I have a confession to make . . .

I have a confession to make – there’s a Zelda game I really didn’t like, and it’s one of the more recent ones. Most people put Four Swords or Four Swords Adventures at the bottom of the list because most people don’t own the necessary equipment to properly play them. But not me. 

Skyward Sword.

Yep. 

I’ve played every Zelda game through at least twice, and many of them at least 5 times, and some of them close to 50 times. I really love the Zelda series, as it speaks to several aspects of my personality.

The Collector – If you look at most of the side-quest things, Zelda is essentially a big scavenger hunt over Hyrule. Especially as a completionist.

The Adventurer – Going into a dungeon makes me feel like Indiana Jones going into the cave at the start of Raiders, or the resting place of the Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And discovering new lands makes me feel like Lewis & Clark.

The Helper – restoring Hyrule to its former glory, fetch quests, and the little things to help people really make me feel good, even if it’s fake. This is one of the main reasons I love Majora's Mask so much – there are so many people to help.

The Solver – figuring out ways to solve a puzzle with the current items I possess scratches an itch in the same way that solving a Rubik’s Cube, completing a hard crossword puzzle, or figuring out a tricky riddle does.

I also love the fantasy/medieval setting of Hyrule because it reminds me of The Lord of the Rings. 

But Skyward Sword just didn't do it for me. 

That’s not to say I disliked everything about the game. There was still a familiar feel about it. The art-style was beautiful. And I recognize that as the game that came out on the 25th Anniversary year, it included a lot of elements from past games. But unfortunately, it seemed to me like they took all the elements that I didn’t like from past games and put them into one game. Most people cite the motion controls as the biggest shortcoming of the game, but to me that's just the most obvious target. I didn't mind them as much as a lot of people did - and the fact that I only played through it once and still remember all my gripes is a testament to how big of an impression they made on my mind. 

Anyway, here are some of my major complaints:

The beginning was far too slow (aka, Tutorial Hell) – (Past offender: Twilight Princess) 

Most of the Zelda games get you started pretty quickly. I consider “getting started” to be when you have a sword and can do a little open world exploring or get inside a dungeon. ALttP got you in a dungeon with a sword within 5 minutes, and so did LA. WW, MM, and OoT all had about 20 minutes of story/exploring before that, which is slower than some others, but doesn’t feel super long. Anything more than that and the game starts to feel sluggish. The main offender in this category was Twilight Princess. When my friend and brother were playing it on Black Friday the week it was released, we were almost 45 minutes into it and still hadn’t gotten a real sword, nor had we gotten to the first dungeon. Skyward Sword decided to take this idea and run with it. Tutorials are nice for beginners, but it would be nice for veterans to be able to skip the usual stuff (the Ace Attorney games have a tutorial if it's your first one, but it's skippable).

Skyfield was empty – (Past offender: Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Ages) 

One of the best things about exploring Hyrule is finding hidden grottos under bushes or caves. Nearly every screen on the original Zelda game had something to find, be it a dungeon, a bombable wall, or a burnable bush. I love a game that has so many things that you have to make mental notes of places to return to once you have a particular item. When I saw how vast Hyrule Field was in OoT, I was amazed. I couldn’t wait to find everything in it. Unfortunately, the amount of hidden things can be counted on one hand, and it had very few enemies. I realize they probably wanted having to cross it feel tedious so that having Epona as an adult would be more fun, but there should have been much more thought put into it and more people/caves/houses/etc. Skyward Sword took that empty main area idea and expanded it. Besides Skyloft, there are basically 3 places of interest and 3 portals, and miles of empty sky between them with nearly no enemies or obstacles. It's just a lot of wasted real estate. Additionally, the three main areas aren't connected and require pointlessly traveling between one and the other via Skyfield. 

Annoying companion – (Past offender: Ocarina of Time) 

Starting with OoT, most of the games have replaced the wise adviser (Old Man, Sahasrahla, the Owl) with a companion (Navi, Tatl, King of Red Lions, Midna, Ciela, Zelda, Fi) and occasionally both. Most stay out of the way unless it’s a story part where the person can explain something or speak for Link. A lot of times I forget I even have someone tagging along. But Navi was very annoying, and judging from the amount of parody videos, I’m not the only one who thought so. All the rest were less intrusive, but then there’s Fi, who's on a whole new level. She brings back the problem of the annoying companion who solves the puzzle before you even have a chance to think about it, as well as the issue of constantly interrupting the flow of the game to reiterate something just stated. The intrusive HUD has an option to turn it off, and Fi should have come with the same option.

