Has your thoughts on any of the titles changed in recent years?

[Killjoy262]

As time went on and titles came and went we all had thoughts of which Zelda games were good, and which we really disliked. Even more, we tend to sometimes shift our thoughts as we tend to go back and replay those old games.

I for one flat out hated Majora's Mask when I first played it. I found it a bit too confusing which really got under my skin. about 3 years ago, I got another copy of the N64 cartridge and beat it with a 100% and my hate changed to love for the game.

PH and ST, I hated both titles, and still do

Zelda II: I can't remember exactly, due to being young, but I think I had a slight enjoyment with it, but in recent years, I can't help but play with a frown due to the leveling system it had.

Other titles, I still have the same stance. Good/great games with their own stories that I can personally respect. Yes, they have their flaws, but they also have aspects that seem to balance things out imho.

 

[twilitfalchion]

Looking back on Skyward Sword, I realize that a lot of my love for the game stems from childhood nostalgia rather than true appreciation for the game itself. I still like it quite a bit, but its flaws are much more noticeable now than they were when I was much younger. The handholding, overly simplistic world design, the tedium, bad controls, etc. all bother me now more than they used to. Also, the soundtrack, which I still do like, is nothing spectacular. There's a few standout tracks, but most of the OST is generic romantic-era orchestra music. It's a good game, but I don't regard it as highly as I used to.

My opinions on other games have stayed largely the same, except for Ocarina of Time, which I dislike even more now than I had before. Its flaws have only gotten bigger in my mind. I respect it for what it did for Zelda and 3D gaming in general, but it's just not something I really enjoy playing.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

I probably like ocarina of time just a smidgen more than I did say 10 years ago, but not really enough to bump it up in my zelda placements or anything, but that's it, my thoughts on the other games haven't changed otherwise

 

[thePlinko]

When LA switch came out it changed my perception of it from a mid tier Zelda to being my favorite 2D Zelda, even beating out ST.

 

[MW7]

I'm replaying the whole series right now so I have a lot of fresh memories of the games. Right now I'm on Spirit Tracks and Minish Cap. I've been stuck trying to 100% Spirit Tracks for a couple of weeks and am down to luck on getting treasures. In the meantime I beat Adventure of Link 100% and have almost finished Minish Cap's main quest (not looking forward to finishing 100% of that game though) since starting Spirit Tracks so my annoyance at Spirit Tracks is only growing at this point.

Anyway my signature has been static for years with only a minor change when new games have released. Here is how things might change after I complete my replay of the series:

My top 6: Ocarina of Time, Breath of the Wild, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, Wind Waker, and A Link Between Worlds - will likely stay untouched. These games are ones I could play anytime, and actually often want to replay as soon as I just finished playing them.

Trending up: Phantom Hourglass, Twilight Princess, Adventure of Link - Phantom Hourglass is really charming and almost everything has grown on me except for fishing. I just hate fishing in every game ever. I do love the nonlinearity of Phantom Hourglass as well during the second half of the game. Twilight Princess has several things I dislike, but the dungeons are so ridiculously well made (especially once you get to Lakebed and beyond) that I find myself playing this game once a year anyway. Adventure of Link is really fun for me as I have gained some amount of skill. It's so difficult at first that you don't notice that it's very open and lets the player challenge themselves in an infinite number of ways. The replay value is really high.

Trending down: Legend of Zelda, Oracle games - do I love Legend of Zelda? Yes. Do I enjoy it as much as any of the 3d games? Not really. Puzzle solving is one of my favorite aspects of the series and Legend of Zelda is probably the worst game in the series when it comes to puzzles. The mazelike dungeons are cool and the overworld is really neat, but it's hard to pick out favorite moments from the game because it's so limited. The Oracle games are the only ones in the series that I have started and stopped multiple times. I don't know what it is but I don't like them as much as I like Link's Awakening which they are modeled after.

Other observations:
Luck based content needs to be banned. Spirit Tracks and Minish Cap both are really annoying me in this regard with treasure collecting and figurines respectively. The figurine collection is such a painfully slow process that I hope something is changed to streamline it if Minish Cap is remade. For example you could trade in 100 shells at once and ask for 100 random figurines rather than having to ask 100 times and wasting an hour of your life. Spirit Tracks I would fix by letting you buy any treasure and not making shops wait a day to refill. Phantom Hourglass isn't innocent either but I think I got lucky in my recent playthrough.

Minish Cap is like a 2d Majora's Mask in that it has a low number of dungeons that are really well made and tons of side content. This doesn't mean it's as good as Majora's Mask but it's a solid game. Upon replaying I think Minish Cap has the best 2d dungeon in the series in the Temple of Droplets.

Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess are extremely similar in my eyes in that they have top tier dungeons surrounded by dumb design choices that hold them back.

Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild are two games I love in spite of below average dungeons.

Spirit Tracks has many cool things but many awful things. For example optional stations are really cool and adds some great content, but the process of unlocking them is usually terribly boring. You have to drive a train from one location to another 20 times to unlock these places. Also it makes no sense to me how a person can ask you for 5 chickens or dark ore, and if you only bring them 4, they still need you to bring 5 the next time and not 1. Also the warp system is pretty bad.

