My Opinion on Zelda - Pt. 2

Well, here we are. The next post where I'm going to talk about my thoughts on the rest of the Zelda series.

At one point in time, I stopped being a Zelda fan. I'm not sure how it happened, but I just didn't care about Zelda. Maybe because it was because it was such a long wait between the last Zelda game and Twilight Princess, that I just forgot how fun the Zelda games really are.

The last Zelda game... I think it was Minish Cap, which would make sense because it's the only game in the game in the series that I still haven't played. So, I was waiting even longer to get my Zelda fix. When Twilight Princess came out, I didn't even care for it... I wasn't going to get it.

When it came out for GCN, a friend of mine, who was and still is a Zelda fan, showed me some gameplay from Twilight Princess. Watching her play, seeing the wolf mechanic (which I have to admit, I didn't even know there was a wolf mechanic in the game) of the game, and seeing Link holding up that Master Sword slashing those enemies on the new Hyrule field and it's amazing new field music... It snapped back into me: I NEEDED to play a new Zelda game! I immediately went out and bought this game, and my God, I wish I bought it sooner.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons (GBC)
Great fun, even more so than Link's Awakening. I heard about these games in a magazine, so I asked my dad to pick me up Ages. In the magazine, I read that Ages was more puzzle oriented than Seasons (which was action oriented) so I thought my tiny little eleven year old brain could master the "challenging" puzzles of Ages. And it did... after a lot, a lot of hard work and patience.

I can still remember quite a bit of Ages. It probably has the hardest puzzles out of any of the 2D Zelda games, and probably second hardest puzzles in the entire series, next to Majora's Mask.

Remember kiddies, by "hardest puzzles", I mean "hardest to figure out".

Unfortunately, I can't remember too much about Seasons. I only beat it once, and I didn't even own it... you see, when I was twelve my family got our first computer. I soon after learned about Emulators and ROMs and thought that it was amazing that I could play any game I wanted after just a few clicks. You see that "Other" symbol under Seasons in my backloggery? Yeah, that's from when I was twelve years old, and I was playing the ROM of the game, just so I can play it once. It was also a linked game, from my real life Ages, and I also got to fight against Ganon for the first time. At the time I couldn't understand how my real life game was being transferred to a computer.

After that, I took a password from a cheats website and played my Ages game under a linked game, just so I can fight Ganon in that too.

I think I've played and beat Ages more than most Zelda games... I don't know what it is about it, but it has this charm that just makes me want to go back to it once and a while, and just beat it again.

I plan to play it again soon, and after that, I'm going to link it with Seasons for the second time in my life to remember everything about that game and to finally Complete it for my Backlog.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)
I was extremely excited for this game to come out. This game was the reason why I signed an account on GameFAQs, so that I can read the news about this upcoming game, and read people's impressions on the Japanese version. It was such an exciting wait, and I couldn't help myself but read all the spoilers in the game. I kept thinking, "Cool! I can't wait to see this happen when I play!" I was so young, and this was the first game ever where I read all about it. And it would be my last.

I made a grave mistake when I read all those spoilers. I never thought that knowing something would ruin it, because I was never connected to the outside world until shortly before Wind Waker came out, so I assumed that it would be just as awesome to experience it in first hand. But, knowing what was going to happen, and knowing all the plot twists of the game... it made me not appreciate the game as much as I would have liked, and I ended up putting the controller away as soon as I defeated Ganondorf.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the game then, it was just that I was disappointed with it. But it wasn't the game's fault, it was all my fault for spoiling everything to myself. After I beat that game, I vowed to never spoil myself about video games again, especially games in the Zelda series.

Enough about that, let me actually talk about the game now...

After my recent playthrough, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I have to say that the game is absolutely beautiful. There is no game out there that matches the beauty that this game offers, and it's all because of that perfect art style and the way the game was textured using cel shading. No game will ever match the beautiful waters of the world, the smooth models of the characters, and the amazingly atmospheric dungeons. If there's anything to praise about this game, it would be the graphics.

This game was another different step for the series. There is no field, it's all oceans and you have to sail to every location. And let me tells ya, it's a big world. Everything is done in real time so you have to wait quite a while to get from island to island. However, it didn't really bother me. I find sailing the waters of Wind Waker nice and relaxing. I hate it when those sharks come and attack me, they ruin my relaxation!

