What is your favorite Zelda game? (And Z:WW Details!!!)

[no.1gamer]

With news of a sequel to Zelda: Wind Waker in the works, let's take a look back at the entire Zelda series. I've left out the Gameboy Zelda games simply because this is the Gamecube forum.

My personal favorite Zelda ever is Zelda: A Link to the Past. I'll even go so far as to say Zelda: A Link to the Past is my favorite game on the Super Nintendo. I played through it twice.

In a close 2nd place is Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The new Zelda game is apparently being called:

The Legend of Zelda: Tetra's Trackers

Click Here For Details (http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-1841&)

The only info. at this time is that the game will take place in the Wind Waker world. Similar to how Majora's Mask complimented Ocarina of Time. The game will also feature the "controversial cartoon graphics" seen in Wind Waker.

Although there aren't many details yet this is "official" news from the Nintendo Website. I suspect that Nintendo will show off this game at E3 this year...

[no.1gamer]

Actually upon closer inspection Tetra's Trackers is not the "official name" of the Wind Waker sequel. That is the title for some other Nintendo expidenture. I guess we'll have to wait until E3 for more details, huh?

I think I've had too much to drink...

[Gadfly2317]

Why do we have to pick a favorite? It's like asking which is your favorite food. . . Thai, Italian or Mexican? I couldn't answer.

But I did.

I went with Ocarina, just a razor thin edge over Link to the Past.

In many ways, Link to the Past has a deeper connection for me, since I was in my video game prime at the time. And the SNES era was also the golden age of gaming. Link to the Past really took me somewhere that no other game had before.

But Ocarina, despite repeating the formula in 3-D introduced so many new things that were absolutely perfect for the game. #1, The use of music as a tool in the game, and it was implemented perfectly. It was so perfect that its attempted rip-off with the conductor thing in WW. . . that the wand seemed like the big flaw in WW. I can STILL remember all the songs, their melody's and how to play them. Saria's song! The Sun Song. Storm Song! Best Music EVER in a game. AND you didn't have to stick to the spell-songs, but you could just stop and play the Ocarina, and even use the analog stick as vibrato. . .just for a break you could stop and play ANY song you could think of, pretty much.

The number of side games and quests were enormous. There was a DEPTH to the world of Ocarina that hasn't been in any other Zelda game. And the dungeons. . .the puzzles. . . shooting ghosts in paintings, the boss battles. . .just everything. I can't say enough about what an experience Ocarina was. Finally defeating Gannon had never felt so good.

I think the new Zelda sequel will be a lot like Majora's Mask. I know a lot of people thought Majora was actually superior to Ocarina, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was too close to when I played Ocarina. But that would be the same flaw for a WW sequel. Even if it is great, if its using the same engine, there are so many new things to do in gaming that will a WW sequel have as much impact? No.

Regardless, whichever is your favorite, this is arguably the best series of games in the history of gaming (Metroid is the other one.)----(wait. . . whatta about Mario. . . .is he falling out of fashion finally?)

(One final comment on WW. .. I'm not a fanatical Mario fan, but I played through Sunshine twice, and have never completed WW (I will though, just out of stubborness). And people dissed Sunshine? I've never understood that. Sure it's similar to 64 in some ways, but so different and much better in many others.)

[no.1gamer]

Why do we have to pick a favorite? It's like asking which is your favorite food. . . Thai, Italian or Mexican? I couldn't answer.

But I did.

I went with Ocarina, just a razor thin edge over Link to the Past.

In many ways, Link to the Past has a deeper connection for me, since I was in my video game prime at the time. And the SNES era was also the golden age of gaming. Link to the Past really took me somewhere that no other game had before.

But Ocarina, despite repeating the formula in 3-D introduced so many new things that were absolutely perfect for the game. #1, The use of music as a tool in the game, and it was implemented perfectly. It was so perfect that its attempted rip-off with the conductor thing in WW. . . that the wand seemed like the big flaw in WW. I can STILL remember all the songs, their melody's and how to play them. Saria's song! The Sun Song. Storm Song! Best Music EVER in a game. AND you didn't have to stick to the spell-songs, but you could just stop and play the Ocarina, and even use the analog stick as vibrato. . .just for a break you could stop and play ANY song you could think of, pretty much.

The number of side games and quests were enormous. There was a DEPTH to the world of Ocarina that hasn't been in any other Zelda game. And the dungeons. . .the puzzles. . . shooting ghosts in paintings, the boss battles. . .just everything. I can't say enough about what an experience Ocarina was. Finally defeating Gannon had never felt so good.

