The Legend of Zelda

[Heksagon]

I'm not that familiar with RPGs, but Earthbound is the SNES RPG that wasn't well know at the time, but is definitely worth trying.

[Sabin]

SLIGHTLY OFF TOPIC:

Something I found very frustrating was how quickly the era of SNES came to an end. In retrospect, the system's heyday arrived at close to the end of the 16 bit era. Very soon after, 32 bit systems starting showing up in marketplace so I understand Nintendo joining in rather than missing out (Genesis had about two years on the SNES). But in their last two years of marketplace dominance ('94 and '95), the Super Nintendo released Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Yoshi's Island, Chrono Trigger, Killer Instinct, Mega Man X1 and 2, Final Fantasy III (Int'l IV), Super Metroid, Super Punch Out, and the list could really go on. These weren't just extraordinary games, they legitimized the continued existence of the SNES in a burgeoning 32 bit era. Considering how popular retro-gaming has been for the last ten years, it's hard to imagine they couldn't have continued to at least port over Japanese RPGs onto the SNES to maintain their fanbase (I just quit gaming for a while). In fact, you could make the argument the best two years in the system were 1994 and 1995. By 1996, the N64 was released and the SNES was effectively dead.

Well, now that I have access to a big screen, I'm interested in checking those games out that I never got a chance to play. Right now my list includes Terranigma, Seiken Densetsu 3, and Tales of Phantasia to start. I've never played Secret of Mana so I'm wondering if I should cross that off the list for good measure first. Any others?

[Heksagon]

I never had an N64, but some time ago I decided to play through at least the N64 Zeldas (Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask) on an emulator to see what all the talk is about.

It was an interesting experience, and the games were a lot more ambitious and innovative than I expected, but I have to admit the clunky controls frustrated me a lot. They weren't nearly as fluid as in 2D platformers of that era, or in modern 3D games.

[OscarGuy]

Ocarina of Time for the N64 easily. After that, Twilight Princess (I played on the Wii, but it was also on the game cube). And while I was generally irritated with The Wind Waker on GameCube, it has one of my favorite reveals at/near the end.

[Sabin]

I'm astonished I've never posted here but I'm glad I didn't. I need all of you Zelda aficionado's help.

Growing up, I had a NES and played the original Zelda and Zelda 2. I had a Gameboy and played Link's Awakening. Then I got the Super NES and played A Link to the Past, which remains one of my three all-time favorite games. When Nintendo launched the N64, I remember thinking "It's probably time to take a break and talk to girls or something." So, I missed out on all the Zelda games since. I'm thinking of getting an Emulator to play some of them. Without getting too much into it, I've done a really bad job of prioritizing fun in my life for the last ten years.

What's everybody's favorite Zelda games post SNES?

[Heksagon]

I know I am in the minority here but I confess that I am a fan of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which was one of the first games I had on the NES.

Oh, hello. I'm a huge admirer of this game. I played it a lot as a kid, but I could never finish it back then. I got lost in the final area and could never find the final boss.

I haven't played any of the newer Zeldas, but a few years ago I did go back to Zelda II and finally finished it.

[OscarGuy]

I was frustrated with it. I have been a fan since A Link to the Past, which was my first experience. Breath of the Wild was such a different animal and considering how often you needed to have extra items to defeat bosses, the open-world style make it very difficult to keep focus on the main storyline. Then again, I have other friends who are Zelda fans and they loved it.

[HarryGoldfarb]

I know I am in the minority here but I confess that I am a fan of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which was one of the first games I had on the NES.

Just to play Breath of the Wild I've been tempted to pick up a Switch. I don't know if it's worth it, but any comments will be appreciated.

[Zahveed]

It will be refreshing to have a most probably fun game in the midst of the trash that has been released as of late.

The quality of the video game market, like nearly every other entertainment medium, can't really be gauged until years later when one reminisces about those good ole' days. Besides, video games have a very niche fanbase. The criteria for what makes a good game in a specific genre on a specific platform will differ wildly.

[jit_kaizen_guy]

Any other fans out there?

I am very much willing to admit that I am a huge fan of Zelda and Final Fantasy. I think Skyward Sword will be good in comparison to the games being put out right now. It will be refreshing to have a most probably fun game in the midst of the trash that has been released as of late.

[MovieWes]

There's a trailer out for Skyward Sword and it looks okay. Not as epic as the last game, but alright. It looks like they crossed the realism of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess with the cartoony cell shaded look of The Wind Waker.

[OscarGuy]

I don't know. They haven't revealed much about it yet. I'm cautiously optimistic as always.

[HarryGoldfarb]

I was a devoted player of A Link to the Past (which I never could finish) and Ocarina of Time (the best experience I've had with a console game. I played it and finished it several times). Haven't seriously played TP (just a few minutes at my nephew's house) but what are the expectatives on Skyward Sword?

[OscarGuy]

The Link in TP is an adult Link, much like the one played in Ocarina of Time. Since then and before then, all of the Links we have come to know have predominantly been very young and starting out life as an adventurer. I don't know if that's what people are talking about or not, but the adult Link is one that many of us who played Ocarina of Time and enjoyed it have been looking forward to for a very long time.

[MovieWes]

Aww.. that's too bad, but I understand what you mean. I've got a problem playing most console first-person-shooters. The only shooters that haven't given me too much trouble have been Goldeneye: 007 and Halo. Oddly, though, I've never had any trouble with PC shooters. But I can totally identify with you.

Too bad, though, since the PoP series is amazing.

By the way, is it true that the Link in Twilight Princess is a different Link than in the rest of the Zelda series? I heard somewhere that he is, but I can't remember where.