The System Wars Most Anticipated Game of 2015 Is...

Oh Jesus Christ, no. They got more and more and more linear as time went by, until Skyward Sword was basically a corridor game, and Spirit Tracks was, quite literally, on rails. The exception to this would be Wind Waker, I guess, but even Wind Waker had gated progression.

What about TP?

Twilight Princess had a world map, but progression was highly guided and linear. Basically, unless you had done what the game had wanted you to do, you were pretty limited in what you could do. it was a more restrictive version of Ocarina.

@charizard1605: Ah! Well, you dun' goofed Ninty! Non-linear Zelda is best Zelda! :D

Other than that, the fact that it's going to be an open world could make for a memorable game. Personally, I always enjoyed seeing the world change as we (the player) acted upon it! That + the usual Zelda goodness would be quite a sight. I just hope the side quests don't fall into the fetch-collect-kill X enemies over repetitiveness.

It doesn't help that many assume that the Hangar and Arena Commander modules are all that exists.

In reality, CGI has 5 studios doing different things, but the whole project is connect. SC is using a modular development process so mechanics, features, ect are being shared across the studios.

While we only see the 2 modules, the motion captuing, the script for SQ42, the planetary landing for dozens of worlds, etc, are all being done internaly. There are already leaks showing the Shubin space station and the Terra Prime landing, but we can't see it or play it and might not get to before launch.

So, many, if not maybe most, assume the game is a decade away, while actually being close.

Well, so far, Zelda sidequests have been amazing- the thing is, there have never been a whole lot of them, so every sidequest is meaningful and focused. I don't know how a game populated with lots of sidequests would be like...

... is what I want to say, then I remember Majora's Mask exists.

I don't think we have anything to worry about here.

I guess... But I wouldn't say linearity is necessarily a bad thing imo.

TP*

@charizard1605:

Yeah they're all on Steam pretty cheap... or, ya know, other cheaper (free) means. >_>

Phantasy Star is the closest competitor that the Genesis had to FF, but it wasn't quite up to snuff. PS4 is more challenging than the FF games, the battle sequences have much better fidelity and the battle system itself is right on par with 16 bit FF... I'd have to say that FF4 and FF6 mop the floor with it in every other aspect though.

You can tell there was some good ideas with the music is PS4, but the Genesis couldn't push out the same sounds as the SNES obviously.

Anyways, they're worth checking out, but if you can't trudge through the earlier games (I personally couldn't), at least give IV a shot.

Is there a reason they decided to go with this method of distribution of the game, instead of doing traditional sequels or even expansion packs?

Not hating on the game at all, I am just curious, and I figured you would be able to answer my question.

Linearity isn't bad at all, especially when done well, and when it suits the game. Like, Uncharted is stupidly linear, and I love Uncharted.

But Zelda, Zelda I love for how much agency it gives players, and for that sense of adventure and exploration, when that goes away, my reason for playing Zelda goes away as well. When a game like Skyrim is being a better Zelda for me than Zelda itself, there's a problem.

Thankfully, again, they rallied from the lows of Skyward Sword and Spirit Tracks remarkably quickly and well.

I'll probably get them on Steam, plug into my TV, use an Xbox controller, and play through them one weekend. It sounds intriguing, if nothing else, and since I love the genre, I sort of owe it to myself to at least give the games a fair shot, if nothing else.

... just like you owe it to yourself to finish ALBW >.> :P

There will be expansions. The modules are to help out with testing, but also to reward and let backers play something until the game is done.

The main agme will be the single player Squadron 42 campaign released in episodes. After that, you can transfer your character to the mmo like Persistant Universe after it launches.

the Pu will simply evolvein the same way an mmo does. The campaign will get expansions and potential "sequels".

@93BlackHawk93: There is nothing wrong with being linear (plenty of games are linear and amazing), but ALBW definitely felt more fun because of it's non-linear approach :) It's a cool world, with a cool lore (and OP soundtrack). It urges players to explore and try it out on their own! If the game guided you every single step of the way it wouldn't make it any less good but it would lose a bit of that adventure charm it had.

This is of course my opinion form playing ALBW. It may or may not apply to the rest of the series :P

@charizard1605: Need to get that and Ocarina for the 3DS. And Fire Emblem!

I see. Well, it seems like the game is actually highly progressive in its distribution method as well, apart from of course the technology powering it. I like it, and appreciate it, it's a new way to look at games, but of course, it makes it difficult to rank it in traditional terms, such as this contest :p Which, as you said, probably explains its lower ranking here.

