The Legend of Zelda Series

[Smues]

Really, has there ever been a series where they essentially were just remaking the same game over and over and over and over that has been this successful? I'll admit to still loving it, because each new iteration they manage to add just enough new twists on it to make it good again.

So what are your favorites? What are your least favorite? (Besides the CD-i ones, do we even really count those as Zelda games?)

My favorite is probably Ocarina of Time, but Link's Awakening might be my sentimental favorite, given how many times I played it one summer to escape boredom. Back in the days when there wasn't an online FAQ to turn to when I got stuck, the sense of achievement I felt at the time when I first beat it was incredible. Of course looking back the puzzles in that one weren't really tough and I was just a stupid kid, but hey I felt awesome for finishing it without any hints at the time.

Thoughts?

 

[Adam]

Link To The Past, Link's Awakening and Ocarina are by far my three favourite games. I'd even put all three in my top five games of all time. I'm about as big a Zelda mark as you'll find (Hell, my avatar at TSM is Link!) and although Twilight Princess was iffy, even that was half okay.

The SNES/Game Boy roms I'll still play from time to time today.

 

[Black Lushus]

Twilight Princess was iffy? the hell?

1. Link to the Past
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Twilight Princess

 

[Adam]

Twilight Princess was iffy? the hell?

To clarify, I meant the controls. I'm not a big fan of the Wii in general.

 

[Aero]

1. Link to the Past
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Twilight Princess

LTTP is my favorite game ever, so I always look at that as the best Zelda no matter what. Ocarina's probably close behind it on my all-time list. I agree that they probably could have done a little better with the TP Wii controls, but I was fine with them overall. Upon first playing the game, I was ready to rank it above Ocarina, but I replayed it about a year or so ago, and while it was still amazing, I think I'd keep Ocarina above it.

I've actually never played the NES or handheld Zeldas. Since LTTP was my first Zelda, I just never got around to the older NES games, and I just rarely played any handhelds.

 

[Smues]

I was skeptical about the Wii controls for Twilight Princess, but I thought they worked really well and I never ended up having any problems with them. Aiming the boomerang and arrows with the wiimote was a lot easier than aiming with the joystick in previous games.

 

[HTQ]

Link to the Past is one of the greatest games of all time. I liked the Ocarina of Time a lot, but I could never get into it to where I felt like progressing beyond the first temple you have to go through as an adult. It didn't help that I could never progress beyond a certain. Still, with the official strategy guide at hand, and playing on an emulator allowing for immortality, I would be tempted to try again at some point. The 3D nature allows you to really lose yourself in the game.

I've played the first two Link games on the NES. They're fun for what they are, but I never liked the second one. Sideways scrolling in a Link game? Please.

 

[Matt Young]

My favorite game of all time is Ocarina of Time. It's also the only Zelda game I've ever beaten. I thought Majora's Mask was probably the worst sequel in the history of video games, and I barely played the 2 NES games (never owned the carts; played the Zelda Collector's Edition on GameCube). Never played the Game Boy/GBA/DS or SNES games, nor Wind Waker. Twilight Princess remains unopened for my Wii, but only because I want to play it with a guide and collect all heart containers.

 

[Damaramu]

I loved the Wii Zelda. Wasn't a big fan of the Gamecube version. Actually, I hated Wind Waker.

I never played Majora's Mask and I've never actually beaten Ocarina of Time.
I never owned it and always had to return it when I'd rent it. I had it on Gamecube but for some reason I never beat it. I got far, but never finished the game off. Now I'm at the point where I've played the childhood version and first few dungeons as an adult so much that I never want to go through them again.

I used to play the first Zelda all the time as a kid, and I finally beat it on Wii 20 years later. Haha.

 

[oldskool]

To this day I haven't finished Zelda II, and I got it for the GBA a couple years back.

Link's Awakening was great, but I spent the better part of a month stuck in one of the towers (the one with the bird boss, where you have to throw the giant ball at the 4 pillars) because I couldn't get the ball to the last pillar. I'd keep trying to throw it across this gap before I fell down the gap...never worked.

