Best Zelda game ever (poll)

[mcj metroid]

I've seen plenty of these threads similiar from years ago but they never seem to have polls.. It;s sometimes due to the belief that with polls people will discuss much less.

 

Due to the limitations of the polls to ten.. I could only pick the most possible ten you are going to pick... I mean you're not going to say the wand of gamalon,crossbow training,adventure of link or four swords are you ?

 

I had never played the orginal legend of zelda game.. I really don't consider myself a massive fan of the series anyway.

 

Link to the past stand as my favourite legend of zelda game.. It's quick paced.. gets into the action RIGHT AWAY..and very challenging.

 

For 3d zelda games i'm always going to say that majora's mask is highly underrated. I really think people bitch far too much over the limit.It has awesome graphics for the time.. brilliant masks and collectables and it really makes you think at times. dungeons are very hard sometimes like the snowhead temple.

 

I found wind waker not half as good.. I loved the atmosphere,the graphics and the music but the sailing IS a problem and I don't care how many times fans will say otherwise..and the triforce hunt.. very annoying and unncessesary.. I just feel it could have been a better game overall.. It's very good but NOT the gamecubes best game.(metroid prime cough)

 

phantom hourglass also has issues with itself.. The puzzles felt very fresh and I loved the new use of the touch screen.. it does help... But the graphics are poor....they are stylish but for a game thats much smaller than majoras and especially occarina.. I know i;m going to catch flack for that comment however...and the music is highy highly repetitive... It's definatly one of my least favourite zelda games.

 

haven't played twilight yet would you believe and not the gameboy ones either so thats about all i can discuss.. oh and occarina is god etc etc .

[Jonnas]

3D: Ocarina of Time (It's hard to argue with a great combination of story, gameplay and exploration)

 

2D: Oracle duo. If that can't be, Link's Awakening is my choice.

 

Overall: Ocarina of Time

[Grazza]

Due to the limitations of the polls to ten.. I could only pick the most possible ten you are going to pick... I mean you're not going to say the wand of gamalon,crossbow training,adventure of link or four swords are you ?

 

I do actually think Four Swords Adventure is easily in the Top 10, but you're right, I wasn't going to pick it as my favourite!

 

Link to the past stand as my favourite legend of zelda game.. It's quick paced.. gets into the action RIGHT AWAY..and very challenging.

 

Yes indeed, getting into the action straight away is very important. Link to the Past was my first Zelda. I played every one since and thought they got better and better (apart from both Oracle of... games and Minish Cap) up to and including Wind Waker, which is thus my favourite.

 

I've gushed about Wind Waker so many times, but I'll just say the graphics, music and atmosphere were perfect. With all the seafaring, never has a game been so tailor-made for me.

 

It's also extremely progressive, with a vast array of mini-dungeons and challenges outside of the main dungeons. It's proof that, if Nintendo are too conservative with the formula now (as debated in the Zelda thread), they weren't just a few years ago.

 

phantom hourglass also has issues with itself.. The puzzles felt very fresh and I loved the new use of the touch screen.. it does help... But the graphics are poor....they are stylish but for a game thats much smaller than majoras and especially occarina.. I know i;m going to catch flack for that comment however...and the music is highy highly repetitive... It's definatly one of my least favourite zelda games.

 

Yes, I agree. I think a great many DS games are negatively affected by the hardware. It's not really clear whether the DS should be treated like a SNES or N64. Developers very often treat it like an N64 and make a game with 3D graphics. However, in my opinion, the games are nowhere near as good as the N64's.

 

The best aspect of Phantom Hourglass was using the touchscreen for arrows and cannonballs. Other than that, I don't think it had any particular flair. As a game in its own right, it's very good, as a Zelda game, it's OK and as a sequel to Wind Waker, it's very poor.

[Cube]

I haven't fully played through A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Legend of Zelda or Zelda 2. I always seem to get distracted by other games. I also haven't played the Oracle Games.

 

As for what I have completed:

 

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

- I played this too early, when I was still no good at 3D games. As I result I never really like it that much. I recently played through it with my housemates and I breezed through the temples that I did, but the magic still wasn't there for me.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

- The timing of this one, however, was perfect. I absolutely loved the game. Great dungeons and bosses, the forms were great and the side-quests were brilliant (although it was always sad to undo all the large ones).

