Favorite Zelda Game?

[aruntisa]

I just recently beat Skyward Sword. There was a lot of

hype over the game, some claiming that the game was

better than the hallowed "Ocarina of Time". From my

experience with Skyward Sword, I have to agree with

them. I thought the game was brilliant and took the Wii

controls to a new level.

That being said, I was wondering what you guys think is

the best Zelda game out there? It doesn't have to be a

modern game, it could be "The Legend of Zelda" for all

I care.

I have some affection for Wind Waker as I love the

soundtrack. I would go sailing just to hear the

soundtrack haha.

Overall though, I'm actually picking Skyward Sword. I

think it's the most innovative Zelda out there (not the

most challenging though, Majora's Mask takes the cake

in that regard). Oh, and Zelda is hot.

So what do you guys think? Which is your favorite Zelda

game and why?

 

[krazykidd]

Gah . I hate this question . My natural response would be Zelda 2 . Because i LOVE everything about that game . But honestly it isn't s good "Zelda" game , despite being a good game . But the best in my opinion is A link to the past . Graphics aside it has everything a good zelda game should have . Not to say the newer ones are bad . But it's my personal favorite . But then again , i have played but didn't like anything past OOT, so you guys might think my opinion is invalid .

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Dat formatting...



OT: Wind Waker, hands down for me.

The aesthetic of the game has aged beautifully, the music is brilliant and I just adore the atmosphere of the whole thing.

 

[Hazy992]

Why have you written your OP like that?

Anyway I'm gonna second Wind Waker. The aesthetics are beautiful and I just had a lot of fun with it, even as a kid. Also that Link is a lot more likeable and relateable than the other Links IMO.

Also I'm gonna say something controversial here: I don't think Ocarina of Time was all that good and I think it's waaay overrated.

 

[Euryalus]

BOOO OP YOUR OPINION IS HORRIBLE... Just kidding, though I really did hate Skyward sword, especially the water temple in that level (I call it the pond scum temple lol), and fi... and scrapper... and the controls... and...

ok, sorry back to the original topic. My favorite Zelda game of all time is Majora's Mask as well as my favorite Game of all time, but that's neither here nor there. It did seem kinda cheap that they re-used all the charater models from OoT, but that's because MM started out as an Expansion pack and not a full game. I thought the character driven personal focus of MM was just so well done. The whole thing with kafei was just beautiful. The dark cryptic-ness of the land and its temples, The symbolism of the masks and the song of Healing, The sense of brooding despair, the groundhog's day anxiety of being trapped in time. I loved it all

I really loved Wind Waker as well because it seemed to be both the polar opposite of Majora's Mask while also paradoxically the same. It was the yin to MM's yang.

OoT obviously gets an honorable mention, but I feel my nostalgia of it may cloud my judgement of it.

If I had to rate them then... (these ratings mean less and less as they go down the line FYI)

1.)Majora's Mask
2.)Wind Waker
3.)Ocarina of Time
4.)Twilight Princess
5.)A link to the past
6.)The oracle games
7.)The legend of Zelda
8.)LoZ II: The Adventure of Link
9.)Skyward sword

EDIT: I also found this awesome little critique of Majora's mask that makes for a pretty interesting read

http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-message-of-majoras-mask/

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Skyward Sword

I'm very well aware of just how much padding was in that game. I'm also very well aware that I never had that kind of fun with any Zelda prior, so I pick that.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

I have an extremely difficult time with this question, because I really don't have any ONE favorite Zelda game.

#1 - Majora's Mask
#2 - Wind Waker
#3 - Oracle of Ages/Seasons

Ocarina of Time was in no way a bad game, but those are definitely my top Zelda games.

 

[Baldur Moon]

Dat formatting...



OT: Wind Waker, hands down for me.

The aesthetic of the game has aged beautifully, the music is brilliant and I just adore the atmosphere of the whole thing.

Pretty much sums it up. Few games evoke that level of glassy eyed nostalgia from me... God I've never wanted a Game Cube so bad...

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Dat OP.

Definitely, definitely Twilight Princess. Pacing is HNNNNNNG, companion is wonderful and not annoying, gameplay is fluent, aiming is perfect with a Wiimote pointer, graphics are amazing, temples are mostly pretty fun (except the water temple and the Poe/desert temple), etc. My favorite Wii game on top of that, and it's four or five years old now.

Majora's Mask is really significant because it's actually replayable without having to restart a new game, and the masks are a really good game changer.

Did not like Wind Waker for the fucking sailing, did not like Skyward Sword for the fucking combat and cool little additions that I liked (upgrading your weapons and a run feature) and little additions I really didn't like (stamina bar, 'phasing' or whatever that was).