No Zelda game going forward should have a wallet. It's an annoying limitation.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

The Oracle games are the only ones in the series that I have started and stopped multiple times. I don't know what it is but I don't like them as much as I like Link's Awakening which they are modeled after.

if anything, the oracle games are an insult to link's awakening

 

[Kiest]

I'm replaying the whole series right now so I have a lot of fresh memories of the games. Right now I'm on Spirit Tracks and Minish Cap. I've been stuck trying to 100% Spirit Tracks for a couple of weeks and am down to luck on getting treasures. In the meantime I beat Adventure of Link 100% and have almost finished Minish Cap's main quest (not looking forward to finishing 100% of that game though) since starting Spirit Tracks so my annoyance at Spirit Tracks is only growing at this point.

Anyway my signature has been static for years with only a minor change when new games have released. Here is how things might change after I complete my replay of the series:

My top 6: Ocarina of Time, Breath of the Wild, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, Wind Waker, and A Link Between Worlds - will likely stay untouched. These games are ones I could play anytime, and actually often want to replay as soon as I just finished playing them.

Trending up: Phantom Hourglass, Twilight Princess, Adventure of Link - Phantom Hourglass is really charming and almost everything has grown on me except for fishing. I just hate fishing in every game ever. I do love the nonlinearity of Phantom Hourglass as well during the second half of the game. Twilight Princess has several things I dislike, but the dungeons are so ridiculously well made (especially once you get to Lakebed and beyond) that I find myself playing this game once a year anyway. Adventure of Link is really fun for me as I have gained some amount of skill. It's so difficult at first that you don't notice that it's very open and lets the player challenge themselves in an infinite number of ways. The replay value is really high.

Trending down: Legend of Zelda, Oracle games - do I love Legend of Zelda? Yes. Do I enjoy it as much as any of the 3d games? Not really. Puzzle solving is one of my favorite aspects of the series and Legend of Zelda is probably the worst game in the series when it comes to puzzles. The mazelike dungeons are cool and the overworld is really neat, but it's hard to pick out favorite moments from the game because it's so limited. The Oracle games are the only ones in the series that I have started and stopped multiple times. I don't know what it is but I don't like them as much as I like Link's Awakening which they are modeled after.

Other observations:
Luck based content needs to be banned. Spirit Tracks and Minish Cap both are really annoying me in this regard with treasure collecting and figurines respectively. The figurine collection is such a painfully slow process that I hope something is changed to streamline it if Minish Cap is remade. For example you could trade in 100 shells at once and ask for 100 random figurines rather than having to ask 100 times and wasting an hour of your life. Spirit Tracks I would fix by letting you buy any treasure and not making shops wait a day to refill. Phantom Hourglass isn't innocent either but I think I got lucky in my recent playthrough.

Minish Cap is like a 2d Majora's Mask in that it has a low number of dungeons that are really well made and tons of side content. This doesn't mean it's as good as Majora's Mask but it's a solid game. Upon replaying I think Minish Cap has the best 2d dungeon in the series in the Temple of Droplets.

Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess are extremely similar in my eyes in that they have top tier dungeons surrounded by dumb design choices that hold them back.

Wind Waker and Breath of the Wild are two games I love in spite of below average dungeons.

Spirit Tracks has many cool things but many awful things. For example optional stations are really cool and adds some great content, but the process of unlocking them is usually terribly boring. You have to drive a train from one location to another 20 times to unlock these places. Also it makes no sense to me how a person can ask you for 5 chickens or dark ore, and if you only bring them 4, they still need you to bring 5 the next time and not 1. Also the warp system is pretty bad.

No Zelda game going forward should have a wallet. It's an annoying limitation.

Good luck on getting treasures. There is a trick you can do with the mailbox. Buy a set amount of postcards in castletown. I forget the numbers but its something like mailing 10-12 gives you high chance for a second place prize and max mailing them being mailed gets you high chance for first place prize. Keep checking the prize list on the sign in castle town each day to go after your desired treasure. And then fast forward 24 hours on your DS by resetting the game and changing the date and time in your consoles settings. a lot of stop and starting your ds but it speeds up getting treasures a ton! Happy hunting! PS. You forgot to mention how PAINFULLY annoying bunny rabbit catching was in ST. hahaha those fast ones drove me nuts! and then having to re set the train. In ST I got waaaay too tired of travelling around wasn't user friendly, I've never been so sick of a Zelda song in my life than I was after 40 hours of the railroad song hahaha

 

[Spirit]

Not really. My opinions on Zelda games usually stays the same.

I revisit them quite often too, which keeps them fresh in my head.

But I can't think of any Zelda game that I've really changed my opinion on. If I didn't like it at launch I still don't like it now and vice versa.

