Wanting to get into the Link/Zelda games (Better late than never)

[PackYourBaggins]

2 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

I wouldn't start with the original. It doesn't give you hints on where to go or what to do. Go with A Link to the Past if you can.

Oh? But didn't you say this? 

 

2 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

I recommend playing them in order without using a walkthrough. It gives you an appreciation for gameplay back in the day.

 

[ARikozuM]

Just now, RelentlessN7 said:

Oh? But didn't you say this? 

 

 

That was before you said that you don't like puzzles.

[xsrgdarknessx]

For 3D Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are my favorites. (For N64 and 3DS)

 

For 2D A Link to the Past is great.  I haven't finished it myself, but it's really good. (For SNES)

[PackYourBaggins]

1 minute ago, ARikozuM said:

That was before you said that you don't like puzzles.

Ahhh, yeah, not a big fan. Maybe I should've elaborated further; I can deal with them in certain capacities. If a game does them right, no problem. It took me out of Darksiders because I expected it to be a nonstop Hack-n'-Slash adventure, but when it stops the gameplay for 20 minutes for me to solve a dull puzzle, with little reward, it made me not even want to play the 2nd game by the time I beat it. And on top of that, it didn't have a very good or interesting story.

 

An example of a game(s) that I think did puzzles ok: God of War. I recently started catching up with this series, and played through the first 2 games (Still yet to play 3), and loved them both. In these 2 games, not only was the gameplay better than Darksiders (In my opinion), it had a much better story. I'm not entirely sure if I'd enjoy the original Legend of Zelda after hearing this, but who knows. Maybe I won't start with it then.

[ARikozuM]

9 minutes ago, RelentlessN7 said:

Ahhh, yeah, not a big fan. Maybe I should've elaborated further; I can deal with them in certain capacities. If a game does them right, no problem. It took me out of Darksiders because I expected it to be a nonstop Hack-n'-Slash adventure, but when it stops the gameplay for 20 minutes for me to solve a dull puzzle, with little reward, it made me not even want to play the 2nd game by the time I beat it. And on top of that, it didn't have a very good or interesting story.

 

An example of a game(s) that I think did puzzles ok: God of War. I recently started catching up with this series, and played through the first 2 games (Still yet to play 3), and loved them both. In these 2 games, not only was the gameplay better than Darksiders (In my opinion), it had a much better story. I'm not entirely sure if I'd enjoy the original Legend of Zelda after hearing this, but who knows. Maybe I won't start with it then.

I'd try Link to the Past, first. If it whets your appetite, then I'd go with the original.

[PackYourBaggins]

3 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

I'd try Link to the Past, first. If it whets your appetite, then I'd go with the original.

Ok. I think I'll do that then. It's around $8 on the eShop, so why not.

[ARikozuM]

1 minute ago, RelentlessN7 said:

Ok. I think I'll do that then. It's around $8 on the eShop, so why not.

Feel free to skip [LoZ 2: Adventure of Link]. It's basically Dark Souls 1986.

[PackYourBaggins]

Just now, ARikozuM said:

Feel free to skip two. It's basically Dark Souls 1986.

Well I am a huge Dark Souls fan as well, but I'll take your advice anyway lol

[skywake]

@RelentlessN7

As someone who has played all of them (at least partially) here's how I'd go about it.

 

1st Game: Link's Awakening

My personal favourite and also a good place to start. It has some of the best characters and by far the best music IMO. And I'm not saying that out of nostalgia because despite owning a GameBoy and SNES as a kid I never played a Zelda game until Twilight Princess. So that's a thing. Anyways, it has a lot of personality and in many respects isn't typical of a Zelda game. I also think it is probably a good idea to start with one of the 2D games. And unlike the earlier 2D games, and in particular the NES ones, Link's Awakening is fairly linear. Which is probably a good place to start.

 

2nd Game: Ocarina of Time 3D

You have to play this next if only for the fact that the Zelda timeline, for what it's worth, leans heavily on this game. I don't want to drop any spoilers but I think it's fair to say that most Zelda games released since then have quite a few references to Ocarina of Time. I don't know how much of this is actually spoilers but.....

Spoiler

Wind Waker literally starts with a story book summary of the events of OoT. Majora's Mask is basically a sequel to OoT. Twilight Princess references it heavily.