LttP & OOT were great. Wind Waker was.....eh. The hunt-for-the-triforce part was lame as all get-out, the graphics became irrelevant at that point. I think realistic graphics would've been better solely for that part, because staring at the matte water for all the sailing you had to do was just DULL.

Never played Majora's Mask, to my chagrin. I'd like to, but I'm not buying it on N64 and I can't find a USB N64 controller to make it worth emulating.

Whichever one is out on DS, keeps crashing my M3 so I just gave up on it. The stylus-only controls were fuckin bullshit anyway. There's a control pad for a reason, fuckwads!

 

[Aero]

I understand why some people hate Majora's Mask, but I still loved it, although I do think Ocarina was much better. I just wish they had more than four dungeons in it, but I guess the abundance of sidequests and a few mini-dungeons kind of make up for that.

Wind Waker was good, too, but again, what is the deal with lack of dungeons? I think the total was five in this one. Of course, I also have the same complaint that everyone has with it: SAILING. It wasn't that bad once you were able to warp, but IIRC, a chunk of the second half of the game involves aimlessly sailing around for Triforce pieces or something, and it's just boring as hell. I also hated the lack of land. I always heard a lot of people praising that so many of the individual islands were unique, but outside of the home island, the Karariko equivalent, and I think two of the islands that housed the first two dungeons, I just couldn't see it. Way too many tiny islands that usually served no real purpose for my liking.

Good stuff: I was skeptical about the graphics at first, but I really ended up liking them. I wouldn't mind seeing another cell-shaded Zelda title in the future. And the mid-point story change involving the Master Sword and black & white Hyrule Castle was awesome stuff.

 

[Skywarp!]

I really liked Twilight Princess on the GameCube. (not to mention it was the Zelda: TP universe as intended, since Link is left handed, but most people are right handed, so Nintendo made a mirror swap of the TP map to have Link wield his sword in the right hand for Wii.)

I appreciate Wind Waker in the sense that the concept was cool since a Zelda game where you sail into a vast expanse of ocean sounds great in theory (and the sailing theme was fucking epic). They just needed something to break it up, or perhaps have you learn the warp spell earlier in the game. Or perhaps add another dimension to it, i.e. have a diving suit so you can explore the ocean floor or something.

 

[treble]

Minish Cap is a decent game. I've gotten to the end but haven't beaten the final boss yet because I couldn't figure out what to do and didn't feel like going on-line to figure it out.

Phantom Hourglass got tiring with having to go back to the same dungeon over and over again. I don't know if I'm even halfway through that game and haven't touched it in about a year.

Twilight Princess was the first Zelda game I played, so I have a soft-spot for it and I might like it a bit more than Ocarina.

Link to the Past is pretty awesome.

Wind Waker has some good moments, but like everyone says, the sailing gets old pretty quickly.

I can't get into the 1st one at all and haven't tried the 2nd one past a few minutes.

I need to try Majora's Mask sometime.

 

[luke-o]

Link's Awakening is my favourite one of the series.

 

[BorneAgain]

I love Majora's Mask. Good variety in Masks, my favorite soundtrack of the Zelda games, and some of the best side quests in the series.

 

[TheSSNintendo]

Ocarina of Time is one of my favorite Zelda games. Everything was great except for that danged Water Temple.

 

[Aero]

The Water Temple can be frustrating, but I always enjoyed the challenge, so I like it. The only one I didn't like was the Shadow Temple.

Twlight Princess had some really cool dungeons, my favorite being the Snowpeak Ruins. I remember entering the place and not even realizing it was THE area dungeon until about five minutes in. At most, I thought it was going to be a mini-dungeon or something. Also, the ball & chain weapon rocks.

 

[Smues]

You know what I forgot to mention about Twilight Princess? The coolest looking boss battle ever in the sand temple. Epic.

 

[Aero]

Indeed it is. Stuff like that makes me wish it was possible to replay boss battles, like Majora's Mask.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Zelda II: Adventure of Link has sentimental value to me. It was the first Zelda game I ever owned, and the one that I grew up with for the most part. I like the leveling and battle systems a lot in this too. Sidescrolling......different. I have the Zelda Collector's Disc and a Gamecube with the expensive-as-hell component video cables. You haven't lived until you've played an NES-era Zelda in 480p.

