Wolf Link vs. The Werehog

[Escapefromwhatever]

What made one work where the other failed? Does it just feel more natural for Link to be a wolf than Sonic, or is it because of Zelda's wolf gameplay being close enough to the original to feel familiar, yet new enough to be exciting? Alternatively, did you dislike both, thinking they were both gimmicky?

I think Wolf Link succeeded where The Werehog failed because, while both were somewhat gimmicky, Wolf Link managed to overcome the gimmick with Midna, a rising sense of majesty, and stellar gameplay. I mean, how awesome is playing Zelda as a wolf? Now think of playing Sonic The Hedgehog 2006 as a wolf...ugh.

EDIT- fixed a typo

 

[Lukeje]

Amaterasu is greater than either.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Easy, in one game the developers though about how to integrate the design with the already established gameplay, world and plot.
In the other the developers created an entirely different game world that bore only a passing resemblance to the existing areas, both in design and gameplay terms. Then they tried to make both worlds work whilst keeping them entirely separate. I wonder which is which...

 

[Pigeon_Grenade]

well the were-hog seemed more of a Distraction then anything

while wolf link allowed for progression of story

 

[AkJay]

well, wolf-link was rather entertaining, not to mention legend of zelda hasnt made me weep openly in the last couple of years.. so im going to go with LoZ Wolf Link

 

[Irridium]

Wolf Link

Anything called a "Werehog" is doomed to fail
Seriously, did a five year old come up with the name?

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Wolf Link, for sure.

Out of all four-legged wild animals, though, Ammy gets the prize. Nothing is more awesome than a cuddly Japanese Sun goddess with a brush that can bend the very fabric of the world.

 

[stevetastic]

and also there hasn't been a good sonic game since sonic 3 and knuckles.
and also wolf link looked cool, and after all is all that matters?

 

[LifeSarcastic]

Sonic looked like he was on steroids. That's beside the point. The whole werehog thing was gimmicky and no way was found to fit it into the rest of the game properly. Wolf Link served a purpose other than dragging the game out.

 

[antipunt]

"I think Wolf Link succeeded were The Werehog failed"

naw REALLY?! lol

 

[gmer412]

One big thing is that Wolf-Link was only forced upon you in small pieces, and actually gave you the option to use it later. The Werehog was a huge part of the story, had half the game revolve around it, and completely went away from the style of gameplay that sonic is known for.

 

[scotth266]

Amaterasu is greater than either.

Aw snap!

But yeah, the werehog just didn't feel natural. Not to mention Link already has a history of turning into creatures (Majora's Mask, anyone?).

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

"I think Wolf Link succeeded were The Werehog failed"

naw REALLY?! lol

Ahem, you left out because. Please don't cut up my sentences to make me look like an idiot. This thread is about WHY Wolf Link is, in most people's opinions, better than the Werehog. It is about what Sonic Team did wrong, and comparing their model to Nintendo's model, in order to get a little more perspective on the Werehog issue. This post was unneccesary, and just plain mean.

 

[GloatingSwine]

W or is it because of Zelda's wolf gameplay being close enough to the original to feel familiar, yet new enough to be exciting?

Ding ding ding ding! We have a winner.

With Wolf Link you were still unmistakably playing a Zelda game, you explored, you used your abilities to solve problems posed by the environment, et cetera, and the abilities it gave you were coherently wolflike, you got fancy senses, you dug, you grabbed small creatures and shook them until their necks snapped.

With Wolf Sonic, you were no longer playing a Sonic game, (even the hideous shit controls, shit physics, shit level design atrocity that Sonic games have turned into since about Sonic Adventure 2, but that's a whine for another time), you were playing a rubbish hack and slash game with incoherent abilities (his arms stretch, why do they stretch, what conceivable reason is there for stretchy arms to be the result of transforming into a wolf-hog thing?)

 

[Mr. Fister]

Aw man, I was hoping for a "who would win in a fight" topic where I could defend Wolf Link easily.

It's just a matter of good game design. The Wolf Link mechanincs were carefully integrated into the game, whereas the Werehog in a Sonic game just screamed unnecessary gimmick. That, and being able to turn into a wolf in TP couldn't have been possible without one of the greatest characters in gaming so far.

 

[NT]

Both were very gimmicky, but like others have said, the Wolf Link gameplay is close to the original and they did some interesting things with it.

On the other hand, Werehog Sonic just outright sucked. There was no real transition between the two forms and it just didn't feel natural. When will Team Sonic wake up and finally see that we don't want gimmicks!

 

[Siris]

Amaterasu is greater than either.

QFT

 

[Duh]

WRONG GOD DAMN IT

WHY DO PEOPLE THINK TWILIGHT PRINCESS WAS A GOOD GAME? it was shit, no originality on the gameplay EXCEPT for the desert temple, everything else in that zelda was done in previous Zeldas and better

also the wolf thing didnt realy add much to the game play, you coul use it to see Poes but its basicaly a less functional version of the Truth lens from the N64 titles
if it was used in a way you needed to transform into wolf to do puzzles you couldnt do with Link, use diferent items, or maybe if the switch between the two were real time so you culd use it more efectively in combat it would be better.

so maybe im saying that i'd like Twilight princess more if it wasnt a zelda game

 

[Avatar Roku]

I liked Wolf Link, as he added something to gameplay and was just generally cool looking.

WRONG GOD DAMN IT

WHY DO PEOPLE THINK TWILIGHT PRINCESS WAS A GOOD GAME? it was shit, no originality on the gameplay EXCEPT for the desert temple, everything else in that zelda was done in previous Zeldas and better

also the wolf thing didnt realy add much to the game play, you coul use it to see Poes but its basicaly a less functional version of the Truth lens from the N64 titles
if it was used in a way you needed to transform into wolf to do puzzles you couldnt do with Link, use diferent items, or maybe if the switch between the two were real time so you culd use it more efectively in combat it would be better.

so maybe im saying that i'd like Twilight princess more if it wasnt a zelda game

Um...all the things you said would make it better were there in the second half of the game.