With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, it feels like a good time to look back at the Legend of Zelda series. It’s been 30 years since the iconic series entered the world, and the impact it’s had on the gaming industry is enormous. It is often attributed as one of the biggest success factors in the growth in the RPG genre. This success can be attributed to two main factors: the story and the gameplay.
The Story
The story of each game in the Legend of Zelda series is different, but they are all tied in through the official timeline Nintendo released to celebrate the series’ 25-year anniversary. I won’t describe the timeline in detail now, but you can check it out here.
If I had to provide a summary of each game, it would be this: Link is some random kid who is actually a hero of legend. He meets Zelda, who sometimes is a useless damsel (basically every game before Ocarina of Time and also the latter half of The Wind Waker) and sometimes a character with her own adventure (Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword).
Usually they team up to kill Ganon, who mostly fills the purpose of being the final boss. It’s only in The Wind Waker that he’s an actual character you interact with a bit.
There are obviously games where the formula is shaken up. In the Oracle of Seasons and Ages, Zelda isn’t even a focus until the very end when she needs to be saved by Link, and even then she’s only in the game if you beat both games and used the linked password. Ganon isn’t even in games like Majora’s Mask or Minish Cap.
These different games definitely work outside of the primary formula, but some of the better games are the ones that include Link, Zelda, and Ganon because of the focus on the Triforce. Games like Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time have much more serious, character-driven plots that are much easier to love. Even if the gameplay is awful (looking at you, Skyward Sword), it’s so easy to just keep playing to experience the awesome tales of Link and Zelda.
The Gameplay
There are certain games out there that, when you play, definitely make you think “This controls just like Zelda.” And that happens for good reason. There are several games that utilize tools created by the Legend of Zelda series. Lock-on targeting used in basically every 3D adventure game is heavily inspired by the Z-targeting from Ocarina of Time.
However, to really analyze the gameplay of the Legend of Zelda series, you really need to look at each game individually. There is obviously the common trend of “find item in dungeon, use item to beat dungeon, occasionally use it in the overworld,” and it usually works.
There are games where it doesn’t work as well, like Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass. Those games mostly have you go to a dungeon, get the dungeon’s item, and use that item to beat another part of the tower or whatever the game is using as a central hub.
On a more general level, the gameplay in each Zelda game is extremely smooth and easy to use. There are definitely times when the gameplay falls short, like the stylus-focused gameplay of the DS titles and the “perfect” motion controls of Skyward Sword. Other than those games, the gameplay is always really intuitive and makes for a great time.
The absolute best gameplay comes from Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess changed the usual “Press B to slash and A to roll around all over the place” formula by adding motion controls that worked extremely well. To slash your sword you just had to flick the Wii remote (you still had to press A to roll around all over the place). You could aim the Wii remote to target enemies and clawshot targets (and swing around like Spider-Man when you get the second clawshot). It was extremely fun and, probably, the highlight of the franchise’s gameplay.
Also we really need to make note of Selfie mode from The Wind Waker HD. It was a feature nobody asked for but everyone is thankful happened.
The Best Games
There are about 17 games in the main Legend of Zelda franchise/timeline. While most of them are extremely good, there are three that every new player should absolutely experience.
A Link to the Past
A Link to the Past is the game that made the Legend of Zelda franchise the juggernaut that it is today. It was the first game that was accessible to all players. The world was enormous and there was so much to do in it. There were secret items and inventive ways to find them. The dungeons were each unique and special. It was all so expansive, but not too complicated to understand. It’s a game with such a great design that people (myself included) still play it to this day.
Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time was the first 3D game in the Legend of Zelda series, and it currently holds the highest rating for a Zelda game on Metacritic. It’s an example of jumping into a new and unknown territory in the right way.
Nintendo adding the new Z-Targeting feature to make combat as easy as possible and adding a third dimension made exploring much more enjoyable. This is also the first game where Zelda isn’t a damsel the entire time, which is extremely refreshing.
The Wind Waker HD
When The Wind Waker released, it received positive reviews but was not well-liked by fans. At first. Now, it’s seen by all as one of the best entries in the Legend of Zelda series. It’s got the perfect mix of serious story with funny elements mixed in.
The Wind Waker also one of the first Zelda stories that’s driven by a strong supporting cast. Sailing around the cell-shaded world with the beautiful soundtrack is very relaxing and easy to do for hours on end.
There are two versions of The Wind Waker, the release on the Gamecube and the HD release on the Wii U. We recommend you play the HD release, since it looks much nicer and has significant changes to how the game plays that make it much more enjoyable.
Honorable Mention: Hyrule Warriors
Hyrule Warriors is not in the main Zelda series. It’s a spinoff game that mixes the characters from the Zelda games with the gameplay from the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Normally, we would not mention a spinoff game but here it felt right, as Hyrule Warriors is unbelievably fun. It’s fast-paced and smooth and just an all-around great time. We recommend you play the three games above if you want a good Legend of Zelda experience, but if you want a fun hack-and-slash adventure, Hyrule Warriors is your best bet.
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Header Source: Wind Temple on Tumblr
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