The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Wii U / Switch

[Jonnas]

As far as 3D games go:

 

1. Wind Waker: Definitely the best. I love pretty much everything about this game, from the music, the art style, the bosses, the items, the sea, the amazing photo quest... I very much loved just heading out to sea, stop on an island, and check out what it had to offer. It's a very Dragon Quest-esque feeling.

 

2. Ocarina of Time: My favourite for a long time, until I realized I liked WW more. It's still one of the best, and it aged pretty well for an N64 game. It has pretty much the best pacing, and I wish modern Zeldas would take a note of how it handled the adult part of the story: "Here's a world you roughly know, go and explore it". I ended up clearing parts of the Water Temple before I even entered the Forest Temple, the dungeons felt more like an adventure than like a bunch of levels. Also, the plot was really well done, giving us a visibly "ruined" Hyrule, and an amazing villain in Ganondorf.

 

3. Majora's Mask: I liked how Majora's Mask handled items and dungeons. No more "Find item, use it to solve this dungeon and defeat boss". Instead, we actually got very interesting puzzles for the dungeons, and even better boss fights. The fact that a lot of important items were mostly found outside of dungeons once again made this feel like an ongoing adventure. And them transformation masks, eh? The plot was masterfully executed as well, I do wish more Zeldas would take the Majora's Mask/Link's Awakening route and do something wildly different with their story.

 

(Funny, even if I count 2D games, those are still my overall Top 3)

 

4. Skyward Sword: Despite this possibly being the most controversial Zelda ever, I quite liked it (like, a 7 or 8). I loved using the sword to fight, I loved the bosses (except Tantalus), and I loved the timeshift stones. The game has some clear issues, however, which is why I don't rank it higher. I tend to compare this game to Phantom Hourglass and Ocarina of Time (though for different reasons).

 

5. Twilight Princess: Now, this is one of the worse Zeldas, for me (if not the worst)... The game didn't really have much of a direction, the wolf wasn't fun to use, items that are seldom used (ex.: Spinner) or made redundant (ex.: Slingshot), serious pacing issues on the second half of the game (with bug fetchquests in the first half...), ridiculous rupee inflation, Ganondorf is just inserted haphazardly into the story... It's easier to list what it did right: good dungeons, sword techniques, storming the Lanayru Desert, Ball&Chain, Midna, Stallord... And I think that's it.

[bob]

Based on all the raving in the thread, I may have just bought WW on eBay. I don't even like Zelda games and have a massive backlog already. What's wrong with me.

[Hero-of-Time]

1. Ocarina of Time

2. Majora's Mask

3. Wind Waker

4. Twilight Princess

 

Skyward Sword doesn't deserve to be on my list.

 

If I had the 2D games thrown in there then MM, WW and TP would all be bumped down to make way for Link to the Past.

[Happenstance]

Wind Waker is the only 3D Zelda that I have ever really been able to get into and I still have to completed that.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Happenstance

[Blade]

All this talk of Zelda games is making me want to replay them all!

 

Damn having a PS4 and having a constant stream of games to get through!

[Cube]

For me:

 

1. Wind Waker

2. Majora's Mask

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Star Fox Adventures

5. Twilight Princess

6. Skyward Sword

[Phube]

For me:

 

1. Wind Waker

2. Majora's Mask

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Star Fox Adventures

5. Twilight Princess

6. Skyward Sword

 

[Kav]

1. Ocarina Of Time - Simply put, a masterpiece. I cannot fault this game and everything about it is perfect!

 

2. Twilight Princess - Amazing dungeons and boss fights and Midna make this game. It's Midna that edges into 2nd place for me.

 

3. Skyword Sword - That motion control! Perfect control, I had absolutely no issues with it and loved playing this game as a result of the controls. Then you had the great dungeons, the great layout of the land (albeit they weren't connected) and the chase after Zelda kept me pushing on through. This for me, was a joy to play!

 

4. Wind Waker - Those visuals! This was like playing a cartoon. Some great moments were to be had in this but the sailing puts me off replaying slightly (even though I've got the Swift Sail in WWHD).

 

5. Majora's Mask - A great Zelda still, head and shoulders above other games of it's ilk (OK, maybe Okami is as good as) but it was the 3 day cycle and focus on "sidequests" as opposed to the main story that weakens it for me. Those first 3 days were amazing! Utterly fantastic and I had such a sense of foreboding doom... but then you can go back to the start of those 3 days whenever and it just felt a little less epic.