Wait, wait, wait... is ALBW the only Zelda game you have played? 0_0

@charizard1605: Yeah. You know this, we've had this discussion before lol

We have? Sorry lol, I legitimately forgot

But dude... get on it. Ocarina of Time should be your first step, and then Majora's Mask. Don't play Majora without Ocarina- they're both 'standalone' but personally, Majora is best appreciated as a perversion of Ocarina, which implicitly means you should finish Ocarina first.

And one thing you will realize after playing these two (and ALBW, of course) is that, contrary to popular opinion, each Zelda game is actually shockingly different, and almost nothing alike- which is one of the reasons this series has done as well for as long as it has.

@system-reboot: Star Citizen's going to be awesome. I think a lot of the reason it probably didn't garner any votes is its full release is still a bit TBD and many are under the assumption it's coming in '16-'17. Why I didn't vote for it, at least.

Well, the main character in PSIV is named Chaz, so you pretty much have to play it haha.

Tell ya what, if you start on one of these games, message me with a heads up and I'll start back on ALBW.

Anyways, I know this isn't a topic about 16 bit classics, so I'll leave it with this. It's a pretty decent run down of PSIV... the dude says there is spoilers, but there's really not.

@charizard1605: Oh yeah, of that I am aware (that each game is basically it's own universe in the lore). But yeah I need to get those :P

@ConanTheStoner: Sounds like a deal, and thanks for the video, man.

@MirkoS77: Sorry for just replying, dude, I just saw your post (notifications are messed up again):

When I said lush, I mostly referred to how it looked, because it mostly looks gorgeous. I will admit that what we have seen so far is pretty empty in terms of things to do- there's all these trees, and a massive world full of them, and... that's it. That said, we have been repeatedly assured by both, Miyamoto and Aonuma that the world will be full of things to do, that you will never run out of things to do, so I'm going to take them on their word here. It might be a bit dumb, I guess, but there are certain developers that, in my opinion, earn the benefit of the doubt- Kojima, Naughty Dog, Atlus, Blizzard, and Miyamoto and Aonuma especially all fall in this category.

ehh, let's not go that far. The core of "explore world, do dungeons, save Zelda" is very much present throught the series

@deadline-zero0: I was actually unaware that there was any misconception about it being P2W.

All of this said, all I can hope is that I have a proper gaming PC by the time enough of this game is out (I still don't know how to word that accurately lol)... I guess before the PU is launched? Thankfully, it sounds like I have a couple of years :P

Yep! Although Majora's Mask is actually the direct sequel to Ocarina, and pretty much starts exactly where Ocarina left off.

... and somehow is still standalone.

Dude, don't ask me, I don't know how.

Sure, the series identity is common throughout, but each game is structured differently, each game plays differently.

Ocarina is nothing like Majora. Wind Waker is nothing like Skyward Sword. Phantom Hourglass is nothing like A Link Between Worlds. A Link to the Past is nothing like Adventure of Link. Sure, there are some games that adhere more strictly to a conventional structure than others (Twilight Princess, or the Gameboy/Color Zelda games), but on the whole, each entry has its own flavor, its own interpretation, its own structure of the Zelda conceit.

The Zelda conceit itself? Sure, that's the same. It's how that conceit is translated into the game that varies.

@Desmonic:

Link to the Past bro. Play it. Hell, you should play just about all of them really, but LttP is a damn fine game and you could knock it out in a weekend or two.

@charizard1605: Nintendo finds a way. They always find a way!

:P

^ I agree with this, if you have an SNES, a GBA, a Wii, or a Wii U, it's basically a game that can be done in one sitting (no exaggeration, it's actually very short if you know what you're doing, and not that long even if you don't). It is also the best Zelda game, period, so the downside is, you won't ever actually appreciate other Zelda games as much if you play this first.

@charizard1605:

**** yeah man, the game is just pure boiled down Zelda greatness with no fluff. Just constant fun.

I did a replay of it last year for the first time in forever. I like to fact check myself on nostalgia sometimes and LttP was actually even better than I remembered.

Ocarina, Majora, LttP. That's already quite the backlog on a single series :P

Yeah man, there's a whole lot of Zelda out there lol.

You could start anywhere really... except Skyward Sword, don't you dare start there.

Yeah, it's non stop movement, none of the bullshit they added in the later games, and it has the best dungeons in the series... well, at least in the 2D games, it's hard to compare it with some of the 3D ones.

But yeah. A Link to the Past stands the test of time, it's not just nostalgia, almost everything about it aged incredibly well (except for the combat, Jesus Christ the combat is shitty, I can't believe I dealt with it as a kid).

