Octo Rocked
Dr. Octorokapus BLAAAAAH!
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2009
- Location
- The American Midwest
Okay, so we all have a favorite game. But we all like different games for different reasons. Sometimes it's because the gameplay was fun. Sometimes it's because of the story. And sometimes, the soundtrack wins its way into our hearts. While fans will be eternally arguing over which game is best, we can at least grant that each game was definitely strongest in some areas. This thread is dedicated to discovering what aspects each game is strong in. The categories are: Story, characters, soundtrack, overworld, dungeons, replay value, graphics, and story gimmick (for example, season-changing in Oracle of Ages or Wolf Link in Twilight Princess).
Note: The Oracle games will be put together as a single game, as they aren't sequels as much as they're a single, overarching story. This really shouldn't affect anything other than the story gimmick, as that's what separated them.
Okay, so, for my votes.
Story: I'm going to have to say Link's Awakening for this one. The pacing of the story was very good, it was highly original compared to other Zelda storylines, and it really made you think, too. Even to this day, the ending remains the most ambiguous out of all Zelda games, and requires almost philosophical thinking.
Characters: Majora's Mask, hands down. Twilight Princess also included a lot of character development, but due to the unique way Majora's Mask was set up, the characters were actually people, as opposed to just NPCs. They had actual lives, and the game really wanted to make you save them.
Soundtrack: The Wind Waker. This was a tough one, but the light, airy music was just so fun and filled with adventure that it took the gold over the N64 games. It may not have the most memorable or famous songs, but it has the most beautiful and catchy ones. Honorable mention goes to Spirit Tracks, since almost immediately many of the songs were making Zelda music top ten lists.
Overworld: This one goes to The Minish Cap. The overworld was quick and easy to navigate, and warping made travel even faster, but it was still almost a puzzle. The overworld almost became an extra dungeon with some pretty clever puzzles.
Dungeons: This one belongs to Twilight Princess. The dungeons in this game all had creative atmospheres that made them seem like real places that had actual purpose in being there. Rather than random structures, they were everything from abandoned ruins to mansions with actual inhabitants. Easily the strongest point of TP.
Replay value: The Oracle games for this one. Play through one game, move on to the next. After that, there's another playthrough that gives you an extra heart if you "truly" want to beat it. And then once you have, you can do the same thing, only play through the other game first, giving you a slightly different story! On top of that, between the two of them, there are a huge amount of dungeons (8 in each, plus two final dungeons and probably some mini-dungeons). And as for 100% completion...well, they were my first Zelda games, and I've played through them multiple times, and I still haven't gotten all the rings.
Graphics: Say what you want about this one, but I'm going with The Wind Waker. Rather than "cartoony" I found them artistic and clever, especially the effects like explosions, where you could see all the detail and not just a ball of fire and smoke. On top of that, the art style allowed for a much greater range of facial expressions for the characters, giving the overall story more emotion.
Story gimmick: This is a tough one, but I'm going to have to say Majora's Mask. Link has four different forms (five, counting the Fierce Deity) and can use the other masks to do all sorts of fun things. And after all, who didn't love swimming around as Zora Link?
So those are my opinions. Feel free to share your own reasoning behind your votes!
edit: Okay, looks like I can't figure out how to have more than one poll question, so unless someone's willing to help me figure out this forum type, I'm just going to remove it and allow you to vote in the thread...or not even remove it, since I can't even seem to figure that one out....
Note: The Oracle games will be put together as a single game, as they aren't sequels as much as they're a single, overarching story. This really shouldn't affect anything other than the story gimmick, as that's what separated them.
Okay, so, for my votes.
Story: I'm going to have to say Link's Awakening for this one. The pacing of the story was very good, it was highly original compared to other Zelda storylines, and it really made you think, too. Even to this day, the ending remains the most ambiguous out of all Zelda games, and requires almost philosophical thinking.
Characters: Majora's Mask, hands down. Twilight Princess also included a lot of character development, but due to the unique way Majora's Mask was set up, the characters were actually people, as opposed to just NPCs. They had actual lives, and the game really wanted to make you save them.
Soundtrack: The Wind Waker. This was a tough one, but the light, airy music was just so fun and filled with adventure that it took the gold over the N64 games. It may not have the most memorable or famous songs, but it has the most beautiful and catchy ones. Honorable mention goes to Spirit Tracks, since almost immediately many of the songs were making Zelda music top ten lists.
Overworld: This one goes to The Minish Cap. The overworld was quick and easy to navigate, and warping made travel even faster, but it was still almost a puzzle. The overworld almost became an extra dungeon with some pretty clever puzzles.
Dungeons: This one belongs to Twilight Princess. The dungeons in this game all had creative atmospheres that made them seem like real places that had actual purpose in being there. Rather than random structures, they were everything from abandoned ruins to mansions with actual inhabitants. Easily the strongest point of TP.
Replay value: The Oracle games for this one. Play through one game, move on to the next. After that, there's another playthrough that gives you an extra heart if you "truly" want to beat it. And then once you have, you can do the same thing, only play through the other game first, giving you a slightly different story! On top of that, between the two of them, there are a huge amount of dungeons (8 in each, plus two final dungeons and probably some mini-dungeons). And as for 100% completion...well, they were my first Zelda games, and I've played through them multiple times, and I still haven't gotten all the rings.
Graphics: Say what you want about this one, but I'm going with The Wind Waker. Rather than "cartoony" I found them artistic and clever, especially the effects like explosions, where you could see all the detail and not just a ball of fire and smoke. On top of that, the art style allowed for a much greater range of facial expressions for the characters, giving the overall story more emotion.
Story gimmick: This is a tough one, but I'm going to have to say Majora's Mask. Link has four different forms (five, counting the Fierce Deity) and can use the other masks to do all sorts of fun things. And after all, who didn't love swimming around as Zora Link?
So those are my opinions. Feel free to share your own reasoning behind your votes!
edit: Okay, looks like I can't figure out how to have more than one poll question, so unless someone's willing to help me figure out this forum type, I'm just going to remove it and allow you to vote in the thread...or not even remove it, since I can't even seem to figure that one out....