Flagship Handheld Zelda Game?

[Nayrinarore]

out of links awakening, oracle of seasons/ages, minish cap, phantom hourglass and spirit tracks, which do you think embodies the true beauty and fun of the zelda series? i'm talking abundance of characters/enemies, difficulty of dungeons/bosses, interesting plot, etc.

Personally, I have never played link's awakening. that goes on my "to play" list along with adventure of link. i played the oracle games when i was rather young, and i enjoyed them at the time. they were easy for beginners. i beat both of them before i :graduated" on to ocarina and majora, which were much more difficult for me (being about 8 years old). when i was 11 i think, minish cap came out, and i LOVED it. by then i had played every other game out there and considered myself a vet, but i have to say some of the puzzles in Minish cap had me stumped for a good long time. when Phantom hourglass came out, Wind Waker had been my favorite non-handheld game simply because of it's happy atmosphere and super cool graphics. i had no time for "zelda theory" or anything like that, i just liked it for what it was. i loved phantom hourglass because of the sailing aspect, and the semi-difficult puzzles and dungeons.

when spirit tracks came out, i was not impressed. i thought the story was weak and having to drive the train everywhere was a pain. i still to this day have not beaten spirit tracks.

so, in my opinion, Minish cap embodies Zelda the best. it is set in Hyrule, not Holodrum or "New Hyrule (which is STUPID), it has the classic elements of the original game and a link to the past, as well as graphical elements from the console games. and in my opinion its just the most fun to play.

what are your thoughts?:angel:

 

[merricontrari]

I have not played Link's Awakening or the Oracle games, so my opinion is pretty weak here. But I have to agree. I really like Minish Cap and I think it is definitely a great example of a Zelda game. Phantom Hourglass has its merits but I find it largely disappointing. I like Spirit Tracks, but it has some substantial changes to the classic Zelda formula that take it out of the running (a complaint that also applies to PH).

 

[SuperGanondorf]

Having played and completed all of these games, I have to say that LA is the absolute winner by leaps and bounds. The story, for one, was incredible. The music was amazing, catchy, and memorable. The enemy design was interesting and strange, a fitting combination. The characters were the most charming the series has ever offered, and the difficulty curve is the most smooth of the entire series. Honestly, this is the flagship Zelda for new players. Only OoT and MM beat it out in terms of sheer awesomeness.

OoA would have to be #2, followed by OoS. Ages was just better to me because the puzzles were harder and the game was longer than Seasons. Both of them capture a very similar charm to that of LA, but neither match it. The Oracle games introduced many aspects to the series that I wish would return (seeds, for the most part).

Spirit Tracks would be 4th. It improved the hugely disappointing PH in every way, shape, and form. The monotony of sea travel found an excellent cure in the train, whose limited tracks made the kind of irritation being lost at sea gave me disappear. Also, the fact that you could only travel on established tracks which could be added by performing tasks gave the sidequests a huge deal more relevancy.

Minish Cap would be next. Another very good game. However, I felt that the small-big aspect was a bit underused. It could have been expanded so much more, like actual travel as opposed to a small, confined area as tiny Link. The puzzles were fun, though not hard, as were the enemies. While a great game, it wasn't the best.

Phantom Hourglass, while this may sound tired by now, was the biggest disappointment of the whole series. The boat travel, while innovative with WW, grew tired by this point. That, and it was monotonous. The puzzles, while some were hard, were overall too easy. The backtracking was irritating as well. While none of these flaws are bad enough to ruin the game, they drag down what is otherwise an excellent experience. PH was a disappointment by Zelda standards, but by no means was it a bad game.

 

[Alex Arbiter]

Well, most likely Spirit Tracks since of the vast improvment that it broght to the table with a more deep puzzle system then I have ever seen in any protable zelda in a long time. But, its plot is otherwise it just was not spead well enough, but the story is still enjoyable.