Aonuma Talks Zelda's Past, Nintendo DS Zelda Plans

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Aonuma Talks Zelda's Past, Nintendo DS Zelda Plans

Posted by simoniker on Monday June 7, 2004 @08:01AM from the robin-williams dept.

Thanks to GameSpy for its interview with Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma on the Zelda franchise, as the EAD deputy manager reveals he wasn't a fan of early Zelda efforts ("I could not stand the original Zelda. When I first played it, I did not know what I was doing. I was overwhelmed by enemies and I got killed right away"), questions the infamous CD-I Zelda titles ("I must admit, they were a strange characterization of the Zelda games"), and mentions future franchise plans, including a previously unconfirmed Nintendo DS Zelda title: "We have a Game Boy Advance Zelda [Minish Cap], a DS Zelda, and this [realistic] GameCube one."

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Not good by ArmenTanzarian · 2004-06-07 08:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one. There's a lot of love for the old characters who're still around and fans expect at least some level of character integrity over the years; beating the first game should be part of the application process to touch any future Zelda game.
1. Re:Not good by Blakey+Rat · 2004-06-07 08:24 · Score: 1
  
  Well, I guess you just didn't get your job application in on time then, huh?
  
  Personally, I didn't like the first Zelda either and I haven't finished it. I much prefer Zelda II for NES and the SNES version.
  
  --
  Comment of the year
2. Re:Not good by Grey+Ninja · 2004-06-07 08:25 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Ordinarilly, I would agree with you. But I very much enjoyed Wind Waker. I think that the man successfully encaptured the SPIRIT of the original game while improving the quality of the franchise greatly.
  
  I would still very much like to know who the director of the new GameCube Zelda is though.
3. Re:Not good by fireduck · 2004-06-07 08:30 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  seeing as how he was the director for Majora's Mask and was a designer for Ocarina of Time; and was chosen specifically by Miyamoto for these jobs, i don't think there's much to fear.
  
  but that's an interesting point to raise. i wonder how many of the developers working on any of the 3D castle wolfenstein games were required to many through the old top down version? or whether the Duke Nuke'em team had to play the side scroller? Fact is, games and technology evolve and adhering to the original is not always good or possible (did any of the 3D wolfensteins ever involve stealing guard uniforms to travel incognito?)
4. Re:Not good by NanoGator · 2004-06-07 08:41 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  "He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one."
  
  That's a bit of an overreaction if you ask me. His complaints are more or less legitimate. That game doesn't really have the sense of style that the SNES game he did like had. The sense of direction in that game, at least from initial viewing, is virtually non-existent. Remember the SNES game whose title escapes me at the moment? It immediately immerses you into a story.
  
  Anyhoo, I don't want to spend too long going over that. There's a difference between saying "I didn't like it" and "I hated every single thing about it." He didn't say the latter, but his comment is being interpreted that way.
  
  --
  "Derp de derp."
5. Re:Not good by ArmenTanzarian · 2004-06-07 08:43 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Not adhering to the old technology, but at least realizing the core elements that made people love the games in the first place. People didn't play Zelda for the whiz-bang graphics, it was the puzzles and the plot (which was more of a plot framework until later games).
6. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 08:44 · Score: 0
  
  did any of the 3D wolfensteins ever involve stealing guard uniforms to travel incognito?
  
  Bah. Real men battled through Wolfenstein with only the knife, and avoided food like the plague. Gatling gun? You kids like to make everything easy...
7. Re:Not good by Ondo · 2004-06-07 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  The sense of direction in that game, at least from initial viewing, is virtually non-existent.
  
  The instructions gave a little bit of direction at the start - they told you how to get to the first dungeon, and showed you where the second was (but not the path to it). This made the lack of any instructions in the GameCube compilation a serious flaw.
8. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 08:59 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Your point is well conceived. I'd like to make a question out of it for everybody.
  
  Would you rather have new Zelda games be similar to the numerous Zelda games that Aonuma either enjoyed playing and/or had an actual hand in making, or would you rather have new Zeldas follow in the style of the one Zelda game that Aonuma has stated that he didn't like?
  
