The Legend of Zelda

[Mission Commander]

Discuss the popular game franchise here!

[def]

Love isn't a strong enough word. I've played through most installments of the franchise 2-3 times. The only one I couldn't do a second time was the Wind Waker. Too much water. But I finished Twilight Princess twice, and loved every second of it. Pure delight. I look forward to the new one this year!

[Drock]

hmmm. Loved all of them.

My favorite was a Link to the Past. I played that over and over.

I'm working on Phantom Hourglass right now, since I recently got a DS.

[Luke McAwesome]

Well, I really haven't played many. But I must say they are fun, and sometimes challenging, games. My friend is an addict to these games. I've borrowed Ocarina of Time from him, I believe. But I can't be positive, due to the sheer number of these games... And I own Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS Lite. For Christmas '07 I got a special golden DS Lite with a triple-triangle(Not sure what they call it) insignia from the Zelda games printed in the lower right corner.

Does anyone else have one of these? I've never seen any other ones. Just wondering if anyone knows what I'm talking about.

Here's a picture, a bad one, never the less, but a picture.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Striker

[Peppermint_M]

It's the Triforce and I am so jealouse of you right now. I want that console so badly...

I love the franchise but I am really not any good at the games. I never had a games console to play the games on. My friend is a huge fan of the DS games so I draw her some characters and buy the figures. I want to get Wind Waker and the GBA ports of the other games. I also would like to find the DS games for my DS.

[Dunjohn]

Love isn't a strong enough word. I've played through most installments of the franchise 2-3 times. The only one I couldn't do a second time was the Wind Waker. Too much water. But I finished Twilight Princess twice, and loved every second of it. Pure delight. I look forward to the new one this year!

I actually loved the sailing in Wind Waker - the smooth controls, the sense of freedom, and especially that epic, exhilerating tune. The preset course mapping of Phantom Hourglass took a lot of that away, which made it rather more of a trudge. I haven't played Spirit Tracks but I can't see how rails will open it up any.

Twilight Princess was the reason I bought my Wii on day one. Normally I wait for the "early adopter" stage to pass. Wind Waker was the reason I bought my GameCube. In fact, I'd bought the game a week before I bought the console. I'd gone in before work to queue up and was third in line. It came with the four classic games too, and the Cube itself came with Mario sunshine, so I was well sorted for games right from the off.

My favourite entries would be Link to the Past and Wind Waker. I played the original NES game through several times: in fact, I mapped the entire gameworld out in MS Paint, pixel-perfect at 1:2 scale, and wallpapered my wall with it. That was a summer well spent. I was halfway through doing the same for Link's Awakening DX too, when I lost interest. I still have the files somewhere.

I haven't played any of the Four Swords games, Minsh Cap, Spirit Tracks or Oracle of Seasons. Or the Philips CDi games (check them out on YouTube: They're hilariously awful). Everything else, yeah, but I haven't completed Majora's Mask or Adventures of Link.

[Mission Commander]

hmmm. Loved all of them.

My favorite was a Link to the Past. I played that over and over.

I'm working on Phantom Hourglass right now, since I recently got a DS.

Yeah A Link to The Past and TP are my favorites. I loved how the story line in ALTTP weaved itself together with the dark world. And the graphics in TP are amazing!

[JimBee]

Love the series. I haven't played many, but enough to be a nerd about them. Ocarina of Time is the best, hands down. It set the bar for all other LoZ games, and still nothing has come close to beating it. Wind Waker was also one that I really enjoyed.

Twighlight Princess wasn't that great, IMO. The graphics were spectacular, and the story was interesting enough... but it just felt like the designers were trying too hard to make it like OOT.

I didn't even get through much of Majora's Mask, the whole repeat the dungeon again and again was so annoying. I'll have to give it another shot sometime, though.

Four Swords was alright. I liked the multiplayer options in it, and the classic up-down scrolling feel to it, but it never really captured my attention.

I own Phantom Hourglass, but never finished that either. It was a great game, excpect for the fact that you had to keep going back to the Ocean Temple and repeating levels that you already did.

And lastly, I've hardly played Oracle of Seasons/ Ages or A Link to the Past, but I can tell that I need to sometime.

All others I've never played.

I actually loved the sailing in Wind Waker - the smooth controls, the sense of freedom, and especially that epic, exhilerating tune.

Me too, yet so many people hated it. It was a really nice feature, and even better than Epona, at times.

There's not much to go on about the new game coming out soon- all I know is that the plot revolves around the Master Sword, and maybe a spirit of the master Sword. See the promo poster:

(Notice Link's not holding a sword, and the spirit kinda looks like one)

[Big Cam]

I may catch flack for this but to me the only Zelda game ever is "The Legend of Zelda, a Link to the past" on SNES.

I've never liked another Zelda game, but I am completely in love with this one.