Intrusive and repetitive UI – (Past offender: Link's Awakening DX, Twilight Princess)

One particularly annoying aspect of Link’s Awakening was how often you accidentally bump into an object you can pick up, bomb, or destroy provided you have the right tool. If you don’t have said tool selected, the UI gives you a message basically hinting that at some point you should be able to overcome it. On the original LA, you could skip everything beyond the initial message by pressing B. Same went for whenever Link got a Piece of Power or Guardian Acorn. But the DX version removed that and so every time one of those things happened, you had to scroll through the entire text. Twilight Princess kinda did the same thing. Whenever you saved the game and turned it off, upon getting a rupee worth 5 or above the game would remind you how much it was. Skyward Sword does this even worse. Every time you pick up a treasure, no matter how many you’ve seen in the past, the game feels it has to remind you about what it is. This kind of annoyance is constant, and it’s really disorienting in a battle. Also, while I liked the inclusion of the stamina meter, making it look like a lime wedge was a poor decision. BotW did it much better, even as small of a change as it was. 

Repetitive elements – (Past offender: Phantom Hourglass)

There are a few things that people didn’t like about Phantom Hourglass, but by far the biggest complaint is how often you have to go through the Temple of the Ocean King. It was meant to be a central dungeon, and each time you went back with a new item you can go deeper into the dungeon, as well as take advantage of shortcuts. But having to visit the same dungeon 8 times can get old quick. Skyward Sword does this with a couple of items. Mostly with how often you have to fight The Imprisoned and Ghirahim (3 times minimum each – more if you want the Hylian shield). The same goes for the animation to imbue the sword with whatever new power Link found. The only difference in Fi’s dance after boss fights (meaning how it gets powered up) is the color of the smoke/energy. Another example is how Link has to backtrack to the same area, and then a third time for the Silent Realms as a way to reuse the overworld sections to make the game seem longer. And dowsing got old after a while. And while the Forest/Fire/Water dungeons started getting a little tired in TP, this game has you do that combo at least twice.

Bad boss design – (Past offender: None in particular) 

Fighting The Imprisoned seemed more like fighting Rrarrg from Spongebob Squarepants. Plus the whole, ‘toenail smashing’ tactic made it seem more like a Donkey Kong 64 fight than a Zelda fight. The buildup to the Tentalus fight seemed terrifying until you actually saw that it was less-menacing Celia from Monsters, Inc. And the fact that you fought the Imprisoned and Ghirahim thrice each makes it seem to me that it was really supposed to be one fight, but they spaced it out over 3 fights to artificially add length to the game.

Linearity - (previous offenders – the 3 GBC games are probably the worst in this category) 

I’m not a “non-linear is the only good kind of game” sort of guy, but there needs to be a good balance between story/puzzle complexity and linearity. Usually an increase in one category means a decrease in the others. In most of the games there can be a little sequence breaking (like doing the Water Temple before the Fire Temple in OoT) or doing side quests at one’s leisure, but there is an advantage to forcing a linear path. It allows a story to develop over the game, and it’s hard to tell a coherent story by reading chapters randomly. But if it’s too linear, it ruins the exploring aspect of the game. Some of the past games had a measure of linearity, but Skyward Sword almost feels like it’s on rails. There is a way to still have story and non-linearity, like how BotW did it through memories or ALBW had Hilda monologue after so many dungeons were complete (sorta what the gaming community calls “gates”).

Disregard of established continuity – (previous offenders – Oracle games, others)

I realize that they weren’t thinking of these games as a continuity the way things like movies, TV shows, or comic books work (see the Zelda Timeline post for more). But dammit, it bugs me when stuff like this happens. Details like Link rescues Zelda twice in ALttP, then in the Oracle games (which feature the same Link/Zelda) she introduces herself, and then Link somehow gets the Master Sword in Holodrum (again, I realize that the developers probably weren’t thinking that they were making a game that took place right after ALttP, or they just didn’t care). Games will often put forth little bits of lore about Hyrule, its history, and the past Heroes. But Skyward Sword kinda shat all over that. Like the problem with MC establishing why Link wears a pointy green hat (Ezlo), and OoT showing why Link wears all green (raised Kokiri), then Skyward Sword just making it a school uniform that everyone wears with palette swaps. In other words, we now have 3 different "origin stories" of Link's attire. It also seemed like they kinda dumped some of the established history about the Triforce’s location and the 3 Golden Goddesses in favor of some new Lore and new species/races (unless they’re intending for the kikwis to turn into koroks and whatever).

There’s always an older tale – (previous offenders: ALttP, MC, WW, TP, FS) 

It seems like in an effort to make a player feel like they aren’t missing out on previous games, Nintendo keeps making prequels. If you were in line to see Pirates of the Caribbean 5, you might feel like you missed something by not seeing movies 1-4, and it might be enough to convince you to see something else at the theater. But if the movie was slated as a prequel, then you know you’re probably not missing anything chronologically. When you learn of some of the history of ALttP, WW, and OoT, you get a sense that Hyrule has a rich history. But then as more and more prequels keep being made, instead of seeing the origin of certain elements, we see the same story as before, always hailing back to a previous hero. When Skyward Sword was touted as the first chronologically, I was excited to see what they cooked up. But to my dismay, the opening story talked about a previous hero, and also when Link was called to the shrine by Fi, he found the special sword already made and waiting for him. These things happen in the same way as the other games. Even the robots in the Lanayru mines seemed to indicate a far older (and more advanced) society than Skyloft’s.

