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The Best 3D Zelda game is...
- Thread starter Tom Nook Says...
- Start date
Breath >>>>>>> Everything
It revolutionized the series, and is one of the best games ever made.
It revolutionized the series, and is one of the best games ever made.
Oot. I love breath of the wild but it has a lot of issues oot didnt and also lacked a lot of elements of what makes zelda a zelda game. The only one I'm not overly fond of is twilight princess, mostly because I've never managed a replay due to the unbearable tutorial section slog.
Oot
Botw
Wind Walker
Majoras
Twilight
(Never played skyward sword).
Oot
Botw
Wind Walker
Majoras
Twilight
(Never played skyward sword).
Having just replayed OoT/MM/WW/TP I can easily rank them for my personal preferences.
MM is still my favorite 3D Zelda game, and I don't know if anything will ever touch it now that the series has veered down a path I'd rather it hadn't.
Wind Waker is a close second, but the sailing as cool of a mechanic as it is doesn't enhance the game nearly as much as the time mechanic does in MM.
So my current rankings would be MM > WW > OoT > TP
I'll get to Skyward Sword when I can play it with a standard controller in Dolphin (just added WM+ emulation, can't be that far away now).
MM is still my favorite 3D Zelda game, and I don't know if anything will ever touch it now that the series has veered down a path I'd rather it hadn't.
Wind Waker is a close second, but the sailing as cool of a mechanic as it is doesn't enhance the game nearly as much as the time mechanic does in MM.
So my current rankings would be MM > WW > OoT > TP
I'll get to Skyward Sword when I can play it with a standard controller in Dolphin (just added WM+ emulation, can't be that far away now).
While not my favorite zelda, I entirely agree with this sentiment. I dont remember the last time a game has felt that magical to me.
I picked BotW, but I could just as easily have picked OoT. Both are fantastic but they are different enough to where it's hard to directly compare them. After being somewhat jaded and unsatisfied with the last few Zeldas (TP, SS, the DS games), BotW was exactly what I needed to reinvigorate me and make me crave playing the game each night like I did when I was younger. Haven't loved a game that much in a long time.
1, TP - Brilliant atmosphere and dungeons. I have never played a game with such amazing atmosphere.
2, BoTW - It's like playing in a beautiful nature documentary with amazing puzzles throughout.
3, MM - The 3 days cycle and the multiple side-quests are ingenious.This is the "cleverest" Zelda game. It also has the best story and characters and haunting atmosphere. but the downside is that it's not in Hyrule.
4, SS - I love the motion controls and dungeons (especially the last one), otherwise this would be lower. Waaay too repetitive, pointless fetch games (dam those tadtones!!) and infuriating repeating cut-scenes when you fail and retry a task.
5, OoT - Best soundtrack in any game ever by far. Dungeons are not great and you spend too much time in them instead of the very pretty overworld.
6, WW - Too easy and weak dungeons. Sparse overworld. However this game is a great walking simulator for little kids.
I am hoping BoTW 2 takes the best of BoTW and TP.
2, BoTW - It's like playing in a beautiful nature documentary with amazing puzzles throughout.
3, MM - The 3 days cycle and the multiple side-quests are ingenious.This is the "cleverest" Zelda game. It also has the best story and characters and haunting atmosphere. but the downside is that it's not in Hyrule.
4, SS - I love the motion controls and dungeons (especially the last one), otherwise this would be lower. Waaay too repetitive, pointless fetch games (dam those tadtones!!) and infuriating repeating cut-scenes when you fail and retry a task.
5, OoT - Best soundtrack in any game ever by far. Dungeons are not great and you spend too much time in them instead of the very pretty overworld.
6, WW - Too easy and weak dungeons. Sparse overworld. However this game is a great walking simulator for little kids.
I am hoping BoTW 2 takes the best of BoTW and TP.
Wind Waker is criminally low in this poll. It's funny, the sense of wonder and exploration that people talk about in BotW is exactly what I remember feeling in WW. Roaming the seas, searching for treasure, finding remote islands. That experience has never been topped in a Zelda game imo.
It's interesting that the general popularity of each successive game after OoT declines sharply until a big spike with BotW.
Yup. It's a nice trial run at making an open world that feels like Zelda, now in the sequel they need to put an actual Zelda game in it.
Ocarina remains the king, but BotW 2 has a real shot.
