147 replies to this topic

[The Satellite]

So this was an idea I had and thought, "Why not?" I want to play through every Zelda game in the series in order of release date for whatever reason, and part of me thought "Ya know, I should review/re-review each game after playing them." But it would be difficult to keep the general review structure I had for each game, since some would be drastically different to review (i.e. Four Swords), so instead, it would be a general series of sentences/paragraphs about each game, what it brought to the table, how it holds up, etc. Also it's an excuse to get to the ones I haven't played yet.

Hopefully I can keep this up until the end, I'm going to at least try, and then who knows? Maybe I'll dig it up each time there's a new Zelda and put something about it here as well. And of course, the thread will be open for discussion as well, I'd actually like that more if we could get some discussion going about each Zelda as I review it.
 
Keep in mind that there will be SPOILERS in most, if not all, of the entries.
 
I'm also going to keep a ranking of each Zelda as I play it, I figure that would be an easier way to create a "best-to-worst" Zelda list for myself:
 

Rankings

1. A Link to the Past
2. Link's Awakening
3. The Wind Waker
4. A Link Between Worlds
5. The Legend of Zelda
6. Twilight Princess
7. Oracle of Ages
8. Ocarina of Time
9. Skyward Sword
10. Majora's Mask
11. Phantom Hourglass
12. Spirit Tracks
13. Four Swords Adventures
14. Oracle of Seasons
15. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
16. Tri Force Heroes

17. The Minish Cap
18. Four Swords

Anyway, without further ado, let's get this started...

Index:

• The Legend of Zelda
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
• A Link to the Past
• Link's Awakening
• Ocarina of Time
• Majora's Mask
• Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
• Four Swords
• The Wind Waker
• Four Swords Adventures
• The Minish Cap
• Twilight Princess
• Phantom Hourglass
• Spirit Tracks
• Skyward Sword
• A Link Between Worlds
• Tri Force Heroes

[The Satellite]

The Legend of Zelda

The original. This was the game that spawned a franchise, spawned a genre, and influenced gaming as we knew it. Wide open overworld, dungeons (or labyrinths) scattered about to complete, new items that allow you to access secrets and more levels, though many of them were still open for exploration from the start, and could be done out of order. When the game first came out, it was unlike anything anyone had ever played before. People would spend countless times scouring the overworld for secrets, discovering new places, new hints, new special rooms, if only they could find the right bombable wall, or burn the right bush.

But...

By modern gaming standards, this game just did not age that well. They were new conventions back in the day, and I applaud them for that, but they're also irritating without a guide. Sure, I guess it was the "theme" of the game to explore and search everywhere to find your way around, but it's also a bit annoying. It feels like an arbitrary way to progress, or find items you need. There's also the uncertainty of whether a bomb will actually break open a wall or not. One could argue that's part of the strategy, and I'll let you have that. Still, there's other questionable decisions as well.

Not to say the game is all bad. I really like the expansive overworld that's almost completely available to you from the start. I like how you can do dungeons out of order. I like that there are people here and there that give you little hints at the gameplay. Zelda 1 is really a building block, an opening foray into the genre that created a lot of possibilities. The design was questionable at times, sure, but everyone has to start somewhere. Few people would argue that Super Mario Bros. 3 was inferior to the original Super Mario Bros. Nobody would tell you the original Mother was better than Earthbound. The original Metroid has its fans, but the majority of the fanbase adores Super Metroid far more. So it's honestly not a surprise that the original game did not hold up well and was surpassed by its sequels.

The original Zelda, tedious, frustrating, and arbitrary as it may seem, will still hold a spot in my heart as the game that launched a series, a mythology, a legend... It may not be the best of games, or among those I'd like to replay often, but it was definitely special in its own way. A history lesson, of sorts. And it paved the way for much greater games, not just from the Zelda series, but from all sorts of game series. You're okay, Zelda 1, you're okay.

[kurt91]

The first Zelda game has an odd place for me. I have it on the original cartridge (and the batteries are somehow still working! Holy Shit!!!) and I kind of like it. I just wish it had more of the conveniences that the later games have. I mean, if the bombable walls in the overworld and dungeons were somehow marked, along with the walk-through walls, and if there was the slash ability. I don't mind the graphics, although they could have been better, and the general layout for everything is pretty good. I just wish there was an official versions with those aforementioned gameplay tweaks. I mean, of course we have Zelda Classic and I can just make a version with the tweaks I want, but playing on my PC just doesn't have the same feel as pulling out my dusty old cartridge, blowing into the slots a few times, and playing it on the original console, you know?

