The Retrospective: The Legend of Zelda (Part 3 of 3)
Posted by Sean McCabe on 08.28.2006
The final part of the Retrospective on the Legend of Zelda covers the last of the games in the series, looks to the future and evaluates just what this great series did for gaming.
Well, here we are, the end of my epic delve into the past of history's greatest games series. I covered some titles not made by Nintendo last week but now it's all Nintendo from here on out. That of course means I'll be doing nothing but kiss their ass this column… or will I? There is a particular Zelda I've always seen as the black sheep of the series, not counting the CDi games covered last week, and it's not Zelda 2 since I feel it's unfair to pick on a game that was misguided rather then weak per ce. But to find out what one that is, you'll just have to read on.
The Introspective
Well, I've had a lot of good news this week in the guise of definitive UK release days for a lot of games I want. Suikoden V will be debuting on the 22nd of September at the rather wonderful price point of £20. Yes. We're getting it cheaper than you. I suspect it maybe to make up for MGS Subsistence (October the 10th) being full price here when it was released at a budget price elsewhere. Konami are crafty bastards, obvious what one will sell more. But I'm buying both so it at least balances out for me. Another interesting titbit from Play.com, which is where I'm getting all this info, is a 3rd of November release for Bullet Witch on the Xbox 360. Now as far as I'm aware, Atari are handling the game outside of Japan and have kept the release date, both for the US and Europe to themselves. But I know from experience Play are often right on with their estimates… either that or they are privy to knowledge we lesser mortals shall never know.
Also, SNK games galore, with King of Fighters 2006, Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, KoF XI and Samurai Showdown Tenkaichi all out before the end of the year. This makes me a happy videogame fan. And I have decided as a matter of fact to include a hot VG babe every week in the Introspective, so here is the greatest concept ever; a ninja maid; Iroha from Samurai Showdown Tenkaichi.
Now that is a spicy meat-a-ball, in the words of a certain Italian plumber. Namco and Team Ninja, you still have a lot of lessons to learn in the ways of fighting game cock-teasing. But just learn from the masters at SNK, guys. Anyway, as for what I've been playing this week, not a whole lot besides Ninety Nine Nights and Rumble Roses XX on a friends Xbox 360, and Four Swords Adventure in preparation for this column. Just two weeks till I have my own 360 though. I notice in the news reports the guys are finding it hard to be positive about Sony. I say to them, don't try. Not everybody needs to be like Meehan… and at least in his column he usually writes about stuff that has some positive points to it. Unlike Sony right now, who's inept actions are costing them their consumer base. You think $600 is bad? The PS3 will be over $800 here, at £425. The thing will not sell in Europe, not when the Xbox 360 premium can be bought with two new games at £330 and the Wii will probably be around £150. You can quote me on that.
And with that thought, onto some feedback
Not a whole lot this week, but some interesting links…
Carlos Waller wrote: Hi again,
First off, thank you for putting up my email in your article.
Secondly, good job on the article. I think you should have added links to the cinemas from the Link CD-i games so your readers who haven't experienced the game (I am a Zelda whore so unfortunately I've played them and Zelda's Adventure is the best of the bunch) can truly relish the unique aesthetic qualities these titles have... lol
From Steve McHugh: Hi Sean,
Just thought I'd take a moment to say you did another good column and I enjoyed it a lot.
Also I know you were saying that you had to wait ages for JRPG's but I can beat that. The wait for Psychonauts was about 18 months which is just painful. Makes it worse that no one brought it.
Oh and you're right the Philips Zelda game looks awful. No wonder Nintendo want to forget about it.
Steve and I then exchanged emails about how much it sucks to live in the UK for games releases. To my American readers, when your playing FFXII in November, spare a tear for we who will not be playing that game until well into next year… although maybe not for me, I think the time is fast coming that I'll get myself a swap disc and import everything. And yeah, check out those links to see the true level of suckage that the CDi games represent. As for Psychonauts, loved that game. Definitely should have been much more successful, it was a vastly superior game to Jak, Ratchet et al.
And that's all for the feedback this week… so now it's time to get on with the show.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Format: Nintendo 64
Release: 2000
Notes: Followed just a short time after Ocarina of Time. Notable in that Shigeru Miyamoto played a reduced role in the Game's development. One of two games that required the N64's Expansion Pak (the other was Donkey Kong 64)
Well, trying to one up the masterpiece that was Ocarina of Time so soon after its release was quite the undertaking by Nintendo, and considering Majora's Mask didn't look like it offered much different to the previous game didn't bode so well for it at the time. How we were so wrong. Nintendo once again rewrote the book of adventuring. Once again, not afraid to completely shake the foundations that they themselves created, Majora's Mask, despite at first glance just seeming like Ocarina 2.0, actually adopted a very different game structure, which in turn affected the way the game played. It also took place in a different word, an alternate dimension to Hyrule called Termina. As such Nintendo were able to recycle characters but use them differently. The game had an interesting theme… an imp wearing the titular mask has activated a curse that will see the moon crash into Termina in just three days.