I think the new Zelda sequel will be a lot like Majora's Mask. I know a lot of people thought Majora was actually superior to Ocarina, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was too close to when I played Ocarina. But that would be the same flaw for a WW sequel. Even if it is great, if its using the same engine, there are so many new things to do in gaming that will a WW sequel have as much impact? No.

Regardless, whichever is your favorite, this is arguably the best series of games in the history of gaming (Metroid is the other one.)----(wait. . . whatta about Mario. . . .is he falling out of fashion finally?)

(One final comment on WW. .. I'm not a fanatical Mario fan, but I played through Sunshine twice, and have never completed WW (I will though, just out of stubborness). And people dissed Sunshine? I've never understood that. Sure it's similar to 64 in some ways, but so different and much better in many others.)

Zelda is definitely one of the best game series out there.

I was one of the gamers who preordered OoT and received the gold cartridge. When OoT was released it pretty much blew every other game out of the water. One aspect of gameplay that Nintendo is often not credited for is the "lock on" button. You all know what I'm talking about! So many games to follow ripped off that feature, and now it almost seems to be a standard in 3D gaming. It makes 3D gaming much less complicated.

I really enjoyed the Caribbean/pirate theme of Wind Waker. I am however one of the critics of the new cartoon Zelda look though. Not that I expect Link to be a bad @$$ Master Sword wielding hero that decapitates his foes heads (like Link in Soul Caliber). But a slightly more mature Link would be favored by me. For some reason Wind Waker is still one of the best games out there though. The cell shading is really done very well whether it looks childish or not. In fact I'll place Wind Waker right behind Majora's Mask in my list.

no.1gamer's best Zelda games list:

1. Link to the Past (SNES)
2. Majora's Mask (N64)
3. Wind Waker (GCN)
4. Ocarina of Time (N64)
5. Legend of Zelda (NES)
6. Adventure of Link (NES)

I'm curious as to what Wind Waker's sequel will have in store for us...

[tekbit]

OoT is my favorite game of all time. So many groundbreaking themes occured first with this game. As Gadfly mentioned, incorporating music into the gameplay was hugely innovative, I also think that the time travel was original too. I sent hours just wondering around the huge landscapes and warping back and forth between young Link and adult Link and playing all the side quests. Ocarina of Time was definetly a turning point in gaming history. I still have fun playing it to this day.

[no.1gamer]

I sent hours just wondering around the huge landscapes and warping back and forth between young Link and adult Link and playing all the side quests.

I did the same thing with Epona! She was sweet!

But I'll have to give the edge to the The King of Red Lions talking boat. Wind Waker's virtual world is the largest I've ever seen in a video game.

Epona and Link armed with a bow and arrow

---vs---

The King of Red Lions armed with a cannon

I think the Wind Waker sequel would be sweet with the addition of a mace and battle axe! What do you guys think?

:)

[Gadfly2317]

I did the same thing with Epona! She was sweet!

But I'll have to give the edge to the The King of Red Lions talking boat. Wind Waker's virtual world is the largest I've ever seen in a video game.

Epona and Link armed with a bow and arrow

---vs---

The King of Red Lions armed with a cannon

I think the Wind Waker sequel would be sweet with the addition of a mace and battle axe! What do you guys think?

:)

Not to change the subject, but in Harvest Moon you get a horse to ride around. I guess it should be no shock I named her Epona.

On the WW sequel, I'm not concerned about the weapons, and I think they can do something with the same cel engine that is a lot darker, and land based. I loved the ocean stuff in WW, but I hope they don't do it again. I'm kind of hoping for a real shake-up in the story, a little creepier. It can be creepy and dark yet be accesible to the all-age range Nintendo targets at the same time.

[trebor]

I voted for Link to the Past. OoT is great, but I think the puzzles in LttP were trickier and the game itself was a lot longer, at least for me. Perhaps I'm too easy to please, but I have very fond memories playing that game, rocking out to Soundgarden's SuperUnknown album, and munching on Chedder Chex Mix. Mmmmmm....chex mix.

Well, anyway, WindWaker had the most gorgeous graphic style I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. If WW2 ends up having an overall darker tone, the visuals would complement it nicely. Remember how moody the black tower was in WW? With those laterns swaying to and fro? They really nailed that whole "dark and creepy" thing.

Nintendo just needs to make sure it doesn't end up being some slapdash, thrown together kind of thing.

[Gadfly2317]

I voted for Link to the Past. OoT is great, but I think the puzzles in LttP were trickier and the game itself was a lot longer, at least for me. Perhaps I'm too easy to please, but I have very fond memories playing that game, rocking out to Soundgarden's SuperUnknown album, and munching on Chedder Chex Mix. Mmmmmm....chex mix.

