Order of favorite Zelda games

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-14-2006, 07:00 PM

Exclude games you haven't played. List Four Swords if you want to, but Four Swords Adventure most definitely. Link's Awakening DX is the same as Link's Awakening.

These are all extremely close together, and if there are any edges, they're slight:

1. OoT
2. MM
3. LttP
4. AoL
5. LA
6. LoZ
7. FSA
8. Wind Waker
(Pretty big gap inserted here)
9. Minish Cap
10. OoS
(another gap, smaller than the first one)
11. OoA

**Booyakasha** · 12-14-2006, 07:19 PM

1-6 are all really close together, inasmuch as I like those ones a lot. Then there's a small gap, and 7-8 are close together, as I think those are pretty good, but nothing to obsess over. Then there's a whopping great gap, with 9 ranking in at 'fair', and then another big gap, and then 10, which drops right off the edge of acceptibility. (I realise no one else will agree, but that's just how it breaks down for me.)

1. LoZ
2. LttP
3. WW
4. AoL
5. FSA
6. LA
7. MC
8. Oracles
9. OoT
10. MM

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-14-2006, 09:15 PM

Wait, you liked Wind Waker but you didn't like OoT or MM?

Honestly, I've never actually heard your reasoning for not liking them. Mind PMing it to me?

Bomby · 12-14-2006, 11:17 PM

1. LttP
2. OoT
3. MM
4. Link's Awakening
5. Oracles
6. Minish Cap
7. LoZ
8. AoL

The Missing Link · 12-15-2006, 02:09 AM

1. Twilight Princess
2. Link to the Past
3. Wind Waker
4. Ocarina of Time
5. Minish Cap
6. Link's Awakening
7. Majora's Mask
8. Legend of Zelda
9. Four Swords Adventures
10. Four Swords
11. Oracle of Seasons
12. Oracle of Ages
13. Adventure of Link
14. Zelda's Adventure
15. Wand of Gamelon
16. Faces of Evil

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-15-2006, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Missing Link

14. Zelda's Adventure
15. Wand of Gamelon
16. Faces of Evil

Those aren't Zelda Games.

Oh, and why the AoL hate, guys?

Koga · 12-15-2006, 10:01 AM

I'm playing Twilight Princess at the moment (just passed the 2nd dungeon) so I won't include it yet. It'll be very high on the list probably when I'm done with it.

1. OoT
2. MM
3. LA
4. OoA
5. OoS
6. WW
7. LttP
8. LoZ
9. AoL
10. Minish Cap

This may surprise some of you. Ocarina and Majora on top is a given, and Minish Cap is definitely my least favourite. I like the NES games, but I just prefer the ones that come after it. I think LttP is very overrated (which may be related to the fact that it was one of the last Zelda games I played), and I think the Oracles are almost on par with LA. I'm not sure where to put Wind Waker, but I put it below the GBC games, because I thought it was slightly dissapointing.

I haven't played FS/FSA.

Bomby · 12-15-2006, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walkie-Talkie Man

Oh, and why the AoL hate, guys?

I'm not gonna pretend to like Adventure of Link simply because it's a Zelda game. I've tried to get into it many times, but the play control is so awful that I get frustrated and leave it alone.

**Booyakasha** · 12-15-2006, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walkie-Talkie Man

Honestly, I've never actually heard your reasoning for not liking them. Mind PMing it to me?

Why PM you? These forums could do with a little extra activity. It may interest others, as well.

I wouldn't say I hated OoT, more that I was disappointed with it. It was fun, but it was deeply flawed.
OoT was straight-arrow linear; outside the mini-games, there really wasn't much to do aside from the main quest. There wasn't the same feel of a huge overworld to be explored as in the originals (or WW, for that matter).
OoT was easy; Z-targeting and weak opponents made combat too simple, and the dungeons relied more on puzzles than on enemies to provide challenge.
OoT was frequently boring; cutscenes are, I realise, a necessary evil, but they should be kept short and entertaining.

I did hate MM. It was much the same as OoT; though the game was of course less linear (owing to the notebook quests), the overworld was still bite-sized and there was little enough time to explore anyway, given the time limit. My biggest complaint with MM was the length; when I buy a Zelda game, I expect to be kept busy for a while, not to have completed it by the following night. Less than ten hours of play, start to finish--absolutely inexcusable.

