Zelda and fun

[squeekenator]

Never having been a big fan of it myself, I've begun to wonder exactly what it is about the Zelda that makes it so popular. I'm aware that this sounds like a blatant troll thread, but I'm genuinely curious as to what aspects of Zelda gameplay make people enjoy it. So, Escapists, what is it that has made the Zelda series such a lasting success?

 

[Bon_Clay]

Everything. Stories are good, gameplay is good, puzzles are fun, and most of all the world you get to explore is awesome.

Though admittedly Zelda is basically the only video game series I could be considered a fanboy of. They're just so god damn awesome.

 

[DJDarque]

Everything. Stories are good, gameplay is good, puzzles are fun, and most of all the world you get to explore is awesome.

Though admittedly Zelda is basically the only video game series I could be considered a fanboy of. They're just so god damn awesome.

It's like you can read my mind!

 

[PureChaos]

Everything. Stories are good, gameplay is good, puzzles are fun, and most of all the world you get to explore is awesome.

Though admittedly Zelda is basically the only video game series I could be considered a fanboy of. They're just so god damn awesome.

i agree with everything you said. only change i would make would be to make them a little bit harder. Wind Waker was a walk in the park and Twilight Princess was a bit harder but i still did it OK. Can't wait for Skyward Sword

 

[Treefingers]

Everything. Stories are good, gameplay is good, puzzles are fun, and most of all the world you get to explore is awesome.

THIS

I still get chills just LOOKING at my copy of OoT.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Everything. Stories are good, gameplay is good, puzzles are fun, and most of all the world you get to explore is awesome.

Though admittedly Zelda is basically the only video game series I could be considered a fanboy of. They're just so god damn awesome.

You do realize you have ninja'd everyone who will reply to this thread in the defense of Zelda, right?

And I'm a Zelda fanboy too (as if people couldn't tell by my avatar and title).

 

[Arkvoodle]

Like many other Nintendo franchises, Legend of Zelda beams a subliminal mind-control signal into the minds of players, resulting in total digital addiction.

 

[Adzma]

I'm going to break the flow a bit here. I too love the Zelda series, but I feel that Wind Waker was the last good game in the series. I was so amped for TP and it just fell flat on its arse, and the less said about the DS games, the better.

But all the one's before prior to TP are fantastic for everything Bon_Clay said.

 

[iThinkCat]

I'm a fan myself of the series, but saying the game is good because because the game is good doesn't tell the OPer anything about why he should buy it.

I for one really like the music. Most of the songs match the ambiance of the area you hear them in, give the impression of adventure or grand orchestras, and are some variant of the original songs from way back when (a treat for those of us that get nostalgic).

The puzzles are genuinely well thought out. If you've been playing since the very first Legend of Zeldas then they can come across as repetative cause the concept get reused alot (push block on pressure pad). Don't let that stop you though, each one that has come out adds a different aspect to the game making the theme very different. In Ocorina of Time music was a big theme where you had to use your ocorina for serveral tasks. Majora's Mask had you switching out masks that gave you powers. Windwaker also had a music sort of theme but with a conductors wand that controlled the wind. A link to the Past had time travel. As you can see, each game has it's own flavor.

The combat is very well done for an adventure game, being that it is fast paced (no grind or auto attacks) and it works similar to the puzzles of the game. You can kill almost every enemy with your sword, but it's not always the smartest choice. Boss fights tend to be a puzzle too. You have to figure out what tools to use to defeat them with and where to hit them with said tool. Yes, you will always use the tool you JUST aquired in the boss battle, but it's not always limited to that single tool and your sword. You might have to mix things up a bit.

The story is usually good, but I think the dialog can lack sometimes. Whether it's good or not, they do always tell an epic story of good trimuphing over evil, a favorite of pretty much everyone. Don't expect to fall in love with your character though because he is mute and little personality is given to him. They designers chose to keep the hero silent so that you would not feel like it was the character doing the deeds, and more YOU. But in order to keep to canon and keep the fanbase happy, they are unable to add a customizable character feature.

These are my personal views, other may feel different. Hopfelly though this gave you a better idea of whether you would enjoy the game or not than a mouth foaming fan shouting CAUSE IT'S AWESOME in your ear...which it is.

 

[x0ny]

Twilight Princess was the first Zelda I played. I think I found it kinda frustrating not knowing where to go. I haven't played it for 3 years so I can't remember my exact experience with it.

It just wasn't my kind of game. Perhaps I should get Ocarina of Time.

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED

 

[CrystalShadow]

Well, that's a tough one.

Like everyone else has already pointed out, the story is quite good (presentation anyway. It's not what you would call original), the puzzles, just the general feel of how it plays...

There's almost always impressive areas, it's fun to explore, and the bosses, while often predictable in how to deal with them are generally quite impressive.

Of course, nothing's ever perfect.

A common problem is puzzles that are endlessly frustrating because you miss one tiny and obvious thing.
(My worst was getting stuck in Ocarina of time because I didn't have the fire arrows. Ironically, it was obvious where to get them from, and when I was told how to do it I kicked myself for having forgotten about the hints that would lead to it.)

I find Zelda 1 and 2 nearly unplayable (zelda 2 in particular).

Zelda: A link to the past is one of those rare ones with no obvious flaws.

