Zelda 35th Anniversary (General Zelda Talk)

[kamikazekeeg]

This has long been one of my favorite, overall, series since I first started gaming.  Back around 1990 as a real young kid, our family was gifted an NES in a box with Super Mario/Duck Hunt, a couple other games, and Legend of Zelda.  I loved Mario, but Zelda was my true favorite as it was so different from the other games at the time.  The whole adventure/fantasy setup, I could save my game, I could free roam and explore and find my way around, it basically cemented my love for open world gaming that I would get super into many years later with survival/crafting games, series like Fallout or Skyrim, and others.

My best memories of the original game in particular is that it's the only game that my Dad ever liked.  He played it with me, we would learn the secrets, figure out where the dungeons were, and off and on we'd played it again till I started getting into whatever the newest games were at the time.  Nearly 20 years later, my Dad is retired, we moved away from friends and family to a new state, he's not really physically able to do a lot of stuff, so he's stuck at home alot and we figured out that maybe he'd like to get back into Zelda.  On his own computer, I put on an emulator, most of the 2D Zelda games, and he went at it.  Over nearly 5 or 6 years, he played most of them, beating a number of them, even ones I don't think I did as there are some I never beat.  He even got into the 3D games as I bought him a Gamecube and a small TV to put on his desk, and he played through Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess as they were all available on the system.  One of his favorites ended up being Twilight Princess, which makes me happy as that one is also one of my favorites.  Whenever he got lost, which was often, he'd be using guides online to get through stuff which was just funny and great to me as I was doing the same for some of the Zeldas I didn't have a guide for back in the day.  I'd also do some of the harder bosses that would piss him off since he didn't have the gaming skills to get through them and he would both happy and super huffy about beating it like it was nothing lol

Sadly he had to go to the hospital right as the Switch and Breath of the Wild released, almost to the day, so he never saw the game and I would play it to keep my mind off things while he was there.
 He passed away a few weeks later, pretty soon right after I had actually beaten the main story for BOTW and it hurts he never got a chance to experience it.  Not to mention the Link's Awakening remake, the HD re-releases of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, to have a chance at Skyward Sword, a game he couldn't really play due to the wiimote, and the upcoming sequel to Breath of the Wild 2.  This is why the series means so much to me.  It has its ups and downs, it's not always perfect, but it's been there for most of my life and means a lot to me. 

Sorry if this comes off as abit oversharing, but it just kinda cements why the series means so much to me and while I hope to be still playing it when I'm in my 60's like my Dad was lol

Feel free to talk about whatever you want with Zelda.  Talk about your favorites, least favorites, funny stories, upcoming news (Whenever Nintendo decides to start sharing what they are doing beyond Skyward Sword HD), or just anything Zelda in general.

[telekill]

Sorry to hear of your dad's passing but the memories, especially of fun times like playing Zelda together, will keep him close.

As for me, the Zelda series is my favorite Nintendo franchise. I was a bit late to the game as it were. I had played a little of the NES games and the N64 games but never got into it until Gamecube. The GC was my first Nintendo system since the NES and when Wind Waker was coming out, Gamestop had a deal where if you preordered you got OoT Master Quest for Gamecube. Luckily, on the disc was both the original and Master Quest as Master Quest was overly difficult for a Zelda noob like I was at the time. I got stuck on the water temple but still liked the feel of the game.

Then I got my hands on Wind Waker. I wasn't a fan of the cartoon cell shaded graphics but the gameplay and story were solid. I ended up beating it and enjoying almost all of the game except the extended sailing portions.

Soon after I got my hands on the Collector's Disc for Gamecube that had the two NES and two N64 games on it. I expanded out to those but never beat any of them. I decided to upgrade my Gamecube with the GBA player and got Link to the Past for it. Loved that game. I even got 4 Swords and loved that... especially with the GBA capabilities.

Then Twilight Princess came out. It was the show stopper of the series for me. The graphics for the time were great. The gameplay was phenomenal. The story was great. Being able to transform from the wolf to human was fantastic. It's my favorite in the series still. I replayed my Gamecube copy last year before selling off my Wii.