For all of the nostalgia, the music got left behind - (past offenders: Adventure of Link, Four Swords)

I get that we shouldn’t hear the Hyrule castle theme when Hyrule doesn’t exist. Sort of like how we didn’t hear much of Luke’s theme in Star Wars 1, 2, and 3 (it’s the main title theme) other than during the opening crawls. We should definitely have a great new theme or two (which we got in the Main theme and Fi’s theme) but it should also have some callbacks to previous themes. Other than 5 seconds of the LoZ overworld theme, and the occasional use of Princess Zelda’s theme, there wasn’t anything worth writing home about.

The Timeshift Stones should have been this game's "gimmick," not motion controls

The coolest puzzle element in the game by far is the Timeshift Stones in the Lanayru Desert. They could have (and should have) built the whole game around this mechanic. Instead they built it around the motion controls (I suppose they could have done both). I think that if the motion controls were there but not the focus, this game would have gotten much more favorable reviews. For such a cool puzzle design, they only used it in a small part of the game. 


There were a few other things, like the low enemy selection (it's missing most classic enemies), the annoying HUD, Link making far too many sounds/noises for a "silent" protagonist, and the fact that they managed to make playing an instrument even less interesting (compared to the Ocarina, the Wind Waker, and the Spirit Flute). But I got the major gripes covered here. I'm planning on playing it again soon and maybe with more reasonable expectations, I'll like it better. 

Update after playing it a second time in 9 years . . . 

Zelda Game Reviews 20-Story

These reviews are my own personal reviews of each Zelda game. I am reviewing each as if it were the year of release, so I won't fault older games for poor graphics or hardware limitations of the time. Also, I'm only considering the actual game, gameplay, puzzles, and other things like graphics and sound while leaving out the story. The review of the storylines will be a separate post. And please understand that my purpose isn't to criticize the games to tear them down, but to improve them. Most of them I would give a 9.5/10, and in my view, the changes I would suggest would make them 9.9/10 or better. 


Zelda Reviews Part 1

Zelda Reviews Part 2

Zelda Reviews Part 3

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild



Release Date: 3 Mar 2017 (both versions)


System: Wii U and Switch


Game Format: 3D, open world, non-linear, almost seamless


New innovations: Breakable weapons/bows, Shiekah Slate, square bombs, cooking/crafting, Shrines, Divine Beasts, food as main health restorer, temperature effects, climbing.


How it compares to past Zelda games: Wow. This game perfectly merges traditional

Zelda games and the open world concept. It is GINORMOUS, and in a lot of ways, I can see that this is what they were going for originally when they made Skyward Sword, but now they stuck the landing and basically got everything right. Darn near perfect.



What I liked: Although it doesn't seem like it at first, about the only "classic" Zelda item missing is the Hookshot. Instead of a puzzle with 1 solution (and perhaps an alternate solution for clever people) there are many solutions that would work in real life. They found the perfect way to make an open world game inside the Zelda universe, where completing shrines and Divine Beasts can be done in any order. The map was huge and had lots of variety and character. I actually enjoyed the lack of a major overworld theme, much to my surprise. It made the music that did appear (battles, towns, and a few other places) seem more noticeable. There’s so much to do that it’s easy to become immersed in the game. The quest tracker made it easy to keep goals and side quests in mind. It was so immersing that my wife started calling it my, "other girlfriend."


What I didn’t like: The auto-saving takes away a lot of the consequence of dying. Perhaps

after a while it should autosave less often to ramp up the difficulty (this is a complaint I have about games in general, not just BotW – I liked the idea of not being able to save in most spots to make going into a dungeon or on a journey a little bit of a gamble in older games). Korok seeds only came in 20 varieties – which means there are on average about 50 of each kind to find. A little more variation would have been nice.

I'm not sure of the reason of the change to blue in the champion tunic, but the clothes of the wild were a little ugly. A bunch of [admittedly, bonus and non-consequential] content was locked behind a paywall (amiibo) but there are cheaper ways, thankfully. I can buy that after 10,000 years, there were some tech advancements combined with magic. But everything seems to always hail back to some long forgotten era (the Shiekah tech, in this case).

Also, (and this is very minor) dawn starts at around 3:30 AM. That's just too early. It should start getting light around 5:30 with sunup at 6:00 or so. 

Where it fits in the timeline: Who knows? It happens so long after any of the games it could be the last game in any of the three timelines or even a fourth one.


