57 replies to this topic

[def]

JimButcher, on Feb 17 2010, 09:15 AM, said:

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.

What Dunjohn said     I don't mind NES Adventures of Link, it has some interesting points (six villages or so, spell casting) but it was really tough.  I never finished it, as a kid or an adult.

A Link to the Past is one of the finest Zelda games ever made, and was to the first one as SNES Mario World was to the first Super Mario.
An article like this may interest you, page three has the SNES version.
http://retro.ign.com...9/939361p1.html

[JimButcher]

Dunjohn, on Feb 16 2010, 07:20 PM, said:

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

def, on Feb 16 2010, 07:40 PM, said:

What Dunjohn said     I don't mind NES Adventures of Link, it has some interesting points (six villages or so, spell casting) but it was really tough.  I never finished it, as a kid or an adult.

Ah, thanks. That's confusing... I remember playing "A Link to the Past" (no "Zelda II") on GBC or GBA, and I agree that it's pretty great, a good trailblazer for future birds-eye Zelda games.

def, on Feb 16 2010, 07:40 PM, said:

A Link to the Past is one of the finest Zelda games ever made, and was to the first one as SNES Mario World was to the first Super Mario.
An article like this may interest you, page three has the SNES version.
http://retro.ign.com...9/939361p1.html

Thanks for the link. I skimmed over it, but I'll take a closer look tomorrow. Sounds interesting.

[Inertia]

I havent played Twilight Princess and I rather detest the art style in Phantom Hourglass and the other new ones.

But I'm quite a fan of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons for the Game Boy Color.

I like the atmosphere and mood in the game, the characters are quite good too... Except for that annoying female Maku Tree in OoA

PLUS, it was a good change not saving Zelda for once.

Edited by Inertia, 19 February 2010 - 09:48 AM.

[Dunjohn]

Sorry, just noticed a typo in my last post; the SNES game was Zelda III, not Zelda II. Hope that clears up some of the confusion  

I also never finished Zelda II. I remember giving it a good blast and getting quite far in, but I got stuck at one point (a desert dungeon, I think?) where there's a knight down in a tunnel with a longer sword than Link, and with zero maneuvering room, I couldn't get past him. He killed me about twenty times before I just gave up. Just an ordinary knight, I'd killed loads of them before but I always had to jump to get the advantage.

I haven't been able to find Oracle of Seasons, but yeah, I loved Ages. It felt like a nice nostalgic throwback to Link's Awakening, which was the first Zelda game I'd played seriously. And yeah, the tree was kind of annoying.

[hawkyboy4]

Here's hoping TLG can find time to make Zelda a line in their products, it would be great in tandem with Zelda Wii that's coming out 8-16 months from now.

[Shadows]

JimButcher, on Feb 15 2010, 05:29 PM, said:

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?

A common misconception. Without spoiling much, I'll explain a little.

Your first mission gives you the ability to control time. Without completing it, you technically die at the end of the first three days. There is no logical reason to allow this, but it can happen. It's amusing, in a way.

Once you can control time, you set out to do lots of little things in particular story arcs within a three day period. Once you've done a particular chore/job, you don't have any real reason to repeat it, so it isn't like repeating the same game over and over.

When you enter a dungeon, time stops. You can't hit the three day limit while in there, so time isn't as daunting as it seems. The time limit is less about a limit and more about a sequence of events and scheduling things. If everything happened at the same time, you'd never be able to achieve all of your goals.

To give a specific example, I'll make something up. Let's say you meet someone who wants to deliver something to a specific person, but that person is somewhere else and only there during a set time. In order to get there, you might have a number of other things to do. Your time challenge is doing all the things you need to do to achieve that and meet the person you're trying to deliver to at the right time. If you miss, at the end of three days you start time over and yes, you would lose all progress in that particular arc, but not any dungeons you'd beaten or other achievements made. You do have the option to keep a journal of achievements and that carries over, as I recall (it's been 6 years since I played it?).

Sometimes it's all about getting a bottle or opening something so that in another story arc, you can use that to achieve something else.

It's complicated and was a pretty daring way of doing things, and being so different from the norm, it isn't as popular is it probably should be. Plus, without Zelda or Ganon, it's a little like Link's Awakening: you know you're in a Hyrule type place, but it isn't and few of the usual things are there. You will, however recognise a few people and types of people and some parallel concepts between MM and OoT.