 

 

WW and MM are the only two of those I've not replayed. Watching the Zelda WiiU gameplay makes me want to play through the Zelda's again but even though I've got WWHD still to play, I feel more inclined to play SS and TP.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Kav

[Ronnie]

The dungeons in Twilight Princess were excellent to be fair and probably the series' best. Conversely the ones in Skyward Sword were very very forgettable. The Sand Ship should have been amazing, instead it was a soul-less bore. Ancient Cistern the only good one, the others I can barely remember. Each 3D Zelda seems to have one aspect that's excellent. Hopefully Zelda U will take what works best from each.

[Glen-i]

Seeing as how everyone seems to be doing 3D Zelda lists...

 

1. Skyward Sword

2. Majora's Mask

3. Wind Waker

4. Ocarina of Time

5. Twilight Princess

[Londragon]

And here's mine;

1. Ocarina of Time

2. Majora's Mask

3. Wind Waker

4. Skyward Sword

5. Twilight Princess

[Agent Gibbs]

Its LIST TIME!

 

1.Majora's Mask - For me this perfected everything that Ocarina was and took it to a new and darker place, but not only that it had more life to it, more character development, the stories you watched unfold over the three days drew you into that world and made you want to save it. Mechanics wise the 3 day cycle was a great USP for the game putting a new sense of urgency into the game, the masks allowed you to play something else, to be something else to save this city...Generally it was OOT + the only downside i ever felt there was to the game, was the lack of dungeons, i feel 4 was too few, it needed another one or two to be perfect, but it only felt short because it was such a joy to play you didn't want it to end.

 

2.The Wind Waker - this was the yang to Majora's Mask's ying, the light to the dark, it took the same game mechanics and play style to a different place and animated world that was so much larger. The art style of this is timeless, the animated style seemed perfect to me and still does, it reminds me of the manual art of the original 2D Zelda games the comedy animated style of the cartoon and modernised them (for the time) with a bit of anime flare. The combat system was amazing, i loved the way little link rolled around and dodged, it added a new element to the combat that was lost in later games. But for all its positives it was plagued by cut content, most evident by the free dungeon completion item for bombing a wall, and shoe horned in key items via fetch quests which it looked most obvioulsy would have been in a dungeon, or restructured so it was staggered through out - some of this was rectified with the HD version and its that version that i love and jumps this above

 

3.Twilight Princess - that darkness that Wind Waker lost was regained in Twilight princess, a game that ended up being crossgen so it could make use of the Wii's new motion features, which made you feel like you were in the game. The world you play in was more "realistic" an answer to the backlash of Wind Waker but it had its very unrealistic flare and kept that Zelda and Nintendo feel. It continued the trend of making NPC's something more, fleshing out their stories so you felt more involved, but it also fleshed out the story of the game far more than any other zelda did. Twilight Princess had some great characters and great lcoations, but it suffered from some direly underused plot elements, characters and most noticeable empty but also large areas, which felt like missed opportunities - this was further hammered home when later in the game traversing some of them frequently felt such a chore - thank god for warp points being more frequent than previous games

 

4.Ocarina of time - the first 3D zelda a master piece, it perfectly took the 2D franchise into a 3D world that felt huge, filled with life, exploration and loveable enduring characters, with a story far more expanded than previous games, its widely considered one of the greatest games of all time because of its perfect balance of game play, story, exploration and lack of flaws, whist i love this game it didn't age well....good thing its remade on the 3DS with that 64DD master quest rightfully on the same cart

 

5. unfortunately 5th place has to be Skyward Sword (though i'd score it lower if i could). Skyward Sword did what you'd think should be a perfect thing, be the love child of of Twilight Princess and the wind waker - it had a beautiful art style, it had some great fleshed out areas with amazing characters. It introduced more RPG elements which i adored they seemed the perfect fit for the series, it had a great story, a good length and didn't retain the flaws of previous games......but it gained its own unique flaws! The motion controls were great on one hand and dire on another - it felt so good to have 1:1 sword control, and with it enemies who had to be hit in certain ways, however a combination of imperfect controls, poor hit detection and frustrating AI made them a real chore to go through. It also had a huge world with some great unique areas, but then it also had large empty areas, disjointed areas and so many missed opportunities, it felt like they'd made the locations first and then made a hub world to join them in a ridiculously half arsed way. As much as its flaws detract from it, it still a good game, an unpolished diamond - if any more games need a HD remake its Skyward Sword, because i think so much could be improved with just a bit of tweaking

 

here's hoping that Zelda WiiU jumps to that number 1 slot!