  The only people with valid concerns regarding the Zelda franchise being in Aonuma's hands are, then, the ones that thought that Zelda took a wrong turn somewhere before the third game. That hardly makes them the kind of Zelda fans who would buy a new Zelda game then, no?
9. Re:Not good by kannibal_klown · 2004-06-07 09:04 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Remember the SNES game whose title escapes me at the moment?
  
  How could I forget, it's my absolute favorite game. I still try to play it from beginning to end once a year.
  
  It was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
10. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 09:12 · Score: 0
  
  But I very much enjoyed Wind Waker. I think that the man successfully encaptured the SPIRIT of the original game while improving the quality of the franchise greatly.
  
  werd!
11. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 09:17 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The Zelda games that Aonuma has worked on carry on the legacy of Zelda III: LTTP quite faithfully.
  
  I liked the first two Zelda games very much. But it wasn't until the third that I felt that the series had become a substantial force in the gaming world. And knowing that now, it's not difficult to see how one could dislike the first game but adore the third (similarities notwithstanding).
  
  As for the concern about Aonuma's disdain for jumping games, I'll put forward the controversial notion that one of the things that makes the 3D Zeldas so great as realistic adventure games is the lack of a distinct jump operation. While jump puzzles do exist in these Zeldas, they aren't platformers, and the lack of distinct, platformer-style, user-controlled jumping helps solidify that fact. I doubt the Zelda series will suffer any more under Aonuma than it already has (which is to say, not much, if at all).
12. Re:Not good by Captain+Rotundo · 2004-06-07 09:27 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  I don't have concerns, but I personally think that the first Zelda is the best one. LTTP is close, and Link's Awakening was almost as good as that. But the 3D ones (OOT, MM, WW) just haven't caught the complete nature that the overhead ones had. and I am not an old gamer complaining about progress I don't think its the interface or the dungeons, I think its the weak story.
  
  THe first one was pure game, and the second had some minor story to it... for some reason I think the story to WW feels like an annoyance (the game would be better if it just left out all the ridiculous story that isn't important to play anyway)... OOT is actually good, I guess my complaint is that It didn't evoke that same awe that LTTP did for me what it came out.
  
  I think its possible to have a situation like the original with just gameplay and no silly cutscenes and still have a good game. And while only a minor annoyance the silly stuff they bable about in WW doesn't and anything... I pay attention enought to figure out where to go, and then go play (haven't finished yet :)
13. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 09:31 · Score: 0
  
  (did any of the 3D wolfensteins ever involve stealing guard uniforms to travel incognito?)
  
  You can do this in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.
14. Re:Not good by Daetrin · 2004-06-07 13:07 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Obviously tastes differ. I thought the original Zelda was great, as was LttP. Zelda 2 was a little strange, but not too bad.
  However i really wasn't that impressed with Ocarina of Time. I got maybe halfway through before quiting in boredom. I wasn't interested in playing Celda, but unlike most people who complain about the game i had no issue with the graphics, but instead was put off by gameplay that seemed similar to OoT and MM.
  
  --
  This Space Intentionally Left Blank
15. Re:Not good by metroid+composite · 2004-06-07 14:01 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  There's a lot of love for the old characters who're still around and fans expect at least some level of character integrity over the years; beating the first game should be part of the application process to touch any future Zelda game.
  Yep, such exciting characterization and dialogue as...
  Master using it, and you can have THIS.
  It's a secret to everybody.
  Dodongo dislikes smoke.
  Buy something will you?
  I haven't played Super Mario Sunshine, but I'm willing to bet it never once uses the line "We're sorry Mario, but our Princess is in another castle" and that line has far more popularity.
  Legend of Zelda was about the innovative gameplay, positively massive world, and being the first NES game to have a save file, NOT the characters and plot. Link's an elf-like character with a sword (just like the rest). Gannon is a loser blobby pig with no lines. Zelda is a Pauline ripoff. Nobody else is really worth mentioning.
16. Re:Not good by Guppy06 · 2004-06-07 15:33 · Score: 2, Insightful
  " He couldn't play/didn't appreciate the original Zelda? IMO he shouldn't be allowed within the same building as a team that's working on a new one."
  
