Zelda Series Recommendations? [Archive]

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Family Computer

08-14-2007, 07:12 AM

Ok, believe it or not, I have never really played a Zelda game before. I have played the The Legend of Zelda for Famicom briefly, but never owned it.

Anyway, I look at this as a good thing, because I can have hours of enjoyment with a fresh & classic series. Anyway, what order would you recommend someone play the games in if they were a Zelda virgin like myself. I hope to play and complete them all (No CDI though ;p)

What order should I go in and why?

Moo Cow

08-14-2007, 07:19 AM

Family Computer

08-14-2007, 09:19 AM

By the looks of it, and what I've heard people say about it, that is definitely one of the ones I look forward to playing the most. Also, OoT for N64...

Anyway, I am not really interested in which is the BEST per se, but what is a logical order to approach the series. I could go by release chronology, but I was hoping some of the Zelda experts on here might have a more interesting recommendation.

le geek

08-14-2007, 09:46 AM

I would play them in order with several of the games being optional

The Legend of Zelda NES - Tied for my favorite in the series, and the game that laid the ground work for the rest of the games.

The Adventures of Link NES (Optional) - changed the game to be side scrolling and more like an RPG. As the games went back to the formualt of the first game this is more of a curiousity.

Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES - refines and expands on the first game and is a favorite of many Zelda fans.

Zelda: Links Awakening GB
Zelda: Links Awakening DX GBC - A really good portable version of Zelda. continuing the refinements of the SNES game while simplified when needed. Also has elements of of the NES Zelda and even Super Mario Brothers! If you can get the Color DX version.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 - Probably my favorite Zelda! Really added cinematic flair and drama to the Zelda series as well as setting many standards for 3D action adventure games.

Zelda: Majora's Mask N64 (Optional) - Plays around with the concept of time further by re-living 3 days until you can stop the moon from crashing into the planet. Interesting and goofy, the time limits in the game keep you from being able to savor the dungeons. If you play one optional game I would pick this one.

Zelda Oracle of Ages GBC (Optional)
Zelda Oracle of Seasons GBC (Optional) - Proving more isn't neccessarily more, these gameboy Zeldas (made by Capcom actually) are still fun and link together to create one big story, but can be tedious at times and may have too much stuff in them for their own good.

Zelda: The Wind Waker CUBE - Some folks did not like this Zelda with it's cartoon visuals and fewer dungeons, but I loved the look of the game and sailing on the ocean is pretty awesome in a storm. While it could have trimed a few mini games and side quests to add another dungeon (or two) it's still a very good game.

Zelda: Four Swords Adventures CUBE (Optional) - Part of the weird push for Gameboy/Game Cube multiplayer connectivity, the game IS playable with one player controlling multiple Links, but it screams optional to me...

Zelda: The Minish Cap GBA - another portable Zelda from Capcom, but here they get everything right :)

Zelda: Twilight Princess CUBE/Wii - if you thought Wind Waker strayed from Ocarina of Time, you should love Twilight Princess. Part of me thinks it's too derivative of Ocarina of Time, but it adds plenty of it's own to the game, and some of the dungeons are the best in the series.

Zelda: Phantom Hourglass DS - ?????? not out yet...

Cheers,
Ben

Moo Cow

08-14-2007, 10:07 AM

Lady Jaye

08-14-2007, 10:19 AM

Le Geek has it down, although I personally love the Oracle games and liked Minish Cap but found it a tad short compared to either Oracle game (at least it can't be said that Capcom destroyed the series with their version of Zelda...). But yeah, I'd play them in order.

Oh, and nevermind the 3 Zelda games for CD-i. These weren't made by Nintendo or with any kind of supervision by them, yet were made under license... Nintendo doesn't even recognize them as part of the series. Here's a sample of each of those games via youtube:

Zelda: Wand of Gamelon (http://youtube.com/watch?v=U1X3Yd2rXs4)
Zelda: The Faces of Evil
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=Deblwv3vq_c)Zelda's Adventure (http://youtube.com/watch?v=du_KeZeMJrQ)

You could search for more clips on youtube, if you're curious, but I personally wouldn't hunt them down and actually play them.

Pantechnicon

08-14-2007, 10:32 AM

Link To The Past is a must. I've only played the GBA version, but it's my understanding that it's a perfectly faithful port of the SNES original.

