Favorite Zelda Game?

[Euryalus]

Wind Waker.

Followed by Twilight Princess. I feel that these two games best encapsulate what is great about the exploration and adventure aspect of the series. And they both provide excellent nods to the rest of the series while neither relying on, shoehorning in, or disregarding, continuity.

Continuity? In the Zelda Franchise? lolwut. Go look at the official timeline Nintendo's got and tell me it isn't a convoluted mess. TP and WW are no exception. Hell try relating those two to each other.

The timeline is a recent creation, i.e., ret-conned. That particular example is, like many fanboys have also done, an attempt at connecting a string of games that really shouldn't be timelined in such a way.

I always read it as the "legend" of Zelda, something that isn't nailed down in fact. I wonder if certain stories are other ways the "legend" was passed down, and I would go so far as to view TP as a sort of alternate telling of LttP.

"Relate them to each other"?

They have similar elements with such things as similar architectural styles in key areas, certain themes are kept while others are altered. The OoT Temple of Time is in a plaza, but that shows up in many iterations and many environments, which all have common elements and common detailing. At first, one was curious about its location in TP, but the area of the forest in which it dwells doesn't seem unlike a ruined version of its OoT counterpart, and the tower aspect of it, as well as its interior decor, fit nicely with the tower of the gods in WW.

I could go on and on and on, and I have in non-internet settings, and it's easier to say in speech than in writing, with scribbles in stuff.

Also, certain games don't count in my opinion, regarding the "Legend" part of the Legend of Zelda. The Legends art the series' main entries, namely, the original, LttP, OoT, WW, TP, and SS. The others are add-ons, different stories that only relate to the specific telling of the legend that they correspond to (i.e., MM can only be interpreted in the context of OoT, but not WW, SS, or any others).

All I can say is how I felt while playing the games myself, and having played all of them, I know which aspects hit me deeper than others. Continuity in Zelda games should remain unexplained. See the Star Wars example, in which the Force was more interesting before an explanation for it was attempted.

Monomyth and all that eh? Well I guess that could work... But it takes just as much fiddling to make it work as the split timeline thing. Who's telling the legend and who's listening to it. Nintendo? Us? Random people in some post-industrial Hyrule who treat link like we do Oddyseus? I don't like this re-telling jazz :/

Nintendo had no plan for this series and just started piling on independent crap didn't they?

This is relevent I guess...

 

[144_v1legacy]

Wind Waker.

Followed by Twilight Princess. I feel that these two games best encapsulate what is great about the exploration and adventure aspect of the series. And they both provide excellent nods to the rest of the series while neither relying on, shoehorning in, or disregarding, continuity.

Continuity? In the Zelda Franchise? lolwut. Go look at the official timeline Nintendo's got and tell me it isn't a convoluted mess. TP and WW are no exception. Hell try relating those two to each other.

The timeline is a recent creation, i.e., ret-conned. That particular example is, like many fanboys have also done, an attempt at connecting a string of games that really shouldn't be timelined in such a way.

I always read it as the "legend" of Zelda, something that isn't nailed down in fact. I wonder if certain stories are other ways the "legend" was passed down, and I would go so far as to view TP as a sort of alternate telling of LttP.

"Relate them to each other"?

They have similar elements with such things as similar architectural styles in key areas, certain themes are kept while others are altered. The OoT Temple of Time is in a plaza, but that shows up in many iterations and many environments, which all have common elements and common detailing. At first, one was curious about its location in TP, but the area of the forest in which it dwells doesn't seem unlike a ruined version of its OoT counterpart, and the tower aspect of it, as well as its interior decor, fit nicely with the tower of the gods in WW.

I could go on and on and on, and I have in non-internet settings, and it's easier to say in speech than in writing, with scribbles in stuff.

Also, certain games don't count in my opinion, regarding the "Legend" part of the Legend of Zelda. The Legends art the series' main entries, namely, the original, LttP, OoT, WW, TP, and SS. The others are add-ons, different stories that only relate to the specific telling of the legend that they correspond to (i.e., MM can only be interpreted in the context of OoT, but not WW, SS, or any others).

All I can say is how I felt while playing the games myself, and having played all of them, I know which aspects hit me deeper than others. Continuity in Zelda games should remain unexplained. See the Star Wars example, in which the Force was more interesting before an explanation for it was attempted.

Monomyth and all that eh? Well I guess that could work... But it takes just as much fiddling to make it work as the split timeline thing. Who's telling the legend and who's listening to it. Nintendo? Us? Random people in some post-industrial Hyrule who treat link like we do Oddyseus? I don't like this re-telling jazz :/

Nintendo had no plan for this series and just started piling on independent crap didn't they?