OP
OP
Even though I personally love TP, I think its safe to say BotW saved the series from a slow, sad death.
OoT of course.
Best dungeons and puzzles
Best sense of story in the game
Best narrative.
Better use of weapons and gadgets
A believable sense of world state.
BoTW had a slightly better sense of wonder and exploration but fell well below the standards everywhere else. Very surprised by the poll.
Best dungeons and puzzles
Best sense of story in the game
Best narrative.
Better use of weapons and gadgets
A believable sense of world state.
BoTW had a slightly better sense of wonder and exploration but fell well below the standards everywhere else. Very surprised by the poll.
I still say it's OoT. BOTW comes in second for me - it is far and away superior to any other Zelda in terms of overworld that its really not even comparable. But OoT still has the best dungeons, story, weapons, bosses, and other elements that make Zelda great, and BOTW is one of the weaker Zeldas for many of those elements, particularly dungeons, bosses, and story.
The ocean is a big point in Wind Waker's favour when it comes to creating a feeling of freedom and adventure - of the recent games, it's second only to BotW in that regard and was surprisingly forward thinking. However, much like OoT, the ocean more or less exists as a piece of terrain to be traversed to get to more interesting places, holding very little of interest in and of itself. The fact that it's a body of water also limits its sandbox appeal in comparison to BotW as you can't just get out of your boat at any point and mess around.
TP has been given short shrift in this poll, as has Skyward Sword. Both deeply flawed games full of quality content, and I say this as someone who thinks Skyward Sword represented the antithesis of the direction I wanted Zelda games to go in. But it's interesting that the community's consensus so aligns with release order until the BotW outlier, obviously suggesting that the OoT formula was becoming increasingly stale for the majority. You can't discount the broad appeal of BotW, and an influx of new fans probably contributes significantly to the massive spike, but Nintendo were rewarded critically and commercially for rethinking the series' conventions so convincingly. The current Pokémon situation feels very familiar.
1. Wind Waker
2. Ocarina
3. Breath of the Wild
4. Majora's Mark (Probably-- never played it)
5. Skyward Sword (Probably-- never played it)
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6. Twilight Princess
2. Ocarina
3. Breath of the Wild
4. Majora's Mark (Probably-- never played it)
5. Skyward Sword (Probably-- never played it)
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6. Twilight Princess
This. How can you look at this and not feel that the series has lost a lot of character
in a bubble it'd be my favorite or way up there. but after almost two decades of other games that tackle "exploration" on a much bigger scale and a zelda game itself that has it's own spin on that modern formula, yeah it's going to fall through the cracks in retrospect
Well Galaxy came out when I was like 13 so I was still a kid. It was incredible, though.
I disagree with this sentiment and I hear it a lot.
Link to the past is considered a lot better than zelda 1 by most for a reason
Man, I wish. I'm the only person in this topic to hold this opinion—even everyone else who likes BotW appreciates it for being "different" and "shaking up tradition" or only acknowledging Zelda 1 as inspiration.
As an aside, ALttP is another game where you can reach nearly anywhere on the map from the start.
I feel like this is kind of dismissive.
We don't know how many people would have been more on board for a 90s/00s/early 2010s game that hewed closer to LoZ than LttP because that never happened.
BotW is by far the closest thing we've gotten to this and consensus couldn't be clearer.
As someone who got into the series with OoT and only discovered LttP and LoZ in the last 10 years, I actually totally agree that Zelda started out an open world game and the games between OoT and BotW were a departure from that.
A Link to the Past is the transitional Zelda game. Yes there are a multitude of dungeons, NPCs and some environmental item gating, but the feel of the game is still mostly European high fantasy inspired and reminiscent of a more polished and structured Zelda 1, with the NPC populated towns from Zelda 2. The Dungeons place more emphasis on combat with difficult enemies rather than truly devious puzzles. You can tackle certain dungeons in different orders. It has an unobtrusive, minimal plot when you're actually playing the game.
Link's Awakening is actually the real progenitor of the run of games up until Skyward Sword. Linear progression with dungeons that had to be tackled in a set order. A focus on puzzles over combat in dungeons. Quirkier NPCs. Fishing minigame. Trading quests. More active storytelling with the owl as a deliverer of exposition and guidance. A more Japanese/anime inspired flavour in general.
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I'd say many people who voted didn't play OoT.
Well, far from nearly IMO. Only a relatively small part is accessible at the beginning.
