Let's play the Zelda series!

[I'm a Puppy!]

OK, trying to finish all the mainline Zeldas between July and next July. Here's where I am

BotW - Finished
LoZ 1 (Switch) Finished
LoZ 2 (Switch) Finished
LttP  (Switch - Underway
Link's Awakening (Switch) - Next
Ocarina of Time (3DS) - Not started
Majora's Mask (3DS) - Not started
Wind Waker (?) - I would've liked to play it again on the Wii U but my Wii U died
Twilight Princess (?) - Don't really know how to best play this
Skyward Sword (?) - Ugh. Not looking forward to this slog
Link Between Worlds (3DS) - Not started

On the fence:
 - Oracle of Seasons/Time
- Minish cap
- Spirit tracks
- Four sword adventures

Overall thoughts:

- BotW is really the fulfillment of the promise of the overworld in the original zelda. But good god, the dungeons suck. I really wish they had temples or actual dungeons.
- It's really amazing that LoZ was made like 35+ years ago. It's simply astounding.
- LoZ 1 - isn't that bad except for Dungeons 6 and 9. 6 was a huge difficulty spike and 9 was just really convoluted, obtuse and difficult
- LoZ 2 - Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the insane amount of grinding and the last temple. That grand temple was insanity. The last two bosses were bordering on unfair. I used a save state before I got to lightning bird thing. I really don't know how in the world I finished this game in the past because dying to the last bosses in one or two hits then having to go back to the start of the temple if I ran out of lives (which you'd spend at least one or two to get there)
- LttP - Sorta surprised again by the amount of content in this with all the dungeons. Really a natural progression from the original. But combat is brain dead
- I'm on the fence about a bunch of these  (of course the capcom games are there) then there's 4 swords which is a bit gimmicky and then I've just not heard great things about either Minish cap or Spirit tracks.  But honestly I'm on the fence with playing Wind waker non-HD and Skyward sword. I really liked Wind Waker, but don't think I can go back to the non-HD version with the faster sail and QoL improvements. And Skyward Sword was too much a slog with it's wonky controls (though it does that wonderful Cistern dungeon which is excellent).

I'm open to suggestions on any I might have missed or any platforms/emulators for the future ones.

[Himu]

Ocarina and LTTP are the best Zelda’s imo.

I love the series but it’s a bit long in the tooth once you reach Wind Waker and Twilight Princess Which are just retreading old ground.

Replayed Ocarina and Majora’s last year. I used to put Majora’s much higher but once you’ve played it before there’s nothing truly great about Majora’s Mask. A lot of it is tedium even in the superior 3ds version. Like seriously, the Anju and Kafei quest is tedium incarnate. I hate having to redo shit over and over. Ocarina is truly the greatest. Its only flaw is the traversal and how slow Link is. Having to walk about Hyrule field without a horse in young form sucks. That’s about it. I highly suggest playing Master Quest for Ocarina. It owns hard and the puzzles/exploration is Def my favorite Zelda at this point.

Link Between Worlds is also great.

Currently playing BOTW. I don’t know where I rank it yet. It has potential and seems to be a grower.

[CatsCatsCats]

I recall enjoying Minish Cap quite a bit, myself

[team filler]

skyward sword has some of the best zelda... but also some of the worst 

overall I loved it, especially the music. botw was a big letdown for zelda tunes 

[CatsCatsCats]

TP is pretty great on the back end but I would never replay it just because of the beginning

[BisMarckie]

Zelda‘s Adventure or GTFO

[Himu]

TP has fun stuff like the desert dungeon and the ice dungeon. The water dungeon is good but it’s not something I would ever want to replay. Meanwhile I’ve replayed LoZ, LTTP, and OoT more times than I can count.

[Nintex]

Wind Waker (?)
Twilight Princess (?)

Best to play these on Wii U if you're not going to use emulators.
The HD version of TP is the superior one, it doesn't have the weird mirror world of the Wii build and it looks much better.

I mean, it shouldn't be too hard to find a cheap replacement Wii U somewhere. 

