15 replies to this topic

[Radien]

Let's face it: looking around this site, it's pretty easy to tell that virtually all of us are shameless (or proud?) Zelda fanboys/fangirls. Zelda Classic is obviously a program mostly suited to fanmade Zelda quests...in fact, before tilesets were made possible, that's all it could do. So, the vast majority of quests out there are going to be Legend of Zelda imitations, remakes, or spinoffs, even among the really good ones. As far as I'm concerned, that's nothing to be ashamed of.

That said, most of these quests follow the Zelda naming scheme, which is "The Legend of Zelda: {name of plot device}".

What I'm asking is this: is that naming scheme really necessary? Now, often it's pretty obvious that the quest is Zelda-related. For instance, "Link's Retirement" is a quest with a tongue-in-cheek nod to the usual Zelda fare, after which it focuses on the Zelda gameplay model without seriously attempting to build upon the story of the franchise. That's perfectly all right. But those aren't the kinds of quests I'm talking about, really.

I'm talking about the ones that earnestly present themselves as a sidestory or an unofficial sequel in the Zelda series. PrinceMSC's unfinished "Mystic Land" is one such quest. I haven't played "Lost Isle," but I think it too could be described as this. And my quest "Dance of Remembrance" is definitely supposed to be an unofficial sidestory/sequel.

Note that I didn't prefix "The Legend of Zelda" before any of those quest names, even though some of them do officially list themselves that way, and it didn't really sound unusual to omit that part. In fact, fellow fans rarely refer to Zelda quests as "The Legend of Zelda: ____________" (fill in blank). So, is the "Legend of Zelda" prefix unnecessary and superfluous? Perhaps we should take a cue from the new Batman movie, "Dark Knight," and decide that referencing the name of the franchise isn't necessary if it's obviously known to be a related story. Twilight Princess did this with some of its smaller story elements, even: the word "Triforce" isn't mentioned at all in the game, despite appearing several times in various cut scenes.

Anyway, just a thought. I certainly don't intend to bash anyone's quest that starts with the words "The Legend of Zelda" (heck, I've already released one myself). But I'm thinking of dropping the words from the title of my coming quest, Dance of Remembrance.

[CastChaos]

You see, dear Radien, I came to the conclusion when I started my quest that the "The Legend of Zelda" prefix is an elite trademark, just like "captain", "admiral", "president" or such. It's a honour to me that my direct ALttP sequel has this "prefix" before it's title. But really, if all official Zelda games had this elite trademark, then a fan sequel which is intended to be organic part of the series why shouldn't have it?

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past => two hundred years pass => The Legend of Zelda: Ballad of a Bloodline

If "TLoZ" is not before the quest name, but it has Zelda refernces (e.g. Link's retirement) then it sounds like a side spinoff that doesn't have anything to do with the timeline (like Link's Awakening), and if the quest name doesn't even have Zelda references, then nobody can know for sure that it's a Zelda quest.
If I say to a newbie "Radien is currently making Dance of Remembrance! " then the newbie is like "Cool, a SNES-ish non-Zelda game! ", and if I say "I am making Ballad of a Bloodline! ", then the newbie is like "Err, is that the medieval version of Guitar Hero? ".
But... if I finish all of my chores add "The Legend of Zelda"... thus creating "The Legend of Zelda: Ballad of a Bloodline", then everybody will be like "Wow, a sad quest! I wonder what happens with the royal family! When will it be finished?". And yes, these are real reactions I got from newbies in PMs.

And referencing TP isn't the wisest idea, I'm afraid... it's somehow the traitor of the series with those "TP no shows" that you made a thread about... I know you really liked them, but as for me, I started to anticipate that game less... especially after reading your comments on those "no shows"... I don't want my quest to be a "no show"...

*goes and makes a quest with an elite trademark*

[Moonbread]

I would drop it in most of my quests, since most of them don't even focus around Zelda, anyway. She's mostly just a minor plot character. Only time I wouldn't drop it is in Triforce of the Gods.

[Russ]

It really depends. My quest isn't using it (although it probably should, since I'm trying to make it like an actual Zelda game). Pretty much just what CastChaos said.

[LostInHyru1e]

I think that the title should, so long as it tries to fit into the Zelda Timeline, always start with "The Legend of Zelda." It just seems so much cooler that way.

[jerome]

Oh OH! Pick me! I've got 2 cents too! (sorry, that just sounded funny to me)

But seriously, I kind of agree with Radien. There are a lot of TLoZ:somethings out there. On my little quest I made, I mostly wanted to focus on gameplay and swordplay, not story. So, no TLoZ prefix for me.

If you are using "Link" and "Zelda" as characters, yeah, go for it. In my little quest, my idea was based off of the movie "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" in that the main character has no name. I really liked that. It also allowed me to not have to have a huge story (or any for that matter) to it. I could focus on what I wanted it to be: a frustrating a fun challenging quest of "can you make it through".

In DFWs Hidden Duality (though I never could figure out where the "Hidden" duality was to it- though a catchy title) she didn't mark it as TLoZ: HD... but we all know it's a Zelda Quest. Or any others that have Link and Zelda in it, go for TLoZ if YOU want it. Kind of like the Batman analogy, you can do it, but is it REALLY necessary to mention it?