What I would have changed: Reduce the total number of Korok Seeds to find a bit and up the varieties. Included a few more memories to flesh out the story a little more. Get some harder Boss battles, and have 4 harder dungeons. Make the beast mode Ganon harder. Have some more books lying around or dialogue to tell some of the lore. More enemy variety. Make the Master Sword a requirement to defeat Ganon instead of just a good idea to find it. 2 additional heart containers for 100 Korok seeds each to motivate finding at least 750 seeds. The inability to climb up vertical surfaces (he’s not Spiderman) or at least put some kind of brick texture to make it believable that he could wedge is fingers in between the bricks. A way to switch whole outfits quickly like you can with weapons. A couple more small towns and another fortress ruins like Akala somewhere. Make it so there’s an option between “regular” and “pro” style HUD. A large war-chest in Link's house (once he buys it) to keep extra clothes/meals but also limit how much he can carry at one time. 

Wow. This seems like a long list, but most of them are very minor things that would have pushed this game from being nearly perfect to being perfect. A more detailed list can be found in this post.


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Title: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom



Release Date: 12 May 2023


System: Switch


Game Format: 3D, open world, non-linear, almost seamless


New innovations: Ultrahand, weapon fusing, time rewinding, Zonai devices


How it compares to past Zelda games: Very similar to BotW in terms of map, weapon-breaking mechanics, shrines, and story progression. 



What I liked: 


What I didn’t like: 


Where it fits in the timeline: After BotW

What I would have changed: Some of the gripes I had with BotW, such as clothing organization or a fast-equip option, are still present, though the inventory menu has been improved a little. 

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This last section is all the things I would do to change about the storylines and timelines to make things fit better and map the Zelda series as a tapestry of tales that might be the video game version of The Lord of the Rings or something. I believe that if they had adopted a "lore-master" to be in charge of continuity and back-story, these games could have been just that. Watch the Timeline videos to get a sense of what the lore/story has been before reading my suggested changes. As a matter of personal opinion, I generally give deference and preference to previously established facts over retcons and revisions, so later games will have a lot more suggestions than earlier ones. I also agree with Doomcock's Rules of Canon, outlined in this video, so the fact that all the games are released in some kind of random order is a little bewildering/perplexing.


LoZ: This is the first game, and therefore cannot really contradict itself as there is no previous lore to screw up. But maybe a little more time into some of the backstory would have been nice. In light of more recent games, info on how Ganon was resurrected would also have been nice. And now that we have the Master Sword in many games, clarification as to whether the Magic Sword is supposed to be the same one, but the lore wasn't as established when this game came out.

AoL: No changes necessary. It was a direct sequel, and didn’t really contradict anything. But perhaps a little more clarification that this sleeping Zelda was different from the first Zelda would have been nice.


ALttP: No changes necessary. Being a prequel, it doesn’t necessarily rely on players knowing the previous two games to get into this one. I liked all of the back story that the manual had about the creation of Hyrule, Ganondorf and his followers, and the Triforce. It helped give the impression that this kingdom had more history to it. I think it would be nice if there was something about how he can’t go back to being Ganondorf now and is permanently Ganon. About the only thing I might change is take out the word "forever" out of the ending when describing the Master Sword sleeping.


LA: No changes necessary. This was a side-story and doesn’t need to change anything since it doesn’t affect or contradict anything from the Hyrule history.


OoT: The events of this game seemed to a lot of people to be the events described in the back story of ALttP. It would have been nice to follow that story a little more carefully, though for the most part it all fits. Also, as we now know this game causes a 3-way split, some indication of that would have been nice. The story seems to indicate that this was an origin story, given that it played out the events of the back story to ALttP, and explained why Link wears what he wears (raised as a Kokiri) – but subsequent games that happened earlier have alternative reasons/explanations for Link’s attire (Ezlo --> hat or Knight Academy standard uniform).


MM: The only change I would make is a little clarification on the “friend” Link was searching for at the beginning. Most think it’s Navi, but others think it’s the Skull Kid. It’s a Gaiden game, so there wasn’t much to contradict.


OoS/OoA: Being a side story, there’s not much that needs changing, other than renaming the Master Sword (which isn’t really the Master Sword – the Capcom developers just lazily used that title to mean “best sword” or something) and having Link already know Impa and Zelda. And some further clarification as to whether this is really the same Link from ALttP/LA and these two games are the backstory for why Link is on a boat. And it would have been nice if the recurring animal companions recognized Link in a linked game like how Blossom and Bippin did.


FS: No changes necessary. I liked the inclusion of a non-Ganon final enemy.


WW: No changes necessary. It continued the story of Ocarina of Time after the hero left Hyrule.


FSA: This is more of a major change – I would take out Ganon entirely. Not only is this supposed to be a different Ganon than all the others (according to the official timeline), but I like having Vaati as another alternative guy. I might also switch the placement of FS and FSA, since FS mentions Vaati kidnapping girls and that is shown in this game.


