What is your favorite 2D or 3D The Legend of Zelda game? Actually give a reason, such as whether you like a particular game for it's atmosphere, story, gameplay, etc.
My favorite 2D Zelda will always be A Link to the Past. I grew up playing the GBA version as a teen while I did errands on the other side of town with my mom and the game has influenced me so much that it is my primary inspiration in game development. Come to think of it, this is the most innovative Zelda somewhat, except for Breath of the Wild of course. It didn't introduction dungeons entirely but really did polish them (and is where stuff like the compass and map came in) and gave us the concept of what we come to expect and love with dungeons, especially in the later 3D Zelda games.
My favorite 3D Zelda is Majora's Mask. I always felt this game's atmosphere was superb, even with it's overly major downer and despair filled tone. The Gibdos and the little girl and her father (but also the song of healing moments, especially when you first learn it from the Happy Mask Salesman) are one of the reasons why I love this game but also the fact even if your achievements and efforts to help the people of Termina never stay pernmeant, the memories and trials/feelings of the people you learn of stay in the back of your head and encourage you to keep going forward, as afterall, how will you save Termina if you let the moon fall and kill everyone?
Secondly, I love how alive the NPCs feel and it's made MM seem a lot better than even modern contemporary RPGs or action-adventure games like Fallout 3 or The Witcher. They actually have schedules, move about and it really makes them feel alive when you come to search for a NPC in town at a specific time and find they're not there.
The dungeons are another reason why I love MM, they can easily be compared to OoT's Water Temple and are these wonderfully complex giant interconnected 3D spatial puzzleboxes and really test your puzzle solving and ability to keep a mental map of things you learn in a dungeon, such as a chest to come back for later or a section you can't access.
Breath of the Wild has come pretty close for my new favorite 3D Zelda. It totally throws a lot of the series traditions out the window, which I kind of just adore. From the relaxing atmosphere, the grand scale of the massive map of Hyrule to it's graphical style and beauty, there's just a lot to love about the game.
One of my favorite things about Breath of the Wild was this:
You can do anything you want, you can go anywhere you want, the only thing stopping you is harsh weather and tough enemies that could easily one-shot you. Almost everything in the game is optional save for the tutotorial and the paraglider (which I accept, just wish the paraglider wasn't locked in as required, despite it mechanically being needed for exploration), from getting new armor and weapons, making food to buff/heal yourself or even tackling the divine beasts.
You wanna climb up an enemy infested hill to a sheikah tower with nothing but awful 12-ATK weapons, a wooden shield and no arrows? You totally can and nothing is actually stopping you. This makes your accomplishments all the more wonderful when you go against the odds stacked fiercely against you and manage to come out on top.
My favorite 2D Zelda will always be A Link to the Past. I grew up playing the GBA version as a teen while I did errands on the other side of town with my mom and the game has influenced me so much that it is my primary inspiration in game development. Come to think of it, this is the most innovative Zelda somewhat, except for Breath of the Wild of course. It didn't introduction dungeons entirely but really did polish them (and is where stuff like the compass and map came in) and gave us the concept of what we come to expect and love with dungeons, especially in the later 3D Zelda games.
My favorite 3D Zelda is Majora's Mask. I always felt this game's atmosphere was superb, even with it's overly major downer and despair filled tone. The Gibdos and the little girl and her father (but also the song of healing moments, especially when you first learn it from the Happy Mask Salesman) are one of the reasons why I love this game but also the fact even if your achievements and efforts to help the people of Termina never stay pernmeant, the memories and trials/feelings of the people you learn of stay in the back of your head and encourage you to keep going forward, as afterall, how will you save Termina if you let the moon fall and kill everyone?
Secondly, I love how alive the NPCs feel and it's made MM seem a lot better than even modern contemporary RPGs or action-adventure games like Fallout 3 or The Witcher. They actually have schedules, move about and it really makes them feel alive when you come to search for a NPC in town at a specific time and find they're not there.
The dungeons are another reason why I love MM, they can easily be compared to OoT's Water Temple and are these wonderfully complex giant interconnected 3D spatial puzzleboxes and really test your puzzle solving and ability to keep a mental map of things you learn in a dungeon, such as a chest to come back for later or a section you can't access.
Breath of the Wild has come pretty close for my new favorite 3D Zelda. It totally throws a lot of the series traditions out the window, which I kind of just adore. From the relaxing atmosphere, the grand scale of the massive map of Hyrule to it's graphical style and beauty, there's just a lot to love about the game.
One of my favorite things about Breath of the Wild was this:
You can do anything you want, you can go anywhere you want, the only thing stopping you is harsh weather and tough enemies that could easily one-shot you. Almost everything in the game is optional save for the tutotorial and the paraglider (which I accept, just wish the paraglider wasn't locked in as required, despite it mechanically being needed for exploration), from getting new armor and weapons, making food to buff/heal yourself or even tackling the divine beasts.
You wanna climb up an enemy infested hill to a sheikah tower with nothing but awful 12-ATK weapons, a wooden shield and no arrows? You totally can and nothing is actually stopping you. This makes your accomplishments all the more wonderful when you go against the odds stacked fiercely against you and manage to come out on top.
