The Legend of Zelda Thread

[deanb]

Speedrun in 26 minutes lets you also fight Ganon as a kid.
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/crazy-ocarina-of-time-warp-glitch/

(I assume this will mean stuff to you guys)

[TheFlyingGerbil]

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Don't know if you've all already seen this but it is pretty good.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCVkceDbkgw

[TheFlyingGerbil]

 

The one that surprises me most is 827 different enemies, since I thought it was mostly the same each time with a few new ones thrown in and also that oracle of seasons/ages sold better than Links Awakening. I always sort of think of them as the forgotten Zeldas, whereas a lot of people have Links Awakening near the top of their favourites list. I'm actually quite surprised it's lower than phantom hourglass too I thought that everyone who owned a gameboy and liked zelda owned Link's Awakening.

[madbassman39]

Alright Zelda fans, I've got a mission for you all.

 

I've never truly played a Legend of Zelda game. I had seasons as a kid on my GBC but I didn't really play it all that much. I'm very interested in the classic story of the series, even though I know nothing about it. 

 

I have no Nintendo Systems aside from a working Gameboy Advanced. I am not above using an emulator. What LoZ game should I start with?

[FMW]

You should start with Minish Cap.  That's my go-to answer for this question regardless of hardware.  Luckily, it also happens to be a Game Boy Advance game.

 

Here's the deal:  Minish Cap is the best rendition of the Zelda formula.  Other games try weird things sometimes.  Sailing in one of them, turning into a wolf in another, playing a Zelda game on a 1 hour time limit in another... these experimental games can be totally excellent, but they aren't where you start.  You should start with the most polished, modern example of the design that defines this franchise.  That's the Minish Cap.

 

I honestly believe the only problem of any note with The Minish Cap is that it doesn't mix things up a ton for the Zelda enthusiast... but for someone like you without any background it's just going to be 12 hours of amazing.  Pure, concentrated amazing.

 

I actually wrote a giant column about why Minish Cap is the best Zelda game in May.  If you want I can paste that in here.  But I'm going to assume you have better things to do with your time than read all that inside baseball Zelda talk, this is the short and dirty version:  Minish Cap.  You need it.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Honestly most people I know started on Zelda with Ocarina of Time. If you want to get an emulator of that, go for it.

[CorgiShinobi]

Ocarina of Time is my all time favorite, but if you only have a Gameboy Advance, you could get the "A Link to the Past/Four Swords" game for cheap on eBay.

 

At this point, the 3DS is turning into a good Zelda device. This summer we'll be getting the Oracle games, but you still have the other games that were released on the Virtual Console, including the Four Swords version of A Link to the Past. If you ever wanted Ocarina of Time, the 3DS remake is just as good. There is still talk of a possible Majora's Mask remake too.

 

Heck, if you're lucky, maybe you could find a used Ambassador 3DS that has access to Minish Cap.

[TheMightyEthan]

I'd also recommend Ocarina of Time, because like WaS said that's where most people I know got their start with Zelda.

[TCP]

OoT is my favourite game of all time.. but I don't know how well it's aged.. if you've never played it before it might not be that great. I'd say Twilight Princess. It's basically OoT with updated graphics and slightly more modern gameplay. Avoid the Wii version though.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Well he just said he only owns a GBA nintendo device, and an emulator for a Wii game might be pushing it in terms of how well it can run and how comfortable it is. Even a gamecube title might be too much. Anything pre-64 Zelda and and handheld wise would be your best bet, though the DS zeldas require the touchpad a lot so it'd be a pain to play anywhere BUT the DS. I mean if you can get the gamecube ones all to you.

[TheMightyEthan]

I actually played the Wii version of TP again last year (in preparation for SS), and I decided I liked it better than the GC version.  The sword swinging isn't quite as good due to the waggle, but the aiming of ranged weapons is so much better that it more than makes up for it.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

I'm going to echo FMW here. He makes a good point with Minish Cap. While I don't think it was the best Zelda game, it's probably the best to start with if you're looking for something modern. If not, I'd suggest A Link to the Past.

[TCP]

A Link to the Past 2! For the first time since Super Mario 3D Land there's a promising looking 3DS game.

Though I don't know how I feel about turning into a painting. Why can't they release a straight up Zelda game with no dumb gimmicks?

[Waldorf and Statler]

I'm sorry for the first time since SM3D Land? There have been plenty of fantastic games on the 3DS. I mean if you don't like them that's fine but that statement implies nothing good has come out when plenty have.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

the new Zelda looks ace doesn't it? - kind of surprised you can barely see his face even when he is walking toward the camera, other than that the art style looked really nice.

 

I can't remember if they said it was a download or retail only title though?

 

also, there;s no such thing as a zelda game without a gimmick. That's basically the formula for the series - the basic game is always the same and a new gimmick on to to differentiate them.