3rd Game: Wind Waker HD:

Personally it's my favourite 3D Zelda game and the HD remaster is the way to play it. I first played it on the Wii U and at the time it was the only Zelda I had not played at least partially. I left one of the best ones till last. Also ontop of being just pretty good in general it does tie into some of the other games. The DS games basically follow on from Wind Waker so it's probably best to play Wind Waker before them.

 

4th Game: Doesn't matter

Really, beyond that I don't think it matters what you play next at all. Go down the list of Zelda games and find something that lines up with one of the three above that you liked the most. Start from there. Also don't discount the Wii and DS Zeldas just because people have bad memories of those systems. Those games might not be on the top of the list but they were still great entries into the series. Quite frankly I don't think any of the Zelda games are bad so you can't go too wrong. Just.... maybe avoid Tri Force Heroes given that it only works as a multiplayer game

[PackYourBaggins]

54 minutes ago, skywake said:

@RelentlessN7

As someone who has played all of them (at least partially) here's how I'd go about it.

 

1st Game: Link's Awakening

My personal favourite and also a good place to start. It has some of the best characters and by far the best music IMO. And I'm not saying that out of nostalgia because despite owning a GameBoy and SNES as a kid I never played a Zelda game until Twilight Princess. So that's a thing. Anyways, it has a lot of personality and in many respects isn't typical of a Zelda game. I also think it is probably a good idea to start with one of the 2D games. And unlike the earlier 2D games, and in particular the NES ones, Link's Awakening is fairly linear. Which is probably a good place to start.

 

2nd Game: Ocarina of Time 3D

You have to play this next if only for the fact that the Zelda timeline, for what it's worth, leans heavily on this game. I don't want to drop any spoilers but I think it's fair to say that most Zelda games released since then have quite a few references to Ocarina of Time. I don't know how much of this is actually spoilers but.....

  Hide contents

Wind Waker literally starts with a story book summary of the events of OoT. Majora's Mask is basically a sequel to OoT. Twilight Princess references it heavily.

3rd Game: Wind Waker HD:

Personally it's my favourite 3D Zelda game and the HD remaster is the way to play it. I first played it on the Wii U and at the time it was the only Zelda I had not played at least partially. I left one of the best ones till last. Also ontop of being just pretty good in general it does tie into some of the other games. The DS games basically follow on from Wind Waker so it's probably best to play Wind Waker before them.

 

4th Game: Doesn't matter

Really, beyond that I don't think it matters what you play next at all. Go down the list of Zelda games and find something that lines up with one of the three above that you liked the most. Start from there. Also don't discount the Wii and DS Zeldas just because people have bad memories of those systems. Those games might not be on the top of the list but they were still great entries into the series. Quite frankly I don't think any of the Zelda games are bad so you can't go too wrong. Just.... maybe avoid Tri Force Heroes given that it only works as a multiplayer game

Probably the best response I've gotten so far. What do you think of ARikozuM's suggestion about going with Link to the Past first? And if not first, is it worth playing later?

[skywake]

1 hour ago, RelentlessN7 said:

What do you think of ARikozuM's suggestion about going with Link to the Past first? And if not first, is it worth playing later?

I'll put it this way, you can tell a lot about these games by how they start. This is the back story you get for A Link to the Past

This is Link's Awakening:

and this is what you got with the original NES Zelda

[PackYourBaggins]

On 10/25/2016 at 2:01 AM, skywake said:

I'll put it this way, you can tell a lot about these games by how they start. This is the back story you get for A Link to the Past

This is Link's Awakening:

and this is what you got with the original NES Zelda

Well, I bought Link's Awakening just now. I really hope I enjoy it, because I feel like such an outsider not having played games like Zelda that are so revered.

[skywake]

5 hours ago, RelentlessN7 said:

Well, I bought Link's Awakening just now. I really hope I enjoy it, because I feel like such an outsider not having played games like Zelda that are so revered.

I really wish I could play it for the first time again

[Austroknot]

I've only played the 3D Zelda's and I'll list them in order of entertainment for me personally.

1. WindWaker HD (Wii U)

2. Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)

3. Ocarina of Time (3DS)

4. Majora's Mask (3DS)

5. A Link between Worlds (3DS)

 

Seriously though Windwaker is where it's at imo... If you get the Twilight princess game bundle, the amiibo that comes with it will have functionality in BoTW when it releases with the Switch in March.

[PackYourBaggins]

1 hour ago, Austosaur said:

I've only played the 3D Zelda's and I'll list them in order of entertainment for me personally.

