Maybe It’s Truly Becoming The “Legend” Of Zelda?
Put down your pitch forks everyone, I’m not here to fight but rather here to question. This isn’t exactly a post I was looking to forward to writing but it’s something that’s been bugging for me a while, the last couple of years in fact. The arrival of Ocarina of Time for the 3DS made me wonder if this series was just riding off past success and now Wind Waker HD seems to confirm that as a yes.
The Legend of Zelda will always be one of my most cherished memories, I still recall the days of when I played the original on the NES. Whilst many games at the time were some kind of simple 2D side-scroller, Zelda was the first time I felt like I was embanking on an adventure. It was so big that it wasn’t intended to be finished in a single sitting, instead Nintendo included a battery save option built into the cartridge itself which was capable of “saving” your progress without the need of silly passwords.
From the VERY beginning, literally THE FIRST SCREEN, you’re given the option to take one of three routes, four if you count the cave. It’s this kind of open ended design that won me over, the sense of discovery can be a very rewarding experience and nothing was more satisfying than finding a new item to help you on your quest. We as human beings seem to naturally love receiving new items (presents) and Zelda on NES knew that. Acquiring the bow in the original Zelda is still a better moment than having your parents gift you the actual NES for christmas.
After the success of Legend of Zelda, Nintendo got to work on a sequel that in some ways might as well be called a new game all together. That game was called Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and it ditched the top down view of the original for the most part as large portions of the game including battles would now take place from a side-scrolling view. It was also an extremely difficult game and I don’t know many gamers who can make the claim that they’ve “beat” Zelda II. That’s where the term “beat the game” came from, back then finishing a game was actually an achievement unlike the corridor adventures of today.
What Zelda II failed to do (in my opinion) was top the original much to the disappointment of many, it did however carve out it’s own unique space within the series. Whilst 2D Zelda games are now usually compared to A Link to the Past and always end up feeling like a lessor version of that game, Zelda II can at least rest easy knowing that it’s a unique entry in the series. It’s not a “bad” game per say but it had the balls to be different.
So I mentioned A Link to the Past and there’s really nothing more to be said about this game that hasn’t been already said countless times since it’s release. A Link to the Past brought the series back to it’s roots and made the original Zelda look like a dinosaur relic by comparison. It’s a perfect example of a sequel taking everything you liked about the first game and mixing it in with everything that you didn’t know you wanted. It looked better, sounded better, was more cleverly designed and constantly ranks amongst the greatest games ever made, rightly so I might add.
It’s not too far fetched to suggest that every 2D Zelda game that has followed A Link to the Past is a clone of it to a degree. Not since since Zelda II have we had a game challenge what a 2D Zelda should be all about which is a testament to A Link to the Past’s quality but also a bit disappointing. Games like Metroid Prime and Super Mario Galaxy took massive risks and went one to become some of the best entries in the series yet Zelda continues to play it safe.
In 1998 Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, a game that had a monumental impact on the industry. Like A Link to the Past before it, it’s also commonly referred to by many as the single greatest game ever created which is no small feat considering some of the classics we’ve seen over the years. Personally speaking I feel that Ocarina of Time is all around the best Zelda game, it just hits all the right notes for me with the exception of one annoying Water Temple.
It’s a grand adventure that fully encourages exploration and constantly rewards players with new items, it’s a magical world where the fate of Hyrule can be decided after you’ve gone fishing. Ocarina of Time makes me feel like a child all over again, where everything is massive in scope and you feel the need to interact with everything. Again like A Link to the Past, what’s there left to say about this one that hasn’t been said already?
Ocarine of Time is a game that did for 3D Zelda’s what A Link to the Past did for 2D Zelda’s but that ended up being a double edged sword in retrospective. The problem with achieving “perfection” so early on is that it dis-encourages change and the developers can’t help but continue to play it safe by sticking to what everyone likes. I like Twilight Princess as much as the next person but there’s no denying that game felt like a retread of Ocarina of Time at times and you need not look further than the dungeon order as an example.
Ocarina of Time dungeons (Adult Link) : Forest -> Fire -> Water ->Desert/Spirit
Twilight Princess dungeons: Forest -> Fire -> Water -> Desert
Initially Nintendo got off to a great start with 3D Zelda titles starting with Ocarina of Time. They followed it up with the extremely weird and dark, Majora’s Mask only to then go in the complete opposite direction with the cel shaded Wind Waker. Which ever one is your favourite isn’t particularly important here, it’s rather the fact that each game brought something new with it. It’s always interesting to speak to someone new and ask them what their favourite Zelda game because the answers are always just as varied as the games themselves. I wasn’t a massive Majora’s Mask fan the first time round but upon a second play through, I truly began to understand it’s genius and is now one of my favourites.
So what ultimately brings me to the whole point of this article would be the latest three Zelda games released. I’m talking about The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword, the only three Zelda games I never finished because I didn’t care for them all that much. Believe me, I honestly never expected to stop playing a Zelda game out of sheer boredom and yet, I have, THREE TIMES IN A ROW! WTF!
The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS and brought with it touch screen controls. Rather than make light use of the touch screen for puzzle opportunities, Phantom Hourglass chose to have you play the entire game by using a stylus to navigate Link. I didn’t really care for this “forced attempt at innovation” and found myself longing for regular button controls or at the very least, an option between the two play styles. I know that I implied I wanted change but just don’t break what wasn’t broken in the first place in a weak effort to be “different”.