Edited April 17, 2013 by TheFlyingGerbil

[FMW]

This gimmick looks better than some.  The best Zelda gimmicks are the ones that integrate into the dungeon crawling and exploration.  Flying a bird around in Skyward Sword wasn't that great because it was this different thing you did in the designated flying zone.  Turning into a wolf wasn't cool for the majority of Twilight Princess because they didn't start making up puzzles that required going back and forth until the very end of the game.  For the most part, it was just this separate thing bolted on.  You had a Zelda game and occasionally you had to stop to play a wolf level.

 

But shrinking down to tiny in Minish Cap WAS cool, because the shrinking was intrinsically part of the entire game.  Same for the terrain changes in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.  Just from the trailer, Link turning into a cave painting is more the good kind of gimmick that's part of the Zelda experience than it is the bad kind of gimmick that gets built onto the exterior of the Zelda experience.  I don't foresee separate cave painting levels.

 

What's MORE exciting is that this is a top down Zelda (good), played with buttons (good), and uses an art style that is neither Wind Waker nor Twilight Princess.  It's past time we moved beyond that dichotomy.

[TCP]

I'm sorry for the first time since SM3D Land? There have been plenty of fantastic games on the 3DS. I mean if you don't like them that's fine but that statement implies nothing good has come out when plenty have.

I don't want to start an argument but what? A strategy RPG game? No thanks. New Super Mario Bros was nice, but not as a well designed as the Wii U version. Mario Kart 7 was great, but that was release around the same time as SM3DL. Theatrhythmn was sort of fun for a few minutes, but is probably more at home on the iPad.

Compare that to Vita, which seems like every month is getting great games, this month Guacamelee! alone is better than any 3DS game I've played, and we have Soul Sacrifice coming out at the end of the month. 

Even today, the most exciting news besides ALTTP2 was rerelease of old GBC and SNES games. 

 

 

 

Anyways, I'm looking forward to a traditional, handheld, top down, Zelda without stylus controls, with a traditional overworld structor. No more trains or boats, yay! 

Frosty could be right, maybe I'm just burnt out on boats/trains/wolves/giant birds, which weren't integrated well into the game (except for WW boat). I remain optimistic! 

Edited April 17, 2013 by The Cowboy Poet

[Waldorf and Statler]

Yeah I guess we do have very different taste in handheld games. And yeah I don't plan on starting this argument again. Needless to say the 3DS is getting the spotlight on everything over the Vita.

[TCP]

Maybe this morning. But I think people who own the Vita, are pretty happy with their purchases. I have both handhelds systems, grew up on Nintendo, was even happy with my Wii and DS, but Vita is obliterating Nintendo in my books these days. :-\ I don't know where this myth that the 3DS has games (?!?) and the Vita doesn't came from. 

 

Anyways, didn't Nintendo say there was going to be a 3D trailer on the 3DS? Has that been posted yet? 

[Waldorf and Statler]

Probably won't be for a while, I'd give it a day. I'd like to see how Yoshi's Island 3D looks.

 

And personal feelings aside the rumors is all based on customer experiences and what has been observed. You see the Vita as having many games because you enjoy said games coming out for it. A lot of folks who own the Vita didn't see it that way. My friends are basically Sony fanboys and hadn't touched their Vita until I bought P4G and borrowed it, played it and returned it to them. Consensus is it doesn't get nearly as many quality worth-to-play titles because the internet loves the 3DS and it has sold better. Plus Nintendo first-party-titles tend to be universally loved and Nintendo is going absolute bonkers releasing games for it. That's because Nintendo is focused on the 3DS vs the Wii U, unlike Sony who is focused on the PS3 and upcoming PS4 vs the Vita. We can argue all you want over personal taste but general consensus stem from statistics for the most part.

[Strangelove]

3DS got all the high profile sequels. Thats the main reason. The 3DS has a new Mario(2 actually), Mario Kart, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and now a new Zelda. People love lists and Nintendo gave them a huge list to be proud about.

 

Sadly, most if not all the 3DS games were mediocre or beaten by better games on other consoles(Mario Kart 7 < Sonic Transformed, NEW SMB2 < Guacamelee, FF Theatrwhatever < Lumines, fuck KH.) For my money, SM3DL is STILL the only original great game on the 3DS. I would have added RE Revelations, but now that its ported, I cant.

 

Compare that to a new Uncharted, Resistance and Wipeout? Its no competition. The Vita's best games are new downloadable IPs(Dokuro, Mutant Blobs, Sound Shapes) or really fantastic console ports(P4G, Oddworld, UMvC3).

 

Im not saying one approach is better than the other, but I know where my preferences lie.

[NeoStarr]

A Link to the Past was my childhood. Guess I'll pick up a 3DS.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Wasn't the new Uncharted shit? That's what I've heard everybody if not most say. And besides that one those last three you mentioned are all 'sequels' in the same sense those for the 3DS are sequels and chances are at least 2/3 of them will have a main console version being better. And ports over new content? Like I said I've already been fucked by a console/hardware where the best games were the downloadable 'arcade' titles. I'm done with that sort of hardware.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Waldorf And Statler