What is the best way to play Legend of Zelda?

[Magikrazy]

The chronological order for the Zelda series is as follows:

Skyward Sword
The Minish Cap
Four Swords
Ocarina of Time

From here, the timeline breaks apart into different universes.

In the universe where the hero is defeated:

A Link to the Past
Oracle of Seasons/Ages
Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda
Adventure of Link

The universe where the hero is successful breaks up again.

The Child Era:

Majora's Mask
Twilight Princess
Four Swords Adventure

The Adult Era:

The Wind Waker
Phantom Hourglass
Spirit Tracks

 

[ShyGuy27]

The best way to play the Zelda games is in whatever order you feel like as long as you play all the really good ones.

 

[Dr. Javelin]

How about you just grab whatever game plays on your favorite system and play it.

They're all good, I think. At least the ones I've played...

My favorites would have to be Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess though.

 

[Mario4Ever]

Even with an official timeline, the timeline makes no sense, so just pick one and play it.

 

[DragonFreak]

The best way to play the Zelda games is in whatever order you feel like as long as you play all the really good ones.

Agreed. It's not like some books in a series like the Narnia or Pern books where there is chronological and release order in which you can watch them. Video games don't matter much, especially if you don't have the equipment or money to play them. But yet again...that is a neat idea.

Actually, I thought this Thread was going to be about what techniques are there to play the best at Zelda. Two words: Sonic's Limeades.

 

[Lily x]

Play em in the order you buy em! My order is horribly messed up it goes- PH, TP, ST, MM, oot, Loz and Loz 2, MC, SS then LA.

 

[Pichi-Hime6]

Psh, I don't care. I played the first one first, then the second one, and i was gonna play them in order of their release dates, but then I got skyward sword, and I just play them randomly now.

 

[RandomGuy]

My recommendation would be to play all games then skyward sword. From what I heard, the other games won't feel correct to you.

 

[Ultraluigi]

I'd recommend to play them in the order they were released.

 

[yoshidude99]

I just play them in a random order

 

[New Super Mario]

I never got into them until Ocarina of Time 3D, so I just kinda skipped around

 

[Smashgoom202]

"Chronologically" my ass. Yeah, it's nice that Nintendo finally made a timeline to appease the fans, but still, from my eyes, and the eyes of Nintendo BEFORE they gave into the fanboys, each The Legend of Zelda game is their own unique adventure, and can be played as such.

In other words, star wherever you want, it really doesn't matter. Ocarina of Time USED to be the first "chronologically", but now it's Skyward Sword, so really, screw it, just play whatever you can get your hands on.

Although it's worth noting that certain games have direct sequels, in which cas, you should probably played the original The Legend of Zelda before Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Ocaria of Time before Majora's Mask, and The Wind Waker before Phantom Hourglass.

...Although at the very beginning of Phantom Hourglass, you lose all the friends, weapons, hearts, and common sense you gained in the last game, so it kind of doesn't matter in that regard.

 

[yoshidude99]

I'm just curious which game is better Phantom Hour Glass or Spirit Tracks?

 

[Smashgoom202]

I played Phantom Hourglass, and it SUCKED. I haven't played Spirit Tracks, but people say the problems in Phantom Hourglass were fixed in this game. Either way, just stay away from Phantom Hourglass.

 

[Mario4Ever]

I played Phantom Hourglass, and it SUCKED. I haven't played Spirit Tracks, but people say the problems in Phantom Hourglass were fixed in this game. Either way, just stay away from Phantom Hourglass.

What'd you dislike about PH? I liked it quite a bit (minus the Phantoms in the Temple of the Ocean King).

 

[Smashgoom202]

I played Phantom Hourglass, and it SUCKED. I haven't played Spirit Tracks, but people say the problems in Phantom Hourglass were fixed in this game. Either way, just stay away from Phantom Hourglass.

What'd you dislike about PH? I liked it quite a bit (minus the Phantoms in the Temple of the Ocean King).

I made a topic on a Zelda fansite about this, but it's no longer available, so I'll try and recall what I hated about it.

The controls: I just can't get used to using the touchscreen the way it wants me to. It get ESPECIALLY frustrated when I try to roll... Or even when I don't, because Link ends up rolling whenever the Hell he feels like!

Lack of Tetra's pirates: they were some of my favorite characters in the last game, and yet they had NOTHING TO DO with this game. A little disappointing, especially since the badass Tetra basically is just an object that needs to be rescued now.

