The Legend of Zelda

[Kokiri-Mentat]

I love this series. Didn't see any threads dedicated to it so here it is.

feel free to post if you've played and which games.  (or post if you haven't played too;) all are welcome)

I've played:

Ocarina of Time

Majora's Mask 

Link's Awakening 

Link to the Past

Oracle of Ages 

Oracle of Seasons 

Twilight Princess

WindWaker 

roughly in that order.

For those of you who love the series as much as I do here's my thoughts on one game.  (if the red is too hard to read please tell me and I will change it for this long post. thanks)

Majora's Mask-

Probably the most under appreciated game in the series.  When comparing video games to other art genres such as literature or cinema, it is difficult to make direct comparisons due to the fact that probably 95% of video games simply can't measure up to the standards of characterization, character development, plot, and artistic style which have been established by the other art genres.  This is partly due to the fact that there are so many people involved in the creation of one video game that sticking to a unified goal and vision can be difficult (similar to the issues that arise when performing in a symphony orchestra).  Yes I recognize that video games are primarily an entertainment industry right now, but even music and writing crosses between both fields throughout history and cultures.

So going back to Majora's Mask, I think that this is the game in the series that best brings not only Link but the entire Zelda NPC community to life.  The sheer amount of side-quests that involve helping people, brining other people together and/or helping them out, "spreading happiness and joy" is mostly how that is accomplished. and the whole time the player is reminded of how important link is to this community called clocktown.  Another thing I liked is that one doesn't feel like these chain quests are just obligatory acts required to obtain the best gear for the last dungeon.  They are completely optional, and the primary reward in my opinion is the satisfaction of learning the mini-stories behind each character NPC.  On top of that, many of the NPC's were either inspired or directly taken from Ocarina, which I thought was a nice touch.  If you do bother to help all the people in clocktown, [hide]the masked children under the tree before the last boss fight will interact using creepy suggestive monologues that elude to link's potential darker side, even his own moral struggles and philosophies on life.[/hide]  It reminds me of the tragic hero concept I studied in literature class ages ago (dark link from Ocarina perhaps).  I hope that Shiguru Miamoto plans to revisit and expand upon the Majora's Mask concept perhaps via a Twilight Princess realization.  That would be the ultimate Zelda game for me.

I guess people didn't enjoy the game because there weren't enough dungeons or they weren't difficult enough.  As you can read about above there is gobs of game play available outside of the dungeons, more than is normal for a zelda game. and I thought the dungeons were on par with Ocarina dungeons (excluding the water temple of course), there just weren't as many this time around.  Plus Tingle is introduced for the first  time in Majora's, and people tend to either love him or hate him.  [hide]Also zelda isn't in Majora's Mask and I guess people had a problem playing a zelda title with no zelda, especially after the central role she played in the well crafted plot/storytelling of Ocarina.  [/hide]well, whatever, she gets her own star role in plenty other titles, but that's just my opinion.

back to topic, I think Majora's Mask is definitely the most substantial zelda game where characterization of Hero and NPC's is concerned.  The gameplay is unique: 72 hour window with time warping throughout that span.  The plot isn't anything special as far as twisting and unpredictability, but hey the world is doomed, you gotta save it.  Graphics, well it's N64 so judging by those standards it's pretty good (just imagine it with TP or PS3 graphics)

If your a zelda fan and didn't like it, you should give it another shot especially if you're still into the RPG genre, emphasis on the role playing aspect.  anyway that's my thoughts for the night.

Now that all of Dune2k is like "Who the F*** is this creepy weird zelda fan-boy, um feel free to comment. :D

[Dragoon Knight]

I've played Zelda 1, 2, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.  I believe that Ocarina was the best in the series, but that Majora's Mask was certainly under-appreciated.  I think it took a certain degree of "breadth of interest" to enjoy that game, because it wasn't really like any other Zelda game hence or since.  I really liked the whole mask idea, the time travel thing, the being at places or doing things at certain times.

That game seriously freaked me out, though.  I mean, the mask transformation scenes aren't something you want to see for the first time at 2am.  And that damned moon.  I can still see its face. :-X

[Vanguard3000]

It makes me sad, Kokiri, that you've not played the originals.  And you call yourself a creepy weird Zelda fan-boy.

