Favourite Legend of Zelda game (Spoilers, of course)

[ríomhaire]

Majora's Mask
From a purely gameplay standpoint, Ocarina of Time is probably superior. But I much prefer Majora's Mask for the world and story and themes (And themes are usually something I don't give a damn about in books, not to mention games).

The game absorbed me straight away. I rarely feel panic while playing a game, but Jesus, by the end of the first day I was running around the place trying to figure out what to do (The only thing I had done was reuniting the bits of the great fairy, and didn't know what I should have been doing next) and looking up at the moon and going "SHIT SHIT SHIT".

Once you learn the Song of Time you can relax a bit though, in the knowledge that you can go back when necessary, but still, the mood of the game is much darker than the other LoZ games. On the last day, when you look up and see the moon almost on top of you and the ground shakes, there is a real feeling of dread.

This wasn't like Ocarina of Time with a clich?d "kill the evil king and save the kingdom" plot driving you on. In OoT I almost always sat comfortably back knowing that I was eventually going to win because A: It's a game and B: There's a prophecy and narrative causality and crap backing me up.

The only time I felt that the world was in real danger in OoT was the first time exiting the Temple of Time and seeing the town in ruins and full of the undead. I was thinking "Oh **** oh **** oh ****" as I entered the town square. But eventually you leave the town and you discover that life is still fine and basically every single character you met before is fine and just in another town.

It's different in Majora's Mask, you look up and any time and you are reminded that the world (Well, the land that you're in, anyway) is absolutely ****ed and all the people are going to be killed unless you do something (Yeah, almost everyone leaves for places like the ranch, but I never really thought it was far enough to save them, plus, who knows what the Skull Kid / Majora would have done after).

And they're not just NPCs forever standing in the same place and saying the same things every day no mater how long you play. They actually carry out lives of their own and have their own problems. The way each character carries out their lives and how their stories intersect is brilliant. There are so many subtle details, for instance, the Deku Scrub that you turn into with your mask is actually the son of the Deku King?s advisor.

As stupid as this sounds, I love the way I felt that I was making no bloody difference at all. The best example of this is when you go through the insanely long side quest to reunite two lovers. It ends at the end of the last day and unless you go right then and there to face Majora you must immediately use the Song of Time and go back to day one.

What do you have to show for your efforts? A lovely new mask, you can now go to the town hall and collect a piece of heart. But one of the first things you see when you go back in time is the man you just helped (Kafea, was it?), back in his mask and without his beloved. You have undone everything you did to help him. YOU ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING.

This is a bloody hopeless game and I love it. You saved the Zora tadpoles? Great, now you have to undo it. The more you play the more you do and yet nothing changes because you have to undo it again. It is almost impossible to help everyone and save the world (Though I?ve heard it has been done).

I could go on and on but I?m tired and my dad is annoying me about going to bed (damn parents ). Maybe I?ll write more later.

So yeah...what?s your favourite Zelda game?

 

[knut]

And they're not just NPCs forever standing in the same place and saying the same things every day no mater how long you play. They actually carry out lives of their own and have their own problems. The way each character carries out their lives and how their stories intersect is brilliant. There are so many subtle details, for instance, the Deku Scrub that you turn into with your mask is actually the son of the Deku King?s advisor.

QFT. This was what I enjoyed most about Majoras Mask. There was just so much to do, so many people to see, to help, to listen to... and you could change everything that happens by doing certain things and watching them play out. So much can happen just by stopping the robber mug the old lady on the first night.

The towns in Zelda games were always what I liked best. I spent SO much time in the Windfall Island town on Wind Waker; it's probably my favourite place to be in the game. I wish it had served more of a purpose, like a place to stop at for boating needs/equipment, supplies, etc. It's a damned shame both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess didn't have such deeper sub-storylines, as in my opinion these are the best games.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

I would also have to say Ocarina of Time is the best. I particularly like OoT because it sort of tied the overall sequence of the games together...with the time traveling creating two separate timelines and series of LoZ games. But, that's for another thread all together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXN1BF65WjI -- similar to how I think it flows.

LttP is definitly second on my list...I jump between the two all the time.

BUT, I'm playing through Links Awakening DX right now and am having a blast for the second time ever. I forgot how awesome that game was. I plan on playing through the Oracles again next. I still have to take the time to finish the Minish Cap...god, that was dumb to stop playing that...probably start over.

They're all incredible experiences.

 

[Robert-]

I loved OOT. I thought it was the ONLY good Zelda game ever made (besides the NES ones).

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

In this order

#1: Ocarina of Time
#2: A Link to the Past
#3: Link's Awakening
#4: Wind Waker
#5: Twilight Princess

OoT and Link to the Past are games that really forged my opinions as to what console gaming should be. I remember staying up long nights with three or four friends hacking through shrubbery to collect each and every ruby and bomb for the next boss fight or castle. OoT and Link to the Past also, in my opinion, have the most epic feel. Each castle I complete makes my desire to reach the end goal (saving Zelda and restoring Hyrule to glory) stronger. I remember constantly checking if the two elven blade menders had completed my master sword after every dungeon I completed - and when they finally did, I felt unstoppable.

