By Tom Lilley
What do Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask have in common? They are both part of the best gaming franchise ever devised and created, that's what! Since the first Legend of Zelda hit stores on February 21st 1986, the franchise has become a worldwide sensation and has amassed a loyal fanbase of possibly a billion. No one really knows as it is still growing whilst you read this article.
What do Ocarina of Time and Majora's mask have in common? They are both part of the best gaming franchise ever devised and created, that's what! Since the first Legend of Zelda hit stores on February 21st 1986, the franchise has become a worldwide sensation and has amassed a loyal fanbase of possibly a billion. No one really knows as it is still growing whilst you read this article.
The Legend Begins
The first game featured a character called Link, soon to be one of gamings most recognisable heroes, on his quest to save Hyrule from evil beings and spiritual enemies. Due to the era it was released, it was your run of the mill birds eye view game with 8 bit graphical code; a norm in the late 80's. You could say it followed Mario in some ways with the typical dungeon based scenarios and the less than stellar boss battles to obtain special items that you you would use to thwart future bosses. But this was more than enough to start a gaming revolution and persuade the general public to want more from the creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.
Rocky Next Step
The series' second outing, The Adventure of Link was widely acclaimed to be terrible compared to its predecessor, the gameplay was not as exciting, the story was dreadful on many occasions and the enemies were too easy this time around. There are a few things that did greatly improve with this instalment though. The soundtrack had taken the fanbase by storm, with an upgraded sound code. The music that played in the background whilst you mowed down waves of unbelievably easy enemies was astonishing.
The new platformer element to the game gave you a more in depth view of the detail of Link and his enemies and allowed you to get more acquainted with the characters and the art style of the game. This game did however cause the franchise to disenchant of its fans due to the downsides of the game.
The new platformer element to the game gave you a more in depth view of the detail of Link and his enemies and allowed you to get more acquainted with the characters and the art style of the game. This game did however cause the franchise to disenchant of its fans due to the downsides of the game.
Refound Glory
Ok, now lets skip forward four years to A Link to the Past. This is where the series really took off and is known as one of the best Zelda games to date. The Graphics had returned to birds eye view for this instalment but it followed Pokémon's graphical code at the time to give you a mixture of the first two game's viewpoints; though one of the more bizarre changes to the character design was turning Link's mousey coloured hair to locks of PURPLE!!! This however did not deter gamers from the awesome storyline and an alternate dimension called 'The Dark World'. This is what some gamers believe to be the 'First true Zelda game' as it is a dramatic improvement to the first two.
This Masterpiece took the gaming world to its knees with shock and awe, it literally punched its competitors in the face with a steel fist of awesome, but I digress... This game is one of my personal favourites and will go down in history as 'The first true Zelda game', just a shame the game didn't sell as many as anticipated.
This Masterpiece took the gaming world to its knees with shock and awe, it literally punched its competitors in the face with a steel fist of awesome, but I digress... This game is one of my personal favourites and will go down in history as 'The first true Zelda game', just a shame the game didn't sell as many as anticipated.
Best of the Best
At last, we skip ahead seven years to 1998 and my personal favourite: The Ocarina of Time. This game is widely considered to be the greatest game of all time. This game also made up for 70% of my childhood... Just, THIS GAME!
This instalment caused shockwaves in the gaming industry with all new 3D gameplay, one of the first and the best Nintendo game to feature this new layout. The music had highly been upgraded to match the new style, with all new roaming themes for each part of the map.
Of course, with great art also comes Great Controversy. Ocarina of Time had caused its fair share with things ranging from shield logos to Muslim chants in the fire temple, although this was all changed in the master quest version of the game. This Game, I think I have said that too much already but this game is what really revamped the series and is still causing ripples in the Nintendo market today; from its direct sequel Majora's Mask, released just one year later, to the handful of remakes that have been released over the years.
This instalment caused shockwaves in the gaming industry with all new 3D gameplay, one of the first and the best Nintendo game to feature this new layout. The music had highly been upgraded to match the new style, with all new roaming themes for each part of the map.
Of course, with great art also comes Great Controversy. Ocarina of Time had caused its fair share with things ranging from shield logos to Muslim chants in the fire temple, although this was all changed in the master quest version of the game. This Game, I think I have said that too much already but this game is what really revamped the series and is still causing ripples in the Nintendo market today; from its direct sequel Majora's Mask, released just one year later, to the handful of remakes that have been released over the years.
Breaking New Ground
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker was released on the Nintendo Gamecube in 2002. This game brought much controversy over its new Cel-Shaded art style and use of sailing from destination to destination rather than through Hyrule Field but this was soon brought to sense with the games storyline. Despite this, the game is beautiful and while I must say even though my favourite is Ocarina of Time, the art style on this game is second to none. I would spend hours just looking at the landscape and characters rather than continuing on with the storyline. This is another one of the Zelda series to cause ripples in the gaming world due to its unique style and take on things.
It's Dangerous to go Alone! Take This!
There are many more Zelda games out there. Every game is fantastic but alas only a few can be considered the greatest.
What is your favourite Zelda title and what memorable experiences have you enjoyed over the years with the franchise?
Please let us know in the comments below!
What is your favourite Zelda title and what memorable experiences have you enjoyed over the years with the franchise?
Please let us know in the comments below!
RSS Feed
