Lambi presents: YF, YF, YLF. This week: Legend of Zelda

[Lambi]

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of:
[HEADING=2]Your First, Your Favorite and Your Least Favorite![/HEADING]
This is where I pick a series by random, sort of, and tell you which ones, if I have played any game in the series, is my first, my favorite and my least favorite. Then you tell me which ones are your, well, you get what I mean.

As the title says, this week it's:
[HEADING=1]Legend of Zelda[/HEADING]

This is the first series in this little section of mine in which I haven't played a single game in it. I have seen copies of Legend of Zelda games, I've touched some, but never played one. To see an example of how I do this, look inside the spoiler below. Or check any of the previous YF, YF, YLFs.

Spoiler: Usual YF, YF, YLF

My first one was [Insert game here]
Here you can say if you thought it was good or bad, what made it good or bad, or just say a little about it.

My favorite one is [Insert game here]
Here you can say what made it so great for you if you want.

My least favorite one is [Insert game here]
Here you can say what made it so bad for you or why it's your least favorite. It can still be enjoyable even if it's your least favorite.

As usual, this is not a thread where you can bash others for liking or disliking a certain game. So please, keep your hate either to yourselves or to your least favorite game.

Spoiler: Previous YF, YF, YLFs

Final Fantasy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.217182-Lambi-presents-Your-first-your-favorite-and-your-least-favorite]
Silent Hill [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.219883-Lambi-presents-YF-YF-YLF-This-week-Silent-Hill]
Resident Evil [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.223289-Lambi-presents-YF-YF-YLF-This-week-Resident-Evil]

 

[Macgyvercas]

Well, my first Zelda game was A Link to the Past. I thought it was excellent, and have since memorized it inside, outside, upside-down, forwards, backwards and inside out. ALttP is also my favorite Zelda game.

I don't have a least favorite Zelda game (I love them all...except the CD-i games, because those don't exist), but I do have parts of games that I don't particularly care for. Two examples that spring to mind are Navi from Ocarina of Time and the Like-Likes from the original.

 

[Cherry Cola]

First: Oracle of Ages.

My very first game for my Gameboy Color. I never managed to get past the third boss before the game disappeared forever.

I miss it...

Favorite: The Minish Cap

Ah, lovely lovely Minish Cap. One of the first game I got for the Gameboy Advance, I spent many hours trying to beat it before finally defeating the badguy and saving the day. Then when I was done, I continued to look for all those shard thingies I can't remember the name of.

Ah, good times...

Least favorite: I have two choices here. The Zelda game I have played and the one I haven't.

The one I did play becomes least favorite by default, and that is Oracle of Seasons.

It's my least favorite simply because I never got to play beyond the first boss, and therefore never got a satisfying experience.

My least favorite I didn't play is any of the CD-i Zelda games. While I haven't played them, I still loathe them for being so utterly stupid.

 

[Crispee]

First, Ocarina of Time when I was a wee lad.

Favorite, Wind Waker when I was a slightly less wee lad.

Least favorite Spirit Tracks not long ago, but still a wee lad.

 

[FlameUnquenchable]

First, the OG Legend of Zelda my friend got it right after it came out with his brand new NES with the gold cartridge.

Favorite, probably A Link to the Past. It built on the Zelda games, it was enjoyable and brought new life to the franchise.

Least Favorite, probably have to be Zelda II, as I hate Zelda in sidescroller fashion. I thought the game was going to be awesome, but it was crap.

There are numerous titles that I haven't played, but I'm sure I'd hate nothing as much as Zelda II...could be wrong though.

 

[Proteus214]

My First: Link's Awakening
I was still learning to read when I played this on my Game Boy. It took me a few years, but I did finish it. Not exactly the greatest intro to the series, but it did get me interested.

My Favorite: Ocarina of Time (Honorable Mention: Majora's Mask)
As I get older I only learn to appreciate this game even more. The flow of the narrative and gameplay are nothing short of amazing. The way the puzzles and problems within the game really do encourage exploration. The scope of the design is just slack-jawingly awesome.

My Least Favorite: Zelda 2
They tried something different, and it ultimately didn't appeal to me. Making so much of the action in the game happen in side-scrolling sections makes the world seem so small.