I like some of the games where Link and Zelda aren't the main characters. Sure you're "Link", but a different story for whatever reason is good. Characters looking different are always cool as well. Like the MegaMan ones or Metroid ones. Those are ones I personally think need to be mentioned of what they are. If it's not mentioned we all ASSUME that it's a LoZ theme.

With LostInHyru1e's opinion, I agree as well, but how long do we really want to search through the quest DB looking for 1 quest when they all start with "The Legend of Zelda:..." "The LEGEND of Zelda:..." "THE Legend of Zelda:..." Plus we all know it's going to be similar.

Though I do like CastChaos' story idea (and those similar in composition). It's well past the original with different characters, and yet it is connected. Stories like that should have it in the title.

I think I'm rambling now...
Not sure if I'm making sense anymore either...
Or if I even contributed to this topic really.
two cents gone

[Old-Skool]

Regardless I will continue to use "The Legend of Zelda" prefix as I desire.

[The Satellite]

I keep the slogan "The Legend of Zelda" at the prefix of most of my quests-to-be because it ... it makes my quests... *fishes for the right word*

I can't find it. It's not "unique." "Authentic" crossed my mind, but I'm not sure of that, either. "For the hype" was also a consideration. But seriously, it's like a Zelda to me. Why don't you tell Nintendo to stop calling their titles "The Legend of Zelda: <Title>"?

[Eddard McHorn Van-Schnuder]

Well... I KINDA agree... ''The Legend of Zelda: Lost Isle'' would sound... weird....
Now, I think ''The Hylian Phoenix'' alone is kinda ''meh'', but ''The Legend of Zelda: The Hylian Phoenix'' sounds epic and awesome... right?

[Alestance]

I agree, actually, that the Legend of Zelda isn't nessicary for most of the fangames we have, since they are fan-games.

My case is different, in my opinion, because the plot revolves around the actual "Legend of Zelda" and what made the legend a legend

[Radien]

CastChaos:

You do make a good point about recognizability. Some newbies might really not know whether it's a Zelda quest at first glance. However, they'd certainly know soon enough, if they read the quest's story description, and I'm not sure I really feel it's necessary to add the title just to get people to play it.

And referencing TP isn't the wisest idea, I'm afraid... it's somehow the traitor of the series with those "TP no shows" that you made a thread about... I know you really liked them, but as for me, I started to anticipate that game less... especially after reading your comments on those "no shows"... I don't want my quest to be a "no show"...

I didn't make that thread to bemoan Twilight Princess as the "renegade" of the series that should be shunned...I made that thread to point out some interesting choices Nintendo made. Some of them I was disappointed not to see, but overall it was a very good Zelda game. If you're looking for a "traitor" to the series, you're looking in the wrong place. Zelda 2: Adventure of Link is first in line for that one, and Wind Waker is probably second. Twilight Princess shouldn't be called a bad game just because it temporarily replaced the Hammer and Octorocks, or silly things like that. It took place in Hyrule, it referenced past games heavily, and it had the bow and arrow, hookshot, boomerang, bombs, even Epona...and a lot of us found it fun.

Anyway, this topic isn't about who liked that game or not, and since TP is an official Zelda game, I don't see why I shouldn't reference it. For the record, I could have mentioned plenty of other examples from other Zelda games to make my point. TP just happens to be the most recent one.

Regardless I will continue to use "The Legend of Zelda" prefix as I desire.

Whatever floats your King of Red Lions, bud. I'm not trying to change anyone's quest name... just bring some ideas to light.

I keep the slogan "The Legend of Zelda" at the prefix of most of my quests-to-be because it ... it makes my quests... *fishes for the right word*

I can't find it. It's not "unique." "Authentic" crossed my mind, but I'm not sure of that, either. "For the hype" was also a consideration. But seriously, it's like a Zelda to me. Why don't you tell Nintendo to stop calling their titles "The Legend of Zelda: <Title>"?

Hmm... "formal," perhaps?

Also, I don't necessarily mean to suggest striking the name from everything related to the quest. For instance, here's one option: you could name the submission without the prefix, but then use it on the title screen of the quest itself. For instance, the download page could read "The Mystic Land," while the title screen could have read "The Legend of Zelda: The Mystic Land."

[DarkFlameSheep]

Hmm, this isn't an easy problem. I draw an inference from the story. For example...

I think "The Hero of Dreams" needs starting with "The Legend of Zelda", because Link,
Zelda and Ganon, they and Triforce are deeply concerned with the story.

But I don't think "Lost Isle" needs it. The story doesn't need Trifoce and even Link. Triforce is only key of sub dungeon.
And I know Link is treated with cruelty in the story.

Edited by Nameless, 16 March 2008 - 07:31 AM.

[Joe123]

I like to keep it, it makes the game sound more official.

[The Satellite]

Hmm... "formal," perhaps?

Also, I don't necessarily mean to suggest striking the name from everything related to the quest. For instance, here's one option: you could name the submission without the prefix, but then use it on the title screen of the quest itself. For instance, the download page could read "The Mystic Land," while the title screen could have read "The Legend of Zelda: The Mystic Land."

Hurm. Maybe. Not sure. Still can't place it.

Now, I get the submissions part, not naming your submission "TLoZ," but if that's all your talking about, then I don't have a problem. It seems like you're talking about the whole quest in general.

[Mitchfork]

If it has the Legend of Zelda in the title, it's supposed to fit somewhere into the larger story. Plus, it sounds more epic when you say it.