A Real Top Ten Zelda Game List Because Jeff and Brad Are Unreasonable and Old
Just finished listening to the bombcast this week and...
What the actual fuck you guys.
List items
-
#10 - Oracle of Ages
Cutting both Oracle games from the list? How do you even do that for a top 10 Zelda list? I mean, there's only like... uhhh... one... two... ten good Zelda games to begin with, so I guess that makes this the least-good-but-still-good-at-least Zelda game?
Ages is okay, but outshined by....
-
#9 - Oracle of Seasons
... the superior Oracle of Seasons, a point where even Dan got it wrong. Seeing the world change between the seasons was just a much more interesting mechanic over the course of the game, especially when it came to winter (my favourite season).
Still, Seasons is only marginally better than Ages and the two make up the barrier of quality between the good and the bad in the series.
-
#8 - Phantom Hourglass
Hovering just above that barrier of quality is Phantom Hourglass, a weak Zelda game, but one that stood alone for the better part of a decade as the only good Zelda game to be released. If it was not for such dearth of titles in the franchise, I doubt it'd even make this list, but with Spirit Tracks and Twilight Princess being the surrounding titles, it's a fairly decent port to find in that storm.
-
#7 - Skyward Sword
Hovering just slightly above Phantom Hourglass is the sluggish Skyward Sword, a game that I wish someone would take a scalpel to so I could enjoy the ten hour amazing title that would be left. Too much repetition, too much busywork, too much plot and tutorialising, and, oh god, too much Fi all sent this game spiraling out of the sky.
But, it did have some of the best moment to moment action in the series, some fantastic puzzles, dungeon, and item design, and is one of the best looking games in the series through absolutely genius use of watercolour to mask the MIP mapping.
-
#6 - Four Swords Adventure
Not a Top 5 Zelda game, but my god it's a Top 10 Zelda game. Some of the best local co-op ever made, yet it's still a very competent single player experience as well. Cool usage of the Link to the Past assets, fun levels that, for the most part, offered the right amount of challenge and good puzzles (except the village level that required a LOT of busywork and is a huge low point in the game)... Honestly, for me, the list kind of starts here. Phantom Hourglass, Skyward Sword, and the Oracle games are all mediocre. I mean, they're fine and enjoyable, but if the series just had a few more good games in it, I would not feel bad about cutting them.
Also, if Dan thinks there are 15 core Zelda games and Four Swords isn't one of them, that's a kind of sad track record for the core Zelda games considering how much better FSA is than two thirds of them.
-
#5 - Minish Cap
Minish Cap isn't perfect, but it makes up for it by having a ton of heart.
I feel like that's really all I have to say about it.
-
#4 - A Link to the Past
Link to the Past is where the Zelda series stopped being a series of its time and actually produced a timeless classic. Challenging dungeons, memorable set pieces, a beautiful soundtrack, smooth controls, and a protagonist that wasn't afraid to rock a full head of pink hair.
Now that's what I call a video game.
-
#3 - Ocarina of Time
I feel like Ocarina of Time would be sitting a few spots lower on this list if it wasn't for the excellent 3DS remake. Ocarina of Time is a wonderful game, don't get me wrong, but with every passing year it shows its age more and more. Clunky controls, terrible camera, blurry graphics (that generation of games continues to be the worst looking video game generation), and a story that, while relatively light as compared to Skyward Sword or Majora's Mask, still doesn't really deserve the attention the game gives it.
Still, the 3DS remake manages to rectify all of those weak points (save for the story) so you can just focus on the killer dungeon design, great gameplay, and getting the fishing hole guy to weigh your fish.
-
#2 - Majora's Mask
Such a huge leap in quality over Ocarina. Sure, it relies on its 3DS remake to smooth the same bumps as Ocarina does and is basically the same gameplay as OoT, but Majora's has something that Ocarina always lacked: a god damn beautiful story.
Majora's Mask is a game about the people of Termina facing the biggest dissatisfaction in their life so they can peacefully accept their own death. Whether its a man getting over his own immaturity and insecurities to marry the woman he loves, a man lamenting his inability to see his children grow up, or for a daughter to cure her father's debilitating illness. Hell, every transformation mask is about someone sacrificing every part of themselves in order to give Link the ability to complete the task they failed, whether its to save their village, their princess, or their kids.
Majora's Mask may not be the best playing in the series, with lots of busywork and repetition, but the heartbreaking and despairing stories that this game is a conduit for are some of the best this medium has to offer.
-
#1 - Wind Waker
I'll concede that Majora's Mask is a better game than Wind Waker, but I enjoy Wind Waker more and it's my list, so *sticks out tongue and pulls down lower eye lid*
Wind Waker is a stunning game. It's animation, it's world design, and, yes, the cartoon cel shading are all breathtaking, especially in the Wii U remake of the game. The game is easily the best playing Zelda, with great enemy design, the best dungeons and bosses in the series, and an incredibly satisfying combat system that has yet to be matched. Sure, the game might have been on the easy side, but it was hard to care when you were having so much fun.
The story is alright, nothing quite out of the ordinary, but made up for it with some fantastic characters (Tetra is seriously the best Zelda character), great use of cutscenes, and just a sprinkle of side quests that are close to matching Majora's Mask's vignettes.
Hell, I even liked the ocean parts, even with my fear of video game water (never trust video game water). They were calm, meditative, and allowed for the most exploration in the entire series.
Wind Waker is exactly what I hope for when a new Zelda game is announced. Not a Wind Waker 2, but a Zelda game that will hit all the right notes like Wind Waker does. A game that will excel in its moment to moment gameplay, give me compelling reasons to explore, showcase a memorable cast of characters no matter how small of a part they play, and offer stories that, even if they're tucked away, are unlike anything I've experienced in games before.
That's what The Legend of Zelda is to me.
-
The True #1 - Okami
Best Zelda Game Don't @ Me
Load Comments