This is of course after the imp had wandered into Hyrule and stole Epona, the main motivation behind Link following him. Surely three days is not enough time to stop the imp? Well, fortunately for Link he still has the Ocarina of Time, and this allows him to manipulate time as he needs it. He can slow down, skip and reset the three days as necessary. This plays importantly into the gameplay, as the game can only be saved when time is reset, and Link will loose all his items, rupees, arrows and bombs and such. Rupees can be banked, and the other items are not hard to come across so it by no means hurts the gameplay, even if it is a little annoying. The fact that the game operates by a specific time limit means that Nintendo was able to create schedules for the world. People go about their business and are at certain places at certain times. This often affects the game's many puzzles, and in particular the games most in-depth sidequest requires you to spend the whole three days running errands. It's a captivating idea, and only Shenmue is anything like it.
The other main crux of the gameplay; besides the usual dungeon escapades, are the masks. There were only a few masks in Ocarina of Time, but Majora's Mask has an entire equip screen devoted to them! Again, obtaining and using the masks are very important… and there is a surprise waiting for whose who can collect all the masks at the end of the game… a surprise that quite frankly makes the final boss a joke, but hey it's still cool. The other main thing about this game was, well… it was damn near as good as Ocarina of Time, if perhaps not better. The environments were beautiful, Link's mask transformations were very innovative and the Game's Dungeons remain some of the most complex and meticulous level designs ever seen. The Reality-Illusion temple in particular is impossible to forget.
In Retrospect: This game is so good it's basically interchangeable with Ocarina of Time. Really Ocarina of Time came first and that is the only thing that dulls the impact of this intensely beautiful game. But this game was original, compelling and carried on the process of developing the universe of Zelda by adding in many new elements. In short, a true classic and the N64's last hurrah.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Format: Gamecube
Release: 2003
Notes: The first 128 bit Zelda, people were very excited after seeing a demo at Nintendo's Spaceworld in 2002 which showed what a next gen Zelda could look like… but Shigeru Miyamoto chose a different route visually with this game.
Right, so when I mentioned that black sheep earlier, how many people thought I was meaning Four Swords Adventure, or possibly Minish Cap? Raise your hands; don't be shy. But, to me, Wind Waker is the black sheep of the Zelda series. And no, it's not because of the graphics, I really didn't mind them, but the game did have the following problems in my estimation:
1. The Sailing was too boring and took up too much time in the game.
2. The combat system was too much along the lines of button bashing and not about reflexes like the two previous 3D Zeldas.
3. Not enough Dungeons
4. The island structure really took away from the normal epic feeling of Zelda games.
5. The Tri-force Hunt was lame
Now I do sound like I'm quite heavily ragging on the game. The fact is I liked it, I just didn't feel it was up to par with other games in the series, but when Wind Waker was on, it was the usual Zelda greatness. It just wasn't "on" as much as I would have liked. The story however was great, full of twists and turns, and the return of Ganondorf as the villain was good for nostalgia. Actually to be fair I seriously liked the cel-shaded look, and don't have much time for the people who hate on the game for that reason. But even Shigeru Miyamoto himself apologised for what he described as "slightly rushing the game to meet a deadline." So as far as I'm concerned, there's the rub, the reason Wind Waker wasn't up to par with Ocarina and Majora. They didn't take enough time with it, and I don't believe it's a mistake Nintendo will ever make again.
In Retrospect: A great game which a lot of people adored… power to them, but I just couldn't enjoy it quite as much as I would have liked, and even the game's creators admit it could have been better… and when they can admit their own mistakes, it usually means future efforts are better for it.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure
Format: Gamecube
Release: 2004
Notes: An expansion built up on a multiplayer minigame that was developed for the GBA port of Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventure was designed to be played with Nintendo's oft-despised GBA-GC connectivity system. A versus mode was included called Shadow Battle, and the Japanese version included Tetra's Trackers, a game based around a naming system which was the main reason it was taken out in all other versions.
But, despite all that, a lot of people fail to realise that Four Swords Adventure still catered towards the single player, and the formation system what was used in order for one person, using a GBA or a regular controller, to control four Links was well implemented and worked extremely well. Four Swords by far deviated the most from the standard Zelda structure, adopting a level based system. This in turn changed the game's focus from exploration to progression. Now this makes Four Swords Adventure a different game for the rest of the series, but I find it nonetheless to be a very good game. There's a tighter focus on clever puzzles, tactical combat and, well, gimmicks in this game and if nothing else, it sure is an interesting experience. I can't speak for the quality of the multiplayer but the single player game in my estimation is highly underrated and this game should be recognised for offering something different yet fun, like the Oracles and The Adventures of Link before it.
