Topic: Best Zelda Games (Excludes the CdI games those weren't made by nintendo)

[shelverton.]

I'm surprised too that Ocarina isn't getting more love, though I didn't care for it that much. I actually felt Twilght Princess was Ocarina done right, but that's just me...

Phantom Hourglass is one aggravating game too. It OOZES with quality but the Temple of the Ocean King just pissed me off. I had so much fun with the rest of the game, but everytime I had to go back into that temple I had to force myself to continue playing. It was soooo tedious and the absolute opposite of fun. Nintendo should probaly have made it optional, or at least put it at the very end of the game so you can through the entire thing at once, like a more normal (albeit massive) dungeon. Preferably without the time restriction too, but that might be a bit too much to ask for...

[Bloodreign]

I'm more of a Zelda II and original Zelda kinda guy, but also like A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, but since I only had one choice I went with Zelda II.

[shelverton.]

In Reply To #17

An acquired taste, indeed. Zelda II is definitely a love it or hate it kind of game. Which makes it interesting. I'd love to see a remake one day. The original was waaay too frustrating for me, but I can definitely see why people love it.

[The Last Belmont]

I'm more of a Zelda II and original Zelda kinda guy, but also like A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, but since I only had one choice I went with Zelda II.

Zelda 2 is a great game and one I gladly payed 50 dollars for to get a gold cart. I think zelda  2 is actually a better game than the first one. The music is better I love the plot it was so innovative and creative for the time and the dungeon bosses were badass and weren't ever recycled like some of them in the first. It was also the first zelda game to allow you to change the actual environment to continue on with the hammer. Zelda one had burning trees and blowing up rocks but this was just to get bonus items/money. All the dungeons could be accessed from the get go minus 4 which you needed the raft for.  Don't get me wrong I love the first game to death but I think Zelda 2 is just a better game and more fun. And once you figure out where the game likes to hide red potions most of the dungeons become extremely less difficult. (minus the boss) I think the reason this game gets so much flak is that it is a tough game and people don't want to take the time to get good and just bitch. It isn't a cheap game which I could completely understand bitching about but just a tough game that takes alot of thinking and strategy.  The only part of the game that ever gets cheap is the last dungeon but only the dungeon itself is cheap and you respawn right there when you game over.

[A n t r a x x]

Yes A Link to the Past is still amazing and still should be remembered as one of the reasons the 16-bit golden era existed. And if I could pick both I would.

But Twilight Princess (GCN version) just brought Zelda home. Never before had so much emotion and mature story telling been presented in our beloved adventure series; with such polished production values and scope.

What's more? Every single dungeon played different from the last or next. Not only was there always a new item, but a whole new way to think in each dungeon. True some of the items are sparsely used, but they make their mark in their respective levels well.

While the overworld just fell short of the overall action and detail of ALttP, I never felt like I was having so much of an adventure until TP, because of the freedom and sheer size of the game. Every corner of Hyrule now sported a different culture of architecture, art and creatures. For once, Hyrule actually felt like a country. And due to the variety of enemies, locales and dungeons, it doesn't really ever get boring to do things in its world.

The fight system is the absolute best I've ever seen in a Zelda, pushing even past Ocarina's. Not only do I feel like I'm kicking ass because I earned it, but I can make it look that much cooler by swinging the camera around while doing so. Creating dramatic angles WHILE dodging and slashing? I don't know how Nintendo managed it, but I'm thankful for it.

Finally the soundtrack is full of emotive ques and instruments, although I still find Wind Waker to have the better overall score. And again I'll just say, I don't know how much better we can all expect Zelda to look from here. Aside of some blurry ground textures, the use of depth-of-field and lighting really brings Link and his world to life like never before.

It did have some pacing problems at first, forcing you into the wolf form, but so did AlttP. Again I wish I could pick both, but TP juuust edges out over Alttp due to its scope.

[The Last Belmont]

Yes A Link to the Past is still amazing and still should be remembered as one of the reasons the 16-bit golden era existed. And if I could pick both I would.

But Twilight Princess (GCN version) just brought Zelda home. Never before had so much emotion and mature story telling been presented in our beloved adventure series; with such polished production values and scope.

