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Your favourite overworld

So, simple thread (complex answers appreciated); what is your favourite Zelda overworld?

The overworld doesnt have to be from your favourite game, you could absolutely hate Skyward Sword's story, characters, controls, ruination of lore, pointless filler, crap bosses and... *ahem*... but you may really love its overworld for... reasons.


You could hate Twilight Princess but feel as if its overworld was most fitting its ever felt for a Zelda game.

You could love BotW but feel as if its world was lacking where others werent.

So which Zelda overworld is your favourite and why?

What does your favourite overworld have over others in your opinion?
 

Vanessa28

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I love the BotW overworld the most because you can explore everything. Even when there's nothing but trees or sand or sea or whatever. You can explore everything. But it's a close tie with WW overworld. Yes the sea was a bit dull but I did love chasing the light rings a lot or explore every Isle I came across. But BotW is my fav.
 
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Breath of the Wild - For the obvious reasons. Just so well done. So much fun to explore. I don't even like the game's art style but that is not bothering me. I am exporing the world and loving every minute of it. I don't think any other Zelda game past Zelda 1 comes close as the rest are all just paint by numbers linear. You can't choose your own path or choice of exploration like you can in Zelda 1 and BotW.

Apart from a few small dongeons (and 120 shrines) there's nothing to this game apart from the overworld.
 

Azure Sage

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Breath of the Wild (gee what a surprise). The level of detail put into every nook and cranny of the world is astounding. There's so much to discover and it's all gorgeous. There's hardly any empty space; even when there's no monsters or treasure there's always animals or other resources. The world feels more alive and connected than in any video game I've ever played.
 

el :BeoWolf:

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Well I haven't played BotW yet, but I imagine that'll be my new favorite. For now though it would be TP's overworld. The size of it really got me wanting to look around and see all the nothing things that were to see, even if it was mostly empty.
 

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Blimy! This is a good one...
... and a hard one ... but that just makes for the best ones!

Well, my answer should be unsurprising given my unabashed fanboner for Twilight Princess. Though like everything else about TP it's far less than half of what it could and rightfully should have been, TP's overworld looks and feels like the most detailed and the most realized and thus it's the one with the most character. The level of minute detail in TP's overworld is so captivating, and to me this is what makes a compelling Zelda. All the strange old ruins, the distant tantalizing backdrops, the profound surrealism seeped into all of Hyrule's regions, the mysterious locals the old forgotten secrets just bring that adventure to life the same way OoT and MM's overworlds did only bigger and better in every respect. I love the way you can see Hyrule castle from almost anywhere, and the effect of it being encased in Ganondorf's barrier is a constant impressive reminder of the urgency of your quest and Ganon's looming presence. The wall of Twilight before it is banished is also one of the series' neatest effects.

Of course like many Ocarina's overworld was my first exposure to 3D open world environments, and much like TP's is seeped in detail and atmosphere from the enchanted whimsy of Kokiri Forest to the foreboding wonder of the Lost Woods to the pristine magesty of Lake Hylia to the epic grandeur of Hyrule Field, the bizarre uncanniness of Kakariko Village and the dark foreboding of the Graveyard to the hazardous might of Death Mountain, this game's got it going on. The overworld of Termina is also well realized in this respect, but all of Majora's regions are seeped in their respective cultures. There's no better way to understand a people than by examining the way they live, and Majora's Mask is brilliant in how it tells the story of the various people of Termina through its environments.

Honorable Mentions:
ALttP's two sprawling overworlds and the original Hyrule itself, The Legend of Zelda. The oft forgotten and woefully underrated Minish Cap is also the most brilliantly constructed of the series' 2D overworlds.

(dis)honorable mentions, because nobody asked:
Wind Waker's Great Sea is profoundly overrated and Suckward Sword's sky and surface are complete doodoo.
 

YIGAhim

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you could absolutely hate Skyward Sword's story, characters, controls, ruination of lore, pointless filler, crap bosses and... *ahem*... but you may really love its overworld for... reasons.
I LOVED everything about SS except Fi's constant Hand Holding...

My favorite Overworld (For music) Was the one from Twilight Princess, because that's a lovely theme.
OTHER THAN BoTW, my other favorite overworld is OoT for nostalgic reasons
 

misskitten

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Easily BotW's overworld. It's not only massive, but so filled with interesting things that you're easily swayed off your path because you spotted something shiny to the side, which led you to another shiny thing to the side, and before you know it you're a couple of regions away from where you meant to go.

As much as I love Zelda games, the main overworld is fairly empty, especially in 3D games. WW does a decent job by filling the sea with small things to occupy your attention when traveling from one island to another, and they do get the epic feel right, but that doesn't come remotely close to what BotW accomplished. With SS, if we talk about the on the ground overworld, then it did a good job with filling it, but the sky was so painfully empty and the ground sections weren't connected, which detracted heavily from it.
 
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I love the BotW overworld the most because you can explore everything. Even when there's nothing but trees or sand or sea or whatever. You can explore everything. But it's a close tie with WW overworld. Yes the sea was a bit dull but I did love chasing the light rings a lot or explore every Isle I came across. But BotW is my fav.
What she said lol.
 
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All in favor of disqualifying BotW? The game is in essence literally an overworld.

Anyway, other than BotW, probably... I don't honestly know. A cross between WW's for the atmosphere and TP's, for the reasons above.
 

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