Link's Awakening for the GB is great too. This was my first Zelda game (I still hear the music in my head). It was developed around the same time as LTTP and you can tell that the big N really put some effort into making this game just as good, from the standpoint of gameplay, as you could get on the SNES.

NE146

08-14-2007, 10:39 AM

I say screw the first one.. it really hasn't aged all that well in my opinion.

Start with SNES Zelda. Then you can go back if you want :)

studvicious

08-14-2007, 10:48 AM

But PLEASE whatever you do start with the 2d ones first. A Link To The Past is by far my favorite Zelda.

ssjlance

08-14-2007, 10:52 AM

To agree with popular opinion for once, the best two in my opinion are Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past. Ocarina of Time was my first Zelda game, and one of my first 3 N64 games I got for that Christmas (along with Superman 64, so I got the best and worst of the N64 in the same day), and A Link to the Past I never had when it was newer, although I grew up with an SNES and got it eventually.

As far as the handheld games go, Minish Cap is my favorite. Capcom stayed pretty close tot he formula that Nintendo developed, although it is a good bit easier than most Zeldas. Which is kinda nice actually, simply because I don't like having to wrack my brains on a hadnheld, lol.

Daria

08-14-2007, 11:38 AM

I'm the freak that didn't care for either Link to the Past or Ocarina. >.>

My favorite Zelda's are the original, The oracle series, & Windwaker.

I haven't played Twilight Princess yet, and I really enjoyed Four Swords multiplayer.

Anyway I say start with the original, it's short and you can easily see afterwards how the rest of the series still borrows from it. (:

kaedesdisciple

08-14-2007, 01:13 PM

I wouldn't say to screw the originals, especially the first one. There are subtle references to the first one throughout the series, and it's good to know where they all come from. Any gamer worth their salt can get through the first quest pretty easily. Don't bother with the second quest, though, that's just a waste of time IMO.

Zelda II is purely optional, it adds nothing to the story and the game can be especially frustrating near the end. I like it, but it's not necessary.

If I were to run through them right now, I would go:

LoZ I -> LttP -> Link's Awakening -> OoT -> Wind Waker

I still haven't played TP yet, so I can't comment on it.

Enjoy the ride!

FantasiaWHT

08-14-2007, 01:16 PM

I'm half with Daria. I can't stand Ocarina. Ugly and boring. The 3D Zeldas are significantly slower games (both pacing and combat-wise) than the 2D games.

bangtango

08-14-2007, 01:29 PM

The easiest game to beat is probably the original Legend of Zelda on the NES. You can buy it on the NES, Gameboy Advance or on the Zelda collection for the Gamecube. One thing to note is that when you beat the initial game, you have the option of playing a harder "Second Quest" which basically puts all of the dungeons and items into different locations.

It is a good warmup for either Link to the Past on Super NES (and also released on Gameboy Advance) or Link's Awakening, the latter of which came out on Gameboy (black and white) and Gameboy Color (reissued in a color version). All of these games are fairly inexpensive, except for the Zelda Collection on Gamecube.

My favorite in the series, which nobody else here will recommend to a new Zelda gamer, is Zelda II: Adventure of Link on the NES. Mostly a side-scrolling Zelda game with a more limited overworld. It is one of the hardest games in the Zelda series, though, and that includes both the 2D and 3D games.

Aussie2B

08-14-2007, 02:15 PM

I haven't played most of the series myself, so maybe I can offer some advice from a similar perspective, rather than those who have been obsessed with the series for years, buying every single game at release.

Personally, I say start with the first. It's nice and light, and despite that it's easy to get wrapped up in, it never feels like a "heavy" experience. But, at the same time, it provides a healthy challenge too. Don't be surprised if you get so into it that you beat it before you know it, and then you'll look back and think "Man, what a satisfying experience". All in all, it's a brilliantly playable and balanced game.

