How do you play Zelda?

Do you play with a guide, making sure to get every item and collectible on the way?

Do you play without a guide, not caring about collectibles?

Do you play through once, then go back and collect everything?

Do you play through once, then start a new game and collect everything then?

I only consult a guide when stuck and before every boss fight. There's nothing fun about getting walloped by a boss because of not knowing the secret trick to beat them, in my opinion.

I'm playing Twilight Princess right now, almost to the end, and it seems like I've barely scratched the surface of the game, so once it's beat I will go back and collect all the crap.

My best zelda experience was wind waker and i had bought the actual physical guide. I think I'm gonna do that with the new one when it comes out. Online guides are cool but the official physical ones can't be beat.

Guides almost always make games less fun. I go in blind and hope for the best.

I play without a guide and aim for 100% completion.

I probably 100% completed Skyward Sword about 5 times now. Super fun.

I play them without a guide for the first play through trying to find as much as I can on my own then I'll use a guide for a second play through to find or do things that I may have previously missed.

I never play through my first time with a game using a guide. It's just not that fun if you do. I like to discover things on my own, at my own pace and actually be surprised by something.

I play about half way through, then check an online guide to see if there is something interesting I missed. Never done a 100% play through, but still spent about 50 hours on Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess.

On top of having a perfectionist personality (though I feel it's almost never worth the effort to 100% a game), I've unfortunately grown to be very impatient with games, so I do occasionally consult a guide (mainly adventure/RPG games) and collect whatever I feel is currently worth the effort throughout the playthrough.

I don't feel that has any impact of my personal enjoyment of the game though. It's just how I like to do things.

I generally take my time going through the game, trying to get everything I can. If I really, really love it, I'll use a guide to check out things I missed.

I don't think I've ever used a guide on Zelda. I'm not saying I've never used guides on games, but Zelda is just so much fun to discover every nook and cranny.

Nintendo usually has a Stellar record when it comes to Subtly guiding the player into Aquiring the Right Items and going to the Right locations and showing Enemy weaknesses.

Unfortunately thats usually the Super Mario Platformer Series. The Legend of Zelda series on the other Hand is prone to either completely leave the player clueless as to how to Progress or it flatout Ruins the Surprise and gives you an annoying step by step breakdown of what to do.

However from what I've seen this is only Regarding Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.

Windwaker appears to have the best implementation of subtle Sign Posting and Tutorial Gating.

As for me.... well For me its all about design..... I don't Run around Collecting Collectables for the sake of Collecting Collectables. I ran around Collectables for the sake of How those Collectables are Collected.

Execution is everything.... and a game that just randomly scatters junk everywhere is not worth it.... I always use a guide on those.

But a game with a built in clever system for Finding and Aquiring Collectables. Those I do on my own..... for a good example of this look at the Riddler Trophies in Arkham City....

Like I said... Execution is Everything !!! :)

If you're using a guide on a first run, you are just playing it wrong.

I do everything that I can myself, but will look up what I'm missing if I decide to go for 100% completion.

For me, I playthough without a guide, but once I get to the point where I know, or at least think, I'm going after the final boss, I'll look up what I might have missed.

The only exceptions to this where the original LoZ, because I had no idea what to do after beating the first dungeon), and Majora's Mask because I usually like to play at a fairly slow pace, and this game didn't allow that, and I'll be honest the 3-day time-limit intimidated the hell out of me, so it was either play though with a guide or not play at all.

@Black_Knight_00:

You know it is possible for The Game itself to be wrong sometimes. At what point do we stop blaming the player for the developer's mistakes ?:(

Right, if I get stuck I use a guide, by all means. But playing the game with a guide from the get-go? Waste of money, in my opinion. Might as well watch it on youtube.

@Black_Knight_00:

LoL... I don't think its that Simple.... lets say you know for a fact that you can "Unstuck" yourself if you just tediously brute force your way through the problem...... but you don't want to because it would be boring. :(

Its okay to use a walkthrough for that... right ? :)

Yeah that's what i said.

@Black_Knight_00:

Well... that is more or less what you said.

Specificity Matters. :)

Im too scared to travel alone. I always try to bring my guide. I dont collect everything, but i use the guide to collect a bunch, i usually dont replay the game till later. I dont read the section and then play though, i play the section and then after i look at stuff. Or if im struggling for a while ill use the guide some. For first time Zelda players, a guide is a must. Its not like other games, if you dont figure it out, you dont pass.

@Lulekani: Well, A link between world and A link to the past pretty much tells you where to go and in which order.

Wind Waker, if you take the time to read a little bit, you know where to go next. But there is time where you need to explore but it is so easy.

@Coco_pierrot: Wind Waker never tells you that in order to get out the dungeon you have to follow the sword. If you dont follow the sword, your trapped forever and cant complete the game. It might tell you where the dungeon is, but it dont tell you how to get out. Also sometimes they only tell you once, never to be repeated, but those are rare and usually not needed anyways.

Never with a guide - only if you can't progress will I look something up briefly.

with a controller

@iandizion713: But it is so easy, just explore a bit and you'll find your exit, especially if you find the map and compass.

@Coco_pierrot: I agree it gets easier as you get use to the game. For a player that has never played a Zelda game though, its a lot to take in at once.

you don't

I always have to use a guide.

I played Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask.
I like the mazes a lot but I always get lost :P

@iandizion713: Wind Waker is the first Zelda that I finished, I went back on the original and then moved to LttP and then to ALBW and found them all quite easy

@Coco_pierrot: I thought Wind Waker was a little hard at first. Navigating around and figuring out the puzzles. Like when i first got the deku leaf, i didnt know what to do with it, the game didnt tell me what to use it for. The game also never told me to set a stick on fire and burn stuff to reveal my path, i had to spend some time to figure it out.

It took me awhile to get use to the wind. I couldnt figure the auction house out. Some quest i couldnt figure out. Like that dude who keep asking me to take a picture of something round, and i couldnt ever figure it out, i showed him so many round objects. A few dungeons i got stuck in, especially the one where you have to follow the sword 30 times or you cant get out the room ever.

Some of the puzzles were tricky too. I remember wondering how kids could play such a game. Defiantly among the harder games i have played in my life. I think Skyward Sword was harder for me though.

I play without a guide.

@iandizion713: h yeah I remember the picture thingy... it was the moon. A full moon.

To me it was obvious you could burn some stuff.

With the map I set my wind in the direction I wanted. Later you can unlock the ultimate sail, no need to set the wind.

What I did search was the metal boots and how to stop the fire on a chest.