20 replies to this topic

[Crimson Lego]

Go, everybody. Vote and discuss away.

[Twinrova]

Wind Waker, hands down.

I hadn't thought about it this way until I saw what Sean said on Facebook, but Twilight Princess is actually my least favorite 3-D Zelda. That's not to say I don't like it; I loved TP, just not nearly as much as I loved the others.

Wind Waker by far has my favorite atmosphere, setting, and art style. I love how everything looks in that game; the water is such a pretty, saturated blue, everything's smooth, there's lots of ... I don't know if there's really a term for this, but I liked how things like the dust clouds, explosions, sky clouds, vines, patterns, whatever, all had those swirly bits in them. Like this:




I saw someone once describe playing Wind Waker like being trapped inside a living painting. I think that's perfect and I feel the same way. For me Wind Waker's worth doesn't lie in its gameplay (I thought the gameplay kind of sucked actually, and I hated going through the dungeons most of the time), but everything else. I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the intro (gorgeous!), I loved the items, everything. ;__; <3

Also, I know I'm the only person in the world who feels this way, and I know I'm biased, but I LOVED sailing. Sometimes I would just turn on Wind Waker and glide around in the boat for hours just because I could. .__.; <3 'Course, I would do the same thing with Epona in other games too.




And actually... now that I'm thinking about it, if we're including the DS games in the 3-D Zeldas, then Spirit Tracks would actually be my least favorite. I loved Phantom Hourglass, but I honestly did not really enjoy Spirit Tracks that much. :/

[Sir Turtlelot]

Twilight Princess, for pretty much the exact opposite reasons of Rova. Each have their pros and cons, but overall I like TP far better than WW.

Both had really good stories.

I loved the art style of TP, it reminded me of the old game guide art for the first three games, everything was really dark. I honestly didn't mind the color of the WW, but I hated that everyone looked so damn cartoony.

WW did have more side quests than TP, but I've never been one for side quests, so that argument doesn't really affect my opinion.

The items of TP were a lot cooler than WW.

TP's boss fight was way better than WW. The first part was basically homage to the OoT Ganondorf fight, parts two and three included new game features, the wolf and horseback fighting respectively, and I honestly thought the last battle with Ganondorf in TP was just overall more epic than the Ganondorf battle in WW.

And lastly, overworld >>> sailing. I hated sailing, it was so damn boring.

[Kwicky Koala]

I go with Wind Waker. I enjoyed the sailing because the game has such a great atmosphere. The sound of the waves and seagulls, the way the music changes when you run into enemy infested waters or a storm, the change of day into night as you cross the ocean... The world feels legitimately huge. Twilight Princess had a large world but it was broken up by passageways and corridors, so it didn't feel as large or as connected.

WW did something totally new with the series. I like how it was connected to the storyline of Ocarina through the intro. I admit the gameplay is slightly lacking, I think the dungeons are good but there's not a lot of them. I find I have to rely on the story and atmosphere to keep me playing. There are a lot of good sidequests, and the NPC side characters all have a personality and each looks unique. The music is definately superior to TP's, I think. And the controls feel better to me.

TP I only completed once to be fair, but that's cause the story takes a long time to get going. At least in WW you were at the Forsaken Fortress in no time. I got stuck a lot of times in the dungeons, which was frustrating. I wasn't a fan of the art style, and I didn't like the lack of NPCs or sidequests. Hyrule Castle Town still feels unfinished to me. The horseback battle with Ganondorf was over really quickly too. But I accept that these gripes may just be the result of me getting old and/or getting bored of Ordon Village too quickly whenever I try to replay it.

[Sir Deimos]

Also, I know I'm the only person in the world who feels this way, and I know I'm biased, but I LOVED sailing. Sometimes I would just turn on Wind Waker and glide around in the boat for hours just because I could.

... you've must have never listened to me whenever I gush about the Wind Waker. YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE THAT LOVED OCEAN HYRULE.

[Twinrova]

Also, I know I'm the only person in the world who feels this way, and I know I'm biased, but I LOVED sailing. Sometimes I would just turn on Wind Waker and glide around in the boat for hours just because I could.

... you've must have never listened to me whenever I gush about the Wind Waker. YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE THAT LOVED OCEAN HYRULE.

Omg yaaaaay ; ;

It's not that I don't listen, it's just I've been told so many times by so many different people that the sailing is what killed WW for them so I'm just used to everyone but me hating it.



You guys have no idea how hard it is for me to live with the fact that Ben didn't even FINISH Wind Waker, btw. I love that game that damn much, that it pains me to think about the fact that he didn't even play it past the first 2 dungeons or so. :C I tried making him play it a few months ago, but he won't do it unless I'm there nagging him. u_u

[Crimson Lego]

You guys have no idea how hard it is for me to live with the fact that Ben didn't even FINISH Wind Waker, btw. I love that game that damn much, that it pains me to think about the fact that he didn't even play it past the first 2 dungeons or so. :C I tried making him play it a few months ago, but he won't do it unless I'm there nagging him. u_u

Give him a copy of Twilight Princess, walk away, and see what happens.

[Sir Deimos]

Suicide. That is what happens.