 

I've been thinking, since anaylsis of this game is making it look like a Skyward Sword sequel making it follow the paten of light hearted/darker tone? SS was light hearted so will this be darker?

but since Majora's mask has been mentioned so much, could it be more than a remake that the hints were for? could this be set after SS and as a pre-courser to Majora's Mask? telling the tale of the Tribe that used its power in dark rituals before it was sealed away?

[Grazza]

Just ranking the 3D ones, and generally on how they made me feel at the time:

 

1) Wind Waker (GameCube)

I'll never forget the Christmas I played this. From the moment the title screen pops up, there is a sense of a vast ocean to explore. It's colourful, charming and technically brilliant - I finally got the sense that the magic from the N64 entries was back, but had been bettered. What really sent my enjoyment into overdrive, though, was exploring the entire map after I'd seen the credits. Sure, some islands were less significant than others, but sometimes it's about the journey, not the destination.

 

2) Ocarina of Time

Probably just pips Majora's Mask, although my Top 3 are all in the same tier. This game had been insanely hyped and critically acclaimed. The question is - would it live up to it? The answer is - yes, absolutely, and probably one of the few games that has ever managed that. It seemed a bit low-res and blurry from the start, and as a fan of A Link to the Past, I needed no convincing that Zelda was good enough as a 2D series. The more I delved into OOT's world, though, the more I was immersed, and I became convinced of how much extra atmosphere 3D can offer.

 

3) Majora's Mask

I'm deviating from my rules a bit here, because by the time Majora's Mask was released, I had become less enthused with gaming in general. I still played and completed MM, though, and enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. It wasn't until I played the GameCube port, however, that I realised the true genius of its form. In a nutshell, it takes all the spookiness of OOT, and makes the overworld come even more alive. Thanks to the 3-day system, every NPC seems to have more purpose. The time system is intuitive once you get used to it and, considering you get to keep all important items, the whole experience is one of becoming more and more powerful, as you thwart the Skull Kid's plan bit by bit.

 

...

 

If I was including 2D games, I might slot in some of the best, like Link's Awakening, here.

 

4) Twilight Princess (GameCube)

Let's get the negative out of the way first. I was naïve about how technically impressive a land-based Zelda could be at the time. The final game didn't live up to the initial trailer, certainly not technically, and arguably not stylistically. Furthermore, I was extremely angry at the decision to make it a dual release for Wii. I waited an extra year, watching as the game I had been looking forward to was changed and compromised before my eyes.

 

But being one of the most disappointing Zeldas doesn't mean it was one of the worst. Far from it.

 

Twilight Princess gets a heck of a lot right. I remember the ecstasy I felt when I finally got my hands on the GC disc, telling everyone at work about it (!) I slotted it in and played it straight for hours. This is the feeling I want again - a huge world unfurling in front of me, with the promise of copious exploration; lonely, melancholy sunsets riding Epona, and it looks like that's exactly what we're going to get on Wii U. Also, the music in TP is brilliantly atmospheric. Once you heard it orchestrated on the anniversary CD, it's clear it has one of the best scores.

 

...

 

Slot in a few more 2D Zeldas here.

 

5) Skyward Sword

Don't want to bash this too much. I'm probably in the minority here, but as this didn't really deliver (for me) as a Zelda, I actually wouldn't have minded if it had been a simpler game - strictly a one-off, because it was on the Wii. I'm not joking when I say it could have been something like "Motion Swordsman". The reason I say this is because the controls arguably worked well - it's just that a) I didn't like the actual combat (apart from the non-Ghirahim bosses) and b) I think the whole game was a bit "much" for someone who just wanted to play around with the controls. As much as I like Minish Cap, the whole every-footstep-is-a-puzzle ethos just didn't work as a 3D Zelda.

 

Despite this, I have no hard feelings towards Skyward Sword, as I had no expectations for it whatsoever. Also, many people wanted to know what a near 1:1 motion-controlled Zelda would be like. It could be said Skyward Sword needed to happen, but I hope we can move on from it now.

[Thiophen]

Hey guys,

been reading much in this thread (I really am reading most threads of this Forum every day, but I'm not really the writing-person. :P) and now I wanna list my top 5 Zeldas too. ^^

 

1. Majoras Mask

It's just the whole package. The dark atmosphere, all these personal stories how the people of Termina handle their upcoming doom, the world, the masks, the transformations (I especially loved Swimming in the ocean as Zora-Link) and this totally unespected twist that your final battle is with the mask itself inside the moon, which is a green landscape - everything fits perfectly. Can't wait for the 3D version.