[The Satellite]

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Ah, Zelda II, definitely the black sheep of the Zelda series—



... okay, the original black sheep of the Zelda series. It was a radical departure from the revolutionary formula developed in the first game, opting for a more RPG-style flow, with overhead overworld exploration, but towns, caves, palaces, and random encounters/other battle areas taking place in a sidescrolling area. It's almost like Mario with swords, mixed in with some difficulty even Capcom would be jealous of. Fans to this day remain mix on whether it was a good game with interesting new additions, or an abomination that should have stuck to the Zelda formula.

I wonder how many of the latter played more recent Zelda games first, not realizing that many aspects of the "Zelda formula" were introduced in this game and tweaked in future installments.

Me? I'm mixed. Zelda II did introduce many staples of the series, such as towns, magic, and items like the hammer. They weren't perfect, but neither was the original Zelda either. Nintendo took the best facets of both games, refined them, and packaged them together into... Well, that's the next entry, so more about that later.

Zelda II also introduced some rather questionable aspects, at least to me. For instance, the departure from the overhead style of gameplay that made the first game so fun didn't really feel so unique. So many games were already doing the sidescroller style that it just felt too similar to one of them, or a mashup of them. The leveling up system was tedious, and while it could be a fun self-imposed challenge to decide what you cared more about upgrading between your magic, health, and attack power, it devolved into a grindfest in order to keep your abilities on par with the horrendous difficulty curve of the game.

Oh yeah, and this game was difficult. This is unarguably the toughest in the series, and one of the toughest games on the NES. Like with everything, practice makes perfect, but this game takes a lot of practice. So much so that I decided not to dedicate the time to learn the game and... cheated my way through with everything maxed from the start. With infinite health and magic. Played through everything and found everything on my own, though. And I fought Thunderbird and Dark Link with the cheats off so that counts for something, right?

Ridiculous difficulty aside, the spells offered some neat opportunities, like Fairy Spell to slip through keyholes, or... okay, so the rest of the spells were really only useful for situations the game created. Life Spell is always useful, so that goes without saying. Reflect Spell led to the Mirror Shield, so I'll give that a pass. But at least the game did fairly well with balancing them well enough. Still, I would have preferred some unique item usage for puzzles and fighting enemies, rather than one- or two-time uses on the overworld.

Finally, the dungeons. Or Palaces. The dungeons in Zelda 1 all had two handy items: The map, so you could see the layout, and the compass, so you would know which way to go. Say goodbye to that, and hello to long, crawling, repetitive levels with no real variety most of the time to help you know which way you're going, and worse, no map to lead you along your way. There are barely any puzzles either, just navigate while killing things until you find the boss.

One last thing I want to touch on is the setting, and, on a shorter note, the music. Zelda II's music, while not bad, never really struck me as unique or having the soul of even the songs in the original Zelda game. The tracks felt like it had a sort of "generic medieval setting" feel to them, rather than the unique legend the series was creating for itself. Not that it didn't have good songs; the battle, palace, and Great Palace tracks were still fantastic. But the setting... it never really felt like its own little unique world to me, and more like they just ripped some of the monsters and creatures from other mythology sources. I suppose, though, this can be chalked up to the fact that the series was still in its early stages and wasn't really sure what it was trying to do yet, so I guess I can't truly fault Nintendo for these aspects, but it's still something that strikes me as off when it comes to this game.

All this isn't to say that Zelda II is a bad game, it's just a far departure, for better or for worse. It introduced some features that became mainstays of the series, and even the sidescrolling found a home in the sideview sections of the Game Boy Zelda games, but it also lacked a lot of aspects that makes the Zelda series so wonderful to play and get addicted to. Zelda II is just different, and if you like the game, well, good for you. There's no reason no one has to like this game, but there's also no reason for everyone to like it just because it's a Zelda game. Do I like it? ... yes and no. Hard to say. Definitely not one of my favorite games or one I'd like to replay much. But I like it for what it gave to the series, and allowed better games to happen. So, here's to you, Zelda II; many may not like you, but you still more than earned your place in the Zelda series.

... Now excuse me while I move on to a far better game.

[Nicholas Steel]

You cheated!