Overall, it's a worthwhile play, it's just going to require a different way of thinking to really get into it. The dungeons are as good as you'd hope, though, and the errands are interesting enough. It's a little like a soap opera in spots as you learn about the lives of people, not unlike the teacher and her plots in WW.

Play it, it's a good time.

[MetroiD]

def, on Jan 10 2010, 06:35 AM, said:

Love isn't a strong enough word.

Ditto - even though I've only ever played Link's Awakening on my GameBoy. Hand down, one of the best games ever. If all the other games from the franchise are like that, I guess I need to start downloading them (and the respective emulators :P)... Any idea where I should start?

[def]

MetroiD, on Mar 6 2010, 08:16 PM, said:

Ditto - even though I've only ever played Link's Awakening on my GameBoy. Hand down, one of the best games ever. If all the other games from the franchise are like that, I guess I need to start downloading them (and the respective emulators :P)... Any idea where I should start?

The N64 Ocarina of Time is the one to do.  It firmly rests between the early games and the current 3-D ones.  The Wii one is amazing, but it may make some of Ocarina seem quaint.  I find it's hard to go backwards in any series I play.  That's the game to go with.

[JimButcher]

Shadows, on Mar 6 2010, 04:47 AM, said:

A common misconception. Without spoiling much, I'll explain a little.

>snip<

Thanks a lot Shadows, knowing how exactly the game works differently than other Zelda titles helps tremendously. Now it doesn't seem as daunting as before, especially when time stops for dungeons. I just finished WW, so I'll give this a shot.

MetroiD, on Mar 6 2010, 06:16 AM, said:

Any idea where I should start?

I agree with def- Ocarina of Time is the way to go. Without it, I don't think Zelda would have nearly as much of a fanbase, since it basically set the standard for future titles. More importantly, it will set the way you play and the way you look at things. It's a good game to introduce you to the series. After that, I would go with Wind Waker or Twilight Princess, and see what happens from there.


So yeah, just finished WW. I have to say, I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's nothing like OoT or TP, but it's good in it's own ways. Sailing isn't so bad thanks to warp points, and the dungeons are pretty easy to handle. I especially liked how the story was tied in with OoT's. The flood, Ganondorf being freed, and even the stained glass windows of the OoT sages in Hyrule Castle.

The only thing I didn't was how easy it was- all of the bosses were really weak, the puzzles were simple, and the game was just to good to end so fast. At least it inspired me to play the sequels for the DS.

[the lord of the brick]

Damm! The wind waker is the only Zelda that I haven't played yet. If you talk too much about it, I will have to buy the game and a gamecube pad for my Wiii (No emulators, I'm a purist ).

Ocarina of time is the way to go because is the first game in the timeline too ... Well I think that the minish cap, four swords and four sword adventures are situated before ocarina of time, but they aren't relevant in comparison. Aren't they ?

[MetroiD]

def, on Mar 6 2010, 03:42 PM, said:

The N64 Ocarina of Time is the one to do.

Thanks! I've planning on playing all the Zelda games, but somehow I never found the time to sit down and decide where to start. Thanks for helping me out!

[def]

I'm currently 75% of the way in on the SNES: A link to the Past game.  I still love it, but I don't remember where everything is.  I still have Majora's Mask as a WiiWare download, and the first DS game, Phantom Hourglass unplayed... I don't really feel like playing any other games right now.

[Alex the Great]

I've played Twilight Princess and found it really good, and the other one I'm doing is the first ever Zelda off of WiiWare. Nothing beats classics!

Edited by Alex the Great, 14 March 2010 - 08:36 PM.

[awesomebrick]

I've played them all
there all great games
majoras mask is
my favourite
but I don't know why.

[JimButcher]

At E3 today, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was officially announced and the demo was released. You can view the IGN article here and watch the videos here.

I'm pretty excited for this (of course, a new Zelda game always is exciting), but I hope Miyamoto sticks to his word about the game being a huge turning point in the history of the series - and so far I haven't seen anything entirely revolutionary. We've seen the semi - 1:1 (Wii has some difficulty with that) gameplay before, even in TP. I just hope this game turns out to be something great.