  OK, we have somebody here who:
  
  Thinks drastically different from everybody else about something and
  
  Isn't afraid to voice his opinion
  
  And you want him gone? Hell, those two reasons are probably why he's has high in Nintendo as he is, which is as it should be!
17. Re:Not good by Echnin · 2004-06-07 20:49 · Score: 1
  
  Zelda IV, the GB game, Link's Awakening I think it was called, had user-controlled jumping. You equipped a feather and used it to jump two squares. Not an important point at all, but I thought I'd point it out just to nitpick.
  
  --
  Lalala
18. Re:Not good by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 22:22 · Score: 0
  
  I'd like to point out that I was strictly talking about the 3D Zeldas (I do specify this). They are completely different gaming experiences than their overhead and side-scrolling predecessors and contemporaries.
  
  Link's Awakening introduced the Roc's feather (was that it?), but really, it didn't turn Zelda into Mario, except in the side-scrolling dungeon screens. It just made an otherwise good Zelda feel mediocre. I have the DX version of the game, and unlike every other Zelda I own, I've never returned to it after playing through it once. The acorn and power music drove me nuts too, expecially since it lasted for so long.
19. Re:Not good by LeoDV · 2004-06-07 23:32 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Exactly!
  
  "When I first played it, I did not know what I was doing. I was overwhelmed by enemies and I got killed right away. (...) When I played A Link to the Past on the Super Famicom, I really enjoyed that game. I thought it was great."
  
  I had the exact opposite reaction. I remember, the freedom of the NES game was incredible (and a first, mind you). I learned later that Miyamoto tried to recreate the feeling he had as a kid wandering through the forest, which he imagined full of fantasy creatures, without directions or points of reference, and he was dead on. This was exactly what I felt like as a kid playing that game!
  
  So when I bought Link to the Past I was expecting more (better) of the same. If you've ever played that game you still remember how it opens. The story of the Triforce, and princess Zelda talking to you in your dreams via telepathy. I was positively in awe. Then when I could play, I left the house under the rain and started going every which way. And you remember, at the start of the game every road except the road to the castle is blocked by indestructible soldiers in armor (after you save the princess they vanish, never to return). What the fuck? was my only thought (yes, I was a naughty boy). I almost cried (insert nerd joke here).
  
  Don't get me wrong, after I got over my surprise and indignation I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic game, but this Action/RPG type game wasn't the Zelda I knew and loved. It gave up the freedom which made the original unique for guided gameplay and a good story (part of the charm of the original is you only discovered who you were and what you were doing at the end).
  
  I don't care about realistic vs. cel shaded Zelda (actually I do but that's an other point for an other time), what I want is a Zelda game with the same idea as the original, and with all of the improvements a modern console can give. In the original you woke up in the middle of the map, amnesiac, and you had to figure out who you were, where you were, and what you had to do all by yourself. I don't care about that The One-reincarnation crap we were fed during Wind Waker (which was a fantastic game, but you could've just called it The Wind Waker, 'The Legend of Zelda :' was superfluous).
  
  Imagine how cool it would be if a game opened just like that, with your character in the middle of this huge, beautiful, enthralling 3D world, with all of the explanations left for you to figure out! But nobody, and especially not Aonuma-san, has got the balls to try that.
20. Re:Not good by KDR_11k · 2004-06-08 01:21 · Score: 1
  
  It's not really clear from your post, did you play Wind Waker? If not, give it a try. I hate OOT for its controls and awful dungeon design, but I loved Wind Waker.
  
  --
  Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by Iscariot_ · 2004-06-07 08:22 · Score: 4, Insightful

I'm not flaming or trolling here, I love each and every game in the Zelda series. But is anyone else a little spooked by this interview?