 

2. The Wind Waker

Well, I started late into the Zelda series and TWW was the very first title I played. Maybe that's why I like it so much. The overworld is just huge, even though there's much ocean, you'll always find some enemy towers or boats, containing some hidden chests, so I never got bored. And discovering all these unique islands was just awesome. The story was also great, when you discovered the sunken Hyrule Castle... =) The only negative point might be the triforce quest, but since this has been corrected in the HD Version, everything is perfect to me and it's very close to MM in my ranking.

 

3. Skyward Sword

Yes I know, many people don't give much love to Skyward Sword, but I do. It has many references to other Zelda games, like the timeshifting stones or Zelda's harp later being Sheik's harp and so on. This is one of the main reasons I loved Skyward Sword: It fits perfectly in being the first Zelda in the whole timeline. But that's not all: The Motion control was perfect, it has quests given by the people of Skyloft (which gave me a MM-like feeling of more interactions with the people) and it also had very likable dungeons and quests in my opinion. Negative point is only that the map isn't connected.

 

4. Ocarina of Time

It ain't one of the best games of all time for no reason: It has much content and for both young and adult Link, an interesting world, a good Story and so on. So why isn't it one first place in my ranking then? Well, maybe because I didn't play it when it came out, but after TWW (I had the Special Edition of TWW containing OoT and MQ). Somehow OoT feels "too classic" for me. The whole setting gave me classic areas like a desert, a lake, a volcano, a forest, a green landscape, but there was nothing special on top of it. Don't get me wrong, I love OoT too, and all these ranked titles are still very close to each other. ^^

 

5. A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds ?

I can't really decide the fifth place. Over a year ago I clearly would've chosen A Link to the Past, as it's the biggest classic 2D Zelda game, with a great world and great dungeons and great items and so on. But now we have A Link Between Worlds. The whole map is mostly the same as in ALttP, only the dark world got slightly changed into Lorule. So while ALBW gets a negative Point for being such a copy-cat game of ALttP, it also has a positive point for having Yuga, Hilda, Ravio and the whole great story around them and Lorule.

[ArtMediocre]

Yeah, alright, I'll make the damn list too...

 

The problem is that, for me, it's pretty hard to rank some of these "low", as I still don't feel like I've been dissapointed by a Zelda game. So, the list stands, but all of the games are ranked in my top games of all time, all systems .

 

1. Wind Waker

2. Skyward Sword

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Twilight Princess

5. Majora's Mask (Never got through this game, shame on me..)

 

I think it's interesting to see how incredibly varied the lists are among all the people here. This shows that the quality of the games is evenly spread, and that it hits a lot of people in different ways. Which I think is a good thing. What I also find interesting and always great about the series is that, even though it's one of Nintendo's biggest flagship series, they are not afraid to test new waters with the games. Just like the Mario games (2D to 3D, 3D adventure to 3D gravity defying adventure ) they like to test different and bold ideas with the games. Look at the change of artstyle from Ocarina to Wind Waker, the precise 1:1 sword control/bird control in Skyward Sword, and now the grand scale of the new game and, by the look of it, the maybe downtrimming of Link's gear (so far we've only seen Bow and Sword&shield, and these are always present on the character model itself.).

 

I'm eager to see what more they've changed for the new one .

Edited December 12, 2014 by ArtMediocre

[Grazza]

Look at the change of artstyle from Ocarina to Wind Waker, the precise 1:1 sword control/bird control in Skyward Sword, and now the grand scale of the new game and, by the look of it, the maybe downtrimming of Link's gear (so far we've only seen Bow and Sword&shield, and these are always present on the character model itself.).

 

The funny thing is, ever since they went 3D, it's always been their intention to make bigger and bigger overworlds. I remember them saying that, with Majora's Mask, they couldn't go physically bigger, but the extra RAM allowed them to add time as an extra dimension (beyond the standard 1-day cycle). With Wind Waker, the GameCube allowed them to go bigger, but the next two games were on effectively the same hardware. Now with the Wii U, we finally have the type of hardware that can give us a big leap again.

 

3D Zelda Gen 1= OOT, MM

3D Zelda Gen 2= WW, TP, SS

3D Zelda Gen 3= Zelda Wii U

 

 

As for the pared-down weapons, it's very interesting. I wonder if they're going for realism? I remember people light-heartedly saying how unrealistic it was for Link to carry so much equipment around and then produce it out of thin air. Of course, the games are fantasy, we know that, but I do wonder if they have that idea in mind. Also, ever since Shadow of the Colossus, some have been saying "Just give Link a sword and bow".

