Link's Awakening
Released: August 2nd, 1993
Link's first foray into the handheld scene is one of is greatest journeys. Here comes a Zelda game to the Gameboy, must had to believe it would be a watered down Zelda game, especially after the release of Alttp. Instead you have a game that many feel is the best Zelda, and to me it maybe the greatest handheld game ever made.
Not only is every single element of Zelda included, many areas are improved and there are all new gameplay mechanics never seen on the consoles. In this Zelda game Link can jump! The Roc's feather which allows jumping is used in so many great ways, especially when combined with the speeding boots. Oh yeah, this is one of the few Zelda games that allow you to substitute out the sword for another item. Now it is possible to combine gadgets with each other for all new effects.
What makes Link's Awakening so special is that it keeps that clasic formula in tact but wraps it up in a crazy new world, this is not Hyrule. You see Mario characters litter the world. NPCs are aware that you are in a video game and break the fourth wall while making fun of Nintendo's usual gaming formula. There are even side scrolling levels where you play the game like a Mario title. The game world is so memorable and hilarious at times, you have to have a smile on your face as you explore Koholint Island.
The best part of the game is it's dungeons. My god, those dungeons. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say it may have the best puzzles of the entire series. Each dungeon has such a perfect balance of combat, puzzles and difficulty. Yes it's head scratcher which has become so uncommon lately with Zelda, this game treated the gamer with respect, they didn't assumed we were all mindless idiots.
Link's Awakening deserves it's spot as one of the best Zelda games, that means it is also one of the greatest games you will ever play, console or handheld. I played this game when it came out on GBC and I played it before Alttp so this game was my first introduction to the Alttp stylle world and its items like the hookshot. The game blew me away, I could not imagine such an epic Zelda adventure on such a tiny screen.
---
Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobileYodariquo said:I've got my Amazon preorder in.
What if it doesn't ship in on day one? What will you do?!?!?! How can you live!?!?!? 
Ocarina of Time
Released: November 23, 1998
The greatest game of all time, it's a topic game forums love to discuss. It is a question with no true answer, we all have our own opinion of what that game is. Whenever that topic comes up one game in particular always makes an appearance, Ocarina of Time. A masterpiece for the ages, a brilliant game that has influenced so many. The only way to truly appreciate why this game is so highly respected we must travel back to 1998.
In 1998 3D gaming was really coming into it's own. If you recall that year is considered by many the greatest year gaming has ever had and it is mostly because of so many revolutionary titles that shaped genres that we still play today. Action games were still trying to find the right way to direct the action in a 3D space. OoT introduced "Z-targetting" or what we know as "locking on" to the action game world. The player is now able to lock onto any enemy and the camera will stay focused on them and your movement always moves you around the target allowing for 3D based combat. Locking on in action games has become a gaming standard ever since. The combat in Ocarina while simple by today's standards was nothing short of revolutionary at the time (something I hope Skyward Sword can do again).
Nintendo had the daunting task of recreating the Zelda world into a 3D perspective. How can this be done, how can you translate a game with so many items, such a large world and maze like dungeons into 3D. Amazingly they did and not only make a perfect translation of the forumla, they made it even better. The most noticable and impressive aspect was the game world. I still remember the first time I stepped foot onto Hyrule field, oh what a feeling as you step into this massive virtual world, there was nothing like it. If you didn't live through it there really isn't a way to describe it. Hyrule comes alive like never before, little 2D towns are now giant 3D areas with all sorts of NPCs to talk too and mini games to try out. Secrets are hidden all over in clasic Zelda fashion of not having a particular item but seeing a heart piece just out of reach. Oh and you get to ride a horse, a horse! Now that is all too common but back then, omg a horse in a giant 3D field, beyond epic.
Amazingly every single piece of equipment from Link's arsenal makes the transition to 3D, most seeing massive improvement given the nature of 3D space. Arrows can now be shot with perfect precision when shooting in first person view. The hookshot allows for traversing 3D space in a liberating way, almost like batman which his grapple hook. Items are used in combat and for puzzles, each having all sorts of multiple uses. OoT felt like a jack of all trades, it doesn't settle with just one gameplay stylle or element. Link isn't just a dude with a sword and shield, nor is he a guy that shoots everything all the time. It's that amazing mix of gameplay elements with action and puzzles that makes Zelda games so special, no other game does it quite like this series does. With OoT that magical gameplay mix was perfectly translated to 3D, I dare say it is the greatest translation of a 2D series to 3D of all time.