This guy is taking a big, big role on all future Zelda projects, and he's spooked by games that require jumping?!? Thought Zelda 1 was too hard?! Somehow I think Miyamoto's final touches to the last few Zelda games have been much more significant than Aonuma cares to admit...

It's also weird to see how much budget has played a role in the Zelda storylines and gameplay. Then again, I suppose that innovating within restraints is a part of any job.

Here's to hoping that Zelda continues to entertain for years to come!

--

Go here for teh [sic] funny.
This logic worked for Deus Ex II !! by LordPixie · 2004-06-07 08:31 · Score: 3, Insightful

It would appear that the developers behind DEII really didn't like the original Deus Ex. Hence the unified ammo, lack of skills, no depth, poor voice-acting, etc.

With such a rock-solid gameplan, what could go wrong ?!?

--LordPixie
1. Re:This logic worked for Deus Ex II !! by kannibal_klown · 2004-06-07 08:57 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  "It would appear that the developers behind DEII really didn't like the original Deus Ex. Hence the unified ammo, lack of skills, no depth, poor voice-acting, etc. With such a rock-solid gameplan, what could go wrong ?!?"
  
  Arrggghhh!!!
  
  Don't mention that game, EVER!
  
  As far as I'm concerned, there is no such game. Its existence should be stricken from all record books, and all copies melted into something more useful, like shoe horns or something.
  
  DX:IW game was a DISGRACE to the original. They really sold out with that game. The general "universe" was the same, and some elements were there, but they took away a lot that made DX a great game, and turned it into a run-of-the-mill console shooter. I'm not talking about unified ammo, but "hacking into consoles" was gone, looking for keycodes was gone, A LOT was removed.
  
  Thief III, on the other hand, was quite well done. IMHO, they followed the original formula quite nicely, and thus a good product was formed.
2. Re:This logic worked for Deus Ex II !! by KDR_11k · 2004-06-07 09:00 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  The difference is that Warren Spector admitted in interviews that he was against the changes but the team overruled him. Miyamoto apparently has some form of veto right (in his GDC presentation Aonuma called this "upending the tea table") if the game deviates too heavily from his ideas. That means there's no chance you're going to steal horses and pick up hookers in the new Zelda.
  
  --
  Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
3. Re:This logic worked for Deus Ex II !! by damiam · 2004-06-08 08:30 · Score: 1
  
  That means there's no chance you're going to steal horses and pick up hookers in the new Zelda.
  Although that would be pretty fucking cool.
  
  --
  It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 08:44 · Score: 1, Insightful

I think what a lot of technical people don't want to admit is that it doesn't take a technically-capable person to create art and entertainment that is technically appealing to technical people.

It's been proven that geeks without design backgrounds shouldn't be left alone in the GUI design room. I'm not saying that gamers shouldn't be allowed in the game design room, but I am suggesting that maybe having someone who isn't a time-run caliber player as the leader of a project for a game that is meant to be widely appealing isn't the worst of things. If anything, the insights of both Miyamoto and Aonuma - one who has said that he has in the past disliked computers, and one who has recently stated that he didn't like the first Zelda game - have already been quite far-reaching, to positive effect, BOTH on the Zelda games that we all love playing regardless.
Zelda by kannibal_klown · 2004-06-07 08:49 · Score: 4, Interesting

I think Zelda is by far the greatest commodity Nintendo has (ok, maybe Mario is greater, but it's just my opinion). They need to make sure they treat it with respect. I don't think they did that with Wind Waker.

My favorite Zelda game still has to be "A Link to the Past" on the SNES. The graphics were alright (for the SNES), but it was the gameplay that drew me in. The puzzles were good, the monsters were a little more bad-a$$ (except in dark world, where pumpkins and cucumbers roamed the earth). It was just an overall fun experience that a 7-year-old or a 20-year-old can enjoy.

Personally, I LOVE cel shading, so it wasn't the art that made me dislike "Wind Waker." I think cel shading is a better approach to some games; stop going for pure realism (because it's hard to do, and would sort of suck), and go for a cartoon look (like anime). Though "Robotech: Battle Cry" was a poor game, it was AWESOME to jump into action and have it act like the cartoon.

