The Legend of Zelda Thread

[CorgiShinobi]

No, the DX dungeon is in the graveyard. As I remember it, you push one of the gravestones to find the entrance.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

that's weird I can't remember it at all - I recognise pretty much every other square of the map.

[TCP]

That's a dungeon.. level 7 or 8 I recall.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

So did anyone buy this today? What are your first impressions

 

Also I think I found the ugliest/most dated looking GIF on the internet.

[Mal]

I was think about it but I decided against it. I want to play some older games and wait for them to go on sale.

[CorgiShinobi]

I got the 3DS XL bundle, but technically I'm going to wait until I get Pokemon Y finished. I've been procrastinating on finishing it, not to mention work takes a lot out of me and I tend to only browse now (and watch a few YouTube videos).

[Waldorf and Statler]

I literally JUST bought a ps4, and still have a PC game I've yet to finish. Too much of a backlog so I can afford to wait on this until it goes down in price a bit. But knowing nintendo it never will.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Yeah, no point waiting for nintendo prices to drop but also no point buying a game you can't play yet.

 

This is all a shame though because most of the reviews I've seen are saying it is one of the best Zeldas ever with a near perfect mix of traditional elements and new ideas

[TheMightyEthan]

and still have a PC game I've yet to finish.

You have a 1 game backlog? How in God's name is that too much?  

[CorgiShinobi]

It does seem great, and I do love Zelda, but I also never get overly excited for the handheld games of the series. Not like I don't want to play it, but I still haven't gotten to the Elite Four yet in Pokemon Y.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Atomsk88

[Saturnine Tenshi]

LINK STILL LOOKS AWFUL!

[FMW]

And it's still a good game.  I'm liking it.  It has been previously established that Nintendo can still make fantastic Zelda games even when the aesthetic direction runs contrary to the desires of the internet.

 

It's kinda weird how every review is from the perspective of someone who's played LttP though.  I haven't.

[Waldorf and Statler]

I played it as a very young kid, never bothered playing it much again besides maybe the first temple or two. This was back in the days when the sense of direction of where to go next was very small.

 

 

Also I take back what I previously said about not getting it lol. Gamefly sent it to me. I'll probably play it this winter vacation.

[Strangelove]

Can anyone explain what's the difference between Zelda and Assassin's Creed? Each new title of both series adds a new gimmick to freshen up the same old formula, so why does AC get shit thrown at it, but Zelda gets praise? It makes no sense.

 

Even when Zelda transitioned to 3D and people were cumming their pants, the formula was still the same. It's changed very little. Mario has changed so much more than Zelda has. So has Metroid.

Im so tired of Zelda getting free passes.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Strangelove

[Saturnine Tenshi]

I've never really read that wrt AC. I have read it wrt Zelda.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Zelda games are all good in their own right, it's only if you look at the series as a whole that you see the need for change to freshen things up. This issue has been brought up in every review of a zelda game I've ever read so I don't know how you think it keeps getting free passes? The good scores are still justified.

 

You could argue that with only one Zelda coming out per generation they are each aimed at a new set of gamers so the need to innovate is less, and they are bringing a unique experience to each console. There's been nearly as many AC games in one generation as we've had Zelda games in over 25 years. With them coming out every year, if it's not bringing something new to the table it is harder to justify it's existence and also to shake the feeling they're just milking a popular franchise.

[Waldorf and Statler]

Can anyone explain what's the difference between Zelda and Assassin's Creed? Each new title of both series adds a new gimmick to freshen up the same old formula, so why does AC get shit thrown at it, but Zelda gets praise? It makes no sense.

 

Even when Zelda transitioned to 3D and people were cumming their pants, the formula was still the same. It's changed very little. Mario has changed so much more than Zelda has. So has Metroid.

Im so tired of Zelda getting free passes.

 

Probably has to do with Zelda over-all not having many issues, either technically or gameplay wise, unlike Assassins Creed which usually comes with a huge list of issues of what could be fixed or how much it freezes crashes. More importantly These come out like every 3-4 years if I had to take a guess. If you only own one Nintendo device, probably a longer waiting time.

