Where does Classic Zelda end and Modern Zelda start?

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

deku queen, dodongo king (albeit through technicality only), phantom ganon, bongo bongo, and ganon dont require the item. that leaves barinade, volvagia, morpha, twinrova, and ganondorf.

Queen Gohma you have to stun with the Slingshot. King Dodongo has to be stunned by inhaling bombs, Bongo Bongo's hands and his eye have to be stunned by arrows, and Phantom Ganon's first phase is all about shooting him while on his horse with arrows.

 

[thePlinko]

Queen Gohma you have to stun with the Slingshot. King Dodongo has to be stunned by inhaling bombs, Bongo Bongo's hands and his eye have to be stunned by arrows, and Phantom Ganon's first phase is all about shooting him while on his horse with arrows.

Queen gohma doesn’t require anything, in fact speedrunners use deku nuts because it’s the fastest. King Dodongo requires bombs, but not necessarily the bomb item (you can use the bomb flower instead, which is why I said it was a technicality). Bongo Bongo doesn’t need to be stunned on its hand, you just need to hit the eye somehow. Phantom Ganons first phase can be completed with the hookshot as well.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

Classic and Modern Zelda? Classic does not end at a certain year or system, as proven with other game series. And modern does not automatically kill off anything that came before it. The two can also co-exist quite nicely within a single game, or system life span. I can call ALBW and BotW a mix of the two, because they both adhere to original classic in being open world, but have modern innovations in them. 3D Zelda was going alongside the Oracles, and DS games.

Heh. I just said a whole lotta nothing.

They're both still going strong is what I mean.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

it's kinda interesting to see that there isn't any general consensus to what's modern and what's classic, heck some say there's no distinction at all

so basically if someone says "this is a classic zelda game", it's gonna mean something different to plenty of people

 

[TheHeroofTime]

I guess I would say that Zelda is divided into four eras. The first being the beginning of Zelda up through Link's Awakening DX. All great games, but the formula was a bit unrefined (yes, even in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening).
The second is what I consider to be the Golden Age of Zelda: 1998 through 2011, or in other words, Ocarina of Time through Skyward Sword. There were so many games released in the 13 year gap, and all of them (maybe excluding Four Swords and Phantom Hourglass?) are exemplary Zelda games, and videogames in general. The formula was honed to a fine art between OoT and TP, before being reinvented and invigorated by Skyward Sword. The 3D games flourished, with OoT, MM, TWW, TP, and SS, and the 2D games did damn well, too; The Minish Cap is solidly the best 2D Zelda game ever made, in my opinion.
Between 2011 and 2016 is the Age of Decline for Zelda, in my opinion. Nintendo started to stray away from the classic formula, experimenting with games like A Link Between Worlds and Hyrule Warriors. No major console releases came out during this time, and it seemed that maybe Zelda was beginning to lose relevance in a time dominated by open-world games like Skyrim, the Witcher, and Dark Souls.
The most recent is what I would call the era of re-imagining, beginning in 2017 with the release of Breath of the Wild and continuing to the present day. The formula is being radically reevaluated and redesigned, and the changes are likely to only get more drastic. Breath of the Wild, for better or for worse, is like no other game in the series, and it will be very, very interesting to see where the games go from here.

 

[GZ Zelda]

