Forum Posts Following Followers
215 1 4

DarkBox360 Blog

The Legend of Zelda: A Franchise in Perspective

The Legend of Zelda

Who doesn't know about Link and his exploits since the 1990s?

I've been playing Legend of Zelda ever since Ocarina of Time and i have noticed many things that make this franchise different from everything else and some complaints about other things.

-Storytelling: A man with no emotion

Link is well known for never talking and this allows Nintendo to leave everything to the gamer's mind as to who Link really is but this also makes Link a underdeveloped protagonist. Why is he underdeveloped? The only thing we know about him is that he is some kind of chosen one from a farm village. The story of each game characterizes Link not as who he is but what happens around him. Don't get me wrong the stories in each game are fantastic but Link almost never shows emotion and never talks which leaves everyone else to drive the narrative. You just dont care about Link as much as you might care about Snake from Metal Gear Solid.

- Appearance: Why the silly Hat?

Anyone can discren Link because of his hat, but why did Nintendo give Link such a different look from other heroes from fantasy games. Anyone could have made him look more "heroic" by getting rid of the hat and giving him armor but that would just make Link another Hero in a long list of generic characters. I think Link's identity is a mystery but we can all appreciate him being the odd one out and one of our favorite heroes.

- The Wind Waker Saga: A disgrace?

Critics love the "innovation" of the Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks but what do we think as gamers? Personaly i can't stand that cat eyed poser who calls himself "link" and goes on quests reserved for cheesy kids shows. As a handheld game it is typicaly avoided by hardcore gamers but for those of us who own a DS we have to be the ones to judge if the Wind Waker Saga is a tarnish or a nescesary evil.

- The Damsel in Distress every 10 seconds

Link has saved Zelda in every freaking game (sometimes more than once) and Zelda does little to help Link on his quest other than be the main driver of the narrative. Why can't Zelda do something usefull for once? (I know that she acompanies Link in Spirit Tracks and shoots arrows at Ganondorf in Twilight Princess but those are bad excuses)

- The Best of Them All: Twilight Princess

By far the most epic game in history (CoD doesn't come close) Twilight Princess had the best boss fights, the best story, and a whopping 50+ hours to explore the land of Hyrule. The story blew me away but the narrative was not the source but rather the new addition to the franchise. Midna. I don't care if Zelda is in the title but Midna stole the show with her sly deception of Link for her own purposes and then her turning back on evil and being Link's companion throughout the whole game. She opened portals, let you out of prison, and heck even ripped one of the bosses to little pieces. The ending was memorable and emotional. Oh and did i mention you get to be a wolf? Lol

- No Sequels?

Before you point out something i do not consider the Wind Waker Saga into this simply because i can't stand Toon Link. Every great Zelda game never gets a sequel even when there is good potential for more. Ocarina of Time doesn't leave anything behind for a sequel but i still have a complaint. Midna was my favorite and yet Nintendo promised that there will be no sequel for Twilight Princess. They also stated that they will not likely be bringing Midna back however Eiji Aonuma stated that they might bring her back if there are enough voices for it.

- What is to come?

Nothing has surfaced about the new LoZ game but i hope that what is shown at E3 this year will shed some light on what to expect from one of the most beloved franchises ever.

Is Link's reputation done for?

Personaly i think that Link is one of the greatest game heroes to date but with each passing year i doubt anyone willl remember him as the hero we all know him as.

Or will he be remembered as the childish giant eyed character introduced in wind waker.

Ocarina of Time proved to the world that Link meant buisness and although he never has one line of dialogue he is still idolized.

But then Wind Waker arrived and showed the weak, and childish side of Link.

The last actual Zelda game was back in 2006 which was Twilight Princess and the best zelda game to date but everything went downhill from there.

Phantom Hourglass is a disgrace to Link, Legend of Zelda, and gaming in general and now in 2009 we have to deal with Spirit Tracks.

Seriously nintendo, riding on a childish boat was bad enough but now trains?!?!

Nintendo has one last chance to right the wrongs and stop making childish rip offs of legend of Zelda like Phantom Hourglass and our last hope for link is the new Legend of Zelda coming in 2010

Will Link live as the hero we love? Or the disgrace?