[Pojodin]

I just finished doing everything in a Link Between Worlds the other night and I didn't think it was too bad. I think it stayed far too true to what A Link to the Past was, and I felt the game was far too easy (both in combat mechanics and puzzles), but it stuck to its guns as a 2D Zelda and didn't really do anything wrong. The dungeons, while short, felt too streamlined due to a lack of puzzle complexity. I think the shorter dungeons weren't bad, but could have been better had they mixed it up a bit to require more than just a single primary tool per dungeon. The minigames were pretty standard fare for the series. I think the game could have benefited from a bit more optional content that was more complex/challenging/thought-provoking. The music was fine. I wasn't a big fan of the graphical style of the game, but that's more of a preference gripe than an issue with the game. The story was a few plot devices away from being a Link to the Past, but that's what it was advertised/purported to be so I can't really hold that against it. All-in-all, it felt like a condensed version of ALTTP.

Edited December 1, 2013 by Pojodin

[TheMightyEthan]

I didn't think it was too bad.

A ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Shame it's missing on the extra content. Zelda games seem to have moved towards minigames and away from sidequests (e.g. the item trading sequence in Link's Awakening). I was hoping since this was harking to the past it would have more of the sidequests I prefer. Never mind.

 

 

 

"could have been better had they mixed it up a bit to require more than just a single primary tool per dungeon"

 

Could that be a limitation due to the fact that you're renting the items so you'll only have one at a time? Would it be too expensive to rent two so people who keep dying wouldn't be able to afford it? Can you actually rent two at a time?

[FMW]

Really?  Too easy?  I've been having dying problems and am NOT happy about them.  I just got into Lorule and everything takes a ton of hits and the boss of the first dungeon I found wiped me out easy.  I started with Zelda after Link to the Past so I have no fondness for this old school design.  This is definitely harder than any Zelda released in the last 15 years:  just how hard do you want this franchise to get?

[TheMightyEthan]

One person's "challenging" is another's "punishing".

[Pojodin]

@TheFlyingGerbil: Well, this might get a bit spoilery, but there are plenty of side quests. It's just that it's mostly the usual suspects.

1. There is the

find the 100 Maiamai quest. Every 10 Maiamais you find and return to their mother earns you an upgrade to any equipment you purchased. I believe turning in 10 triggers the event that allows you to buy the equipment you rented for a sizeable price (rental cost is 80 rupees for each item except the Fire and Ice Rod which are 100. Purchase is 800 per item except for the Rods which are 1,200.) Turning in all 100 Maiamais nets you a ridiculous super spin attack that just obliterates everything.

 

2. There is the

Treacherous Tower, a multiple floor dungeon that pits you against waves of enemies. The advanced difficulty has 50 floors and nets (pun intended) you 4000ish rupees every time you complete it, as well as an upgraded lamp for completing it once, and upgraded net for beating it twice. You can get additional rupees for beating your previous best time. The upgraded lamp and net supposedly do 8x their normal damage, but they make for rather pitiful weapons due to their lack of range and attack speed. The upgrade seems more for visual flair in your inventory than practical usage.

 

3. There are a few brief events/quests for getting equipment like the pegasus boots, bug net, etc. But they are very quick events that end quickly.

4. There is the usual seeking out heart pieces.

5. The rest are pretty much minigames.

There's a baseball one, a rupee rush in both worlds, a cucco dodging game, a pick a treasure chest game in both worlds, a guy who buys bees from you for 50 rupees a piece and trades a gold bee for a badge that turns randomly encountered bees into allies, a race where you need to traverse half the map before time expires, and a side quest where you have to get a man a glass of milk so you can empty the contents of a bottle and use it as an empty bottle.

 

Money is definitely not scarce. There are tons of money chests with either 50, 100, or 300 rupees. You can trade in bees for 50 rupees. There are enemies that are guaranteed to drop red rupees, etc.

The Master Sword's upgrades are handled by ores found in the Lorule dungeons. Not much of a quest.

There is no item-trading sequential quest.

