The Legend of Zelda - This game has the freedom and openness and stuff, but to what aim? Well... being able to explore things at your own pace doesn't amount to much if there's not much to find other than the main dungeons. But -- and this might be a controversial opinion, and it's one I've come to only with a lot of age and having spent a lot of time with this game -- I think the endless amount cryptic secrets actually add to this game a lot. There's such a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling of discovery that comes with just burning a random bush and discovering a cave you might have never known about before. It's hard to even convey that sense of constant small discoveries when you have such a small amount of space to work with, and I think the cryptic secrets were their way of accomplishing that. I could gripe about their implementation in parts, but it was a good core idea... enough of one that it's one they've tried to recapture to varying degrees of success ever since. The combat feels strategic, measured, and super fun. The random enemy patterns force you to be cautious and to think about how you're gonna approach things. Plus there's not many Zelda games that encourage you to actually play around with different items for their combat value quite as much as this one. Also, I know people like to talk about the openness of the overworld and overall structure, but I actually think the openness of the dungeons is pretty valuable too. I think the way that the layouts of the dungeons themselves can be sort of puzzles in and of themselves is really cool, and the feeling of "charting out" a dungeon isn't something that's really been revisited since, to my knowledge...
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - It did add a few things that are staples of the series, but I feel like the staples are so vastly different to how they were implemented later that they're not really this game's main contribution to the series. What I really value out of this game is the combat. This game's combat feels super super visceral and fun as hell because of it -- there's probably not a single Zelda game with better combat. The combat in this game is, I feel, a blueprint for the combat that would be used in the later 3D Zelda games, although none of them outdid this game IMO. Plus, it's hard. It's hard in a way that's genuinely challenging and genuinely fun. Also the Great Palace theme is really good.
A Link to the Past - There's nothing really left to say about this game and that in and of itself is a testament to the impact it's left. I'll try and list some things I like about it that I think not many people point out: I actually really like the atmosphere of a lot of the Dark World. I dunno, the way it feels super weird and vaguely threatening and otherworldy (yeah I know) is actually really cool. Plus there's a lot about this game that's shockingly pretty for the time it came out -- the backdrop behind the Pyramid and the layers over the Lost Woods and stuff. Also, the array of items is really fun to just play around with -- I dunno if there's a Zelda game with more items in terms of pure numbers, and almost all of them are cool concepts. Mainly the Cane of Somaria. The Cane of Somaria rules.
Link's Awakening - There aren't very many handheld games period from this era that feel like full-fledged games -- Link's Awakening is probably one of the earliest examples of a handheld game that feels genuinely comparable to the experience you can get on consoles, something not even Mario really accomplished by this point. It's a real, full Zelda game, in an era when they probably could have put out a crappy watered-down side game with lame physics and like 4 dungeons just to make a quick buck. The fact that they made dungeons that are honestly genuinely good (better than a lot of ALTTP's!) work on such a tiny screen is actually really impressive. Also, the colors in the DX version are beautiful. The story is genuinely emotionally resonant, rare for a Zelda game and probably a first for the series. I like the atmosphere.
Ocarina of Time - The adult dungeons are very good. I still adore the atmosphere of the Forest Temple, the Water Temple, and the Spirit Temple. And the Fire and Shadow Temples ain't much worse. This game has a shocking amount of dungeon-y content, and that's really where its heart lies: All the main dungeons, plus the Ice Cavern, the Gerudo Training Grounds, honestly the Gerudo Fortress which feels pretty dungeon-y anyway, Bottom of the Well... almost all of these are really cool. Also, I really like the concept of elemental arrows even if they're unfortunately under-utilized. Also also, this game has consistently great music. I love its Hyrule Field theme (which is maybe my third favorite overworld theme in a Zelda game), Saria's Song, Gerudo Valley, some of the later dungeon themes (particularly the aforementioned Forest, Water, Spirit -- even if they are mostly moody and atmospheric and not terribly melodic, I still love the atmospheres they set), and even the Ocarina songs (which are all restricted to the same five notes!) are surprisingly memorable.