What I didn't like about Wind Waker was it just didn't feel like Zelda. You travelled via boat, and all of the enemies acted like they were in a kiddie cartoon. The game was alright, it just didn't appeal to me as much. Guys running-in-place in mid-air, kiddy enemies, talking boats, playing hide-and-seek, etc just didn't appeal to me.

In short, I hope they maintain the dignity that the Zelda franchise deserves. If they have kick-ass graphics, then good. But they better have a good story and great gameplay. Otherwise we may have to wait years (and console-generations) for another title. Until then, I remain skeptical.
1. Re:Zelda by Funk_dat69 · 2004-06-07 10:28 · Score: 1
  
  Valid points.
  
  For me, though, Wind Waker actually got me interested in the Zelda franchise again. I played Ocarina, but never played Majora. Honestly if this new 'mature' Zelda had come out first, I may have passed on it. But Wind Waker came out and blew me away and got me to love the series again (ive since gone back and played through the classics collection and LttP on GBA).
  
  Im now totally pumped for the next one.
  
  As far as having the right guy for the job, Aonuma has had a vital role in Ocarina, Wind Waker, and this new 'mature' Zelda - thats an excellent track record in my book, anyday.
  
  --
  FUNK!
2. Re:Zelda by jasonditz · 2004-06-07 13:52 · Score: 1
  
  Id argue that the most valuable commodity Nintendo has at the moment is the Pokemon franchise.
3. Re:Zelda by j1m+5n0w · 2004-06-07 15:35 · Score: 1
  
  Id argue that the most valuable commodity Nintendo has at the moment is the Pokemon franchise.
  
  (shudder) While you might be right in terms of current cash flow, Zelda has the appeal of a wider age group, since many of us grew up on Zelda games. Zelda thus has greater long-term value.
  -jim
4. Re:Zelda by jasonditz · 2004-06-07 17:04 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  The problem is Zelda games are time consuming to make. The brand needs a lot more handholding from the big name Nintendo developers and at best they can produce 1-2 titles a year.
  
  Even then a top notch title like Wind Waker did not sell as many copies as Pokemon Colosseum, and both are dwarfed by the handheld RPGs.
  
  In fact, in the 8 years since Pokemon arrived on the scene, there has not once been a year in which a Zelda title was not outsold by some Pokemon title.
  
  Even Ocarina of Time, the breakout Zelda title of the last decade, was outsold in Japan in its year of launch by the two year old original Pokemon RPG. Not just by a little either, it was a two to one margin.
  
  Pokemon is the 800-lb gorilla of the video game industry. Nothing else comes close, not Grand Theft Auto, not Final Fantasy...
5. Re:Zelda by BenjyD · 2004-06-07 21:57 · Score: 1
  
  Zelda:WW was the first Zelda game I played - I only got into console games after I bought a gamecube a few years back - and I absolutely loved it.
  
  I think the only problem with it is the somewhat arbitrary things you sometimes have to do to advance. I had to resort to GameFAQs a few times and I remember thinking "Huh? I was meant to figure that out on my own how?".
6. Re:Zelda by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 23:05 · Score: 0
  
  Curious. Have you played through Ocarina of Time yet? It's my favorite game, and considering your one complaint about Wind Waker, I can't recommend it highly enough.
  
  It's available on both of the special edition Zelda bonus discs that were released for the GameCube, as well as on the original cartridge for the N64.
7. Re:Zelda by BenjyD · 2004-06-07 23:35 · Score: 1
  
  I played a lot of ocarina of time just after finishing windwaker - until my memory card got corrupted and I lost the save. I just didn't have the energy to start again, although it was an excellent game.
  Maybe I'll start again someday, but I'm currently playing through Link to the Past on my GBA, which is definitely harder than WW.
8. Re:Zelda by Colazar · 2004-06-08 12:19 · Score: 1
  
  I would say that the slow pace of developing Zelda games is actually a plus, because it keeps the market from being saturated by them too quickly.
  And the only way for Zelda to overtake Pokemon would be for them to come out with a Zelda half-hour cartoon show (of at least the same quality as Pokemon). Which would ruin everything.
  