[Human Snorenado]

The Oracle games were pretty great at the time, not sure how they've aged. I would play those ahead of Skyward Sword, but I hate waggle that much.

[Svejk]

Out of the DS ones, definitely Spirit Tracks over Phantom Hourglass.

[Himu]

Isn't it funny how Link used to be left handed until they had to mirror Twilight Princess for the Wii and now he's been right handed in most games?

...no? I'll see myself out.

As a leftie I find it to be erasure.

[Chooky]

four swords is fucking fun, but i dunno how it'd be single player

[I'm a Puppy!]

Currently at the water temple in LttP. Has there ever been a good one of these?
Also having played 1-2, and LttP right after BotW it really stands out what a failure BotW was in the music department.
It's really sad. I get what they were going for but it just didn't work and was awful.

[Svejk]

BotW by far has the weakest OST of all the Zeldas.  They need to fire that girl who did the score and bring the real shit back.

The music while riding your horse in BotW just makes me think of this all the time...

[Himu]

Currently at the water temple in LttP. Has there ever been a good one of these?
Also having played 1-2, and LttP right after BotW it really stands out what a failure BotW was in the music department.
It's really sad. I get what they were going for but it just didn't work and was awful.

godlike







The iconic intro with the triforce. Getting the Master Sword for the first time...

God I love that game so much. More evidence that SNES > Genesis in one punch.

[Himu]

Also when you get to OoT play the 3ds version. SO MUCH BETTER. Iron boots is an item so you can just map it to weapon and automatically turn on/off iron boots in water temple without going to menu.

[paprikastaude]

MM is still the GOAT in world building, arguably even outside the Zelda series, thanks to its gimmick (and also writing) that allowed for indepth NPC story telling. Too bad the remake fucked it up, because its 1 or 2 good QOL features are facing 10 to 20 downgrades.
No one played Minish Cap, but that one might have the best world building right after MM. Tons of fun NPCs and sidequests that are woven naturally into the map. It also has amazing spritework and I hope Nintendo never touches it with their dumb 2,5D graphics. You can't ever go wrong with replaying OoT and ALttP since they are the rock solid foundation of them all, but to me the most interesting games are twists like MM and the Capcom ones.

Though I might also prefer TP to OoT, as it has all the GOAT dungeons and such an amazing variety in gameplay and setpieces - every dungeon is completely different. But I also like everything inbetween thanks to its atmosphere. I replayed it 3 or 4 times, certainly there will be more at some point. Honestly, it's also the last great one for me. I realized that I'm only still a series fan thanks to catching up on prior titles or replaying them. LBW really wasn't great on a second run without the novelty of playing a new 2D Zelda. The item lending doesn't hold up at all, even in hard mode. The DS games are dumpster fires and BotW is too much Ubisoft in disguise. The lack of dungeons isn't so much a problem as the lack of truly interesting rewards. Plus I simply can't stop thinking about the graphical downgrade compared to its very first ""ingame"" (lol) trailer in 2013 or whenever - the weaker look in the final game just bothers me. Shortly after finishing the latter I gave Zelda 2 my first honest try on NES Mini and it's really addictive once the combat clicks. It honestly has the most rewarding combat of the series, there's been some real nail-biting moments. Also replayed ALttP on SNES Mini after (or before) my replay of LBW, which highlighted the superior pacing and map progression of the original.

[paprikastaude]

Out of the DS ones, definitely Spirit Tracks over Phantom Hourglass.

ST improved upon all the mistakes of PH, like boring music, monotonous setpieces, lame puzzles, etc. Yet it also has the worst gimmick of the entire series. I literally couldn't progress in the game, because that flute mechanic was broken trash. Nothing works with it after a certain level and the game gives you zero feedback on what it wants.

I don't know if I should try the game again, since maybe it worked worse because I played it on a OG DS and not a Lite?

[Himu]

So far I'm thinking BOTW has world building on par or better than MM. Every town so far has unique NPCs and unique storylines and stuff going down, and the way the world slowly expands as more and more is uncovered is great.