Also working against Phantom Hourglass was the Phantom Hourglass itself which proves to be an annoyance more than anything else. What better way to pad out your game than to have a timer count down as you work your way through dungeons, add in the imprecise controls and you have an annoying frustrating game. Unlike Majora’s Mask’s three day system which influenced the entire game design and the world of Termina, the Phantom Hourglass simply felt like the designers felt like adding in a timer.
2009′s Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks wasn’t much better and suffered from many of the problems Phantom Hourglass had. It also didn’t help that the series went from Ocarina’s, mask transformations and wolves to… train tracks. Seriously Nintendo? This is the best that the team could come up with? Never judge a book by it’s cover of course but at this point I was wondering if Nintendo were even trying any more.
I would never call the two DS Zelda games “awful” games by any means, they’re enjoyable titles but overly gimmicky, lacking in depth and complete devoid of any interesting characters or memorable moments. It really felt like something the Zelda team just churned out because we’ve come to expect a new Zelda game or two with every new Nintendo platform. Oddly enough the multi-player spin-off Four Swords Adventure and the Capcom developed Minish Cap were far more enjoyable experiences, if a little underrated.
Finally we have The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword for the Nintendo Wii, a game that arrived way too late into the Wii’s life cycle and when it did, it did so to a very “meh” reaction. Never the less I went into the game optimistic despite a cringe worthy E3 showing if only because it was a Zelda game after all and it was then that it finally hit me. I wasn’t playing Skyward Sword because I liked what I saw or what I had played up until then, I was only playing it because it said Zelda on the box.
For Skyward Sword I put seven hours of my time into that game and at no point did I ever feel any sense of being entertained. Once again Nintendo’s obsession with gimmicky controls got in the way of the experience, aiming a bow is great with a Wii remote is great but sword swinging isn’t nearly as much fun as you would think and the recent Wind Waker HD served as a reminder that I really don’t miss motion controls other than for aiming purposes.
The seven hours I put into Skyward Sword were the same amount of time it took me to finish God of War III, I’m not drawing direct comparisons here but how many hours am I supposed to give Skyward Sword before it decides to do something vaguely interesting? My only memories of Skyward Sword was a boring bird race which took two hours to reach and a disappointing boss battle with some guy who likes to stick his tongue out. The game’s “main feature” seems to be circling around enemies whilst you point the Wii upwards for a second or two so Link can perform the “Skyward sword attack”, hmm, maybe the train theme of Spirit Tracks wasn’t so stupid after all.
Not too long ago Nintendo released Ocarina of Time 3D for the Nintendo 3DS and only just recently also released Wind Waker HD for the Wii U. Playing these two games reminded me of why I fell in love with the series in the first place and a large part of that has to do with no stupid gimmicks getting in the way of the experience. Rather than feel pressured to make use of whatever new feature the systems offered, the games only made use of them when it made sense. The simple addition of having a separate touch screen on 3DS and Wii U to manage your inventory is simple yet effective, aiming with the gyroscope is actually an improvement over aiming with slow ass analogue sticks.
I can’t help but feel Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword all fell into the gimmicks trap. With that said however, we seem to have reached a point where the Zelda games seem to get a free pass just because of the name printed on the case. When was the last time you truly enjoyed a Zelda game and raved about it to your friends? Not because of whatever the meta-critic score was to fuel fanboy war but rather because in your heart you were genuinely excited about the game and want to share that enthusiasm with someone else?
In the case of Skyward Sword, the game felt dated and stuck in the Nintendo 64 era in terms of design. Mechanically it’s not much better with robotic animations and stiff movement. It’s hard to imagine that a game like Super Mario Galaxy came out early in the Wii’s life cycle and something like Skyward Sword came right at the end, the difference in quality between the two is shocking. Whilst Zelda was going head to head with Mario during the Nintendo 64 days and even 1UP’ing (excuse the pun) him during the GameCube era, at the moment Mario is owning the hell out of the Zelda series.
On it’s way soon is The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo 3DS which already looks a lot better than the DS Zelda titles. Silly touch controls are out and you’d think I’d be excited but it’s actually a game I’m not even really sure if I want on day one. The ability to travel along walls by turning Link into a drawing is pretty neat and I can imagine some cool potential puzzle opportunities with this mechanic but it’s all just A Link to the Past again right?
Ever since the release of the original Legend of Zelda for NES we the gaming community have always been huge fans of the series. Whenever someone asks what the biggest intellectual properties in our industry are, rest assured Zelda is amongst the first names mentioned. It’s almost like we feel compelled to respect this once legendary series but have Nintendo really given Zelda fans anything to shout about in recent years?
I’m not here to question whether these newest wave of Zelda games are any good, they are and I’d rather be playing them than the latest sub HD brown shooters but perhaps it’s time we re-evaluate whether a Zelda game is worthy of the hype that’s normally attached to it. How in the world did we go from Ocarina of Time being one of my favourite titles ever to me only having a casual interest in Skyward Sword or even A Link Between Worlds?
It’s not easy maintaining a series for over 25 years and it’s quite incredible that we’ve made it this far. It would be easy to assume that my interest in the series would naturally fade away as the years pass but I’m just as excited for Super Mario 3D World as I have been any Mario game in the past. If the fat plumber can do it time and time again, why can’t the boy in green?
Here’s hoping that Zelda Wii U will bring back the series to it’s former legendary status.
So those are my thoughts on the series, what do you think? Do you agree or “I am error“?
