A Breakdown of The Legend of Zelda
Let’s just get this out of the way now: “A Link to the Past” is the first Zelda game that setup the “vast world, linear gameplay, 3–6” trope of the future 3D Zelda games — NOT Ocarina of Time.
That said, let’s start from the beginning:
The Legend of Zelda (NES)
The original NES Legend of Zelda was a classic masterpiece. It had an expansive open world that you could earnestly explore with no real direction, tackle the dungeons in any real order you wanted, and pretty much do anything from the word “Go!”.
It was also the first game to implement a save feature, which is obviously a big deal with modern games today, as almost every game now has some sort of feature to record your progress of gameplay.
It set the bar for what a good game really needed to be awesome!
The Adventures of Link (NES)
At this point in time, Nintendo hadn’t really decerned a definitive “Zelda” experience, yet. They wanted to try new things, and, as such, they went forward with a new take on the original by making it a side-scroller. Now, many people have criticized this game for being “too hard”, or “too different”, but, honestly, I’d say that’s what makes it stand out more!
Now, I’ve played it, and gotten pretty dang far. I can attest to the fact that it is very difficult.
But, this doesn’t exactly qualify it to be a “bad game”. The controls are tight, the combat isn’t impossible, and the all around look of the game is pretty solid! I mean, sure, it looks like a bad “Final Fantasy” mixed with “Castlevania”, but that’s just because they (Nintendo) didn’t really know what else to do other than rehash the old game with new stuff — something they do now. They just wanted to keep it fresh, and not give you the same, tired crap they already gave you.
Props.
A Link to the Past (SNES)
As cited in the first paragraph, A Link to the Past set the standard for almost all of the future 3D Zelda games. You’d get 2–3 things, get the Master Sword, and then get 5–6 more things, and then you can fight the final boss. (therein lies the “vast world, linear gameplay, 3–6” trope)
But, don’t get me wrong, that’s not to say ALttP was a bad game by any means, if anything, it’s the first “true” Zelda game with really tight controls, sword tactics other than just “stab in the direction you’re facing”, multiple bottles for fairies, bees, potions, etc…, more layered graphics to convey depth, and more intricate dungeon designs other than just a simple grid. Now, a lot of the shortcomings that ALttP improved on were obviously due to system limitations, so it’s not that big of a deal or downside — it just is what it is.
That said, ALttP has gone on to be the absolute favourite of Zelda players worldwide, even if it’s just for the 2D titles. And for good reason, too! Now you could finally explore a fleshed out world, albeit at the cost of somewhat being told when and where you could go to certain places, and there were even more nooks and crannies to investigate for heart pieces and money.
Ocarina of Time (N64)
Zelda’s first entry into the 3D realm would be a rocky, yet well-received, entry. Following in the footsteps of Mario before it, Link and Zelda come alive in 3D rendered polygonal form, now with 3D combat, worlds, and enemies. No longer do you just move left or right, or up down; you’re now moving left or right, up, down, and forward and backward! You can do backflips and somersaults, jump attacks, and actually AIM your arrow and hookshots. ITS CRAZY!!!
It continues the trend ALttP started by tasking you to get 3 stones, then, after getting the master sword, you have to go get 5–6 more medallions before you can fight Ganon. While not exactly a bad setup for a game’s achievements, it’s still just piggybacking off of ALttP. This would basically make OoT an ALttP clone but in 3D, swapping out the “Light” and “Dark” worlds for the “Past/Present” and the “Future” worlds/timelines. Not bad, just an observation. Most people I hear/read about who talk about 3D Zelda games like to say they’re just copying Ocarina of Time — but really they’re copying ALttP…
Still, despite this, Ocarina of Time is still a really solid entry.
[Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)]
It’s the exact same game but with upgraded graphics and controls. It also includes the mirrored Master Quest with harder dungeons that is unlocked after the initial playthrough.
Majora’s Mask (N64)
Majora’s Mask used to be the “black sheep” of the Zelda titles. And, maybe, in a way, it still is. I used to shun it in comparison to Ocarina of Time due to the fact that you “had to beat the game in 3 days” always turned me off from wanting to play it. It always baffled me as a kid that you could possibly beat a game in 3 days, it was far beyond me. Looking back, it was stupid of me, especially when the game is such a knockout sensation!
It’s true you have only “3 days” to beat the game, but you’re given the Ocarina of Time.
Since the previous installment, the Ocarina can now fast forward time, reset it back to the first day, or even slow down the passage of time, effectively doubling the time available to complete a given task! When you beat a dungeon, you gain a mask of the boss to signify its defeat. This works for you so that when you reset the time limit, you don’t have to rebeat the temple again! You also don’t lose key-items via reset, either, but you will lose the ammo.
But this is a general overview, not exactly a full on specifics review, so, moving on.