Majora's Mask - Okay, this is a weird one, but bear with me: This game is like, almost garishly colorful, and the 3DS version actually even augments the colorfulness. And it works really well. It contrasts so, so well with the constantly ominous, genuinely terrifying atmosphere. It's like it presents this colorful, festival-esque world and immediately throws it into a scenario where doom is constantly lingering -- it just adds to the undercurrent of dread this game constantly has. And of course there's the fact that the game has probably the widest cast of interesting characters of any Zelda game yet, how cool it is that they all have personalities and lives of their own that go on even if you're not there to witness it. It seems like every character for this game has a really human motivation for doing what they do... and that just makes the feeling of dread even worse, being constantly reminded that their world is coming to an end. Also, because of the fact that the world feels so... interconnected and alive... this is one of a small handful of Zelda games where the sidequests are maybe as good as the main quest if not better. Also, frankly, the overworld is an improvement on Ocarina of Time's, even if just a little bit. It feels a little less hollow and empty. Also the transformations are cool and I feel like this game sometimes even uses OoT's items better than OoT even does. I also really like the time mechanic -- I know a lot of people don't, but I actually like having to think about how to make the most efficient use of a 3-day cycle.
Oracle of Seasons - The overworld is actually pretty fun to trek around through, and there are a lot of cool atmospheres in this game. I really like the way Tarm Ruins feels, and I really like its music for some reason... call me weird but it feels really evocative to me, although I couldn't tell you of what. I really like the way winter feels in this game, for some reason. And while the dungeons aren't quite as great as they are in Ages, they're still prettttty good with a couple good items -- particularly, I think the Magnet Glove is neat. I also just like the season switching mechanic much more than the time switching mechanic; I think it's a better idea and it's implemented better. If nothing else, this game feels really fun and easy to get into and this might be the best, um, "Zelda quick fix" type of game, I guess? And I think its design is overall more consistently good than Ages', even if it doesn't quite reach the same highs...
Oracle of Ages - Bear in mind I haven't beaten this one yet, so I only really know it up to Skull Dungeon, but: The dungeon design is really good -- I don't know that I'd say all the puzzles are great, or that they're even consistently the best in the series, but the ones that are good are really really good, making extremely clever use of new items. I don't think it's quite as consistent as Seasons, but when it's good it's great.
Four Swords - if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all
The Wind Waker - It still looks good -- it's a GameCube game from 2003 and its visuals almost entirely hold up. Sure, you can see some pixelliness on some textures if you look close. But it's really easy to gloss over stuff like that when the game is this good-looking -- bright, colorful, and lively, and not just the colors, either! The characters, the expressiveness of the characters, especially Link. I love all the character designs in this game -- they're adorable and eye-catching and like, they feel really human. This game continues the trend of Majora's Mask making its towns feel really lively, and I love it! Also, the feeling of exploring the sea, of finding all the little nooks and crannies and tiny islands and little bitty secrets -- I used to hate it and I dunno what in the heck was wrong with me, it's super fun. Remember how I said they'd experiment with trying to recapture the feeling of just finding random stuff in Zelda 1? They actually really tried here, and I think this is one of the most successful experiments. Also, this has the best physics of any 3D Zelda game, in my opinion -- I won't speak too highly of its relative lack of difficulty, but the combat at least feels really fluid and fun. All of its dungeons are at least good, and it has some really great dungeons, particularly Tower of the Gods and the Earth Temple. Finally, it has a lot of really great songs. Dragon Roost Isle, the Great Sea, and its arrangement of the Hyrule Castle theme are all among my favorite Zelda songs of all time.
Four Swords Adventures - I don't remember much about this game (I haven't played it at all since launch and I never technically beat it), but I'll try to give a rundown of the things I remember liking about it: The overall system of gameplay I remember actually really liking, I think some of the new palettes and twists on ALTTP's graphics are actually cool-looking, and it's just generally a fun game -- and I mean that pretty literally. I think this Zelda game more than any other just captures not only the feeling, but a general atmosphere of, uh, fun-ness.
The Minish Cap - The dungeons are mostly pretty good. It feels nice to play -- it's very similar, physics-wise, to ALTTP, I feel like. I liked the uh, the digging mitts and a couple of the boss fights.
