Favorite Zelda game?

[VinnyVideo]

I'm curious.

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[Evil Yoshi Toes]

I’ll be basic and say Ocarina but that’s likely because I pathetically still haven’t gotten around to playing Majoras Mask. I think Ocarina is the most traditional Zelda game among the 3D games and I like the storyline most. It’s very fairytale like but weird too. I like how alive the world feels with every character and location having some story behind them. It’s a very detailed game with so much creativity put into it.

It feels unfair to compare the 3D and 2D directly though, so I have to give a shout-out to Link to the Past (another basic answer I suppose…). For similar reasons I guess. It’s a very traditional Zelda and the storyline is cool with the Virgin sacrifices and stuff. The 3DS sequel is really nice too but I don’t like the storyline as much. It’s less creepy.

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[Vert]

I'm gonna be a normie here and say BotW. I like Zelda games with engaging worlds that are fun to explore and BotW definitely delivers in that regard, I put like 200 hours into that game. It's definitely flawed but I can get lost in it for ages.

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[GeneralGuy]

3D Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2D Zelda: Oracle of Ages & Seasons

Ocarina of Time is amazing and probably my favorite Zelda game and one of my favorite games of all time. Not only was it my first Zelda game and one of my first video games ever, but it's also one of the best video games ever made and I was lucky to play it around it's release when I was like 8 years old. Exploring Kokiri Forest for the first time figuring out what to do was absolutely magical. The music is awesome and is one of my favorite video game OSTs ever. Every song in the game is fantastic and memorable. I like how many dungeons and mini-dungeons there are in OoT, and all of them are very well designed. I feel the same way about Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild as I do with Ocarina of Time and would put them right up alongside it, but I have to choose one, so. Breath of the Wild has the best overworld, physics and combat of any 3D Zelda and the map is also the biggest with the most things to do. Majora's Mask is also good with its unique mask-centric and 3-day time limit gameplay mechanics, and the sidequests are the best in the series.

I absolutely love the atmosphere and gameplay in Oracle of Ages and Seasons for the GameBoy Color. Changing seasons and time traveling are both really interesting gameplay mechanics that allow for elaborate overworld puzzles and make the lands of Holodrum and Labynna really fun and interesting to explore, respectively. Additionally, the dungeon design in these games are not only the best in all of 2D Zelda in my opinion, but are also arguably the most well designed dungeons in the entire series overall. The soundtrack is also mesmorizing. I definitely have a lot of nostalgia and memories from these games. I had to include both because each can be linked to the other for a complete game and exclusive content when you play one and then the other. Capcom absolutely hit it out of the ballpark with these. They also developed Minish Cap, which is also extremely good and has great gameplay, dungeon design and music. Minish Cap also has some of the best graphics for a GameBoy Advance game.

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[VinnyVideo]

Part of what makes the Zelda series special is that there's no such thing as a bad Zelda game - every Zelda game is fun to play and has something unique to offer. So it's hard for me to pick a favorite. I might pick ALttP, Link's Awakening, OoT, Wind Waker, or TP depending on my mood.

@Evil Yoshi Toes Ocarina is good stuff indeed! It's quite literally a fairy tale, considering the role fairies play in the plot and gameplay. You mentioned all the detail put into the game. One of my favorite things about OoT are all the fun little Easter eggs - changing the pitch of the Ocarina, seeing the portraits of Mario characters in the courtyard, or watching different characters react to masks you're wearing.

MM weaves an intricate web of character dynamics - each character has their own daily routine and relationships with other characters. I prefer OoT's gameplay, but MM is a masterpiece in its own way. You really ought to check it out!

I like ALttP a lot too - it builds on the first Zelda game but makes everything bigger and better, laying a foundation for other future Zelda games. The Light World-Dark World duality is really cool too.

@Vert I really need to play BotW! It's at the top of the list of games I'd play if I got a Switch. I usually enjoy exploration-heavy games, and my understanding is BotW puts a huge emphasis on exploration.

@GeneralGuy OoT's soundtrack is undoubtedly one of the Greatest Of All Time! And yeah, Kokiri Forest is one of the best video game training areas there's been - it organically introduces some highly innovative gameplay mechanics and gives you a vibrant and non-threatening environment to practice them in. It's a lot more fun than "hey, take this long-winded unskippable tutorial" - especially if you've played the game before. The big variety of dungeons is a plus too.

Course clear! You got a card.

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[Q-Nova]

I voted for the first game; the only Zelda games I've played are the NES ones. The first one is pretty fun, I like how you explore this huge map and try to find the dungeons and stuff. I also kinda like the atmosphere and music. I think the furthest I've gotten was maybe 4 or 5 dungeons beaten, and that was many years ago. It's been a long time since I played the second one, but from what I remember, it's very hard. I don't know if I really knew what I was supposed to do in there; perhaps I should check the manual! I remember playing a Commander Keen mod based on Zelda II; it's pretty interesting. It used the same graphics. I might have to come back to that someday!

Quillax Ship - Where you can download all of my cool, keen mods and super-marvelous fangames!

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