So, in anticipation of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (which, in my honest opinion, looks meh, but that's a discussion for another thread), I decided it's time for us at System Wars to commemorate the greatest game franchise of all time.
The Legend of Zelda series is made of masterpieces which have appeared in practically every console cycle, and each game in the series has been a pallbearer for the series for years to come.
My question is, which one is the best Zelda game of all time, according to you?
The NES original is of course legendary for what it did, and the conventions it set. Its sequel, often considered the dark horse of the series, nonetheless established several norms that are being followed to this day.
The SNES cIassic, A Link to the Past, is where the series actually gets its pedigree from. Arguably the greatest game ever created, it established every single one of the norms that the Zelda series follows till today, two decades after its release, serving as a blueprint for adventure games for over twenty years now. The fact that it had stellar sprite art, notorious dungeon design and the best soundtrack for any Zelda game ever only helps its case.
The N64 is where the Zelda series really hit its stride- Ocarina of Time is called the greatest game ever created, and is at the top of critics charts even today, thirteen years after its initial release. The game was an absolute revolution, showing the industry how 3D gaming is done, and it had a moving story with real characters that you could relate to, and stellar dungeon design and a soundtrack that is yet to be outdone. Truly perfect in every way, Ocarina was perhaps outdone only by its immediate successor, Majora's Mask, the creepy, dark and apocalyptic Zelda that took the series in a decidedly mature direction. The music was subdued, a world was in peril, sure to be destroyed, and only by reliving the same three days again and again could Link hope to counter the ancient evil entity Majora.
The Gamecube saw the Zelda series making a lot of controversial decisions- The Wind Waker was derided a lot for its artstyIe, but hindsight has proven that few games have managed to age as gracefully, or be as moving or as touching, as The Wind Waker was, and most of the credit for this should go to the game's excellent graphics and its rather ominous story. The next game in the series, Twilight Princess, which saw a return to Ocarina of Time's conventions, is the absolute pinnacle of the series, on a sheer technical basis, although fans argue that it lost a lot of what made the series special in the first place. Regardless, its thrilling story, coupled with its absolute mastery over the series blueprint, make it a hell of a game to play through.
Which is your favorite Zelda of all time? Is it any of the above? Or is it one of the handheld instalments? VOTE NOW!
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