Zelda (Where to start?)

brianon

Ok so I've played a bit of Zelda but never any game for more than an hour.

Where should I start ? Give me one or two recommendations of a Zelda game I should play (to finish) to get me started.

randomuser77

brianon wrote: »

Ok so I've played a bit of Zelda but never any game for more than an hour.

Where should I start ? Give me one or two recommendations of a Zelda game I should play (to finish) to get me started.

My first was Ocarina of Time for the 3DS which I only finished a fortnight ago. I will never look back ...

Mr E

My first was A Link To The Past which I have finished about 5 times, and I keep going back ...

brianon

A Link to the Past...hmmmm. Of all the Zelda games its the one I have played the most. Maybe I'll stick with that for now.

Thanks guys.

Ostrom

What systems do you have? Ocarina and skyward sword would be my recommendations if you have access to either. Failing that, you really cant go wrong with link to the past - i'm playing through it again at the moment and it is absolutely timeless. Also links awakening (gb) is a personal favourite of mine.

Myrddin

A Link To The Past - SNES, GBA
Ocarina Of Time - N64, 3DS

Starting any anything other than those would be a mistake

thorbarry

I've only ever played one of the games "The Wind Waker" on the Gamecube. Its amazing, still looks great to this day.

As much as I loved it, I couldnt justify buying a Wii to play the other new ones on

CiDeRmAn

I'm going to be controversial and say, if you want an easy to get into and fun to play, no tricky bits, gentle introduction to the series you could do worse than Twilight Princess on the Gamecube or Wii.

Of course if that's not hardcore enough you could get the Philips CDi games that Retr0 is always raving about

Retr0gamer

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Of course if that's not hardcore enough you could get the Philips CDi games that Retr0 is always raving about

From what I played they aren't bad :P

thisiswar

Ocarina of Time was my first and you certainly cant go wrong with it.

Never played it on the 3DS but if I was you i'd get a N64 with Ocarina & Majoras Mask.

Then when you've cleard them get a Gamecube with Twilight Princess & Windwaker.

Then when you've finished them get a Wii with Skyward Sword.

Thats what I did anyways

Your life is about to get a whole lot better

Fysh

thisiswar wrote: »

Ocarina of Time was my first and you certainly cant go wrong with it.

Never played it on the 3DS but if I was you i'd get a N64 with Ocarina & Majoras Mask.

Then when you've cleard them get a Gamecube with Twilight Princess & Windwaker.

Then when you've finished them get a Wii with Skyward Sword.

Thats what I did anyways

Your life is about to get a whole lot better

You dont need an N64 for Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, you can get them on the Virtual Console

I started with Link to the Past and then Link's Awakening. Both of them are great (like their Metroid counterparts) in that they're a great introduction to their relative series, but neither of them are so long that you start to get bored.

I reckon that a Wii is the best way to experience them, in the following order:

Link To The Past (Virtual Console)
Ocarina Of Time
Majora's Mask
Wind Waker (GC)
Twilight Princess
Skyward Sword

Having said that, I'm a bit odd in that I'm only now getting close to completing Wind Waker, and I've yet to play through Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess, so maybe take my advice with a pinch of salt...

CiDeRmAn

Most have a DS and there you have two tailor made Zelda experiences, easy to play for short bursts too and yet don't compromise on the classical feel of the Zelda titles.
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are both fine games made in the style of Wind Waker.

richymcdermott

Retr0gamer wrote: »

From what I played they aren't bad :P

Avg nerd says otherwise :pac:



and to answer OP question my first real start and completeing zelda game was twilight princess this year , was solid

CiDeRmAn

Well, speaking on behalf of Retr0 and I'm sure he won't mind, Avg Nerd has a Donkey Kong Country poster on his wall, and if that's where his critical factor is I'm not sure his opinion can be accepted as canon.

Myrddin

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Well, speaking on behalf of Retr0 and I'm sure he won't mind, Avg Nerd has a Donkey Kong Country poster on his wall, and if that's where his critical factor is I'm not sure his opinion can be accepted as canon.

The Zelda CD-I games are in no way canon either. Sure they might be 'passable' games in themselves, but they're the bottom of the pile when it comes to the Zelda franchise.

CiDeRmAn

EnterNow wrote: »

The Zelda CD-I games are in no way canon either. Sure they might be 'passable' games in themselves, but they're the bottom of the pile when it comes to the Zelda franchise.

We know!
They're a pile of fetid dingos kidneys!

Retr0gamer

Still working on that CDi. Seems like a lot of money for not a lot of good games. I could find a console cheap but controllers for it seem to be rare and expensive

Retr0gamer

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are both fine games made in the style of Wind Waker.