 

[The DSM]

First was OOT, It was my first game I think, I started gaming 10 years ago with that and thank Nintendo for introducing me to gaming.

Favorite was Majora's Mask, I liked the timed apect and the way events where on diffrent times, and I liked the dark turn it had in it.

Least Favorite was Wind Waker, it was by no means bad, I just did'nt like it as much as the others, the traveling was boring and I didnt like the combat, it it was by no means bad, It was perfectly fine, just no my favorite.

 

[MasterMongoose0]

My first Zelda game was "Link's Awakening (DX)" on the Gameboy Color. I liked it a lot, but as a 6 year old I got stuck in one of the dungeons because I could never find another small key.

My favorite Zelda has to be OoT. It's just too good. I played it for the first time less than a couple years ago, and it still beat many modern games. The music, the atmosphere, the weapons, the locations, everything.

Least favorite: PHANTOM HOURGLASS GO BURN IN A FIRE YOU ON-RAILS SAILING/TEMPLE OF THE SEA KING! Sorry if that was harsh, but there was literally nothing about PH that I liked. The controls were "Let's be innovative Nintendo" but they weren't innovative. The dungeons were cakewalks and the sense of exploration was killed off a bit.

 

[VincentX3]

First = Orcania of Time
Fav = Orcania of Time
Least Fav = Links Awakening

 

[fanozelda9]

My First was Link's Awakening.
My Favorite is ... forget that, I can't choose.
My Least Favorite is, barring the CDi games, again none of them.

Honestly, there is no one game that was so hard or annoying that I couldn't like it. People complain about a change in gameplay, mechanic, or graphics, and I can't do that, Ilove all of them. Am I taking the cheap way out? Probably. But my cousin once asked which game I'd save first, Minish Cap or Oracle of Seasons, if in a Saw-type deathtrap, I said I'd be playing with my feet, because I'd save them both. So yeah.

 

[MMETEORAGA1994]

First- The Original
I played this game back when I was pretty young. It was my mom's game and she knows like everything about it. I think it was one of the first games I ever played

Favorite- A Link to the Past
I got a Super Nintendo around 1998 (I was five so I didn't care if it was old, I loved that little machine) and one of our family friends gave us 'A link to the past'. I never got that far in it unfortunately, but I played that game all the time. I'm going to re-buy it soon

Least Favorite- Wind Waker
Now while this is my least favorite Zelda title, I don't think it's bad. When I played it I was highly uninterested for some reason, which is weird because I had played all the console Zelda games prior to this, save for Majoras Mask. It just didn't click and I didn't play it much. This is another one I'm going to pick up sometime soon

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

First - Ocarina

Love this game, mindblowing game, especially for its time. Was hell to find out half the stuff in it.

Favorite - Majora's Mask

Time travel manipulant, various forms of Link, different landscapes, VERY good music. Oh hell yes.

Least Favorite - Link's Adventure

Sidescroller, more RPG-based, and really hard.

 

[Meggiepants]

The legend of Zelda was the first one I played. I remember the game fondly mostly because it was a gold plated Nintendo cartridge, or at least shiny gold plastic. Which when you are like 10, is seriously awesome. Also, you could save! Which is like one of the very biggest gaming advances in history.

My favorite... I might have to go with Wind Waker here. I liked them all, but there was just something really charming about Wind Waker to me. Maybe it was the sea and those cute little white topped waves.

Least favorite... probably Zelda 2. I didn't care for the sidescrolling thing.

 

[SofaKingMetal]

First was Ocarina of Time, we finally got an N64 like 3 years or so after it originally came out (which is roughly a century in kid time) so we pretty much played it non-stop out of sheer joy of upgrading to this century from the snes (which we also loved and played the hell out of prior) Anyhow, mum rented it from the movie store one day because it looked like a good game and she thought my brother and I would like it (plus being raised on a steady diet of mostly Mario and Mortal Kombat she thought it'd be more engaging and less violent lol) We were rather non-plussed, having never heard of the Zelda series but we gave it a try and in about 5 seconds realised hands-down this was the best game we'd ever played, period. Everything about it was amazing and well-done and just so much better than anything prior (and plenty since!).

