Best Zelda?

General purpose discussion about gaming and emulation.

Choose Wisely:

The Legend of Zelda (NES)
3
6%
Zelda 2: Link's Adventure (NES)
1
2%
Link to the Past (SNES)
12
25%
Link's Awakening (GB)
7
15%
Ocarina of Time (N64)
12
25%
Majora's Mask (N64)
0
No votes
Oracle of Seasons/Ages (GBC)
0
No votes
The Wind Waker (Cube)
6
13%
The Minish Cap (GBA)
0
No votes
Twilight Princess (Wii)
6
13%
Phantom Hourglass (DS)
0
No votes
I don't really like Zelda.
1
2%
 
Total votes: 48
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by JuddWack »

I think I liked the Gameboy one's the best. I've played most the Zelda games and I'm getting tired of them. They are all beginning to feel like the same game except with goals happening in different orders. I finally hit the Goron's island in Phantom Hourglass and the first thing I think is "Not these guys again..."
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by Joestar »

Just tried out WindWaker again. My word, this game still looks amazing and hasn't aged at all. And it will still look great for another 5 years.

WindWaker vote+1
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by DuffMan »

My favorite is Link's Awakening for the original Brick GameBoy. It was the first Zelda game I had and beat all that time ago, so I may be biased to it because of it sentimental value to me. The game is very well thought out, and is simply a lot of fun to play. a lot of what is prominent in other Zelda games, such as trading all started in LA. It is just an awesome game and I think it is over looked quite frequently as one of the better Zelda games.

1st. Links Awakening
2nd. Ocarina of Time
3rd. Link to the Past.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by mrandyk »

Im just now realizing how dam easy the Windwaker actually is. I wasnt able to beat a zelda game until that game. I had LoZ on the nes, Link to the Past on the snes, and the collecters disc on the cube with Majora's Mask and OoT, and couldnt beat any of those to save my life.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by melancholy »

Wind Waker was definitely an interesting game. I don't find it to be the best Zelda, but some of the elements that make it tedious are only that way because it doesn't play like a traditional Zelda. This one is all about maps, so it's best to attack the game with a piece of paper split up into a grid so you can physically mark your progress. The game gets entirely too frustrating just traveling from place to place freely because it's hard to remember where you've already been and what you did there. I found, though, that if I start by drawing a map before even starting the game, the game became much more tolerable because I can fill as I go along.

I still hate the team-based temples, though.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by DaMadFiddler »

mrandyk wrote:Im just now realizing how dam easy the Windwaker actually is. I wasnt able to beat a zelda game until that game. I had LoZ on the nes, Link to the Past on the snes, and the collecters disc on the cube with Majora's Mask and OoT, and couldnt beat any of those to save my life.
I never did finish Majora's Mask. It was a neat concept, but it was a bit much for me. I spend enough time scheduling and working on things with competing deadlines at work; I don't need my video games to do it, too :P
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by TyBO »

Link's Awakening was not only the first Zelda I ever played, but one of the first video games I've ever owned. It's one of very few games that does just about everything right: great music, compelling story, addicting gameplay, clever level-designs, etc etc. Playing it always brings back fond memories.

But my all time favorite is Ocarina of Time. I was so hyped about the game before it came out, and bought it on launch day. I think one of the main reasons I liked it so much was because I played through ~80% of the game with one of my close friends. We were both completely engrossed in the game. I remember we stayed up till around 2AM one night (which was extremely late at age twelve) cause we just couldn't put the controller down.

So, OoT gets my vote.
DaMadFiddler wrote:
mrandyk wrote:Im just now realizing how dam easy the Windwaker actually is. I wasnt able to beat a zelda game until that game. I had LoZ on the nes, Link to the Past on the snes, and the collecters disc on the cube with Majora's Mask and OoT, and couldnt beat any of those to save my life.
I never did finish Majora's Mask. It was a neat concept, but it was a bit much for me. I spend enough time scheduling and working on things with competing deadlines at work; I don't need my video games to do it, too :P
I agree, being timed was the worst part of MM. The game had a lot going for it, but I always felt rushed playing it.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by toastman »

My favorite is Link to the Past.