The gameplay is a step up from Ocarina and Majora's Mask. Controlling Link has never felt so smooth. And they added counter attacks into this game, which made it a bit easy but also wowed us with the crazy moves Link can do. I also love the little "ding" sound effects the game will play with each strike you give to your enemy.

The final battle is absolutely amazing, probably the second best in the series. You and ol' Ganny, on top of a tower, with tons and tons of water falling and crashing down all over you... no other game in the world has you fighting in this scenario. It's just too bad that all you gotta do is wait for Zelda to shoot a bunch of Light Arrows and Ganondorf, which makes this battle less about skill and more about waiting for the right time to press the "A" button.

In the end, the game is excellent and deserves to be recognized more. Of course, due to it's "kiddy" look, a lot of people overlook this gem for games such as Halo and Madden... *sigh*

The Four Sword Series (GBA/GCN)
The Four Sword series... there are three games in all. Four Sword on the GBA, which was an added game to the remake of A Link to the Past for the GBA, Four Sword Adventures, which is a direct sequel to the GBA game for the GCN which utilized GCN to GBA controls, and Minish Cap, which is loosely connected prequel to those games, but is also a prequel to all Zelda games.

I was lucky enough to have a friend with A Link to the Past so the two of us got to play Four Sword. It's different, I gotta say. There are four areas, all of which you need to collect as many rupees as possible before fighting the boss of the area. I don't really remember how a lot of the puzzles were like, but because the game required teamwork, a lot of puzzles involved you and your friend somehow. And it seemed like the areas would change every time you played it, so the game kept it fresh.

Because it was just an added bonus, however, the game doesn't have much story and the areas aren't really that long or complicated to beat. Fighting Vaati, though, was pretty cool. In the end, it was all good fun.

Four Sword Adventures was a huge expansion on the world the GBA game gave us. It also made it clear that this world is the same world seen in A Link to the Past and even happens a couple hundred years before the Imprisoning War mentioned in A Link to the Past. It also shows us how Ganon obtains the Trident he uses in most of his games, which is pretty important I would think.

Adventures was quite fun, and I had the same friend to help me. It greatly expands on the gameplay seen in the GBA Four Swords, and even gives us a bit of backstory to Vaati. There are eight parts of the world to explore, each with three levels within. Best of all, every level was unique in design and look, which didn't make it feel repetitive at all. All in all it's a very fun game, and very important to the time line of the Zelda series.

Finally, Minish Cap... which I can't talk about too much. I can only really talk about the story aspects, which I don't even know about too much of it anyway.

I have played Minish Cap before (ROMs, guilty!) but I never played past the first dungeon. What I can gather is, this game is a prequel to all Zelda games because it gives no mention to the Master Sword, Ganon, or even the Triforce. The game even tries to further strengthen this by showing how a cap-less Link gets his hat, and by showing a humanoid Vaati (who is all but human in the other games) releasing all kinds of demons and beasts into the world, when none existed before. So, not only does this game explain why there's monsters in the world of Hyrule, but even also explains why the hero in all the games wear a green hat.

Apparently the game also explains the origin of the Four Sword and how Vaati came to be sealed in it, but I don't know too much about that.

The graphics are nice and colourful, but they're the same Wind Waker based sprites used in Four Sword and Four Sword Adventure. The gameplay is comparable to A Link to the Past but with complicated puzzles instead of tough enemies. That's about all I can say about Minish Cap. All in all, it seems like Minish Cap is a strong game in the series, especially with its story.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
I know Hourglass came out after Twilight Princess, but I think it would be better to finish off with Twilight Princess instead.

Phantom Hourglass, I have to say, was a bit of a disappointment. The way the story was handled was a bit annoying, and the music is terribly bad. In fact, I was so disappointed with the music, that I put the game down for over a year!

The music... it's all generic and bland. The only good song, really, was the ocean song, which was based off of Wind Waker's anyway. What disappointed me the most was the dungeon music. Even Link's Awakening used different dungeon music for each dungeon, but Phantom Hourglass went and used the generic cave music (similar to the cave music in A Link to the Past) for all of its dungeons. Even the Temple of the Ocean King used this short and irritating loop, and it was just annoying.

I'm one of the few people who actually liked the Temple of the Ocean King. You had to go back in that dungeon multiple times to figure out where to go next, and I didn't mind it one bit. It was probably the only challenging part of the game.

Speaking of the challenge, there was very little of it. A lot of the puzzles in the game were based on observation and note writing rather than logic and strategic thinking. A lot of people had difficulty with some of the puzzles in the game, though, so I guess that means I'm a pretty observant guy since I had no problems what-so-ever. I blazed through the dungeons in minutes.