This might be the toughest poll question I've seen on this site.
BOTW is the most recent and technically the most superior - and with the best exploration - but it lacks on story and dungeon variety. Ocarina of Time seems like the logical choice given its historical importance and really, how good of a game it was. However... I felt Twilight Princess took all of its strengths and built on them to be a better game. Gameplay, story, mechanics, etc - it was better than OOT, but it wasn't as.. important?
Wind Waker was fine. Never played Majora's Mask or Skyward Sword.
BOTW is the most recent and technically the most superior - and with the best exploration - but it lacks on story and dungeon variety. Ocarina of Time seems like the logical choice given its historical importance and really, how good of a game it was. However... I felt Twilight Princess took all of its strengths and built on them to be a better game. Gameplay, story, mechanics, etc - it was better than OOT, but it wasn't as.. important?
Wind Waker was fine. Never played Majora's Mask or Skyward Sword.
I can't agree with this. There are a number flawed mechanics in TP that has been repeated ad nauseum in these topics. I will mention one that gets barely recognized: OoT gets a lot of shit for equipping the Iron Boots in the menu screen and yet TP gets a pass for sections where you walk slowly on magnetic rails to get from A to B. Later on, in Lakebed Temple, you may be inclined to repeat what the game taught you and use those same boots to get up the sloped waterfall but find out that's not the way to go about it. That's bad game design.
It's one of the things BotW did well by offering multiple ways to solve puzzles.
Then there is the incredibly slow start, the heavy handed tutorials, the poor pacing and the filler content such as the tears of light hunt. OoT is remarkably fat free in comparison.
Breath of the wild is not only the best 3d Zelda... It's also on of the best games ever made. Seriously it's that good.
man....i luv luv luv Ocarina & Wind Waker.
but against all odds. BOTW reignited that sense of wonder that videogames could give you when u were a kid. Something i didn't think a game could do anymore. Its not only the best Zelda. It might be the best game of all time
but against all odds. BOTW reignited that sense of wonder that videogames could give you when u were a kid. Something i didn't think a game could do anymore. Its not only the best Zelda. It might be the best game of all time
Lol no wonder. I played it when I was 33. That TP and BoTW made me feel like a kid.
The sound effects especially. Since Wind Waker, things like targeting, metal clangs, and door locks have sounded so weak.
How, in any way, shape, or form, are those dull clinks and taps an improvement over these?
http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/OOT/OOT_ZTarget_Enemy.wav
http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/OOT/OOT_Sword_Clang1.wav
http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/OOT/OOT_Door_Unlock.wav
(Cool site, BTW.)
I voted Breath of the Wild but Twilight Princess deserves better, dafuq?
That game still has the best dungeons in the series.
That game still has the best dungeons in the series.
People love to shit on it even though it had some of the best dungeons in the entire series along with some of the best dungeon items, epic boss fights, and that music. I personally would not put it in my top 5 but it's a damn fine game.
OP
OP
I agree. I understand why people have qualms with it, but most of those flaws actually added to the experience for me. I liked that it didn't rush you into a dungeon within an hour, I thought the art style complemented the tone beautifully, etc. I think for some people these things click, like myself, and for others it just feels disjointed or sloppy.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that the "Should I really be doing what Midna says?" aspect of your relationship with her makes progressing through the game more thrilling imo. When she insists on acquiring the fused shadows and is kinda coy about what will happen when she gets them there's this underlying "I hope she isn't actually the final boss" feeling as you play through that I thought was clever.
For me it's either WW or TP.
I can't stand BotW as I dislike forced cooking, crafting and weapon breaking mechanics. Also the feeling of an empty world (even if it makes sense lore-wise) for me isn't compatible with a Zelda game (the lack of a proper bgm is baffling), plus the lack of proper dungeons and the fact that it looks like a Ubisoft game (vast open world with lots of dots to complete). I simply got bored after some time...
As for MM I hate that time mechanic, period.
I can't stand BotW as I dislike forced cooking, crafting and weapon breaking mechanics. Also the feeling of an empty world (even if it makes sense lore-wise) for me isn't compatible with a Zelda game (the lack of a proper bgm is baffling), plus the lack of proper dungeons and the fact that it looks like a Ubisoft game (vast open world with lots of dots to complete). I simply got bored after some time...
As for MM I hate that time mechanic, period.