 

Considering the length of the dungeons, cost to rent the items, and cash availability, I don't think rental costs were the dissuading factor. It felt like the high availability of cash and the chance to buy the items early on really presented a good opportunity to get creative with a dungeon or a side quest's solution. It by no means makes the game bad, it just felt like a missed opportunity.The rental system was nice for opening up the game early and providing flexibility in the dungeon order, but it came at a cost. Dungeons were no longer split into the pre-item/post-item sections that teased what item you were going to find that would let you advance through the dungeon since you had the items you needed from the get-go. This might be why several of the dungeons felt short and streamlined. I don't think this hurt the dungeon design, but I feel like it presented an opportunity for maybe an optional post-game dungeon that required multiple items used in conjunction and a larger percentage of your inventory being utilized to progress through said dungeon. And considering that all items in your inventory consume a recharable stamina meter instead of specific collectable items, this really felt like something that could have worked.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Pojodin

[Pojodin]

@TheMightEthan: The game received some rather extreme reviews as being great and subpar. The game really did some cool things, and a number of the risks they took really paid off for opening up the game a bit early on. But they still fell back too heavily on the Link to the Past aspects of the game. I feel like they missed some really good opportunities to take things even a step further than they did and make something really special. It's by no means a bad game, it just gives a vibe of missed potential due to taking the safe route. This wasn't really unforeseeable either due to the game being marketed as a Link to the Past sequel and Nintendo's MO for playing it safe and not fixing something that they don't feel is broken. And to that end, this game as an individual entry in the Legend of Zelda series vs as a sequel to a Link to the Past makes it difficult to grade. It was what I expected and really enjoyable, but it didn't surpass some of my open-ended hopes for the game and left me thinking about what could have been.

 

@Frosted Mini-Wheats: It might have been my completionist approach or history of playing the games, but it didn't feel overwhelmingly difficult. I also found a few bottles early on in the game and loaded them up with fairies. Also, doing the sidequests will turn you into a machine. I would almost suggest holding off on the dungeons and just doing some optional searching to help bolster some of your gear, get some extra heart containers and empty bottles, and definitely get and turn in the Maiamais. If you still have trouble with the boss, then use your initial run to analyze how to beat them and go to town on the second attempt. Or do a different dungeon and come back later (One of the benefits of the game). I finished the game with all stuff maxed, something over 15,000 rupees collected and 0 deaths.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Pojodin

[FMW]

I beat the fire turtle who had defeated me.  Staying away and plinking away with the bow was my winning strategy.  When he's half dead and bites you twice that's two hearts gone EACH.  It's brutal.  I only HAVE seven.  So I just didn't ever get close.  Kinda cheesing, but I wasn't losing all my items again.

 

Then I got all up in Death Mountain.  That is an AWESOME dungeon up there.  Very very fun design.  Again, pretty hard though.  Very easy to fall all over the place.  Climbing dark world death mountain is pretty grueling. I don't even want to imagine trying to get through this without the upgraded shield able to block the magic projectiles everywhere.  Unfortunately, I then got jumped by an assault squad of ducks and it took me all my fairies just to get as far as I had gotten.

 

That's the kind of room that's in this game that I don't like.  I went in at zero fairies but almost full health.  Then all the ducks appear and rush me.  The shield blocks damage but doesn't knock them back so it isn't really helpful.  They just stick around and circle me.  The fire rod is really good for knocking them back but it's too slow!  They're super fast ice ninja ducks.  So I try to put my back to a corner and just knock them all back with super fast sword swings... no dice.  There's a giant ninja ice duck too and it just gets on top of me and I can't get it off.  Death.  Items gone.  LONG climb to get back and even take another shot.

 

Really what I wish is that there could be a summersault to move and accelerate like in Minish Cap.  The lack of that quick reposition is driving me nuts.  It's a really bad game for running away.  ...and it's a game where more than in any Zelda in recent memory I find myself wanting to run away.  Often.

 

Edit:  It's BIZARRE when I get frustrated with Zelda so I got to Etrian Odyssey instead.  But I'm way less likely to get jumped and suddenly die in a bad combo in that game.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Frosted Mini-Wheats