1. WindWaker HD (Wii U)

2. Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)

3. Ocarina of Time (3DS)

4. Majora's Mask (3DS)

5. A Link between Worlds (3DS)

 

Seriously though Windwaker is where it's at imo... If you get the Twilight princess game bundle, the amiibo that comes with it will have functionality in BoTW when it releases with the Switch in March.

Wait, so Link Between Worlds is your favorite? Got a little confused, cause typically number 1 would mean it's your favorite lol And I think I may enjoy the 3D Zelda games a bit more honestly, but I'm still gonna take everyone's suggestions and play the good 2D ones as well.

[UndueHatred]

On 10/24/2016 at 7:03 PM, RelentlessN7 said:

So Ocarina of Time has a lot of puzzles? I'm definitely not a fan of puzzle games. Puzzles are what killed Darksiders for me. Can anyone tell me if any other Zelda games are puzzle heavy?

Zelda games are absolutely all about dungeons and puzzle solving. Literally the entire game. Anyway, I would look into Ocarina considering the fact that Nintendo just recently made that game a "Nintendo Select." Nintendo Selects are "classic" 3DS and Wii U games for $20. Not bad, I would start at that considering $20 hardly constitutes a major commitment. Also, the GBC Zelda games show their age these days. They seem like a nostalgia novelty, and I bought several. Purchase Ocarina for $20, although I would look at gameplay footage first considering that not knowing that these games are puzzlers strikes me odd.

 

http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-selects

[PackYourBaggins]

5 hours ago, UndueHatred said:

Zelda games are absolutely all about dungeons and puzzle solving. Literally the entire game. Anyway, I would look into Ocarina considering the fact that Nintendo just recently made that game a "Nintendo Select." Nintendo Selects are "classic" 3DS and Wii U games for $20. Not bad, I would start at that considering $20 hardly constitutes a major commitment. Also, the GBC Zelda games show their age these days. They seem like a nostalgia novelty, and I bought several. Purchase Ocarina for $20, although I would look at gameplay footage first considering that not knowing that these games are puzzlers strikes me odd.

 

http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-selects

Well I'm a few minutes into "Link's Awakening" and it's not so bad. I've always been a huge fan of Pokemon, but they were another series of games that I got into pretty late, but I still enjoyed Pokemon Gold and Silver (GBC) as well as Pokemon Yellow (GBC), so I think I'll be ok with some of the older 2D ones. I gotta play at least some of the classics. Otherwise I'd feel like such a damn millennial loser lol I wish I would've started them a lot sooner though.

 

As for the puzzles, I should've been more clear in that post when I said puzzles killed Darksiders for me. It was because I went into Darksiders expecting something way different. I thought it'd be a non-stop Hack-n'-Slash action/adventure game. I didn't know it'd stop the (albeit fun) combat for me to solve a boring and tedious puzzle for 20 minutes. Some games do puzzles right. Others, not so much. I've been on the outside of the Zelda/Link fandom long enough to think that they must do everything great, cause I don't think I've met anyone who hasn't liked them. I'm still down to give them a chance. We'll see how Link's Awakening goes, and after that, I'll try a 3D one.

 

EDIT: This goes back to what I said in my original post about me getting inside my own head about not playing certain classic games like Zelda. Despite the fact I don't really like puzzle games, I still feel obligated to play the Zelda games because they're classics, everyone loves them, and they're still being made. I just feel like I HAVE to play them. And who knows, I may enjoy them more than I think I will.

[Austroknot]

On 10/26/2016 at 3:02 PM, RelentlessN7 said:

Wait, so Link Between Worlds is your favorite? Got a little confused, cause typically number 1 would mean it's your favorite lol And I think I may enjoy the 3D Zelda games a bit more honestly, but I'm still gonna take everyone's suggestions and play the good 2D ones as well.

No, Windwaker is my favorite. They are listed in the order in which I enjoyed playing them. At the beginning I was saying I haven't played like the old school 2D Zelda games like A link to the past, Zelda II, etc.

[PackYourBaggins]

12 hours ago, Austosaur said:

No, Windwaker is my favorite. They are listed in the order in which I enjoyed playing them. At the beginning I was saying I haven't played like the old school 2D Zelda games like A link to the past, Zelda II, etc.

I see. Well I have Ocarina of Time on my wish list now, since I really couldn't get into Link's Awakening. It's just super old, so maybe Ocarina of Time will be different.