1. Windwaker
2. Breath of the Wild
3. Ocarina of Time
4. Skyward Sword
5. Twilight Princess
6. Majoras Mask
Windwaker is such a good game and I sort of understand the criticism it gets but everything it does right vastly outweighs the wrong and it's incredibly beautiful in its world, music, and storytelling. Breath of the Wild basically was a gaming renaissance for me and reminded me how wonderful it can be to lose yourself in such a game. Ocarina is one of the very few games of the era that still holds up because it's so well crafted. Skyward Sword is very underrated and I love the motion control integration. Twilight Princess is solid and has a cool atmosphere but doesn't stand out in comparison to the other games. I feel bad for rating Majoras Mask last but my gameplay experience was tainted by completing 2 halves about 10 years apart and being overly frustrated with the time mechanics, but shout out to having the most bonkers final boss out of most video games I've played.
2. Breath of the Wild
3. Ocarina of Time
4. Skyward Sword
5. Twilight Princess
6. Majoras Mask
Windwaker is such a good game and I sort of understand the criticism it gets but everything it does right vastly outweighs the wrong and it's incredibly beautiful in its world, music, and storytelling. Breath of the Wild basically was a gaming renaissance for me and reminded me how wonderful it can be to lose yourself in such a game. Ocarina is one of the very few games of the era that still holds up because it's so well crafted. Skyward Sword is very underrated and I love the motion control integration. Twilight Princess is solid and has a cool atmosphere but doesn't stand out in comparison to the other games. I feel bad for rating Majoras Mask last but my gameplay experience was tainted by completing 2 halves about 10 years apart and being overly frustrated with the time mechanics, but shout out to having the most bonkers final boss out of most video games I've played.
First the post you quoted, about 95% of all games don't even offer multiple game changing items that are used in ways to solve puzzles. Just cause you couldn't use the boots in another situation, one that had a different puzzle to solve is not bad game design. TP is a brilliantly designed game that has far far far far better level design than most anything in BOTW.
Yes TP starts slow, but outside the first few hours the pacing is probably the best in the series. They packed the main quest with pretty much everything, it's non stop new things to do. You aren't repeating stuff, even the tears of light hunt are unique and the last one has its own boss fight, which is better content than a lot of repetitive filler found all over BOTW. After each dungeon there is always some new mini game, setpiece, new location, new puzzle all sorts of things to do and it leads right to the next dungeon. I guess if you want a Zelda game with none of that extra stuff you may call that filler but to me it's fantastic game design, variety makes a game feel special. The main quest of TP is unmatched with the amount of content and how little repetition it has.
I like Twilight Princess a lot.
I played it the superior way when it came out, on the GameCube. The sheer amount of content and the way it changed up mechanics throughout the game reminded me of Resident Evil 4.
Doesn't negate the common criticisms levelled against it. These kinds of discussions lack nuance to be honest. Because you saw me list my very real complaints, you probably assumed I hate the game, when in fact I thoroughly enjoyed it when it came out. I wouldn't blame you for assuming that, message boards have conditioned us to assume people only think in extremes and "X is the worst game ever".
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Bumping this thread,because I wanted to discuss about my ranking of the 3D Zelda games and since this thread exists,why not continue from here
1) Ocarina of Time. Can't be topped to this day imo. It had all the elements that make a perfect Zelda game. A big adventure,a great world to explore,many dungeons,puzzles and bosses and the best music of the series imo.Best final boss too. This game can be remade every decade to match current graphics and still be flawless
2) Majora's Mask. The most mature Zelda game ever created. Not just because of its dark and creepy tone,which I loved(and I admit scared me a bit as a kid),but because it has some of the most complex Zelda dungeons ever created. It also has non linear quests that need tracking of what and when to do,you need to play back and forth with time to complete main or side objectives. Getting all masks was a great accomplishment,as well as getting all collectibles in the world. The most intelligent and challenging Zelda game to this date imo. Also Stone Tower Temple !!
