The Legend of Zelda (Series)

[Ararera]

Zora's Domain is typically my favourite area, and BOTW didn't disappoint.

I agree with your thoughts on Gerudo Desert. I guess I didn't expect much from a desert... and the Yiga clan stuff was somewhat cool... but overall I found it lacking. Then again, I guess you need it to be a bit lacking in order for that sandworm style boss fight to make sense.

[Moonface]

I think what hurts Gerudo a lot is that the game generally tries to push you to do Zora Domain first, which has a lot of story going on before you even reach it because there are Zora looking for you outside the domain, and Prince Sidon is with you for a lot of the journey. The Goron's come close by having you make a similar journey through a region with a very defined path and interesting geography, but the story stuff doesn't kick off until you reach the village; however, you do again spend a good amount of time with a partner there. The other two places don't really have you be with anyone until the actual boss fight, and it stands out a lot when you've done either of the other two first.

[queenzelda]

I'm surprised that no one here is mad about the $25 amiibo Loftwing with Zelda is pay walling a quality of life upgrade to the game where you can just leave from where ever to the sky & then go back to where you left from.

[Moonface]

I'm surprised that no one here is mad about the $25 amiibo Loftwing with Zelda is pay walling a quality of life upgrade to the game where you can just leave from where ever to the sky & then go back to where you left from.

I hadn't heard about it until you mentioned it. It sucks, but it also wasn't in the original game so at least they didn't put an existing feature behind a paywall. Breath of the Wild's DLC also has a similar item that lets you fast travel back to a location you mark with said item, so it doesn't surprise me that the same feature is locked behind money once again. Unfortunately there's no way for people to vote with their wallet on this one because there are going to be plenty of people who buy the amiibo because they just like it regardless of what it does in-game, or to resell it when they become difficult to find like most amiibo do.

[Moonface]

Skyward Sword HD - Quality of Life Changes
Check out a rundown of just a few of the "quality of life" improvements added in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, including optional hints, streamlined item information, and skippable cutscenes!

[Dragon Lord]

You know, it wasn't until I saw this trailer that I really noticed just how god damn ugly the character models are in it. Yikes.

Still undecided if I want to get this or not. Torn between being curious to try it out for myself and hearing how horribly bad the game is. I'd say I'd wait for a sale, but we all know how often Nintendo games go on sale.

[Moonface]

Yeah, I find Zelda to be the worst design for her out of any others I've seen. None of the others stand out as bad to me compared to her.

Not sure if it's ever been discussed before but since the subject came up, what is everyone else's favorite character designs or game art styles in LoZ, or least favorite?

[ShiraNoMai]

After watching multiple people play through this HD version, it's safe to say that it seems no QOL stuff could save this game from being the hollow, by-the-numbers Zelda game I've ever seen.

I'm not sure I've mentioned here before, but I was really hype for this game when it was coming out. It got raving reviews, "the best Zelda since OoT", had some sick box art, and conceptually sounded cool. I got the special edition with the Wiimote (which was rare), popped it in, played it for 4 hours and was STILL in the tutorial forest section. I got bored and stopped, never picking it up again.

I thought that perhaps these QoL features would entice me to go it another try but after watching the full experience... I think I'm good.

[Moonface]

Yeah, this game looks rough. Every time I've seen someone playing it in Twitch the experience has looked miserable and forgettable. I can't actually remember anything I saw.

[ShiraNoMai]

It's been interesting to see the small bits they began to then expand upon in Breath of the Wild, such as bugs ("monster parts") in making potions better, or the stamina meter, etc.

It's easy to see how after this game, the Zelda team were really stuck on what to do next with the series. They had been churning out the same tired (award-winning, initially) formula for over a decade and added small gimmicks here and there, but ultimately couldn't fundamentally change the game without going back to basics (referencing Zelda 1 for BOTW).

[Moonface]

I expect they were also a little stuck on where to go with the series in terms of story. SS was set at the start of everything, and the multiple outcome stories had been explored, so maybe that also encouraged them to go back to the drawing board on where to take the series and do something different in the process.

[Karo]

Honestly I heard a lot of different youtuber I watch actually liking the art style for this game I don't think it particularly ugly or anything. It definitely a lot more colorful than Twilight Princess.

I'm actually not sure what art design is my favorite I am actually thinking about giving this game a go one day I never watched a let play on it and I know its a very story driven Zelda the only thing I am a bit worried about will the motion control work on par as it did with the wii mote +? I know a lot of people had problems with it and considering the switch itself doesn't really lean into the motion control gimmick I am a bit worried that it might just be a miserable gameplay experience but a decent story experience.

[ShiraNoMai]

The art style is separate from the color palette, to me. I still think the style itself is pretty damn ugly, but I appreciate the palettes they chose for each area, especially the water areas.

I've heard about a 70-30 ratio of people hating the controls to people that think they were fine. There was a video I saw that actually said the Wiimote controls were consistently better than the Joycon ones in terms of the motion controls, but yeah. You also have the option of doing it motion-less by opting to do controlpad only. Though, from the looks of it, it seems to be even more frustrating to operate than just standard motion controls (mostly because the "motion" was transferred to the sticks).

[Dragon Lord]

From what I've been reading around, the motion controls, while slightly better than the Wii U's version (though some think the Wii U's was better, seems to be a minority), are still pretty god awful and not fun to use.

Unfortunately, the button controls also seem to be absolute ass, so it's more of a "pick your poison" type of situation, it seems. Granted I have no experience with the game as of yet, so I'm just going based off of what I've read other people say about the game. However, I've seen both points brought up by various different posters, so it seems to be a consistent complain that both control styles are pretty god awful.

[Moonface]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is 25 Years Old Today
If anyone wants to feel old, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time turns 25 years old today: IGN: Remembering The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 25 Years On

For me I don't have much nostalgia for the game, as I never even knew The Legend of Zelda existed when this game was released (nor did I know Mario existed, or any other Nintendo IP really). I did play the remake on 3DS, but I have no idea how far I got except that I didn't beat it, but I need to boot up my 3DS and put the game in to see just how far I actually got (and hope there's an easy way to tell at a glance what I have/haven't done).

For everyone else who wasn't miraculously ignorant of Nintendo's existence in the 90's and did play this game though, what are your memories of your first time playing it and how do you feel knowing it's now 25 years old?