in Ocarina Of Time is a similar tune to the music in Willard Whyte's casino from DAF.-If not it's the same tune, it's the same chord progression.

Link's House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHEGaSo-Q2Y
Diamonds Are Forever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Behu1yl4fgY
I've noticed many other tracks from Zelda that are similar to John Barry tracks. I wonder if Koji Kondo was inspired by John Barry.

TheWorldIsEnough

Whoa

Jarvio

I'm happy to see a lot of Zelda fans on here.

Here's my ranking of all Zelda games (excluding Triforce Heroes, which I have yet to play).

1 - Ocarina Of Time - I grew up playing this game, so lots of nostalgia. Brilliant dungeons and amazing atmosphere
2 - Skyward Sword - Despite the motion-plus controls, this was an amazing experience
3 - The Windwaker - I love the setting and the nautical feel so much
4 - Twilight Princess - An all-round, epic and entertaining game
5 - A Link Between Worlds - By far the best 2D Zelda. So much fun and straight into the adventure
6 - Majora's Mask - I love this and it sticks in my mind a lot. A bit frustrating at times though. But very deep and memorable
7 - The Minish Cap - A little easy, but otherwise tons of fun
8 - Four Swords Adventures - This is underrated. I just found it a lot of fun
9 - Phantom Hourglass - Not as bad as people make out IMO, and the nautical setting helps it a lot
10 - Link's Awakening - Good all-rounder with some nice touches, love the mario enemy references
11 - A Link To The Past - ALBW made me appreciate this game more. It's a great game, but I just prefer some of the others
12 - Oracle Of Ages - I enjoyed this, and thought it had a lot more story to it than Seasons
13 - Oracle Of Seasons - Not too bad. But at times I found it frustratingly difficult
14 - Spirit Tracks - Some good things going for it, but the train stuff did my head in
15 - The Legend Of Zelda - I know it was the first. And it's an ok game. But the others are better IMO
16 - Four Swords - Too short, doesn't feel canon, kinda lazy, but not without it's fun at times
17 - The Adventure Of Link - Really don't like this one. Way to difficult and just not enjoyable for me

TheWorldIsEnough

Zelda II: Adventure of Link is so underrated. Aside from the magic meter and a few items, it's a stripped down, sword-swinging, open world, dark, humorless epic adventure.

Majora's Mask would have ranked higher had it not been for the whole three day back in time frustration gameplay.

Haven't played Majora's Mask since 2000. I'm considering getting the 3DS version and playing it again.

Jarvio

TheWorldIsEnough wrote:

Zelda II: Adventure of Link is so underrated. Aside from the magic meter and a few items, it's a stripped down, sword-swinging, open world, dark, humorless epic adventure.

Majora's Mask would have ranked higher had it not been for the whole three day back in time frustration gameplay.

Haven't played Majora's Mask since 2000. I'm considering getting the 3DS version and playing it again.

The 3DS version actually has many changes, including the boss battles being altered. I think it was overall better than the original version

TheWorldIsEnough

Did the 3DS version make any of the 3 Day warping back and forth less tedious? I usually play through Zelda games 2 or 3 times before becoming bored with them. As much as I like Zelda games, for me to sell this game and not want to play it for 15 years..... I must have been really frustrated with it. But I guess most of it has been wiped from my memory if Im contemplating buying it back.

Jarvio

TheWorldIsEnough wrote:

Did the 3DS version make any of the 3 Day warping back and forth less tedious? I usually play through Zelda games 2 or 3 times before becoming bored with them. As much as I like Zelda games, for me to sell this game and not want to play it for 15 years..... I must have been really frustrated with it. But I guess most of it has been wiped from my memory if Im contemplating buying it back.

Less tedious yes, and you can actually warp to any specific time. It's a much less frustrating version of the game.

Oddjoblofeldraxorin

Hey guys. I mashed up the Whyte House casino theme from Diamonds Are Forever with Link's house theme from Ocarina of Time. I'm not great at mixing music, but see how the two pieces of music go together in this short video I made:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3ty_MFFrxE

TheWorldIsEnough

Well, I bit the bullet and purchased Majora's Mask for 3DS.

It's been over 17 years since I first suffered through this train wreck of 64 bit madness. I sold the cartridge immediately after completing it. I have hellish nightmares about performing the same tasks over and over again through the Bill Murrian Groundhog's Dayesque 3 day cycle. So, I'm off to Termina. Wish me luck.

Unloved Season

I was never too much of a Zelda guy, my older brothers played the hell out of the first two games and I messed around with them a bit but never got into it. But I did have Ocarina Of Time on N64 and loved it. So when Majora's Mask came out I bought it but I played it for about 20 minutes and couldn't get into it nor figure out what I was doing. I planned to play it at some point but it ended up sitting on my shelf for dacades and I never got around to it. To this day Ocarina Of Time is the only Zelda game I've played all the way through and I haven't played one since those 20 minutes or so with Majora's Mask back '00. But I would like to play Ocarina Of Time again. That was an awesome game.

TheWorldIsEnough

Unloved Season wrote:

But I did have Ocarina Of Time on N64 and loved it.

I play through Ocarina of Time about once every two years. Does...not... get...old.

It took a couple of weeks to get through Majora's Mask again. Even had to get a hint or two off the internet to complete it. The 3DS version is better than I remembered the original being. They made some improvements, but it's still a very frustrating game. I will play it again after another 17 years has passed, so 2034?