Poll: The Legend of Zelda....Why do you love or hate it?

[MazdaXR]

I love Zelda, mostly nostalgia reasons, hence why i only pick up the console ones and not the handheld ones, because i only ever used to play it on consoles. Zelda has that friendly familiarity that makes it good to play.

Plus it is one of those games now that doesn't dwell in the shades of greay that mos games do. In Zelda the good guys are good, bad guys are bad, good guy beats the bad guy. It is also one of the adventure games that doesn't have a leveling up system, you get better because of the things you have at your disposal not because you killed X number of bad guys.

OoT and MM are still by far my fav, with being able to roll around as a Goron as one of the best moves the Zelda series has made.

 

[aarontg]

I can definitely say I have fond memories of the series. When I was 10-12 me and a group of friends all got a link to the past for GBA so we would always trade strategies during recess. Also I had my first summer to myself without a babysitter and I happened to have gotten twilight princess once it began so I had complete focus for a game that I thought was completely amazing.

 

[Detective Prince]

I love the Zelda games. They are something I carried with me through childhood. As a 7 year old playing Ocarina of Time all the way to now. I almost feel as though I've grown up and so has Link. There is nothing like being hit with Writer's Block at a terrible moment (mid-chapter usually) and just getting up and playing Zelda for a while to help me focus and calm down.

The formula hasn't changed because it hasn't needed to. You know what you're getting with Zelda, brilliant dungeons, a beautiful storyline, an awesome soundtrack and that feeling as though you ARE a legend. XD

Okiie...I'm going to stop now before I waffle anymore. Zelda is my favourite game series, that's all you need to know. XD

 

[Cridhe]

It's a very fun game with a hero that's pretty much integrated in all our gaming hearts since childhood. Plus it provides just the right amount of a false sense of accomplishment (solving a puzzle, acquiring a new item) we as gamers all seek.

 

[Drakmorg]

Meh, the series never really grabbed me. I'm pretty much wholly indifferent to it.
Only game in the series I can remember owning was twilight princess and I gave up out of shear boredom and indifference half-way through the third dungeon.

 

[DoctorPhil]

I like it. I don't love it only because it's so damn easy. It never really occured to me before to play the games with 3 hearts. That raises another problem however, I'll have to keep resetting the game when I happen to get a piece of heart. I wish Nintendo would allow us to not get the hearts if we want.... or give us a hard mode.

 

[samuraiweasel]

Not a nintendo person...or someone who likes grind.....so meh

 

[Sudenak]

So you agree with me then? They are for kids.

How many times can you honestly sit there and play the same boomerang-throwing Aryan...and honestly call it fun?

This, seriously.

Okay, this bothers me. I seriously think this mindset came out when Xbawks realized it could make a lot of money by perpetuating the myth that games for kids are worthless and terrible because they are for kids.

Seriously? All that you ever play is "games for grown-ups"? If it doesn't say M for Mature, you won't even touch it because it's too childish for your mature tastes? What about Pokemon? That's a kids game. Pikmin? Kids game. Luigi's Mansion? Kids game.

And while it's true that you play the same character with similar items, the gameplay mechanics change for every game. If you could seriously look at Majora's Mask and Wind Waker and scream "Exact same kiddie game shit!" at the top of your lungs, then you'd just be a raging idiot.

I bet you hate the Halo series too, right? COD series? Brothers in Arms? MGS? Those are just the same game. Twisted Metal? Same game.

Dismissing new versions because you play the same guy in each one is just as retarded as dismissing it for being a kid's game. I'm sorry, I didn't realize we needed tits and gore in a game in order for it to be fun.

(Yes, I am a fangirl, but I accept people who dislike games I like. I can't accept people who hate them for retarded reasons. Hate it for boring gameplay, or repetition. Don't hate it for having the same protagonist and being "for kids".)

EDIT: Yes, I know you don't play the same guy in each sequel of those other games. The game itself doesn't alter too much from one to the next. I know that we don't like sequels and want nothing but innovation, but I also know that there's no way in hell you are a purist who avoids sequel games. I get the feeling you only agreed with it because your retarded reason for hating the game series needed something less retarded to support it.

 

[AlternatePFG]

I love Wind Waker, but I am indifferent to pretty much every other game in the series. I played Twilight Princess and while I enjoyed it, I just liked the exploration and sailing in Wind Waker more.

 

[EbonBehelit]

They suck. Between Metroid, Mario and Zelda, Nintendo fanboys have turned Nintendo into the laziest software company out there. Well done.

Er, I'm not even gonna say anything more about this statement.