[Dunjohn]

Yeah, I'd seen the teaser pic, and it is a masterclass in the art of teasing. I'd also noticed the odd appearance of the girl. To be honest, I'm nervous about them messing with the Master Sword. It's one of the very few constants across a series that has had numerous reboots. And for the love of Zeus I hope it won't talk, Nintendo are starting to run out of inanimate objects they haven't made talk yet.

[samurai-turtle]

And for the love of Zeus I hope it won't talk, Nintendo are starting to run out of inanimate objects they haven't made talk yet.

I may not be completely update on Legend of Zelda but how many talking objects are their? The one I know for sure is the hat/bird one, and maybe some statues. I am thinking a talking shield might be cool.

[JimBee]

Yeah, I'd seen the teaser pic, and it is a masterclass in the art of teasing. I'd also noticed the odd appearance of the girl. To be honest, I'm nervous about them messing with the Master Sword.

Me too. I always thought it was cool that the Master Sword wasn't the center plot point in any of the games, but more of a sub-plot, especially in OoC. Only time will tell...

On another note, it looks like the animation is going to be more or less the same as TP, which is a plus in my book. I liked the celda-shading seen in WW, PH, and ST, but this is by far the best way to go for the LoZ series.

I may not be completely update on Legend of Zelda but how many talking objects are their? The one I know for sure is the hat/bird one, and maybe some statues. I am thinking a talking shield might be cool.

Are you joking? Play any recent Mario game, and you'll see exactly what we mean. Talking blocks, talking trees, talking hemoglobin... even Mario and Luigi are starting to talk (although it's just gibberish). Then again, the clouds in SMB did have that creepy smile...

[Dunjohn]

Wind Waker - talking boat

Minsh Cap - talking cap

Link's Awakening - talking statues

The trouble is more because Nintendo likes to give Link a sidekick ever since he went 3D. Half the time, it's a real person, like Navi, Linebeck or Midna, but other times, they take the lazy way out and make it an object Link carries around with him. They do this in Mario too, with the FLUDD and Peach's parasol. Bugs me. And the Master Sword is so iconic - and iconic as a cold, mysterious item - that the speculation about what's going to happen to it has me a tad worried.

[samurai-turtle]

Are you joking? Play any recent Mario game, and you'll see exactly what we mean. Talking blocks, talking trees, talking hemoglobin... even Mario and Luigi are starting to talk (although it's just gibberish). Then again, the clouds in SMB did have that creepy smile...

You example is about Mario games not Zelda games. That is like comparing Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings.

And no I have not played any new Mario games (but, I would like to play the new one for the WII). And, I should of remember the talking boat from "Wind Waker". But, you guys made it sound like their was a list of talking objects not just three of them.

[Dunjohn]

Yeah, sorry for giving that impression :) When I started listing them, it was shorter than I'd thought, too.

She does look cool, whoever she is. And if she's a spirit or something possessing the sword, that's probably fine (like how Midna "possessed" Link's shadow). But if the sword starts chatting to Link, joypads will fly....

[def]

I actually loved the sailing in Wind Waker - the smooth controls, the sense of freedom, and especially that epic, exhilerating tune. The preset course mapping of Phantom Hourglass took a lot of that away, which made it rather more of a trudge. I haven't played Spirit Tracks but I can't see how rails will open it up any.

I loved sailing the first time, but when I went to play it a second time, I just didn't want to do the mapping. The regular Link gameplay in Wind Waker was fantastic, more so than the Ocarina of Time. I remember playing through the first time, at one of the first castles, and stealthily shooting goblins from a distance before they could see me. The shadows and mood were excellent. There's a lot of good in that game.

[def]

I pulled the Wind Waker out this weekend because of this thread (and Wii's backward compatibility ) And I like it so far. I still think the water bit is dull. I need to read something for the five minutes it takes to cross the map. And playing a song to change the wind is very very annoying. And feeding that fish to draw your map But the dungeons are great so far, and I enjoy the islands and the sense of randomness in the game. I just look forward to getting the warp ability. That's there, right? I don't remember it, now, five years on.

Twilight Princess is still better, and I really look forward to 2010's release. I hope it isn't delayed.

[Big Cam]

So over thw weekend I got the SNES emulator for my Moto Droid, and now I can play Zelda on my phone!!

[def]

So over thw weekend I got the SNES emulator for my Moto Droid, and now I can play Zelda on my phone!!

The SNES Zelda is one of the greatest games ever made, so I can think of many worse ways to widdle away your time than that. If I rode the train everyday, I'd be jealous

[Ryan_T]

Does anyone else have one of these? I've never seen any other ones. Just wondering if anyone knows what I'm talking about.

No, Your the only one. Just kidding.

This is mine. Just took off a bunch of stickers piled on it. (thanks to my brother)

[def]

I finished Wind Waker last night. I'd only got through 90% when I played it for the first time years back. I have the Japanese version, and my Japanese was pretty lousy back then.

