CDi Zelda games creator speaks

[7th lutz]

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/zeldacdi/zeldacdi.htm

The interviewer made some personal comments about the game after finishing the interview with creator. Those comments should be ignored like claiming Link: the faces of evil and Zelda: the wand of Gamelon is two of the greatest 100 games he ever played.

To read the interview, go to the link I provided.

[Tron 2.0]

Greatest zeldas please still at least the games were good for youtube poop clips.

"OH BOY I CAN'T WAIT TO BOMB THE KING" :D

[Snapple]

So the cutscenes were animated by Russian artists with little education in the field of animation. Somehow, that's not surprising.

[tom]

it's from Retro Gamer magazine

[Ze_ro]

I wish they had just posted the actual interview rather than paraphrase the questions the way they did... it's rather confusing at times, and it feels like they left some stuff out. Either way, a very interesting read!

As for the quality of the games, no they're definitely not excellent, but they're still amung the best the CD-i has to offer. It's too bad so many people dismiss them so quickly, as there is definitely some fun to be had with them (beyond laughing at the awful cinemas that is).

--Zero

[Wolfrider31]

That was a fascinating read. I have to admit I've been suckered by all the negative attention the games have recieved for so long. Maybe I'll actually try them out. Thanks for the link!

[Daria]

It was a cool read but very bias. I do own the games, and have played them but that doesn't make them any better. I know alot of the negative press they get is mostly parroted but the games honestly do suck. Enemies literally spawn directly behind your back and the jumping is akward at best. Forget the license, as platformers they're just terrible.

[roushimsx]

That was an incredibly biased, misleading read. It's nice that the author attempted to shed more light on the development process of the games, but then he goes right ahead and sabotages the entire article by trying to simultaneously defend the quality of the games with outlandish statements (top 100 of all time, expertly crafted games, etc) and slam anyone who says anything contrary as being sheep (rather be wrong than different, etc).

Really, it sounds like he'd rather be wrong and different than face reality and acknowledge that the games are just not good. It kind of ties in with that other thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107372) where blue lander is looking for good, unbiased Amiga reviews but can't find anything because a bulk of the available material is heavily slanted towards trying to take pot shots at whatever popular AAA console and PC games were available at the time.

The Freedom Fighters article that went up the same day is a mess as well, which is too bad because it's actually about a game that I really liked. It's a shame that the quality control on HG101's articles has been slipping so much as of late...hopefully they get a handle on things and get back to form soon.

[Blitzwing256]

the part that got to me was when he was describing the control,

"yeah the controls suck but YOU GET USED TO THEM"

and "sure the birds are anoying but if you kill like 50 of them in EVERY DAMNED STAGE they go away"
"sure she has lots of vanarial diseases, but hey once you grow an imunity no big deal right?"

top 100 indeed

[FantasiaWHT]

That was a fascinating read. I have to admit I've been suckered by all the negative attention the games have recieved for so long. Maybe I'll actually try them out. Thanks for the link!

Yes, everyone else is wrong, but the creator of the game must be right!

Sorry, just find it funny that you basically criticize yourself for listening to other people's opinions and then listen to one heavily-interested opinion that says to ignore all the other opinions :)

[Wolfrider31]

Yes, everyone else is wrong, but the creator of the game must be right!

Sorry, just find it funny that you basically criticize yourself for listening to other people's opinions and then listen to one heavily-interested opinion that says to ignore all the other opinions :)

Well, by suckered I meant simply buying into it as opposed to playing the things for myself. :P

[FantasiaWHT]

Well, by suckered I meant simply buying into it as opposed to playing the things for myself. :P

fair enough :)

[lkermel]

Really interesting read indeed. As some of you said, it is however incredibly biased. An interesting read nevertheless.

[Soviet Conscript]

The Freedom Fighters article that went up the same day is a mess as well, which is too bad because it's actually about a game that I really liked. It's a shame that the quality control on HG101's articles has been slipping so much as of late...hopefully they get a handle on things and get back to form soon.

yhea, i agree. noticed this as well.