No plan. That's why each iteration is so different from the last, at least more than say, the difference between the entries in any game that incorporates the word "trilogy" (Metroid, Halo) or other sufficiently planned games (GTA, ResEvil).

The teller and listener is irrelevant. When Link opened that door to go to the past-temple of time in TP, here's the explanation given by the game that could potentially/hypothetically have been heard in my head:

"Hmm, the Master Sword is in a forest now... didn't it used to be in a temple? And isn't it in one later? Why is it here? Also, that architecture and stained glass looks a bit familiar... hmmm, now look at that! This really resembles the Temple of Time all of a sudden? Link doesn't know what's going on, but do you think maybe you can piece things together? I wonder how much time has really passed that would result in such decay and forestation of the temple of time? And don't those designs look similar to the tower of the Gods? Come to think of it, didn't the tower of the gods sit roughly on top of a section of castle in the underwater world with stained glass windows? They had the six sages on them, remember? I wonder if the temple was perhaps reconstructed in their honor? Is it the same temple as the one in OoT? Or is it modified since its forestation? I seem to remember a sort of aincient/future/electrical theme going on in the tower of the gods too... which seems to work well with the timeshift stones and overall look and feel of the past/future stuff in that game you haven't played yet on the Wii... wow, I bet you dedicated players will toss and turn trying to piece together a puzzle which simply doesn't have enough pieces to solve. I wonder if Link understands the magnitude of the legend in which he's participating?"

That's roughly what may have gone on in my head, sans the SS part. Odysseus is a good analogy, since it was a story retold and is probably different now to the original, with some details lost and others added.

 

[Ravinoff]

Wind Waker. Playing it after binging on Skyrim for weeks was glorious. Perhaps not so coincidentally, both of the above are two of my favourite games just for the true epic factor. Both more expansive than anything else I've played.

 

[sextus the crazy]

Dat formatting...

My eyes! Ze goggles! They do Nothing!

OT: Wind Waker, hands down for me.

The aesthetic of the game has aged beautifully, the music is brilliant and I just adore the atmosphere of the whole thing.

I liked the sailing. Sure it was time consuming, but it was also calming and it showed the game's excellent draw distances. Also, WW was the closest zelda's ever really come to being the elder scrolls.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Wind Waker, something about it just makes me happy. Probably the cheerful aesthetic and great soundtrack.

I loved the Ocarina or time, but I tried to play it recently and couldn't get into it.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

My favorite is Link's Awakening, but I can't tell you why because I'm to sad about Nintendo Power.

 

[Scrustle]

What's with the weird structure of your post?

Anyway, to answer what you actually said, I really don't agree that Skyward Sword deserves its reputation as being as good or better than Ocarina of Time. It is not. It's really good, it is a Zelda game after all, but it is not that good. It has some pretty big flaws. Maybe once the novelty of the game wares off for you will be able to see what I mean.

As for my personal favourite, I can never decide.

I have a special love for Majora's Mask since it was my first ever Zelda game. I really love the world it's set in and I got really involved with all the characters and stuff. I also loved the overall tone of the game. It was weird, sometimes scary, sometimes sad, but also really charming and fun. That, along with Pokemon, defined my childhood and the start of me gaming career.

Wind Waker is also pretty significant for me. Again, I fell in love with the world and characters. The dungeons and puzzles were all so well designed too, they were always really enjoyable and at the perfect difficulty level. I loved the art style and I even enjoyed sailing. I played it when I was really starting to get in to gaming in a deeper way. I had got used to what games generally entailed and I was starting to explore all the different types of games out there, yet Zelda was still among the greatest out there. Wind Waker defined that point in my gaming life.

I'd like to add in Twilight Princess, but I'm not sure I can. I really loved it, just like almost all Zelda games, but I don't really have the same memories with it as I do with other games. I loved the art style and the darker tone of the game, and of course it was brilliantly designed as almost all Zelda games are. I think it also has my favourite version of Hyrule too. It's so huge and has amazing vistas, and there's so many different areas. I especially liked the mountain area, even though it is relatively small. I also really liked the combat mechanics. It was quite a bit deeper than most Zelda games. But it just wasn't as momentous in my gaming career like the other games were. I guess I've become used to it all now. I guess Skyward Sword was more memorable, but that doesn't make it better.

 

[Bleidd Whitefalcon]

My favorite is probably Twilight Princess. Been playing OOT 3D and it doesn't really seem to live up to the "best game ever!" rep it has.

 

[Gatx]

Wind Waker for me. Also known as "the only Zelda game I've ever finished." I enjoyed the story, was totally into the initial "save your sister" thing, much more personal that "go save the world because you're a hero and that's what you do."

 

[Guffe]

Not really sure, the ones I've played recently and remember well are Majoras Mask, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. They are all fairly different and I liked them a lot. Wind Waker gets a lot of praise so I think I should try that out too sometimes.
I'll go for Skyward Sword as my final answer after some thought.

