Wind Waker was the only 3D Zelda before BotW to capture that sense of whimsical adventure for me. Sailing the sea and charting islands was so fun. It was my favorite Zelda before BotW for that reason. I played them all for the first time around the same time in 2013.
Even Skyward Sword on Wii was considered a masterpiece by the gaming press on release, it's got something like a 93 on metacritic.
I'd agree with this. Wind Waker's sailing and charting the sea brought a sense of adventure that worked for me, whereas the boat and train and flight in PH/ST/SS felt way less interesting in comparison. I think it's because the ocean in WW felt more dangerous, sailing at night with these huge crashing waves, whereas overworld travel in the others has none of that and feels very small and safe in comparison.
The disconnect between what critics were saying and what everyone else was saying was apparent even at the time. Skyward Sword's faults weren't to do with the game aging.
Hah, fair enough- to be fair I played It at launch too and remember also feeling the reviews completely failed to touch on the major complaints I had with it.
Actually I've changed my mind, because to be fair it could still be that those complaints have become more pronounced in time. Like these days people are more concerned with tight controls than ever, and…well yeah Skyward Sword.
Part of me wants to try it again with the new portable controls using the right stick for the sword just to see if they work for me, even though I'd always just prefer a bloody button press. Really I know it's not a Zelda I really want to play through again at full price regardless. It's a game so packed full of bloat, the repeated bosses, the fetch quests, escort quests, tadtones. They've got an awesome, soaring main theme and even managed to make flight boring, rendering the two main thematic elements, the sword and the sky, somehow the things I remember as being amongst the worst parts of it.
Ah that's a shame, sorry it didn't work out for you, but thanks for letting me know so I can avoid the same fate!
They aren't, because Souls has never nailed the puzzle aspect. Sometimes they dip a toe in (like with Sunken Crown) but never committed to actually doing stuff other than combat and traps.
Is it seriously a controversial opinion around here to say that all Zelda games are at least pretty good?
All of the best parts of BotW are the more linear segments that play like a traditional OoT Zelda game. Great Plateau is the best area and also the only one where you collect new abilities in "dungeons" to progress.
That's the thing about the series. Major releases are spaced apart and each one is HIGHLY anticipated. Everyone knows the highest highs the series can reach and fans expect the moon from a new Zelda release. So even if it a game is technically really solid like TP or SS, it can feel extremely disappointing due to very high expectations and long waits between releases. So the games can definitely be pretty good, but people anticipate excellence. And when a game exceeds excellence (BOTW), we end up discussing the game for like five years straight haha
Huh, tbh I didn't even realize the game had many linear parts. I've been telling myself to give it one last shot, this time with the pro controller, for a couple years now. I wanted to wait until the sequel was closer to release.
ALBW is incredible and one of my favorites, but I think it's better if we have more open Zelda games like BOTW and more tight foused games like ALBW, it keeps it more fresh and less chance to make people tired of the formula like it did before I think. I just hope we don't have to wait for much longer to get more Zelda games like ALBW lol
The best games ever made have come from creative people being given an opportunity to be creative. It's not that people want the series to "change" but rather keep the experiences fresh by experimenting with and embracing new ideas. TP and SS are usually dragged through the mud a bit because it's just more of the same from a series that's been bringing fresh ideas built upon a familiar blueprint throughout its life.
Linear, great segments of the game:
The Zelda series, outside of TP and SS, has always tried new things out while keeping the game itself familiar. It started to get to a point of staleness where it's like "oh ok it's just dungeons now AND they think I'm an idiot that needs to be walked through everything". Even with BOTW 2 as a sequel, there's no telling what changes they'll make or what it will look like in the end that's part of the excitement for the series.