Also, a note on the graphics. The art style looks like a combination of Super Mario Galaxy, updated Ocarina of Time graphics, and Wind Waker. I definitely prefer the realistic TP or the completely goofy WW style over something in between, but this is how I imagined an upgraded OoT would look.

[Tinn-man]

I'm super excited for Skyward Sword, but even more excited for this:

http://www.joystiq.c...o-nintendo-3ds/

That's right, an Ocarina remake for the 3DS.  Could this be 2 Zelda games in 2011?  I say yes, and I'm EXTREMELY excited!

[Dunjohn]

Thanks for the videos, I hadn't seen them yet. I note that Link is right-handed again - but the game is being demonstrated by a left-handed person   I got a bit disoriented when he flicked his shield up. Must be really akward for you lefties in general.

Yeah, it looks good, though I still can't see the Wind Waker influence that everybody is talking about. The bright, cheery graphics will take some getting used to after Twilight Princess. It's like he's been warped to the Mushroom Kingdom. I love that new bug launcher, that looks like fun, though I'd be nervous about stashing it wherever Link normally stashes his spare weapons. There wasn't a whole lot worth looking forward to at E3 this year but this is definitely something.

[JimButcher]

Tinn-man, on 16 June 2010 - 11:49 PM, said:

That's right, an Ocarina remake for the 3DS.  Could this be 2 Zelda games in 2011?  I say yes, and I'm EXTREMELY excited!

Interesting. I wonder if it'll be an exact replica, or if it will have many add-ons, like Super Mario 64 DS had.

Dunjohn, on 17 June 2010 - 10:33 AM, said:

Thanks for the videos, I hadn't seen them yet. I note that Link is right-handed again - but the game is being demonstrated by a left-handed person   I got a bit disoriented when he flicked his shield up. Must be really akward for you lefties in general.

Yes, they'll have to fix that. I really hope there's an option to change which sword hand you use, but if not... Was there an option like this in the Wii version of TP (I only have the GCN version)?

Dunjohn, on 17 June 2010 - 10:33 AM, said:

Yeah, it looks good, though I still can't see the Wind Waker influence that everybody is talking about. The bright, cheery graphics will take some getting used to after Twilight Princess.

You just answered your own question. While it may not have celda-shading, it definitely takes some of the cheery atmosphere that WW had.

[Dunjohn]

TP didn't have that option, nope. Instead, they took the entire game world and flipped it left-to-right so that right-handed people would feel comfortable using the controls. They might be able to do something like that this time, though, since the game is designed with the Wii in mind. TP was designed for the Gamecube. Hadn't really thought about that.

[Cutty]

I saw "Skyward Sword"'s videos yesterday and I'm impressed! I didn't like those dark tone Zeldas at all (skipped TP entirely) but cherished every single polygon from WW all the more. That is what Zelda is about for me: A boy saving the kingdom from the uglies, and not "The Man" saving the kingdom from "The Beasts Of Hell"... So "Skyward Sword"'s return to a more cheerful tone is exactly of my liking. But I have to admit, that my view of Zelda is strongly influenced by the original NES and SNES Zeldas' booklet impressions, which are VERY similar in design to what we are about to experience in "Skyward Sword".
So I might get this. Probably. And even if I don't, I still like it!

Edited by Cutty, 19 June 2010 - 07:32 AM.

[BrickClick]

Ohh!
This looks good!
I too enjoy the more cheerful Zelda games and didn't really enjoy TP (Only made it past the first few temples)
I am also exited about the Ocarina of time remake for the 3DS and I may have to buy a 3DS just for it more money that could be spent on LEGO  
Anyway I can't wait to see more videos and pictures maybe in a different location?

[def]

I'm surprised nobody resurrected this thread or started a new one:  Skyward Sword is awesome  

It's the last gasp of the Wii.  I placed an order for a PS3 yesterday.  The PS3 is now at a slightly lower price than the Wii was when I bought mine five years ago, plus the PS3 has a pile of great, cheap games now.  Anyway, Skyward Sword will be the last full-price, new game I buy for quite a long time.

Is it better than other Zelda games, including Ocarina of Time?  It's hard to say.  I loved Twilight Princess, and I think this is a bit better: a little tighter, a little more creative.