The later games try to add more, be more over the top, and create a more "artistic" experience, for better or worse. I'm not going to say for worse, but they do feel like more of a weight on your shoulders and require a much larger commitment. I would take what other people say about Ocarina of Time with a grain of salt because the last thing you want to do is hype yourself up into thinking it must be the greatest game ever made just because that's what everyone says. Who knows, you might agree with them, but it's better to be safe than sorry for setting yourself up for a disappointment. I think Ocarina of Time is an exceptionally well-designed game, but I found it to be a chore to play a lot of the time. I'm not one to just drop a game midway through, but I actually stopped playing Ocarina of Time for a few months and had to force myself to get back into it and finish it off.

diskoboy

08-14-2007, 03:55 PM

The only older Zelda I can recommend is Link to the Past.

I think the others are over rated.

NE146

08-14-2007, 03:56 PM

Yeah.. I'll say I'm a big Zelda fan, but had to really FORCE myself to finish Ocarina. The truth is I just don't like very many 3D Zelda's. I play them, but that's about it.

Stick to SNES Zelda :p

MarioMania

08-14-2007, 04:57 PM

Start with the SNES one...

I'm having troble beating the Desert Palace Boss..Any tips

RPG_Fanatic

08-14-2007, 04:59 PM

The SNES Zelda - Link To The Past is the best one.

bangtango

08-14-2007, 05:35 PM

The only older Zelda I can recommend is Link to the Past.

I think the others are over rated.

Huh? Over rated? Legend of Zelda was a blueprint to Link to the Past. It deserves the praise it gets. Zelda II gets dogged all the time, even on the fanboy Zelda sites. I've never even seen Zelda II get mentioned in an online or magazine "Top 100 Games Of All Time" list. No way that one is over rated. When 9 out of 10 articles call it the "black sheep of the series" and say it isn't a whole lot better than the CD-i games, there isn't anything over rated about that.

Has anyone noticed that as the years go by, the criticism for the first Legend of Zelda keeps growing? "Too short. Too easy. You can beat it in one sitting. The graphics are terrible......." Let five or ten more years pass and there will be more people who dislike the game than there are who like it.

Lady Jaye

08-14-2007, 05:39 PM

Well, the "easy" criticism is dumb -- if you've never played LoZ and dunno where the dungeons are (and don't use any FAQ either), you might not find it that easy or short, especially since the game itself doesn't hold your hand...

Obviously, when you've played a game for 20 years, it tends to be easier to know where to go and what to do next.

I'm sure someone who's played Ocarina of Time over the past 10 years, since the age of 12, probably find that game pretty easy too. I only started playing OoT recently (via the GameCube) and I don't find it easy at all (but probably wouldn't find it nearly as challenging had I played it back in the day on the N64).

ubersaurus

08-14-2007, 05:44 PM

I would honestly go with the "big three" to start. Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess. LttP was the best of the 2d games, and Ocarina and TP are both excellent examples of the 3d game series(and admittingly are rather similar). Although if you just wanted to try one 3d one, Twilight is the way to go.

As much as I love the NES zelda games, all rose colored glasses aside the first one is cryptic and excessively difficult without a faq(then it's pathetically easy). The second one is so different that you don't really get a good feel for the series as a whole from it.

The game boy ones are all excellent games. Link's Awakening is probably the best one, but they're all pretty amazing.

I think Majora's Mask was my favorite before Twilight Princess, but it's a tricky, tricky game because of the 3 day timer. Lots of good story in it, though. Wind Waker is good, but man, is it easy.

roushimsx

08-14-2007, 05:49 PM

I vote to start with Link to the Past. It's aged wonderfully, provides a solid balance between challenge and fun, and doesn't wear out its welcome.

Ocarina of Time is pretty good, though the first few levels are extremely rough around the edges. It took me nearly a decade to muster up the desire to finally plow through them and dig through the rest of the game, which was far, far better than the initial levels would lead you to believe.

Wind Waker starts off really promising but the wind waker gimmick (a little wand you wave around to change the direction of the wind and such) wears itself thin way too fast. If you decide to play it, consult a FAQ on the warp locations or you'll run the risk of getting burnt out midway through the game. There's a world-wide item hunt towards the end that destroys the game's momentum, but the end battle (and the ending, for that matter) is fairly neat and worth seeing.

Twilight Princess was just fan-fucking-tastic. I honestly consider it my favorite of the series. The new art direction is wonderful and the game brings back the dual-world concept in a pretty fresh, extremely well executed way. Game length is remarkably long (something like 30+ hours on my first playthrough) but the difficulty level is just right for the whole ride. Your mileage may vary, but I strongly recommend it.