Personally, I've played:

-The Legend of Zelda

-The Adventure of Link (Liked it less than the first game, but I didn't hate it nearly as much as everyone else.  The palace music has been remixed into some of the coolest dance music ever.  And Error is one of the deepest, most well-developed character to ever grace the videogaming industry.)

-Link to the Past (on my SNES emulator.  I also found a cartridge in my building's lobby, and gave it to my friend.  It's in Newfoundland, now)

-Link's Awakening (I still have nightmares about trying to kill that slime eye thing)

[Andrew]

I only played

Legend of Zelda

Adventure of Link - sucked really badly.

Link to the past - Great game

Could anyone beat the second world on Legend of Zelda? I remember beating maybe one castle at most.

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

I've played Zelda 1, 2, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.  I believe that Ocarina was the best in the series, but that Majora's Mask was certainly under-appreciated.  I think it took a certain degree of "breadth of interest" to enjoy that game, because it wasn't really like any other Zelda game hence or since.  I really liked the whole mask idea, the time travel thing, the being at places or doing things at certain times.

That game seriously freaked me out, though.  I mean, the mask transformation scenes aren't something you want to see for the first time at 2am.  And that damned moon.  I can still see its face. :-X

Ha ha ha! The moon is so funny! :D

It makes me sad, Kokiri, that you've not played the originals.  And you call yourself a creepy weird Zelda fan-boy.

The snes Zelda's don't seem so good.

I love this series. Didn't see any threads dedicated to it so here it is.

feel free to post if you've played and which games.  (or post if you haven't played too;) all are welcome)

I've played:

Ocarina of Time

Majora's Mask 

Link's Awakening 

Link to the Past

Oracle of Ages 

Oracle of Seasons 

Twilight Princess

WindWaker 

How do you get the Tri-force shards in WindWaker?

[Kokiri-Mentat]

It makes me sad, Kokiri, that you've not played the originals. 

:'( me too.

yea, I was afraid someone might mention that.  I didn't start nintendoing till snes, but I fully intend to get an nes and the original cartridge games (hopefully this summer) and play them that way.  I tried emulating a couple years ago and just couldn't get it to work for some reason. 

I have played them briefly on a java sight, but I just couldn't bring myself to play the whole game that way.  I felt too out of place at the keyboard and not on my couch with a nintendo controller in my hand lol.

The snes Zelda's don't seem so good.

the only snes zelda is link to the past, not legend of zelda or the adventure of link.  Those are on NES.  Are you talking about LttP, or LoZ and AoL?

I only played

Legend of Zelda

Adventure of Link - sucked really badly.

Link to the past - Great game

yea, it seems most people who don't like AoL either didn't like the extreme difficulty level of the game or the fact that it was a platform/sidescrolling game.  Of course when it came out, birds-eye view wasn't quite the zelda standard that we know today since it was only the second title.

I did briefly check out a zelda forum, and many of the people there actually consider it one of their favorites because it is the most challenging to beat.  I don't know how the story and music stacks up but it was pretty consistently ranked as the most challenging zelda title ever up through twilight princess.

I believe that Ocarina was the best in the series, but that Majora's Mask was certainly under-appreciated.  I think it took a certain degree of "breadth of interest" to enjoy that game, because it wasn't really like any other Zelda game hence or since.

I think Ocarina definitely showed the video game community how linear story telling can and should be done effectively.  yea, Majora's Mask isn't for everybody, I admit. but damn once you get it it's just spectacular.  I would've played it all the way through more than just twice, but the game can be so dark......well it would be like reading Franz Kafka's metamorphosis three times in a row.  At the end,you're ready to sprout legs and crawl into a dark corner for several days lol.  But man I loved how dark Majora's Mask was, it really showed a different side of the Zelda series that we may never get to see again.  Notice the direction they took right after that in Windwaker with cell shading graphics alone.  Definitely polar opposites in feel, but I still enjoy playing Windwaker.

-The palace music has been remixed into some of the coolest dance music ever.  And Error is one of the deepest, most well-developed character to ever grace the videogaming industry.)