Ocarina of time: It's a classic for a reason. Even so, having revisited it a few times, the water temple never stops being annoying, and there are other moments too where you wonder what exactly they were thinking...

Majora's mask: The most unusual game in the entire series, and it's core mechanic is a lot of fun. But you can't help but feel it was rushed, and wasn't given as much polishing as Ocarina of Time was.

Wind Waker: Generally brilliant until towards the end you see blatantly obvious measures used to stall your progress and drag the game out longer. Coupled with the lack of dungeons this sets a trend for rushing production on Zelda games. (Considering Ocarina of time took 4 years, maybe not a huge surprise).
Also quite easy compared to it's predecessors.

Twilight Princess: More difficult than wind waker, but still on the easy side comparatively. This one is generally well presented and thought out initially, but again shows signs of gameplay elements whose only real function seems to be to stall for time. (hunting down light as a wolf?).
Worse, somewhere towards the 6th or 7th dungeon, everything kind of just loses it's momentum.
Up until that point, the dungeons were mostly quite clever and interesting, and suddenly the remainder looks simple and quite obvious.
Yet again something that looks like a symptom of a rush job.

Ehm. In any event, at it's best it's a well thought out blend of action and puzzles and exploration.
At it's worst it tends towards tedious, predictable dungeons and forced 'quests' that do little more than make you spend ages collecting stuff in a small area.

It's a great series, but ultimately it's greatness in many regards lies in the details, rather than the big picture.

 

[Ezahn]

P O E T R Y.

There's poetry, and tenderness, and that heroic something that you experience only as a kid, when adventuring in woods and prairies and awfully large supermarkets.

 

[Gladion]

Atmosphere, level- and gamedesign make the series.

 

[Gladion]

damn, I don't know how long it took me to get through the water temple on my first play of Zelda: OoT.

I second that, and it wasn't much easier in the Master Quest update. Though I have to admit, it probably took me just as long to go through the water temple in TP. ARGH!

 

[Woodsey]

My experiences of Zelda stop at Twilight Princess and a Gameboy Colour game from years ago that I can't remember.

Needless to say, I don't get it. Even with games I don't like, I can still see the appeal in some way for others. Zelda though...

I don't know, I think the game design is too old school for my tastes. The whole "blue key for the blue door" thing just doesn't sit well with me. Then again neither did the combat, platforming, characters or story.

Or the fucking save points, I mean what is up with those?

 

[Serenegoose]

My favourite thing about the Zelda games is the atmosphere and style. Whilst I enjoy the temples and the plot - they're not what draw me to it. Characters like Midna are a welcome bonus also - but really, just looking at some of the scenes in Twilight Princess is still incredible - and the games can't help but ooze personality. Majora's Mask is perfectly dark and surreal - Wind Waker captures that feeling of adventure, exploring the unknown, Twilight Princess feels hopeless and muted. I can't actually think of a game series that captures its own world so perfectly as Zelda. And I don't say this as a fangirl, because there's lots of things I feel that Zelda only does adequately, or less than - but I genuinely feel its world building is a thing of beauty.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

I don't know, I think the game design is too old school for my tastes. The whole "blue key for the blue door" thing just doesn't sit well with me. Then again neither did the combat, platforming, characters or story.

Or the fucking save points, I mean what is up with those?

Erm... there's no blue keys in Zelda. Just small keys for every locked door and the big key for the final door. And there's no save points. Ever since Link to the Past you can save anywhere, any time. Maybe you were thinking of a different franchise...?

OT, I find Zelda the most enjoyable for its exploration aspects and puzzle-solving. Even the most beastly boss tends to be a puzzle in disguise that requires use of your special items to beat, and none of them are useless. Any time you find a new field area, you KNOW there's tons of hidden stuff to find that will take more time than the main story- consider how only 1 out of the 6 Great Fairies in OoT is mandatory, with the rest hidden. Later games seems to be having success with upping the ante on huge battles with the vicious beast-armies of Ganondorf, painting Link as a kind of One-Elf-Army. But I hope that no matter how many games they sell, they don't lose sight of the game's exploration factor, nor its penchant for little secrets that are technically useless, but cool just to know, such as the deadly Cucco storm.

 

[Woodsey]

I don't know, I think the game design is too old school for my tastes. The whole "blue key for the blue door" thing just doesn't sit well with me. Then again neither did the combat, platforming, characters or story.

Or the fucking save points, I mean what is up with those?

Erm... there's no blue keys in Zelda. Just small keys for every locked door and the big key for the final door. And there's no save points. Ever since Link to the Past you can save anywhere, any time. Maybe you were thinking of a different franchise...?

/facepalm

I wasn't being literal, nor talking specifically of keys and doors. It's just that you need specific items before you're allowed to pass specific points, and the logic isn't always logical.

And yes, I saved in a dungeon just before the boss and when I returned to the game it set me back at the start of the dungeon again.

I know what game I'm talking about, thanks.

 

[MisterM2402]

As well as everything that has been said: the "Nostalgia Factor". I have very fond memories of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask from when I was a small kid in the N64 days. *sigh*... they just don't make them like they used to... But yeah, anyway, that's a another reason for me. But then all the good points mentioned were what made me love it in the first place and it's why I still do

I know it's been said, but MUSIC. I have a bunch of the soundtracks on my PC and they are all fantastic. Fantastic, atmospheric, fitting and well-composed, in-game and out.