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Minimalist or 100%?

butterbiscuit

- Do Not Eat -
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
Which challenge in a Zelda game do you find more difficult? Minimalist or 100%?

A minimalist challenge- a challenge in which you cannot get any extra helpful items such as bottles, hearts, fairies, etc.

A 100% challenge- a challenge in which you get all extra items.
 
Joined
Dec 6, 2010
Location
Upstate New York
I've never done a minimalist challenge and frankly have no desire to. I've attempted 100% before on a couple different games and I am always utterly tired of playing it by the time I get like 98%, lol. So I'd say they are challenging in two different ways. A minimalist game challenges your skills and resourcefulness, while a 100% challenge works on your patience.

I generally do what I would consider a 75% run through a game. I get about 15 hearts (in a 20-heart game), do most of the side-quests, but skip the quests and such that I find too tedious or too frustrating. For example, in OoT, I stop worrying about the Gold Skulltulas after I get the Giant Wallet. In MM, I don't bother with the stray fairies in Woodfall or Stone Tower - they just aren't worth my time, lol.

...I'm curious now about what quests most people do and which ones they skip...
 

jbkarate9

KAME HAME HA!!!!
Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Location
New York
See I usually try to 100% but my 100%ing is the death of me. I neveer kind find everything and I dont like using guides.
 

February Eve

ZD District Attorney
Joined
Mar 21, 2010
Location
USA
It depends on the game. Speaking only for myself, a minimalist run would be harder for me on Ocarina of Time than a 100%. I've gotten around 98% before so it would just be a matter of practice on the things I'm not as good at. On a minimalist run, however, there are several bosses or minibosses that can knock you out in one hit if you only have three hearts (Iron Knuckles and Ganon are two that I can think of.) I'm not strong at having to be on form, all the time.

On the other hand, Wind Waker would be a lot harder for me to complete 100% than to do a minimalist run because of the Nintendo Gallery. Twilight Princess might be about equal difficulty for both since the bosses don't deal a lot of damage and its collections are the same size as OoT's.

Though as someone else said, it also depends on if you're playing a game for the first time or if you already know the secrets. If you're not using any help whatsoever, probably a 100%. I just think there would be higher probability of getting stuck at 98/99% and not being able to find that last thing you need.
 

David

But you called me here...
Joined
Aug 6, 2010
Well, like Eve, it depends on the game for me. There are some enemies and locations where I know I'd get killed if I was doing a minimalist run. But, there are some outrageous side quests to do in others.

But mostly, I prefer 100% runs. I LOVE sidequests and the satisfaction of playing the game with 100% completion. I just love it. But I also love the minimalist runs because I love to have a challenge with a game I'm familiar with. So, it really just depends on what I'm in the mood for and if its appropriate for the game I'm playing.
 

Hylian Knight

Green Armored Menace
Joined
Sep 28, 2010
Location
Florida
It also depends on the game for me also. I'm basically a living walkthrough of OoT and a pretty walkthrough at that.
 
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Location
Brexit
It would entirely depend on which game it is. Ocarina of Time would be much easier to do a minimalist run of, as to complete it 100%, there is a large amount of items and Golden Skulltulas to collect throughout the game, although, if you had more patience that I do, it would be probably be easier to beat the game 100% as you'd actually be able to spend the time looking for Skulltulas that you've missed in temples...etc, something which I can really not be bothered to do, unless I knew where everything was and could easily collect it along the way of course.

Twilight Princess is a game that's extremely easily to beat on a minimalist run, as I have done it before, and I found it easier to complete than the 100% run I made. Once again though, that's because I am not patient enough to go back and collect any thing that I have missed, such as Poe Souls, from within a temple. Although, once again, if I knew where everything was, it would be just as easy to do either, but I do not have such extensive knowledge of the game, or Ocarina of Time for that matter.

Going back to an oldest Zelda of all, I'd definately find it much easier to do a 100% run through than a minimalist run, as I always take a lot of damage whilst in the dungeons, or even in the overworld, particulary the north-east area. I don't really have extensive knowledge of Legend of Zelda though, so I'd imagine that I'd either give up or find it extremely difficult to find everything that I could possibly collect in that game.

Finally, for the hand helds, I found Phantom Hourglass rather easy to complete, and I imagine that Spirit Tracks is the same, so I'd find it easier to do a minimalist run. Especially considering there are so many pieces that you can collect to customise your boat with in Phantom Hourglass, and that to find them all, it is a rather random process, something that would probably take many hours to do, even with a fair amount of luck.

For me, it wouldn't matter if I was playing through the game for the first time or not for any of the things I have said above, so they'd stay the same even if I was testing the games out to see whether a minimalist or a 100% run was harder.
 

Kybyrian

Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Location
Amherst, MA
Gender
Didn't I already answer this one?
Under most circumstances I would find a minimalist run more challenging. With a 100% run, it is basically how much time you can sacrifice to find everything that you can in the game. That's not exactly challenging, but more so time-consuming. A minimalist run can present a few difficulties, especially depending on what game you are doing the minimalist run on. With some of the harder games, it is especially hard to do a minimalist run seeing as how you may have trouble in certain parts of the game, requiring you have to try harder to complete it.

I think that which game it is doesn't really affect which is harder. Ocarina of Time is a rather easy game to do a minimalist run on, but that doesn't mean that a 100% run is harder. 100% runs are generally not associated with difficulty, but rather with the amount of time you wish to dedicate to the game. Because of this, I wouldn't say that a 100% run is harder than a minimalist run in any game. I associate minimalist runs with difficulty and 100% runs with time.
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2009
Location
manhattan
i also think it depends on the game. in sidequest games, like MM or WW, it would be easier on minimalist that on 100%. but on games like OoT it would be really difficult to do minimalist. it really depends on if your playing a sidequest oriented or a battle/exploration oriented game. games like TP or PH are in the middle of being battle or collection oriented games, so its hard to decide, although those games are pretty easy anyways.
 
T

tLoZ

Guest
I always wanted to beat the games IN ORDER 100% to feel like i was completing the entire story.
 

butterbiscuit

- Do Not Eat -
Joined
Nov 24, 2010
I always wanted to beat the games IN ORDER 100% to feel like i was completing the entire story.

Well, that would be a bit controversial, wouldn't it?
No one really know the entire story's order. ;)

But anyway, I commonly find the difficulty of both runs dependent on the game, such as Majora's Mask could be very difficult to do a minimalist run on because of some tight spots, but on Ocarina of Time the 100% would be harder.
 

SuperGanondorf

Ballos's Minion
Joined
Dec 6, 2010
Location
Mimiga Village
100% Ocarina of Time? Not a chance. The Skulltula quest isn't worth it. Minimizing it? I think I'll try that actually- never thought of it before.

I already have 100%ed ALTTP. I could try minimizing it, but I really don't wanna.

I generally get between 60-80% of a game finished by the time I beat it, and I usually am done with it for a while after that. I usually go back after a while, though, and get the rest, but things like Skulltulas just aren't worth my time.
 

Nye Pendragon

derparific
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Location
Equestria
100%, easily. I cannot STAND not having healing items or extras or whatever. I could never do a Minimalist run, unless it was like Windwaker or something.
 

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