(Again, I don't expect anyone to agree. I'm not trying to start a fight, here; this is honestly how I feel.)

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-15-2006, 11:07 PM

I get your reasons. I don't agree, obviously, but I can definitely see where you're coming from.

Bomby, how is the AoL control style horrible? It's just like a Zelda sidescroller, and the spellcasting adds a fun aspect.

Koga · 12-16-2006, 07:13 AM

I don't see how WW has a bigger overworld. Sure, the sea is huge, but it's mostly filled with tiny islands that serve only one purpose, and even the bigger islands are still pretty small. That was my biggest problem with WW. And when I first got under the sea and saw Hyrule I thought it had potential to be very awesome, but then you don't get to explore anything of it.

I still don't see how you can loathe OoT and MM and love WW. Many of your gripes also go for WW. Oh, and I find it a little hard to believe you finished MM in 10 hours: I imagine most people take the full three day cycle to get the ocarina back and that's already over an hour before the game really starts. I know that MM took me a lot longer than WW (and MM had better sidequests, in my opinion).

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-16-2006, 09:30 AM

I forgot to say, why is it that Z-Targeting all of a sudden got better in Wind Waker?

**Cravdraa** · 12-16-2006, 01:25 PM

1.Link's Awakening
2.Majora's Mask
3.Link to the Past
4.Legend of Zelda
5.Wind Waker
6.Adventure of Link
7.Ocarina of Time
8.Oracle of Ages
9.Oracle of Seasons
10.Minish Cap

The Four sword games were too different from the rest of the series for me to compair them, but I liked both quite a bit for what they were.

I'm holding off on Twilight Princess because I'm not finished yet, but so far I'd say it's definately in the top 3.

MC Luigi · 12-16-2006, 04:37 PM

1.TP (holy crap it's good! Just too hard to die...)
2. OOT, MM (tied)
3.WW (also too hard to die)
4.LttP (Grew up with this game)
5.FSA (Not too fond of it..)
6.MC (not bad)
7.LoZ (Sux)
8.AoL (sux more)
9.OoA (dont even get me started)
10.OoS(This was even worse)
11.Link's Awakening (I HATE THIS)

^^Z targeting was better because the camera was a lot less shifty, there were more battle combos, farther side jumps, backflips and jump attacks. Yet it was way too easy to stay alive. I died 4 times, once in Hyrule Castle, 2 times trying to FULLY get through the Fighting Pit place, without potions or fairies. And once in the sword fight with Ganon.
I agree with Koga about it being impossible to loathe OOT and MM but adore WW.

**Booyakasha** · 12-16-2006, 07:31 PM

It may have taken me more than ten hours to beat MM. I wasn't timing myself or anything; that was an estimate I made last night, some five years after the fact. I flew right on through it, though, I can say that much.

I don't think Z-targeting made WW easier, the way it did with OoT and MM. In fact, considering that crowds of enemies were much more common in WW, I'd say Z-targeting was more a liability than a help--focusing on one enemy just left you open to getting swarmed by the rest of them.

The Missing Link · 12-17-2006, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walkie-Talkie Man

Those aren't Zelda Games.

They may be horrible. They may be bad. But it's got the big three in each of them, and as such they count. Plus, I had the (mis)fortune of playing all three, so by golly, I shall remind people of them no matter how often people chose to ignore them.

Which is probably more than you can say.

Minister of Silly Walks · 12-17-2006, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Luigi 128

Yet it was way too easy to stay alive. I died 4 times, once in Hyrule Castle, 2 times trying to FULLY get through the Fighting Pit place, without potions or fairies. And once in the sword fight with Ganon.

I can't believe you actually did die in Wind Waker...

Shine Dude · 12-17-2006, 08:18 AM

You all will hate me for my list.

1.Wind Waker
2.Minish Cap

Mikhail Gorbachev · 12-17-2006, 09:08 AM

Meh. My list sucks too. (never had an N64 or SNES -_-)
1. Link's Awakening
2. A Link to the Past (GBA)
3. Oracle of Ages
4. Oracle of Seasons
5. Four Sword Adventures
6. Four Swords
I suspect that TP will claim the #1 spot easily.

