Why every Zelda game is the best AND worst in the series

They can't all be legendary. Or can they?

Words: GamesRadar Staff on July 1, 2011

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Larinah - July 2, 2011 12:42 a.m.

The one thing I continuously hear from people on Majora's Mask is the lack of time and "having to hurry." Anyone else here tried playing the Song of Time backwards? It makes the time last.... I dunno, probably 3 or 4 times as long. Meaning you still have plenty of time afterwards.
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V13Dragongal - July 2, 2011 12:07 a.m.

I just wanted to point this out, in the origional Zelda gaes the box art showed him left-handed to his nature, but in game he used his sword with his right hand.
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DecoyOctorok - July 2, 2011 12:06 a.m.

I've been playing Majora's Mask on my Wii and I hate to admit that it's the first Zelda that I've really had to force myself to play through. It just hasn't clicked for me for some reason. Oh well... to Ikana Canyon I go!
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LordZarlon - July 1, 2011 11:44 p.m.

Ocarina of time is actually the only Zelda I finished. I played about 10 hours into Majora's Mask and then traded it in. It wasn't bad but it just didn't interest me. I just tracked down Twilight Princess on Gamecube and am really looking forward to playing it.
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ViolentLee - July 1, 2011 8:05 p.m.

I won't say it's the best Zelda, but Minish Cap was so awesome. I obsessively played to 100% completion. So much fondness for that game.
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Kilburn474 - July 1, 2011 7:31 p.m.

Nevermind. I'm dumb. Got it confused with the Final Fantasy article like this.
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Kilburn474 - July 1, 2011 7:23 p.m.

IS this a re-post or something?
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HankVenture - July 1, 2011 5:28 p.m.

I loved the sailing in WindWaker..I think it was because I was young and had no job so I wasn't in a rush to get the game finished because I had plenty of time were as brett and others may of had jobs and might have enjoyed the sailing, but had wished it was faster so they could get more done in a day
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zzzonked - July 1, 2011 4:38 p.m.

Brett this article was great. I'd have to say that MM is my personal favourite though, it's a lot darker compared to other zeldas. Knowing you have 3 days to save thousands of people is much more imposing than having ganon sitting around waiting for a fight like in the end of OoT
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Sjoeki - July 1, 2011 2:52 p.m.

I thought you guys had forgotten that Zelda for the CDI, but I should have known you'd keep the "best" for last.
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Ultimadrago - July 1, 2011 2:42 p.m.

Wind Waker is my favorite. Four Swords, least favorite (played with one other person) Great article though. Thanks for it. Now...RESIDENT EVIL!
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CitizenWolfie - July 1, 2011 2:35 p.m.

Wind Waker is my outright favourite mostly because it was the first one I really played to completion. And I loved the sailing sections; it actually felt like I was exploring the overworld with every island I came across. For similar reasons I loved Phantom Hourglass. I hated Spirit Tracks though. The train sucked. Loving the improved OoT! I never had an N64 and the version included with WW felt dated so it's nice to play it with those tweaks.
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winner2 - July 1, 2011 2:22 p.m.

Wind Waker has to be my favorite just because I have it and I love the art style, and the sailing has never bothered me to be honest. In fact, I have to say it was even fun just to sail sometimes. Twilight princess has my favorite dungeons though (sky city), and the whole story and feel was awesome. Just ticks me off that I had it for the Gamecube and not the Wii. I lost it years ago and I refuse to buy it for the Wii, as apposed to having it on my brothers old GC again, which has perfectly normal controls. Gonna have to find a gc copy online someday.
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freddyqaqualung - July 1, 2011 1:37 p.m.

My main problem with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks was the Touch Screen controls. The button presses worked much better for me and half the time my hand obscured the damn screen, causing more than a few deaths from an enemy that I couldn't see. Also, Majora's Mask was a great game, even with the time system.
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TheHungryLemur - July 1, 2011 1:12 p.m.

Zelda CDI is barely even a game, let alone a Zelda game! reCAPTCHA: dopeco trees ...The hell?
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HankVenture - July 1, 2011 1 p.m.

@jmcgrotty... you clearly don't understand what an opinion is. Zelda 2: You can't use one misc. character to say that everyone in the town is the same way. Plus he was saying it's more linear and easier to figure out where to go than the first game, he didn't say it was always helpful in showing the way. It's called a comparison Ocarina of Time wasn't a semi-groundbreaking game.. IT WAS a ground breaking game of its time and if you can't accept that then you're a fool and if you think all these people are saying it's a good game just to fit in, then you are insane. Windwaker might be of your liking, but that doesn't make it a horrible game. It's one of the best zelda games to date. Why don't you actually play it and get over your picky habbit You are clearly just a trolling idiot. Tetris is boring and blows
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UkulelePichu - July 1, 2011 12:55 p.m.

You forgot The Wand Of Camelon and Zelda's Adventure
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jmcgrotty - July 1, 2011 12:51 p.m.

While I understand the whole idea of what an "opinion" is, there are some undisputable facts about the Zelda series: The Legend Of Zelda (the original title) is by far the best of the series. It's undebatable. Zelda 2: "several towns filled with clue-giving inhabitants"... yeah, clues as useful as "I am Error." Ocarina Of Time: Good game, semi-groundbreaking, but not a great game. I really doubt that all these people who say it is good have never actually played it. Wind Waker: "All you jerks who hated on the 'cartoony' visuals of Wind Waker can go eat your tunics now." Your point would be more valid if you were right. To this day, Wind Waker is unacceptably horrible. And yes, this is mostly because of the graphics. No handheld game can be considered good. By definition, handheld games suck, with no exceptions other than Tetris.
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HankVenture - July 1, 2011 12:51 p.m.

I feel like you have done this feature before for some reason.. O well I agree with the zelda games I have played. And i mean my favorite is Ocarina of Time because I was like 10 or something when that came out and it's sorta part of what got me into gaming, but I like the gameplay of Majoras Mask more, I just think it was funner. I use to play Zelda 2 a lot but only when my halfbrother from texas came to visit since he had the console and the game, I found it enjoyable. I never beat it of course cause I was a weee little lad at the time but still I remember the gameplay of it and that's what matters
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EsotericFerret - July 1, 2011 12:21 p.m.

I'm playing through Windwaker for the first time right now and I've just gotten started on the Triforce fetch quest and all I can say is, "Shit, I didn't know I needed to save those damn Joy Pendants."
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