Do you keep side content for last in Zelda?

[Spirit]

Most of the time when I play games I'll do some side content as it becomes available during the main campaign. I did this most recently with the likes of Nier Automata and Astral Chain.

Zelda is different for me though because I so want the story and the side content rarely enhances the narrative, so I end up saving all the side content until post game.

It makes the game last a bit longer I suppose.

Do you do this or do you go for the side content as soon as you can?

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I'll always do side content whenever I can as I'm playing, unless it's something where I sort of have to go out of my way to do it, in which case I may put it off til the end, something like charting all of the island in WW or collecting all the masks in MM would be something I'd wait till after I beat the game, and just do what I can as I play

 

[Doc]

I typically try to do side content as I come upon it. Zelda stories are rarely so involved that I feel like I'm on the edge of my seat to get to the next dungeon or get to the next destination. When I play, I want to immerse myself in the world and typically spend time trying to do any side quest I can once its available.

Though ones where it's like having to do a task in a certain amount of time, like getting forest water in WW, are ones that I usually ignore.

 

[Mido]

I usually attempt side content as early as possible depending on the circumstances. Something like the Biggoron's Sword Trade Sequence I try to knock off early for assistance in later tasks, and I think much of the series's side content is focused as such - provinding the player with some extra tools to succeed with greater challenges such as boss fights or puzzles.

Sometimes, there's the added bonus of some "world-building" with side content. One of my favorite examples of this is how much of the side quests on Windfall Island shape the dynamics of both the island itself and the people who live there. This gives players some time to get to know the island and its cavalcade of characters in some respects. So I suppose it depends on the side content in question, but I ultimately try to complete said content whoever the earliest opportunity arrives for both tidbits of small stories and/or rewards to help with later main content.

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

I usually do side content as it comes up. Things like heart pieces are usually not very far off the beaten path and you typically don't have to go very far out of your way if you collect them alongside the story. Other quests, such as ones leading to item upgrades, can help with the story and usually aren't too hard to do, so I do those at the same time. The only times I really leave quests until the end are when I have to deeply search for things and it takes me a long time to do so. In those cases, I'll probably finish the story and then go look for them again afterwards, such as in Breath of the Wild.

 

[Sheikah_Witch]

I like to save everything for later - and kinda make it like 'post game' for me. It makes the games feel like two games in one - first the story part and then the part where you just roam free and collect stuff.

 

[VikzeLink]

Whenever I feel like it, and if I have the necessary items ofc. I like to do a little something inbetween the story parts, just to get some variety

 

[Cfrock]

I always do as much side content as I can before moving the story along, not just in Zelda but in pretty much everything. If anything, I put the main story content off as long as possible.

 

[Azure Sage]

It depends on what the side content is. I always do side quests as they come up, but stuff like minigames I usually save for later. BotW had the right idea about minigames being only for money because man, Zelda has had some really wack ones I've had to painfully endure for heart pieces. Especially fishing. I hate Zelda's fishing so much. Fledge's Pumpkin Pull and Fun Fun island are also awful. I am also not really a big fan of shooting galleries. MM's shooting galleries were literally impossible for me until MM3D came out with gyro aiming. So, as much as I love sidequests, I usually avoid minigames as much as I can. Sometimes I'll do them right away just to get them over with, but I have a habit of leaving them alone and coming back to them later on because I don't like doing them.

 

[AncientPoe]

No, I tend to just kinda work on stuff as I progress. This may sound strange but completing sidequests in Zelda is what actually makes me feel like I'm progressing and becoming more powerful, perhaps because dungeon items and Boss Heart Containers are things that are along my game path and I will always get them, where side stuff is optional and therefore makes me feel "above the curve". Also I just like faffing about and discovering things.

edit: also also I can't help but pull on stray threads when I find them, so if I stumble upon a sidequest or puzzle I have to figure it out before I feel like I can move on.