MC: I would tweak the story slightly to fit in better with FS and FSA, like having the extra Links be different colors once he gets a charm from Din/Nayru/Farore, and that in the end Link upgrades the Four Sword once more to make the 4 players permanent (thus fitting in with FS/FSA).


TP: I would have gone into a little more detail/backstory about how Ganondorf already obtained the Triforce of Power, and how Kakariko ended up deserted. Now that we’ve seen Demise, it would be nice to make Ganondorf’s sword in the final battle the same as Demise’s.

PH: No changes necessary to the story. But I would have changed the musical cue for obtaining the Phantom Sword to be different than the Master Sword's cue.


ST: Because it’s a new Hyrule, there is not really a whole lot of history to conflict with. But adding yet ANOTHER special sword waters down the idea of a special sword (Master, Four, Phantom, and now Lokomo Swords). I would have reused the Phantom Sword from PH instead of just being gifted a new one (as in maybe someone held onto the Phantom Sword in the castle for future use).


SS: For the first few games, I enjoyed knowing there was some sort of nebulous backstory, but as we keep getting more and more prequels, there needs to be a definitive beginning point, and this game purports to be it. However, elements of the plot in SS seem to point to even earlier events. I would not have had Link and the others wear hats so that MC was the first instance of the hat, even though OoT established that Link dresses the way he does because he was raised Kokiri. I would have also had this incarnation of Link be the "Hero of Men" mentioned in the Minish Cap backstory. I would not have included new species unless it's really clear that they were supposed to be the progenitors of the races seen in other games. I think the Master Sword should have been forged in three pieces by three different smiths, not an evolved Goddess Sword. And when Demise is defeated, instead of being absorbed into the Master Sword, he should have been sealed inside of the other blade (the "anti-Master Sword"?) and it shattered into like 20 pieces, and each piece being found will trigger the next time Demise can return as Ganon.

I think it’s kinda bad story telling that all this time (since ALttP) there have been 3 goddesses, and this game suddenly talks about a fourth (Hylia). I do like however, that a goddess became Zelda and that’s why they have always had the Triforce of Wisdom or some kinds of light force/power. But I think using the same word (goddess) was a mistake. It’s almost as if they’re starting a new kind of “lore” and ignoring stuff previously set forth in ALttP and OoT.

ALBW: I would have the Triforce of Courage hid in the end of the game to pave the way for LoZ and AoL. I would explicitly state that Lorule is the kingdom that popped up in the Dark World after Ganon was killed, and remove Ganon as a villan. Yuga’s motivation would be to merge Hyrule/Lorule working under Hilda's orders, and remove the Lorule Triforce element from the story entirely – instead have it be the regular Triforce that kept the Dark World going and in its absence the land has been crumbling (hence the deep crevasses everywhere). After defeating Hilda/Yuga, Zelda has compassion and opens a portal letting the good people of Lorule into Hyrule as refugees. Zelda pardons Hilda because she was acting to save her people, but strips her of titles and is now a "normal" citizen. Zelda and the king choose to split the Triforce because it’s too much power for one person and too tempting of a target for thieves/usurpers. In the end, Link gives the Master Sword to Dampe to hide in the Graveyard (paving the way for the sword to be found in a graveyard in LoZ). More on this in a separate post.


TFH: No changes necessary. This is another side-story, and a multiplayer one at that. Link is stepping in to replace a different, past hero of the kingdom of Hytopia.


BotW: It looks like story-wise they’re continuing the lore from SS and skipping over lots of stuff in the middle (hence the 10,000 year jump) while only paying lip service to it (and map name service). It’s not clear which timeline it happens in. Make it a year instead of 100 years that Link has been resting/healing. An explanation that Ganon split himself into 5 entities to take over the beasts and castle (à la horcruxes from Harry Potter) and when they are defeated the man Ganondorf appears (slain).


TotK: Coming soon

Overall Changes that can apply to most games: 

If I were given the chance to go back in time and tweak the games a little, here's what I would do in general. 

1. Reduction of tedium and annoyance:

There's a lot that could be done to improve the dialogue screens of things that happen frequently. It's really annoying to have to constantly re-read and flip through 3 screens of dialogue in order to buy something. For example, the worst part of doing the figurine quest in the original WW is all the dialogue it takes to get just 1 picture turned into a figurine - it's suuuuper tedious. Then multiply by 100. Ugh. Thankfully, the HD version more or less fixed that particular issue. But I think game testers should let the developers know that after doing something 3 or 4 times, the dialogue can be skipped, including when Link finds yet another of some item he's been collecting all game. Something else to reduce annoyances is to remove all of Link's grunts and yells at everything he does. Maybe do it randomly 1 out of 4 rolls or whatever, and like 1 out of 8 sword swings. 