One thing I'm always impressed by is the series attempt to add to each generation.  In TP, they added the Iron Boots (that worked a lot differently than those in OoT) and the spinner.  In SS, there are a few new devices as well, though they don't seem meant for the pantheon... like the spinner which doesn't make an appearance here.

The thing that was most impressive here was the level design.  The temples really do get exponentially complicated.  The time temple here is conceptually brilliant, and the final Skyloft Temple is brilliant, though a little gimmicky.  The overworld is a lot more maze like, rather than open expanse, and there is a lot less time wasted as a result.  The explored area gets recycled inventively a few times, which is another novelty to the game.

I've all but finished the game.  I'm at the final save point before game's end, and tried the final boss yesterday and failed.  I'll give it another try tomorrow.  If I can't beat him on my second try, I'll be pretty pissed.

I found the Wii motion controls quite good.  The game differentiates between left/right/overhand/underhand sword swipes, and it makes all the difference with how enemies defend themselves.  I've found myself naturally improving my sword-play in a way that I never have with other games.

Did anyone else buy this game yet?  

[Lego-Freak]

I consider myself a huge Nintendo fan and it puts me to shame to confess that the first time I've ever played a Zelda game (besides SSBB of course) was last year   As there weren't any Mario games around when I bought my 3DS in September, I decided to purchase OoT 3D, which turned out to be one of my best decisions ever. Now I know what I've been missing out on all those years and it saddens me that I'm not able to play a lot of these games (WW e.g., as I don't own a Gamecube). Recently I've bought both TP and Skyward Sword, but I want to complete TP before starting Skyward Sword   TP is a fantastic game IMO and I even prefer it to Oot, so I'm really curious to see what Skyward Sword is going to be like in comparison  

Edited by Lego-Freak, 25 March 2012 - 03:32 PM.

[Poison Ivy]

def, on 25 March 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

I'm surprised nobody resurrected this thread or started a new one:  Skyward Sword is awesome  

It's the last gasp of the Wii.  I placed an order for a PS3 yesterday.  The PS3 is now at a slightly lower price than the Wii was when I bought mine five years ago, plus the PS3 has a pile of great, cheap games now.  Anyway, Skyward Sword will be the last full-price, new game I buy for quite a long time.

Is it better than other Zelda games, including Ocarina of Time?  It's hard to say.  I loved Twilight Princess, and I think this is a bit better: a little tighter, a little more creative.

One thing I'm always impressed by is the series attempt to add to each generation.  In TP, they added the Iron Boots (that worked a lot differently than those in OoT) and the spinner.  In SS, there are a few new devices as well, though they don't seem meant for the pantheon... like the spinner which doesn't make an appearance here.

The thing that was most impressive here was the level design.  The temples really do get exponentially complicated.  The time temple here is conceptually brilliant, and the final Skyloft Temple is brilliant, though a little gimmicky.  The overworld is a lot more maze like, rather than open expanse, and there is a lot less time wasted as a result.  The explored area gets recycled inventively a few times, which is another novelty to the game.

I've all but finished the game.  I'm at the final save point before game's end, and tried the final boss yesterday and failed.  I'll give it another try tomorrow.  If I can't beat him on my second try, I'll be pretty pissed.

I found the Wii motion controls quite good.  The game differentiates between left/right/overhand/underhand sword swipes, and it makes all the difference with how enemies defend themselves.  I've found myself naturally improving my sword-play in a way that I never have with other games.

Did anyone else buy this game yet?  

I'm still playing the special editions of OoT and TP, even though I played OoT when it first came out. I do want Skyward Sword though, I'm looking into a puchase of SS though. From what you say, it sounds great.

[def]

Lego-Freak, on 25 March 2012 - 03:30 PM, said:

Now I know what I've been missing out on all those years and it saddens me that I'm not able to play a lot of these games (WW e.g., as I don't own a Gamecube).

The Wii plays GameCube games   I bought a GameCube in order to play WW, but messed up somehow and couldn't finish it; the Japanese game has a few little differences and at that time my Japanese wasn't quite good enough to figure out what I was missing, and English guides were no help.  About four years later, I had my Wii, and gave it another go and cleared it.  It's a really nice game, though it's a bit of a slog in places.  The dungeons are great in it.

Anyway, with a Wii, you can play every Zelda game except the Gameboy and DS games, and the monstrous CD-I game of course