[Crimson Lego]

*spreads arms* Still alive, my man.

[Twinrova]

That's what you think.

[Hana-Nezumi]

I have to say Wind Waker. You can count me as another who loved sailing. There's just such a great sense of exploration in that big wide ocean. The triumphant music, wind on your sails, seeing an island in the distance... And when the seagulls start following... it's magical.

I would also like to note that WW *started* a trend of cel-shaded games, and yet none, even on newer systems, have surpassed Wind Waker's graphics, with its beautiful, vibrant, fluid, paint-like qualities. Seriously, if I had no prior knowledge of WW and just saw the graphics, I would totally assume it was a current-gen game.


Twilight Princess, on the other hand... I could not get into at all. It was a decent game, but... Hyrule just did not feel exciting to me. It just felt... washed out, brown, barren, and boring, and not even really anything worth saving. With gigantic gorges running through Hyrule for no reason that totally break up the landscape in a really bad way. And the only characters that stood out to me as colorful and interesting were Telma and Yeta. Overall the game just seemed dark, dead, and depressing, which I know was the point, but you can do that without being boring. See Majora's Mask.

Edited by Hana-Nezumi, 10 February 2012 - 12:21 AM.

[TheAvengerLever]

I too, loved sailing. It was one of the best aspects about that game.

[Crimson Lego]

That's what you think.

It's exactly what I th-OHSHITTIGER.

[Twinrova]

I think Leo just pooped his pants you guys.

*pokes him with a stick*

Edited by Twinrova, 10 February 2012 - 05:24 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

*eats the stick and does a dance*

[Snow]

Wind Waker for me too. And yeah, I loved sailing. I'm actually one of the apparently very few who actually thought the Triforce shard quest at the end was very enjoyable as well.

Twilight Princess wasn't bad, but its overworld, characters, story and art direction were all far inferior to WW (and a number of other games in some cases).

[Showsni]

We should start a "We loved the sailing in Wind Waker!" club. I had to go with TWW too. It's certainly a lot more memorable for me than Twilight Princess; I guess I should replay TP really to be fair, but currently Wind Waker gets my vote.

Sometimes I don't even bother changing the wind direction, I just tack to get where I want.

[SteveT]

This is a tough call. Wind Waker had the great art style, sailing was pleasant, creepy underwater Hyrule, a better than average plot, and probably the best music of any Zelda game. It also felt like it was missing a dungeon or two (Mother and Child Island, I think it was called...), the dungeons were kind of weak and the end game got tedious. Twilight Princess had a more nonsensical plot and played it safe in most aspects. It had a terrible first hour. Ultimately, though, the gameplay was tighter, the dungeons more interesting, and the boss fights were way better.

Gameplay trumps all, in my mind, so I have to give it to Twilight Princess.

[Alastair]

Another vote for Wind Waker here. The plot is (generally) more engaging and coherent. The main characters in WW are more fully realised than in TP, with strong motivation - Link with his quest to save his sister, and the King and Ganon with their divergent motives for raising sunken hyrule. The addition of Ganon in TP seemed to me almost an after thought. Considerable effort is put in to establishing Zant's motives, when suddenly he is relegated to a supporting role, and Ganon teleported in for the climatic final battle.

I also enjoyed the sailing in WW. In terms of gameplay it is far more rewarding than, for example, Skyward Sword's tedious flying. The uplifting musical accompaniment is perfect and little details like changing weather, a day and night mechanic, an island/point of interest in every grid square and the beautiful graphics kept me interested in the game. I still found the Triforce shard collection irritating, mainly because it was forced, rather than optional, exploration.

Twilight Princess had a more nonsensical plot and played it safe in most aspects. It had a terrible first hour. Ultimately, though, the gameplay was tighter, the dungeons more interesting, and the boss fights were way better.

In contrast I found the early stages of TP the most satisfying. The interaction with various animals seemed to be a strong theme which was not fully implemented. When Hyrule field first opened up it was a vast expanse full of infinite possibilities - sadly it did not fulfil this promise, having no more features (and possibly less) than Hyrule field in OoT. As mentioned before, the introduction of Ganon also came across as rushed. The game had enough dungeons, but for narrative reasons I would have liked a seperation between the battle with Zant and confronting Ganon.

[SteveT]

One thing I forgot to mention, regarding Wind Waker feeling unfinished. When you first went down to underwater Hyrule to collect the Master Sword, I was getting a very LttP feel from the game. Much like grabbing the Master Sword and completing the Light World, only to find out that the game was only 1/3 over (LttP), or grabbing the Master Sword and jumping 7 years forward into the future (OoT), I was convinced that the next stage of the game would be scouring the ruins of Old Hyrule for relics. And that would have been awesome and very much in line with the 2D Zelda games. Instead, we got the very tedious Triforce Hunt. I really felt like Nintendo was taken a stand against the numerous delays of OoT and pushing out a half-finished game. It could have been so much more.

[TheAvengerLever]

I agree with you there, Steve T. I was very much looking forward to exploring Sunken Hyrule, and I felt that there were infinite possibilities when it came to changing the setting from atop the ocean to underneath it.