[ToxicAdam]

Currently at the water temple in LttP. Has there ever been a good one of these?
Also having played 1-2, and LttP right after BotW it really stands out what a failure BotW was in the music department.
It's really sad. I get what they were going for but it just didn't work and was awful.

I thought the water level in Skyward Sword was excellent. One of the better dungeons of that game.

[Svejk]

Out of the DS ones, definitely Spirit Tracks over Phantom Hourglass.

ST improved upon all the mistakes of PH, like boring music, monotonous setpieces, lame puzzles, etc. Yet it also has the worst gimmick of the entire series. I literally couldn't progress in the game, because that flute mechanic was broken trash. Nothing works with it after a certain level and the game gives you zero feedback on what it wants.

I don't know if I should try the game again, since maybe it worked worse because I played it on a OG DS and not a Lite?

My kids and I play it on a phone emu (DraStic) from time to time, and the flute mechanic is a total pain in the ass because the mic just doesn't pick up the blowing as well as the OG DS it seems.  But it certainly looks a helluva better though in HD.

[Tasty]

Isn't it funny how Link used to be left handed until they had to mirror Twilight Princess for the Wii and now he's been right handed in most games?

...no? I'll see myself out.

That was probably going to be a one-off thing (TP Wii isn't the canon version), but then Skyward Sword kinda cemented it. :/

[benjipwns]

Isn't it funny how Link used to be left handed until they had to mirror Twilight Princess for the Wii and now he's been right handed in most games?

...no? I'll see myself out.

That was probably going to be a one-off thing (TP Wii isn't the canon version), but then Skyward Sword kinda cemented it. :/

They wanted to be clear that Link is not alt-right, but full-right.

[Joe Molotov]

I could never beat the Thunderbird in Zelda 2.

[paprikastaude]

Up until that point I was able to go without save states, but the bird was too much. Also surprisingly I didn't need a guide until one of the last dungeons, for which you need that wood cutting feature you can't possibly know you have.

[CatsCatsCats]

You are weak. I beat that game on original hardware — with a dead battery in the cart (no saving)

[Joe Molotov]

[CatsCatsCats]

WEAKKKKKKKK

[I'm a Puppy!]

You are weak. I beat that game on original hardware — with a dead battery in the cart (no saving)

Same here. replaying it now, I'm surprised I was able to do it at all.

Edit: of course back then, I played it for weeks/months. This time around my play time was <12 hours.

[Himu]

I like BOTW ost so far

[Nintex]

I like BOTW ost so far

The OST is good as part of the game, but falls flat without the gameplay interaction outside of a few tracks.
It wasn't as memorable as other soundtracks released in the same year such as Nier Automata.

Which is sorta weird for a Zelda game
 

[Chooky]

having more subdued music was great for both the atmosphere and for the extended playtime of an open-world game. a traditional japanese looping soundtrack would be a fucking nightmare for a 100+ game.

[tiesto]

Didn't care for the BOTW soundtrack, seemed too atonal and without melody from what I remember. Not a patch on other Zeldas.

Ex: this battle theme.

[Himu]

Hateno and Kakariko themes

[Chooky]

Hateno and Kakariko themes

those plus the rito and zora themes are fucking mind blowing

[Tasty]

Trailer so hype I'm still watching it two years later.

[bork]

 

[Nintex]

having more subdued music was great for both the atmosphere and for the extended playtime of an open-world game. a traditional japanese looping soundtrack would be a fucking nightmare for a 100+ game.

Nier Automata did a great job of having a catchy Japanese soundtrack that worked both for short bursts of play as well as long journeys.




I also liked some of BOTW's dynamic tracks but the weakest parts were played the most often (the repeating horse riding sequence for example).
It's almost like Twilight Princess where some of the best tracks were played only in the background of text dialogues that lasted 3 seconds if you just skipped ahead without reading or listening.

[Tuckers Law]

No TriForce heroes?

[I'm a Puppy!]

Lttp is now completed.
Again suprised by the amount of content in it.