2. Reduce repetition of themes so much, and have more map/music cohesion:

I would use fewer Forest-Fire-Water dungeon progressions, as well as fewer Link-Zelda-Ganon-Triforce stories and have more gaiden-type games but perhaps ones which happen inside of Hyrule. I would also shore up some of the different map layouts and make them a little more uniform but that also show passage of time (like how the Ranch Remains in BotW imply that it used to be Lon Lon Ranch from OoT, or how the hill between Link's house and Kakariko eroded between ALttP and ALBW). I would also be a little less sloppy with the musical cues, names, and symbols that seem to be just tossed around randomly from games. Make them mean something specific and consistent rather than be just easter eggs or shameless callbacks.

3. Hero Mode for advanced players:

The other main idea I had was to include a "Hero Mode" that is accessible from the beginning of the game, and not something that has to be earned by finishing it once on "normal" mode (sorta like how WWHD/TPHD did it). Several games already have something like this, but the main thing it does is that enemies do double damage and/or there are no hearts to fill Link's life. 

My version of a hero mode would be that almost all of the tutorials would be skipped for things that have been Zelda staples. In addition to more damage/fewer recovery hearts, there aren't bombs/arrows/magic that can be found easily in pots or from thrashing around in the grass. The only place to get arrows or bombs would be the shops, and Link would need to carry potions or fairies to restore life. This would even extend to boss fights, where if you ran out of bombs/arrows/magic, you would have no choice but to die and try again with better aim or being a little less wasteful. It would also make the shops have a purpose, the bomb bag/quiver upgrades would be more meaningful, and the rupees would actually be useful (admittedly, this isn't too far afield from how the two CD-i games handled inventory, but in the context of a good game it could work). And maybe have a little more randomness in boss fights to increase difficulty.

Zelda Game Reviews 13-18

These reviews are my own personal reviews of each Zelda game. I am reviewing each as if it were the year of release, so I won't fault older games for poor graphics or hardware limitations of the time. Also, I'm only considering the actual game, gameplay, puzzles, and other things like graphics and sound while leaving out the story. The review of the storylines will be a separate post. And please understand that my purpose isn't to criticize the games to tear them down, but to improve them. Most of them I would give a 9.5/10, and in my view, the changes I would suggest would make them 9.9/10 or better. 

Zelda Reviews Part 1


Zelda Reviews Part 2

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Release Date: 19 Nov 2006 (Original), 4 Mar 2016 (HD Version)

System: Wii and GameCube (Originals), Wii U (HD Version)

Game Format: 3D, linear, gated

New innovations: Dominion Rod, Spinner, Ball and Chain, 5 piece heart containers.

How it compares to past Zelda games: This is what Ocarina of Time was supposed to be.

What I liked: This is the first game where I might believe the “economy” exists as there are many, many NPCs who wander in and out of the castle town. The combat is much improved, taking cues from Wind Waker for some of the special moves. The art style was very beautifully done. The music had the right combination of its new theme (the Hyrule Field music) and nostalgic music from past games. The ability to have 4 items out at once that can be quick-swapped. It was a very solid Zelda game and pretty representative of the series as a whole. Hyrule field was a bit more varied but still felt a little empty.

What I didn’t like: It was trying to be OoT Part 2 and didn’t branch out much. This was where the Forest-Fire-Water dungeon trio started to get a bit worn-out. Getting started took forever. The game reminded the player of what a blue rupee (or greater value) was whenever it was turned off. I wish that the Wii version had the option of playing it with a GC controller on a non-mirrored map. The motion controls for the Wii version also seemed kinda “tacked on” and didn’t really have full motion control like on Skyward Sword. The Poe side quest was a nice addition, but it lacked the little markings on the map to let the player know when they had gotten them all out from an area, like the Skulltullas on OoT. The game was delayed and we were told that they were adding a lot of content, but I get the feeling it was just the Poe’s Soul quest and other things like Roll Goal (which I wish actually gave Link something he needed). It was kind of odd to see Hyrule so "cut up" and divided by deep canyons but connected by narrow passages (though I realize that it was a programming trick to avoid loading the whole map at once).

Where it fits in the timeline: Second in the “Child” timeline. Preceded by MM, followed by FSA. 

What I would have changed: The only thing I would do is to make Zant a bit more menacing throughout the game, and less goofy in the end. Perhaps develop a few of the missing plot points better. And give players the option of turning off the sound of the pointer fairy. And the ability to turn in multiple bugs at once to Agitha.

Thoughts on the HD version: Really there’s no changes to the game other than the ability to play the mirrored version and without motion controls. There’s one new dungeon that’s quite challenging, but other than that it’s the same game – it just looks a little better. The Poe's Lantern to help with the Poe's quest was also a nice addition.

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Title: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Release Date: 1 Oct 2007

System: DS

Game Format: Top-down perspective with 3D models, gated, linear

New innovations: Stylus controls, note-taking. 