And the game isn't one of the hardest lol, it's actually pretty easy or at least the first 6 or 7 dungeons are. I got up to I think the 2nd last dungeon when I was 10 (or younger) and it threw up some cryptic puzzle about finding the last dungeon before the Grand Palace. You had to find a freaking hidden village but I won't explain how or where to keep spoilers to a minimum. Needless to say that left me incredibly frustrated at the time and it wasn't until many years later that I learned what to do.

The game very rarely if at all, cheap shots you and if you actually did try to master it you'd probably have a greater appreciation of the level layouts as it really isn't that easy to get lost (Exception being the final dungeon in the game, grand palace). The game also has a significantly superior english translation to the original game as well.

Anyways, I think the game is awesome and feel bad for the japanese who got a broke/much more evil version xD

Edited by franpa, 06 May 2013 - 01:05 PM.

[Moonbread]

You cheated!

And the game isn't one of the hardest lol, it's actually pretty easy or at least the first 6 or 7 dungeons are. I got up to I think the 2nd last dungeon when I was 10 (or younger) and it threw up some cryptic puzzle about finding the last dungeon before the Grand Palace. You had to find a freaking hidden village but I won't explain how or where to keep spoilers to a minimum. Needless to say that left me incredibly frustrated at the time and it wasn't until many years later that I learned what to do.

The game very rarely if at all, cheap shots you and if you actually did try to master it you'd probably have a greater appreciation of the level layouts as it really isn't that easy to get lost (Exception being the final dungeon in the game, grand palace). The game also has a significantly superior english translation to the original game as well.

Anyways, I think the game is awesome and feel bad for the japanese who got a broke/much more evil version xD

There are only 7 dungeons, by the way.

[The Satellite]

Well I realized there was a segment I forgot to add in to my last post, so I did so, but I'll quote it here too so it's easier to find:

 

One last thing I want to touch on is the setting, and, on a shorter note, the music. Zelda II's music, while not bad, never really struck me as unique or having the soul of even the songs in the original Zelda game. The tracks felt like it had a sort of "generic medieval setting" feel to them, rather than the unique legend the series was creating for itself. Not that it didn't have good songs; the battle, palace, and Great Palace tracks were still fantastic. But the setting... it never really felt like its own little unique world to me, and more like they just ripped some of the monsters and creatures from other mythology sources. I suppose, though, this can be chalked up to the fact that the series was still in its early stages and wasn't really sure what it was trying to do yet, so I guess I can't truly fault Nintendo for these aspects, but it's still something that strikes me as off when it comes to this game.

 

Anyway...

 

The game very rarely if at all, cheap shots you and if you actually did try to master it you'd probably have a greater appreciation of the level layouts as it really isn't that easy to get lost (Exception being the final dungeon in the game, grand palace). The game also has a significantly superior english translation to the original game as well.

 

Maybe one day I'll do my best to learn the game and play through it entirely legitimately, but for the sake of this chroniclization, I didn't want to keep getting frustrated with myself and quit the series before I could even get started.

Yeah, I suppose the translation was better, but could they have at least sped up the text? You know there's a problem when you wish it was as fast as the original game's text.

 

Anyways, I think the game is awesome and feel bad for the japanese who got a broke/much more evil version xD

 

Actually I'm under the impression that the American game was harder. O_o

[kurt91]

I never got around to finishing this one. I just couldn't stand the way the sword worked, and I got lost far too quickly. I kind of think it would be a neat idea to see this game done in the same way that the 2D segments in the GBC Zelda games were done, with Link able to swing the sword overhead. Add in at least a map system that marks the rooms you've been in, like how it's usually done in Zelda Classic, or even better, Super Metroid, and some way to mark which way you're supposed to go so you know if the sudden difficulty spike is because of accidentally going the wrong way or if it's intentional, and I think this particular game could be a lot more fun.

[The Satellite]

I would honestly love to see what this game would look like remade in 2D style like the other games in the series. Or even 3D style. They couldn't go wrong either way. Though no doubt there would be several hardcore fans of the original format that would despise such a remake for changing the formula, but ah well, can't please everyone. Honestly I'd like Nintendo to remake both this and Zelda 1 in an updated style. I'd go for either a 2D remake with sprites, a top-down remake with polygons, or a full 3D remake. Any of them would be good. They deserve the updated treatment. The rest of the games in the series are honestly quite fine as they are. Apart from maybe some tweaks... (Here's looking at you, unskippable messages in Link's Awakening...)