DELICIOUS POISON · 12-17-2006, 11:04 PM

1. Link to the Past
2. Link's Awakening
3. Twilight Princess (Wii)
4. Four Swords Adventure
5. Adventures of Link
8. Minish Cap
6. the Legend of Zelda
7. the Legend of Zelda: BSA version
9. Windwaker
10. Ocarina of Time
11. Oracle of Seasons
12. Majora's Mask

I grew up with LttP and Link's Awakening being my first true Zelda experiences (I'd played the first two, but they were very hard as I was so young), and they set precedence for all Zelda games that have followed, they setup the world of Zelda beyond the simple video game interfaces and poorly translated text of the NES, but they left a lot of room for imagination.

A lot games have followed since then, and a lot of them have been creative and imaginative, but most of them I've found lacking in one way or another.

Twilight Princess is an amalgamation of most of the good things of any recent Zelda game. It's more or less what Ocarina wanted to be and was hyped to be, and what Windwaker should have been. I've beaten it, and am happy with what I've done without having searched every last recess of the game. The world of Twilight Princess is vast and at times amazing, and I think we'd do ourselves a favor when we play the game by turning off the minimap, and not using the warps when you don't have to. Just wander. Get lost. Take your time. There's a lot in there to explore, and if you take advantage of all the luxuries you're given - you're guaranteed to miss something. There's something to be said for scouring Hyrule on foot.

All of that being said - It's hard to place some of these games, myself. Minish Cap, for instance, is a great game to play - but its overworld lacks a lot of polish required to put it on par with my favorites. The blatant reuse of characters cannot go unnoticed, as well. Also, FSA is kind of what you would call a diamond in the rough - it actually surprised me with its plot. Its gameplay was fantastic, for one or more players. But I don't have the history with it as I do others, and it was not a true Zelda game at heart (although I wish others would take a hint from its simple action-motivated gameplay).

12-14-2006, 07:19 PM	#2
Booyakasha Mod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 7,129 Thanks: 92 Thanked 523 Times in 287 Posts Points: 17,013.71 Bank: 55,546.50 Total Points: 72,560.21 Donate	1-6 are all really close together, inasmuch as I like those ones a lot. Then there's a small gap, and 7-8 are close together, as I think those are pretty good, but nothing to obsess over. Then there's a whopping great gap, with 9 ranking in at 'fair', and then another big gap, and then 10, which drops right off the edge of acceptibility. (I realise no one else will agree, but that's just how it breaks down for me.) 1. LoZ 2. LttP 3. WW 4. AoL 5. FSA 6. LA 7. MC 8. Oracles 9. OoT 10. MM __________________ Boo--beware, he lives Last edited by Booyakasha; 12-14-2006 at 07:31 PM.

12-16-2006, 07:31 PM	#15
Booyakasha Mod of War Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Wisconsinland Gender: Posts: 7,129 Thanks: 92 Thanked 523 Times in 287 Posts Points: 17,013.71 Bank: 55,546.50 Total Points: 72,560.21 Donate	It may have taken me more than ten hours to beat MM. I wasn't timing myself or anything; that was an estimate I made last night, some five years after the fact. I flew right on through it, though, I can say that much. I don't think Z-targeting made WW easier, the way it did with OoT and MM. In fact, considering that crowds of enemies were much more common in WW, I'd say Z-targeting was more a liability than a help--focusing on one enemy just left you open to getting swarmed by the rest of them. __________________ Boo--beware, he lives

12-14-2006, 07:00 PM	#1
Minister of Silly Walks Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,918 Thanks: 685 Thanked 749 Times in 423 Posts Points: 83,904.30 Bank: 208,780.78 Total Points: 292,685.08 Donate	Order of favorite Zelda games Exclude games you haven't played. List Four Swords if you want to, but Four Swords Adventure most definitely. Link's Awakening DX is the same as Link's Awakening. These are all extremely close together, and if there are any edges, they're slight: 1. OoT 2. MM 3. LttP 4. AoL 5. LA 6. LoZ 7. FSA 8. Wind Waker (Pretty big gap inserted here) 9. Minish Cap 10. OoS (another gap, smaller than the first one) 11. OoA

12-14-2006, 09:15 PM	#3
Minister of Silly Walks Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,918 Thanks: 685 Thanked 749 Times in 423 Posts Points: 83,904.30 Bank: 208,780.78 Total Points: 292,685.08 Donate	Wait, you liked Wind Waker but you didn't like OoT or MM? Honestly, I've never actually heard your reasoning for not liking them. Mind PMing it to me?

