by mathurin47
I have now played through all the mainline Zelda games. The only thing left to do is rank them.
Time is a precious resource these days and I have many games I want to play, but I also want to as much out of the games I do play. So while I do use a walkthrough to guide me to collectables between dungeons, I do insist upon completing the dungeons without looking at a guide.
There were a few exceptions:
Majora's Mask - Stone Tower Temple after the twist. Time was slipping away and I didn't want the cycle to restart.
Spirit Tracks - A lot of peeking during the last section of the tower because I just didn't care anymore.
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As an open world adventure game I knew I would enjoy this game; I did not expect to love this game. Considering it constantly slipping release date and Nintendo's lack of open world experience, I managed to keep expectations low. Still, I timed a vacation with the Switch's release and spent a full week lost in this rendition of Hyrule. No matter which direction I wandered there was something to find, be it one of the numerous puzzle shrines (or the less interesting combat ones) or perhaps just a hidden korok seed. The developers gave you the four core tools at the beginning of the game and basically said go have fun in our sandbox. Whatever solution you imagined for each puzzle, whether it was the intended method or not, just seemed to work. Dozens of hours later, when I finally began to tackle the main quest, some of the game's few flaws became apparent. The games four core dungeons were brief and far less elaborate than dungeons of Zeldas past. The four bosses were just variations of a theme. Not pushovers by any means, I'm looking at you Thunderblight Ganon, but lackluster compared to previous boss monsters. And weapon durability has never been good. Even the Fire Emblem has moved on from finite weapon usage.
After spending my entire Christmas break playing FFIII (VI) back in '94, my parents swore to never buy me another game for Christmas again, so imagine my surprise when I unwrapped Ocarina of Time 4 years later. While other franchises seemed to struggle in the jump from 2D to 3D, much like Mario 64, Nintendo knocked it out the park. Later games would improve the camera, tell a better story, or have better dungeons, but Ocarina is better than the sum of its parts, gets a heavy nostalgia tilt and doesn't overstay its welcome. Somewhat fresh off my first playthrough, I nearly beat the game in a single night for a friend. If I hadn't botched the final phase of Ganon so badly that I completely ran out of magic at 7am. 13 hours was long enough and we called it.
Probably my most started Zelda, though I've only finished it twice. Young me needed a Pro Action Replay to finish Ganon, but was able to get through the rest of the game with little tidbits from Nintendo Power and a phone call to the help line. That phone call is still a pleasant memory. I was struggling to get the Tower of Hera and hadn't picked up on the differences between the Light and Dark world. The game counselor could have just given me the answer, but he just asked me one little question and after a moments reflection, I realized what I had missed. A minor thing, but something that has stuck with me all these years, much like this game. So much of the early game is just burned into my memory. It took the first Zelda game and expanded on it in so many positive ways. Even playing through it now, the game holds up.
A cel-shaded young Link was not a direction many were expecting the series to take. I imported a copy from Japan ahead of the US release and together with a friend reached the 2nd main dungeon with my very rudimentary Japanese. Any doubts that Nintendo was making a mistake were swiftly erased. Progress was much easier when the English version released. The HD remaster fixed the biggest issue with game; trimming down the unnecessary padding leading to the endgame, along with speeding up the sailing. Thankfully, during my HD replay, Zelda did not shoot me in the rear with an arrow during the final battle and kill me.
Zelda as a series was in decline. Recent entries had failed to reach the lofty highs or earlier games. A Link Between Worlds is a step in the right directions. Ditching the gimmicks like motion controls and touch screen, introducing a non-linear dungeon structure, repurposing a beloved map, and adding a neat mechanic that forced you to think 2D in a 3D world. While the dungeons could be tackled in any order, they still revolve around a single tool. Every puzzle and the boss will revolve around that tool, since the game can't guarantee you'll have any of the other tools.
I usual retain at least a little bit of each game I play. I'll likely forget proper names, but can recall general plot details and picture various areas. Beyond the 1st boss, shrinking, and fusing kinstones, I remembered nothing from this game. Perhaps as I've aged and can buy and play more games, these portable games just don't stand out the same way as the flashier console games do. A shame, as Minish Cap is pretty good, but the replay ended up feeling like I was playing it for the first time. The overworld feels a little small, but they pack a lot into it and kinstone fusion continually adds new things to it.
I have fond memories of Link's Awakening. I didn't own A Link to the Past and Zelda I was a bit rough around the edges, so Link's Awakening was the first Zelda game I really got into. I made graph paper maps and taped them to posterboard. I explored every nook and cranny of Koholint. Sadly, the maps did not survive the ravages of time, but I'll never forget the summer. Memory is often reflected back through rose-tinted lenses, so I was both happy to see Link's Awakening getting a new coat of paint, but also curious if this old game boy title would stand the test of time. For the most part it does. Koholint is not a big island, and neither are the dungeons, though the last few tripped me up for a little while. The game held up better than I thought it would, but still the limitations of the hardware will keep it in the middle of the pack.
Can't say I was overly fond of the wolf Link sections, but at least it was trying something different. Dungeon design was strong, though the bosses are largely forgettable. The biggest issue is taht many of the modern era Zelda problems are on full display here. The opening (tutorial section) goes on far too long. I can understand Nintendo's desire to ease new players into the game, but it shouldn't take that long to get the story going and get out of the first village. A Link to the Past had you in the first "dungeon" in a matter of minutes. The biggest issue is just how stale the formula has gotten by this point. If it's not broke, don't fix it, but Twilight Princess marks 20 years and 13 entries with very few deviating from said formula. Enter dungeon, find special item, beat boss with special item, repeat until you defeat Ganon.
I played Seasons around the time it came out, though I got stuck in the 4th dungeon and never got back to finishing it. Starting the game over again, years later, I'm not quite sure what I was stuck on. None of the dungeons were particularly troublesome or memorable. I'll give this game a slight edge over Ages as I enjoyed the seasonal puzzles over the time based ones.
One of the few Zelda games I hadn't played. As I played Seasons first, this game became my password linked game. Very similar to Seasons in that I enjoyed it but struggle to really recall any of the dungeons. I've read that Seasons was more action focused, while Ages was more focused on puzzles. Honestly, I didn't think either game was that different from the other.