I’ve beaten every Zelda game!!!
That’s it!!! It’s over!!!! I beat Four Swords Adventures!!! I’ve beaten them all!!! I’ve beaten every The Legend of Zelda game!!!
I have become the Hero of Hyrule, the Legendary Hero, the Hero of Time, the Hero of Winds, the Chosen Hero and every other hero as well!
What an adventure. What a unique, epic, extraordinary adventure.
Here are my thoughts on and personal experiences with every single one:
The game that lay the foundations for this phenomenal series. I was overwhelmed by the directionless overworld but soon came to realise how valuable it was in setting up the rest of the series. I hold the exploration and discovery that The Legend of Zelda brought to gaming against nearly every game I play. It’s confusing, it’s arbitrary and it’s difficult but it created a distinctively wonder-filled world for us to explore for years to come.
The first to shake things up in a series that’s so grand because of the individuality brought to every game. This is the one I honestly didn’t think I’d get through but after finally conquering Death Mountain and getting some more sword abilities I absolutely fell in love. Underneath a severely weak opening and many genuinely unfair enemy placements lies a good feeling momentum based platformer that invented a unique style of gameplay, reminiscent but not quite identical to Metroid or Castlevania, that I wish had been expanded on in future titles. The Adventure of Link has inspired me as a game designer to make something that expands on and develops what it created.
One of my favourite Zeldas, ALttP is, in my mind, the quintessential Zelda game. It's slightly more limiting that Zelda 1 but expands on nearly everything else: the items, the exploration, the dungeons - everything's more interesting. A game I revisit frequently because I have fallen in love with its version of Hyrule and the creativity in each of its different levels.
I believe Link’s Awakening has the best story in all of Zelda. I love the trading quests, touring around with Marin, collecting pieces of a song to progress through the game, the quirky characters who teach me music and photobomb my pictures and the adorable little island world to explore that leaves you thinking about it for years to come.
“The best game of all time.” I disagree. First playing it on the 3DS remake, I enjoyed Ocarina of Time a lot and have so much respect for the tolkien-esque version of Hyrule that gave us a seamlessly connected 3D world with unique races and tribes in the Zora, Goron, Sheikah and Gerudo. I do feel that the transition to 3D was a little clunky though and a lot of the world feels devoid of content. I think that many other entries in the Zelda series alone surpass Ocarina of Time so I don’t think it deserves to be called the best game of all time. I do think it deserves credit for setting up the 3D side of the best series of all time though ;)
I also played the 3DS remake of Majora’s Mask. An improvement on it’s predecessor in many ways, with the field of Termina more content-filled than Hyrule field, a more personality and life-filled world and the expansion on the character traits and lore amongst its many different races. Majora’s Mask’s Link had the most diverse and powerful arsenal thus far (masks included). Being able to change into the different races, especially after playing Ocarina of Time, was a dream come true. They pretty much nailed it the first time but I would love to see the return of a playable Deku, Goron and Zora.
Oracle of Seasons was nice but it wasn’t really that memorable for me. I found Holodrum to be a massive pain to navigate. I felt like there were a lot of weird roundabout ways you had to take to get to an adjacent square. The music (especially Subrosia’s theme) annoyed me most of the time as well. I still had fun though and I think concepts like the rings could have been expanded upon in later titles.
I thought Oracle of Ages was the better half of the Oracle games. The world was easier to get around and there was more to see with the switching between past and present. I loved linking up my OoS file and seeing the continuation of the plot (including the fight with Ganon), my rings and that kid I named after myself. Something especially memorable for me was the Mermaid Suit item. Other than Majora’s Mask I’ve always felt too limited in the water in Zelda games. All I could really do was swim and there was never anything interesting to discover below the depths. About a whole quarter of Labrynna is submerged and the Mermaid Suit lets you explore the ocean and still use tools like your sword. Jabu-Jabu’s belly was my favourite dungeon between OoA and OoS and I thought much better than the OoT dungeon of the same name.
A short game that’s difficult to get your hands on and then play with three other people. I was lucky enough to grab the Anniversary Edition and play through it with three friends in about 3 hours. It’s a short game, but it was an awesome 3 hours.
My favourite 3D Zelda. Wind Waker represents everything Zelda should be to me. Grand scale adventure, colour, quirky characters, spontaneity, treasure hunting...Wind Waker has it all! I first played the HD version and I thought the Gamepad controls were perfect for Zelda (looking forward to Zelda Wii U and Twilight Princess HD). When I think of Link, I don’t think of Ocarina of Time link or Twilight Princess Link. I think of Wind Waker Link. Toon Link. The little hero who goes on a big adventure, with sassy facial expressions and curious eyes. I would recommend Wind Waker to any newcomer to the series before any of the other 3D games. I’m so glad Toon Link exists and I can’t wait to see more of him after Triforce Heroes.