I've played pretty much every Zelda game out there is, and with a few exceptions I love them all. Still wish they'd make another like Majora's Mask, though.

 

[Casual Shinji]

There's an undeniable charm about Zelda - and mostly all of Nintendo's first party franchises - but they've basically been making the same fucking Zelda game since OoT. Nintendo needs to either reinvent this franchise or just create a new IP that they can fill with the same kind of charm.

 

[GuitArchon]

I suppose I like the LoZ series so much because it performs so well in blending puzzles, adventure/exploration, combat, and story so well. I'll also be the first to admit that, yes, pretty much every installment in the series is virtually the same as all its predecessors, but I also think there's a reasonable amount of "If it ain't broke" logic in there.

That's not to say that it doesn't do things to make each game a unique experience, like the 3-day timer in Majora's Mask and the wolf form in Twilight Princess. In general, I think it's a healthy dose of brain-teasers and variety of action sequences in a package that almost always hits the sweet-spot for me in terms of game length.

Although, I'd like to see some dungeon bosses that don't just require you to use whatever item you got in that particular dungeon to defeat it.

 

[DoctorPhil]

So you agree with me then? They are for kids.

How many times can you honestly sit there and play the same boomerang-throwing Aryan...and honestly call it fun?

This, seriously.

Okay, this bothers me. I seriously think this mindset came out when Xbawks realized it could make a lot of money by perpetuating the myth that games for kids are worthless and terrible because they are for kids.

Seriously? All that you ever play is "games for grown-ups"? If it doesn't say M for Mature, you won't even touch it because it's too childish for your mature tastes? What about Pokemon? That's a kids game. Pikmin? Kids game. Luigi's Mansion? Kids game.

And while it's true that you play the same character with similar items, the gameplay mechanics change for every game. If you could seriously look at Majora's Mask and Wind Waker and scream "Exact same kiddie game shit!" at the top of your lungs, then you'd just be a raging idiot.

I bet you hate the Halo series too, right? COD series? Brothers in Arms? MGS? Those are just the same game. Twisted Metal? Same game.

Dismissing new versions because you play the same guy in each one is just as retarded as dismissing it for being a kid's game. I'm sorry, I didn't realize we needed tits and gore in a game in order for it to be fun.

(Yes, I am a fangirl, but I accept people who dislike games I like. I can't accept people who hate them for retarded reasons. Hate it for boring gameplay, or repetition. Don't hate it for having the same protagonist and being "for kids".)

EDIT: Yes, I know you don't play the same guy in each sequel of those other games. The game itself doesn't alter too much from one to the next. I know that we don't like sequels and want nothing but innovation, but I also know that there's no way in hell you are a purist who avoids sequel games. I get the feeling you only agreed with it because your retarded reason for hating the game series needed something less retarded to support it.

You should be the first female president of the united states. These guys are probably just Sony/Xbox purists who hate Zelda only because it's Nintendo, and then make up arguments. We play Zelda for gameplay, not for story, and if the gameplay is good, why does it need to be changed? I can compare it to when I go to Burger king, I always get the same thing: Big King XXL, I never ever get anything else, I don't want anything else because it's so damn delicious. Same goes for Zelda, I don't want anything else, I just want the same thing every time, because that same thing is just so fun, sequelitis in video games isn't bad at all, at least not for games that focus on gameplay. And what the post above me said, like you never played a sequel that was very much like the last game.

I'd rather have a childish game than a "mature" dead serious game without any charm. Kids always want to be mature, and when they get to a certain age they will hate on all childish things because they think they're mature. The idea that something sucks because it's childish is itself the most childish thing in the world.

 

[UmJammerSully]

So you agree with me then? They are for kids.

How many times can you honestly sit there and play the same boomerang-throwing Aryan...and honestly call it fun?

This, seriously.

Okay, this bothers me. I seriously think this mindset came out when Xbawks realized it could make a lot of money by perpetuating the myth that games for kids are worthless and terrible because they are for kids.

Seriously? All that you ever play is "games for grown-ups"? If it doesn't say M for Mature, you won't even touch it because it's too childish for your mature tastes? What about Pokemon? That's a kids game. Pikmin? Kids game. Luigi's Mansion? Kids game.

And while it's true that you play the same character with similar items, the gameplay mechanics change for every game. If you could seriously look at Majora's Mask and Wind Waker and scream "Exact same kiddie game shit!" at the top of your lungs, then you'd just be a raging idiot.

I bet you hate the Halo series too, right? COD series? Brothers in Arms? MGS? Those are just the same game. Twisted Metal? Same game.