Linebeck or however you spell his name: I didn't like him. Maybe he's supposed to grow on you, but as far as I played, I didn't like him.

The steamboat: I hate not being in complete control of the boat this time around. Instead, you draw where you want the boat to go, and the boat chugs along with a punishing lack of urgency. And you have to pay attention in case ranom obstacles and enemies pop up, so sometimes, you're left waiting for your boat to get wherever and nothing much is happening.

SCREAMING INTO THE MICROPHONE: You're repeated encouraged to yell into the DS's microphone throughout the game, which is silly and embarassing when you're out and about playing this game. I'm told you can just blow into the microphone and that will work fine, but how the Hell was I supposed to know that would work?

The graphics: This is a really minor point, because graphics aren't everything, but this game just looks so ugly, it turns me off.

And finally, the nail that seals the coffin:

The Temple of the Ocean King: Going back to a place to figure out where to go next is fine, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door did that and it works there, but here, there are just so many frustrating problems that all pile up into one big, horrible mess! Firstly, it's timed, and time limits suck. Secondly, you can't beat the Phantoms so it creates a "forced stealth" sequence, like it did in the beginning of The Wind Waker, which I despised just as equally. And finally, you have to solve the same puzzles every single time you want to go through the temple, and to make matters worse, you have to solve an extra puzzle the further you play the game! YES, I KNOW there are shortcuts that can bypass some of them! But even then, you STILL have harder and more difficult puzzles to solve, and you can't bypass them all, and it was around the 4th or 5th time I returned to that place and forgetting where all the shaped keys are, or where they go, all under a restircted time limit that I officially gave up on the game and haven't touched it since.

So, yeah, those are my issues with Phantom Hourglass.

 

[yoshidude99]

Ok I won't get it then. Is Minish Cap good though? I might get it on my emulator.

 

[Smashgoom202]

Hard to say... I liked it while playing it, and there's quite a bit to do, but it feels short, and I feel it lacks substance. At the very least, I played through it and beat it twice, which is more than I can say about Phantom Hourglass. It's very much a traditional Zelda game, which is you like, knock yourself out!

 

[Dr. Javelin]

The controls: I just can't get used to using the touchscreen the way it wants me to. It get ESPECIALLY frustrated when I try to roll... Or even when I don't, because Link ends up rolling whenever the Hell he feels like!

Looks to me like that is your own hand-eye coordination problem.

Lack of Tetra's pirates: they were some of my favorite characters in the last game, and yet they had NOTHING TO DO with this game. A little disappointing, especially since the badass Tetra basically is just an object that needs to be rescued now.

Not that they did much in the first one... All they did was shoot you into the Forsaken Fortress, after that you run into them while retrieving bombs and the second Fortress run-through and that's pretty much it.

Linebeck or however you spell his name: I didn't like him. Maybe he's supposed to grow on you, but as far as I played, I didn't like him.

Linebeck was an okay character. You have to pay attention to his character development to understand him.

He gets props for torturing Ciela, who is almost Navi. It looks so satisfying...

The steamboat: I hate not being in complete control of the boat this time around. Instead, you draw where you want the boat to go, and the boat chugs along with a punishing lack of urgency. And you have to pay attention in case ranom obstacles and enemies pop up, so sometimes, you're left waiting for your boat to get wherever and nothing much is happening.

Tip: Blow up everything with your unlimited-ammo cannon.

The Golden Frogs also help with mobility, and you can get anywhere within two minutes or so. It's no worse than Wind Waker's boat system.

SCREAMING INTO THE MICROPHONE: You're repeated encouraged to yell into the DS's microphone throughout the game, which is silly and embarassing when you're out and about playing this game. I'm told you can just blow into the microphone and that will work fine, but how the Hell was I supposed to know that would work?

Have you never blown into a regular stage mic before?

The graphics: This is a really minor point, because graphics aren't everything, but this game just looks so ugly, it turns me off.

They really weren't that bad, although they were rather pixelated. Still, Ocarina of Time has poor graphics by today's standards and it's still a great game.