In Retrospect: A clever and fun game that gets a far worse rap than it deserves and was probably not played by as many people as it deserved either. Worth checking out for any serious Zelda fans.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Format: Gameboy Advance
Release: 2004
Notes: There was a Link to the Past port released beforehand that could claim to be the first GBA Zelda game, but this was the first and remains the only original Zelda game on the Gameboy Advance, one of Nintendo's highest selling consoles.
Ah, now here's a game that I recall for a couple of reasons. First was that it got released in Europe quite a while before America, and that it also came along during a time when there was a serious drought in good games. I remember waiting on it anxiously because dammit I just needed something good to play. This fit the bill nicely. It was a pretty standard Zelda game, although it did act as a prequel to Four Swords Adventure story-wise. Vaati was the villain of this game as well as Four Swords, and though he hasn't reached the realm of infamy occupied by Ganon yet, I think he will get there given enough games. Nintendo seem to demonstrate a pretty good knack in not telling their stories in chronological order but still managing to make them make sense. Anyway, in regards to the game itself, Minish Cap had one awesome idea… that is to shrink and grow Link. It seems to be quite a popular idea with Nintendo lately what with the New Super Mario Bros. Of course this allowed Link to explore the micro world of Hyrule… about the only place there he hasn't been yet. Minish Cap was pretty much an average Zelda game… so it was fantastic basically. Of course, once again it wasn't revolutionary enough to set the world on fire, but it was a superb game to represent the franchise on the GBA.
In Retrospect: Great, great game. I suggest if you haven't played it, do so now. But, it didn't change gaming too much or anything.
The Future
This is the section where I'll simply take a look at the current known future projects in a games series. It won't always be here. Since not every series I look at may be still active, but with Zelda, there are two games worth looking at…
The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess
Projected format: Gamecube and Wii
Projected Release: Q4 2006
I won't say a humongous amount about future releases, just let you know they exist, include any interesting notes and give an anticipation rating. In case of The Twilight Princess, the game looks fantastic, the Wii version will utilise that Console's unique controller… and above all, with a year delay, this game has not been rushed which bodes extremely well.
Anticipation rating: 5/5 – Should be the greatest game ever and the true successor to Ocarina of Time.
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Projected Format: DS
Projected Release: Q4 2006
The first pseudo 2D/3D Zelda. Likely to be a direct follow up to the Wind Waker. Looks very interesting, as the game has something to do with manipulating time and utilising both screens on the DS whilst doing it. Should be the must own for the DS this year.
Anticipation rating: 5/5 – Should be another fantastic Zelda game
The Final Retrospective
Well, this is how I round things out. I will evaluate the impact a games series has had on Visual, Aural, Design and Innovation categories. So lets get started.
Visual – The Legend of Zelda is often at the cutting edge of visual technology. Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time and the soon to be released Twilight Princess in particular. These games pushed the envelope for what was possible on their contemporary hardware. And I suspect despite the Gamecube's age and the Wii's supposed focus on gameplay over graphics, Twilight Princess will go down as one of the best looking games developed this decade.
Aural – Whilst the Series did nothing for voice acting, Koji Kondo's Hylian Score is probably the most famous piece of games music ever written. From the synth and MIDI music of the earlier games to the fully orchestral scores of the later games, Zelda never fails to please the ears. Truly memorable.
Design – What did this series not do for Games design? Almost every 3D adventure game these days include block puzzles, or multilevel conundrums, or other kinds of environmental riddles. You can thank Zelda for the concept of almost every puzzle you solve in videogames these days. The Reality-Illusion Temple seen in Majora's Mask remains the greatest level design ever. Anybody who has experienced it will agree.
Innovation – Well, among other things, the ability to save games, the concept of an open, non-linear world and of course, Twilight Princess will be one of the first games to pioneer Nintendo's new vision of how games should be controlled. Suffice to say, quite an innovative series.
So there you have it. Zelda is the real thing, a games series that will be remembered for its contribution to this hobby we call videogames for a very, very long time. And though Nintendo have made the odd mistake with it, I think unlike a lot of companies Nintendo are good at learning from their mistakes and have not repeated them since.
It's Plugging Time!
Damian Sarcuni and Micheal Joyeaux have it out in this weeks Fact or Fiction
Micheal Joyeax again with everybody's favourite method of execution in Greatest Moments
"He's hardcore" Joel Beggs presents Hardcore Haven and all those moments that seperate the normal and the... HARDCORE!!!!
Jordan "The Ogre" Williams is completely wrong in his judgement of Dead or Alive but is otherwise right on the money in Working Title
Vincent Chiuchii clearly is trying steal my thunder with his look at awful games within great series in Gaming Trends. But I forgive him since he included that abortion Dirge of Cerberus in the list.
And finally Damian Sarcuni lets loose some of his Angry Gaming venom on those most annoying sections of the gaming population.
And, with this edition of the Retrospective completed, you guys must be wondering what I have in store for next week… I only have one thing to say.
"I have had enough of these mother-f*ckin Snakes on this mother-f*ckin Metal Gear."
So keep things in perspective, and we'll be doing some sneaking around the military compound of gaming history next week.