I can go on and on about this game but you have all played it. You know how great all the dungeons are, how devious the puzzles, how epic the boss fights. You can hum Syria's tune, you memorize Zelda's lullabye. New races were introduced none more popular than the Goron's that have populated all Zelda games since. Lets not forget the time traveling mechanic that allowed the player to see two versions of this huge world, and of course young and adult Link. All this packed into a 40 hour plus adventure with such perfect pacing there is never a dull moment, never a gameplay mechanic getting over used.
I didn't get to play OoT until about 2 years after it's release. I followed it's development like a hawk, wowing at how my beloved Zelda was coming to life in a 3D world. But I did not have a Nintendo 64 so I had to admire it from afar. I was able to play small pieces of the game at a friends house which affirmed my belief that this would become my favorite game of all time. Finally the day came when I had an N64 and the first thing I did was buy OoT. I may have been late, I may have played more recent games where 3D worlds were far more detailed and impressive but none had the personality of Zelda. The gameplay blew me away as it has everything I want in a video game mainly that perfect mix of action, puzzles and exploration.
It instantly became my favorite game of all time which is something I know happend to many. Now it didn't last very long as my favorite but that is for another entry. Ocarina of Time deserves all the acclaim and respect it gets from all involved in this industry, a masterpiece for all time.
Dvader said:Ok so the Zelda demo, it's timed and I had very little time to play before I had to sleep so this is like 40 min impressions. I started with the bird flying first, there is a cutscene showing the Biff dude and Zelda. So you have to capture a statue that a bird will be flying around. It starts I run off the cliff and hop in my bird and immediately fall down to the invisible wall keeping me from falling off the level. I have no clue what is going on, I am aiming my wiimote up and pressing A to boost but the bird does nothing. I thought my motion + was messed up, recalibrated it and same thing. I then read the instructions more carefully and I saw that you have go wave the wiimote for the bird to flap it's wings, ohh. To gain altitude you wave the wiimote an you steer by moving the wiimote. Once I got the hang of it I felt better but seriously this should still be done with a stick. It was pretty easy to get the statue, then this demo ends with another cutscene.
Now it's time for the dungeon, the moment i was waiting for. I now have control of Link, hell yeah! I move the wiimote around and I see link move with me. I do some slashes and it mostly does what I do. It confuses vertical and diagonal a lot though, maybe it's me though. So I some keese Flying around and I try out my bow. The inventory is so weird you hold B and the circle comes up then you use the cursor to select it. The cursor is very slow and sluggish cause it doesn't use the sensor bar, not a big deal but noticeable. So I pull out the arrow and I use C to aim, again a bit slugglish. The game says to pull back the nunchuck with C to shoot, it was weird but you can also use A to shoot so I just did that. I couldnt hit a damn thing and I desperately tried to lock on shoot the bats but the game doesn't let you. I would put away my bow, by accident, I was lost on how to switch to an item quickly cause of years of Zelda games doing it differently. Basically now you have to tab B to ready your item then use A to use it. This is much slower than having an instant quick slot for your items of choice.
More to come... I'm on my phone so I want to submit this now in case I lose it.
Dvader said:The damn keese were still alive so I figured I'd just slash them, I waved wildly in the air and I killed them, yeah! Next I saw a spider hanging on a web, I ran up to it and it came down but still on the web. So I slashed it and it bounced back and then momentum swung it back forward and it hit me, I lost a full heart. I kept slashing it like a moron and it swung around wildly, I could see it's weak spot on it's belly but couldn't hit it while it was swinging, I do t think the game let's me hurt it like that. The web was too high up to cut with my sword so I tried some jump attacks, which was my basically pressing A and swinging widely, no go. So I finally caved in and used an item, my beetle. It flies with the wiimote and here I feel like wiimote flying works cause it makes using the item feeling like a motion minigame. I feel lime the bird flight should be just for navigation and be done the simplest way possible. The beetle is used in puzzles where navigating tight areas is required and the wiimote makes that far more interesting, just my opinion. Anyway I cut the web, spider fell and I jump stabbed it.
Wow that was nothing like previous Zeldas, I can already feel the difference. Next I try running and wow how has this not been a part of Zelda before. He moves so quick and fluid, he leaps up objects with ease. I climbed some vines so quickly it felt like assassins creed. I saw a goblin dude so I went to fight it. I locked on and started to swing, trying to match my swing with it's openings. He blocked some attacks, countered a few time but for the most part it was easy. What freaked me out is that while locked on my shield didn't block, you have to waggle C to raise the shield and if you time it right you can parry. The problem is every time you swing you reset the shield to a down position so you have to waggle C every single time you want to block.