My thoughts: definitely not better than Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time (still haven't played through Majora's Mask). The water stuff is boring. Even with warping, having to play a song/animation to change directions is a pain. Getting eight maps and then getting their treasure is boring. During the dungeons, I was mostly happy, if the bosses were pretty easy. In between, meh. One thing I really liked was he figures you can make with color camera. That is a very fun feature. So, I liked it, but I would never recommend it to someone as their first Zelda game, even when it was new.

I started up No More Heroes tonight, so maybe I'll go through Majora's Mask after that.

[JimBee]

I finished Wind Waker last night. I'd only got through 90% when I played it for the first time years back. I have the Japanese version, and my Japanese was pretty lousy back then.

My thoughts: definitely not better than Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time (still haven't played through Majora's Mask). The water stuff is boring. Even with warping, having to play a song/animation to change directions is a pain. Getting eight maps and then getting their treasure is boring. During the dungeons, I was mostly happy, if the bosses were pretty easy. In between, meh. One thing I really liked was he figures you can make with color camera. That is a very fun feature. So, I liked it, but I would never recommend it to someone as their first Zelda game, even when it was new.

I started up No More Heroes tonight, so maybe I'll go through Majora's Mask after that.

I just finished OoT, and I have to say that it's probably the best. The dungeons and exploration sequences (especially obtaining Biggoron's sword) were so much fun, and the last battle was epic (but so easy).

Now I'm starting the WW again (like you, def, I never got around to finishing it when I started). I had it in my mind that this game was so good, and it is, but now after playing OoT, it just feels so unfamiliar. The graphics are so... different, and so is the whole premise. I'll have a hard time comparing it to OoC again.

One thing I wish would've carried over to other games from WW, though, is the Rito race (bird people). There's Gorons and Zoras in most games, but I feel the Rito would fill a gap. Same with the Koroki from OoC and MM.

On another note, I'm kind of reluctant to play Majora's Mask. From what I've heard, there's a 3-day repetition period, and no matter where you are in the game, once the three days are up, you start at the beginning again. Wouldn't that suck to get to the end of a really hard temple, ready to fight the boss after so much effort, just to have to start over?

I can't wait to move on to TP, though. I felt that it mirrored OoT in many ways, but added a lot of things, too. I never finished this one, either (got to the second-to-last temple).

[def]

OoT really is a better game overall than WW. The dungeons just have that much more depth. Though I hesitate to play OoT again for the nightmare of the Water Dungeon. WW is the opposite. Mostly smaller, more manageable dungeons. Interesting, but not as stimulating.

I'd had reservations about Majora's Mask, but in the past few years, I'd read a lot of favorable reviews, usually, "different but very good" so I want to give it a chance. I got it on Wii Ware. Unfortunately, that too is in Japanese. I don't mind playing Zelda games in Japanese, but in Japanese with a time limit is intimidating.

Twilight Princess updated enough stuff for me to make it probably my favorite game. I love the claw shot, the magnetic usage of the iron boots, and mostly like the spinner. I wrote this before, but I played through it twice, and was happy each time.

I'm tempted to go through the SNES version, probably for my sixth time

[JimBee]

OoT really is a better game overall than WW. The dungeons just have that much more depth. Though I hesitate to play OoT again for the nightmare of the Water Dungeon. WW is the opposite. Mostly smaller, more manageable dungeons. Interesting, but not as stimulating.

I'd agree. The one thing I liked best about WW when I played it for the first time (around 2004, I think), was that I could never tell the difference between a dungeon's start and the open world exploration. I didn't even know what a temple was at that time, but usually I dread having to go through [tough] temples. I just like open exploration that much better.

And agreed on the OoT water temple. I missed one key, so I had to go back and change the water levels again, which basically started the temple over again.

I don't mind playing Zelda games in Japanese, but in Japanese with a time limit is intimidating.

I'll definitely give it a try, but won't set my expectations too high.

Twilight Princess updated enough stuff for me to make it probably my favorite game. I love the claw shot, the magnetic usage of the iron boots, and mostly like the spinner. I wrote this before, but I played through it twice, and was happy each time.

And those kind of things really make it worth playing- it's not an exact replica of OoT, though it borrows a lot from it (order of temples, Gorons, Zoras...).

I'm tempted to go through the SNES version, probably for my sixth time

Zelda II? From what I've heard, that's the worst one. It's RPG/ level-up style mixed with Zelda sounds pretty cool, though.

[Dunjohn]

Zelda II? From what I've heard, that's the worst one. It's RPG/ level-up style mixed with Zelda sounds pretty cool, though.

The SNES Zelda is Zelda III: Link to the Past, and is fantastic. Zelda II: Adventures of Link on the NES is indeed rather crappy.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Dunjohn