Skyward Sword was the biggest disappointment in gaming aside from the Vita system for me. It ruined me on the game and on Nintendo for the rest of the Wii and the entire Wii-U generation due to forced motion controls. Due to the bad experience, even with the "regular" controls, I'm going to skip the HD remaster.

Breath of the Wild on Switch was a breath of fresh air and brought the series back to it's former glory for me. I didn't like that weapons and shields would break if they were metal. I understood the wood ones breaking and burning which made sense but massive axes didn't make any sense... especially so quickly. Still, I'm very glad that the game went back to traditional gameplay. I look forward to the sequel.

Hoping to see Twilight Princess, Wind Waker and even 4 Swords make the jump to Switch in a 35th Anniversary Gamecube collection. That would be fantastic.

[sworddude]

Hoping to see Twilight Princess, Wind Waker and even 4 Swords make the jump to Switch in a 35th Anniversary Gamecube collection. That would be fantastic.

I really doubt that's going to happen considering skyward sword HD which looks almost identical to the wii version is 60$ for a single game. just like windwaker and twilight princess where on wii u.

If such a collection where to release skyward sword HD could seem like a terrible deal.

Best case scenario The HD releases of twilight princess and windwaker are going to jump to switch as single releases at full price but i don't see a collection happening. unless the skyward sword footage of being a single release was a joke and it's just part of a collection like 3d all stars.

If where talking zelda it's a shame the switch didn't arrive sooner. imagine ocarina of time and majora's mask being on console. with n64 games they would be forced to actually give those games the remake treatment instead of just slight touch ups like what happened to all zelda hd remakes since wii u era.


since it's on an actual console and those n64 grapics would not be acceptable in the current generation on a console.

skyward swords had some plus points, one of the better stories in a zelda game arguably the best and a lively cast of characters.

[bikingjahuty]

My first Zelda was Ocarina of Time in 1998. My aunt got it for me as a birthday present and beyond knowing a little bit about the game and series because of gaming magazines I had no experience with the series. I remember Ocarina was unlike any game I'd ever played, mostly in a bad way at the time. I had no idea what I was supposed to do and remember just wandering around Kakariko Village for hours trying to figure out what to do and also where the damn sword and shield were. By the time I found these and made it to the Deku Tree I was so worn out and bored that I stopped playing. I had a friend who really. really wanted to play it so I let him borrow it. At some point during the 6-months he had my copy I became inspired to try the game again, but unfortunately we had a falling out during that time period and it's a miracle I was able to get my copy back at all lol.


But I jumped back into Ocarina of Time and for whatever reason the game just clicked the next time I played it. I got past the Deku Tree and I felt like I could play the game forever non-stop after that. It took me probably close to a year to beat it for the first time, and I remember beating it and have this immense sense of accomplishment afterwards. At the time it was the best game I'd ever played hands down, and is still a top 3 game for me over 20-years later. It's also the game I've probably replayed from start to finish the most too; I just feel motivated every 2 or 3 years to play through the whole game again and it's still just as awesome as it was the first time.


After my experience with Ocarina I played several other Zelda games including Majora's Mask, Windwaker, and Twilight Princess and while I did really like all these games they just never did it for me the same way Ocarina did. That is until 2017 when the Switch and Breath of the Wild came out and HOLY SHIT! I expected Breath of the Wild to be good, but I was literally addicted to that game for several months after it came out. I remember starting the game and wanting to do one thing or go somewhere turned into like 20 other things while doing those things, which then turned into like 50 more things lol. I just never felt board or uninterested with anything in the game ever. I actually put off beating the game long after I visited all the Divine Beasts and beat their bosses because I just didn't want it to end. After I did beat Breath of the Wild however I seriously debated not only whether I liked it more than Ocarina, but if it was now the best game I'd ever played. Yes, that includes beating Shenmue and Shenmue 2 as the best games I'd ever played. In the end I did decide I liked it a hair more than Ocarina, but the first two Shenmue games still remain my all time favorite games.


But the Zelda franchise is overall one of my favorites and there are so many Zelda games I've meant to play, but for one reason or another haven't picked up yet. No matter, I plan on playing most of the other Zelda games at some point and probably replaying all the other ones I've beat at least 2 or 3 times more in my lifetime.