 

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

- I wasn't fond of the sailing, and it was a bit too short. Even so, the graphics and the charm of everything were spot-on. The music also has some of the best in the series. I'd probably say that this is my favourite one as it always feels fresh. I really want a Wii port with one or two dungeons, easier sailing, the moves from Twilight Princes replacing "Press A to Win" and a challenging final boss.

 

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

- Looked brilliant and was full of charm. It seems to be horribly underrated by most people.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure

- Even in singleplayer it's a wonderful game. The graphics are stunning and it's a lot of fun. Hasn't got the depth or exploration but it doesn't need it.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

- I loved it all the way through, and some of the items are genius. It's just lacking a lot in the way of charm.

 

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

- The Wind Waker graphics don't look so great on the DS and the battles with the controls don't feel right. The puzzles are great, but that's about it.

[Portlett]

Ocarina of Time - no contest for me, second probably Link to the Past.

[Emasher]

3D: OoT. MM was ruined for me by the time limit, I couldn't just go explore whenever I wanted like in the other games, or I would loose my progress in the main quest up until the last dungeon. WW was almost as good as OoT for me, but it just wasn't quite right, not because of the art style, I loved that, OoT just felt better to play. TP was an amazing game, but because of the lack of a few things due to the team not having enough time because they had to make the Wii version.

 

2D: Minish Cap is my favorite 2D Zelda. There was always some side-quest to do, and you were rewarded properly for them. The game was the perfect length for a handheld game, and the items were used a lot better than in any other Zelda game. The game also had a lot of personality to it, more than any other 2D Zelda. The Kin-Stones were also a great addition. While the other 2D games were all great, Minish Cap just nailed the formula for a 2D Zelda perfectly.

[darksnowman]

I voted for Majora's Mask, but seriously, how difficult is it to actually choose one?! The dividing line between Zelda games is so thin that its nigh on impossible to seperate them. I wanted to go for Twilight Princess, but I allowed nostalgia to dictate!

 

I tend not to love OoT as much as everyone because when I played it, I didn't find it completely magical. I had some friends who got it too and the aspect of playing it at the same time kinda ruined it for me. I finished OoT in a few weeks but had most of it spoiled for me due to my friends talking about their exploits in it. Obviously its still a great great game, but I've never seen it as the greatest.

 

Majora's Mask on the other hand was overlooked by my mates (some of whom had jumped ship to Playstation by then anyway) and so I was able to discover Termina on my own, spoiler free. I genuinely believe that Majora's Mask is better than OoT- even when stacking the two games up against each other nowadays. MM is more complex and imo much more rewarding due to the way you become so much more attached to the characters. Actually in a way, I think you automatically felt like you knew the people in the game because they are from OoT but living in the parallel universe of Termina.

 

--------------------------

 

And a quick word about Minish Cap. I think its a game with alot of character but imo it just lacks that edge. The Kinstone stuff was too random and that spoiled the game for me. The little and large mechanics were well used and definitely added the trademark duality to the game, but overall it just lacked that Zelda spark.

[tapedeck]

Majoras Mask. No videogame has been as emotional since MM. To me, this the hardest thing to achieve in a videogame and MM does it brilliantly.

[Shorty]

Hey sweet when I voted MM I was alone, now 3 more people have joined the fray, good on you guys!

 

MM was amazing. I've never got every heart piece and I haven't completed it as many times as OoT, but when I think back, it was the most amazing world ever created in a Zelda game, the best video game sequel ever and truly mystical, moving and just downright weird in places! I love time travel and the movie Groundhog Day and this brought together those two things and blended them to make a classic Zelda title.

3D: OoT. MM was ruined for me by the time limit, I couldn't just go explore whenever I wanted like in the other games, or I would loose my progress in the main quest up until the last dungeon.

Ehhh? It would've been nothing without the time limit You had to explore across time, the puzzles were built so that you had to use your notebook to figure out where you were meant to be, and when. Progress wasn't lost to the last dungeon because everything you recorded in the Bombers notebook was saved with you when you restarted the cycle, which meant the quests continued.

[Pit-Jr]

Wind Waker just barely edges out the original LOZ for my vote, with the original being my favorite 2D entry. Why did i pick WW? Its deadly combo of beauty, charm, and clever dungeons. Tough choice though, as i could easily change my mood next week and pick OoT.

