That's interesting. You wouldn't expect them to make two dungeons that take place in swamps, especially when one has a generic name like "Swamp Palace".
So what? It's not like both dungeons were exactly the same. The designs and mechanics of both were still distinctive enough to keep MM from being a copy of SP. ALttP doesn't get enough love nowadays.
I know. I'm just nitpicking right now, cause it's something that I feel people could mix up. And ALttP is one of my favorites in the series.
aLttP gets loads of love from nonfans. If you ask most of our kind of generation who have been playing Zelda you'll get the stereotypical answers of aLttP as best 2D and OoT as best 3D. It's only when you get deep into the fandom you get weirder answers and the wider variety of favourites.
I'm a fan of the series. Have been before most people were born and/or when they were still wearing and shitting in their diapers, and ALttP and OoT are my two favorite Zeldas. If you're trying to say that only ''casual'' fans can hold the view that those games are the best, you're mistaken.
I'm not saying that at all, I am simply saying the view is more likely. For example, you ask someone who has seen the LotR films who their favourite character is; you're likely to get a lot of Striders, Frodos, Gandalfs and Legolases. You're unlikely amongst people who have just seen the films to get more odd characters being mentioned. Go further into the fandom, however, and the spectrum opens up. You might get some Imrahils, or some Gildors or Elendils. Sure, you'd still get a load of legitimate Striders, but a smaller percentage than you woud in the casual crowd.
This time I'm making a list based on how often I've replayed (and/or whether I want to replay) the games because I feel that that's the best way to measure how much I enjoyed them. OoT TWW MM ALttP SS TP OoS LA OoA PH ST TMC LoZ FS AoL FSA A few may be able to be switched around, but I'm pretty confident in the general order. Yeah, OoT is my favourite now. I've probably just been trying to deny it this whole time to have an opinion that wasn't "just the same as so many others'". I grew up with that game, and to this day I still believe that everything in that game was just done right. The puzzles were thought-provoking, the dungeons were challenging, and the game packed so much content in such a small overworld. No complaints at all with that game. TWW was great too, but it loses points for the dungeons.
To be fair neither were Swamp Dungeons. They were in a swamp, but one was sewer-themed and the other was more generic.
I don't remember what I originally posted but as of now: God Tier (My Childhood...) 1. Twilight Princess 2. Ocarina of Time 3. Wind Waker 4. Majora's Mask 5. A Link to the Past Great 6. Phantom Hourglass 7. Skyward Sword 8. The Legend of Zelda Good 9. Four Swords Adventures 10. Spirit Tracks 11. Link's Awakening Okay 12. Oracle of Ages 13. Oracle of Seasons 14. Four Swords 15. Adventure of Link ....and I still have yet to play Minish Cap.
I just realized why Majora's Mask is the best sequel game in the series. According to Kaepora Gaebora, Termina is destined to 'fade,' and Link going after the Skull Kid is him directly trying to challenge destiny to save that world. He ends up successfully preventing the fated doom of Termina. Since Termina is its own parallel dimension or whatever, that means that at the time of Link's life that Majora's Mask occurs, on the other timeline he is sleeping. In one universe he defeats destiny and saves a doomed world, in the other Link is asleep in the Temple of Light - this Termina has no savior and its destiny - the Skull Kid uses a stolen mask to bring down the moon and destroy everything - is fulfilled. All your effort and emotional investment in playing Majora's Mask is torn away as you realize that the "Game Over" happens anyway on the other timeline, and all your favourite characters are smashed into the next life by the moon. This of course raises the question of whether Termina is its own universe in the same way that the Adult Timeline is its own universe, or if is some sort of realm that exists alternately in every universe. And since I can't think of any evidence for it being its own universe, I may as well say that it actually exists separately in each timeline, and that yes, the Adult Timeline's Termina gets its shit fucked up. And that's sort of depressing, having played through Majora's Mask and knowing how great it is to save Termina. What this implies is that on the Adult Timeline, the Princess of Destiny sends Link back to a timeline at a point when Termina can still be saved, and it becomes the odd one out of every other Termina in the multiverse - some kid who shouldn't even be there according to the destiny of his own world comes along and messes with its dismal destiny. Zelda saved Termina by creating a Child Timeline. She should be revered as a Goddess by the unknowing people of that one lucky Termina, and yet she's not even from the same universe. OoT Zelda transcends universes. This is also a point in favor of her being the best of all Zeldas. SS Zelda's got nothing on this gal. The tragedy, of course, is that by sending away the Hero of Time she left her own timeline without a successor, and the kingdom that she struggled to save is eventually sacked completely, washed away and forgotten. It isn't until a wish on a relic of the old kingdom is made that her world is given a second chance. Zelda sacrifices her kingdom, unknowingly of course, but manages to save a Termina. In the end it was worth the trade, because even when Hyrule is destroyed it eventually makes a comeback in New Hyrule. This is more than can be said for the doomed Termina, which we are led to believe would be completely obliterated (ie no survivors, and a complete fading of that parallel dimension). The Split Timeline is the best thing to ever happen to this series.