[Bojay1997]

I wish they had just posted the actual interview rather than paraphrase the questions the way they did... it's rather confusing at times, and it feels like they left some stuff out. Either way, a very interesting read!

As for the quality of the games, no they're definitely not excellent, but they're still amung the best the CD-i has to offer. It's too bad so many people dismiss them so quickly, as there is definitely some fun to be had with them (beyond laughing at the awful cinemas that is).

--Zero

Actually, they're not even close to the best CD-i has to offer. People dismiss them quickly because the gameplay was substandard even for the time they were released. There are quite a few better platformers for the CD-i and the cinemas just compounded the sense that these games were poorly made.

[blissfulnoise]

All three of the Zelda CDi games are substandard at best; nearly unplayable for the unapologetic.

I own and have played all three. I have come close to beating Link but gave up as I was in the room with the princess (at the end?) and I could not figure out what to do next.

There is no way anyone could call these games good, or even fair, compared to any number of other games in the same time span. They stand as some of the weakest offerings on the CDi system which was a showcase for horrible games.

[GarrettCRW]

Some years ago, he-man.org interviewed Rowby Goren, the writer considered to be the absolute worst in the history of the Filmation series (worse, even, than She-Ra's poorest writer, Don Heckman), and he used it as a platform to defend his terrible practices, especially with his favorite episode (and He-Man's worst *by far*), "The Greatest Show On Eternia". This is the CDi equivalent of that interview.

[boatofcar]

Some years ago, he-man.org interviewed Rowby Goren, the writer considered to be the absolute worst in the history of the Filmation series (worse, even, than She-Ra's poorest writer, Don Heckman), and he used it as a platform to defend his terrible practices, especially with his favorite episode (and He-Man's worst *by far*), "The Greatest Show On Eternia". This is the CDi equivalent of that interview.


Link? That sounds like a good read.

[GarrettCRW]

Link? That sounds like a good read.

Rowby Goren Interview (http://www.he-man.org/cartoon/cmotu-pop/interview-goren.shtml)

Just remember to read between the lines.

[Soviet Conscript]

hmmmm....i wonder whats for dinner?

[Ed Oscuro]

Wow, I'm really out of the loop here with the HG101 team.

I suppose I agree that (cutscenes and control aside) the games are pretty nice, but the control really destroys my enjoyment of them.

The article starts out on shaky ground with this statement in particular:

"2) Many sources simply provide blanket criticism, especially of the cinemas, without detailed explanation, and then only show you images of the cinemas (which is why this article contains not even a single such image)."

Yeah, people say they're terrible, and show you what's up! Well, we'll avoid that problem by simply not giving you the chance to view the cutscenes. That's even less biased! Or is it? The author retreats from this standpoint by the second page, painting a too-vivid picture of the visuals, but the impression is already made.

Interesting stuff, but some of this looks a bit reactionary and not as well thought-through as it should've been.

[InsaneDavid]

hmmmm....i wonder whats for dinner?

I'll say it... I'm so hungry I could eat an Octorok!

[Ed Oscuro]

Too late, but Page 3 has some astonishing backgrounds (or at least they look so in lower res than the game runs at, heh heh). I've gotta get a proper CD-i controller and slug through those games sometime.

[Jorpho]

Some years ago, he-man.org interviewed Rowby Goren, the writer considered to be the absolute worst in the history of the Filmation series (worse, even, than She-Ra's poorest writer, Don Heckman), and he used it as a platform to defend his terrible practices, especially with his favorite episode (and He-Man's worst *by far*), "The Greatest Show On Eternia". This is the CDi equivalent of that interview.

I'd actually be interested to know if there are any lengthy rants ranking the various He-Man/She-Ra writers and berating the worst for their flaws. Sounds like interesting reading.

[Tron 2.0]

hmmmm....i wonder whats for dinner?
Swords!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiRAlNycmww
You must eat the swords for dinner.

[GarrettCRW]

I'd actually be interested to know if there are any lengthy rants ranking the various He-Man/She-Ra writers and berating the worst for their flaws. Sounds like interesting reading.

