I thought it'd be a great idea to do a little blog about my favourite Zelda games, expressing why I love them as well as acknowledging their flaws, despite how much I love them, as they all have their flaws no doubt, since as the old saying in life goes, nothing/nobody is perfect.
So I shall start off listing them in the particular order of my favourites. However, since I have already done a blog expressing my thoughts on Twilight Princess in a review I previously posted, which is my third favourite Zelda game, I thought I would leave that one out, only focusing on my top 2 that I haven't written about yet, or not as proper reviews anyway, being Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
1) Ocarina of Time
Why I Love it:
I just love the magical, beautiful, enchanting feel it gives off, being very immersive and gripping both game and storywise, with an ambience so beautiful it really just has always had that special impact on me. Nostalgia may also be a part of it, as it may be for a lot of people, buth only a small part at that, though it really is a significant example of a true classic. No matter how many times I play this game, I continue to feel most ionate about , it, even more so even each time, looking forward to going on the same wonderful, exciting adventure again. The adventure of the game is indeed a most enthralling and incredible one, as we start off as a child trying to protect Hyrule, we grow up and watch Hyrule fall into decline which we then try to save, being one incredible journey indeed, with the theme of growing up being most significant throughout and ultimately a most moving one at that. I love the deep aspects of the game as well, like Sheik's quotes which were indeed most captivating, as well as just the overearching theme of course of growing up, courage, righteousness and heroism, being all portrayed very epicly as well. It was a wonderful adventure, with beautiful music as well that really added to this overall ambience and adventure. My favourite temples were the Forest Temple, Fire Temple and Spirit Temple, having also found the lead up to the final battle with Ganondorf most magnificent and powerful indeed, along with the actual battle itself, the timed escape out of the castle and the ultimate ending of course, which was a very compelling one indeed; the end credits were amazing too with the celebrations, mixed emotions from ing characters regarding their loved ones becoming sages, the sages hanging out on top of death mountain then Link of course returning his childhood, kicking off the child timeline. I just love basically everything about it really; I always feel very happy, relaxed and enthusiastic when playing it, and will always have a special place in my heart, the most special place in my heart when it comes to Zelda games and all video games for that matter.
Flaws:
In what I'd say is an otherwise flawless game, as I'm sure many others would consider seeing how popular it has been over the years, I would say the very few flaws there are are perhaps the Navi mechanic of how she repeats stuff to you and interrupts your gameplay all the time, her being very hard to ignore as well. I'd say the Kaepora Gaepora as well but he just became laughable in the end; being simply known as "Ohh noo the owl!" whenever he came up, though yes his dialogue could be a tad too lengthy. That is perhaps it though, as overall I would say it is indeed a practically flawless game. I would say the water temple and having to keep pausing to put on the iron boots although to be honest that actually didn't bother me that much.
2) Majora's Mask:
Although I frequently struggled with this game on my first proper playthrough, having rage quit three times, I did actually overall really love and enjoy it, being very much taken by it resulting in it being my second favourite Zelda game, a close one even at that. I was really impressed with how multi-faceted and deep it was with its theme and story, being a very solid story that you felt very much engaged with, with solid characters that you actually felt for, which is why it has ended up bumping Twilight Princess down a place on my list having done a much better job in these respects than Twilight Princess did for sure. Likewise, while a complex story like Twilight Princess's was, it still managed to not be too messy with its narrative like Twilight Princess was, not going off on a tangent like TP did, not to mention much more likeable, interesting characters, which is also why its end credits had much more of an impact on me when watching because you actually feel for the ing characters in Majora's Mask, having become engaged and immersed in their storylines and personal lives. Not to mention everything actually all fitted together, being overall coherent in this game, something which Twilight Princess did not do so well with of course. Comparing and constrasting aside though, it was overall a very absorbing, gripping game with its story, as well as making for exciting if not challenging and often frustrating gameplay, as adventuring was an overall really exciting, fulfilling, fascinating experience in this game I found, and when I did finally get through the obstacles in this game I'd been originally struggling with like crazy it really did give me the most rewarding, amazing feeling ever, which I think was another wonderful experience of this game. It was exciting learning all new things as well, like the different mechanics you can use in your different forms, as even though the Goron rolling and Zora swimming mechanics could be awkward, it was still a fun, intriguing, adventurous experience nevertheless. Exploring different areas in your three different forms definitely made for a whole new, fresh experience that stands out from other Zelda games, broadening your horizons, and although it was undoubtedly much more complex both story and gamplaywise than its predecessor Ocarina of Time, which was very much straightforward in both these respects, that actually ended up making it still very much of a fascinating experience and adventure, just in a different way to Ocarina of Time of course. In fact, as much as I love Ocarina of Time, I can actually understand why some may favour Majora's Mask over it.