Another little annoyance with this game is that there were no heart pieces, just heart containers. The only other Zelda games in the series that didn't have heart pieces were the first two... and well, I just prefer heart pieces.

With all the bad points this game has, it's just too bad that this game has some of the best touch screen features ever used in a DS game. The gameplay is so smooth, and sword fighting was as simple as swiping the stylus across the screen. All of the items were used with the touch screen, and they were used in new and different ways because of this, which made it very fun to play.

Although Phantom Hourglass was a bit of a disappointment, the gameplay was more than worth it. I'm a firm believer that the touch screen on the DS should be optimized for games like these, and this game was definitely thought through. There are no gimmicks in here, people.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
As I said, this is the game that brought me back into the Zelda series, and for a very good reason. Link has never looked so good before, and all of the bloom and brown in this game was used perfectly. The 3D Zelda games have always used a Day/Night system and this game does it best.

While no game can touch the art style and graphics of Wind Waker, this game has its own style, and it's perfect for Zelda games. No other Zelda game uses the a realistic style better than this game.

Zelda wasn't really that big of a character in this game, but her replacement, Midna, was excellent. She's a "Tsundere", or a "Mean Personality with a Soft Inside" kind-of girl. And she fits her personality pretty well. Later in the game, when she starts to respect Link a lot more, she shows off more of her soft side, and even shows how scared she is of Zant and his powers.

Zant is another character with a bit of personality. Through-out the game, we see him as a badass who can do anything he at his will. But when confronted, the bastard will freak out and start panicking. It shows that underneath the badass exterior, he's just a coward, who wanted nothing more than power, and he couldn't get it.

Ganondorf returns, and this time he's ruthless. He's PISSED, he's angry that he was sealed off in the Twilight Realm for all those years. He does everything in his power to make sure everyone understands how angry he is. But, as always, his arrogance and underestimations of Link prove to be the fall of him, this time for good.

The overworld in this game is probably the best in the entire series. We get this huge overworld that is filled with so many things to find, and so many creatures to fight. There are secrets all over the place, and makes us wish that Ocarina of Time had an overworld as good as this. And the music... it's the best overworld music in the series. The way it seamlessly goes into a battle version of itself when fighting enemies, and back to normal after you defeat them is just perfect. Riding Epona has never felt so good.

The dungeons are another story, unfortunately. The game probably has the weakest dungeons in the series. You only ever hold one key at a time, and the door is usually near-by too. The visuals and designs are great, but the music... not so much. None of that catchy stuff we hear in the older games. The Temple of Time is the worst, in terms of layout, music, dungeon item, AND boss!

A lot of the items are also pretty useless. The Slingshot is quickly replaced by the Hero's Bow, the Gale Boomerang is useless outside of a few puzzles, the Spinner, Dominion Rod, and Ball & Chain are all pretty useless outside of their dungeons, with the exception of Ball & Chain because it's pretty fun to use on enemies. The Double Clawshot, however, is one of the best item ideas ever created and I hope it's used in more Zelda games in the future.

Finally, the boss battles in this game are fairly disappointing. A lot of them, like against Armogohma, are nothing but anti-climatic. Morpheel and Argorok are two exceptions and are fantastic Shadow of the Colossus-like battles and it makes me hope that future Zelda games will have similar battles.

The final battle against Ganondorf, though... that is epic. No light arrows here, this time it's all about skill. Ganondorf manages to be the hardest boss in the game, and rightfully so. He's the final boss, so it should be hard and epic. In the final cut-scene, it shows Link impaling Ganondorf through the stomach, and then Ganondorf dies because the Triforce of Power leaves him.

In the end, Twilight Princess was a fantastic addition to the series. Although, even with a few failed ideas, the game shouldn't be called one of the worst games ever. I don't understand people who say this. This game is a worthy addition to the Zelda series.

It's hard for me to rate the Zelda games in a certain order, especially the 3D ones. The world might not be different if the Zelda series never exist, but my world certainly would be. I'll never make the mistake of not caring about Zelda games ever again.

With Spirit Tracks on the way, and a new Wii Zelda game being made, I hope that series remains strong for a long time. Quality is always a must with Zelda games and Nintendo hasn't failed me yet. If I ever get the chance to work on a Zelda game, I'll make sure to put everything I have into it. It would be an honour to work under Mr. Miyamoto in the Zelda Team.