[S.C.G]

As much as I loved OOT I've gone with MM because realistically I loved it just as much as OOT but for different reasons, yes OOT made everything 3D etc and was a huge landmark moment for gaming, but MM took everything that OOT had constructed and made a game world that was somehow more enjoyable in a lot of ways.

 

The mask system was ingenious, four main dungeons would be the only main part in which it falls down but damn, they were huge and well designed, plus the time element made the game that much harder, the darker tone really suited the series and for one of very few times in the series you were up against a new adversary, shame about the actual last battle though, while imaginative it was way to easy for me and lacked a lot of what OOT's ending had.

 

Plus MM had Fierce Deity Link! so yeah... ^^'

[MoogleViper]

MM is the best. I can't really put my finger on it but you really feel a part of the world (one of the most important factors of a game to me) that isn't as much as the other Zelda games.

[mcj metroid]

Wow I'm amazed many people feel the same way with MM as I do.. I preferred to occarina too. But I ended up voting for LTTP. But I really wanted to vote MM. And I agree with all the comments. The goron mask in particular is fantastic and the game is very emotional.

 

If majoras mask came before occarina of time I'm pretty sure it would be considered the best game ever today..

 

Majoras was slightly too late in the n64s lifetime so thus didnt get as much attention.. That's what I think.

[MoogleViper]

Wow I'm amazed many people feel the same way with MM as I do.. I preferred to occarina too. But I ended up voting for LTTP. But I really wanted to vote MM. And I agree with all the comments. The goron mask in particular is fantastic and the game is very emotional.

 

If majoras mask came before occarina of time I'm pretty sure it would be considered the best game ever today..

 

Majoras was slightly too late in the n64s lifetime so thus didnt get as much attention.. That's what I think.

 

I think it's more the fact that it isn't totally dissimilar to OOT. So people will naturally prefer the original. The one that first gave them the magic.

[Jonnas]

For me, the reason I prefered OoT to MM...is because I never played MM

 

I never found it when I had the N64, so all I can do is hope it comes out on the VC someday.

[Daft]

I regard Majora's Mask as my favourite game of all time, bar none.

 

No game has ever made me felt emotionally isolated like Majora's Mask. Everything from Link having his identity stolen to the mask side quests was wonderful.

 

The art style is stunning and the atmosphere is brilliant. The characters, from the Mask Man to the Zora you jam with, the couple that you have to play cupid to and the Skull Kid, were unforgettable.

 

My fondest memory is jumping the waves in a Zora mask while looking at the constellations which were an accurate representation of real world constellations.

 

If Blake were to make a Zelda game, this would be it. As Edge said, it is "the oddest, darkest and saddest of all Zelda games".

 

I'd love to see them remake this, maybe with Wind Waker graphics on the DS.

[Emerald Emblem]

For me, the reason I prefered OoT to MM...is because I never played MM

 

I never found it when I had the N64, so all I can do is hope it comes out on the VC someday.

I'm in the same boat as you. Loved OoT and I only played that when i got it in Wind Wakers special edition.

[mcj metroid]

I think it's more the fact that it isn't totally dissimilar to OOT. So people will naturally prefer the original. The one that first gave them the magic.

 

exactly why i say that if majoras came first it would be the opposite way round.

 

i really have to play twilight princess ha

[Deathborn]

I regard Majora's Mask as my favourite game of all time, bar none.

 

No game has ever made me felt emotionally isolated like Majora's Mask. Everything from Link having his identity stolen to the mask side quests was wonderful.

 

The art style is stunning and the atmosphere is brilliant. The characters, from the Mask Man to the Zora you jam with, the couple that you have to play cupid to and the Skull Kid, were unforgettable.

 

My fondest memory is jumping the waves in a Zora mask while looking at the constellations which were an accurate representation of real world constellations.

 

Not really much to add.

 

The 3 day system create a strong feeling of life, each character having their own agenda. Seeing how their reactions evolve while the moon is approaching strongly implicate you emotionally (the third day is just depressing). The end of the Kafei/Anju sidequest is one of the best example of the dual feelings the game can provoke: you helped people but your efforts are "useless" since the world is doomed.

 

Masks are also a truly awesome game mechanic. Rolling like a mad through Termina plains as a goron or swimming like a dolphin as a zora are a lot more satisfying than riding Epona (the poor animal is completely neglected each time I play).