Visiting and exploring the various areas and getting an idea of what went on there and the various people (or beings) who lived there, who you had to help and heal the souls of as well was really fascinating, as you got a strong sense of what had happened and how you had to help them. Getting a close, deep look and feel into the different lives and stories of the Dekus, Gorons and Zora was most intriguing, with the storylines/sitatuations of Darmarni and Mikau being most deep and moving, not to mention upsetting, as you genuinely feel invested in them, to the point taking on their identities feels most fitting and meaningful indeed. I felt most fascinated with the concept of Link wearing the masks that contained the spirits of the people he'd healed, being the Deku child, Darmarni and Mikau, and how Link was carrying out the rest of their heroic quests, or at least in Darmarni's and Mikau's case, and how he was fulfilling their spirit and legacy for them, and how they were also lending him their courage, or adding onto his courage that is. It was a beautiful, deep, fascinating concept really, and what added to the emotion of it all the more was the overarching theme of healing throughout the game, which I thought was a beautiful, moving theme, to heal the souls of those who met their unfortunate end, so they can rest peacefully, and knowing Link is going to pick up where they left off for them.
Side quests were most exciting for sure, with the Anju and Kafei one being a real highlight of course, as although waiting around could be a pain and the Sakon's Hideout puzzle could be tricky, making you restart the entire quest all over again if you failed (which I did at least twice) it is what makes it so exciting, that you go through everything, make all this progress, even if you have to repeat it, and so when you finally do succeed, it really does indeed feel most rewarding. It was amazing as well having a solid story within a side quest as well, and how with each side quest you were able to see how each character was impacted by the impending apocalypse, which made the end credits feel most heart-warming indeed. Along with Ocarina of Time, that would definetly be my favourite end credits of a Zelda game.
Likewise, I love dark themes, so of course Majora's Mask was a perfect choice for me, with its various dark and creepy moments throughout being most enjoyable and enthralling for myself, while the upsetting moments, like the Deku butler and his son at the end and the deaths of Darmarni and Mikau had a most profound impact on me, especially the former. I feeling it was really dark having Mikau die right in front of you, after he's appeared all lively and you've played him the song of healing, then there is his mask with his spirit in and his grave, after you help him out of the water as well. The fact none of the other Zoras or anyone seemed to know he was dead as well seemed weird. The death of the Deku child as well, who was the only one we didn't even meet, or even hear about for that matter other than from his father the Deku Butler of course, was dark as well, as he was only a child and just had his soul "ripped out" of him by Skull kid who was possessed by Majora of course. Yeah, some dark stuff there all right. This makes the end credits scene with his dad weeping at his corpse most heart-wrenching indeed, after we see everyone else seeming to get their happy ending as well. But yeah, I just love anything that has this dark, intense, spine-chilling theme really.
Flaws:
Now I don't want to say that it being frustating was a flaw, as that really is just something I personally struggled with at first as part of the whole learning experience but will no doubt get the hang of more over time. I would say one flaw was definetly the way the gilded sword, the much stronger and ideal sword than the Kokiri sword was made so hard to obtain, the way in order to get it you had to do the Goron race, which was reeeaallly hard and hopeless, and even then that was only accessible if you had beaten the Snowhead Temple boss, Goht, in that same cycle, by the first day as well! That I definitely found a bit harsh, and rewinding time to repeat a side quest that could only be done at certain times if you failed the first time could be a pain at first but I guess it wasn't so bad after a while, once you get used to it basically. The saving system was actually no doubt my biggest bother with this game, not being able to save as you went along. Losing your amo and stuff when you went back in time could be a pain too, as you had to stock up on them again, though it wasn't so bad considering outside some of the temples there were pots that supplied you with a whole quivers worth of arrows or what not. I guess there not that big of a deal really these flaws, they just seem a real pain at first, but you can easily get used to them I guess after a while. Ohh and I probs should add that I'm not even sure this should count as a flaw but I do wish they had showed Kafei as an adult when you see his and Anju's wedding during the end credits, as that would've made more sense and had all the more of an impact. He is there of course as we see Anju holding out her hand but Nintendo didn't seem to have time to make another model for him, so just made him "hidden" by a bouncing Tingle. It would've been nice to include the Gorons during the end credits too as this made them seem a bit left out, but again, these are probs more personal preferences than flaws I guess.
Fighting Wizzrobe 4 times, 5 times if you choose to do the secret shrine was also rather annoying, and unneccessary, but didnt effect the overall game much really.
So yeah, they are my top two Zelda games, with Twilight Princess being my third, although I have of course come to realize that these two definitely have the most special places in my heart. Twilight Princess was great, but when reflecting on it and comparing and contrasting, I just can't help but realize that OOT and MM were better executed in so many ways. Both are wonderful games that I look forward to playing again! :D
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