The Legend of Zelda Series

[Kiddington]

I like Majora's Mask better now that I'm older, but I was one of the typical Ocarina kids growing up.

...of course, that isn't to say that I didn't like Majora's Mask during my very first playthrough (at like 8-9 years old); just that I've come to appreciate it far more now than I did then. At that age, things like depth (and I still say this game has more depth than any Zelda game ever) and character development didn't mean a whole lot to me; I just wanted something to occupy my one-track mind.

[talonmalon333]

MM probably does have the best story in the series. But in my opinion, WW and TP give it a run for its money.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ocarina of Time's story is still nothing to scoff at. The game did a great job in truly expanding the Zelda mythos of the Zelda franchise from what was already present in the classic 2D games before it. Majora's Mask and all future Zelda games owe a lot to it for many of the core fundamentals it helped set up with the mythology Hyrule and the entire Zelda Universe in general. Of course, A Link to the Past deserves just as much credit, as it expanded things a lot from the NES games, itself. Still, OoT, to me, has a very basic and simplistic yet very entertaining to follow story.

Majora's Mask has more "character depth" with its villain, the Skull Kid, which is easily the highlight of the game's story for me. That said, you all know that I'm a gameplay over story sort of guy, and while the general gameplay in MM is excellent, like I said, that 3-day time-limit REALLY bothered me a lot. Apparently nobody else seemed to care about it, though, but I'm just kind of weird that way, I guess.

[Kiddington]

The 3-Day limit bothered me a lot more when I was younger.

Looking at it now, it's a nice twist, and gives the game a bit of an interesting challenge. Still, you could always just slow down the flow of time with one of the "secret" ocarina songs, so it's not something that's hard to get around.

[Nel_Annette]

Back in the late 90s, Jabu Jabu's Belly actually totally turned me off of the game, and Majora's time-limit kept me away from that as well.

Of course, my opinions of both have changed. I appreciate Ocarina for what it is, but it's just kind of "there" for me. I love Majora though. The melancholy tone, the epic number of sidequests, and all the crazy fan theories more than make up for the time limit and the few dungeons. I mean, I loathe time limits in games, but with MM I feel it melds well into what's going on and enhances the mood.

[talonmalon333]

I too liked OoT's simple story. It also has some of the most memorable game twists ever (Sheik ---> Zelda, Link pulling the Master Sword and becoming an adult leading to Ganon taking over the world, etc.). I also liked Skyward Sword's story, mainly cause of the story arc of Link and Zelda.

But after the three games I mentioned earlier (MM, WW, and TP), I think my favorite Zelda story might be Link's Awakening. Simple but also emotional. The whole dream twist just worked so well.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The 3-Day limit bothered me a lot more when I was younger.

Looking at it now, it's a nice twist, and gives the game a bit of an interesting challenge. Still, you could always just slow down the flow of time with one of the "secret" ocarina songs, so it's not something that's hard to get around.

I like the twist itself, but I don't like the execution. And as I've stated before, I'm well aware that you could slow down time. I still hate the twist because even when you did slow down time, there was still a very clear limit on how much time you had to complete a given temple. You may say that it was more than enough time, but for me I suck at certain puzzles and hate to use guides, so yes, I did run out of times at least a few times during the game and had to save the game and reset time, which I hate because I lose all of my non-essential items and pocket-money in the process (yet for some reason all of your important items and keys stay with you), which I just thought was a completely stupid concept, personally. There are the owl statues, but you could only use each of those once at a time, and if you started up a new save, you couldn't use them directly again. For me, that really made things unnecessarily frustrating at times.

On the whole, I still think its a brilliant game. Its just that the gimmick really stopped it from being my favorite Zelda game, personally.

[Kiddington]

I think the only instance in which the time limit really killed me was in the Great Bay Temple (which is just a mess of mazes and switches). I had to start over more than a few times on that one (the boss was no cakewalk, either). Otherwise, with time slowed, it was usually more than enough.

That's just me, though. I could see where most people would have trouble, especially there and Stone Tower Temple.

