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General Zelda What Constitutes The 'Beginning'?

Cfrock

Keep it strong
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Location
Liverpool, England
Yesterday there was an article on the main page which listed five things Zelda U should borrow from A Link Between Worlds. It's a decent read for those who haven't checked it out, but I want to draw attention to one specific point.

The first element discussed in the article was the length of the beginning. The article mentions Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword as having lengthy beginning sections, but what this thread is for is to discuss what exactly is the 'beginning'? When is the 'beginning' of the game over? What does the 'beginning' mean to you, exactly?

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For me, the beginning is when the game properly gets going, the point when the gentle tutorial pace ends and you can get on with things without being taught how to move or climb or breathe. The article states that, "Skyward Sword took its own sweet time before giving players free reign to enjoy its puzzle-packed dungeons", which implies that the writer's view of the beginning is everything before the first dungeon. Personally, I would say that the beginning of that game was over by the time you first touch down on the Surface. Likewise, I see the beginning of Twilight Princess as being over at about the point when Link finds himself locked in a cell and meets Midna for the first time, way before the first dungeon. In contrast, I think the beginning of Ocarina of Time is over after you have completed the first dungeon, because it's basically a glorified tutorial more than a dungeon.

So, to me, the beginning is the early part of the game when you are learning the basics, being introduced to characters, and perhaps the plot gets its initial jump-start. The appearance of dungeons isn't the mark I, personally, use to define when the game has 'begun' in earnest. But enough about what I think; what do you think?

Keep it strong, Zelda Dungeon.
 

Salem

SICK
Joined
May 18, 2013
It really depends on your perspective. I considered meating Midna as a wolf in TP part of the beginning or tutorial, because it is a tutorial on how to play as a wolf, however, it WAY more fun than the 3-day thing back in Ordon village, so I didn't mind it as much.

It's like going to Hyrule Caxtle in Alttp, it's still part of the tutorial phase, but it's fun.
 

Random Person

Just Some Random Person
Joined
Feb 6, 2010
Location
Wig-Or-Log
So, to me, the beginning is the early part of the game when you are learning the basics, being introduced to characters, and perhaps the plot gets its initial jump-start. The appearance of dungeons isn't the mark I, personally, use to define when the game has 'begun' in earnest. But enough about what I think; what do you think?

This sentence right here pretty much sums it up for me. Its different for other types of games, but for Zelda games I feel the formula follows this pattern.

I think SS gets a lot of steam about its beginning because the game never really stops teaching you so its hard to determine where the actual beginning stops. I'd say its after you get the goddess sword. But after you get the sword, you still have to learn how to use a shield. Then you have to learn dowsing. Then Impa continues to shift the plot. Then you learn more about dowsing. Even in the dungeon itself, the game continues to tell you basics about SS. Then you learn about Ghirahim who is a major character in the game. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if someone thought the true game didn't start until after the first dungeon because of the pacing. I think it all boils down to SS's pacing in both gameplay and story could use some work.

TP, I believe starts after you finish gathering the sword and the shield in Ordon, or after you've spoken to Faron for the first time. This is the part where most of the basic learning stops. I wouldn't say its where Link wakes up in the dungeon because you still have to learn how to be a wolf which is considered a basic mechanic. Also the general consensus of what is happening storywise still hasn't taken place. The interesting thing is that during the part before where Link is simply solving the problems of Ordon, there is more solving than there is learning. We still don't consider the beginning to be over, though, because at that point no jump in the plot had been made.

OoT MM and WW have a pretty good establishment of where the beginnings end and that being when you first exit into the overworld. In OoT, you've already completed a dungeon at this point, and in WW an extreme amount of time has passed in a gameplay sense. So I'd have to agree with you that a dungeon is not the limiter but at the same time I'd like to emphasize that all three conditions to what you've said should generally be fulfilled, not just a portion of them.
 

Mask-Salesman

And now.. That imp has it
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Location
Netherlands
It really depends on your perspective.