I actually didn't like Phantom Hourglass that much. It's ok but way too easy and I'd consider it the worst of the zelda games. Not played spirit tracks yet but not really bothered if it's like phantom hourglass.

hawesome145

as mentioned best thing to do is get a Wii, you can download most of the old Zelda games on the virtual console if you have an internet connection. Plus you wont miss out on Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword.

I started with Links Awakening years ago on the GB then got an N64 with Ocarina of Time. Still probably the best game I have ever played. Got a Wii a couple of years back and downloaded it again, ahh the memories. Got rid of it and got a PS3 last year, starting to regret it now especially with Skyward Sword out.

megaten

Links awakening would be a good start I'd say.

Dman001

OP I'd recommend first going with The Ocarina of Time. This was the first Zelda brought into the "3D" world, and still remains the best Zelda. If you like this, you'll love the others too. You can get OoT on the Virtual Console, or source the Gamecube disc and play it on the Wii.

You can then move onto Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, all playable on the Wii (you'll have to source the Wind Waker Gamecube Disc, as it isn't on the Virtual Console).

I personally wouldn't start with the old NES/GBA, "2D" games as they're not everyone's cup of tea. I'd definitely recommend playing all the home console versions first!

Myrddin

Dman001 wrote: »

I personally wouldn't start with the old NES/GBA, "2D" games as they're not everyone's cup of tea.

True that but Zelda 3 is one of the finest games of all time, there's no better intro to the series. It surpasses OoT for me, despite its viewing angle.

Dman001 wrote:

I'd definitely recommend playing all the home console versions first!

As opposed to the arcade versions?

Knifey Spoony

Or you could go for four games on one disc:

http://www.zeldawiki.org/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Collector%27s_Edition

It has The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

Might be a bit hard to track down as it was a limited release, but might be a good place to start.

Retr0gamer

I'd start with Links Awakening or Link to the Past. The 3D zelda games all start really slowly and take ages to get into them. Awakening and Link to the Past in particular start with a bang and keep on going. I also think they are better games than the 3D ones.

Fysh

Knifey Spoony wrote: »

Or you could go for four games on one disc:

http://www.zeldawiki.org/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Collector%27s_Edition

It has The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

Might be a bit hard to track down as it was a limited release, but might be a good place to start.

I still have my copy that I got free when I bought my Gamecube with Mario Kart Double Dash Having said that it seems to be on ebay for about £20 or so, which isn't a bad price (if you've already got a Gamecube or Wii with the relevant controllers/memory card) in comparison to the price of buying OoT and MM as downloads.

I agree with Retr0gamer about the 3D Zeldas starting more slowly (and generally being longer, more involved games) - they're great games, to be sure, but not necessarily a good way of starting out. I still think A Link To The Past is the best place to start, but obviously I'm biased as that's where I started I have it as a virtual console game on my Wii and getting started in the game is a lot faster than in Wind Waker, for example.

Dman001

EnterNow wrote: »

True that but Zelda 3 is one of the finest games of all time, there's no better intro to the series. It surpasses OoT for me, despite its viewing angle.



As opposed to the arcade versions?

By "Home Console" I meant OoC, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. The non-portable gaming versions like the ports of the Zelda games on the Gameboy from the Nes/Snes long with the DS versions!

megaten

Dman001 wrote: »

By "Home Console" I meant OoC, Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. The non-portable gaming versions like the ports of the Zelda games on the Gameboy from the Nes/Snes long with the DS versions!

The SNES isn't a home console? News to me.

Fysh

megaten wrote: »

The SNES isn't a home console? News to me.

This may come as a surprise then...

Myrddin

Fysh wrote: »

This may come as a surprise then...

Plenty more where they came from

CiDeRmAn

Dman001 wrote: »

OP I'd recommend first going with The Ocarina of Time. This was the first Zelda brought into the "3D" world, and still remains the best Zelda. If you like this, you'll love the others too. You can get OoT on the Virtual Console, or source the Gamecube disc and play it on the Wii.

Or, just buy an N64 and get the cart and play it the way it was supposed to be played, on the system and with the controller it was designed for.
The Wii version and the GC versions are ok but not as, well, good as on the proper hardware.
The 3DS version is almost as good as the N64 original though, I'll give it that.

I personally wouldn't start with the old NES/GBA, "2D" games as they're not everyone's cup of tea. I'd definitely recommend playing all the home console versions first!

Just so's you know, if were to say this in the A&R forum, you'd be lucky to make it home alive....
Just so's you know...

readyletsgo

I have the same problem with zelda as OP.
I keep starting one of them but never go back to it as I seem to get lost and I'm not a fan of walkthroughs but I guess I should use them.
I have Zelda 1 & II, 4swords & Minish Cap on 3DS, thinking of getting Links Awakening on the eshop too. And I have OoT on the 3DS, WW/OoT & TP on the GC/Wii.
Its funny cause I hear so many of you guys saying the Zelda games are great but I seem lost in the big ocean of the games when ever I try to start one. Glad I'm not the only one.