Twilight Princess - The dungeons are mostly what people remember from this game, I feel like, and for good reason -- barring maybe Skyward Sword, this game has the most consistently great dungeon design of any Zelda game. All of the main dungeons, in my opinion, fall into at least the "great" category, and no less than... three, by my count, are all-time great Zelda dungeons. But it's also generally a fun game to explore, it has a few really charming and memorable characters (Midna of course being the one everyone remembers), and, I know this is a point of contention among people, but I really like its music. I know people usually think this game's soundtrack is MIDI-ish, for whatever reason, but I never noticed or minded. It actually has my favorite Kakariko Village theme and, yes, I know this is controversial probably but I don't care -- it has my favorite overworld theme of any Zelda game ever. I really love the "suite"-ish Hyrule Fields like OoT's, and all of the different sections are super super memorable to me and it just... I just love the tone it sets for the game; it sounds bold. And I really love Faron Woods's theme too; it's beautiful. I like Lake Hylia, too. Did I mention the items yet? They may not see as much use as they should, but they're still almost all conceptually really cool: the Spinner, the Ball and Chain, the Dominion Rod, and, it may have disappointed some people, but I thought the Double Clawshots were actually really cool.
Phantom Hourglass - I've already said these elsewhere, but: I like the paper cutout style in the intro to the game. I like the implementation of the boomerang, some of the map puzzles, some of the puzzles that involve DS features. I like Arrow Orbs; I think that they're a very neat concept. I like the theme that plays during Ciela's, ah, "awakening" in the middle of the game after Temple of Courage. I like that Bellum's theme recalls the Light World dungeons from ALTTP.
Skyward Sword - Oh. My good lord. I am in love with this game. I love almost everything about this game and it'd be easier to list the things I hate about it (swimming, The Imprisoned), but I'll try: Visually, it's the most beautiful of any Zelda game I've yet played, with stunningly gorgeous impressionistic filtered backgrounds and super inspired areas: Skyloft, Sacred Grounds, Faron Woods with the GORGEOUS colors (it looks beautiful standing on top of the tree aaaaa), Lanayru Desert with its extremely cool contrast between the colorful past and the arid present. ALL of the overworld sections were brilliant and consistently very, very fun, and even the revisits felt like they expanded upon what was already there with fresh ideas. Almost all of the dungeons rank among the series' best, with the spatially brilliant and conceptually cool Sandship, atmospheric spooky puzzling Ancient Cistern, and super cool and unique futuristic Lanayru Mining Facility being the standouts. I LOVED LANAYRU. I loved the central time-shifting mechanic and it was consistently used in brilliant ways, then evolved and expanded upon in even more brilliant ways. I, love, Skyloft. I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels, I love its surrounding Sky that recalls Wind Waker's ocean, I love all the adorable little townspeople. I love the story, I love the twists it has -- this is the first Zelda game in a long, long time to get me attached to the characters -- oh, I love the characters. Groose is super funny and he gets actual character development, the game's version of Zelda is surprisingly spunky and adorable, and Ghirahim is super creepy and a great foil and also funny in his own Ghirahim-ish way. Even a lot of the side characters on Skyloft are super memorable and funny and made me love doing sidequests! Almost all of the items were brilliant -- even an item as ancient as the Bow is used in new and interesting ways, and the Whip is maybe my favorite Zelda item ever. The boss fights are all great, every single one -- challenging, fun, engaging, forcing you to use your wits, visceral, everything a Zelda boss should be and this game has the best bosses of the entire series easily. Finally, the controls -- while not perfect -- are almost consistently very, very good, with the sword controls being exceptionally good and shockingly easy to get used to and lending itself to the best combat the 3D games have ever had. There is, to me, no Zelda game which is a better amalgamation of the series' strengths. I've mentioned this before, but I could still gush about it forever, all the little things I loved about it.
A Link Between Worlds - It's A Link to the Past but better -- it really captures that game's openness and spirit of adventure and its liveliness super well. Replacing ammunition with an overall stamina bar was a good idea -- getting screwed over by resource management was one of the original game's biggest flaws and I think gutting it was the best thing to do. The overworld, like its predecessor's, is super fun to just wander around and explore. Almost every dungeon is among the best the 2D games have ever had and almost every dungeon is actually an improvement on its predecessor -- Turtle Rock is clever, I love Ice Ruins' sense of vertical depth, and Swamp Palace and Desert Palace are super super fun and dense and capture the essence of everything that was great about the original game to begin with. The wall painting mechanic is actually used in a lot of interesting ways throughout the whole game. The story ain't bad, either -- it has some pretty neat twists and the Lorule characters are actually surprisingly easy to get attached to.
Haven't played Spirit Tracks or Breath of the Wild at all yet.
Edited by Rambly, 30 April 2017 - 06:45 AM.