[undertakerprime]

I was probably 11 or 12 when I played the original LoZ for the first time. I liked it, but I personally didn’t find it to be the be-all-end-all of games. Almost 35 years later, now I think games like LoZ and Metroid were just bigger than my mind could comprehend at the time, hence my indifference towards them.

Zelda II, naturally, was all over magazines and ads when it came out, so the hype was huge. However, I never found it that great.

Then came Link’s Awakening and Link to the Past, which are the games I had the most fun with. LttP is in my personal top ten games ever.

Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, and OOT were good. I rented Majora’s Mask but it didn’t grab me so I didn’t play it again. Wind Waker was just OK.

Here’s the weird part: I’ve tried playing through Twilight Princess twice, but both times I quit due to boredom. Not sure what it is, it’s just a chore for me.

Haven’t played any of the Zelda games since TP. I want to play Minish Cap and BotW but haven’t been able to yet.

So for me, overall it’s been a good series but not absolutely mind-blowing the way many others feel.

[kamikazekeeg]

I think I've played most Zelda games at this point, though there's a handful I haven't played yet, primarily the handheld ones.  I never played the DS ones and honestly I'd probably hate those games with the touch screen controls.  Minish Cap was another that I don't think I played and I don't think I played Four Sword Adventures on the Gamecube.

Something I'd actually love to see is for Nintendo to do a regular compilation that is basically just all the pixel art games in one set, so Zelda, Zelda 2, A Link to the Past (Maybe the Advance version with some of the extras?), Link's Awakening DX, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Minish Cap, and Four Swords all in a nice set.

[pzeke]

I think I've played most Zelda games at this point, though there's a handful I haven't played yet, primarily the handheld ones.  I never played the DS ones and honestly I'd probably hate those games with the touch screen controls.  [...]

There are hacks that allow you to play them, as well as StarFox Command with the D-Pad.

[turf]

I played Zelda II before I ever played the original. To this day I still have more fun with The Adventure of Link than I do the original LoZ. I get the hype and love for the first game, I just don’t have it.

Now, there’s several other games in the series that tickle my jimmies.
Link to the Past is one of the finest games ever made. It’s perpetually in my top 10.
I really want to play Ocarina of Time again. It’s been a minute, but I loved it last time I played it.
A Link Between Worlds was an instant classic in my eyes. More that I loved from LttP, but new and just different enough.

On the flip side of that,
Spirit Tracks is not just a bad Zelda game, it’s a bad game; period.
 Majorca’s Mask can also suck it. I don’t think it’s a fun game.  A lot of folks love it, but they are wrong.

[kamikazekeeg]

I played Zelda II before I ever played the original. To this day I still have more fun with The Adventure of Link than I do the original LoZ. I get the hype and love for the first game, I just don’t have it.

Now, there’s several other games in the series that tickle my jimmies.
Link to the Past is one of the finest games ever made. It’s perpetually in my top 10.
I really want to play Ocarina of Time again. It’s been a minute, but I loved it last time I played it.
A Link Between Worlds was an instant classic in my eyes. More that I loved from LttP, but new and just different enough.

On the flip side of that,
Spirit Tracks is not just a bad Zelda game, it’s a bad game; period.
 Majorca’s Mask can also suck it. I don’t think it’s a fun game.  A lot of folks love it, but they are wrong.

Majora's Mask is only not on the bottom of my 3D Zelda list because Skyward Sword has some poor ideas and terrible motion controls, and Wind Waker's overworld is so ridiculously boring and I'm not a huge fan of the Toon Link art style, but there's a huge power gap between basically my top 3 with Ocarina, BOTW, and Twilight Princess, and my bottom 3.  I hate that time mechanic so much, which is unfortunate, because the game does have some good stuff in it and the dark tone is cool.

