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Zelda Console Games Trend

Rytex

Resident Netizen
Joined
May 10, 2010
Location
Random house in Texas.
With all the rumors and speculations going around in the Zelda Fandom about Zelda Wii U, and the speculation about "Will it be the only Wii U Zelda?" ""Will there be more?" "Will there ever be a game called The Legend of Groose: The Grooseinator of Grooseland?"

So, that said, I would like to point out a trend I have noticed among the consoles (and console games), starting all the way back with Nessie- I mean, the NES.

As it turns out, with the five consoles Nintendo has released, we have seen a grand total of eight console games appear. The order in which they appear helps me with the speculation in the above questions (By the way, I'm all for Question 3 happening! And I really have seen someone asking that on other forums).

The NES saw rise to the greatest game series (plural) in their most primitive forms, unbeknownst to the makers that, provided some refining, series like Metroid, Mario, Final Fantasy, and certainly Zelda. Three of these series listed above got more than one entry on the NES (with Metroid receiving its sequel on the Game Boy), however, Zelda was the only series that received a sequel on the NES that was released in North America. Immediately, that should tell you "There's something special about Zelda that Mario and Final Fantasy don't have at this point in time." Now, FF and Mario received sequels translated for Japan only, but they weren't brought to the US until the early-to-mid 2000s, and they were ported to the Game Boy Advance.

Along comes the Super Nintendo, and with it, probably the Golden Age of Nintendo. They were cranking out the amazing games for their system, some involving Third-Party Developers. Games like Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid (which I honestly consider to be better than ALttP, but not by much), Super Mario World, Final Fantasy IV (II in the US), Final Fantasy VI (III in the US), and the most influential Zelda to date, A Link to the Past.

A few more years passed, and Nintendo developed probably the most influential console yet, the Nintendo 64. When the N64 came out, the world of Three Dimensions was unlocked in video gaming, and some of the greatest games ever created were released. Games like Super Mario 64, 007 GoldenEye, Super Smash Bros., and The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, which for a very long time, was the undisputed "Greatest Game Ever." For a while, it seemed as though Nintendo could not be touched. Sony had a few games going for them, like Final Fantasy VII and Castlevania Symphony of the Night (an obvious, yet very successful attempt to emulate the open exploration of Super Metroid), but none could compare to the glory Nintendo was receiving. However, Zelda received not one, but two incredibly amazing games on the console, for not long after the turn of the millennium, Majora's Mask was released. Again, an amazing game that could probably have completely killed Sony, were it not for the series that really started to give Sony a reputation of excellence: Kingdom Hearts.

However, while Sony was currently starting to stand back up with the release of the Playstation 2, and Microsoft was releasing their Direct Xbox (which was later shortened to just the Xbox) and would create one of the two greatest FPS series in history, Nintendo was releasing their GameCube. The GameCube saw its share of glory, with a successful launch with Super Smash Bros. Melee, as well as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and the successful revival of an erstwhile completed franchise in Metroid Prime (even though Fusion was released for the GBA before it), but it never quite matched the glory the N64 had achieved. The GameCube wasn't quite shoved sideways, but with Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, Call of Duty (Games one through forty six and a half) and Final Fantasy XII to compare to, the GameCube received considerably less attention than its predecessor did.

Then came the Wii. The launch of the Wii saw a sequel to a game nearly twenty years old: Excite-Truck. However, along with that sequel, Twilight Princess was released for the Wii (and, in my opinion, ported backwards to the GameCube, as opposed to being ported forward to the Wii). Twilight Princess was the first real competition to Ocarina of Time's status as Greatest Game Ever, but it still wasn't quite enough. But Twilight Princess brought the Wii to peoples' attention. Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 were simply updated versions of their previous consoles, but the Wii brought Motion to controllers. However, the Wii never saw too many titles that made excellent use of the Motion Control without resorting to minigames to show it off (like Mario Party). And in reality, only Nintendo knew the full scope of the Wii's abilities, and as a result, only they made games that were good games without resorting to minigames. Then came the Motion-X Plus. With it, 1:1 motion was possible, and it was successful. But with the teaser that was the Swordplay game on Wii Sports Resort, everyone began to focus on one thing: Zelda. Everyone was thinking 1:1 Sword Motion. E3 2009 started to get our mouths to water, as did E3 2010. Finally, 2011 came along, and with it, Skyward Sword.

Skyward Sword needs no real explanation, but now speculation has begun on Zelda Wii U, whether it will be the only Zelda Wii U title, or if there will be more. Also, it will be used in another trend I have noticed.

So that said, let's look back.

The NES had 2 Zelda Titles, followed by 1 on the SNES. The N64 had 2 Zelda Titles, followed by 1 on the GameCube. The Wii has 2 Zelda Titles, and the Wii U has 1 confirmed. If the previous stages of consoles continue in terms of trend, the Wii U will only see on Zelda title, and the console following that will see 2, then 1, then 2, et cetera.

The second bit of trending has to do with Game Quality after X Amount of Games.

Ocarina of Time is considered the Greatest Game Ever. It is the 5th Zelda game made. Skyward Sword is either the new Greatest Game ever, or (pardon my french) pretty damn close. It is the 5th Conole Game starting with Ocarina of Time. If this sort of trend continues, some power of 5 games later, we will have another amazing Zelda game that could fight for the status of Greatest Game Ever.

Thoughts? Speculations? Troll comments? Agreements that The Legend of Groose: The Grooseinator of Grooseland would be a good game?
 

Cfrock

Keep it strong
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Location
Liverpool, England
The most influential Zelda to date is Ocarina of Time. By far. Very, very far.

Nintendo's most influential console is without doubt the NES. That machine did, you know, save the entire video games industry.

Majora's Mask (which I consider to be the best game ever made) would not have killed Sony. Sony were the undisputed 'winners' of the 5th generation of consoles. By a big margin.

You say Sony were "starting to stand back up with the release of the Playstation 2". The first Playstation was the biggest success of its generation (as I've already said) and the Playstation 2 was so successful so fast that its only contemporary (at the time of release), the Dreamcast, 'died' not two years after it launched.

I don't understand how you can think Twilight Princess was ported from Wii to Gamecube. It was being developed on Gamecube years before the Wii was even something you could make games for. It's not even a matter of opinion, it's just fact that the Wii version began life as the Gamecube version.

As for the pattern, while I don't think it means the Wii U will only see one Zelda, it is interesting that your pattern ignores the fact that Twilight Princess is a Gamecube game (despite your simply idiotic opinion) as well as ignoring Four Swords Adventures.
 

skywardsword13

Dawn of the Final Day
Joined
Sep 16, 2011
Location
Gerudo Valley
Now you make a few valid points, except for the trend. Which after all, is what the thread is about. Twilight Princess was a Gamecube Game with a Wii Port. No question. In your opinion, it was ported backwards to the gamecube. But there are many facts stating it wasn't. The game was being made for the gamecube originally, a and didn't start being ported to the wii until almost the release, where they pushed the date of release pack. If this is true then your "trend" is lost. And you KINDA skipped a zelda game, which would throw off your trend anyway. *cough* Four Swords Adventures *cough*

You also have alot of statements that are horribly misleaded/wrong about the generations of consoles. But I've said enough so I won't bring them up.

I think we'll get 2 zelda games on the Nintendo 3ds, as well as a possibility of 2 zeldas on Wii U. I think Wii U will last longer than the Wii did, so there may be a chance for more. Also, someone (can't remember who) said they'd like to see a new console Zelda in 3 years rather than 5. If they aren't just saying this, and actually do it and have the game out by late 2014, I think there may be a possible chance that we end up with a 2nd one.
 

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