This area ha locked doors all over and was pretty open, it took me a while to find the switch that opened a door. Before that I explored a bit, tried to do a tightrope walk and failed miserably. I fell into a deku pit where I had an epic battle with with evil deku plants. As you know they open their mouth a certain way and that is how you slash. Horizontal slashes worked great, vertical not so much. I would mess up my shield blocks so I was getting hit a bit, nice to see aggressive enemies.
I finally went into the first room where a stalfos waited for me. You have seen the fight so you have an idea of how it goes. I willsay that the shield was still giving me issues but this fight I managed to get some parries and I was getting better at it as I played. The fight had me so involved that I actually got a bit tired, I git to into it lol. Its the shields fault mostly, I really push the nunchuck with a lot of force to parry cause if I don't it doesn't register some times. These are all things that I am sure I will get used to in time, what matters is that this fight feels so different than any zelda game before.
More to come...
Dvader said:You get a beetle upgrade when you beat the stalfos, an upgrade to an item, so strange and awesome. You use the beetle to fly outside a hole in the ceiling and hit a switch. The next parts were more puzzle heavy, I used the beetle to fly into small spaces, having to avoid enemies to reach a switch, really fun stuff with the wiimote. In the next room there was a spider in a large web which you can cut into pieces, great physics at work. I saw a high platform I couldnt reach so I used the beetle to explore and I found a switch that raised the water level up. Another area had those eye ball things at a door, I tried to waggle my sword around like the videos but it wasn't doing anything. I then noticed I was only getting the attention of two eyes, a third was above, how do I get that one. I saw a box on a high ledge, I climbed up pushed the box down and centered it between the eyes, got on top and all eyes opened. Awesome, I did the circle motion and the door opened.
That's about as far as I got in the dungeon, there was still plenty to do so I will try more later when I get back from this trip. The last mode was boss fight. It's a battle with ghirahim, there is a cutscene I skipped no need to see the story now. The battle is so different than anything I have ever played in a Zelda game. He catches your sword when you try to hit him and says you telegraph your moves to much. So I would start my slash from one direction but then switch it up to an opposite direction and slash away this worked. Eventually he starts to fight back even parrying some moves. He does this range attack where red daggers appear in a line, then shoots out at you, cut the line and you are safe or just dodge it, much easier. I foundthe fight to be pretty long and not to hard cause he hardly attacks. It felt like a weird DMC boss fight where the boss is hesitant to hurt you. It was fun and a great change if pace for Zelda bosses but doesn't hold a candle to great action game bosses. Maybe the first battle is easy, I am sure it gets much harder later.
So that is the demo, I felt so out of place with the controls which means I know Nintendo accomplished what they wanted to do. I cannot stress how different it feels to fight all enemies, there was this sense of discovery with every enemy I faced. The entire dungeon layout felt different, more open and challenging. I got but a small taste but I want more.
I will say that this game will totally rub certain people the wrong way. The first ten minutes with the controls were a huge learning experience and in a demo setting at a store for instance it will leave many frustrated. I think first reactions will be a over the place. Those that love motion control wil embrace it and say this is why we need it. Those that hate it will say see how complicated it is to do simple actions and say that is why they suck. I wi say this, give the game 30 min to an hour before judging.
As for visuals, it's a wii game... Does not look as good as Mario galaxy but not as ugly as TP. The actual art style is incredible, I LOVED the dungeon and enemy look. It's a gorgeous game in that regard. The music was phenomenal, this will have an epic soundtrack. Phew so there you go, my giant impressions. I feel better now that I have played it, makes waiting this next week easier.
BTW agnates I agree with basically everything you said about the demo
Thanks Vader you killed my hype. I wonder if the Reviews will mention anything about the controls. Edge loved them. Maybe it is because it is a demo?
Iga_Bobovic said:Thanks Vader you killed my hype. I wonder if the Reviews will mention anything about the controls. Edge loved them. Maybe it is because it is a demo?
No no no, don't lose hype, the controls are awesome. It really feels totally fresh and new, it just takes time to get used to it. The only two areas I feel do need work is the aiming which feels slow compared to say TP and item usage and switching just feels harder to do. I am sure I will get used to it as well.