Probably the hardest Zelda game to play in its purest form of Four Player Comp-op (competitive co-operation) and the final game I checked off my list. With a meta-game that I could talk about for hours and will surely have to write something on someday this game expanded upon the framework Four Swords set for it. It was a long game for a Comp-op but every level kept things fresh and creative and I can’t think of a better game to end my adventure off on than this homage to all the previous titles.
My first adventure. My most repeated adventure. My most treasured adventure. I have undying love for The Minish Cap not only for getting me into the series but also for everything it offered me as a young gamer. Shrinking into a little Minish and exploring the massive world around you called to my inner child like no game ever had. The environments, dungeons and puzzles are all really solid and there’s just the right amount of side quests. Ezlo is one of the best companions and Vaati’s always been my favourite villain character design wise. I’m always going to love Minish Cap in a way different from any game ever made.
When Twilight Princess came out all of my friends played it and loved it but I was late to the party. When I finally got around to it I was heavily disappointed until about a third of the way through the game. The tutorials, tears of light collection and the barren overworld were boring and a drag to get through. After the water temple the game’s tone started to shift, the world began to open up/get more interesting and so did Link’s abilities. I had a great time with the last two thirds of Twilight Princess and Midna quickly became my favourite companion, even beating out Ezlo from my beloved Minish Cap! I was blubbering senselessly during the credits scene with her. I feel as though TP was similar to OoT but improved upon it in nearly every way.
Oh boy it’s Phantom Hourglass. PH was my second Zelda game and I liked it but after time and after more playthroughs I started to dislike it a lot. I think it’s one of the weakest Zelda games in that the overworld is uninteresting, the dungeons are linear and straightforward and the game as a whole is just tedious to get through. PH’s redeeming qualities include Linebeck and the customisable ship but after I (eventually) finish my recent replay Phantom Hourglass will be toward the bottom on my list of repeated adventures.
Spirit Tracks improves upon everything Phantom Hourglass did wrong. The dungeons are thematically and mechanically interesting, the overworld and transportation across it give you more to do than most and the final boss fight is my favourite in the series. I know a lot of people who turn Spirit Tracks down because it’s “trains” and it’s “not as open as Phantom Hourglass (pish posh)” but I think any Zelda fan who doesn’t play Spirit Tracks all the way through is missing out.
Easily my least favourite Zelda. I’m in the 50% of players for whom the motion controls didn’t work. But, if your technology is going to fail for 50% of its user base, can it really be called a successful game because of those other 50%? Aside from having to re-calibrate every 30 seconds I couldn’t stand Fi, was disappointed in the barren sky world, furious when the game promised me an awesome new world through the portal of time but instead just sent me back to the same areas and perplexed by the need to give the whole of The Legend of Zelda a backstory before being perplexed even more so as to that backstory conflicting with the other games and thus making the overall “history” of Zelda make LESS sense?!?! I liked the art-style, I liked the Sandship and I liked the final boss but these aren’t enough reasons for me to want to ever touch Skyward Sword again.
For years The Minish Cap was one of my favourite games and my favourite Zelda game. Then, in 2013, A Link Between Worlds completely rocked my world. The familiar and beloved world of ALttP’s hyrule. Quick movement and straightforward combat. A spontaneous world with plenty to sidetrack you whilst you’re on your way to a dungeon and make every step of the way exciting. Well-used StreetPass functionality. Thematically diverse dungeons with thoughtful puzzles and gimmicks. A dual-screen inventory system derivative of the series past that allows for instantaneous and unobtrusive item selection. A rebooted item system that still somehow gives you MORE treasures to find inside of dungeons and out. Twists, turns, lovable characters and a final scene that makes me tear up every time. A Link Between Worlds is not only my favourite Zelda game, it’s my favourite game overall.
Hiromasa Shikata brought over all the little details of perfection along with A Link Between Worlds’ engine to make Triforce Heroes into the adorable little gem that it is. I have a huge problem with the context in which you play this game being that I find only the local multiplayer to be of any value and it’s rare I’ll find myself in a situation appropriate for playing without setting a day aside. But, Triforce Heroes is comletely successful in shaking up the goals of the player to be costume making instead of regular treasure or item collection and I’ll happily be playing it to completion with friends.
I have loved almost every second I have spent with this series. During the final scene of Four Swords Adventures I kept chanting “It can’t be over... It can’t be over” because I didn’t want to believe that I really had to wait for only future titles to experience new Zelda games...
Whilst my adventure through Hyrule has come to an end until Zelda Wii U my adventure of discussing and analysing the series as a whole is just beginning. All 18 of these titles are so influential to me as a person and as a creator. Every game I make will be inspired by Zelda in some way and I will make sure everything it has taught me about level design, fantasy world building, ingenuity and how to make a game one thing: fun, will carry on through my work.
Thank you Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, Satoru Iwata, Hiromasa Shikata, Koji Kondo and every single person who worked on Zelda, played Zelda with me or even just talked to me about Zelda. The Legend of Zelda has become my favourite video game series.
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