I guess I would say that Zelda is divided into four eras. The first being the beginning of Zelda up through Link's Awakening DX. All great games, but the formula was a bit unrefined (yes, even in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening).
The second is what I consider to be the Golden Age of Zelda: 1998 through 2011, or in other words, Ocarina of Time through Skyward Sword. There were so many games released in the 13 year gap, and all of them (maybe excluding Four Swords and Phantom Hourglass?) are exemplary Zelda games, and videogames in general. The formula was honed to a fine art between OoT and TP, before being reinvented and invigorated by Skyward Sword. The 3D games flourished, with OoT, MM, TWW, TP, and SS, and the 2D games did damn well, too; The Minish Cap is solidly the best 2D Zelda game ever made, in my opinion.
Between 2011 and 2016 is the Age of Decline for Zelda, in my opinion. Nintendo started to stray away from the classic formula, experimenting with games like A Link Between Worlds and Hyrule Warriors. No major console releases came out during this time, and it seemed that maybe Zelda was beginning to lose relevance in a time dominated by open-world games like Skyrim, the Witcher, and Dark Souls.
The most recent is what I would call the era of re-imagining, beginning in 2017 with the release of Breath of the Wild and continuing to the present day. The formula is being radically reevaluated and redesigned, and the changes are likely to only get more drastic. Breath of the Wild, for better or for worse, is like no other game in the series, and it will be very, very interesting to see where the games go from here.

I'd break it up a little differently. I agree with the first 4 games being the Beginning Era. Then I'd put Ocarina of Time up until Twilight Princess as the Golden Era. This is when games are being released pretty regularly, all of decently high quality. Then, from Phantom Hourglass to Skyward Sword is the Era of Decline. This is when games dry up and the quality of them is debated for the rest of time by fans and generally overlooked by non-fans. Then is the Re-Imagining Era from A Link Between Worlds to BotW 2. A lot about what A Link Between Worlds did lead to the design philosophies that made BotW the massive success that it was. Open progression, a more condensed but impactful narrative built on character interaction. Then, for two 3D entries, the team revisited some of their best games. MM. TP. And re-dipped their toe into modern Four Swords games through Tri Force Heroes. And worked on Muso games like HW: AoC which is the first Zelda spin-off that could even technically be considered canon since Ancient Stone Tablets. I think putting A Link Between Worlds in the same boat with Spirit Tracks is a mistake, and thus I thought it should be moved.

 

[GZ Zelda]

Which game(s) in the series do you guys think mark the end of classic Zelda or mark the beginning of modern Zelda? Does it have to do with age or the playstyle of it? Or is it as simple as "every game up to this one is classic Zelda, and every game onward is modern Zelda"? [subject to change w/ time of course]

To answer the question directly, I'd say after Four Swords Adventures or Minish Cap, you've entered the modern era.

 

[TheHeroofTime]

I have to disagree with you with where you put the Era of Decline. See, the thing is that the rate that games were coming out didn't dry up. From 1998 to 2006, we had a release in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 (MC), 2004 (FSA), and 2006. That's a game once every one or two years, with a major console release every two to four years. From 2007 to 2011, we got releases in 2007, 2009, and 2011, or, one game precisely every two years. Phantom Hourglass may not be the best Zelda game, nor may Spirit Tracks, but from what I know (haven't played them yet), they look entertaining enough. Now Skyward Sword has one of the best OSTs in not just Zelda, but gaming in general, an original story that deeply impacts the Zelda narrative as a whole, and a well designed, artistically beautiful world. Zelda had it's 25th anniversary in 2011, and they through a great celebration. Symphony of the Goddesses, Ocarina of Time 3D, Skyward Sword, Hyrule Historia, and lots of other cool stuff. I would say that after the 25th anniversary, that the Era of Decline really begins.

 

[GZ Zelda]

I actually understand that point (splitting it up after the 25th anniversary bc the anniversary was cool). However, if we are creating a Re-Imagining Era, A Link Between Worlds is literally a re-imagining of A Link to the Past but what if it weren't linear? This is the reason they did the open-world in Breath of the Wild. Maybe there was never actually an Era of Decline and everything after Twilight Princess is the Re-Imagning Era, as Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks reimagined Wind Waker, Skyward Sword is a reimagined introduction to the entire series, A Link Between Worlds reimagined A Link to the Past, Tri Force Heroes reimagined FS/FSA and BOTW reimagined basically every staple of the series.

 

[YoungGanon23]

A Link to past was the classic Zelda modern started with Wind Waker