This mysterious Error piques my curiosity.  These are high praises you bring of this Error character.  How come I've never heard of him?  but if these are spoiler questions than I am content on waiting till when I meet him with my nes controller ;)

[Kirby Gotenks absorbed]

I think I played some horrible 2D Zelda game were link had pink-purplish hair.

[Khan]

Oh my, there's never been a bad zelda game.

[Acriku]

Error who? Oh, that Error.

My favorite Zelda to this day was Ocarina of Time. Sure, I enjoyed the original and the "back to old school" versions of Zelda, but Ocarina almost seemed to have a soul. Especially with what N64 could handle, Ocarina did a lot. The music, the landscapes, the lighting, all of it blended together into a really memorable game.

[Kokiri-Mentat]

My favorite Zelda to this day was Ocarina of Time. Sure, I enjoyed the original and the "back to old school" versions of Zelda, but Ocarina almost seemed to have a soul. Especially with what N64 could handle, Ocarina did a lot. The music, the landscapes, the lighting, all of it blended together into a really memorable game.

Yes, Ocarina is a great example of how a group of people stuck to a similar artistic vision and each person's contributions fit perfectly into the whole picture.

Just a short comment on the music of zelda and ocarina, you can compare the usage of music in Ocarina with the Leitmotifs that Richard Wagner used in his mammoth opera, the Ring Cycle.  Similar techniques.  There is a specific song/melody/texture associated with many reoccurring events/characters/items in the game.  Very effective tool for foreshadowing, characterization, building nostalgia, setting mood, etc....

[Vanguard3000]

Error really has no purpose in the game.  The rumour is his name was supposed to be "Errol", but a typo left him with his now-infamous moniker.  This has, apparently, been debunked by this random source I have no intention of validating.

[Andrew]

Oh my, there's never been a bad zelda game.

The second one was bad. Or maybe I just sucked. I could beat maybe the first castle (You start game at one place, go up a bit, then left, then down, I could be that and then not much else)

[Kokiri-Mentat]

The second is definitely ranked the most difficult of the zelda series.  It was given around a 9 or 10 on difficulty while ocarina was given around 4ish.  this is based on my brief glance of an IGN zelda fan thread.

[Kokiri-Mentat]

OMG, zelda movie?!?

http://movies.ign.com/dor/articles/863515/legend-of-zelda-movie-trailer/videos/legendofzelda_filmtrailer_040108.html

please don't read this hide tag till you watch the trailer >:(  I want untainted opinions on the trailer.thanks. ;D

[hide]I was so torn after seeing this.  The zelda fan in me says "Sweet a zelda movie!!!" ;D

but then...........well idk :'(  ....DID YOU SEE GANON'S HAIR?!!! GIMME A FRIGGEN BREAK! *deep breath*  It's a year away so we'll see what happens.  ok, they are obviously catering to the younger, newer zelda fans.  that's admirable I guess.  And they include a couple familiar monsters from the game.  I am glad they are at least trying to make a zelda movie.  It said on the credits IGN entertainment production on the credits...didn't know they existed....[/hide]

*edit*

Ah, nevermind that rant. If you go here http://www.rainfallfilms.com/showreel/

it's easier to see that it's an indie fan film effort that somehow got IGN on board.  So....nvmd...lol. good for them. ;D

Also, expensive april Fool's joke?  idk.

[Vanguard3000]

Looks like either a really cheezy movie, or a really expensive April Fool's Day joke.

[Kokiri-Mentat]

ya, just watched again and release date is April 1, 2009 and video post was on April 1, today.  although there is an indie fanbase film in the works i just found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB89-9X6YS0

It looks better than the spoof video, and is not an obvious mockery.  although I think if zelda were done w/ a LOTR budget I would expect all SGI or "A Scanner Darkly" approach.  idk, just my though.  If you take the live action approach you have to get rid of the green hat and tunic or else no one will take it seriously as a real movie, and with a big budget you can't afford to alienate your general audience.

*edit*

OMG this is great.

It sounds like they say "blowjob" at 21 seconds into it...i don't speak japanese. lol.