Now onto Ocarina of time. This is where we start to wander away from the installments I played to death. Like both Loz 1 and 2 took me just a day. LttP took me about 3 days play time. But I have all those games completely memorized. Ocarina I've only ever finished once. So it's gonna be harder.

[Himu]

Lttp is now completed.
Again suprised by the amount of content in it.

Now onto Ocarina of time. This is where we start to wander away from the installments I played to death. Like both Loz 1 and 2 took me just a day. LttP took me about 3 days play time. But I have all those games completely memorized. Ocarina I've only ever finished once. So it's gonna be harder.

Play the 3ds version if possible.

[Svejk]

In a post BOTW world.... Ocarina is still my fav hands down. 

[I'm a Puppy!]

Lttp is now completed.
Again suprised by the amount of content in it.

Now onto Ocarina of time. This is where we start to wander away from the installments I played to death. Like both Loz 1 and 2 took me just a day. LttP took me about 3 days play time. But I have all those games completely memorized. Ocarina I've only ever finished once. So it's gonna be harder.

Play the 3ds version if possible.

Yup 3DS for both Ocarina and majora's mask

[team filler]

3ds mm 

[curly]

what's wrong with 3ds majora

[team filler]

YerAWizardHarry
1 week ago
The project restoration mod for the 3DS version is 99% done and it’s amazing. It runs both on the 3DS and Citra so everyone who wants to play MM3D with the original game’s mechanics etc. should look at project restoration.

[paprikastaude]

All MM needed - good graphics, more precise skipping time forward.

What they did - the above but also two gallons of  

[Chooky]

the complaints about the remake are so hilariously overblown, especially considering how much they improved on the base game

[Himu]

There’s nothing wrong with the remake besides the lack of Zora swimming. That’s literally it.

[team filler]

 

[paprikastaude]

They've destroyed one fourth of the game, that's literally it 

(no, that's not even it, but there's no point in just repeating the video content less eloquently here)

[curly]

That video seemed like some legitimate but minor complaints made into a much bigger deal than they deserved.

[CatsCatsCats]

That video seemed like some legitimate but minor complaints made into a much bigger deal than they deserved.

Sounds like a video posted to the Internet

[Tuckers Law]

That video’s been dumb ever since it was posted, especially because Zelda fans can be the worst with their fandom anal-retentiveness and they love using videos like that to cudgel their arguments into discussion. (I say this with love, being an anal-retentive Zelda fan myself who has probably done similar in the past.)
Yeah, the Zora swim change sucks, but the changes made to saving, song of double time, and the bombers notebook all elevated the game more than enough to make it the better version.

[Chooky]

correct me if im wrong but wasnt the coastline where you could swim just a fairly small area that was basically empty save for the entrance to the zora town and a shitty minigame?

[Himu]

There’s nothing wrong with the remake besides the lack of Zora swimming. That’s literally it.

That's enough to make me prefer the OG to be honest.

I agree for Great Bay but swimming in the water is so good in the original and it sucks you can’t switch modes.

[Himu]

correct me if im wrong but wasnt the coastline where you could swim just a fairly small area that was basically empty save for the entrance to the zora town and a shitty minigame?

You’re right.

And a few Chu chu’s I think.

[Svejk]

Alright, I need yall's knowledge... Since the release of BOTW, Gerudo Town music sounds like a play off another familiar Zelda tune, and I've been racking my brain the past few years trying to pinpoint it, but can't.  Why does it sound so familiar?!? 



Closest track I can see a resemblance from is Kakariko Village from TP...  Can't find any other Gerudo track from OoT, WW or SS that's as close as this....



Yay? Nay?  Or am I just reaching?

[Tuckers Law]

Hmm, good question.  I feel like maybe it could be pulling from one of or a couple of different themes.  The Pirate Fortress themes from Majora’s mask and Skyward Sword’s Lanayru Sea maybe?

[Himu]

Sounds nothing like past Zelda songs imo.

The most it has that's similar is the Goron theme in OoT/MM which also has a similar weird-ish sound/vibe to it