What's more? Every single dungeon played different from the last or next. Not only was there always a new item, but a whole new way to think in each dungeon. True some of the items are sparsely used, but they make their mark in their respective levels well.

Yes TP was a fantastic game. I love the sacred area dungeon where you get to actually go back in time. That felt so grand and epic the first time I got there, just like ALTTP.  I'd even go so far as to say that area+dungeon is my personal favorite out of any zelda game. When I first got there I actually thought it was the final area.

[JR]

I think Twilight Princess recently dethroned Ocarina as my favorite Zelda game.

[silvermoonlight]

I've got to vote Oracle of Ages on this one. Both of the oracle games are so underrated... I started re-playing Ages these past couple weeks. I forgot how much I loved it!

[The Last Belmont]

I've got to vote Oracle of Ages on this one. Both of the oracle games are so underrated... I started re-playing Ages these past couple weeks. I forgot how much I loved it!

Yeah the oracle games are great fun, fighting ganon at the end was cool.

[Rugal]

Majora's Mask hands down. People complained about the in-game 3 day time limit, but it really was innovative for the game's time. A lot of the NPCs had their own schedules they followed. The Anju and Kaefi side quest was brilliant!

I think Majora's Mask is also the only Zelda game that lets you go back and fight all the bosses again (Not to mention that one cave near Ikana Canyon that lets you fight all the mini-bosses too).

And who can forget that freaky moon? Sometimes I would just screw around for three in-game days and watch the moon crush and kill everyone. In my opinion, Majora's Mask feels like the most polished Zelda game. There is an extreme amount of detail in everything.

[SHOK]

Majora's mask was soooooooooooooo hard, but IMO the best game

[Aridale]

finally! Some ppl that agree about MM =D

[RichterB]

This is a hard, but fun question...

Overall, it's a tight battle between Zelda II and Zelda III as far as I'm concerned...

Since Zelda II doesn't get a lot of love, and because it introduced a lot of things like the magic system and combat techniques, I'm tempted to give it my vote. Also, the amount of towns w/ two large islands gave it a sense of immersion that's hard to match. The soundtrack is highly under-rated, as well. Finally, I like how the game doesn't baby you, and you have to find a lot of stuff by just exploring or inquiring in villages. It really is an amazing Zelda game, and probably my personal favorite. Despite the graphical limitations of the time, it has a more mature atmosphere to it than any other Zelda, I think.

However...Zelda III was perhaps the most complete package, as it blended the best elements of 1 and 2 and put on even more layers. None of the games since have been so well designed for so long a quest (the map space was used very efficiently and creatively). As one prime example: VERY few Zelda games will you run across such useful, optional items as the Magic Cape, Magic Boomerang, and Staff of Byrna in such obscure locations/ways. The Ice Rod almost fits in that category, too, but you actually need it in the Dark World much later on. Anyway, Zelda III really rewards you for exploring, unlike later OOT and TP entries that have big field spaces, but nothing but rupees or minor sub-quests to achieve in them.

Link's Awakening is a strong third place winner for me. Fun, mysterious, and epic, it really made a cohesive island quest come to life. Who doesn't love the side quest where you lead the ghost around to bring it peace! Brilliant.

I'll also show some love for Majora's Mask, too. I enjoyed it when it came out, but it's only after playing the later main entries since that I've grown to realize how strong a game it was/is. The interaction with the town and how it changes is amazing. The darker, weirder feel was nice, too. By far the best soundtrack of the 3D Zeldas.

Wind Waker didn't do much for me. Too much sailing, too short a quest, not enough new and exciting things in that time to make it all hang together.

Now, I've got to just come out and say that Capcom's tenure with Zelda was essentially better than anything Nintendo's done with the series in the last 8 years. The Oracle games came out of nowhere and were able to more or less match the magic of Link's Awakening. Then, Minish Cap was so unique and immersive. It may have been on the short side, but it made EVERY MINUTE of it fun and engaging. You really got into the world as you explored it from two very different angles. The idea of it almost seemed beyond GBA power, but the game design and art direction made it work in a big way! Its soundtrack was incredible; so many cool new tunes. I came in skeptical of MC, but it really blew the pants off Wind Waker and gave me hope for Zelda again.