 

[Baldur Moon]

Also I'm gonna say something controversial here: I don't think Ocarina of Time was all that good and I think it's waaay overrated.

"Burn HIM!!!"

...Is what I would say if I was old enough to have played it in its prime.
I played it a few months ago for the first time on the good old 3ds and while it's not mind blowing or anything like that it IS a decent game for 2012 so it must have seemed like the second coming of jesus in 1998

 

[jackpackage200]

Wind Waker

I felt it did these things better than any previous and proceeding Zelda:
-Sailing was fun and unique
-Best Art Style
-Best Dungeons
-Best Bosses
-Lots of unique side content
-Decent Camera Control
-Good Puzzles

It is my all time favorite game.

 

[Andy Shandy]

It's a tie between Wind Waker and Ocarina Of Time. I prefer a fair few things in Wind Waker, but I still haven't had an experience as fun as the time I played Ocarina Of Time with a friend when it came out, so I can't put it anywhere other than top, so it'll share it with Wind Waker.

Also as others have pointed out... DAT OP!

 

[144_v1legacy]

Wind Waker.

Followed by Twilight Princess. I feel that these two games best encapsulate what is great about the exploration and adventure aspect of the series. And they both provide excellent nods to the rest of the series while neither relying on, shoehorning in, or disregarding, continuity.

 

[Euryalus]

Why have you written your OP like that?

Anyway I'm gonna second Wind Waker. The aesthetics are beautiful and I just had a lot of fun with it, even as a kid. Also that Link is a lot more likeable and relateable than the other Links IMO.

Also I'm gonna say something controversial here: I don't think Ocarina of Time was all that good and I think it's waaay overrated.

OoT may be overrated, but it's still an incredible game

And the Link in Wind Waker was awesome. I loved doing the second playthroughs in the blue lobster shirt.

 

[Euryalus]

Wind Waker.

Followed by Twilight Princess. I feel that these two games best encapsulate what is great about the exploration and adventure aspect of the series. And they both provide excellent nods to the rest of the series while neither relying on, shoehorning in, or disregarding, continuity.

Continuity? In the Zelda Franchise? lolwut. Go look at the official timeline Nintendo's got and tell me it isn't a convoluted mess. TP and WW are no exception. Hell try relating those two to each other.

 

[StylinBones]

OoT for me. But I can understand any of the recent ones - Majora's, Waker, Twilight & Skyward.
No one should ever argue over which is best, we should just be thankful for all of them.

 

[144_v1legacy]

Wind Waker.

Followed by Twilight Princess. I feel that these two games best encapsulate what is great about the exploration and adventure aspect of the series. And they both provide excellent nods to the rest of the series while neither relying on, shoehorning in, or disregarding, continuity.

Continuity? In the Zelda Franchise? lolwut. Go look at the official timeline Nintendo's got and tell me it isn't a convoluted mess. TP and WW are no exception. Hell try relating those two to each other.

The timeline is a recent creation, i.e., ret-conned. That particular example is, like many fanboys have also done, an attempt at connecting a string of games that really shouldn't be timelined in such a way.

I always read it as the "legend" of Zelda, something that isn't nailed down in fact. I wonder if certain stories are other ways the "legend" was passed down, and I would go so far as to view TP as a sort of alternate telling of LttP.

"Relate them to each other"?

They have similar elements with such things as similar architectural styles in key areas, certain themes are kept while others are altered. The OoT Temple of Time is in a plaza, but that shows up in many iterations and many environments, which all have common elements and common detailing. At first, one was curious about its location in TP, but the area of the forest in which it dwells doesn't seem unlike a ruined version of its OoT counterpart, and the tower aspect of it, as well as its interior decor, fit nicely with the tower of the gods in WW.

I could go on and on and on, and I have in non-internet settings, and it's easier to say in speech than in writing, with scribbles in stuff.

Also, certain games don't count in my opinion, regarding the "Legend" part of the Legend of Zelda. The Legends art the series' main entries, namely, the original, LttP, OoT, WW, TP, and SS. The others are add-ons, different stories that only relate to the specific telling of the legend that they correspond to (i.e., MM can only be interpreted in the context of OoT, but not WW, SS, or any others).

All I can say is how I felt while playing the games myself, and having played all of them, I know which aspects hit me deeper than others. Continuity in Zelda games should remain unexplained. See the Star Wars example, in which the Force was more interesting before an explanation for it was attempted.

 

[rt052192]

Gotta be Link's Awakening for Gameboy or A Link to the Past for GBA