As much as I loved Link's Awakening, I haven't played it in a decade to offer any advice one way or another regarding how its aged. I do recall not caring much for the new dungeon in the DX version of the game.

Zelda II is a throw away title, with pretty loose control in the side scrolling segments and a grind-happy leveling gimmick. Both of the GBC Oracle games felt incredibly generic and derivative. The gimmick of being able to play through one game and continue through the second to see the true ending was neat, but everything else felt so completely half assed. The first Legend of Zelda has not aged well at all. As much as I loved playing it back in the 80s, it's damn near impossible to go back to anymore. If you enjoy really basic and completely directionless games, you might find some enjoyment out of it...but as a first time Zelda player, you'll probably be bored to tears and checking FAQs to supplement that map and those issued of Nintendo Power that you don't have.

If you want to play a good Zelda game on the NES, just pick up Willow :)

While I had a negative experience with Majora's Mask the last time I played it (back around when it came out), I've been meaning to give it another shot to see if maybe I didn't play it long enough or if my tastes have changed to where it might agreee with me better. Possibly not, but who knows. :)

Cryomancer

08-14-2007, 06:24 PM

LTTP, Awakening, Wind Waker, and the much ignored FOUR SWORDS! I'ts a great game, really. It's Zelda Arcade!

roushimsx

08-14-2007, 08:28 PM

LTTP, Awakening, Wind Waker, and the much ignored FOUR SWORDS! I'ts a great game, really. It's Zelda Arcade!

If you don't have any link cables or anyone else to play with, is it still enjoyable, swapping through the formations and going through the quest and such? I've been thinking of picking it up, but I'm not sure if it'd really be worth it without a couple of buddies with GBAs and link cables.

NE146

08-14-2007, 11:32 PM

Zelda II gets dogged all the time, even on the fanboy Zelda sites. I've never even seen Zelda II get mentioned in an online or magazine "Top 100 Games Of All Time" list. No way that one is over rated.

Let me just be very very clear in saying, that Zelda 2 is one of my all time favorite Zeldas. I've always considered it more of a side story (i.e. "Zelda Gaiden") and like it a lot more than many traditional Zelda games. It's pure vintage NES-era Miyamoto magic.. there is zero doubt about that. Heck I think Zelda games could stand to a little more experimentation these days anyhow.. the games are becoming way too predictable and homogenous. Heck, toss in some friggin Zelda 2 elements for the new millenium! Yeah I know it'll never happen..

That being said, I probably wouldn't recommend Zelda 2 as a first Zelda to someone now :p

roushimsx

08-15-2007, 12:05 AM

Let me just be very very clear in saying, that Zelda 2 is one of my all time favorite Zeldas. I've always considered it more of a side story (i.e. "Zelda Gaiden")

Hell, it's one of the few Zelda games that's actually directly related to any of the other games in the series (unless you believe the theories that randomly tie the games together in creative ways). I loved it back then, but I'd have a hard time recommending it to someone now, especially when games like Battle for Olympus and Faxanadu do it all so much better.

Other than the password system, Faxanadu rocked. Rocked fucking hard.

theMot

08-15-2007, 02:10 AM

I would go with 3 (known as 6 now) some people prefer 2 (4) . 6 is the one to go with though cause its got a cast of 14 and the best villian of all time, Kefka! Theres a school of thought that 7 (still 7) on the psx is.....

.. woops wrong series.

Ruudos

08-15-2007, 02:14 PM

Le Geek has it down, although I personally love the Oracle games and liked Minish Cap but found it a tad short compared to either Oracle game (at least it can't be said that Capcom destroyed the series with their version of Zelda...). But yeah, I'd play them in order.

Oh, and nevermind the 3 Zelda games for CD-i. These weren't made by Nintendo or with any kind of supervision by them, yet were made under license... Nintendo doesn't even recognize them as part of the series. Here's a sample of each of those games via youtube:

Zelda: Wand of Gamelon (http://youtube.com/watch?v=9mHw5g55oC4)
Zelda: The Faces of Evil
(http://youtube.com/watch?v=bNpLXo55yfw)Zelda's Adventure (the only game where you control Zelda, not Link) (http://youtube.com/watch?v=du_KeZeMJrQ)

You could search for more clips on youtube, if you're curious, but I personally wouldn't hunt them down and actually play them.