Played both ds zeldas a while back, didnt finish them but I did enjoy what I played so I would recommend one of them for a burst of play. The train on ST is annoying but still kinda cool.

Fysh

readyletsgo wrote: »

Its funny cause I hear so many of you guys saying the Zelda games are great but I seem lost in the big ocean of the games when ever I try to start one. Glad I'm not the only one.

Funny you should mention that, my first attempt at playing Wind Waker ended like that. I can't remember how but I managed to drift substantially out of sequence in terms of the order in which you're meant to go through the game, and gave up in frustration.

I started again from scratch a couple of weeks ago, though, and I've found the game remarkably straightforward this time around (though it's still a bit slow-moving for my liking), so it's possible I was just being a bit of a numpty first time around. Equally possible, though, is that such games have certain conventions that you have to learn before you can get through them easily, and that having played a few of the games makes you familiar enough with those conventions that you don't really need to think about them while playing.

Myrddin

readyletsgo wrote: »

I have the same problem with zelda as OP.
I keep starting one of them but never go back to it as I seem to get lost and I'm not a fan of walkthroughs but I guess I should use them.
I have Zelda 1 & II, 4swords & Minish Cap on 3DS, thinking of getting Links Awakening on the eshop too. And I have OoT on the 3DS, WW/OoT & TP on the GC/Wii.
Its funny cause I hear so many of you guys saying the Zelda games are great but I seem lost in the big ocean of the games when ever I try to start one. Glad I'm not the only one.

Played both ds zeldas a while back, didnt finish them but I did enjoy what I played so I would recommend one of them for a burst of play. The train on ST is annoying but still kinda cool.

Play LttP, it's the definitive starting point in my eyes

readyletsgo

EnterNow wrote: »

Play LttP, it's the definitive starting point in my eyes

I have played that a few times. I relaly like it but once I leave it for a few days I never go back to it and if i do I have no idea whats going on , must have a short memory.

Think tonight I will start Zelda 1 & 2 with a walkthrough, but as i remember those game just plonks you in the game and the second one is extremely hard, scary for me .
Or maybe I will skip the first 3 and buy Zelda LA from the eshop and start there.

Wonder when LttP will be out on the eshop, prob not for at least a year at the release of a new Zelda for the 3DS :rolleyes:

Myrddin

readyletsgo wrote: »

I have played that a few times. I relaly like it but once I leave it for a few days I never go back to it and if i do I have no idea whats going on , must have a short memory.

Think tonight I will start Zelda 1 & 2 with a walkthrough, but as i remember those game just plonks you in the game and the second one is extremely hard, scary for me .
Or maybe I will skip the first 3 and buy Zelda LA from the eshop and start there.

Wonder when LttP will be out on the eshop, prob not for at least a year at the release of a new Zelda for the 3DS :rolleyes:

If your having trouble keeping focus on LttP, you've no hope with OoT onwards. I find Zelda games incredible, but you have to want to play them, they're not ideally suited to quick pick up 'n play type gaming. Just do your research on the different stories, read about them, avoiding spoilers, & know enough about each that you really want to play them.

Using walkthroughs defeats the whole purpose, you'll have no sense of achievement playing through that way

Dman001

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Or, just buy an N64 and get the cart and play it the way it was supposed to be played, on the system and with the controller it was designed for.
The Wii version and the GC versions are ok but not as, well, good as on the proper hardware.
The 3DS version is almost as good as the N64 original though, I'll give it that.



Just so's you know, if were to say this in the A&R forum, you'd be lucky to make it home alive....
Just so's you know...

Seesh so many nipickers!! Yes the OP could source a 15+ year old console and play it like that, pay about €30-€50 for one with the Zelda games. Or he could pick up a Wii for about €100+, which is not YET an obsolete console, play all the old games along with the newer ones> Yes the controls aren't as nice, but personally think it makes much more sense!

As for my quote on "Home Console" and "2D", I assumed the OP would get me, but the perfectionists here obviously don't! Most, if not all, Snes/Nes Zelda's were released on the Gameboy along the years so thought I would refer to them as Gameboy games!

readyletsgo

Bought Links Awakening last night, much better on the 3DS screen, much clearer. Will go back to it this evening!!!!

Also

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/28755

brianon

readyletsgo wrote: »

Bought Links Awakening last night, much better on the 3DS screen, much clearer. Will go back to it this evening!!!!