Also Welcome to the Escapist and you can type on every row and as far to the right as the screen allows you too

 

[Yopaz]

I am going to be unoriginal here and say Wind Waker. I haven't played that many Zelda games, but Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are the ones I have had the most fun with. Wind Waker looks amazing and it has aged well.

 

[Dandark]

Now this is a tough question.

I am leaning towards saying Wind Waker. I loved that game and found it to be so much fun, the aesthetic was beautiful, the music good and the atmosphere brilliant.

I actully wasn't that big a fan of OOT, I enjoyed it but I didn't play it in it's prime and enjoyed others more.

I really liked Majora's mask. It had some amazing new ideas and I found it to be a unique and fun experience but I alway's had trouble with it so I won't call it my favorite.

The only gameboy ones I remember playing were "Links awakening" which was my first Zelda game and then "Oracle of ages/seasons" but I have trouble remembering them.

I did greatly enjoy Twilight princess though, arg this is so damn hard, I hate choosing between games like this and don't know why I do it. I enjoyed the aesthetic well enough in TP and really liked the story and characters, I also enjoyed the gameplay and dungeons as well as the atmosphere and music.

I think im going to say Wind Waker followed very VERY closely by Twilight Princess.

 

[Starik20X6]

I could never choose just one, because I'm fickle like that. I will say I was blown away by how good Link's Awakening is. I mean, obviously I knew it would be good, but I was kind of amazed just how much I enjoyed it.

Spoiler: Spoilers for Link's Awakening

Link's Awakening is probably the most morally conflicting Zelda game, which I think might be why I like it so much. As it slowly becomes apparent why the monsters are attacking you, and what the consequences of your success will be, you start to question whether or not you're doing the right thing. I seriously considered not finishing it because I didn't want to destroy their world. The only other game that's managed to make me think like that is Shadow of the Colossus.

 

[Myndnix]

Wind Waker with no contest. And I say this after having played every game, including those CD-i ones. I was curious, don't judge me!
As a sidenote, Wind Waker is also one of my favourite games of all time.

 

[EquestrianGeneral]

I have to go with Majora's Mask, with Wind Waker as a close second.

Majora's Mask had the same great gameplay as OoT (and, for better or worse, the same graphics), but with significantly more depth, both in its story and its world.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Wind Waker, t'was my first TLOZ game, and I have the fondest memories of it.

Also, what an oddly written OP

 

[Nightmare-Child]

Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and A Link to the Past.

 

[Raggedstar]

Spoiler: The greatest Zelda game of all time? Easy :3

Ok ok, I'll stop that.

The Zelda games are so similar that they're all kinda on the same level with me x___x. I'm currently playing Majora's Mask, and while the 3-day mechanic is interesting, atmospheric, and makes it unique compared to the others, it's SOOOOOO annoying. And the save system sucks donkies.

Skyward Sword to me was a good game with bad ideas. Could've been much better if they streamlined it. Axe Fi (or make her less annoying. Not hard to do), either trim down about 20 hours and/or the story more...er...driven (as opposed to just tossing stuff out and reverting back to "go there to collect the thing". I can tell you exactly where the game started falling apart. Maybe up the stakes too), reduce the repetition in boss fights, maybe more stuff to explore with the bird (as in MEANINGFUL stuff), and there you have it. Most of the pieces were in place, just a lot held it back.

Ocarina Of Time is good and I enjoyed myself back then and with the 3DS remake, but still over-rated. Aged badly too.

Never tried Wind Waker, but I REALLY want to. I adore cel-shading and the sailing looks fun. Wouldn't mind at least trying Link's Awakening too.

Phantom Hourglass is kinda like Skyward Sword except one bad mechanic pretty much ruined the game for me (no need to mention which). Spirit Tracks was the appology, and I accept that appology. Also a good way of bringing the formula of "shit happens to Zelda" without Zelda being kidnapped. She's so cute in this game!

So I guess that leaves me with calling Twilight Princess and Link To The Past as the games with "the least things wrong with it". The wolf was clunky and perhaps un-needed, some repetition wit the spirit tear things, still as much of an OOT knock-off as before, bland colours, but otherwise it was pretty damn good. Gotta love Midna. Link To The Past is the simplest in structure of my list, so by default it kinda screwed up the least. Also, it was the first Zelda I owned AND first I beat. I know it so well and it holds a special place with me.

 

[dimensional]

Okami what dosent count ok it would be four swords adventures with four players in that case as that was truly masterful.

Single player it would be twilight princess with wind waker just behind (I liked the wolf section in twilight princess I could imagine I was playing a worse Okami game).

The best Zelda is Link to the Past though after the four swords four player one.