As many of you know, I've been playing through Majora's Mask again, and I think I've decided that, in my opinion, it's the best Zelda game thus far. Story The story is basic: the Moon is heading directly toward Clock Town and you have three days to save the world. Great for a gamer (including casual gamers and/or people who are just getting into the series) who wants more actual gameplay than story. But for someone looking for a deeper story, they have the option to see the game's story as something more complex; you can look at Stone Tower and think "Why does it look like a penis?" or look at Deku Palace and Ikana Castle and think "Why are these kingdoms so judgmental of people and is that the root of their problems?". You can look at everything, even what the characters say, and derive a much deeper story from it all, but only if you want to. Setting Termina as a whole is fantastic. It's a small world, and there are only four dungeons, but there is so much content packed into every corner. Sometimes I feel like even Termina Field is too big because the content is more spread out by comparison. And the dungeons are all challenging, and get increasingly but steadily difficult as the game goes on. Stone Tower Temple is an amazing way to finish off the dungeon-crawling portion of the game. I also love how you can collect Stray Fairies from the temples and bring them to the fountain to get an optional upgrade. In fact, all the upgrades in MM are useful to the point where doing all those optional side-quests feel rewarding. It's also great that the items you get in the dungeons are only minor additions to your inventory: just different kinds of arrows. Every other item is found between dungeons in interesting settings, and even obtained in interesting ways. The atmosphere is the best out of any Zelda game I've played. Everything is coloured and textured to look realistic, but there are bright colours and lots of contrast to make everything stand out and catch your attention without detracting from the main parts of the game. It's like a beautiful painting, but limited of course by the N64's hardware. MM made great use of the Expansion Pak though. You can really see an improvement over OoT's graphics. The soundtrack is also really good. Each song matches the atmosphere perfectly, and where it doesn't (Farewell Gibdo), the effect of the contrast just keeps you engaged in the game. Gameplay The whole game is the perfect level of difficulty. You pretty much keep up with it's progress as the difficulty increases at the same rate you'd generally be improving. If you're already good at everything, the only thing that feels tedious is the short descriptions of how to play the game. If you're not, it's like the game shakes your hand and says "you're on your own" rather than holding your hand and walking you through everything. Speaking of which, Tatl is an amazing sidekick because she gives you hints, but never outright tells you something. For example, I was in Stone Tower Temple and went down one floor into a dark room. Tatl simply said: "First I thought this room was just dark, but now I get it. Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about!". You're supposed to bomb the floor above to let light in, but Tatl doesn't tell you that, and the game doesn't even show cracks on that part of the floor to indicate that it can be blown up. She has a personality, but not the kind that interferes with anything else. She'll make a sarcastic remark once in a while, and she'll help you out with puzzles, but you're on your own for the most part, so solving problems makes you want to give yourself a pat on the back. The use of masks is a brilliant design choice as well. Each transformation essentially turns MM into a different game, just with a similar setting. And the option to do whatever you want as whoever you want is largely there; it's just a matter of playing in the manner that's most convenient for you. While some of the masks should have been more than items that only work for one use, the masks that give you enhanced abilities (like the Bunny Hood) are extremely useful, so it makes up for it in my mind. All the other items maintained importance throughout the game anyway. Yet another great thing about the gameplay is the fact that you're motivated to do things, and you have the Bombers' Notebook to keep track of some of those things. Time keeps going no matter what (bar inside the Clock Tower), so you have to keep an eye on the clock. If you ever don't know what to do, look at the time, look at the notebook, see what you could be doing for that time of the day, and because time is constantly moving, you want to get it done faster lest you lose your chance, even though you know you technically have unlimited time. It's just the sense of time that motivates you to get something done. If you ever miss your chance at something, just play the Song of Time, wait for the specific time, and try again (but at a cost of course: all your quantifiable items). General Badassery They had Link doing flips 'n' shit. That's all I can think of to say for now, but yeah, just look at my list of favourite games above and move MM to the top.
Actually, MM kicked ass. -Dark storyline that used symbolism to an effective degree. -Sidequests up the ass, and ones that involve character development in even some of the more minor NPCS -Stone Tower Temple. -Transformation!