[Majora’s Mask 3D (3DS)]
This is one, by far, my favourite 3D Zelda adventure currently on the 3DS, because it supports the “Circle Pad Pro” attachment so that you can have additional camera controls. Much better than Ocarina of Time 3D in that respect, so that you’re not constantly hitting “L” to recenter the camera to where you need it to face.
Wind Waker (NGC)
Glorious angels come down from the heavens to trumpet this game’s triumphant arrival onto the console of tiny justice that is the Nintendo Gamecube.
I remember when this game was announced and shown off, it got so much backlash from people that hated on the cartoony artwork, when it ultimately lead to really strenghtening the emotions and facial expressions characters were able to convey without being too heavy handed!
The controls were super tight and responsive, the free-roaming camera (later carried over to the Majora’s Mask 3D remake and Twilight Princess I’ll talk about next) made for an amazingly fresh way to take in your surroundings without actually having to move Link either at all or too much. If you panned the camera around and just let it sit on Link’s face, he’d often look around the room at something that would lead to a solution or discovery. It was a very fresh take on the Zelda franchise, however;
Despite all of these good things WW brought to the table (and there’s so much more I haven’t even worried about touching on) it still had the same basic formula of 2–3 things to collect, master sword, then 4–5 more things to collect then you can face Ganon. Much to the game’s credit — and, bare in mind it’s been awhile since I’ve played it — they actually intersperse some extra tasks to complete here and there that are relatively integral to the plot, rather than just something extra you can or should do to get an extra weapon/upgrade, so there’s always some cool sort of thing you can end up doing. Not to mention, also, that sweet 100-floor dungeon? Yes, please…
Anyway, I could go on and on about Wind Waker, but my bias is showing, so…
[Wind Waker HD (WiiU)]
Updated graphics and controls, take selfies! Sail faster, and…some animations are faster.
Twilight Princess (NGC)
This is the “Legend of Zelda” experience everyone wanted out of WW: more “realistic” depictions of characters, an adult link, “gritty” atmosphere and environments with really wicked looking enemies and bosses. If you were a wimp of a kid, this game was giving you nightmares!
It one of the strangest “before-the-hero” kinda setups in a Zelda game, Link was actually a rancher working to herd sheep, or goats, or…whatever, before being tasked with saving his friends and then, later, the kingdom of Hyrule.It was nice, though. Humble, even.
The NGC version of the game was far more definitive IMO than it’s Wii port, even though that’s probably the one more people remember/think of when they think Twilight Princess, even though the Wii version had the exact same graphics as the Gamecube version, but I digress.
Boasting some of the most detailed environments, menacing looking enemies, demonic bosses, and funny little items in any Zelda game, it was one of the edgiest entries we’ve ever gotten since Zelda 2 — and that game had prostitutes! Sexy, 8-bit, pixelated prostitutes…
[Twilight Princess HD (WiiU)]
Updated graphics and controls, has both the NGC and the Wii versions with the Wii version as the “Hero Mode” with increased difficulty
Skyward Sword (Wii)
Oh boy! We’re finally here!
I’ll have to admit, I haven’t actually played much of Skyward Sword. When I did, the sensor bar was eating batteries like candy and would occasionally shut off mid-gameplay, the Wii-Motion controller would have to be recalibrated from time-to-time, the swordplay was awkward as all hell, and the overall gameplay was just obnoxious backtracking — and not like in Twilight Princess where you got to do it in a completely different setting as before, but just as a “do it again” kind of thing.
Someday, not anytime soon, mind you, I’ll go back to visit this game. Now, it did get relatively high reviews at it’s time of release, and, from what I played, I can say it was a very beautiful game, and the idea of upgrading your weapons and armour at your own pace by collecting monster drops gave it a very cool RPG kinda feel. It’s nice when you don’t have to wait until you get to a certain dungeon or whatever, find the one treasure chest with the one item you can take back to a blacksmith and finally upgrade your sword — I’m looking at you, ALBW…
I don’t know, I wouldn’t exactly say I hate it, but I’m, like, 99% the way there just based on my previous experience with it. And, who knows, maybe with an optimal setup and actual patience, I’ll come to love the game like so many others I know do. But…not today.
“Zelda U” (WiiU/NX)
And that brings us to where we are today. Now, I’m intentionally leaving out portable titles, because they’re in a league all on their own. So…from the original Zelda on the NES to Skyward Shitfest — I mean, Sword — on the Wii, where does that leave us now on Zelda U?
Well, if the small things we’ve been told by the game’s developer(s) are any indication, we can sort of expect a world as vast — if not more so — than Wind Waker’s overworld, but with considerably less water. It should be as lively — if not more so — than Majora’s Mask, with even enemies behaving differently at certain times of day (much like in Xenoblade X!) and, last but not least, it’ll be as open-ended and exploration inviting as the original NES Legend of Zelda.
Now, I know I might be making it sound way better than it’s actually going to be, but, considering it’s going to be the main focus for Nintendo at 2016’s E3, I’d say it’s pretty fair that they’re going absolute balls-to-the wall for this adventure — or…at least that’s what I’m hoping…