And finally, the nail that seals the coffin:

The Temple of the Ocean King: Going back to a place to figure out where to go next is fine, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door did that and it works there, but here, there are just so many frustrating problems that all pile up into one big, horrible mess! Firstly, it's timed, and time limits suck. Secondly, you can't beat the Phantoms so it creates a "forced stealth" sequence, like it did in the beginning of The Wind Waker, which I despised just as equally. And finally, you have to solve the same puzzles every single time you want to go through the temple, and to make matters worse, you have to solve an extra puzzle the further you play the game! YES, I KNOW there are shortcuts that can bypass some of them! But even then, you STILL have harder and more difficult puzzles to solve, and you can't bypass them all, and it was around the 4th or 5th time I returned to that place and forgetting where all the shaped keys are, or where they go, all under a restircted time limit that I officially gave up on the game and haven't touched it since.

Alright, this is one point that is actually well-founded. Though about the Phantoms... you can stab them in the back with your sword (before the Phantom Sword, mind you) and it stuns them. Your bow does the same thing.

 

[Toad Eightyfive]

Play them in whatever order you want. No one gives a crap about continuity.

 

[Yoshiwaker]

Though about the Phantoms... you can stab them in the back with your sword (before the Phantom Sword, mind you) and it stuns them. Your bow does the same thing.

Only when you have the Spirit of Power equipped, I think.

 

[Mario4Ever]

Though about the Phantoms... you can stab them in the back with your sword (before the Phantom Sword, mind you) and it stuns them. Your bow does the same thing.

Only when you have the Spirit of Power equipped, I think.

That's right.

 

[Smashgoom202]

Looks to me like that is your own hand-eye coordination problem.

Maybe it IS my fault, but the control still feels iffy, and it still gets in the way of my, shall we say, "immersion" into the game.

Not that they did much in the first one... All they did was shoot you into the Forsaken Fortress, after that you run into them while retrieving bombs and the second Fortress run-through and that's pretty much it.

Here's the thing: this being one of the few direct sequels to any Zelda game, and given that Link is now traveling with them, I was HOPING to see more of them, and their characters more. I didn't, and that disappointed me.

Linebeck was an okay character. You have to pay attention to his character development to understand him.

He gets props for torturing Ciela, who is almost Navi. It looks so satisfying...

Yeah, I have to admit, Ciela got on my nerves, too, although for entirely different reasons compared to Navi.

Tip: Blow up everything with your unlimited-ammo cannon.

The Golden Frogs also help with mobility, and you can get anywhere within two minutes or so. It's no worse than Wind Waker's boat system.

When, exactly, are you capable of getting this "unlimited-ammo cannon"? It's been a while since I last played the game, so maybe it was there from the start, but still, having to wait 2 mintues for the chance to go faster is a lot worse than The Wind Waker, in which you were in complete control of the speed of your boat, thanks to the titular item, and you can control it on a dime instead of constantly having to re-draw new routes.

Have you never blown into a regular stage mic before?

Okay, I knew SOMEONE was going to misinterpret this part, so let me clarify. The game tells you to SCREAM/YELL into the microphone. Neither in the manual nor the game itself tells you that you can just blow into the mic instead. In fact, the game actually tells you to check and see if no one's around, like they're expecting everyone who's playing the game to yell at the top of their lungs at the DS, which, private or not, is really embarassing... Unless you're frustrated at the game for cheating.

They really weren't that bad, although they were rather pixelated. Still, Ocarina of Time has poor graphics by today's standards and it's still a great game.

Like I said, it's a minor point, and I'm definitely the type of guy to overlook graphics in favor of the game at hand, but since I'm not liking the game at hand, it doesn't help much either way. Whenever I think back to my time playing the game, I just think of how ugly Link looked in it... And I'll just go on record saying that I think Ocarina of Time looks fine... for it's time anyway. And it was fun to play, so it didn't matter.

Alright, this is one point that is actually well-founded. Though about the Phantoms... you can stab them in the back with your sword (before the Phantom Sword, mind you) and it stuns them. Your bow does the same thing.

Yeah, I hate stealth games and forced stealth elements in games, so I hate the idea if risking getting caught just to get the chance to temporarily stun a guard/Phantom. In a way, I'm wasting part of my time limit, and I'm also risking getting caught either by that guard, or another guard. Worst part for me is that sometimes these are required to get through the dungeon sometimes, or at the very least, being stuck out in the open where a Phantom can get at you. I also didn't know about the bow... or Hell, I can't even remember when I got the bow!

 

[yoshidude99]

Didn't you have to keep going back to an Hourglass too?

 

[Smashgoom202]

The "Phantom Hourglass" is the source of your time limit in the main dungeon, and you earn more sand to put in after you beat a boss.