Which tone do you prefer in a Zelda game?

[Afroman104]

Do you prefer a Zelda game to be Light hearted like Skyward sword or should it be dark like Majora's Mask?

 

[Azure Sage]

I'm really fond of the light-hearted games, but there's no reason it can't be both light-hearted and dark.

 

[Mipha]

What Az said.

 

[snakeoiltanker]

I voted Dark, cuz I really like ALttP, Twilight Princess and Majora's Mask. I guess OoT would be a neutral title. But the lighter titles like WW has really grown on me. ALBW is one of my favorite titles and its pretty light hearted, which is odd; ALttP was pretty dark in tone.

I used to be really Bias on this matter, but the more time I spend with WW, and ALBW I realize the tone doesnt really effect what i think about how fun the game is. and that it is just a matter preference. I just really wish I could play SS without Motion Controls, cuz I would play it again, I still might some day.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I didn't really like MM as a game (time limits piss me off in general), but I appreciated the effort as far as trying something fairly experimental with tone and storytelling that was on the darker side. Even the music in Clock Town gets creepy as the days pass.

I'm of a mind that both aesthetics can co-exist in the same space to a certain extent and don't have to be completely segregated conceptually. Overall I would prefer a more serious tone with an occasional moments of levity. That said, the opposite is achievable. I felt Wind Waker and Minish Cap were superbly executed in terms of establishing and maintaining a consistent theme and tone of the game world (MC is one of my favorite Zelda games overall. I allow myself to be surprised by something I don't necessarily think I will prefer).

 

[Dio]

Do you prefer a Zelda game to be Light hearted like Skyward sword or should it be dark like Majora's Mask?

Dark! Darker toned games and tales tend to be the most gripping. People have a natural fascination with the dark side and are therefore more interested in it. I am anyway.

Lighter toned games tend to not take themselves too seriously, and whilst you can still have lighthearted or funny moments in a dark experience, putting a darker moment in a light hearted experience tends to have a lesser impact.

Whilst it is not my overall favourite game in the series, MM I think had my favourite tone, it had a dark and ominous feel throughout, and its world was really captivating.

 

[Salem]

SS is not light hearted, or it's not any MORE light hearted than TP.

Anyway, most Zelda games took themselves seriously, even the cell-shaded ones, so I don't understand this poll.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

I don't have too much of a preference as far as tones in Zelda games, since I play them depending on how I feel at the time. Maybe I prefer neutral-to-dark toned games, as I did enjoy MM a bit more than SS or WW. Yet, at the same time, I prefer SS and WW over TP. I don't really use a game's tone to evaluate how much I like a given Zelda game, but rather how that Zelda game handles its tone.

 

[Spirit]

Either as long as its a decent game.

 

[Afroman104]

SS is not light hearted, or it's not any LESS light hearted than TP.

Anyway, most Zelda games took themselves seriously, even the cell-shaded ones, so I don't understand this poll.

I apologise for not thinking carefully enough about this topic and wasting people's time... Also I only started this franchise this year, so I don't know everything single detail of Zelda.

 

[Kingwobbly]

I'd say the best ones are the ones that can skip between light hearted and darker themes. OoT for instance, one minute you're in a lovely little castle town and everyone's singing and dancing and having a great time, next thing you know you pull a magic sword out of a rock and BAM, monsters and destruction.
For that reason, the ancient cistern is one of the best ever dungeons.

 

[Beauts]

A balance is good.

 

[Mr. Ister]

I think the Zelda story contains a lot of dark elements that are more naturally suited toward a dark tone overall. I thought TP did a great job exploring Zelda in a realistic way. I won't deny that WW or more light-hearted games are really good, but I never once felt any sort of fear or intrigue by WW's Ganon because even he seemed fairly light-hearted and nonthreatening.

 

[onebizarrekai]

Right now, I feel like we could use a darker game, but I like both.

 

[Seth]

Lighter toned games tend to not take themselves too seriously, and whilst you can still have lighthearted or funny moments in a dark experience, putting a darker moment in a light hearted experience tends to have a lesser impact.

I disagree, I think if done well, putting dark moments in an overall lighter story can accentuate the darker aspects of a story.