12-14-2006, 11:17 PM	#4
Bomby VGF's Resident Lennonist Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Caught beneath the landslide in a champagne supernover in the sky Gender: Posts: 15,544 Thanks: 234 Thanked 716 Times in 454 Posts Blog Entries: 4 Points: 7,870.50 Bank: 5,150,329.34 Total Points: 5,158,199.85 Donate	1. LttP 2. OoT 3. MM 4. Link's Awakening 5. Oracles 6. Minish Cap 7. LoZ 8. AoL

12-15-2006, 02:09 AM	#5
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 15,755 Thanks: 108 Thanked 317 Times in 215 Posts Points: 17,581.91 Bank: 154,938.35 Total Points: 172,520.26 Donate	1. Twilight Princess 2. Link to the Past 3. Wind Waker 4. Ocarina of Time 5. Minish Cap 6. Link's Awakening 7. Majora's Mask 8. Legend of Zelda 9. Four Swords Adventures 10. Four Swords 11. Oracle of Seasons 12. Oracle of Ages 13. Adventure of Link 14. Zelda's Adventure 15. Wand of Gamelon 16. Faces of Evil

12-15-2006, 10:01 AM	#7
Koga Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: The Netherlands Gender: Posts: 17,095 Thanks: 104 Thanked 186 Times in 117 Posts Points: 109,265.07 Bank: 25,861.92 Total Points: 135,126.99 Donate	I'm playing Twilight Princess at the moment (just passed the 2nd dungeon) so I won't include it yet. It'll be very high on the list probably when I'm done with it. 1. OoT 2. MM 3. LA 4. OoA 5. OoS 6. WW 7. LttP 8. LoZ 9. AoL 10. Minish Cap This may surprise some of you. Ocarina and Majora on top is a given, and Minish Cap is definitely my least favourite. I like the NES games, but I just prefer the ones that come after it. I think LttP is very overrated (which may be related to the fact that it was one of the last Zelda games I played), and I think the Oracles are almost on par with LA. I'm not sure where to put Wind Waker, but I put it below the GBC games, because I thought it was slightly dissapointing. I haven't played FS/FSA.

12-15-2006, 11:07 PM	#10
Minister of Silly Walks Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,918 Thanks: 685 Thanked 749 Times in 423 Posts Points: 83,904.30 Bank: 208,780.78 Total Points: 292,685.08 Donate	I get your reasons. I don't agree, obviously, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. Bomby, how is the AoL control style horrible? It's just like a Zelda sidescroller, and the spellcasting adds a fun aspect.

12-16-2006, 07:13 AM	#11
Koga Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: The Netherlands Gender: Posts: 17,095 Thanks: 104 Thanked 186 Times in 117 Posts Points: 109,265.07 Bank: 25,861.92 Total Points: 135,126.99 Donate	I don't see how WW has a bigger overworld. Sure, the sea is huge, but it's mostly filled with tiny islands that serve only one purpose, and even the bigger islands are still pretty small. That was my biggest problem with WW. And when I first got under the sea and saw Hyrule I thought it had potential to be very awesome, but then you don't get to explore anything of it. I still don't see how you can loathe OoT and MM and love WW. Many of your gripes also go for WW. Oh, and I find it a little hard to believe you finished MM in 10 hours: I imagine most people take the full three day cycle to get the ocarina back and that's already over an hour before the game really starts. I know that MM took me a lot longer than WW (and MM had better sidequests, in my opinion).

12-16-2006, 09:30 AM	#12
Minister of Silly Walks Moderator of Awesome Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 23,918 Thanks: 685 Thanked 749 Times in 423 Posts Points: 83,904.30 Bank: 208,780.78 Total Points: 292,685.08 Donate	I forgot to say, why is it that Z-Targeting all of a sudden got better in Wind Waker?

12-16-2006, 01:25 PM	#13
Cravdraa VGF RPG Mod Join Date: May 2001 Location: It's round on the sides and high in the middle Gender: Posts: 5,925 Thanks: 54 Thanked 210 Times in 141 Posts Points: 29,870.23 Bank: 2,004,930.94 Total Points: 2,034,801.17 Donate	1.Link's Awakening 2.Majora's Mask 3.Link to the Past 4.Legend of Zelda 5.Wind Waker 6.Adventure of Link 7.Ocarina of Time 8.Oracle of Ages 9.Oracle of Seasons 10.Minish Cap The Four sword games were too different from the rest of the series for me to compair them, but I liked both quite a bit for what they were. I'm holding off on Twilight Princess because I'm not finished yet, but so far I'd say it's definately in the top 3.