I did like a Zelda marathon back in 2013 (OoT, Wind Waker, LttP, ALBW), and it was very clear where the Zelda series peaks. It also sort of reaffirmed my belief that Zelda in 2D is far better than Zelda in 3D... which is sort of sad, but I hope the new one fixes that.

@ConanTheStoner: What if I want to go from worst to best? Then I SHOULD start there, right? :P hehe

@Desmonic: See, here's the thing. Outside of Spirit Tracks, Skyward Sword, and the NES Zelda games, I'd say you have to play all of the Zelda games at some point or the other. Which is 10 games, right there.

And even then, as much as it pains me to say it, I'd have to concede you need to at least try Skyward Sword for yourself as well. You'll probably hate it, but it's not an outright bad game so you might actually like it, and you need to form an opinion on it for yourself.

@charizard1605: From what I've seen of Skyward Sword I think I'd enjoy it. Granted, watching videos and playing it are very different things.

Will likely not play said 10 games anytime soon :P Baby steps bro! Ocarina and Majora first. Then we'll see :)

@charizard1605:

Too true man. I do appreciate the 3d Zeldas for their atmosphere and scale (and just for being damn good/great games in general), but when it comes down to a pure no bullshit game experience, 2d is where it's at.

If you really want to start in the gutter, you could play Zelda II, but I recommend you just skip that one altogether. Aside from the bastard Phillips CDI Zelda shit, Zelda II Adventures of Link is the worst one I've played.

It's not even a terrible game, it just plays nothing like a Zelda title and it's aged like shit.

Anyways man, don't want to overwhelm you with Zelda opinions, the fanbase is always bad about doing that with fresh meat players lol.

Start where you like and if it's not hitting the spot, try another one.

Oh yeah, SS isn't a dog shit game either, I should be clear on that. I just find it to be among the weaker 3d Zeldas. You might love it, who knows?

But yes, OoT and MM sound like a good start man.

I like how this basically turned into "Zelda: The Thread" :P

@Desmonic: Don't know if this will help you, but here is my list from what I played:

1. Ocarina of Time
2. A Link to the Past
3. Wind Waker
4. Twilight Princess
5. Link's Awakening
6. Majora's Mask
7. Minish Cap
8. Oracle of Seasons
9. Skyward Sword
10. Phantom Hourglass
11. Spirit Tracks
12. Four Swords Adventures
13. Four Swords Anniversary Edition
14. Original
15. The Adventure of Link

Yes, I have bad taste.

Can you fucking believe I haven't played, nor own, ALBW?

I have to reiterate that SS has the best villain:

That's a bitching list. I...I think I might be wrong about you guys. You guys do have good taste!

System Wars almost always comes through when it comes to these things. It's amazing. Like an ocean of shit that produces diamonds.

@charizard1605:

Legend of Zelda NES is a great game. I'd recommend it to anyone--especially the younger audience.

A Link to the Past has great combat.

Phantom Hourglass is a good game.

Twilight Princess has some of the best moments in any Zelda.

DANG IS LINK BETWEENT WORLDS GREAT.

@ConanTheStoner: Wait, are you telling us that's not how diamonds are made? #SomethingNewEveryDay

Best companion:

@Heirren:

I loved Zelda NES. It was the first game I played that wasn't just about a series of levels, or going for a high score. I'll always appreciate that it felt like an "arcade rpg" if that makes any sense. Definitely worth checking out for a newcomer since it's pretty much as to-the-point as a game can get and it can be beaten in an afternoon.

Great combat in LttP though? I thoroughly adore the game, but I dunno about that.

I like that it stresses outside creativity from the player, of sorts. All these kids back in the day talking about how they did this or that or in what order and everyone having their own maps--boy the community was so much different back then in a lot of ways. The game is strictly puzzles, it is fair, but man is it unforgiving. It has tension because of that.

@93BlackHawk93 said:

Best companion:

One of the best companion characters, period. It is funny how a lot of people find her annoying at first, over time become attached. That is all i'll say even though the game is very old.

I absolutly hated FF13, but i am still more inclined to hype FF15 because

1. It is way closer to the style i like

2. FF has given me some of my top games of all time, like FF9, FF7 etc, while i did not like any MGS.

3. I know, i just write very fast because i am making 4 Unity3d assets (one new and updates for other 3) and my own huge RPG at the same time (plus two extra projects for my postdoc). Busy busy times to get ebery letter right :)

Bloodborne and No Man's Sky are my most wanted. I've already preorder BB.

I've never played a Witcher game. Is the combat the same as Skyrim's?

EDIT: I might get a Wii-U just for Mario and Zelda. Zelda especially looks amazing.

Uncharted 4

Witcher 3

Arkham Knight

and lol @goodwill the Legend of Zelda series