Daily Debate: Which Zelda Game Has the Worst Opening?
Posted on June 28 2024 by Chakell Herbert
There is no such thing as a bad Zelda game. They are all brilliant in their own way. However, some of the games’ opening sequences have shined a bit brighter than others. For example, in the recent Tears of the Kingdom, you’re immediately thrown into the action, which is similar to Majora’s Mask‘s first few chaotic moments. Then there are more chill yet enjoyable openings, like that of The Wind Waker, where you see a glimpse at Link’s carefree life on a simple island, and Ocarina of Time, where you get an ample amount of time to explore before you are suddenly thrown into the game’s first dungeon, The Great Deku Tree.
Most Zelda openings are highly enjoyable. However, there is one mainline game that, in my humble opinion, takes ages for things to get interesting and for the plot to move forward… and that is Twilight Princess. This game is a masterpiece of an adventure, but its excellent gameplay, pacing, and storytelling definitely shines in the latter half of the adventure. I remember first playing through this adventure on the Nintendo Wii and getting so frustrated at how the beginning segment in Ordon Village dragged on and on. You have to catch a fish for a cat, you have to chase monkeys around, you have to shoot the Slingshot for the kids, and then you have to track down those kids. And not only do you have to herd goats once, but twice, which makes things unnecessarily tedious! There are so many random tasks in the beginning of the game that don’t seem super relevant to the rest of Twilight Princess‘ narrative, and I believe the beginning would have been much more enjoyable if the pacing was sped up a bit! However, I still love the game as we all do!
What Zelda game has your least favorite opening sequence? Did you hate goat herding as much as I did? Let us know in the comments!
Chakell (pronounced shuh-kell) is an associate editor for Zelda Dungeon! She has loved The Legend of Zelda series since she was a little girl because of its equal mix of princesses, besting bad guys, and heartfelt stories. Chakell lives in the overall tame state of Utah, but holds onto her childhood hopes to find an adventure in her backyard one day. She has a degree in English and is a full-time editor for a magazine. You can usually find her gaming (obviously), laughing with her husband, taking a long time to tell stories because she keeps getting distracted; getting sucked into books and podcasts; or snuggling her cute Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