 

[MW7]

Good luck on getting treasures. There is a trick you can do with the mailbox. Buy a set amount of postcards in castletown. I forget the numbers but its something like mailing 10-12 gives you high chance for a second place prize and max mailing them being mailed gets you high chance for first place prize. Keep checking the prize list on the sign in castle town each day to go after your desired treasure. And then fast forward 24 hours on your DS by resetting the game and changing the date and time in your consoles settings. a lot of stop and starting your ds but it speeds up getting treasures a ton! Happy hunting! PS. You forgot to mention how PAINFULLY annoying bunny rabbit catching was in ST. hahaha those fast ones drove me nuts! and then having to re set the train. In ST I got waaaay too tired of travelling around wasn't user friendly, I've never been so sick of a Zelda song in my life than I was after 40 hours of the railroad song hahaha

Thanks! I completely forgot about the bunnies because I finished them a long time ago haha. I really didn't like how much time you have to waste if you miss a bunny and want to immediately go back for it. There were a handful of bunnies that I missed several times. 100% is a huge chore in that game.

 

[thePlinko]

Thanks! I completely forgot about the bunnies because I finished them a long time ago haha. I really didn't like how much time you have to waste if you miss a bunny and want to immediately go back for it. There were a handful of bunnies that I missed several times. 100% is a huge chore in that game.

as much as I adore ST, I have to agree. I 100%ed it nearly a year ago today and while I still had fun It was quite the chore. Do you count getting 999 hits in the sword minigame part of 100% or are you planning on doing what I did and pretend it doesn’t exist?

 

[MW7]

as much as I adore ST, I have to agree. I 100%ed it nearly a year ago today and while I still had fun It was quite the chore. Do you count getting 999 hits in the sword minigame part of 100% or are you planning on doing what I did and pretend it doesn’t exist?

I'm definitely pretending that it doesn't exist. There are a lot of great things about the game, but 100% takes patience. It's far from the only Zelda game with that problem.

 

[Shroom]

When I thought back to Phantom Hourglass, I was really hesitant to play it again and it sounded like a chore. This was confusing because I couldn't put the game down when I first got it, so it felt like something had happened to make me dislike it, but I couldn't think of what. I viewed and still view Spirit Tracks as the better game, but Phantom Hourglass was just a game I was set on not replaying.

Then @Fraxinus talked me into replaying it, and I gotta say, I really loved it again. I don't know why I viewed it so negatively, but that all washed away after last year's play through. Fun, silly game.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Most of my thoughts on the games haven't changed. I think the only game that I maybe don't like as much anymore is The Wind Waker. It's weird because I love the game, but I feel like it's dungeons weren't that great, or maybe they were just misses for me. It's still pretty high on my list of fave Zeldas, it just isn't in my top 5 anymore.

 

[Kiest]

Thanks! I completely forgot about the bunnies because I finished them a long time ago haha. I really didn't like how much time you have to waste if you miss a bunny and want to immediately go back for it. There were a handful of bunnies that I missed several times. 100% is a huge chore in that game.

That game needed better fast travelling, and not guessing on what portal/ area it was going to take you to and you also had to time the horn perfectly it was quite frustrating to maneuver I found. I like the idea of keeping notes on the DS with the stylus touch screen about certain areas and things to remember but not when it comes to something really important like fast travelling. Play a song on the flute, while boarding the train and be able to fast travel. Train riding got ARDUOUS in this game hahaha. I thought moving link while on the train, while it was stopped would have been a better concept as well more freedom and from here it would have been better to have a song to play on the flute to fast travel easier. I loved aspects of the game, I'm super glad I played it and experienced it but I don't think I would re visit it to replay. At least for many many years, too many other better titles. lol

 

[Kiest]

****MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS REGARDING ALTTP GBA VERSION*****

My thoughts on A Link to the Past changed tremendously after I replayed it on the GBA version with the original Four Swords. I ended up getting a 100 % file in both games with a gamelink cable for Four Swords multiplayer. Such a fun experience. It changed my perspective on ALTTP so much. The colouring and the way it looked playing (I played it on a red DS LITE which made it brighter and sharper) was fantastic and I loved the newer additions they added to the legendary title. The great spin attack side quest (after getting 10 gold medallions in four swords) with the lumberjacks riddles and trade sequence was so fun and super rewarding and I loved the Palace of the Four Swords you unlocked after defeating Ganon from ALTTP and Vaati in FS once each. The final boss battle in the palace against 4 versions of Link was soooooo ****en cool. Uh, and then after once beating the Palace of the Four Swords you got to see a brand new alternate ending and the game had stats on EVERY single thing you did and used in the game. Every item, how many times you used each one, how many sword attacks how many of each enemy you killed etc. Like seriously full recorded detailed stats of everything you did in the game. So cool seeing full stats like that! The GBA version of ALTTP plays so freakin well and is an absolute hidden gem in the series and Nintendo knew exactly what they were doing with this one. Highly recommend to anyone, and totally worth playing if you can hunt down a copy or 2. I bought 2 cartridges and a GBA gamelink cable just so I could experience four swords with someone else and have my own hundred percent file connected to ALTTP. Felt like a really fun deep cut Zelda achievement with rewards in both games such as the great spin attack, that prove totally worth it. Besides the new additions, revisiting the game was such a fun experience and I have more love and appreciation for ALTTP than I did before playing on the SNES years ago.