I also own an SNES and a near-mint in box copy of Link to the Past. It's amazing how this game still holds up after all these years. All in all though, I'd like to see the series go back to a leveling system.

 

[Scroby]

I've loved all the Zelda games I've played except one and that's Zelda 2 and it's probably because I've only played it when I was a kid and I just didn't understand what was going on as it totally felt different from the first Zelda. I might enjoy it now if I played it today.

 

[Smues]

Ocarina of Time 3D comes out on Sunday (or Friday for you lucky European bastards). And who better to schill for it then...Robin Williams?

Ocarina of Time 3D - Robin Williams Commercial

Robin Williams and daughter Zelda talk about their love for Ocarina of Time

Zelda and cocaine, Robin had a hell of a decade in the 80s.

I don't think the promotion applies to Europe, but North Americans who pick up Ocarina 3D and register it at club Nintendo get the soundtrack for free (while supplies last) so I'll be all over that. I've also heard that Bestbuy will offer a $25 gift card with purchase of Ocarina and a second $40 3DS game, so I might check that out if I can find something else worth buying.

 

[Twisted Intestine]

Really, has there ever been a series where they essentially were just remaking the same game over and over and over and over that has been this successful?

Pokemon! I remember I felt so ripped off when I bought yellow and found out it was the EXACT same game as red/blue except Pikachu follows you around.

OMG, I'm in love with Zelda Williams! and Robin would be the best father in law to have ever! How do I marry her?

I played and beat the original NES game as a kid, though there was always that one sword in the grave yard I could never get. I played OoT until part way through adult link when I felt like I've been playing it forever, and put in a cheat to get to the last boss. That was around the time I lost interest in new gaming (I still play retro games) and I haven't played a Zelda since.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Link to the Past is either my favorite or second favorite game every (flip-flop with Wonderboy in Monster Land). I remember wrapping myself in that game for so long as soon as I bought it.

Always kicked myself for never finishing Zelda II. I made it to the end and just stopped playing.

 

[Thoth]

Kmart is giving a $15 game coupon with purchase of Zelda.

 

[Kageho]

Link To The Past
- Its probably my favorite because its the one that actual got me to liking the Zelda series. Turtle rock though IS garage.

Link's Awakening
- I think the whole island was just great fun and really wonderful, considering this was on the GBA. The final dungeon is stupid though. Best music in the series.

Wind Waker
- Fabulous game, though hunting down those triforce shards was a ridiculous way to pad the game. No excuse. Wasn't a fan of the art direction, but it still was good.

Twilight Princess
- Great game, but only if you played it one the GC. Wii's controls were junk.

Majora's Mask
- I didn't think it was the slice of bread that most people do, but it was definitely enjoyable.

Legend of Zelda
- It was great for the time period, but it really doesn't hold up nowadays. Still a good game.

Link's Adventure
- Its a good game, but there are many different problems with it. Oh and Death Mountain still drives me insane to this day.

Oracles of Ages & Seasons
- A very nice game, but at the same time, it doesn't quite have the charm I found in Link's Awakening.

Minish Cap
- Its got a plotline, probably a first for a Zelda game. And when I say plot line, I mean that sticks around all game. Pretty good really, though very short.

Four Swords
- Its a Zelda game and it was good, but at the same time it was almost like they phoned this one in.

Phantom Hour Glass
- That temple in which you need to make it to end in a certain amount of time frustrates the hell out of me.

Spirit Tracks
- Its a fun little game, though Epona > Spirit Train

And that covers my thoughts on the Zelda series.

 

[Black Lushus]

You must have really hated Ocarina of Time.

 

[Mattdotcom]

I'm about to play Phantom Hourglass for the first time.

 

[Kageho]

You must have really hated Ocarina of Time.

Or I could have never played it. One or the other. I'll let you decide.

 

[Black Lushus]

I've made my decision: You hated it