How it compares to past Zelda games: This is the first 2½-D Zelda game, and control-wise is very different. Artistically it fits in with the Wind Waker "Toon Link" look. It shares a lot with Wind Waker, but is expected being a direct sequel.

What I liked: New ways to interact (blowing dust away, stamping shut, signing papers, etc.), cool way to control, being able to make notes on maps. I didn't like the treasure/boat pieces system until I played simultaneously with a friend and now I really like it. After a while I really loved the D-Pad/L-Button/Stylus control combo. 

What I didn’t like: Revisiting the same level (Temple of the Ocean King) so many times. I understand how it's supposed to be like a "benchmark test" and every time you do it you improve your time because of both practice and better equipment, but it gets old quick. Boat pieces were hard to come by. Music was short and repetitive. Can’t read mailed letters multiple times. Getting Link to roll was sometimes hard. 

Where it fits in the timeline: Second in the “Adult” timeline. Preceded by WW, followed by ST. 

What I would have changed: I would get better music in a few spots, and make it so you didn’t have to go to the Temple of the Ocean King so dang much or at least put in quarter and three quarter check points (in addition to the half-point). I would also make it a little easier to find boat pieces. However, after playing it with a friend, I found that it greatly enhances its fun through item and part swapping. Not used the Master Sword jingle when getting the Phantom Sword so it's not a generic "sword" theme. Ceila should have been green, not yellow, or at least turned green once she regained her memory. Having some way to track which Power/Courage/Wisdom gems and treasure maps have been found would be nice. 

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Title: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Release Date: 7 Dec 2009

System: DS

Game Format: Top-down perspective with 3D models, gated, linear

New innovations: Train travel, Sand Rod, playing as Zelda, whip

How it compares to past Zelda games: Same style as Phantom Hourglass

What I liked: Fixed a lot of the annoyances from PH. The music was much improved, getting matching train cars wasn't the arduous task that getting a matching boat was, double-tapping to make Link roll was much easier than drawing a circle was. The Spirit Tower was the central dungeon like the Temple of the Ocean King was, but this time there were quarter check points so you didn't have to re-do the whole thing unless you were treasure hunting. Having Zelda as your companion was nice, and it was really great how you got to play as her. 

What I didn’t like: Having played PH with someone else, this game's treasure trading isn't as much fun because everything is always the same value. 

Where it fits in the timeline: Last in the “Adult” timeline. Preceded by PH. 

What I would have changed: Adding yet ANOTHER special sword waters down the concept. Link should have found the Phantom Sword from PH (kept safe in the castle or something) instead of just being gifted a new one. It would be nice if they let you know to keep track of which rabbits you found - something I learned the hard way after playing once. An elevator to the various Spirit Tower floors would have been nice so as to not get dizzy running up floor after floor of a spiral staircase.

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Title: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Release Date: 20 Nov 2011 (Original), 16 Jul 2021 (HD version)

System: Wii

Game Format: 3D, linear, gated 

New innovations: Motion controls (in earnest), stamina gauge, breakable shields, dragons

How it compares to past Zelda games: Very similar to Ocarina and Twilight.

What I liked: I recognized that they attempted to incorporate a lot of elements from past Zelda games as nostalgia for the 25th Anniversary of Zelda. The adventurer's pouch was kind of cool to customize equipment before setting out on a quest. 

What I didn’t like: So much. Just before this game came out, they announced Hyrule Historia, which finally had the definitive timeline, so it seemed like they were taking story into account a little more. But then they ignored some of the lore established in past games, and had yet another previous hero that Link needs to live up to. It also seemed like they sorta started a whole new branch of lore unrelated to past games. The game was very linear and had lots of backtracking that felt forced and overused. Skyfield felt empty and unnecessarily large. Musically there was no connection to any games other than the song of the hero for 5 seconds. Both Fi and the UI were annoying. Having to fight The Imprisoned over and over again got tedious. There will be more on this in a separate post, but an easy way to sum it up is that it seems like they took all the worst aspects of a bunch of games and combined them to make this one.

Where it fits in the timeline: First in the unified (i.e., pre-split) timeline, and first game chronologically. Followed by MC.  

What I would have changed: Make non-motion controls an option (mostly to make it easier to put on future Virtual Console releases). Make it so the academy’s students aren’t palette swaps of Link. Take off the hat (so Ezlo's contribution is more prominent in MC) and have a follow up game on the surface where the same Link fights Vaati. Don’t have the Goddess Sword be made already. Have Link get it made in Skyloft and they add to it throughout the game using what he finds in the dungeons. Different blacksmiths know how to add different pieces (like PH but better). And then have Fi “enter” the sword to give it the shine/sparkle to turn it into the true Master Sword. Don’t fight The Imprisoned so much. Change 

The Imprisoned and some of the other bosses to not look like Celia from Monsters Inc. Either have Link not revisit places, or make them more like the revisited stages in Mega Man 3. Make Skyfield populated. Not fight Ghirahim so much. The timeshift stones were an amazing puzzle element as far as gameplay goes, but plotwise seems to indicate an older society who was more technologically advanced. Made a penalty for not opening the sailcloth. Taken out the hour-long tutorial. Make the enemy AI better/faster on Hero Mode. Change the Limewedge. Perhaps it was the wide gulf between what I expected and what came out given that it was supposed to be a 25th anniversary event given that this was the game in development for the longest time (at least it was before TotK). There will be more on this in a separate post. 