12-16-2006, 04:37 PM	#14
MC Luigi Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: In YO FACE Gender: Posts: 1,033 Thanks: 41 Thanked 15 Times in 15 Posts Points: 11,050.64 Bank: 23,165.44 Total Points: 34,216.07 Donate	1.TP (holy crap it's good! Just too hard to die...) 2. OOT, MM (tied) 3.WW (also too hard to die) 4.LttP (Grew up with this game) 5.FSA (Not too fond of it..) 6.MC (not bad) 7.LoZ (Sux) 8.AoL (sux more) 9.OoA (dont even get me started) 10.OoS(This was even worse) 11.Link's Awakening (I HATE THIS) ^^Z targeting was better because the camera was a lot less shifty, there were more battle combos, farther side jumps, backflips and jump attacks. Yet it was way too easy to stay alive. I died 4 times, once in Hyrule Castle, 2 times trying to FULLY get through the Fighting Pit place, without potions or fairies. And once in the sword fight with Ganon. I agree with Koga about it being impossible to loathe OOT and MM but adore WW.

12-17-2006, 08:18 AM	#18
Shine Dude Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Mizzou Gender: Posts: 3,995 Thanks: 81 Thanked 84 Times in 68 Posts Points: 1,214.77 Bank: 322,569.70 Total Points: 323,784.47 Donate	You all will hate me for my list. 1.Wind Waker 2.Minish Cap

12-17-2006, 09:08 AM	#19
Mikhail Gorbachev Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Gender: Posts: 9,593 Thanks: 30 Thanked 82 Times in 65 Posts Points: 1,326.54 Bank: 132,290.67 Total Points: 133,617.21 Donate	Meh. My list sucks too. (never had an N64 or SNES -_-) 1. Link's Awakening 2. A Link to the Past (GBA) 3. Oracle of Ages 4. Oracle of Seasons 5. Four Sword Adventures 6. Four Swords I suspect that TP will claim the #1 spot easily.

12-17-2006, 11:04 PM	#20
DELICIOUS POISON Retro Nintendo Supermod Art & Literature Mod Metroid Mod Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 16,925 Thanks: 579 Thanked 1,777 Times in 873 Posts Points: 17,851.57 Bank: 4,848,504.55 Total Points: 4,866,356.12 Donate	1. Link to the Past 2. Link's Awakening 3. Twilight Princess (Wii) 4. Four Swords Adventure 5. Adventures of Link 8. Minish Cap 6. the Legend of Zelda 7. the Legend of Zelda: BSA version 9. Windwaker 10. Ocarina of Time 11. Oracle of Seasons 12. Majora's Mask I grew up with LttP and Link's Awakening being my first true Zelda experiences (I'd played the first two, but they were very hard as I was so young), and they set precedence for all Zelda games that have followed, they setup the world of Zelda beyond the simple video game interfaces and poorly translated text of the NES, but they left a lot of room for imagination. A lot games have followed since then, and a lot of them have been creative and imaginative, but most of them I've found lacking in one way or another. Twilight Princess is an amalgamation of most of the good things of any recent Zelda game. It's more or less what Ocarina wanted to be and was hyped to be, and what Windwaker should have been. I've beaten it, and am happy with what I've done without having searched every last recess of the game. The world of Twilight Princess is vast and at times amazing, and I think we'd do ourselves a favor when we play the game by turning off the minimap, and not using the warps when you don't have to. Just wander. Get lost. Take your time. There's a lot in there to explore, and if you take advantage of all the luxuries you're given - you're guaranteed to miss something. There's something to be said for scouring Hyrule on foot. All of that being said - It's hard to place some of these games, myself. Minish Cap, for instance, is a great game to play - but its overworld lacks a lot of polish required to put it on par with my favorites. The blatant reuse of characters cannot go unnoticed, as well. Also, FSA is kind of what you would call a diamond in the rough - it actually surprised me with its plot. Its gameplay was fantastic, for one or more players. But I don't have the history with it as I do others, and it was not a true Zelda game at heart (although I wish others would take a hint from its simple action-motivated gameplay).