Wind Waker wins points for having an incredibly bold and original art style. Despite being criticized to no end by various press members and fan communities I think Wind Waker is one of the most beautifully animated and designed games of all time, every time I load it up it feels great to just sail around or explore. Not a single effect was left out of the style as you often see in Cell Shaded games, everything from bomb explosions to shrubbery and torches are painstakingly rendered with cell shading, and I absolutely love it.

A great RPG should achieve just that, a strong sense of progression without ever making the player lose sight of the story objective. I think that's what a lot of modern RPGs have lost in trying to create such sprawling worlds - I'd rather have a branching epic storyline than an NPC with 125 different AI routines. I think the different communities are particularly important in Zelda, through accomplishing main story goals and completing dungeons you can help out societies like the Gorons of Zoras - whom will praise you for your work and award you with side quests and items. Playing Oblivion or Morrowind has never given me the same type of accomplished feeling.

Ocarina was the first 3D rpg I felt truly engrossed by. No game has even come close to the sensation of pulling the Master Sword out of the stone and becoming adult link. From that point on the game fundamentally changed without losing sight of it's original vision of entertainment. I gained new abilities and power while simultaneously feeling somewhat helpless against the evils that lay ahead. The only criticism I have for the classic Miyomoto style dungeon design is that sometimes during dungeon crawls (water temple anyone?) one can lose sight of the main objective. aka vg cats says it best!.

Regardless characters like Midna and Navi provide an interesting story element while USUALLY being somewhat helpful. Not going to say it didn't get frustrating though. Sadly I haven't played some of the earlier chapters of the series, and never got a chance to pick up Minnish Cap. I should really get on that.

 

[Sui]

You're all going to stab me repeatedly with your replica Master Swords, but I actually prefer the Wind Waker D:

I'm not really that into the Zelda series. I can appreciate how they are excellent games, but I'm just not that attracted to the game world and its story (yay another damsel in distress).

So the main reason I loved the Wind Waker was because it gave you this huge feeling of freedom. Basically, I felt like a pirate. The music and effects blended together perfectly to create this utterly immersive ocean which you could sail for hours on end, searching for hidden treasures and lurking dangers. Admittedly, the rest of the game was mostly a rehash of things we'd seen before in OoT and such. Still, boat beats horse any day.

Well, that's what I think at least. If a knight came charging at me I'd just shoot him with a cannon ;D

 

[knut]

The problem with Wind Waker was, whilst it was so big, everything was so small. I mean that all the islands - one for each square on the grid - were pretty much all short and simple. There was a few fairly big and detailed places, like home, and Windfall, Dragonroost, etc, but aside from about 6/7 the rest were just small splodges of land, all of which were confinded to a single grid space. It needed bigger islands. Islands that took up 5/6 spaces (or so), and then islands that took up 10, but still keeping the smaller islands.

Put Twilight Princess to sea, I say! Or flood Twilight Princess. Whichever.

 

[Sui]

Yeah, I agree. I never really got annoyed with the tiny islands, but you can't deny that the game would have been much better had there been some really expansive land environments.

Aren't they making a Wind Waker 2? Hopefully they'll set it a long time after the first game, when the water levels have lowered and there are larger landmasses, and the communities are more advanced. It's strange to think, but WW was actually set in a post-apocalyptic environment (though the cutesy presentation didn't really convey this), so it'd be interesting to see how the world develops.

 

[Fliko]

You're all going to stab me repeatedly with your replica Master Swords, but I actually prefer the Wind Waker D:

I'm not really that into the Zelda series. I can appreciate how they are excellent games, but I'm just not that attracted to the game world and its story (yay another damsel in distress).

So the main reason I loved the Wind Waker was because it gave you this huge feeling of freedom. Basically, I felt like a pirate. The music and effects blended together perfectly to create this utterly immersive ocean which you could sail for hours on end, searching for hidden treasures and lurking dangers. Admittedly, the rest of the game was mostly a rehash of things we'd seen before in OoT and such. Still, boat beats horse any day.

Well, that's what I think at least. If a knight came charging at me I'd just shoot him with a cannon ;D

HELL YEAH! Wind Waker and Majora's Mask were easily the best.
Wind Waker was a beautiful game, and didn't feel like another repeat of Zelda games, and I agree with every point in the first post except for the fact that I believe Majora's Mask had better gameplay then OoT, unlike the original poster saying OoT had better gameplay.

 

[Docm30]

A Link to the Past is hands-down the best Zelda game, and in my opinion, the greatest game every made; everything from the art to the sound to the dungeon design was near perfect. The game at no point ever enraged me (I can't say the same for more recent Zelda games), and it basically defined the way most modern RPG's are played.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Link to the Past. If only for the fact that it's the one I've come closest to actually finishing

 

[Gray Fox]

Zelda the Minish Cap
Zelda Majora's Mask
Zelda OoT

I only played those three.