Dvader said:Iga_Bobovic said:Thanks Vader you killed my hype. I wonder if the Reviews will mention anything about the controls. Edge loved them. Maybe it is because it is a demo?
No no no, don't lose hype, the controls are awesome. It really feels totally fresh and new, it just takes time to get used to it. The only two areas I feel do need work is the aiming which feels slow compared to say TP and item usage and switching just feels harder to do. I am sure I will get used to it as well.
Fuck I hate those pics takes 20 seconds before I can do anything.
Losing hype is good, so I will do it. The wait is a lot easier then. Besides I played Wii Sports Resort, so I am used to most control schemes. Switching weapons will be easier in the real game, because you will start with one weapon and then two and so on. In the demo you already have multiple weapons.
Zelda bingo
Iga_Bobovic said:Fuck I hate those pics takes 20 seconds before I can do anything.
Losing hype is good, so I will do it. The wait is a lot easier then. Besides I played Wii Sports Resort, so I am used to most control schemes. Switching weapons will be easier in the real game, because you will start with one weapon and then two and so on. In the demo you already have multiple weapons.
Agreed on the pics, I removed them.
You are right about the final release, for that you will have like 15 tutorials before you even get close to where the demo was. They will ease you into everything so it will be a much different reaction.
Majora's Mask
Released: October 26, 2000
If there is one game in the series that evokes a strong reaction in both positive and negative directions it's the overlooked masterpiece that is Majora's Mask. Those that dislike it usually place it last of all 3D Zelda's and those that love it, well many think its the greatest Zelda ever made, myself included. To me this is the boldest and most interesting Zelda game. It would have been simple for Nintendo to stick close to the Ocarina of Time formula but they decided to try something different, the result of which split the fanbase.
The most contraversial new feature to Zelda was the Groundhog Day like time system which gave you only three days to complete the game but you are allowed to restart those three days over again while saving some progress. To many this added a "time limit" which added stress to a game that is all about exploration. The truth is that if you slow down time you have a good 6 hours before the time is up and you can easily do all sorts of exploring, get some progress down and simply reset back at anytime having your progress saved. What this time mechanic adds to the game cannot be underestimated, it makes the world more alive than any game I have ever played.
Majora takes place in the world of Termina, it's like a strange alternate dimension where characters from OoT all have new personalities and each have their own story. Early on you recieve a book of appointments where you keep track of everyone's issues. The game includes the greatest side quests of any Zelda game which range from saving a couple in love to stopping a "ufo" invasion there is so much to do. It's all brilliantly setup using the time system, these people all have a routine and at certain moments in time they will have key moments that can change the outcome of their story. I have never been more attached to the NPCs of a virtual world like I was in Majora's Mask.
The changes don't stop there; this game includes a ton of masks to collect three which change Link into a new creature with new skills. These masks allow Link all new moves and of course they become essential in navigating the games dungeons and amazing world. The other masks all have a special ability that is usually tied to one of the many side quests. This adds so much gameplay variety that was no present in OoT. The world itself is filled with secrets and such memorable locations. I was breathless when I strolled up on Termina Bay for the first time, so beautiful.
If there is a negative everyone can agree on is that there are only four dungeons. Normally this would bother me a ton as dungeons are my favorite part of these games but the stuff outside the dungeons were so compelling that I hardly noticed. The game is still packed with a ton of content, more than enough for me to feel satisfied with just four.
There are so many little touches that make this game so special. The overworld theme using the main theme, the only 3D Zelda to do so. Hearing ****c Zelda songs when you go into a Zora bands rehersal. I played this game a few years after it came out. I rented it at a blockbuster one summer when I had a monthly pass. I kept it for two weeks, I did nothing but play this game, completely lose myself into Termina like no game before. It was pure gaming bliss. While I played it I felt like child again, that same innocent sense of wonder I felt with the first Zelda. I thought to myself this is the greatest game I have ever played and to this day it still is.
Skyward Sword Reviews
100 - IGN
100 - Game Informer
100 - Edge
100 - Wired
100 - Guardian
100 - Metro GameCentral
100 - CCC
100 - Nintendo World Report
98 - Nintendo - Universe
98 - Computer and Video Games
98 - ONM UK
90 - Games Radar
90 - Gameblog.fr
90 - Games(TM)
85 - EGM
83 - 1up
80 - Jeuxactu.com
80 - Gameblog
80 - GameKult
80 - Gamepro
80 - Giant Bomb
80 - G4TV
lol G4 and Giant Bomb. Surprise surprise.