3)Breath of the Wild. Best world design in a Zelda game period. In fact one of the greatest open world maps ever created. Every corner is handcrafted,it was a joy to explore every inch and discover shrines in the horizon or other landmarks . This game gave you true freedom and never held your hand as to what to do or where to go. The physics of the world were insane too. Breath of the Wild is unbeatable on that department. That being said,it had one or two negatives that prevent it from being the best Zelda game. One was the lack of traditional dungeons. The 4 "main" dungeons were interesting,but really short and had repetitive final bosses. Also some shrines were hit or miss. I wish they go with quality over quantity in the dungeon department in the sequel to Breath of the Wild. And second,the story was veeeeryy loose to the point that I didn't care at all in the end. Not that the previous Zelda games were story-centric,but this time they didn't even try the basics. If the sequel proves to be a mix between traditional Zelda and BotW,then we might be looking at the best Zelda game ever
4) Twilight Princess. Twilight princess was a rollercoaster in terms of quality. At its peak,it had the vibes of the perfect Zelda game. At its lows,it was a bloated mess where you just wished that you would get through the boring section fast enough to reach the next interesting game segment. It had really interesting dungeons,but they felt like they dropped them randomly into a big empty open world. The inbetween dungeons sections were filled with pointless insect hunting,backtracking and boring tasks. This increased the length of the game,but made the game padded and bloated. Also,it had the longest and most boring intro segment of a Zelda game ever. A really really rough gem,needed way more polishing,refinement and cutting some parts here and there to make the journey more consistent. Great music though and interesting story
5) Wind Waker. This is my least favourite 3D Zelda game. There are quite a few reasons for that. One is that it felt at times incomplete. Dungeons were missing or were rushed/small/uninteresting. The sailing part was adding unnecessary "downtime" in between sections. Many of the islands were uninteresting and there was quite a lot of repetition and backtracking. It had its Zelda moments,but they were few and far between imo. It's not a bad game,it's just a bad Zelda game.
I have to say that I've yet to play Skyward Sword though and from what I've read it was a divisive entry to the franchise.
1) Ocarina of Time. Can't be topped to this day imo. It had all the elements that make a perfect Zelda game. A big adventure,a great world to explore,many dungeons,puzzles and bosses and the best music of the series imo.Best final boss too. This game can be remade every decade to match current graphics and still be flawless
2) Majora's Mask. The most mature Zelda game ever created. Not just because of its dark and creepy tone,which I loved(and I admit scared me a bit as a kid),but because it has some of the most complex Zelda dungeons ever created. It also has non linear quests that need tracking of what and when to do,you need to play back and forth with time to complete main or side objectives. Getting all masks was a great accomplishment,as well as getting all collectibles in the world. The most intelligent and challenging Zelda game to this date imo. Also Stone Tower Temple !!
3)Breath of the Wild. Best world design in a Zelda game period. In fact one of the greatest open world maps ever created. Every corner is handcrafted,it was a joy to explore every inch and discover shrines in the horizon or other landmarks . This game gave you true freedom and never held your hand as to what to do or where to go. The physics of the world were insane too. Breath of the Wild is unbeatable on that department. That being said,it had one or two negatives that prevent it from being the best Zelda game. One was the lack of traditional dungeons. The 4 "main" dungeons were interesting,but really short and had repetitive final bosses. Also some shrines were hit or miss. I wish they go with quality over quantity in the dungeon department in the sequel to Breath of the Wild. And second,the story was veeeeryy loose to the point that I didn't care at all in the end. Not that the previous Zelda games were story-centric,but this time they didn't even try the basics. If the sequel proves to be a mix between traditional Zelda and BotW,then we might be looking at the best Zelda game ever
4) Twilight Princess. Twilight princess was a rollercoaster in terms of quality. At its peak,it had the vibes of the perfect Zelda game. At its lows,it was a bloated mess where you just wished that you would get through the boring section fast enough to reach the next interesting game segment. It had really interesting dungeons,but they felt like they dropped them randomly into a big empty open world. The inbetween dungeons sections were filled with pointless insect hunting,backtracking and boring tasks. This increased the length of the game,but made the game padded and bloated. Also,it had the longest and most boring intro segment of a Zelda game ever. A really really rough gem,needed way more polishing,refinement and cutting some parts here and there to make the journey more consistent. Great music though and interesting story
5) Wind Waker. This is my least favourite 3D Zelda game. There are quite a few reasons for that. One is that it felt at times incomplete. Dungeons were missing or were rushed/small/uninteresting. The sailing part was adding unnecessary "downtime" in between sections. Many of the islands were uninteresting and there was quite a lot of repetition and backtracking. It had its Zelda moments,but they were few and far between imo. It's not a bad game,it's just a bad Zelda game.
I have to say that I've yet to play Skyward Sword though and from what I've read it was a divisive entry to the franchise.