[kurt91]

I've actually seen a concept video or something of a first-person 3-D version of Zelda 2. My internet's crapping out on me, so you'll have to look for it yourself, but it shouldn't be too hard to find on YouTube. The problem that comes to mind is that these levels don't really seem like something that would transition well into 3-D and still be recognizable for what they originally were. That is, unless you meant something like 2.5-D, like Yoshi's Story or Mischief Makers.

I know I've mentioned the game before on other threads, but the third Distorted Travesty game has an entire chapter devoted entirely to Adventure of Link. Has a bunch of the original enemies and bosses in it and everything. I rather liked that interpretation a bit more because the sword attack has a bit more of a vertical reach to it, like when you attack in Link's Awakening's 2-D areas. It also incorporates bombs and arrows into it as well. If you like Zelda 2, you might want to look into it. You'll just have to finish the first chapter to get to it though. (Mario-themed)

[The Satellite]

I've seen the first-person Zelda II, and it looked like a neat idea in theory, but the execution was a bit off. As far as what I meant for a full 3D remake, well, honestly, when I said "remake," I mean full and total remake, not like the "remakes" we're used to, i.e. OoT 3D. As in, the entire thing would be completely redesigned. Well, dungeons at least. And the overworld might need tweaking if it went full remake even if it was 3D or 2D, since it would have to incorporate towns and other areas more thoroughly.

... the more I envision this, the more awesome it sounds... Bring it on, Nintendo!

[The Satellite]

A Link to the Past

Mere words cannot express my love for this game. It's probably going to be difficult, near impossible to write this segment from an unbiased standpoint, so I'll try my best.

This is literally the best video game ever made.

... I think we may have a problem here.

In all seriousness, A Link to the Past was the game where Nintendo sat down, looked at their first two Zelda games, thought "What was good about these two? What was bad?", tossed out the bad, refined the good, then even threw in a few new features for the hell of it. The original game may have launched a franchise, but A Link to the Past set the standard for the sheer scope these games can have. I've said it before, but all Ocarina of Time did was convert an existing formula into 3D, but it was still following rules that A Link to the Past set, just in a new dimension.

So let's start with the overworld. It may not seem to have such a large scope when compared to other games, notably RPGs, but that's fine, Zelda's supposed to take place in a compact world. And when said world's so jam-packed with secrets, NPCs, games, and treasures, all is well. The overworld may not be incredibly large, but it's far from small. It's also very nonlinear, and you can explore almost the entire thing from the start. And not just one, but two overworlds, the second also packed with secrets. And as a bonus, the two overworlds interact with each other, creating even more possibilities! It was a genius idea that still holds up well today, and has been mimicked by other games, such as Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Then you have the dungeons. You have at least 11, 12 if you count Hyrule Castle. 13 if you count both visits as separate. They vary in length and challenge, but all of them have their own unique gimmick that the designers played off of very well. Sure, they're not all incredible; Thieves' Town in particular feels less inspired, but still had a neat gimmick and boss, but overall, they're an excellent crop of dungeons. Each one even had their own unique boss fight, and some of them were actually pretty challenging the first few times. They definitely went all out after the fun but sometimes wonky dungeons of Zelda 1 and the boring and repetitive dungeon crawling of Zelda 2.

The game even refined gameplay mechanics and items, and everything works so smoothly and well that it still holds up wonderfully today. Heck, I'd argue that it's still the best and smoothest gameplay of any 2D Zelda made. The weapons worked well and were utilized well, the magic system was fluid, and the sword... Well, it pretty much made the limited stabbing of the NES titles obsolete the moment your uncle passed down the sword to you.

Basically, A Link to the Past did so many things right that every Zelda game afterward should owe its success to this game. Well, and the original. It even began to expand on the wonderful story of the series, the "legend" of Zelda, giving us more information on Ganon, the Triforce, Hyrule itself. I pity whoever hasn't played this game, should they be fans of Zelda games in the first place. It still captures both my childhood memories and an overall excellent game experience that will last through the ages.

[kurt91]

I kind of have the idea that a decent series will have its best work usually as the third installment. The first one gives the initial concept, and the second one experiments and tweaks the idea for something a bit different. Then the third one takes the best of both, hopefully drops or fixes the worst, and uses that as the base. That's how we ended up with games like Battle Network 3, Super Mario 3, and Link to the Past.

I don't have much to say about this game, really, other than a rather funny memory I have about it. When I first played this game, I could never figure out how to beat that red enemy in the first Dark World dungeon that mirrors your movements and shoots a fireball at you when you stood directly in front of it. Considering how much fun I was having with the game, and how this meant that I wouldn't be able to see the rest before I had to give the game back to the friend I had borrowed it from, I was really bummed out about it.