Well, anyway, WindWaker had the most gorgeous graphic style I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. If WW2 ends up having an overall darker tone, the visuals would complement it nicely. Remember how moody the black tower was in WW? With those laterns swaying to and fro? They really nailed that whole "dark and creepy" thing.

Nintendo just needs to make sure it doesn't end up being some slapdash, thrown together kind of thing.

It sure is a close call. I replayed Link to the Past recently on my GBA player (and it seemed as good as the SNES verison) and the game holds up over the years in a big way. It sure brought back memories and was one of the best experiences on the SNES.

I'm wondering if it just seemed[/] longer because for the time it was a long game, but in the N64/Ps1 era we got used to a lot longer games. LttP can be beaten pretty easily in just a few hours . . .OoTwas so much bigger, especially if you did [i]any of the side quests (like the masks.)

[MyDogTheProphet]

I voted for Wind Waker. Why?
Cos every other Zelda game was met with high expectations and a lot of good will.
Wind waker on the other hand was met with disdain by know-nothing a-holes for it's 'controversial' look, someting I could never understand.
How good to see when it was finally unleashed all the non-believers bowing to it's phenomenal lysergic cel-shaded beauty !
How good to all that criticism crumble beneath the unquestionably timeless & unforgettably awesome Zelda gameplay !
What vindication of Nintendo's visionary philosophy in creating videogames that chart new areas of artistry !
A game that doesn't slavishly follow the hollow trend of 'photorealism' but re-asserts the vivid dream-like quality of fantasy-themed video games the type of which the Zelda series helped popularize.
I think every Zelda game is beyond brilliant, but Wind-waker's emergent brilliance - in a period of ignorant hostility towards it - marks it as the best Zelda experience for me...
Viva Zelda!!
:D :D

[no.1gamer]

I replayed Link to the Past recently on my GBA player (and it seemed as good as the SNES verison) and the game holds up over the years in a big way. It sure brought back memories and was one of the best experiences on the SNES.

I'm glad to hear that the legacy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is standing the test of time. The entire Zelda franchise is a series of timeless classics. This is especially good news for the younger kids who never played the original game on the SNES.

Some games will remain "classics" forever, while some games are forgotten over time. If I buy a GBA any time in the near future Z:ALTTP and Metroid: Zero Mission are the 2 games I would buy first.

It kind of makes you wonder what brand new games we're playing now, will stand the test of time. I expect that Zelda: Wind Waker and Metroid Prime will still be great games in 15 years even though they'll have horrible graphics. Hopefully Nintendo will still be giving us new Zelda and Metroid games at this time of course.

[trebor]

I'm glad to hear that the legacy of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is standing the test of time. The entire Zelda franchise is a series of timeless classics. This is especially good news for the younger kids who never played the original game on the SNES.

Some games will remain "classics" forever, while some games are forgotten over time. If I buy a GBA any time in the near future Z:ALTTP and Metroid: Zero Mission are the 2 games I would buy first.

It kind of makes you wonder what brand new games we're playing now, will stand the test of time. I expect that Zelda: Wind Waker and Metroid Prime will still be great games in 15 years even though they'll have horrible graphics. Hopefully Nintendo will still be giving us new Zelda and Metroid games at this time of course.

You don't think Wind Waker's graphics will hold up in 15 years? I do. That's the beauty of it's art style, it isn't attempting to be photorealistic, which is the major downfall of this generation of games - graphics over substance.

Whereas with Wind Waker, the entire game from start to finish is a very gorgeous and stylized artistic experience.

[Fivespot]

I voted for the original NES classic, The Legend of Zelda. I was in middle school when that game was released and it was an instant favorite.

For the first time, when I turned my game off the game actually let me save my progress. Wow, how revoluntionary that was to me at the time and now all games have this functionality.

It was also my first RPG game (albeit much different than current RPG's). I enjoyed the character build up, the unique puzzles, different weapons, and magic powers. Plus the story was also solid.

And that twist at the end, time to play through the game again with everything moved around and locations switched - how cool that was at the time.

I played every sequel since except for Majora's Mask. My second favorite would be the Wind Waker Cube title. I had a lot of fun playing through that game and felt invigorated with the series. I can't wait for a sequel to WW and also hope its dark like all of you have mentioned.

A land based game (ditch the sea) would also be a nice change as I'm a little burnt on all the sailing (especially at the end of the game).