My brother grew up into a cynical nerd fairly unimpressed with anything and moved out so I finally got the consoles and games to myself and out of everything the games I keep returning to are Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask (I love the twisted darkness and all the little quests, side-quests, story lines, items, achievements, characters, interactions, just plan weird shit, etc. It took so much that was great about OoT and expanded it in totally awesome ways) and to a lesser extent Windwaker. I actually originally refused to play it because I didn't like the art style and was rather skeptical about the whole boat thing, but once I actually played it it turned into quite a good little game. (Although I never finished it... huh should probably do that one of these days.)

My least favourite actually has nothing to do with the game itself, (which I suspect I'm going to really love once I get my hands on a copy and finish it), but the Wii version of Twilight Princess. I borrowed it briefly on the Gamecube but wanted to know if I should get it for the Gamecube (which I had some trouble with the controls for) or the Wii (which seemed a lot more intuitive control-wise and might solve some of my difficulties) so I talked to a friend who had it on the Wii and that's when I found out the entire game mechanics were completely flipped exclusively for right-handed people. EXCUSE ME? I'M LEFT-HANDED. There is no option to reverse it (back to "normal") for lefties, who y'know, might find swinging a right-handed sword a bit awkward! I understand they have to appeal to the majourity of the player market but seriously, I would actually pay MORE to have a lefty-version of TP for the Wii. I played a little of it at a friend's house and it was really awkward (so yes I get why they flipped it for the majourity, if they'd had to play with Link as a traditional lefty that would have been difficult) because everything was reversed but if it had been switched for a lefty the controls would have been a dream. This may seem like kind of a lame complaint but as a lefty I have to constantly adapt to a world that is designed for righties, which can sometimes be more difficult than you might think not having experienced it, so not only is it a pain in the ass we've "lost" our lefty hero to boot - no really, it's like the only example we have of someone/thing cool that's left-handed. ] (I'm sure I'm not the first person to complain about this but bear with me)

So I'm a bit conflicted as to what version to get (yes I have been living under a rock to just discover TP this past year. Actually, I only just got a Wii at Christmas, I'm a broke college student so not a lot of extra $$ for luxuries like games etc.) Anyhow, sorry for the rant but one of my favourite things about Link is the fact that he's left-handed and I can relate to him and his gameplay mechanics, plus I'd really like to play TP so I guess I'm going to have to go for the Gamecube version even though I'd prefer to take advantage of the Wii controls. Otherwise from what I have played I look forward to the rest of the experience!

 

[Blitzkrieg64]

My First: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

My Favorite: The Adventure of Link, bad graphics and awkward controls but I have to say that it was a lot of fun. The side scrolling sections and RPG elements were actually really fun for me, I can understand why it's not really that well liked compared to most Legend of Zelda games but it's still my favorite.

My Least Favorite: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Really didn't care for the way they made the controls for the touchscreen and it was kinda disappointing for how short it was compared to most Legend of Zelda games. It's a good game but I was disappointed after a while.

 

[super_mumbles]

First - A link to the Past. Played my cousins copy when I was about 7 years old. I was blown away by the huge world and the range of different items. Mesing around with the cape was always fun.

Favourite - Ocarina of Time. Got this from Woolworths with a voucher after seeing a friend play it. Could not believe it. For the next few years it was practically the only game I played, and that's before I even discovered the side quests.

Least favourite - Phantom Hourglass. The main issue I had with this game was to the whole "thou must go back to the temple now" thing, it was actually the fact that it felt like a huge step down from Wind Waker. The whole game seemed far too linear and didn't have the whole sense of scale as Wind Waker, granted that it was on the DS not the Game Cube.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

First - Ocarina of Time (although I had already seen some parts of Majora's Mask). It was fantastic, of course. I had never played anything like it. I spend hours simply walking around and exploring and I enjoyed every second of it.

Favourite - This is a really though pick, since I have a lot of favourites. I'd say my top 5 consists of Oracle of Ages, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Twillight Princess and the Wind Waker in no particular order.

Least favourite - Link's Awakening. Even though I still somewhat like it, most dungeons just felt confusing instead of cleverly designed. Capcom did a much better job with its Game Boy titles.

 

[McMarbles]

First: The Legend of Zelda
Favorite: A Link to the Past
Least Favorite: Phantom Hourglass.