Also to say you like Zelda 2 more than Zelda 1, is blasphemous, please exist this thread and think about what you've done, and only after you've written a three page apology letter, will you be let back in to participate...lol That's great that you like it, I want to like it, I just have never been able to.  I hate the stubby little stab that Link does and I hate the constant random enemy overworld stuff, along with the dungeon designs, and bosses...Which is such a shame as I like the idea of a 2D Side Scrolling Action Adventure Zelda game with RPG elements, but it just didn't work at all here and it's annoying that the only time Zelda has done this style of gameplay, it was either Zelda 2 or the first two CD-I games lol

[turf]

I played Zelda II before I ever played the original. To this day I still have more fun with The Adventure of Link than I do the original LoZ. I get the hype and love for the first game, I just don’t have it.

Now, there’s several other games in the series that tickle my jimmies.
Link to the Past is one of the finest games ever made. It’s perpetually in my top 10.
I really want to play Ocarina of Time again. It’s been a minute, but I loved it last time I played it.
A Link Between Worlds was an instant classic in my eyes. More that I loved from LttP, but new and just different enough.

On the flip side of that,
Spirit Tracks is not just a bad Zelda game, it’s a bad game; period.
 Majorca’s Mask can also suck it. I don’t think it’s a fun game.  A lot of folks love it, but they are wrong.

Majora's Mask is only not on the bottom of my 3D Zelda list because Skyward Sword has some poor ideas and terrible motion controls, and Wind Waker's overworld is so ridiculously boring and I'm not a huge fan of the Toon Link art style, but there's a huge power gap between basically my top 3 with Ocarina, BOTW, and Twilight Princess, and my bottom 3.  I hate that time mechanic so much, which is unfortunate, because the game does have some good stuff in it and the dark tone is cool.

Also to say you like Zelda 2 more than Zelda 1, is blasphemous, please exist this thread and think about what you've done, and only after you've written a three page apology letter, will you be let back in to participate...lol That's great that you like it, I want to like it, I just have never been able to.  I hate the stubby little stab that Link does and I hate the constant random enemy overworld stuff, along with the dungeon designs, and bosses...Which is such a shame as I like the idea of a 2D Side Scrolling Action Adventure Zelda game with RPG elements, but it just didn't work at all here and it's annoying that the only time Zelda has done this style of gameplay, it was either Zelda 2 or the first two CD-I games lol

I’m calling it: The New Adventure of Link 3D  35th Anniversary style!

[kamikazekeeg]

I’m calling it: The New Adventure of Link 3D  35th Anniversary style!

I'm hoping you are right, because I would legit love a brand new take on that game with way better gameplay, better overworld, and just a more fun and better designed game.  As long as it's not done in like that Link's Awakening remake art style, I'll probably be happy with it.

[burningdoom]

I love the 2D Zeldas. Link to the Past being the best, and Link Between Worlds right behind it. I also loved Minish Cap on GBA and the original on NES. Link's Awakening is also good, though a little odd. The 2 Oracle games are good, but hard. I struggled through those more than other 2D entries.

Unlike most, I also really liked Zelda II: Link's Adventure. Love the mixture of exploration and action. Though I will admit the final run to the last palace and the last palace is just short of torture. So hard.

Not a big fan of the 3D entries, though. Can't get into them the same, and believe me I've tried since I love the 2D entries.

My one exception being Breath of the Wild. Loved the open-world feel of it. People knock it by calling it Nintendo Skyrim. That's not a knock, IMO. That's a great description and exactly why I love it so much.

Big fan of the lore, too. I own the cartoon series, the Valiant Comics, the Link to the Past trade paperback, and the Encyclopedia.

And that music.

Nintendo knocked it out of the park with this series.

[Cartagia]

I'm hoping for one or two Zelda all-stars compilations.  Maybe a 2D one and 3D one?  Or handheld and 3D?  Since all the classic games are on the online services.

[oldgamerz]

The "original "Legend Of Zelda" and

"Zelda 2 The Adventure Of Link" are both included on the NES Mini/Classic and

"The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past" is included on the SNES mini/classic console

The games are ok, I like the early open world feel of the games, the exploring and story is good, I've so far never completed any Zelda game in my life. I've played a little of each (early) console game including Ocrena Of Time on the Nintendo 64. I like the series but am always distracted by other games in my collection.