I think it depends on the game. Each Zelda game had it's individual moments when I thought to myself 'Yeah, we are finally getting this thing started!'.
For example, in Windwaker I got that feeling when I finally got my sail and was sailing with the King of Red Dragons, on your way to Dragon Root Island. In OoT I think the whole first dungeon Inside the Deku Tree can be considered as one big (and awesome) tutorial. You constantly get aid and learn the basics of the game. Once you set foot on Hyrule Field for the first time is when the game really started for me. Sroa Link has a valid point with being a Wolf in TP as a good start of the game. In Majora's Mask it's when you're no longer a Deku Scrub and lived through your first 3-day cycle.

My point is that I think it's personal and depends on how you experience the games.
 

Sir Quaffler

May we meet again
I would say the beginning ends when the game gives you the reigns to explore the lands and learn the plot. You feel like the game's done holding your hand and, as Mask-Salesman put it, 'Yeah, we are finally getting this thing started!"

For SS it's the moment you step foot onto the Surface; you must explore these unknown lands in search of Zelda. For OoT, it's the moment you step foot onto Hyrule Field; you can go pretty much anywhere at this point. For MM it's the moment you step out of the clock tower after being turned back into a human. For ST, it's the moment you pull out of the Tower of Spirits in the train for the first time. TP, it's when you're requested by Faron to go into the Forest Temple. WW, it's when you sail out of Windfall Island for the first time. ALttP, when you step out of the church. ALBW... hmm... I didn't feel I had the reigns on the plot until I left the castle after speaking with Zelda, so I disagree with that article.

So yeah, I usually don't consider beating the first dungeon to be the ending point of the beginning. It's entirely subjective IMO, as some feel the adventure's started sooner than others.
 

Doc

BoDoc Horseman
Joined
Nov 24, 2012
Gender
Male
I have always considered the beginning of the game starts once the story becomes known. As many have said before me, it varies with each game so I see no point in rehashing their opinions.
 

Fig

The Altruist
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Location
Mishima Tower
Hmm, well for me, each Zelda game has a different interpretation of when the game's tutorial ends. For the most part, I see the beginning of the game end when you start exploring the overworld on your own. This is quite true for installments such as Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword. As much as I love Skyward Sword, I do have to admit that the game kept holding my hand (even when I already knew what to do) throughout the beginning. I thought the beginning ended when I finally arrived at The Surface for the very first time. In Wind Waker, I thought the beginning (was very well-made and always grasped my attention throughout my play-through I would like to mention) finally was terminated as soon as you were able to get the sail and finally explore the overworld. WW's tutorial was quite enjoyable as it thought us how the game was going to be from learning sword techniques with Orca, to making our way through the Forsaken Fortress using our stealth-based gamestyle to survive and reclaim our sword! That said, I think Ocarina of Time is truly has the glorified start of the game that I would love to see get implemented on future games of the franchises. Everything that you do helps you understand what you will have to do as you continue to play the game. We learned that we have to locate and obtain the Kokiri sword, that we need rupees and we had to look for them in every nook and cranny to buy our shield, and we experienced our first dungeon in the game within the Great Deku Tree! Once we are able to leave for the forest, we already know how the game feels in our hands.

But like I have stated before, exploring the overworld for the first time is not usually the case for all Zelda games. Take a look at the original Zelda and the new A Link Between Worlds. ALBW quickly allows you to explore the overworld within the first twenty minutes of the game and pretty much once you go through the first dungeon, you kinda know how the game is going to feel like. ALBW, unlike Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, gave us a refreshing sense when it comes to the pacing of the game itself. Sure there's the obviously multitude of items that one has to learn how to utilize those items efficiently in every possible situation and the other gameplay elements that the game offers, but it does show that each game in the series has its own variant of a "beginning" and how it is implemented. So I can guess you can simply say that the beginning of any Zelda game really all depends on the player itself.
 

r2d93

Hero of the Stars
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Location
Lost Woods
That's a tough question. I really think it depends on the game because each game has such unique aspects to their starts. In general for me it has to do with what your objective is. If you're doing some mundane task that isn't highly relevant to the game's overall plot then it's still the beginning (ie. finding your loftwing, ranching, saving a kid and a monkey, saving a girl who fell into a forest, etc.). If your objective is game defining like looking for the fused shadows or spiritual gems or pendants of virtue, then it's the actual meat of the gameplay
 

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