Sidequests/trading sequences

[Jirohnagi]

Do you think they are useful at all? I loved the type of sidequests we got in MM because we learned alot of backstory to the people of termina and quite often got a good reqward for them, but in some of the other games (looking at you OOX) the rewards were shoddy, sometimes a ring or sometimes they sidequest was so annoyingly long that you forgot what you were doing mid quest.

I have been a big fan of the Trading Sequences in the series for a long time, the best has always been in LA just because it felt like you were actually aiding people who needed this stuff (even if someone got chased by bees) and hell at one point it even made it mandatory for you to complete some of the sidequest to advance the main story.

 

[Spirit]

Sidequests are fine but i dont think they should impede progression on the main game like LA and i think ALttP at one point...

I'm one who does sidequests at the end of the game just to have something to do and a reason to play the game after the credits roll. I do think there's a limit to how long they should be but I've never really encountered one that felt too long.

My biggst gripe with some trading seqeunces and sidequests though is that some are timed, i hate time limits in anything, but getting the biggoron sword in OoT was a nervy nightmare, also the withered trees in WW could be a bit annoying too, likewise the hot water barrel for the goron in TP, i hated that one too. Time constraints should be limited to minigames.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

I enjoy sidequests very much and feel that there should be more of them. Like Spirit said before me I don't think it should impede the main quest progression - they should be available whenever Link wishes to do them (and has everything neccessary to do them). Although I'd like for the sidequests to always change, some might only be available for a short time, once they are expired new ones arise.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

I quite like trading sequences and sidequests, but I use certain criteria that I use to gauge whether they are worth doing or not. The length and tediousness of the sidequest need to be rewarded in some way. My personal favourite sidequests are the Kafei and Anju sidequest in MM and the Biggoron's Sword trading sequence in OoT because while they may be a bit long and tedious at points with time constraints, the reward(s) you get when you complete them make it all worth it. The Kafei and Anju sidequest has multiple smaller rewards that add up to something larger (several masks that lead you to Heart Pieces and the Fierce Deity's Mask, a bottle, not to mention appreciation of the characters), whereas the Biggoron's Sword trading sequence has a single, large reward that is useful throughout the game.

Of course, there are sidequests that fall flat. In particular, I don't think WW's longer sidequests had very good rewards considering what you have to do to complete them. The withering trees sidequest is annoying: if you fail it, you've just lost 20 minutes, if you complete it, you only get a Heart Piece. By far the worst sidequest in WW is the Nintendo Gallery, which has practically no reward and takes forever, plus some figurines are missable. I did think the trading quest in WW was decent, even though the reward you got wasn't that useful except in maybe a couple parts of the game.

 

[ReveredPartisan]

To me, sidequests are an essential aspect of the series-- but that doesn't mean they're all that great.

The best sidequests, IMO, are diverse; you're not just completing a meager task, you're undergoing a lot of very different trials that have you interact with the universe in new and unique ways. That's why TP's Magic armor quest is possibly my favorite in the series-- I felt like I was really interacting with Hyrule and its citizens as one of its citizens, and it really immersed me in the game world like no other quest really has by not only demanding my legitimate dedication through the donation system, but also showing me the real, tangible results of my work.

Other amazing sidequests include OoT's trading sequence-- which, as far as trading sequences go, really captured the subtly tragic undertones of Hyrule's most dysfunctional family-- and the Anju and Kafei quest, probably the best in the series, again for its diversity and very grounded and tragic story.

What I don't like, and really think are a waste of resources, are the game-spanning collection quests such as the golden skulltulas, poes' souls, or miamais. Great rewards, but menial, tiring, often mindless tasks that grow dull long before you've even halfway completed them.

 

[AncientPoe]

One thing I liked most about Link's Awakening's trade sequence was that it felt like a long chain completed naturally over the course of the game, instead of one long chore you could do all at once. Also, Ocarina of Time had an excellent reward.