 

With the added suggestion that this is going to be like Legend of Zelda on the NES, I get the feeling that you might be able to stumble upon (and complete) the early dungeons with just your bow. Maybe the later ones require upgrades, like Fire, Ice and Light arrows. Whether this is the case or not, I can certainly see this game having less item-specific "gates" that you need to hit with your Boomerang, Megaton Hammer etc.

[Jonnas]

As for the pared-down weapons, it's very interesting. I wonder if they're going for realism? I remember people light-heartedly saying how unrealistic it was for Link to carry so much equipment around and then produce it out of thin air. Of course, the games are fantasy, we know that, but I do wonder if they have that idea in mind. Also, ever since Shadow of the Colossus, some have been saying "Just give Link a sword and bow".

 

With the added suggestion that this is going to be like Legend of Zelda on the NES, I get the feeling that you might be able to stumble upon (and complete) the early dungeons with just your bow. Maybe the later ones require upgrades, like Fire, Ice and Light arrows. Whether this is the case or not, I can certainly see this game having less item-specific "gates" that you need to hit with your Boomerang, Megaton Hammer etc.

 

I like this line of thinking

 

I don't think Nintendo is doing anything out of realism (they never do), I'm thinking they might have taken to heart the idea of using what little you have in creative ways (a la Shadow of the Colossus). So, fewer items, but more uses for each.

 

(Of course, this comes from the assumptions of a video analysis, not from any official statement)

[Grazza]

I don't think Nintendo is doing anything out of realism (they never do), I'm thinking they might have taken to heart the idea of using what little you have in creative ways (a la Shadow of the Colossus). So, fewer items, but more uses for each.

 

Yes, I can definitely imagine the inventory having fewer items, but each having a very different-but-versatile purpose - I'm thinking Sword, Bow, Bombs, Boomerang and Raft; rather than Spinner, Ball & Chain etc (that said, Double Clawshots were brilliant!) I could also see dungeons being presented in groups, with a certain amount of choice over which to do first, ie. continuing the non-linearity of LoZ and ALBW.

 

Come to think of it, I think it's very likely Link's aquatic transport will be a raft. It will be something that Epona can carry and Link can fix the Sailcloth to.

[Mr_Master_X2]

Yes, I can definitely imagine the inventory having fewer items, but each having a very different-but-versatile purpose - I'm thinking Sword, Bow, Bombs, Boomerang and Raft; rather than Spinner, Ball & Chain etc (that said, Double Clawshots were brilliant!) I could also see dungeons being presented in groups, with a certain amount of choice over which to do first, ie. continuing the non-linearity of LoZ and ALBW.

 

Come to think of it, I think it's very likely Link's aquatic transport will be a raft. It will be something that Epona can carry and Link can fix the Sailcloth to.

 

I Think the bow is is standard now along with the sword/shield. Probably some really good aiming with the gamepad. Switching items is probably super quick now though, what with the touch pad.

 

Would be hilarious if Link now has a dolphin to help him travel across deep water. Baby Jabu Jabu even...? And some sort of giant hawk for flying through the sky.

[Tales]

Am I really the only one who thinks Twilight Princess is the best game? :p

 

1. Twilight Princess

2. Wind Waker

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Majora's Mask

And forever last on my list; Skyward Sword

[Fierce_LiNk]

Am I really the only one who thinks Twilight Princess is the best game? :p

 

1. Twilight Princess

2. Wind Waker

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Majora's Mask

And forever last on my list; Skyward Sword

 

Nope, I feel the same. Best boss fights and dungeons by far.

 

1. Twilight Princess

2. Ocarina of Time

3. Majora's Mask (these are the best three)

4. Wind Waker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skyward Sword.

[Ronnie]

Link using a raft to get across water would be an awesome throwback to the NES Zeldas. Probably too low tech though, it's all about robots, trains and time shift crystals now, for some reason.

[The Peeps]

Yeah that segment in A Link Between Worlds where you had to kill the robots with that time shifting train really ruined the game for me

 

I keep meaning to replay Twilight Princess to see if it really is as bad as we all remember it... here's my list then:

 

1. Majora's Mask

2. Ocarina of Time

3. Wind Waker

4. Twilight Princess

5. Skyward Sword

 

On the whole, TP got more right than SS did. Midna > Fi.

[Ronnie]

Yeah that segment in A Link Between Worlds where you had to kill the robots with that time shifting train really ruined the game for me

 

Eh? You'd give @Wii a run for his money in half-arsed, paper thin posts that completely miss the point.

[The Peeps]

Can we get a sense of humour over here please? We need a sense of humour pronto!

 

PS. You need to have a point before I can miss it.