Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[Sarge]

Hmm... Oblivion just never did it for me. It doesn't have the sort of designed puzzle-dungeons that I crave.

And I was trying to be a little funny with my Link's Awakening jab. (Dang, though, that was annoying. Not as annoying as Twilight Princess, though!)

[marlowe221]

Hmm... Oblivion just never did it for me. It doesn't have the sort of designed puzzle-dungeons that I crave.

And I was trying to be a little funny with my Link's Awakening jab. (Dang, though, that was annoying. Not as annoying as Twilight Princess, though!)

No worries, I took it as a joke. It just gave me the opportunity to rant a little more.

Skyrim actually has more dungeon puzzles in it than Oblivion did. But personally, I never really cared much about puzzles in Zelda. For me it was exploring the world that drew me into the game. The Elder Scrolls series has been the primary way for me to scratch that itch for the past 10 years while the Zelda series got more and more linear.

That's ultimately what it is - the Zelda series got more and more linear over time. The fact that it started happening when the series went 3D may have something to do with technical limitations and it may just be coincidence. But that's probably the reason that I have such a strong dislike for the 3D games in the franchise.

I enjoyed the earlier, more open 2D games WAY more. ALttP is somewhat more linear than the first two games, but it's not hard to do a little sequence breaking once you get to know the game a little.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I enjoyed the earlier, more open 2D games WAY more. ALttP is somewhat more linear than the first two games, but it's not hard to do a little sequence breaking once you get to know the game a little.

You've played ALBW, right? It is the least linear Zelda game since the original, and I think that you would enjoy it.

[Sarge]

I do show quite a bit of partiality to the 2D games, though. For my money, Link's Awakening and A Link to the Past still sit at the pinnacle.

Testify, Brother Sarge!!!

I also like ALttP's sequel/remake...

I would say... yup.

[marlowe221]

You've played ALBW, right? It is the least linear Zelda game since the original, and I think that you would enjoy it.

See below.

I do show quite a bit of partiality to the 2D games, though. For my money, Link's Awakening and A Link to the Past still sit at the pinnacle.

Testify, Brother Sarge!!!

I also like ALttP's sequel/remake...

I would say... yup.

I really enjoyed ALBW for its open-ness. From all appearances, Breath of the Wild looks to be a return to form in the same way. I hope it's true!

[BogusMeatFactory]

I am confused about the, "Linearity," of the 2d and 3d Zelda games. They all seem very linear to me, with side quests for heart pieces and the like along the way.

Also to add to the unpopular game opinions, A Link to the Past is average. I beat it last year and found it to be lower on my list of favorites due to its lack of story and characters. I really would to know why it is number 1 on most people's list with nostalgia taken out of the equation.

[Sarge]

I've never really thought story and characters were Zelda's strong suit. I play the series for the gameplay. I enjoy the overworlds, but I enjoy the dungeons even more. For that reason, LttP ranks very high on my list.

[Tanooki]

Well, as I said, it might be true for you, but as a generalized statement I'd say it's objectively false.

I'd agree that far more Japanese games (particularly) are hitting PC these days, which does reduce the potential appeal of a console for those who have a gaming rig. However, it is sort of a double standard to discount first/second party PS4 games and then exalt the Switch that has little else announced.

I think you're failing to get why I posted it, the thread is about 'unpopular gaming opinions' (not facts.) The only fact I can lay is my own fact, and that I've seen that grumble repeated in many areas online in relation to both systems since they're a homogeneous mess at this point outside of their few IP exclusives. The general argument seems to be, unless you want what they make themselves, PC is the better answer as the Japanese dev's are throwing their best on Windows now too.

[Stark]

I am confused about the, "Linearity," of the 2d and 3d Zelda games. They all seem very linear to me, with side quests for heart pieces and the like along the way.

Also to add to the unpopular game opinions, A Link to the Past is average. I beat it last year and found it to be lower on my list of favorites due to its lack of story and characters. I really would to know why it is number 1 on most people's list with nostalgia taken out of the equation.

It's not just nostalgia, it's also the era it came out in. As usual with Zelda games, it did a lot of stuff that not a lot else did at the time, at least with the games I played. It felt really unique.

[marlowe221]

I am confused about the, "Linearity," of the 2d and 3d Zelda games. They all seem very linear to me, with side quests for heart pieces and the like along the way.

Also to add to the unpopular game opinions, A Link to the Past is average. I beat it last year and found it to be lower on my list of favorites due to its lack of story and characters. I really would to know why it is number 1 on most people's list with nostalgia taken out of the equation.

ALttP has story and characters - just enough to get you going, and not so much that it gets in the way of actually playing the game. Most of the story is back story (the best kind).

I would be curious to know which Zelda games you think actually have good stories/characters because my answer would be: almost none of them. Most Zelda franchise characters struggle to escape the Annoying Zone and are about as flat as characters get in story-based media.

Regarding linearity - If you're looking at it from the point of view of whether or not the dungeons have to be done in a certain order then, yeah most of the Zelda games are pretty linear. But the older games gave the player a vast (relative to their time periods) world to explore along the way. (But ALttP can be EASILY sequence broken and the original NES game is WIDE the hell open and dungeons can be done in virtually any order as far as I know.)

As we got into 3D territory, that went away. You can explore (most of) the world of OoT but there's not much to find. By the time we get to Skyward Sword, the experience is similar to a ride at Universal Studios: it's designed to feel like you're having this crazy experience but in reality you are on rails the entire time. Wind Waker bucked the trend to a degree with the sailing and cargo-arm mechanics. But Twilight Princess drags the player around from scripted event to scripted event, from one blobby area down a tunnel to another blobby area. I kept waiting for that game to turn me loose so I could go explore the world - it basically never did (and again, not a lot to find anyway).

Meanwhile, ALttP is chock full of stuff to find. There are items in the world to find (like boomerang and hookshot category items) that are 100% optional but have cool effects. Some of them are pretty hard to find too - I had beaten the game 3 or 4 times before I ever even knew they existed at all. There are a lot of interesting corners to poke your nose in and even a few little interesting scenes that play out with NPCs (again, totally optional) in out of the way places.

Edit: Additional thought - ALttP was the Skyrim of its day. But would anyone argue that Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword were?

To my mind, the Zelda franchise is divided into two primary categories: Open World and On Rails. A Link to the Past is the best of the Open World category IMHO. Most of the On Rails games (most of which also happen to be 3D) are like an entirely different franchise to me, almost unrecognizable.