Dismissing new versions because you play the same guy in each one is just as retarded as dismissing it for being a kid's game. I'm sorry, I didn't realize we needed tits and gore in a game in order for it to be fun.

(Yes, I am a fangirl, but I accept people who dislike games I like. I can't accept people who hate them for retarded reasons. Hate it for boring gameplay, or repetition. Don't hate it for having the same protagonist and being "for kids".)

Kids always want to be mature, and when they get to a certain age they will hate on all childish things because they think they're mature. The idea that something sucks because it's childish is itself the most childish thing in the world.

Exactly, It's incredibly ironic how these people are bashing on games for being "kiddy" just prove how immature they are at the same time. I hadn't seen these people in a really long time, literally years, so it's pretty annoying to see it cropping up again. They seem to be a very small minority of ignorant people though fortunatly.

 

[Akihiko]

Meh. I don't care for LoZ anymore, just as I don't care for other nintendo franchises.

Always the same kind of gameplay. I don't let FPS' off the hook either, I think the same of them, too.

 

[Slash Dementia]

I like the Zelda games, they're really fun and simple to play...but, in contradiction to the last thing I said, some parts really confuse me. I got through Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time just fine, but getting some item in a race on that snow place with the gorons in Majora's Mask is so mind-boggling. I really have no idea how to get that.

Other than those games, I only have played Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.

Recommendations?

 

[starwarsgeek]

I like the Zelda games, they're really fun and simple to play...but, in contradiction to the last thing I said, some parts really confuse me. I got through Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time just fine, but getting some item in a race on that snow place with the gorons in Majora's Mask is so mind-boggling. I really have no idea how to get that.

Other than those games, I only have played Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.

Recommendations?

If you own a 3DS, get Link's Awakening off the eshop. It was first released on the gameboy, then re-released for the GBC (the re-release is the one on the eshop). I barely played the original as a kid, but I decided to give it another shot. Now, it's easily one of my favorites.
Also, Wind Waker. A lot of people complain about the sailing, but that was my favorite part. It's a great example of a light heart atmosphere done well, and it really makes the game feel like an adventure.

 

[Jake the Snake]

I think with Zelda it must be nostalgia that makes it appealing. I never had a 64 as a kid, so I never played the ocarina of time. For the life of me, every Zelda game I've ever played, I get stuck on, and end up never touching it again. They just don't hold my interest, and they're too fucking hard. *Shrug* Oh well *Goes back to playing Oblivion for umpteenth time*

 

[MetroidNut]

I'd say I love the Zelda series. I did grow up with it (though not in the usual way - somebody installed a Gameboy emulator on the computers in my afterschool program when I was young, and I spent hours watching people play Link's Awakening). But I can't honestly say nostalgia is why I enjoy the games; rather, I love them because I consider them masterfully-designed. They're formulaic and predictable to the point of absurdity - oh look, Ganondorf was secretly the villain again - but they also contain wonderful level design, interesting puzzles, and simple but fun combat based on timing and creative use of items.

That said, my favorite game in the series is easily the Wind Waker. Without the nostalgia factor, Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past don't do much for me, and I was never able to bring myself to finish either. Twilight Princess has a lot going for it, but it's often frighteningly unoriginal. The Wind Waker, meanwhile, takes a chance on a cel-shaded art style that works surprisingly well in my opinion, and I absolutely love the sailing mechanic. Sure, it takes forever to reach your next objective. But it's all worth it for the joy of being able to plot a course south-east, just to see what's out there.

Oh, and The Wind Waker has one of the most epic final boss battles I've ever seen. Not "epic" as in "kill big thing awesomely" - epic as in, the battle made me feel like I was truly fighting to save the world from ancient evil.

 

[damselgaming]

I like Zelda for sentimental reasons more than anything else.

When my sister first invited my (now) brother in law over to our house I was stuck on the Deku Tree after first trying out the Ocarina of Time. I must have been about 10 or 11 and the skultullas creeped me out. He actually sat there and played it with me for about 3 hours and got me through the first couple of temples. And I thought he was definately cool enough to stick around. He also gave me his 64 because the expansion pack in my was busted just so i could play Majoras Mask. I actually wrote about this in their wedding card and caused tears.

I only got to see the ending to Twilight Princess (after getting freaked out by the scary hands) because a very good friend who in many ways I consider a special part of my life replayed the ending so I could see it.

So whilst I agree that the games haven't really evolved much beyond graphical upheavals and different 'Links' Zelda will always be a game I play because it links in with so many memories.