Thoughts on the HD version: They fixed almost everything they could. This version is vastly improved from the original. It mostly eradicated almost all of the UI and Fi's annoyances. I'm not constantly reminded about what rupees and treasures are, and I can skip cutscenes when I want to. All of the other changes just give players more choices and it streamlines the gameplay experience. As far as fixable issues, I still wish there was fast travel between bird statues and some other cutscenes were skippable (like when Link falls off the edge of Skyloft). I very much prefer this version over the original and don't think I'll ever play the original again. 

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Title: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Release Date: 22 Nov 2013

System: 3DS

Game Format: Top-down with 3D models, dual open world, mostly non-linear

New innovations: Link eating animation, merging, weapon rental system (unless you count the Ancient Stone Tablets)

How it compares to past Zelda games: Since it originally started as a remake of ALttP, it is very similar in almost every way. 

What I liked: That they found a way to be open world without relying on previous dungeons by using the rental system. Another villain to fight (at least until he became YuGanon).

What I didn’t like: Mainly that it was TOO much like ALttP. While I liked the nostalgia aspect of it, it kinda disappointed me that it was going to be a remake before they made some slight changes and called it a new game (kinda like OoS, only it got much farther along the development process before it was switched to a new game rather than a remake). I would have changed a few things to make it a little less like ALttP, such as the sword/tunic upgrades, and perhaps a few geographical changes to show that time has passed. I was glad to see a new villain until their purpose was to resurrect Ganon and somehow he had the Triforce of Power. I know every game has its gimmick, and this game's gimmick is merging. But I think it got overused and was the solution for almost everything. The flip side to having an open world and letting players do things in their own order is that the puzzles need to be generic enough to not require specific items. 

Where it fits in the timeline: Fifth in the “Fallen Hero” timeline. Preceded by LA, followed by TFH.

What I would have changed: My main complaint is that while nostalgia is nice, it was too much like ALttP. Perhaps change the geography a little bit more to emphasize that time has passed between the two games. I would give Link the ability to switch swords à la OoT (which is the same complaint I had about ALttP). Not made Lorule and the Dark World different places. While the item rental/purchase system was a good rupee sink, there were still far too many rupees. 

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Title: The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes

Release Date: 23 Oct 2015

System: 3DS

Game Format: Top-down with 3D models, Stage Based

New innovations: Outfits (more so than the 3 tunics in previous games), fireball gloves, stacking.

How it compares to past Zelda games: It looks and feels very much like a multiplayer version of ALBW, but with the item system similar to FSA. 

What I liked: Online multiplayer solves the issue most people had with FS and FSA - nobody to play with. And local multiplayer makes it require less equipment than the previous multiplayer games. Multiplayer is fun, and I really like that the communication system they devised doesn't require typing when playing online, with the added bonus that it's not possible to use obscenities. The blacklist feature is also good to weed out non-serious players. A new villain in The Lady. The waiting room game of sword volleyball that plays past Zelda songs is a nice touch, and the only real connection to other Zelda games. It's another "Gaiden" game so it takes place outside of Hyrule with no Ganon, Triforce, or Princess Zelda. 

What I didn’t like: Having the Friend Tokens encourages people to play with others in person (and not just do a single player campaign), but it leaves out those who don't have friends to play with (for whatever reason). But an update made it possible to get them through another method. I also almost feel that this could have originally been not a Zelda game - that maybe someone had an idea of a multiplayer puzzle game like this and it could have been awarded to, say, the Donkey Kong franchise - kinda like how Metroid Federation Force Blast Ball could have been a "Mario sports" game if Nintendo had wanted to go that direction. I know that's probably not what happened, but other than the basic items (boomerang/bow/bombs), there's not a lot that actually makes it a Zelda game. 

Where it fits in the timeline: Sixth in the “Fallen Hero” timeline. Preceded by ALBW, followed by LoZ.

What I would have changed: 4-player. I know there were some technical limitations that went into the decision to only be 3-player, but purple Link feels left out :( Perhaps some puzzles where 3 of them had to stack up and hit a switch while the fourth one hit a different switch? I would have also expanded the area around the castle to be more interesting and have a few more features. I would have also changed a few of the songs that can be played when playing with the Lucky Lobby Ball so there was at least one song from every game (which they almost did anyway).

Zelda Reviews Part 4