And of course no GS review yet.
Not even one 8.8 review? 
Ravenprose said:Not even one 8.8 review?
GS's review isn't out yet.
Just woke up, instant reaction time.
IGN - WOOOOOO, so hyped. But this review doesn't tell me much of anything.
1up - Huh, fetch quests and the shadow world gets mentioned as a negative. Damn
Giant Bomb - What is up with this review. Wow the review is just whining the whole time. Wah no quest log, I'm not going to do the quest. Why isnt this like Skyrim. Ugh. Plus the reviewer said he found TP very boring so clearly this guy and me don't see eye to eye.
G4- Very well done review, explains exactly why it has issues.
Joystiq - Fetch quests again. What are these, they must be horrible. He said it could have been the greatest game of all time?!
Wired - Again huge praise for feeling brand new in many areas and no filler, wait, what? I'm so confused.
Gamepro - Really loved the dungeons (universal praise by all, thank god) but feels that exploration is non existant. What happened to the sky world? 
EGM - The controls suck?!?!?! WTF. Ok I'll just ignore this one.
CVG - A little spoiler heavy for me but the usual praise and the usual negatives.
Complaining that Zelda isn't like TES? So they bought into your Zelda-TES fantasy, Vader? 
Iga_Bobovic said:
Zelda bingo
I saw a ton of these today across all reviews. Some had to have bingo. Actually I am going to check a few.
A Link to the Past
Released: April 13, 1992
Every once in a while a gamed comes along where you know they perfected a formula. A game so majestic that when you finish you wonder how will they ever top it. A Link to the Past is that game for the clasic top down Zelda. It is the game that set the rules and the formula for every single Zelda game since then. This was the sequel everyone was waiting for since Zelda 2 went in such a strange direction, finally a sequel to the orginal we all fell in love with.
From the first moment of that game, when its raining and you are awakened at night by your father as he prepares to head toward the castle, the story takes center stage like never before, for the 16-bit era it was like a movie. No Zelda before it had such a storytelling quality to it, all of a sudden Zelda had a story pushing the events forward, many characters with memorable personalities litter the world to make Hyrule a living breathing place like never before.
The most important elements Alttp introduced to the series are its enhancements and refinement to the gameplay. The open ended nature of the original was removed for a more linear path through the game. While I love aspects of being able to explore dungeons from way ahead in the game or even miss entire items, it doesn't allow the developers to really create an expertly crafted guided experience. That is what Alttp does best, the game flows perfectly from dungeon to dungeon and introduces game changing elements at just the right time, it's pacing is sublime.
Dungeons now have a right way to go through them but again this allows for more control of the puzzles and pacing of them. Mini boss battles add excitement at just the right moments. The dungeons unfold in a way that every single Zelda game follows since. Before this game there was no, find the item and use it in the dungeon structure, 19 years later this is how every Zelda dungeon works. Those items you find were nothing short of legendary. Sure some were ****c items reborn but one in particular would change everything, the hookshot which has become a Zelda staple. Overall the dungeons in Alttp were fantastic offering that perfect balance of action and puzzle solving, always culminating in a huge screen filling boss battle.
Alttp was also the first Zelda game to play with two different versions of the same world, of course in this case it was the light and dark worlds. Being able to explore a parallel dimension of hyrule and having to switch back and forth to solve puzzles was mindblowing back then. What an awesome idea, it is no wonder most Zelda games use a sort of world altering mechanic whether its traveling in time or entering a shadow world, again it all started with Alttp.
My history with this game was a bit strange. I never owned a SNES, I was a Sega fanboy but I desperately wanted to play Zelda. I got to play small chunks of it at a friends house but i never really played the full game until the late 90s when I got to borrow an SNES and play this gem from the past. I actually played Link's Awakening first so the impact of Alttp wasn't as big as it would have been if I played it the moment it was released but I loved how perfectly refined this game was. To me it is the finest 2D Zelda experience, but it's not the one I love the most, that still remains the original.
I almost finished this without mentioning one of the best aspects of the game, the music. If you do a list of greatest game music ever about five tracks from this game will have to be on that list. The graphics were state of the art and its art stylle is one of my favorite, I don't understand why they never went back to it. A Link to the Past is one of the finest video games ever made, you will hear that a lot during this retrospective but outside of Ocarina I don't think any other Zelda is held to such high esteem.