  --
  He decided to just watch the government, and kind of scale it down to size, and run his life that way. --Laurie Anderson
9. Re:Zelda by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-09 03:12 · Score: 0
  
  s/commodity/asset/
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by fireduck · 2004-06-07 09:32 · Score: 1

"he's spooked by games that require jumping"

I think this point is reasonable, if you approach it from the proper POV. From my limited experience with Zelda (starting at Ocarina onward, with GBA Link to Past thrown in), it doesn't seem that jumping is all that important in terms of gameplay (IIRC, there hasn't been a jump button in any of the Zelda games that I've played). Yes, one jumps by running off the ledge, but one doesn't actively control the jump in the same way as in a Mario or Metroid game. So the fact that jumping games scare him doesn't really matter as that skillset isn't a part of Zelda. As it is, Zelda games have been much more oriented on problem solving rather than arcade reflexes (with the exception of the boss battles, most combat is ridiculously easy).
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by Anonvmous+Coward · 2004-06-07 09:36 · Score: 0

" Why was parent post modded as troll?"

(Score:-1, Offtopic)

*Sigh* You know, it is never off-topic to ask why somebody thought a comment was inflammatory.
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by KeeperS · 2004-06-07 10:56 · Score: 1

Well, there was an item in Link's Awakening that was used to jump, but you usually didn't have to be very precise with it. I think you've got it right, though... Zelda games aren't about jumping. That's what Mario is there for.
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by Guppy06 · 2004-06-07 15:41 · Score: 2, Insightful

"This guy is taking a big, big role on all future Zelda projects, and he's spooked by games that require jumping?!?"

Zelda is supposed to be about exploring and adventuring, not falling off a ledge for the umpteen-millionth time because you didn't time your jumps juuuust right. That's why God gave us Castlevania 64.

"Thought Zelda 1 was too hard?!"

OK, bright boy, answer me this: Without 20 years of hindsight, without Nintendo Power, without the Official Nintendo Player's Guide, without The Legend of Zelda: Tips & Tactics, without friends who already knew, without calling up a Nintendo game counselor, without even breaking the seal on the partial map that came with the game...

How the heck are you supposed to find the 7th and 8th labrynths?
Oh memories of the CD-I by evdp · 2004-06-07 18:33 · Score: 0

I remember wanting one of those things SO badly... but as a college kid I could never raise the money for one...

I just remember them doing great full motion video and having all the bells and whistles I wished my PC had at the time.

I was a gamer even way back then, but of course I only has the snes, and SFII gave me and my pals countless hours of fun... I was never *really* impressed with what it could do.

BUT it did give me my love for Zelda... that last even to today.
Perhaps somebody could explain... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 20:15 · Score: 1, Interesting

Before I start... this post is intended as an honest query, not as a troll.

But perhaps somebody could explain what exactly the pull of Zelda is? I've only been exposed to the franchise fairly recently; I bought a Gamecube just before Christmas, largely because I'd had Wind Walker recommended to me by so many people and websites. I'd basically been told it was an RPG, and I'm generally a huge fan of this genre. I'd consider my tastes within RPGs to be pretty wide, ranging from the more hardcore PC titles such as Eye of the Beholder, Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights through to the console offerings such as the Final Fantasy games and KOTOR and even action RPGs such as Kingdom Hearts.

However, when I played the game, I struggled to find any RPG elements to it at all. I've played through the first few islands (most recently the one with the big dragon at the top) and, from what I've experienced so far, it just seems to be a platform game with shoddy controls and shallow combat.