Although all of the Gameboy/DS ones are excellent as well. The original I find too clunky (no diagonal movement). I haven't played the second that much. Haven't played Majora's Mask. Ocarina was ok. I liked Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by DaMadFiddler »

Here is my personal order of preference. This isn't necessarily saying I think games higher on the list are BETTER than the ones below them; it's just a ranking of how much I enjoyed playing them.

Twilight Princess (Wii)
Link to the Past (SNES)
Link's Awakening (GB)
Ocarina of Time (N64)
The Minish Cap (GBA)
The Wind Waker (Cube)
The Legend of Zelda (NES)
Majora's Mask (N64)
Oracle of Seasons/Ages (GBC)
Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Zelda 2: Link's Adventure (NES)
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by melancholy »

TyBO wrote:
DaMadFiddler wrote:
mrandyk wrote:Im just now realizing how dam easy the Windwaker actually is. I wasnt able to beat a zelda game until that game. I had LoZ on the nes, Link to the Past on the snes, and the collecters disc on the cube with Majora's Mask and OoT, and couldnt beat any of those to save my life.
I never did finish Majora's Mask. It was a neat concept, but it was a bit much for me. I spend enough time scheduling and working on things with competing deadlines at work; I don't need my video games to do it, too :P
I agree, being timed was the worst part of MM. The game had a lot going for it, but I always felt rushed playing it.
Last fall, I finally decided to go back and play through that game. I have owned it since launch, but have never beat it. Well, I finally have beaten it, and I must say I probably will never go back through it again. The concept was great. It truly was. And it would probably be the best use of a timeline ever in a game. But the entire setup was punishing. Areas that took massive amounts of effort to complete would be erased by day 3. Many of the puzzles would have to be repeated dozens of times over just to progress. Quests that spanned multiple days and required you to be at certain places at specific times would force you to wait in a spot doing absolutely nothing until it was time for the event to happen, and if you did something wrong, you would be forced to start the process all over again. I understand that Nintendo was trying to make the time warp as realistic as possible, but in a video game you have to allow for a little fluctuation to keep the player entertained. They sacrificed this for accuracy, and I ultimately believe it dragged the game down because of it.

However, even beyond the time feature, the rest of the game still had major faults. The save system was painful. Either you had to sacrifice all of your progress to make a permanent save, or you had to do a temporary save that would be deleted the second you loaded the game. I cannot count the number of times I would make significant progress, do a temp save, then either die or reset and lose hours worth of gameplay as a result.

Also, the world was uninspired. If they want to recycle the characters from OoT and claim it to be an 'alternative universe', that's fine, I had no real problems with that. But the actual world itself is completely generic. I remember being excited to set foot outside of Clock Town for the first time, only to find myself completely let down 10 minutes later. The world literally felt compressed. Worlds that should feels miles apart were seated right next to each other. You literally saw a sunny beach, ice covered mountain, and dense jungle within the same camera shot, all of which took less than a minute to walk to. I know the N64 had limitations, but OoT was laid out in a way that made the game feel much more massive than it actually was, and I feel MM paled in comparison with relation to the scope of the world.

None of that is to say that I didn't enjoy Majora's Mask. It was a decent game to play through. But it was a wearing game. By the halfway point, I felt like I was playing it just to beat the game and not because I wanted to. It was satisfying to complete because I definitely felt a sense of accomplishment by the time the credits rolled. However in comparison to the rest of the Zelda games, which most of them can be considered timeless classics that will still be enjoyable years to come, Majora's Mask does not fit that category. It was a game to beat once, then never pick up again.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by MulletMan13 »

I've never gotten past the first hour of Majora's Mask. The only times I've played it were on a PC emulator, and that never allowed the experience that I wanted out of it. If it was released on the VC I'd give it a go, but I don't want to hook up my N64 again. I also don't want to play through it on the computer again.