I'm not sure that there are any real rants, especially since the pool of He-Man and/or She-Ra websites has dropped precipitously since he-man.org absorbed the He-Man And She-Ra Episode Review Website.

[rbudrick]

I own two of the three games and have never gotten around to playing them yet.

I must say, those pics of the backgrounds are beautiful. Even if the games do suck, they look awesome in stills.

-Rob

[Soviet Conscript]

Swords!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiRAlNycmww
You must eat the swords for dinner.

that one was pretty amuzeing. personaly i enjoyed the "triforce of spaghetti" if only for the few stratigicly placed "bleeps"

hilarious.

[bangtango]

Those Zelda games are one of the worst things about being a CD-i owner, which I am.

Why do I say that?

Easy.

All of the gamers I know locally, none of whom own a CD-i but are aware I have one, keep saying to me, "Man, you gotta get the Zelda games for CD-i because I always wanted to see how bad they really are!"

I don't intend to at the prices I see them go for sometimes.

[The Shawn]

Man you gotta get those Zelda games cause' I alway's wanted to see how bad they suck.

[bangtango]

Man you gotta get those Zelda games cause' I alway's wanted to see how bad they suck.

Yeah, you were one of the people who mentioned it but I wasn't referring to you, in this case :wink 2:

I got a younger sister, my sister's boyfriend, a friend from high school, a couple co-workers and the owner of my local game store, a total of 6 Zelda fans I know, ALL of whom like to remind me that I "NEED to get the Zelda games for CD-i."

In all honesty, I'm surprised all of those friends and family of mine had heard of the CD-i. Of course none of them own it but me.

[Ed Oscuro]

The CD-i Zelda games are expensive?

Aside from Zelda's Adventure, which certainly was a few years ago, and still will be.

[Daria]

I paid $50 for both Zelda and Link platformers sealed (which I promptly opened). I think it was a good price. But yeah Zelda's Adventure is the one that's truley rare.

[bangtango]

The CD-i Zelda games are expensive?

Aside from Zelda's Adventure, which certainly was a few years ago, and still will be.

Granted I am probably looking in all of the wrong places. I don't buy a whole lot of games online (I primarily buy locally), so I am not privy to the places with the "best" deals on stuff like that. I never seem to find a "reasonable" price for any of the 3 CD-i Zelda games on Ebay. I rarely see anyone post them for sale here either and if they do, it is usually in a "Make me an offer thread."

I think they'd be nice to play but I'm not going to pay a whole lot to do so. Since I'm not a "collector", I have no other reason to get them.

Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia is where it's at on the CD-i anyway, as far as I am concerned. I like reference software like that and even though it is outdated, that happens to be the most interesting thing I've found on the system.

[ubersaurus]

I own two of the three games and have never gotten around to playing them yet.

I must say, those pics of the backgrounds are beautiful. Even if the games do suck, they look awesome in stills.

-Rob

My friend has bootlegs of both games, and I can agree that the music and the backgrounds are really good. But what makes the games lame is the hit detection. It's god awful.

[FantasiaWHT]

I think they'd be nice to play but I'm not going to pay a whole lot to do so. Since I'm not a "collector", I have no other reason to get them.


Since you aren't a collector, I assume that once you finished them you would get rid of them, yes? It shouldn't matter how much they cost if you are going to turn around and resell them for the same price :) You might lose a few bucks in fees and whatnot, but if you take your time and buy at a lower price and sell at a higher one, you'll come out even or even making some money.

That's how I approach classic games. I have no problem paying a crapload for Panzer Dragoon Saga because I just want to play it and then sell it again.

[incubus421]

Yes, the prices on these games I thought were a bit steep myself. Picked up Faces of Evil at goodwill a few weeks ago for a buck, turned around and sold it close to $40 shipped.
I was interested to play them as I had never heard of non-nintendo Zelda games before and I love everything Zelda related; but not owning/planning to own a CD-i, I got rid of it, and after hearing all the comments and seeing that link I must say I don't have that urge to play them anymore.

[PentiumMMX]

I eventually want to try them, because I can't wait to bomb some Dodongos!