Now, I'm the first to admit that I probably went into this game expecting it to be something that it clearly isn't. I'd be very grateful if anybody could explain to me what it actually *is*, as I'd love to be able to get into the right frame of mind for it and I feel a bit guilty that my Gamecube is just gathering dust.
1. Re:Perhaps somebody could explain... by Svenheim · 2004-06-07 20:37 · Score: 1
  
  It's an action-adventure game. Look it up.
2. Re:Perhaps somebody could explain... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-07 23:48 · Score: 0
  
  I don't know what to tell you, other than what you've seen for yourself: Zelda isn't Mario, and it isn't Final Fantasy. If you go in expecting to categorize what you're doing and seeing, you're going to miss the forest for the trees. The Lost Forest and the Deku Trees, respectively, ho ho.
  
  However, what I always subconsciously do when I play a new Zelda game is prepare myself to soak it all in and take my time - exploring for exploration's sake isn't always rewarded in Zelda games in some gimmicky RPG fashion, but I find myself wanting to do it anyway. Sometimes I rush through RPGs just to get to the next storyline development, but I never do that with Zelda. There have been times where I went in totally weird directions, turned around, and put the camera to first-person view just to think, "well, it took a while, and I'm no closer to my goal, but I got HERE from THERE?" No other game gives me that feeling better than a Zelda game, and I appreciate them above all other games for that.
3. Re:Perhaps somebody could explain... by KDR_11k · 2004-06-08 02:05 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know how the Zelda RPG myth came up, but I assume it was because of the graphics of LTTP (the SNES outing) being similar to those of most RPGs at the time. Maybe some people thought the gameplay resembled Seiken Densetsu to a certain degree or something. Either way, LTTP was an action game with lots of puzzles from an RPG-like perspective.
  Depending on your definition of an RPG, The Legend of Zelda can indeed be one. You earn more health for defeating bosses or solving certain puzzles/side quests, your equipment gets upgraded over time, etc. You could call Zelda an RPG with no experience system and more focus on action and puzzles (though I think that's exactly what "action adventure" means).
  
  --
  Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
4. Re:Perhaps somebody could explain... by shadowcabbit · 2004-06-09 23:08 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, so I'm not the only one disappointed in the 3D Zelda games. In your position, I would recommend any of the 2D Zelda games-- you'll probably find them to be much more enjoyable than OOT or WW. If you can find them, the Game Boy Color Zeldas (Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages) were excellent examples of what made Zelda great. Heck, drop the $20 on the GBA re-release of the original Zelda, that's worth it right there.
  
  If you want to know why everyone loves Zelda, play the games that made them love it, not the more recent ones.
  
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5. Re:Perhaps somebody could explain... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-06-10 06:53 · Score: 0
  
  Ocarina of Time was an excellent transition for the series. Everything I felt about Link to the Past was multiplied in OOT: I preferred the music, the exploration, the battles, and so many other aspects (Epona, Sheik, the other characters (and their facial expressions), the passing of time, Navi, the story) much more in OOT than in LTTP.
  
  LTTP is among the top five SNES games for me, but OOT is my favorite game of all time, across all systems.
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by ElleyKitten · 2004-06-08 04:53 · Score: 1

"There's a secret where fairies don't live"
- Was a clue in dungeon 6. Also, dungeon 8 was kinda obvious since it was in the middle of the road.

Though I shouldn't talk. I couldn't find dungeon 2 without a map.

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Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by Guppy06 · 2004-06-08 15:42 · Score: 1

"There's a secret where fairies don't live"

Yeah, and after burning every bush around that pond (which would take for-fucking-EVAR!!1!1!! when you consider where the red candle is) you might think to try the whistle. That would seem counter-productive, though, since all that would do is whisk you away to another part of the map...

"Also, dungeon 8 was kinda obvious since it was in the middle of the road."

A road in the middle of nowhere that doesn't go anywhere interesting. You might have stumbled across it if you got lost on your way to the the second labrynth, but...

(And I could be mean and ask about the location of the eighth labrynth in the second quest...)

"Though I shouldn't talk. I couldn't find dungeon 2 without a map."

That one they actually put in the instruction manual towards the back (past the walkthrough of the first labrynth).
Re:Not a flame... Just a little rattled. by ElleyKitten · 2004-06-10 05:17 · Score: 1

Heh. I play too many fantasy games. Playing music at an empty lake seems intuitive to me.

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"What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.