Well, I was outside wandering around at one point, trying to figure out how to beat that one part, and this old lady who lived on the far end of the street happened to be outside checking the mail and asked me what I was so visibly upset about. Considering I'm the only gamer in my family, I figured that she'd just blow off my explanation as being something stupid, but played along anyways and explained it to her. She asked if she could see the game, because she was curious if it was the same one her grandson owned but she couldn't remember the name. I ran home and grabbed the cartridge, brought it back to show her, and she told me to wait there for a bit, and took the game into her house. About five to ten minutes later, she came back outside, gave me back the game, and told me to go try it now.

Confused, I went home, put the game back into the Super NES and fired it up, and was speechless when I realized that my file on the game now only needed me to kill the boss to finish the dungeon. Considering every adult I knew disliked video games and usually had nothing to do with them, I was pretty shocked to realize that I had been outdone by some senior citizen I had never met before.

[Evan20000]

That's a pretty heartwarming story. That was just what I needed to read before I went to bed. Thanks for sharing. ^^

(Also yeah, those red goriyas in Dark Palace stumped me too as a kid)

[The Satellite]

Link's Awakening

 

Ugh, why. Why was item-switching in this game so tedious... Why did the Piece of Power/Guardian Acorn have such annoying text and have to overwrite the better music with a quickly-repetitive theme... And I know it's a heavy rock, dammit, you don't have to tell me every time I touch it! Man, what was Nintendo thinking when they made this game?!

 

... clearly good things, because Link's Awakening is one of the best games they ever made.

 

Those few complaints up there are really the only bad things about this game, because everything else is superbly solid. Great overworld exploration, great dungeon design, plenty of secrets, and nothing's ever unfair or too hard to find without a guide. Are there some things they could do better to improve the Link's Awakening experience? ... well, other than make item-switching less tedious, make text scroll faster, make menus appear faster, and remove those annoying heavy rock/strange rock/ice block messages from appearing more than once, no, there really isn't much they could do to improve this game.

 

If anyone thinks the Zelda experience is diluted in the transition to Game Boy, I'd argue the exact opposite. Link's Awakening is one of the greatest experiences in the Zelda series, and even is more enhanced than its previous three entries. It blows the first two games out of the water, and keeps even footing with A Link to the Past. Some areas it manages to surpass A Link to the Past; I feel overworld management was a touch superior, and the story... I'll talk about that more below. A Link to the Past is an overall better experience, but Link's Awakening proves it can contend with the big games to stand among the top of the crop.

 

I suppose there may be another weak point of the game, and that's the bosses tend to be simple and not too difficult to handle. There are a couple of exceptions, but I suppose this was one thing I could easily overlook since bosses in the Zelda series don't tend to be too difficult in general. They're at least fun, for the most part, though the Bottle Grotto boss can be irritating... and I don't mean the fight.

 

Link's Awakening also sports some of the best dungeons in the series. Granted, few are multifloor, in fact that might only be Eagle's Tower, but they're still great setups that are challenging, intelligent, and fun to play through. The dungeons get really good by the last two, Eagle's Tower and Turtle Rock, and serve as a far more than satisfactory ending to the game. They easily stand among the best in the series, and the overall selection is very well designed that they make every playthrough an enjoyable one.

 

And the story... Honestly, I feel this game has the best story in the Zelda series. It's not cut-and-dry good versus evil, it's not black-and-white morality. It takes place in the dream of a deity, and the entire world is a creation of its sleeping state. The people are fabrications, and yet they seem so real. The "evil" beings known as "Nightmares" have only one goal: To preserve the world. Killing them, and their leader, will cause it to vanish. It presents an interesting emotional dilemma, since waking the Wind Fish is the only way to escape the island, and yet waking him will eliminate the island and its inhabitants; the "bad guys" don't seem all that bad now, do they? The atmosphere and music of the quest lend so well to this that I couldn't possibly pick a greater story from the series than this game's.

 

There's not much left to say in conclusion. The graphics were nice, the music was wonderful, it was a solid package. I think it's definitely showing a little age, but mostly only in its tedious parts, noted above. Smooth out those kinks and the age will mostly vanish. But overall, it still stands the test of time, and I highly recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. It's still a wonderful game, and my second-favorite Zelda game. Unless Nintendo really brings out the big guns in the future, it will likely hold onto that position until the day I die.