Wrong. You also play as Zelda in "Zelda: Wand of Gamelon". In "Link: The Faces of Evil", you'll play as Link.

BTW, Zelda II was the first Zelda I ever played. Love the game.

bangtango

08-15-2007, 02:22 PM

Hell, it's one of the few Zelda games that's actually directly related to any of the other games in the series (unless you believe the theories that randomly tie the games together in creative ways). I loved it back then, but I'd have a hard time recommending it to someone now, especially when games like Battle for Olympus and Faxanadu do it all so much better.

Other than the password system, Faxanadu rocked. Rocked fucking hard.

Faxanadu is brilliant. I love that style of game, so it is only natural that I enjoyed Zelda II and vice versa. Another NES game that has a few similarities is Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. Awful animation and bad graphics but it follows the storyline of the movie for the most part and was underrated. I thought so, anyway. One of the best movie games I ever played.

I never played Battle for Olympus, but it seems like we enjoy the same style of game to some extent. Think I may like it?

Superman

08-15-2007, 05:54 PM

I never played Battle for Olympus, but it seems like we enjoy the same style of game to some extent. Think I may like it?

Bantango, if you like Zelda II, you will like Battle of Olympus. From what I have played, they appear to be nearly the same game with a different name.

Regarding the topic at hand, There are a couple of ways of handling it.

One way is to play the games in the order or release. I would recommend this way since you can see how the story has progressed.

The other way is to play the games in some sort of order. If you went this route, I would start with the ones that are less favorable first (since the odds are one of those games won't be your favorite either). Then play the more desirable games.

I really would recommend playing in a general order of release though. That way you don't have to worry about choosing a game based on style of play, graphics, etc.

Barbarianoutkast85

08-15-2007, 07:09 PM

I'd play the NES or SNES version first because they are my favorite.

Barbarianoutkast85

08-15-2007, 07:13 PM

Also, why no Phillips CD-I games?

roushimsx

08-15-2007, 07:42 PM

Also, why no Phillips CD-I games?

Because the first two were flaming pieces of shit and the third is prohibitively expensive.

Barbarianoutkast85

08-15-2007, 08:47 PM

Perhaps he would like the CD-I games, who knows.

bangtango

08-15-2007, 09:38 PM

Perhaps he would like the CD-I games, who knows.

Uh, no.

I hope to play and complete them all (No CDI though ;p)

Cryomancer

08-16-2007, 12:57 AM

4 Swords is an enjoyable single player experience, yes. It is however fairly short. You can probably find it for under 20, new with the cable by now.

Lady Jaye

08-16-2007, 07:42 AM

Also, why no Phillips CD-I games?

Perhaps he would like the CD-I games, who knows.

See my reply on page 1. I linked to youtube videos from all 3 CD-i games... somehow, I doubt he'd want to go beyond that.

Daria

08-16-2007, 03:30 PM

Zelda's Adventure for the CDi isn't that bad. But it's also more of an oddity for people who know the series, not exactly the right choice for someone who hasn't played a Zelda game before.

And the other two are shitty platformers that spawn enemies directly behind your back. Ugly and hard as hell.

Jumpman Jr.

08-16-2007, 03:39 PM

Have you played any RPG's before?
Before I played any Zelda game, I had never played an RPG. I don't consider Zelda games RPG's, but it was after I started playing them that I began to enjoy that type of game.
I could never play an RPG because I wouldn't notice the little things that I needed to do to further myself into the game. All the games I played beforehand were much more simple.
So, if you haven't played an RPG, I'd suggest playing a Top-view (2D) Zelda first, and really pay attention to everything that is going on on the screen when you are playing. The first time you play through a Zelda, you might need to look up a walkthrough on the net to get you through it, but after you beat your first one, the ways of getting past certain barriers are very similar.
All that junk being said... I can't really think of the best line-up for somebody to play through all the Zelda games. I'm pretty sure there is no solid "timeline" within the games where Link is older in one game and younger in another. (Well, there is, but it doesn't seem to make much sense).
Personally, I did it in this order:

Ocarina of Time
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Oracle of Seasons
Majora's Mask
Windwaker

I'd really like to start playing either: a) Minish Cap, b) Twilight Princess, or c) Oracle of Ages.