 

This game also contains one of the best "WTF?!" moment in a videogame: the alien hunting in Ranch Romani... and the first appearance of Tingle... and the castor brothers... and character developpement for the happy mask salesman.

 

I'm currently replaying the game and I still love every bit (maybe apart from the long waiting times while doing Kafei quests...) and still discover new little things by stepping in a place .

 

I'd really love the next Zelda to have a similar artstyle (mixed with the WW one) and more emphasis on sidequests (the main quest can be shorter for all I care).

[Guest Maase]

 

This video pretty much dictates my choice.

 

Of those games, the ones I didn't play completely are the following:

-The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

-The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (I played a lot through this one, though)

 

And my decision is without any doubt TP.

Unless one of the 3 previous games is a masterpiece, I'l stay with this vote.

[darksnowman]

I found wind waker not half as good.. I loved the atmosphere,the graphics and the music but the sailing IS a problem and I don't care how many times fans will say otherwise..and the triforce hunt.. very annoying and unncessesary.. I just feel it could have been a better game overall.. It's very good but NOT the gamecubes best game.(metroid prime cough)

 

I agree that the Triforce piece hunt is a low point, but to be honest I just got on with it and didn't utterly detest it. I found it was a good opportunity to explore some uncharted waters and see what other treasures I could find. On the other hand, Metroid Prime completely fell apart for me at the point where you had to go and search out the artifacts- so tedious!

[Ganepark32]

I'll abstain from voting for a favourite as I honestly don't have one. For the 3d titles, the only one I haven't played is Majora's Mask as I didn't have it on the N64 and still haven't bothered to track down a copy to see what it's like. However, with the ones I have played I wouldn't be able to choose a favourite 3d one. Ocarina of Time was a great game and it's the one that introduced me to the Zelda series (I was a Sega/Playstation person before finally playing it). Wind Waker, despite the sailing, was one of the greatest games ever. Highly stylised it may have been but it was stunning, the music was great and the adventure is one of the best in the series. Phantom Hourglass was a great little title but I was just left wanting a little more out of it. Twilight Princess is probably the most played of the 3d ones with 3 play throughs and I loved every second of it. Graphics, music, the darker theme to it gave the series a slight kick up the rear but left it too much like the others when it came to the dungeons.

 

As for the 2d ones, the only one I haven't played through completely is the second one and of course the Philips CDi ones. I think it's easier for me to pick a favourite out of this lot because I've played the 2d ones a lot more. Link to the Past was great but I just didn't feel it much. Was something about it that I just could grasp. Links Awakening and the Oracle series are fantastic titles/entries into the series. They may step outside the realm of the norm for a zelda title but that's why I love them. Capcom did a fantastic job creating the games and they all had me engrossed until the end. The little gimmicks such as the time travel in Ages and the changing of the weather in Seasons was a really nice touch and something I'd like to see implemented more in the series. The Oracle series specifically doesn't get enough recognition for what they were and that is two very good and engrossing zelda titles that can rival even the much larger entries into the series.

 

Each title has it's own merits but I honestly wouldn't be able to pick a favourite. While one may be good in one area, another will be better at something else. It just goes round in a circle. I'm sure I could pick one if I sat down for ages and looked at the pros and cons but I would rather wait till I've had the opportunity to try out Majora's Mask before succumbing to a decision. Surprised though that noone has nominated the Philips CDi titles . I'm curious to hear if anyone played those. I did, not entirely thank god.

[LazyBoy]

OoT any day of the week. In my eyes the game is the perfect amount of everything. When it was released it was the closest to perfection any game has ever come.

 

Also, who voted for Links Awakening? I'm just interested to know why.

[Jonnas]

 

Of those games, the ones I didn't play completely are the following:

-The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

-The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

-The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (I played a lot through this one, though)

 

And my decision is without any doubt TP.

Unless one of the 3 previous games is a masterpiece, I'l stay with this vote.

 

IMO, The Oracles (both games as a single adventure) > Link's Awakening > Oracle of Ages > Oracle of Seasons > LttP

 

But hey, many people loved LttP (I didn't), so what do I know?

[Retro_Link]

Ocarina of Time, without doubt!

 

The greatest, most engaging and emotional, gaming experience I've ever had!

It's a true adventure with fantastic music, story, characters, locations, level design etc... just everything you want in a game; and I didn't want it to end!