[Helly]

Zelda are NOT games for you. You complain about a puzzle in darksiders which took 20 minutes... Most of the time in zelda you're looking for where to go next. Then you need to find out what to do there. When you finally solved the puzzle to find the dungeon (and in most of the zelda's OoT and beyond there's a lot of mini games to do as well) then you get to fight something on occasion but most of the time the dungeon itself is also a puzzle to find the boss....

 

So seeing ur reactions here makes me just say: forget about it and move on to something else, these games are just not for you....

 

just curious though, what puzzle in darksiders took you 20 minutes cuz i can't remember anything in that game that took that long to solve... That game is actually pretty much 90% hack/slash. The only puzzles are for the secrets which you don't need to finish the game. Just for the trophies/achievements.

[PackYourBaggins]

On 10/31/2016 at 2:53 AM, Helly said:

Zelda are NOT games for you. You complain about a puzzle in darksiders which took 20 minutes... Most of the time in zelda you're looking for where to go next. Then you need to find out what to do there. When you finally solved the puzzle to find the dungeon (and in most of the zelda's OoT and beyond there's a lot of mini games to do as well) then you get to fight something on occasion but most of the time the dungeon itself is also a puzzle to find the boss....

 

So seeing ur reactions here makes me just say: forget about it and move on to something else, these games are just not for you....

 

just curious though, what puzzle in darksiders took you 20 minutes cuz i can't remember anything in that game that took that long to solve... That game is actually pretty much 90% hack/slash. The only puzzles are for the secrets which you don't need to finish the game. Just for the trophies/achievements.

Sorry for the late reply. I assumed this thread was dead, and haven't been back on the site since my last reply on here.

 

There wasn't any particular puzzle in Darksiders I'm referring to. It's just my puzzle solving skills are that of a Special Ed. student, and I thought it'd be some kind of Dark Souls-esque Hack 'n Slash adventure game.

 

I was wrong. I found it rather monotonous.

 

And that really bums me out that a lot of people here are saying I may like any of the Zelda games because of that fact. I feel this pressure that I need to play them because everyone loves them, and I haven't played any of them. I like to be diverse in the games I play, and expand my experience with different kinds, and the fact I haven't played a single Zelda game (Aside from the 10 minutes I put into "Link's Awakening") bothers me WAY more than it should.

[TheBestUserName]

On 11/4/2016 at 1:27 AM, RelentlessN7 said:

I like to be diverse in the games I play, and expand my experience with different kinds, and the fact I haven't played a single Zelda game (Aside from the 10 minutes I put into "Link's Awakening") bothers me WAY more than it should.

You've evidently had that feeling for a while, and the thread was started about two weeks ago -- why do you still only have 10 minutes in one game?  

 

There's been a lot of feedback and recommendations in the thread. I'm surprised you're not making more of an effort. 

[Taja]

I played 4 swords aventures, Wind waker, Twilight Princess and skyward sword.

 

IMO, skyward and Twilight are the best, very diferent styles, but both Great. Wind waker is nice,but not as good, and 4swords is older, more retro style.

[PackYourBaggins]

5 hours ago, TheBestUserName said:

You've evidently had that feeling for a while, and the thread was started about two weeks ago -- why do you still only have 10 minutes in one game?  

 

There's been a lot of feedback and recommendations in the thread. I'm surprised you're not making more of an effort. 

Well for one, I couldn't get into the old 2D style of Link's Awakening. It just hasn't really aged well in my opinion, so I thought about skipping ahead to a 3D Zelda after trying Link's Awakening.

 

And two, I don't exactly have a lot of disposable income, so I have to be VERY selective in the games I choose to buy. Trust me, I'd love to make more of an effort to try new games. I just don't have a lot of money to throw around on games I *might* not like :l 

[TheBestUserName]

27 minutes ago, RelentlessN7 said:

And two, I don't exactly have a lot of disposable income, so I have to be VERY selective in the games I choose to buy. Trust me, I'd love to make more of an effort to try new games. I just don't have a lot of money to throw around on games I *might* not like :l 

Understood. 

 

28 minutes ago, RelentlessN7 said:

Well for one, I couldn't get into the old 2D style of Link's Awakening. It just hasn't really aged well in my opinion,

Giving up after 10 minutes doesn't seem like you gave it a fair shake.  Keep an open mind, and keep playing, bruh.