I'm sad to see Capcom go. And it shows, with Phantom Hourglass. Now, Phantom is not a bad game...in many ways it's better than its prequel, Wind Waker; but it doesn't have a sense of fantasy and magic to it. It feels too sterile more often than not, relying on its DS functionality to carry the experience.

OOT was a great game. The only thing I'll say, was that it may have stayed too much in the vein of AlttP in spots. It still managed to make itself its own game, though, and was a blast. Probably has some of the most memorable boss battles. It was missing some of the MM interactive depth, though. I've contended that a successful blend of OOT and MM could result in the best Zelda...

Now, Twilight Princess tried TOO HARD to be the mother of all Zeldas. It took something from every Zelda game and tried to tie it together with what I felt was a disjointed/half-hearted story where Link was basically second fiddle to Midna. TP had good production values, and moments of inventiveness, but if OOT was inspired by AlttP, TP was trying to be OOT 2.0. It had its fun, but it failed to evoke a cohesive Zelda-like spirit. It felt [unintentionally] hodgepodge in design. The Wolf idea was fairly disastrous as far as I'm concerned. It was too distracting, cutting up the quest...at times doing so in a Metroid Fusion sort of way. And, as said earlier, the world was made bigger, but there wasn't an equivalent increase of things to do in it, really. Most times all you could find were rupee prizes that you couldn't even carry because your wallet was maxed out.

(Since combat was brought up, I'd like to relate my thoughts on it: It was great to see Zelda II combat staples return in 3D, but the combat still didn't feel as free form or exciting as Zelda II, which has the best fights in the series IMO). The two-world system, as is, has got to go. It's old hat. At least three other Zeldas have done it, and done it better. (Even Metroid Prime 2 did it--against its own well-being I might add). Let's see a large Zelda world packed with things to do, rather than re-purposed/re-colored alternate universe areas. In the end, it was sad to see this largely uninspired entry, when Shadow of the Colossus was its contemporary.

For my money, Nintendo's last three major entries: Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass have been very average entries as far as the larger pantheon of Zelda goes. I'm happy to hear that Miyamoto has admitted in a recent interview that even he felt Twilight Princess was lacking in the end, and he hopes this can be corrected in the next entry, which is allegedly a long way off. This next time, I hope it doesn't get over-hyped, and really is an epic Zelda adventure that builds on what has worked before in more significant ways.

[A n t r a x x]

I agree: Majora's Mask was (and still is) one of the most innovative games ever made, let alone for a Zelda. And that's mostly Aounuma-san, there, not Miyamoto-san. I'd love to see a proper sequel.

It's also one of the darker Zeldas out there. But TP is just more complete, IMO. MM had 4 dungeons, so for those who don't care so much about heart containers, the side quests prolly didn't look like much... even if they ARE the reason to play the game.

Also, I absolutely adored Ages, but due to the limits of the system, it did sometimes feel repetitive.  It's also a little too silly at times. Those oracle games were great though.

[The Last Belmont]

Majora's mask was soooooooooooooo hard, but IMO the best game

I just found majora's mask boring. too many heart containers to collect. I"m more oldschool when it comes to zelda. I like playing throught the dungeons. Too many sidequests bore the hell outta me after awhile.

Link's Awakening is a strong third place winner for me. Fun, mysterious, and epic, it really made a cohesive island quest come to life. Who doesn't love the side quest where you lead the ghost around to bring it peace! Brilliant.

I agree LA is a fantastic game and stands up to in every way the greatness of all the zelda games before it. It was one of the few original GB games that actually felt like you were playing a console title.

Wind Waker didn't do much for me. Too much sailing, too short a quest, not enough new and exciting things in that time to make it all hang together.

I agree and ganondorf was a joke, only 1 form and he's crazy easy.

Then, Minish Cap was so unique and immersive. It may have been on the short side, but it made EVERY MINUTE of it fun and engaging. You really got into the world as you explored it from two very different angles. The idea of it almost seemed beyond GBA power, but the game design and art direction made it work in a big way! Its soundtrack was incredible; so many cool new tunes. I came in skeptical of MC, but it really blew the pants off Wind Waker and gave me hope for Zelda again.

Yeah MC is the best zelda game we've had in a long time. It was the first one since the oracle games in the mid 90's to really challenge me.