[Foggle]

I just get a much greater sense of adventure from the games I listed. They might not be "better", but they do more for the pleasure center of my brain. Stuff like that just makes me really excited and happy, even today. That unexplainable feeling is also why I like Bayonetta more than Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4 more than its predecessors and sequels, Mass Effect 2 more than the games it's sandwiched between, etc.

I appreciate Ocarina for what it is, but it's just kind of "there" for me. I love Majora though. The melancholy tone, the epic number of sidequests, and all the crazy fan theories more than make up for the time limit and the few dungeons. I mean, I loathe time limits in games, but with MM I feel it melds well into what's going on and enhances the mood.

Yes, this is exactly my opinion...!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I just get a much greater sense of adventure from the games I listed. They might not be "better", but they do more for the pleasure center of my brain.

Even though I succumb to saying stuff like that all the time, there's no such thing as any of these games being "better" than one another as if its a fact. They are all high quality titles to the point where its completely subjective as to which ones are your favorites. So, on that end, nobody's really questioning why those games are you favorites (and I like them a ton myself, as well, ESPECIALLY the Oracle games).

On that note, though, its precisely the reason that you mentioned that I prefer OoT to any other Zelda game that I've played. I LOVE adventure, and oddly enough, I feel THAT is the Zelda game that embodies the spirit of adventure more than any other. At least to me, anyways.

Stuff like that just makes me really excited and happy, even today. That unexplainable feeling is also why I like Bayonetta more than Devil May Cry 3, Resident Evil 4 more than its predecessors and sequels, Mass Effect 2 more than the games it's sandwiched between, etc.

Its also the reason I still think that Ninja Gaiden Black is by far the best hack n' slash game that I have ever played. Bayonetta's combat system is more robust (as are DMC3 and 4's combat systems), but NGB feels more dynamic to me on the whole, both in terms of its level design (which is more Zelda-esque to a certain degree, ironically) and the overall feeling of fighting in that game, which is more about predicting the motions of he enemy AI and reacting to that as well as using some weapon strategy rather than in improving your skills with combos and pure offense. Needless to say, though, I think these are all some of the best hack n' slash games of all time, so I can see why many people would prefer the other games over NG. I'm just such a huge fan of good hack n' slash games to the point where I don't really care too much which ones are the best because any one of the best ones can utterly suck me in.

Yes, this is exactly my opinion...!

If we're going for the "just kind of there" Zelda game, that's exactly how I feel about Link's Awakening, which is probably the most unremarkable Zelda game that I've ever played. Not bad, mind you, and quite enjoyable in its own right, but compared to other 2D Zelda games (and even the 3D ones, for that matter)....I guess I just never really found it to be all that memorable. That's just me, though.

Oh, and regardless of whether you care for Ocarina of Time on the whole as a game or not, I'm just going to go on record as saying that I personally find it to have the best and most memorable music out of any of the 3D Zelda games. On that note, I will shut my eyes and ears to any other opinions like an obnoxious fanboy to the very end. I just love the fuck out of OoT's soundtrack that much, and I mean pretty much all of it.

[talonmalon333]

Every 3D Zelda game has a fantastic soundtrack, with Skyward Sword being the exception.......... again.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Once again, being that I haven't played the game, I haven't heard any of the game's music other than its main theme (which itself is basically just OoT's theme in reverse....no, literally, that's exactly what it is), so I can't give an opinion on it until I play the game for myself. The same goes for Twilight Princess, of course.

[Avaitor]

Trying to decide whether OOT or MM is better is like trying to decide if you like the Sopranos more than the Wire or Mad Men over Breaking Bad.

Whichever way you go, everyone wins.

[Foggle]

I agree that OoT has the best soundtrack, actually.

Trying to decide whether OOT or MM is better is like trying to decide if you like the Sopranos more than the Wire or Mad Men over Breaking Bad.

Whichever way you go, everyone wins.

bscly

[talonmalon333]

For soundtracks, I'd go:

TP >/= WW > MM > OoT > SS

All of them have excellent soundtracks though, except SS (which had a great soundtrack, but not nearly on the level of the other four).