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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by |darc| »

I think all the Zeldas are so different I can't answer this question. Each one has been a really unique experience for me and I really love the series.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by anal=probe »

Link's Awakening was the only one I ever came close to beating, but I still never beat any of them. I was like 90% done with Link's Awakening. I got like 40% through Ocarina and Wind Waker, but I always forget to finish and never get back to it. I hate using cheatbooks or gamefaqs for RPGs or any game even really. At the same time I'm really impatient. I Just like easy games. And I realize Zelda games are very easy actually and that's why I kind of like them, but I like REALLY easy games.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by DaMadFiddler »

anal=probe wrote:Link's Awakening was the only one I ever came close to beating, but I still never beat any of them. I was like 90% done with Link's Awakening. I got like 40% through Ocarina and Wind Waker, but I always forget to finish and never get back to it. I hate using cheatbooks or gamefaqs for RPGs or any game even really. At the same time I'm really impatient. I Just like easy games. And I realize Zelda games are very easy actually and that's why I kind of like them, but I like REALLY easy games.
Perhaps these will help:

Legend of Zelda ending
Link's Adventure ending
Link to the Past ending
Link's Awakening ending
Ocarina of Time ending
Majora's Mask ending
Oracle of Seasons ending
Oracle of Ages ending
Wind Waker ending
Minish Cap ending
Twilight Princess ending (cinematics only) (with credits sequences)
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by Christuserloeser »

Windwaker here. Mainly because no one else seemed to like it and because I think that they should use that style for Link's next adventure(s) too.

OoT is the one I spend most time with though.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by Veggita2099 »

I knew I wasn't the only person who disliked Majora's Mask. Honestly though the #1 reason I never finished it was because it kept locking up. MY cartridge, which at the time was brand new, randomly locked up on me. Also I eventually got it on gamecube on that collectors disk and even that version locked up on me. On the cartridge I got into the 3rd temple and I THINK I completed it. On the emulator I gave up after losing ALL of my progress through the fire templed twice.

It was really a rip off of a game though. I mean they just take the sprites, textures etc from OOT throw in a lame story and call it a game.

I have to say I am about fed up with Phantom Hourglass as well. I have gotten past the controls, well at least for the most part. I still think they are harder to use then the cross pad, but most of the enemies seem to be slow and easy to dispatch of. It still seems pretty pointless other then to say they was able to do it. If I try to use the small stylus that came with my DS (old style) it hurts my hands and I usually have the screen blocked. The sailing is becoming more of a chore then fun. I am getting sick of having to fight the same pirate over and over again.

Also the Ocean King Temple is awful! Can't kill the enemies plus your on a timer, its really getting old! It actually wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have to keep doing the same parts over and over again. At a certain point I guess it makes a halfway mark, however if you didn't make good time you are stuck with that much time off your timer each time you enter the temple.

Also the salvage crane is about a pain in the ass. Once again if I could use the crosspad it wouldn't be so bad but noooooo we gotta use the touchscreen for this. So now I have to push rather hard on the screen for it to feel the area to use the crane. My screen protector requires me to push slightly harder on it and when you push hard on that tiny area they give you to operate the crane it can sometimes cause it to move a tad left or right. I can't count how many times I have had to fix my crane. It wouldn't have taken much to AT LEAST let players choose between the cross hairs or the touch pad for the crane sequence.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by Joestar »

Veggita2099 wrote:It was really a rip off of a game though. I mean they just take the sprites, textures etc from OOT throw in a lame story and call it a game.
Graphically yes, but to call it a 'rip-off of a game' is ridiculous. They are completely different.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by melancholy »

I kinda agree with you, Veggita. Phantom Hourglass is not near as fun as I was hoping. I really like the innovation with the touch screen, but the gameplay itself is really trying. The ocean is still pretty boring, and that Ocean King Temple is terrible. I don't know why they ever though that temple would be fun to play, because it is an extremely tedious and repetitive affair. I'm about 4 or 5 hours in, but I think I might stop real soon.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by MulletMan13 »

Yeah I pushed through Phantom Hourglass, and while the ending is very fun, if you aren't close to finishing it up then I'm not sure if it's worth it. It did feel like a chore to play... it was far too easy, there were some very frustrating elements to it (the sailing, although apparently you can talk to golden frogs and make warp points).

I wouldn't play through it again, but as I said the final fight/temple, etc. is pretty rewarding.
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Re: Best Zelda?

Post by mrandyk »

Phantom Hourglass is the only Zelda game I have not enjoyed any part of. I was turned off immediately by having to use the touch screen to move instead of the d-pad, this simply didnt feel right to me. And when you dont want to play the game simply because walking is a chore, you are never going to get through hours of dungeons.
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