[no.1gamer]

You don't think Wind Waker's graphics will hold up in 15 years? I do. That's the beauty of it's art style, it isn't attempting to be photorealistic, which is the major downfall of this generation of games - graphics over substance.

Whereas with Wind Waker, the entire game from start to finish is a very gorgeous and stylized artistic experience.

While I completely agree with you that Wind Waker's graphics are a gorgeous and stylized artistic experience, I have one complaint.

The cell shading is done very well. But some of the objects and scenery in the game appear as "regular" 3D rendered objects. For me some of these objects (the most noticeable is the Giant tree) are so abrupt that they (only briefly) brought me outside of the cartoon Zelda universe. It's not that the graphics are bad on any 3D object, but rather they clash with the rest of the graphical world.

This is not to say that Wind Waker's graphics aren't amazing (obviously as it is my 3rd favorite in the series). It's just something I've noticed.

[no.1gamer]

Here's a link for some legit info. on the Wind Waker 2:

Zelda: Wind Waker 2 Details (http://cube.ign.com/articles/501/501735p1.html)

This article tells us next to nothing about the game. It's about the presentation "The Evolution of a Franchise" posted as "Zelda is a game that values reality over realism" by MyDogTheProphet. Basically we'll have to wait until E3 to get some details.

BTW, let's use this thread to talk about Wind Waker 2. The Silicon Knight's Zelda thread was an April Fool's hoax.

[Nissian X]

With news of a sequel to Zelda: Wind Waker in the works, let's take a look back at the entire Zelda series. I've left out the Gameboy Zelda games simply because this is the Gamecube forum.

My personal favorite Zelda ever is Zelda: A Link to the Past. I'll even go so far as to say Zelda: A Link to the Past is my favorite game on the Super Nintendo. I played through it twice.

In a close 2nd place is Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The new Zelda game is apparently being called:

The Legend of Zelda: Tetra's Trackers

Click Here For Details (http://www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-1841&)

The only info. at this time is that the game will take place in the Wind Waker world. Similar to how Majora's Mask complimented Ocarina of Time. The game will also feature the "controversial cartoon graphics" seen in Wind Waker.

Although there aren't many details yet this is "official" news from the Nintendo Website. I suspect that Nintendo will show off this game at E3 this year...
My Favorite Zelda game has to be either Ocarnia of Time or Majora's Mask.

Although I never did beat either of them I enjoyed them both. Although I Think I liked Ocarnia of Time a little more when I played it, and I'm not sure why, maybe just the state of mind I was in when I played it.

Anyway, my favorite Zelda game goes to Ocarnia Of Time.

[Brendon]

I ended up voting for the wind waker, simply because it never once made me jump back and see it as just a game, I regard the massively improved animation as part of this, and the whole world is just so consistant and well realised.

While I enjoyed OOT immensely, it does suffer often from a bad case of the bland, plus there were the fixxed perspective bits which simply jarred you straight out of any immersion you happened to be enjoying.

I reguard LTTP as the more Disney like, taking the formula they know works and expanding on the wonder and scale of it, OOT is more of a Don Bluth film, attemping to give a mature edge where one simply dosn't belong, but on the plus side driving techniques forward. The wind Waker though, is the Gibli film, the miasaki masterpeice that invites you to the wonderous places you dreamed of as a child, a lush vibrant reality and a wonderful story.

While the move to darker astetics worked for MM, I seriously doubt that it could possibly go with a sequel to Wind Waker, more likely is that Link and Tetra's crew will sail beyond the boundries and find some sort of lost continent or floating island or something else like that where the adventure will take place.

[Allisen1987]

I just was introduced to the very first Legend of Zelda when I subscribed to Nintendo Power this year because I wasn't even alive in 1986, I was born in 87! Although it's fun, I still think the best Zelda is Ocarina of time for the N64. I still play it today!

#1 Ocarina of Time
#2 Wind Waker
#3 Majoras Mask
#4 Legend of Zelda
#5 A LInk to the Past for SNES and Gameboy

You really can't go wrong with any of them!!! Toodles!

Love, Alli

[no.1gamer]

Hey guys! Rather than explain the great news in this post, I'll just provide this link:

New Zelda Gamecube Game!

The new Zelda looks bad @$$!!! It looks like we were wrong about Zelda Wind Waker 2 looking just like Wind Waker! (Ok I was wrong). :rolleyes: These screen shots look sweet!

[no.1gamer]

Here's a screenshot of the new Zelda look. I suspect this game will show us just how powerful the Gamecube hardware really is.

This is the best looking Hyrule I've seen yet!

That moon looks pretty big though. Do you think perhaps it's going to crash into hyrule......again?!?!