Also

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/28755

So many suggestions. Thanks to everyone. I just got OOT on 3DS so gonna get stuck into that over Christmas. Thanks again

Myrddin

readyletsgo wrote: »

Also

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/28755

Total afterthought. I'm not sure why people feel the need to have these games connected, they are all independant. It's like as if they drew up a sheet of which ones could go where, & the ones that didn't fit, got lumped into an 'alternate timeline'. Sad

readyletsgo

EnterNow wrote: »

Total afterthought. I'm not sure why people feel the need to have these games connected, they are all independant. It's like as if they drew up a sheet of which ones could go where, & the ones that didn't fit, got lumped into an 'alternate timeline'. Sad

Yeah I know, I dont know the story line too well, but sounds rubbish, lol 3 splits?

I understand people want to know the timeline, but it does read like its thrown together, for just casues.

Anyway, loving Links Awakening, played for like 3 hrs last night, seem to be stuck at a part where there is this 'bunny' trapped in a small section, move two blocks and hit him with a pot, but nothing happens. Know I am doing something wrong here but spend about 30mins at it and couldnt figure it out. This is usually where I would give up but not this time, will go back to it again tonight and keep at it.

Edit: Totally know what to do now thanks to an owl.

Enjoying it more this time round

andiimann

the orcarina of time is by far the best zelda, right amount of violence, puzzles, mini games and everything else to keep you interested. havnt playd it on the 3ds but cleared it on the n64. got awful confused when it came to gettin the fire bow :P

cloud493

Gamestop are selling twilight princess pre owned for 8 euro. Great game I reckon, a steal at that price.

Ostrom

With all this OOT love, I thought i might hijack and ask if it is possible to learn Epona's song as old Link?

Mr. K

efla wrote: »

With all this OOT love, I thought i might hijack and ask if it is possible to learn Epona's song as old Link?

I think you have to be Young Link. But you can replace the Master Sword in the Temple of Time and go back. You might have to finish the Forest Temple first though...

Ostrom

Just got there this very evening, thanks! No patience.....

richymcdermott

Currently playing through OOT for the first time on the 3ds and wow ..i can see why people call it the best game ever made, its mind blowing a game nearly 14 years old can feel so modern and not dated whats so ever , its a gift from the gods

Myrddin

richymcdermott wrote: »

Currently playing through OOT for the first time on the 3ds and wow ..i can see why people call it the best game ever made, its mind blowing a game nearly 14 years old can feel so modern and not dated whats so ever , its a gift from the gods

I find it mind boggling that in 14 years, gaming has gotten so bland

OoT is a masterpiece, kinda timeless really like all the great games. I actually find LttP even more so, with its gorgeous 2D sprite grpahics.

richymcdermott

I must download all classic 2d zelda titles in e shop ...

Lol

richymcdermott

Finished ocarina of time 3d yesterday for the first time , simply blown away from it , now i started zelda skyward sword today , only thing i can say so far is if all games used motion controls aswell as skyward sword did i can kiss my dualshock playstation controller goodbye

readyletsgo

I finished Links Awakening a few day ago, eye opening lol. Was good tho, really liked it. Started Minish Cap right away, man thats easy compared to L.A. nearly finished this. Then I will be going onto OoT to give it a propper go.

Defiler Of The Coffin

richymcdermott wrote: »

Finished ocarina of time 3d yesterday for the first time , simply blown away from it , now i started zelda skyward sword today , only thing i can say so far is if all games used motion controls aswell as skyward sword did i can kiss my dualshock playstation controller goodbye

How great it must be to have all that Zelda goodness in front of you... I'm jealous I really am. You'll have a blast playing Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. Majora's Mask is simply sublime too.

Greatest Zelda game for me was Ocarina of Time. I remember renting it along with Turok 2 when it came out. Turok 2 didn't even get a look in! Parents bought it for me that Christmas. I was completely blown away by that game. The controls were brilliant. Z-targeting and auto-jumping felt natural. The dungeons were suitably spooky and atmospheric. The puzzles were maddening but satisfying by the same measure. There was a grande sense of scale in the game. You could first see Death Mountain looming ominously in the distance when you first stepped onto Hyrule Field, later you would climb to the summit.

The stand-out dungeons for me were the Forest Temple (music was enough to drive you mad), Fire Temple (hostile environment kept you on your edge) and the Water Temple (notorious to this day for its difficulty).

I think the game has one of the best soundtracks ever produced. To this day I still listen to some of the tracks on Youtube. Even the ocarina melodies are superior to most tracks in other games.

There was enough content and collectibles in that game to keep you coming back for months, years even! Greatest game ever made, Shigsy's finest moment!

That's before I even get started on the handheld and earlier games. Maybe later...